Resultant Timeline - Present Day

"What kept you?" Young snapped as Rush entered the infirmary; late as usual.

"Somebody has to work on this ship" Rush snapped back, "Sometimes it seems like half the bloody crew is off on 'maternity leave'."

"Volker needed the time off to deal with his and I might add our present situation" Young reminded him, "and given the way you usually speak about the man's competence, I'd have thought you'd be happy to have him 'interfering' less with your work."

"Well aren't you nasty today" Rush sneered, "Hormones getting to you, are they?"

"Why is it always hormones with you? I have several thousand perfectly valid reasons to be mad at you without needing any help from whatever hormones might be swirling around MY system to help nurture YOUR daughter, who I should add, has taken to kicking me in the gut every damn time I try to get some sleep."

"As I understand it, Colonel, that is a perfectly normal action for a healthy baby in utero."

"That's not the point, Rush!"

TJ coughed sharply to remind them that she was present, "Are you two ready for your check-up or will you need a few more minutes to banter?"

Young sighed and looked at Rush who shrugged, "Now is fine, TJ" Young said.

"Ok, Colonel. If you'd just lie back on the table we'll get started."

"Fine" Rush said, "Just don't expect me to hold your hand."

With one last withering look at Rush, Young laid back on the exam table and lifted his shirt to reveal what probably would've been called a potbelly back on Earth, but in Young's case it was all baby. Considering the scanty number of calories we typically consume on a daily basis, it would have to be all baby on this ship.

TJ tried to remain professional despite the strangeness of her current task. Just remember your obstetric training, she reminded herself as she gently felt the Colonel's stomach, preferring a hands on approach to start with, rather than just taking scans and reading back data.

"Is she ok, TJ?" Young asked.

"I'm afraid my obstetric training never prepared me for this situation, Sir." TJ said with a tight little smile that quickly widened into a genuine one when she felt baby Eve kick her fingers.

"Just do your best" Young said. "Considering we'll already met Eve, grown-up Eve, that is. It's pretty clear that you'll do just fine with all this, TJ."

"You can never be certain when it comes to time travel" Rush said, "We already know that Eve's arrival has skewed things from their original course. The drones are no longer an immediate threat to us, and Mr. Volker is also pregnant, when according to Eve, he never even had children in her timeline, and of course, Eve herself, is here now living in a timeline that runs some twenty years behind her own. We can longer say with any certainty that what happened in Eve's past will still happen in our future."

"Thank you, Mr. Sunshine" Young grumbled, "TJ?"

"I need to take a few new scans" she began, "but I think, I mean it's hard to know for sure without a scan, but I think your baby is growing faster than normal."

"Faster?" Rush asked, suddenly interested, "Are you certain?"

"You can feel for yourself" TJ offered, motioning for Rush place his hand over the baby's foot, where her hand was still hovering.

Rush uncrossed his arms and slowly laid his right hand over Young's belly and allowed TJ to guide it to the now kicking foot.

"You're only two months pregnant, Colonel" she said, "The baby shouldn't be kicking yet. In fact it should only be about the size of a blueberry Did, 'er Big Eve say anything to either of you about your pregnancy being accelerated?"

"She never mentioned it" Rush said, "Perhaps we could ask her tomorrow…"

Young sat up and unsnapped TJ's radio from her belt, "Eve, this is Colonel Young. Please respond."

After a brief pause, "Yeah, Mom, what's up?"

Young's jaw tightened, "Eve, could you possibly stop calling me mom? It's incredibly disturbing to my masculine persona."

"I know. Isn't that the point?"

Rush snorted.

Young gave Rush a look that clearly said, somehow, someway, in some other time stream, I know this is all your fault. "If you could just call me dad that would do" Young said into TJ's radio. "Colonel Young or Everett would be fine if you prefer."

"Well what exactly do you want, oh you who shall not be named?"

"Eve, I'm in the infirmary and I need to know if your dad, ever said anything to you about your birth being in any way unusual?"

"More unusual than a man carrying a baby to term?" Eve asked, amused.

"I get your point" Young responded, "But TJ seems to think that the baby, well, YOU, are growing faster than a normal baby should and it would ease all our minds if you could tell us that that acceleration was normal for a… for this situation."

"I'm really sorry. I honestly have no idea why that should be happening. The crew have used the device to conceive many more times since I was born and I've never heard of anything unusual about the pregnancies. Other than the method of conception that is."

"Did your crew ever use the device on a man again? Was I the only one?"

"Yes" Eve said, "You were the only male pregnancy back on my Destiny. TJ wouldn't allow any more because the pregnancy was by nature 'high risk'. It was simply too dangerous to put a baby in a place it was never meant to be. Not that I'm not grateful."

Young looked at TJ.

"I'll take scans to confirm, but I'd say you're progressing at least twice or even three times the rate you should be" she said.

"Is the baby healthy?" Young asked.

"She seemed to be, but as I said, Sir. I think we should run a few extra scans. See if we can figure out what's happened."

"Dad?"

Eve's voice reminded Young that TJ's radio was still on.

"Yes, Eve?"

"It's probably good that you're already in the infirmary because I've decided to head over there myself."

"Eve, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Eve replied, "It's just that I think my water broke. Either that or I've gone and wee'd myself."

TJ grabbed the radio from Young, "Eve, stay right where you are I'll send someone to bring you in."

"Don't be ridiculous, TJ. I can still bloody walk! I'll be there in about five minutes" she hesitated, "Um, maybe ten."

"Rush…" TJ started, but the scientist was already on his way out the door.

"Well, Everett" TJ said, "It looks like we're in for another exciting day on Destiny."

"Yeah" Young agreed, "'er, TJ?"

"Yes?"

"I know this could all be difficult for you, because…"

"Because I lost my baby" TJ whispered.

"Yeah."

"It is hard" she started slowly, "but I think it will be good for me somehow. I'll always miss Carmen, nothing will ever change that. But I would so love to hold a baby in my arms again."

"You can have first dibs" Young said, placing his hand on TJ's face and wiping away her tears.

"TJ… will you marry me?" Young asked.

"Everett…"

"I know, I know my timing sucks. Let's face it, it always has, but damn it. TJ I love you!" Young said, speaking rapidly as if he was afraid of stopping, "and if you don't feel the same way or if there is someone else, than I need to know so that I can scrape myself off the deck and get on with my life."

"Wow" was all TJ managed for quite a while, "Are you sure this isn't the hormones talking?" she asked finally, "your readings for estrogen have risen over…"

"Again with the hormones! Can't a pregnant man declare his love in an infirmary without bringing hormones into it?"

TJ laughed and after a few seconds Young joined in.

"TJ, I know this isn't the time… but since you're the only other person I know who has been pregnant lately…" Young began, "I just wondered, when you were pregnant, did your nipples itch?"

"What?"

"That shouldn't be happening should it?"

"I honestly don't know, Everett. You're my first male pregnancy" TJ said trying to suppress a smile, "Maybe you should ask Volker, he hasn't complained about itchy nipples, but he may be just as embarrassed as you are to talk about it."

"I'll give him a call." Young promised.

"Yes" TJ said.

"Yes, I should call Volker and ask about his nipples?"

"Yes, as in, Yes I'll marry you…"