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SPOILERS for ep 3x20 First Strike.

Chapter Two

The transporter was three corridors away. They walked slowly – Teyla because she was busy rocking the baby gently and John because he had to watch the floor in front of Teyla to make sure she didn't trip over a piece of debris because she wasn't paying attention. Several times he had to tug on her sleeve to steer her round something.

Teyla trusted John to guide her and kept her eyes on the baby. She was getting sleepy. Teyla kept rocking her, holding her close. She couldn't imagine how this baby had come to be put in stasis or who had put her there, and she only hoped that there were no ill side-effects from her long sleep. She would have no memory of those she had lost – Teyla hoped that this was a good thing.

"Is she okay?" John asked as they reached the transporter. Teyla finally looked up. "I think so," she said. "She's falling asleep."

They fell quiet again as they stepped out of the transporter by the infirmary. Teyla didn't notice the surprised looks they were getting from everyone they passed on their way to the infirmary, but John did. He and Teyla were walking through the corridors of Atlantis, and they had a baby with them. God knows what everyone was thinking.

John knew Teyla liked children, but she seemed particularly taken with this little girl – she barely took her eyes off of her. He guessed that she felt sorry for her – hell, so did he. But still, he hoped she didn't become too attached. He didn't know what was going to happen to this baby or even if she was okay after being in that stasis chamber for so long.

Sam Carter was waiting for them just inside the infirmary.

Sam had been in Atlantis for just over a month, standing in as leader for Elizabeth while she was recovering on Earth. John had found himself in charge of Atlantis in one their most crucial moments, but to him the hardest challenge had come once the crisis was over. Within two days John's respect for Elizabeth had shot up. The day-to-day running of the city was an absolute nightmare – a nightmare that by the end of two months he just couldn't deal with anymore. Luckily, the SGC took pity on him and sent him a lifeline – Colonel Carter.

John had been hugely surprised that Sam had agreed to come to Atlantis. He knew her sense of duty was strong and that her scientific curiosity was piqued by Atlantis, but she had just got married.

Sam and General O'Neill had finally managed to get their act together and tied the knot, much to the relief of everyone who had ever worked with the pair. Except for maybe McKay, but he'd soon got over it. Mostly.

Anyway, three weeks later and four months after she had got married, Sam arrived on the Daedalus and John had gladly handed over the reins. Elizabeth would be returning though within the next couple of months, which was a very good thing. Sam was doing a great job, but she needed to get back to Earth soon.

Sam stood up as they entered. "How is she?" She asked.

"Asleep," Teyla replied, as Sam bent over the bundle in her arms to have a look. Sam shook her head. "The poor thing," she said. "It's amazing that she's survived – I wonder who put her in there…" Sam's hand rested on her expanding stomach – Teyla had noticed her doing this a lot, mostly subconsciously. She smiled slightly – it was the same with all pregnant women.

Dr Kellar appeared in the doorway of one of the private rooms. "Teyla, could you bring her through?" She asked. Teyla, John and Sam followed her in.

Dr Kellar had brought out some blankets and laid them on the bed. Teyla placed the baby on the blankets. As she did so the baby stirred but didn't wake up. Teyla carefully arranged blankets around her and then stood back. Dr Kellar stepped up and looked at her closely. "So, tell me how you found her," she said, carefully placing her stethoscope on the baby's chest.

As John launched into the story of what happened in the lab, Teyla watched Dr Kellar examine the baby. She was very gentle with her, but still Teyla flinched at some points. She knew that she wasn't hurting her, but still felt oddly responsible for the little girl. After all, she had no one else to look after her.

Near the end of the exam she woke up and started to cry again. Teyla picked her up again to quiet her, and held her still while Dr Kellar took some of her blood.

John tried to leave the infirmary but he was quickly prevented by Dr Kellar, who needed to examine both he and Teyla to make sure there had been no side-effects from the device. Teyla had a feeling that he had been expecting this and that was why he wanted to escape. She didn't blame him, as the examination was very thorough and included a full blood work. Teyla felt like escaping as well.

The baby was still crying. Teyla was worried about her but Dr Kellar didn't seem to be. "She's hungry," she told Teyla as she rocked her. "We're heating up some milk for her and Lieutenant Owens is trying to make a baby bottle so we can feed her."

Lieutenant Owens appeared soon after with a large phial of milk. At the top she had fastened a large pipette using the tape used to fasten bandages. The lieutenant passed the 'bottle' to Teyla, who stared at it in confusion.

"Er…"

John appeared next to her. "Here, you have to tip it up –" He took hold of the bottle and held it up to the baby's lips. She started to drink, and he held it so the milk kept running down. "Got it?"

Teyla nodded and took the bottle from him. "Thank you," she said. "Have you done this before?"

"My best friend in high school had a baby brother," John said. "We had to baby-sit all the time. Besides, baby bottles are used by loads of people on Earth."

"We had nothing like this on Athos," Teyla said, looking back down at the baby in her arms. She was still drinking – the milk in the bottle was half gone.

"Ten thousand years obviously left her pretty hungry," said John. Teyla looked up at him, but he was watching the baby. Teyla smiled – it seemed she was not the only person to be intrigued by the little girl.

The baby went back to sleep after she had eaten, and Teyla and John stayed sat next to her bed watching her. Eventually, John stood up.

"I should probably go back down to the lab, and see if McKay's found anything," he said. Teyla nodded. "Of course," she said. "I'm going to stay here."

John nodded back and turned to leave, but stopped when he saw Dr Kellar entering. She held a clipboard in her hand and looked… shaken.

"I was going to go back down to the lab," John told her. Dr Kellar glanced at the baby. "Colonel, I have some results I think you should hear," she said.

John frowned slightly but sat back down. "Okay doc," he said. "Let's hear it."

"Well," Dr Kellar began. Teyla raised an eyebrow – the doctor appeared to be at a loss for words.

"Well," she began again. "She's perfectly healthy, despite her… situation."

Teyla smiled and looked at John again. He nodded.

"The thing is – I don't think she was in stasis."

Teyla's attention flew back to Dr Kellar. "Why not?" She asked.

Dr Kellar propped herself up against the desk before answering. "She's not an Ancient," she said. "She's just as advanced – or unadvanced – as we are."

"That doesn't mean she wasn't in stasis," John said. Teyla nodded. "There were humans in the galaxy apart from the Ancestors," she added.

Dr Kellar nodded. "I know," she said. "That was my original thought as well. But I noticed that she does have the Ancient gene, so I ran some more tests. I had a hunch, after what you'd told me about the device you found her in and what happened to you and…"

"And…?" John interrupted.

Dr Kellar took a deep breath and visibly composed herself. "I don't think the device used you to wake her up," she said. "I think it used you to create her."

Teyla frowned again. "I don't understand," she said.

"I ran an analysis of her DNA against yours," she said, looking at both of them in turn. "Genetically speaking, this baby is your daughter."

Silence.

"What?"

"How is that possible?"

"I have no idea how – all I know is that she is your daughter," Dr Kellar repeated. "Somehow the device took DNA from both of you and she is the result."

John sprang to his feet and activated his radio. "Sheppard to McKay. Come in now."

Teyla's mind was reeling. She knew her mouth was hanging open but couldn't seem to stop. Dr Kellar gave her a weak smile.

"McKay what have you found out? Is it a stasis chamber? Are you sure? Dr Kellar thinks that… yeah that's what she said. Shut up McKay, this is not funny!"

Teyla got to her feet and walked over to the bed that the baby lay on. She was asleep again. Her tiny eyelashes cast shadows on her cheeks. Teyla remembered when she had been about fourteen, her aunt had given birth to a girl and everyone had said how much she looked like Teyla as a baby. Teyla couldn't help but notice, now she thought of it, how much this little baby looked like her young cousin had done. Except for her hair, which had been a light brown. This baby's hair was jet-black, like John's. Like her father.

Dr Kellar cleared her throat. "I'm going to go and speak to Colonel Carter," she said. "I'll be back in a moment."

She turned to leave, but paused in the doorway. "By the way, as far as we can tell the device had no side-effects on the two of you whatsoever," she said. She left.

"I'd call the baby a side-effect, wouldn't you?" John called after her.

Teyla watched John closely – he did not seem to be taking the news well. He started pacing up and down the length of the room, his expression dark. She didn't know what to say to him.

Teyla herself was surprised at how well she was taking the news that the baby was her daughter. She guessed that in a way she was glad because it meant that the baby hadn't been left in that device for thousands of years. But maybe she should be panicking. Who knew how this would change her life. Where would the baby stay? What were her people going to say? What would they tell her when she was old enough to understand?

What was this going to mean for her and John?

The two of them had been friends since the moment they had met, but Teyla had often felt there was something more there. However, she wasn't one to make the first move, and she knew that he wasn't going to either. Everything remained unsaid between them. What were they going to do now that they had a child together?

John stopped pacing and turned to face her. "This is insane," he said.

"It's certainly unexpected," Teyla said diplomatically.

"What were they thinking? Why would you build a machine that makes a baby? And not put up any warning signs?"

Teyla ducked her head to look at the baby again. She stirred slightly in her sleep, her tiny hands clenching into fists before she relaxed again. He was right – what had they built that machine for? But she couldn't bring herself to get so annoyed about it. It wasn't exactly the worst thing that had happened to them on Atlantis.

John stopped next to the bed, opposite Teyla, and looked down at the baby. Their baby.

He shook his head. "I'm so not ready to be a father."

Teyla wanted to tell him he was wrong, that he would be a fantastic father. She knew how good he was with children – his easy manner with Jinto and the other Athosian children had been one of the things that had caused her to trust him so readily when they first met. But she knew he wouldn't believe her.

She smiled at him instead. "We'll learn."

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