MGM still owns it…not me.
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"So you're really going to go into the delivery room?" asked Sheppard as he and Rodney entered the Jumper bay.
"Of course I'm going into the delivery room!" responded Rodney with a roll of his eyes. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Well," began Sheppard as he held up one finger, "there's the whole you can't stand to be in or see people in pain," a second finger went up, "Jennifer's probably going to hurt you," a third finger went up, "and you'll probably faint after a few minutes." Sheppard lowered his hand and when he reached Jumper Three he turned around and said, "So I figure…that…Rodney?"
Sheppard glanced around the bay to find that McKay had vanished. "Rodney?" Sheppard swore under his breath and was about to go and look for Rodney when the latter stomped up behind him and nearly made Sheppard jump out of his combat boots.
"Now, Sheppard," declared Rodney as he passed by the flustered Colonel, "why wouldn't I go into the delivery room?"
"Where the hell did you go?" asked Sheppard as he crossed his arms across his chest.
Rodney spared Sheppard the barest of glances before opening the power conduit in the rear of Jumper Three. "I went around the front to make sure that Zelenka retracted the flight pods. Why?" Before Sheppard could answer Rodney paused in his work and glared at Sheppard. "Why are you here anyway? Really, don't you have more important things to do today than bug me while I'm trying to fix this thing?"
Sheppard shook his head and said, "You asked to come here, Rodney. Something about needing me to power up the Jumper to see which systems..."
"Then get up there and power up the nav system," Rodney ordered as he started working again. "Jennifer is in the Infirmary and could go into labor anytime so I only have…"
Rodney stopped and mumbled something that sounded to Sheppard to be very profane and tapped his comm. unit. "What?!?!" Rodney braced himself against the Jumper's hull as he listened. "I'm on my way."
Rodney slammed the power conduit shut and was out the door before Sheppard could even ask. He ran to the hatch and yelled, "Rodney!"
"Jennifer's gone into labor!" the scientist yelled without breaking his stride.
Sheppard watched his friend disappear and said with a smile that no one saw, "Good luck, Rodney."
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Sheppard looked at his watch and barely suppressed the sigh that wanted very badly to leave his mouth. After Rodney had gotten the call that told him Jennifer had gone into labor, John had rounded up Teyla and Ronon and then headed to the Infirmary to wait for the little one's arrival.
That had been five hours ago.
He leaned back in the uncomfortable chair he'd volunteered to sit in and folded his arms across his chest. "It occurs to me that this has to be one of the reasons that women hate men."
From the comfort of a well-padded chair, Teyla glanced at Ronon before saying, "I do not understand, John."
Sheppard closed his eyes and said, "Jennifer has been pregnant for nine months, and has now gone through," he cracked an eye open to check his watch again, "five hours of painful labor." He opened his eyes and looked at Teyla. "That's gotta be some pretty hefty incentive to hate us."
Teyla smiled though she said nothing, much to John's surprise and curiosity. He was about to push her about it when Ronon, who had claimed the other comfortable chair, said, "I can't believe he went in there."
John nodded in agreement. "I can't either." John let loose a grunt of laughter before saying, "Just last month he nearly fainted…"
"Passed out," interrupted Ronon with a grin.
"…passed out," corrected Sheppard with a devilish smile, "when we watched 'Alien', even though we've watched it before."
"What about last week on that planet," said Ronon, "the one with the rivers and he nearly fainted…"
"Passed out," corrected Sheppard with a sly smile.
"…passed out," said Ronon without skipping a beat, "when…"
"I can not believe the two of you," interrupted Teyla in a firm and disappointed voice. She edged forward in her chair so that she was sitting on the edge, giving her the appearance of a predator that was quite ready to pounce on whoever had the gall to speak next. She looked back and forth between Sheppard and Ronon as she said, "Rodney is your friend. He has shown his bravery and fortitude on numerous occasions and I will not sit here and allow you to talk about him in that way." Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward an inch…a threatening inch. "And let us not forget that Rodney was my only companion during Torren's birth aboard Michael's ship. If it were not for his presence and strength I doubt that Torren and I would be here now."
Teyla waited for a moment to ensure that she had made her point, and then sat back in her chair. She kept her eyes moving between Sheppard and Ronon, all but daring them to say another disparaging word about Rodney.
Sheppard cleared his throat, and in a tone of voice that told Teyla that he'd been properly chastised he said, "I knew he was going to be able to do it."
After a quick glance at Teyla out of the corner of his eye, Ronon nodded and said in all honesty, "Me too."
