FICLET: [Stargate: Atlantis] Ordinary (PG-13)
Author: Soraya
Title: Ordinary
Series: Scenes from a courtship
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Pre-Slash
Pairing: Beckett/Dex
Disclaimer: Not mine, Wright and Cooper own Stargate Atlantis etc.
Notes: Other stories in this series include: Hunter [G] and Perception [PG-13]
Summary: There are ordinary people everywhere
Carson likes to think of himself as an ordinary man. Whilst he knows he's blessed with extraordinary talents, it doesn't make him conceited or arrogant. Instead, he works very hard to be the best doctor he can be, and he never takes any of his gifts for granted. There are things he does take pride in, like being a good listener and a good friend, but even he knows these traits won't win him fame or glory.
No one would ever accuse him of being heroic. At best, people think of him as reliable, a steady pair of hands, and in a crisis his strengths lie in his compassion and his ability to comfort those who need it the most. He's quite happy leave the insane acts of bravery to the likes of John Sheppard. That kind of thing is more Sheppard's style, with those leading man good looks and his tendency to fly in the face of danger. Men like Sheppard always get 'the girl' in the end.
It's one of many things he has come to accept about his life. Because, as much as he believes that heroes are made and not born, deep down that's not how he sees himself. Still, occasionally, he does like to dream. There are moments when he imagines what it might be like to be the dashing hero, who always saves the day and whom everyone admires and applauds with gushing cheers of relief and gratitude. Even Rodney gets to play that part every once in a while. But, Rodney is someone, who can't conceive of being ordinary in any way, and Rodney wants to walk on the shoulders of giants and to be thought of as one himself.
Carson prefers to keep his feet firmly on the ground. For him, heroics and leading ladies are only a dream, nothing more. He has always known that the person he would end up with would be someone just like him, someone down to earth, not boring per se, just ordinary like him.
Which is why he's not at all prepared for Ronon Dex.
On the surface of it, they have nothing in common. If anything, Ronon seems to be a taller, stronger, more insanely heroic version of John Sheppard. And, Carson can't quite figure out how their friendship even starts in the first place. He's pretty sure that he just turned around one day and found that Ronon had decided they were going to be friends. So, for a long time, the whole situation baffles him, because Ronon 'I can kill Wraith with my bare hands' Dex wanting to spend time with him makes no bloody sense in his book. Until, one day understanding creeps up on him out of nowhere, much like the whole relationship does.
Later, when he looks back, he's amazed he didn't figure it out earlier. He remembers how he used to think that Ronon was all flash fire and fierce hero. Now, all he sees is the steady flame at Ronon's core, burnished by the sparks of a truly outrageous sense of humour. What he first believed to be abruptness he realizes now is just a forthright economy of words, because Ronon has experienced first hand the good and evil in human nature, and more than any of them he understands what people are prepared to do to each other to survive.
In the evenings, when they sit together in the infirmary talking about everything and nothing, Carson can't believe he was ever fooled by the myth of Ronon Dex. He loves to tell Ronon about Scotland, about her highlands and all her wild and beautiful meadows. And, when Ronon describes his home on Sateda and how things used to be, Carson sees an ordinary man, who has been forced to live an extraordinary life, one who hurts and who bleeds and who misses his people.
Suddenly, he finds it's not hard at all to imagine Ronon walking through the highlands on a misty Sunday morning, or sitting down in the pub afterwards to watch Celtic play Rangers. He realizes then that Ronon is a man very much like him. It's so easy to miss that under the glare of his warrior persona. But, Carson will forever be grateful to have stumbled across that glimmer of truth, because otherwise he might have walked past Ronon and missed ever getting to know him.
The End.
Title: Ordinary
Series: Scenes from a courtship
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Pre-Slash
Pairing: Beckett/Dex
Disclaimer: Not mine, Wright and Cooper own Stargate Atlantis etc.
Notes: Other stories in this series include: Hunter [G] and Perception [PG-13]
Summary: There are ordinary people everywhere
Carson likes to think of himself as an ordinary man. Whilst he knows he's blessed with extraordinary talents, it doesn't make him conceited or arrogant. Instead, he works very hard to be the best doctor he can be, and he never takes any of his gifts for granted. There are things he does take pride in, like being a good listener and a good friend, but even he knows these traits won't win him fame or glory.
No one would ever accuse him of being heroic. At best, people think of him as reliable, a steady pair of hands, and in a crisis his strengths lie in his compassion and his ability to comfort those who need it the most. He's quite happy leave the insane acts of bravery to the likes of John Sheppard. That kind of thing is more Sheppard's style, with those leading man good looks and his tendency to fly in the face of danger. Men like Sheppard always get 'the girl' in the end.
It's one of many things he has come to accept about his life. Because, as much as he believes that heroes are made and not born, deep down that's not how he sees himself. Still, occasionally, he does like to dream. There are moments when he imagines what it might be like to be the dashing hero, who always saves the day and whom everyone admires and applauds with gushing cheers of relief and gratitude. Even Rodney gets to play that part every once in a while. But, Rodney is someone, who can't conceive of being ordinary in any way, and Rodney wants to walk on the shoulders of giants and to be thought of as one himself.
Carson prefers to keep his feet firmly on the ground. For him, heroics and leading ladies are only a dream, nothing more. He has always known that the person he would end up with would be someone just like him, someone down to earth, not boring per se, just ordinary like him.
Which is why he's not at all prepared for Ronon Dex.
On the surface of it, they have nothing in common. If anything, Ronon seems to be a taller, stronger, more insanely heroic version of John Sheppard. And, Carson can't quite figure out how their friendship even starts in the first place. He's pretty sure that he just turned around one day and found that Ronon had decided they were going to be friends. So, for a long time, the whole situation baffles him, because Ronon 'I can kill Wraith with my bare hands' Dex wanting to spend time with him makes no bloody sense in his book. Until, one day understanding creeps up on him out of nowhere, much like the whole relationship does.
Later, when he looks back, he's amazed he didn't figure it out earlier. He remembers how he used to think that Ronon was all flash fire and fierce hero. Now, all he sees is the steady flame at Ronon's core, burnished by the sparks of a truly outrageous sense of humour. What he first believed to be abruptness he realizes now is just a forthright economy of words, because Ronon has experienced first hand the good and evil in human nature, and more than any of them he understands what people are prepared to do to each other to survive.
In the evenings, when they sit together in the infirmary talking about everything and nothing, Carson can't believe he was ever fooled by the myth of Ronon Dex. He loves to tell Ronon about Scotland, about her highlands and all her wild and beautiful meadows. And, when Ronon describes his home on Sateda and how things used to be, Carson sees an ordinary man, who has been forced to live an extraordinary life, one who hurts and who bleeds and who misses his people.
Suddenly, he finds it's not hard at all to imagine Ronon walking through the highlands on a misty Sunday morning, or sitting down in the pub afterwards to watch Celtic play Rangers. He realizes then that Ronon is a man very much like him. It's so easy to miss that under the glare of his warrior persona. But, Carson will forever be grateful to have stumbled across that glimmer of truth, because otherwise he might have walked past Ronon and missed ever getting to know him.
The End.