SGA fic: Gaijin, Part 12/40
Dec. 13th, 2008 11:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sam_gamgeeGaijin, Part 12/40
The complete header can be found in part 1.
Previous parts can be found here.
“Are you sure they’re okay with it?” Rodney asked Kirby for the fifth time after he returned from talking with Jaelyn’s parents.
“They’re perfectly fine with it, Rodney-kun,” Kirby replied, exasperated, as he took the proffered plate from Jillian with a quick thanks. “In fact, they’re completely thrilled that I made the offer for you. If the fact that you’re so healthy and the optimum of what we want in some areas wasn’t enough, the fact that you led the revolt against the Korsans would be. Put the two of them together and you have them eating out of your hand. And you probably have everyone else with an eligible daughter jealous that they didn’t think of it and get to you first.”
“Yeah, well.” Rodney pursed his lips. “You people tend to be pretty one-track minded when it comes to things, so including me in the marriage pool probably wasn’t even considered.”
“Admittedly, that’s true,” Kirby sighed. “But let’s be honest – it’s kept us going for longer than we might otherwise have. And you coming to us now might be the breath of fresh air we need to keep going.”
“Let’s hope so,” Rodney murmured before saying, “So, now what?”
“So now you’re free to court her. You can spend time with her – supervised time – without risking impropriety. You can get to know her – and she you – to see if the two of you are compatible for a life together. During this time, you’ll also need to prove to her family that you can provide for her and defend her.”
“Like that’s ever been needed, since they’ve never done it,” Rodney murmured to himself in disgust.
“What was that?” Kirby asked.
“Nothing,” Rodney replied innocently as he took his plate from Jillian with a quick thanks of his own. “Is there a time limit on how long this goes on before a marriage offer is expected?”
“Not really,” Kirby replied. “Each courtship has its own speed, though it’s best if it’s not drawn out for too long. Otherwise, it questions the man’s ability to provide a stable home for his wife and family. It’ll be subtle, but you’ll know when her family’s starting to expect a proposal.”
“I’m happy for you, Rodney-kun,” Jillian said quietly as she picked at her food.
“Thank you, Jillian. It means a lot to me,” Rodney replied. And it did. Since he had told them of his interest in Jaelyn a few days before, Jillian had been quiet on the subject and rather reluctant to talk about it. He had hoped that somehow he hadn’t offended her. She had never shown any interest in him that way, even if he wasn’t sure they would be allowed to get together, seeing as how Kirby and Jillian had practically adopted him. He just wished he knew what he had done to upset her.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Laura said the next day when Rodney arrived in the silk borough. At his inquisitive look she added, “You are going to be courting Jaelyn, are you not?”
“Wow, that was fast,” Rodney replied. “And, yes, I am. Thank you.” He helped Laura set up her handloom. “What are we starting on today?”
“A wall-hanging for the royal family of Trayan. I don’t know why they seem to love these things, but from what I’ve heard, they live in a rather large, gray stone house, so I guess whatever they can do to brighten it up is a good thing. And you’ll be doing most of the work on this one. If you do well, you’ll be able to move on to using one on your own.”
Rodney swallowed audibly. “That’s just – wow. Seriously?”
“Seriously,” she replied with an amused look as she readied the silk that was to be woven in. “And to think, a mere few months ago, you wanted to quit.”
“Yes, well,” Rodney drew himself up to his full height and affected his haughtiest attitude, “I did it in a moment of weakness and I’ve solemnly sworn to never do it again.”
Laura burst out laughing. “Which I’m very glad for. You’re quite good at this.”
“Thank you,” Rodney replied with a modest smile. “Hopefully the courtship will go the same way.”
“Just don’t give out on that too quickly, either. Marriage has been very rewarding.”
“Let’s not put the horse before the cart,” Rodney commented dryly as he threaded the shuttle. “It’s not a done deal yet.”
“And I can’t see you failing at anything you put your mind to.”
“You’d be surprised. It’s happened a few times – and quite spectacularly in a few instances.” Rodney winced at the memory of Doranda and the Arcturus Project. “But thank you for the sentiment.”
That evening, Rodney hesitantly headed over to Jaelyn’s family’s quarters after dinner. He was sure he had met Keith and Jessica in one way or another but, for some odd reason, he couldn’t put faces to the names. He paused for a moment outside the curtained entry before calling out, “It’s Rodney, may I come in?”
Jaelyn appeared at the doorway and beamed at him as she said, “Please, come in, Rodney-sensei.” She held the curtain aside so he could enter.
Rodney entered tentatively, not sure what to expect. The inside of the quarters were a bit hectic, with items piled in places. He also noticed that there were more cots than he was used to seeing, and more people. As he took in the other people, he realized that not only did Jaelyn have both parents and a younger sister, her grandparents were still living as well. And they were all looking at him expectantly.
“Welcome, Rodney-sensei,” Keith said, standing and giving Rodney a shallow bow.
“Thank you, Keith-san,” Rodney replied with a shallow bow of his own. Including the rest of the family, he said, “Thank you for allowing me the opportunity and honor of courting your daughter.”
The family chuckled and Jaelyn blushed furiously as Jessica said, “Please, don’t let us deter you two from spending some time together. We can save our questions for later.”
Rodney looked at Jaelyn expectantly and she looked at him, slightly embarrassed. “Shall we go out in the commons?” he asked.
She nodded mutely and led him out, looking relieved. Once outside, she said, “It was getting oppressive in there – everyone looking at me expectantly, as if I could will you to appear and get the initial meeting over with. Be glad you don’t have that many people to deal with.”
“Oh, I think I do – just not all in one place,” Rodney replied with an amused smile as they started walking around the outer edge of the commons, thinking of Kirby, Jillian, Kelly, and Laura. And knowing that they probably all had people who were eagerly waiting to hear from them about the events that were about to transpire. “I don’t know about you, but this is pretty nerve-wracking for me,” he admitted.
“I agree,” she replied. “Everyone’s watching to make sure we do everything right, plus the pressure of not having much time to make sure that we’re with the person we’re supposed to be with for the rest of our lives. It would be so much easier if it were more casual.”
Rodney shrugged. “I’ve done the casual thing, too, and that hasn’t been any easier. Usually, it’s harder. At least right now, you and I know where we’re headed, what we’re aiming for. When I’ve dated casually, it’s usually with the idea of ‘let’s just wing it and see how things go’. But my people also don’t have certain hindrances that your people do.”
“Such as what?” she asked.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Such as my people have a larger population and don’t have the threat of kidnappings that your people do.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Jaelyn replied with a smile. “I’d love to visit other worlds some time. I love hearing stories from the tribes we trade with of their worlds and the worlds they’ve visited it. Have you visited a lot of other worlds?”
“I’ve been to a fair amount,” he replied with a nod. “I think the term ‘a lot’ is subjective. I know people who have been to more worlds than I have who don’t consider it to be a lot and I know others who have been to fewer than I have who think they’ve been to a lot.”
As the subject turned to other things and they walked around the commons a few more times, Rodney felt himself relax. Jaelyn was easy to talk to and inquisitive and her stumbles in understanding were due to vocabulary, not an inferior mind. Her mother finally came out and called Jaelyn in.
“I had a good time,” Jaelyn said when they stopped in front of her quarters.
“I did too,” Rodney replied with a small smile, feeling like this courtship wouldn’t be as hard as he had expected. “Sweet dreams.”
“You too,” she replied with a smile of her own before slipping inside.
As soon as Rodney turned around, Kelly was at his side. Rodney started and exclaimed, “Good Lord! You scared the hell out of me!”
Kelly chuckled before remarking, “It looks like it went well.”
Rodney grinned as they started across the commons. “Yeah, I think it did. She’s remarkably easy to talk to, unlike some of the morons I’ve had to deal with.” He stopped and, turning serious, turned to Kelly. “But what if I mess it up? I have a tendency to do that, you know.” He started worrying his bottom lip and shifted his gaze from Kelly to the floor as he dropped his voice and rushed on. “Things will start out great, then I’ll do something insanely stupid and the next thing I know, she’s breaking up with me and deflecting the blame, like it isn’t anyone’s fault, though I know it’s mine because I was too insensitive or got too caught up in my work or pick your fault – I’m probably guilty of it.”
“Hey, hey,” Kelly said soothingly and ducked his head so he could meet Rodney’s gaze. “It’s going to be okay. I don’t know if your behavior when you first got here was indicative of the way you were in your native land, but you’ve come a long way since then. And I think that the fact that you’re aware of what you’ve done and don’t want to do it again is a very good sign.”
“You’re sounding like Kirby,” Rodney grumbled as he looked up at Kelly.
Kelly rolled his eyes. “Well, when you start spending as much time around him as I have while I’m with you, it’s hard not to. You’re simply impervious because you hear it all the time.”
Rodney laughed, feeling the tension inside him ease. “You really think this will work out?”
“I do,” Kelly replied with a quick nod of his head. “You’ve tackled everything else we’ve thrown at you. I don’t see courting someone as being any different.”
“I’m holding you personally responsible if this courtship doesn’t work out, Kelly,” Rodney said with a glare and a pointed finger as they started walking again.
Kelly laughed, “Yeah, I’m sure you’ll try to. You’ll be fine, I promise. Just remember to take it one day at a time.”
Rodney did his best to take it one day at a time, but most days it was hard. He split his time as evenly as he could between Kelly and Jaelyn, while keeping up with the unspoken idea of how much time he should spend with Kirby and Jillian.
And each day he found that he was liking Jaelyn even more and maybe even falling in love with her. She was curious about all the different places he had been and enjoyed his stories of missions gone wrong, even if he didn’t quite phrase them as “missions” but “meet and greets” and of his descriptions and tales of his teammates and coworkers on Atlantis. Even after all this time, Rodney still found himself being careful as he told the stories, not willing to give enough away for Atlantis to be found by any prying ears and he was grateful that Jaelyn didn’t question that.
As the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, Rodney was surprised that Jaelyn didn’t seem to be resigning herself to settling down with him, but instead did seem like she genuinely cared for him as well.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Rodney told Kelly with a grin.
“What?” Kelly asked in amusement, as he grabbed his staff. “That you and Jaelyn are still together?”
“Yes! And there’s none of the normal animosity that’s usually starting to build at this point in the relationship – if we even get this far.” Dropping his voice, as they left Kelly’s quarters, he said, “I can usually sense these things.”
“And it’s amazing that you never did anything to stop it from happening,” Kelly replied dryly.
“Yes, well. That’s where my lack of people skills would come in,” Rodney replied with a hint of sorrow in his voice. “At first I was oblivious to it, but then, once I started noticing the pattern, I didn’t know how to stop it once it started and usually ended up making things worse.”
“And what’s so special about this time?”
“I’m being more careful?” Rodney replied questioningly. “Or, at least, I’m trying to be.” He looked at Kelly, worried. “Am I doing okay?”
“You are, from what I’ve seen,” Kelly replied. “I think your sincerity is winning you a lot of points in her book, even if you do bungle things. Plus, we’re not like your native people. We don’t have the same concept of love and courtship.”
“That’s true. I think at least some of the women would really like the way it’s done here – very Regency romance novel-esque. Sorry – cultural reference. I mean the whole idea of doing the whole ‘preparing for marriage’ thing in a very specific and set way would appeal to them.”
Jaelyn and Jennifer joined them at the entrance to the caves. “May we come with you?” Jaelyn asked.
Rodney looked at Kelly with a raised eyebrow and Kelly shrugged. “Sure,” Rodney replied, “but I doubt watching us practice will be very exciting for you two.”
“It’s okay,” Jaelyn replied as she and Jennifer beamed. “We don’t mind. And Jennifer is doing a day of silence.”
The men shrugged and the foursome went down to the practice section of the caves. The girls seated themselves on some flat rocks to watch as Rodney and Kelly warmed up.
“You’re not upset, are you?” Rodney asked Kelly quietly.
“No, why would I be?” Kelly asked. “She’s a definite part of your life right now, if not for the rest of it, and Jennifer’s a definite part of her life, just as I’m a definite part of yours. We’re all going to have to make sure we can get along at some point, right?”
“Very true. Let’s get started.”
They tapped their staffs together before taking a couple steps back to give themselves some space. Rodney took a deep breath and let it out slowly as both he and Kelly assumed the opening stance. As they fought, he was aware of Jaelyn and Jennifer cheering them on, but it felt like the noise and affirmations were at a distance and not a mere few feet away. When he finally dealt Kelly the last hit, Jaelyn let out a whoop before squeaking in embarrassment.
Both Kelly and Rodney grinned as they headed to the water bucket. “You’re doing great,” Rodney told Kelly as he picked up the ladle. “I was actually worried there that I’d have to challenge you again in order to defend my honor.”
Kelly laughed heartily as he took the ladle from Rodney and dipped it in the bucket. “I doubt that’ll ever actually happen, Rodney-chan. You’re too good for anyone to actually win against you.”
“You’re not serious,” Rodney scoffed and at Kelly’s nod, he rolled his eyes. “Just you wait. One of these days you will. It’s a proven fact that the student always surpasses the teacher.”
“We’ll see about that. So, what are your plans for tonight?”
“Dinner with Jaelyn’s family. Frankly, I still find them a little scary. Well, her parents anyway. I like her grandparents. Since they’ve gone through the courtship ritual and their children have gone through it, they seem to know that our courtship will take the time it needs to take and aren’t subtly pushing us to get moving.”
“I think that’s the parents’ prerogative,” Kelly commented as they headed back to Jaelyn and Jennifer. “They want to enjoy their grandbabies before they get too old and their parents are just happy to relive their courtship through the children.”
“Very well done, Rodney-chan,” Jaelyn said as she smiled at him and she and Jennifer stood. “We’d better get back.”
On the way back, Rodney walked next to Jaelyn and Kelly and Jennifer quietly followed behind them. “My parents are expecting you to do a tea ceremony and make a meal for us soon,” Jaelyn informed Rodney.
“I don’t think I’m ready, yet,” Rodney replied. “Kelly still thinks the way I conduct the tea ceremony is only passable, but not worthy to take to your parents, and I’m glad Jillian hasn’t permanently maimed me for my inability to cook half the things she’s trying to teach me.”
“It doesn’t have to be anything long and involved,” she told him. “And as long as they see that you’re making an effort, they’ll be more lenient on you, since you’re not a native Lapran.”
“Until the next time I have to do it,” Rodney replied with a rueful smile. “Then it’ll be fair game.”
They reached the commons and Jaelyn said, “Take a few deep breaths and pull yourself together, then come over when you’re ready. Everything will be fine.”
Rodney watched the women walk away as Kelly joined him. “Don’t worry,” Kelly said. “You’ll have what you need to know covered by the time you need to know it. You really are doing exceptionally well with the tea ceremony and you haven’t burnt down your quarters yet.”
Rodney let out a bark of a laugh at that. “I don’t know if I should feel complimented or incensed by that remark.”
“Take it as you will, but you’re still too hard on yourself at times.”
“I know.” Rodney stared at the curtain to Jaelyn’s quarters and sighed before grinning. “It’s just that this is a huge thing for me.”
“So you’ve said,” Kelly replied, amused. “Look, don’t over-think things with her family. Just let things happen and it’ll all work out.”
“Thank you for that sage advice,” Rodney replied dryly. “It’s very Zen.” At Kelly’s confused look, Rodney rolled his eyes and said, “Honestly, I don’t even know why I try with you people. You obviously don’t get most of my jokes. I’d better get ready to go or Jaelyn’s mother will be over to drag me back by my ear for dinner.”
“I want to hear about it tomorrow,” Kelly said as he started to walk away.
“Don’t worry – you will,” Rodney replied as he started towards his quarters. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Are you staying for dinner, Rodney-kun?” Kirby asked.
“No,” Rodney replied as he took off his sweaty shirt and began wiping himself off with a damp cloth. “I’m going over to Jaelyn’s for dinner.”
“You’ve been going over there a lot lately,” Jillian said bitterly as she put away a pair of pants she had been mending.
“Jillian!” Kirby replied, looking at her in surprise. “That’s not a nice way to talk to Rodney about the girl he’s courting.”
“It’s okay,” Rodney told him as he pulled on a clean tunic. “She has a right to feel the way she does.” He saw a glimmer of gratitude in Jillian’s eyes. “Feel like telling me what’s up? Any particular reason you don’t seem to like Jaelyn and me together?”
Jillian shook her head and pursed her lips. “I’d rather not talk about it now,” she replied with a quick glance at her father.
Rodney made a mental note of the look as he shrugged. “Okay, then. I will see both of you later, then. I don’t want to keep them waiting.”
Rodney shook his head after leaving their quarters. It was apparent that families were weird and unfathomable regardless of the galaxy or planet.
He was easily accepted inside when he arrived at Jaelyn’s family’s quarters. Amid a flurry of questions, Rodney was seated next to a blushing Jaelyn and he could only guess what they had been talking about prior to his arrival. But before he and Jaelyn could speak even one word to each other or he could answer any questions, Jaelyn was whisked away to help finish the dinner preparations.
Jaelyn’s paternal grandfather sat down in the vacated space. “I’m glad we haven’t scared you away, yet,” he commented to Rodney.
“And why’s that, Papi?” Rodney asked, surprised.
“As you can see, we have a tendency to be very overbearing and that tends to scare off any potential suitors from making an offer. And if we don’t, Jaelyn sometimes does. She’s as exuberant about this as we are.”
“Has Jaelyn had a lot of suitors?” Rodney asked, not sure how he should react to the bit of information.
“She’s had a couple – but no more than a girl her age would. But she’s also a typical young woman who’s grown up listening to the stories of love and wants her life to work out the same way.”
“And she gets hurt when it isn’t instantly the way she imagined,” Rodney supplied.
“Exactly. But I think you’re a good match for her. You’re exotic enough that I think you could keep her interested long enough for her to find she’s fallen in love with you. You have a lot of good inside of you and you both deserve to be happy.”
“Thank you,” Rodney replied. “Are there any tips you could give me?”
Papi laughed. “Regarding Jaelyn or in general?”
“Either? Both?” Rodney asked expectantly.
“I’m not going to say regarding Jaelyn – you need to find your own way with her or your relationship will be missing a key component. In general, be loving but be fair. That’s the hardest lesson to learn.”
Jaelyn’s other grandparents settled around them and the conversation turned to other things – mostly the grandmothers wanting to know about people in other boroughs and Rodney filled them in as best he could. And the grandfathers wanted to know how he was doing in the silk guild and how his training was coming along. Rodney enjoyed the conversation and the feeling of belonging he had with them – as if this was where he was meant to be, filling an undefined hole in Kirby, Jillian, and Kelly’s lives and getting ready to start a family of his own.
Jaelyn and her younger sister, Jamie, began serving them – first their grandparents, then their parents, then Jaelyn handed Rodney a laden plate before settling down next to him.
“This is good,” he told her after taking a few bites of the meat.
“Thank you,” she replied with a shy smile. “I was hoping it would be, but I still worried that something would go horribly wrong and it would be inedible or that you wouldn’t like it.”
“Don’t worry. I think your cooking’s great.” And Rodney really did believe that. Somehow her cooking always tasted a little better than anyone else’s. So, either she really was a great cook, or he really was in love. Either way, he didn’t really want to know the answer.
“Rodney-sensei,” Jaelyn’s dad said, getting his attention. “I would like to test you myself to see if you’ll be able to defend my daughter.”
“*Father*,” Jaelyn said exasperatedly, as if this topic had been a bone of contention between the two of them. “Rodney-sensei was the one who coordinated the resistance against the Korsans. I doubt he needs to be tested on his ability to defend me.”
‘Especially since your idea of defense is an antiquated and hardly passable form of defense anyway,’ Rodney thought to himself. But to Keith, he said, “Of course. When would you like to do it?”
“Let’s do it tomorrow after work. I’ll meet you in the caves.”
Rodney nodded once. “Fair enough.”
The conversation turned to other things for the remainder of the meal and Rodney could almost feel Jaelyn’s parents warming up to him. Once everything was cleaned up and put away, Rodney and Jaelyn settled by the doorway for some time to themselves.
“I think it’s going well,” Rodney said plunging right in as he pulled his knees up and draped his arms over top of them.
“They do really like you,” Jillian replied. “Even though my mother’s reserving final judgment until after you perform a tea ceremony and cook a meal and my father’s reserving it until the two of you spar tomorrow night. I think it’s just the nature of parents to be wary of any suitor. I’ve heard a lot of the same from other girls – and even women who are married. And I’m sure you’ll be the same way when we have a girl.”
“You sure about that?” Rodney replied, swallowing and hoping it wasn’t audible to anyone other than himself.
“Of course,” Jaelyn replied matter-of-factly. “I hope we have at least one of each. And I know you’ll dote on a little girl as if she were the most precious piece of glass you had ever seen. And we’ll have a boy who’ll take after you and will get into all sorts of scrapes.” She smiled fondly. “I think we’ll be great parents.” Glancing around the room, she sighed. “You’d better get going – my mother’s giving us a weird look.”
“Okay,” Rodney replied, glancing at Jaelyn’s mother and giving her a small smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
“Sleep well,” she said as he stood.
“You too,” he replied and took his leave of everyone before slipping out of their quarters.
The next evening, in the practice room Rodney met not only Keith, but the entire family and Jennifer as well. Rodney was glad Kelly had insisted on coming for moral support.
“Welcome, Rodney-sensei,” Keith said with a slight bow.
“Thank you, Keith-san,” Rodney replied with a similar bow. “Shall we get started?”
“I believe we shall,” Keith replied, picking up his staff.
“I would give you some pithy advice,” Kelly said, “but I doubt there’s really anything I could say that would be of any use to you.”
Rodney laughed. “You being here is enough.”
Rodney went out into the sparring area and twirled his staff around, reacquainting himself with it. When he was done, he and Keith touched staffs before backing up a few steps. Rodney automatically took in Keith’s stance, height, and weight, and compared them to Kelly’s – noting the differences and adjusting automatically. He let Keith make the first move, easily blocking the coming blow and returning one of his own. Rodney easily parried and blocked Keith’s movements and countered back easily, coming to the necessary points to win with ease.
“Very good,” Keith replied with a grin when they finished. “I’m pleased with how you’ve handled yourself. Dear, what do you think?” he asked his wife.
“I think he was quite good. But I believe we should see Kelly and Rodney spar, since they are always practicing together and since they know each other’s strengths. It’ll give us a better picture of how good Rodney is.”
“You can both back out,” Keith told Rodney and Kelly.
After sharing a glance, Kelly said, “We’ll do it. Let me go get my staff.”
As he quickly exited, Keith said to Rodney, “Here, use my staff. I’d like to see your adaptability.”
“Okay,” Rodney said, taking the offered staff and hefting it, before going through a few moves to get used to its weight and balance. It was a few inches longer and a little heavier and thicker than his own, but Rodney thought it felt good in his hands and knew he wouldn’t have any problems with it.
Kelly returned a few moments later, Jillian and Kirby in tow. He shrugged at Rodney’s questioning look. Rodney smiled at both Kirby and Jillian and they returned the smiles as they settled with Jaelyn’s family. Kirby talked to Jaelyn’s grandparents and Jillian sat next to Jaelyn but didn’t say anything and looked uncomfortable.
“Are you both ready?” Keith asked them as Kelly stretched his shoulders back and twirled his staff. They both nodded and headed to the sparring area.
“Good luck,” Kelly replied quietly.
“For what?” Rodney asked, perplexed.
“They’re really going to be watching you now.” He smiled and Rodney relaxed a little. “But you’ve been kicking my ass ever since you got up to speed with this thing, so I doubt you’ll have a problem. And you have the revolt in your corner.”
“I certainly hope you’re right. Let’s get going.”
They touched their staffs and backed off. Rodney settled into his opening stance and felt a calm come over him. He wondered if that was how Ronon, Teyla and John felt before a fight but didn’t get to linger on the idea because Kelly was coming at him. Rodney fought back automatically, making adjustments to fit the staff he was using and making it work for him, and didn’t allow himself to over-think what Kelly’s moves might be, but kept himself in the moment and fought easily.
When they finished, Rodney and Kelly grinned at each other, both exhilarated by the exertion. There was some clapping to the side and they both turned to find their audience clapping and grinning. Rodney was happy to see Jillian was participating as well.
“Good job,” Kelly panted.
“You too,” Rodney replied.
“I think you’ve been holding out on me. Some of that stuff I don’t remember ever seeing.”
“Sorry,” Rodney replied sheepishly as they headed for the water bucket. “I was just acting on instinct.”
“So I gathered.” Kelly chuckled as he looked back over Rodney’s shoulder as Rodney took a drink. “I think you made a good impression, though. With the way it looks like Keith and Kirby are talking, you can expect to be given the go ahead to make a proposal any day now.”
Rodney sputtered. “Are you serious?” He whipped around and saw Kirby and Keith standing close together and talking quietly a few paces from the rest of the group. Whipping back to Kelly, he hissed, “I don’t think I’m ready for marriage yet.”
“You may not get much say in the matter when it comes down to it,” Kelly replied, taking the ladle from Rodney and taking a drink. “In many cases, the families decide it and all the couple gets to say about the date is ‘sooner’ or ‘later’. And the later isn’t much later.”
Rodney let out a huff. “Okay. I can do this. Jaelyn and I can do this. We can do this, right?”
“I have all faith that you two can,” Kelly replied with a reassuring smile. “Let’s go back and see what’s going on and then you’ll know how much you need to freak out.”
It turned out that Rodney didn’t need to freak out at all. Kirby and Keith had merely been discussing Rodney’s prowess and Keith had been expressing his desire to have their families joined if Jaelyn and Rodney would have each other.
After everyone had dispersed and gone back to their quarters, Rodney cornered Jillian. “What’s going on with you?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” she asked, looking at him dubiously.
“I mean what’s going on with you in regards to Jaelyn. I get the feeling that you don’t like her very much and that you’re not very happy with the fact that I’m courting her.”
“It’s not that I don’t like her,” Jillian said carefully. “Look, I don’t want to put anything between the two of you, but I think that the two of you should have a good talk and make sure you have everything out in the open before you get married, okay?”
“Okay,” Rodney replied. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “I really do want you to be happy, Rodney-kun.”
That night in bed, Rodney wondered what could make Jillian worry about Rodney’s happiness with Jaelyn, but he kept drawing blanks. Every vice that he could think of was either non-existent in Lapras, or things were carefully monitored.
“I think you’re ready,” Kelly said, sitting back on his heels after they finished putting everything away.
“Really?” Rodney asked, surprised. “Because I think that last cup was a little weak.”
Kelly chuckled. “It was fine. Take a deep breath and listen to me. Jaelyn’s parents love the samples you’ve shown them of your work. Your tea ceremony is fine. Your cooking is fine. You’ll win them over with them when you do it for them tonight.”
Rodney picked at some invisible lint on his shirt. “You know how I get when I’m nervous.”
“I do,” Kelly replied. “And you have a number of things to focus on and do, so that’ll help you stay calm – or calmer. Plus, simply remember why you’re doing this.”
“For Jaelyn,” Rodney replied. He couldn’t help but smile as he thought of her. While he couldn’t honestly say he loved her, he did care for her deeply and knew that in time love would be an easy possibility. Rodney stood. “Okay, I’m going to find Jaelyn because I need to talk to her before tonight.”
Kelly stood as well. “If I don’t see you, good luck. Not that you’ll need it.”
Rodney beamed as he exited Kelly’s quarters before Kelly. “And let you know everything that happens tonight tomorrow.”
“Exactly,” Kelly laughed. “Now go.”
Rodney easily found Jaelyn sitting with Jennifer, Jamie and a few other girls. “Can I speak with you privately?” he asked her, after greeting everyone in the group.
“Sure,” she replied as she stood. They headed to a secluded spot along the outside wall and sat close, but didn’t touch. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It’s just that with the fact of our actual engagement and marriage being imminent, I thought it would be good if we shared facts about ourselves that might be considered, um, deal breakers so that we both go into this with our eyes completely open and we’re not shocked and upset when we find these things out later on after it’s too late.” Rodney felt his nervousness skyrocket and his mouth going on autopilot and didn’t know how to stop it. “Like, I drool when I sleep. It’s pretty disgusting and not exactly an endearing habit. I also have a tendency to run roughshod over other people. I’ve gotten much better about that since I’ve gotten here, but I’ve been known on more than one occasion to make people cry. And, okay, stopping now.” He clamped his mouth shut and took a deep breath through his nose.
Jillian laughed. “That’s very admirable, Rodney-chan. I, sadly, don’t have anything quite so interesting to confess.”
“Really?” Rodney blurted out. “I would’ve figured you would have a number of things to mention – all inane, of course.”
“Well, if you insist.” At Rodney’s eager nod, she continued, “I snore.”
“That’s hardly anything,” Rodney scoffed.
“I told you,” Jaelyn replied with a chuckle. “I don’t have anything special like you.”
“Are you sure?” Rodney pressed.
“I’m sure.” She turned serious. “What’s this about, Rodney-chan?”
“Nothing,” he replied. “Like I said – I just wanted to make sure things were good between us.”
“Do you think things are good between us?”
“I think so.”
“And I do too, so let’s stop this nonsense. How do you feel about tonight?”
“Nervous,” he admitted.
“You’ll be fine,” she encouraged as she stood and Rodney scrambled up behind her. “You should go get ready. I’ll see you in a little while.”
Rodney watched her go and rolled his shoulders, feeling better. While Jillian’s concern may have a good reason behind it, if Jaelyn said there was nothing wrong, he would have to believe her. Now he just had to figure out what to do for the next few hours because he’d been ready since that morning.
Rodney took a deep breath as he entered Jaelyn’s quarters carrying a basket with all the items he would need for the evening. Everyone was gathered around the fire pit and looking at him expectantly. Rodney took another deep breath and smiled wanly at them as he greeted them quietly before setting down the basket where Jaelyn indicated.
‘Now or never,’ he thought as he began unpacking the basket and placing the items in their necessary order. He had decided on doing a tea ceremony that included a meal, figuring it would be easier to get it all done at once instead of having to do two different affairs. Jaelyn’s family watched him quietly as Rodney went through the necessary steps to make the tea and the food. The routine steps helped Rodney stay calm and focused when he finally passed out the tea and the food to Jaelyn’s family, knowing their fate together was now in her parents’ hands.
Once the last utensil had been cleaned and put away, Keith and Jessica excused themselves to talk things over. They came back a few moments later, grinning.
“Rodney-sensei,” Keith said, “we have decided that you have our consent to marry our daughter if she will have you.”
Rodney grinned and felt his whole body relax. “Thank you,” he said, as Jaelyn launched herself at her parents, hugging them both.
She then sat next to him, looking at him expectantly. Rodney felt shocked, not ready for this at all, but he found himself looking into her eyes and heard himself saying, “Jaelyn, will you marry me?”
And he could have sworn her “yes” rang in his ears until the next morning.
Continue to Part 13
The complete header can be found in part 1.
Previous parts can be found here.
“Are you sure they’re okay with it?” Rodney asked Kirby for the fifth time after he returned from talking with Jaelyn’s parents.
“They’re perfectly fine with it, Rodney-kun,” Kirby replied, exasperated, as he took the proffered plate from Jillian with a quick thanks. “In fact, they’re completely thrilled that I made the offer for you. If the fact that you’re so healthy and the optimum of what we want in some areas wasn’t enough, the fact that you led the revolt against the Korsans would be. Put the two of them together and you have them eating out of your hand. And you probably have everyone else with an eligible daughter jealous that they didn’t think of it and get to you first.”
“Yeah, well.” Rodney pursed his lips. “You people tend to be pretty one-track minded when it comes to things, so including me in the marriage pool probably wasn’t even considered.”
“Admittedly, that’s true,” Kirby sighed. “But let’s be honest – it’s kept us going for longer than we might otherwise have. And you coming to us now might be the breath of fresh air we need to keep going.”
“Let’s hope so,” Rodney murmured before saying, “So, now what?”
“So now you’re free to court her. You can spend time with her – supervised time – without risking impropriety. You can get to know her – and she you – to see if the two of you are compatible for a life together. During this time, you’ll also need to prove to her family that you can provide for her and defend her.”
“Like that’s ever been needed, since they’ve never done it,” Rodney murmured to himself in disgust.
“What was that?” Kirby asked.
“Nothing,” Rodney replied innocently as he took his plate from Jillian with a quick thanks of his own. “Is there a time limit on how long this goes on before a marriage offer is expected?”
“Not really,” Kirby replied. “Each courtship has its own speed, though it’s best if it’s not drawn out for too long. Otherwise, it questions the man’s ability to provide a stable home for his wife and family. It’ll be subtle, but you’ll know when her family’s starting to expect a proposal.”
“I’m happy for you, Rodney-kun,” Jillian said quietly as she picked at her food.
“Thank you, Jillian. It means a lot to me,” Rodney replied. And it did. Since he had told them of his interest in Jaelyn a few days before, Jillian had been quiet on the subject and rather reluctant to talk about it. He had hoped that somehow he hadn’t offended her. She had never shown any interest in him that way, even if he wasn’t sure they would be allowed to get together, seeing as how Kirby and Jillian had practically adopted him. He just wished he knew what he had done to upset her.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Laura said the next day when Rodney arrived in the silk borough. At his inquisitive look she added, “You are going to be courting Jaelyn, are you not?”
“Wow, that was fast,” Rodney replied. “And, yes, I am. Thank you.” He helped Laura set up her handloom. “What are we starting on today?”
“A wall-hanging for the royal family of Trayan. I don’t know why they seem to love these things, but from what I’ve heard, they live in a rather large, gray stone house, so I guess whatever they can do to brighten it up is a good thing. And you’ll be doing most of the work on this one. If you do well, you’ll be able to move on to using one on your own.”
Rodney swallowed audibly. “That’s just – wow. Seriously?”
“Seriously,” she replied with an amused look as she readied the silk that was to be woven in. “And to think, a mere few months ago, you wanted to quit.”
“Yes, well,” Rodney drew himself up to his full height and affected his haughtiest attitude, “I did it in a moment of weakness and I’ve solemnly sworn to never do it again.”
Laura burst out laughing. “Which I’m very glad for. You’re quite good at this.”
“Thank you,” Rodney replied with a modest smile. “Hopefully the courtship will go the same way.”
“Just don’t give out on that too quickly, either. Marriage has been very rewarding.”
“Let’s not put the horse before the cart,” Rodney commented dryly as he threaded the shuttle. “It’s not a done deal yet.”
“And I can’t see you failing at anything you put your mind to.”
“You’d be surprised. It’s happened a few times – and quite spectacularly in a few instances.” Rodney winced at the memory of Doranda and the Arcturus Project. “But thank you for the sentiment.”
That evening, Rodney hesitantly headed over to Jaelyn’s family’s quarters after dinner. He was sure he had met Keith and Jessica in one way or another but, for some odd reason, he couldn’t put faces to the names. He paused for a moment outside the curtained entry before calling out, “It’s Rodney, may I come in?”
Jaelyn appeared at the doorway and beamed at him as she said, “Please, come in, Rodney-sensei.” She held the curtain aside so he could enter.
Rodney entered tentatively, not sure what to expect. The inside of the quarters were a bit hectic, with items piled in places. He also noticed that there were more cots than he was used to seeing, and more people. As he took in the other people, he realized that not only did Jaelyn have both parents and a younger sister, her grandparents were still living as well. And they were all looking at him expectantly.
“Welcome, Rodney-sensei,” Keith said, standing and giving Rodney a shallow bow.
“Thank you, Keith-san,” Rodney replied with a shallow bow of his own. Including the rest of the family, he said, “Thank you for allowing me the opportunity and honor of courting your daughter.”
The family chuckled and Jaelyn blushed furiously as Jessica said, “Please, don’t let us deter you two from spending some time together. We can save our questions for later.”
Rodney looked at Jaelyn expectantly and she looked at him, slightly embarrassed. “Shall we go out in the commons?” he asked.
She nodded mutely and led him out, looking relieved. Once outside, she said, “It was getting oppressive in there – everyone looking at me expectantly, as if I could will you to appear and get the initial meeting over with. Be glad you don’t have that many people to deal with.”
“Oh, I think I do – just not all in one place,” Rodney replied with an amused smile as they started walking around the outer edge of the commons, thinking of Kirby, Jillian, Kelly, and Laura. And knowing that they probably all had people who were eagerly waiting to hear from them about the events that were about to transpire. “I don’t know about you, but this is pretty nerve-wracking for me,” he admitted.
“I agree,” she replied. “Everyone’s watching to make sure we do everything right, plus the pressure of not having much time to make sure that we’re with the person we’re supposed to be with for the rest of our lives. It would be so much easier if it were more casual.”
Rodney shrugged. “I’ve done the casual thing, too, and that hasn’t been any easier. Usually, it’s harder. At least right now, you and I know where we’re headed, what we’re aiming for. When I’ve dated casually, it’s usually with the idea of ‘let’s just wing it and see how things go’. But my people also don’t have certain hindrances that your people do.”
“Such as what?” she asked.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Such as my people have a larger population and don’t have the threat of kidnappings that your people do.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Jaelyn replied with a smile. “I’d love to visit other worlds some time. I love hearing stories from the tribes we trade with of their worlds and the worlds they’ve visited it. Have you visited a lot of other worlds?”
“I’ve been to a fair amount,” he replied with a nod. “I think the term ‘a lot’ is subjective. I know people who have been to more worlds than I have who don’t consider it to be a lot and I know others who have been to fewer than I have who think they’ve been to a lot.”
As the subject turned to other things and they walked around the commons a few more times, Rodney felt himself relax. Jaelyn was easy to talk to and inquisitive and her stumbles in understanding were due to vocabulary, not an inferior mind. Her mother finally came out and called Jaelyn in.
“I had a good time,” Jaelyn said when they stopped in front of her quarters.
“I did too,” Rodney replied with a small smile, feeling like this courtship wouldn’t be as hard as he had expected. “Sweet dreams.”
“You too,” she replied with a smile of her own before slipping inside.
As soon as Rodney turned around, Kelly was at his side. Rodney started and exclaimed, “Good Lord! You scared the hell out of me!”
Kelly chuckled before remarking, “It looks like it went well.”
Rodney grinned as they started across the commons. “Yeah, I think it did. She’s remarkably easy to talk to, unlike some of the morons I’ve had to deal with.” He stopped and, turning serious, turned to Kelly. “But what if I mess it up? I have a tendency to do that, you know.” He started worrying his bottom lip and shifted his gaze from Kelly to the floor as he dropped his voice and rushed on. “Things will start out great, then I’ll do something insanely stupid and the next thing I know, she’s breaking up with me and deflecting the blame, like it isn’t anyone’s fault, though I know it’s mine because I was too insensitive or got too caught up in my work or pick your fault – I’m probably guilty of it.”
“Hey, hey,” Kelly said soothingly and ducked his head so he could meet Rodney’s gaze. “It’s going to be okay. I don’t know if your behavior when you first got here was indicative of the way you were in your native land, but you’ve come a long way since then. And I think that the fact that you’re aware of what you’ve done and don’t want to do it again is a very good sign.”
“You’re sounding like Kirby,” Rodney grumbled as he looked up at Kelly.
Kelly rolled his eyes. “Well, when you start spending as much time around him as I have while I’m with you, it’s hard not to. You’re simply impervious because you hear it all the time.”
Rodney laughed, feeling the tension inside him ease. “You really think this will work out?”
“I do,” Kelly replied with a quick nod of his head. “You’ve tackled everything else we’ve thrown at you. I don’t see courting someone as being any different.”
“I’m holding you personally responsible if this courtship doesn’t work out, Kelly,” Rodney said with a glare and a pointed finger as they started walking again.
Kelly laughed, “Yeah, I’m sure you’ll try to. You’ll be fine, I promise. Just remember to take it one day at a time.”
Rodney did his best to take it one day at a time, but most days it was hard. He split his time as evenly as he could between Kelly and Jaelyn, while keeping up with the unspoken idea of how much time he should spend with Kirby and Jillian.
And each day he found that he was liking Jaelyn even more and maybe even falling in love with her. She was curious about all the different places he had been and enjoyed his stories of missions gone wrong, even if he didn’t quite phrase them as “missions” but “meet and greets” and of his descriptions and tales of his teammates and coworkers on Atlantis. Even after all this time, Rodney still found himself being careful as he told the stories, not willing to give enough away for Atlantis to be found by any prying ears and he was grateful that Jaelyn didn’t question that.
As the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, Rodney was surprised that Jaelyn didn’t seem to be resigning herself to settling down with him, but instead did seem like she genuinely cared for him as well.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Rodney told Kelly with a grin.
“What?” Kelly asked in amusement, as he grabbed his staff. “That you and Jaelyn are still together?”
“Yes! And there’s none of the normal animosity that’s usually starting to build at this point in the relationship – if we even get this far.” Dropping his voice, as they left Kelly’s quarters, he said, “I can usually sense these things.”
“And it’s amazing that you never did anything to stop it from happening,” Kelly replied dryly.
“Yes, well. That’s where my lack of people skills would come in,” Rodney replied with a hint of sorrow in his voice. “At first I was oblivious to it, but then, once I started noticing the pattern, I didn’t know how to stop it once it started and usually ended up making things worse.”
“And what’s so special about this time?”
“I’m being more careful?” Rodney replied questioningly. “Or, at least, I’m trying to be.” He looked at Kelly, worried. “Am I doing okay?”
“You are, from what I’ve seen,” Kelly replied. “I think your sincerity is winning you a lot of points in her book, even if you do bungle things. Plus, we’re not like your native people. We don’t have the same concept of love and courtship.”
“That’s true. I think at least some of the women would really like the way it’s done here – very Regency romance novel-esque. Sorry – cultural reference. I mean the whole idea of doing the whole ‘preparing for marriage’ thing in a very specific and set way would appeal to them.”
Jaelyn and Jennifer joined them at the entrance to the caves. “May we come with you?” Jaelyn asked.
Rodney looked at Kelly with a raised eyebrow and Kelly shrugged. “Sure,” Rodney replied, “but I doubt watching us practice will be very exciting for you two.”
“It’s okay,” Jaelyn replied as she and Jennifer beamed. “We don’t mind. And Jennifer is doing a day of silence.”
The men shrugged and the foursome went down to the practice section of the caves. The girls seated themselves on some flat rocks to watch as Rodney and Kelly warmed up.
“You’re not upset, are you?” Rodney asked Kelly quietly.
“No, why would I be?” Kelly asked. “She’s a definite part of your life right now, if not for the rest of it, and Jennifer’s a definite part of her life, just as I’m a definite part of yours. We’re all going to have to make sure we can get along at some point, right?”
“Very true. Let’s get started.”
They tapped their staffs together before taking a couple steps back to give themselves some space. Rodney took a deep breath and let it out slowly as both he and Kelly assumed the opening stance. As they fought, he was aware of Jaelyn and Jennifer cheering them on, but it felt like the noise and affirmations were at a distance and not a mere few feet away. When he finally dealt Kelly the last hit, Jaelyn let out a whoop before squeaking in embarrassment.
Both Kelly and Rodney grinned as they headed to the water bucket. “You’re doing great,” Rodney told Kelly as he picked up the ladle. “I was actually worried there that I’d have to challenge you again in order to defend my honor.”
Kelly laughed heartily as he took the ladle from Rodney and dipped it in the bucket. “I doubt that’ll ever actually happen, Rodney-chan. You’re too good for anyone to actually win against you.”
“You’re not serious,” Rodney scoffed and at Kelly’s nod, he rolled his eyes. “Just you wait. One of these days you will. It’s a proven fact that the student always surpasses the teacher.”
“We’ll see about that. So, what are your plans for tonight?”
“Dinner with Jaelyn’s family. Frankly, I still find them a little scary. Well, her parents anyway. I like her grandparents. Since they’ve gone through the courtship ritual and their children have gone through it, they seem to know that our courtship will take the time it needs to take and aren’t subtly pushing us to get moving.”
“I think that’s the parents’ prerogative,” Kelly commented as they headed back to Jaelyn and Jennifer. “They want to enjoy their grandbabies before they get too old and their parents are just happy to relive their courtship through the children.”
“Very well done, Rodney-chan,” Jaelyn said as she smiled at him and she and Jennifer stood. “We’d better get back.”
On the way back, Rodney walked next to Jaelyn and Kelly and Jennifer quietly followed behind them. “My parents are expecting you to do a tea ceremony and make a meal for us soon,” Jaelyn informed Rodney.
“I don’t think I’m ready, yet,” Rodney replied. “Kelly still thinks the way I conduct the tea ceremony is only passable, but not worthy to take to your parents, and I’m glad Jillian hasn’t permanently maimed me for my inability to cook half the things she’s trying to teach me.”
“It doesn’t have to be anything long and involved,” she told him. “And as long as they see that you’re making an effort, they’ll be more lenient on you, since you’re not a native Lapran.”
“Until the next time I have to do it,” Rodney replied with a rueful smile. “Then it’ll be fair game.”
They reached the commons and Jaelyn said, “Take a few deep breaths and pull yourself together, then come over when you’re ready. Everything will be fine.”
Rodney watched the women walk away as Kelly joined him. “Don’t worry,” Kelly said. “You’ll have what you need to know covered by the time you need to know it. You really are doing exceptionally well with the tea ceremony and you haven’t burnt down your quarters yet.”
Rodney let out a bark of a laugh at that. “I don’t know if I should feel complimented or incensed by that remark.”
“Take it as you will, but you’re still too hard on yourself at times.”
“I know.” Rodney stared at the curtain to Jaelyn’s quarters and sighed before grinning. “It’s just that this is a huge thing for me.”
“So you’ve said,” Kelly replied, amused. “Look, don’t over-think things with her family. Just let things happen and it’ll all work out.”
“Thank you for that sage advice,” Rodney replied dryly. “It’s very Zen.” At Kelly’s confused look, Rodney rolled his eyes and said, “Honestly, I don’t even know why I try with you people. You obviously don’t get most of my jokes. I’d better get ready to go or Jaelyn’s mother will be over to drag me back by my ear for dinner.”
“I want to hear about it tomorrow,” Kelly said as he started to walk away.
“Don’t worry – you will,” Rodney replied as he started towards his quarters. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Are you staying for dinner, Rodney-kun?” Kirby asked.
“No,” Rodney replied as he took off his sweaty shirt and began wiping himself off with a damp cloth. “I’m going over to Jaelyn’s for dinner.”
“You’ve been going over there a lot lately,” Jillian said bitterly as she put away a pair of pants she had been mending.
“Jillian!” Kirby replied, looking at her in surprise. “That’s not a nice way to talk to Rodney about the girl he’s courting.”
“It’s okay,” Rodney told him as he pulled on a clean tunic. “She has a right to feel the way she does.” He saw a glimmer of gratitude in Jillian’s eyes. “Feel like telling me what’s up? Any particular reason you don’t seem to like Jaelyn and me together?”
Jillian shook her head and pursed her lips. “I’d rather not talk about it now,” she replied with a quick glance at her father.
Rodney made a mental note of the look as he shrugged. “Okay, then. I will see both of you later, then. I don’t want to keep them waiting.”
Rodney shook his head after leaving their quarters. It was apparent that families were weird and unfathomable regardless of the galaxy or planet.
He was easily accepted inside when he arrived at Jaelyn’s family’s quarters. Amid a flurry of questions, Rodney was seated next to a blushing Jaelyn and he could only guess what they had been talking about prior to his arrival. But before he and Jaelyn could speak even one word to each other or he could answer any questions, Jaelyn was whisked away to help finish the dinner preparations.
Jaelyn’s paternal grandfather sat down in the vacated space. “I’m glad we haven’t scared you away, yet,” he commented to Rodney.
“And why’s that, Papi?” Rodney asked, surprised.
“As you can see, we have a tendency to be very overbearing and that tends to scare off any potential suitors from making an offer. And if we don’t, Jaelyn sometimes does. She’s as exuberant about this as we are.”
“Has Jaelyn had a lot of suitors?” Rodney asked, not sure how he should react to the bit of information.
“She’s had a couple – but no more than a girl her age would. But she’s also a typical young woman who’s grown up listening to the stories of love and wants her life to work out the same way.”
“And she gets hurt when it isn’t instantly the way she imagined,” Rodney supplied.
“Exactly. But I think you’re a good match for her. You’re exotic enough that I think you could keep her interested long enough for her to find she’s fallen in love with you. You have a lot of good inside of you and you both deserve to be happy.”
“Thank you,” Rodney replied. “Are there any tips you could give me?”
Papi laughed. “Regarding Jaelyn or in general?”
“Either? Both?” Rodney asked expectantly.
“I’m not going to say regarding Jaelyn – you need to find your own way with her or your relationship will be missing a key component. In general, be loving but be fair. That’s the hardest lesson to learn.”
Jaelyn’s other grandparents settled around them and the conversation turned to other things – mostly the grandmothers wanting to know about people in other boroughs and Rodney filled them in as best he could. And the grandfathers wanted to know how he was doing in the silk guild and how his training was coming along. Rodney enjoyed the conversation and the feeling of belonging he had with them – as if this was where he was meant to be, filling an undefined hole in Kirby, Jillian, and Kelly’s lives and getting ready to start a family of his own.
Jaelyn and her younger sister, Jamie, began serving them – first their grandparents, then their parents, then Jaelyn handed Rodney a laden plate before settling down next to him.
“This is good,” he told her after taking a few bites of the meat.
“Thank you,” she replied with a shy smile. “I was hoping it would be, but I still worried that something would go horribly wrong and it would be inedible or that you wouldn’t like it.”
“Don’t worry. I think your cooking’s great.” And Rodney really did believe that. Somehow her cooking always tasted a little better than anyone else’s. So, either she really was a great cook, or he really was in love. Either way, he didn’t really want to know the answer.
“Rodney-sensei,” Jaelyn’s dad said, getting his attention. “I would like to test you myself to see if you’ll be able to defend my daughter.”
“*Father*,” Jaelyn said exasperatedly, as if this topic had been a bone of contention between the two of them. “Rodney-sensei was the one who coordinated the resistance against the Korsans. I doubt he needs to be tested on his ability to defend me.”
‘Especially since your idea of defense is an antiquated and hardly passable form of defense anyway,’ Rodney thought to himself. But to Keith, he said, “Of course. When would you like to do it?”
“Let’s do it tomorrow after work. I’ll meet you in the caves.”
Rodney nodded once. “Fair enough.”
The conversation turned to other things for the remainder of the meal and Rodney could almost feel Jaelyn’s parents warming up to him. Once everything was cleaned up and put away, Rodney and Jaelyn settled by the doorway for some time to themselves.
“I think it’s going well,” Rodney said plunging right in as he pulled his knees up and draped his arms over top of them.
“They do really like you,” Jillian replied. “Even though my mother’s reserving final judgment until after you perform a tea ceremony and cook a meal and my father’s reserving it until the two of you spar tomorrow night. I think it’s just the nature of parents to be wary of any suitor. I’ve heard a lot of the same from other girls – and even women who are married. And I’m sure you’ll be the same way when we have a girl.”
“You sure about that?” Rodney replied, swallowing and hoping it wasn’t audible to anyone other than himself.
“Of course,” Jaelyn replied matter-of-factly. “I hope we have at least one of each. And I know you’ll dote on a little girl as if she were the most precious piece of glass you had ever seen. And we’ll have a boy who’ll take after you and will get into all sorts of scrapes.” She smiled fondly. “I think we’ll be great parents.” Glancing around the room, she sighed. “You’d better get going – my mother’s giving us a weird look.”
“Okay,” Rodney replied, glancing at Jaelyn’s mother and giving her a small smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
“Sleep well,” she said as he stood.
“You too,” he replied and took his leave of everyone before slipping out of their quarters.
The next evening, in the practice room Rodney met not only Keith, but the entire family and Jennifer as well. Rodney was glad Kelly had insisted on coming for moral support.
“Welcome, Rodney-sensei,” Keith said with a slight bow.
“Thank you, Keith-san,” Rodney replied with a similar bow. “Shall we get started?”
“I believe we shall,” Keith replied, picking up his staff.
“I would give you some pithy advice,” Kelly said, “but I doubt there’s really anything I could say that would be of any use to you.”
Rodney laughed. “You being here is enough.”
Rodney went out into the sparring area and twirled his staff around, reacquainting himself with it. When he was done, he and Keith touched staffs before backing up a few steps. Rodney automatically took in Keith’s stance, height, and weight, and compared them to Kelly’s – noting the differences and adjusting automatically. He let Keith make the first move, easily blocking the coming blow and returning one of his own. Rodney easily parried and blocked Keith’s movements and countered back easily, coming to the necessary points to win with ease.
“Very good,” Keith replied with a grin when they finished. “I’m pleased with how you’ve handled yourself. Dear, what do you think?” he asked his wife.
“I think he was quite good. But I believe we should see Kelly and Rodney spar, since they are always practicing together and since they know each other’s strengths. It’ll give us a better picture of how good Rodney is.”
“You can both back out,” Keith told Rodney and Kelly.
After sharing a glance, Kelly said, “We’ll do it. Let me go get my staff.”
As he quickly exited, Keith said to Rodney, “Here, use my staff. I’d like to see your adaptability.”
“Okay,” Rodney said, taking the offered staff and hefting it, before going through a few moves to get used to its weight and balance. It was a few inches longer and a little heavier and thicker than his own, but Rodney thought it felt good in his hands and knew he wouldn’t have any problems with it.
Kelly returned a few moments later, Jillian and Kirby in tow. He shrugged at Rodney’s questioning look. Rodney smiled at both Kirby and Jillian and they returned the smiles as they settled with Jaelyn’s family. Kirby talked to Jaelyn’s grandparents and Jillian sat next to Jaelyn but didn’t say anything and looked uncomfortable.
“Are you both ready?” Keith asked them as Kelly stretched his shoulders back and twirled his staff. They both nodded and headed to the sparring area.
“Good luck,” Kelly replied quietly.
“For what?” Rodney asked, perplexed.
“They’re really going to be watching you now.” He smiled and Rodney relaxed a little. “But you’ve been kicking my ass ever since you got up to speed with this thing, so I doubt you’ll have a problem. And you have the revolt in your corner.”
“I certainly hope you’re right. Let’s get going.”
They touched their staffs and backed off. Rodney settled into his opening stance and felt a calm come over him. He wondered if that was how Ronon, Teyla and John felt before a fight but didn’t get to linger on the idea because Kelly was coming at him. Rodney fought back automatically, making adjustments to fit the staff he was using and making it work for him, and didn’t allow himself to over-think what Kelly’s moves might be, but kept himself in the moment and fought easily.
When they finished, Rodney and Kelly grinned at each other, both exhilarated by the exertion. There was some clapping to the side and they both turned to find their audience clapping and grinning. Rodney was happy to see Jillian was participating as well.
“Good job,” Kelly panted.
“You too,” Rodney replied.
“I think you’ve been holding out on me. Some of that stuff I don’t remember ever seeing.”
“Sorry,” Rodney replied sheepishly as they headed for the water bucket. “I was just acting on instinct.”
“So I gathered.” Kelly chuckled as he looked back over Rodney’s shoulder as Rodney took a drink. “I think you made a good impression, though. With the way it looks like Keith and Kirby are talking, you can expect to be given the go ahead to make a proposal any day now.”
Rodney sputtered. “Are you serious?” He whipped around and saw Kirby and Keith standing close together and talking quietly a few paces from the rest of the group. Whipping back to Kelly, he hissed, “I don’t think I’m ready for marriage yet.”
“You may not get much say in the matter when it comes down to it,” Kelly replied, taking the ladle from Rodney and taking a drink. “In many cases, the families decide it and all the couple gets to say about the date is ‘sooner’ or ‘later’. And the later isn’t much later.”
Rodney let out a huff. “Okay. I can do this. Jaelyn and I can do this. We can do this, right?”
“I have all faith that you two can,” Kelly replied with a reassuring smile. “Let’s go back and see what’s going on and then you’ll know how much you need to freak out.”
It turned out that Rodney didn’t need to freak out at all. Kirby and Keith had merely been discussing Rodney’s prowess and Keith had been expressing his desire to have their families joined if Jaelyn and Rodney would have each other.
After everyone had dispersed and gone back to their quarters, Rodney cornered Jillian. “What’s going on with you?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” she asked, looking at him dubiously.
“I mean what’s going on with you in regards to Jaelyn. I get the feeling that you don’t like her very much and that you’re not very happy with the fact that I’m courting her.”
“It’s not that I don’t like her,” Jillian said carefully. “Look, I don’t want to put anything between the two of you, but I think that the two of you should have a good talk and make sure you have everything out in the open before you get married, okay?”
“Okay,” Rodney replied. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “I really do want you to be happy, Rodney-kun.”
That night in bed, Rodney wondered what could make Jillian worry about Rodney’s happiness with Jaelyn, but he kept drawing blanks. Every vice that he could think of was either non-existent in Lapras, or things were carefully monitored.
“I think you’re ready,” Kelly said, sitting back on his heels after they finished putting everything away.
“Really?” Rodney asked, surprised. “Because I think that last cup was a little weak.”
Kelly chuckled. “It was fine. Take a deep breath and listen to me. Jaelyn’s parents love the samples you’ve shown them of your work. Your tea ceremony is fine. Your cooking is fine. You’ll win them over with them when you do it for them tonight.”
Rodney picked at some invisible lint on his shirt. “You know how I get when I’m nervous.”
“I do,” Kelly replied. “And you have a number of things to focus on and do, so that’ll help you stay calm – or calmer. Plus, simply remember why you’re doing this.”
“For Jaelyn,” Rodney replied. He couldn’t help but smile as he thought of her. While he couldn’t honestly say he loved her, he did care for her deeply and knew that in time love would be an easy possibility. Rodney stood. “Okay, I’m going to find Jaelyn because I need to talk to her before tonight.”
Kelly stood as well. “If I don’t see you, good luck. Not that you’ll need it.”
Rodney beamed as he exited Kelly’s quarters before Kelly. “And let you know everything that happens tonight tomorrow.”
“Exactly,” Kelly laughed. “Now go.”
Rodney easily found Jaelyn sitting with Jennifer, Jamie and a few other girls. “Can I speak with you privately?” he asked her, after greeting everyone in the group.
“Sure,” she replied as she stood. They headed to a secluded spot along the outside wall and sat close, but didn’t touch. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It’s just that with the fact of our actual engagement and marriage being imminent, I thought it would be good if we shared facts about ourselves that might be considered, um, deal breakers so that we both go into this with our eyes completely open and we’re not shocked and upset when we find these things out later on after it’s too late.” Rodney felt his nervousness skyrocket and his mouth going on autopilot and didn’t know how to stop it. “Like, I drool when I sleep. It’s pretty disgusting and not exactly an endearing habit. I also have a tendency to run roughshod over other people. I’ve gotten much better about that since I’ve gotten here, but I’ve been known on more than one occasion to make people cry. And, okay, stopping now.” He clamped his mouth shut and took a deep breath through his nose.
Jillian laughed. “That’s very admirable, Rodney-chan. I, sadly, don’t have anything quite so interesting to confess.”
“Really?” Rodney blurted out. “I would’ve figured you would have a number of things to mention – all inane, of course.”
“Well, if you insist.” At Rodney’s eager nod, she continued, “I snore.”
“That’s hardly anything,” Rodney scoffed.
“I told you,” Jaelyn replied with a chuckle. “I don’t have anything special like you.”
“Are you sure?” Rodney pressed.
“I’m sure.” She turned serious. “What’s this about, Rodney-chan?”
“Nothing,” he replied. “Like I said – I just wanted to make sure things were good between us.”
“Do you think things are good between us?”
“I think so.”
“And I do too, so let’s stop this nonsense. How do you feel about tonight?”
“Nervous,” he admitted.
“You’ll be fine,” she encouraged as she stood and Rodney scrambled up behind her. “You should go get ready. I’ll see you in a little while.”
Rodney watched her go and rolled his shoulders, feeling better. While Jillian’s concern may have a good reason behind it, if Jaelyn said there was nothing wrong, he would have to believe her. Now he just had to figure out what to do for the next few hours because he’d been ready since that morning.
Rodney took a deep breath as he entered Jaelyn’s quarters carrying a basket with all the items he would need for the evening. Everyone was gathered around the fire pit and looking at him expectantly. Rodney took another deep breath and smiled wanly at them as he greeted them quietly before setting down the basket where Jaelyn indicated.
‘Now or never,’ he thought as he began unpacking the basket and placing the items in their necessary order. He had decided on doing a tea ceremony that included a meal, figuring it would be easier to get it all done at once instead of having to do two different affairs. Jaelyn’s family watched him quietly as Rodney went through the necessary steps to make the tea and the food. The routine steps helped Rodney stay calm and focused when he finally passed out the tea and the food to Jaelyn’s family, knowing their fate together was now in her parents’ hands.
Once the last utensil had been cleaned and put away, Keith and Jessica excused themselves to talk things over. They came back a few moments later, grinning.
“Rodney-sensei,” Keith said, “we have decided that you have our consent to marry our daughter if she will have you.”
Rodney grinned and felt his whole body relax. “Thank you,” he said, as Jaelyn launched herself at her parents, hugging them both.
She then sat next to him, looking at him expectantly. Rodney felt shocked, not ready for this at all, but he found himself looking into her eyes and heard himself saying, “Jaelyn, will you marry me?”
And he could have sworn her “yes” rang in his ears until the next morning.
Continue to Part 13
