A/N: Sorry for such a long delay in posting. Hope you all stuck around. Please read and review and let me know if there's anything in particular you want to see happen and I'll see what I can do. Enjoy!
Rodney woke and stretched, immediately wincing as his back cracked. –What the heck?- He looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, then down and everything clicked into place. Elizabeth slept leaning against his side, Addie snuggled securely in her arms.
He smiled gently at the beautiful sight before him, and brought a hand up to brush against Addie's cheek as she slept. The movement woke Elizabeth and she stirred and opened her eyes. She looked at Addie, then up to Rodney.
"It wasn't a dream was it? She's really here?" Rodney grinned and nodded back down, directing her gaze to the baby asleep in her arms. Addie chose that moment to yawn a huge, gaping yawn, and Elizabeth laughed.
The laugh quickly turned to a worried frown as Addie scrunched up her face and began to fuss. "What? What did I do? What's wrong?" Elizabeth looked at Rodney, frantic, unable to figure out what she'd done wrong. She instinctively cuddled the baby closer, patting her back gently, but the cries got louder.
Rodney appeared as worried as Elizabeth sounded and looked around the room trying to find help. It was then it registered they were sitting on the couch in Carson's office, and the part of his brain not occupied with the current crisis remembered Carson letting them go in their the night before to try to get a little sleep, but keeping Addie out of the infirmary atmosphere, which seemed to never totally quiet down.
As if in answer to their worry, Carson walked into the room with a cheery grin and a container in his hands. "Ahh. 'Bout time the wee one woke up. Been waitin' for it."
"Carson! What's wrong with her! She just woke up and started crying. What do we do?" Rodney's voice got louder to cover the crying as Addie worked herself up more, regardless of Elizabeth's attempts to calm her.
Carson laughed. "Nothin' is wrong. I'm bettin' the lassie is jus' hungry. I'm amazed she made it ta now with nothin' ta eat." At Rodney and Elizabeth's relieved sighs, he laughed. "It's nae over yet though. We do nae have the supplies needed ta take care of a newborn. I spent some time with the Ancient database, searchin' files, maps and the like. Found a nursery o' sorts. At least some supplies. Found what I'm thinkin' works for a bottle, but only found 2 fer the moment. The medical records spoke of a food fer them, so I made some up followin' their recipe. Not like our formula, as ye can see." He held the container up for them to see. 'Tis clear. And thinner. But apparently it does the trick better than ours and we have no other options at the moment."
He handed the container over to Elizabeth who hesitantly nudged Addie's mouth. Addie latched on with a vengeance and the immediate silence was almost deafening. Rodney sighed with relief, as Elizabeth looked up at him with a happy grin. "Definitely has her father's fondness for food."
Rodneyglared at her and muttered, "Cheeky." But anyone who looked could see the overwhelming happiness in his smile that couldn't be dimmed.
Carson grinned at Addie's enthusiasm, and then continued. "Unfortunately, we have no idea what they used fer nappies. Apparently they have nothin' like pampers. I'm afraid you're on your own fer that one. I have nae a clue what they used, and that towel on her now will nae last fer long."
Rodney looked at Carson, then Elizabeth and grimaced. "Have I mentioned how much I dislike bodily fluids? I mean, blood alone is enough to bring on nausea. And you know getting a hypoglycemic nauseous could be a very bad thing, right? Right Carson?" Elizabeth rolled her eyes and brought Addie up to her shoulder, patting her back and laughing out loud at the incredibly loud belch that burst forth. Rodney looked…proud, was the best word to describe it. He leaned forward to pat Addie's back. "Well done! Definitely a McKay!"
Elizabeth elbowed him in jest and brought Addie back down, where she quickly latched back onto the bottle-like container. Rodney looked puzzled for a moment, before finally asking, "'Lizabeth? How did you know how to do that? I mean...I know babies have to be burped when they eat, but how do you know when?" Here, his puzzlement turned to almost frantic worry and he began to babble, jumping up to pace back and forth in the small office. "Oh God. I can't learn all that. Sure, I can learn to burp her, but why don't I know that stuff already? I'm going to have to know it and really fast. How in the world am I going to ever be able to be alone with her if I don't know something about burping her on time? It's not like she can tell me when. And I wasn't kidding about changing diapers. Maybe she can get potty trained really early? She'll surely be a genius as well, so she'll be smart enough, I'm sure. But what if she throws up? I mean, sure, I've thrown up before, but having to…."
The frantic look in his eyes, the fluttering of his hands around, and the rising panic in his voice caused Elizabeth to call out quietly but firmly. "Rodney."
He froze mid-rant and mid-step and looked at her for a long moment. As always, whatever it was he saw in her eyes quieted him. He drew a deep breath, and then continued. "Right. Right. I can learn it. I'm a genius, right? I can figure out the stargate. I learned to fly a puddle jumper. I can even fire a gun to fight a Wraith. I can surely learn how to take care of a baby with as much precision and skill. Okay…I can do this." His confident air seemed back in full force, and then he tossed a quick glance at Elizabeth, and quietly added. "Right?"
She smiled up at him, and nodded slowly. Carson looked from one to the other, and then shook his head with a chuckle. Both looked to him questioningly. He just smiled outright at them, and answered the unasked question. "Sorry. I was waitin' fer this and jus' happy I was right." At both of their confused looks, he continued. "Rodney, you've been so sure of yerself through all this, and Elizabeth was so nervous. Now, ye both swapped. I'm jus' glad my instincts were correct. Now, both of ye, don't worry. Yer gonna both be great at this. She's happy, healthy, and yer both smart people. Ye can figure it all out. Now…outta my office. I got work to do and ye need to get this wee one in somethin' other than a blankey. Besides, she's gonna be wettin' through that makeshift nappy anytime now that she's eaten. Now shoo. Out."
In no time at all, Elizabeth and Rodney found themselves in the hall outside the infirmary, Addie still tucked in Elizabeth's arms, once again asleep. With an unspoken agreement, they headed towards Elizabeth's quarters. Both seemed to realize they were closer and bigger, making them the logical place.
Once there, they settled on her couch, subconsciously slipping back into their positions from Carson's office, with Elizabeth snuggled under Rodney's arm and against his chest. She looked up at Rodney, with tears in her eyes, but a smile on her face.
"She's really here, isn't she? I mean, we're really doing this?"
Rodney smiled and thought back to a moment about two years ago as they'd stood in the SGC just as the wormhole connected and repeated his words, this time accompanying them with a hug as he rested his cheek on the top of her head.
"Yep. Looks like we're not getting out of this one."
Elizabeth laughed and started to reply. As she adjusted her hold on Addie, she came to an unpleasant realization. Carson was right.
"Um…Rodney?"