Unspoken series (by busaikko) (G)
Aug. 24th, 2026 09:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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stargateficrecShows: SGA
Rec Category: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay (where one of them is mentally altered in some way)
Characters: John Sheppard & Rodney McKay, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Ladon Radim, OC
Categories: Gen, then M/M
Words: 5704 in all
Content notes: no AO3 warnings apply. Medical report of severe head injury and treatment. Aphasia.
Author on DW:busaikko
Author's Website: busaikko on AO3
Link: Unspoken series on AO3
Why This Must Be Read: This is a series of short fics telling the story of John being badly head-injured off-world and having lasting aphasia afterward (difficulty producing speech, and writing). the first fic is epistolary - a medical report written by allies of the Genii about John being found injured, and his treatment, plus Ladon Radim's letter to Elizabeth. In the second fic we see John helping Rodney in the lab as although he can only manage two-word sentences, his math is fine. Woven in is Rodney's memories of the grief about losing his friend (as they'd thought him dead for some time), his unvoiced long-term attraction, and the way they've rebuilt their friendship. In the third, longer fic they're back on Earth so John can attend a specialised aphasia rehab program while Rodney does an academic job. Their mutual love is finally expressed here, in John's case mostly physically and by gestures. I love Rodney's no-nonsense pragmatism and refusal to baby John, and John's humor and cussedness. It's a beautifully written series.
Before Sheppard can get out the first good insult that comes to mind, Rodney peels the mocha bar and bends it until he can rip it in two. "Here."
"Kindergarten," Sheppard says after a sticky, companionable minute of chewing. He pushes up from the lab table that Rodney's cleared for him and walks over to the window. It's autumn-ish now, and Sheppard hangs his thermos bottle outside to keep it cool. He hauls it up by the strap and fills his cup and Rodney's with the Athosian tea that's horribly bitter hot but surprisingly refreshing chilled.
"Kindergarten," Rodney repeats, blankly. "As in, everything I need to know?" Sheppard raises his eyebrows at him and looks enigmatic. "What I learned in kindergarten was that if I threw sand in people's eyes, it gave me enough time to run away." Sheppard snorts. "Sharing?" Rodney suggests. "Taking turns? Nap time?"
Sheppard tries something that might be share. Rodney works with him idly on pronunciation. It's not, as he keeps telling Sheppard, a big deal to him. English might be the international language of science, but he's worked with a lot of very intelligent people whose accents he barely understood (as well as people he did understand but wished would shut the hell up). Sheppard can still do calculus; he's still himself inside his head, despite the interface problem he's currently having. Rodney likes him. For that, he is willing to ignore the extraneous ums, ahs, stutters, and utter lack of all prepositions.
Sheppard said once (it took a very long time) that it made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end when he tried to picture Rodney as a paragon of selfless patience. Rodney gave him a razor-sharp twist of the mouth and told him that he wasn't being patient; he was just biding his time. Sheppard had grinned and laughed and seemed to find comfort in that.
Rec Category: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay (where one of them is mentally altered in some way)
Characters: John Sheppard & Rodney McKay, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Ladon Radim, OC
Categories: Gen, then M/M
Words: 5704 in all
Content notes: no AO3 warnings apply. Medical report of severe head injury and treatment. Aphasia.
Author on DW:
busaikkoAuthor's Website: busaikko on AO3
Link: Unspoken series on AO3
Why This Must Be Read: This is a series of short fics telling the story of John being badly head-injured off-world and having lasting aphasia afterward (difficulty producing speech, and writing). the first fic is epistolary - a medical report written by allies of the Genii about John being found injured, and his treatment, plus Ladon Radim's letter to Elizabeth. In the second fic we see John helping Rodney in the lab as although he can only manage two-word sentences, his math is fine. Woven in is Rodney's memories of the grief about losing his friend (as they'd thought him dead for some time), his unvoiced long-term attraction, and the way they've rebuilt their friendship. In the third, longer fic they're back on Earth so John can attend a specialised aphasia rehab program while Rodney does an academic job. Their mutual love is finally expressed here, in John's case mostly physically and by gestures. I love Rodney's no-nonsense pragmatism and refusal to baby John, and John's humor and cussedness. It's a beautifully written series.
Before Sheppard can get out the first good insult that comes to mind, Rodney peels the mocha bar and bends it until he can rip it in two. "Here."
"Kindergarten," Sheppard says after a sticky, companionable minute of chewing. He pushes up from the lab table that Rodney's cleared for him and walks over to the window. It's autumn-ish now, and Sheppard hangs his thermos bottle outside to keep it cool. He hauls it up by the strap and fills his cup and Rodney's with the Athosian tea that's horribly bitter hot but surprisingly refreshing chilled.
"Kindergarten," Rodney repeats, blankly. "As in, everything I need to know?" Sheppard raises his eyebrows at him and looks enigmatic. "What I learned in kindergarten was that if I threw sand in people's eyes, it gave me enough time to run away." Sheppard snorts. "Sharing?" Rodney suggests. "Taking turns? Nap time?"
Sheppard tries something that might be share. Rodney works with him idly on pronunciation. It's not, as he keeps telling Sheppard, a big deal to him. English might be the international language of science, but he's worked with a lot of very intelligent people whose accents he barely understood (as well as people he did understand but wished would shut the hell up). Sheppard can still do calculus; he's still himself inside his head, despite the interface problem he's currently having. Rodney likes him. For that, he is willing to ignore the extraneous ums, ahs, stutters, and utter lack of all prepositions.
Sheppard said once (it took a very long time) that it made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end when he tried to picture Rodney as a paragon of selfless patience. Rodney gave him a razor-sharp twist of the mouth and told him that he wasn't being patient; he was just biding his time. Sheppard had grinned and laughed and seemed to find comfort in that.
