Title: Night Watch
Author: lindaljc
Category: Au.
Rating: Gen
Summary: Just a snippet of an AU where the Wraith weren't woken early. Atlantis was lonely.
Disclaimer: The characters and settings of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis belongs to Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corporation. All other publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis or any other media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
This story was written by with the love of the show in mind.
...
John Sheppard was halfheartedly writing a report that needed to be filed tomorrow. Not that it would make a great difference if he was a day, week, or even a month late. The Atlantis Expedition had not turned out the way anyone had expected. They were still in Pegasus; still on Atlantis; and the city was a place with many surprises for the people that had crossed her doorstep and stayed.
The Daedalus had arrived almost a year to the day of their arrival and had been welcomed wholeheartedly. They'd accepted their supplies gratefully and sent them off with a whole list of things they'd never expected to need out here, at least so soon. But, all things considered, exploration of the city was going well. They'd gained a few trade agreements and alliances, so everything was looking up. Well, except for the Wraith, as if they could be forgotten.
John looked up at the sound of something being dropped. He winced and hoped no one was woken by the stray sound. One of his Marines caught his eye and he mouthed "sorry". Sheppard just nodded and returned to the report. But he sighed as his mind strayed again.
They're arrival was amazing. The city was amazing, but they almost lost it all when the flooding started. Power was the problem, and still is, but McKay managed a Hail Mary with Zelenka's help.
Before the city started to flood, Sumner had taken Ford and two other Marines to try to find help through the Gate or at least a place to evacuate to. They found Athos and were attacked by Wraith. That was a devil of an introduction to Pegasus. Luckily most Wraith were hibernating, and should be for several decades more.
Sumner and Ford had been killed on Athos but the other two Marines made it back. The Athosian leader, Teyla, was willing to help and they eventually decided to bring the few Athosians that were left back to the city. But that was after the city rose to the surface. Yeah, that's right. Atlantis had been underwater. He had to admit it had been amazing, but it was a very close thing.
McKay and his scientists hooked the naquadah generators to city systems and they thought they were safe for the moment. But it seemed that the city had her own ideas. She siphoned off power for her own use. At first it was hardly noticeable, but as the weeks and months passed the drain was making McKay frantic. He found where it was going, but the city refused access to him, to anyone, not even John who had the strongest ATA gene.
They had been feeling more settled the day the alarms sounded... that had been surreal. He still couldn't believe that Atlantis only gave them 24 hours notice, but she didn't let us make any missteps. But it was close. Thankfully the Athosians were there to show them what they were doing wrong. He was still miffed at the high-handed way Atlantis had reordered their priorities, and their lives. Still, he figured that Decanting Day would forever be a holiday on Atlantis. It was the day when the population more than tripled. It was when every man and woman on the city was presented with a male and female set of fraternal twins.
He could feel the warmth rise in his chest when he remembered the reactions of the Athosians when they received their twins. After everything calmed down, Teyla came to him, since Elizabeth had her arms full of babies. She tried to say thanks, but it wasn't our doing, it was Atlantis. He remembered her warm touch as she leaned in and waited for him to return the Athosian greeting she offered. Well, there was hardly a dry eye on the whole city so what else could he do?
We tried to talk to Atlantis that day but we had more immediate things to attend to after all. When he thought back on it, it was pretty darn humorous. The Marines were bad enough, but the scientists... they were pretty much useless at caring for newborns; that's why there were always Marines and Athosians on night watch with scientists.
John sat back and sighed, but the grin stayed. His own babies... and didn't that still freak him out, were, well, they were the cutest of all. Everyone always agreed with him. He thought it was the cowlicks.
He gazed across the room at their cubbies. The night watch made their rounds in near silence, trying to get their charges changed and tucked in with minimum noise. It was a good thing the nursery had come with supplies. But you could always hear Marines cooing at the infants at some point, and he knew he was going to bust out laughing one of these days.
He heard the door to the nursery swish open and closed. What was McKay doing here at this time of night?
When Rodney glanced his way, Sheppard waved him over. McKay hesitated, glancing to where his twins were sleeping, but he came to John's office door. John motioned him in. With the door shut, noise wouldn't be a problem.
Sheppard grinned as he asked, "Did you come down to tuck them in?"
"Are you kidding? Interrupt your Marines? The nannies from hell? That's taking my life in my hands if I woke one."
John chuckled. "You might be right. What's up then?"
"I just read the report from Carson. It's probably in your email queue. Ah, you haven't seen it, have you?"
Sheppard looked chagrined. "There's a lot in my email queue."
McKay nodded. But this look of awe filled his face with a warmth that John had never seen there before. "Do... do you think my twins look like me?
"What, round heads and nearly bald?"
"Hey!"
"Don't worry. They've got blue eyes, and they'll be so smart you'll wonder why you ever worried about it."
McKay rocked back on his feet. He looked like a genuinely doting father.
"Hey, my kids are the cutest though."
"Yeah. I heard you talking to Dr. Weir. You know she was humoring you, right?"
"She was not! Everyone says they're the cutest." John glared at McKay until he saw him smirk.
"Nobody dares say otherwise, Sheppard."
"Alright, alright."
"Still, I'm amazed that Atlantis managed the gene. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because Atlantis is "home" of the gene."
"Managed what?"
McKay's hands made a curious circling design and then rushed his explanation, "Carson's report. They all have the ATA gene. Your gene."
John paled. "But, I thought they were all genetically OUR kids."
"Oh, they are. They are. They just have the gene, too. And, ah, of course there's the genetic material of the other parent, the co-parent."
"Nobody mentioned anything about the other parent."
"Well, Atlantis didn't make clones..."
"Oh, well, that's a good thing, right?"
McKay looked shifty.
"What aren't you telling me?"
"Well, some people aren't going to be happy."
"About..."
"Well, there are only so many women on the city."
John had been rocking on the back legs of his chair, but that ended with a sharp clack as he settled quickly. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"You caught on fast..."
"McKay?"
"Well, it was all Atlantis' choice. She made the best combinations of genes available."
John sighed deeply but remained silent.
"Sheppard?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you thinking about DADT?"
"This has nothing to do with that. More like wondering if we're going to have trouble. Do you know your co-parent, as you called it?"
"Ah, yeah."
"You don't want to share?"
"The report Carson has sent out names-names so to speak."
"Is he crazy? This is something we should have eased into."
"I told him that, but he wanted everyone to know we were just gene combinations to Atlantis, and we were all in the same boat, you know?"
"So, who?"
Rodney fidgeted some more before admitting, "Ah, that would be you. I'm the co-parent for your two. And you're the co-parent for mine. Real siblings. Family."
John settled back to teeter on the two chair legs again as he thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Could have been worse."
McKay looked relieved, then confused. "Worse, how?"
"Could have been Wilson."
"Why Wilson?"
"Let's just say I hope Wilson's co-parent is a woman."
"Oh. Yeah, there are a few scientists that might have a hard time, too. I think I need to check that list again."
"So, Atlantis did this all by herself?"
"Yeah. She was alone for 10,000 years after all. Maybe she was lonely. She sent out plans for a couple of the towers that have suites of rooms. I think she's overdoing it. I mean, she's not going to repopulate the city with just our kids."
"Why? How many rooms is she planning on?"
"Oh, you know, a suite for each family. Room for the kids and whatever you might need, like a playroom, an office."
"Atlantis has been busy, but I guess we'll need all that. So, that's good."
"We already have the towers scouted out and cleared so it shouldn't be a problem."
"Wait. You said two towers."
"Yeah."
"McKay." John started, then glanced to the nursery, and he suddenly lost his healthy complexion. The front of his chair once again hit the floor.
"What?"
"The babies are almost 9 months old. Tell me she doesn't have another batch ready to pop..."
End