Marriage of Convenience - Part 05
Aug. 7th, 2009 10:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wiseheartMARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE
by Soledad
Disclaimer: The characters and the settings don't belong to me. Just the story idea and a few original characters.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
PART 05
The Atlantis crowd took in the news about Sergeants Markham and Stackhouse’s changing family status with mixed reactions. Some of the Marines – those who had been on good terms with the Athosians and seen Anais train with Teyla – called them lucky bastards. Others found the ideal of sharing a wife… uncomfortable, if not downright disgusting.
Those were later taken to the side by an exceptionally pissed Master Sergeant Bates, who explained them in short yet not uncertain terms how it was not their business, and how they should keep out of it, unless they really wanted to scrub every single railing on Atlantis with their toothbrushes. That stopped the snide remarks with amazing speed. Everyone knew that Sergeant Bates did not make any idle threats.
Most of the scientists just shrugged and went over to daily business. The marriages of Drs Beckett and Zelenka had already prepared them for similar choices; and besides, they all knew that Dr. Corrigan would follow suit rather sooner or later. A few of the ladies were perhaps a little peeved – both Markham and Stackhouse were considered hot and thus subjects of private fantasies – but that was basically it.
Major Sheppard, on the other hand, seemed a quite taken aback when they told him. Apparently, he could have lived with the idea of a guy having a harem, but a woman having multiple husbands was just too weird for him to swallow. He congratulated them (rather awkwardly) and could not have gotten away quickly enough.
Teyla, on the other hand, seemed genuinely happy about this particular turn of events.
“The first time I met you on Athos I knew that our people would become one, eventually,” she said. “I am glad to see it happening – and that the soldiers have become part of it, too. This is good for us… and good for you. None of us was made to live a lonely life; and your children with Anais will be strong and beautiful – a new hope for both our peoples.”
“Do you think the others will eventually follow suit?” Stackhouse asked.
“I hope so,” Teyla replied, “or else we shall all perish within two generations. It is unfortunately that many of your people cannot see the necessity… not yet.”
She seemed so very sad, and Stackhouse understood her completely. It was a known fact that Teyla had been… interested in Major Sheppard, wanting to create an alliance between her tribe and the Atlantis expedition, based on marriage bonds between the leaders of the two groups, as it was an accepted and time-honoured Pegasus galaxy practice. For her – and for any other Pegasus galaxy native, for that matter – it was the only logical thing to do.
Unfortunately for her, the major was not interested in commitment; perhaps had not even understood why it would have been so important in this special case. Opinions about whether they had actually ‘done the deal’, as some Marines called it, differed broadly, and there was even a betting pool running about it.
Knowing what he knew about Athosian customs now, Stackhouse did not believe that they had ever been intimate. But he had the feeling that Teyla had not taken the major’s rejection kindly. Otherwise she would not have enjoyed beating the crap out of him during training so much.
Since they were now practically family, Teyla helped them preparing for the ceremony as well as with the selection of the witnesses. She knew best who from the expedition members had made friends among the Athosians and would be interested in taking part in the wedding ceremony. Those were mostly scientists, of course, but neither Stackhouse nor Jamie protested against Lieutenants Aiden Ford and Annalisa Lindstrom being put on the guest list. Teyla, on the other hand, was a little taken aback when she learned that they wanted Bates to be there as well.
“Gene and we have served together for almost a decade by now,” Stackhouse declared. “Yes, he’s a little paranoid; he can also be a son of a bitch sometimes. But he saved Jamie’s ass on that goddamn planet that was swarming with Jaffa, and we could always count on him. He’s what he is, but he still is our friend.”
“Are you sure that he still would be your friend after your wedding?” Teyla asked seriously.
Stackhouse shrugged. “Ultimately, it’s up to him. But we won’t shut him out in advance, without getting him the chance to behave like a friend.”
Bates took the news in a stride, which surprised most people. Not Stackhouse and Jamie, though. They knew that Bates, while a stickler to the rules, was more than willing to look the other way where those he considered friends were concerned – as long as their actions did not endanger anyone else.
“I hope you’re not making a mistake,” was all he said. “I hope these people are gonna turn out trustworthy. You deserve to have a good life, and out here, this is probably the closes thing you can have.”
“Teyla thought you’d be frothing from the mouth,” Jamie giggled.
Bates shrugged. “I still don’t trust her,” he replied, “but the others are different. That Halling character… he’s an impressive one. A born leader. I was wrong to suspect him. I’m still not sure about Teyla.”
“But you will come to the ceremony, won’t you?” Stackhouse asked.
Bates nodded. “Sure. You need more support from your own people than all those besotted geeks can offer. I’ll take Smithy – he’s good with kids, and everyone likes him.”
Stackhouse had to admit that it was a good idea. PFC Smith – Smithy for all his friends, which meant basically everyone he’d ever met – was a simple soul: large like a walk-in closet, with the innocent mind of a ten-year-old. He was not stupid… well, not exactly… just very simply knit. He excelled in jumping out of choppers and killing whom his commanding officers pointed out as the enemy, and he was a good enough mechanic. Other than that, he had a heart as big as your average planet and a sunny disposition. It was practically impossible not to like him.
Having cleared the important matter of wedding guests – that Dr. Weir, McKay and Major Sheppard would be there to represent Atlantis’ ruling body was a given – Jamie and Stackhouse could finally lean back and wait for the big day to come.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nine days later the wedding crowd shuttled over to the mainland by puddle jumper to witness what was the very first multi-partner bonding ceremony for most of them. (With the exception of Dr. Zelenka, who’d already participated in one, although that only involved Athosians only.)
They were welcomed by Charin and the newly-elected Elders of the tribe and escorted to a pavilion – practically a very large tent – that has been erected for their use. Stackhouse and Jamie were separated from the others and escorted to another tent: a small one, a little on the side, which served as the sweat lodge.
“You have to be cleansed before the bonding ceremony – both in body and heart,” Anika, Dr. Beckett’s wife explained, not the least bothered by the sight of two naked men sitting on the wooden bench, desperately trying to cover their private parts.
Somehow they managed not to die from embarrassment while several Athosian women came into the swear lodge to gently beat them with the thin twigs of a tree that vaguely resembled the Terran birch, and to pour buckets of cold water over their overheated bodies. At first Stackhouse though he’d suffer a heart attack, but he had to admit that the “birching”, as Jamie called it, had loosened his tense muscles nicely, and the cold “shower” proved most refreshing and invigorating.
Having finished in the local version of sauna, they were clad in festive Athosian garb (Stackhouse wondered whom the clothes might have originally belonged and whether that person would mind them going to complete strangers) and led to the gathering place. That was in the middle of the settlement, on an open glade, far enough from the tents so that the smoke from the bonfire, burning merrily in the centre, wouldn’t get in.
Both Teyla and Halling were waiting for them, taking Anais in their middle, and old Charin was there, too, to supervise the ceremony. The entire settlement was gathered around them in a large circle, talking in low tones. The excitement was palpable in the air. Small wonder; a double bonding like this was a rare event, even for the Athosians.
When they were standing face-to-face with their future wife, Halling spoke a short prayer, asking for the guidance of the Ancestors; then he raised a hand and people became silent, staring at them with happy anticipation.
“My friends,” Halling announced, “I call you to witness the union of Anais, Jamie and Adam today, which will begin here, before your very eyes. May it be fulfilled in their children and may it make our people strong.”
The Athosians cheered and clapped their hands, some of the younger boys even whistled loudly. Stackhouse saw Jamie blush furiously, and even his cheeks began to burn. Anais, however, seemed completely unperturbed by the attention.
“Clasp hands and declare your intentions,” Halling said.
Anais smiled and proffered a hand to both of them. They accepted it, Stackhouse at once, Jamie after one last moment of hesitation.
“Adam and Jamie, you have come to bond your lives to Anais. Is it still your intention?”
They both answered with a clear and determined yes. Halling turned to Anais.
“Anais, do you agree with this bonding?”
Anais, too, answered with a well-audible yes. Halling looked at the gathering now.
“Is there anyone who can name a reason why these three should not be bonded?”
No objections were heard. Halling nodded in satisfaction and turned back to them.
“To be bonded, you need to say the words that make you a household, in front of the entire community,” he said.
Anais smiled at first at Jamie, then at Stackhouse, and spoke slowly and ceremoniously, so that her voice carried over the entire gathering place. She spoke to Stackhouse first, and then to Jamie, to show that her promise was meant personally to each of them.
“I choose you, for my heart longs for you, and I am incomplete without you,” she said. “I want to hunt with you and to fight alongside you and share my water with you. And I want to become as one with you, so that our lives would continue in our children and make our people strong.”
Those were the words of bonding. Yet for a moment, it touched Stackhouse as the most wonderful promise a person could make to another one. Halling looked at them again.
“Is this what you, too, wish?” he asked. They nodded in unison, and Halling smiled. “Then repeat the words each for himself.”
They had been drilled with the wedding promise for days, so they went through them without stumbling, despite their nerves. And if their eyes were locked above Anais’ head for a moment before turning to her, nobody took notice… or commented on it.
Halling’s smile widened to previously unseen proportions. “Then before the eyes of these witnesses, I declare this new household as founded,” he announced. “May your bond remain true and may the blessing of the Ancestors remain with you.”
Athosian ceremonies didn’t contain the part where the groom would be allowed to kiss the bride, but allowances to Earth custom were made. Jamie was the first to kiss their new wife, and when Stackhouse took his turn, he imagined to taste Jamie on her lips. His only regret was that he could not kiss Jamie, too, before the eyes of everyone – but that would have been foolish. They were given an unexpected chance here, risking it just to flaunt their bond into everyone’s face was simply not worth it.
Afterwards, there was a feast, with much laughing and singing and dancing. When Anais took Jamie’s hand and led him to her tent to consummate their bond, everyone offered them good wishes and playful encouragements – including Stackhouse. He didn’t feel the least jealous. He might not understand many things about life in the Pegasus galaxy, abut so much was certain: the Athosians were his people now, and he and Jamie could finally be together.
That made up for all the other losses. This was home now; this foreign galaxy, with its strange customs and unknown dangers. He was at home.
~The End~
by Soledad
Disclaimer: The characters and the settings don't belong to me. Just the story idea and a few original characters.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
PART 05
The Atlantis crowd took in the news about Sergeants Markham and Stackhouse’s changing family status with mixed reactions. Some of the Marines – those who had been on good terms with the Athosians and seen Anais train with Teyla – called them lucky bastards. Others found the ideal of sharing a wife… uncomfortable, if not downright disgusting.
Those were later taken to the side by an exceptionally pissed Master Sergeant Bates, who explained them in short yet not uncertain terms how it was not their business, and how they should keep out of it, unless they really wanted to scrub every single railing on Atlantis with their toothbrushes. That stopped the snide remarks with amazing speed. Everyone knew that Sergeant Bates did not make any idle threats.
Most of the scientists just shrugged and went over to daily business. The marriages of Drs Beckett and Zelenka had already prepared them for similar choices; and besides, they all knew that Dr. Corrigan would follow suit rather sooner or later. A few of the ladies were perhaps a little peeved – both Markham and Stackhouse were considered hot and thus subjects of private fantasies – but that was basically it.
Major Sheppard, on the other hand, seemed a quite taken aback when they told him. Apparently, he could have lived with the idea of a guy having a harem, but a woman having multiple husbands was just too weird for him to swallow. He congratulated them (rather awkwardly) and could not have gotten away quickly enough.
Teyla, on the other hand, seemed genuinely happy about this particular turn of events.
“The first time I met you on Athos I knew that our people would become one, eventually,” she said. “I am glad to see it happening – and that the soldiers have become part of it, too. This is good for us… and good for you. None of us was made to live a lonely life; and your children with Anais will be strong and beautiful – a new hope for both our peoples.”
“Do you think the others will eventually follow suit?” Stackhouse asked.
“I hope so,” Teyla replied, “or else we shall all perish within two generations. It is unfortunately that many of your people cannot see the necessity… not yet.”
She seemed so very sad, and Stackhouse understood her completely. It was a known fact that Teyla had been… interested in Major Sheppard, wanting to create an alliance between her tribe and the Atlantis expedition, based on marriage bonds between the leaders of the two groups, as it was an accepted and time-honoured Pegasus galaxy practice. For her – and for any other Pegasus galaxy native, for that matter – it was the only logical thing to do.
Unfortunately for her, the major was not interested in commitment; perhaps had not even understood why it would have been so important in this special case. Opinions about whether they had actually ‘done the deal’, as some Marines called it, differed broadly, and there was even a betting pool running about it.
Knowing what he knew about Athosian customs now, Stackhouse did not believe that they had ever been intimate. But he had the feeling that Teyla had not taken the major’s rejection kindly. Otherwise she would not have enjoyed beating the crap out of him during training so much.
Since they were now practically family, Teyla helped them preparing for the ceremony as well as with the selection of the witnesses. She knew best who from the expedition members had made friends among the Athosians and would be interested in taking part in the wedding ceremony. Those were mostly scientists, of course, but neither Stackhouse nor Jamie protested against Lieutenants Aiden Ford and Annalisa Lindstrom being put on the guest list. Teyla, on the other hand, was a little taken aback when she learned that they wanted Bates to be there as well.
“Gene and we have served together for almost a decade by now,” Stackhouse declared. “Yes, he’s a little paranoid; he can also be a son of a bitch sometimes. But he saved Jamie’s ass on that goddamn planet that was swarming with Jaffa, and we could always count on him. He’s what he is, but he still is our friend.”
“Are you sure that he still would be your friend after your wedding?” Teyla asked seriously.
Stackhouse shrugged. “Ultimately, it’s up to him. But we won’t shut him out in advance, without getting him the chance to behave like a friend.”
Bates took the news in a stride, which surprised most people. Not Stackhouse and Jamie, though. They knew that Bates, while a stickler to the rules, was more than willing to look the other way where those he considered friends were concerned – as long as their actions did not endanger anyone else.
“I hope you’re not making a mistake,” was all he said. “I hope these people are gonna turn out trustworthy. You deserve to have a good life, and out here, this is probably the closes thing you can have.”
“Teyla thought you’d be frothing from the mouth,” Jamie giggled.
Bates shrugged. “I still don’t trust her,” he replied, “but the others are different. That Halling character… he’s an impressive one. A born leader. I was wrong to suspect him. I’m still not sure about Teyla.”
“But you will come to the ceremony, won’t you?” Stackhouse asked.
Bates nodded. “Sure. You need more support from your own people than all those besotted geeks can offer. I’ll take Smithy – he’s good with kids, and everyone likes him.”
Stackhouse had to admit that it was a good idea. PFC Smith – Smithy for all his friends, which meant basically everyone he’d ever met – was a simple soul: large like a walk-in closet, with the innocent mind of a ten-year-old. He was not stupid… well, not exactly… just very simply knit. He excelled in jumping out of choppers and killing whom his commanding officers pointed out as the enemy, and he was a good enough mechanic. Other than that, he had a heart as big as your average planet and a sunny disposition. It was practically impossible not to like him.
Having cleared the important matter of wedding guests – that Dr. Weir, McKay and Major Sheppard would be there to represent Atlantis’ ruling body was a given – Jamie and Stackhouse could finally lean back and wait for the big day to come.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nine days later the wedding crowd shuttled over to the mainland by puddle jumper to witness what was the very first multi-partner bonding ceremony for most of them. (With the exception of Dr. Zelenka, who’d already participated in one, although that only involved Athosians only.)
They were welcomed by Charin and the newly-elected Elders of the tribe and escorted to a pavilion – practically a very large tent – that has been erected for their use. Stackhouse and Jamie were separated from the others and escorted to another tent: a small one, a little on the side, which served as the sweat lodge.
“You have to be cleansed before the bonding ceremony – both in body and heart,” Anika, Dr. Beckett’s wife explained, not the least bothered by the sight of two naked men sitting on the wooden bench, desperately trying to cover their private parts.
Somehow they managed not to die from embarrassment while several Athosian women came into the swear lodge to gently beat them with the thin twigs of a tree that vaguely resembled the Terran birch, and to pour buckets of cold water over their overheated bodies. At first Stackhouse though he’d suffer a heart attack, but he had to admit that the “birching”, as Jamie called it, had loosened his tense muscles nicely, and the cold “shower” proved most refreshing and invigorating.
Having finished in the local version of sauna, they were clad in festive Athosian garb (Stackhouse wondered whom the clothes might have originally belonged and whether that person would mind them going to complete strangers) and led to the gathering place. That was in the middle of the settlement, on an open glade, far enough from the tents so that the smoke from the bonfire, burning merrily in the centre, wouldn’t get in.
Both Teyla and Halling were waiting for them, taking Anais in their middle, and old Charin was there, too, to supervise the ceremony. The entire settlement was gathered around them in a large circle, talking in low tones. The excitement was palpable in the air. Small wonder; a double bonding like this was a rare event, even for the Athosians.
When they were standing face-to-face with their future wife, Halling spoke a short prayer, asking for the guidance of the Ancestors; then he raised a hand and people became silent, staring at them with happy anticipation.
“My friends,” Halling announced, “I call you to witness the union of Anais, Jamie and Adam today, which will begin here, before your very eyes. May it be fulfilled in their children and may it make our people strong.”
The Athosians cheered and clapped their hands, some of the younger boys even whistled loudly. Stackhouse saw Jamie blush furiously, and even his cheeks began to burn. Anais, however, seemed completely unperturbed by the attention.
“Clasp hands and declare your intentions,” Halling said.
Anais smiled and proffered a hand to both of them. They accepted it, Stackhouse at once, Jamie after one last moment of hesitation.
“Adam and Jamie, you have come to bond your lives to Anais. Is it still your intention?”
They both answered with a clear and determined yes. Halling turned to Anais.
“Anais, do you agree with this bonding?”
Anais, too, answered with a well-audible yes. Halling looked at the gathering now.
“Is there anyone who can name a reason why these three should not be bonded?”
No objections were heard. Halling nodded in satisfaction and turned back to them.
“To be bonded, you need to say the words that make you a household, in front of the entire community,” he said.
Anais smiled at first at Jamie, then at Stackhouse, and spoke slowly and ceremoniously, so that her voice carried over the entire gathering place. She spoke to Stackhouse first, and then to Jamie, to show that her promise was meant personally to each of them.
“I choose you, for my heart longs for you, and I am incomplete without you,” she said. “I want to hunt with you and to fight alongside you and share my water with you. And I want to become as one with you, so that our lives would continue in our children and make our people strong.”
Those were the words of bonding. Yet for a moment, it touched Stackhouse as the most wonderful promise a person could make to another one. Halling looked at them again.
“Is this what you, too, wish?” he asked. They nodded in unison, and Halling smiled. “Then repeat the words each for himself.”
They had been drilled with the wedding promise for days, so they went through them without stumbling, despite their nerves. And if their eyes were locked above Anais’ head for a moment before turning to her, nobody took notice… or commented on it.
Halling’s smile widened to previously unseen proportions. “Then before the eyes of these witnesses, I declare this new household as founded,” he announced. “May your bond remain true and may the blessing of the Ancestors remain with you.”
Athosian ceremonies didn’t contain the part where the groom would be allowed to kiss the bride, but allowances to Earth custom were made. Jamie was the first to kiss their new wife, and when Stackhouse took his turn, he imagined to taste Jamie on her lips. His only regret was that he could not kiss Jamie, too, before the eyes of everyone – but that would have been foolish. They were given an unexpected chance here, risking it just to flaunt their bond into everyone’s face was simply not worth it.
Afterwards, there was a feast, with much laughing and singing and dancing. When Anais took Jamie’s hand and led him to her tent to consummate their bond, everyone offered them good wishes and playful encouragements – including Stackhouse. He didn’t feel the least jealous. He might not understand many things about life in the Pegasus galaxy, abut so much was certain: the Athosians were his people now, and he and Jamie could finally be together.
That made up for all the other losses. This was home now; this foreign galaxy, with its strange customs and unknown dangers. He was at home.
~The End~
