Title: In Front
DISCLAIMER: These characters do not belong to me and are not being used
for any kind of profit on my part.
Note: Thanks to Mari for the encouragement, and thanks to my friends
from high school and undergrad. High school au for the wtf_27
challenge. Title comes from "Man in Black" by Johnny Cash, which
I listened to repeatedly while writing this fic.
________________
“No applications yet?” Kate Heightmeyer shuffled through the
large stack of papers on her desk. God,
she hated the start of the school year.
John smiled cheerfully.
“Nah. Haven’t really decided
yet.”
Heightmeyer glared at him.
“You haven’t taken the ASVAB either. Or
made any inquiries about the Air Force
Academy or ROTC
programs. Or….”
“Like I said, I haven’t decided.” John
crossed one leg over the other,
perfectly casual. “I haven’t made up my
mind yet.”
Heightmeyer sighed.
“You’re going to need to decide soon, John.
You’ve got a better chance at scholarships if
you apply early, and your grades could take you just about anywhere.” She paused.
“You don’t have to follow in your father’s footsteps. You can make your own life.”
And wasn’t that what he’d been telling himself all these
months? Hadn’t he spent last night
repeating those words, practicing making this decision?
John uncrossed his legs and leaned forward.
If he was going to give up flying, he was
sure as hell going to get something in return.
“Doc H, can I ask you something?”
Heightmeyer put her papers down, looking half-amused,
half-serious. “Anything.”
Never losing his cool, John dropped the bomb. “So
how would I go about starting a new
student organization?”
***
On the opposite end of the spectrum of calm, Principal
Caldwell paced the floor behind his desk.
John caught a glimpse of a poster reading ‘The Principal is Your
Pal!’
and decided it had never been less true.
Caldwell
finally spoke. “You know I have to
ask. Are you…sure about this?”
John just smiled.
“Absolutely. There’s a need in
the school community, and if no one else is going to step up and fill
it, I
guess I have to.”
Caldwell
looked unconvinced. “Have you thought
about the potential consequences?” As if
they were deserved, natural results of his actions, as if the
disappointment of
his father, the scorn of his classmates, the destruction of all hope of
his
military career, was a consequence, not a tragedy.
John did not let it show.
He wanted this, wanted it bad.
There was something about the whole situation that angered him
on a very
deep level. It wasn’t right, and if he
was going to give up all of his plans for the future for this, he
wasn’t going
to stay quiet about it. “I’ve thought
about them. I figure I’d be sorta a
coward if I let that stop me.” It’s about
all the right lines at all the right times.
He was good at this.
Thoroughly defeated, Caldwell
turned his gaze to Heightmeyer. “You
know I can’t stop you if you want to do this.
I just hope you’ve both considered if the school is ready for
this.”
Heightmeyer gave him her prettiest taking no bullshit
smile. “Oh, I think the school should
always be ready for tolerance.”
***
No one really knew how to go about advertising, so
Heightmeyer and John hung a few flyers, got the news on the morning
announcements (less snickering than expected, but really, who listened
to the
announcements?) and mostly just hoped for some kind of response.
On that fateful Thursday afternoon, they got six, not counting
John, Heightmeyer, and the other faculty adviser, social studies
department
head Liz Weir. They sat scattered around
the classroom, nervously watching the door to see if anyone had seen
them come
in, if there were spies outside, if they knew anyone in the room.
After it seemed like no one else was going to show up, Weir
clapped her hands. “Okay, why don’t we
get started here?” The assorted students
gave her their attention. “I’m Dr. Weir,
though some of you already know me; I know I have a few of you in AP
Government. Before I became a teacher, I
used to work in civil rights law, where I became familiar with the
issues that
I know some of you are facing now. So,
when Dr. Heightmeyer approached me about sponsoring this group, I was
more than
happy to volunteer.”
It was Heightmeyer’s turn to take the floor. “Hi,
I’m Dr. Heightmeyer, though I know most
of you already. I work in the counseling
office, and I want you all to know that if you ever need someone to
talk to, my
door is always open.”
Both women turned to stare at John. He
hadn’t wanted to speak, but he turned from
his perch on a desk to face the rest of the room. “Hey,
I’m John. I guess I started this whole
thing.”
His speech was interrupted by an irritated sputter from the
next row. “Oh PLEASE, because we queers
could never get ourselves organized to meet without the help of guys
like
you. Where were you when we were getting
shoved into lockers, huh?”
He too was cut off by a sharp elbow from the scrawny kid
sitting next to him. “Ignore him,” the
kid said to the rest of the room. “He
has no friends.”
Weir looked at the three of them, trying not to be
amused. “First of all, I think we need
to set some rules here. It is crucial
that we remain supportive of one another.
We cannot have insults and fighting in here; lord knows we all
face it
enough from others outside of here. Now,
if that’s done, why don’t you all introduce yourselves?
Tell us your name, a little about yourself
and, if you feel comfortable, why you’re here.”
The loudmouth from earlier was, not surprisingly, the first
to talk. “I’m Rodney.
I can guarantee that I am more intelligent
than all of you put together. Why do you
THINK I’m here? It’s a stupid question.”
The kid who elbowed him spoke up before anyone could respond
to Rodney. “I’m Radek, my function in
life seems to be to shut Rodney up, I moved here five years ago from
the Czech Republic,
and I too am here for the obvious reasons.”
A girl with long hair and obviously homemade jewelry spoke
next. “My name is Teyla, I am an artist,
and I believe that it is foolish to limit oneself sexually or
romantically to
one gender.” She paused.
“That said, if I was going to limit myself,
it would be to girls. Totally
girls.” She gave an emphatic nod, then
folded her hands and resumed her calm demeanor.
Next was an obvious underclassman bouncing in the front
row. “Hey! I’m
Aiden and I think this organization is
the best thing ever. I am out and
proud!”
The guy behind him blinked a few times as if stunned by the
energy. “Uhm, hi. I’m
Carson
and, well, actually I’m straight.”
“Oh right,” Rodney said with a snort. “Of
course you are.”
“No, really!” Carson protested.
“I’m straight! I have a gay cousin
and a gay best friend,
who said she wanted to be here but she had track, and I love them both
dearly,
but really, I am straight as a….straight thing.”
Heightmeyer saw it necessary to intervene. “Guys,
none of us, gay or straight, want to
have our identity questioned. We need to
show respect for others’ assertions.”
Everyone shifted uncomfortably, and then all eyes shifted to
the back corner, where the last student sat.
John spared a thought as to how he’d learned to do his eyeliner
like
that. The kid shifted uncomfortably
under the gaze of so many. “I’m Ronon.”
There was a long silence before Aiden prompted, “And?”
“And nothing.” Ronon
crossed black-clad arms over his chest and said no more.
“Okay!” Heightmeyer said cheerfully. “I
just want you all to know that it took a
lot of bravery for you all to come out here today.
I know it seems new now, but I hope that this
gay-straight alliance will become an important part of Cheyenne
Mountain High.”
***
Despite everyone’s best hopes, the GSA never got larger than
their seven members and two sponsors.
The small numbers did, however, foster a bit more friendship
between the
members, as Rodney had to grudgingly admit that he did like talking to
other
gay teenagers, even if they were dumber than sacks of rocks. The
strange thing
was that with the exception of Radek and Rodney, none of them had
really even
known each other before—John was mostly a loner, Teyla artsy, Ronon a
goth and
also disinclined to speak to anyone about anything, Radek and Rodney
the sort
of brains that didn’t play well with others, Carson a drama geek, and
Aiden
both much younger than the others and inclined to mostly hang around
with
giggling girls. With those kinds of
differences, no one would expect them to be friends, but the one thing
they all
(except Carson) had in common had brought them together, helped them
form the
bond of one very common interest.
As they all started to like each other more, they decided
that what they needed was to get together outside of school. Well, Aiden had decided they needed to do so,
Teyla had volunteered her house with her parents away for the weekend,
and no
one had made their objections public.
John knew enough to be skeptical; school friends were school
friends and
out of school friends were something else entirely, and it was rare
that the
jump between the two could be made.
Still, this club had been his idea, so it wouldn’t be fitting to
be the
voice of pessimism. Besides, by now it
was clear that was Rodney’s job.
So there they were, one Friday evening in November, sitting
around Teyla’s family room. Radek and
Aiden were on the floor playing X-Box, Ronon was fiddling with his
spike
necklace (they’d gotten him to take off the combat boots but he
insisted on
wearing his trenchcoat), and the other four were laying around in
various stages
of sloth.
It was Aiden, winning the game and setting down his
controller, who started it. “So, when
did you guys all know?”
“Oh God, is this turning into a big gay slumber party?” Rodney
asked, rolling his eyes.
John hit him with a throw pillow. “If it
was, we would have painted your nails by
now.” That said, he looked over at
Aiden. “But seriously?
You want to have this conversation?”
To everyone’s shock, it was Ronon who answered. “Not
like we can talk to anyone else about
it.”
Can’t really argue with that. John leaned
back. “Fine, Aiden, but you’re starting.”
Aiden radiated excitement, and John had to forcefully remind
himself the kid was 15, just a baby really, and couldn’t be blamed. “Well, I guess it was the eighth grade dance,
I was just totally not excited about my date and I realized that it was
because
I didn’t want to date her or any other girl and it all just clicked
that I was
gay and I haven’t looked back since.”
“Wow, that’s very profound and enlightening,” Rodney said
sarcastically,
prompting Aiden to stick his tongue out.
John broke it up before it could get any further. “Well
how about your story then?”
Rodney blushed, but then shrugged and said “What’s there to
tell? I was born, I looked back and
thought ‘that’s the last time I’m going near one of those.’”
Radek groaned louder than anyone else at the overused
joke. “For me, it was not so easy. My family are very good Catholics, so it was
hard to say ‘yes, this is what I am, and if I go to hell, I go to
hell.’”
Teyla touched his shoulder.
“Do you parents know that you’re gay?”
Radek shook his head.
“No. I do not think…they would
not be happy, but I think they would get used to it.
I hope.”
Teyla smiled at him. “I’m
sure they will.” She looked around the
room. “It didn’t occur to me until I was
about sixteen that my feelings were not the normal feelings I was
supposed to
have for my female friends. I knew my
parents would be supportive, but it was still very difficult to tell
them.”
“I’m really glad to hear that,” Carson said.
“I hate those crazy parents on TV who act like it’s a personal
betrayal
of them that their kid is say.” He
grinned. “For what it’s worth, I knew I
was straight when I kissed Kelly McCarthy in the third grade and knew
my life
afterward would be dedicated to trying to do it again with as many
women as
possible.”
Everyone laughed, and for a long moment, John thought he’d
be expected to go next, but then Ronon blurted out “I was twelve and he
was
fifteen and he wanted to try it, and I knew I didn’t really want to
touch him
again after that, but I thought maybe with some other guy, yeah.”
Silence, before Rodney, voice no gentler than usual, asked
“You realize that’s really fucked up, right?”
Radek punched him in the arm. Hard.
He moved closer to Ronon.
“God. I’m sorry.
Did he…?”
Ronon shook his head.
“No. Didn’t force me, which is
more than a lot of kids in the system can say.
He ended up in a new group home after awhile, I ended up with a
new
foster family and now here I am. It all
worked out okay.” He shoved his hands in
his pockets. “I don’t really talk about
it.”
Teyla, ever the best communicator, saw the need for a
subject change and looked over at John.
“We haven’t heard your story yet.”
John fidgeted a bit.
This was the hard part, because all groups have their membership
requirements, and he was beginning to feel insufficiently gay. “Well, I wasn’t really like most of you. I never really thought about guys that way at
all until” and here’s the hard part “last year.”
Rodney choked on his sip of pop. “You
started a GSA when you’d only been gay
for a year? Weren’t you still supposed
to be telling yourself it was only a phase at that point?”
John was very careful to hit Rodney in the same spot Radek
had earlier. “Fuck you.
I figured out pretty quickly that it was
permanent.”
“What made you realize it in the first place?” Aiden
asked. “I mean, you would have been,
like, seventeen. That’s really
old!”
“Shut up!” came the chorus from the six seniors in the room. When the glaring at Aiden had died down, John
looked down and admitted “It was Tom Brady.”
Confused silence, until Ronon (who lived with two other
straight male teenagers and therefore knew of their world) asked, “The
football
player?”
John nodded. “Saw him
win MVP of the Super Bowl and, well, I realized I felt something more
than
manly inspiration, and it was all downhill from there.”
Rodney snickered.
“Only you could be turned gay by a fucking football player. You’re the straightest gay boy in the world.”
Teyla glared at him.
“Rodney, you’re perpetuating the stereotypes that have been used
to
demean and oppress LGBT people for years.”
Rodney glared right back at her. “Well, I
think that by embracing these
stereotypes, making them our own, we can take away their power to hurt
us.”
John just leaned back, watching the discussion. Maybe,
just maybe, they could all become real
friends after all.
***
Of course, life never goes quite so smoothly, and Caldwell
got complaints from parents and Heightmeyer stuck up for the club and
Weir got
really angry, and at times John just wanted to quit, to say ‘yes, I’ve
stirred
up enough excitement, let’s end it now,’ but then he looked around at
his new
friends, his only friends, and he decided that some things were worth
standing
up for, and besides that, if the club was disbanded, might they all
just drift
apart?
Fact was, they were all so busy that it might be easy to be
pulled away from each other. Teyla was
frantically trying to get her best pieces together to submit portfolios
to art
schools, Rodney and Radek were pouring over acceptance letters and
scholarship
offers, looking for the best deal, Carson
was pretty much looking for anyone who wanted to give him any kind of
scholarship, and John was actually starting to feel motivated to
perhaps do
something. He’d even met with
Heightmeyer to discuss his options; maybe the Air Force was gone for
him, but
there were still other ways of flying or at least being involved, and
John was
going to find those ways if it killed him.
Ronon and Ford were left on the outskirts of these
conversations; Ford would try to work in how he planned on being a star
of the
swim team next year while Ronon, who had once said roughly that college
wasn’t
an option, was characteristically quiet.
John worried about him a bit, but figured that if Ronon seemed
to be
anything, it was resilient, and he’d get by.
Amidst all the chaos, even with the busy schedules, they
were still growing closer and closer.
They often met at Teyla’s house, in Radek’s basement, or when
all else
failed, at John’s house during the many, many days his father worked
late. They didn’t talk about it, but for
some of
the members, this was a refuge. Aiden’s
grandparents, while apparently sweet and supportive, were still
convinced their
grandson would grow out of his homosexuality.
Rodney’s house was apparently a war zone (he had no hesitation
about
admitting this) and it was clear to all that Ronon could use as much
time as
possible away from his foster home.
John had been waiting for them to start pairing off.
At first, he had this horrible vision fueled
by too many young adult gay books that everyone might start having sex
without
him, but as he realized that the rest of the group were as socially
unfortunate
as he was, he switched to waiting for the inevitability of group
dynamics to
assert themselves. Sure, they all liked
each other, but everyone likes some people more than others, and
smaller
friendships were bound to happen.
And happen they did, some predictable, some not. Carson
and Teyla found in one another similar
artistic spirits, and somehow they ended up adopting Aiden into that
group,
apparently amused by his enthusiasm.
Radek and Rodney had initially been close, and remained so, but
circumstances
had intervened, which was how John eventually found himself sitting on
a couch
next to Rodney, thinking that he should be watching TV but completely
unable to
pay attention.
Rodney seemed to be having a similar problem. “I
don’t know what his deal is,” he
ranted. “If he’s going to run around
wearing stupid makeup and stupid clothes then I think he should be
prepared for
someone to tell him he looks like an idiot.”
John turned to face him.
“Okay, but you maybe didn’t have to phrase it as him giving a
bad name
to teenagers everywhere, nor did you need to do the impression of him
writing a
letter to Morrissey. The joke about his
parents was real classy.”
Rodney glared, then softened his gaze. “Okay,
maybe not, but still. I don’t know why
Radek had to go running
after him.”
John ignored Rodney’s crankiness. “I hope
everything’s okay.”
Rodney snorted. “What
are you, our den mother?” Still, he
stood. “We could go check if that would
make your maternal instincts stop overreacting.”
John got up and followed Rodney to the window. There,
they saw Ronon sitting on the porch
steps, Radek next to him, and as they talked, Radek reached over to
hold
Ronon’s hand. John spoke before Rodney
could say anything. “Wow, you must have
upset him more than we thought.”
Ronon’s hand closed around Radek’s, and as John and Rodney
watched on, Radek pushed long hair out of Ronon’s face and kissed him
gently.
John let the curtain fall.
Rodney straightened up. “Well,”
he said, smirking, “was that one my fault too?”
***
By the next meeting, it was official—Radek and Ronon were
Going Out. To their credit, they did
their best not to make it too awkward, though that may have been due to
Weir’s
strict “No PDA” policy than anything else.
Still, though, they sat very close together, Ronon glaring at
anyone who
came close, Radek smiling with fond amusement at him, Rodney glowering
off by
himself.
No one knew quite what to do about the new couple.
Teyla was quietly proud, apparently thrilled
that Ronon was interacting with another person.
Aiden was positively giddy that he now knew an actual gay
couple, and
Carson, veteran of drama club drama, seemed to be slightly convinced
that
they’d break up very soon. Rodney just
looked pissed, but John wasn’t stupid.
He knew that underneath the anger was a deep sense of loss,
because it
was clear to one and all that Radek was Rodney’s only friend, and now
Radek had
someone else he liked better.
He wasn’t sure when he started doing it or why it really
happened, but John started sitting by Rodney.
He’d done the whole loner thing, and while he had it perfected
to an
art, Rodney just sat there and scowled, so John figured he’d try to
take one
for the team and attempt to cheer him up.
Of course it didn’t work that way—Rodney just bitched to John,
but at
least he was talking rather than stewing in his bitterness.
One day in February, John was eating his lunch when Rodney
plopped down noisily and heavily next to him.
“Guess where Radek is.”
John looked around.
“Is this like Eye Spy? Is he
under the table?”
Rodney rolled his eyes.
“He’s in California. He’s visiting Stanford.”
“Why didn’t he tell anyone?”
Radek had been debating between schools since October; the visit
seemed
to be suggesting a commitment. John
thought
something that cool should have been mentioned to his friends. It was California,
after all.
Rodney crossed his arms.
“He’s all moony-eyed because he’s gotta leave his stupid
boyfriend.”
John rolled his eyes.
“Rodney, he’s your best friend. Shouldn’t
you be at least a little bit happy
for him?”
“No.” Rodney looked
mad enough to spit. “It’s stupid,
because how many people from high school actually stay together? It’s just….it’s really stupid.”
John poked him.
“And?” He was fairly sure that if
there wasn’t something else going on, Rodney would have kept up the
rant.
Rodney sighed. “And I
signed the acceptance form for MIT yesterday.”
John punched him lightly. “Really? That’s
awesome! Congratulations!”
Rodney waved it off. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. We didn’t…” He stopped abruptly.
Now John got it.
“Ohhhhhh. You’re gonna be split
up, huh? That’s pretty harsh.”
Rodney wouldn’t even look at him. “We knew
we’d probably end up at different
schools, but it’s still…yeah.” He smiled
without humor. “Stupid, huh?”
John shook his head.
“Nah. It would be hard losing
your best friend.” It hit him like a
sack of bricks. “At least you’re going
somewhere. I’m just going to watch
everyone leave me. How bad does that
suck?”
Rodney, never one for tact, replied “A lot.” He
paused.
“You are going to college though, right?
You’re not completely stupid, you could make it.”
John shrugged. “I’m
thinking about it. Not sure.”
The truth was, for all his bravado, he still
didn’t know how to tell his father that yes, he really did want to work
with
planes, but not in the Air Force. It
would be like…John couldn’t come up with an accurate analogy, but he
knew it
would not be a fun conversation.
“You should do it.”
Rodney swallowed the last bite of his sandwich.
“Gotta go check something in the lab. See
you at the meeting.” Just like that, he
was gone. Rodney was never one for small
talk.
John looked around the cafeteria, spotting Ronon sitting
alone. John picked up his tray and moved
over. “So. California.”
Ronon didn’t respond other than to repeat “California.”
John realized this wasn’t going to be easy and that, in the
interests of being a nice guy, he had to ask.
“You okay?”
Ronon shrugged. “I’m
not stupid or anything. I knew this
wasn’t going to be forever.”
“It still sucks.”
John realized he actually felt bad about this, that Radek’s
dream was
going to split him and Ronon up, even him and Rodney up.
“I’ll still be here, though.”
Ronon almost smiled, which was about as much as he ever
did. “Yeah. Thanks.”
They sat quietly after that, just eating. It
was pretty much like that for the next few
months; Radek and Rodney ran around in a havoc of orientations, Teyla
got into
art school in LA, Aiden tried to share in everyone else’s excitement,
and John
and Ronon just sat back and watched.
In March, John got an acceptance letter from University of Colorado. He put it in his sock drawer, still not sure
what to do with it. Somehow, this was
even more difficult than starting the GSA.
That had only been for a year; this was a decision about the
rest of his
life. A small part of him said that it
wasn’t too late, that if he really wanted to, he could still join the
Air
Force, but when he looked around at his friends, he realized that there
was no
way he could give that up, pretend to be someone he wasn’t.
John accepted admission to college. He
sucked up all his courage and put the
acceptance letter on top of his father’s papers. Two
weeks later, he received a manila
envelope from his father’s commanding officer.
There was a post-it note stuck to it, reading “Congratulations! This must have got mixed in with your
father’s papers by accident, figured you’d want it back to save.” All John could feel at that was a
sense of
relief.
The months left of school eventually turned to weeks, turned
to days, and after the last bell rang on the senior’s last day of
school, the
group met in Dr. Weir’s classroom for their last official meeting. It was mostly socializing, exchanging contact
information, new college addresses. As
the meeting started to wrap up, Aiden cleared his throat and said “We
have
something.”
There was silence as everyone looked around at each
other. John was totally baffled, even
more so when he saw Carson
elbow Rodney.
Rodney jumped, rolling his eyes. “Oh,
right.
One rather undeserved award, coming right up.”
He pulled a piece of official-looking paper
out of his folder and handed it to John.
John took it, reading the text out loud. “We,
the undersigned, in honor of his service
to the LGBT population of Cheyenne
Mountain High School, do proclaim John
Sheppard to be King of
the Gay. May his reign be long and
prosperous.” The certificate was signed
by all the other group members, along with Dr. Weir and Dr. Heightmeyer. John was oddly touched and, for a moment,
almost speechless. “Thanks, guys. I mean….really. Thank
you.”
Teyla grinned at him.
“We mean it. Many of us were open
about our sexuality, but it was very brave of you to start this
organization.”
John found himself a little choked up. “It
was nothing, really.” He smiled at them in
what he thought was a
cool, confident manner, and either they believed him or took pity on
him,
because the topic quickly changed to one less emotional.
Prom, due to scheduling difficulties, was held during the
weekend between the end of school and commencement.
Radek danced with Ronon, much to the shock of
the rest of the student body. Carson danced
with his
date and with his best friend, Laura, who’d set a state record in track
a few
weeks before. She led.
John sat and laughed at how happy they
looked. Rodney didn’t attend.
All of them, except for Carson who was busy with his date
and a cheap motel, went to Teyla’s basement after that, spread out on
her floor
and her couch. Rodney and Aiden came to
join them, and Rodney brought with him some highly illegal alcohol. They drank it, getting giddy and stupid and
tired and nostalgic. Aiden, the
youngest, was the first to drop, curled up in a corner of the basement
near the
stereo. Teyla eventually fell asleep in
a recliner, Ronon and Radek tangled together in a pile of blankets.
Rodney and John sat propped against the couch, staring
straight ahead at the empty bottles. “I
will not miss high school at all,” Rodney declared.
“I’ll miss you guys,” John admitted, alcohol making him
sincere. “The rest of high school
sucked, but you guys were cool.”
“You were okay too,” Rodney said magnanimously.
John tilted his head back slowly. “Thank
you.”
Rodney smiled, looking more than a bit spaced-out. “College
is going to be so much better. No more
of this petty bullshit. Maybe I’ll even
find a good boyfriend.”
“Good luck with that,” John told him. “Hell,
maybe I’ll find one too.”
Rodney’s grin became a smirk. “Oh that’s
right! Poor Johnny’s never done anything
with a guy
before.”
John sighed loudly.
“Yeah. Poor me.”
They looked at each other for long moments before Rodney
said “I could fix that you know.” John
said nothing, only nodded, and Rodney rested one hand on the back of
John’s
head, pulled John toward him, kissed him hard.
It was awkward and clumsy and John started off not knowing what
to do
with the strange tongue in his mouth, but he quickly relaxed and found
that
hey, this kissing thing was kinda fun.
Rodney pulled back, a hint of awareness behind the drunken
haze in his eyes. “Are you okay?”
John had to smile.
“Very okay. Maybe even better
than okay.”
“Good.” And that was
it, no more movement, no more conversation.
They were both too drunk and too tired, but as they both drifted
off to
sleep, they were smiling.
Epilogue-
FIFTEEN YEARS LATER
Rodney McKay works for NASA.
He is still close with Radek and he speaks to John on the phone
at least
once a month. He also sends him short,
caustic, e-mails in the meantime. They
slept together during spring break freshman year and while it was
pretty good
sex for their first time, they agreed it probably wasn’t a good idea to
keep it
going. He’s had rotten luck in
relationships but is currently together with his partner of one year,
an
electrical engineer.
John Sheppard got a degree on aeronautics and along the way,
he realized that while flight was awesome, what he really wanted to do
is
design. He moved to California where he now works for
Boeing. He has been living with a pilot
for the past five years and they are quietly happy.
The certificate is still in a frame on his
wall.
The first thing Radek Zelenka did after graduating from
Stanford was take the money he’d saved and make a security deposit on
an
apartment. Two weeks later, he was
leading a blindfolded Ronon Dex in. When
he took off the blindfold, he said “It’s ours.
This is our home. We’re going to
stay here, both of us.” It was the first
time Ronon ever felt he’d had a home. Radek
teaches at Cal Tech now; Ronon used his newfound security to go to
college and
is currently working on his Masters in Social Work.
They plan to marry should it ever become
legal in California. They have two adopted children and are, in
Rodney’s words, sickeningly domestic.
Carson Beckett got his teaching certificate and ending up
teaching English. He runs the school’s
drama club. He is married with four
children who like to put on plays in his backyard. They
all adore their Aunt Laura, especially
when she introduced them to their new Aunt Katie.
Teyla Emagen runs an art gallery in New York.
She does not have a long term relationship.
She is blissfully happy without one.
Most people who’d known him when he was younger lost contact
with Aiden Ford shortly after his 19th birthday. It was almost too hard, too much worry about
AIDS or other STDs, when he just didn’t seem to care about the
anonymous sex in
the bars, the risk he was subjecting himself to. They
all feared the worst until Carson
got a new puppy
and discovered Aiden was the vet tech, having finally got his life
together. He’s still looking for the man
of his dreams, but is no longer in danger of scaring said man off with
the
power of his gay.
Elizabeth Weir and Kate Heightmeyer continued to run the GSA
at Cheyenne. At the last count there were 35 members, most
of them staunch allies. It’s not
perfect, there’s still a lot of fear and hate, but all things
considered it’s
one of the safest schools in the state.
Most of the students find it hard to believe that there used to
not be a
GSA, and maybe that’s the best indicator of progress of all.