Chapter 20: A second child is born.
Teyla lay in her bed, somewhere between wakefulness and sleep.
She felt totally drained after giving birth to her son, but she knew that it wouldn't be too long and she would have to do it all again with her daughter; at least she hoped she was having a daughter, as that was what all of the scans had told them.
She was about to surrender to sleep when she heard a baby crying nearby. It took her addled brain a while to realise that the baby was her son. Opening her eyes, she looked around the room and noticed that John was sitting next to her with their son Tobias in his arms. He was beautiful and he was the splitting image of his father, except he had her brown eyes.
"John, how is he? She asked feeling worried that something may be wrong with him.
"He is absolutely beautiful sweetie; do you want to hold him?"
She was about to nod her head, when a contraction tore through her again, she really thought as if it was going to rip her apart this time. She moaned as John took her hand to help her find her centre as she rode it out.
Thirty seconds later the contraction had finished, so she looked around to see what was happening and noticed that John wasn't holding their son any longer.
"John where is Tobias?"
"Don't worry I left him with Carson. He will need to be fed soon, but it looks as if things have started up again, so Carson will give him a bottle if things take too long."
Nodding she felt tears brimming in her eyes, she really didn't want to have to use formula, but Carson had told her that she may not be able to make enough milk for two babies, which meant that she may need a combination of both formula and breast milk. Deep down she knew that it didn't really matter, as long as both of the children were healthy.
She didn't get a chance to think of anything else as another excruciating ripped through her abdomen. It seemed to go on for ever, but in reality, it only lasted thirty seconds.
She heard Jennifer come into the room when it was over and she guessed that her rest period was over.
"How long was I asleep Jennifer?"
"You're were asleep for about forty minutes." Jennifer answered smiling at her.
She nodded thankful that at least she'd had some rest, "how far apart were the contractions John?"
"Around seven minutes sweetie," he told her still holding her hand.
She turned to look at Jennifer and asked her, "has the baby dropped."
"Let me have a look and then I'll let you know."
Teyla lifted her legs and let Jennifer examine her, to see what was going on. She was actually of two minds, she badly wanted to rest, but she also wanted to meet her other child, so in the end she decided that it was probably better if she gave birth sooner rather than later.
"The head is engaged and ready, so hopefully the baby should start to bear down with in the next few contractions." Jennifer told her with a smile.
Looking around she saw that John was hovering over her and this time she felt comforted by his presence. She really needed him by her side right now.
It wasn't long before the next contraction stuck and this time she had an incredible urge to push. "Jennifer I really need to push right now!" She yelled.
"You can push now Teyla." Jennifer informed her.
She pushed as hard as she could and grabbed John's hand and squeezed it hard, unfortunately for John she actually heard bones cracking in his hand, "Sorry." She said to him when the contraction was over.
"Never mind Sweetie, I can see the head. It won't be much longer."
A minute later, another contraction hit and she pushed as hard as she could encouraged by her husband. "Push sweetie, it won't be much longer."
She squeezed his hand harder than she had the last time, but all she could feel was the all-encompassing pain she was in, she had absolutely no idea the amount of pain she was causing him.
"The head is out Teyla, it should only take one more push and then your baby will be here." Jennifer informed her with an encouraging smile.
Without warning the next centration hit and she grabbed John's hand again and pushed as hard as she could, the pain was excruciating, but then she had already had a baby less than an hour ago, so of course it was going to hurt.
She lay back on her pillows totally spent, she was glad that there were not more babies in there, because there was no way she was going to do that again; ever.
She was shocked out of her musings when Jennifer spoke to her. "It's time to meet your daughter Teyla."
Teyla was in tears as Jennifer placed the baby on her chest.
"Do you have a name for her?" Jennifer asked.
"Charin Elizabeth Sheppard."
"I need to take her and Carson will check her out to make sure everything is okay, while you deliver the placenta." Jennifer explained with a compassionate voice.
Teyla just looked at her friend in tears, "have I not already done that once today. Please do not make me do it again, as all I want to do is spend time with my babies and sleep."
"Don't worry it won't take long." Jennifer assured her.
"John why don't you give Charin to Carson, take a break and let Carson take a look at your hand."
He nodded and took Charin in his good hand and left the room.
Teyla watched as John left the room with her daughter, she was absolutely wiped, by the time she had delivered the placenta, so all she could do was lay there with her eyes closed while Jennifer cleaned her up. She really wanted to see her babies again and she wanted to try and feed them, but all she really felt like doing was sleeping.
"Why don't you get some rest, I'll send John in, in an hour with your children and you can try and feed them."
Teyla nodded and settled back into the nice soft pillows and it wasn't too long before she fell into a deep contented sleep.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
John headed out to see Carson with his daughter Charin, she was the splitting image of Teyla except for the hair, he was totally convinced that it was going to be as hard to manage as his.
"What have we here Laddie?" Carson asked as John entered the next room.
"Carson meet my daughter, Charin Elizabeth Sheppard."
"What a beautiful Lassie she is."
"Jennifer asked if you could check her over and while you're at it can you x-ray my hand, at the risk of sounding like Rodney, I think it may be broken. Teyla squeezed a little hard and I heard a few bones crack.
John handed Charin over and then went to look at his son, who was lying in a little crib in the corner of the room. Tobias seemed to be fast asleep, which was certainly a relief, because the last thing he needed was a screaming baby.
Almost as if she heard him, Charin decided that she needed to scream at the top of her lungs. Carson finished what he was doing and handed her over to him. John started to pace the room lightly rubbing her on the shoulder and within five minutes she was fast asleep. He laid her in the tiny crib next to her brother and walked over to Carson to see what he was up to.
"Okay laddie, everything looks fine with your children, so let me have a look at that hand." Carson suggested heading out of the room and motioning him to follow.
He stood and watched as Carson ran the ancient scanning device over his hand and was disturbed by the tutting sounds that he was making.
"Okay Doc how does it look?"
"It looks as if there are a few cracked bones, but I won't need to put it in a plaster. I will put it in a splint, to offer some extra support. You shouldn't have any problems helping with the babies, just try not to get it wet." Carson explained to him.
"Great can I contact Dave then and let him know that the babies have been born." He asked using his puppy dog eyes.
"If you wait I'll give you the details and you can let your brother know." Carson suggested.
"Thanks Carson."
Fifteen minutes later Carson had splinted his hand up and given him his earpiece, so he was able to contact Dave.
"John to Dave, come in please?"
"Go ahead John."
"The babies have been born and you have another nephew and a niece."
"What are their names?"
"Tobias Jason and Charin Elizabeth Sheppard."
"How much did they weigh and at what time where they born?"
"Tobias was born at 10:45, weighing 8 pound seven ounces and Charin was born a 11:55 weighing six pound six ounces."
"How is Teyla?"
"She's doing okay, but she is sleeping at the moment."
"Do you want me to tell Torren, or do you want to tell him?"
"You can tell him Dave and I'll let you know when you can bring him for a visit."
"Thanks John and congratulations, I'll see you soon, Dave out."
"See you soon John out."
John turned around and noticed that the cribs were no longer in the room he was in. He noticed Jennifer was walking past on the way to her office, so he went to ask her what was going on.
"Hey Doc, what have you done with my children?"
"Don't worry, I've just taken them in to be with Teyla and I've left Carson with them. I'm just on my way to tell Rodney and Ronon. Apparently, they have been sitting in the waiting room all morning."
He smiled at her and headed down the hall way to be with his family. The only person missing was Torren and he would allow Torren to come and see his new brother and sister, when Teyla was feeling a little better.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Dave finished his communication with John and thought about finding Torren, to let him know that he was now a big brother. Torren was still at day-care and he was expecting him home any minute for lunch, along with Jane, so he decided to make a cup of coffee. Although Jane was supposed to be working today, she had managed to swap with one of the other day-care teachers so that she could have to the day off.
He was in the middle of making coffee, when Jane came through the door and Torren ran up to him in excitement.
"Uncle Dabe, how is Momma, I big bother?"
"Yes, you are T.J, you now have a brother named Tobias and a sister named Charin."
"Cool Toby and Charlie. When can I see them?"
Dave chuckled it seemed that Torren seemed to like nicknames as much as his father did. He wondered if John had already shortened their names.
"I'm not sure when you can see them T.J. Daddy will let us know when Momma and the babies are ready to see people and you will be the first person to see them."
"Otay, what's for lunch?"
"I'm just making some sandwiches now, so why don't you wash up and sit at the table."
"Otay Uncle Dabe." Torren told him running off to the bathroom.
Dave was amazed at how well his speech was developed for an almost three-year-old. He was a very intelligent boy and Dave knew that he was going to be a great big brother.
He felt Jane's arms go around him, as he sat at the table ready to eat his lunch, "Congratulations, Dave you now have two nephews and a niece. Maybe we should start thinking of making you a father soon." She whispered in his ear.
He was totally embarrassed by the way she'd said it and was lucky Torren came in the room, before she had the chance to say anything else.
He put some sandwiches on his plate and sat enjoying his lunch, thinking about what Jane had said to him. He really wanted to be to be a father someday soon and he knew if he was half as good as Dad as John was, he would be happy, but for now he would enjoy being an uncle.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The next time Teyla awoke, she felt much less exhausted than she had before she fell asleep. She was tired and she hurt all over, but she felt much better than she had. Looking around the room she noticed that John was sitting beside her with a baby in his arms, the other was in a small crib next to him.
She looked up at John and found that he was gazing at their child. She noticed the blue blanket wrapped around the child in his arms and a pink blanket around the child in the crib, so she assumed that he was holding Tobias. She also noticed that the arm that wasn't around the baby had a splint on the wrist.
"John did I hurt your hand?" She asked in horror, as she didn't really remember squeezing that hard.
"Just a couple of cracked bones, don't worry about it, I'll be fine."
She really thought that she really needed to apologise to him, "I'm sorry."
"Would you like to hold Toby or Charlie? Jennifer also said that you should try and feed them when you wake up, if you want to."
She looked at him and raised her eyebrow. "Did you just give our children nicknames?"
"Sure, I can't call Tobias T.J, so I thought I'd shorten it to Toby and you've got to admit Charlie, is such a cute nickname for a girl?"
Teyla rolled her eyes at him, if John was happy to call their children by nicknames, he would let him, but she was going to use his full names for now.
"Well in that case I would like to try and feed Charin and Tobias."
She sat up in bed with two pillows beside her. She Carefully took Tobias of John and was amazed when he latched on and started to suckle. John helped her with Charin as well and very soon she was suckling as well. It was the most incredible feeling to finally be here feeding her children, with her husband beside her.
The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, as she and John sat and gazed at their children. John told her the size of the babies when they were born and she now knew why she was so tired after giving birth to Tobias. She was so glad that Charin was much smaller, as the thought of giving birth to another baby around the same size as Tobias freaked her out a little.
It was early evening, the babies were sleeping and she'd just had her dinner, John had gone back home to stretch his legs and pick up Torren to bring him to see his brother and sister.
Sitting alone she enjoyed the silence, it had been a busy day and she knew that these moments on her own would be rare for a while. She closed her eyes and thought about everything that had happened over the last couple of years and although her pregnancy had not been ideal, the birth of the twins had been problem free.
She was still tired, so now would be a good time to have a quick nap before John showed up with Torren. Closing her eyes, it wasn't long before she fell asleep.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
John entered his apartment to find that Dave, Jane and Torren had just finished dinner; he had just been to the mess hall for a quick bite to eat, so he hadn't really missed out on anything.
"Daddy!" Torren squealed, running towards him.
"Hey T.J, I really missed you pal. How was your day?"
"I a big brother now." Torren explained
"You sure are pal, would you like to go and see Momma and you brother and sister."
"See Toby and Charlie?"
He looked at his son suspiciously, "how did you know that's what I call them?
"That's what I call them." He answered his father and rolled his eyes.
John looked at Dave wondering what was going on, could it be that he and Torren spent so much time together that they had begun to think alike.
"Great minds think alike John," his brother told him with a smile.
John nodded and grinned at his brother, before picking up Torren and talking to Dave, "Do you and Jane want to come by in half an hour and pick up Torren and meet Toby and Charlie?"
"We'd love to." Jane answered before Dave had a chance to say anything.
John left the apartment and headed to the infirmary with Torren. He could tell that his son was excited, because he just kept on talking about nothing, which he usually did when he was excited about something.
A few minutes later when they arrived in the infirmary Teyla was still asleep and the babies were still asleep in their cribs.
"Me hold them Daddy?"
John looked down and noticed that Charin was starting to wake up. He bent down a picked her up hoping that she wouldn't start to scream and disturb her mother and brother.
He was relieved when she remained quiet and tried to focus on her father. "How about you sit down T.J and I'll put Charlie in your arms."
Once he was sure Torren was sitting down, he placed Charlie into his arms and he was amazed by what he saw. Torren was quietly talking to his sister and telling her about his day and Charlie was trying to focus on him.
He was so mesmerised watching Torren and Charin that he didn't even notice that Teyla was watching the scene in front of her, until she spoke.
"I am so glad to see you Torren, what do you think of your new sister?" Teyla asked him with tears brimming in her eyes.
"I luh her Momma." Torren explained looking up at her.
"Can I hold her, while you hold Tobias?" Teyla asked her son.
John took Charin off him and passed him to Teyla. He then looked down at the other crib and noticed that Tobias had opened his eyes. He looked ready to open his mouth and start to scream, so John bent down to pick him up. Walking around the room he patted his new son on the back until he started to settle.
Once the baby had settled and he was sure that Torren was sitting down, he placed him in his arms and watched as Torren looked down at him with as much love as he had his sister.
"I luh Toby, Daddy."
"John!" Teyla exclaimed from the bed, he turned to her and then she continued on, "have you been telling our son to use nicknames for his brother and sister."
John put on his best puppy dog eyes and he replied, "no I haven't sweetie, Torren came up with the same nicknames as I did." He shrugged, "you know what they say don't you?"
"What? She asked rolling her eyes at him.
"Great minds think alike," he chuckled looking at Torren who was talking to his brother.
Torren gazed into his brothers face for a bit longer, before he announced that his arm was getting tired. John was just taking Toby off him when Dave and Jane entered the room.
"Hello little brother," Dave greeted him, "is that my new nephew?" He asked looking at the baby in John's arms.
"Sure is, this is Tobias or Toby for short." He told him placing the baby in his brothers' arms.
"Jane would you like to hold Charin?" Teyla asked her sister in law and handed the baby to her.
"She's beautiful, just like her mother!" Jane exclaimed looking into the baby's face.
John looked at Jane holding his daughter and smiled, she was certainly right about how beautiful Charin was.
Dave and Jane stayed a while longer and then it was time for them to take Torren home to bed.
"Come on T.J it's time for bed? You can come and see your brother and sister tomorrow if you'd like too." Dave told him.
"Night, Toby, night Charlie," Torren said kissing his brother and sister on the top of their heads.
"I luh you Momma and Daddy," Torren told his parents as he kissed them as well.
"I love you darling." Teyla told her son.
"I love you too pal." John told him and hugged him tight.
John stood and watched his son and brother walk out of the room hand in hand and Jane followed, when they were gone he turned around a looked at Teyla trying to feed both of the babies at once.
"Here let me help you Teyla," he suggested, helping her get the babies into the right position.
Once they were in the right position and busy suckling he sat and watched totally in awe of what was going on. It was the most beautiful thing in the universe watching his wife feed his babies, the babies that he had created with her.
When Teyla had finished feeding them, he changed both of their diapers, he sat cuddling Toby and Teyla had Charin. They were both hoping to get them settled, so that they could both get some sleep. No such luck though, just as they were wanting to put the babies into their cribs, Carson entered the room with Rodney and Ronon in tow.
"I hope you don't mind, but these two insisted on seeing the babies and they refused to leave until they saw them." Carson explained looking at his feet.
John knew that he was feeling guilty, because that's what Carson always did, when he was guilty or hiding something.
Sighing he looked at Teyla and she nodded her consent, "Come in but can you please be quiet we've just settled them."
"This is Tobias Jason Sheppard," John said showing them the baby in his arms
"And the lovely little girl with Teyla is our daughter, Charin Elizabeth Sheppard."
"Did you name her after Elizabeth Weir?" Rodney asked peering into the baby's face.
It was Teyla who answered the question, "Yes Rodney we named her after two people who were very important to us. Charin, as you know was the person who raised me after my father died and Elizabeth was the person who wanted John along on this mission, which unltimately led to John and I meeting one another."
"So, Tobias is named after your ancestor and his son, right?" Ronan asked in his deep low voice.
"That's right Chewie, I wanted to honour Tobias, because he started fighting for what we are still fighting for today.
"You know you can't call him T.J. right?" Rodney told him staring Tobias.
"Yes, I know Rodney that is why I'm calling him Toby, but everyone else can call him Tobias," John told him firmly.
John stifled a yawn, they hadn't really had much sleep since Teyla had awoken at 0200 hours that morning and now it was 2000 hours and he felt totally exhausted, so he knew that it was time to try and get Rodney and Ronan out of the room.
"Okay guys, you've seen the babies, so now it's time to let us get some sleep."
Rodney looked as if he was about to protest, but before he had a chance to do so, Ronon grabbed him by the arm and led him out of the room.
At last they were alone with their sleeping children, so John made sure that both babies were in their cribs. Once they were safely sleeping he went over to Teyla and kissed her on the lips.
"Thank you for giving me three such wonderful children," he said with tears brimming in his eyes.
"Thank you, John, for being such a wonderful father to Torren and I am absolutely sure you will be a wonderful father for Tobias and Charin too."
"You're welcome Sweetie. Now how about we get some sleep, before these two wake up again and want to be fed.
"Goodnight then honey," She told him with a smile.
He curled up on the bed next to Teyla's and closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. It had been and exhausting day for him, but he couldn't imagine what Teyla had gone through. Thinking back to everything that had happened over the last ten weeks, he was thankful that the babies were here and the birth had gone well. Things could have been far worse, some crazy bitch had held him hostage after hitting him with a car and then when he was being rescued by his team, she had shot him. Teyla had gone into premature labour at that point and then she'd had to spend the last eight or nine weeks of her pregnancy in bed.
When he thought about how things could have gone, he shuddered and settled his mind thinking about his family and what was to come, it wasn't long before he fell into a deep contented sleep.
TBC…