Down to Earth by yolsaffbridge (R)
Oct. 16th, 2009 09:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
danceswithgary posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
stargateficrecRec Category: John Sheppard
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Category: Angst, First Time, Hurt-Comfort
Warning: Slash
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yolsaffbridge
Author's Website: http://www.merples.com
Link: Down to Earth
Why This Must Be Read:
This story explores how John might handle the loss of his ATA gene. Although he's not the only one on Atlantis who's suddenly missing the ability to interface with Ancient technology, he seems to be the least able to handle it. No longer able to operate the chair to protect the city, let alone fly his beloved puddlejumpers, first he withdraws, then he turns to Rodney for solace. John's self-absorption and selfishness play heavily in this story; he's human and flawed and makes mistakes that need to be forgiven.
Excerpt:
The following morning, after he gave Elizabeth the military status report, John spent several hours cleaning his office. He dusted. He sorted the piles of paper into Urgent, Very Urgent, and Oh Dear Lord How Did I Not Get Fired For Not Doing This. He ate lunch. After lunch, he got started on the Oh Dear Lord pile, and made a significant dent in it by dinner time. He skipped dinner, and went to his room to read.
He spent an hour or so staring at War and Peace, but kept re-reading the same paragraph over and over. Eventually he gave up, put the book down, got under the blanket, and went to sleep.
Twelve hours later, it was time to get up, but despite all the sleep, he felt unaccountably tired. He thought about running or working out, but just the thought of using all that energy made him close his eyes and sleep for another half hour. He got up after that, and finished the Oh Dear Lord pile.
Something kept him from skipping lunch. He wasn't hungry, but some survival instinct made him go to the mess and get a meal. A similar instinct kept him from going to Elizabeth and giving her all the completed paperwork. He had the feeling that if he went now, something would happen, and he would be unable to finish the rest of it. This possibility filled him with entirely disproportionate dread.
He begged out of a workout session with Ronon, saying that he had a lot of paperwork to catch up on. He declined Teyla's invitation for dinner, saying that he had a big lunch. He avoided McKay entirely by not answering his door, even when McKay moved from threats to bribery.
"Hm. If Back To The Future didn't do the trick, maybe you're really not in there. Damn." McKay's footsteps retreated down the hallway. Despite the reprieve, John felt empty at the victory. He went to sleep.
...
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Category: Angst, First Time, Hurt-Comfort
Warning: Slash
Author on LJ:
yolsaffbridgeAuthor's Website: http://www.merples.com
Link: Down to Earth
Why This Must Be Read:
This story explores how John might handle the loss of his ATA gene. Although he's not the only one on Atlantis who's suddenly missing the ability to interface with Ancient technology, he seems to be the least able to handle it. No longer able to operate the chair to protect the city, let alone fly his beloved puddlejumpers, first he withdraws, then he turns to Rodney for solace. John's self-absorption and selfishness play heavily in this story; he's human and flawed and makes mistakes that need to be forgiven.
Excerpt:
The following morning, after he gave Elizabeth the military status report, John spent several hours cleaning his office. He dusted. He sorted the piles of paper into Urgent, Very Urgent, and Oh Dear Lord How Did I Not Get Fired For Not Doing This. He ate lunch. After lunch, he got started on the Oh Dear Lord pile, and made a significant dent in it by dinner time. He skipped dinner, and went to his room to read.
He spent an hour or so staring at War and Peace, but kept re-reading the same paragraph over and over. Eventually he gave up, put the book down, got under the blanket, and went to sleep.
Twelve hours later, it was time to get up, but despite all the sleep, he felt unaccountably tired. He thought about running or working out, but just the thought of using all that energy made him close his eyes and sleep for another half hour. He got up after that, and finished the Oh Dear Lord pile.
Something kept him from skipping lunch. He wasn't hungry, but some survival instinct made him go to the mess and get a meal. A similar instinct kept him from going to Elizabeth and giving her all the completed paperwork. He had the feeling that if he went now, something would happen, and he would be unable to finish the rest of it. This possibility filled him with entirely disproportionate dread.
He begged out of a workout session with Ronon, saying that he had a lot of paperwork to catch up on. He declined Teyla's invitation for dinner, saying that he had a big lunch. He avoided McKay entirely by not answering his door, even when McKay moved from threats to bribery.
"Hm. If Back To The Future didn't do the trick, maybe you're really not in there. Damn." McKay's footsteps retreated down the hallway. Despite the reprieve, John felt empty at the victory. He went to sleep.
...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-10-17 06:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-17 06:54 pm (UTC)