A/N: These characters are the intellectual property of others; no infringement intended.
A/N2: This is the second of the two plot bunny chapters that started this whole thing. Your comments welcome. Thank you for the reviews so far.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mail Call
Elizabeth Weir sat in Carson Beckett's office, twisting her hands in her lap and thinking over what could have gone wrong sometime in the last three months.
"Carson, are you sure?"
"Aye, love, I ran the test twice. And you yourself said you'd been noticing some changes."
She looked away. "Yes, I know. It's just that we were so careful. . ."
"Elizabeth, I told you when you switched to the diaphragm that you would have to change some habits and be more careful. Anyway, have you talked to the Colonel about things?"
"No, I thought I'd wait until I was sure."
"Well, now you are sure, and some decisions need to be made."
"I know." She stood up, finally meeting his eyes. "Thank you, Carson. I also appreciate you keeping this to yourself."
He stood up as well. "Of course, as always." She turned to leave. "Elizabeth," he said, with a hand on her arm.
"Yes?" she said, turning at the door. He led her out the door over to the medicine closet.
"You need to come in for a checkup in a couple of weeks. And I'm giving you some vitamins and something for any nausea." He handed her two small bottles. "You might also screening for Down Syndrome. You're a little outside the accepted safety window."
Elizabeth took the bottles and grimaced at the last comment. "Thanks again, Carson. I'll let you know what John says."
She left the infirmary in deep thought. Carson Beckett returned to his office, also considering the future.
Dear John –
Well, things are getting exciting around here. The pregnancies are due any time now and things are getting tense. Jack is about to go wacko, as he calls it. Carter keeps working since the Ori aren't taking any time off. Daniel is picking up some of the slack.
I've been keeping up with your mission reports. Things seem to have gone pretty well in the last couple of months. Hope that doesn't jinx things. . . .
Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard arrived at the conference room early for the latest briefing. Ten minutes with nothing to do led to some reflection, and he closed his eyes, put his feet on the conference table, and indulged in a lack of stress. His team was on a week's rotation on Atlantis, the Daedalus had just docked and was here for any emergencies, and he had fresh coffee and a cinnamon roll. For this brief moment, life was good.
"Good morning, gentlemen and ladies," said Dr. Elizabeth Weir, entering the conference room on the heels of Rodney McKay. "Colonel Caldwell is going to join us for our briefing, so we will give him a few minutes to get here. Meanwhile, how goes the unloading, Colonel?"
Sheppard took his feet off the table and sat up straighter. Grabbing the cinnamon roll, he said, "Sweet," and took a bite.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I had hoped for a little more detail, Colonel."
"OK," he said, swallowing. "We have unloaded all critical materials, including medical and military supplies. . ."
". . . And I, for one, am glad to get the restocking. Beckett had just joined the group. "The colonel, here, almost used up our supply of antibiotics with that little infection he picked up a month ago."
"Well, we will not go there," replied John with a pointed look at the doctor. "Today will be concentrating on the other material including less critical supplies and personal items."
"I see you made sure food was in that first wave of unloading," responded Weir with a raised eyebrow.
"Actually, that would be me," said Rodney, looking up, finally, from his laptop. "My mental acuity is in part related to the quality of the food we have, and I, for one, have noticed a decrease in palatability lately."
Teyla looked over at the scientist. "Are you saying you would rather not have tava beans? I assure you there are those on the mainland who would be happy to have your share."
"No, no, no, that's quite alright," back pedaled Rodney. "It's just a little, uh, variety, helps the brain power."
"Not to mention the sugar," quipped Sheppard.
"OK, I think that's enough. Colonel Caldwell, thank you for joining us. I was just getting reports on the status of the unloading."
The older colonel nodded and dropped a packet of mail in front of Dr. Weir. "The latest from the SGC. The regular mail will be distributed as usual after lunch."
Elizabeth took a moment to thumb through the small packet of letters. Most of it was the usual collection of orders and directives that were sent in paper to backup the online distribution. She came across an unexpected envelope, however.
"Colonel Sheppard."
John looked up from putting the last of the sweet roll in his mouth. "Umm?"
Elizabeth smiled. "You seem to have a letter here."
John's eyebrows went up as he swallowed. "Hmm. I wasn't expecting anything."
Elizabeth handed it over to John and put the rest of the mail aside.
"Now, what is on the agenda for the next few days."
As Elizabeth led the meeting, John stared at the envelope. He would have heard if something had happened to his father. A chill went through him as he thought these might be new orders and he could get transferred back to earth. Caldwell didn't look particularly pleased, so maybe that wasn't it. By the time the meeting ended, he was about to climb out of his skin.
"Is there anything else? If not, I call us adjourned," said Elizabeth, standing to collect her laptop and the mail.
Everyone except John and Rodney filed out, discussing the most recent problems. Rodney was bent over his laptop.
"Oh, NO!" said the scientist, looking over at the tense pilot.
"What?" said John, sincerely confused.
"My sister is pregnant. And based on when she's due, it happened while she was here."
"Oh no you don't. I had nothing to do with that."
"Right, KIRK." Rodney slammed his laptop closed and got up to leave. "She's MARRIED! I told you that from the start."
"Right!" replied John, now also irritated. "And did it occur to you that her husband could have been really happy when she got back?"
McKay was suddenly quiet as when a totally new interpretation of events presents itself. "No, I, uh, hadn't thought of that. Huh. Well, OK, see you later." And with no more comments, he left, contacting Radek on his headset to meet him in the lab.
Elizabeth, who had witnessed the entire exchange holding her breath, finally got a chance to breathe as John turned toward her. The tension was radiating off of him.
"Uh, Elizabeth, are you going to need me any time soon?"
"No, can't think of anything."
"Good. I think I'm going to, uh, take off for awhile."
She looked at him carefully. He was flicking the letter back and forth, and as far as she could tell, it had not yet been opened.
"Sure, that's OK." She watched him leave, hoping it wasn't bad news and that the conversation with Rodney hadn't made things worse.
Several hours later, Dr. Elizabeth Weir looked up from her laptop and realized she was hungry. It was after 2 PM and she hadn't heard from John, not even to bug her to eat. Touching her headset, she decided to invite him to lunch for a change.
"Weir to Sheppard. John, are you hungry?"
She waited a minute and tried again but still received no answer. She remembered he was going to "take off" for awhile, as he put it, but that usually meant he would have his ear piece with him.
"Weir to Ronon."
"Ronon here."
"Have you seen Colonel Sheppard? He's not answering hails."
"Not since the briefing. Should I look for him?"
"No, that's OK. I'm sure it's nothing. Weir out."
She got the same answer from Teyla and Rodney. She finally had to resort to the scanners to find him. He wasn't running, however. No, he was on the balcony outside his new quarters. She was beginning to think of the space as "theirs" since they spent so much time there together.
"Chuck, I'm going for a walk. I'll have my headset if I'm needed."
"Yes, Dr. Weir."
She made her way quickly to their quarters. After entering, she paused to observe him on the balcony. He had evidently been running because he had changed from his BDUs to light sweats and running shoes. His posture was familiar: his arms braced against the railings, his head bowed. Last time he had been dealing with the fallout from shooting Rodney. What could possibly be such a burden to him?
She approached the door and waved her hand over the controls. As the door slid open, she saw him stiffen and lean forward a little more.
"John, what is it?" She noticed a piece of paper wadded up in his hand: the mysterious letter. "Did you get bad news?" She walked up to the rail, placing a hand on his stiff arm.
"No, not bad news." He straightened up some, still not looking at her. He gave a cynical laugh. "In fact, some would call it good news." He shook his head and walked to the other end of the balcony.
"John, what is it? You're scaring me."
He stopped again, ran a hand over this face and started back toward her. "Remember when I came back from Earth last year and you asked what I had had to do to get back?"
"Yes, and you never told me."
"Yeah, well it still bothers me, but I should tell you." He sighed and looked out to sea again. His knuckles were turning white where his hands gripped the rails. "They didn't want to let me come back because I was the only one who could easily operate the weapons chair. They had gone through everyone with the gene as well as the folks with the gene therapy. They were pretty spooked and then I showed up. I got rid of the wraith, and the IOA didn't want me to leave. They said that my highest priority should be defending Earth."
"Hmm. That doesn't surprise me. No good deed goes unpunished after all. But if they wanted to keep you, how did you get back?"
John paused again and looked away from her. "Landry came up with this idea that the IOA accepted. He said they would let me come back if I agreed to come through the gate whenever they needed me and if I, uh, would become a sperm donor." His voice fell off toward the end of his speech, and Elizabeth wasn't sure she caught it.
"If you would become a what?"
"A sperm donor." He spat it out, as if it were distasteful, and shook his head as if to clear it. "This letter," he continued, holding up the offensive piece of paper, "is informing me of the success of their project." He thrust it at her and turned away.
Elizabeth was dumbfounded. She took the letter and read it, mumbling it aloud.
To: Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, USAF, Atlantis
RE: Plato Project
Classification: TOP SECRET
This is to inform you of the outcome of the samples you submitted ten months ago.
Sample 1 Pregnancy to term 1 female
Sample 2 Pregnancy to term 1 male
Sample 3 Pregnancy to term 1 male
Sample 4 In vitro pregnancy to term 1 female
2 males
Sample 5a In vitro pregnancy to term 1 female
1 male (stillborn)
Sample 5b In vitro pregnancy In process; due 3 months.
The last sample was split with some retained for testing purposes. It was used when a later family joined the program.
All live births are doing well.
We will be in contact with you for additional samples given this success and in accordance with your agreement with the IOC.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Carolyn Lam
Stargate Command
Elizabeth lowered the letter, stunned. "John, why wouldn't you tell me this earlier?"
"I told you. I was embarrassed at being treated like a, a bull. And now I've fathered ten children, two are dead, and the other eight will never know me nor I them." There was a definite hitch in the last statement.
His back was still toward her, and Elizabeth was overcome with the need to see his face. She reached for him, but he resisted turning around. "John, look at me."
He finally turned around and she could see the emotions on his face. There was a strong anger there, but an even stronger anguish. She knew, finally, that this man wanted children and he was devastated at being excluded from their lives.
"John, you don't know that you'll never see them. These people are part of the Stargate Program, right?" He nodded. "So, they will be around the SGC and you'll see them when we go back."
John pulled back, shaking his head. "I don't think I could do that, Elizabeth. What, see them at 3 years old, ten years old, and miss everything in between and after? And now they want more!"
He walked off again, stopping by a pillar as if it were a barrier to big to pass. He leaned against it. "As if this wasn't enough, one of the families is Jack O'Neill and Sam Carter. They've latched on to my dad, and he will get to play a larger role in my children's lives than I will." He reached up and rubbed at his eyes. "And they added Jeannie Miller to the list. So I sort of had to lie to Rodney."
Elizabeth was trying to digest this last part when her headset beeped.
"Control to Dr. Weir."
"Weir here. What is it, Chuck?"
"The Marines have been trying to reach Colonel Sheppard about the unloading. Do you know where he is?"
Elizabeth looked over at John and noticed his earpiece was missing. "Yes, Chuck, I'll inform him. He will get back with them. Weir out."
"John, the Marines are trying to reach you."
He reached up to his ear then realized the transmitter was missing. He stepped back inside and found it next to a wall where he had thrown it earlier. Amazingly, it still worked.
"Sheppard to Lorne. What's the problem?"
"Lorne here. The Daedalus crew wants to know what to do with some cargo."
"OK, patch me through. Sergeant, what can I do for you?"
"Colonel, we need to know where you want this stuff stashed."
"What stuff?"
"We have five cargo containers marked Colonel Sheppard, Private and Confidential. So, where do we put 'em?"
"Um, give me a few minutes to clean up, Sergeant. I'll meet you in the gate room in twenty minutes. Sheppard out."
He rubbed hard at his face and looked out to where Elizabeth still stood at the balcony railing. "Sorry, I have to get a shower and get back. They have some stuff addressed to me and I don't remember ordering anything, so Dad must have sent it. Anyway, I've got to figure out what to do with it."
Elizabeth could see the remnants of his emotional reaction now that she knew what to look for. True, the indifferent, wise cracking mask had slipped back in place, but there were some shadows around his eyes.
"Go ahead and get cleaned up. I'll wait and walk back with you if that's OK?"
"Sure," he said, heading to the bathroom. He paused and looked back. "And thanks."
He was out and dressed ten minutes later and she followed him out of the room, matching him stride for stride. "Dinner?"
He looked over at her and gave a half-smile, acknowledging that things had been left up in the air. "Seven OK?"
"Yep, you'll know where to find me."
They soon reached the gate room, and Elizabeth headed for the stairs to her office but hesitated as the light of the Asgaard transporter lit up the space. In its aftermath she could see five very large containers, 4 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet. She recognized them as the standard cargo containers used by the Daedalus to maximize space usage in the cargo bays. All were labeled "Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL." She paused in her steps and moved to stand beside John as he looked over the large shipment.
"Sergeant, was there any paperwork with this stuff?" The colonel looked over at the officer with a puzzled expression.
"Yes, sir, this packet came with them." The sergeant handed over an envelope the size of a Federal Express mailer. It, too, was marked "Private and Confidential" with John's name.
"Thank you, Sergeant," said Sheppard, moving away and tearing open the packet. Elizabeth was dieing of curiosity and approached him. He was reading another letter, and she could see he was, once again, trying to contain his emotions.
"Sergeant, these things can be left here temporarily. Our staff will take care of things from here." She nodded at the officer, indicating that he and his men could resume unloading. "Colonel, would you like to use my office to read those transmittal documents?"
John looked up, dazed. At Elizabeth's pointed look, he realized he'd been given an escape. "Actually, just let me step outside for a few minutes to be sure I understand the instructions." He turned to the men, still hovering. "I'll get some of our personnel to move this as soon as it's ready. Thank you. Dismissed."
The Daedalus men gave quick salutes and headed to the pier where the ship was docked. Sheppard headed to the balcony near Elizabeth's office. After checking in with Chuck, Elizabeth followed.
"Do you need some time, or can you tell me?"
He was leaning against the railing of her balcony, still reading the letter. At her comment, he looked up. "It's from General O'Neill."
Elizabeth's eyebrows went up as she walked over to stand beside him. "What does he say?"
John looked down at the letter again, a look of amazement on his face. "Well, here, read it," and he handed it to her.
Elizabeth took it, looking at John, but he turned away to face the ocean. Deciding she needed to know what else was going to hit him today, she turned to the papers in her hand.
Dear Colonel Sheppard,
Actually, I should say Dear John. I feel like I know you since your father has been hanging around here a lot recently.
I suppose by now you have received word that your "donations" have borne fruit. As one of the beneficiaries of those donations, I wanted to let you know how much this event means to me and Carter. When I mentioned this to some of the others involved, they, too wanted to express their appreciation. So, we all got together and decided to send you some stuff.
Each container is from a different family, and each family had their own idea of what to get. They all know about Atlantis, so most of the stuff is what you might want in a remote location. Besides the stuff to share, there is also a sealed box marked personal. You might want to save those to open later.
John, I mean it. Carter is over the moon, if tired, and I find myself looking for reasons to go to the nursery. Your dad is a permanent fixture and very handy when it comes to changing diapers. I know it was hard on you, but we can't thank you enough for this gift. Actually, gifts since there are three of them.
Jack
Elizabeth looked up from reading. John looked OK if still a little shocked. "Well, aren't you going to open them?"
"Yeah, but what do I tell everyone who asks?"
Elizabeth shrugged. "They're from your dad. Nobody will care after awhile." She turned to head back in then looked back. "You better call your team. You won't be able to move all that stuff alone."
For the first time since the letter arrived, John grinned. Elizabeth could see him tapping his earpiece as she went back to her office.
Looking down later, she could see Ronon, Teyla, Rodney, Carson, and a few others swarming around the crates. Suddenly a roar of approval went up, and she left her office to join the group at the foot of the stairs.
"What is it?"
"CHOCOLATE!" said Rodney, up to his elbows in one crate. He looked over at Elizabeth, a stunned look on his face. "Except for this box, which Sheppard won't let me open, the WHOLE CRATE is filled with every kind of chocolate you can think of."
"Rodney, I can think of quite a few types, and not all of them are Hershey or Nestles." Elizabeth walked over to look into the crate and found that Rodney had not been exaggerating. She saw Toblerone, Cadbury, and Lindt as well as Hershey, Nestle, and Ghiradelli. There were big bars and small bars, kisses and cups. There were also two giant bags of M&Ms (she didn't know M&Ms came in 4 gallon bags). Given the size of the crate, Elizabeth tried to figure out how much chocolate fit into 64 cubic feet, but she gave up and settled on "a lot."
She looked back at John who was now grinning from ear to ear and handing out Hershey bars. At his feet was a small shipping box marked "personal."
"You better save me some of that. I'm very partial to Cadbury's Bourneville dark chocolate. By the way, what's in the other crates?"
John looked over at her. "I don't know yet. We've been too busy dealing with the chocolate." He looked over at McKay who was now considering which of the 16 ounce bars he was going to help himself to. Moving over to the crate, he batted at the scientist's hands. "Enough, McKay, I know you have at least four big bars stashed on your person."
"Hmmm? What? Oh, well, can't have too many, can you?" He stood, trying to look innocent as he moved away from the crate Sheppard was now closing up.
"Well, this one will have to go into my quarters or there won't be anything left. Ronon, can I get you to help me move it later?"
"Sure, Sheppard, in exchange for another of those Twix things."
"I can tell everyone is going to need incentives to help me in the near future," said John, rolling his eyes as he approached the next crate.
By this time Lorne and his team and a few more scientists had arrived in the gate room to see what else would turn up in the mysterious crates. No one had received this much stuff since the expedition had arrived on Atlantis. Suddenly, a shout went up.
"Beer!!!!" yelled Lieutenant Cadman. Everyone pushed forward eagerly to see if their favorites had been included.
"Alright, alright, calm down. From the looks of things, there is plenty here for everyone," said John, trying to get the, by now, substantial crowd to back up.
"Yeah," said Rodney, "but no Moosehead I bet."
Standing on the steps, Elizabeth could see that the crate was full of about six kegs of beer with pretzels and popcorn shoved in between them.
"Open the next one," said someone in the group, and the whole crowd moved their concentration to the third crate.
"Oh my god!" John's voice sounded awestruck.
"What is it?" said Elizabeth, trying to see over the ever-expanding crowd. Was anyone still at their posts?
"Football games! On DVD! There must be dozens of them!" The excitement in John's voice was echoed by some of the Americans present while others just shrugged. "Holy cow: I think every bowl game from last season is here!"
"Of course. Football. No one had enough sense to send hockey," muttered Rodney, one of the less enthusiastic regarding the contents of this crate.
"And this is good news?" queried Teyla. Elizabeth was glad the Athosian had the temerity to ask. She moved to stand near Teyla to better see what was happening.
John looked up at his teammate as if she had grown another head. "Of COURSE it is! Now you can see how the game is played over a season. And the bowl games will show some of the best teams in the country!"
"I see," replied Teyla, looking at Elizabeth with a questioning gaze. The expedition leader just shook her head. There was no way to fully explain the preoccupation some Americans had with football.
"AWESOME!" was the verdict on the fourth crate. Glancing again at each other, the two women stood back and watched as several eager marines began to unload chips, bean dip, nacho cheese, peanuts, and other snack food.
"What exactly is this?" Teyla looked at Elizabeth, completely at a loss.
"Well, you know how we like to eat popcorn while watching movies?"
"Yes," responded Teyla, still puzzled.
"Well, there are also snacks that are commonly consumed while watching football. I think the contents of this crate are meant to go with the football DVDs in the other crate.
"I see. So one eats snacks while watching football. I thought sports were intended for participation."
"Well, in the case of football, participation involves eating a lot of junk food and drinking beer."
"Junk food?"
"Food with little nutrient value but savored for its taste."
"Hmmmm."
The group working on the crates came to the last one. A wave of awe went up as the contents were revealed.
"OK, everyone, I'll be sharing most of the other stuff, but this one is all mine."
"Uh, Colonel, I'd like to remind you that you're in the infirmary quite frequently, and a bottle of single malt scotch will go a long way to making your stays more pleasant and short."
"Alcohol?!?" said Elizabeth.
One of the Russian scientists was making a play for the vodka.
"Ah, and some real beer," said Lorne, holding up a six pack of Samuel Adams.
"Is there any wine, Colonel?"
"Yes, Dr. Weir, I think we have a few choices here. Should I set one aside for you?"
"If you value your position, Colonel, you will set aside more than one. Also, I would appreciate it if you kept this stash in your quarters with the chocolate. As much as I like a drink now and then, we need to keep inebriation to a minimum on base.
"Of course, ma'am," responded John, cheekily. "I think I can arrange that." He was already putting together ideas for a private liquor store.
"So, Lorne and Ronan, get a few more guys and we'll move the chocolate and the liquor to my quarters. The beer needs to go to the mess hall for refrigeration. Cadman? You and your team volunteering?"
"Yes SIR!"
"OK, and I have an inventory, so don't get greedy. Are there any volunteers to take the DVDs to the TV room?"
There were volunteers for that crate as well as the snacks, which were transported to the mess hall by the kitchen staff and put under lock and key. Soon the gate room was clear again, and Elizabeth moved back to her office.
"Uh, Elizabeth, about dinner. . . ."
"Yes Colonel?"
"Well, some of the guys saw some favorite teams, and we wanted to watch a game right away. Can we make it 8?"
She had to smile at his combination of discomfort and excitement. "Sure, see you then." He turned to leave when she stopped him. "Uh, John, what about these other five boxes?"
He looked around, realizing suddenly that he still had five "confidential" boxes at his feet. Tapping his ear piece, he said, "Lorne, I've got the five small boxes to move and look at, so let's make the game party at 5. OK?"
"Sure, Colonel. I'll tell the others and make sure they don't eat all the bean dip before you get there."
"There were three gallons of bean dip. I don't think they'll make it through all that."
"You willing to make a little wager on that, Colonel?
"No, you're right. Keep 'em in line. Sheppard out."
"Can you help me with these last boxes? I don't think they're too heavy."
Elizabeth nodded and indicated to Chuck that she would be away for awhile. She managed to carry two boxes while John got the other three. By common consent, they headed for their quarters so he could examine the contents.
"Do you want me to leave you alone?" she asked, setting her two boxes next to the table by the balcony.
"No, I don't think that will be necessary. Now that you know everything, I don't think there is anything here you can't see." He proceeded to rip the tape off the first box. Inside he found a letter, and a picture of a family. The family was a man and wife, with their son and a newborn. John got a lump in his throat as he opened the letter.
Dear Colonel Sheppard,
We wanted to share with you the joy that we have experienced in our new daughter. . .
The letter went on to introduce the family and describe the baby. John looked back at the picture: his daughter. Wordlessly he handed the picture and letter to Elizabeth and moved to the next box. In each case, he had a family picture and a letter. Two of the families had sent pages to start a baby book. As John moved to open the last box, Elizabeth could see he was moved by the gesture. She moved closer and put her hands on his shoulders as he sat at the table, removing the picture. At his sharp intake of breath, she leaned over to see the last family.
It was Jack O'Neill and Sam Carter, each holding one baby. The third person in the picture was Edward Sheppard, holding the third triplet. John put the picture down so he could see it and opened the letter, reading it to Elizabeth.
Dear John,
Well, here we are. Now you see why we needed your dad around: he's the third set of hands. I hope we guessed right in providing the stuff for you. The football games were my idea, and everyone else kind of built on that. I want to be sure you know you can stay in touch, and we'll try to keep you posted on developments.
Jack
"Wow," said John, reviewing the pictures.
"Would you mind if we hang them on the wall? Then we can both see them," said Elizabeth, gently rubbing his shoulders.
John leaned back against her, glad for her strength just now. "Yeah, that would be a good idea. We'll hang them here, and then we won't have any questions about who they are. I don't think we can invent this many siblings between us."
"You OK?"
"Yeah, just a little overwhelmed."
"Well, it's almost 5 and I think you have a football game to attend. Want to skip dinner?"
He looked up at her. "Do you mind? I think after this first game night things will settle down."
"Sure. I'll find Teyla. We have some catching up to do. Think we could do breakfast?"
John grinned. "Here?"
"Sure."
"OK, that sounds like a plan." He rose, taking the pictures and carefully lining them up on some shelves along one wall. Satisfied that they were stable, he headed for the door. "Later."
Elizabeth shook her head, smiling. She had to hand it to Jack O'Neill for thinking of the right kind of gift.
As John headed out to the TV room he made a swing by the mess hall. There had been a PS on Jack's letter that he hadn't read to Elizabeth.
PS: I don't know if you've thought of anything permanent with Elizabeth, but if you're interested, there is a small package taped to the bottom of the Heineken keg. Use or not as you see fit.
Reaching the mess hall, John found the crew arguing about whether or not to chill the British beers. Preferring Fosters himself, he decided to let them deal with the problem. He opened the refrigerator and found the kegs lined up against one wall with a large sign on them: PRIVATE PROPERTY OF JOHN SHEPPARD. DRINK AT YOUR OWN RISK. Chuckling, he quickly found the Heineken and tipped it over. Sure enough, in the indentations of the keg was a small flat package in brown paper. Ripping off the duct tape, John put the package in his pocket, not wanting to open it in front of the still arguing group outside.
He waved at the group as he left, avoiding involvement in the discussion, and stopped in his old quarters before he hit the TV room. Ronan and Lorne had unloaded the chocolate and the liquor in his room, and now he was having trouble just getting to his bed. Good thing he didn't sleep here very often any more. He was definitely going to have to find another place for all this stuff. Stopping just inside the door, he dug out the package and opened it. Inside were two rings, obviously wedding rings, with the gate symbol for Earth: the pyramid with a small diamond as the moon above it. There was also another note. Opening it, he found Jack's distinctive scrawl.
These were Carter's idea."
As he hid the rings in his dresser and headed, finally, to the TV room, he realized he was going to have to find a way to thank the Colonel.
Eight hours and three football games later, John Sheppard slipped into their quarters. Elizabeth was already asleep, and John took a minute to look at the pictures one more time. Entering the bedroom, and trying not to wake her, John toed off his boots and took off his uniform before he slipped in beside Elizabeth, spooning up to her back.
"John?"
"Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to wake you," he said nuzzling her hair.
"How was the game?"
"Games. O'Neill sent every bowl game from last season. We watched three tonight."
Elizabeth could smell the peanuts and beer on him has he cuddled up to her. "Sounds like a great time was had by all."
"Oh, yeah," replied John, pulling her closer.
Elizabeth wiggled back against him pulling his arm around her and resting his hand on her still flat abdomen.
"Um, I've been meaning to tell you something."
"Hmm? What's that?"
Placing her hand over his where it rested on her belly, she said, softly, "John, not all of your children will be born in the Milky Way galaxy."
She felt him stiffen, at first, as if he didn't know what she meant. She rolled over to face him, looking into his eyes as he realized the gift she was giving him. Then he bit his lip as his eyes began to shine. He pulled her firmly into his arms and held her close, burying his face in her neck. She could feel the dampness and she held him tightly, her own eyes damp.
Then she heard him whisper, in a voice thick with emotion, "Thank you, Elizabeth."
To be concluded. . . (just an epilogue to go)
Comments welcome, suggestions incorporated where appropriate.