Burning by Leesa Perrie (Burning Up Challenge)

[leesa_perrie]

Title: Burning
Author: Leesa Perrie
Pairing: None. Gen.
Warnings/Spoilers: Set after 'Miller's Crossing', Season 4.
Rating: PG
Word count: 395
Summary: The questions burned inside of her, forcing her to ask against her better judgement.

Burning
By Leesa Perrie

Set after ‘Miller’s Crossing’, Season 4
The questions burned inside of her, forcing her to ask against her better judgement.

“Is it true?”

He couldn’t face her, eyes down and staring at the laptop’s screen, his defence against her gaze.

“It is, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” he answered, throat on fire, burning as he tried to hold his emotions inside.

“Why?”

“She would have died and I…I had nothing.” Shame coloured his answer, his face flushing with heat at being forced to admit it, especially to her.

“I’m surprised, and yet I shouldn’t be.” She studied him closely, knowing that he had changed since the first time she’d met him; the memory burned onto her brain and hard to forget.

“I had no other option. She would have died,” he repeated, trying to concentrate on his work while her eyes caused fiery holes in his façade.

“And Sheppard…”

“Stopped me.”

“And then…”

“Nothing. You read the report. He was showing Wallace the lab…”

“I read the report,” she agreed. “Didn’t believe a word of it.”

He looked at her then, worry and fear alight in his eyes.

“You won’t…”

“I would have done what he did, if it had been a member of my team.” And she would have, she knows that now, having questioned herself and seen the darkness hiding deep inside.

“Wallace agreed,” he said, pushing, explaining, anger simmering. “He volunteered. Wanted to make things right.” Close to flashpoint, he dared her to disagree and let the fire pour out.

“Yeah.” She believed that he believed that. Needed to, or else it would eat at him, burn him up inside. And she didn’t doubt it was true; that Wallace had agreed, after Sheppard had given him the facts, no doubt tailored to inspire guilt, maybe even despair.

She would have done the same for any of her team; Daniel, Cam, Teal’c, Vala, Jack. Would have done more if needed, and she had no doubt that Sheppard would have gone further if he’d had to. Like Rodney, who had offered himself, who had been locked out of his lab to stop him, who had tried to enter using Bill’s card…

She’d read all the reports; read between the lines.

How far would she go to save a team-mate, a friend?

The answer burned through her, stronger than the questions that started this had.

She would do whatever it would take.

Whatever.

The End

Comments

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

Wow, nice. I love your Carter and how she relates to what Sheppard did with her own personal battles.

[leesa_perrie]

Thanks. I can see Sam doing what John did in his position, even though SG1 never went that dark (as far as I remember). Glad you liked it.

[wildcat88.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like. Great response to the challenge and a wonderful look at Sam. Nice use of "fire" words throughout.

[leesa_perrie]

Thanks, glad you liked it. I enjoyed using 'fire' words - there are so many different meanings to 'burning' and I only touched on a few of them!

[jennytork.livejournal.com]

VERY. NICE.

[leesa_perrie]

Thanks!

[sgatazmy.livejournal.com]

nice, subtle but accurate.

[leesa_perrie]

Thank you.

[dragonladyk.livejournal.com]

Wow.

Poor Jeannie. Her life used to be so... simple.

DragonLady

[leesa_perrie]

Thanks!

Comments

[mckaysmirth.livejournal.com]

Hi U. Loved it.
I love that she sees the change in him.
The self sacrifice from both Rodney and
John for people they care about and the
familiarity of it to her and her team.

Really liked this.

M xx

Re: Comments

[leesa_perrie]

Thanks - glad you enjoyed it. I really do believe Sam would do the same if she had to, to save one of her team (and maybe some others, too).

[(Anonymous)]

What John did was close to murder but as usual he is excused because it's ok for him to do whatever it takes to save those he cares about but yet Wallace is condemmed for doing the same.

[leesa_perrie]

You will notice in my story that when Sam realises that she would do the same as Sheppard did she also recognises it as "darkness hiding deep inside" of herself - therefore I am not saying that what he did or she might have done is okay by any standards. I am saying that she can understand why, but also can recognise it as being morally suspect, even morally wrong.

Also, you will note that at NO POINT in my fic did I say that what Wallace did was any different or any worse that what John did.

If you wish to talk about this further, please sign your comment (if you don't have a LJ account, then put your name at the end of the comment).

[hajimebassaidai.livejournal.com]

A viewpoint on the events that I haven't seen before. Emotional yet understated!

Sam would have done what either of them did for her team as well.

[leesa_perrie]

Thank you, happy that you liked it!