Flipside
Female Gen Ficathon Assignment for thelastgoodname (LJ)
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Character: Elizabeth Weir
Prompt: power and weakness
Notes: No angst.
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Rating: G
Summary: Memories of winter. Futurefic. (yep, it's a Christmas fic...kinda. No spoilers.)
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The tousle-headed child stands with her face up against the window pane as whiteness swamps the world all around her, snowflakes twirling and twisting their way to the ground.
There is no real winter in Atlantis; the air is cold, but too cold to allow rain or snow to fall or let ice form. Elizabeth Weir, civilian commander of the city, stares into the unnaturally bright sky beyond the water.
She doesn't go outside, but she wants to, to play with the other children who are there. Her father is overprotective, says her mother, and won't let her mix. Lizabet is their youngest, to be treasured and kept at home now that her brothers have departed the family nest. When she asks her parents what they do at work, the answers she receives are confusing and don't seem entirely truthful. An intuitive child, she chooses not to push further questions on her relations.
She still doesn't go outside, beyond her balcony, but it's through choice and her sense of duty. In her position she doesn't need to ask a permission she couldn't get as a girl, because it would be her own decision either way. She has the authority here and now. There's no snowfall here, so instead, she watches the sky as it changes shade.
She always feels overwhelmed at Christmas-time, smaller than her brothers and cousins and all the visiting adults, but being small has its advantages when she's the one who gets to sit on their grandfather's lap for the yearly storytelling session. He drops a loving kiss into her curls as she cuddles close for extra warmth.
Christmas in Atlantis has become a cultural celebration rather than its traditional religious event, for many of the residents of the Ancient city and its mainland are disillusioned with religion of all kinds and wish simply to celebrate the fact that they survive. The date was chosen almost arbitrarily and now stands as a single annual festivity. Elizabeth rather likes it that way, though she might not admit it to her colleagues and friends.
Her Christmas Eve bedtime is always eight p.m., a special treat granted by her parents when she's allowed to stay up past it shortly after her tenth birthday. Lizabet is delighted with the relaxing rules, but insists, once in double figures, that she be called by her full first name. After all, she's a big girl now. She still likes to go along with the spirit of the holiday though, a time for family and togetherness that she's enjoyed ever since she can remember. Her immediate family isn't Christian by denomination, but it's never stopped them celebrating the holiday along with the rest of their neighbourhood. Elizabeth feels the sense of community and love just as much as the other children in her grade do.
She leans back in her chair on Christmas Eve, looking back in her mind to memories of winter parties on Earth, and instead of dwelling on what she's missing there, she thinks of how to mark the festival for Atlantis and its residents. She's no longer simply being swept along with the tide of her family festivities; it's her responsibility and her capacity as leader of the city's people to arrange it all. A smile crosses Dr. Weir's face as she contemplates Christmas with her new family, and when her second-in-command enters her office, she grins at him and puts forward her suggestions.
fin