A/N: Yes, I know. Fic writing ADD strikes again :) I'm a huge fan of the entire Stargate franchise though, and I thought there was a lot missing from the whole TJ/Young relationship throughout Season 1. Because really, can you avoid having any personal conversations with the woman who's having your baby? I don't think so. So this picks up sometime after she tells Young she's expecting but before the Lucien Alliance attacks. No spoilers for Season 2, because Tim C Girl lets me live that way. All characters are not mine, but there are days I really wish they were. I have no idea how long this is going to be. Roll with me on this one. And enjoy!

Chapter 1

Young's POV

Young would never tell her he'd been watching. Standing in the dark corners of the hallway outside the infirmary he watched as TJ bustled about, patching this, stitching that. Combing through her resources to make every last needle and piece of thread count, because god knew when they were going to get any more. Every day she looked just a little more tired, a little more stressed, while her stick-thin body grew round with his baby.

His baby. He still wasn't used to that, still hadn't wrapped his mind around the fact that after all the years he'd asked-begged-Emily for a family he was now having the child he'd always wanted with another woman. A woman who wasn't nearly hard enough for what she was going to go through because of him. He wanted to wrap her in his arms the way he had when she told him she was pregnant, to use his name and his reputation to shield her from the barrage of questions and skepticism he knew she was going to face when they got back to Earth with a baby in tow.

He wanted to stick her in bubble wrap and tuck her away on a shelf-or, better yet, send her home, where she wouldn't have to swallow her pride every time he managed to talk, bully or bribe someone into making sure she got the extra rations she needed to avoid the constant malnutrition dogging her heels.

The second was beyond his control right now, and he'd given up the right to do the first the day he'd used his rank and his marriage as an excuse to walk away from her in the first place.

TJ wasn't the type to fall into bed with a man just because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Whether he'd been her commanding officer or one of the geeks in engineering, he knew she'd have never let him do all the things he'd done to her during those long, lonely nights on Icarus unless she'd cared about him. Knowing that sooner or later, one of them was going to get hurt, and knowing it was probably going to be her, he'd been the worst type of bastard to let those feelings lead them to this.

He'd had nothing to offer her then, and he had even less to give her now. He couldn't help her. He couldn't protect her. Hell, he couldn't even claim his child as his own, and it was tearing him apart. But knowing Wray, the fact that they were several billion light years away from the nearest court martial wouldn't stop the IOA from seeing that justice was served.

He deserved it.

TJ didn't.

So for now all he could do was watch, look for little ways to make it easier for her, and try not to flinch every time he saw the hope and the raw, naked pain in her eyes she tried to hide every time he walked through her door.

Of course, on a ship the size of the Destiny there was only so long you could lurk without getting caught, even if you were in charge of the damned expedition. So he shouldn't have been surprised the night he opened the doors to his quarters and saw her standing there, barefoot, her blonde curls tumbling down around the shoulders of a shirt he was pretty sure belonged to Brody.

It was easy to steel himself against her during the day, when he had the ship and its crew standing as a buffer between them. The distractions kept him from remembering things like how soft those curls felt between his fingers, how smooth her skin was beneath her t-shirt, how she made those soft, breathy moans when he pressed his lips right below her ear. There were no distractions here, and he had to stuff his itchy fingers into his pockets to stop himself from grabbing her and holding on the way he'd been dying to since the minute he realized they were stranded on this damned ship.

"Colonel." TJ's tentative smile was wan in her pale face. Worry clenched his gut while he fought to keep his own expression steady. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." Stepping back, he let her slip past him into the room, surprised when she pushed the button to close the doors behind them. They were alone for the first time since the day he'd looked at her across his desk and told her it was over, and he couldn't help but wonder why. "What can I do for you, TJ?"

She opened her mouth, hesitated, then closed it again. Young arched his eyebrows, surprised. Waiting. It wasn't like her to be indecisive. She'd never had a problem telling him exactly how she felt about-well, everything. It was one of the first things he'd noticed about her. It was the first thing he'd lov..

'Don't go there.'

God, he'd made such a mess of things. If something really was wrong she should be on Earth, with a doctor, and a man who could wrap himself around her in the night and tell her it was going to be okay. He couldn't give her either, and concern and guilt and a healthy dose of self-loathing made his voice sharper than it needed to be.

"Were you taking the baby out for a midnight stroll and just happened to end up here, or was there something you needed?"

TJ flinched, and he cursed himself again. He couldn't get his balance, but it wasn't fair to take it out on her. Before he could apologize (for what, he wasn't sure-they didn't have enough time to finish listing all of his many sins), however, she ducked her head, hunched her shoulders and spoke.

"I just…the baby's moving around a lot tonight and…it's stupid." She looked up, giving him a half-hearted smile. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, sir. I'll head back to my quarters. Good night."

She headed for the door, but before she'd gone three steps he reached out and caught her by the arm. Something in his gut told him that whatever she'd come here to tell him was important to her, and he was going to regret it if he let her walk out that door. His gut had kept him alive for a long time. After awhile, even the most stubborn ass learns to listen.

"TJ. What did you want to tell me?"

Eyes wide, she jerked her attention from the door to his face, then down to the hand on her arm. Knowing she'd bolt the minute he let her go, he just stood and waited patiently. She didn't have the patience to wait him out. She never had.

Finally, she rewarded him with another soft, watery smile.

He hadn't realized how much he'd missed her smile. She had a smile that, when you kicked it on full beam, could light up the darkest corners of any room. He hadn't seen that smile in a very long time.

"I just…I thought you might want a chance to feel the baby move. Sir."