McShep Fic: Catch Me As I Fall - Part 1
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis / Dragonriders of Pern
Pairing: John/Rodney
Rating: NC17
Word Count: 7441
Warnings: none
Genres: Cross over, Angst, Romance, First Time.
Disclaimer I do not own the Dragonriders of Pern or any of the SGA characters. This story was not written for financial gain, it was intended as a gift for a friend.
Summary: A crossover with the Dragonriders of Pernbook by Anne McCaffrey. Rodney's whole life was changed when he became the rider of dragon Laurenth. Now he has to find his place in Benden Weyr and figure out his feelings for handsome dragonrider J'hon.
Notes on the Story: This story was written as a gift for a friend, who has kindly agreed to let me share it. The story set in the world created by Anne McCaffrey for her Dragonriders of Pern books. Hopefully the story will still make sense if you are not familiar with the Dragonriders of Pern, and I haven't written Rodney and John too much out of character.
I've attempted to be as faithful as possible to the books, although there may be odd facts I've remembered wrongly. As I've added a lot of my own characters from Stargate Atlantis, I've set it some time before the events in Dragonflight, probably closer to the time of Moreta.
I would like to thank my beta for putting up with all the extra bits I kept adding after she thought we were done. Any remaining mistakes are completely my own.
Notes on the artwork: I have bravely attempted my own banner instead of asking one of my artistic friends to do one for me. I wanted to have a picture with a younger Rodney and John, to fit the characters as I have written them in the story. Hence I ended up using images of Grant from Traders and Vincent from Dawson's Creek. (thanks to melagan for introducing me to Vincent). The dragon image was manipulated from a scan of the cover art from my copy of Dragonflight. The work was created using GIMP.
Part 1
This is the planet Pern. Seen from space, it looks a lot like Earth, with blue seas, green tinted continents and swirling white clouds. We pass over the larger Southern Continent with its jungles and grassy plains, it's tall mountains and recently erupted volcanoes. There are no people here anymore, although they will come back one day, but that's another story. Crossing over the wide ocean, we see a few scattered fishing boats, the first sign that people live here. They come from Half Circle Sea Hold, on the Eastern side of the Northern Continent. Let's follow one of the ships home, past the tip of Nerat, then continue north over farmland and the vineyards of Benden Hold. Our destination is Benden Weyr, high in the mountains of the North East.
Now we can see a few dragons circling lazily above the wide bowl of an extinct volcano. Some of the dragons have human riders, dressed in sensible leather riding gear, riding helmets and goggles. Riders are chosen when the dragons first hatch. They form a telepathic bond with their dragons that lasts for life. The formation of a new bond between dragon and rider is known as Impression.
The dragons come in many different colors. The largest dragons are the golden female dragons, known as queens because the senior queen and her rider lead the Weyr. The bronze dragons are the largest of the male dragons, followed by brown and then blue. Finally the green female dragons are the smallest and most agile. The queen dragons choose female riders, but the other dragons normally prefer male riders.
Back when humans first settled on Pern, they genetically engineered the dragon to keep the planet safe from a particular threat, that the settlers named “Thread”. Every couple of hundred years, the planet is threatened by spores that fall from the sky and turn into threadlike organisms that devour anything that stands in their way. The early settlers named their creations ‘dragons’, after old legends from Earth, since they were created to breath fire and char the threads from the sky. All the dragons except for the golden queens chew a phosphorous rich rock known as fire stone, which they use to produce their flames. Chewing the fire stone makes green dragons sterile, so they cannot lay eggs. However, the green dragons still experience the urge to mate. Since green dragons generally choose male riders, this can lead to a few unforeseen problems, which is where our story begins:
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R'dney had never expected to become a dragonrider. He had trained at the Harper Hall at Fort Hold, the main center for both music and education in all of Pern. In a society where most people couldn't read or write, music was important for teaching as well as entertainment. A Harper needed to be able to sing, to read and write and compose music. play several musical instruments and know how to make them. In addition, Harpers were expected to be knowledgeable about the history, geography and politics of Pern.
However, R'dney had been visiting Benden Weyr at the time of a Hatching and had accidentally Impressed Laurenth, a green dragon. The bond between dragon and rider, once created could never be broken, so R'dney began a new life at Benden Weyr. The young dragon grew up quickly and after a year, she was old enough for R'dney to learn how to ride her. He was assigned to a team for routine patrols, although it would be another year before she was old enough to join a fighting wing and do battle against Thread, the age old enemy of Pern.
R'dney thought he knew everything there was to know about dragons. However he was soon to discover that there were some things that you could only learn by living in the Weyr, surrounded by the dragons and their riders.
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R'dney had never been a fan of early mornings, but on days when Thread was due to fall, Laurenth always woke him up early.
“Go back to sleep Laurenth, it's still the middle of the night.” he complained to his dragon, using their bond to talk to her telepathically. He punched the pillow into a more comfortable shape and tried to snuggle back under the blankets.
“But Thread Fall is due today.” Laurenth argued, her mental voice thrumming with excitement.
“You know they won't let us fly today.” R'dney told her. None of the dragons from Laurenth's hatching would be added to the fighting wings, until they had spent another year training and flying patrols.
“Maybe today will be different,” Laurenth suggested, hopefully.
“You just don't like to think of Atlantis going off to fight without you,” R'dney teased. Atlantis was one of the older bronze dragons and his rider J'hon was the leader of the patrol wing R'dney had been assigned to. Since R'dney had joined the wing, he had been spending a lot of free time with J'hon, playing games or just chatting while Laurenth and J'hon's bronze dragon Atlantis often sunned themselves on the ledge of J'hon's weyr.
He reluctantly got out of bed and headed off for the bathing pool to get cleaned up and fetch some oil for Laurenth. Once he had finished oiling all the dry patches on Laurenth's hide, he dressed in his leather flying gear and set off for breakfast. The newest dragonriders might not be required to fight Thread, but there would be other work for them to do, carrying messages and firestone sacks as required.
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R'dney found the members of his patrol wing eating breakfast in the great hall. He grabbed a heaped plate full of food and a steaming hot mug of klah before joining his team mates at the table. When he arrived K'nan was talking with Teyla, the beautiful dark skinned woman who took care of sick and injured dragons. The healer was also K'nan's childhood friend and lover so it wasn't unusual for her to sit at the table with their team. J'hon greeted him in a friendly manner, but R'non just carried on eating.
“Laurenth wants me to ask you if we can join you today,” R'dney told J'hon, the leader of the wing.
“You know the answer to that one buddy.” J'hon replied with a grin.
“Still, I promised her I'd ask, anyway.” R'dney smiled back at the handsome bronze rider. “I must admit I'm getting tired of fetching and carrying with a bunch of kids. It's like being an apprentice again back in the Harper Hall.”
“Well in that case, I think today might be your lucky day. Teyla might have something more interesting for you to do, isn't that right, healer?”
“That is correct J'hon,” Teyla agreed. “I am currently in need of a new assistant who can help me treat Thread scored dragons,” she explained. “Would you be willing to help? I may also need Laurenth's assistance.”
“It could be less boring than carrying stupid messages and firestone sacks,” Laurenth pointed out.
“I'm not a healer, but Laurenth thinks we should give it a try,” R'dney replied. “What do you need us to do?”
“I will show you when we get to the Landing Ground,” Teyla informed him. “However, I need to return to my quarters first, to assemble my equipment. It would be a great help if you could meet me there and help me carry my bags down to the landing ground. K'nan can show you the way.”
Shortly after that, Teyla said her goodbyes and headed back to her quarters to get ready. J'hon and K'nan talked about Threadfall and fighting tactics for a while, until R'non, who didn't normally say very much, surprised them all by commenting,
“Laurenth is pretty much full grown now. She'll be rising to mate soon.”
“So?” R'dney asked, wondering where this might be leading.
“So have you got anyone in mind for the mating flight?”
“How do you mean?” R'dney asked, confused.
“He wants to know if you have any preference for which dragon will mate with Laurenth.” K'nan explained, taking pity on R'dney.
“I didn't realize it was up to me,” R'dney answered. “I thought it was just whichever dragon was the strongest or the fastest.”
“That's the theory,” J'hon said. “But sometimes if the green dragon or her rider has a favorite it can tip the balance in their favor.” He gave R'dney a surprisingly sweet shy smile that gave R'dney a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“I guess Laurenth does like to spend a lot of time with Atlantis,” he said, smiling back at the handsome young wing leader.
“I like Atlantis,” Laurenth agreed.
“Good choice,” R'non grinned lecherously, slapping R'dney on the back. “J'hon will take good care of you.”
“How do you mean?” R'dney inquired, feeling confused again. He looked over at J'hon, hoping that his friend would explain.
“Um, it's, well...” J'hon stuttered. “I just remembered that I need to talk to Weyrleader O'Neill about tactics, since I'm his wing second for today. I'm sure R'non would be only too happy to explain though.”
J'hon gulped down the rest of his klah and rushed out of the dining hall, taking a half eaten sweet roll with him.
“What was that all about?” R'dney snapped at R'non impatiently.
“You really don't know?” asked K'nan in amazement. “You've been here for a year now, you must have witnessed a few green dragon mating flights. Some of the younger greens rise every six weeks.”
“The weyrling instructor always kept us away during mating flights,” R'dney explained.
“Didn't anyone ever talk about it?” R'non asked curiously.
“Maybe, how the Shell should I know?” R'dney replied in exasperation. “I'm nearly ten years older than the other riders from my hatching, I didn't really hang out with them much. Before I joined the wing I mostly hung out with Harper D'neil and green rider R'dek.”
“Look, there's something the Harper or the weyrling instructor should have told you about dragon mating flights,” K'nan started to explain. “You do realize that you share emotions with your dragon as well as thoughts.”
“Well of course,” R'dney snapped. “I'm not a complete moron, you know.”
“Well when your dragon rises to mate, you'll be sharing some pretty strong emotions.”
“Shells, K'nan, there's no need to dance round it,” R'non exclaimed. “Look kid, the point is that when your dragon mates, you end up mating with that dragon's rider too.”
R'dney spat out his klah in shock. “Oh Shards R'non, you've got to be kidding me?”
K'nan grabbed a cloth to wipe up the spilled klah.
“Don't worry, J'hon is a good guy, he'll take good care of you,” R'non said in a gentler tone of voice.
“Assuming that it's Atlantis who catches Laurenth.” R'dney pointed out, hoping he didn't look as worried as he felt. He wasn't sure how he felt about having sex with J'hon, but he didn't want some stranger touching him that intimately.
“Like any of those stupid brown dragons could catch me.” Laurenth told him in a smug tone of voice she had probably learned from R'dney. “I'm much faster than any of them, even Sateda.”
R'dney could feel Laurenth soothing him through their bond, letting him know that whatever was bothering him, they would face it together.
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R'dney didn't have much time to think about R'non's startling revelation as Teyla had plenty of work to keep him occupied. When he arrived at Teyla's quarters with K'nan, the Healer handed R'dney a heavy bag full of strange potions and surgical equipment to carry. K'nan smirked at him, until Teyla handed the brown rider a bag of his own to carry.
“Looks like we're still fetching and carrying after all.” he said to Laurenth in the privacy of his own head.
The Landing Ground was a wide open space in the center of the Weyr where the dragons assembled for patrols and Threadfall. At the moment it was crowded with dragons and their riders, checking their riding harness or chatting with friends. R'dney followed Teyla to a place where a couple of the younger riders were helping Healer B'ket and his assistants set up tables. K'nan put down his own burden and gave Teyla a brief kiss on the cheek before walking over to where brown Athos had landed. R'dney noticed J'hon and R'non were waiting nearby, checking their riding harness. He waved at J'hon and was rewarded by a happy smile and a wave back. He watched R’non thumping Sheppard on the arm with a big grin and J’hon’s face flushing red and wondered what that was all about.
J'hon and the rest of the wing were going to join up with Weyrleader O'Neill's wing for the Threadfall. The Weyrleader's dragon, Thor landed by Atlantis and O'Niell dismounted to speak to J'hon. They were soon joined by the gold dragon riders of the Queen's wing. There was tall, dignified Elizabeth, the senior rider, boyish Samantha who cropped her blonde hair short to fit under a riding helmet, and the sensual Vala who seemed to flirt with all the bronze riders. R'dney had a crush on Samantha, who was smart and pretty, but this morning his eyes were drawn to Vala as she wandered over to J'hon, carrying her flamethrower at a jaunty angle. It was obvious to R'dney that she was shamelessly flirting with the handsome bronze rider. R'dney felt a flare of jealousy, as he watched J'hon laughing at one of Vala's jokes.
“R'dney,” Teyla interrupted his thoughts. He turned towards the healer, who was watching him with a sympathetic expression on her face.
“I wouldn't worry about Vala. She has been chasing after J'hon since she came to Benden, but he has never returned her interest.”
“I wasn't worried. Did I look worried?” R'dney blustered.
“It's okay if you like J'hon.” She told him with a knowing smile. “I believe he may feel the same way about you.”
R'dney found his mind wandering back to the conversation at breakfast. The idea of taking a man as a lover wasn't something that had ever occurred to him before, but now he came to think about it, he had been spending a lot of time with J'hon. Could the bronze rider have been flirting with him all this time? The idea that a rider as handsome as J'hon would be interested in him was certainly flattering.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of the dragons taking off. He turned to watch the impressive sight of three hundred dragons flying in perfect formation.
“Wish J'hon and Atlantis luck for me?” R'dney asked Laurenth.
“Atlantis says thank you.” Laurenth replied, a few seconds later.
As R'dney watched, the dragons disappeared from sight, jumping between to a location above Benden Hold.
It wasn't a particularly bad Threadfall, but there were sufficient casualties to keep the healers occupied for the rest of the morning. Most of the injuries were minor Thread scores, small burns that could be treated with the application of numbweed to dull the pain. Teyla showed R'dney how to coat his hands with oil before applying the thick white salve, or it would numb his fingers along with the thread score he was treating. When a dragon came back with a more serious injury, Teyla would wash her hands down with redwort to sterilize and then sew the torn dragonhide back together. R'dney watched with admiration as she made it look as simple as mending torn cloth.
R'dney panicked once when he saw a bronze dragon returning early, until he realized it was only S'mner, one of the older riders, with a thread score across his right cheek and shoulder. He felt guilty for being glad that the injured rider wasn't J'hon. He tried not to think about why the idea of those bright hazel eyes dulled by pain filled him with dread.
Towards the end of the threadfall, a brown dragon returned to Benden with a badly laced wing. R'dney recognized the rider as E'van, one of the younger wingseconds and his dragon Parrish. Without Laurenth to help him land, poor Parrish would have probably crashed onto the Landing Ground instead of landing safely. E'van had a thread score of his own across his shoulder and arm, but refused to go and see the healer B'ket until Parrish had been treated. Teyla looked for a moment as though she was going to protest, but in the end she sent for one of healer B'ket's assistants, a young woman named Jennifer.
Parrish was in a lot of pain and would not keep still, so at first it was hard to get close to him to apply numbweed to his wing. The injured dragon calmed down a little once his rider had been treated, but in the end Teyla asked Laurenth to speak to him. R'dney was starting to see why Teyla found it helpful to have a rider for an assistant. Once Parrish had calmed down and they had soothed the pain with liberal application of numbweed, Teyla sent R'dney to fetch reeds, while she tore up strips of cloth to the correct size. She showed R'dney how to build a frame to support the injured wing from the cloth and the reeds. They then began the onerous task of sewing the torn wing back together. Teyla assured E'van that his dragon would eventually regain the use of his wing.
While they were working, the remaining dragonriders returned from the Threadfall. R'dney did not get a chance to look out for J'hon, but he did notice when R'dek wrapped E'van up in his arms, hugging him close as if comforting a lover. R'dney thought that he might be glad to have someone who cared for him the way R'dek clearly cared about E'van.
Once Teyla was satisfied that they had done all they could for Parrish, she asked R'dney to help her clear up all her equipment. Laurenth must have told Athos they were done, as K'nan and R'non turned up to carry Teyla's bags. R'non had thoughtfully brought food left over from the evening meal. K'nan sent apologies from J'hon who had stayed behind at Benden Hold to help the ground crews clear up any thread burrows. R'dney was disappointed to have missed his chance to speak to J'hon and check for himself that the bronze rider wasn't hurt. He was glad that he had Laurenth to fly him back to their quarters as he was too tired to climb so many steps. After a long soak in the bathing pool, he climbed into bed and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
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The morning after Threadfall, R'dney's wing were scheduled to fly a patrol over Benden Hold. Laurenth was glad she would get a chance to fly after being cooped up in the Weyr the previous day. He was late arriving at breakfast and missed the chance to speak to J'hon again.
J'hon and Atlantis showed up at their normal meeting point above the fire heights just in time for the start of the patrol. He was already wearing riding helmet and goggles, so R'dney could barely see the expression on his face. J'hon checked that everyone was ready and gave the signal to jump between. R'dney asked Laurenth to take them to Benden Hold, passing her the coordinates as a mental picture of the place where they had to go. He took a deep breath and held it as Laurenth jumped between. Suddenly they were in a place where there was no sound, sight, taste, touch or smell, only darkness and a cold that seeped through R'dney's thick leather riding gear, leaving him chilled. R'dney counted heartbeats and just before they reached three, Laurenth emerged into the warmer air above Benden Hold. R'dney was sure he would never get used to going between, but it was part of being a dragonrider.
The patrol over Benden Hold was fairly routine. Their job was to check the vineyards, fields and woodland to make sure no thread had burrowed to destroy the holder's crops. J'hon arranged the wing in a standard diamond pattern, with himself in the lead. They were too far apart to talk so messages were passed via the dragons.
R'dney found his mind drifting back to the events of the previous day. He had learned a lot about relationships within the Weyr and his own feelings for J'hon, but there were still things he needed to figure out. He already considered the bronze rider to be one of his best friends, but he hadn't considered the man as a potential lover before. Still, some part of him must be attracted to J'hon or he wouldn't have been jealous of Vala's attention. The idea of a close, caring relationship like the one R'dek and E'van clearly shared did appeal to him, but could he be physically intimate with a man? J'hon certainly had full, soft, kissable lips and it would probably feel good to run his hands through J'hon's messy, dark hair. Then again, kissing J'hon with his constant stubble and muscular body would be a lot different from kissing a girl, with her smooth skin and soft curves. R'dney thought it might be something he would be willing to try, if the man was J'hon. He still wasn't certain how exactly two men could have sex together, but he was sure he could ask R'dek.
The thing that bothered R'dney most was the possibility that he might not get a chance to decide which dragon mated with Laurenth and hence which rider he would end up with. J'hon suggested that he might be able to influence the outcome of the mating flight, but he hadn't actually confirmed that Atlantis would want to mate with Laurenth. Of course when he had left the conversation so suddenly, he had seemed more embarrassed than annoyed and Teyla did seem to think that J'hon liked R'dney. Then there was Atlantis, who seemed to spend all his time with Laurenth. R'dney wondered if J'hon had been trying to court him all this time.
Continue on to Part 2