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BETA: DaniWilder
Note: A short update this time; I've a lot on my plate this week both in writing and in life. Anyone else prepping for NANOWRIMO?
Stargate: Atlantis
Second Choices
by koinekid
Chapter 6
"Are you ready, sweetheart?"
Jennifer gazed up into the calm blue eyes of the first man she ever loved. "Ready, Dad."
He offered his arm, and she held on tight as the strains of "Here Comes the Bride" filled the parlor.
She and Rodney had chosen a small venue for the big day, a bed and breakfast outside Milwaukee. Both came from small families, which combined could fit into a couple of fifteen-passenger vans with room to spare. And living in another galaxy left the bride and groom with few friends or associates to pad out the guest list.
Rodney's natural competitiveness long ago burned most of his bridges. Saving the lives of the physics community's best and brightest last year helped douse the flames, but repairing a reputation takes time. A pity. Jennifer would have loved to see Sam Carter's face when Neil deGrasse Tyson entered. Sit here, Sam. Or would you rather sit next to Neil? Sam? Sam, where are you going?
Jennifer sent her invites to, among others, a beloved professor, an old colleague, and the med school lab partner who once hid a live snake in a cadaver to frighten her. The professor had taken ill, the colleague was busy with Doctors Without Borders, and the lab partner had another wedding to attend that weekend—his own. Wish me luck, he wrote back. Third time's the charm!
Not for Jennifer. She was a one-and-done kind o' girl. Like Mom.
The bridesmaids began their slow march in, led by Jeannie's daughter. Jennifer reminded herself to buy the girl a special thank-you gift for all the teasing she had to endure that week. Once the Wisconsinites learned her name was Madison, her fate was sealed.
After the bridesmaids came the matron of honor. Then it was time for her and Dad to join the processional.
He leaned in and whispered, "No turning back now."
Jennifer smiled. If he only knew.
As her father guided her down the aisle, she thought back to a walk taken one year ago. The details were as vivid now as then: sunlight peeking through the forest canopy, crisp autumn leaves crunching beneath her boots, Rodney struggling under the weight of the luggage but refusing to let her carry a thing. She had a spring in her step then and a new diamond upon her finger.
One Year Earlier
For a long time, panic threatened to overwhelm Jennifer whenever she set foot on New Athos. It was here that the young doctor was first taken captive, an indignity she suffered with alarming frequency. After her rescue she was tempted to wash her hands of the planet and consign its population to the care of other physicians. But her role as head of medicine required personal visits to Atlantis's first and closest ally.
Panic dulled to apprehension as she forged relationships with the Athosian elders, then to heightened awareness as she developed a fondness for her new patients. In the midst of their treatment, she could sometimes forget about the cages that once stood in the village square or the man she shot during her escape. But peace of mind always eluded her on the hike to and from the village.
Until today. With Rodney by her side she felt totally at ease. He had, with his simple presence and probably unwittingly, conquered one of her deepest fears. She doubted he even knew how much Teyla's home away from Atlantis still bothered her.
Her hand itched to hold one of his, but both were occupied by the luggage that he stubbornly refused to let her help with. How was that for irony? During Jennifer's first visit she made the same mistake. Having overburdened herself with medical supplies, she refused Teyla's offer to split the burden. Fatigue soon set in, and Teyla ended up carrying the entire lot on most of the long walk from the gate. Rodney had landed the jumper much closer to the village, but still it was silly.
Jennifer could be silly too.
She halted, and Rodney continued a good ten paces before noticing her absence.
"Jennifer?"
"Let me help with the luggage."
"I can handle it by myself."
"That's not the point, Rodney. Marriage is a partnership."
"And that applies to luggage distribution?"
"It does today."
He wanted to argue, so she let him. Then she walked over and extended a hand. "Do you want the garment bags or the duffel?"
"This is absurd."
"I agree. Gimme."
"Keller," he warned.
"Meredith," she answered.
His shoulders sagged.
"Don't be hurt. I like your name, I wouldn't be taking it otherwise."
"Oh? Going to call yourself Jennifer Meredith?"
"That's kind of catchy." She smiled. "No, I imagine the folks back home will call us Mr. and Mrs. Meredith McKay. At least Jeannie will."
"Doctor and Mrs."
"Doctor and Doctor."
"The Doctors Meredith McKay." He grinned. "I'd be happy with plain old Jennifer and Rodney."
"And I'd be happy if you let me help."
Heaving a sigh, he slid the duffel off his shoulder.
"Thank you, sweetie."
He rolled his eyes. "Why do I get the feeling that I'll be losing a lot of arguments from now on?"
"Because you're a very smart man." She toyed with the zipper on his jacket. "A man who realizes that when your wife wins, you both win. Now come along, Rodney. We mustn't keep you-know-who waiting."
To be continued
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