Summary: The hypocratic oath didn't extend to merciless, lifesucking space vampires. And she sure as hell wasnt going to make it.
Characters: Ronon/Keller...little angsty kinda two-shot thats been floating around in my head where my biology knowledge should be...eek. Also Woolsey-I do kinda like him but I need him to be the bad guy here!
Spoilers: None. Unless the whole Ronon/Jen thing has totally escaped you-where have you been??
Warnings: A few naughty words. "The whole point of cursin is that it ain't appropriate"-Kaylee said it, take it up with her not me :D Also un-betad!
Disclaimer: I dont own it...sigh. Believe me both Ronon and Sheppard would be shirtless pretty much all the time if I did.
Jennifer Keller, CM frickin' O of the Atlantis expedition stormed down the quiet corridors to new "director-in-chief"' Woolseys office. Her eyes were narrowed, her fists balled, her expression revealing the emotion she almost never expressed-anger. Unmitigated, character changing anger.
And boy, was she angry. After Atlantis' latest brush with the wraith, she'd discovered what her limit was. And damn it, this was it.
A surprise ambush on a supposedsafe planet where they'd gone to deliver some much needed supplies had left three marines dead, two injured and one of her own interns a freakin' husk. Fed on. All because of a naive merciful impulse to help one of those...things. All she could do was watch. Helpless.
She felt a pang of guilt-induced grief pass through her. It should have been her. He was her responsibilty, her charge. Now he was just another face to add to those that kept her from sleeping at night. Haunted her.
He was only 21. Just a kid. He'd volunteered for this mission, he wanted to make a difference. Earths best and brightest. And now he was going back to earth in a body bag. There would be no autopsy. His parents would'nt even get to see him. Oh, they would be told he was blown up, burnt, riddled with bullets, some cover story to sufficiently horrify them, so they wouldnt even want to see him.
Nine hours in surgery trying to fix bleeder after bleeder in a nineteen year old marine with a piece of shrapnel the size of a dinner plate embedded in his damned leg. They'd saved him. They had'nt saved the leg. And who won the all-inclusive prize of telling him he was now a cripple when the drug haze eventually wore off?
And now, now, they wanted her to...to...she couldnt even think it!
Striding across the bridge over the control room, she reached Woolsey office. Throwing protocol and bullshit politeness to the wind, she didnt even bother to knock, throwing the door open. Why in the hell should she extend manners to a man she couldnt respect less right now if she tried?
"Dr. Keller" Woolsey looked up,seated at his desk. If he was surprised at her grand entrance he didn't show it, neatly snapping his laptop shut. In her current less than forgiving mood,she sneered internally. Robot.
"How may I help you?" She shook her head at the beauracratically polished,careful neutralilty of his tone.
He cleared his throat, the sound echoing slightly in the pristine office that had been, should still be Samantha Carters. She would never ask this of her.
There it was. Just enough reproach in the simple noise to convey his dissaproval yet still show her she had'nt rattled him.
Oh she'd rattle him. Quiet little Jennifer Keller didnt get angry often. But when she did-look out. Her Dad said it was like a volcanic eruption-rare, but when it happened, annhilated everything in its path. And she wanted annhilation.
"How can you help me?" She intoned. Woolsey took notice then. There was a dangerous quality in her tone, an edge to it.
She placed her hands on his desk bending her head to look down at him from her vantage point. She didnt often have height on her side. Shed use it now.
"You can get that thing out of my infirmary." She fixed him with a stare that would freeze the Mojave."Now."
"Dr.Keller" Woolsey began, slipping off his already spotless glasses to polish them, "though obviously it is abhorrent, our wraith prisoner needs medical-"
"Care?" She cut him off. "It wont be from me. Or any of my staff." That same icy gaze penetrated his soul. If he hadnt been used to years of courtroom and diplomacy head-to-heads,he would have shivered. But he'd long been conditioned. No weakness for your opponent to play on. This was no different.
"Do you understand the potential of a wraith prisoner doctor?" The question came sharply,clearly hoping to stun her. It had less than the desired effect.
"Do you?" She countered, unmoved from her postion at his desk.
"It wont talk. We could keep it here 'til the end of time immorial and it wouldnt tell us a damned thing. You heard what Col. Sheppard said-it mightnt even have anything to tell us, its one step up from a grunt!"
"A leader of sort" Woolsey corrected "who may be able to tell us-"
"Its a basic squadron commander," she continued as if he had never spoken "there to make sure the worker bees keep in line."
"The only benefit I can see from having it on the base is for research. In which case it will need to be good and dead, as I highly doubt it would submit willingly to an exam. Then maybe we'll be able to figure out just how big of a mistake they were,and how to fix it. Permanently."
"Doctor!" Woolsey raised his voice as high as it would probably go after years of brownosing with politicians and state leaders who never yelled, except for the waiter to bring them another "scotch, easy on the soda." "I dont think I need to remind you of the oath you took to help, no matter whom-"
"What!" she interrupted again. "What! That...mistake is not a whom! You seem familiar with the Hypocratic oath Mr. Woolsey so you can tell me-where in it, in the whole thing does it say that I or any other doctor am duty bound to help murdurous life sucking aliens?"
"I would think that you-"
"-Would make it stretch? Well I wont. And you wont find a single doctor on this base willing to make it."
"Do you know what it did?" The question was a challenge. Subtle,but there all right. "Do you know
why its here?"
"Of course I am aware Dr.Keller, as leader of this base all off world incidents are reported to me."
"Incidents?" her tone was low, silky, daring him to trivialise the "incident", "It fed on one of my staff. One of my staff who tried to HELP the cursed thing! Do you even know his name?!" The question startled him.
"Obviously I dont know the name of very member of personnel on this base doctor. That would be quite a feat."
The sidestep didnt escape her. "Didnt think so," she shook her head, releasing her grip on his desk and stepping back. "You'll write a sympathy letter. No doubt a pre-prepared one where you'll just fill in his name and a few nice details from someone who bothered to have a clue who he was."
"So Ill tell you a few. His name was Luke Connell. He graduated first in his class at Stanford. One of their youngest graduates ever. He came her straight out, believing he could make a difference."
Her voice changed, betraying the emotions coursing inside her. "He had a family.Three sisters. A nephew-six months old. A mother and a father. He came from Dayton,Ohio.His mother worked three jobs so he could go to med school. His father remortgaged the house. He was brave and selfless. And he has just died the most meaningless death possible!" Her voice reached a crescendo.
People on the surrounding balconies looked up at the outburst. She didnt care.
A small sob escaped her and she turned away, cursing her weakness. "There." she said, looking her shoulder as she made towards the door. "Try and remember some of that." Breathing heavily, blinking away the tears that threatend to fall, she tried to regain some composure. "Have it removed ,dispose of it, I really dont care. But do it soon, or you'll be looking at enough resgnations to make your head spin, and for a new medical staff."
She walked out the door as dignified as she could, leaving Woolsey looking shellshocked in his seat.
Reaching the end of the bridge, she knew her careful composure was slipping beyond repair and she broke into a run. She had to get out. Just make it to her balcony, the one where she could be alone and let herself feel what had happened. But not here. She would not let them see her cry. She was stronger than that. Finally arriving, she sank down against the wall, letting the floodgates open. She cried. Cried for the life he would never have. Cried for the pride his parents would never again feel. Cried for her helplessness, the futility of her tears. Most of all she cried for him.
She didnt hear the footsteps coming to join her.
So there it is. My first attempt at fanfiction. Or at least the first Ive been brave enough to post. Im really not sure about it myself, please tell me honestly what you think!
Oh and it will be R/K I promise-what do you think the footsteps are??