Author's Note: "New Yooooooooooooooooooooooooooork!" So sorry about the two-week delay, but I was having the time of my life. Note to self: paint comes off floors better with fingernails than with a rag. Anyways, here's the double-post, just like I promised. Enjoy!

Chapter Eighteen - Geek Love and Baby Names

"Broken-hearted and confused, feeling like you've been abused. The second chances never end from now until forever. There will always be second chances and you'll always be on your first try. There will always be second chances and you'll always be on your first try." - Stellar Kart, "Second Chances"

For the next two weeks, Mary continued to find little gifts on her desk. Most of the notes ended up in the trash can, as she was still angry, but she always kept the presents. Stepping into the lab Monday morning, Mary saw a beautiful bouquet of flowers on her desk. Presuming them to be from Rodney, she had to smile at the effort he had gone to this time. All the other gifts had been things he could get here in Atlantis, but these were Athosian flowers from the mainland. As she admired the flowers, her eyes fell upon the card attached to the stem of a particularly lovely red flower. "Chekals are red, dimunas are blue, I'm not good with poetry, but I love you." Mary couldn't help but smile at the sincere attempt. She breathed in the wonderful fragrance of the chekals, then grabbed a piece of paper and began writing a poem of her own.

When she finished, she excused herself from her colleagues and went down to the mess hall. She found one of the cooks, Mya, and asked her for a special favor. When Mya agreed to help Mary get Rodney back, Mary handed the sweet woman the poem and gave her the special instructions. "Remember, Mya, lots of chocolate," Mary insisted.

"Yes, yes, I do it," Mya said nodding. "Now let me work, please, dear." Mary smiled and left.

XXXXXX

"What's up with you, Rodney?" Sheppard asked as they grabbed their trays and began moving through the lunch line. "You've been acting really depressed lately."

Rodney sighed. Maybe Sheppard could convince Mary… "Well, you know how Evie's having my baby?" he said. Sheppard rolled his eyes at his friend, then sighed as the server plopped some green beans onto his plate. "Well, apparently Mary isn't too happy about that."

"Ooh. I'm sorry to hear that," Sheppard said, grabbing a brownie.

"Yeah… So, I was thinking maybe you could help me out?" Rodney asked reaching for a brownie as well.

Before Sheppard had a chance to answer, Mya cut him off. "Oh, no, Mr. Rodney," she said, taking the brownie plate from his hands. "This not for you."

"What, I can't eat dessert anymore?" he asked, confused.

She muttered curses in Japanese as she searched for something behind the counter. "Aha!" She handed him a plate with large slice of cheesecake, his favorite dessert. It had ribbons of strawberry rippling through it and was drizzled with a fine layer of delicious-looking chocolate. Next to the cheesecake was a cute origami flower. "This for you," she said with a smile.

Rodney grinned. "Wow. Umm, thanks."

Sheppard eyed Rodney's dessert jealously as they walked over to an empty table. "Lunch lady have a little thing for you?" he teased.

"I have no idea," Rodney answered, looking at his dessert. It was then that he noticed that the flower appeared to have writing on the inside. "Hold on…" He picked up the delicate piece of origami and gently unfolded it. There was a poem written on the underside of the paper. "The flowers were lovely, the poem was nice, we can try this again, but this time no lies. If you accept, in your lab I'll be waiting, this second chance is yours for the taking." A smile slowly flitted across Rodney's face.

"What?" Sheppard asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"I, uhh… I have to go," Rodney said with a grin. He got up from the table and began walking quickly out of the mess hall.

After staring at Rodney's cheesecake for a minute, Sheppard licked his lips and reached for it. His hand was slapped, however, by Rodney, who had returned for the dessert. "Mine," Rodney said, taking the plate and leaving.

When he reached his lab, the only person in the room was Mary. She stood at one of the blackboards, writing out an equation. He tiptoed up behind her and then slipped his arms around her waist.

Mary stiffened slightly; she wasn't sure she was ready for close physical contact with him yet. Not so soon after he'd been with Evie. "I take it you got my message?" she asked, setting down the chalk.

"Yes," he answered, "I thought the cafeteria lady was stealing my brownie." Mary laughed. "So…thanks for the cheesecake."

"Thought you'd like that," she said with a smile, turning to face him and resting her hands lightly on his chest.

"So…does this mean we can move on?" he asked.

'Aw, to heck with starting again slowly,' she thought to herself and gently kissed his lips.

"I'll take that as a yes," Rodney grinned. "So, where…where exactly do we go from here?" he asked somewhat awkwardly.

"Well," Mary said, pulling out of his arms and reaching for her drink. "Like I said, we can try this again, but no lies. And if this relationship is going to work, you have to promise me that just because I'm not 'giving you any', you aren't going to go fool around on the side. Got it?"

"I promise," Rodney said, nodding emphatically. There was silence for several moments, but it wasn't awkward. Silence between geeks in love was never uncomfortable. "Mary," he said after a minute. "Do you… would you like to join me for lunch?"

"I would," she answered with that shy smile that Rodney loved. As they left the lab, Rodney smiled when Mary gently slipped her hand into his.

XXXXXX

The next three months were interesting for Evie. When she wasn't making a shopping list of baby items for the Daedalus, she was either keeping up appearances with Rodney, battling morning sickness, or eating her new favorite dessert: pickles and ice cream. And her loving husband John spent his free time catering to her odd cravings, massaging her sore back, and hoping for a boy.

One evening in November, Sheppard entered his quarters, humming some tune that was stuck in his head. He was surprised to see his wife sitting at his computer desk, playing solitaire. "What are you doing here?" he asked, walking over to her.

Evie stuck out a pouting lower lip. "I come all this way to see you and that's the kind of greeting I get?"

Sheppard pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. "Better?" he asked when he released her.

Evie nodded and smiled. "So, I got another ultrasound done today," she said after a pause. "Carson was able to determine the sex of the baby."

Sheppard immediately perked up. "He was?"

Evie nodded with a smile. "Uh-huh. It's a girl." She grinned.

"Oh." Sheppard quickly masked his disappointment as images of pink dresses, dolls, and bows came to mind. "That's great. She'll be my little princess."

"Tsk. You're pathetic," Evie said with an amused smile. "I was kidding. It's a boy."

Sheppard's eyes lit up. "Really?" Evie nodded with a grin. "Yes! Oh, yes!" Sheppard pumped his fists in the air. "Yes, yes, yes!"

"Goodness, John, if you get any less excited I might be offended," she teased.

"Sorry. This is just really…great," he grinned, starting to act a little bit like a kid himself "I'll teach him how to play football, and take him fishing, and teach him how to fly, and how t--"

"And you'll feed him, and change him, and stay up nights with him," Evie reminded.

"Yeah, yeah. That, too," Sheppard agreed with a nod, then he couldn't resist adding again. "And I'll teach him how to play football."

Evie shook her head with a pleased grin. "And Rodney went with me this time, right? So, when he found out it was going to be a boy, guess what he said?" she asked.

"He wanted to name it 'Rodney'?" Sheppard guessed.

"You're so smart," she murmured, slipping her arms around his neck. "And don't say it."

Sheppard grinned. "Could have been Men--mmm…" Evie had silenced his usual gloat with a kiss.

When she relinquished his lips a moment later, she rested her forehead against his. "So, I was thinking we'd name him Ai--"

"Aiden?" Sheppard finished with a smile. Evie nodded. "Mmm…Aiden what?" he asked, gently kissing her again.

"Well…I was thinking…maybe…Nathaniel," she managed between tender kisses.

"Any particular reason?" he asked, his lips brushing her forehead.

"It sounds nice," she answered. "And it's Rodney's middle name." Sheppard raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think he deserves that much?" she asked, lightly kissing his neck.

"Aiden Nathaniel Sheppard," he said, trying out the name. "Alright," he agreed, slowly backing her up. "But on one condition."

"And what is that?" Evie asked. Sheppard pushed her onto the bed and gave her one of his boyish grins. Evie slowly grinned in return. "Deal."