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Title: Downtime Fandom: Atlantis Pairing: Beckett/Weir Rating: G (fluff!) Spoilers: None Summary: Even workaholics need time off sometimes. Author's notes: Written for illmantrim and the Carson Beckett Ficathon. The request was for Beckett/Weir, a picnic: Atlantis style, and geek love, all of which I think I managed... Many thanks to Megan for suffering through a Beckett/Weir fic and declaring it "very fluffy fluff." Even if she did suggest that I end it with a Wraith attack. *gives her a funny look* In some ways, Elizabeth Weir was the perfect patient. She didn’t complain when it came time to get shots or physicals, she didn’t have any nagging medical problems (except for frequent headaches, all of which Carson suspected had names attached to them), she ate right, and generally took care of herself. Carson did chide her for working too hard or sleeping too little, but she always protested that she would more than happy to fix that if Atlantis wasn’t so demanding. He usually decided not to comment on the fact that even on the quietest day in Atlantis, he was sure she would work herself harder than necessary and get less sleep than she needed. She was a workaholic, but then, so was he, so he couldn’t really scold her too harshly. When, on one occasion, he suggested that she get more exercise (pointing out that standing in the control room in between bouts of running to various labs and the infirmary didn’t really count), she gave him a pleading look. “Don’t let Major Sheppard hear you say that,” she begged. “He’s been after me to start self-defense training for weeks. This would be just the excuse he needs to bully me into it.” Carson leaned his hip against the table she was sitting on. “Not that I blame you for avoiding it – Lord knows I have been – but it would be good for you.” She sighed. “I know.” A smile ghosted her lips. “I keep excusing it by saying I’ll get up early some morning and go running.” Carson chuckled. “Early? When would that be, 4:30 AM?” Elizabeth smiled ruefully. “I know, I know, and that’s why I haven’t done it.” Her smile turned wistful. “I’ve always enjoyed running, though,” she said, swinging her legs girlishly. “Especially in the morning. It’s so quiet, peaceful even.” She shrugged away her reverie and cocked her head, looking up at him. “Plus, running here would give me a chance to see Atlantis. It’s silly, but even though I run the place, I never get to actually enjoy the city. I’m always stuck in the control room or my office, or running somewhere on an emergency.” Carson grimaced sympathetically. “Oh, I know what you mean. The last time I saw a new part of Atlantis was when the scientists unleashed that virus. Didn’t really have time to take in my surroundings.” She leaned back on her hands, looking up at him thoughtfully. “We both deserve some time off.” “And how do you propose we get it?” he asked. “It’s not like we can just go running off, we have duties. Even if we tried, we’d probably both be pestered constantly by people who think they can’t run things without us.” “They can’t pester us if they don’t know where we are,” she pointed out with a sudden grin. “As for how, Carson, you forget who you’re talking to. I’m in charge around here, and if I say we’re taking time off, there’s nothing anyone can do about it.” Her firm words surprised him for a moment. Well, I suppose a diplomat has to be able to take a hard line stance sometimes, he thought. Reflecting that there was more to Elizabeth Weir than he usually saw – and that he liked what he was seeing now – Carson made a split-second decision to go along with whatever she had in mind. She seemed to be thinking of fun, or at the very least, different, and while Carson usually played it safe, fun and different sounded very appealing right about then. And if fun and different happened in the company of the lovely Elizabeth Weir, well, that was definite icing on the cake. He leaned forward conspiratorially. “What did you have in mind?” She grinned, seemingly glad to have hooked him. “There’s this pier I’ve heard about that’s supposed to have the best view. Why don’t we take a picnic dinner down and see for ourselves?” There was a hint of challenge in her gaze, as if she thought he might back out, insisting that the infirmary needed him. On most days, he probably would have done just that, but not today. Smiling, he said, “That would be lovely. Seven o’clock?” With an answering smile, she hopped off the table. “Sounds good. I’ll bring the food, you bring the blanket.” Heading for the exit, she called back over her shoulder, “Don’t be late!” ** Carson cursed under his breath. Usually, he rather liked the sterile environment of the infirmary. The abundance of gleaming white and stark metal, combined with the sunshine that streamed through the windows, lifted his spirits on a daily basis. Let others praise the glories of being surrounded by color, of the indulgence of the senses. They weren’t for him. Chaos and colors he found aplenty in surgery and illness; the order and cleanliness of the infirmary gave him the peace he needed. Except that just now, he was destroying some of that order, while cursing the color white. “It’s all white!” he muttered to himself, shoving a stack of sheets off of a shelf so he could see behind it. “All of it! Not a drop of color! Why not green? Or blue? Or, heaven forbid, a print of some sort!” “Something wrong, Doc?” “Ack!” Carson whirled to see Major Sheppard and Doctor McKay standing in the doorway of the storage room. McKay was giving him a quizzical look while the major more looked like he was trying hard not to laugh at the scene. Carson had to admit, he probably looked a bit silly. He was standing in the middle of the infirmary’s storage room with a pile of linens on the floor by his feet, where he’d flung them in a fit of pique. Not the way the normally quiet doctor normally behaved, which accounted for the looks he was getting now. Belatedly, he realized he’d been asked a question. “I need a blanket,” he blurted. Sheppard knitted his brow. “What’s wrong with the one in your hands?” “Or any of the ones on the ground, for that matter?” McKay clearly thought Carson had lost his mind. Maybe I have lost my mind, Carson thought sourly. He tossed the blanket he’d been holding onto a shelf and gave the two men a desperate look. “It’s white!” he exclaimed by way of explanation. “It’s the infirmary, of course it’s white,” McKay said impatiently. “What did you expect?” Carson paused, momentarily at a loss. Hadn’t he just been thinking…? He shrugged helplessly. “I hoped there would be something that wasn’t white in here.” Sheppard peered around the room and shook his head. “Did you think about looking somewhere else?” Carson’s mouth twisted in a self-depreciating grimace. “I didn’t want to draw attention to myself,” he admitted, a tad unwillingly. Sheppard looked pointedly at the mess Carson had made of the room. “For not wanting attention…” Carson hung his head. “I know, I know.” “What do you need this colorful blanket for, anyway?” McKay asked. Seeing the doctor’s hesitation, Sheppard grinned. “If you tell us, we can help you find one…” he said cajolingly. Carson gave them a long, pleading look, but neither budged. He gave in. “It’s for a picnic.” The two men exchanged glances. “You’re going on a picnic?” McKay acted like he couldn’t believe such a frivolous thing of the doctor. Sheppard was more concerned with another detail – the fact that no one goes on a picnic alone. “With who?” he asked, almost suspiciously. As if a woman he was interested in would want to have dinner with me, Carson thought caustically. He didn’t want to tell them – with good reason, he rather thought – but he doubted he’d be given much of a choice. “Dr. Weir,” he said, defeated. A moment later, he was glad he’d told them. Their reactions were priceless: they wore identical expressions of shock. Apparently they couldn’t imagine her doing something so frivolous, either. Or maybe they’re surprised at her choice of dinner companion, he thought, a little resentfully. Then it occurred to him that maybe they wanted to be in his position. Was it possible that either (or both) of them had feelings for Dr. Weir? Don’t be silly, Carson, he chided himself, pushing the thought from his head. Sheppard recovered first. “I could ask Teyla if she has anything she’d be willing to donate to the cause,” he offered nonchalantly. McKay was slower to get over it. “I can’t believe you have a date with Elizabeth!” Carson shot him a glare and opened his mouth to retort, but Sheppard beat him to it. “Now, Rodney,” he said in a chiding tone, “be nice. They’re both adults, and if they want to spend their hard-earned free time together, that’s their business, not ours.” “Thank you, Major,” Carson said, a little surprised at receiving support from that quarter. “You’re welcome,” Sheppard replied, nodding to the doctor. “Now, I’m going to go see if Teyla has anything.” He shot McKay a look. “And don’t you have something useful to be doing?” While McKay spluttered indignantly, Carson stepped forward, catching Sheppard before he left. “Ah, Major, if you don’t mind, I’d rather not have this get spread around the city…” Heaven knew he’d been guilty of spreading gossip himself – one of the few easy entertainments around here – but he really didn’t relish the idea of news of his dinner plans making the rounds. Sheppard nodded. “I’ll be discreet,” he assured Carson before stepping out of sight. Left alone, the two doctors looked at each other. McKay drew in a breath, but Carson cut him off before he could say anything. “It’s not a date, Rodney.” McKay closed his mouth with a snap. “Of course it isn’t,” he replied with a smirk. “Just, ah, be sure to tell me all the juicy details later.” He disappeared from the doorway. Carson just sighed. ** He believed what he’d told Rodney: it wasn’t a date. It was two friends lounging on an Athosian blanket, eating fruits and meats that had never been seen on Earth, on a pier overlooking an ocean larger than any found on that planet, looking up at stars unfamiliar to both of them, in a city known only in legend for thousands of years. It was, for all of that, no more and no less than two friends sharing a meal and talking, in a way that neither of them had been able to enjoy in far too long. The conversation ranged from the extraordinary, from alien peoples to secret rooms hiding the mysteries of the Ancients, to the perfectly ordinary, from the gossip running around the city to the past and memories of their lives on Earth. It lingered on the last, as any conversation between people who were too long away from home is wont to do. She told him of Simon, a hint of regret in her voice. He told her about his mother, and made her smile with tales of his homeland. They shared their recent past, and moved beyond it to their schooling. By that time, they’d long since finished eating and had pushed aside the basket (which Carson suspected she’d gotten from Teyla, who no doubt wondered at the strange things the Earth-born Atlanteans were borrowing these days) and the last remnants of food. They stretched out their legs, sipping wine and talking quietly while enjoying the cool night. Elizabeth, it seemed, had always been something of an activist, even as far back as high school. “I could see so clearly what needed to be done and I couldn’t understand for the life of me why no one was doing it!” She smiled ruefully. “Of course, it was always a thousand times more complicated than I could see…” “But your heart was in the right place,” Carson said firmly. She smiled. “That’s what my mother always told me. I was lucky to have a family that supported me, instead of telling me, ‘There’s nothing you can do, stop trying,’ or something like that.” She laughed, looking down slightly. “Though they weren’t always supportive…” She glanced up and caught Carson’s eye with a grin. “I once threw a huge party while they were out of town. They were furious when they got back… I tried to tell them it was a fundraiser, but for some reason they didn’t accept that as a good excuse!” She was grinning openly, and Carson couldn’t help but grin back. “I can’t imagine how they could deny you anything,” he said honestly. She smiled, looking pleased and a little abashed at the same time. “Well, they might have been okay with it if it had just been my girlfriends and me… but there was always a strict ‘no boys’ rule even when they were there.” Carson caught on this with a grin, unable to resist tweaking her. “And what sort of lads caught the young Elizabeth Weir’s eye, hm?” She laughed, leaning back on her hands and tilting her head. “Like all of the girls, I admired the athletes,” she admitted. “The soccer players in particular were held in high regard by all of us.” Her smile turned impish. “My friends were so surprised when they realized who really turned my head, though…” Carson leaned forward to add Sarian wine to Elizabeth’s glass, gesturing for her to continue. She smiled her thanks and sipped before going on. “I’d been helping a boy – David Neal – with his history homework, and in return he’d been helping me with chemistry. We ended up spending a lot of time together, and after a while, the chemistry wasn’t just in the textbook.” She grinned mischievously. “My friends were somewhat appalled that I was dating a science geek, but I didn’t care. I thought he was wonderful…” “I have no doubt he thought the world of you.” Carson smiled, seeing in her eyes a hint of the love struck girl she had been. He found himself envying the boy who had first brought that light to her eyes – and all the men who had done so since… Elizabeth blushed a little and with a self-conscious smile and shrug, she turned the conversation back on him. “What about you, Carson? What sort of girls turned your head back then?” “Oh, well…” He looked away, embarrassed to be put on the spot. Usually he didn’t like to reveal things like this about himself, but whether it was the wine or simply the company, he found that he didn’t mind. “The dance team at my school was much like your soccer team, I think,” he said thoughtfully, glancing back up at her. “They were beautiful and talented, and the entire school worshipped them. Of course, there was no way someone like me would even dream of approaching them – the very thought made me shake like a leaf!” He chuckled, a little weakly. He still hadn’t entirely gotten over being nervous around strong, beautiful women – though the one sitting in front of him didn’t make him nearly as nervous as he thought she should… The woman in question tilted her head, smiling knowingly at him. “You might not have been in with the dance team, but I bet you were in high demand with the more discerning girls.” His face went hot. “Well, ah…” He grinned sheepishly. “There were a few who were rather fond of me, though I’ve never been able to quite figure out why…” Elizabeth smiled fondly at him. “That’s the nice thing about men like you, Carson. You never do.” The warmth in her voice and her gaze made his stomach do a flip inside him. He couldn’t think of a suitable response, and she seemed disinclined to say anything more. A comfortable silence fell over them, and they sat there for a long while, sipping their wine and looking out over the sea. They’d shifted position until, instead of facing each other, they were sitting side-by-side, close but not touching. Elizabeth was a comfortable presence next to him, exuding a warmth that seeped through him and left him relaxed and calm. When he felt her eyes on him, he turned his head, meeting her gaze. She smiled softly. “I’m glad we decided to steal some away time and come out here,” she murmured. He smiled back. “Aye, me too. Any time you want to play hooky again, let me know.” She looked pleased. “I will.” She tilted her head, and he was struck by a sudden desire to brush away the stray hair that was caught on her cheek, just for the excuse to touch her. So he did. Her skin was warm under his fingers. Her breath caught in her throat, but she didn’t pull away. She leaned into the caress, and he let his hand slide up until it was cupping her cheek. That he would kiss her seemed a foregone conclusion, the natural progression of things, and so neither of them was quite surprised when he did so. The kiss was soft, as easy and relaxed as the rest of the night had been. His arms went around her, and stayed there even when the kiss ended. Neither of them said a word. After a long moment of looking up into his eyes, Elizabeth rested her head on his shoulder, looking back out over the water. Carson held her close, and knew that no matter how hectic life got in the city, he would always have this moment – and, if he dared to hope, more in the future – to hold as a shield against the chaos. And with that, he was more than content.