Rating: M
Warnings:Established relationship. A sequel to 'Infection' so it's AU now. Inspired by the episode 'Identity'.
Disclaimers: I own no part of the Stargate world, and I make no money from this, so on and so forth, only my ideas are mine etc…
Note: I sat down today and decided to try to complete my run of reviewing all S5 episodes and writing a fic inspired by each episode. With only 3 left to do, I thought it might keep me writing – and now hours later I have written the review and this fic for Identity! Already I have had requests to do a sequel to 'Infection' to answer some of the open questions I left at the end there. This is a sequel, though of a slightly less serious vein. Bet you guys are as surprised as I am how quick the sequel arrived! I hope you enjoy it.
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"Dr McKay to your lab, immediately please. Dr McKay," Zelenka's worried voice broke through the radio into Rodney's ear and he sighed heavily.
So much for having the rest of the day off. He had been so looking forward to finally getting Jennifer into a Jumper and to the mainland. She had been released from the Infirmary weeks ago, but they hadn't had any opportunity when they were both free together with enough time to head over to the mainland for their picnic date. This evening had been their best chance, and it sounded like it had been ruined before it had even started. He turned about and headed grumpily towards the closest transporter.
The transporter doors opened on the new level and he strode out, growing more upset with each step at Zelenka's bad timing, who had only just been released from the Infirmary last week. As Rodney turned into the open doorway of his lab, he hoped that whatever mess Zelenka had gotten them into, that he would, with his genius, be able to fix in under two hours, and then there may still be time to keep his date with Jennifer.
"What have you done this time?" he demanded.
Zelenka stepped into view, still looking slightly thinner than normal following his stay in the Infirmary. His stab wound had been deep, but he had healed up well.
"We've had a little accident," Zelenka announced, wringing his hands together worriedly.
Rodney immediately went through what there was in the city that would be the most threatening due to an 'accident'. There were several radioactive materials in Atlantis and already he felt faintly itchy as if his body had already begun reacting to the possible released radioactivity.
However, Zelenka stepped aside to reveal the Ancient transmitter that the worried villagers had given to them following Jennifer's body swap with that nasty Neeva. The device was still sat on the central lab table, but it was not supposed to be glowing again.
And then he noticed that John and Teyla were also in here, and that Teyla was stood closest to him, her hands on her hips, her face pulled in a very challenging almost aggressive expression that was very unlike her.
"Do something, McKay," she demanded gesturing aggressively towards the glowing transmitter on the lab table.
Rodney opened his mouth to respond to that rather threatening demand – he hadn't even been here, how was it his fault? Then he realised that that wasn't how Teyla spoke. He glanced past the glowing blue light of the transmitter to where John stood, far more composed than normal despite the concerned look on his face. Rodney guessed immediately what had happened and he tried, briefly, not to find it funny.
"I told you not to let anyone play with it," Rodney told Zelenka pointing to where there was clearly a stone set into the transmitter.
"He told me it was dead," Teyla stated, though the attitude and speaking pattern was unavoidably Sheppard.
"It was," Zelenka defended himself. "Until you put the stone in, we thought Ronon's stunner had-"
"Right, we need Ronon's stunner here now," John interrupted, his voice Teyla's but the order all of the military leader who expected things to be done his way. Rodney hadn't seen John this grumpy in awhile. Since he and Teyla had gotten together, the guy had been very easy going – it had been nice really, but it seemed that grumpy Sheppard had returned.
"Ronon left earlier on one of his antique rummages through Sateda remember," Rodney reminded him.
"Well, he can end his souvenir hunt early," John stated.
"John, try and remain calm," Teyla replied from John's body, his voice so much more calmer and reasonable than Rodney had ever heard it before. Teyla's raised calming hand was John's and Rodney saw her notice and frown before she lowered 'her' hand. That had to be weird.
"It is dangerous enough for him to travel to Sateda without us sending out a radio signal through the gate," she continued, stating what they all knew already.
Ronon's occasional trips to Sateda were dangerous since the Wraith still controlled the planet, but they didn't seem to have a Hive stationed there, because Ronon always returned without a scratch, his arms and several bags full of things he had found from Sateda that he wanted to keep. There was a storage room set aside for some of the larger items Ronon had salvaged. As Teyla had put it once – they were effectively museum pieces, the last remnants of the fallen Sateda.
"Then we throw the transmitter into the Gate's event horizon like you said the SGC did before," John suggested.
Rodney frowned at him. "And lose the chance to study it? Ronon will be back soon and he'll stun the thing again and you'll both be back in your own bodies in no time," he reasoned. "No need to get all emotional about it," he added, taking his first chance to tease John.
John glared at him with what looked like proper anger, but through Teyla's face it didn't have quite the same effect. Rodney realised he now stood taller than John.
"Rodney," Teyla said though, her tone warning him not only about provoking John, but also about his crack about being emotional in a female body.
"Well, you two shouldn't have been playing around with the thing," he told them pointing to the glowing transmitter.
"I was showing Teyla how the stones set into it, since she wasn't on the mission," John replied, sounding slightly less angry and more defensive now. "I didn't realise she had touched the other stone already, and Zelenka said it was dead."
"Well she understands how it works clearly now, well done," Rodney replied not even trying to hide his smile anymore.
John looked away with a new far more worried expression appearing across Teyla's face. "We should go to the Infirmary, get Carson to check you – me – over," he suggested to Teyla on the other side of the transmitter. She looked faintly nervous as well in turn, John's forehead creasing with frown lines as she did so.
"You're both fine, we established that already. The transmitter just deals with the consciousness, your minds. Your bodies are fine," Rodney reminded them.
"We should still be sure," John replied moving away from the table towards the exit behind Rodney. He seemed to falter at first as he walked, as if he had expected to be walking faster and almost tripped over himself. Rodney guessed Teyla's legs were a lot shorter than John was used to walking with.
Rodney turned to watch him pass and grinned with amusement. "You need a hand?" He offered.
"Shut up, McKay," was John's rather pithy reply as he disappeared around the corner into the corridor outside.
"That sounds especially wrong in your voice," Rodney told Teyla as she passed him, in John's body.
She gave him a faintly amused expression before she followed John out of sight.
Rodney looked round at Zelenka and the two of them shared a grin.
Well, it looked like Rodney would get to go on this date with Jennifer after all. He wasn't needed here for this, but then, he considered, he would miss the chance to tease Sheppard all evening about being in a woman's body.
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Teyla followed her body's back down the corridor. It was strange to be so much taller now. She had not realised how much more John saw of the world around them, due to his higher viewpoint. She increased her pace, enjoying the length of his legs that enabled her to catch him up quickly, when in her own body she would have had to have jogged to keep up with John's very fast pace.
He was worried about the baby.
She understood, but she knew it was likely that everything really was okay, for Rodney was right that the Ancient transmitter did not affect the body, just the mind. However, considering the already present questions about their growing child's wellbeing, she too was anxious that she – John – was checked over by Carson.
Carson had been monitoring her pregnancy very closely and, for now, it remained a very close secret. They were able to pass off her regular checks as follow up care following her and John's infection with the Retrovirus, but soon they would have to share with others that they were expecting a child. A child that John was so very worried at first might be a 'bug baby' as he had referred to it. However, Carson had assured them that if there had been any genetic changes to their child, that they would not be that extreme. Carson had then supplied a somewhat embarrassing explanation for John over the fact that a man stores many week's worth of sperm before 'delivery', as Carson had described it. Therefore, it was highly unlikely that John's contribution to their child had been mutated by the Retrovirus, but there was more of a question over hers. Carson suspected that the Retrovirus had radically elevated her hormones, inducing ovulation way ahead of time and that possibly more than one egg had been released. The Ancient scanner had confirmed for them though that only one baby was present, returning the blood that had rushed from John's pale worried face.
It was unlikely that her contribution of an egg had been altered by the Retrovirus in the time it had altered her body, but there was still a real chance that there had been some changes to their baby. Unfortunately, only time would tell, but so far, as she neared her seventh week of pregnancy, all the tests that were possible so early, seemed to show a perfectly normal human baby. The vital point would be when her pregnancy reached a stage when a more direct test could be made, when Carson would be able to remove a little of the baby's blood from the placenta via a needle through her belly, making it then possible to do a complete genetic test of their child. She and John had discussed the possible complications from the test, but had decided to go ahead with it when the stage arrived. They preferred to plan ahead if there was going to be anything to be concerned about, and possibly more explanations made to others.
However, secretly, in her heart, she believed that their child was in perfect health. She was almost certain that if there was any Wraith like Iratus DNA in their child that she would sense it. Though she had not been able to sense Iratus as she did Wraith, there had been a sensation that she had learnt to detect around them and from when John had first been altered by the Retrovirus. It was not a scientific test, but she felt she was right. If there had been any changes to her new child, then she prayed to the Ancestors that they were minimal.
She realised that her hand had dropped to her lower belly, as she always found herself doing when she thought of her and John's growing baby. However, today, her stomach was not her own. Instead, John's flatter, more muscular lower belly met her palm through the layers of his clothing. It was a most bizarre experience.
She looked down at his body under her control. This was a body that she saw every day, spent nights beside, and found attractive, but now she was in that body. She had occasionally wondered, as she was sure most people did at one point, what it was like to live as the opposite sex, but she had never once actually imagined being a man, but now she had a male body.
She lifted her hands, twisting his arms, feeling the presence of thicker muscles than she was used to. She clenched John's fists and felt the power to them, naturally stronger than her own. She could feel the rasp of a warrior's calluses on his palm, ones that she felt against her own hand, but now felt from the inside out. This really was a most strange experience.
Up ahead, John had reached the transporter, but had changed his mind and was heading up the staircase instead. He had had a pressing concern about her using the transporter, as if it might harm their child. She could understand his concern as she had felt the same during her pregnancy with Torren, but after having had to pull her heavy eight-month weight up the staircases once too often she had begun using the transporters with no ill effect. She had explained this to John, but it seemed that he was still not entirely convinced. She smiled as she followed him into the stairwell, for his concern over their child touched her. Though, the stress over the questions of their child continued, and there had been the initial shock at the news of her pregnancy, John seemed happy enough with the pregnancy. He touched her stomach a lot when they lay in bed, the warm weight of his hand now a commonplace and comforting presence on her belly as she fell asleep.
She almost stumbled as she stepped up the first step of the staircase, having lifted her foot far too high for the step, and she caught herself before she fell. Above her, John was already on the next flight up the stairs, hurrying far faster in her body than she had ever managed at just a walking pace. She returned her attention to making sure she lifted John's legs to the right height for the steps and followed him. The stairs seemed far smaller than usual to her. John truly saw the world differently to her and she could understand more than usual why Torren loved to sit on John's shoulders to walk around the city. She caught herself picturing her new baby in John's arms, and her hand dropped to her lower belly again. However, there was no child in there now, for this was John's body, and she felt that absence almost painfully.
"Teyla?" John called to her in her own voice from the stairs above. He had noticed she was not directly behind him. She hurried her steps to catch up with him, turning at the next landing to see him waiting at the doorway to the Infirmary level above.
"It takes some time to get used to being so much taller," she smiled at him as she reached the landing and stopped, now looking down at him, at herself. She saw him frown up at her, likely also noticing their reversal of heights. She noticed that this morning when she had plaited her hair, that she had not entirely caught all of it together, for she could see a few stray strands behind her ears that she had missed. Currently, John's ears.
"This is weird," John said with feeling.
His anger had long passed, replaced mostly with worry for their child. It was strange to assess that in him by studying her own face's expression, but there was more to that assessment – it was in the way he stood, the way he spoke and something else that told her clearly how he felt. For a moment, it felt like she was looking in a mirror at herself, but then John moved and the reality was that it was no mirror, John was in her body. If she thought about it too much it was far stranger and made her feel slightly unwell, so she turned her attention to once again following John's speedy pace down the corridor.
As she followed him, rather enjoying being able to walk at a sedate pace without any effort or need to keep up with others with far long legs. She found herself checking the back of her plait. It looked okay from this angle, but looking lower she decided she did not like the way the particular top she had put on this morning hung from her back. In no time, it would no longer fit her anyway, thanks to how large she would grow with pregnancy, and she looked worriedly down at her own backside ahead of her. Was it her, or did she look larger in the backside area than she had previously thought? And pregnancy would likely make it larger too. After Torren's birth, she had worked so hard to remove the last of her pregnancy weight, but soon enough it would return. She did not resent it, for it was necessary, but she found herself worrying how John would see her as she stared at her own butt. She felt a sudden strange sensation in her lower belly and a warming feeling through her body. John's body. It felt rather like the warmth she felt when enjoying looking at John, the first beginnings of arousal.
She looked down at herself, enjoying the view in an entirely different way now. It was strange to own a body that she found attractive, it felt wrong and yet normal at the same time.
Frowning at the conflicting thoughts, she returned her mind to the situation, for already John had reached the entrance to the Infirmary, having paused and looked back at her impatiently before disappearing inside.
He was very worried about the baby.
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Carson was waiting outside the lab that had remained his workspace since John and Teyla's anti-Retrovirus treatment. John had so hoped to not spend any more time in the Infirmary following that prolonged stay, but as soon as they had found out about Teyla's pregnancy, Carson had stayed on to monitor things. It pleased John to know that Carson was still here, not just because it was always good to have him in the city, but because John trusted in his care of Teyla. Keller was a great doctor too, but she had entire Infirmary to look after, whereas Carson looked after Teyla only, as well as carrying on his research here, and helping out occasionally in the main Infirmary if Keller needed him.
No one else but the three of them, and Keller and Woolsey, knew about the pregnancy. It felt weird to keep it from people, because John really wanted to tell them, but there was still so much unknown about the baby that he didn't want to go telling people yet. He wanted to keep things quiet and safe until he could know for sure what they faced in the pregnancy and the baby. Some days be felt it would all be alright and happy that he and Teyla would be having a kid, other days he would have moments when he would silently begin to freak out that he was going to be a dad, and the rest of the time he was worrying about the baby and Teyla. It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for him, but then all Teyla had to do with smile at him, touch his hand and he felt better about it all.
Until about five minutes ago, when he found himself in Teyla's body – and not in the normal enjoyable way.
Carson lifted a hand in greeting and John hurried faster towards him. It was hard work moving so fast in Teyla's body. Her legs were so much shorter and he had the new added element of the extra weight distribution that having breasts provided. He had been carefully keeping his mind away from the fact that Teyla's breasts were directly below his chin and that all he had to do was glance down and her cleavage would be there. This was just wrong and it was making him feel unwell.
And why was it that people didn't get out the way as much for him in Teyla's body than in his own? People didn't notice him so quickly and he had to make good use of Teyla's elbow at one point, which turned out to be far more forceful than he had intended and the unfortunate male nurse had looked rather hurt as he had stepped away quickly rubbing his ribs with feeling. John kept on going, muttering to himself about politeness and what had happened to chivalry.
He reached the entrance to Carson's lab to see that the Scotsman had clearly already been told what was going on. He also seemed to be trying to hold back a smile.
"I can't leave you two alone for a minute, can I," Carson said as a greeting.
"Please don't tell me that McKay has announced this over the radio?" John demanded, again hearing not his own voice, but Teyla's. This was so weird and when had Carson gotten taller?
"He just said that you and Teyla had had a small accident with the Ancient body swap machine," Carson replied as behind John, Teyla arrived.
John sighed. "Everyone will have heard that over the radio now."
"No, he used the medical emergency channel only," Carson replied. "Jennifer told me you were on your way," he added helpfully with a smile.
"We know that we just need to wait for Ronon to return with his stunner," Teyla told Carson from over John's shoulder. He glanced up over his shoulder, not used to people speaking from above him. "But, we thought it best to check that everything is alright with the baby."
Carson nodded, becoming more serious. "Good idea, let's put you under the scanner to be sure," he told them. "I'm sure that there's been no undue harm, but you're right, let's check you over, Teyla, umm, John," he corrected over his shoulder as he led them back out into the Infirmary towards the scanning area.
Teyla moved ahead of John, used to him letting her go ahead of him, but as she fell into step in front of him, she blocked out most of his view of Carson and the scanner ahead. John made a mental note to make sure he remembered that he would be more considerate of her size in the future, that was if he got back into his own body.
They reached the scanner and John reached the side to hop up onto the Ancient bed, only for it to be more effort than he expected. He tried again and Teyla's strong muscles kicked in and he easily pulled himself up onto the high edge of the bed. They should make these things lower for shorter people he thought as he laid back.
The bright green light of the Ancient scanner hovered above him as he adjusted himself on the bed, feeling the new shape of his hips and legs, and the way his chest shifted now he lay on his back. This was too weird.
The scanner lit up brighter and began moving down his body. He lay still, waiting for the light to pass down and then back up his body. As soon as it stopped, he sat up and swung his legs over the edge. He dropped the new extra distance to the floor and led the way immediately back towards Carson's lab. They couldn't talk about the results out here where others could hear, and besides the stress of all this was making his stomach feel unsettled again.
He reached the safety of Carson's lab and waited as Teyla and Carson followed him inside. Carson was already tapping away at the tablet in his arm on which he would have immediately transferred the scan's results. As he entered, Carson waved his hand over the door sensor and the lab's door slid shut giving them their first proper privacy.
"Well, Doc?" John demanded, aware that he felt far too edgy.
"Everything looks fine," Carson replied as he looked up from the tablet. "Both you, Teyla, and the baby are fine. And you'll be glad to know that in this scan I can see more of the baby's spinal development, which looks perfectly human still."
"That is good news, thank you, Carson," Teyla replied with a relieved smile, her eyes dropping down John to look at his stomach. At which point it properly registered to John that their baby was now actually inside him. All his attention dropped to his stomach, his hand against the soft skin of Teyla's belly. He couldn't feel anything that told him a baby was in there, but then it was still so small. God, how did Teyla deal with this? Knowing that their child was inside her, completely reliant on her, hidden deep inside.
"This is really weird," he uttered.
"Everything's fine, we've just got to wait for Ronon to get back to Atlantis and then you'll be back in your own bodies in no time," Carson told him calmly. "And then, maybe you two can go a month without getting into some kind of trouble," he joked, clearly trying to distract John.
"Actually it has been seven weeks since we last got into trouble with the Retrovirus," Teyla corrected Carson, clearly seeing the funny side in all this.
"Ah, aye, yes, true, my mistake," Carson smiled back. "So, you'll only be needing me say every couple of months?"
"That should be fine," Teyla grinned back with John's mouth.
"I'm glad everyone is finding this funny," John muttered.
"It will all be fine, John," Teyla told him calmly with his own voice.
His stomach shifted uncomfortably again and he felt a chill over his skin. "I feel nauseous," he admitted.
Teyla's, his, hand touched his arm. "It is likely just morning sickness, John, I was feeling the beginning of it in Rodney's lab before this happened. It will help to sit down and take some cooling breaths," she suggested.
Carson pulled forward a chair for him and John sat down feeling faintly embarrassed. "It's the afternoon, not morning," he muttered as he set Teyla's elbows on her knees and worked on breathing calmly to help settle his stomach.
"When has that stopped me before?" She pointed out as she crouched down beside him, her hand, his, on his shoulder. She had a point, she was often sick in the afternoon or even the evening sometimes.
"It is alright, I plaited back my hair today," she told him, with some amusement in her voice.
He winced at the thought of actually throwing up, something he rarely did. He really felt for her when she was sick, even felt faintly guilty about it, but now he was damn glad he didn't usually have it himself. Well, until now.
"I have some crackers in here," Carson was saying and John heard a cupboard being opened and a bright yellow corn cracker appeared. "Here try this," Carson suggested, knowing that Teyla found them settling at times, hence the supply in his lab. John however, sensed the amusement behind the offer now.
"It's the stress of being in a woman's body," John argued back, but he took the cracker and nibbled on one corner.
"Yes, I've heard that can be stressful," Carson replied.
John would have glared up at him, but he was too busy working on the steady breathing and nibbling a bit more of the cracker.
"You know, Carson," Teyla was saying above him, "perhaps there is some potential stress to him if the Ancient device is turned off," she said. "Maybe we should stay this way until after the birth, I personally would not mind that."
The idea of being in Teyla's body through a pregnancy made John snap his head up to look at them worriedly, they couldn't be serious? However, they were both smiling down at him.
"Aye, that's possible," Carson replied, betraying all men everywhere. "You could be the first man to ever give birth, John. Think of the history books."
"I seem to remember Rodney suggesting to me that there was no way for men to tell if labour is more painful than anything they experience. You could finally answer that question, John," Teyla suggested, her smile teasing in a way that any other day he would have found amusing.
"Rodney's an idiot," John replied.
The idea of giving birth made him feel even more nauseous. He quickly went back to the breathing and the cracker. Teyla's hand rubbed across his back. Her touch was different though. Normally she would run her hand down the back of his neck, maybe through his hair, but now his hair was her own and plaited back, all girly like.
"Try and eat the cracker, John. I am not usually sick as frequently in the afternoon as in the mornings," she tried to reassure him.
He grumbled his reply and continued to nibble on the cracker. Ronon couldn't get back fast enough for him.
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John emerged from the bathroom looking a little worse for wear, but less pale than before.
"How do you feel?" Teyla asked with sympathy.
"You'd know. Remind me next time you throw up that I have it easy, okay?" He told her with his more usual relaxed smile, though it was not usually on her own face.
"You are usually very sympathetic and caring," she reminded him honestly.
He let out a heavy breath as he headed towards the soft chairs across her quarters. He sat down with another heavy sigh.
"I have made you some of my tea, it usually helps rejuvenate me after I have been sick," she told him as she returned to folding up her clothes.
When they had reached her quarters, John had decided to change what he was wearing, feeling it was too "flowery" for him if he was going to stay in her body for the rest of the evening. He had stood in front of her wardrobe and gone through her tops and trousers with more focus than she had ever seen him give clothing. She had to wonder if being in a female body was affecting him slightly more than was obvious, for she found herself already feeling somewhat different towards the world herself. She felt more…active, was perhaps the word. When he was feeling sick, she felt far more unhelpful than she would ever expect, she had felt almost annoyed about being unable to do anything, so had focused on making the tea for him and talking to him through the bathroom door as he had brushed his teeth, only to be sick again.
She put away the last of the tops, which he had tried on with quick efficient moves, almost as if he had hated having to change her clothes. He had decided on a plain dark top and loose black trousers, which looked the closest to his own clothes that she was wearing. She, in his body, felt that she would prefer to be wearing something more colourful, but knew not to suggest that to him. She smiled to imagine how John's body would look if she dressed in some of her "flowery" tops and a skirt. She was almost tempted to try them on and see.
She turned back towards John, to see him sipping the tea eagerly.
"This is good," he told her.
"Yes, but unfortunately it only really calms the stomach after being sick," she replied as she moved across the room to sit down in the chair beside him. She had to shift back in the seat so that she had enough room for his legs between the chair and the table.
"So much of the furniture in the city is too small for you," she muttered as she got comfortable.
He glanced at her from his tea. "And you're too short for much of it," he replied and there was a definite teasing in his voice.
She smacked his arm with her hand and he jumped.
"Hey, that hurt," he complained clearly exaggerating. "You've got to be careful, I'm very strong," he told her with a good dose of smugness.
She smiled at him. "As am I. I saw you attack that nurse back in the Infirmary."
"He was in the way and wouldn't move," John argued.
"He had not seen you, and you could have politely asked him to let you pass by," she pointed out as she leant her elbow on the back of the chair so she could face him next to her.
"He should have seen me coming. Everyone should make room for you," John replied with a smile and a weight of flirtation with it. It was very strange to hear that delivered with her own voice, though she still felt her body react to the sexual edge to his statement.
She saw him frown. "Okay, no flirting while we're in each other's bodies, it's just weird," he stated.
"As if you could stop yourself," she teased back, though she completely understood his point.
He turned from where he was just about to sip some more tea. "I can behave myself," he protested.
"Please," she replied doubtfully, reaching out to pick up the last of her own cup of tea she had drunk while she had waited for him to emerge from the bathroom.
"I'm the perfect gentleman," he argued.
"Yes, attacking nurses for me," she replied grinning at him over the rim of her own cup.
He frowned at her with her own eyebrows. "I've behaved myself extraordinarily," he replied, seemingly quite serious now.
"This extraordinarily well behaved version of you must not have been present last week when we were at Lorne's birthday celebration," she told him.
He glanced away and shrugged. "I don't remember what you're talking about," he replied as he sipped his tea.
She grinned at him. "Yes, you do. When everyone was sitting around listening to the speeches and your hand found its way up the inside of my thigh."
"Your skirt looked out of place, I was just straightening it for you," he replied with a smile. "Besides, we were at the back of the room. No one saw."
"So that is gentleman like behaviour is it?" She challenged him. "That no one saw?"
"I've been the perfect gentleman today," he corrected clearly avoiding her point.
She smiled at that. "So you restart this assessment of yourself each day, do you?" She asked.
He set his empty cup down and sat back in his seat next to her. "Today I have. Here I am in your body, and I haven't once snuck a peek at the goods."
She laughed at that and saw him smiling. "I am not sure why you would control yourself, since you take every opportunity to look at my 'goods' most days."
"Only when we're alone," he objected.
"Please, I frequently see your eyes directed below my eye line throughout the day," she replied pointing to her own cleavage opposite her that was now a part of his chest. "And now I understand how much of an advantage of height you have to see more of my 'goods'."
He tried to look innocent, but perhaps because it was her own face with which he tried, it did not work at all.
"Okay, so I check out the ladies, but not the rest of your 'goods'," he conceded.
She laughed at his name for her breasts, especially in the bizarre moment when he gestured to his own chest to point them out.
"You were certainly heading for one of my other goods at Lorne's celebration," she responded.
He pulled an 'it's possible' look that though on her own face, still looked like his own expression, his personality shining through her features.
She felt that new sensation of heaviness in her body, feeling warmth and an edgy feeling meaning that his body was responding to her thoughts.
"Does this mean that while I am in your body that I am not supposed to check out your 'goods' either?" She asked, making sure she sounded rather disappointed.
He snapped his eyes to her. "I think you've already checked out my goods plenty of times before," he replied after a beat, but his voice, hers, sounded slightly huskier than normal.
Yes, she had, but there was something quite different about feeling the new weight growing between her legs. She did not know if his body was responding this way because of her own body's nearness, or due to her own sexual thoughts, or perhaps a combination of the two.
It was not the idea of making love that appealed, that would be far too strange, but being in his body presented some interesting possibilities. She wondered how it felt for him to find release. Would it feel the same as it did for her?
"Yes, I do know your 'goods'," she told him, her voice lower, "but perhaps there is an opportunity here."
"Opportunity?" He asked, his body turned further towards her in his seat, all his attention on her.
"To discover how each other feels, to learn what each other likes," she suggested to him quietly and as she did she reached between them and touched her fingers to the outside of one of her own breasts. "I know what brings me the most pleasure," she whispered to him as she ran her fingertips across her nipple and felt him twitch ever so slightly under her touch.
"This is weird," he whispered, but she knew he was not going to object in the least.
She caught her nipple between her fingers, feeling it tighten through her top he wore and he leant into the touch.
"I would love to know how to touch you best, to know how it feels for you," she whispered to him.
"You always touch me just fine," John replied, his voice barely a whisper now. His voice at such a low level and so deep, she could almost imagine it was his own voice.
She slid her fingers up her breast and pulled at the edge of the neckline of the top he wore, exposing her own breast to the air and her eyes. She knew just how she liked to be touched and she ran her fingertips across her breasts to pinch her nipple. He gasped in response.
"Wow," he whispered and dipped his chin to look down at her breast. He could see that her nipple had tightened further and she could acutely remember how that felt for her.
"That is just…" he whispered as he watched her cup her own breast.
"We are just touching. I see only your hands on my body," she told him honestly, watching John's strong delicate fingers give pleasure.
She felt the tension in him across the small distance between them.
"And this is your body, you can do as you wish," she told him.
He hesitated for a moment more before reaching between them and he set his hand over her lap, cupping the bulge that had been growing between her legs. She gasped at the raging need it burst forth. It was so unlike what she felt, but at the same time exactly the same. A desperate need for movement had her shifting herself against his hand and he immediately shifted his grip to encircle himself through her trousers more effectively.
"I feel that way all the time for you," he whispered to her.
Normally she would embrace him now in their lovemaking, but this was different, there would be no joining, so instead she leant her forehead forward to meet his.
The surge of arousal seeped back slightly, settling into a more gentle intensity that filled her with raging emotions that normally she kept a close control over.
"I love you so much, John," she whispered to him. It was the first time she had spoken that precise word, though she had thought and felt it for a very long time.
His hand lifted from her lap to cup her hand still lying against her breast. He held her hand against his chest, his fingers tight around hers.
"I love you too," he whispered back.
With her eyes still tightly shut, she could imagine they were in their own bodies once more. His words meant more to her than anything, and she would take those feelings over lovemaking any day.
"Despite the issues," he continued quietly "and the timing, I'm so happy you're having our baby."
She was shocked at the honesty from him, telling her so much of his true feelings and trust in her that he would admit so much.
"Even if it turns out to be a 'bug baby'?" She asked him, keeping her forehead tight to his and her fingers with his.
"Then we'll have the best 'bug baby' ever," he replied confidently.
She grinned at that as she pulled her forehead from his finally and opened her eyes. It was once again a shock to see her own face looking back at her, but she knew it was John inside. He squeezed her hand in his reassuringly, and for a moment, she was completely confused which fingers was hers and which was his in their intertwined hands.
"Mr Woolsey to Colonel Sheppard and Teyla," Mr Woolsey's voice abruptly entered into their moment through her radio and John started as well.
He frowned with annoyance but touched his free hand to his ear. "Sheppard here," he replied in Teyla's own voice.
"Umm, just to let you both know that Ronon has returned early from his visit to Sateda. He will meet you in Dr McKay's lab right away."
"Great news, thanks," John replied immediately and they both shared a bright smile with each other.
"Good luck," Mr Woolsey added before the line cut.
John reached up and checked his radio was off as they both got up from their seats. He didn't release her hand immediately though, instead he pulled her slightly closer.
"When we're back in our own bodies, I'm going to check all of your 'goods' over several times, just to make sure everything is in its right place," he told her.
She laughed with delight at his sensual promise, feeling some heat to her cheekbones, amused at feeling his blush.
"I look forward to it," she replied. She paused as she moved, suddenly properly uncomfortable in his body for the first time. "I think I prefer your goods on you," she told him as she reached down and adjusted the way her trousers lay over his groin.
He chuckled at her as they turned to walk away from the chairs. "You'll need to think about something nasty for a bit. Try thinking about Wraith, that usually works for me. Or throwing up," he suggested like it was a new idea. "That'll work."
She focused on the very detailed memories she had of morning sickness, which quite quickly made walking slightly more comfortable as she headed across the room towards the exit.
John waited for her at the door and he looked bemusedly down at her still uncomfortable groin and shook his head. "This is just weird," he echoed for probably the last time.
She grinned at him as she reached his side. "You have not enjoyed your time in a female body then?"
He tilted his head as he thought. "You know I thought I would enjoy it, but I prefer enjoying your body from the outside," he told her smiling at her. "Well, except in one particular area that is," he added with a wink.
"It is that area of yours that I am currently struggling to subdue," she replied.
"You've pretty much summed up living in a male body right there," he replied with a grin.
She smiled down at him, knowing that she could enjoy their height difference for only a little while longer. "You do not like the idea of giving birth to our child then?" She teased.
"I'll leave that to you," he replied and she knew that he would have kissed her now, but held back due to how strange it would be to kiss your own lips.
"But, I'll be there beside you the whole way," he added more seriously as he reached out his hand and she took it in hers.
Once again, she felt the confusion of identifying which fingers were hers in the intertwining mix, but then she realised that it did not matter.
She squeezed his hand and they turned to the door. He lifted his hand to wave it over the door sensor only to pause and look at her.
"Dumbstick under control yet?" He asked.
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THE END.