Intersections

by: Lasha

Colonel John Sheppard scanned the room quickly, eyes missing nothing, his brain noting all the SGC dignitaries in attendance to celebrate their victory over the Wraith. It looked like every important person, military or civilian, who had ever worked on the Atlantis project, was here. The party had been in full swing for nearly an hour and John was already feeling self-conscious in his dress uniform, the collar of his starched white shirt irritating the skin on his neck.

It had been nearly six years since he'd had the occasion to wear this uniform and that had been at a briefing in Washington, D.C. to inform the President's cabinet about their progress on defeating the Wraith. The meeting had been long and tedious, with John again feeling uncomfortable in his dress blues, wishing he could change into his Atlantis uniform right about the third hour of the meeting.

The city of Atlantis and its people were who he served now, not the United States Air Force. His home was in another galaxy and the morons he had to deal with here on Earth aggravated him to no end. He'd spent the remaining two hours of that meeting wavering back and forth between wanting to walk out or punch someone in the face. Only the presence of Elizabeth and Rodney next to him had given John the strength to carry on in a calm, professional manner befitting his rank as he explained for the fifth time why the Wraith were being so extremely difficult to destroy.

Later, after the meeting, in the privacy of his hotel room with his lover, John had bitched and moaned about the out-of-touch old men in D.C., who didn't have a clue about the sacrifices the men and women under his command had endured in their long struggle with the Wraith. Now, after eight long years of fighting for Atlantis' very survival, they were here at the Pentagon, victorious and accepting awards for their hard work in annihilating one of the most evil races John had ever encountered. But still John wished he were somewhere else.

The pomp and circumstance of the military award ceremony and the tedium of the sedate cocktail party that followed made him long for the Pegasus galaxy and the relative tranquility of Atlantis' shores. He missed Teyla and their sparring matches, now only designed to keep him in shape, not to prepare him for battle. And he'd give away the medal he'd received today just to go on a run with Ronon around Atlantis' corridors, knowing that after the fourth mile the stern-faced Satedan would eventually steer them towards the labs where his lover worked. When they'd found Ronon during their second year on Atlantis, John never would have figured that the man who could snap a person's neck without breaking a sweat would become so enamored with a geeky scientist.

Oh, he understood Ronon's motivations when the big man fell for Radek Zelenka, having had his own epiphany with his own geeky scientist about six months earlier; but even after seven years of seeing Ronon and Radek together as a couple, he still had to shake his head in bewilderment. He guessed the old saying was true: opposites did attract. It was too bad that Radek had not been able to attend tonight, but someone in the science department had to stay behind and keep an eye on things, which had meant that Ronon had stayed on Atlantis too.

That thought brought him to another question. Where had his own lover disappeared to? He quickly searched the room, noting that Carson and his wife, Laura were engaged in conversation with General Carter and her husband, Pete. On the other side of the room, he noticed Elizabeth going through the buffet for a second time. He knew that of all the people here tonight, she was hurting the most, remembering all the losses they’d suffered to get to this place. And when Colonel Caldwell's name had been read posthumously as a recipient of the Purple Heart, he'd seen her blinking away tears of pain and regret that she'd never taken the chance and allowed Stephen into her heart. The man had loved and respected her from the moment he'd set eyes on her. When he'd been killed a year ago in the final battle with the Wraith, John thought she'd finally realized what she'd been denying herself: a chance at love and happiness. They all had mourned their dead today; no one on Atlantis had been spared the loss of a friend or loved one.

Finally his gaze locked on the man he had been searching for -- Rodney McKay. His lover was in the middle of the room flanked by two generals, and seemingly embroiled in a heated conversation with Daniel Jackson. John sighed, shook his head in utter frustration, and hoped that this time Rodney didn't offend too many people with his thoughts on the "Neanderthal attitudes of the American military system." That was a conversation John hoped he'd never have to repeat in the vicinity of General O'Neill again. Wanting to avoid another embarrassing scene, John slowly made his way across the room, hoping to interrupt before the debate spiraled into name-calling.

As John walked up to stand beside Rodney, he heard the other man say, "I still say that while the United States may be on the cutting edge of technology, they are far behind in accepted societal norms. Take for instance the recent passage of the Marriage Act in Italy-"

John saw General O'Neill close his eyes, as if in pain and watched Daniel Jackson try and hide a smirk, as Rodney continued on in full tirade, arms waving as if to prove his point, "I mean if a country that is 99% Catholic can pass a law allowing same-sex marriages, why did it take America until 2014 to get rid of the 'don't ask, don't tell' rule?"

Daniel opened his mouth, as if to reply, but Rodney bulldozed over what the other scientist had been about to say. "Point of fact, the entire European community has had laws allowing same-sex marriages for years, but here in the U.S., same-sex couples don't have that right. And while the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy has been removed, it doesn't negate the fact that many homosexual men and women have served in the armed forces, giving up their lives for this country. Yet they couldn't until now stand up and tell anyone who they were in love with."

From the expression on Rodney's face, John could tell he was remembering the death of Dr. David Parrish three years ago on M2L-3P6. He'd been killed by a small band of Wraith on that desolate planet while his partner, Major Lorne, had been forced to watch. A year later, Lorne had resigned his commission and left Atlantis for Earth, a bitter, wounded man. The dead didn't always leave Atlantis in a body bag.

Knowing his actions would be observed by perceptive eyes, John lightly placed his hand on his lover's forearm, squeezing gently, signaling for Rodney to take it down a notch. Because while most of Atlantis -- and General O'Neill, thanks to an embarrassing incident a month after the Wraith defeat -- knew the true nature of their relationship, John didn't think that Rodney outing them in the middle of a Pentagon party with the Joint Chiefs of Staff looking on was the way to announce they were a committed couple.

John saw Rodney visibly shake with the effort required to stop his speech, but he did fall silent after a moment. Rodney had learned to control his temper -- well, for the most part -- at least in public events. But David's death had left deep holes that even time and a change in military policy couldn't repair. Barely a week after Parrish's death, Rodney and he had come out to Ronon, Teyla and Elizabeth in a pre-mission briefing, not wanting to hide their feelings for one another from their friends any longer. Their friends easy acceptance their relationship had smoothed the way for John and Rodney to all but announce their status as lovers to the rest of the Atlanteans. If anyone saw Dr. McKay coming out of Colonel Sheppard's quarters early in the morning after that, no one commented. Crushing the Wraith had been more important than following some antiquated military protocol.

Looking into Rodney's eyes, John exchanged apologetic glances with the other man, conveying his displeasure at still having to hide their love. Rodney nodded, wordlessly communicating that he understood John's reasons, and while he didn't agree with them, he would honor them. Rodney's little display must have drawn a crowd, as John could now see that the group surrounding them had grown larger. He saw that General Carter and her husband had joined them, along with Teal'c.

Suddenly, he saw O'Neill tense up as another man and General Hammond walked towards them. John didn't recognize the man with Hammond, but having lived off-world for eight years, he hadn't had time to catch up on who was who at the SGC.

The man spoke, his loud voice booming out a greeting. "General O'Neill, General Carter, it's so good to see you," ignoring Daniel and General Carter's husband, Pete, and sending a hollow nod at Teal'c.

"Senator," John heard General O'Neill reply curtly. "George, nice to see you."

"Always great to see you, Jack, and everyone else." General Hammond smiled at everyone.

"Good afternoon, sir, Senator Burr. It's good to see you as well," General Carter answered more diplomatically. "You know my husband, Pete Shanahan, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c."

Noticing that Rodney and he had been left out of the introduction, John edged closer to Rodney, nudging his shoulder against his lover asking silently, Who does this guy think he is?

The senator launched into a speech seemingly aimed at Jack O'Neill, "This country -- what am I saying -- this planet is lucky to have you and your men to defend us all. It's unfortunate that President Obama decided to smear this momentous day with such offensive law. Gays in the military, shameful, don't you agree?"

He could see O'Neill nod, as if in agreement. Shit, this was about to go downhill fast, John thought. He knew personally what General O'Neill thought about gays in the military, having been caught red-handed kissing Rodney in the labs by the General, who had been on scheduled visit to Atlantis a month after the defeat of the Wraith. Jack O'Neill had been sympathetic and understanding of their situation, even after Rodney had let loose a diatribe about the unconstitutionality of the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. The General had vowed to never mention the incident again, nor to allow it to affect John's military career.

Finally O'Neill replied, "Shameful, indeed." He then turned to Daniel, who was standing at his side. "Don't you think so, Daniel?"

John could see Daniel stare at Jack, frowning, as he answered his former CO. "I can't say I agree, Jack. The Stargate is a program of inclusion, accepting of other races and other cultures. How can we talk about equality when we condone discrimination within the very organization that is responsible for the Stargate program? In fact, I think that it's long overdue. Statistically speaking, we know that there are men and women who have risked their lives to protect-"

His speech was cut off when O'Neill grabbed the back of Daniel's head and pulled him closer for a kiss. He heard Rodney gasp in shock, but John just smiled at the two men. He'd had a feeling that O'Neill might have looked the other way during the incident in the labs for personal reasons. How did the old saying go? People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. It seemed that he and Rodney were sharing real estate with Daniel and O'Neill; the two men were clearly long-time lovers, if the kiss O'Neill was giving Dr. Jackson was anything to go by.

The look of utter revulsion on Senator Burr's face as O'Neil and Jackson continued to kiss made John's night. This party was turning out to be more exciting than he'd expected. He glanced at Rodney and saw a smirk overtake the shock on his lover's face.

Apparently Rodney had finally figured out for himself why General O'Neill had been so tolerant of their relationship.

Finally, the two pulled apart with O'Neill's muttered, "I think you've made your point."

Daniel smiled and said, "I think you made it for me."

Chuckling, O'Neill looked like a man freed from a terrible burden. He replied with his trademark sarcasm, "Who knew that I could be smarter than him! If you'll excuse us, we're now leaving. Sam, gentlemen, have a good day."

And with a wink in John and Rodney's direction, John saw O'Neill pull on Daniel's hand to guide him away, leaving a stunned senator, two generals, and the rest of the group in their wake. In spite of his shock, Senator Burr recovered quickly, his snide voice loud and clear as he spat out, "Fucking faggots. O'Neill is a disgrace to the uniform."

Rolling his eyes at the ignorance of a man too blind to see that O'Neill loved Daniel, John mentally prepared for the onslaught of Hurricane Rodney as his lover let loose on the unsuspecting man. Instead he felt Rodney grab his hand and interlace their fingers together in a show of defiance. Their eyes met and that one quick glance reaffirmed the tenderness and passion he felt for Rodney.

And it was in that moment John realized that you could fight prejudice not only with a grand gesture like O'Neill's, but also with a quiet pledge of love. Taking a huge leap of faith, but knowing that Rodney would be there to catch him if he fell, John said, "I'd have to disagree with your statement, Senator. You see..."
 
 

Author's Notes: Since I have only seen a few Stargate SG-1 episodes, I couldn't take Titti's Jack/Daniel story, Crossroads, and remix it with one of them narrating the story, as I don't know enough about those characters to do it justice. However, if you hypothesize that Jack and Daniel 'come out' during a Pentagon party a year after the SGC defeated the Wraith; I thought surely John and Rodney would be at that party too, wouldn't they? I mean, the Stargate Atlantis universe is where the Wraith reside. So, this story was born from that idea.

Because this was a 'remix' story, I have used -- with permission -- elements and dialogue from Titti's original story (actually it was from the epilogue). I am very glad Titti doesn't mind me taking a SGA detour in her SG-1 universe.


Many thanks to my two betas, Katya and Tray.