Date : 04.05.2009
Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate
Author : ElaineDex
Chapter : 2 of ?
Rating : M
Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC
Major Evan Lorne/OC
Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.
Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.
Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Harrison, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.
Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?
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A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU J
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Sheppard dropped his rucksack onto the floor just in time to catch his girlfriend, trainee medical Doctor Lexi Roberts as she barrelled into him.
"I'm sooo glad you're back!" she squealed excitedly and Sheppard smiled a little uneasily as he returned her embrace.
He and Ellie exchanged a glance as he and Lexi moved away.
Ellie sighed and turned away just as Lyssa was approaching her.
"It's so good to see you," she said as she and Lyssa hugged.
"You too…I missed you," Lyssa replied, giving her friend a tight squeeze before she released her and stepped back a little.
Ellie smiled, determined not to cry at the sight of a friendly face.
"Your hair has grown!" she said, taking in the fact that her best friends' hair was now shoulder length as opposed to just under her ears as it had been when she had left for earth.
As Lyssa tucked her hair behind her ears self-consciously, Ellie glanced around Atlantis' gate room, fighting the memories of the last time she had been stood there. It had been the day that she had returned to earth with Lorne's body…or rather what had been left of his body after the Wraith had cruelly sucked his entire life-force from it.
Lyssa could see from the look on Ellie's face where her thoughts were heading and she quickly picked up one of her suitcases and said,
"Let's get you to your quarters before McKay catches up with you…I heard he's gunning for you because you installed your crystal on the Daedalus and you know how protective he is of 'his' ship."
Ellie looked back at Lyssa and replied,
"I thought he might be."
"He's just jealous because you thought of the idea first," Lyssa said as they started to ascend the steps.
"Well, I'm sure if he'd had as much thinking time as I've had over the last nine months then he would have thought of the same thing," Ellie replied, waving to Zelenka who was stood next to Chuck at the gate control console.
"Maybe," Lyssa replied.
They entered the level changer and were soon stood before the door of Ellie's quarters.
"Are you sure you want to stay here? I can go see Woolsey about assigning you a different room…" Lyssa said, but Ellie shook her head.
"Evan's gone Lyss and it doesn't matter where I stay, it wont make the memories of what happened go away."
Lyssa nodded and Ellie took a deep breath and waved her hand over the control panel.
The door swished open and she stepped inside, Lyssa following.
Ellie barely glanced around as she put the suitcase she carried onto the bed.
"I'll unpack later, how about we go get some cake?" she said and Lyssa nodded, putting down the case that she carried.
"Sounds good."
They left the room and headed for the mess hall, people greeting Ellie as they passed them.
They eventually got their slices of cake and two coffees and sat down to catch up.
"So, how's Matthew?" Ellie asked of her other team-mate, Lt. Franks and Lyssa licked chocolate icing from her fork before replying.
"He's doing okay…I know that he still worries sometimes that he didn't do enough to help Evan that day."
Ellie made a 'tutting' noise and shook her head.
"I'll put his mind at ease when I see him," she said decidedly, taking another mouthful of her own cake and Lyssa smiled at her friend's thoughtfulness.
"So…you ready to meet our new team-leader?" she asked, watching as Ellie's face clouded over briefly at the thought of Lorne's replacement.
"What's he like…really? I mean your emails about him were pretty vague," she asked and Lyssa put her fork down.
"I didn't think you'd want to talk too much about the man who's filling Evan's shoes," Lyssa replied and Ellie sighed.
"You don't have to baby me Lyss, I need one person to treat me normally and I would like that person to be you."
Lyssa nodded in understanding, she had felt that way when her family had been destroyed by the Wraith and Ronon had been there for her. He had become much more than a friend in the end, but that was another story and it was one that was also in the past.
"Well, Major Frank Statham is definitely an acquired taste. He's a good guy underneath and a good leader and Matthew and I like him, but…" she trailed off, wondering how to word her next sentence.
"But what?" Ellie asked, intrigued and Lyssa cleared her throat.
"But, he's a bit of a one for the women…or that's how it seems."
"Oh…" Ellie replied, savouring the last of her cake as she wondered what Major Statham looked like.
"Is he good looking?" she asked eventually and Lyssa made a snorting noise before replying,
"Yes in a rough and ready kind of way."
"Do you think I'll get along with him okay?" Ellie asked and Lyssa shrugged.
"You'll find out later, our team is scheduled for a meeting with Woolsey, a kind of welcome back for you and for you to be formally introduced to Frank."
"I see…well, I'd better go and check back in with Personnel and then get changed. Is Major Statham a stickler for uniform?" Ellie said, remembering how Lorne had let her wear pretty much whatever the hell she liked when they were off-world, a fact that everyone knew about but generally accepted because Lorne and Sheppard for that matter, had let it slide.
"I don't know…the issue has never come up before," Lyssa replied, her eyes twinkling at the thought of how Statham would react to seeing Ellie in one of her sundresses, military boots and tac vest.
"Well, he can take me the way he finds me," Ellie said, trying to sound braver than she actually felt about meeting her new C/O.
"I'm sure he will," Lyssa said as they stood to leave the mess hall.
"It is good to see you again Lyss…I really missed you these last months," Ellie said and Lyssa put an arm around her friend's shoulders.
"You too…and you know I'm here if you ever don't want to be treated normally don't you," Lyssa replied and Ellie smiled.
"Yeah, I know."
The two women parted company at the mess hall doors with Lyssa promising to knock for Ellie later, when it was almost time to attend the meeting with Woolsey.
Ellie went back to what had been hers and Lorne's quarters and looked around for a moment or two. There wasn't really anything on display to suggest that Lorne had ever been in the room, let alone shared it with her.
'I have Lyssa to thank for that no doubt,' she surmised, grateful for the time her friend had taken to clear the room before she had arrived.
Her eyes flicked to the coffee table over by the sofa where a framed picture sat and Ellie knew what it was without having to look at it.
Turning her back on hers and Lorne's wedding photograph she began to unzip one of her suitcases.
It was time to unpack.
A while later, showered and changed into a long gypsy skirt and vest top, she decided to head out to try and catch up with some of her other friends before the dreaded meeting with SGA-2's new leader.
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Major Statham glanced at his watch before snatching up a bottle of water from his bedside drawers and heading for the door.
'Just enough time for a run before the meeting,' he thought, starting to jog along the hallway almost as soon as he left his quarters.
He hadn't gone far when he unscrewed the bottle-top and took a swig of the water.
His raised arm made him totally unaware that Ellie was rounding the corner just up ahead, that was until he barrelled into her and sent her sprawling onto her behind, him landing spread-eagled across her, the bottled water drowning them both.
For a moment Ellie was too stunned to speak and she lay on her back until the man who had ran into her raised his muscular frame from off of her and rested his weight on his elbows.
"You alright?" he asked, his eyes widening a little as he realised who he had 'bumped' into.
"You…you idiot!" was Ellie's first response as she suddenly found her voice and heat made her cheeks burn.
"I'm…" Statham began to apologise, but Ellie shook her head and pushed at his shoulders, the fact that he didn't resist allowing her to shove him up and off of her.
As they both got to their feet, Ellie realised that her white vest top was soaked and her lace bra could be seen through the now transparent material.
"I don't believe this…I just had a shower and changed…you do know that you're not supposed to jog in the halls don't you? I mean that's what the upper levels are for…jeez…I should report you to…to…." Ellie trailed off as she realised that the man was staring at her and she felt her cheeks blush an even deeper shade of pink.
He was tall, his dark hair cut very short and his eyes crinkled at the corners as he regarded her with barely concealed amusement.
"You, you jerk!" she said hotly, spinning on the balls of her feet and marching back the way she'd come.
"Whoa!" Statham muttered to himself.
That wasn't exactly how he had envisaged his first meeting with the little whirlwind that appeared to be Dr. Ellie Lorne, but it had certainly beat the usual, 'Hello, pleased to meet you,' routine.
Shaking his head, he picked up his dropped water bottle and continued on his way to the upper levels.
He couldn't wait to see the Doc's face when they met again at the briefing later.
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"Yeah he just barrelled straight into me and knocked me onto my ass," Ellie complained a while later to Lyssa as they sat in the briefing room.
"Are you hurt?" Lyssa asked, but Ellie shook her head.
"No, only my pride, but he really shouldn't have been jogging in the hallways, I mean I assume the rules haven't changed in my absence?"
"Not that I know of," Lyssa replied and Ellie sighed grumpily, looking to the doorway as Lt. Franks and Woolsey entered the room.
"Ah, Dr. Lorne, Miss Hunter, you're already here," Woolsey said as he and Franks took their seats. "That just leaves Major Statham."
"Obviously," Lyssa whispered and Ellie couldn't help the smile that twitched at her lips at her friends' remark.
That same smile froze with horror though as the man who had ran into her earlier appeared in the doorway and their eyes met and held as Woolsey said,
"Ah, Major Statham, better late than never I suppose."
End of Chapter 2