Elephant by Leesa Perrie [Reviews - 4]
Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Category: General
Characters: John Sheppard, Other, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan
Rating: PG-13
Genres: Angst, Episode Related, Team
Warnings: None
Series: None
Word count: 4428; Completed: Yes
Summary: There's something in Rodney's past that he doesn't want to talk about. Chapter 1 starts after 'McKay and Mrs Miller', there will be spoilers also for 'Phantoms' and 'The Return' (part 1) in later chapters.
It was Sheppard who asked. One of those few questions that I never wanted to answer, because of where the answer might lead.
"So, who were your parents?"
Such a simple question. No harm in it. Just a bit of idle curiosity. Jeannie had mentioned them in passing, though most of her stories were meant to embarrass me. At least, at first. Revenge, I guess, for cutting her out of my life for four years. For being so stupid, so short-sighted, so...petty. But she hadn't really said much about them, our parents, hadn't gone into any detail. Just a passing reference, nothing more.
Jeannie was gone now and the team seemed to be working hard to include me. Maybe they'd realised how much I'd been hurt by their actions. Laughing at painful memories. Hanging out with the 'cooler' version of myself. Pushing me out, probably without meaning too. I'm still learning about this friendship thing and perhaps they'd realised that, realised I didn't understand the way they'd acted. Well, I do understand, in a way, and I'm sure now they hadn't been trying to hurt me. Just wanting to tease me, only it had gone too far.
And then that question. We had been talking about...general things. Teyla's crush on a new marine, things we'd been doing, things we'd want to do, even planning a mini-vacation to the mainland when we could get away. Somehow, the conversation had turned to family. Ronon had, reluctantly, shared a little about his own. Teyla had been happy to share good memories of her parents. Even John had mentioned that his father had been a General in the Air Force, and his mother a nurse.
And then it was my turn, and...I couldn't speak. It was Teyla who spoke next, after moments of silence.
"You do not need to share, if it is too...difficult."
Then all I could think was how difficult it must have been for Ronon to talk of his family, even the little he had said, and how even Sheppard had shared something, and just how rare that was. To not say something would be wrong. It would be like I couldn't trust them.
"They were..." I paused. "My parents were both Professors at a university in Canada." It didn't sound bad...not bad at all.
"Professors?" John asked, obviously confused by my hesitation in answering the question.
"Yes, my mother was a Professor in Mathematics, my father a Professor in Physics. They were well respected by their peers."
"Are all your family geniuses, then?" the Colonel grinned.
"Most," I tried to grin back, but the memories were crowding in. I think they saw there was more to it, some hidden pain, but instead of digging for answers, the conversation moved onto safer topics, to my relief.
Maybe one day I could face my past, but not today.
Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Category: General
Characters: John Sheppard, Other, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan
Rating: PG-13
Genres: Angst, Episode Related, Team
Warnings: None
Series: None
Word count: 4428; Completed: Yes
Summary: There's something in Rodney's past that he doesn't want to talk about. Chapter 1 starts after 'McKay and Mrs Miller', there will be spoilers also for 'Phantoms' and 'The Return' (part 1) in later chapters.
It was Sheppard who asked. One of those few questions that I never wanted to answer, because of where the answer might lead.
"So, who were your parents?"
Such a simple question. No harm in it. Just a bit of idle curiosity. Jeannie had mentioned them in passing, though most of her stories were meant to embarrass me. At least, at first. Revenge, I guess, for cutting her out of my life for four years. For being so stupid, so short-sighted, so...petty. But she hadn't really said much about them, our parents, hadn't gone into any detail. Just a passing reference, nothing more.
Jeannie was gone now and the team seemed to be working hard to include me. Maybe they'd realised how much I'd been hurt by their actions. Laughing at painful memories. Hanging out with the 'cooler' version of myself. Pushing me out, probably without meaning too. I'm still learning about this friendship thing and perhaps they'd realised that, realised I didn't understand the way they'd acted. Well, I do understand, in a way, and I'm sure now they hadn't been trying to hurt me. Just wanting to tease me, only it had gone too far.
And then that question. We had been talking about...general things. Teyla's crush on a new marine, things we'd been doing, things we'd want to do, even planning a mini-vacation to the mainland when we could get away. Somehow, the conversation had turned to family. Ronon had, reluctantly, shared a little about his own. Teyla had been happy to share good memories of her parents. Even John had mentioned that his father had been a General in the Air Force, and his mother a nurse.
And then it was my turn, and...I couldn't speak. It was Teyla who spoke next, after moments of silence.
"You do not need to share, if it is too...difficult."
Then all I could think was how difficult it must have been for Ronon to talk of his family, even the little he had said, and how even Sheppard had shared something, and just how rare that was. To not say something would be wrong. It would be like I couldn't trust them.
"They were..." I paused. "My parents were both Professors at a university in Canada." It didn't sound bad...not bad at all.
"Professors?" John asked, obviously confused by my hesitation in answering the question.
"Yes, my mother was a Professor in Mathematics, my father a Professor in Physics. They were well respected by their peers."
"Are all your family geniuses, then?" the Colonel grinned.
"Most," I tried to grin back, but the memories were crowding in. I think they saw there was more to it, some hidden pain, but instead of digging for answers, the conversation moved onto safer topics, to my relief.
Maybe one day I could face my past, but not today.