Stargate: Atlantis; The Alternate First Season
By WeaverOfDreams777
Rating: PG-PG13
Genre:Action/Adventure
Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate:SG1 or Stargate:Atlantis.
Warning: This story is not meant to fit the storyline set forth by the producers of Stargate. It is AU, Alternate Universe. If you don't like that, don't review. You don't have to read it. I personally feel that Stargate:Atlantis went down the toilet because the writers did not put forth the nessecary effort. The show is not new and different, it is merely a remake of SG1, and they need new writers and new storylines. The Melodrama is killing me.
Interesting idea, but I'm thinking this might become Weir/OC. No slash though, just plain male/female. See if you can figure out the pairing. ;-)
Chapter Eight: Fish Tales
Weir knew she'd slept later than usual, they all had. Somehow, being able to look at the stars last night had been an unusual experience. It had been a rather long time since the team had seen the Pegasus galaxy stars, and the newcomers hadn't seen them at all until last night. It felt like a lazy sort of day right now, the sun was glittering on the water, it was early in the morning yet, and it looked like liquid gold as far as the eye could see. Gonfalon and Ford were laughing as they lowered a boat into the waters, joking about something. Captain Crawford joined them, carrying what looked like fishing poles.
"What are you three doing?" Weir called down from her balcony.
"Going fishing!" Ford replied. "We should find out if anything here is edible before we actually have to."
Weir rolled her eyes.
"You just want an excuse to leave the city with the boys." she said.
"Well, yeah, pretty much." Sheppard replied, joining the group.
"Bring me back a salmon. You aren't taking Jerhun with you, are you?" Weir asked.
"No, he's with Beckett. Beckett said Jerhun couldn't come with us, so he's helping Beckett catalog the drawings Miss Winthrop did of the wildlife." Crawford said.
Weir sighed.
"Fine, enjoy your fishing trip." she said.
"We will!" the four chorused.
Sheppard let out a sigh of relief as he stepped into the boat.
"I thought she would never shut up!" he sighed, to no one in particular.
Ford nodded his agreement.
"Well, enough of that! Let's land some big fish!" Crawford said eagerly.
Gonfalon laughed.
"Yes, let's. We have pretty nearly all the same fish here as you have on your Earth. Many are edible species, and,' here Gonfalon winked, 'there are some rather large marlins. Let's see what we can catch."
Crawford and Sheppard immediately started baiting their fishing hooks as the boat skimmed along the water. When they reached a nice spot, they stopped the boat, and cast their lures. Ford and Gonfalon snickered at the two ranking officers as they cast a net over the side.
Sheppard and Crawford weren't getting any bites. Gonfalon and Ford started pulling up the net. It was heavy, and it was thrashing. The net was teeming with fish when they pulled it aboard, and their silver scales glittered as they spilled across the bottom of the boat.
"They look like tuna, how did you guys get so lucky?" Sheppard asked in indignation.
Gonfalon and Ford laughed.
"We simply had a better idea." Ford said.
Ford and Gonfalon let down the net again, and Sheppard's line began to pay out.
Crawford and Ford had to help him hold onto the rod as the fish he'd hooked fought him.
Sheppard was very relieved that they'd used heavy fishing lines when he finally brought the marlin alongside. He hit it over the head with a paddle and the four of them hauled it into the boat. Crawford's jaw dropped. Gonfalon frowned.
"What a pity. You got one of the small ones. Throw it back." he sighed.
Sheppard looked at Gonfalon in disbelief.
"Gonfalon! This monster is twelve and a half feet long! What do you mean, throw it back?!"
"I've seen much larger ones, but I guess you could use him as bait. You'll need a net though, that rod won't do it."
Sheppard refused to throw his prize back. Crawford caught an enourmous seabass. Ford and Gonfalon continued to pull shining tuna up in the net. Finally, Sheppard caught a large salmon, a peace offering for Weir. The ice that they'd brought along was enough to keep the fish cold and fresh, and finally, Crawford declared that they'd best head back before the ice melted. The outboard motor hummed along as they headed back to the city.
Weir rubbed her forehead in agitation. She should have been more awake before she'd let anyone go fishing. All the commanding officers were out on that boat, and she needed them now. Cavanaugh was being an imbecile again, and his research team was about ready to throttle him. Beckett was running around like a crazy person trying to find a missing drawing. Miss Winthrop was trying to find Beckett. All hell had broken loose since the officers and Gonfalon had left.
Only Jerhun wasn't driving her nuts. He was an oasis of peace in the middle of some very hectic proceedings. Weir finally collapsed into a chair beside him.
"How do you do it? How do you keep from going nuts with all these people rushing around you and asking you questions?" she demanded.
He smiled.
"I watch you." he said. "You handle it well also, so why ask me how it's done?"
"You watch me? Jerhun, I am stressed! With a capital S!" she cried.
"I know that, but not everyone else does. You can handle it, I know that. Take a break, eat your lunch, and then worry about it, but don't think about everything you have to do until you're done. And today, take your time eating your lunch." he said. "I'll be the motivator for now."
The boat motored up alongside the city, and the huge mass under the tarpaulin was a good clue to the success of the fishing trip. Some of the S.E.A.L.s pulled Sheppard's huge Marlin up with obvious awe. Sheppard presented the cold, wet, forty pound salmon to Weir with a proud flourish.
"Your salmon, madam." he laughed.
Weir started to laugh. The amount of fish was almost staggering, and they were huge fish, as well. The tuna spilled across the decking as they were dumped from the boat. Teyla and her people seized upon the opportunity and started gutting the fish. Sheppard and Crawford managed to put the marlin in a freezer, and Gonfalon made sure it became encased in ice.
Beckett shook his head in bewilderment as the smallest tuna was weighed in at three hundred pounds.
"Get the SGC on the horn, we need a bigger boat!" Sheppard cackled.
Gonfalon laughed.
"Under the city there are sixty foot boats, how big do you need? We could fashion a twin-hulled craft from them."
Crawford grinned.
"We'll have our own little fishing fleet."
"I suppose I know what's for dinner." Jerhun said. "Tuna, and lots of it."
Weir turned to him.
"You cook, I know you do, so can you cook up this salmon? I know what I want for lunch!"
Everyone laughed.
"After a few months, MREs get kinda boring." McKay agreed.
Jerhun rolled up his sleeves and fell to scaling and gutting the massive salmon.
"I have one question for you, Gonfalon. Why are the fish here so big?" Weir asked.
"Because they've not been harvested for a very long time and the waters are not polluted. They've always been rather large on this planet. My grandfather told me of catching salmon the size of these tuna, they were very popular. We've never taken more than we needed from these waters, we had to ensure that things would last."
Weir savored the fresh salmon. The meat was cooked to perfection, and seasoned just right. She could really get to like this. Apparantly the atlanteans had been a fishing culture, because they had sure kept a lot of fish-related knowlege in circulation. She wondered if there were any beaches on which to collect clams. She liked to sit here on this balcony and watch the sun set. It was beautiful. Weir was beginning to think of Atlantis as home.
It was really strange, but being on that little island, and seeing clear, blue waters all around you, no longer felt threatening. It wasn't like being cast adrift anymore, it was sort of like having a hiding place that no one else knew about. The sunlight on the water was magical, the whole place had a rather mystical feel to it. Zilenka had explained that the colony's energy needs were much less when surfaced, less need for lights, less demand for power from the forcefields, it all added up. Being on the surface was ideal. It certainly helped the residents of Atlantis not to become claustrophobic. Most of the city was populated now, which pleased Gonfalon no end. It was more like when he'd lived here, so very long ago.
And Jerhun seemed so happy among the humans. Weir smiled, thinking of Jerhun bustling around in the kitchen, preparing food that he couldn't eat due to his jaw. She'd asked if that bothered him, and he'd laughed, explaining that not only did it not bother him, he loved to cook! The various cuts of tuna and sea bass were no mystery to him, and he was all for cooking to order. Everyone liked the fish just a little bit differently cooked or prepared, and he welcomed the challenge. Tsuki Yamagata and some others in the Asian/Japanese community wanted sushi, so they had been in the kitchen as well, since Jerhun had no idea how to prepare that. Weir had been absolutely not interested in eating sushi.
Some of the others were thrilled, thinking of all the other types of marine life that could be harvested. And Sheppard was excited by the idea of sushi as well. Weir secretly wondered if 'sushi' meant literally 'dead fish'.
Gonfalon was pointing out some constellations to Weir as she tried to map them with a digital camera. Her photo chip exhausted, she turned to Gonfalon himself.
"I'll bet your wife misses you." she said suddenly.
Gonfalon smiled distantly.
"No, but I miss her. I'll see her again someday." he sighed. "She has merely ascended to a realm where I can't follow. Both of them have. I wonder if they look down on their son with pride..."
"Both of your wives died?"
"My second wife died three years ago, giving birth to our daughter. My mother-in-law is raising her."
"You should be misserable! Why are you so happy?"
"In a way I am misserable. I miss them sorely, but I have confidence that I will see them again."
Weir was dumbfounded.
"Will you take another wife?"
Gonfalon shook his head.
"No, I have too much respect for the other women I know, I do not want to burden them with the reminders of the past. And I can't justify taking a wife now, I fear too much to lose another."
Weir looked at her feet, feeling silly for having asked that question. She really didn't know why she had. She had seen deeper into Gonfalon, she'd seen the warring emotions behind those bright eyes. Now she understood how hurt he'd been to find his son on the verge of death before. Gonfalon had done much in his life, earned much with his blood, sweat, and tears. Maybe that was why he seemed so eager to make sure the Atlantis colony clicked, he wanted them to stay, wanted new memories to replace the past ones.
Weir threw her arms around Gonfalon's neck from his back and hopped on like she was riding piggy back. He laughed, threatening to dump her over the balcony into the waters below. Every time he pretended to dump her over the edge she screached a bit and then started to giggle. Somehow, being around Gonfalon made one want to act like a little kid again. Sheppard, standing just inside, was watching, laughing so hard his face was flushed pink. Aiden Ford was covering his mouth to hide his laughter. Crawford grinned wickedly, then stepped out there as well. He knocked both Gonfalon and Weir into the water. They didn't have far to fall, and Weir immediately came up, sputtering. Gonfalon came up laughing, and helped Weir back onto the balcony.
Sheppard was rolling on the floor holding his sides, he was laughing so hard, and Aiden was bent over, clutching his stomach, laughing outright. Crawford was laughing as he handed Weir a towel. Wier accepted that the joke was on her and started to laugh as well as Gonfalon tried to squeeze the water out of his long blond hair.
"How's the water?" Sheppard gasped, tears of laughter running down his cheeks.
"It's lovely. No survival gear needed." Gonfalon said, then seized the Major and tossed him in. Sheppard hit the water head first, and found that it was in fact rather too cool for his liking. Ford and Crawford hit the water not much after Sheppard, and now Weir and Gonfalon were laughing down at them. Weir stuck her tongue out at them, then walked away. Gonfalon threw down a rope and hauled them back up, and the four sat laughing as they tried to get semi dry before going inside.
Sheppard sighed.
"I suppose I won't finish those calculations for McKay tonight." he said, leaning back and looking at the starshine on the water. "Much as I love mathematics, I can only sit there so long to stare at them. Math problems, I mean."
Gonfalon yawned and agreed.
"I like figures as well, but they are not meant to be one's constant companion."
"Yes, and they tend to multiply." Ford deadpanned.
His three companions groaned.
Jerhun felt positvely ill. Beckett had warned him that he had a major concussion and wouldn't feel well for a while, but he hadn't expected pounding headaches and loss of balance, or nausea brought on by merely walking, for that matter. He was lying in his bed right now with his aching head buried in the blanket, trying to shut out the light, which seemed to worsen the headache. His father had tried to help him, working with Beckett, but not much had done him good.
A voice drifted to him, joined by other voices. It sounded like Abigail Winthrop and the Israeli contingent.
I lift up my eyes
Unto the hills
From whence shall come
My Help
My Help is from
The Lord God
Maker of Heaven
And Earth
He will not give to the moving of your foot
Nor will slumber He who keeps thee
Behold, He'll not slumber
Nor will He sleep
He who keeps
Israel
Jerhun listened with half an ear. The synagogue chants were soothing, and he drifted into an easy slumber. When Gonfalon came back that evening, Jerhun was completely relaxed, and still sleeping. The sleep would probably help, since he wasn't fighting nausea and pain in that state. Gonfalon laid his hand on Jerhun's head, reaching into his son's mind, searching for any indication that Jerhun was worse that he'd been earlier. In fact, he seemed a good deal better.
Gonfalon sat writing in on a computer while Jerhun slept on. Gonfalon was writing down everything that happened in Atlantis, like a firsthand historian. He wrote it clearly and concisely, not mincing words. He was rather enjoying it, in fact.
Jerhun stirred slightly, the light filtering through the windows waking him. It amazed him every morning, this gift of sight. He couldn't wait until his jaw was healed enough that Beckett would unwire it, he wanted to try some of the fish that he now regularly cooked to feed the entire community. Weir lived in the upstairs room of the same dwelling that Gonfalon and Jerhun shared, it was a strange arrangement, but it sufficed. Weir didn't really like having no men in the household, she still saw them as a source of protection, no matter how feministic she may have been. So she lived in a single-parent household that was all male. It confused Sheppard, certainly.
It was Jerhun's job to wake Weir in the mornings, and he didn't exactly relish it. He slipped quietly up the steps to where Weir was sound asleep in her bed, then grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her till she woke up. Weir was not unknown to be slightly combative when first awakened, and more than once she'd given Jerhun a nice bruise as a reward for waking her. Jerhun had learned to jump just beyond her reach before she rolled over.
"Dr. Weir, it's time to get up..." he whispered.
She'd moan and complain, but eventually she'd drag herself out of bed.
Gonfalon would by now have fed Kamil, who was still locked up, and started to prepare breakfast. Weir would join the two rather religious Ancients for the morning meal, then they'd all get to the tasks to which they were assigned.
Sheppard shared a house with Crawford, Ford, McKay, and Beckett. The four bachelors were often at McKay's throat. Jerhun had a hunch that McKay would be making other arrangements soon. It was interesting, but though the city was nowhere near fully populated, up to five people would share one house. Usually they were all of the same gender and single, Gonfalon, Jerhun, and Weir were really the only exception.
Someone knocked on the door, and Jerhun went to answer it. McKay stood there with all his things, looking rather baffled.
"Shep kicked me out!" he said.
Jerhun wasn't really surprised. The mere sound of McKay's sarcastic voice annoyed him, personally.
"I suppose we'll have to find you alternate accomodations, then." he sighed.