Since I Actually Have Ficcage!
Bigger Than Us
(ala Josh Groban)
“And we lose ourselves in battles we are fighting
Gotta break away
I feel so small
With my hands up to the sky
I am reaching out tonight
'Cause this is bigger than us
I give my all
But it's just too much to hope
No I can't do this alone
'Cause this is bigger than us
Bigger than us”
John stepped up onto the edge of the ramp, then turned to face the waiting ranks of people who were waiting for the signal to go through. He let his gaze travel across the room and saw nothing but determination on all of the people waiting there, along with a healthy amount of fear which was not a bad thing for them to have.
‘This is it, people. This is also your last chance to change your minds. I will not hold it against any of you who pull out now, but I will if you go through and then decide this is not what you want.’ He was not kidding about this, he couldn’t afford to have anyone freak out after they got to their destination.
‘One last thing, by order of the President of the United States, DADT is hereby revoked and there will be no repercussions in any form. If there is someone that you are leaving behind, or someone going with us, know that I will not allow any bullying or acts against you or your partner.’
He was pretty sure that he had matched all of his people with anyone that they needed, and he was thought that Rodney had also done the same. They would be stronger for it. He had added several people to the mission when he had been informed that there was good chance that Hayes was serious about the repeal.
Several of his men relaxed, he knew that there had been some whispers about this and he was thankful that President Hayes had pushed it through before they had left.
Rodney grinned at him, confident that all would be well, and hefted his pack higher on his shoulders. He had snuck all sorts of extras into everyone’s packs and supply crates. He wasn’t going out without all comforts that he could pack, for both the scientists and soldiers.
Jack saluted him and said as the wormhole engaged, ‘You have a go, Colonel, good luck and God speed. We will see you in six months to a year from now.’
John saluted him back and said, ‘On my mark, malps first, then we move out.’
Thirty minutes later, the gate room was empty and John’s voice came over the radio.
‘All clear from Atlantis and we’ll see you within the year!’
Hidden Away
Over mountains and sky blue seas
On great circles will you watch for me
The sweetest feeling I've got inside
I just can't wait to get lost in your eyes
And all these words that you meant to say
Held in silence day after day
Words of kindness than our poor hearts crave
Please don't keep them
Hidden Away
Sing it out so I can finally breathe
And I can take in all the same
Holding out for something i believe in
All I really need today
I want to free your heart
I want to see your heart
Please don't keep your heart
Hidden Away
It had been a rough couple of days, between getting the city up to the surface and then making sure that they could actually survive on her. But everyone was settled now into quarters and knew all things that they could and could not do. And they had managed to do it without losing anyone in the process.
John stretched out on his bed, his head aching just a bit, he hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the last few days, and finally, his officers had sent him back to his rooms for some downtime. They had promised not to leave him out of loop if something went down, but the looks they gave him were pretty pointed.
It wasn’t too long and Rodney came stumbling through the door, bitching about smart-aleck minions who thought they knew better than their boss.
‘Ah, sent off for some downtime? That’s what happened to me. Although, I should have stopped and gotten some food before coming back down here.’ John grinned at Rodney, who just frowned harder at him.
‘I know how to plan. There’s meals coming any minute now. You can only work on power bars for so long.’
‘Uh huh. And how many times did someone shove food at you in the last 48 hours? Inquiring minds want to know.’ John smirked a bit, he had left pointed orders with the scientists who were working directly with Rodney about how much and when the CSO was to be fed. ‘And when was the last time you actually got any sleep that wasn’t at your desk or in one of the labs?’
‘Hush, you!’ Rodney looked at him and frowned. ‘You’re lying down. Why are you lying down? Is there a problem?’
‘No, but I’m more tired than I thought I was. These last couple of days have been killers. At least it’s just sacrificing sleep and nothing else. The bed looked comfortable and then I just didn’t want to get back up.’ John sighed and then sat up, swinging his feet back down to the floor.
‘So, the mess is up and running? Yesterday it was literally a mess and not much else.’
‘Yes, the sergeant you brought in to run it is a wizard. They are running at minimal power and still putting out hot food at least three times a day, and there are snacks between. And what made you think of seeds and such? The botanists are going nuts over all of that!’ Rodney sat down and pulled off his boots. ‘I’m glad to get these off. Is there hot water for showers yet? We’ve been trying to get systems online that are helpful but I have a couple of loose cannons that I’ve had to ride herd on. But, yeah, haven’t blown up anything, so that’s a plus.’
‘Medical has been impressive so far. Of course, there hasn’t been anything too bad go through their doors, but I’ll take that as a positive.’ As John got up and stretched, Rodney watched him.
A knock at the door got him up and moving. ‘Oh, good, hot food that looks like nothing in particular.’ Rodney frowned at it and sniffed.
‘There’s no lemon in anything, sir. We are being very careful of all the allergies of everyone on the mission. You’re not the only one with a fatal allergy to something.’ The private handed off all the containers and then hurried away.
Rodney brought all the food to the small table they had and set it down. ‘We need to eat this while it’s hot. Who knows what it will taste like once it cools off.’
‘You’re so positive and upbeat, Rodney!’ John sat down and opened all the lids. ‘Well, I’ve seen and probably eaten worse. At least it’s hot.’
Once done, they hit the shower and were soon in bed, cuddled together, something that had been in short supply while on Earth.
‘This is probably the best part of being on Atlantis, you know. Not having to hide anymore. There hasn’t been any blowback over the changes, has there?’ Rodney held on a little tighter, this was so new.
‘No, there were a few rumblings, but they were quickly put down. It was stressed that we don’t have any idea how anything works out here, and we’re not going to be making anyone conform to an earth standard. Everyone has been reminded of all the societies that we’ve encountered going through the wormhole and the grumbling has been kept to a minimum. Besides, I wasn’t joking when I told everyone when we got here that I was willing to throw them through the gate and let them fend for themselves.’ John kissed the top of Rodney’s head. ‘Now shut up and sleep, shift will change and we’ll need to be up and dealing with whatever is going on.’
‘Yeah, yeah, bossy.’