Mrs. Beckett, ch. 1 (R)
Nov. 6th, 2006 06:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skidmo_ficWelcome to my journal. I don't have a whole lot to post right off the bat, but I'll start with my first two fics.
This is the first one. I hope you like it.
Title: Mrs. Beckett
Rating: R
Pairing: Carson/OC
Spoilers: none
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me...sadly
Feedback: yes, please.
Summary: Ronon picks up a stray on a mission
They had found her on M3P-694, or rather, she had found them. Ronon to be specific. The planet had been designated as an Ancient refuge in the Atlantis database, and initial scans showed it to be uninhabited. Upon arrival there, Sheppard’s team had made their way towards the source of the energy readings McKay had gotten so excited about. They found a collection of ruins about 15 miles from the gate, and Sheppard had told Ronon to establish a perimeter while McKay “did his geek thing.”
As he was making his way in a 500 meter circle around the ruins, Ronon discovered that a lot of things had changed in the 10,000 years since the Ancients had left the Pegasus galaxy. After all, only an idiot would establish a refuge on a planet overrun with giant cat-lizards, and the Ancients were anything but idiots.
Ronon saw it before he heard it, which was not something he experienced often. Perhaps his time in Atlantis was beginning to make him soft. In any case, by the time his brain registered “giant cat-lizard,” it had taken a swing at him, and its scaly, furry tail landed a blow to Ronon’s head.
That’s when she found him. She came sweeping out of the trees making some crazy hissing, spitting noise and rushed at the cat-lizard with a long, pointed stick. Ronon just had time to wonder where she had come from before the blow to the head caught up with him and he blacked out.
***
He woke up sometime later lying on the cold floor of a dark, dry cave. A fire was crackling nearby, and the hissing girl was tending it. His shirt had been removed, and a bandage applied to his head. Upon closer examination, Ronon discovered that the bandage had been made from his shirt. He started to get up, but the dizziness was too much and he slid back into his horizontal position. The hissing girl looked at him and smiled like he was her long lost brother or something equally cliché.
“You’re up!” she said in a voice far too cheery for Ronon to handle in his current state. He just grunted at her in reply.
“You’ve taken a rather nasty blow to the head. I was beginning to think you’d never come to.”
Ronon closed his eyes to soothe the pain that even the dim firelight seemed to be causing his throbbing head and tried to reply, but his throat was too dry and all that came out was, “Kchack.”
Small hands lifted his head into a lap and a bowl of some sort was pressed to his lips. “Drink this. It will help....Not too much though.”
Finally able to speak, Ronon asked, “Where am I?”
“There are a million ways I could answer that question, but I’ll just stick with the easy one. You’re in a cave on a planet somewhere far away from home...for both of us, I’d imagine. You were attacked by a cat-lizard, and I brought you back to my shelter until you could recover.”
“Cat-lizard?”
“Yeah, that thing with the pointy ears and the fur and the scales.”
“I know...I just figured you’d have a better name for them than ‘cat-lizards’.”
She had laughed then, and the sound was certainly not what Ronon had been expecting. The girl herself was slight, almost malnourished looking. She was dirty, and her hair hung in greasy strands around her face. Ronon guessed it might have been a light brown when clean. She looked like the sort of person who should be dancing around a fire with flowers in her hair...if she were clean, that is. But her laugh was harsh and loud. It was more of a guffaw really. Nothing delicate or demure about it. Ronon liked it.
“I’d call them by their proper name, but I don’t know what it is. There wasn’t anyone to ask about them when I got here.”
“And that was...?”
“About three months ago.”
Ronon raised one eyebrow in surprise. “You’ve been here alone for three months?”
“Yes. Well, not entirely alone. I have Elana.”
“Elana?”
“She’s my guardian. She thinks I’m her cub.”
The girl was pointing towards the cave entrance, and Ronon followed her gaze to a rather alarming looking creature. Ronon guessed it would reach his shoulders if he were standing. It was covered in pale yellow fur and had a long tail (no scales though). Its face was fairly flat, and its two silver eyes locked with Ronon’s own. Ronon felt as though the animal were sizing him up, determining whether he was a threat. Apparently it decided he was safe enough because it turned its back on them and settled into the doorway to keep watch.
“She found me here on my fourth day. One of the cat-lizards had attacked me, and Elana fought it off. Then she carried me here.”
“How did you get here?”
“I came through the Ring of the Ancestors.”
“But why? Why choose this planet? And why have you stayed?”
“If I’d known I’d be stuck here for three months, I never would have come, but you don’t really stop to ask questions about your destination when you’re escaping.”
“Escaping?”
“I was sold into slavery when my people were conquered by an army from a neighboring planet. I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life serving them. When I got the chance to escape, I took it. I thought I’d be able to go through the Ring back to my planet once I got here.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. I got here, and when I tried to dial home, nothing happened. I thought I’d wait until someone else came through and follow them to their planet, but you are the first person I’ve seen since I got here.”
“But...”
“Not so fast. My turn for questions now.”
Ronon swallowed his question. He hadn’t even been sure what he was going to ask. “Fair enough.”
“What’s your name?”
“Ronon Dex.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ronon Dex. I’m Laria.” She extended her hand, and Ronon was again struck with how different it was from what he had expected. A hand like that should be soft and feminine. Instead it was calloused and hard. She shook his hand with as firm a grip as any soldier he’d met in Atlantis.
“Where are you from, Ronon?”
“A place called Sateda.”
“We had some Satedans in our village once. They said their home had been destroyed. Where do you live now?”
Ronon knew he should be careful here. No one must know that Atlantis had survived. He doubted she was a Wraith spy, but he decided to be cautious anyway. “A city of the Ancestors.”
Laria’s eyes lit up, and she leaned forward in interest, the way McKay did when he found a particularly fascinating piece of Ancient technology. “Really? My people told stories of the cities the Ancestors built. It must be full of wonders.”
Ronon just nodded slightly, his guard raised by her interest.
“How did you get here?”
“I came through the Stargate...the Ring.”
“Did you come alone?”
Ronon’s eyebrow rose in suspicion, but he saw nothing on her face but honest curiosity. “No. I came with several friends. They’ll be looking for me. I should go find them.” He tried to stand again, but swayed on his feet and only escaped a painful fall when Laria caught him. She laughed again while she helped him back onto the floor. Ronon found her laugh just as pleasant when it was aimed at his weakness, and the thought bothered him.
“You cannot go anywhere just yet. Tomorrow we will go together to find your friends.” She looked to the floor as if gaining courage for what she was about to say. “And then...perhaps...would it be possible for me to go back with you? To the city?”
Still wary of her intentions, Ronon didn’t answer right away. The secret of Atlantis’s survival was vital, but he couldn’t justify leaving this girl here alone. “Maybe,” he eventually replied.
“Thank you. I have some stew cooking on the fire. You should eat some, and then we will sleep, and in the morning, we will look for your friends.”
She got up then and ladled something from the pot simmering on the fire into a bowl. Ronon took it gratefully and began to eat. Laria sat and watched him, taking nothing for herself.
“Thank you.” Ronon said when he had finished.
“It is my pleasure. I have not had anyone enjoy my cooking for a very long time.”
“I meant thank you for everything. Not just the stew. For saving my life too.” Ronon forced the words out, grunting when he finished, so she wouldn’t think he was in the habit of thanking strange women for stew.
“You are welcome.”
***
They slept close to the fire. The night was cold, so Ronon laid his coat over both of them and they snuggled together for warmth. It felt good to hold someone again. Even in his time in Atlantis, Ronon had not allowed himself to be close to a woman. He told himself that he was not really close to a woman now. She was in his arms for purely practical reasons, the warmth his body provided. He held her for the same reason. He had not felt anything stronger than friendship for anyone since he started running. Even the members of his team hadn’t really gotten close to him. He was protective of them, yes, especially McKay, who could not defend himself, but Ronon had not allowed himself to become truly attached to them. There was something about this girl though. Even in the firelight he could see the dirt on her skin and guessed that she had not bathed in several days, but he found himself feeling fiercely protective of her. He understood why Elana had taken her in. Though Laria was obviously capable of fending for herself, she seemed to cry out for a protector. Ronon knew then that he would do whatever it took to convince Sheppard to bring her back to Atlantis with them.
***
In the morning, Ronon and Laria finished the stew from the night before and Laria made him drink a bowl full of water before she would allow him to try to stand again. Eventually they made their way out of the cave, Laria carrying the pointed stick she had used to frighten the cat-lizard.
“Where were your friends when you left them?” Laria asked.
“They were exploring the ruins.”
“That is not far from here. This way.”
Ronon followed her down the slope from the cave. Before long they heard voices in the distance, and Laria laughed again. Long and loud and melodious this time.
“Forgive me,” she said when she again regained her composure. “I have not heard the sound of another voice for so long.”
Ronon recognized Sheppard’s voice, along with McKay’s. The voices had stopped when Laria laughed, but started up again soon after.
In a few minutes, Ronon could see them coming through the trees. Sheppard had his P90 raised, and Teyla and McKay followed after them. Major Lorne was trailing behind, and Ronon guessed that they must have called Atlantis for help when he went missing.
He started forward to greet them and tell them to put their weapons down when he heard a noise to his left. Looking over he saw Elana growling at an enormous cat-lizard. Before he could react, the cat-lizard had overpowered Elana and thrown her to the ground. Laria rushed at it, stick raised, hissing and spitting and screaming. Ronon saw Sheppard aiming toward the noise and shouted, “Don’t shoot!”
What happened next took only a few seconds, but in Ronon’s mind it moved agonizingly slowly. Laria ran at the cat-lizard. The cat-lizard turned from Elana to respond to the threat posed by Laria and her stick. Laria thrust her stick towards the creature’s heart, but it swung its huge tail around and knocked her from her feet.
Ronon stood there, stunned, as Sheppard took out the cat-lizard with three shots from his P-90.
“What the hell was that?” McKay’s voice came ringing out through the trees.
“Cat-lizard.” Ronon answered before rushing to Laria’s limp form. “We have to take her back to Atlantis. She saved my life.”
Sheppard was standing over him. He placed a hand on Ronon’s shoulder and said, “I’m sure Doc Beckett will be able to fix her up in no time.”
***
Looking back, Ronon realized that he should have known those words were ominous. How he ever could have found them comforting was beyond him. They got Laria through the gate and into the infirmary, and Dr. Beckett did indeed fix her up. In a few days she was walking on her own. Walking with Dr. Beckett, Ronon noted with some annoyance. When she was finally released from the infirmary and given her own quarters, Ronon decided to escort her to dinner, only to find she was already gone. He arrived at the mess and found her sitting with McKay, Beckett, Sheppard and Teyla.
She’d had a chance to wash since they brought her back, and someone had scrounged up some clothes for her. Ronon noted that her hair, under the grime, had actually been a dark blonde. She looked even more like a flowery princess now. As he got himself a tray and began to fill it, he watched her in his peripheral vision. She was laughing at something Beckett had said, and the sound was suddenly delicate. Still loud and full, but distinctly feminine. Ronon wondered if the harshness of her first laugh had been caused by disuse. As he took a seat across from her, she smiled up at Beckett, and her eyes sparkled. She tossed a smile at Ronon, but her attention was quickly returned to the doctor, who seemed to be telling an amusing story about a crazy uncle and too much whisky.
Ominous and prophetic. Ronon glared at Sheppard, even though the man couldn’t possibly know what he had done to deserve it.
-tbc
Chapter Two: Sheppard the Matchmaker
This is the first one. I hope you like it.
Title: Mrs. Beckett
Rating: R
Pairing: Carson/OC
Spoilers: none
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me...sadly
Feedback: yes, please.
Summary: Ronon picks up a stray on a mission
They had found her on M3P-694, or rather, she had found them. Ronon to be specific. The planet had been designated as an Ancient refuge in the Atlantis database, and initial scans showed it to be uninhabited. Upon arrival there, Sheppard’s team had made their way towards the source of the energy readings McKay had gotten so excited about. They found a collection of ruins about 15 miles from the gate, and Sheppard had told Ronon to establish a perimeter while McKay “did his geek thing.”
As he was making his way in a 500 meter circle around the ruins, Ronon discovered that a lot of things had changed in the 10,000 years since the Ancients had left the Pegasus galaxy. After all, only an idiot would establish a refuge on a planet overrun with giant cat-lizards, and the Ancients were anything but idiots.
Ronon saw it before he heard it, which was not something he experienced often. Perhaps his time in Atlantis was beginning to make him soft. In any case, by the time his brain registered “giant cat-lizard,” it had taken a swing at him, and its scaly, furry tail landed a blow to Ronon’s head.
That’s when she found him. She came sweeping out of the trees making some crazy hissing, spitting noise and rushed at the cat-lizard with a long, pointed stick. Ronon just had time to wonder where she had come from before the blow to the head caught up with him and he blacked out.
***
He woke up sometime later lying on the cold floor of a dark, dry cave. A fire was crackling nearby, and the hissing girl was tending it. His shirt had been removed, and a bandage applied to his head. Upon closer examination, Ronon discovered that the bandage had been made from his shirt. He started to get up, but the dizziness was too much and he slid back into his horizontal position. The hissing girl looked at him and smiled like he was her long lost brother or something equally cliché.
“You’re up!” she said in a voice far too cheery for Ronon to handle in his current state. He just grunted at her in reply.
“You’ve taken a rather nasty blow to the head. I was beginning to think you’d never come to.”
Ronon closed his eyes to soothe the pain that even the dim firelight seemed to be causing his throbbing head and tried to reply, but his throat was too dry and all that came out was, “Kchack.”
Small hands lifted his head into a lap and a bowl of some sort was pressed to his lips. “Drink this. It will help....Not too much though.”
Finally able to speak, Ronon asked, “Where am I?”
“There are a million ways I could answer that question, but I’ll just stick with the easy one. You’re in a cave on a planet somewhere far away from home...for both of us, I’d imagine. You were attacked by a cat-lizard, and I brought you back to my shelter until you could recover.”
“Cat-lizard?”
“Yeah, that thing with the pointy ears and the fur and the scales.”
“I know...I just figured you’d have a better name for them than ‘cat-lizards’.”
She had laughed then, and the sound was certainly not what Ronon had been expecting. The girl herself was slight, almost malnourished looking. She was dirty, and her hair hung in greasy strands around her face. Ronon guessed it might have been a light brown when clean. She looked like the sort of person who should be dancing around a fire with flowers in her hair...if she were clean, that is. But her laugh was harsh and loud. It was more of a guffaw really. Nothing delicate or demure about it. Ronon liked it.
“I’d call them by their proper name, but I don’t know what it is. There wasn’t anyone to ask about them when I got here.”
“And that was...?”
“About three months ago.”
Ronon raised one eyebrow in surprise. “You’ve been here alone for three months?”
“Yes. Well, not entirely alone. I have Elana.”
“Elana?”
“She’s my guardian. She thinks I’m her cub.”
The girl was pointing towards the cave entrance, and Ronon followed her gaze to a rather alarming looking creature. Ronon guessed it would reach his shoulders if he were standing. It was covered in pale yellow fur and had a long tail (no scales though). Its face was fairly flat, and its two silver eyes locked with Ronon’s own. Ronon felt as though the animal were sizing him up, determining whether he was a threat. Apparently it decided he was safe enough because it turned its back on them and settled into the doorway to keep watch.
“She found me here on my fourth day. One of the cat-lizards had attacked me, and Elana fought it off. Then she carried me here.”
“How did you get here?”
“I came through the Ring of the Ancestors.”
“But why? Why choose this planet? And why have you stayed?”
“If I’d known I’d be stuck here for three months, I never would have come, but you don’t really stop to ask questions about your destination when you’re escaping.”
“Escaping?”
“I was sold into slavery when my people were conquered by an army from a neighboring planet. I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life serving them. When I got the chance to escape, I took it. I thought I’d be able to go through the Ring back to my planet once I got here.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. I got here, and when I tried to dial home, nothing happened. I thought I’d wait until someone else came through and follow them to their planet, but you are the first person I’ve seen since I got here.”
“But...”
“Not so fast. My turn for questions now.”
Ronon swallowed his question. He hadn’t even been sure what he was going to ask. “Fair enough.”
“What’s your name?”
“Ronon Dex.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ronon Dex. I’m Laria.” She extended her hand, and Ronon was again struck with how different it was from what he had expected. A hand like that should be soft and feminine. Instead it was calloused and hard. She shook his hand with as firm a grip as any soldier he’d met in Atlantis.
“Where are you from, Ronon?”
“A place called Sateda.”
“We had some Satedans in our village once. They said their home had been destroyed. Where do you live now?”
Ronon knew he should be careful here. No one must know that Atlantis had survived. He doubted she was a Wraith spy, but he decided to be cautious anyway. “A city of the Ancestors.”
Laria’s eyes lit up, and she leaned forward in interest, the way McKay did when he found a particularly fascinating piece of Ancient technology. “Really? My people told stories of the cities the Ancestors built. It must be full of wonders.”
Ronon just nodded slightly, his guard raised by her interest.
“How did you get here?”
“I came through the Stargate...the Ring.”
“Did you come alone?”
Ronon’s eyebrow rose in suspicion, but he saw nothing on her face but honest curiosity. “No. I came with several friends. They’ll be looking for me. I should go find them.” He tried to stand again, but swayed on his feet and only escaped a painful fall when Laria caught him. She laughed again while she helped him back onto the floor. Ronon found her laugh just as pleasant when it was aimed at his weakness, and the thought bothered him.
“You cannot go anywhere just yet. Tomorrow we will go together to find your friends.” She looked to the floor as if gaining courage for what she was about to say. “And then...perhaps...would it be possible for me to go back with you? To the city?”
Still wary of her intentions, Ronon didn’t answer right away. The secret of Atlantis’s survival was vital, but he couldn’t justify leaving this girl here alone. “Maybe,” he eventually replied.
“Thank you. I have some stew cooking on the fire. You should eat some, and then we will sleep, and in the morning, we will look for your friends.”
She got up then and ladled something from the pot simmering on the fire into a bowl. Ronon took it gratefully and began to eat. Laria sat and watched him, taking nothing for herself.
“Thank you.” Ronon said when he had finished.
“It is my pleasure. I have not had anyone enjoy my cooking for a very long time.”
“I meant thank you for everything. Not just the stew. For saving my life too.” Ronon forced the words out, grunting when he finished, so she wouldn’t think he was in the habit of thanking strange women for stew.
“You are welcome.”
***
They slept close to the fire. The night was cold, so Ronon laid his coat over both of them and they snuggled together for warmth. It felt good to hold someone again. Even in his time in Atlantis, Ronon had not allowed himself to be close to a woman. He told himself that he was not really close to a woman now. She was in his arms for purely practical reasons, the warmth his body provided. He held her for the same reason. He had not felt anything stronger than friendship for anyone since he started running. Even the members of his team hadn’t really gotten close to him. He was protective of them, yes, especially McKay, who could not defend himself, but Ronon had not allowed himself to become truly attached to them. There was something about this girl though. Even in the firelight he could see the dirt on her skin and guessed that she had not bathed in several days, but he found himself feeling fiercely protective of her. He understood why Elana had taken her in. Though Laria was obviously capable of fending for herself, she seemed to cry out for a protector. Ronon knew then that he would do whatever it took to convince Sheppard to bring her back to Atlantis with them.
***
In the morning, Ronon and Laria finished the stew from the night before and Laria made him drink a bowl full of water before she would allow him to try to stand again. Eventually they made their way out of the cave, Laria carrying the pointed stick she had used to frighten the cat-lizard.
“Where were your friends when you left them?” Laria asked.
“They were exploring the ruins.”
“That is not far from here. This way.”
Ronon followed her down the slope from the cave. Before long they heard voices in the distance, and Laria laughed again. Long and loud and melodious this time.
“Forgive me,” she said when she again regained her composure. “I have not heard the sound of another voice for so long.”
Ronon recognized Sheppard’s voice, along with McKay’s. The voices had stopped when Laria laughed, but started up again soon after.
In a few minutes, Ronon could see them coming through the trees. Sheppard had his P90 raised, and Teyla and McKay followed after them. Major Lorne was trailing behind, and Ronon guessed that they must have called Atlantis for help when he went missing.
He started forward to greet them and tell them to put their weapons down when he heard a noise to his left. Looking over he saw Elana growling at an enormous cat-lizard. Before he could react, the cat-lizard had overpowered Elana and thrown her to the ground. Laria rushed at it, stick raised, hissing and spitting and screaming. Ronon saw Sheppard aiming toward the noise and shouted, “Don’t shoot!”
What happened next took only a few seconds, but in Ronon’s mind it moved agonizingly slowly. Laria ran at the cat-lizard. The cat-lizard turned from Elana to respond to the threat posed by Laria and her stick. Laria thrust her stick towards the creature’s heart, but it swung its huge tail around and knocked her from her feet.
Ronon stood there, stunned, as Sheppard took out the cat-lizard with three shots from his P-90.
“What the hell was that?” McKay’s voice came ringing out through the trees.
“Cat-lizard.” Ronon answered before rushing to Laria’s limp form. “We have to take her back to Atlantis. She saved my life.”
Sheppard was standing over him. He placed a hand on Ronon’s shoulder and said, “I’m sure Doc Beckett will be able to fix her up in no time.”
***
Looking back, Ronon realized that he should have known those words were ominous. How he ever could have found them comforting was beyond him. They got Laria through the gate and into the infirmary, and Dr. Beckett did indeed fix her up. In a few days she was walking on her own. Walking with Dr. Beckett, Ronon noted with some annoyance. When she was finally released from the infirmary and given her own quarters, Ronon decided to escort her to dinner, only to find she was already gone. He arrived at the mess and found her sitting with McKay, Beckett, Sheppard and Teyla.
She’d had a chance to wash since they brought her back, and someone had scrounged up some clothes for her. Ronon noted that her hair, under the grime, had actually been a dark blonde. She looked even more like a flowery princess now. As he got himself a tray and began to fill it, he watched her in his peripheral vision. She was laughing at something Beckett had said, and the sound was suddenly delicate. Still loud and full, but distinctly feminine. Ronon wondered if the harshness of her first laugh had been caused by disuse. As he took a seat across from her, she smiled up at Beckett, and her eyes sparkled. She tossed a smile at Ronon, but her attention was quickly returned to the doctor, who seemed to be telling an amusing story about a crazy uncle and too much whisky.
Ominous and prophetic. Ronon glared at Sheppard, even though the man couldn’t possibly know what he had done to deserve it.
-tbc
Chapter Two: Sheppard the Matchmaker
