For Now by slybraian (Amnesty 2007, Stuck On You)
Title:
Author: slybrarian
Rating: PG-13 for language
Pairing: reference Lorne/Sheppard, McKay/Sheppard
Series: Dramatic Exit
Words: 565
Notes: Beta'd by archae_ology. Emphasis on the stuck part, and written during the challenge, more or less, but stalled by Evil Finals Week. Bleh.
Summary: John's stuck with the rules.
Four years, John thought, four years and not one incident like this. Not one blanket party, not one bashing, and only a few minor cases of harassment, all quickly dealt with. Not one official complaint, or even an unofficial one. Even Caldwell had turned a blind eye to anything odd he might have seen. But now, because Colonel Ellis of the Apollo didn't know when to keep his nose out of things, one of his men was being discharged despite everything he and Carter had tried to stop it.
"I'm sorry," he said, and Lieutenant Webster replied, "It's fine, sir. I should have been more careful."
John tried not to scowl as he asked, "You got any plans?
Webster grinned, and John was reminded of when the boy first arrived, all puppy-dog eagerness and awe. "Enrique actually proposed, sir. We're heading to Toledo to meet his family, and we'll see what happens from there."
John found himself grinning back and wondered if he'd ever been so optimistic. Probably around the time he was getting married himself. "Congratulations. Listen, there's actually something we need to-"
Before he could say more, Rodney burst into the room waving a tablet. "You! Sign this."
Webster gave John a bewildered look, and he shrugged and gave him a thumbs up back. It was probably mean of John, really, but in his own best interests.
"Congratulations, you're hired," Rodney said once it was done. "Tell Marquez that he gets six weeks off and not a day more."
With that, he stormed off, leaving a bemused John and a confused ex-lieutenant behind. Hesitantly, Webster asked, "Sir, what was that?"
"If you're lucky, you signed away your soul," John replied. "If not, Carter okayed him to hire on people with the ATA who didn't have doctorates, to help with routine maintenance."
"Oh." Webster seemed torn between being thrilled at staying in Atlantis and being frightened at the thought of having Rodney as a boss. John couldn't blame him.
"I know it's not how you probably imagined spending your life, but it's the best we could do," John said quietly. "And neither one of us will have problems if you want on a team again."
"No, sir, this is, this is great," Webster quickly protested. "You didn't have to do this -"
"Yes, I did," John tried to interject.
"And I'm really, really sorry for causing so much trouble."
John had to stop himself from reaching across the desk and shake the young man until he accepted it wasn't his fault. That wasn't the only thing John was wanting to do. He wanted to go to the control room, dial Earth, and explain to the brass exactly what he thought about applying this policy in Atlantis. He wanted to tell them that he'd had Rodney's cock in his mouth and Lorne's up his ass. He wanted to tell them that he'd been sleeping with Captain Holland in Afghanistan, and that he'd lost his virginity to the quarterback in high school. He also wanted to tell them that they could fuck off and leave his people alone, and that if they had a problem with that he had a few squid-shaped friends they could talk with.
He couldn't do any of that, though, so he was stuck with the stupid rules and would just have to live with their solution.
For now.
Author: slybrarian
Rating: PG-13 for language
Pairing: reference Lorne/Sheppard, McKay/Sheppard
Series: Dramatic Exit
Words: 565
Notes: Beta'd by archae_ology. Emphasis on the stuck part, and written during the challenge, more or less, but stalled by Evil Finals Week. Bleh.
Summary: John's stuck with the rules.
Four years, John thought, four years and not one incident like this. Not one blanket party, not one bashing, and only a few minor cases of harassment, all quickly dealt with. Not one official complaint, or even an unofficial one. Even Caldwell had turned a blind eye to anything odd he might have seen. But now, because Colonel Ellis of the Apollo didn't know when to keep his nose out of things, one of his men was being discharged despite everything he and Carter had tried to stop it.
"I'm sorry," he said, and Lieutenant Webster replied, "It's fine, sir. I should have been more careful."
John tried not to scowl as he asked, "You got any plans?
Webster grinned, and John was reminded of when the boy first arrived, all puppy-dog eagerness and awe. "Enrique actually proposed, sir. We're heading to Toledo to meet his family, and we'll see what happens from there."
John found himself grinning back and wondered if he'd ever been so optimistic. Probably around the time he was getting married himself. "Congratulations. Listen, there's actually something we need to-"
Before he could say more, Rodney burst into the room waving a tablet. "You! Sign this."
Webster gave John a bewildered look, and he shrugged and gave him a thumbs up back. It was probably mean of John, really, but in his own best interests.
"Congratulations, you're hired," Rodney said once it was done. "Tell Marquez that he gets six weeks off and not a day more."
With that, he stormed off, leaving a bemused John and a confused ex-lieutenant behind. Hesitantly, Webster asked, "Sir, what was that?"
"If you're lucky, you signed away your soul," John replied. "If not, Carter okayed him to hire on people with the ATA who didn't have doctorates, to help with routine maintenance."
"Oh." Webster seemed torn between being thrilled at staying in Atlantis and being frightened at the thought of having Rodney as a boss. John couldn't blame him.
"I know it's not how you probably imagined spending your life, but it's the best we could do," John said quietly. "And neither one of us will have problems if you want on a team again."
"No, sir, this is, this is great," Webster quickly protested. "You didn't have to do this -"
"Yes, I did," John tried to interject.
"And I'm really, really sorry for causing so much trouble."
John had to stop himself from reaching across the desk and shake the young man until he accepted it wasn't his fault. That wasn't the only thing John was wanting to do. He wanted to go to the control room, dial Earth, and explain to the brass exactly what he thought about applying this policy in Atlantis. He wanted to tell them that he'd had Rodney's cock in his mouth and Lorne's up his ass. He wanted to tell them that he'd been sleeping with Captain Holland in Afghanistan, and that he'd lost his virginity to the quarterback in high school. He also wanted to tell them that they could fuck off and leave his people alone, and that if they had a problem with that he had a few squid-shaped friends they could talk with.
He couldn't do any of that, though, so he was stuck with the stupid rules and would just have to live with their solution.
For now.