Reconstructing Rome
By Indygodusk
Chapter 16
"Italy will never be a normal country. Because Italy is Italy. If we were a normal country, we wouldn't have Rome."
MATTEO RENZI
Once in the infirmary, John realized he couldn't just leave Ronon in a bed while he dealt with other duties. For one thing, the man probably hadn't slept in a bed in years. For another, he didn't want Ronon's first impression of Atlantis to be of boredom or needle-happy nurses. Happily, John remembered that delegation was one of the joys of command. He called Teyla to take care of their new guest.
Major McLean, who'd called in the sighting of Ford, seemed to be taking Ford's escape personally. Reddish dirt still caked the inside of his ear as he sat on a bed scowling. A nurse cleaned and wrapped a deep scrape down the back of his arm. His bicep was twice the width of John's, not that John felt inadequate or anything. McLean was only a Marine. Besides, John could still run faster and fit in a cockpit better.
"I'm sorry I let him get away from me, sir," McLean said on noticing John's attention.
John waved away the apology. "Ford got away from all of us. I should've been more aggressive in my approach, but I was hoping I could convince him to come back on his own." Stomach twisting at thoughts of Ford, John changed the subject. "You probably didn't hear, but we got approval to bring Dr. Diaz back with us on the Daedalus."
"That's great! The team missed Rigo. He may be an anthropologist, but he's ours, ya know?"
"Colonel Sheppard," called Dr. Beckett, tapping an empty bed meaningfully. John had waited for everyone else to get looked over first before being seen to.
"That's my cue. See ya around, Major." Nodding farewell, John went over to the doctor.
Since he was fine except for a few new bruises, Beckett quickly cleared John. "Thanks for coming out into the field," John told the doctor as he strapped on his watch. Beckett mostly preferred staying in the city to going through the gate. "You did a great thing today."
"What the Wraith did to that man was barbaric. I wish I could've removed the tracker without hurting him, but I'm glad I could help. Besides," he sent John a wink, his Scottish accent thickening for a moment, "it certainly beats diagnosing another case of genital herpes or gonorrhea. It's getting a little out o' hand. Dr. Biro might've understated the problem during our meeting because almost every patient I've seen today is having trouble in their trousers."
John snorted and rolled his eyes with a grimace. "Yeah, addressing that's been made part of my welcome home speech to the troops tomorrow." Since lectures from unit commanders weren't working, Lorne had rather gleefully informed John that it was now his responsibility. If the idiots were going to force him to ream them out over unsafe sex, it was going to be a lesson to make grown men cry. If John had to suffer, they all had to suffer.
When Teyla arrived she came straight to John with a happy cry. John grinned. He'd missed Teyla. She'd become one of his closest friends on Atlantis, an oasis of calm strength and wisdom who always had a ready smile. By the time she reached his side, John had already bent down for the traditional Athosian greeting, the action no longer awkward after a year of practice.
"Welcome back, John." Teyla clasped him behind the neck and touched their foreheads for a long moment before pulling back with a soft smile.
"It's good to be back," John told her. Just seeing her made the weight on his shoulders feel a little less heavy. If anyone could make sure Ronon became a friend, it would be Teyla. John wanted to hook Ronon up with some of his tougher Marines to show him around the armory and gym, but for now, he asked Teyla to keep the man from bolting and left it in her more than capable hands.
Before John could decide who he wanted to track down next, he almost ran into a Marine pacing just in front of the infirmary doors. The Marine didn't acknowledge his recently returned commander or look up from scowling at his feet, just swerved to the side and kept stomping back and forth. John frowned and checked the man's rank.
"Is everything alright, Sgt. Phu-Phukun-tsi?" John stumbled over the pronunciation. The Marine didn't seem to notice or care, transferring his sour frown from his feet to the infirmary doors and huffing.
Sgt. Phukuntsi had only joined the SGC a few months before the siege, so John had never met him in the Mountain. The Marine had transferred over to Atlantis with Colonel Ellis. He was tv-star handsome, which gave weight to the rumors claiming Phukuntsi had been taking a grand tour of bedrooms on Atlantis and the Daedalus, hooking up with every woman he could. As long as it didn't cause drama that affected the Mission, John didn't care who people slept with. This, however, looked like drama.
"Sergeant?" John repeated, tired of being ignored. "Sergeant!"
Narrow eyes finally shot over to John and went wide. Jerking to a stop, Phukuntsi moved to attention and saluted. "Colonel Sheppard, sir. Welcome back to Atlantis, sir."
"At ease, sergeant." John rocked back on his heels. "Is there a reason you're pacing in front of the infirmary instead of going inside?" Abruptly remembering the current outbreak of STDs, John winced internally and hoped he wasn't about to be given a graphic description.
Face scrunching as if tasting something sour, the sergeant's shoulders went tight. "It's that damned Mcka—" cutting himself off, he took a breath and transformed his expression to rueful "—sorry sir, I meant to say that that new girl running the sciences, Dr. Mckay, she called me over the radio and ordered me to get down to the infirmary. I was busy doing something more important, but my unit's CO heard and ordered me to go check it out anyway even though Mckay's not military and has no right to give me orders." He lifted his hands and shrugged, then looked at John as if inviting his commiseration or a get out of jail free card. "I think the poor girl must be confused since she's new."
Phukuntsi obviously didn't know Rome or her vicious reputation at all if he was calling her a 'poor girl.' She'd also been on Atlantis just as long as Phukuntsi had. And yeah, Rome shouldn't be ordering anyone military around, but this guy was rubbing John the wrong way.
John sent him a level stare. "Then you better stop stalling and get inside, Marine."
Dropping his eyes, though not before John caught a bit of attitude, Phukuntsi forcefully relaxed his posture and gave an easy shrug. "Of course, sir." Turning, he strolled into medical.
John pivoted on his heel, stopping the door before it closed to keep watching the man. Thinking himself unobserved, the Marines hands tightened into white-knuckled fists and his easy stride returned to stomping. John didn't like the idea of Rome having a private talk with Sgt. Phukuntsi. Not. One. Bit.
John followed the man back inside. Phukuntsi didn't seem to notice John's presence at the doors as he asked a nurse for directions. The nurse directed him towards a curtained off alcove in the far corner.
On the opposite side of the room behind a partition, someone bellowed. A loud crash sounded, as if someone had overturned a cart. Multiple people started shouting. All of the medical staff in the vicinity dashed towards the noise, leaving Rome's side of the room empty. Head tilting with curiosity, Phukuntsi followed the nurses to check out the commotion.
If it was Ronon making a mess, Teyla and Beckett could deal with it or call for John directly.
Until then, John was going to figure out what was going on with Rome. Why did she need to talk to Phukuntsi? Why in medical? Had she been hurt? If so, what did the oh-so-handsome Marine have to do with it?
As John moved forward he began to make out two female voices coming from the corner where the nurse had gestured. He decided to do some reconnaissance. Moving to an empty cubicle with a direct line of sight to the corner, he carefully closed the privacy curtain enough to hide him while he eavesdropped.
"I'm careful about everything! This is such a disaster," said a woman's voice.
"Are you sure there isn't a friend I can call for you instead?" It was Rome's voice. She sounded stressed and uncomfortable.
"Please, Mckay, I don't want to do this alone. You're so strong, so fearless. I need that right now so I don't freeze up. Please."
The silence stretched until Rome broke it with a sigh. "Alright, I won't leave you alone with him. I promise."
"Thank you…. I just feel so stupid. I never forget my pills and always use condoms. What are the odds?" The woman sniffled.
"We said no crying!" Rome exclaimed with a thread of panic. "Okay listen, you wanna know bad odds? Every woman in my family for three generations has had an accidental pregnancy, despite the religious use of contraceptives. Every single one! Birth control is the only religion we follow and has proven just as reliable as traditional church-going, which is to say, not at all."
John's mouth dropped into an 'o' of understanding. Relief flooded him as he realized this wasn't about Rome at all. The other woman must be pregnant.
The woman snorted. "I expected you to call me stupid and worse. Thanks for, you know, not." After a pause, she wistfully added, "I used to go to church on Earth. I didn't think I would miss it so much, but I do."
"Well, you obviously have a lot of flaws but at least you're a good engineer, so..." There was another awkward pause before Rome blurted, "Look, every woman's been fooled by a man's promises at least once in her lifetime. Men are selfish jerks but hormones override critical thinking to make us find them attractive. Evolution sucks." John pursed his lips, hoping she wasn't lumping him in with the rest of the jerks in her life.
"Am I making the right choice? How am I going to get through this?"
"Look, you've solved some impressive problems during your career. You wouldn't be on Atlantis otherwise. It stands to reason that you're going to figure this out too. Sure, it's a knock in the teeth for you and the kid, but when I think about it, it isn't the end of the world. My grandma made it through with no support. My mom was a pill but she survived it and I turned out awesome. So did my sister with my niece Maddy—" Rome's voice faltered and went thin "—and I have to believe that m—"
Sgt. Phukuntsi reappeared, striding over to grab the edge of the curtain and yank it open with a loud rattle, cutting Rome off mid-word and giving John sight of the two women. "Well?" Phukuntsi snapped.
John silently cursed the Marine. He'd wanted to hear how Rome planned on finishing that sentence. Had something happened to Maddy or Jean? Rome had sounded so wobbly, so unlike herself. She sounded like she needed a hug. Would she still let John give her one? Or would she snap at him for trying?
"Oh. You." Curling her lip in distaste and tucking away any signs of vulnerability, Rome stood up from her seat on the edge of the bed.
Her eyes looked almost electric blue against the red temper rapidly flushing over her face. Thoughts of hugging her in comfort rapidly slid into gutter thoughts of passionate clenches. He dragged his gaze from her eyes only to get caught on the swoop of her plump lower lip. He wanted to bite that lip. Moisture flooded his mouth. John's fingers ached with the need to relearn the curves of her body, to trace the arch of her lower back and the swell of breast and hip, to finally learn the texture of her secret places that he'd not yet had the chance to explore.
She'd twisted her golden hair up into a messy knot on the back of her head with a green pen. He wanted to take it down and run his fingers through it, to take a silky lock and run it across his lips. He wanted to trace the swoop of her nose and the stubborn line of her jaw, to bury his face in the crook of her neck and breathe in her scent like a lungful of oxygen when flying above 14,000 feet.
Before his imagination could get too carried away, John noticed the edge of sadness hovering at the edge of Rome's mouth. It cooled his ardor. Beneath the temper she seemed tired, worn thin by something. She had shadows under her eyes and fine wrinkles at eyes and mouth. Lorne had mentioned that she hadn't been sleeping well and that she'd distanced herself from friends like McLean and Kindall. At the meeting earlier, she'd seemed more curt than kind to Zelenka too, professional but not as easy as their relationship had seemed before he'd left for Earth.
John didn't like it.
Shouldn't Rome be happy now? She was on Atlantis. She was head of the sciences. She had everything she'd ever wanted. She should be sleeping like a baby.
"I'm here as requested," Phukuntsi sneered. "I know a pariah like you has to be desperate for physical contact, Mckay, but you should just transfer back to Earth. Doing you in medical in the middle of the day with only a curtain for privacy is a bit kinky, even for me. If you wanted me that badly, you could've just flashed me your tits again and invited me to your room. I would've taken you up on it as long as you kept your mouth busy doing something other than talking."
Breathing in slowly through his teeth, John's fingers tingled with the phantom sensation of slamming into Phukuntsi's jaw. He was rather impressed that Rome didn't start swearing and throwing things at the man. She'd had less restraint when she'd been younger, though admittedly John had also seen her reduce men to tears of rage and humiliation without lifting a finger or deigning to use a swear word.
Rome's eyes narrowed to frostbitten steel. A muscle in the corner of her jaw throbbed as she clenched her teeth. "If I had to touch you with my mouth I'd projectile vomit. The siege must've made everyone here desperate and too-willing to drink homemade moonshine. Being blind drunk is the only way anyone would ever fall for your dubious charms." Rubbing the side of her nose, she sighed and looked down, "That or being lonely and too trusting." She waved her hand. "Nevermind. We just have to tell you something and then you can crawl back into your sick den of delusions and disappear."
"We?" As the Marine looked past Mckay to the back of the alcove, he paused and blinked, his aggressive stance shifted to something less threatening. "Rachel?"
John followed his gaze, realizing he'd forgotten about the other woman. Sitting scrunched up on a chair wedged into the back corner sat Dr. Rachel Kushumba. John hadn't interacted with the engineer much though she'd been with the expedition from the beginning. A bird-thin woman with delicate features, golden brown skin, and black hair slicked back into a tail, she'd always reminded John of a heron. Right now she looked startlingly pale. Her eyes were red and the hands tightly clasped in her lap were white-knuckled.
Turning up the charm to eleven, Phukuntsi stepped around Rome as if she wasn't even there. "Are you hurt? Forget Mckay, is that why I'm here? Baby, what's this all about? Are they sending you back to Earth?"
"I'm not your baby but—but I am…I...I—I'm…I—I…." Opening and closing her mouth, Dr. Kushumba bit her lip and fell silent. She shrank down, almost disappearing into the chair before looking over at Rome with a face that had lost all color, eyes wide and mouth trembling. John worried she was about to throw up or pass out.
Rome's head jerked back. "What, really? Me?" Her face screwed up.
Before Dr. Kushumba could crumple in on herself even further and release the tears filling her eyes, Rome winced and reached out to awkwardly pat the other woman on the back. "Right, okay, sure. No more crying. And don't pass out again! It's fine, I'm used to being mean. I'll just say it and you correct me if I get anything wrong, okay? Okay. Have a tissue. In fact, take the whole box." Rome shoved the tissue box into Kushumba's chest, forcing the woman to grab it before it fell to the floor.
The sergeant clucked his tongue and kept his eyes locked on Dr. Kushumba. "Rachel, what's all this about? You don't need her, baby, just talk to me. Our time together might've been short—"
"I was desperate and drunk," Kushumba mumbled into her tissue.
"—but you have to know I'm here for you," he finished.
"And every other woman on base." Kushumba wiped her eyes and glared up at the Marine who had to be three times her size, proving she had a little bit of spine after all. "I haven't forgotten that you cheated on me the minute I turned my back. Bastard."
He shrugged without a trace of remorse. "I took care of you when you were in my bed and I didn't hear any regrets then, babe, only cries for more, but I know it's hard for women not to confuse sex and love. You're soft and ruled by emotion." He sent her a condescending smile. "I understand and don't hold it against you. It's why you all make me feel so protective. Now, what's this really all about?"
Kushumba's lip trembled. John didn't know her well enough to tell if it was from anger or hurt. She swiped her face with the crumpled tissue in her hand and blew out a breath, turning to Mckay again.
Putting her hands on her hips, Rome huffed loudly. "Look, Sergeant, it's like this. Kushumba feels morally bound to tell you she's pregnant, she's keeping it, and the sperm's yours. That said, she regrets sleeping with you and wants nothing to do with you otherwise. She has no intention of ever letting you be a part of the child's life since you can't be trusted not to contaminate the kid with your stupidity and narcissism."
Glancing over, Rome arched one brow. "That's the gist of it, right?" Dr. Kushumba pressed her lips tight and gave a single sharp nod.
John rocked forward onto the tips of his toes, ready in case he needed to intervene against an explosion of temper. The Marine was bigger than both women put together.
Rome turned back to Phukuntsi and said, "Great, now go away, you intestinal worm. Don't let the door hit you on the way out—or wait, maybe do. A hard enough hit might improve your trash heap personality."
Eyes locked on Kusumba, Phukuntsi didn't seem to be listening. A wide grin split his face and he laughed. "I got you pregnant! That's great, babe, really great."
Beckett appeared unexpectedly next to John and pulled back the curtain John was hiding behind. Ears going hot, John expected to be scolded for eavesdropping. Instead, Beckett merely gave him an arch look before folding his arms and turning to join John in watching the drama unfold.
"You did get the part where you aren't ever going to be a part of her life or the kid's, right?" Rome said.
Waving that away, Phukuntsi shot Rome an annoyed look. "I have no interest in kids, that's women's work." He turned back to Kushumba, face going soft. "Now you can go back to Earth where you belong to raise the baby. You'll be safe." Grinning, he put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Good good."
Nostrils flaring, Kushumba set the box of tissues on the bed with tight motions and stood up next to Rome, back straight and neck extended to lift her chin. She had a really long neck. John was again reminded of a heron. "I have no intention of going back to Earth until I absolutely have to. My work is here on Atlantis. With the gate open and the Daedalus making regular trips, I can easily keep working until the end of the—" she stumbled for a moment, distress flashing across her face before she collected herself "—the pregnancy before returning. I've done my moral duty by telling you, so now you can leave and never bother me again."
Lips going flat, Phukuntsi shook his head condescendingly. "That's just the hormones talking, sugar. You need to listen to me. Go back to Earth where you're safe from the Wraith. Women don't belong in warzones, especially not pregnant women. There are rules about it. Go back to Earth, babe. It's where you belong."
"Stop calling me babe!" Kushumba crossed her trembling arms. "You have no say in my life."
The Marine lowered his chin. "I gave you this gift to protect you. Don't be stupid."
Rolling her eyes, Rome put her hands on her hips. "You're the stupid one. What gift? You had an accident with the birth control. It's not like you bought her something thoughtful and wrapped it up in pretty paper and a shiny bow, so get lost."
"Stay out of this!" Sucking in a breath through his teeth, the Marine looked away from Rome and took a step to loom over Kushumba.
John and Beckett exchanged a worried look and moved closer to intervene. "Let's all calm down," Beckett called out. No one paid him any attention.
"Now you listen to me, you are going back to Earth!" Phukuntsi pointed a finger at Kushumba's face.
Kushumba cowered away but then, after a quick glance at Mckay, bravely looked back up at him and cleared her throat, enunciating softly but clearly, "No. I'm. Not."
"Yes, you all are because this proves it worked."
Rome's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by all?" She looked back and forth between him and Kushumba before reaching out to poke the Marine's shoulder. "And what worked?"
A muscle started to tic in Phukuntsi's jaw. He turned his shoulder to Rome to try and isolate Kushumba. "I'm going to keep you all safe whether you like it or not. You're soft. Fragile. You don't belong here. You need to do what I say."
"Hey, I asked you what worked?" Rome repeated loudly, poking him in the back. "What do you mean by all?"
"Everyone I've gotten pregnant, now I said stay out of this!" he snapped over his shoulder, slapping away her hand. "You shouldn't be here either."
Eyes going wide, Rome grabbed his arm and dug in her fingers. "Wait, are you saying you got her pregnant on purpose?" Her voice went shrill.
"Of course I did, her and the others." Grimacing, he flung Rome's hand off. "It's for your own good. The SGC may be corrupt enough to allow girls in a warzone but even they have to draw the line at endangering a baby. Now you'll be returned to Earth where you should've stayed, where it's safe. Women shouldn't be put in danger."
The more he said, the more Rome's expression went flat and eerie. It looked like she'd even stopped breathing. Her eyes dilated and the blood drained from her face, leaving it a ghostly white.
Abruptly sitting down on the edge of the bed, Kushumba's voice went tiny. "You did what?"
"Protected you," Phukuntsi snapped.
"How?" Kushumba shook her head and clutched the bed sheets. "And what about our baby?"
Phukunsti rubbed a hand roughly over the scruff shadowing his cheeks and blew out a breath. "Look, I only did what was necessary, sabotaging birth control and spreading my seed around to get as many girls pregnant as possible. You were just one among many. I don't care about your baby. I care about making you safe. You should be thanking me, Rachel."
As John processed the magnitude of Phukuntsi's confession, disgust and anger filled him. The man didn't care about how an unwanted pregnancy could impact a woman's health and sanity or how losing experienced women would affect the success of the mission and the safety of Atlantis and Earth. John was tempted to tie the man up on an isolated pier and walk away, let the women on base rip off his dick and stuff it down his throat until he choked. It was no less than he deserved. John didn't trust himself to touch the man at that moment for fear he'd go too far.
"How dare you!" Carson growled, stomping forward to grab Phukuntsi's arm and wrench him around for a scolding.
It left the Marine distracted and wide open, which shouldn't have mattered except Rome suddenly went ABSOLUTELY CRAZY.
AN: Thanks for the comments people! We had an earthquake here this morning, which was just lovely on top of everything else going on right now. We're fine but a lot of people here are even more freaked out. But it reminded me to finally fill up the water storage jugs I'd bought last summer and left empty, so that's good. Tip: ½ tsp unscented bleach for every 5 gallons of tap water OR 3 drops per 2 Liters and rotate every 6 months. In other irritations, I'm getting a cold with a cough and sore throat, but no fever. It's swell. I'm staying in and hiding this so people don't shun us or egg the door. Though maybe if they toilet paper our house it would be worth it, lol. In the evenings I have been working my way through the Thin Mints and Samoas I bought last week. I just realized how appropriate my thin mint eating was for St. Patrick's Day yesterday. Green for the win! Do you guys have special comfort snacks right now? Sending you all good energy, hope, and good health! Thanks for reading and commenting!
