Still don't own it.
A million thanks to everyone who have left reviews. I lost track of which ones I responded to, so if I left you out I'm sorry and thanks again.
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"So what would you rather have?" asked Sheppard as he sat down at the table.
Rodney looked up from the gizmo he'd been working on and gave the Colonel a glare that would've sent anyone on his staff, with the sole exception of Zelenka, running away from him begging to see their mother.
Unfortunately, Sheppard was just as immune as Zelenka.
Rodney stared at his friend as several possible answers went through his mind to answer the frivolous and ambiguous question. He'd rather have some peace and quiet, as opposed to Sheppard's interruption; he'd rather have a fresh cup of coffee, as opposed to the cold and thick tar-like stuff that was currently occupying his mug; and he would most certainly rather be babying Jennifer, as opposed to trying to repair the end result of someone else's stupidity.
In the end he couldn't decide which answer appealed to him the most, so he decided to go for a little clarification. "What?"
"Boy or girl," said Sheppard with a roll of his eyes as though he figured Rodney should have known exactly what it was he was talking about. "Would you rather have a boy or a girl?"
Rodney leaned back in his chair and gave Sheppard a wide-eyed look. "I haven't thought about it," he replied honestly. He really hadn't given any thought at all to a preference of gender. Carson had told him and Jennifer that the baby was healthy with a strong heartbeat, and that was all that mattered.
"You haven't thought about it?" replied the incredulous Colonel. "Rodney, you think about everything from ZPMs, sun block, Wraith and who knows what else." John regarded Rodney for a second and then leaned in over the table. "You really haven't thought about it, have you?"
"No," replied Rodney in a voice so small that he wasn't even sure it was him that had spoken. He cleared his throat and tried again. "No, I haven't." He leaned back in over the machine he'd been fixing and said, "All that matters is that he or she is healthy."
"Interesting," drawled Sheppard with a smirk.
Rodney looked up. "What do you mean by that?"
The right side of Sheppard's mouth moved upward into a smirk. "It's interesting that you said 'he' first and 'she' second."
"Oh come on," whined Rodney. "One of them had to go first, and it doesn't mean anything."
The two men stared at each other until Sheppard leaned back in his chair. After a moment he smiled and said, "You really don't care either way?"
Rodney sat still and thought for a moment. Would it really matter if he had a son or a daughter? Would he love one more than the other? Was one going to be capable of more based solely on sex? Could he teach more to a son than a daughter, and vice versa? Would it really matter to him?
Rodney shook his head slowly and said, "No, I don't care."
Sheppard nodded as though he were pleased with that response. "I'm proud of you, Rodney. It's a very good thing that you feel that way." Sheppard smirked as he added jokingly, "You might make an okay dad after all."
Rodney gave Sheppard a grunt of amusement. "Thanks, Sheppard."
John gave Rodney an exaggerated nod before standing up. He started to turn away from Rodney but stopped and faced him again. "It is interesting though," he said with a thoughtful look upon his face. "I sort of figured you'd say a boy."
Rodney felt his face crunch up in confusion. "Why?"
Sheppard smiled as he said, "With your luck, you'll end up with a daughter as beautiful as Jennifer and you'll spend her teenage years trying to figure out how to keep horny, adolescent boys away from her."
Rodney's face fell like a stone as his friend regarded him with a look of delighted amusement on his face. He shook his head and looked at Sheppard with as much disdain as he could muster. "I hate you."
