Touched By An Ancient
By Ann3
Writer's note: Ah, another chapter done and dusted ! Thanks to everyone for their reviews, it's been a great help ! Just to add there's a wee bit of reference made to Duet in this chapter, as poor Carson faces a challenge even worse than the Wraith... ;o)
Okay then, on with the show...
Chapter Nine
He'd never say it to McKay's face, of course. If he did, he'd never be allowed to forget it. But as he collapsed into blessedly cushiony heather, Carson had to admit he just may have been right. Maybe the appetite he'd always defended as being 'healthily hearty' did need a little gentle pruning.
Judging by the amused glance from alongside him, his father had come to the same conclusion.
"If I'd known you were this unfit, son, we'd ha'e stayed with Melia in the village…" he said at last – the battle to keep his face straight finally lost to the breathlessly peeved huff he received in response.
"If I'd known we'd be hiking up the Pap o' Glencoe, dad, I'd have brought some bloody oxygen…!"
If he was looking for some fatherly sympathy… well, Carson Beckett was to be sadly disappointed.
"Aye, lad… one of the perks o' the afterlife is no needin' to breathe…"
Glaring at him through sweat-stung eyes, Carson kept any further comeback wisely to himself. He'd often wondered where his wickedly dry sense of humour had come from. Well, now he knew.
That shared humour was irresistible, though, and it wasn't long before he, too, lay in fits of laughter. What else could he do…? Here he was, sharing a hike through his subconscious with his long deceased father.
As if that wasn't freaky enough, he was cracking jokes too – about being dead, for crying out loud…! And, to Carson's utter chagrin, asking the question every unmarried son over thirty hated to hear.
"So then, son… have ye found a bonny wee lassie to keep ye warm at night…?"
Lying semi-asleep in the heather, it took ten clear seconds for Carson to catch his playful drift. Five seconds after that for his eyes to snap open. And five seconds on top of that before he managed to stammer out a thoroughly scandalized protest.
"Dad…!"
"Och, come on, son…! Just because I'm dead, dinnae think I don't still take an interest in ye…!" Taking full advantage of the stunned silence that followed, his father's eyes then glinted in evil mischief. "If there's no-one else, son, I rather think Melia has a bit of a soft spot for ye…!"
Oh, this was just great. First the jokes, then the dreaded 'girlfriend' thing, and now he was matchmaking…? Well okay, in the irreverent flippancy department, if nowhere else, two could play at that game.
"Aye, dad, I think you're right..." he conceded, with an innocence even John Sheppard would find hard to match – choosing his moment with the same mischievous skill, before delivering the equally dry punchline. "And Melia's a lovely lass, right enough… just a wee bit old for me… if you catch my drift…"
Even as delighted laughter rolled once more around him, Carson knew he wasn't safe yet. Along with that playful humour, he'd also inherited his father's tenaciously stubborn streak – a real godsend when faced with such recalcitrant patients as Messrs Sheppard and McKay.
To be on its receiving end, though… well, Carson already knew he was fighting a lost cause. No, he wearily realised, the only way to satisfy his father's curiosity was to come clean about Laura – although 'that' milestone in their relationship would go through some judiciously face-saving editing.
"Actually, dad, there is someone… back on Atlantis, her – her name's Laura…"
Carson then breathed a sigh of pure relief as the dreaded 'first kiss' question failed to materialise. If anything, the eyes which now met his were serious again, in sympathy for an unspoken yearning.
"Ye must be missing her, son… missing all your friends… and wantin' to go home…?"
Completely thrown by this sudden change in mood, Carson then dredged up a weary, rueful smile.
"Aye, dad, I am… but I – I can't go back yet, can I…? Not – Not while I still have all these…"
"...damn demons messin' up your head..."his father finished for him, gently ruffling his hair. "No, son, you cannae go home just yet… but you're almost there, Carsie… see yonder…?"
Squinting upwards, Carson then stared in astonished recognition of an unmistakeable circle of stone.
"The – The Stargate…!" he whispered, not even trying to hide the relief and yearning in his voice.
"Aye son, that's your gateway home…" his father agreed, favouring him with another gentle smile. "There's still these beasties, though, son, tryin' to block your way to it, so…"
Giving Carson's shoulder a rallying shake, he then gently hauled his nervous, uncertain son to his feet.
"Come on then, wee Carsie… let's go bag us some beasties…"