Limestone, by astolat, for the 38 minutes challenge

[astolat]

Title: Limestone
Author: astolat
Note: Thanks to kaneko and giddygeek for sprinting along! Whee!

Limestone
by shalott

"Okay, this is not so great." Rodney was pretty impressed with how calm he sounded. He struggled up to his feet, wiping stone dust from his eyes; not that it mattered, seeing how they were in pitch darkness under something like, oh, a million tons of rock, and they were going to die horribly, either by starvation or asphyxiation, assuming the rest of the cave didn't come down on top of them first.

Then he noticed there hadn't been any answer. "Major?" he said. He groped for the wall, fumbling, heart pounding now. "Major!"

He stumbled over something and fell hard, hissing in pain as his hands came down on gravel and sharp rocks. And forgot the pain immediately as the rock he'd stumbled over groaned and shifted. "Major?" he said, and felt over John's body, trying to see if he was pinned under anything.

"You're getting a little friendly there, McKay," John said groggily, and groaned, his legs shifting as he sat up. "What happened?"

"Well, let's see," Rodney said, deeply relieved, "First you said, let's respect the aliens' customs, and then I said, the cave looked structurally unsound to me, and then you said, they've been coming here for years so obviously it was safe -- "

"So what you're saying is, this is my fault," John said.

"I was working up to that," Rodney said. "I was going to get in a few different versions of I told you so, first."

"How about you save it for after we're out?" John said.

"That's optimistic of you."

"Ford and Teyla will get us out."

"Actually, that's what I'm most worried about," Rodney said. "These are limestone caves. The stone's essentially fragile and porous, and it's already been mostly eroded by water. If Ford tries to use C4 to blow the entrance of this cave clear, he'll probably destroy a significant amount of the natural vaulting."

"And that would be bad?"

"How hard did you hit your head?" Rodney demanded. "The vaulting is what's bearing most of the weight of the mountain over our heads."

"Just checking," John said. "Any ideas?"

"Oh, of course, now you want to hear my ideas," Rodney said.

"Rodney!" John said. "Do you really want an apology more than you want to get out of here?"

"Let me think about it," Rodney said. He didn't have any ideas to share.

"Okay, you do that," John said after a moment of silence: he'd gotten the picture, then. In the dark, Rodney was weirdly aware of his body, the only source of warmth; limestone all around them cool and damp as a tomb.

"Maybe we could move farther in," Rodney said after a minute. "If this chamber comes down, the cave system might restabilize again, and there's a chance there would be an opening left then."

"It's a plan," John said. "Which way is farther in?"

"Away from the cave-in is good," Rodney said. He groped for John's arm and together they got to their feet. They walked along the curving, moisture-slick wall, Rodney's hand running along the surface their only guide. Beyond the sound of their footsteps, there was only the irregular drip-drip-drip of trickling stalactites. Rodney found his breath coming quick, fluttering, noisy. John shifted, and his hand, dry and warm and firm, slipped into Rodney's free hand. Their fingers silently interlaced.

They went on deeper into the dark.

Comments

[ms-smooth.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like that. Rodney's panic and Sheppard's calm, the banter that seemed as much for comfort as it was for humor.

[wildmachinery.livejournal.com]

I'm not precisely sure how something can be sweet and terrifying at the same time, but you did it wonderfully.

[fenris_wolf0]

Oh wow... This is both funny, worrying enjoyable and heart warming. In a word, perfect.

The only problem is that I want more. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
Oh, and yes, of course !

Jo

[thecomfychair.livejournal.com]

d'aw. that was great. a little angsty and a little sweet at the same time

[simonesa.livejournal.com]

You rule SGA! You have their voices down perfectly. I hope this is TBC?

[astolat]

mmmmaybe... *grins* Thank you!

[aithine]

I love that Rodney even sounds panicky in his head. *g*

[delurker.livejournal.com]

Somehow you have perfectly managed to convey being-in-a-cave-after-a-cave-in-ness. Wonderful!

[malograntum.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love it. Trapped In A Cave, and all they do is hold hands, and it's great. So in-character and beautifully descriptive:

In the dark, Rodney was weirdly aware of his body, the only source of warmth; limestone all around them cool and damp as a tomb.

[ship-recs.livejournal.com]

Rodney found his breath coming quick, fluttering, noisy. John shifted, and his hand, dry and warm and firm, slipped into Rodney's free hand. Their fingers silently interlaced.

That's nice.

[rosewildeirish.livejournal.com]

There's going to be more, right?

[astolat]

*makes vague you-never-know gestures* *g*

[rosewildeirish.livejournal.com]

Aww, come on. More?

[ex-strivaria841.livejournal.com]

"So what you're saying is, this is my fault," John said.

"I was working up to that," Rodney said.


I can so hear them 'arguing' like this.. love it!

[umbo.livejournal.com]

I do adore your Rodney voice.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

"I was working up to that," Rodney said. "I was going to get in a few different versions of I told you so, first."

::giggles:: Oh how I love that line. It's so Rodney.

This is very fun--scary disaster, snarking, and then, aw, they held hands! *g*

[coreopsis.livejournal.com]

That sounds just like both of them. Very nice! *g*

[saba1789.livejournal.com]

Hmm, nice. Thanks for writing and sharing it :-) .

[nestra.livejournal.com]

Mmm. A lovely moment.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

I haven't even read this yet - I just had to stop everything cause as soon as I saw the word "cave" I actually *squeaked* loudly and then had to minimize this screen because a cubicle mate came over and asked what I was looking at and I had to lie and say it was something in a file and they just left and now I get to read this!!

CAVE IN!! ALL SIGNS IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH POINT TO CAVE IN!!

and, um, if that is actually not what has happened, please feel free to ignore me.

[nerdinpink.livejournal.com]

The first thing I thought of after reading this story was Frodo and Sam in Shelob's cave. It was so like that with the darkness and the hand holding, but still its own thing. Very nice.

[astolat]

Oh, dude. You just ensured the story will be continued. Thanks! *grins*

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Anddddd!!!! LIMESTONE CAVES!! It feels like home. And there was snark and banter and the holding of hands (because it is dark! Of course!) and then what happens? Cause you could probably take another 38 minutes to describe the dark-hand-holding walk, right? Cause, I'm certain you just have all of this free time just laying around all over the place.

I mean, there is bound to be Walking Away From the CaveIn Site in Holding Hands In the Dark Banter, right?

::loves this challenge the most of *all*::

Seriously - thank you for writing this and you have no idea how much this has improved my day.

[astolat]

Heeee! In fact, I started out writing something else, where they were hiding from the Wraith, in a cave, and then I actually thought to myself, you know, cave-in would make sisabet squeak, and then I had to abandon the first one six minutes in and go write this.

And, um, yes. There might be some more of this at some point. *g*

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Ack!!! I had decided to pretend the cave-in part was for me and now I don't even have to pretend! Yay!

And, um, yes. There might be some more of this at some point

::encourages with maniacal zeal::

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

bwahaha! ""I was going to get in a few different versions of I told you so, first."" very good. ;)

and sweet, that moment of kindness and connection as they walk. *g*

[miera-c.livejournal.com]

"Do you really want an apology more than you want to get out of here?"

"Let me think about it,"

ha! great bickering/bantering between the two of them.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

[mourn]

[adelynne.livejournal.com]

*happy sigh* Such beautiful banter, especially with the undertone of friendship.

You have a great feeling for the voices of these characters, and I love the way the second-to-last paragraph reveals the strength and emotion behind the snark, with that added dash of anxiety.

[misspamela.livejournal.com]

More. More. Moremoremore.

[minnow1212.livejournal.com]

I liked this glimpse into them--wonderful dialogue from both of them.