A Good Enough Timeline
Jan. 9th, 2024 08:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sgatazmyNote: I know some of my friends here only read non-relationship stories, so I'm going to post some excerpts at the end of this entry that are non-relationship parts.
My new story is on AO3: A Good Enough Timeline
One of my favorite parts of DW is I can talk about my fic a little bit as I give you this link. This story wrote itself fairly fast. Every time I would sit down to write a scene, it kept writing a different one! Sheppard absolutely refused to cooperate. I wanted a quick drunk Rodney punches John fic but 10K words later there was no punch. Oh well, I did at least get drunk Rodney in.
So the idea for this fic is that the future turns out pretty well. Atlantis is a thriving city and a hub for all the worlds in the Pegasus galaxy. Ronon is security chief and Teyla is head of the Alliance division on Atlantis. This made sense so that the Peagasuns could start to be in charge of the big things and the big decisions.
Rodney, however, is still in his same job and for years he's been working on a project to go back and save Elizabeth because he still feels her loss and feels a lot of guilt from his role in how she died. Every year, he goes back to this project despite Radek's protestations, and this year he's finally made a breakthrough and it looks like he's able to see his plan through. Only, these days always lead to him isolating himself and feeling that loss, so he accidentally gets drunk and things escalate from there.
My beta says it was a different story than she thinks she has read in the past. Instead of being about changing the timeline, it's about deciding when is the timeline good enough. She pointed out it's a bit like the Star Trek episode: City on the Edge of Forever where to keep the timeline they have to not interfere by saving a life.
This is Sheppard's main role in the story: To help Rodney understand that not only is this a dangerous idea, it's a villainous idea. He has no right to risk the future they've created!
The relationship stuff in it is very tame, as one would expect from me. There's a brief kiss. We know Rodney and John are partners and have been for a while. They are at odds, though, so Rodney does mockingly try to proposition John once or twice, but not in any serious way and more of a coping mechanism (he can't understand why John is treating him like the bad guy of the week).
Anyway, I hope you’ll read it! I'm really proud of it.
For my gen folks on here who don't read relationships, here are a few non-relationship excerpts:
Rodney in the brig excerpt:
“Hey!” a voice called from one of the other cells. “People are trying to sleep here!”
Rodney looked over to see it came from a cell with a Genii hat on the floor. He still couldn’t get used to the idea there were actually Genii living in the city now.
“If you wanted to sleep you shouldn’t have done whatever stupid thing it was to land you in jail! Moron!” Rodney yelled back, fully aware of how much his rant also applied to himself.
Ronon made a loud show of clearing his throat which quickly quieted down any response. Menacing Ronon turned out to be a perfect fit for security chief because few dared to mess with him.
Rodney curled onto the bed, tucking himself in with the thin sheet they called a blanket. He rested his head against the pillow.
He’d only meant to close his eyes for a moment but the next thing he knew it was morning. He opened his eyes slowly, focusing on the metal bunk above his, and groaned. So much for hoping everything had been a dream. He turned toward the forcefield only to see spiky hair and a familiar, worried frown.
“Tell me you’re here to bust me out.”
Sheppard immediately looked guilty while rubbing his hand through his hair. “Yeah, about that…”
“What?” Rodney immediately sat up. “Oh my god! You’re planning to leave me here? Aren’t you?”
Then, when Sheppard didn’t answer other than to make his ‘it’s complicated’ face, Rodney added, “Seriously? You’re really thinking of keeping me in the brig?”
“Maybe?”
“Maybe?!? What does ‘maybe’ mean?”
“Just for today. Possibly overnight. I came to talk first. See how it goes and then decide.”
“Talk? You?” Rodney asked disbelievingly.
“Yes, talk, Rodney. In case you haven’t noticed, you got yourself arrested.”
“Hm. Not my best moment, I’ll admit. How’s Radek?” Rodney felt the shame swell within him. What the hell had he been thinking?
Oh, right, he hadn’t been thinking at all. He’d been drinking.
Since when did he drink much less get drunk, anyway? He hadn’t really planned to, but then he’d seen the bottle of the 10-year, single grain, scotch whiskey he’d taken from Carson’s quarters back when he died, and suddenly Rodney felt all the loss of so many years ago weighing on him. He didn’t think he’d drunk all that much, but then again, it was 100-proof and Rodney had always been a lightweight when it came to alcohol.
“He’s fine. Worried about you.”
“Miko and Radek blabbed about the project, I assume?”
“Yes, Rodney, they told me. And I’ve half the mind to send you to the infirmary to see if your brain is completely broken!” Sheppard snapped and Rodney winced in return.
John continued, “I can't fathom why else you would think it's a good idea to risk severe brain damage on another ill-conceived scheme to once again save Elizabeth that has a minimal chance of working!”
Rodney glanced around him. What cells were inhabited earlier were now empty, leaving them alone except for the security guard at the station. Somehow Rodney had slept through the discharges. At least no one could hear him getting chastised.
“I’m not discussing this,” Rodney said.
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.” Rodney tilted his chin aloft, crossing his hands over his chest in trademark defiance.
“That's the way you want it? Fine. I’ll come back tonight and see if you're ready to discuss it then.”
“What?!?” Rodney glanced around at the cells and the guard, his half-bathroom, and sub-standard bed. John of all people knew better than to leave him in small, confined spaces. “You can't just leave me here?”
“Yes, I can. Unless you're ready to talk now?”
...... A fun Excerpt ......
Sometimes Torren would tag along. On one such day, Rodney pulled out the Lego pieces he’d been acquiring over the years as well as the blueprints he’d created for the Lego city of Atlantis. Torren’s excitement and joy lightened Rodney’s heart. As the five of them built the model, they took turns telling Torren tales of their early years together, under Elizabeth.
Teyla gave Rodney and John warning looks when they described Elizabeth’s terror at John throwing Rodney over a balcony.
“What?” Rodney asked defensively.
“Perhaps it would be best not to put such ideas into his head?”
“It’s not like he has a green shield anyway.”
“Rodney…” she warned.
Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Rodney answered. “Fine. We can skip all the good parts.”
“That's not fair! I want to hear the good parts!” Torren chimed in.
John pressed up and down on the ZPM lego piece, watching it glow on and off.
Rodney thought briefly back to when ZPMs were such a mystery to them that they hadn't even figured out they could easily and efficiently be recharged in a lab in the South East Pier.
“We were basically living in the dark ages,” he told Torren.
“What are the dark ages?” Torren asked.
“Imagine a time,” John cut in, “when you didn't even know when the next chocolate supply from Earth would arrive. It was madness. People fighting everywhere, blood and guts all over the floor just to grab the last piece.”
“Whoa.”
“Uncle John has a unique imagination,” Teyla said. “I do not suggest you take his tale at face value.”
“It’s how I remember it,” Ronon said, shrugging.
“Me, too,” Rodney said. “Not as bad as the Klondike bar wars, though. It turned out we would do all kinds of things for a Klondike bar.”
My new story is on AO3: A Good Enough Timeline
One of my favorite parts of DW is I can talk about my fic a little bit as I give you this link. This story wrote itself fairly fast. Every time I would sit down to write a scene, it kept writing a different one! Sheppard absolutely refused to cooperate. I wanted a quick drunk Rodney punches John fic but 10K words later there was no punch. Oh well, I did at least get drunk Rodney in.
So the idea for this fic is that the future turns out pretty well. Atlantis is a thriving city and a hub for all the worlds in the Pegasus galaxy. Ronon is security chief and Teyla is head of the Alliance division on Atlantis. This made sense so that the Peagasuns could start to be in charge of the big things and the big decisions.
Rodney, however, is still in his same job and for years he's been working on a project to go back and save Elizabeth because he still feels her loss and feels a lot of guilt from his role in how she died. Every year, he goes back to this project despite Radek's protestations, and this year he's finally made a breakthrough and it looks like he's able to see his plan through. Only, these days always lead to him isolating himself and feeling that loss, so he accidentally gets drunk and things escalate from there.
My beta says it was a different story than she thinks she has read in the past. Instead of being about changing the timeline, it's about deciding when is the timeline good enough. She pointed out it's a bit like the Star Trek episode: City on the Edge of Forever where to keep the timeline they have to not interfere by saving a life.
This is Sheppard's main role in the story: To help Rodney understand that not only is this a dangerous idea, it's a villainous idea. He has no right to risk the future they've created!
The relationship stuff in it is very tame, as one would expect from me. There's a brief kiss. We know Rodney and John are partners and have been for a while. They are at odds, though, so Rodney does mockingly try to proposition John once or twice, but not in any serious way and more of a coping mechanism (he can't understand why John is treating him like the bad guy of the week).
Anyway, I hope you’ll read it! I'm really proud of it.
For my gen folks on here who don't read relationships, here are a few non-relationship excerpts:
Rodney in the brig excerpt:
“Hey!” a voice called from one of the other cells. “People are trying to sleep here!”
Rodney looked over to see it came from a cell with a Genii hat on the floor. He still couldn’t get used to the idea there were actually Genii living in the city now.
“If you wanted to sleep you shouldn’t have done whatever stupid thing it was to land you in jail! Moron!” Rodney yelled back, fully aware of how much his rant also applied to himself.
Ronon made a loud show of clearing his throat which quickly quieted down any response. Menacing Ronon turned out to be a perfect fit for security chief because few dared to mess with him.
Rodney curled onto the bed, tucking himself in with the thin sheet they called a blanket. He rested his head against the pillow.
He’d only meant to close his eyes for a moment but the next thing he knew it was morning. He opened his eyes slowly, focusing on the metal bunk above his, and groaned. So much for hoping everything had been a dream. He turned toward the forcefield only to see spiky hair and a familiar, worried frown.
“Tell me you’re here to bust me out.”
Sheppard immediately looked guilty while rubbing his hand through his hair. “Yeah, about that…”
“What?” Rodney immediately sat up. “Oh my god! You’re planning to leave me here? Aren’t you?”
Then, when Sheppard didn’t answer other than to make his ‘it’s complicated’ face, Rodney added, “Seriously? You’re really thinking of keeping me in the brig?”
“Maybe?”
“Maybe?!? What does ‘maybe’ mean?”
“Just for today. Possibly overnight. I came to talk first. See how it goes and then decide.”
“Talk? You?” Rodney asked disbelievingly.
“Yes, talk, Rodney. In case you haven’t noticed, you got yourself arrested.”
“Hm. Not my best moment, I’ll admit. How’s Radek?” Rodney felt the shame swell within him. What the hell had he been thinking?
Oh, right, he hadn’t been thinking at all. He’d been drinking.
Since when did he drink much less get drunk, anyway? He hadn’t really planned to, but then he’d seen the bottle of the 10-year, single grain, scotch whiskey he’d taken from Carson’s quarters back when he died, and suddenly Rodney felt all the loss of so many years ago weighing on him. He didn’t think he’d drunk all that much, but then again, it was 100-proof and Rodney had always been a lightweight when it came to alcohol.
“He’s fine. Worried about you.”
“Miko and Radek blabbed about the project, I assume?”
“Yes, Rodney, they told me. And I’ve half the mind to send you to the infirmary to see if your brain is completely broken!” Sheppard snapped and Rodney winced in return.
John continued, “I can't fathom why else you would think it's a good idea to risk severe brain damage on another ill-conceived scheme to once again save Elizabeth that has a minimal chance of working!”
Rodney glanced around him. What cells were inhabited earlier were now empty, leaving them alone except for the security guard at the station. Somehow Rodney had slept through the discharges. At least no one could hear him getting chastised.
“I’m not discussing this,” Rodney said.
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.” Rodney tilted his chin aloft, crossing his hands over his chest in trademark defiance.
“That's the way you want it? Fine. I’ll come back tonight and see if you're ready to discuss it then.”
“What?!?” Rodney glanced around at the cells and the guard, his half-bathroom, and sub-standard bed. John of all people knew better than to leave him in small, confined spaces. “You can't just leave me here?”
“Yes, I can. Unless you're ready to talk now?”
...... A fun Excerpt ......
Sometimes Torren would tag along. On one such day, Rodney pulled out the Lego pieces he’d been acquiring over the years as well as the blueprints he’d created for the Lego city of Atlantis. Torren’s excitement and joy lightened Rodney’s heart. As the five of them built the model, they took turns telling Torren tales of their early years together, under Elizabeth.
Teyla gave Rodney and John warning looks when they described Elizabeth’s terror at John throwing Rodney over a balcony.
“What?” Rodney asked defensively.
“Perhaps it would be best not to put such ideas into his head?”
“It’s not like he has a green shield anyway.”
“Rodney…” she warned.
Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Rodney answered. “Fine. We can skip all the good parts.”
“That's not fair! I want to hear the good parts!” Torren chimed in.
John pressed up and down on the ZPM lego piece, watching it glow on and off.
Rodney thought briefly back to when ZPMs were such a mystery to them that they hadn't even figured out they could easily and efficiently be recharged in a lab in the South East Pier.
“We were basically living in the dark ages,” he told Torren.
“What are the dark ages?” Torren asked.
“Imagine a time,” John cut in, “when you didn't even know when the next chocolate supply from Earth would arrive. It was madness. People fighting everywhere, blood and guts all over the floor just to grab the last piece.”
“Whoa.”
“Uncle John has a unique imagination,” Teyla said. “I do not suggest you take his tale at face value.”
“It’s how I remember it,” Ronon said, shrugging.
“Me, too,” Rodney said. “Not as bad as the Klondike bar wars, though. It turned out we would do all kinds of things for a Klondike bar.”
