crack_van | The Hostage Major by Frostfire (NC-17)

Fandom: SGA
Pairing: Sheppard/McKay
Author on LJ:

frostfire_17
Author Website: Fanfiction by Frostfire
Why this must be read:
Last summer's Harlequin challenge on

sga_flashfic had an incredible impact, spawning a hundred stories at the time and leaving behind a legacy of longer romantic stories accessible to people coming into the fandom. There were a lot of different approaches taken o the challenge, and this story is interesting in that it took the summary for a contemporary Harlequin novel and adapted it for SGA, making John Sheppard 'The Hostage Bride.' It also plays with another fannish trope in SGA, that of Rodney McKay as a reclusive mastermind -- maybe criminal, maybe not -- wealthy, powerful, and completely in-control. Watching that image slowly crack and shatter as he falls in love with John is lovely, and the story contains one of my favorite moments of understated emotion in it. The dialog is snappy, and the way the Stargate universe is integrated is interesting, and the romance well-drawn. I found it a great read.

After way too long--there weren't any clocks in the room, which, in John's opinion, was better than Chinese water torture for driving a prisoner insane--the door opened.

"Huh," said the guy standing there. "You know, I thought you'd be bigger?"

John sat up on the bed and took a second to process.

"I suppose I'm stereotyping, but to me, an Air Force major just suggests more...mass," the guy continued, stepping in and shutting the door behind him. "Maybe you should be working out more. How are you feeling?"

John blinked his way back to reality. Unfortunately, reality was about the same as where he'd been a second ago. "Like crap," he said, because it was true. "Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, didn't I mention? Dr. Rodney McKay. Nice to meet you."

Oh. This suddenly--made even less sense. "You kidnapped me."

"Yeah, sorry about that. No other options, really." McKay picked up a little figurine from a shelf, frowned at it for a second, and put it back. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you or anything."

For just a second, John wished that his dreams were more vivid, so he could pretend this was one. Instead, he took a deep breath. Calm. "Why am I here?"

McKay blinked at him. "Because of the thing, of course."

"The..."

"Thing, thing. The wedding. To what's-her-name. Trina, Trillian--"

"Trixie," said John. "You kidnapped me because you think I'm going to marry Trixie." He really wanted to wake up now.

The Hostage Major