Worlds Apart (PG)
Jun. 17th, 2007 03:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skidmo_ficTitle: Worlds Apart
Rating: PG
Pairing: none
Word Count: 1120
Warning: moderate angst
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me...sadly
Feedback: yes, please.
Summary: Teyla wonders at the distances it sometimes takes to bring two people together
A/N: Written for the Teyla/Bates mini-fest for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tielan with the prompts “will, challenge, arm’s length”. I think I hit them all, though that may be up to interpretation. The title comes from a song by Jars of Clay.
She watches as he is moved, carefully, painstakingly (probably painfully, though there is no way to tell for sure) from the infirmary bed to the gurney. They could just beam him to the Daedelus’ sick bay, but Carson is not sure what that would do to a man in his condition, so they would rather not risk it. There is something terrifying about seeing him completely helpless like this. She asked Carson to explain to her what all the machines did, and she is sometimes sorry that she knows. They are keeping him alive, pulling him back from the edge, or maybe just preventing him from tumbling over.
It frightens her because he is so much like her. If he can be brought to this state, what is there to stop the same from happening to her?
No one questioned her decision to sit at his side during his last days on Atlantis, though many have given her strange looks, and she can see the confusion in their faces. John once stopped by to tell her that she didn’t have to be there.
“You don’t owe him anything.”
“I know,” she said because John would not understand that there is a part of her that feels as though she does.
She understands him. She thinks she has understood him all along, though the tension of the siege and her own frustration at the discovery of her Wraith DNA pushed her to confront him. She needed him then. She needed someone to fight with, and she knew that no one else would have risen to the bait.
From the beginning, they had been wary around each other. She does not know his reasons, though she can guess, but she held herself away from him because she could sympathize with his concerns. She was afraid that if she got to close, he would see that and think his suspicions justified. Or worse, that John and Elizabeth would see that she felt his concerns were valid. She knows Atlantis is their only hope for victory against the Wraith, and she is not willing to give that up if she has the choice to keep it.
She stays with him as they wheel his bed to the pier where the Daedelus is docked. The Marines assigned to protect him eye her warily, but she keeps her gaze on his face. It would be peaceful if not for the bruising. When they reach the ship, she accompanies them all the way to the sick bay, where Carson is waiting to ensure he’s made as comfortable as possible for the long journey home.
When Carson is finished, she stands by the gurney and takes his hand in hers, murmuring an Athosian traveling prayer. Then she lowers her face over his, presses a soft kiss to his forehead and leaves.
***
It is several months later when she receives a call on her radio, summoning her to Elizabeth’s office. When she arrives, Elizabeth smiles and asks her to take a seat. She does so, folding her hands in her lap and looking up at Elizabeth expectantly.
“You wished to see me about something?”
Elizabeth seats herself and clears her throat. “Yes, I did. As you know, the Daedelus arrived last week. And of course, there are always packages from Earth among its cargo. We try to distribute them as soon as possible, but this one apparently got lost in the shuffle.”
Elizabeth is holding out an envelope, and Teyla reaches out to claim it. She turns it over in her hand, glancing at the familiar, but still unreadable script on the front. “I do not understand.”
“It’s a letter addressed to you.”
“I had gathered as much, but who would be writing to me? I do not know anyone on Earth.”
Elizabeth gives her a hesitant look before replying, seemingly considering her response carefully. “I believe it’s from Sgt. Bates.”
Teyla looks at the envelope with a new respect. She feels unbalanced. This is not a situation she had anticipated. She holds the envelope out to Elizabeth. “Would you...read it to me?”
Elizabeth smiles, and Teyla can see she is honored by the request. “Of course.”
She takes the envelope from Teyla and carefully slices it open with a small knife-like object from her desk. She pulls out a sheet of cream-colored paper and begins to read:
Teyla,
I never thought I’d be sending a letter back to Atlantis from Earth, and I certainly never thought I’d be sending it to you. After I woke up, they told me that you had sat with me all the time I was out on Atlantis. I don’t know why you did it, but I wanted to say thank you.
I feel like I should apologize to you, but I’m not sure what for. I know that you’d never willingly betray Atlantis to the Wraith, but I can’t say that I was wrong to be suspicious of you. I still think you were a security risk. I hope you’ll take that in the spirit it’s offered in.
I wish we could start over again. I wish we’d met in different circumstances. I won’t be coming back to Atlantis. The brass back here have other plans for me, and it’s gonna be a long time before I’m fit for active duty again.
I’m back at home for a while, with my mom and my kid brother. I think I told you about him once. When he asks me to tell him about what I’ve been doing, I always tell him about you. I tell him that I learned that there are good people everywhere you go. People who are willing to fight for what they believe in and the people they love. I tell him that someday, if he’s lucky, he’ll meet someone who teaches him the same thing.
Take care of my city for me. I wouldn’t trust it to anyone else.
-Sgt. Bates
Elizabeth puts down the letter and Teyla knows that the tears she can see glistening in her eyes are the same as the ones threatening to spill down her own face. She reaches to take the letter back, and stands to leave.
“Thank you, Elizabeth.”
“If you’d like to send a reply, I’d be happy to write it up for you. And I’m sure I can find a linguist who’d be willing to teach you to write if you end up needing to write more.”
“Thank you. I shall certainly consider it.” She inclines her head slightly and leaves the office, wondering how it could possibly take the breadth of two galaxies to force two people to stop keeping each other at arms length.
fin
Rating: PG
Pairing: none
Word Count: 1120
Warning: moderate angst
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me...sadly
Feedback: yes, please.
Summary: Teyla wonders at the distances it sometimes takes to bring two people together
A/N: Written for the Teyla/Bates mini-fest for
tielan with the prompts “will, challenge, arm’s length”. I think I hit them all, though that may be up to interpretation. The title comes from a song by Jars of Clay.She watches as he is moved, carefully, painstakingly (probably painfully, though there is no way to tell for sure) from the infirmary bed to the gurney. They could just beam him to the Daedelus’ sick bay, but Carson is not sure what that would do to a man in his condition, so they would rather not risk it. There is something terrifying about seeing him completely helpless like this. She asked Carson to explain to her what all the machines did, and she is sometimes sorry that she knows. They are keeping him alive, pulling him back from the edge, or maybe just preventing him from tumbling over.
It frightens her because he is so much like her. If he can be brought to this state, what is there to stop the same from happening to her?
No one questioned her decision to sit at his side during his last days on Atlantis, though many have given her strange looks, and she can see the confusion in their faces. John once stopped by to tell her that she didn’t have to be there.
“You don’t owe him anything.”
“I know,” she said because John would not understand that there is a part of her that feels as though she does.
She understands him. She thinks she has understood him all along, though the tension of the siege and her own frustration at the discovery of her Wraith DNA pushed her to confront him. She needed him then. She needed someone to fight with, and she knew that no one else would have risen to the bait.
From the beginning, they had been wary around each other. She does not know his reasons, though she can guess, but she held herself away from him because she could sympathize with his concerns. She was afraid that if she got to close, he would see that and think his suspicions justified. Or worse, that John and Elizabeth would see that she felt his concerns were valid. She knows Atlantis is their only hope for victory against the Wraith, and she is not willing to give that up if she has the choice to keep it.
She stays with him as they wheel his bed to the pier where the Daedelus is docked. The Marines assigned to protect him eye her warily, but she keeps her gaze on his face. It would be peaceful if not for the bruising. When they reach the ship, she accompanies them all the way to the sick bay, where Carson is waiting to ensure he’s made as comfortable as possible for the long journey home.
When Carson is finished, she stands by the gurney and takes his hand in hers, murmuring an Athosian traveling prayer. Then she lowers her face over his, presses a soft kiss to his forehead and leaves.
***
It is several months later when she receives a call on her radio, summoning her to Elizabeth’s office. When she arrives, Elizabeth smiles and asks her to take a seat. She does so, folding her hands in her lap and looking up at Elizabeth expectantly.
“You wished to see me about something?”
Elizabeth seats herself and clears her throat. “Yes, I did. As you know, the Daedelus arrived last week. And of course, there are always packages from Earth among its cargo. We try to distribute them as soon as possible, but this one apparently got lost in the shuffle.”
Elizabeth is holding out an envelope, and Teyla reaches out to claim it. She turns it over in her hand, glancing at the familiar, but still unreadable script on the front. “I do not understand.”
“It’s a letter addressed to you.”
“I had gathered as much, but who would be writing to me? I do not know anyone on Earth.”
Elizabeth gives her a hesitant look before replying, seemingly considering her response carefully. “I believe it’s from Sgt. Bates.”
Teyla looks at the envelope with a new respect. She feels unbalanced. This is not a situation she had anticipated. She holds the envelope out to Elizabeth. “Would you...read it to me?”
Elizabeth smiles, and Teyla can see she is honored by the request. “Of course.”
She takes the envelope from Teyla and carefully slices it open with a small knife-like object from her desk. She pulls out a sheet of cream-colored paper and begins to read:
Teyla,
I never thought I’d be sending a letter back to Atlantis from Earth, and I certainly never thought I’d be sending it to you. After I woke up, they told me that you had sat with me all the time I was out on Atlantis. I don’t know why you did it, but I wanted to say thank you.
I feel like I should apologize to you, but I’m not sure what for. I know that you’d never willingly betray Atlantis to the Wraith, but I can’t say that I was wrong to be suspicious of you. I still think you were a security risk. I hope you’ll take that in the spirit it’s offered in.
I wish we could start over again. I wish we’d met in different circumstances. I won’t be coming back to Atlantis. The brass back here have other plans for me, and it’s gonna be a long time before I’m fit for active duty again.
I’m back at home for a while, with my mom and my kid brother. I think I told you about him once. When he asks me to tell him about what I’ve been doing, I always tell him about you. I tell him that I learned that there are good people everywhere you go. People who are willing to fight for what they believe in and the people they love. I tell him that someday, if he’s lucky, he’ll meet someone who teaches him the same thing.
Take care of my city for me. I wouldn’t trust it to anyone else.
-Sgt. Bates
Elizabeth puts down the letter and Teyla knows that the tears she can see glistening in her eyes are the same as the ones threatening to spill down her own face. She reaches to take the letter back, and stands to leave.
“Thank you, Elizabeth.”
“If you’d like to send a reply, I’d be happy to write it up for you. And I’m sure I can find a linguist who’d be willing to teach you to write if you end up needing to write more.”
“Thank you. I shall certainly consider it.” She inclines her head slightly and leaves the office, wondering how it could possibly take the breadth of two galaxies to force two people to stop keeping each other at arms length.
fin
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-06-18 03:38 am (UTC)Well done!
no subject
Date: 2007-06-18 07:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-18 03:40 am (UTC)I was nearly tearing up!
I love how you used the comparision regarding how similar they are, because I think Teyla and Bates have a lot in common.
Thanks for writing it. = ]
no subject
Date: 2007-06-18 07:55 pm (UTC)I have this theory that Teyla is the only one who didn't actually resent Bates for his suspicion.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-18 06:43 pm (UTC)She understands him. She thinks she has understood him all along, though the tension of the siege and her own frustration at the discovery of her Wraith DNA pushed her to confront him. She needed him then. She needed someone to fight with, and she knew that no one else would have risen to the bait.
Teyla's never reacted to anyone the way she reacted to Bates, and this is a great explanation of that.
And I adore Bates's letter. I love that he's so unapologetic, because that's exactly how he would be - and that Teyla gets it. So very cool.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-18 07:56 pm (UTC)I'm so glad you liked it.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-19 04:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-20 06:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-19 04:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-20 06:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-30 12:36 pm (UTC)Teyla's acknowledgement that he did the right thing according to the dictates of his job, his acknowledgement that he was wrong to accuse her of collusion with the Wraith...
And, yes, the fact that Teyla doesn't read English fluently at this point in time. Love it!
Sorry it took me so long to respond - have been trying to find the time to sit down and read through the entries and only got to this one now!
no subject
Date: 2007-07-01 01:38 am (UTC)