I make no apologies for this little one-shot. It's entirely self-indulgent and born out of a wish to at least have some good times for the couple.
'Goddammit, Ronon, we've gotta find a way out of here!' John was beginning to panic, an unusual emotion for him. They'd been pinned down for five hours by a group of Neanderthals bearing rather nasty arrows. His left arm was virtually useless, whatever primitive poison on the end of the arrow that had only grazed the skin working with vicious effect. At least he hadn't collapsed yet and the pain had disappeared. That had to be good news! What was less good was the position they were in, cornered in a tiny cave (more of an alcove really, chiselled as it was into the rock-face), with no obvious egress. And worse, they were now nearly twelve hours overdue. He tried not to think about what might be going on in Atlantis. Today was Cat's due date and he'd promised, absolutely promised, that he'd be there, no matter what. Knowing Cat, she'd be annoyingly on time too. She'd once said that it had been her mother's fault: always late to the point of the deliberate just to spite her father.
Ronon poked his head above the edge of the cave, only to be bombarded with yet another salvo of arrows and several large rocks slung by rather crude, but effective, sling shots, the largest of which took a glancing blow off his shoulder.
'Shit! That hurt!' he growled. 'I'm fed up with this. We need to do something.' The team as one turned to their leader, hoping that he'd come up with a cunning plan to defy the odds and help them escape unscathed, yet again.
John took a deep breath. He needed to have a clear head. His team was relying on him. His wife was relying on him. This time, no wild gestures of self-sacrifice: he needed to get back to her safely. Another wave of arrows hit the rock-face immediately above them and bounced off harmlessly, only adding to his frustration that they should be caught here and trapped by such a bunch of mindless thugs. 'Give me a minute, guys. I need to think.'
***
It had not been a good night. John and the team were late. Nothing unusual in that, and nobody else was too concerned. In fact, Lorne had greeted her worry with a shrug of his shoulders and a 'well, you know those guys'. Still, today could be the day and he wasn't by her side. This wasn't her first time giving birth and she was therefore well-prepared for what was about to happen. The last time she'd been a teenager and it hadn't been easy. Twenty one hours in labour and a huge child at the end of it, tearing her as he burst out screaming into the world. She tried not to think about it and the awful days that followed when she'd been forced to give him up. She also tried not to see in her mind's eye the adult son, so bitter and revengeful, who had so nearly taken her life and that of the man she loved beyond all reason. She needed John, his soft voice caressing her, his hand stroking her arm gently or grasping her hand strongly as she went through the pangs of labour. Even Atlantis couldn't calm her this morning, the soft lights gradually undimming and bathing their room in a golden glow. The city seemed to feel her anxiety and a gentle humming, soothing and harmonious, had begun, in an attempt to soothe her battered nerves.
'It's not working!' she shouted into the air. 'Now, finding a way to bring John home, that's the kind of useful help I need.' She hadn't meant to sound so grumpy and was amazed when the lights brightened and the distant music stopped abruptly. Rather sheepishly, she thought a quick 'sorry' and, checking her watch, decided that it was just about late enough to pester Richard Woolsey yet again. She leant forward to grab her earpiece, unfortunately misjudging how unbalanced her bulk was making her and lost her footing just as she caught hold of it, landing with a heavy thud on the floor.
With a low expletive, she tried to raise herself up, only to feel the tell-tale rush of her waters breaking as she managed to get up to her knees. 'Okay, now what?'
***
Richard Woolsey always woke early these days. He'd become quite used to the rhythms of the city and, though he couldn't hear her in the same way that John and Cat could, he loved the way the lights gently rose and calmly woke the sleeping residents. This morning he had urgent business to attend to, namely the absence of his military commander and the A team. Over the years, he'd surprised himself by how close he'd become to many of the expedition, not least John Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon and Rodney McKay. He wasn't sure how much he could call them 'family', not in the same way they clearly bonded with each other, but he certainly considered them close friends. It was an aspect of leadership that he had, quite frankly, not expected.
He tapped his ear piece. 'Amelia? Any news of Colonel Sheppard and the team?'
'No, sir. What do you want me to do?' There was a slight tremor in her voice. While her relationship with Ronon may not be conventional in the getting married/living together kind of way, they were very close and she was obviously extremely worried.
'I'll be there in a minute, Amelia.' With a frown he left his rooms and then, as an afterthought, he tapped his earpiece again. 'Doctor Keller?' The response was a little indistinct and sleepy. 'Do you think it might be a good idea to check on Doctor Sheppard? Isn't today her, er, due date? And, she's bound to be anxious given the current situation.'
Jennifer Keller smiled to herself. For a petty bureaucrat, Richard Woolsey was developing into quite the 'new man'. Who would have thought that empathy would prove to be one of his character traits? 'No news of the Colonel yet?' she asked.
'No, Doctor. I'm heading to the control room now. I suggest you call on Catherine Sheppard as soon as possible. She will need your support at the moment.'
'On my way.'
***
'Okay. We're over twelve hours late and Atlantis is bound to send some help soon. We just have to hold out until then. Once re-enforcements are here, we can attack from above and they can come in from behind and hopefully drive them off. Then, we run, really, really fast!' John glanced at Ronon who gave him the usual amused and toothy smile. Both men had a talent for understatement but such an almost telepathic understanding of each other that no more needed to be said. Ronon and John would take the rear, while Teyla headed up and Rodney was in the middle. It was a well—practiced drill.
'How's the arm, buddy?' asked Ronon, a look of concern briefly flitting across his face.
Rodney looked up from his reverie. He'd been uncharacteristically silent for the last two hours, probably the result of hypoglaecemic exhaustion rather than any calmness or rational thought.
'It's okay. I mean, I can't move it, but the numbness has stayed in the arm, so I'm assuming that's good news and I'm not about to drop dead of poisoning.' John smirked at Rodney's grimace. Keeping it light was the best way to behave with the truculent scientist, although Rodney's suspicious frown spoke of a knowledge of his team leader's tactic.
Teyla softly crept over to John's side, careful not to show her head over the parapet and gently placed a hand on his good arm. 'I'm sure we'll get back in time, John. Cat will be fine and she will understand.' He turned and smiled at his old friend. How she'd know the worry that was coursing through him he would never know, but he appreciated her empathy and patted her hand in return. 'Thanks' was all he said, before returning to his watchful gaze across the plain in front of them. In the distance, he could just make out the shape of the gate, willing it to spark into life with every breath.
***
Jennifer Keller had tried to reach Cat on her radio, with no success. She tried 'ringing' the bell on the door, but at first there was answer. Then, she managed to hear a muffled shout from inside. Instantly, she'd contacted Zelenka who was currently trying to override the lock in the door, cursing under his breath in Czech mixed with a few English expletives and something about 'too damn early'. As the door swished open, she instantly took in the situation, registering Cat's rather embarrassed and desperate stare as she noticed the little man staring at her in horror.
'Radek. Please go and tell Mr Woolsey that he needs to find Colonel Sheppard as soon as possible. Say that Doctor Sheppard is in labour.' That was quite enough for him and he gratefully ran off on his errand, down the corridor. Turning to Cat, she smiled reassuringly. 'Now, what have you done to yourself? Apart from the obvious, does anything hurt?'
Cat was tempted to snark back, given the excruciating pain that was radiating through her, but gritted her teeth and tried to smile gratefully. 'I think I'm okay. I fell trying to reach my radio and then my waters broke and the pains started and I couldn't move and...' she winced as another wave hit her.
'It's okay, Cat. I just need you to tell me one thing. How far apart are the contractions? Ten minutes? Five minutes?' At that, Cat grasped her hand tightly. 'Okay, less then. We need to get you to the infirmary. Help is coming. Hold on. You'll be fine.'
'John? You need to find John. I need him here. He wants to be here. Please, Jennifer?' The pain and her distress were too much and she began to cry.
'It's all in hand. Don't worry. They're sending help now. He'll be back before you know it, but we need to focus right now on making sure that you and the baby are fine.'
As she spoke, a gurney arrived with two nurses. Cat was carefully lifted onto it, and an oxygen mask strapped to her face. The journey down the corridors seemed like an eternity of blurry lights and rattling wheels and all the while she could only think about John and where he was.
***
Just as he began to doubt, the distant gate whooshed into life, shimmering blue with an incoming wormhole. John could just about make out the tiny dots of the marines and then a familiar voice came through on his radio.
'Colonel Sheppard? Are you there?' It was the dry, acerbic tones of his 2ic, Lorne.
'We're here, Major, just a little caught up at the moment. Could do with a little help. We're a little stuck up in the cliff-side just ahead of you. But careful, they might look stupid, but their arrows pack a punch. If you can just distract them so that we can get down from here, that'd be helpful.'
'No problem, sir.'
John watched as the team crept towards the group who were still intent on making their lives miserable. It was over as quickly as it had begun. Not able to cope with being attacked on both sides, the big men disappeared into the nearby forest giving him and his team the opportunity to run for it. A few stray arrows were fired loosely in their direction among much muttering by McKay about primitives, arrows and the vulnerability of his rear end before they gratefully flung themselves through the shimmering ring, landing heavily on the floor of the gate-room.
The instant they landed, they were surrounded by a medical team, anxiously checking for injury. John stood up, dusted himself off and tried to make light of the damage to his left arm, the subterfuge initially much assisted by Rodney's wailing about a cut knee, meeting Richard Woolsey's smiling eyes as he walked towards him.
'Colonel. It's good to have you back safely. Before you say anything else, I believe that under the circumstances your report can wait.' John raised an eyebrow. 'You need to be checked out in the infirmary in any case and that arm looks a little sore.' Seeing that his military commander was about to argue the point, he quickly added, 'And there's someone in the infirmary who needs you right now, Colonel. I suggest you hurry.' At this he broke into a broad and unexpected smile, causing John to frown deeply in confusion. A frown that was rapidly replaced by comprehension.
With shouts of encouragement from behind him, mostly from Ronon, he ran as fast as he could from the gate room, desperate to reach Cat in time. 'Damn it! Come on, John, hurry,' he muttered under his breath as he hurtled towards the infirmary, skittling through the door and almost landing on top of Jennifer Keller.
Cat had prayed for the sight that so manically appeared through the doorway. She knew that the baby was coming, but had been so desperate to hold on to the last, that she'd almost placed herself into a trance, despite Jennifer's urgent demands that she 'push'. Seeing the familiar and concerned face of her husband, hair as dishevelled as ever, dirty and tired from goodness knows what, all attempts to hold back disintegrated. He grasped her hand, with his right one she noticed, and smiled lovingly into her eyes, his green eyes shining with relief and expectation. With one last push their baby was born, she was vaguely aware of John being asked to cut the cord, and then their child was placed on her belly. A voice said, 'it's a girl'. Tears of joy welled as she heard the loud newborn cry, then she looked at John. He was staring in amazement as though he'd only just understood what her pregnancy had meant, eyes wet too with emotion and she felt as though they three were the whole world at that moment, all the troubles they'd been through wiped away at the moment of their daughter's birth.
With emotion evident in his voice, he leaned forward and kissed her. 'See, I told you I'd be here,' he whispered.
As I said, rather self-indulgent. There might be a couple more little one-shots before I head back into longer fic land!
Please R& R. You know I like it!