AN: waves to you all. Hubby says thanks for the birthday
wishes, and here's what you've been waiting patiently for. I hope
it doesn't dissappoint!
Not the Daddy…part 29
Pregnancy clock: The Big Event
"Get him on the bed," Beckett ordered, standing back.
Sheppard let himself be helped, and prayed for fast acting drugs – super drugs, even, because this was the part he didn't want to know about, and wouldn't even mind Beckett putting him under for the duration.
Alicia, the nurse that seemed to have taken him on as her personal mission, began to strap the belts around his waist. Convenient he was already in scrubs. He hadn't had a chance to change and shower like he'd wanted to.
John flinched when the cold jelly from the heart monitor touched his flat stomach.
Rodney mistook it for something else. "Another one starting?" He glanced at his watch – "That's soon, way too soon."
"No," grunted Sheppard. "The gel is cold."
McKay's face wrenched into comical disbelief. "You're about to have a baby, and you're flinching at cold gel?"
"If you want to trade places, I won't stop you," muttered Sheppard. He sought out Beckett's concerned face and said, "You promised drugs, Doc. Good drugs. Now would be good. In fact, before the next one hits."
Alicia finished adjusting the belts, and the steady rhythmic beat of Traitor's heart filled the room. She adjusted the volume to where it could be heard, but not overwhelm conversation. She then pulled a tray over with an IV kit, and tugged gently on Sheppard's right arm. "This will only take a minute, Colonel."
"And then I get my drugs?"
Beckett was looking really uncomfortable, and suddenly Sheppard had an intense urge to get off the bed, and run from what was about to happen.
"About that," Carson cleared his throat. "You've got a concussion, son. And, I gave you a wee bit of pain medication earlier. I'd like to hold off for now. We won't be able to give you much, and going off a hunch, I'd say you'll need it more towards the end than now, when labor's barely begun."
Barely begun? That contraction he'd just had felt like the end to him.
"You never listened when I tried to get you to practice your breathing techniques," McKay reminded Sheppard. "But, fortunately for you, I did do my homework as labor coach, and as long as you listen – you can follow basic directions, because I've seen it – this shouldn't be too hard."
Rodney was lucky, because Teyla arrived with Dreya in tow, and distracted him from wrapping his hands around McKay's neck.
Dreya didn't seem to be uncomfortable, or scared out of her mind, like John was sure he looked like – because he was.
She greeted Carson warmly, and allowed Alicia to take her off to get changed, but before she went, she stopped briefly at his bed and grabbed his hand. "This is it, John. Thank you, for being there – for being here now. I needed you, more than you'll ever know." Her face was so serene, but serious. She put John's hand on her belly, and even as he felt Traitor kick in his own, he felt it under his hand, and she added, "We needed you."
He didn't know what to say, and Dreya must have felt nothing was necessary, because she let Alicia lead her to a private area to change out of her clothes and into a gown.
That was one benefit - they hadn't stuck him in one of those ridiculous open-back gowns. There wasn't any need to be checking on him down there, like they'd have to do with Dreya.
"Get ready," cautioned Rodney softly, seeing the tracing needle begin to rise on the contraction monitor.
John was about to ask why, when he felt the telltale tightening start, and he reached for Rodney's hand, trying to fight back the nervousness. It strengthened, and grew painful, and he tried to focus on McKay, but soon the twisting pain just swept him away, and he prayed it'd end soon.
At some point, the contraction eased, and he now he did focus on McKay. Rodney had paled, and Sheppard called frantically for Beckett or Alicia, or someone!
McKay was going to pass out, and the man was already on crutches, the last thing he'd need would be a matching concussion.
Ronon had been leaning against the wall, observing everything, and jumped forward, catching Rodney in time to keep him from hitting the floor head first. "McKay?" Ronon called, looking at the physicist's slack face. "You okay?"
"He's having a baby," McKay said, thunderstruck. He let Ronon move him into a chair. "Oh my god," a massive grin broke through the numb expression and he looked at John, then Ronon. "We're having a baby!"
Teyla and Beckett came over, following as Alicia helped Dreya into a bed next to Sheppard, and began to hook her to the monitors. Traitor kicked and rolled against the constriction. The dual-bumps sounded on both heart monitors.
"She's having a baby," contradicted Sheppard, pointing a finger at Dreya. "I'm just along for the ride." He wasn't sure he was clarifying for McKay or himself. Because suddenly, the thought of a C-section, seemed mighty good.
Carson looked ready to give him some trite advice about the situation, but he settled for just looking amused. He waited till Alicia had Dreya settled, then said, "All right, then, let's see where your cervix is at, shall we?"
Sheppard hoped it was ten. He knew ten was the magic number. He heard Beckett draw the curtains around Dreya's bed, and listened in to the soft conversation, and he was just turning to ask McKay if he'd recovered his senses when he felt something wet, and cold intrude down below, but there wasn't any 'down below' like that in him, and he almost came off the bed in shock.
He looked around panicked. McKay was frowning at him, Ronon looked puzzled, and Teyla got this big round 'Oh' on her face. Oh, is right. This can't be happening. He looked desperately towards the curtain. "You're done, right Doc – you're done, now!" but it came out strangled, and he doubted Beckett could hear it over the heart monitors thudding, and the conversation he was having with Dreya.
Rodney finally got what it was, and leaned towards him whispering, "You can feel Carson's hands," he coughed awkwardly, "up…there?"
Sheppard retorted, "There is no 'up there', McKay!"
Everyone noticed he didn't deny it. Finally, he felt the fingers withdraw, and he found his muscles relaxing again. When Beckett was done, he was going to get told, in no uncertain terms, that kind of thing was going to be severely limited during Dreya's labor. As in, not ever again. It didn't matter if it was unreasonable. That was a sensation that he never should've been subjected to.
The curtain was pulled back, and Beckett walked out, pulling off a surgical glove and tossing it in a trash can. "She's dilated to four now, so definitely a good sign that this is it," he announced.
Carson took in the horrified look on Sheppard's face, almost matched by Ronon, and the shocked look on Rodney and Teyla, and noticed how high up on the bed Sheppard suddenly was. "You felt that?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"Don't do it again," Sheppard said instead of admitting anything.
It was a toss-up who looked more surprised, Carson or Dreya. She was blushing furiously in the bed, and John had to admit, that was probably more of a bond than she'd bargained for.
"Aye, I'm sure you'd rather I didn't, and judging from the lass, same for her, but neither one of you get a choice in the matter."
He wanted to argue, but Beckett had that look on him, and he knew this was a no-win situation. However, the prying eyes could go, and he was acutely aware now of how many eyes there were. Extra medical staff hanging around, finding things to do nearby, Ronon and Teyla – and while he appreciated the support, this was fast growing a little too personal for him. He looked over at Rodney, and McKay's chin jutted out.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said firmly. "I'm your labor coach, and you might as well accept that we're about to know more about you than you'd ever want."
Teyla looked regretfully at Dreya. He knew they were close. Shit. He really didn't want to be an ass about this. John's eyes shifted to Ronon, and just then Elizabeth hurried into the infirmary, searching for him. Her eyes latched on to his, and she smiled, making a straight line to John's bed.
Sheppard came to a decision and looked at everyone, except McKay. "You can stay, for a while – but when Doc does those checks, nobody but my…labor coach," he practically choked on the words, "stays."
"John," Elizabeth said. "How are you feeling, ready for the big day?" She clapped her hands together in excitement, but tried to keep it low key, and failed miserably. "I know how eager you are to be back on the mission schedule."
Oh, she was good, Sheppard thought. Take the focus off of the hell directly ahead, and shift it to the prize just out of reach.
He grunted, and then McKay was taking his hand again, and saying, "Breathe this time, don't try to hold it in. Come on, slow and easy, in and out – Sheppard, nobody is going to laugh at you for breathing, would you just do it!"
John gritted his teeth, and latched on to McKay, to the bed rails, and fought against doing the stupid breathing, but almost on it's own, he took a slow breath in, and let it out, and did it again, and he heard Teyla whispering the same to Dreya.
His world narrowed to the breathing, and the twisting pain. Just when he thought he couldn't go a minute more, it began to ease.
"Another deep breath," instructed McKay. He heard Teyla say the same to Dreya.
Sheppard reluctantly did it, but when he looked up, and saw Elizabeth watching with concern, he wished he hadn't. This wasn't going to be easy. Everyone wanted to be there. And, as much as he'd put them all through, he could give them a little –
"I'm fine," he asserted. "I can do this." So, why were his insides quaking?
Elizabeth accepted his statement. She looked past him to Carson. "How long do you think it will be? And, how is this going to affect his concussion?"
Beckett sighed, folding his arms around his chest. "Concussion won't affect anything, except a headache, though the small amount of pain medication I'm willing to risk should at least help with that. Labor, you're guess is as good as mine. These things can take a while, or they can go quickly. First time mothers tend to have longer labors, twelve to twenty hours, hard to say right now."
Dreya looked apologetically at John. "I'm sorry, but my people are not known for having short labors."
And why didn't that surprise him?
"Did you pack a labor bag?" Beckett asked, and he looked at both Dreya and John.
A labor bag? Sheppard frowned, and looked at McKay, who glared back. "Why are you looking at me?"
"You assigned yourself as my labor coach, you should've thought about that."
"I did," Dreya spoke up to be heard over the two men. "Teyla, did you bring the bag?"
The Athosian nodded, and reached behind the bed where Dreya had been put, and withdrew a canvas tote. "I brought some clothes, and pillows, and things for the baby to wear."
"You might be needing more. Some hard balls to roll against your back, candy to suck on when your mouth goes dry, that sort of thing," said Beckett.
Sheppard started tuning out the conversation. They were all settling in for the long haul, and his mind was screaming no way was he going to be doing this for twenty hours. Heck, even two seemed like one too many right now.
Traitor moved suddenly, and he felt a sharp pressure down below that made him gasp, and then a warm wetness began to spread. If it'd been possible for him to move as quickly as he did just then, he hadn't known, but he jerked so fast up towards the head of the bed, and looking under the blankets, that all eyes turned to him.
Dreya made a soft 'oohh' and Beckett seemed torn between who to turn to, Dreya or Sheppard, but John solved his problem, "Her, go to her!" because his bed wasn't wet, it was just his mind making those stumbling interpretations of the bond. He'd felt the wetness, but it wasn't there.
Unsettled, he allowed Elizabeth to push his shoulder's back down, and Rodney helped raise the bed so he could sit more comfortably.
"Lass, your water broke, that's all, we'll get you cleaned up – this is good, with the water broken, the contractions will be more effective."
Sheppard was listening to Beckett, the nurse, and Teyla as they helped Dreya get changed, and the bed fixed, but he was withdrawing inward, because this was way more connected than he'd thought it'd be. He'd felt Beckett give her an internal, felt the water break – and he wasn't getting the drugs he was promised. Screw the concussion, he wanted numbness, now!
"Doc, you've got to do something. I really, really can't do this," he suddenly said.
Rodney scooted his chair over, and tried to calm him. "Colonel, you're a soldier, you've faced down wraith, you can't tell me that a little thing like having a baby is going to beat you? You can do this."
Sheppard grabbed McKay's jacket and said desperately, "No, no I can't."
But the next contraction took away any doubts that he was going to do it, whether he liked it or not.
The next few hours passed just like that. He'd recover from one, and look over to see that Dreya was handling it better than he was, and manage to get a hold of himself, only for another to start. Somewhere along the way, Elizabeth had murmured something about having to get some work done, but that she'd be back, and Ronon had left to do a scheduled training session with some of John's men.
That left Beckett, Alicia, Rodney, and Teyla. Teyla and Alicia were helping Dreya, while Beckett and Rodney focused on him.
"This has got to be almost over?" he pleaded.
McKay snorted, "It's only been a few hours."
Carson looked at his watch. "It's about lunch time." He got up from where he'd been sitting beside Sheppard and waved at Alicia. "Let's get some vitals, and an internal to see how her cervix is progressing."
John couldn't help the groan that escaped, but Carson put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'll try to make it quick, Colonel."
Beckett wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his arm, and took his temperature, noting the numbers and not looking happy at his blood pressure. "It's higher, which is to be expected with the stresses of labor, but we're going to have to monitor this closely."
Carson moved over to Dreya when he was finished, and Sheppard looked cross-eyed at McKay. "I hate this," he hissed. "This is all your fault."
Rodney had been half dozing in the brief lull, and being useless while Carson did that doctor thing, but now he sat up and wondered, "How is this remotely my fault?"
"Because you let me catch her, instead of you. Maybe if it'd been you, she would've sensed your gene, and been happy with it. Then this would be you, and I would be sitting there, and everything would be just fine!" he growled, and it cut-off into a high pitched gurgle, because Carson was sticking his fingers again where they didn't belong, and try as he might, he couldn't keep from scooting up the bed. As if that'd help.
Right as Beckett was messing around with Dreya's insides, and conversely, his insides, a contraction started. He'd thought they'd been bad before, this was a whole new delight. "Get your damn hands out of her!" he shouted.
"I'm trying, bloody hell, do you not think this hurts my arm!" bellowed Carson back through the privacy curtain.
Sheppard didn't care if it hurt his arm. Served him right for sticking it up there anyway. God, and there were people who did this for a living?
Rodney had leaned forward again, and was trying to soothe him into being human, but that wasn't going to happen. "Just shut up, McKay," he seethed, gritting his teeth. Oh, god, this hurt. He closed his eyes, and tried to wrap his hands around the source of the pain, but as it wasn't even there, he wound up just groaning through it.
It seemed like an eternity, but it was only about seventy seconds, according to Rodney, but Beckett was back, and he was trying to ease Sheppard's pain by talking quietly, and joining with Rodney in a mantra to hang on, breathe, and it was almost over now.
As soon as Sheppard could breathe again, he looked over and noticed Dreya looked even a little pale from that one. He was getting the brunt of it, from the bond, and taking most of the pain, but even the left-overs from that had rocked her.
"I'm so sorry, John," she whispered, getting a taste at how bad the pain was for him. "I don't want you to hurt like this."
"You can pay me back later," he promised. It wasn't her fault that an infiltrator had given him a concussion and assured that he couldn't have the blissful option of being drugged to the gills. That guy was lucky he killed himself, because the way Sheppard was feeling right now, he'd gladly do it again for him.
Easing John's shoulders back against the pillow, McKay looked across to Carson. "Please tell me she's almost fully dilated, because I don't think my hand can take much more of this."
The quick negative shake from Carson made John want to weep. "Not there, yet?" he asked weakly.
"She's at a five, which means, it's moving slow. How do you feel about going for a walk, Colonel?"
Walking? "Doc, I don't have a cervix to dilate, what good would walking do?" he asked, thoroughly exasperated with the whole thing.
"Son, I know this isn't a picnic for you, but from all we can tell, what you do, affects her pregnancy. You had the labor pains start first every time. We treated you with medication and bed rest, and it kept the baby nice and happy in her belly. I know this is crazy, believe me, I know – but that's the way it is. Now, you can stay in that bed, and keep insisting it won't help, and this can drag on for another ten or twenty hours, or you can get up and move, and try to get this labor progressing!"
Dreya was already throwing back the blankets. "I shall walk with you, John," she vowed.
Carson was two steps to her, and then tossing her blankets back in place and saying, "You will do none of the sort, Lass. Your water's broke, and the baby is still high. The cord could prolapse and potentially be fatal for the baby. Stay put!"
She settled back, intimidated, but cast a longing look Sheppard's way.
"It's okay," he assured her. Traitor had made it this far, he didn't want to do anything to risk the baby's life. "I'll walk – willingly," he added. "But Rodney's going to have to come with me."
McKay looked at his crutches in dismay. He sighed, and picked them up. "How long?" he asked Carson, resigned to the task ahead.
"Two hours, then come back for a check." The doctor smiled slightly. "I doubt the colonel wants to be walking when I check Dreya's cervix."
Sheppard's forehead smoothed back in agreement. "No, the colonel does not want to be walking when you stick those fingers -"
"Ah, we'll, just be going now," said Rodney, pulling Sheppard while balancing on his crutches. As they made slow progress to the door, Sheppard moving awkwardly due to the pregnancy and dragging the IV pole, and McKay with his crutches, Rodney whispered under his breath, "You might want to consider being more tactful to the man who will be delivering the baby."
"Tactful?" whispered Sheppard back, as they cleared the doors. "He's enjoying this, I know it!"
Rodney chuckled. "Please, Sheppard, we are all enjoying this – well, most of it. I will admit seeing you in that much pain is beginning to cause an ulcer. I can feel the stomach acid building inside."
"Great. Join the club," he muttered back fiercely, before his feet slowed, and he felt a crushing pain down below. Damn it, that HURT. It felt like Traitor's head was being slammed against his prostate, because that was all that was down there for his mind to synthesize with. He couldn't hold back the moan, and he collapsed against the wall, bending slightly with the contraction. "I can't believe women do this willingly," he gasped.
Rodney got behind John, and let his crutches lean against the same wall, and started to rub the middle of John's back. "Does that help?" He was balanced precariously with his casted leg bent at the knee, and his shoulder touching the wall enough to keep him from falling over.
Sheppard tried to breathe through it, and nodded. "A little," he grunted. It took all he had to keeping from saying 'not enough'.
Once it was over, John straightened, and reached around to hand McKay his crutches. "How much longer?" he asked crossly.
"About 115 minutes," McKay answered equally cross. "We just cleared the infirmary doors."
Knowing that Rodney's leg was probably starting to hurt, Sheppard felt a small amount of sympathy, but then the thought of how long the remaining 115 minutes were going to be intruded, and he wished that he could fast forward time. He also lost the sympathetic edge.
The next one hundred and fourteen minutes did pass incredibly slow, and full of a lot of pain, for both Sheppard and McKay. By the time they made their way through the infirmary doors, all John wanted to do was drop in the bed, curl up, and pass out till this was over. Walking had made the contractions harder, all right, so hard he looked down every now and then to check that there really wasn't a baby coming out. His groin ached, and he didn't care what anyone said, he wasn't going to talk about it.
McKay was limping behind, the crutches having caused sore spots under Rodney's arms, and he knew McKay's leg was aching from hanging in the air so long. Sheppard had guilt, and in his position, he shouldn't have to feel guilt along with everything else. And his head hurt like a bitch.
In fact, the pain medication Beckett had talked about having 'a little later', he wanted it now. As in yesterday. Two days before yesterday.
"I see you made it back in one piece," greeted Beckett pleasantly.
Teyla was sitting next to him, and they were by Dreya's side. "Colonel," Teyla said, bobbing her head.
Dreya's face was flushed, and she looked like the past two hours hadn't been all walks in the park and giggles for her, either. "John," she said tiredly. "It has been a long two hours. Are you holding up well?"
His instinct was to snap 'no', he was not holding up well, and would someone shoot him now – but he saw the worried look, and sighed. "I'm holding."
Carson climbed out of his chair, and guided Sheppard back to his bed. "There were some good contractions during your walk, so I think it did some good."
McKay followed clumsily, and tossed the crutches to the floor when he got into his chair. "I want drugs, Carson. I need drugs. I think my leg broke again."
Beckett peered around John's body, and smiled wryly. For once he didn't think McKay was over exaggerating. "I'm sure it does feel like it, but remember, you were the one insisting on being his labor coach."
"That was before I broke my leg," McKay said irritably. "Besides, it's worth it. Just, give me something to make it all numb again, and I'll be good to go. How long has it been anyway, shouldn't the baby be getting ready?"
"It isn't like the wee one has his bags packed and waiting at the door, Rodney," chided Beckett. But, he did wave to Alicia and murmur to her orders for pain reliever, for both men. "It won't do much but take the edge off, Colonel, but it should help your head I imagine."
"How long has it been, Doc?" asked Sheppard. He was finally settled again, monitors on, and the steady thudding of the heart was echoing dually in the room. The bed felt like heaven after his forced march through the halls. At least they hadn't run into anyone except for a few soldiers who knew better than to stop and talk to him.
"It's been about six hours since active labor kicked in." Carson headed towards Dreya but cast a warning over his shoulder, "Internal check, Colonel, then we'll take vitals."
Sheppard closed his eyes. And instead of dreading the invasive feel, he prayed that Dreya had progressed, because as long as her body didn't cooperate, he was stuck. He barely flinched at the cold sensation below, and tried not to yelp at the poking that wasn't even possible in his body.
Beckett shouted, "Seven centimeters, Colonel, well done!" Then quieter to Dreya, "It's coming along, Lass, not much more now."
He felt like crying in relief. Progress. Hard-earned progress, but there all the same.
Elated, he took the pain relief, and didn't even complain when Carson took his blood pressure twice, and made him lay on his left side. "It's higher than before, Colonel – this should help. Next step is to start the mag drip, again, but this time it'll be for your pressure. And, I'm afraid we need to start a catheter. I'm worried you're developing a condition called pre-eclampsia. We need to monitor your urine output, and make sure you aren't spilling proteins."
"Doc," he caved and whined. He'd kept from complaining earlier, but this was too much. "You can't be serious?"
"Aye, I'm serious."
Dreya's face reflected sorrow, and the pain that they were both enduring now, and Sheppard suddenly wished they were laboring in two different rooms, so he could rant and bitch all he needed to, without worrying about her feelings.
"Dreya, it's okay. I don't resent you, really. I just – need to complain sometimes."
She looked like she wanted to believe him but, "When I bonded you, we'd never had a bond like this that I knew of. I did know the stronger the code, the easier the pregnancy is for the woman, but I didn't know why. John, I'm so sorry, I didn't know that you'd take so much on so that I could avoid these miseries."
Rodney was nodding off, taking a brief nap, and Sheppard knew he only had a moment or so before another contraction interrupted them. He needed to get Dreya to accept this was a partnership now. "I know I didn't want this in the beginning. I know I was angry, resentful, and frankly, if someone had given me an out back then, I would've taken it," he paused, and made sure she was looking at him. "But I wouldn't now – as much as this hurts, and I'm whining and I'm gonna keep whining, I'll tell you that right now, I wouldn't back out. I want this. It took a while, but I care, and I'm glad to be a part of your life and Traitor's – the baby," he said passionately, and he could tell that finally he'd gotten through to her.
"You won't hate me?" she asked with a hint of a smile.
"I won't hate you," he said, then amended, "Well, I might be slightly…disgruntled…in about," he looked at the contraction strip, "five seconds." And he already felt the muscles getting ready for a kick in the pants.
Teyla got ready to help Dreya cope, and Sheppard reached over for McKay's hand, startling Rodney out of his stupor. "Another one?" Rodney mumbled, trying to sit up without falling down.
After he'd managed to make it through the contraction, Alicia drew the privacy curtain, and quickly administered the catheter, and got him back on his left side. Sheppard kept rubbing where he could feel Traitor's body, and thinking it was almost over. And he'd never have to do this again. Ever. Because if they wanted to go back to Eradia to visit, meaning Dreya and the baby, they could go with someone else – maybe McKay. Rodney still wanted to get his hands on the tech, they'd made little progress there since McKay had been hovering over him from the time of the bonding onward.
But he wasn't going a thousand light years near the planet. Knowing his luck, the word about his super gene had gotten out, and they'd be on the prowl –
"Aagh!" he shouted.
"Sorry, sorry!" exclaimed McKay. He pulled the wet rag back from Sheppard's head. "I thought the water was warmer."
John hardly had enough energy to care. He settled for scowling, and tried to get more comfortable on his side. It was getting hard. And then another contraction kicked in, and he found himself scrambling for Rodney's hand anyway.
The pain medication Beckett had given him made him sleepy, and in between contractions, he dozed, only waking enough to beg McKay to help him during the worse part, before it eased and he found himself dizzily dozing again.
He knew the lights had been turned down low, and the amount of personnel allowed near drastically reduced, but other wise, it was mostly a blur. McKay would say something, and he'd try to reply, but his words slurred and he drifted back into a doze.
At some point Elizabeth and Ronon came back, and Elizabeth spelled Teyla so she could get some dinner, while Ronon started to offer for McKay, but Rodney shook his head, and gestured at the lightly sleeping colonel, mouthing 'he needs me'.
Ronon jerked his head in acknowledgement, but went with Teyla to bring back a tray for him.
The pain medication wore off in time for Sheppard to feel Beckett giving Dreya another cervical check. He didn't even blink through it. He was beat. The contractions were sapping his energy, and the pain medication had been a great help but made him too loopy to even care about the pain that it didn't quite take care of.
Carson came around the curtain, and tossed his gloves, and he wasn't smiling. Sheppard rolled his head towards Rodney, then back to Beckett. "Doc?" he asked tiredly.
"Eight, eight and a half if I'm being generous," he said gruffly. "I warned you things could go slow."
"How long has it been?" That announcement was more than disappointing. He'd thought she'd be at least a nine. The contractions had sure felt like they were doing more. If he could go walking again –
"Since labor started, over twelve hours." Beckett scrubbed weary hands over his face, settling on his stubble. "And you can't walk, not with your pressure up and a catheter in, so don't ask."
Rodney got up from his chair, holding his leg off the ground, and arched his back, trying to stretch. "What now? That's hardly any progress?" he asked Carson.
"We wait. If she doesn't get to at least a nine in another two hours, then I'll think about intervening."
Sheppard closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry, son. Hang in there. Another day, and this will be a memory, and the wee baby will be here and worth the trouble."
A contraction started, and ended the conversation. It took all John had to get through it without begging – well, maybe he did beg, once, for Rodney to shoot him. But anything said during the throes of a contraction were nullified, so he was good.
When it was over, Alicia was back, and started to take his blood pressure.
"Isn't your shift over?" he asked. Though he was kind of glad she'd stayed. Like McKay, she'd been there from the beginning. She was caring, professional, and didn't act like he was possessed or crazy.
She nodded, and said, "Colonel, I wouldn't miss this for the world."
The way she said it, John knew she meant it for the miracle it was, and not a sideshow in a carnival.
He thought about telling her thanks. For being there when he was puking in the beginning, and during the surgery, and after, then of course the slight problems they'd had on Baltar – and the take-over attempt, and the early labor and geez, he'd been here way too much lately.
John didn't get the chance, because another hard contraction started, sooner than he'd expected. They had spaced out to around seven minutes because of the pain medication. Beckett had told him it was normal, and he'd accepted that part with pleasure. Now, they were speeding up, because the medicine had worn off completely.
When the contraction eased, and Rodney was waving his sore hand around trying to get circulation back, Sheppard saw Alicia whispering with Beckett, and both didn't look happy.
"Doc?"
Beckett frowned, and nodded, before moving to his side. "Colonel?"
"You don't look pleased," he pointed out.
"Your pressures higher, and your beginning to spill proteins in your urine."
Beckett didn't need to explain the seriousness to him. He'd read about pre-eclampsia. He knew it could be fatal to the mother – in his case, him, since he was the precursor to the condition in Dreya.
McKay had apparently read up on it as well. "Do a caesarian, Carson. You should've done it hours ago."
"Rodney, a caesarian is major surgery, and not only do I hesitate to place the lass through such an event and the associated risks, have you forgotten that Colonel Sheppard can not be sedated due to his concussion? I do know how to handle medical conditions."
"It's been over fourteen hours! Carson, that's exactly it, he is recovering from a concussion."
Speaking of concussion, the arguing was only making his head pound and Traitor kick up a storm, though they weren't really kicks any longer, they were more like body rolls inside.
He glanced over at Dreya, and saw she was sleeping and Teyla had replaced Elizabeth, and was also napping. He wished he were.
Beckett purposefully ignored Rodney. "Colonel, I'm going to order you a small bit of the magnesium sulfate, just enough hopefully to stabilize things and not make you feel too poorly. If Dreya's not progressed, I'm also going to start pitocin, a drug to give labor a boost, but I've got to warn you, it will make things harder and more painful."
The next contraction began, and Sheppard stopped caring about anything else. By the time it was over, Beckett was ready to give Dreya her internal check, and he could hear the doc waking her up, and updating her on the state of things. A few moments later, doc was digging up inside, and John fought to stay calm.
Then it was over, and Beckett was walking back towards him, shaking his head. "No change, sorry, Colonel. Looks like we're going to have to resort to the pitocin."
The funny thing was, at this point, he didn't care. John had known it could be a long labor. He'd read it, heard Carson warn him, had even tried to prepare himself, but after fourteen hours plus of gut-wrenching contractions, walking, being stuck on the monitors and the latest complication with his blood pressure and the labor stalling, he just didn't care.
He shrugged, and knew it was pathetic. "Just fix it, Doc. Get this baby born."
"Aye, I understand, Lad. We'll get the medications going, and see if that fixes things."
Sheppard thought he'd handled things well, considering, and Rodney didn't have a matching cast on his hand yet, but when Beckett added the pitocin to his IV bag, he lost it.
"What are you doing? That's supposed to be for her!" He'd be damned if he wanted his contractions harder, but then, he hadn't stopped to consider what Beckett meant.
Rodney was roused for him. "Damn straight, Carson – he doesn't need stronger contractions."
John saw Beckett mentally counting, but the doc answered patiently. "The medication you're given affects Dreya. Pitocin can make contractions super contractions, and there is a small risk of a ruptured uterus, if things get out of hand. Using your body as a filter is a perfect solution." Carson tapped the IV port making sure it was running smoothly. "Remember, Colonel. When you had the preterm labor, Dreya barely felt a thing, and the medications we gave you worked. I only had to treat her the one time when it went too long untreated in you. This is the way the bond was meant to work, and the safest thing for the baby."
"Aw, shit," Sheppard finally swore.
Beckett shrugged, but just then another nurse came running over. Sheppard heard something about 'emergency' and 'off-world team', and almost jumped out of bed, but Rodney put a hand on his arm and said, "Labor, Sheppard – the baby's coming out, whether it's good timing or not."
Beckett hurried off, and the first pitocin enhanced contraction kicked in, and when Sheppard said kicked, he meant really kicked. Before had been bad, but these were beyond bad. These were 'oh my god, someone is ripping my insides out and eating them in front of me' bad.
"Rodney!" Sheppard cried out.
McKay latched on to Sheppard's shoulders and got in his face, which wasn't easy considering his leg, but he did, and he instructed him "Breathe, come on, hee hee hee hoo, really fast now, hee hee hee hoo."
And for once, Sheppard did and he didn't care how stupid he sounded.
The next couple of hours literally passed in a pain-induced haze, and just when John thought it couldn't get much worse, he heard Dreya crying out, and Teyla trying to soothe her. Yeah, they were both up to their elbows in trouble, because this was all sorts of bad pain.
Then the queasiness hit. John hardly had time to warn McKay, before he started throwing up. Now he understood why Beckett had refused to let him eat. He threw up more than he thought his body could hold, and just when he thought he was good, another contraction started.
Alicia was there, and Rodney. He could barely hear Dreya going through similar troubles, and wondered where Beckett was.
Apparently he wasn't the only one wondering. Rodney snapped at the nurse, "Get Carson up here, something's wrong!"
John could only whimper in agreement. If this was normal, god save him, because he thought he was on the verge of dying.
A loud page sounded, and John heard Alicia calling Beckett back to the infirmary, STAT. He prayed doc was fast.
How long it took for Beckett to get back, John didn't know, because everything narrowed down to Rodney's face in his own, telling him to breathe, and yelling at him when he stopped and begged McKay that he couldn't do it anymore, and would he just punch him, and knock him back out? Hell, he already had a concussion!
Then Carson was there, and quickly moving in, asking Sheppard how he felt.
And that's when Sheppard grunted, and Carson started shouting, "Don't push!"
Who the fuck was pushing? Because Sheppard sure as heck wasn't. "I'm not pushing!" he shouted back.
"Yes, you were, I've been a doctor long enough to recognize that sound, now stop." Beckett turned to Rodney, "Don't let him push, if her cervix isn't dilated, it can cause the tissue to swell and make it all the harder and longer in the end."
Rodney looked wide-eyed at Sheppard and said, "I didn't even know he COULD push!"
Sheppard glared right back at McKay and said helplessly, "I'm not pushing."
Then, with no warning, so doc must really be worried, Sheppard felt the sensations of an internal and Carson was shouting through the curtain, "She's almost fully dilated."
Beckett came out of the curtain, and yanked it back, and suddenly it seemed like there were a lot of medical staff appearing out of the woodworks. Most of it, thankfully, converged on Dreya, and John, panting desperately through another contraction, watched as they got her legs up in stirrups and thanked heaven and earth that wasn't necessary for him, and saw Beckett slipping into a surgical scrub gown.
A nurse thrust a gown at Rodney and ordered him to get in it.
Suddenly Beckett was bending down towards him, and he was feeling incredibly overwhelmed and in a lot of pain. "Colonel, the reason you felt so bad was transition. Things are going to get a little rushed now, but this is it, the baby's almost here!"
And then Carson was gone, and Rodney was back, and another contraction hit, hard.
Sheppard panted through the contractions, and they seemed to come farther apart now that Dreya was pushing, and every now and then Sheppard's body tried to do something weird, that maybe closely resembled pushing, but he wasn't –
And time seemed to tick away forever, and all he could hear were Dreya's cries as she pushed with each one, and dropped exhausted after. Finally, Sheppard asked McKay, "Something's wrong, the baby isn't coming."
Rodney looked nervously over at Dreya's bed where Beckett was mumbling encouragement to the woman, and Teyla was trying to soothe her. Then, he looked back at John. "I'm sure it's fine."
"No, no it isn't. I can't feel the baby moving down, Rodney, and as much as I don't want to feel it, I know I should."
But another contraction, and conversation was over. The cycle repeated, over and over again, till finally, Beckett came over. He took John's vitals, and gestured at Dreya. "We're having her rest, how are you feeling?"
Sheppard was feeling like he had a ten-pound bowling ball lodged between his bladder and his prostrate. But seeing how that wasn't going to help anyone knowing that he said, "How long has she pushed for?" He'd lost all track of time, because as she pushed, he could only breathe through the contractions.
"An hour and a half," admitted Beckett. "I'm wondering -" He looked pensively at Sheppard, and suddenly John had the urge to hide under his covers.
"I bet, if you push -"
"No!" protested John, not even letting him finish, because damn if he hadn't seen that coming. "I don't have a baby down below. I can't push." Sheppard turned to Rodney, "Tell him."
McKay looked bemused. "I think he might be on to something…" he said.
"No!" Now Sheppard was panicking, because there was no way he was pushing. He dropped his voice down low and said urgently, "Look, I'm being serious. This isn't a joke, I don't have the equipment to push, and I know the baby's not moving down, but I can't help with this, trust me."
Another contraction began, and Alicia called out, "Doctor, the baby's heartbeat is dropping!"
All eyes, including Sheppard's turned to the monitor, and the little blinking heart slowed and slowed, and the numbers dropped under a hundred. As Sheppard begged for the contraction to end, the numbers slowly began to revive, and ease back into the hundred and fifties.
Turning a grim face back on Sheppard, "Lad, we've got to get this baby out, and if I'm right, you're pushing is the key. You're stronger than the lass, and everything we've seen has shown it starts with you. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner!"
Oh, god, he didn't want to push, but already more staff were coming his way, and stirrups being prepped. His face fell, and he didn't fight people lifting his legs and moving them in place. "I don't want to push," he said one more time, his forehead wrinkling with worry and doubt.
"The stirrups are just to give you a brace, nothing more," promised Carson, sensing John's fear. "On the next contraction, take a deep breath, count to ten, and push."
"I don't know how to push!" he reiterated, not being soothed.
Rodney rolled his eyes. "Sheppard, if you've gone to bathroom, you know how to push."
Now John did moan. "Just shoot me NOW!" he snapped. "I'm a man, we don't push, we don't have babies," he latched on to McKay's jacket, "You said you'd be my labor coach – you push!"
"John, listen to me, I could push till everyone was chased out of the room," Rodney said softly, making Sheppard look at and concentrate on him, "but it's not going to change how this baby has to be born, and that's with your help. I'm not going to leave you now, and I can't do it for you, you've got to push! Just think about going on missions again, and push."
The next contraction started, and Beckett looked over John's knees to make sure Alicia and, Sheppard noticed for the first time that another doctor had joined the crew, were ready with Dreya, and then Carson told him, "Deep breath, hold it!"
Rodney got in front of him, swaying on his poorly balanced foot and counted down, "10, 9, 8, 7…3, 2 and 1, push!"
Everyone around their beds started urging the same thing, and Sheppard pushed, hesitant at first, but harder once he got started, keeping in mind what Rodney had said. The only way to end this and get back on active duty was to get this baby out, and damn it, he was going to get this baby out…
He pushed till his face felt tingly, and then McKay was telling him to relax, and count to ten, and then push. He did it again, and again, then Carson patted his leg, "Relax, that one's over."
"The baby moved!" shouted Alicia jubilantly from Dreya's bed.
"Yes!" crowed McKay. "See, all it needed was a little Sheppard mojo behind him."
Sheppard took another deep breath before looking at McKay and saying, "Rodney, by the time this is over, I'm either going to love you, or hate you."
Before McKay come respond, another contraction was starting, and Beckett was instructing him again to breathe deep, count to ten, and push…Rodney counted down, and he started pushing with all he had. Then his face went all tingly again, and he tried to breathe harder.
Someone was sticking an oxygen mask on his face, and a monitor on his finger. He tried to take it off, but Carson pulled his hand away. "You're hyperventilating, son, it's just to help you get enough air, now again, hold – count to ten…there you go, push!"
As Sheppard bore down he felt a pain begin so awful that he lost track of where he was in his mental count for pushing, and stopped, trying to back away from it. "Something hurts," he panicked.
The other doctor shouted to Carson, "The baby's moved into the birth canal!"
Beckett shoved Rodney over, and McKay almost fell. But Carson was holding Sheppard's face, "It's going to hurt, but this is it. You've got to keep pushing. I can't make the pain go away, only you can do that, push, Colonel. Get this baby born, you can do it!"
John shook his head, wishing he could crawl away from the horrible pain down below. It was where his groin was, but he didn't have any hole down there, and the thought that maybe it'd feel like his insides were being ripped open to make a hole caused him to practically pass out. "I can't," he shouted louder.
Rodney was breathing hard, and grabbed on to Sheppard's hand. "Push! It won't stop now until the baby is born, just push, damn it!"
He felt his legs being lifted out of the stirrups and pushed back towards his shoulders, and Beckett urging him to push.
John felt trapped, and he tried one more time to find a way out of this, but Rodney stared at him, and nodded, chin up, conveying to him that this was it, time to dig in, and do it. He pushed, harder than he thought he could, and kept pushing –
"Stop!" Beckett ordered kindly. "Just a moment, pant through it, Lad."
Sheppard could barely do it, but he managed, then finally, blessedly, Beckett urged him again, "Okay, son, push and look over, the baby's almost all the way out."
John gave it all he had, and at the same time, tried to look. The baby's head was out, and being supported by the doctor helping Dreya. Teyla was soothing the Eradian woman, and then Sheppard and Dreya pushed one final time, and he felt the pain dissipate and watched as the baby's legs slipped the last way through, and then they were wrapping the bloody infant in a blanket.
Sheppard wanted to stare forever, but after letting both John and Dreya catch a glimpse, Alicia whisked Traitor away.
Rodney eased Sheppard back against the bed, and the staff that'd been holding his legs, got him resettled.
John took a shaky breath in, and looked to Rodney. "You did good, coach," he croaked. He was so tired, and beat, and – ouch! What the hell was that?
He looked towards his belly in shock, only to see Beckett massaging it roughly. "What?" he snapped. "Come on! The baby's out, I'm done, what are you doing?"
Beckett ignored him, and called over his shoulder, "Is that helping?"
Suddenly both John and Rodney became aware of how tense it was in the room, now that the initial cheering had died down, and John noticed how still Dreya was. "What's wrong with her, Doc?" he asked, his words laced with apprehension even while Beckett's move on his belly caused spikes of pain that just fell short of the active labor pains.
"Hemorrhaging, the afterbirth – placenta to you, part of it's adhered to her uterine wall."
The staff working on Dreya suddenly got a lot happier, and the doctor shouted back to Beckett. "The bleeding's slowing, and -" the doctor poked at the contents in a basin with a gloved finger, "the placenta looks good, think it's all here."
Carson slowed the frenetic massaging of John's belly, and smiled a bit, again. "Thank goodness."
Sheppard bit back a groan, and let his head drop against the pillow. His entire abdomen hurt, and he didn't imagine he'd ever felt this tired before. He heard Elizabeth arrive, and felt her soft touch as she asked McKay, "How is he?"
McKay picked up his crutches, and shuffled a bit to the side to make room before answering. "Tired, sore, but Elizabeth, it was amazing. The bond, it covered everything – and the baby, it was so tiny -"
Somewhere in Rodney's gushing, John Sheppard fell asleep.
OoO
How long John slept, he didn't know, but when he woke, he blinked into the darkness, trying to adjust to the lack of light. He was in clean scrubs, the catheter was gone, but the IV remained. He turned his head to look around, and saw McKay stretched out in a bed nearby, and smiled ruefully.
His hand drifted to his belly, and he felt the emptiness for the first time in so long he'd forgotten what it was like. There weren't any kicks to greet him, and he felt the essence was gone. It was almost…lonely.
It was also surprising, the impact of that, and he had to shake it off, before continuing to get a handle on what was going on. The only lights were the ones behind the beds, illuminating just enough to see.
Dreya was sitting up in her bed, and watching him, a tender smile painted across her face, and in her arms – Sheppard felt his heart skip a beat.
He went to get up, but she shook her head. "Don't," she whispered softly. "Doctor Beckett said until he takes you off the magnesium sulfate for your blood pressure you are not to get out of bed. I will come to you."
"Is it okay? I mean," he gestured at her waist, "Nothings going to fall out, or anything?" he finished lamely.
That explained why he felt a little fuzzy around the edges. He was still on the drugs.
She nodded, amusement shining through. "Yes, I'm fine. Sore, but then again, so are you."
The baby whimpered in the blankets, and she soothed Traitor by rocking the baby gently, sliding off the bed and tip toeing over to Sheppard's bed. She held the baby towards him, and Sheppard brought his arms up, taking Traitor and cradling the baby to his chest.
Dreya bit her lip, and Sheppard saw a trail of a tear snake down her cheek, despite the low lighting. "John Sheppard, meet Lily Beren Sheppard-McKay, your daughter, if you'll have her." Her voice was husky and tight, and he knew the feelings were overwhelming her.
John drank in the little face, and felt as if he'd known her forever. He had her nestled in the crook of his arm, trying to move without yanking his IV line, and tickled a finger under her chin. "So you're the little Traitor that's been raising heck for your mommy and me," he whispered.
His eyes were shiny, and he knew it, and for once, he didn't care. "She's beautiful, Dreya. Your husband would be very -" he paused for a beat, trying to gain control of the emotions rioting through, "-very proud," he finished.
She nodded, but she didn't speak, and John could see her lip trembling, and knew it was too much. Lily poked a fist out of the blanket, and twisted, nestling further into Sheppard's chest.
"She likes you," Dreya said, standing up. "Do you want some time?"
He kinda did. Some time just to get to know this little person that had been – how to describe it? "Can I?" he asked, not looking away from the tiny baby's face.
Dreya nodded. "I'm rather tired, but if you need anything, Rodney said to wake him and he'd help. He's excited over her, despite that he was convinced she was a he."
Still staring at Lily, and lifting her little arm Sheppard chuckled, "He was, wasn't he?"
"Good night, John," she whispered, and leaned in to plant a soft kiss on his head, before repeating another with Lily, and moving back to her bed.
As Sheppard cradled Lily, he heard Dreya's breathing ease into a normal rhythm, and knew she'd drifted off to sleep. He wondered how long he'd been out for? Obviously, a while. Everyone had cleaned up, and most had gone to their own beds, except McKay – never McKay. And John smiled, again.
He stared again at Lily's tufted hair, and barely there eyebrows, and the little squished nose, and tiny lips. She had a double chin, and looked gorgeous. And he'd wanted nothing to do with her in the beginning –
She started squirming, as if sensing his thoughts, and he started humming and rocking her slightly – he slipped into the words, the only song that felt right for the occasion – and quietly, his voice cracking with some of the whispered words, he sang, "I could stay awake just to hear you breathing," he tucked the blanket down from her soft cheek, "watch you smile while you are sleeping…" She grabbed his finger, and latched on with a strength that surprised him, "while you're far away dreaming…" and she stole his heart.
TBC
Welcome to the world Lily Beren Sheppard-McKay!