Author: Lynda Mayfield (rangerbaldwin at )

Timeframe: right after Sunday

Pairings: No

Summary: Rodney had a chance to say goodbye to Carson. John remembers Beckett

with Ronon.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; they belong to AcmeShark, MGM,

Wright/Cooper and anyone else to whom they belong. This story is not for

profit. Please archive. Do not cross post.

Shining Eyes

"Her eyes, they shone like a diamond, you'd think she was queen of the land, and her hair hung over her shoulder, tied up in a black velvet band." John took another swig from the bottle of beer and stared out at the ocean. There was a tap on his shoulder. Unfazed, he looked very far up into the eyes of his friend, Ronon Dex. "Hi."

"What are you doing out here? I've been looking for you," the big man said.

John pointed to his right ear and then popped out his ear phone. "Listening to Dropkick Murphys."

Ronon sat on the pier. "What do they do?"

"It's music," John offered him an ear phone. "Got `em on my `pod when I found out Carson liked to listen to them. So did another guy who died in the first blast. He was on one of the original teams of this expedition, like me."

"Oh." Ronon sat still, looking out across the water as John restarted the song he'd been singing. He saw John's eyes glistening with unwept tears.

"Wanna beer?"

"Yeah." Ronon didn't care for beer, one way or another. John knew this. His friend drank with him, anyway.

"Her eyes, they shone like a diamond . . . " John's voice was lusty as he sang out the chorus of the song.

Ronon was nodding, slowly.

"What do you think?"

"Get me a copy? I like `em."

"Rodney says they're just noise."

Ronon chuckled. "He would."

"I think I'm drunk, Ronon."

"Yeah."

"But not drunk enough."

"Why not?"

"I haven't forgotten what I came out to this pier to forget." He opened another bottle of beer, reached out with it to clink Ronon's. "To Carson Becket, our friend, and one HELL of a doctor."

"To Carson."

"Just one more time. Then we'll listen to the next one." John nodded, agreeing with his idea.

"What's it called?"

"The Fields of Athenry."

"Sounds good."

John started the song again. When the chorus came around, Ronon sang, too. He didn't know exactly what the words meant, but it made John happy and kept Carson's memory alive.

The End