Author: Iocane
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Zelenka/Weir (Sheppard/McKay, secondary)
Summary: Some ancient medical equipment plays havoc with an Atlantis Scientist.
Warnings: M-Preg, mild violence.
Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, I'm just a figure-mint of Rodney's imagination.
Notes: Anything with /'s inside quotes is being spoken in Czech. I don't know the language at all and I don't trust the Internet to translate anything correctly so forgive me. I know Elizabeth can speak five languages, for the purposes of this story, one of them is Czech.
Spoilers for Duet, and in general takes place during the second season.
When you look to the past for life's long hidden meaning
For the dreams and the plans made in your youth
Does the thrill to achieve match the warm hidden feeling
That lies so still and lives in you
– Air Supply, "Eyes of a Child"
Chapter 1
"All I'm saying – crumbs in laptop, three times cleaning this month," Radek groused, narrowing his eyes at the fact that his boss was nibbling a power bar even as they spoke. The Czech fully blamed McKay for the crumbs currently dusting his keypad.
"They don't do any harm, trust me, those things are designed to not let crumbs and stuff in. It's just some of us are too fussy about a few crumbs and not enough about helping people move ..."
They had discovered a fair sized Ancient laboratory that according to the notes they'd translated so far, was mainly used for medical purposes. It hadn't been damaged by time or weather but it was well off the beaten track of the normally used parts of the city. Radek, Rodney, several other scientists and a few marines were now clearing out anything that looked useful or marginally interesting for study later. So far most of the free-standing devices had been relocated to labs nearer where the scientists worked. Radek and Rodney were loading the last cart while Radek's laptop downloaded all the data for later translation. Like the viral lab that had claimed the lives of several expedition members, this lab's notes were kept separate and not accessible through the central database.
"Hello, hello." Rodney's voice had that interested 'and what do we have here' tone that made Radek turn.
"You activated it?" Radek smiled a little. Rodney's own gene therapy wasn't as effective as he wanted, and the other man didn't activate or operate things as well as he'd like. Dr. Zelenka was glad for his boss when he truly got to be the first to make something work like this. It almost made up for his own lack of the gene.
Rodney's own thrill at actually activating the unknown device was shown in the fact that he didn't snap at Radek for his question. "It's heavier than it looks, give me a hand?"
"/Wuss,/" Radek said with a smile and nod, moving closer to take hold of the machine. They transferred it to the cart, then looked around.
On the way back to the lab, Radek wrote off the sudden, sharp pains in his abdoman as probably something to do with the strange off-world food he'd been eating lately.
"And you say it's not your stomach, exactly?" Carson Beckett's blue eyes moved between Radek and the device he held over the other man's torso.
"No. Not my stomach. I've had food poisoning before – here and on Earth. This does not feel the same." He winced again as another wave of pain hit, though it didn't double him over anymore as it had done earlier that day and all night before. The pain medication was working, at least.
"Alright, I'm gonna do a few more tests – these readings aren't making any more sense."
Radek watched the doctor vanish between the curtains and sighed. Yesterday, after he and Rodney had finished moving the last of the equipment from the Ancient's lab, Radek' stomach pains had begun to get worse though he'd tried to ignore them. Rodney had eventually sent him to his quarters to sleep, noting how pale Zelenka had looked – and of course pointing out that he couldn't work with the other man howling. Typical Rodney. Radek hadn't been insulted by the man's callousness – he would have been more worried at obvious concern.
It hadn't really helped. In his rooms, the pain had worsened a little, like very bad stomach cramps. He still figured it was the food, but there was no other evidence besides his pain – nothing was coming out, nor did he fell that it wanted to. He had slept only a little during the night. Skipping dinner in the mess hall in favor of a power bar half nibbled, he'd also skipped breakfast when the sun finally rose.
In the morning when the pain hadn't subsided at all, Radek finally called Dr. Beckett. He listed his symptoms and expressed a concern concern that it might have been some kind of contagion contracted in the lab the day before, or simple food poisioning. A wave of pain had hit while Radek was on the radio, and Carson told the Czech to stay put, and arrived a short time later with a gurney. They had agreed that if it had been a contagen of some kind, the city would have picked up on it, so contamination wasn't a concern.
It was now midmorning, and Radek was at least getting some relief, though the churning, almost grinding sensation in his midsection wasn't dulled by the painkillers. Dr. Beckett had run several blood tests, and taken every measurement he could for Zelenka, and expressed only confusion, saying the results didn't make sense. After the doctor left, Radek could hear him and Rodney arguing outside.
"Pregnancy test, are you mad? In case you hadn't noticed, Rodney, Dr. Zelenka's a man."
"No, Carson, between the five-o'clock shadow and the entire lack of perky breasts, I didn't notice that fact at all. Loo, we found something that might make a pregnancy test something to consider. I'll bet you're not making heads or tails of the blood work. Too much estrogen, too much progesterone? Pregnancy test, full body scan, Carson, now."
Radek's blood chilled, his mind working quickly. They knew some of the devices they had handled had had something to do with reproduction, but how would that account for his stomach pains? And why did Rodney want pregnancy tests on him? Radek was, as Carson had pointed out, very male. He had to resist the urge to double check that fact for the sake of reassurance.
"I suppose you heard that?" Carson lifted aside the curtain and Radek could see McKay briefly, trying to steal a glance into the enclosed area.
"Yes. Has he translated the notes yet? Perhaps if we knew what was there ..."
"Aye. He said you were fine until the end so he started backwards. That little gizmo you two handled, looked like a melted naquadah generator? He thinks it's some kind of fertility machine. According to the translation, it's designed to help men conceive and carry a child."
However much Rodney might dislike the phrase, the proper medical term for Radek's reaction was fainting.