Authors Note:

This is my response to the ladygris/theicemenance challenge for a story that begins and ends with 'it was a dark and stormy night'. I did go over the word limit a little which I hope will be forgiven in the context of it being my first bit of writing for a few weeks now, being posted at 1:30am. The contest mentioned is a real one, run every year - references from wikipedia and www dot bulwer-lyttonm dot com. Thanks for reading.

Challenge 13: The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest

"It was a dark and stormy night ..."

Jennifer looked at the infamous words on her screen, her cursor blinking expectantly as she sat frowning, her mind blank of inspiration. When Doctor Heightmeyer first issued Jennifer with the challenge – to step outside her intellectual comfort zone and create an entry for the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest – she'd thought it would be relatively easy.

Taking over as the CMO of Atlantis came at a cost the young doctor struggled to shoulder – deciding to do as she instructed her patients to do, Jenn consulted Kate Heightmeyer, looking for some tools to help her cope with the added responsibility.

"Do something that has absolutely nothing to do with work," Kate recommended. "And nothing medical either," she added when Jenn immediately nodded. "Try something new, something so different you won't be able to connect it to the job."

"Um ... I'm happy to try but ...," Jennifer trailed off uncertainly.

"But you can't think of anything that isn't linked to medicine," Kate smiled reassuringly. "I'm not surprised. Living where we work, particularly as isolated as we are here, has the tendency to narrow our interests. I do have one idea."

"Which is?" Jennifer queried hesitantly.

"The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest," Kate said it like Jenn should already know what it was.

"A fiction contest?" Jennifer frowned. "I don't write Kate, and even if I did I don't think I'd want to enter any kind of contest."

"You don't have to," Kate smiled, "and you don't have to be a writer either – that's the beauty of this. Are you familiar with Paul Clifford? It's a novel published in the late 1800's that begins with the line 'it was a dark and stormy night'. It's widely acknowledged as one of the first and worst examples of bad Victorian melodramatic novels."

"I know the phrase," Jenn acknowledged, not admitting her knowledge was formed from a love of Snoopy comic strips and not from hours spent reading literature.

"Good," Kate rose and moved to her desk, quickly finding a single sheet of paper and returning to hand it to Jennifer. "This describes the requirements."

"Right ... great," Jennifer smiled weakly before folding the page and tucking it into her back pocket.

She'd pushed Kate's 'treatment' to the back of her mind successfully for a couple of weeks, but now her next appointment with Kate was looming.

"Come on, you can do this," she muttered, bending resolutely towards her keyboard, her fingers hovering.

"Do what Doc?" Lorne's unexpected question had Jenn lurching forward abruptly. Her seat shot out from under her, landing her on her bottom at the Major's feet.

"Not the reaction I was expecting," he held out a hand, his expression non judgemental.

Jennifer took the proffered hand and let him help her up, her eyes narrowed as she tried to detect amusement in his eyes. That led to her noticing just how blue his eyes were ... again ... and she quickly pulled away. "What can I help you with Major?" she asked briskly.

"Not a thing," Lorne raised his hands in an 'it's all good' gesture. "I just came down to check on Captain Harper – I heard you muttering to yourself in here so I ..." he shrugged.

Captain Harper was one of the newest recruits who hadn't ducked fast enough during his first sparring session with Ronon. A mild concussion and a few stitches would ensure he'd move much quicker next time.

"The Captain's doing fine," Jennifer kept it medical, comfortable and confident in her professional role. Lately she'd found that strong foundation a little shaky in Lorne's presence. There was just something about this man that left her feeling giddy inside. "You're a grown woman, not a school girl," she reminded herself firmly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lorne asked, watching her intently.

Jennifer's gaze went to her computer screen before she looked back to Evan. "Of course Major Lorne. I'm fine."

"Right," Evan followed her gaze and she stifled a groan when she realised he was reading the screen. "It was a dark and stormy night?" he queried, a slight frown marring his forehead.

"It's a thing ... for Doctor Heightmeyer," Jennifer excused, hoping he'd leave it at that.

"A thing?" A smile played across Lorne's lips, his expression inviting her to spill the details.

Jennifer couldn't resist giving in to that silent demand ... part of her newly discovered nerves around Evan were centred on the suspicion that she'd be hard pressed to deny him anything. "It's just a silly assignment," she explained in a rush, feeling her face heating up as Evan continued to watch her. "Kate wants me to write my own beginning to a bad Victorian novel."

"Sounds ... fun," Evan said blandly.

"That's not how I'd describe it," Jennifer muttered.

Lorne chuckled. "Want some help?" he offered.

"Um ...," Jenn hesitated. She'd love for Evan to do her homework but knew that wasn't the intent of the exercise.

Lorne paused a moment and then spoke. "How about 'the tumultuous waves of the surrounding oceans, it's colour so striking that the city's builders and long gone inhabitants had incorporated accents of it into the very walls and floors – this first scene taking place on Atlantis, in another galaxy - provided the perfect backdrop for a first date that would prove to be the stuff of romantic epics'?"

Jennifer blinked, her brain taking precious milliseconds to go beyond the unlikely fact that Evan Lorne knew the larger quote well enough to make up something fitting, to process his words. When their meaning struck, her eyes shot to his. She couldn't miss his hopeful, almost shy expression as he waited for a reply.

"Are you ... was that a ...," she stopped, knowing she'd be crushed if he said no.

"A request for a date?" Evan finished. "Yeah, it was. So ... ?"

"I'd love to," Jennifer smiled, tamping down the urge to break into a happy dance.

"Great," Lorne smiled back. "Friday night, 1900 hours?"

"Perfect," Jennifer stayed on her feet as he nodded before taking his leave, only dropping back to her seat once she was alone.

She was going out with Evan Lorne! Smiling, she thought about the most unique request for a date she'd ever heard. If he could do that with zero notice then she should be able to emulate him. Inspired, she bent back over her computer, determined to improve on 'it was a dark and stormy night.'

The End