Sheppard was much more relaxed after his one-person boxing match. He showered and wandered back to the infirmary, grabbing a power bar on the way in lieu of a late breakfast. When he arrived he found the whole gang present: Teyla, Ronon, Carson, and of course the baby, who was now awake. Sheppard came to stand next to the chair where Ronon was sitting with the child. "Hey, little guy," he cooed.
Ronon smiled and held the baby up. "Wanna hold him?"
Sheppard grinned and picked him up. Bright hazel eyes met his own. "Hi," he said stupidly, then looked at Carson. "He's looking better."
Carson smiled. "Aye, he is. He's really very healthy. Now that we've taken care of his dehydration and fever, he's good as new."
"So you've released him, then?"
"Aye," Carson agreed. "But we must make sure to give him plenty of fluids. He's still a wee bit dehydrated."
Sheppard nodded, not really listening. The baby was going to be just fine. That was great news. "So what are we going to name him?" he asked, watching the baby watch him.
"Is it up to us?" Teyla asked.
Sheppard shrugged, finding a seat on a gurney next to Teyla. "Well, there's nobody else to do it. And we're his family now, right?" He looked around at three goofy grins as they all nodded their agreement. "So…name?"
They all looked at each other in silence for a moment. Finally Teyla spoke. "What about Wexel?"
"What? Why would we name him that?" Sheppard asked, mystified. What a horrible name.
Teyla looked mildly offended at his tone. "My mother's father was named Wexel. It is an old family name."
Sheppard had the grace to flush slightly. "Ah, sorry. But do we have to? I mean, he doesn't look like a Wexel."
"Of course we do not have to. But no one else was coming up with anything."
"What about Bob?" Sheppard asked after a moment.
"Bob? Are ye out of your bloody mind?" Carson asked mildly. "What more generic name could ye come up with?"
Sheppard made a face. Fine. He was more used to naming Wraith than babies, anyway.
"We could call him Corban," Ronon suggested, sounding oddly hesitant. He hurriedly went on before Sheppard could shoot him down. "Corban's a traditional Satedan name. Means 'gift.'"
"Hey, yeah…" Sheppard said softly, looking at the now-dozing baby. "Gift. Corban. I like it."
"As do I," Teyla agreed.
"Aye," Smiled Carson.
Ronon just looked at them all, grinned, and took the baby back gently from Sheppard's arms. Corban it was.
Several hours later, Sheppard, Teyla, the baby, Beckett, Ronon, and Weir all sat in the conference room. They were trying to decide what to do with the newly christened Corban.
"So you named him," Weir sighed when they proudly introduced him by name. "That's just making this more complicated, gentlemen and lady."
"You're not going to let us keep him," Sheppard said, wondering why the idea bothered him so much. What did he want with a baby, anyway? But one look at Corban, happily chewing on Teyla's hair, and he knew he was in love. And from the looks on the faces of Ronon, Teyla, and Beckett, he knew he wasn't alone.
"Atlantis isn't a safe place to raise a child," Weir pointed out reasonably. "And who would care for him?"
"I will," four voices chorused.
Weir looked between them, mouth quirking in a smile. "Well, that solves that problem, anyway. But need I remind you that raising a child is a full-time job? When are any of you going to find the time to do it? Carson, you barely even find time for sleep. As for the rest of you, you're all on the same team. When one of you is unavailable, you all are."
Sheppard shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sure we could find a babysitter for when we're off-world," he suggested.
"Not to mention," Weir went on, undaunted, "Atlantis isn't exactly safe. The Wraith could figure out at any moment that we're still here. And we would have to baby-proof the city."
"Not the whole city," Ronon said with a smile, "and not for a while. And nowhere is safe from the Wraith."
Weir shook her head. "I'm going to have a lot of opposition, aren't I? Let me think about it. He can at least stay here until he's fully recovered."
Teyla smiled gratefully and snuggled Corban more closely against her chest. He smiled up at her. Sheppard found himself grinning goofily, glad to see the baby was better. Beckett had released him earlier, with the admonition for Teyla to make sure he got plenty of fluids and bring him back if he acted at all unwell. But he looked great.
Weir sighed and stood up. "Ok, you can all go play with the baby. I'll think about it."
