(18+ in later chapters) Tales of Atlantis [Archive]

K.D.Heart

30-05-10, 13:43

Authors Notes: Acum vreo doua saptamani, Mary a reusit sa ma convinga sa scriu un fic cu ea. Pentru amandoua e o premiera: eu n-am scris niciodata in colaborare, ea a vrut neaparat sa fie in engleza. L-am inceput ca rpg, asa ca s-ar putea sa avem unele scapari pe ici, pe colo pana ajungem la un ritm bun pentru amandoua. Daca sunt scapari de gramatica, dati vina pe mine - eu trebuia sa ma ocup de editare, dar mi-e prea somn in monentul asta sa-mi mai pese. Speram sa va placa povestea noastra si sa mai lasati si comentarii.

authors' edit@: Just uploaded the edited chapters. Only minor edits for chapters 2 and 3 (mostly grammar and some inconsistencies in Catherine's back story). Chapter 1, however, ended up being worked and re-worked and I've promised Mary I will tie her to the heater if she even thinks about editing that chapter ever again. It got a new fight scene. The one with the Wraith - it went from 4 paragraphs in the first version, to 8 and then ended up being about 2-3 pages long.

Hope you like it.

Capitolele vor fi prea lungi pentru a le posta de-o-data, asa ca vom pune pe bucati.

Title: Tales of Atlantis

Description: When the Atlantis expedition thought Rodney's ego and people skills were bad enough, they hadn't yet met their new doctor. Dr Catherine Spencer, a prodigy, proves to be a part-time pain in the neck and a full time liability – at first. She's won John's undying frustration and Rodney's admiration while leaving everyone baffled as to why she was there in the first place. It will take nothing short of an encounter with the Wraith to make her understand what exactly she is meant to do. Meanwhile, Michael is cooking up a new weapon and things are starting to get all-round interesting in the Pegasus galaxy.

Genre: action, adventure, romance, drama, friendship, hurt/comfort

Pairings: Sheppard/OC (Catherine Spencer)/McKay, occasional Vala/Daniel, Zelenka/OC, traces of Sam/Jack, some Rodney/Elizabeth later on, slight traces of slash (mentioned in story) and various other pairings that may develop or simply get mentioned along the way.

Rating: M – the lemons will come later, some violence and mild language

Warnings: some OCs, no OOCness (we hope, but it's too early to tell), lemons (later on), some whump, occasional crack, bad puns, erratic updates and random fangirls. It will cross over with Stargate SG1 at times and might cross over into other shows as we go. Each chapter will have specific warnings just in case.

Disclaimer for the entire story: We do not own Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate SG1 or any of the characters associated with the shows. They belong to the MGM and their respective creator. We only own a handful of OCs that may or may not show up from the first chapter. Catherine Spencer belongs to xyzmary2001 and KitsuneDragonheartLove (no, she's not changing her pen name any time soon but shall refer to herself as K. to keep things easier) takes responsibility for all the bad puns.

Authors' Note: This story is taking the life out of us. After K. hijacked the story to use as her NaNoWriMo project (leaving Mary in charge of the plot bunnies and feeding the author) at chapter 4, we went back and decided to edit the first three chapters again. For your entertainment, here is the re-edited version with better grammar and longer battle :D The other two will be posted in the course of this evening and chapter 4 will come along on Sunday.

Tales of Atlantis
Episode 1: Experiment

 The members of the Atlantis expedition looked upon her arrival with general distrust and Dr. Catherine Spencer couldn’t miss the main reason. She had arrived from Earth five months ago to replace their beloved Carson Beckett, who had tragically lost his life in an [I]exploding tumor incident. The raised eyebrow on that did not get her any closer to acceptance, gaining her only a “Don’t ask!” followed by a quick dismissal to her new and endless duties. Even after so many months, the feeling she didn't belong remained and Catherine had to remind herself daily that she was there because Carson wanted so. Carson... her former mentor and the one doctor who allowed her to perform her first surgery at the age of 17…

“You can be brilliant, Catherine, best surgeon I’ve seen,” he had told her few days after the surgery. They were in the mess hall and she was so tired she could literally sleep on the table. “But your skills alone are not enough to get you there, luv,” he continued, looking at her with those blue, honest eyes of him. “By pretending not to feel for the people you save, you’re lying to yourself. Our emotions make us human and you cannot reach perfection by suppressing your feelings or, in your case, simply denying they exist. Trust me, lass, you may act like one of the robot doctors you’ve studied under at University, but you’re not one of them. The sooner you’ll accept that, the better.”

She wanted to tell him how wrong he was and how much she actually cared, despite her inability to make a show of it, but for some stupid reason – pride, maybe? - she didn’t say a word. She listened to him nonetheless but, instead of trying to open herself to others, she left the hospital soon after and, by the time of his death, she was working in a lab, trying to find the magic cure for cancer. Carson knew all that and, apparently, still considered her the most suitable person to replace him. Thinking about it, she couldn’t understand why he had written her name at the top of the list of his possible successors, since he was so worried about her ability to handle her own feelings.

On the other hand, after six months in Atlantis, Catherine was no longer sure why [I]she had accepted the job in the first place. It could have been pride; it could have been sense of duty – truth was, she had enough time to regret it. How could she had said yes when she was just as conscientious as Carson that her skills were best served in a lab?! Her last few weeks in Atlantis only confirmed it and there was nothing she wished for harder than to be back in her lab on Earth, surrounded by all the familiar equipment that had never caused her trouble. After all, it was a lot harder to work with people than with test tubes and viral samples.

"Dr. Weir!” The leader of the expedition continued down the corridor as if she hadn’t heard Catherine calling. Catherine rushed after the other woman. “Please, Dr. Weir…” It seemed no one had any time to listen to her. Ever. ‘The story of my life.’

“Can you stop for a moment? I need to talk to you."

Dr. Elizabeth Weir stopped and turned slowly, letting out a long sigh."Dr. Spencer, how can I help you, today?"

"I wanted to talk to you about my position.” Catherine took a deep breath. “I... I need to be replaced, as soon as possible."

"Excuse me?" Dr. Weir looked vaguely amused but mostly tired. "We’ve already discussed this, Dr. Spencer.” Dr. Weir started walking again and Catherine had no choice but to follow. “You are Carson’s choice. He requested you specifically even before...” Dr. Weir swallowed visibly. “From what I understand, you were his best student and he considered you a genius.”

“I know, I…” Catherine looked away biting her lower lip. It was hard enough even without bringing Carson into all this.

“Besides, Dr. Jackson has recommended you as well,” Dr. Weir continued. “As I understand it, he’s known you most of your life… I trust his judgment implicitly.”

Catherine swallowed hard, avoiding Dr. Weir’s gaze. “Still… I only said yes because someone had to come here and do the job! Don't get me wrong, I like what I'm doing and I'm glad to be of assistance, but... I… I don’t have enough experience to run a department of this size. You need someone... older.” She finally looked up. “And I need to return to my cancer research.”

Dr. Weir stopped in front of the transporter, the door swished open and she stepped on. "But everyone says you’re doing a great job."

Of course, she knew she was. Catherine had no doubt that Dr. Weir would have sent her back to Earth in the blink of an eye if things were otherwise. Sadly, she wasn't eager to leave due to lack of competence.

Elizabeth stepped inside the transporter and Catherine followed. "Thank you. I've actually had very few patients lately. Which I’m taking as a show of good fortune rather than-"

"Well, all I can tell you right now is that the IOA is reviewing candidates, but making quick decisions isn’t exactly their strong suit."

“Even with my strict contract guidelines?” Catherine had hoped that would give her an edge toward a gate trip home.

Dr. Weir shook her head and smiled. “Not a problem for them.”

Catherine took a deep breath. "How long will it take? A week? Two, maybe?" The transporter doors opened up to the corridor a few steps from the control room.

"Might be a week. Might be two months. Don't worry, you are doing fine and it's quite normal to feel anxious. We all felt the same way our first few months. Who knows, maybe you’ll find something out here to help with your research. Stay positive!“ With another reassuring smile, Dr. Weir entered the control room without a look back.

"Thank you... Dr. Weir," Catherine said to the empty space. Her usually straight shoulders drooped and with a dejected sigh, Catherine turned around and nearly bounced off the chest of the last person she needed to see.

Lt. Col. John Sheppard.

\\~+~/

"I'm just saying, Rodney, you didn't have to go into so much detail. It goes right over my head."

Dr. Rodney McKay, lead expedition scientist as well as a royal pain in the ass rolled his eyes at the city’s commanding officer. "I was just making sure some of the information actually stays between your ears,” McKay insisted. “You must have comprehended some of my explanations, no matter how distracting the company might have been," he finished with an annoyed huff.

“She wasn’t--” John stopped as Dr. Catherine Spencer suddenly turned around and nearly plowed into him. He never got over how young this girl looked. What was she, like 16 or something? With her childish figure, it was hard enough to believe she was a doctor, let alone the owner of a couple of impressive PhD’s. Her brain was probably bigger than McKay’s, not that Rodney would have ever admitted such blasphemy.

John smiled, “Hi, Doc.”

Her blue eyes widened, pupils dilating slightly and her lips puffed open in a gasp of surprise. A second later, those innocent eyes narrowed into slits and her nose wrinkled as if she smelled something rotten. John supposed he could use a shower, but he couldn’t smell that bad.

"Colonel," she said coolly, brushing between him and McKay.

The chill in her voice wasn’t new to him, but he still couldn’t figure it out. “What did I say this time?” He whispered to McKay. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear she was his ex-wife in disguise, welcoming him after one of his secret missions in Afghanistan that she loved so much.

“Did I just see what I just saw?” McKay asked back. “John Sheppard getting the brush off?”

John glared at McKay. “Oh, I don’t mind her, she’s just a teen! Who can understand teenagers anyway? Besides, I’ve heard she's like having a female you for a doctor."

Rodney patted him on the shoulder, an unnerving smile tilting his lips. "Normally, I would give you a proper retort to that, but you're becoming an expert at digging yourself in recently." He glanced pointedly past John.

Already feeling the kick in the gut, John dutifully glanced over his shoulder at Dr. Spencer, standing not ten feet away, with a smile as cold as the look in her eyes as she measured John Sheppard from head to toe. Her gaze shifted to McKay and she granted him the most brilliant and charming smile John had seen to date. She even had dimples.

With an unusual sway of the hips and slight tilt of her head, the young doctor casually strolled back over to them. "You might be right, colonel. If what you meant to say, despite being a teenager, I am as brilliant a physician as Dr. McKay is a scientist."

Her smile widened into a beguiling, genuinely seductive expression. Something she was far too young to know how to use, let alone deploy on an unsuspecting man like McKay. "Dr<ins cite="mailto:shayz" datetime="2011-08-03T01:44">.</ins> McKay, looks like we have a lot of things in common – a brain, for example."

Now, she didn’t look like a teenager anymore, and for some reason, this “new Catherine” annoyed him even more than the childish one.

"Col. Sheppard? McKay? My office. Major Lorne’s back," Elizabeth called. Her voice was as calm and composed as ever, but John knew her well enough to feel the hint of anxiety lying underneath.

"You should go see what's going on," Catherine purred, touching Rodney's hand.

John raised his eyebrow, glancing from the young, devilish genius to the much older, less mature one. Somehow, McKay had established himself as one of the very few people on Atlantis to whom the new doctor was not only civil, but... nice. The even stranger part was that McKay wasn't trying to compete with or outshine her. He certainly wasn't trying to flirt with her either, not that McKay knew how to flirt. Catherine, on the other hand...

"You know where to find me," she added. “In case you need something, anything.” The young woman gave McKay one last sultry, seductive smile and walked away.

O…K... So Catherine was definitely flirting. Either that or she was suddenly Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde or in her case, Ms<ins cite="mailto:shayz" datetime="2011-08-03T01:46">.</ins> Hyde was the sweet one, only coming out to play with the likes of… Rodney? John shook his head. None of this made any sense. It was worrying how this strange bonding the two had going on left him in the cold and made him a handy target of their combined taunts and jabs.

"Come on, Lover-boy,” he pulled McKay down the corridor. “Duty calls," he said, tugging the scientist towards Dr. Weir’s office. "You can catch up later."

"Lover-boy?" McKay groaned indignantly. "Mr. Unoriginal, you just couldn't find anything better, could you?" The lack of originality seamed to insult him more than the uninspired nick-name.

McKay jerked his arm free of John’s grasp as they entered in the control room, ranting about him being raised by cavemen. Elizabeth glanced at them, the usually tolerant and sometimes indulgent gleam suggesting that she deals with two 12 year-old boys missing from her eyes. John had noted tension in her voice the past few weeks and, as he followed her in to the office, he didn’t expect cake and party hats.

Completely oblivious to her dark mood, Rodney didn’t even wait for Elizabeth to close the door and started justifying himself. “I was just... We met Dr. Spencer in the hallway and...”

“McKay!” John snapped quietly and for once Rodney shut up, his gaze locking onto Elizabeth as well.

The meeting had started without them, as John noted Teyla standing off to the side of the desk. Silently, Elizabeth sat behind it, templing her fingers in that scholarly way she did. One step behind her, Major Lorne tried his damndest to disappear into the wall. He seemed to avoid looking them in the eye and, as he finally raised his head, his gaze sent chills down John’s spine. “Colonel.”

“Major,” John nodded.

Lorne’s unease was palpable, sadness and anxiety radiating from him in waves. “I take it the visit to MH6 98U didn’t go well?”

Lorne’s gaze dropped. “No, sir.”

Teyla sighed. “It was not a downed transmitter as we had hoped.”

“It seems,” Elizabeth started, “that something or someone has…attacked the planet.”

“Wraith?” McKay asked.

“They weren’t culled,” Elizabeth stated. She licked her lips and shook her head. “This is the only thing we can be sure of, but the survivors have yet to explain what happened. The raids took place at night and they were meant to kill.”

John felt his skin tighten, readying for a fight. “How many?”

Lorne bit his bottom lip. His eyes met his commanders again. “They were 1000 people strong, sir. Now…” he shook his head. “Maybe a few dozen. All wounded, dying.”

Elizabeth got up and rounded her desk, joining John and Rodney at the window, over-looking the Gate Room. “

“This isn’t their modus operandi,” Rodney finally broke the silence. “They attack humans because they feed upon them, not because they...”

Elizabeth nodded. “I know. That’s why I want your team to go check this out, together with all the medical staff we can spare. Check if there is any trace of Wraith activity in the area and, Rodney, see what you can do about that disaffected shield mentioned in the report. Whatever hit them, it might prove to be a threat to us as well."

She hesitated a moment, then turned to the colonel. “John... We can’t know if the attacks will happen again tonight so, please, be careful."

John nodded. It had been so quiet lately. It was bound something like this would come up. "Rodney, Teyla, radio Ronon and get him suited up. I'll meet you at the Gate.”

“Colonel?” Teyla raised her brows.

John sighed. “I have to alert the medical personnel that they are going off-world."

"Can't you just radio…?" Rodney started, but John cocked his head and raised his right brow. McKay seemed to get it in one. “Ahhh…well… Good luck with that then."

John made a face as he headed out the door. He really would have preferred cake and party hats at least once.