Influence (Physics of the Spin snippet) G
Jul. 18th, 2009 12:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mhalachaiFor the Ficlette Fiasco IV -- for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wolfseer: Physics of the Spin 'verse, Rodney and Rory feeling out their relationship. Rodney's adorable when he comes over all paternal, or tries to.
Now with added Torren, because I've had the kind of week that needs some cute.
Summary: Rodney would get this parental thing right one of these days...
Rating: G
Setting: after the published chapters of Physics, no upcoming spoilers.
Words: ~1,500
Rodney was quite happy to be oblivious in his own little world, immersed in his favorite equations and variables as he thought Big And Important Thoughts.
Until his blissful contemplations were shattered by a piercing scream.
Rodney jumped, knocking his knee against the desk leg and collapsing back into his chair as the scream broke into high-pitched baby laughter. Glancing up, Rodney saw Rory carrying little Torren into the lab, lifting him up and down like the boy was flying.
Rory dropped to a crouch, sending Torren into another screech of delight. Round and round the lab they went, Rory flying Teyla's son over delicate equipment as if it were playground equipment. Rodney could only sit and watch, his heart rate slowly returning to normal. There was no danger here, outside of the very real risk of Rory dropping the baby on his head or tripping into an irreplaceable piece of equipment.
The most nerve-wracking thing that could happen would be the quick-changing moods of a tiny baby and Rory.
His daughter.
Rodney's heart started to leap around in his chest again as he was reminded that he had a child, someone of his very own genetic line. He didn't have to worry about dropping her on her head (as if he could even lift her - she was full-grown and taller than Teyla) or her bursting into tears because she didn't like Rodney's face.
Maybe it was best that she was keeping Torren on the other side of the room.
With a final quick spiral, holding Torren high over her head, Rory came to a halt beside Rodney. Her cheeks were flushed, hair falling out of her pony tail, and Rodney didn't understand why he was having such a hard time accepting the fact of Rory's paternity. He'd seen the DNA results, facts laid out in black and white before him, and he certainly remembered the evening of Rory's conception (not that he'd known it at the time). But still. She didn't act like his child. She didn't act like anyone's child. She was an adult.
Who was currently blowing raspberries on Torren's belly.
"You're going to get him over-excited," Rodney said without thinking. As soon as the words left his mouth, he winced. His mother had said the same things to him when he tried to play with baby Jeannie, alternating that with go play outside, Mommy has a headache.
Rory cuddled Torren in her arms, rocking back and forth energetically as the baby clung to her. "We're just playing so he'll fall sleep quickly when it's time for a nap," she informed Rodney. "Trust me, I have experience at this."
Rodney frowned as Rory's rocking gradually slowed down, Torren relaxing into her arms. "Experience in... babysitting?"
"Unless you think I've got a kid of my own stashed back in Stars Hollow," Rory said. Even though she was probably kidding, the mere thought of Rodney being a grandfather was enough to set off heart palpitations until Rory fixed him with an incredulous glare. "There are no mini-Mes! Stop looking like that!"
"Like what?" Rodney asked.
"Like I'm about to whip out some other kind of revelation on you." She lowered her voice as Torren babbled happily. "No secret children or Las Vegas weddings that you need to know about."
She walked around the lab, slower this time. Torren was indeed starting to quiet down, sucking on his thumb and nuzzling against Rory's neck as she walked.
Rodney knew he was staring, but he couldn't help it. What did he really know about Rory? She was brilliant, she'd once had a boyfriend named Jess, and she went to college at Yale. That was it. He didn't know if she'd had other boyfriends, or who her friends who, or how she grew up, or any of it. Fathers were supposed to know about those sorts of things, weren't they?
And it wasn't like Rodney could just interject with 'so, I had a friend once, how about you?' because first off, it lacked a certain conversational grace that Rodney liked to imagine he possessed, and also, it wasn't exactly true.
"The hamster is going to get tired if you keep it up," Rory said, slipping into the chair next to him.
"The what?"
"The hamster running on the little wheel in your head that powers your brain." The smile on Rory's face told Rodney that she was teasing him. Probably. "What do you want to ask?"
Rodney shifted awkwardly in his chair. "What makes you think I have something to ask?" he asked, raising his chin defensively.
Rory's smile grew. "Because you're Rodney McKay. You always have something to ask."
Torren made a little whimpering noise as he wriggled in Rory's arms. He looked at Rodney with his big dark eyes, so much like his mother's eyes, then yawned.
"Such a silly little toaster," Rory cooed at Torren, stroking his hair with a gentle touch. "You've had a very busy day.
Rodney wanted to ask Rory which of her friends had kids, or if she had any ex-boyfriends he should know about, but what came out was, "Do you want kids?"
After a long moment, during which Rodney wondered how he was ever going to pry his feet out of his mouth, Rory said, "Yeah, I do. Some day."
"You do?" Rodney squeaked.
Rory glared. "Stop being such a stereotypical father! Of course I want kids. Maybe singular. One kid. Although if he's as easy to take care of as this little guy, maybe more." She kissed Torren's head, rocking the baby gently. "I know that it must have been really hard on my mom, doing it on her own, but she made it look so easy."
"Being a single parent..." Rodney began, having a whole speech in his head about the statistical success rates of children from single-parent households, but he faltered when he saw the expression on Rory's face.
"She chose to do it that way," Rory told him in no uncertain terms. "She could have stayed at her parents' and gone on to college, leaving me with a nanny or something, but she did exactly what she wanted to do. She built her own life from the ground up, she got us a house and put me in the best schools and I always went to the dentist and got my shots and went on all the school trips. She was there for me every step of the way and she never gave up on me and didn't let me settle for being anything less than the best." Rory looked out the window at the stormy sky over the ocean. "She's the main reason I'm here and not organizing parties for the Daughters of the American Revolution and going to tea parties in Connecticut."
Rodney consciously relaxed the death-grip on his pen. "My... our mother left us when I was fourteen," he heard himself saying. His face went red but he kept going. "I mean, Jeannie's epilepsy was under control and I was going to university the next year anyway, so it wasn't like we needed her, but... she left. And then she died of cancer and we hadn't known she was sick."
The room fell silent after Rodney closed his mouth, a confession he hadn't made out loud in over a decade, not since before his father died. Shaking his head, Rodney turned back to his computer.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when Rory touched the back of his hand. "I'm sorry that happened to you," she said.
He shrugged. "It was a long time ago."
"Does that make it any better?"
He bit down on his response of of course not and shrugged again. "Don't you think you'd better go put him down somewhere?" he said, pointing at Torren, who was now fast asleep and drooling on Rory's shoulder.
"It's fine. Babies can sleep anywhere," she said. "Sort of like college students." She smiled at him. "But you're right, I'll take him back to Teyla. She should be done her meeting with Colonel Carter now."
"Uh huh." Rodney frowned as something occurred to him. "Why is that only you and Sheppard can get that kid to sleep? When I hold him, all he does is scream and pull my hair."
"Babies can tell when you're uncomfortable around them. Try relaxing once in a while. You might even enjoy it."
"Says you," Rodney muttered under his breath. She'd probably never dropped a baby, not even a few feet onto the bed. Which Rodney was not ever going to admit to, even if Sheppard had been there and seen the entire thing. Torren was perfectly fine, after all.
Rory squeezed Rodney's shoulder on her way to the door, walking slowly with the baby on her shoulder. "I'll talk to you later," she called softly before she turned the corner and was gone.
Rodney sighed. He was too young to have a daughter like Rory, and way too young to even think about grandchildren. No matter how cute Torren was.
He stood up. He needed coffee. Or maybe an aspirin.
This whole being a father thing was hard.
end
wolfseer: Physics of the Spin 'verse, Rodney and Rory feeling out their relationship. Rodney's adorable when he comes over all paternal, or tries to.Now with added Torren, because I've had the kind of week that needs some cute.
Influence
A Physics of the Spin snippet
Stargate Atlantis/Gilmore Girls crossover
A Physics of the Spin snippet
Stargate Atlantis/Gilmore Girls crossover
Summary: Rodney would get this parental thing right one of these days...
Rating: G
Setting: after the published chapters of Physics, no upcoming spoilers.
Words: ~1,500
Rodney was quite happy to be oblivious in his own little world, immersed in his favorite equations and variables as he thought Big And Important Thoughts.
Until his blissful contemplations were shattered by a piercing scream.
Rodney jumped, knocking his knee against the desk leg and collapsing back into his chair as the scream broke into high-pitched baby laughter. Glancing up, Rodney saw Rory carrying little Torren into the lab, lifting him up and down like the boy was flying.
Rory dropped to a crouch, sending Torren into another screech of delight. Round and round the lab they went, Rory flying Teyla's son over delicate equipment as if it were playground equipment. Rodney could only sit and watch, his heart rate slowly returning to normal. There was no danger here, outside of the very real risk of Rory dropping the baby on his head or tripping into an irreplaceable piece of equipment.
The most nerve-wracking thing that could happen would be the quick-changing moods of a tiny baby and Rory.
His daughter.
Rodney's heart started to leap around in his chest again as he was reminded that he had a child, someone of his very own genetic line. He didn't have to worry about dropping her on her head (as if he could even lift her - she was full-grown and taller than Teyla) or her bursting into tears because she didn't like Rodney's face.
Maybe it was best that she was keeping Torren on the other side of the room.
With a final quick spiral, holding Torren high over her head, Rory came to a halt beside Rodney. Her cheeks were flushed, hair falling out of her pony tail, and Rodney didn't understand why he was having such a hard time accepting the fact of Rory's paternity. He'd seen the DNA results, facts laid out in black and white before him, and he certainly remembered the evening of Rory's conception (not that he'd known it at the time). But still. She didn't act like his child. She didn't act like anyone's child. She was an adult.
Who was currently blowing raspberries on Torren's belly.
"You're going to get him over-excited," Rodney said without thinking. As soon as the words left his mouth, he winced. His mother had said the same things to him when he tried to play with baby Jeannie, alternating that with go play outside, Mommy has a headache.
Rory cuddled Torren in her arms, rocking back and forth energetically as the baby clung to her. "We're just playing so he'll fall sleep quickly when it's time for a nap," she informed Rodney. "Trust me, I have experience at this."
Rodney frowned as Rory's rocking gradually slowed down, Torren relaxing into her arms. "Experience in... babysitting?"
"Unless you think I've got a kid of my own stashed back in Stars Hollow," Rory said. Even though she was probably kidding, the mere thought of Rodney being a grandfather was enough to set off heart palpitations until Rory fixed him with an incredulous glare. "There are no mini-Mes! Stop looking like that!"
"Like what?" Rodney asked.
"Like I'm about to whip out some other kind of revelation on you." She lowered her voice as Torren babbled happily. "No secret children or Las Vegas weddings that you need to know about."
She walked around the lab, slower this time. Torren was indeed starting to quiet down, sucking on his thumb and nuzzling against Rory's neck as she walked.
Rodney knew he was staring, but he couldn't help it. What did he really know about Rory? She was brilliant, she'd once had a boyfriend named Jess, and she went to college at Yale. That was it. He didn't know if she'd had other boyfriends, or who her friends who, or how she grew up, or any of it. Fathers were supposed to know about those sorts of things, weren't they?
And it wasn't like Rodney could just interject with 'so, I had a friend once, how about you?' because first off, it lacked a certain conversational grace that Rodney liked to imagine he possessed, and also, it wasn't exactly true.
"The hamster is going to get tired if you keep it up," Rory said, slipping into the chair next to him.
"The what?"
"The hamster running on the little wheel in your head that powers your brain." The smile on Rory's face told Rodney that she was teasing him. Probably. "What do you want to ask?"
Rodney shifted awkwardly in his chair. "What makes you think I have something to ask?" he asked, raising his chin defensively.
Rory's smile grew. "Because you're Rodney McKay. You always have something to ask."
Torren made a little whimpering noise as he wriggled in Rory's arms. He looked at Rodney with his big dark eyes, so much like his mother's eyes, then yawned.
"Such a silly little toaster," Rory cooed at Torren, stroking his hair with a gentle touch. "You've had a very busy day.
Rodney wanted to ask Rory which of her friends had kids, or if she had any ex-boyfriends he should know about, but what came out was, "Do you want kids?"
After a long moment, during which Rodney wondered how he was ever going to pry his feet out of his mouth, Rory said, "Yeah, I do. Some day."
"You do?" Rodney squeaked.
Rory glared. "Stop being such a stereotypical father! Of course I want kids. Maybe singular. One kid. Although if he's as easy to take care of as this little guy, maybe more." She kissed Torren's head, rocking the baby gently. "I know that it must have been really hard on my mom, doing it on her own, but she made it look so easy."
"Being a single parent..." Rodney began, having a whole speech in his head about the statistical success rates of children from single-parent households, but he faltered when he saw the expression on Rory's face.
"She chose to do it that way," Rory told him in no uncertain terms. "She could have stayed at her parents' and gone on to college, leaving me with a nanny or something, but she did exactly what she wanted to do. She built her own life from the ground up, she got us a house and put me in the best schools and I always went to the dentist and got my shots and went on all the school trips. She was there for me every step of the way and she never gave up on me and didn't let me settle for being anything less than the best." Rory looked out the window at the stormy sky over the ocean. "She's the main reason I'm here and not organizing parties for the Daughters of the American Revolution and going to tea parties in Connecticut."
Rodney consciously relaxed the death-grip on his pen. "My... our mother left us when I was fourteen," he heard himself saying. His face went red but he kept going. "I mean, Jeannie's epilepsy was under control and I was going to university the next year anyway, so it wasn't like we needed her, but... she left. And then she died of cancer and we hadn't known she was sick."
The room fell silent after Rodney closed his mouth, a confession he hadn't made out loud in over a decade, not since before his father died. Shaking his head, Rodney turned back to his computer.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when Rory touched the back of his hand. "I'm sorry that happened to you," she said.
He shrugged. "It was a long time ago."
"Does that make it any better?"
He bit down on his response of of course not and shrugged again. "Don't you think you'd better go put him down somewhere?" he said, pointing at Torren, who was now fast asleep and drooling on Rory's shoulder.
"It's fine. Babies can sleep anywhere," she said. "Sort of like college students." She smiled at him. "But you're right, I'll take him back to Teyla. She should be done her meeting with Colonel Carter now."
"Uh huh." Rodney frowned as something occurred to him. "Why is that only you and Sheppard can get that kid to sleep? When I hold him, all he does is scream and pull my hair."
"Babies can tell when you're uncomfortable around them. Try relaxing once in a while. You might even enjoy it."
"Says you," Rodney muttered under his breath. She'd probably never dropped a baby, not even a few feet onto the bed. Which Rodney was not ever going to admit to, even if Sheppard had been there and seen the entire thing. Torren was perfectly fine, after all.
Rory squeezed Rodney's shoulder on her way to the door, walking slowly with the baby on her shoulder. "I'll talk to you later," she called softly before she turned the corner and was gone.
Rodney sighed. He was too young to have a daughter like Rory, and way too young to even think about grandchildren. No matter how cute Torren was.
He stood up. He needed coffee. Or maybe an aspirin.
This whole being a father thing was hard.
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Date: 2009-07-18 08:05 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2009-07-18 09:47 pm (UTC)I love the saying in your icon. What's it from?
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Date: 2009-07-18 10:22 pm (UTC)*delicately sniffs her coffee*
I totally agree though. :D
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Date: 2009-07-19 01:53 am (UTC)--Jessica
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Date: 2009-07-19 02:26 am (UTC)Very cute, thanks for sharing!
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Date: 2009-07-19 10:19 pm (UTC)Thanks so much, this is just what I was imagining!
(Baby Torren is precious.)
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Date: 2009-09-12 07:22 pm (UTC)