So How Did I Meet Your Mom Again?4

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate: Atlantis or any of its characters or story lines. No infringement is intended upon anyone or any subsidiary connected to Stargate: Atlantis or its parent series, Stargate: SG-1 or Stargate The Movie. I'm poor, you'll get nothing out of me!

Summary: When the team discovers McKay's future daughter living with their trading partners, the search is on for the mother because his daughter will have to be conceived in a year or cease to exist. No pressure, right?

Rating: PG for language.

Warnings: Possibly some adult situations or at least ideas.

Category: Friendship/Romance/Humor

Author note: Okay, so Taylor is going to back off for a while as a character, but I will be developing her (as well as giving her a first name and some friends) on a tangent line with the main story and eventually the two storylines will be united again.

John felt like someone had kicked him in the groin. While logically he knew that there was no way in hell that Isabel could be related to McKay, there were too many coincidences for him to believe otherwise. Now that he thought of it, she did kind of resemble McKay. And Canace did say she was very smart. What am I thinking? There's no way she's related to McKay! She was born 22 years ago, which would have made Rodney around 13 when she was conceived not to mention they were in different galaxies! But all the same, he felt he needed more proof one way or the other.

"Cancace, did Isabel come through the gate with anything? Anything at all that you might still have?" He asked, grasping at straws.

Canace seemed to think deeply for a moment before answering. "Yes, I think I might still have something of hers. I threw away the clothes she had when she out grew them," he said apologetically, "but I believe I still have a stuffed animal of hers somewhere in the attic of my home. I could look for it tonight and show you tomorrow before leave?"

"That would be fine." John answered, his intestines still in knots for reasons he couldn't explain. It's just coincidence, that's all. Canace walked John back to his rooms where the rest of his team was already settling in for the night. No matter how hard John tried to sleep, though, it eluded him.

The next morning found the team eager to leave except for John who was still waiting for Canace to show. Negotiations had been put on hold until Atlantis could send another team through to work out the finer details of the agreement. Rodney especially was eager to return to Atlantis and finish whatever project he was currently working on.

"Can we go already?" He asked impatiently for seemed like the 9th time.

"No." Said John forcefully. "I promised Canace I would wait to leave until I spoke with him."

"Well he sure is being rude making us wait like this. Guess he's not much of an early riser, huh? Or maybe he's trying to impress us with his position by making us wait forever. Cause it sure seems like that's what he's-"

McKay was cut off mid-sentence when Ronan wrapped a beefy hand over his mouth. The reason became clear moments later when Canace rushed in apologetically.

"So sorry! I was up all night looking for something and only just found it. Does this look familiar to you?" He asked, holding up an old, beaten gray bear.

John was just about to say 'no' when McKay piped up from behind him, "Hey! That looks just like my woobie!" and realizing what he had just said, flushed red and started stuttering out excuses, but it was enough for John to feel sick again. Canace looked like he couldn't decide whether he was thrilled or saddened. John reached over and took the bear from Canace and said, "Can I have a moment alone with Rodney, guys?"

Canace nodded sadly and walked out, Teyla and Ronan following, but looking back curious all the same. John turned to Rodney, thrusting the bear in his hands.

"Take a good look Rodney. Are you sure that's your bear?"

"Why is it so important? I don't know. It looks like my bear, but it's a lot more worn and dirty. Who cares? It's just a bear." Rodney said confused about John's reaction to the old thing.

"Rodney, I have to tell you something that your probably not going to believe since I don't really believe it either and this bear is hardly evidence of anything. Do you remember Isabel?"

"Of course, how could I forget? She's the one with the sunny disposition." He said sarcastically.

John grit his teeth and started telling McKay all the things he had learned about the girl including her similarity in some of her looks and her full name. McKay still looked confused.

"I don't get what you're trying to tell me. That she's somehow related to me? That's impossible. We were in different galaxies when she was born."

John sighed and rubbed his face. It did seem impossibly unlikely, but his gut was telling him otherwise and who was he to ignore a gut feeling? Suddenly he remembered something from last night.

"McKay! Canace told me that Isabel also told him her birthday. That would be a good way to prove it either way right? We'll just ask him!" He couldn't believe he had overlooked such an important piece of information. But to be fair, he had kind of been overloaded with information the night before.

"Canace?" He called, opening the door.

"Yes, Col. Sheppard?"

"Last night you said that Isabel told you her birthday, can you tell me what that was?"

"I believe she said it was Ferbuary 25 of the year 2008. Does that help?"

"February?" John asked.

"Oh yes, that was it!" Canace exclaimed.

McKay was looking a little stunned and slightly angry.

"Okay, the year is a little confusing, but there is no way that girl is related to me! This is all circumstantial evidence! I need proof! I need a blood test. That'll clear this whole thing up! Canace, we need to take some of your daughter's blood, will you allow us to do that?"

Canace looked abashed at this. "She will not consent and I cannot force her. Blood is sacred on this planet and to spill it…it is almost sacrilegious, especially to her. Isabel cannot stand the sight of blood."

"That's okay, I mean we can work around that right?" Rodney said pacing while trying to think. "Beckett can get DNA from hair or skin, right?" He asked turning to Sheppard.

"I don't know, probably."

"Okay, so all we have to do is get a few pieces of hair and maybe swab her mouth in case one of the samples won't work. This is doable." John could tell that Rodney was slightly panicked, but the brainstorming had worked to calm him down considerably.

John turned and looked at Canace, resolve evident in his very stance. "Canace, we need to see your daughter."