Author's Notes: I apologize for neglecting this fic for so long! Real life got in the way, and when it started to back off, the fic bunnies revolted. But seeing as how the story is getting so close to the end, I anticipate that this will only have one more chapter.

Thanks for your patience! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own nothing.

"Everybody's Fine" Ch 13

From her vulnerable position in the hospital bed, Elizabeth felt a slight shudder as they City - her City - dropped out of hyperspace. She could imagine Carson sitting down in the Chair room, breathing heavily as his eyes stayed firmly shut, channeling every ounce of concentration towards guiding the City to safety.

Even though it was a futile gesture, she kept a protective hand on her belly, wanting to shield him from any danger. The contractions were increasing, both in frequency and pain, but she kept her breathing as quiet as she could, not wanting to alert Jennifer. She had enough on her plate at the moment.

Her plan was working rather well until Marie walked in, carrying her tablet and a cup of water for Elizabeth.

The caring yet rebellious nature of her husband's son came out. Almost as if to say, "You're not going to get away with this," another wave of pain, more intense this time, swept through her. Gritting her teeth was of no use; the head nurse threw a glance her way as Elizabeth moaned. Her eyes widened in concern as she rushed to her bedside, checking the vitals for both mother and baby.

Marie called out for Jennifer, who promptly dropped what she was doing and ran into the room. "Another contraction?" she asked while she took a seat at the end of the hospital bed.

Elizabeth tried to compose an answer, but between the labor pains abs the gasping for air, she couldn't bring the words to he lips. Instead, she looked desperately at Keller, nodding vigorously. "I wanna push," she finally mumbled, staring at Keller over her swollen belly.

Jennifer's brown eyes widened, looking up to meet Elizabeth's frantic green ones. "You're almost there, but not yet. Why didn't you tell me your contractions were getting worse?"

She moaned, slumping against her pillow as the contraction faded. "Didn't want to worry you," she replied simply.

Jennifer fixed her with a stern yet empathetic gaze. "Elizabeth," she told her, coming to stand next to the pregnant woman, "I took an oath to protect you. Not my doctor's oath; Carson and I both promised John that we would protect you, no matter what. Right now, my only priority is you. I need you to work with me," she pleaded, grasping her hand.

Shamefully, Elizabeth hung her head. "I can't do this, Jennifer."

Jennifer smirked, obviously something that she had picked up from Rodney. "I hate to break it to you, but it's about thirty eight weeks too late for that."

Elizabeth shook her head, her brown curls seeming to be caught in an invisible storm. "That's not what I mean."

The doctor pursed her lips. "I'm not following you."

"I'm having a baby, my City is in danger, and God only knows if John is all right. I can't handle this!" she shouted, expecting the doctor to be disturbed by her outburst.

She wasn't fazed; instead, she offered another smile to the fretting woman. "So let it out."

"What?"

"Let it out," she repeated, crossing her arms. "Yell at me, curse, throw something, just get all of this stress out of your system. If you're a nervous wreck, imagine how Junior is feeling right now."

The monitor next to Elizabeth started beeping loudly.

Her eyes went wide with fear. "What is that? What's wrong?"

"Fetal heart rate is down," Marie responded frankly, glancing hurriedly at Keller.

Without missing a beat, the doctor took off her jacket. "Okay, I'm inducing. Elizabeth?"

"Uh huh?" she replied, groaning uncertainly as Jennifer and Marie put on scrubs.

Jennifer smiled wryly at her. "You ready to push?"

A wave of panic swept over her. "No," she replied weakly.

The young yet capable doctor walked to her bedside and injected something into her IV line. She disposed of the needle, then grasped Elizabeth's hand. "You will be. All right, let's get this show on the road."

The last few hours had been the longest of his life.

The powers that be had forced him to leave his pregnant wife, the Wraith had destroyed the Chair at Area 51, and now he was pondering what amounted to a suicide mission.

Yep. He was certifiable.

Samantha Carter's voice filtered through his comm. "Sheppard, your orders are to return to the base."

"I've still got a nuke," he reasoned as his 302 continued climbing through the atmosphere. "I'm gonna finish this mission."

"You don't have enough fuel. You'll never make it to the Hive."

"He got what he wanted. He's gonna come to us." He heard a muted voice on the other end, then glanced around his cockpit. "I've got enough fuel to establish orbit, then I'll shut everything down except basic life support. That way, he won't detect me till it's too late."

Carter sighed. "Even if that does work, given what we know about this ship, one nuke is not gonna be enough."

"No, not from the outside. I'll wait for him to enter orbit, I'll fire up my systems, shoot my way through the Dart Bay door and fly the damned bomb right down his throat. Then I'll detonate it from the inside."

Carter's voice was pleading. "John, I can't ask you to do that."

Even though she didn't say it, he knew what she meant. You have a wife and baby on the way. I won't let you do that. You have a lot at stake.

John sighed as that explanation fell flat in his mind. There are seven billion people who are worth a lot more than me.

He bit his lip, them slowly exhaled as he came to peace with his choice. "Well, you're not asking. I'm volunteering. Look, without that Chair, Earth is basically defenseless, right?"

The deafening silence on the other end confirmed it.

"Right. Commencing radio silence. Sheppard out."

As he disconnected his comm, still heading to orbit, John spared a glanced out the window. The full sphere of Earth wasn't visible from this position, yet he could still see the blue and green markings of his home world. He could imagine all the families on the planet, going about their every day business with no knowledge of the ship hovering above them so menacingly that could end their lives so quickly.

He shook his head, clearing the distraction from his mind. He knew that Elizabeth would understand, if not be in complete support of, his actions. The hurried discussion during the siege of Atlantis at the end of their first year sprung to mind. "I have to do this, and you know it" was all it had taken to make her unwillingly nod her head and send him away.

He wasn't throwing his life away then - he did it to save the other two hundred people on Atlantis. He made the offer to Carter to make sure that Elizabeth would be safe. Even if he wasn't there.

A renegade tear made its way down his cheek, and he cursed the oxygen mask for blocking his reach.

I apologize for it being so short, but considering I've been using the events of "Enemy at the Gate" for three chapters now, it's about time to wrap up! One more chapter! Thank you again for your patience!