Title: The Exchange

Date: 31 August 2007
Author: Kazavid
Chapter:
10/10
Rating: M
Pairing:
John Sheppard / OFC – Tanisha Toryn (Nisha)
Archiving:
None
Warnings:
(Sexual Content /Violence /Possible Torture)
Spoilers:
Irresponsible
Feedback:
Yes
Disclaimer:
Stargate Atlantis and it's character do not belong to me.
Summary:
After being rescued from certain death, Sheppard must now escape, or persuade, his 'rescuers', not to hand him over, to face retribution, from someone who wants to see him dead.

The Exchange

CHAPTER 10

Nisha was on the balcony when John entered the room, she was leaning her arms on the rail and looking out over the city.

"Lovely view isn't it." Nisha remarked as he came over to stand behind her.

"Beautiful." he answered, his eyes focused on her, and not the city.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her back to lean against his chest.

"How's the baby been treating you today, still making you feel sick?" he asked, letting his hands slide down to rest on the swell of her stomach.

"The baby's been very good, I haven't felt sick at all, In fact, I'm feeling hungry." she told him, turning around in his arms, she smiled, expectantly, at him.

"Hungry." he laughed, kissing her. "So you expect me to feed you, do you?"

"Yes, please."

"Now when you say hungry, is that hungry for food, or hungry for me." he asked, kissing her softly.

"Definitely hungry for you," she sighed, "But I'm afraid the food has to take precedence." she told him.

"You mean I get beaten in to second place by a plate of food." he moaned and lifted his head up.

"I'm afraid so."

"Just think, 2 more months, and the baby won't be in there, he, or she, will be out here, with us." he said stroking his hand across her stomach.

"I know, daunting isn't it."

"Very, but I'm looking forward to it." he admitted.

>>>>>ooooo>>>>>

2 MONTHS LATER

Nisha had been feeling pains for a few hours now, but she didn't want to say anything yet. She'd seen other women having babies and it had always been a long process, usually lasting most of the day, and sometimes it even carried on in to the next day. So she was not about to spend the entire day sitting in the infirmary, doing nothing.

She took a shower trying to ease the pain in her lower back and abdomen, but it didn't do much. Then she went for a walk, and had to stop every so often when the pain gripped her. She found walking around helped her more than lying down did, so she walked a little more.

When the pains started to get closer together, and last a little longer, she headed towards the infirmary. She walked slowly, because the pains were becoming very frequent, she tried to massage her lower back, but it was difficult, and awkward.

>>>>>ooooo>>>>>

Ronon was walking down the corridor headed towards the mess hall, when he came upon Nisha. She was walking very slowly, and kept stopping every so often, her hand pressing against her lower back. The low moan that came from her, alerted him to the fact that she was in pain.

"Nisha, what's wrong?" he asked, coming up behind her.

"What do you think is wrong?" she cried, sarcastically, as another pain gripped her. She moaned, and tried to ease the pain, but nothing was working. Maybe she shouldn't have left it so long, she thought.

"Where are you going?" he asked her, because she was headed in the opposite direction to the infirmary.

"For a walk." she shouted at him, she stopped and closed her eyes and tried to breathe through the pain.

Ronon smiled, he was thankful that Sheppard would have to deal with this, and not him. He tapped his ear piece and spoke.

"Sheppard, I think Nisha is having the baby."

"YOU, THINK!" Nisha, shouted, it didn't take a genius to figure that out, she thought.

"WHAT! NOW!" Sheppard shouted back, alarmed by Ronon's sudden revelation, that had come out of the blue.

Ronon, had Nisha screaming in one ear, and Sheppard shouting in the other one.

"Yes, now." Ronon said, watching as Nisha began walking up and down.

"Can you get her to the infirmary. I'll meet you there." Sheppard asked him, he was already leaving the Gate room and heading towards the infirmary.

"Sure, If she'll let me."

"What do you mean, 'if she'll let you'?" Sheppard asked, and frowned, he paused in the corridor, and waited for Ronon to explain.

"You ever tried telling a pregnant woman, what to do?" Ronon asked him.

"No, but I can't see what the problem is."

"Well believe me, they do exactly what they want, when they want to do it, and not before." Ronon told him, he sighed, as Nisha suddenly stopped walking and glared at him. Then she started to rub her hand across her swollen belly.

"I think you'd better come and take her to the infirmary yourself."

"Just stay there with her, I'm on my way." Sheppard took off at a quicker pace along the corridor.

"You'd better hurry." Ronon warned him.

"She can't be having it that quick. It takes hours for babies to be born." Sheppard remarked.

"Yeah, well she's having pains every few minutes, so I'd say she's been in labour for a while."

"She can't have been. She would have said something...wouldn't she? Why didn't she say something?" Sheppard screamed, down Ronon's ear, causing him to wince.

"I'll leave you to ask her that question, when you get here." Ronon said, he wasn't about to ask her why she hadn't told Sheppard, he just wanted to be anywhere but here.

Ronon stayed close to Nisha as she walked along the corridor, she'd turned around and was now headed towards the infirmary, well at least they were going in the right direction, he thought. They had just reached one of the main doors when it suddenly slammed shut, and the lights dimmed.

"What the..." Sheppard cursed in Ronon's ear.

"Sheppard, what's going on, the doors have just locked?" Ronon asked, banging his hand against the door.

"MCKAY!" Sheppard screamed, they definitely needed a volume control on these ear pieces, Ronon thought, as Sheppard continued to rant and curse at McKay, very loudly.

"McKay, what the hell did you do. All the doors have locked." Sheppard stood there, staring at the doors in front of him, which had suddenly slammed shut, and where now securely locked.

"I told you I was running a new programme to help reduce the power consumption." McKay said, oblivious to everything but his experiment.

"Did it have to be now." Sheppard asked, as he tried to get the doors to open, but they wouldn't budge.

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but I didn't know I needed your permission to run any tests. I thought being head of the science department, gave me all the authority I needed." McKay told him.

"Just turn the damn thing off, you can do the test later, after I get Nisha to the infirmary. And preferably, after she's had the baby." Sheppard shouted, and kicked the door, frustrated that it wouldn't open.

"Oh, she's having the baby. You never said... if you'd told me, I would have waited."

"I didn't know she was having the baby." Sheppard bit out, wondering why she hadn't told him she was in labour.

"So where is she?" McKay asked.

"She's stuck in a corridor, behind one of the doors. Now turn the damn programme off, and unlock the doors."

"Um..." McKay muttered.

"Um, what?" Sheppard asked, staring at the doors, waiting for them to open.

"Um...the programme doesn't seem to be responding."

Sheppard groaned, trust McKay to do something like this now.

"Well fix it, and hurry up." he turned around, looking to see if there was another way he could go, but there wasn't, he was stuck.

"Sheppard, is there a problem?" Ronon asked, he didn't like the sound of the conversation he'd been listening to. He glanced at Nisha, she was leaning heavily, against the wall, her face damp with sweat, and she was panting, trying to breathe through another pain.

"Problem? No, no problem. Just McKay playing mad scientist again." Sheppard joked, then threatened that if McKay didn't hurry up, he'd personally go down there and shove a lemon down his throat.

"McKay! What the hell are you doing?" Sheppard shouted.

"I'm trying, but nothing seems to be working."

"Christ, McKay, why do you always pick the wrong time to do these things?"

"Oh, like there's ever a right time."

"Sheppard, I think you'd better..." Ronon spoke, but was cut short, as Nisha moaned, and shouted, very loudly.

"Ronon, what's going on?" Sheppard shouted, alarmed by Nisha's cry.

"I think you'd better get Beckett, just in case." Ronon told him.

"Just in case what? Is she okay?" Sheppard asked, cursing the fact that he wasn't there.

"It looks like she's about to have the baby right here."

"NOW! How long has she been in labour for?" Sheppard was in total shock, how could she be having the baby right now. Labour usually lasted a lot longer than this, hell he'd only been told that she was in labour a few minutes ago, and now Ronon was telling him, that she was ready to have it.

"McKay, contact Beckett and tell him to put his ear piece in."

"Why do you want Beckett to put his ear piece in?"

Sheppard threw his head back, and looked up at the ceiling, in disbelief.

"Why? So he can tell you how to remove a lemon from your throat, that's why. Now just do it."

"No need for insults..."

"Your lucky I'm only using insults. Believe me if I were in the same room with you, you'd have a lot more than insults to worry about."

>>>>>ooooo>>>>>

"Alright, Ronon, can you tell me how she's doing?" Beckett asked him.

"I'm not sure, but she seems fine." Ronon told him.

Nisha was panting, trying to breath like Sara, had taught her. Sara, was one of Beckett's nurses, who'd been trained as a Midwife, and she'd shown, and told Nisha, what to expect.

"Can't you ask her?" Beckett said.

Ronon stared at Nisha, he remembered the last time he'd been near a pregnant female, and how she'd reacted when he'd tried to help. He wasn't about to add another scar to his person.

"Not right now, no."

"Just bloody ask her for god's sake." Beckett swore.

"I'm not that brave." Ronon told Beckett.

"Not that brave! You kill Wraith for god's sake, and don't bat an eyelash. All you have to do is ask her how she's doing."

"Yeah, I can handle a Wraith, this is a pregnant female about to give birth. I learned to stay away from women who are about to give birth, they're unpredictable."

"Christ, you're not much bloody help are ye." Beckett cried.

"She doesn't look like she needs any help." Ronon remarked, as he watched Nisha lean against the wall and bend over as another pain gripped her. Ronon knew most females found their own way of getting through the pain. So he wasn't about to interfere in that process.

Nisha leaned against the wall, as her belly tightened and the pain intensified.

"Well thankfully, most women give birth without much help. Which is just as well, considering all the help you're going to be." Beckett told him.

"Sheppard should be here, not me." Ronon told him, he was begining to feel very uncomfortable about having to deliver the baby.

"Aye, and I'm sure he wishes he was there, but he isn't. So, Ronon, I need to know how dilated she is."

"You mean you want me to look?" Ronon asked warily, he didn't like this one bit.

"No I'd like you to guess," Beckett said exasperated by Ronon's behaviour. "Of course I want you to bloody look."

Ronon cautiously approached her, as soon as he got close to her, she reached her hand out and grabbed his arm. She began squeezing his arm, as another pain seared through her abdomen. He was surprised by how strong her grip was, but he didn't shake her hand off, even when her nails dug, painfully, in to his skin. He waited until the pain had passed, and when he felt her grip relax, he tried to coax her to lie down. He then waited for her to decided if she wanted to lie down, or not.

She looked at him, and wanted to refuse, but she knew he was right. The pains were very close together, and she knew the baby was almost ready to be born. She couldn't lie down on the floor on her own, so Ronon helped her.

"Doctor Beckett needs to know how dilated you are." he told her, again he waited for her to decided what she wanted to do. He really didn't want to be here, he'd rather be chasing a couple of Wraith than where he was right now.

Nisha nodded her head, and bent her legs, letting Ronon check on the progress. She heard Ronon telling Doctor Beckett all the details, while she was concentrating on trying to control the pain, and the urge to push, which she knew she had to hold back on. She knew that she shouldn't push until it was the right time.

"It sounds like she's fully dilated, so tell her, if she feels the urge to push, to go ahead and push." Beckett told him.

Locked in another corridor, Sheppard felt so helpless, all he could do was listen, while Ronon delivered the baby. He rested his forehead against the door, and just hoped that everything went normally. And that Nisha and the baby would be okay.

"McKay, you found what the problem is yet?" Sheppard asked, the tone of his voice sounded dejected.

"Not yet, and if you keep asking the same question every couple of minutes, it will take even longer." McKay, blithely informed him.

Sheppard turned his back to the door, and slid down till he was sitting on the floor. He listened to Beckett telling Ronon what to do, and groaned as Ronon told Beckett, he could see the baby's head. In the background, he could hear Nisha moaning and shouting at Ronon, he just wished it were him she was shouting at and not Ronon.

"Beckett, the heads out." Sheppard heard Ronon saying.

"Damn it McKay, hurry up with the blasted doors." Sheppard groaned, frustrated at not being there to see his child born.

"Just a few seconds more, then I think I have it." McKay told him.

Sheppard stood up, ready to dive through the doors when they opened, which seemed to be taking forever. He could hear Beckett asking Ronon if the cord was free of the baby's head, and Ronon telling him that it looked fine.

"Do you have anything to wrap the baby in." Beckett asked.

"Yeah, I have something." Ronon assured him, and then dragged his shirt off.

"She's looking pretty tired here Doc." Ronon said, watching Nisha close her eyes tiredly.

"This is almost the final part, you have to get her to push."

"I'm not sure she has the energy."

"Ronon, you have to get her to push, this should be the last time, tell her."

"McKay, the damn doors!" Sheppard shouted, and banged his fist against the locked door.

"One more second..."

The next thing Sheppard heard was Ronon laughing, and then the sound of a baby crying. He bit his lip and closed his eyes, as he realised that his child had been born.

"Hey, Sheppard, it's a boy." Ronon shouted.

"And, there...all done." McKay shouted, as he disengaged the programme.

The doors opened, and Sheppard, who was leaning heavily against them, digesting the fact that he now had a son, fell through the doors, and landed in a heap on the floor. It took a few seconds for him to register that the doors had opened. He quickly picked himself up off the floor, and got to the corridor where Nisha and Ronon where, just in time to see Beckett and a medical team putting Nisha on a gurney. He frowned as he saw Ronon standing there bare chested, and wonder why he had no shirt on.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, coming to a halt beside Nisha.

"Everything seems fine, Colonel." Beckett assured him.

"Hey..." he said, leaning down to kiss Nisha, it was only when he lifted his head up that he realised that she was holding the baby against her chest, wrapped in Ronon's shirt.

He stroked his fingertips lightly over the baby's head, a little nervous that he might press too hard.

"He's beautiful." he whispered to Nisha.

"You're only saying that because he looks like you." she smiled, sleepily.

"You think he looks like me?" Sheppard asked, curiously.

"Definitely looks like you." she said, smiling as Sheppard seemed to enjoy the fact that his son looked just like him.

"I'd like to get them to the infirmary, and just double check that everything is okay." Beckett said, looking at Sheppard.

"Of course." he grabbed hold of Nisha's hand and walked along side the gurney, kissing her hand every so often.

>>>>>ooooo>>>>>

An couple of hours later, after Beckett had made sure Nisha and the baby were fine, John found that he couldn't stop looking at his son. Nisha was lying on the bed propped up, and holding the baby in the crook of her arm.

John was half lying, half perching, on the edge of the bed, his arm behind her back, as she held the baby. When Sara came over and showed Nisha how to breastfeed the baby, Sheppard watched, avidly, as his son latched on to her breast and began suckling. He heard Nisha, draw her breath in sharply.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, wanting to know.

"I wouldn't say it hurt, it just feels strange." she told him.

"Hungry isn't he." John laughed, as he stroked his hand over his son's downy hair.

"Takes after his father." she told him, John looked at her and grinned. They were both fascinated, and just watched as their child took his first taste of food.

"Thank you." John said, bending his head down to kiss her cheek.

"What for?" Nisha asked, frowning at him.

"For giving me such a beautiful son."

"Wanna hold him?" she asked, as the baby stopped suckling.

John had held the baby before, but not for long, Beckett had fussed over him, checking that everything was Alright. Then when he'd brought the baby back, Sara had come over to show Nisha how to breastfeed, so he hadn't had another opportunity to hold the baby.

John took hold of the baby, and held him in his arms, he was feeling a little nervous, because the baby looked so small. He laughed when his son started nuzzling his face against his chest.

"Sorry pal, but you won't find any food there." he placed his lips against his sons head and kissed him. He got so lost in just holding the baby that when he looked up a short time later, it was to find that Nisha had fallen asleep.

"You've tired your mother out, so it looks like you're stuck with me for the time being." he told his son.

"Colonel Sheppard, would you like me to take the baby?" Sara asked as she came over to stand by John.

"No, It's Alright, were doing fine." he told her, as he kept hold of his son.

"Okay, but if you need me I'm just outside." she told him, then left.

Sheppard settled down on the bed, next to Nisha, and just held on to his son.

>>>>>ooooo>>>>>

The next day, Teyla and Weir visited Nisha and John, they gave their congratulations, and then after staying for a while they left.

Ronon and McKay were hovering in the background, Nisha called Ronon over.

"I wanted to thank you for what you did." she told him.

"There's no need."

"Yes there is, I know you didn't want to be there, but you stayed with me all the same."

"I couldn't very well leave you on your own now, could I."

"Well, I still want to thank you."

Ronon looked embarrassed, and Nisha smiled to herself. She never thought she'd see Ronon embarrassed by anything. He'd been so intimidating when she'd first met him.

"Don't tell McKay this, but I'm glad it was you and not him I was trapped with. I think McKay would have passed out well before the baby was born." Nisha told him.

Ronon, started laughing, loudly, which caused McKay to look over at him.

"What's Ronon laughing at?" McKay asked Sheppard.

"Didn't you hear what they were saying?" Sheppard asked him.

"No."

"Then what makes you think I heard?" Sheppard shouted.

"No need to shout." McKay grumbled, curious as to what Ronon was laughing at.

>>>>>ooooo>>>>>

"So we're going to call the baby, Christopher Ronon Sheppard." John told Ronon and McKay.

"You're giving the baby Ronon's name?" McKay cried in a high pitched tone.

"Yes." John answered him.

"How come? Why aren't you giving it my name?" McKay wanted to know.

"Because Ronon helped to deliver the baby, and Nisha wants it."

"And what about me, didn't I help, I got the doors open." McKay, argued.

John, glared at McKay, he really didn't want to think about that.

"You got the doors open." John, repeated incredulously, "You're the one who shut the damn doors in the first place." he shouted.

"Yes, well if you'd told me she was having the baby, I would have waited to run the test. But you never said a word, you kept it to yourself."

"I didn't keep anything to myself, I didn't know..." John cried, exasperated by McKay.

Nisha listened to McKay moaning about the names so she quickly butt in to the conversation

"Alright, we'll call him, Christopher Ronon McKay Sheppard." she shouted, expecting this little announcement to shut McKay up, it didn't.

"McKay? Why not Rodney?" McKay wanted to know.

"I like McKay better." Nisha told him.

McKay seemed to be deep in thought, before he opened his mouth again.

"How come Ronon's name goes second, why not mine?" McKay, asked affronted.

"Oh, for crying out loud, McKay, just be satisfied it's in there." John snapped at him.

"But..." he went to continue arguing, but thought better of it when John cocked his head to the side and glared at him. McKay turned his back to John.

"Sounds so much better, Christopher McKay Ronon Sheppard." McKay muttered under his breath.

"Sounds even better if you drop the McKay from it altogether." John whispered in to McKay's ear. Threatening, not to use his name at all.

"You wouldn't." McKay said, incensed.

"Keep pushing McKay, and I will."

"Fine, have it your way." McKay finally gave in.

"Thanks McKay we will."

Ronon loomed towards McKay.

"You got a problem with my name going second McKay?" Ronon asked, him, as he came to stand next to McKay.

"What? Me? No, no problem, I was just...you know...asking." McKay stammered, and then shut up arguing over the baby's name.

When Ronon and McKay left , John turned to Nisha.

"Do you suppose we could leave McKay's name out." he asked.

"No, we can't." she laughed.

"Why not, he wouldn't know."

"I'd know."

"It was just a thought." John sighed. "You know he's gonna need a brother or a sister." John announced.

"Who? McKay?" Nisha asked confused.

"No, Christopher."

"He's only a day old, he doesn't need one yet."

"Nothing wrong with planning ahead." he told her, moving to sit next to her on the bed.

"Yes there is, I planned ahead when I kidnapped you, and look how it's turned out." she reminded him.

"I'd say it turned out pretty spectacular." he grinned.

"So would I," she admitted, turning her face to kiss him.

"Je t'aime." Nisha whispered against his ear, John, groaned then wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you, too."

The End...

A/N – I hope you liked the story. And thank you for taking the time to read and review.

>>>>>>>>>>ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo>>>>>>>>>>