Title: Taking the Long Way Home
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Pairing: John/Rodney
Categories: Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Alternate Realities
Length: Long (18,600 words)
Warnings: Rape, Abuse, Mpreg (briefly, for about 1,000 words-- see below!)

Author on LJ: sardonicsmiley
Author Website: No More Tears

Summary: It starts with the fortune cookies, spilt soup, and more Johns than Rodney can shake a stick at. Or maybe that's how it ends.

Review: Once upon a time, the universe decided it was tired of waiting for John and Rodney to hook up and decided to play matchmaker. In an attempt to convince the pair that they were destined to be together, it swaps John with an alternate version of himself (or herself as the case may sometimes be) from a variety of different realities every 24 hours. Rodney is left to deal with the multiple John’s (each of whom are in a relationship with Rodney and have their own story) in the aftermath as he frantically tries to find a way to bring his John home.

This may very well be my most favorite John/Rodney story-- if not, it’s one of the highest ones on the list which should come as no surprise as SardonicSmiley is the one who wrote it (and she is my most favorite SGA Authoress).

My favorite aspect of this fic is the multitude of Johns we get to meet-- each one entirely different from one another and yet completely original. Despite the short amount of time we have to get to know them, every John is vivid and heartbreaking in his own way-- from bug!John to crazy!John to scientist!John to a John whose lost his Rodney. My favorite John is one that’s extremely protective of Rodney (for all the right reasons you’ll come to find) and married to a pregnant Meredith in his own reality.

About the mpreg warning-- please don’t let that scare you off! Pregnant!John is barely there for 1,000 words and about 500 of those words are of Rodney talking to Carter about not having a clue on how to fix what’s going on. Give it a chance-- this fic is superb and worth the read.

Excerpt: Carter's having a controlled freak out when they get back, meets them a foot outside the Jumper with a worried look on her face. There are six armed Marines behind her, and their guns are aimed at Sheppard the second he steps up beside Rodney.

Rodney jerks in front of the other man, arms out, blurting, "Wait! Wait! Look, this is not the same John, they're changing on a twenty-four hour rotation and the last one was a little on the crazy side but he's gone now and I really need to take this one down to the labs and get him to help me with reformatting the city's scanners and--"

One of the Marines cuts him off, staring at John with a puzzled look, "Why isn't he blue anymore?"

Rodney narrows his eyes at the man, snaps, "What part of 'they're changing on a twenty-four hour rotation' did you not understand? We're past bug John, we're past crazy John, we've moved on to brainy John. Keep up. Or, better yet, get out of my way. I have work to do."

Carter makes an exasperated noise, starts, "Rodney--"

"Can't talk, work to do. Have Keller meet me in the labs with stimulants."

And then he's marching through the crowd, aware that John's following in his wake. The other man falls into step beside him when they reach the hallway, casts him a sidelong look, "You make me sound like a Barbie doll. Bug John! Comes complete with detachable exoskeleton and real web spinning action! Did crazy John have a hockey mask? And eye patch? A hook for a hand?" He sounds amused. Rodney is not. He doesn't think he will ever be amused again.

Rodney grits out, "Tell me your degrees are actually in something useful, and not just a bachelors in hairdressing."

John's smile softens, twists into something affectionate, "You know, you said that to me once before." And Rodney, for once, doesn't know how to reply, and so he says nothing.


Taking the Long Way Home

Sequels (+Married!John & Meredith): Long Way Home Snippet #1, Long Way Home Snippet #2, Enough (Married!John comes to check on Rodney), Come to Bed, Come to Bed Snippet

Spin-off #1 (Colonel McKay/Doctor Sheppard): Rising, Thirty-Eight, Snippet #1, Snippet #2

Spin-off #2 (John/Rodney, Pegasus free w/adopted kids): Surprises, Easy Like Sunday Morning, Easy Like Sunday Morning: Continued

Spin-off #3 (soldier!John/soldier!Rodney): Out of Place