crack_van | The Talk by tzzzz (R)

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: McKay/Keller, McKay/Sheppard
Length: approx. 8,000
Author on LJ:

tzzzz
Author Website: none that I know of
Why this must be read: John finds himself alone with Jennifer Keller on a mission to provide medical assistance when he realizes she's manipulated him into a situation where she would have him alone for three days so they could talk. About Rodney. About them being friends or at least friendly for Rodney's sake. Things do not go as Dr. Keller hopes they would. John is injured and then they're attacked by a malevolent creature that takes Keller hostage. And that's when the fun really begins.

This isn't a Keller-bashing story. She's presented very much as she was on the show; a young medical professional in her mid-20's who's a bit naive, who's thrust into responsibilities she never really wanted, who believes herself to be in love with Rodney and who is tired of being afraid for her life much of the time. I'm not a fan of the character, but I found her to be well represented here. Her actions and motives are clear and remain true to herself. This story is a marvelous character study for her as well as John Sheppard, whose long-known inability to articulate his feelings and to keep people at arms length are addressed. The series, whether TPTB ever admit to it or not, had if not a love triangle certainly a strong friendship/relationship triangle that should have been dealt with. That's why well written fan fiction such as this are so integral to fandom; we long for the discrepancies (both story and relationship-wise) to be fixed or at least explained. This does both marvelously.

The Talk

(If you enjoy "The Talk",

rosiepaw has written a terrific epilogue entitled 20 Years Later, which I also highly recommend.)