audio | @e.weir

[justbeginning]

[ There's a moment of dead air first. Very brief, just long enough for a breath (a hesitation, possibly, it's all relative). Then: ]

Riverview Quarantine, this is Dr. Elizabeth Weir speaking. Now, you might be thinking that you don't know me. [ Her tone warms. ] Don't worry; the feeling's mutual. Since I've been very generously offered the position of public representative to the government of Riverview, making some introductions felt pretty prudent.

[ There's the slightest bit of emphasis on generously: not quite sarcastic, not entirely sincere. She pauses briefly. ]

I'll be honest and say I really don't plan on being in this city long-term. If they make the right calibrations to send me home, I'm gonna take that opportunity. But for however long I am here? My job is to make sure we're all heard and that our needs are met. I'll be representing all of you. And I don't intend to take that responsibility lightly.

So, you can-- consider my door open. [ Elizabeth seems pretty optimistic about that, at least? ] Unless the paperwork was misleading, that should be half the point of the job.

Comments

[panacean]

​[ Oh God, the Look. Is there anything more potent in Elizabeth's arsenal than the Look? If there is, Carson does not want to encounter it.

It's true though that he has that Unbreakable Scottish Will in his corner. It's served him fairly well in taking care of John and Rodney so far, even if battling them over every possible health issue has him somewhat fatigued. Cooking for them, at least, is easy and--

Oh hey! Carson brightens. ]

We've got to have a celebration, welcome you properly to Riverview. Consider it a vacation of sorts. [ As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Carson's smile turns sad, and he squeezes Elizabeth's arm lightly. ] Here now, have a seat.

[ Vacation for Elizabeth is probably synonymous with fate worse than death, particularly where the loss (however temporary) of Atlantis is concerned. Carson understands. He's more adaptable than the others seem to be, but Atlantis is still home. ] It's a nice enough place, and you'll have work here in the mean time, at least.

[justbeginning]

[ She's not gonna consider what it says about her that this is the route he takes on invoking the word vacation.

If it says something about her that doesn't have to do with Atlantis, it's nothing she hasn't heard before in the past....... since college. She guesses. ]

Oh, well if I'll still have work. You could have started with that. [ Look, it doesn't mean she can't tease him for it a little when she sits down. This in no way makes up for the legitimate dread he probably saw flood into her features for a second there, but still. ]

[panacean]

As well I should have.

[ Carson gives her shoulder a little squeeze before drawing his own chair around the desk, so he can sit closer to her. ]

So, then. You know.

[justbeginning]

[ That is patently unfair. She doesn't have an essay on exactly why and how it's unfair. It just feels unfair. Elizabeth glances down. Presses her mouth into a thin line, but still winds up trying to smile. It doesn't serve much purpose; just props up a relatively neutral countenance before anything can start to crumble. ]

If I'm honest, I was hoping that you didn't. [ The odds were probably stacked against her, but given the track record of impossible things that have happened today... it was worth hoping. ]

[panacean]

John told me. [ He says it with the tone of a doctor delivering bad news to a patient. His professional voice, his quiet sympathy.

In fact, John told Carson almost immediately, once he accepted that Carson was real. The doctor can't decide if he's glad of it or not. He wouldn't want John or Rodney to lie to him, and it explained Rodney's reaction when they first saw each other. It explained John's hostility, too.

But there's a weight to the knowledge of your death that he's not sure how to carry, either. He wants to find a way around it, a way to live, of course he does, but the only way he can think of is not saving the patient he died trying to help, and that would be unacceptable. Completely. ]

He's had a rough time of it, it seems.