YAY! New chappie. Okay, to explain. I've just got a new job, and this keeps me 1) busy and 2) tired during the week. I'll have to be doing all my updates on the weekends now. I promise I'll try to have at least one update every weekend! I PROMISE! Feel free to poke.
A/N! I've been nominated for a Stargate Fan Award for one of my Ronon/Elizabeth stories! YAY! You like me! YOU REALLY LIKE ME!
"I remember it well
Taxied out of a storm
To watch you perform
And my ships were sailing"
-Damien Rice, I Remember
Elizabeth gaped. "He showed you what?"
Teyla shrugged. "It looked like a hair tie. It had a small triangle of brown cloth, then two strings becoming one."
Elizabeth wondered what that could be, then shrugged it off. Probably wasn't important. "I have to go talk to Rodney. He just called with some urgent news. Would you like to come?"
Teyla shrugged and together they left Elizabeth's office. On the way down to the medlab, Teyla posed a question she'd been wondering about for some time. "Why do you seem to be avoiding both Ronon and Colonel Caldwell."
Elizabeth blushed. "Several weeks ago, Colonel Caldwell asked me to have dinner with him."
"So?"
"On Earth, that's considered a romantic overture."
"Ah. You have feelings for Ronon, so you couldn't take him up on it."
"Teyla! I do not have feelings for Ronon."
"Then why did you slee-"
Elizabeth poked Teyla. Hard. "We're not talking about that."
"Okay."
They were silent for a few minutes, still walking, both thinking. Then it dawned on Elizabeth, and in the middle of the corridor, she stopped, blushed, and burst out laughing.
Teyla looked at her with concern. "What's funny?"
"Umm...I just realized what Ronon was showing you."
"What?"
"It was...my...umm...undergarment. I couldn't find it...that night...so I left it. He obviously found it."
Teyla had a wrinkled forehead, scrunchy nose thing going on, meaning she didn't understand. "How was that your undergarment?"
"Well...see...there's so little of it, that when wearing thin clothes that are tight, there are no panty lines."
"Ah. I don't wear undergarments when I wear tight clothes."
"No wonder the men all have hard-ons for you."
"Hard-ons?"
"Never mind."
Thankfully, since Elizabeth could be no redder from blushing more, and she didn't want to tempt it by explaining what the slang "hard-on" meant to Teyla, they'd arrived at Carson's lab. Inside, there was a bustle of activity.
Dr. Carson Beckett, head of all things medical on Atlantis, immediately rushed over and pulled Elizabeth into his office, a rarely used space, but it had a door that could be closed so he'd chosen that. Teyla followed with an amused look.
"Dr. Weir, we have a problem," Carson said as soon as the door shut, his Scottish accent seriously thick with stress.
"What kind of problem?"
"I've been doing some calculations and measurements on the subject we spoke of this afternoon. In normal circumstances, 1 in 10 sexual encounters results in pregnancy. With the added virility of the Avarian drink, it increases to 1 in 5. There were exactly five women on the Avarian mission. By ratio alone, if all of you engaged in sex, then one of is pregnant."
Elizabeth nodded and thought for a moment, exchanging a slightly worried look with Teyla. "How soon can the tests be run?"
"Depending on when each woman's monthlies are, we can know now. I can take blood today, and know by tomorrow."
"Okay. I'll call the women to my office and we'll talk. After, I'll send them to you." Carson nodded and started to leave the room. "Oh, and Carson? We keep this between the six of us for now. I don't even want you telling Dr. McKay. Understood?"
Carson nodded. "I wouldn't dream of breaking patient/doctor confidentiality."
"I'm sure, but you do have a knack for well-placed hints. I don't want any hints getting around, got it?"
Carson nodded again, and stood aside to let Teyla and Elizabeth pass. As soon as they were gone, he tapped in a sequence into the computer and waited for McKay to answer.
"What?"
"Uh, Rodney? Remember that thing I just told you? Forget it. Everything. Instantly."
"About the pregnancy? Why?"
"Shhhh! NOT EVEN THE WORD! Or Dr. Weir is gonna have my head!"
"Okay, sheesh...so...we on for Parcheesi or what?"
Elizabeth's office was full of women, a sight never really seen. Usually it was filled with all men, excusing Teyla and herself. Despite advances made on Earth, their's was still a mainly patriarchic society.
Elizabeth looked at the four women before her, and knew that other than Teyla, they had no idea why they were here. It was her duty, as leader, to not only tell them, but to reassure them and make it clear that no matter what, nothing about their jobs had to change, nor their living status.
"Before I explain why I've called you all here, I first want to say that no matter what answers are given to the questions I have to ask, I will not hold anything said against any of you. What's best in this situation is honesty. That said, Dr. Beckett tells me that the Lechto Niote we imbibed on our first-contact mission with the Avarians, very likely resulted in someone in this room being pregnant. If you engaged in sexual relations, that is." Elizabeth let that sink in, before continuing. "That includes myself, so I can't really hold it against anyone. What needs to be done, is the test given, so we know who it is."
Amanda Cole raised her hand cautiously. "And if one of us is? What happens? Do we get sent back to Earth?"
Elizabeth walked around her desk, leaning against it in a gesture of confidence. "Only if you choose. Any off world duties will be suspended, so you'll likely be stuck on Atlantis for the next nine months, but I will not be sending anyone back to Earth for a medical condition like this. There will have to be certain things changed around here, but mostly I'll leave a lot of the decisions to whomsoever has this...issue."
The three women nodded, still staring intently at Elizabeth. In that moment, their lives and their faith was placed in her, and for the first time she realized that she was their leader. Completely. Not just professionally, as she'd been treating it this past year, but completely. If she told them, they would do whatever she said. It was an ego-boost, and a confidence-basher. How could she ever hope to live up to their expectations, let alone that of their child? Or was her child?
Elizabeth pushed that thought away, and smiled comfortingly. "Now that that's taken care of, I'd ask that you go see Dr. Beckett. He's prepared the tests, and is just waiting for you to arrive. Confidentiality is promised, so no worries about the news leaking out."
The women nodded, and except for Teyla, they filed out like obedient little soldiers. Teyla watched them apathetically before turning back to Elizabeth. "And you?"
"And me what?"
"You have to get tested too."
"Don't remind me. Seriously, a mother at 39? I doubt it. I'm too old. You need to be worried. You're young and fertile." Elizabeth teased.
"True...but Ronon does look like the kind of man with very strong virility."
"Don't remind me."
Woohoo! Anyways. Next chapter...leaks. LOTS of leaks. And confrontations. Lots of stuff happening. Finally, Elizabeth and Ronon get some alone time. Finally, Teyla and John get alone time. Finally, Carson and Rodney get alone time. Wait...does that last couple belong in there?
