A/N: I don't know if I shall be able to post during Thanksgiving vacation, as I will be in Colorado. I'll post if I can; if I can't, I'll double-post when I get home. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Two Years Old - February 2009
"Make no mistake, she's mine, she's mine. She only knows how I feel. I only know what she's like when she needs me. Oh, how she needs me deep in the night. Make no mistake, she's mine, she's mine, no, she's mine. Don't get too close when you dance 'cause I don't wanna hear from my friends you were out on the town with her in your arms, with her in your arms, her in your arms." - Ronnie Milsap and Kenny Rogers, "Make no Mistake, She's Mine"
After the miscarriage, Evie immediately began searching for an outlet for her emotions. Beating another person with sticks sounded like a good way to release her anger and bitterness, but she didn't really want to hang out with Teyla for an hour every day and John said he didn't have time to give her lessons. So, upon overhearing Ronon complain that he had no one who wanted to swordfight with him, Evie asked if he would teach her. Ronon agreed.
At first, it wasn't so much swordfighting as it was Evie getting her butt kicked by Ronon's skills, but after several months Evie was able to give him a run for his money. She never beat him, but it was taking him longer to beat her and she was proud of that. She still went to Carson on occasions to get a cut fixed up, but most of the time Ronon was right there beside her, with a cut or two of his own. As both were channeling their emotions into the fight, they were both very intense.
For the most part, John was a good sport about how much time Evie was spending with Ronon. However, he soon tired of comments like, "Man, Ronon looks hot when he fights!" and "Mmm, can you believe his muscles?" Their playful flirting, which had soon left the confines of the gym, grated on his nerves as well. While he knew that neither of them wanted each other in that sense-- Well, he knew Evie didn't want Ronon in that sense-- Okay, he hoped Evie didn't want Ronon in that sense, and thus frequently felt strong twinges of jealously. The final straw was when John entered the gym one morning looking for Ronon. Just as he stepped through the doors, Ronon's sword clashed with Evie's. He then used his superior strength to quickly force her backwards until he had her pinned against the wall, their bodies nearly touching.
When Evie failed to suppress a smile, Ronon raised an eyebrow and asked in his low growl of a voice, "You like that, Lieutenant?" As he spoke, he took a step forward so that his body was pressed against hers.
Her sudden intake of breath made Sheppard stiffen. He was the only one who could make her breath hitch like that.
Evie gave Ronon a coy smile. "Maybe…"
John was shocked at her apparent offer and nearly called her down by her first name. Catching himself, he cleared his throat. When they both turned to look at him, Evie didn't wince, didn't blush, didn't seem phased at all. "Ronon, we're, uhh… We're leaving in fifteen."
Ronon nodded, then looked back at Evie. "We'll finish this later."
"You can count on it," she murmured, parrying and freeing her sword from his with a metallic zhing!
Ronon gathered his things and turned to leave. John shot Evie a glare that she didn't understand and then quickly followed after Ronon, intent on hinting heavily to the bigger man that the lieutenant was taken.
He followed Ronon into his quarters and spoke up as the Satedan put away his things and searched for his gun. "Hey, Ronon, Lieutenant Brooks… She's…" 'Mine!' "Well, she's not available, if you know what I mean."
"No?" He grabbed his gun and secured it around his waist.
"Well, she's…seeing someone," John answered after a slight pause.
"Who?"
'Me!' "A guy."
Ronon cocked an eyebrow suspiciously.
"Look, just…keep it friendly, okay?" John's smile was contradicted by his icy glare.
"Whatever."
XXXXXX
Mary let out a scream of pain and nearly jumped when her husband screamed beside her.
"Why are you screaming?" Carson asked in amusement, looking up at the father-to-be.
"It seemed…appropriate?" Rodney said, shrugging.
"Well, please try to control your excitement," Carson said. "When you make noise, I jump, and we can't have that."
"Well, can you… Can you speed it up or something? My nerves can't handle this…"
Mary groaned and cried, "Emma!"
Emma nodded and whacked the back of Rodney's head.
"Thank you," Rodney winced.
"Oh! Looks like you got your wish, Rodney," Carson said smiling. "I can see a head. Mary, you're doing beautifully."
Rodney snorted. "Not the word I would have picked…"
"Emma!"
Whack!
"C'mon, Mary, almost there," Carson said gently. "Push!" Mary cried out again as she did so. A moment later, Carson wrapped the squirming, red baby in a towel and placed it in Rodney's arms. "One more, Mary. Almost done!"
Rodney stared in awe at the tiny infant in his arms. This wasn't just a baby. This was his daughter. She was his.
A few minutes later, Mary gave a final shout of pain, and the second baby's crying joined the first's. Carson handed the second child to Emma, who began gently cleaning her, then Carson held his hands out for the baby in Rodney's arms. "Let me have her."
"No!" Rodney said, clutching her to his chest.
"I have to clean her up, Rodney," Carson said, smiling in amusement at Rodney's sudden attachment.
"And then you'll give her back?" Rodney asked, the first time he had ever referred to a baby by its proper gender.
"Yes, Rodney," Carson sighed.
"You promise?"
"Yes, Rodney!"
Rodney looked down at his daughter for a moment, then reluctantly handed her over to Carson. "Be careful with her!" he ordered protectively.
"Yes, Rodney…"
XXXXXX
"One…two…one…two…one…two…" Rodney mumbled to himself as he looked at the baby girls in his arms, his head bobbing back and forth. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that there were two of them, and that they were his. A sigh from the bed beside him interrupted his thoughts. He looked over and saw that Mary had woken up. "How are you doing?" he asked.
"Oh, better, I suppose," she answered. "Can I hold one?"
"Which one? This one's Caitlyn and this one's Dakota," he said, nodding his head toward each infant respectively.
Mary smiled, noting the names on the blankets. "Yes, Rodney, very good. Either one."
Rodney oh-so-gently handed baby Dakota to his wife.
"I like them," he announced after a few minutes of silence.
Mary smiled at him adoringly; he had the cutest way of putting things.
XXXXXX
When Colonel Sheppard had approached Major Johnson and asked if he and his team would like to back them up on an upcoming mission, Johnson has just smiled and agreed. He had ignored the subtle flirting during the mission, and tried to ignore the looks exchanged during the debriefing. He knew how grand love was and was happy these two had found it, no matter now taboo it was.
After the debriefing ended, however, things didn't go so well, though Johnson wasn't around to witness it.
"Did you do something with your hair?" John asked Evie as they loitered outside the meeting room. "It looks…funny." He wasn't trying to be mean; he was merely curious.
Evie looked at him for a moment, then said, "Kru harambe shalka!"
"Oho!" Ronon grinned at her use of the Satedan insult. "She told you, Sheppard."
John raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "What does that mean?"
Evie and Ronon glanced at each other and shared a secretive smile. "Oh, nothing," Evie answered.
John nodded slowly and let the subject go, though he wasn't too happy about it. He turned to talk to Rodney and saw the scientist holding one of his new daughters. John was at a loss for where the baby had come from until he saw Mary standing a few feet away, holding the other twin and talking to Summer, who was almost pregnant enough to be taken off active duty. John smiled at the little girl in Rodney's arms. It seemed like McKay was always holding one of them, no matter what he was doing. And he said he didn't like kids… "Which one is that?" John asked.
"Mine," Rodney answered.
John laughed. "No, no, what's her name?"
"Umm…" Rodney looked at the baby for a minute then replied, "Well, she's either Catie or Koda."
John grinned. "You give 'em those nicknames yourself, Rodney I-hate-kids McKay?"
Rodney gave him a wry smile. "As a matter of fact I did, John I-wish-I-had-kids-this-cute Sheppard."
John opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when he smelled something. "No, I don't, because I think cutie-pie here just left you a smelly little present."
Rodney's eyes widened and he rushed the child over to his wife. "Maaary!"
John chuckled and turned to see where Evie was headed. He frowned when he saw her walking off with Ronon, both of them laughing.
"'Kru harambe shalka!' That was great, Evie!" he complimented, clapping her on the back.
"I thought it was fitting." She grinned. "Hey, I'm not doing anything for the rest of the day if you want to tekmarinae," she offered, suggesting that they swordfight.
"You're on," Ronon said.
'And you're dead,' John thought to himself, jealousy seeping into every fiber of his being.
XXXXXX
It only took two hours for John to run into Ronon, so his jealousy and rage were still fresh. As there was no one else in the hallway, John unleashed his wrath upon the Satedan. "You wife-stealing bastard!" he cried furiously, taking a swing at the bigger man, who easily sidestepped him. "I told you to leave her alone!"
"You said keep it friendly!" Ronon protested.
John threw another punch, but Ronon caught John's fist, deftly twisting his arm behind his back and slamming him up against the wall. "Ow."
"Don't make me hurt you," Ronon growled.
"Go ahead. Make my day."
Ronon sighed and just barely increased his pressure on John's arm, succeeding in making the pilot cry out.
Ronon was about to speak when one of the SF's approached. "Sir," he addressed John. "Is everything okay?"
"Oh, yeah, I got everything under control…" John mumbled, his face and lips pressed against the wall. Ronon just grinned at the SF, who nodded slowly and continued on his way.
When the man was out of earshot, Ronon said quietly, "I get it; she's yours. If you claimed her, why didn't you just say so?"
'Nice one, John… (Well, how'd he know?!) I think the 'wife-stealing' line might have tipped him off. Either that or your uncalled-for jealousy…' John tried to move so he could speak, but Ronon wasn't allowing for that. "Err…well, y'see…umm…it's not…I mean…"
John didn't have to say it. Ronon wasn't stupid. He released John's arm and with a mutter of "You Earth people…" resumed his trek to his quarters.
XXXXXX
June 2009
"Cwash!" Aiden cried, knocking down his mother's block tower.
"Aiden, that's not nice," Evie chided.
"I sowwy," he said, handing her a block.
A minute later, Evie had fashioned the blocks into castle. When Aiden saw that his mother was finished, he knocked it down with his hands again.
"No, Aiden," she said sternly. "That is not nice! You wouldn't want me to knock down your blocks, would you?"
He didn't answer but continued playing.
Evie sighed and glanced over to see how baby Skylar was doing. Two days ago, Summer had given birth to Skylar Evangeline Murphy, a name which Evie particularly loved. Right now, dark-haired Skylar was sleeping peacefully on the bed, fenced in by pillows. Evie smiled at the baby, and then began rebuilding her castle. Before she could finish, however, Aiden sent the blocks toppling to the ground.
"Aiden, do you want a pop?" she asked warningly.
"No, pops yucky," Aiden answered, indicating that he didn't like spankings.
"If you do that one more time, you'll get a pop. Do you understand?"
Aiden frowned. "Yes, Mommy."
Evie sighed and looked at her watch. Lunchtime. She stood up and stretched, then found her shoes and put them on. She found Aiden's socks and shoes and called to him, "Aiden come here, please." When her son remained engaged with his blocks, she reminded him, "'Yes, Mommy, I'm coming.'"
"No," Aiden said, shaking his head. "'Yes, Mommy' yucky."
Evie tried her best not to laugh. She didn't want to encourage him, but the boy was downright creative. She tried again, this time a little more sternly. "Aiden?"
"Yes, Mommy, I coming!" he called and ran over to her, placing a hand on her arm.
"Good job!" she praised. First-time obedience was a battle with this child, so she made sure to congratulate him when he came. She picked him up and hugged him. "You're such a good boy! Have I told you today that I love you?" she asked with a smile.
Aiden grinned. "Yes, Mommy."
"Well, I'll say it again," she said, poking his little tummy and causing him to giggle. "I. Love. You!" He giggled loudly as she punctuated each word with another tickle.
"I wuv you, too, Mommy," he said, kissing her cheek.