Reminder:
"This is spoken English."
"This is spoken Czech."
This is a thought.
There is a note at the bottom of this chapter that explains everything. Okay, maybe not everything. But, trust me, there is a reason for this. Okay? Okay.
Last time: Next stop, Atlantis. After the Daedalus comes to pick us up, anyway.
This time: I'd like you to meet my friends. And this guy.
Chapter 11. Favors.
"Good morning, Anna," Doctor Weir said. She folded her hands on her desk. She was a slim woman with red hair and small lips. She was pretty though, and had a nice smile. Anna didn't know what to expect from the members of the expedition, but somehow it wasn't this woman who went shopping with them. She didn't expect any member of the expedition to do things like that.
But maybe they were real people, after all.
"I'm glad you found your way here."
"Radek walked with me." Then he'd pointed at the right door. He said he was already late. It was partially Anna's fault. She slept late. And, even though her wardrobe was admittedly tiny, she couldn't find anything to wear. Nothing that she'd wanted to wear, anyway. Nothing appropriate for the first day of school where she was the only student.
"That's good," Elizabeth said. She motioned at the chair on the other side of her desk. Anna sat where she indicated and waited. "I got your placement tests from District 11—and I guess they got your records from where you went to school before?"
Anna nodded. It was nice talking to Elizabeth. Even though Anna didn't understand every single word, she spoke slowly and distinctly enough for Anna to get the context.
"You're quite far ahead in math and science. I see that the school wouldn't have anywhere to put you even if you went there." She smiled in approval.
"I study a lot," Anna said. What she didn't mention was how long she'd been studying. It wouldn't be so incredible if Elizabeth knew that from the moment Anna could read, she'd been following the path she thought she was born for. The path both of her parents said she was born for.
"I can tell," Elizabeth said. She looked for a long time at the papers in front of her. Then she looked up. "How long have you been learning English?"
"Not long," Anna said. "I learned German until my mother got sick. She knew Radek was in the United States so she wanted me to learn English instead."
Elizabeth's brow furrowed, a small smile tickled the corners of her mouth. "You've been learning for a year? That's very good."
"I watch many English videos." But it wasn't all fun and games. She couldn't be a bother. She had to be competent. She worked for hours, repeating words and phrases into the night.
It was a decent escape from her small cousin, too.
"But we can work on your English, too. It's the only subject you're behind in."
Anna was surprised how indignant she felt when Elizabeth said that. If there were such thing as Czech or German classes required by this country, she'd be ahead in those. "Yes," she said finally. It wasn't exactly what she wanted to say, but it was the only thing she could figure out in English.
"Are you interested in history?" Elizabeth asked. "Sociology? Psychology?"
Anna shrugged. She really wasn't. If she could have, she would have simply forgotten all of the other classes. Science and math were what she was good at, what she practiced. Some days she felt she couldn't form a correct sentence on paper, but she was also sure it didn't matter.
Especially in English.
"Radek says it's important to learn other things." She wasn't sure why.
"Oh, I agree," Elizabeth said. "I had to take physics classes, biology classes…"
That was a little different. Anna wasn't sure why.
Elizabeth paused for a long time, then leaned on her desk. Hands folded. She smiled and looked at Anna out of the corner of her eyes. "You don't think this is important, though," she said.
Anna smiled a little. "I'm sorry."
"No, don't be sorry. I'm sure your dad and Doctor McKay think the same thing."
"It must be important." For some reason. She didn't say that. But someone somewhere thought whatever Elizabeth did—not math or science, apparently—was important enough to lead the Atlantis expedition. "It is interesting."
Elizabeth sat back in her chair and straightened her shirt. "I hope so."
#
Radek said his name was Doctor Beckett, and that he understood Czech. Anna found that hard to believe, seeing as he was already a brilliant doctor and geneticist, and so had to keep current and study. He knew Czech well enough to speak it and he somehow he found time to fish, too. How did someone have the time to learn all of those things?
Maybe he learned Czech while he went fishing.
Anna slid into the conference room just in time to see him sigh heavily as he sorted through pages scattered over the table. He shook his head, looked up when Anna stepped into the conference room.
"Hello," he said. His smile was wilted, like he hadn't gotten any sleep and didn't know what he was doing awake. He looked around the conference room, even though he had to recognize he was the only one in there. "Are you lost?"
She shook her head. At least, she didn't think she was lost. "You are Doctor Beckett?"
He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes. "You must be Doctor Zelenka's daughter."
Anna didn't know how much English she'd been speaking. Talking with Doctor Jackson helped, but he hadn't been here the last few days. "Anna," she helped. She paused when she realized she was smiling. She went closer to the table and said, "Radek told me you speak Czech."
"I do, but not very well."
Anna would have liked to ask why in the world he spoke Czech. It was a little hard to decipher with his accent, but it was nice to meet someone else going to Atlantis who could speak her native language. "That's okay. I don't speak English very well." She tried not to pout, but she still didn't like how juvenile she felt whenever she tried to speak English. An American infants spoke better. "Everyone has had to put up with me butchering the English language all day."
"I understand it better than I speak it," he explained. "Your father and I get around that by my speaking English and his speaking Czech. It usually works. He is much better with English than I am with Czech."
"I'd never guess," she offered.
He grinned. "I am thrilled to meet you, Anna," he said. "I'm afraid I'm a bit swamped right now. You're welcome to join me, but I can't promise interesting conversation." She'd get used to his accent, she decided, and his grammar wasn't perfect. At least he looked genuinely thrilled, with his bright eyes.
Anna shrugged. "That's okay." She went to the end of the table and sat down. She felt small in these chairs. "Everyone is busy picking new people for the expedition."
He nodded and looked at the mountain of papers on the table. "Some of these people are more qualified than I am."
Anna doubted that, but just smiled in response.
He picked up some sheets stuck together with red paper clips. "This young lady, for example. From… Wisconsin, I think? She's very smart. Maybe more than me."
Anna didn't know where "Wisconsin" was. Judging by the look on his face, he wasn't completely sure, either. But she must have been smart. She'd have to be to go to another galaxy. It didn't go far in explaining why Anna was sitting here. "I'm not qualified, either."
Doctor Beckett smiled kindly at her. "I have a feeling by the time you're through learning at Atlantis, you'll be more qualified than any of us. With your father teaching you science and math, people like Doctor Brown teaching you things like botany… Doctor Weir will teach you everything you did and didn't want to know about social science."
That sounded accurate. Anna half-smiled. It didn't mean she wouldn't be in the way.
"It will be great…" His voice trailed off. Like there was something he wasn't saying?
"But?" Anna pried.
"Pegasus has its share of…" He paused and shrugged. "I don't want to scare you."
"Radek told me about the Wraith."
Doctor Beckett shook his head. "Terrible creatures."
That wasn't exactly something she expected from a doctor. After all, if Anna understood correctly, they were just eating. On the other hand, why were they so sadistic about it? Anna didn't feel that way about hamburgers, after all. In fact, it was unfortunate something had to die.
It seemed like the Wraith liked to kill just as much as they liked to eat.
"Yeah," Anna said.
"What… did he tell you?" Doctor Beckett asked.
"They're like vampires that suck out your soul with their hands." Doctor Beckett seemed more or less horrified. Anna didn't know whether it was due to her description or the creature she was describing. "They almost destroyed Atlantis," Anna said. She wasn't sure how close they got. Close enough that Radek sent her one last letter. Probably the most honest letter she'd ever gotten. "How close were they?"
"Close," he breathed. "Very close."
Anna nodded. "Radek said the city is safe now."
"As safe as it ever is, I suppose," Doctor Beckett said. He shrugged. "It turned out to be a bit of a blessing afterward. There are plenty of Wraith bodies for us to study, and—I'm sorry, this isn't appropriate conversation." He reddened in embarrassment.
Anna laughed. "I saw Alien."
Doctor Beckett seemed to consider that. "I'm afraid it's different when it's real."
Anna couldn't really argue with that.
#
"And what makes you think you're qualified to teach her, hm?" Doctor McKay asked.
"I realize it doesn't actually say 'doctor' on my uniform, but…"
"Are you kidding? They give out doctorates like candy these days," Doctor McKay interrupted, turning to Anna. "You took placement tests for high school, yes?"
"Yes. Elizabeth said…"
"Good. I'll have to see those." Maybe Doctor McKay just liked to interrupt everyone.
He was a strange-looking sort of guy. Not tall, not short. His brown hair made his head look bigger than it was. Or maybe smaller. Anna finally decided. He was weird in his averageness. But if she was to believe Doctor McKay, his intellect was anything but average. If she was to believe everyone else, his ego went right along with it.
Radek shrugged helplessly. "We can get those for you. And you can help, but…"
"Honestly, Radek, who would be a better teacher than me? What could she possibly want to know that I couldn't, you know, pass on?" He turned right on Anna and leaned down the little bit to be on her level. She wasn't much shorter than him, actually. "If you ask me, we're saving you from the horror show that is the American school system."
"I would take math and science college courses," Anna said.
Radek helped her. "District 11 didn't have anywhere to put her."
Doctor McKay scoffed. "Small favors." He snapped his fingers impatiently, like he was waiting for something to be placed in his hand. "Do you have it or not?"
"No, Rodney, I don't," Radek said. "I didn't think that bringing Anna to show her the lab gave you license to hijack her education."
"Oh, please." Doctor McKay went back to whatever he was doing with his computer.
"Rodney, I was offered a position at university in Brno before coming here, you know," Radek said. "I think I'm qualified."
Anna cast a glance at him. That was much closer to home than the Pegasus galaxy.
"What about your work on Atlantis?" Doctor McKay asked.
"You realize that I can teach and research at once." Radek threw his hands up and interrupted himself. "Never mind. I would be happy to have you help with Anna's education."
Anna looked between Doctor McKay and Radek. Not that she was thrilled with Radek having a personal hand in her science and math classes… but she was fairly sure she couldn't really handle Doctor McKay, either.
"Um…" she said quietly. She was able to follow the conversation pretty closely, but decided quickly she couldn't speak fast enough to be involved. Radek probably wouldn't listen to her anyway.
"You're welcome," Doctor McKay said, presumably to Radek. "When will you have the placement tests?"
Radek rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't know how to read them if you had them," he said.
Doctor McKay scoffed. "Excuse me?"
"When you weren't in another galaxy, you've been locked up at Area 51. Real world application of your skills isn't exactly your… skill," Radek said.
"Real world?" Doctor McKay laughed. "Oh, please, Radek, I've saved Atlantis—and your life in particular—a couple dozen times by now, haven't I?"
"Right, but there's a reason you don't stay on Earth, yes?"
Anna leaned back on the concrete wall and looked at her feet. It sounded like it could go on for quite a bit longer when a lady with blond hair walked in and shouted.
"Guys, guys!" She didn't look exactly happy. "Rodney, I said you could use my lab, not test how soundproof the concrete was. Because it isn't, especially when you leave the door open."
"Yeah, sorry," he said.
She smiled a little.
"Oh, what?" Doctor McKay glared.
"Sorry. It's just the cute way Canadians say 'sorry.' It gets me every time."
"Glad I could entertain you," Doctor McKay hissed and turned back to his computer, his face turning beet red. "Alright, well, Radek, you can forget the test results. I'll administer my own test. As soon as I write it."
"Thank you, Rodney," Radek said, tapping Anna's shoulder for her to follow him. On their way out the door, he muttered, "Small favors…"
A/N: Yeah. I should explain the whole "Carson speaks Czech" thing. So here it is.
While doing "research" for Duet, I must have watched the scene during the opening credits about ten-thousand times trying to figure this out. Right after the opening credits, Radek talks to Carson in something that does not sound like English. I chased down my trusted alpha-reader/sounding-board/filter-for-the-horrifically-bad for a second opinion. He went so far as to record that second, remove the background noise, and amplify the voices. We closed our eyes, pressed the headphones to our ears, tried to guess what English it might be, speculated why in the world Carson would understand it if it was Czech, and wished there was a script with this line. The point is, we can't make out any English at all. Thus was born the head-canon "Carson understands and/or speaks Czech." It's either that or they both speak some third language. Which is almost as ridiculous.
Then I contemplated whether or not to change anything in this story because of it. And I decided, why not? It's fun. Note that, though my theory doesn't mean that Carson can speak Czech, for the purposes of this story he can. Because reasons.
