016. Purple; Sticks and Stones
Title: Sticks and Stones
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters: Amelia Banks, Ronon Dex, Chuck
Prompt: 016 Purple
Word Count: ~850
Rating: G
Summary: Amelia never felt comfortable around the CMO but now she has even more reason to fear the trip to the doctors.
Notes: LDT
*
Amelia had never been one to run to the doctors at the smallest sign of sickness. She always felt that if it would go away by itself, there was no need. She called it independence... Others called it arrogance.
“Banks, you really should get that checked out.” Chuck commented to her as they sat at their consoles. Amelia had simply tried to stand up from her chair but failed due to the sudden, sharp pain in her thigh. The massive bruise had appeared there about a week ago - around the same time as her last sparring match with Ronon. It was still purple and she even thought it might be a little blacker than a few days ago.
“I told you, I don’t need to. It’ll fade soon enough,” She said, attempting to defend herself but she still didn’t try to stand up again.
They sat in silence for a little while longer but Chuck spoke up again, somewhat hesitantly. “Keller won’t be there tonight.” Amelia’s head snapped to him. “I know that’s why you won’t go. She has the night off.” She tightened her jaw, and nodded.
“I’ll think about it.”
*
“I’ll take you myself if I have to,” Ronon said to her while they were in their quarters a little while later.
“Is it scary that I know you aren’t joking?” Amelia said, trying to laugh it off and hopefully change the subject. She had her back to him so, at least, he wouldn’t notice how much pain she was in as she made the bed with the recently washed sheets.
“Amy?”
“Yeah?”
“You can’t hide it forever.” He came over, grabbing her hand as she stretched out to get a corner. Even after all this time, she still couldn’t help the little skip her heart did when he was so close. “Your voice is strained, you lean on your left leg just a little more when you walk and I can almost smell the perspiration from the exertion it takes just to do these little tasks each day without letting anyone else on to how much it hurts.”
Amelia almost felt relieved when he told her all this. So he knew all along. She should have known he did. It was actually pretty stupid now that she thought about it. He was right - she couldn’t hide anything from him forever.
“But everyone knows she hates me!” She finally let out, collapsing onto the couch behind her. Ronon, carefully avoiding her leg, sat down beside her, pulled her feet over to him and started to massage them. She looked up at him and all she saw was disbelief on his face. “Alright, you might not know. But ever since she broke up with Rodney, rumours have been going around...”
“What about?” Ronon asked, perhaps a bit too quickly.
“About why she broke up with him... About you and her...” She left her thought hanging, too embarrassed and exhausted to continue. By the look on his face, he knew what she meant anyway.
“That was a long time ago, it’s over.”
Amelia had to sigh at that. “But to the rumour mill that is Atlantis, it’s not. I just don’t want everyone making a big deal of it. I never liked doctors but now...” with a big ‘humpf’ she let her head fall back into the pillows and her hands fly up with defeat. “It’s like everyone is watching me for the latest gossip.”
“Will it help if I went with you and held your hand?” He asked and Amelia had to look back up at him. Was he mocking her?
“It’s not funny.” The smirk that was slowly appearing on his face told her otherwise, though.
*
Amelia couldn’t help but fidget as she sat in the waiting room for Atlantis’ infirmary. It was a slow night but that only meant there were less doctors on duty. It was hard to find an easy night to let some of them to get the sleep they desperately needed so it seemed they had jumped at the chance.
But Amelia had a nervous habit. She would tap her foot when she was anxious. In her current condition, it wasn’t exactly the best thing for her. She was concentrating so hard on not moving her leg that she didn’t notice the night doctor coming up to her.
“Sergeant Banks?” She inquired and Amelia immediately stood up - mostly from shock - and instantly regretted it. The doctor just gave a small smile in understanding when Amelia hissed at the pain.
*
“Well, was the big, bad doctor as evil as you thought?” Ronon teased her when she returned.
“Oh, it was so much worse.” She replied with a completely straight face. She went and lay down on the bed. Ronon just nodded, the smirk returning, and went back to his work. What he didn’t know was that occupying the bin just outside the infirmary was a full bottle of painkillers and hidden behind a pot plant a few corridors away were her crutches.
The doctor would try and take away her independence. But no matter how hard they tried, she couldn’t get rid of her arrogance.
*