Conceding
It had been decided that colonel Carter would travel with the Daedalus to take John's military position while he was away. She was the best choice, having worked on Atlantis a few years back; she was also excited to be able to see the members of the expedition.
"Are you sure about this, colonel?" Teyla asked, sad to see him leave.
The colonel nodded. "Yeah, it'll do me some good to change air. But I plan to come back, as soon as Junior pops out."
"Very well then," she gave up. "But take care of yourself and the little one, John." She then put her hands on his shoulders, and connected their foreheads in the Athosian manner.
"Will do… mom" Sheppard joked as he pulled back.
He then turned to Ronon, he could only smile. "Thanks for having my back, buddy. But it seems it wasn't enough to keep me here."
The Satedan nodded. They gave each other a manly hug that said it all.
It was then Woolsey's turn to say goodbye to the colonel. They shook hands and he said: "Have a safe travel to Earth. And tell General O'Neill I say 'hi'."
Then, Alexander came down the stairs, out of breath: "Wait! I wanna go too!" He ran by everyone to reach his mother. He had a small backpack hanging on his shoulder and a computer tablet in his hands.
"Alexander" John started slowly. He put his hands on the young man's shoulders: "I want you to stay here and keep an eye on your fath..." he cleared his throat loudly, "huh Rodney, yes. Keep an eye on Rodney for me, will ya? And be careful not to get into trouble."
Alexander scoffed at John's mistake but nodded nonetheless. "Sure... mom. But you be careful too, okay? I wouldn't want you to stress over all this."
"Over what?" John asked.
But he didn't have time for an answer, as Carson asked "You ready, colonel?" from a few meters away.
Sheppard nodded and Alexander hugged him, swearing that he'd have an eye out for McKay.
As Sheppard was waiting for the ancient city's gate to dial, he turned back and saw the people he held dear waving him goodbye. Everyone except Rodney. And that hurt John's heart. He knew that even though his trust towards the man had been damaged, he still wanted him to be there at that moment, in the gate room.
The gate made a loud 'whoosh' as the connection with Earth was made. Sighing, Sheppard took the handle of his wheeled luggage. Putting a hand on his belly, he took a deep breath and stepped through the gate with Carson.
On the other side, he was greeted by General O'Neill himself. He saluted the man the best he could with his luggage.
For a few seconds, the general didn't say much. He was estranged by the fact that he had seen a pregnant man in his life, and now could say that he'd seen it all. "Welcome back, colonel Sheppard, Dr Beckett."
John breathed in deeply, anxious to be back on Earth, far from his home.
...o.o.o...
Back on Atlantis, the only people left in front of the gate were Alexander and Ronon; the others had gone back to their occupations.
"He left, after all."
"Yeah, I guess it's better this way, he's gonna be safe on Earth" the young man admitted. "Wraiths can't reach Earth."
The tall Satedan shrugged. "I guess you're right."
"He should take some time to visit aunt Jeannie. I'm sure she'd be glad to see him" Alexander declared.
"Knowing Sheppard, he won't go. He's probably afraid of Jeannie's reaction if she learns about the father of the baby."
Alexander agreed: "Yeah, too bad no one is there to force him to do it."
Ronon then had an idea, but needed some time to prepare for it. It would however have to wait for the Daedalus to come back.
...o.o.o...
A few weeks later, team SGA-01 was on M7G-677, the children's planet.
"Welcome back, Doctor McKay!" Keras said warmly, as they shook hands. He then turned to Jennifer and took her hands into his: "We thank you very much for taking your time to come see some patients, Doctor Keller."
"It's nothing, anyway it's been a while since visited. I wanted to see how everyone is doing" she smiled back politely. "I also brought an assistant, Nathalie, to help me to make sure I am able to see as many patients as possible."
The assistant waved her hand and smiled widely.
"Good!" Keras made a gesture for everyone to follow him: "Let's all go to my hut, there we'll be able to guide you to the patients, Dr Keller."
She nodded.
While they walked, Keras noted: "I see that your team leader, colonel Sheppard is not with you today?"
Ronon smirked at Rodney knowingly.
McKay mumbled a quick answer: "No, he's back on our home planet. He'll be staying there for a while." He then glared at Ronon, to dare the man to speak up.
"Oh, well that's too bad" the village leader smiled. "It would have been nice to chat with him."
The scientist made a face, but didn't comment further.
...o.o.o...
"This is my wife, Hanka, and my son, Deras." Hanka was a tall, brown-haired woman with a warm smile. Deras was around twelve to fourteen months old and had his father's looks.
"Oh! What a cute baby!" Nathalie, Jennifer's medical assistant, chirped happily beside Rodney. She smiled widely. "Dr McKay is also going to be a dad soon!" she let out innocently, in the spur of the moment.
Which made Ronon snort. He wanted to see what the scientist would have to say.
But in Rodney's head, thoughts were spinning madly. Okay, what to answer? Quick! "Huh," he stopped, as he knew that everything would go bad from there. He couldn't escape the situation, so he had to dive right in: "Yeah" he was able to mutter awkwardly.
"Soon?" Keras said, as he sent a look at Jennifer; she didn't look much pregnant to him. "Ah, Doctor McKay, you must be a very impatient man!" he laughed heartedly. He then promptly hugged Jennifer and slapped the scientist on the shoulder: "Congratulations! I'm sure you'll make fine parents!"
Nathalie blinked, confused: "But-"
"-Nathalie, please" Jennifer swiftly cut in. She then glared at her, to make sure she got the message.
Then a strained silence installed itself; Rodney was starting to sweat and look panicked. Jennifer held her breath, not liking the awkward situation their were now in.
Ronon decided to be a little mean to the scientist and cleared his throat impatiently, shooting him a knowing look at the same time.
Rodney sent a menacing look to the tall Satedan and was about to blurt out the truth, when he changed idea: "Yeah, haha, I'm impatient, I guess. She's still early in the pregnancy" he lied. He looked at Keras, anxious to see if the man had bought his story.
And it seemed so. "Well! I know how anxious we can get when something as joyous as this is going to happen!"
Rodney continued to fake happiness, but couldn't stop the uneasiness slowly creeping into his heart. Lying never was his forte. And lying to a friend like Keras seemed so… pathetic.
"So, then. Let us catch up on things and Hanka will show Dr Keller where our patients are kept. I'm sure the other women will be happy to see her" the leader said with a warm smile.
The Canadian sent a worried look at Jennifer; what next?
...o.o.o...
"Are you okay, Dr Keller?" Hanka asked worriedly, as she noticed the blond woman's strange facial expression. "Are you feeling ill?" She brought the young child higher on her hip.
Jennifer shook her head. "No, I'm… fine." She forced a smile, to reassure the other woman. "Just lost in my thoughts."
"Oh, okay."
As they walked, Jennifer couldn't help feel uneasy about the whole story. She knew that Hanka was a stranger to her, but she felt that the tall woman deserved to know. But how to bring up the subject without appearing too weird?
Just like that, Hanka asked with a warm smile: "Are you nervous about having your first child?" She looked at her own son, and stroke his soft hair.
Keller stopped dead in her tracks, so fast, that her assistant, Nathalie, stumbled into her superior's back.
"Oops! Sorry doctor, didn't see you there!"
Jennifer apologized to Nathalie as well. She then looked at Hanka; her mouth twitched slightly: "You see, hum… Hanka…" She wasn't sure how to formulate all this. "We… haven't been 100% honest earlier."
The brown-haired woman's eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't say anything at first.
That made Jennifer uneasy.
After a short pause, Hanka wisely said: "Why don't we sit down. There's a small clearing nearby. You can tell me what's bothering you; the patients can wait a little more."
As they sat down, Jennifer gave Nathalie the hint to leave them alone for a while.
The young assistant then asked if Hanka wanted her to take care of Deras while they talked, saying that she loved children. The older woman agreed and they were left alone.
The brown-haired woman then calmly brought up the subject: "What is it that you are hiding, Dr Keller?"
Jennifer lowered her head in shame: "Well…" She inhaled deeply: "Rodney will soon be a father. That, is true. But I am not the one having the child."
Hanka looked at the other woman intently, confusion evident in her eyes.
The young doctor then sighed: "Another person of our expedition, is."
"I don't want to sound mean by asking this, but how come she and Dr McKay aren't together anymore?"
Jennifer scoffed lightly. "That's because they never were in a relationship… at least not a real one. And because all of this was an accident. That stupid Ancient machine impregnated Sheppard and that's when everything went haywire."
Hanka frowned: "Sheppard? As in colonel Sheppard? The man that is your team leader?"
The blond woman's silence meant it all.
"I… huh, don't know what to say…" the woman blushed slightly.
Jennifer made a sour face: "That's okay. Most people react like you just did. A man, pregnant." She scoffed: "That's simply too unnatural."
Hanka was still under the initial shock: "But how did it happen? Two men-"
"-Please! Don't finish that sentence! I can't stand the picture of Rodney and Sheppard t-together." She shivered slightly. "It was all because of an Ancient machine. They didn't need to… you know." Keller frowned. "I still can't believe that this is all happening."
"Why are you so upset? You just told me that it was an accident, right?"
"… Yes. But the problem is that Sheppard has feelings for Rodney" Jennifer confessed unwillingly. Wow, admitting something that she had been holding back for so long felt weird. It was like some weight got off her shoulders.
"Oh." The younger woman then made a face: "Well it's not that bad, Dr McKay could also have feelings for the colonel."
But then again, Jennifer's silence meant a lot of things. She put her face in her hands: "I feel like a second place winner." She lifted her head and kicked a small nearby rock. "Dammit! I don't know what to think anymore!" she said, sobbing angrily.
Hanka then side-hugged her, making shushing sounds to calm her: "Now, Dr Keller. I don't see why you feel this way; I can see that Dr McKay loves you."
Jennifer sniffed loudly. "Really?"
The brown-haired woman hesitated, but nodded nonetheless.
...o.o.o...
In that same village, Rodney was having a small talk with Keras, about stuff around Atlantis and some discoveries they had made.
All of this, under the watchful eyes of Ronon.
The scientist could feel the gaze burning the back of his head.
Keras as in the middle of a sentence when McKay snapped: "Could you stop doing that?!" he yelled, without turning to face the tall man.
At first, the village leader thought the scientist was talking to him. "Huh, I- sorry?"
Ronon started to chuckle: "Why don't you tell him, McKay? It's been bothering since earlier."
"Tell me what?" Keras asked, curious.
Ronon looked at Rodney's mortified face, and admitted: "McKay hasn't told you everything about him being a future father…"
A rise of the eyebrow was the only reaction from Keras' part.
Panic invaded the scientist and he started mumbling and getting flustered in the face. "I huh… look, I'm sorry Keras, okay? I know I shouldn't have lied. But… Jennifer, she isn't very happy with the whole situation…"
"I'm not sure I understand, Dr McKay. Are you telling me that this child is not wanted by Dr. Keller?" he young man asked, confused.
Rodney sat down on a nearby chair. "The situation is slightly more complicated than that. Yes, Jennifer doesn't want the baby, but that's because she's not the one who's pregnant."
"Is it because you cheated on Dr. Keller?"
Rodney looked at Ronon who had a huge smile on his face, and replied: "Not really. It was an accident. I huh… an Ancient machine impregnated colonel Sheppard using my DNA."
Keras was speechless for a minute. When he gained his senses, all he could say was: "A man, pregnant?"
Rodney nodded. "Yes, as ridiculous as it may sounds."
"No! You don't understand! This is… amazing!" the young leader exclaimed.
The scientist was taken aback by that response. "I think I need to sit down."
"Can't you see? A man, able to go through that amazing process of life; something that up to now, only women had been able to feel."
Rodney brought his palm to his forehead, in a desperate manner: "You don't seem to grasp my situation here. Sheppard, our team leader, is pregnant with… with… my child. And we're not in a relationship. I'm with Jennifer. And so, this complicates everything. Like Jennifer says, it's unnatural."
"It may be unusual, but it's not a bad thing. But… why not try to live all together?" Keras asked.
That's when Ronon chuckled. "Dr Keller doesn't want Sheppard in her way. She's jealous of him."
Rodney sputtered at the Satedan's statement: "She's not jealous!"
Ronon rose an eyebrow, but said nothing.
The scientist simply disregarded this, and said: "Whatever. Can we please change the subject?" All this talk about Sheppard and Keller made him uneasy.
Sensing the rising tension in the room, Keras nodded and switched to talk about the village's shield.
...o.o.o…
That night, as Hanka and Keras laid in bed, they thought about their friends, of Atlantis.
"I wonder how all of this will conclude" the man said, as he snuggled closer to his wife.
She answered sleepily, eyes already closed: "Sadly, I think that Dr Keller will be hurt, in the end."
Keras sighed sadly. "You think so, too?"
"Hmm. I think that Dr McKay is really confused, and Jennifer is a victim of circumstances that she can't control."
The man sighed as sleep was claiming him. "Hopefully, this child will be loved, no matter what."
Hanka smiled widely: "If colonel Sheppard cares of it like he cares for his team, I have no doubts."
So here's another chapter, although this one's shorter. Next, we'll see what's happening on Earth with Sheppard.
I hope you enjoyed and please review to tell me if you liked it :)
Thanks to jj227 for leaving a review!