14 Valentines 4: High-Water (McKay/Sheppard, PG)
Title: High-Water
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~1,600
Warnings: None.
Summary: After weeks of trying to find the boy's parents (he told them that his mother was Ontario and his father Salmon River, but nobody believed him) or any other relatives, the authorities declared Meredith an orphan.
Notes: Beta-read by xylohypha.
14 Valentines Essay: Day 4: Reproductive Rights
~~~
Once upon a time (well, about forty years ago) a water sprite fell in love with one of Earth's children, a spirit with wild eyes and hair and laughter. This was highly frowned upon, because for reasons nobody truly remembered, sprites from either realm were not encouraged to mix and mingle. But the water sprite had lost his heart, and if he had known the tale of Romeo and Juliet he might well have linked his fated love to theirs (or perhaps he would have snorted and called them idiots for coming up with such a spectacularly stupid plan, but that is neither here nor there). Alas, his own tale was not like Romeo and Juliet's at all, for the earth sprite was young (barely even a hundred) and well in love with the sky but with nothing else. And although he did hold some fondness for the water sprite, all that Earth's child could offer was friendship, which in these cases is hardly ever enough.
And so, overwhelmed by heartache and loneliness, and despite really being old enough to know better, the water sprite was driven to a spectacularly stupid move of his own: he threw himself upon the shore.
~~~
"Boy! Hey, boy! Are you all right? What's your name?"
"Meredith," the boy coughed while hacking up water, shivering and cold and wondering why on Earth (hah!) he wasn't dead.
~~~
After weeks of trying to find the boy's parents (he told them that his mother was Ontario and his father Salmon River, but nobody believed him) or any other relatives, the authorities declared Meredith an orphan. He was adopted by the couple who had found him, for they had long wanted a child of their own. Meredith didn't mind: the human world was loud and full, distracting him from the love that was still bright and sharp and painful in his heart. As ridiculous as the thought of finding himself as a child struck him, being part of a human family meant he'd be able to stay without raising any questions. He turned his back on the whys and hows of nature and threw himself into what the humans called 'hard science': machines and the faraway stars.
The problem Meredith hadn't anticipated was that, as someone who for several hundred years had communicated through words and shared emotions, he really had a hard time taking his cues from facial expressions and body language.
~~~
"I had a not-so-comfortable childhood," Meredith (who by then had taken to call himself Rodney, but we will get to that) told Samantha Carter in a weak moment. "My parents hated each other, blamed me."
Samantha assumed that this was because even as a boy, Rodney had been smart but difficult. In reality, the argument Rodney remembered best had ended with his mother waving a hand in his direction and hissing, "We never should have taken it in."
~~~
Meredith might have turned his back on Water, but Water certainly hadn't turned its back on him (in fact, it very actively tried to take him home). Yet while his body was thoroughly human, he still was a sprite, and he grimly fought back whenever Water tried to reclaim him. It turned out that spending ten minutes face-down in a pool with no breathing problems whatsoever made his adopted parents reconsider their stance on boys and wild tales. Meredith's childhood, such as it was, became a solitary and bitter place, and the fights he fought became many. Finally he changed his name to Rodney and walked away from both his homes, grimly happy when later he found work in one of the driest places he could imagine.
There was a salt lake nearby, but he pretended not to see it.
~~~
After the old Elizabeth had died, after listening to her tale of alternate timelines and a city that died under its failing shields, Rodney stood on a balcony, looking out over the ocean. "So, I guess you got me after all. In a way."
The Water didn't answer (but the waves sounded distinctly smug).
~~~
Of course, fate has its own sense of irony and so Rodney ended up in a place of ice. But since the Water was frozen and there was land beneath, he merely huffed his impatience and set to work, intrigued by the technology a race older than Earth's humans had left behind. His research progressed quickly (his knowledge of the elements often helped him, but he didn't consider it cheating) and he was excited to discover that, if he wanted, he could go all the way to another galaxy, far away from Earth and his lingering heartache. Then a man sat down on the most powerful of all devices left on the planet, operating it with an instinctive ease, but what should have been a moment of joy for Rodney turned into one of shock instead.
The man looked just like the earth sprite Mere- Rodney had left behind when he had thrown himself onto the shore.
~~~
When John and Radek dragged Rodney out of the downed jumper, John hissed, "You can't have him!" at the sea above their heads. Rodney heard him, but he thought he must have caught that wrong (or perhaps John was talking to the whale).
~~~
Because the Major looked so much like his unrequited love, Rodney ignored him completely. That didn't work so well, what with the Ancient gene and the Atlantis expedition and the Major just being there every time Rodney turned around, so instead he decided not to care about the man at all. And that particular resolution lasted almost four days after they had reached Atlantis, past seeing how the Major's face lit up when he sat in a puddlejumper for the first time and right up to the point where it looked like the Major was going to die (well, and everybody else). Watching the malevolent dark spirit fill up the gateroom, feeding on the Stargate's power, Rodney miserably discovered that he did care after all. Had he been human, the shield's failure would have done him in. Even so he nearly lost his life before the dark spirit stopped its draining and went away.
The Major's touch to his wrist seemed to give him strength, and Rodney cursed himself for the depth of his delusions.
~~~
"Seriously, your name is Meredith?" John asked again, and Rodney didn't understand the expression on his face at all (a little baffled, a little hopeful, and a lot of what looked like naked relief).
"Call me that and I will end you," Rodney snapped, and was completely bewildered when John beamed at him and slapped his shoulder.
~~~
For three years, Rodney did his best to keep to himself, to stay away from Sheppard (for that was the Major's - Colonel's - name). This turned out to be harder than he had anticipated, and he only really succeeded once after nearly killing them both. It was Sheppard who stayed away from him then, and Rodney felt nearly as heart-broken as he had when the earth sprite had rejected him. That was when he discovered he had fallen in love all over again, with someone who loved the sky and liked Rodney, and again Rodney cursed himself for being so stupid. Still, he did not fight it when he and Sheppard drifted back into each other's orbit, and he gladly would have died for Sheppard if the other man had asked him to (although he would have complained about it, and loudly).
As it turned out, what Sheppard wanted wasn't Rodney's life, per se.
~~~
"In the way a friend feels about another friend," John said awkwardly, but it was a lie, Rodney knew it was a lie, he could see it, and-
And-
Wait, what?
~~~
When the Water had stopped trying to pull Rodney back into its embrace (the sinking puddlejumper remained its last attempt), Rodney had merely thought it had grown tired. Then he accidentally activated a machine which enabled him to read another's thoughts even as it killed him, and he found out that it wasn't so at all.
He found out Water had stopped only at Earth's request (because Earth wanted to see its child happy), and that John Sheppard didn't only look like the earth sprite Rodney had loved.
~~~
"You're-" Rodney broke off, mouth silently working as he stared at John, who was scratching his head and sheepishly staring at the floor. "Is this a joke?" He felt faintly sick.
"What? No!" John's head came up so fast Rodney almost heard the crick in his neck. "I didn't even know… I thought you were dead."
And Rodney was stunned when John offered him a watery smile and said, "I'm so glad you're not, Rodney, you have no idea-"
~~~
John was well in love with the sky, but he loved Rodney more. At least he said so, and Rodney believed him. After all, here was an earth sprite who had felt so shocked and lonely after losing his friend that he had thrown himself into a lake (thus proving that stupidity is maybe contagious after all, but it's okay as long as everything turns out well). Besides, John had sought out Rodney's presence before he even knew his name. They felt a little silly for a while because of all the drama, but the sex quickly distracted them.
And because their tale was nothing like Romeo and Juliet's (except for the family feuds and the suicides and the falling in love), they lived happily ever after.
~~~
"You never told me who you were!"
"I didn't even know if you remembered me!"
"Are you kidding?!"
~~~
Well. Mostly.
~~~
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~1,600
Warnings: None.
Summary: After weeks of trying to find the boy's parents (he told them that his mother was Ontario and his father Salmon River, but nobody believed him) or any other relatives, the authorities declared Meredith an orphan.
Notes: Beta-read by xylohypha.
14 Valentines Essay: Day 4: Reproductive Rights
~~~
Once upon a time (well, about forty years ago) a water sprite fell in love with one of Earth's children, a spirit with wild eyes and hair and laughter. This was highly frowned upon, because for reasons nobody truly remembered, sprites from either realm were not encouraged to mix and mingle. But the water sprite had lost his heart, and if he had known the tale of Romeo and Juliet he might well have linked his fated love to theirs (or perhaps he would have snorted and called them idiots for coming up with such a spectacularly stupid plan, but that is neither here nor there). Alas, his own tale was not like Romeo and Juliet's at all, for the earth sprite was young (barely even a hundred) and well in love with the sky but with nothing else. And although he did hold some fondness for the water sprite, all that Earth's child could offer was friendship, which in these cases is hardly ever enough.
And so, overwhelmed by heartache and loneliness, and despite really being old enough to know better, the water sprite was driven to a spectacularly stupid move of his own: he threw himself upon the shore.
~~~
"Boy! Hey, boy! Are you all right? What's your name?"
"Meredith," the boy coughed while hacking up water, shivering and cold and wondering why on Earth (hah!) he wasn't dead.
~~~
After weeks of trying to find the boy's parents (he told them that his mother was Ontario and his father Salmon River, but nobody believed him) or any other relatives, the authorities declared Meredith an orphan. He was adopted by the couple who had found him, for they had long wanted a child of their own. Meredith didn't mind: the human world was loud and full, distracting him from the love that was still bright and sharp and painful in his heart. As ridiculous as the thought of finding himself as a child struck him, being part of a human family meant he'd be able to stay without raising any questions. He turned his back on the whys and hows of nature and threw himself into what the humans called 'hard science': machines and the faraway stars.
The problem Meredith hadn't anticipated was that, as someone who for several hundred years had communicated through words and shared emotions, he really had a hard time taking his cues from facial expressions and body language.
~~~
"I had a not-so-comfortable childhood," Meredith (who by then had taken to call himself Rodney, but we will get to that) told Samantha Carter in a weak moment. "My parents hated each other, blamed me."
Samantha assumed that this was because even as a boy, Rodney had been smart but difficult. In reality, the argument Rodney remembered best had ended with his mother waving a hand in his direction and hissing, "We never should have taken it in."
~~~
Meredith might have turned his back on Water, but Water certainly hadn't turned its back on him (in fact, it very actively tried to take him home). Yet while his body was thoroughly human, he still was a sprite, and he grimly fought back whenever Water tried to reclaim him. It turned out that spending ten minutes face-down in a pool with no breathing problems whatsoever made his adopted parents reconsider their stance on boys and wild tales. Meredith's childhood, such as it was, became a solitary and bitter place, and the fights he fought became many. Finally he changed his name to Rodney and walked away from both his homes, grimly happy when later he found work in one of the driest places he could imagine.
There was a salt lake nearby, but he pretended not to see it.
~~~
After the old Elizabeth had died, after listening to her tale of alternate timelines and a city that died under its failing shields, Rodney stood on a balcony, looking out over the ocean. "So, I guess you got me after all. In a way."
The Water didn't answer (but the waves sounded distinctly smug).
~~~
Of course, fate has its own sense of irony and so Rodney ended up in a place of ice. But since the Water was frozen and there was land beneath, he merely huffed his impatience and set to work, intrigued by the technology a race older than Earth's humans had left behind. His research progressed quickly (his knowledge of the elements often helped him, but he didn't consider it cheating) and he was excited to discover that, if he wanted, he could go all the way to another galaxy, far away from Earth and his lingering heartache. Then a man sat down on the most powerful of all devices left on the planet, operating it with an instinctive ease, but what should have been a moment of joy for Rodney turned into one of shock instead.
The man looked just like the earth sprite Mere- Rodney had left behind when he had thrown himself onto the shore.
~~~
When John and Radek dragged Rodney out of the downed jumper, John hissed, "You can't have him!" at the sea above their heads. Rodney heard him, but he thought he must have caught that wrong (or perhaps John was talking to the whale).
~~~
Because the Major looked so much like his unrequited love, Rodney ignored him completely. That didn't work so well, what with the Ancient gene and the Atlantis expedition and the Major just being there every time Rodney turned around, so instead he decided not to care about the man at all. And that particular resolution lasted almost four days after they had reached Atlantis, past seeing how the Major's face lit up when he sat in a puddlejumper for the first time and right up to the point where it looked like the Major was going to die (well, and everybody else). Watching the malevolent dark spirit fill up the gateroom, feeding on the Stargate's power, Rodney miserably discovered that he did care after all. Had he been human, the shield's failure would have done him in. Even so he nearly lost his life before the dark spirit stopped its draining and went away.
The Major's touch to his wrist seemed to give him strength, and Rodney cursed himself for the depth of his delusions.
~~~
"Seriously, your name is Meredith?" John asked again, and Rodney didn't understand the expression on his face at all (a little baffled, a little hopeful, and a lot of what looked like naked relief).
"Call me that and I will end you," Rodney snapped, and was completely bewildered when John beamed at him and slapped his shoulder.
~~~
For three years, Rodney did his best to keep to himself, to stay away from Sheppard (for that was the Major's - Colonel's - name). This turned out to be harder than he had anticipated, and he only really succeeded once after nearly killing them both. It was Sheppard who stayed away from him then, and Rodney felt nearly as heart-broken as he had when the earth sprite had rejected him. That was when he discovered he had fallen in love all over again, with someone who loved the sky and liked Rodney, and again Rodney cursed himself for being so stupid. Still, he did not fight it when he and Sheppard drifted back into each other's orbit, and he gladly would have died for Sheppard if the other man had asked him to (although he would have complained about it, and loudly).
As it turned out, what Sheppard wanted wasn't Rodney's life, per se.
~~~
"In the way a friend feels about another friend," John said awkwardly, but it was a lie, Rodney knew it was a lie, he could see it, and-
And-
Wait, what?
~~~
When the Water had stopped trying to pull Rodney back into its embrace (the sinking puddlejumper remained its last attempt), Rodney had merely thought it had grown tired. Then he accidentally activated a machine which enabled him to read another's thoughts even as it killed him, and he found out that it wasn't so at all.
He found out Water had stopped only at Earth's request (because Earth wanted to see its child happy), and that John Sheppard didn't only look like the earth sprite Rodney had loved.
~~~
"You're-" Rodney broke off, mouth silently working as he stared at John, who was scratching his head and sheepishly staring at the floor. "Is this a joke?" He felt faintly sick.
"What? No!" John's head came up so fast Rodney almost heard the crick in his neck. "I didn't even know… I thought you were dead."
And Rodney was stunned when John offered him a watery smile and said, "I'm so glad you're not, Rodney, you have no idea-"
~~~
John was well in love with the sky, but he loved Rodney more. At least he said so, and Rodney believed him. After all, here was an earth sprite who had felt so shocked and lonely after losing his friend that he had thrown himself into a lake (thus proving that stupidity is maybe contagious after all, but it's okay as long as everything turns out well). Besides, John had sought out Rodney's presence before he even knew his name. They felt a little silly for a while because of all the drama, but the sex quickly distracted them.
And because their tale was nothing like Romeo and Juliet's (except for the family feuds and the suicides and the falling in love), they lived happily ever after.
~~~
"You never told me who you were!"
"I didn't even know if you remembered me!"
"Are you kidding?!"
~~~
Well. Mostly.
~~~