"Secrets and Challenges"

Ch. 12

4 days later . . .

(Holding Room, Cell 1)

Stacey woke up on the cold cement floor. Her body felt numb and she has one helluva headache. Stacey's eyes were back to her normal green color. She stood up and looked around. John stood, with his arms folded, staring at her.

"John?" Stacey said, groggily.

"Stacey?" John asked, with a voice of uncertainly.

"Yeah," then noticing the scratch on his cheek she said, "Whoa! What in the hell happened to you?"

"Nothing really. It got a little rough on our last mission," John lied.

She gave him a silent nod and looked around again.

"How was I this time?" Stacey asked.

"You went a little crazy. Nothing out of the unusual," he turned to Bates. "Let her out."

Bates reluctantly obeyed. Stacey stepped out of the cell gracefully.

"Thanks," she said to Bates. Stacey then turned to her husband. "How 'crazy' was I?" as John escorted her out of the room and started to walk around Atlantis.

"Like I said: It was nothing out of the unusual," he lied again, shrugging.

"You're a terrible liar, John." Stacey said with a small smile. "Come on. I'm gonna remember it eventually. I would rather hear it from you, then to find out on my own."

"I kinda did a stupid thing," John began. "I, sorta, got inside the cell and you beat me up. Bates had to stun you with a Wraith Stunner to get you to stop."

"Okay," Stacey said slowly. "You're right, that was a stupid thing you did. I could have killed you if I wanted too."

"I know," he said.

"Good, as long as you know now," she said. "Now, I'm gonna go catch up on my Kel-nor-eim."

"Kel-nor-what?" he asked blankly.

"It's the meditation I do that Teal'c taught me when I was at the SGC," Stacey said.

"Who?" John asked.

"I'll give you the details on the way to my quarter's," she laughed.

She grabbed him by the arm and she delved right into the explanation as they walked to her quarter's on the other side of the city.

The next morning . . .

(Infirmary)

Stacey stepped into the Atlantis Infirmary. Dr. Beckett was near a machine checking things over. She approached him slowly.

"Dr. Beckett," she said to get his attention.

He turned around to look at her. "Stacey, what can I do for you today?"

"I need a second opinion on something," she told him, paused, and then explained. "I maybe pregnant. But, I want to double check before I tell anybody."

"What makes you believe that your pregnant?" he asked, putting his things down.

"Well, I've been throwing up every morning. Along with feeling queasy and I've been sleeping a lot more than usual," Stacey said. "And since I can't get sick because of my handy-dandy Ancient Healing ability, I figured . . ."

"Alright, have a seat and let's get started," Beckett motioned over to the nearest infirmary bed.

A few minutes later . . .

"Well, your first assumptions were right, Stacey," Carson said, looking at the computer screen. "You're two weeks pregnant. Congratulations."

"Thank you," She said. "Do me a favor: don't tell anyone yet,"

He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't think of it," he told her softly.

She got up off the bed, kissed him on the cheek and said, "Thank you."

"Anytime," he smiled. "Oh, I may have something for the nausea."

He gave her a brown pouch. Stacey opened it and looked inside.

"Herbs?" she asked.

"From the Mainland," at the look on her face he said quickly, "It's perfectly safe, Doctor."

"If you say so, Carson," she said, skeptically, closing the pouch. "What do I do with it?" she then asked.

"You make tea out of it. Drink a cup every time the nausea comes," he told her.

"And it really works?" Stacey was still skeptical.

"It worked on a pregnant Ethosian women I used it on and the Ancients used it on their pregnant women as well," Beckett said.

"Okay, I'll try it out. It's a lot better than the nausea," she shrugged. "I'll see you later then."

With that she left.

To be continued . . .