Title: The Last of the Winnebagos
Author: trinityofone
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Spoilers: nothing specific that I noticed
Summary: Atlantis is not for the elderly, but that doesn't make leaving any easier.
Link: The Last of the Winnebagos
Why: I don't read a lot of McShep, but when someone steals the title from one of my favorite authors ever? I had to make an exception, and I'm glad I did. The relationship is very low-key, so that it feels like a given. And the story is beautifully bittersweet and melancholy.

Title: Orientation Memo
Author: chasingkerouac
Pairing: a hint of Carson/Cadman
Spoilers: nothing past "Duet"
Summary: Dr. Kate Heightmeyer and Lt. Laura Cadman let a few new (female) recruits know what to expect on Atlantis.
Link: Orientation Memo
Why: Absolutely delightful, oh-so-very true, and features a pair of wonderful but woefully underused recurring ladies. :-)

Title: The Right Thing to Do
Author: Miera
Pairing: none
Spoilers: "Critical Mass"
Summary: Elizabeth reevaluates the choices she made to save her city.
Link: The Right Thing to Do
Why: Miera is one of my favorite Elizabeth Weir writers for a reason--fic like this. This is *exactly* the scene I needed to read after "Critical Mass," when I was so angry with the character she almost lost her status as my favorite. This scene--and others like it, if not as too the point, in later episodes--are what saved her for me.

Title: Too Good
Author: Tielan
Pairing: Simon/Elizabeth
Spoilers: "Intruder" at the latest
Summary: It's never easy loving someone who's meant for greater things.
Link: Too Good
Why: Because most SGA fic makes Simon Wallace out to be an irredeemable bastard, and IMO that's an unfair characterization--obviously Elizabeth saw *something* in him, and besides, she left him first. Tielan and I don't agree on many things...but if I'd ever gotten around to writing the Simon/Elizabeth pre-series epic I wanted to do, it would've felt a lot like this. :-)

Title: Contradictions
Author: Christi
Pairing Grouping: Beckett/Cadman/McKay
Spoilers: "Duet" and "Critical Mass" to be on the safe side
Summary: Something simple becomes complicated and something complicated becomes simple, if only for a moment.
Link: Contradictions
Why: Because holy CRAP, that is hot! And profound. And did I mention that this is my *other* Atlantis OT3? *fans self*

Title: Momentary
Author: poisontaster
Pairing: none
Spoilers: none really
Summary: Five moments from Elizabeth Weir's life in Atlantis.
Link: Momentary
Why: What poisontaster gives us here is five small but perfect gems of Weir characterization. I especially love 4 and 5. :-)

Title: Seachange
Author: alyse
Pairing: Sheppard/Weir/McKay UST
Spoilers: through "Hot Zone"
Summary: Elizabeth thought they'd be home by Christmas.
Link: Seachange
Why: This lovely piece meanders its way from the day of departure to the first Christmas on Atlantis, slowing down around "The Storm" and "The Eye" to give us a beautiful little bit of post-ep bonding between S/W/M. It doesn't really have a plot, but as slice-of-life fic goes, this is one of the best I've ever read even without the delicious OT3 bits. :-)

Title: Here and There
Author: angelqueen04
Pairing: hints of Sheppard/Weir and Daniel/Vala
Spoilers: "The Return" part I
Summary: It's one thing to spend time with the members of SG-1 separately...it's quite another to hang out with the team.
Link: Here and There
Why: A wonderful little collection of missing scenes from "The Return," not to mention a great example of why your writing teacher always told you to show not tell--because it turns out stuff like this.

Title: Fish and Fowl
Author: Tielan
Pairing: nothing significant
Spoilers: if you've seen up through "Runner," you're probably good
Summary: She doesn't belong anymore...if she ever did.
Link: Fish and Fowl
Why: Because stories like this are why Tielan is my favorite Teyla writer, in spite of the fact that we have totally incompatible 'ships. *grin*

Title: Fortunate Ones
Author(s): Kyrdwyn, Pooh, Jackie, and Rose Wilde-Irish
Pairing: none
Spoilers: nothing past "The Hive"
Summary: Fun with fortune cookies.
Link: Fortunate Ones
Why: Hilarious Atlantis-specific fortune cookies. What's NOT to love?

Title: Real Women Are Not a Committee
Author: Zorb
Pairing: none
Spoilers: nothing past "Trinity"
Summary: Not so long ago in a galaxy far, far away...Teyla learns something new about Earth culture.
Link: Real Women Are Not a Committee
Why: Because the characterization is pitch perfect, and the story continues a fine Stargate tradition of poking fun at itself by referencing what came before. *g*

Title: Evolution
Author: Domenika Marzione
Pairing: Ronon/Teyla and Ford/Teyla (implied) friendship
Spoilers: "The Hive"
Summary: Ronon and Teyla discuss Ford.
Link: Evolution
Why: I've loved Teyla's dynamic with both Ronon and Ford from the beginning, and this is just a beautifully bittersweet look at both--one friendship waxing, one sadly waning.

Title: To Serve a Queen
Author: Tielan
Pairing: Ronon/Weir with a dash of Sheppard/Teyla
Spoilers: umm...sortof for S2--AU version of some events
Link: To Serve a Queen
Why: I think I'll just let the fact that I devoured this--even though I don't 'ship either of the main pairings and had no knowledge, at the time, of the universe it was crossed over with--and then went out and bought the Black Jewels Trilogy to get to know that world better speak for itself. It's one of the best Atlantis AUs out there.

Title: Draw
Author: Regann
Pairing: Weir/Caldwell UST
Spoilers: "Conversion"
Summary: Sometimes being a gracious loser depends on the battlefield.
Link: Draw
Why: It's believable, in character, and as bonus has a well-executed chess metaphor. *grin*

Title: Sonata for Two
Author: Helsinkibaby (Jeanine)
Pairing: teeny bit of Beckett/Cadman UST, but nothing major
Spoilers: "Duet"
Summary: McKay discovers that he and Cadman have something in common after all.
Link: Sonata for Two
Why: For two reasons: 1) because this scene seriously should've been in the episode, and 2) because I can always tell from the way Jeanine writes about music that she's a musician herself--the love comes through that clearly.

Title: War Zones
Author: Mandy's Bitch
Pairing: Sheppard/Weir (sortof)
Spoilers: "The Siege"
Summary: Elizabeth survives.
Link: War Zones
Why: Because some of the most thoughtful, thought-provoking Sheppard/Weir fic out there are the stories about why it wouldn't work--in this case, because it comes down to a choice for Elizabeth: between losing John Sheppard or losing herself.

Title: Storm Damage
Author: kate98
Grouping: Sheppard/Weir/McKay friendship/UST
Spoilers: "The Storm"/"The Eye"
Link: Storm Damage
Why: One of the best things about "The Storm"/"The Eye" was the Sheppard/Weir/McKay dynamic at its best, a level later eps have never quite achieved for the trio. :-/ This is an absolutely gorgeous look at that dynamic in the aftermath of those episodes.

Title: Jack of Spades
Author: Domenika Marzione
Pairing: none
Spoilers: nothing past "The Eye"
Summary: They've finally seen the real John Sheppard.
Link: Jack of Spades
Why: I'm a Sheppard/Weir 'shipper and this didn't change that, but it did provide an all too plausible reason why it *wouldn't* ever work. Very thought-provoking without at any point seeming to attack the 'ship or either character.

Title: Pattern Recognition
Author: Pooh
Pairing: Sheppard/Weir
Spoilers: nothing past "Trinity"
Summary: Sometimes the best love stories are the ones that catch you quietly by surprise.
Link: Pattern Recognition
Why: Sweet, beautifully in-character story about missing epiphanies but not opportunities. :-) This is how I like my S/W!

Title: Separate Salt from Sand
Author: Rachael Sabotini
Pairing: Beckett/Cadman
Spoilers: "Duet" but probably not in the way you think
Summary: Kate Heightmeyer has to conduct a rather distasteful interview after a horrific firefight leaves a friend crippled.
Link: Separate Salt from Sand
Why: Gives a couple of the background characters on Atlantis a chance to shine, including one of my favorites--Kate Heightmeyer--and I just love seeing the regulars through their eyes. Oh, and did I mention the plot is like a suckerpunch to the gut?