Chapter 12: Blood ties
"My Roddie's gonna be a daddy! I am so happy! Come here so I can kiss you!"
McKay gently tried to avoid asphyxia as his face was squeezed between May's two solid hands. When she'd finally covered her nephew with all the affectionate kisses she could, the scientist stood up with difficulty and threw a murderous look at his sister who was wearing an ear-to-ear smile.
"Thank you very much, Jeannie," he whispered sarcastically whilst passing in front of her. "I'm sorry, May, but we must go see Dr Callahan now or we'll be late.
"You better come back after, I mean both Jennifer and yourself" the old lady warned them friendly.
"Of course, May, don't worry… Besides, my friends will also be there with us too Ronon."
"Excellent! I'll be glad to see them again! …Dear God! I still can't believe you're gonna be dad!"
"I'll stay with her," Jeannie whispered to Rodney. "You can go, Meredith…"
OoooooO
The team, minus Jennifer and Rodney, walked down Whistler white streets, looking for a birthday gift for Ernest's sister; they couldn't afford to arrive empty-handed at the party, especially since they could be staying the night there. Passing through a small park, they met a couple of lovers who were holding hands. They looked so happy and carefree… Amelia smiled, casting them a glance as they passed by.
Ronon noticed her quick glance. Take her hand, act as a normal boyfriend, he thought. Take her in your arms and kiss her in the middle of the park…
"Ronon? Are you alright?" Amelia asked confused.
He had not realized he had slowed down his pace, almost stopping, while his three companions had continued their way. Why was love acting so difficult? Amelia was very important to him; he could not deny that. Actually, she was becoming more and more important every day. Plus there were signs: whenever Chuck was approaching her on Atlantis, Ronon could feel rage rising in his stomach slowly reaching his chest. Sometimes he could not help but look at her through the crowded corridors of the city. She was sweet, beautiful and intelligent. She was strong but also always on her guard, just like himself…
He quickly caught up with the rest of the group as they finally arrived before a small store which seemed to be the perfect place for all sorts of birthday gifts.
"Wow! This one looks perfect!" John exclaimed, brandishing a tiny baby T-shirt that read I LOVE GOLF in big red letters. "Sorry, miss, do you have it in a baby size 0? With the matching cap...?" he asked the saleswoman.
Witnessing John's enthusiasm, Teyla looked up to heaven.
"May I remind you, John, that we came here to find a gift Ernest's sister's birthday," she sighed.
It was Amelia, however, who found the perfect present: a beautiful and colorful wool shawl. While she and Teyla were gone to pay for the shawl, Ronon patted John's shoulder and pointed out through the window to two men talking on the other side of the street.
"Isn't it Ernest over there?" the Satedan asked.
"He sure looks a lot like him…"
The old Indian seemed to be engaged in a rather enlivened argument with younger than himself but also exceeding him in height by at least two heads. Seeing the younger man about to physically threaten their new friend, Ronon left the shop and hurriedly crossed the street, closely followed by John.
"A problem, Ernest?" John asked hastily, jumping in to intervene between the big guy and the Satedan, and also any unpleasantness that might ensue.
At that moment, he felt like a little slice of ham between two giant pieces of bread.
"'seems you have bodyguards now, Ernest?" the man said, defying Ronon's gaze over John's head.
"Just like yourself, Zack…" the sexagenarian replied, nodding his chin in the direction of two sinister-looking guys leaning against a 4x4 parked a little further away from them. "I see you still chose well your companions… Now, clear off! Leave this town. We have nothing to say to each other anymore," Ernest told him, ready to cross the street.
"You see, my dear uncle, unfortunately for you I'm not gonna ready to leave this town. In fact, I think I'll make a small appearance tonight at Aunt Lily's anniversary…"
Ernest returned to face him threateningly.
"I forbid you to cross the threshold of her house! You may have bamboozled some members of this family with your tricks, but I know what you really are! I keep my eyes on! I know it was you who stole Sam's totem. And for what reason, huh? To whom did you sell it? Some crook probably! Tell me, was it enough to pay your bookmakers? Your father would turn in his grave if he could see what you became!"
"Yeah, I missed the sermon! I'm the unworthy son, blabla… When was the last time you served me that one? I don't owe you anything, Ernest. If I sold something, that's because it was mine; mine to deal with, mine to do whatever I want to do with. Everything my wonderful father possessed belongs to me now and I don't have to justify anything I've done!
"It belonged to the entire family, as it has for generations!"
"Drab and uninteresting charms, Ernest! Pottery, necklaces… But we both know that we could make a lot of money if you weren't so stubborn…" Zachary Matthews whispered close to his uncle's face, not wanting our two Lantians to hear his words.
"That's enough now!" John snubbed the young Indian.
Zack abruptly turned towards the soldier, visibly annoyed by his GI Joe manners and by his hairy friend.
Amelia and Teyla chose that moment to join them, Torren's hands in theirs as their tried to learn him how to walk.
"Are we interrupting?" Amelia tried, feeling the electric atmosphere.
Seeing the women and the child, Zack flaunted a charming face and his best smile, as if everything was going well in the brave new world.
"Good evening, ladies! It is a pleasure to meet two women of such a breathtaking beauty, here, in Whistler! Let me introduce myself, I'm Zack Matthews."
And to everyone's surprise, he took Amelia's hand in an attempt to kiss it. The gesture had been too fast for the woman to react; but not for Ronon… The Satedan had rushed to smash his fist in Zack's jaw. Fortunately, John intervened in time to stop the confrontation. He noticed Ernest was trying to do the same with his nephew, but…
"Zack! No!"
Too late.
Shock and bewilderment immediately appeared on the young Indian's face as he touched Amelia's skin. The contact had felt like an electrical discharge.
He quickly dropped her hand and stared at her as if he had seen the Devil himself.
"Who are you?" he whispered, stepping back from her.
Then, he turned his gaze swiftly to his ill at ease uncle, seeking an explanation in the older man's face.
"Let's get going!" was the only response from the old Indian who abruptly pushed everyone to cross the road, leaving his nephew paralyzed and alone on the sidewalk.
OooooO
Breathe! Breathe! Hyperventilate! That's it, something's happening; the shock's passing… I can feel the hypoglycemia… Maybe I'll pass out – and wake up bandaged from head to toe like that guy in the next room! Oh, please, stop it, Rodney! My God! Jennifer is pregnant! Pregnant with your baby!
It's good! It's wonderful! It's fantastic! It's- My God! I'm panicking! No! A daddy! It's impossible! It's too early! The doctor said six weeks! Jennifer said something about a picnic…? I remember, I think… It was… a Tuesday evening…That'll teach me to plan a romantic dinner on the beach in the middle of her ovulation period! In addition to that, the only time we didn't use a…. Damn Cadman and her idea to play poker and make my girlfriend drunk! The result: an upset stomach and a pill that ended up in the toilet! No more doubts, it's the curse!
Ok, Rodney, stop it! It's not a curse! It's Jennifer! The woman you love! You're gonna be a father… You'll be responsible for the life of another human being… You will be responsible… HELP!
Jeannie entered the waiting room and saw her brother sitting prostrate in a chair, seemingly staring into a void of nothingness.
"Meredith, how did it go?" she calmly asked and took a seat beside him.
"Perfect! Everything's perfect! She had an ultrasound scan and we were able to see the… well, you know…"
He finally had been able to clearly see the ten millimeters developing life already floundering in Jennifer's protective lap. The only guess was the sex of the baby, but it was too soon. A head, sketches of arms and legs, and a tiny, wildly beating heart… The miracle of life.
Rodney's blood pressure had shot up during the scan, but in the same time he had felt some strange delight invading his body and soul. Thus, he found himself unable to budge his eyes from the sound scan's screen.
"Jen's taking another blood test. I'm gonna fill and sign some papers the hospital needs before we leave. That should kill the time until she comes back."
"So…? Everything's fine with the baby?"
"Fortunately. I control the situation perfectly. After all, Jennifer and I are responsible adults and as we are in love, a baby is …" He tried to display his most serene face, the face of a man who had always controlled the situation.
"Fine?" Jeannie replied.
"Fine," Rodney repeated.
A heavy silence settled between them.
"You know, Caleb spent the entire night sitting on our porch the day we learned I was pregnant."
"Really?"
"Neither of us had expected it to happen so soon. I was struggling to publish my third article on the spectral subspaces, Caleb had just received a negative response for a teaching post he coveted at the time, and there wasn't really much money to raise a baby. We had moved in the new house only a month before and…" She stopped and looked at her brother. "You, on the other hand, were probably already in a process of saving both our galaxies…"
"Probably…" Rodney replied with a chuckle.
Jeannie savored her victory: a ray of sunshine had finally appeared on her brother's face!
"He panicked, you know", she went on. "We sat outside for hours, wrapped in a blanket, just talking. I know it's ridiculous…" Her remembrance of that particular souvenir made her smile. She paused for a few seconds.
"Caleb felt so bad, so helpless… He wanted so much for us, for both of us… And suddenly everything was changing! He was afraid of not being a good father, not being up to it, not being able to provide for his family. He was just not prepared…"
Rodney remained silent. Not being up to it. That was exactly how he felt himself, and it was the first time in his entire life – or not… Remember your first P-90 shooting session! He thought.
Rodney had always accepted the fact he would never be an ace for physical activities, but it does not mean he had no talents whatsoever; he surpassed everyone regarding physics, astrophysics, math, or computing, etc. Babies though were an entirely new area…
Jeannie was trying to get him out of his nutshell; he knew her methods by heart. Yet it had always been difficult for him to deal and show his emotions, his feelings, in particular when they involved the people he cared about. Feelings had always seemed irrational for him and he didn't take the time to develop them, to learn their subtleties and the way to act upon them.
His relationship with Jennifer was a miracle. She was the woman of his life, the woman he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with! It seemed so obvious to him, now. She had helped him progress so much: he had finally managed to acknowledge his interest in her, he had learnt not to be afraid of being himself. As a matter of fact, that's probably what had made Jen's heart melt.
Ronon Dex had no chance at all against Rodney McKay. From the beginning, Jen's heart was Rodney's and vice versa. She was made for him: splendid, intelligent, funny. In one word, she was perfect… And now, she was giving him a child!
The lump in his throat tightened.
"What happened then?" he asked Jeannie, stammering out the words.
"We talked a lot, and finally we began to understand our reactions were absolutely normal. Maddie was the fruit of our love; she was going to be the most loved child in the world! She was loved even before she was born. Why do you think parents are so worried by the welfare of their unborn child? I'm sure you have your doubts, Rodney, but I'm also sure Jennifer has hers; she's probably more afraid than you are. And all this shows only one thing: you already are considering this baby, you already loving it…"
"Me, having doubts? Don't be silly!"
"Rodney…"
"OK, OK, I'm scared! Happy now? But Jennifer seems so calm, so self-assured… It's like… It's like she has all of this planned already. And… I feel like everything is drifting away from me; I'm afraid to become a terrible dad. You know me, I feel ill at ease with children all the time!" his own words made McKay's heartbeats quicken; he irrationally thought he would soon be suffering from tachycardia.
"Calm down, Mer. You should talk to her, about… this …you're feelings. Everything's gonna be OK for you both, you'll see. Besides, I'm confident that you'll make a very good father. A narcissistic, cynical, and incredibly insufferable hypochondriac one sometimes, but a wonderful father nonetheless…"
Jeannie slipped her hand into her brother's. Since she was back in his life, he reflected, she had always been there when he needed her. Even if he hadn't wanted to admit it at first, he had missed his sister a lot. He realized, at that very moment, how lucky he was to have her; she was sometimes maddening and obviously less intelligent than him, but still extraordinary.
"I'm not narcissistic", he replied somewhat offended, as usual. "In fact, I'm always right; it's not the same thing! And guess what? I just realized something!"
Jeannie chuckled.
"What? I'm ultimately the most sensible of us?"
"No, I realized that I'm still incredibly happy!"
OooooO
"I don't know about you, but I find this guy very unpleasant."
"Yep. I hope for his sake he doesn't come tonight," Ronon said.
"Anyway, Ernest was also quite strange… He's nice, but strange. Funny family, it seems… Well, we should get back to the hospital now. Keller asked some doctor to examine your wounded arm and she also wants me to have a head scan…"
"You can go ahead", Amelia replied pulling Teyla by the arm. "Teyla and I still have some shopping to do."
"You sure?"
"Yes, we have to buy one or two things for tonight," she explained, exchanging a look of complicity with the Athosian.
"Things like what?" Sheppard insisted.
"Things like evening gowns."
"Evening gowns? I look forward to that!" Ronon wondered, mocking.
"You know, there are women underneath those clothes. Did your military training make you forget that detail? We need to feel like woman, especially if there is a party. We'll take a gown for Jennifer too. Jeannie said she had what she needed. We won't be too long; I can see a promising shop over there."
"Can you watch after Torren?" Teyla asked, handing the boy over into John's arms.
Before he could make the slightest objection, the two women had already disappeared at the corner; he could hear them laughing.
OooooO
"Come in!" the old lady exclaimed, sitting up in her bed.
Ronon appeared in the doorway, Torren in his arms clutching with all his might to one of the Satedan's dreadlocks, and twisting it in all directions.
"Err… Glad to see you feel better… I thought maybe Jennifer or Jeannie were there?" he muttered, visibly distressed. Now, Torren began to reach for his beard.
May laughed.
"Give him to me." She pointed out the toddler. "And sit here a little; we'll talk while waiting for the girls. They'll be back before you know it. Have your friends ever let you down before?"
Some question, Ronon thought. For a second, Satedan Wraith-worshippers faces flickered in his mind eyes. He repressed them.
"Not yet", he replied. "Amelia and Teyla went down town to do shopping; they talked about evening gowns for Ernest's sister's birthday party. As for Sheppard, he said he was to call the base, but I'm sure he's also looking for something to wear tonight.
"Oh! I'd really love to come with you! That damn doctor forbade me to leave the hospital for at least two days! I can already imagine your friends looking dashing in their evening clothes; especially John. And the girls will wear something nice for sure; you all need to cheer up."
"So it seems… I never saw Banks wearing a dress before."
"So, what's going on between you two?"
Ronon looked down.
"We get along well."
"Oh, I see." May dropped the subject, momentarily, turning her attention to Torren, who was sitting in her lap. Finally, she asked, "How long ago did she die?"
Ronon froze confused. He looked at the old woman's perfectly serene face. He didn't understand the meaning behind the word at first, but suddenly, he realized who May was referring to.
It was hardly any of her business, and Ronon thought he should better leave the room. Yet, he did nothing and stayed put on May's bed.
The Satedan seemed to have developed affection for McKay's aunt. She reminded him of his grandmother; a strong, caring, and extremely intuitive woman. She had always known when something was bothering him.
"How do you…?"
"This ring in your hair", she pointed out again. "It's too small to be yours, dear. Oh, and let me just say, your apparent refusal to engage with such a charming woman as Amelia is a clear sign. She is in love with you, you know; and so are you - it shows in your eyes every time you take a look at the other… That, plus the sad and disillusioned face you wear… Only those who have experienced tragedy in the past can have your face; you seem so haunted… Do I need to say more?"
May had just touched the nerve. Ronon felt as though his bowels had turned cold and had to take a few seconds to reflect. Then he simply explained:
"It's been ten years now. An explosion in a hospital on my pl… In my country. She was nurse."
"You must have loved her immensely. But ten years is a much too long period to mourn and you are still so young… You can't just brush others' love and happiness because you fear to suffer again. Don't you see life is offering you another chance to be happy? It's an opportunity you cannot deny, it's rare. Do not let that gift pass you by."
May placed her hand over Ronon's. A soft sunbeam came to rest on Torren's cheek, tickling his skin with a warm touch, and his soft laughter resounded throughout the room.
TBC…