-l- Getting Through the Week –l-

Spoilers: 3x17, Sunday. Don't read if you haven't seen this ep.
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis or any of the characters, although I'd like to. There's still a bit of room in my closet.
Summary: This is a post-Sunday fic. Title sums it up, I guess.

Warning: Hmmm… a bit sad perhaps.

A/N: All mistakes are mine and mine alone!

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Monday

Monday was easy. It was exactly like he'd told Teyla, it hadn't hit him yet. He'd been through these phases before, they just came in a different order this time. This one must've been 'denial' he figured. He wasn't looking forward to the other phases.
He'd stay away from his team mates, telling them he needed to be alone. Sometimes he'd just disappear and say nothing at all. They didn't look for him, they knew he needed to cope and so did they.
McKay, on the other hand, was angry. He didn't want to be talked to. He'd yell something he'd feel bad about afterwards and then he'd feel even worse. That was McKay on Monday, the day after.
Ronon was a lot like Sheppard and wanted to be left alone. He needed to think. Teyla knew they needed to talk about what had happened. All of them. They'd lost a great man and they needed to come to terms with that. She didn't know how though. If the others were going through what she was going through, it would be an almost impossible task.
Elizabeth was smart enough to suspend their off world activities, at least for a little while. She knew it'd be dangerous to send her alpha team through the gate in the condition it was in. Time heals all wounds, she kept trying to convince herself of that. She just couldn't get herself to believe it. She needed to lead a city, but she couldn't even breathe. How could she manage? Without Carson.

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Tuesday

Tuesday was pretty much the same as Monday. They avoided each other, not wanting to be reminded of last Sunday. They only spoke when it was absolutely necessary. Sheppard hadn't slept all night. He'd tried, but couldn't close his eyes without seeing...
McKay hadn't even gotten to bed, he kept working in his lab. Every time Zelenka advised him to take a break he'd get furious and order the Czech to get lost.
Teyla gave in to her tears. Carson had saved her life, he'd saved all of their lives.

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Wednesday

Ronon found Sheppard on the balcony watching the rain. He didn't go there to talk, he went there to be alone. But with Sheppard there as well he couldn't avoid talking. Or could he? He stepped in the rain and stared at the water surrounding the city. He didn't mind getting wet. He probably stood there for the same reason as Sheppard. They didn't say a word. The heavy rainfall reflected both Sheppard and Ronon's moods as they stood there, waiting for a miracle.

"It has hit me," Sheppard suddenly confessed.

"Wanna talk?"

They didn't make eye-contact.

"Yeah. You?"

"I can't believe he's gone," Ronon opened up. "He's not coming back."

"I know. And there's nothing we can do to change that. I was hoping the rain would sort of wash away..."

"Same here."

"It's different every time. Not the hurting or the emptiness, but the way it feels somehow."

"I know."

"How are Teyla and Rodney? I haven't talked to them yet. I needed to be alone and -"

"So did they. They'll be fine. We'll be fine."

"I hope you're right, Ronon. 'Cause right now, I don't know. I feel selfish, I should be holding the team together, talking to them. But anything I'd say would sound wrong."

"They'll talk when they're ready."

"Are you?"

"We're talking."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I feel ready."

"Me neither."

"We'll get there."

They stopped talking and turned their attention to the rain again.

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Thursday

Atlantis grieved. Not only the people, but the city as well. John could feel her sadness. It was a lot like the sadness he felt. Dr. Carson Beckett was gone, forever. Sheppard worked when he wasn't watching the sea on the balcony. He spent that time in his office writing mission reports which were long due. The words were just ordered letters, they had no meaning. When he returned to the balcony later that Thursday he found Ronon and Teyla.

"Ronon, Teyla," he greeted them.

"It is nice and quiet here," she said.

"Except for the wind and the sound of the ocean. But it's comforting."

"It is," she admitted.

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Friday

The balcony became a place to ease their minds, a place to talk if they wanted. They didn't say much at first, but it was a start, a way to get the team back together. Maybe they had gotten closest to Carson Beckett. Them and the nursing staff. After all, Sheppard's team definitely spent the most time in the infirmary. He wasn't just a healer, he'd become a great friend.

"He's not gone," John suddenly said.

"You're right, he isn't. He'll never be gone, because we will remember him," Elizabeth replied. She had come to the balcony as well. It seemed as if some strange magnetic powers brought them together.

"Someone's missing," Ronon noted.

"I am sure he just needs more time," Teyla reassured him.

"Teyla's right. He'll be here."

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Saturday

"I don't know why I came here," Rodney admitted when he saw Elizabeth and his team members.

"Feel like talking, Rodney?" Elizabeth asked concerned.

"No, not really," he replied as he leaned on the railing.

"That's okay. We're right here if you change your mind," John reassured him. "It's good you came."

Rodney McKay finally succumbed to his feelings.

"I miss him."

The others nodded in reply.

"I mean who's going to patch us up now? Not that I don't trust Dr. Keller, she'll do fine. But Carson, he was more than a physician, he was..."

"A friend," Elizabeth filled in.

"Right, and now I have to start all over again."

"I know what you mean. Who's going to yell bloody fool now? Who's going to make us stand in the corner and make us think about what we did?" John smiled sadly.

"It's just that it's going to be different, waking up and not hearing that Scottish accent."

"We will get through this," Teyla comforted.

"Yeah," Ronon joined in.

"We will be fine," John repeated solemnly.

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Sunday

The conversation had made things a little easier on them. It had lifted a bit of the weight on their shoulders.
On Sunday there was a flicker of hope. Maybe they would be fine, eventually.