A/N: Okay people, don't forget to read and review. And tell me if you've got something you wanna see! Enjoy!
Amazingly, the morning never came. Oh, morning came like normal, but not the talk she'd planned. When Elizabeth woke up, Rodney was gone. On the screen of her laptop, he'd typed a note; letting her know he'd gone to take a shower and change clothes, and he'd be back.
By the time Rodney returned, Addie was awake again and another day began. Eat, sleep, wet, sleep, poop, sleep, and eat. Over and over an over in what seemed to be an endless loop. She was an amazingly docile and good-natured baby, thankfully. If she cried, it was because she was wet or needed to eat. Rectifying the problem stopped the crying almost immediately.
The days passed very quickly, and Rodney and Elizabeth slipped into a pattern with shocking ease. Every night, Elizabeth would go to sleep, while Rodney sat on her couch either feeding Addie an evening bottle, playing with her, or if she was asleep he'd work on one ofthe endless projects on his laptop he'd brought down from his lab. He was used to staying up late, so he took the first nighttime feeding.
And yet somehow, no matter what they did, he ended up in the bed by morning. When Elizabeth asked him, he swore he didn't ever remember coming into the bed, and she didn't push him. She didn't mind, and he got real sleep. Besides, she enjoyed the warm body in her bed. A few times she'd woken in the middle of the night to find him spooned up behind her, his arm around her waist. The first time, she'd lain awake the rest of the night, trying not to think about how right it felt. She'd woken up to find him gone in the morning like normal and she'd never mentioned it to him. Now, whenever it happened, she gently snuggled back against him, threaded her fingers through his, and went back to sleep with a smile on her face.
After a week or two, Rodney and Elizabeth worked out a pretty good routine outside of her quarters too. After Rodney got back from his shower, Elizabeth would shower and dress while he fed and dressed Addie. Then they'd all go to breakfast together and Elizabeth would take Addie on her morning walk to check in with the departments as she did every morning. Rodney would retire to his lab to work until lunchtime. They'd meet back for lunch, and Elizabeth loved these times.
Rodney would act like he'd not seen Addie in days, and she always seemed to thrive on the attention. After lunch, Elizabeth would go to her office and work, and Rodney would take the baby with him to the lab. He'd taken himself off the mission roster, and spent his time doing the research that he loved, though Elizabeth had noticed he seemed to be much more careful, not touching things as recklessly as before, taking more precautions.
They'd meet again for dinner, and then retire back to her quarters. Most of the evenings were spent just marveling in the miracle that was their daughter. Sometimes, they'd go out on the balcony, and Rodney would point out different stars to her, trying to find ones that would fit constellations from home or just making up legends on the spot.
Sometimes, their friends would come over. Carson checked in every couple days. Partly to save them any trips to the infirmary, and partly to see his friends. Addie was a very healthy baby, and the visits quickly became more social than needed. Carson loved going, simply because, whether they knew it or not, his friends had become a family and everything about them just glowed with happiness.
Many nights, there were no visitors. Addie was dozing, or absorbed in the wonders around her. On those evenings, Rodney and Elizabeth would talk. About anything and everything. Elizabeth learned about his less than stellar childhood. He learned about the father she adored. She learned he loathed playing chess, but studied and became a master, just because his father said he should. His parents had no idea what to do with him, so he'd done everything he could to please them, yet always fell short.
As they got closer, Elizabeth shared her fears of inadequacy about leading such a large mission, about Simon and her sadness at the ending of their relationship, and then her guilt at how quickly she'd moved on. Rodney simply held her at times like that, letting her know she wasn't alone, and that no one could possibly blame her.
Elizabeth learned that his fierce protectiveness and loving attention to Addie was part of a vow he'd made to himself when he was 13 and his intelligence had come to light. He'd sworn that if he ever had children, they would never doubt his unconditional love and acceptance, like he had. She'd cried when she'd heard that, and silently thanked God more than once that Rodney was the father of her daughter. Every day, they grew closer and closer, until Elizabeth could barely remember a time when Rodney wasn't a large part of her life.
The weeks passed, and the Daedalus returned. Her holds were full of all the things Addie would need. From a proper crib, a stroller and cozy for carrying her, to toys, clothes and enough diapers to get her through five years, in Rodney's estimation.
They stored half of the supplies in his quarters, all the things Addie wouldn't need for months or even years. The crib was also stored there for now. They'd decided they preferred the cradle Teyla had brought, and Addie seemed happy with it. The rest was squeezed into Elizabeth's quarters and they rapidly took on the feel of a home, not just a place to sleep.
One night, Elizabeth scooted back to snuggle against Rodney, still half asleep. She came fully awake when she realized he wasn't there. She picked up her watch from the bedside table, and saw it was after 4. He was always in bed by 3, and she quickly got up to see what had happened.
A quick glance showed the cradle was also empty. Since Addie had passed the 6 weeks mark, she'd been sleeping almost all night through, though Elizabeth wasn't about to kick Rodney out. She'd come to enjoy his presence more than she'd expected. She made her way into the living room curiously. Addie had been uncharacteristically grouchy earlier and Rodney had been rocking her quietly when he'd shooed Elizabeth to bed. He'd convinced her he could take care of it, and that she needed her sleep for her meetings the next day.
She approached the doorway to the living room and stopped in awe and surprise. She saw Rodney walking and bouncing a quietly fussing Addie. Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but immediately shut it as Rodney started talking again.
"Come on, Addie. Please, Daddy's sleepy. One more song, then you'll sleep, okay?" Obviously not expecting an answer, he quickly nodded in decision, and then started to sway with the music in his head. To Elizabeth's amazement, he began to sing, and she had to bite her lip to stop the burst of laughter.
She quickly recognized the lyrics and tune to "Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred. She was amazed he knew the song, but her amazement was quickly overcome by shock as he got to the chorus.
"I'm a model you know what I mean. And I do my little turn on the catwalk." As he sang, he began to strut like all the models, sashaying his hips and doing a little turn at the appropriate moment. As she watched with amusement, Elizabeth realized that while Addie was still not happy, she's stopped crying.
Elizabeth stepped fully in to the room as Rodney did his next catwalk turn and he spun to face her. He froze in embarrassment, his face flaming as his voice faded away to nothing. Elizabeth couldn't decide if she should make a sarcastic comment, take pity on him and accept it, or just pretend she'd never seen anything. She'd just decided on the pretending, when the opportunity for response was taken from her.
Rodney opened his mouth, shut it, and opened it again, before sighing. "Lizabeth. Sorry if we woke you. Miss Addie is fussy and won't go to sleep. I'm guessing maybe she's not feeling well. Maybe her stomach? She didn't eat much earlier."
Elizabeth stepped forward in concern, and rubbed her hand over Addie's stomach soothingly. Addie chose that moment to open her mouth and throw up all over Rodney's chest.
He'd never been so disgusted in his life. He stood there in horror as he was drenched. He'd heard of projectile vomiting, but had never seen it outside a horror movie, and he couldn't say he was sorry. Elizabeth froze in shock, and looked down in Addie in amazement.
Rodney quickly handed Addie to Elizabeth, and his face turned to one of revulsion. "How in the world can such a sweet and tiny little thing make such a huge mess? Hey! Lizabeth! It's not funny!"
Elizabeth stood there silently, her shoulders shaking from forcibly held laughter. Rodney rolled his eyes and made a face in resignation, pulling his shirt away from his chest carefully with his thumb and one finger. Addie decided to remind them of her presence and did something she'd never done. She laughed loudly and delightedly at the sight of her father.
Rodney's jaw dropped and he looked back and forth from Addie to Elizabeth and back. "Lizabeth…she's…she's laughing. At me." The awe in his voice fought for dominance with the pride and joy. He seemed so amazed, it made Elizabeth want to hug him.
Except he was covered in baby vomit, which was not a pleasant smell. While hearing Addie laugh was a precious thing to them both, standing in the living room at 4 am, covered in vomit was enough to quickly draw the moment to a close. Rodney stood there in indecision, until Elizabeth took pity on him. "Rodney, go use my shower. That smell will never fade as long as it's all over you."
He nodded thankfully and vanished quickly into the bathroom. Elizabeth changed and cleaned Addie up, who, after baptizing her father, quickly fell asleep. She laid her back in her cradle and went back out to the couch to wait for Rodney.
She must have dozed off, because she never heard the shower shut off. The next thing she heard was the door opening, and she looked up, startled. There stood Doctor Rodney McKay, the man who was her daughter's father, her chief scientist, and quickly cementing himself as her best friend. And yet, it was as if she'd never seen him before and her mouth dropped open. She'd never seen a nearly naked Rodney and she wasn't sure her brain would ever reengage.
Rodney McKay stood in the doorway in indecision at the sight of Elizabeth. He'd assumed she'd gone back to bed. He could not force himself to put the dirty clothes back on. His shirt, sweatpants, and even boxers were wet, so he'd had to make do with a towel wrapped low around his waist. He felt hideously exposed and was trying to decide if he should sink back into the bathroom, or brave it out.
For her part, Elizabeth was thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to take an incredibly detailed inventory of the man she saw before her. From his towel dried and tousled hair, to shockingly well defined shoulders. She marveled at his stomach, which was much firmer than when they arrived. She smiled happily when she saw there was still a definite softness though, thankful he still had not gotten too toned and still had a little belly.
Her eyes quickly skirted his towel wrapped hips and continued down to his feet, before coming back up to meet his eyes. She blushed brightly at the look on his face.
"See something you like, Lizabeth?" Her face flamed brighter, but she squared her shoulders and decided to brazen it out.
"Maybe." It was Rodney's turn to blush and he quickly snapped his mouth shut. She laughed at the audible snap and quickly scooted over to the end of the couch. "Rodney, come sit down. At least get the blanket, you've got to be cold."
Rodney was still working on wrapping his mind around her answer. He finally decided to push a little more and see what she did. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean me sitting here while not fully dressed. Can you keep your wits about you with this amazing specimen in such close proximity?" He flexed his bicep, and even Elizabeth had to admit she was impressed at the size.
She blushed again, and then laughed. "Rodney, I think I can contain myself." At his crestfallen look, she added, "for now." She grinned at the expression on his face. He dropped down to sit next to her, looking like he'd just seen Santa dropping off the long awaited new bike.
Elizabeth sobered and realized they had an issue. She had a naked Rodney McKay in her living room at 4:30 in the morning. He had no clothes he could wear, and the city would be waking up soon. She couldn't send him back to his quarters in a towel.
She realized the only solution to the situation, and stood decisively, causing Rodney to look up at her questioningly.
"Rodney, I need your code to get in your quarters." At his puzzled look, she explained. "I'm going to get you some clothes. You can't go out like that, and I'd rather take care of it while most of the city is still asleep."
Understanding dawned in his eyes, and he smiled gratefully. "I was wondering about how that was gonna work, and I'll admit I'm too tired. I couldn't think of a solution at the moment. But…" his expression turned to mortification and he dropped his eyes and mumbled something.
Elizabeth couldn't understand what had caused the abrupt shift in his demeanor and asked gently, "Rodney? What's wrong? Is it because I asked for your door code? I'm sorry. I know it's private, but I need it to get in your rooms, and I don't want to have to call the control room to override it."
Rodney looked up at her, a sad smile on his face. "Actually, you don't need it Lizabeth. Umm…you're an authorized occupant. You can come and go as you want."
She looked at him in awe. "Wait…you added authorization for me to move freely into and out of your room? I'm…well, I'm honored, but I had no idea. When did that happen?"
He blushed lightly. "A couple weeks ago actually, when the Daedalus got here with all the new stuff. I figured you'd need to go in there at some point and you wouldn't want to wait for me every time. Besides….well...it's you, Lizabeth. I have no secrets from you. You're welcome in my rooms anytime." He looked down again, the blush deepening, but with the smile still on his face.
Elizabeth had no idea how to reply about that. Certainly, she'd had him add his own ID to her quarters, but he was always there. She hadn't expected him to do the same for her. She was touched, and a little amazed that he'd trust anyone that much, and the honor she felt doubled.
"Well…thank you. I'll do my best not to betray that trust." She smiled at him, resting her hand against his shoulder, and then sliding it up to cup his cheek until he met her eyes. She held the pose until she knew that he could see the sincerity in her eyes. He nodded in silent acknowledgment to the emotions he saw on her face and she dropped her hand slowly, then turned and left the room.
Elizabeth made it to Rodney's quarters unseen and smiled to herself as the doors did indeed open without hesitation to her arrival. She entered and looked around. Every available inch was filled with Addie's things. He was normally an amazingly organized person, and she wondered if the clutter was bothering him.
She shook her head in immediate answer to her own silent question. It wasn't. The stuff was for Addie, and she'd learned over the last few weeks, he'd do almost anything for the beautiful baby that his life now revolved around.
Elizabeth realized she'd been standing there for quite some time and rapidly gathered up clothes for Rodney. She tried not to think about the fact that she was elbows deep in his underwear drawer. The site of the sun breaking over the horizon snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned and quickly headed out of his quarters, her head down and she tried to hold the bundle together.
She didn't see the body right outside the door, hand poised to buzz the room to notify the occupant of his presence. Elizabeth crashed into him hard, and fell back on her rear, Rodney's clothes flying everywhere. She looked up in annoyance at the delay and opened her mouth to chastise the person, but the words died in her throat at the sight of the visitor.
"Um…Colonel. John. Good morning." Elizabeth prayed to everyone she could think of that the floor under her would just open swallow her up, and in the process, erase the smug look on Sheppard's face.
This day had all the makings of being a trying one, and it wasn't even 6 am yet.