Atlantis Season 4 Episode 17 – Midway
Episode summary: Sam invites Teal'c to Atlantis, to coach Ronan for his interview with the new IOA member, Mr Coolidge. Teal'c and Ronan take an instant dislike to one another. While they are on Midway together observing the 24 hour quarantine, the Wraith attack, having managed to hack the DHD of the last planet in the gate-bridge chain before Midway, to gain access. The Wraith successfully gain access to the Milky Way portion of the gate-bridge, and attack the SGC, sending a stunner through first to knock out everyone on the base. Teal'c and Ronan follow, and succeed in killing all the Wraith, bonding in the process. Mr Coolidge (who woke up during this), had called in a nuclear strike against the SGC, but this was successfully called off. Sheppard and McKay had gone to Midway with a strike team to try and take Midway back. However, while McKay is trying to shut down the gate to prevent more Wraith coming through and attacking, Dr Kavanagh accidentally triggers the station's self-destruct. Midway is destroyed, and Sheppard, McKay, Dr Lee and Dr Kavanagh escape in a puddle jumper, which is docked there at all times to be used as an escape pod. At the end of the episode, the Daedalus pick up the puddle jumper on their way back to Atlantis.
[DURING THE EPISODE – after Teal'c arrives in Atlantis …]
Sam looked up from the chessboard, to find Teal'c studying her with an odd expression on his face. "Teal'c? Everything alright?" She asked.
They were on the balcony outside Sam's quarters, in the late evening. Sam had set up the board there so that they'd have a view of the city as they played.
"You appear … different." Teal'c said.
Sam bit her lip. She was eleven weeks pregnant. She wasn't showing yet, but Teal'c was one of her oldest friends – it wasn't surprising that he'd pick up on the subtle differences.
She was just under two weeks from the end of her assignment to Atlantis, and had been holding off on telling anyone – besides Dr Keller – until she got back to Earth and could tell Jack in person.
"So do you." Sam said, trying to divert the conversation so she wouldn't have to make the decision of whether to come clean or lie. "The hair really suits you."
He just narrowed his eyes.
Damn. Should have known it wouldn't be that easy.
She looked back at the board and moved her knight. "Your move." She said.
"If I didn't know better …" He trailed off, looking thoughtful.
She sighed, and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "If you didn't know better … what?"
His eyes flickered down to her belly. Her flat, jacket-covered belly.
"It has been eight weeks since your last visit to Earth." He said.
She raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue. He obviously suspected, but she wasn't going to help him along. She'd had a plan, damn it!
"Samantha." He said, in that soft, gentle tone that never failed to melt her resolve. "Are you pregnant?"
Sam closed her eyes briefly and then squinted at him with a rueful smile. "You are way too good at reading me." She complained.
He beamed at her. "I have had much practice."
"Sixty-odd years of practice." Sam agreed, with an exasperated sigh. "It's hardly fair."
"I assume you are waiting to tell O'Neill when you return to Earth in two weeks' time?"
"That's the plan." Sam nodded. "I wanted to do it in person. The only people who know so far are Dr Keller, and now you."
"I will keep it to myself." Teal'c said, with a bow of his head.
"Thank you." She said sincerely, and then chuckled. "I must admit, it feels great to actually tell someone. I've known for the last three weeks."
"Were you not injured three weeks ago?" Teal'c asked, frowning.
"Yeah, I broke my leg - that's when I found out about the pregnancy." Sam nodded. "I've only been out of the cast a couple of days. My leg is pretty much healed, but I still need to treat it gently."
"And the baby was unharmed?"
"He's absolutely fine." Sam said, patting her belly.
Teal'c smiled. "I will look forward to meeting young Jake O'Neill when the time comes." He said.
Sam chuckled. If felt really weird to hear someone other than herself or Jack just casually use Jake's name. Her knowledge of her future and her children had been her greatest secret for such a long time.
"Of course, if it turns out to be a girl, we're going to be completely blindsided." Sam said.
"Has not everything else happened exactly as you saw it in 2034?"
Sam shrugged. "It's not like there haven't been hiccups." Sam said. "For one, we had no idea that Beth would be born to my clone, rather than me. And then there's the version of me who spent fifty years on the Odyssey with you. Things didn't exactly go according to plan for her." She said, gesturing at him.
Something deeply sad flickered in Teal'c's expression for a moment, so fast that Sam wondered if she'd seen it at all.
"I am confident that you are on the right path." Teal'c said.
Sam smiled at him. "I hope so."
[AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF MIDWAY …]
Major Lorne exited the wormhole ahead of his team, and shook his head at Sam. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed.
"It's just spitting us out on the last planet in the chain." Lorne said, approaching her. "And there's no sign at all of Colonel Sheppard and his team."
Sam shook her head. "Something must have happened at Midway to prevent us from connecting to the gate."
"Well, it's not the same thing as last time." Lorne said. "There was zero sign of Wraith activity on the planet. Or any other activity, for that matter. It was completely barren and deserted."
Sam nodded. "Ok. Thank you Major."
He led his team off to return their gear, leaving Sam to stand there, gazing at the gate.
If it wasn't something on the last planet in the chain that was preventing them reaching Midway, that meant the problem lay with the Midway gate itself. It had been taken offline somehow, and without a ship available in Pegasus to check it out, they had no way of knowing what had happened.
Which meant, for all she knew, Earth may be under attack from the Wraith right now, and she may have just sent some of her best people to their deaths.
It took much longer than Teal'c would have liked for Ronan and himself to finish explaining what had happened, to General Landry and the members of the IOA who had been within the SGC.
Once the base personnel had awoken from being stunned, Teal'c was certain that it was the training and professionalism of the many Air Force officers on base that had prevented chaos from erupting in the base at large, but the de-briefing had unfortunately been lacking in military officers, save for General Landry himself. Chaos had reigned.
Finally however, the IOA members seemed to have got the chain of events ordered in their individual minds, and it was agreed that Teal'c and Ronan could retire for some rest.
The Daedalus would depart in two days, to determine what had become of the Midway station. Discussions were still ongoing regarding whether to use the ZPM currently stored at the outpost in Antarctica, to dial Atlantis direct. Teal'c suspected that if they waited long enough, Colonel Carter would use her own ZPM to dial Earth direct from Atlantis, to discover what had happened for herself.
He worried for her. She was carrying a child in secret, and had been less than two weeks from being able to return home via Midway. It would seem that option was lost to her, now.
In fact, he realised, even if she boarded the Daedalus directly upon its arrival in the Pegasus Galaxy and it returned immediately to Earth, it would be over six weeks from now before she would arrive back here. And there was certainly no guarantee that events would unfold that smoothly.
"Teal'c!" As though summoned by Teal'c's thoughts of Samantha, her husband appeared, jogging towards him.
"O'Neill." He greeted.
"What the hell happened?" O'Neill demanded. "They're saying we had a foothold situation and that we can't connect to Midway!"
"That is correct." Teal'c said. "Come, I will explain everything."
"Teal'c …" O'Neill appeared greatly distressed. "Carter …?"
"As far as I am aware, the attack did not originate in Atlantis." Teal'c assured him. "I have no reason to suspect that any harm has befallen her."
"But if they got to Earth from Midway, they could have got to Atlantis from there too."
"I do not believe that was their intention." Teal'c said. "The target was Earth."
O'Neill sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.
"Come." Teal'c said again, and led him away to explain all in more detail.
After twenty-four hours, Sam couldn't stand it any longer. It would cost them dearly in terms of ZPM power, but she had to try and find out what happened.
She had Chuck dial Earth.
She didn't realise she'd been holding her breath until the wormhole successfully connected, and she let out a deep breath of relief.
"Stargate Command, this is Atlantis, please respond."
Her heart was in her mouth as she waited.
"Atlantis, this is Stargate Command, please stand by for General Landry." Walter Harriman's voice crackled over the radio.
"Oh thank God." She breathed, and bowed her head, leaning on the console. She exchanged a rueful grin with Chuck. It had been a tense day of waiting, and wondering.
"Colonel." Landry's voice came over the radio. "It's good to hear from you."
"Likewise, sir. We had intelligence that you might have been attacked by the Wraith."
"Yeah, they gave it a pretty good shot." Landry said, sounding tired. "Luckily Teal'c and Ronan followed hot on their heels, and managed to save the whole damn base by themselves."
Teal'c was ok. And Ronan. That was some very welcome news.
"Have you heard from Midway, sir, or from Colonel Sheppard's team at all?"
"We can't establish a connection to Midway. And no, I'm afraid we haven't heard from Colonel Sheppard. What's the situation there?"
"The Wraith discovered the intergalactic bridge and attacked the Midway station." Sam explained. "Colonel Sheppard led a strike force to attempt to retake it. However, since his team left, we've been unable to establish a wormhole to Midway ourselves. I don't know what happened to Midway, or Colonel Sheppard's team, but if you can't connect either …"
"It suggests that the Midway station itself may have been destroyed." Landry finished for her. "It does have a self-destruct mechanism. The Wraith may have inadvertently triggered it."
"Or our people on Midway may have triggered the self-destruct to prevent it from remaining in the hands of the Wraith." Sam suggested. "Sir, Midway does have a jumper … if Colonel Sheppard's team was still on Midway when it blew, they may have been able to evacuate."
"We're already prepping the Daedalus to make a trip in your direction. They'll stop by Midway along the way. If there's a jumper there, they can recover any survivors."
Sam let out a deep breath. It was a thin hope, but it was better than nothing.
"General, I'd like to request that the Apollo head back to Pegasus as well. If the Daedalus will be returning to the job of making round trips between galaxies, we could really use another ship stationed here in case they're needed."
"I'll pass along your request to General Casey." Landry said. "Colonel, I know you were hoping to come home in a couple of weeks, but without Midway, I'm afraid you're going to have to sit tight a while longer."
Sam winced. "I realise that sir."
"To be honest, the IOA haven't finished bickering over who's going to replace you. I expect they'll be glad of the extra time to sort it out."
Frankly, she didn't give a rat's ass whether the IOA wanted more time or not. She wanted to come home, and she knew that when she eventually got around to dwelling upon the reality of their new situation, it was going to be painful.
"General, we only have the one ZPM here, and I know you'll be wanting to save yours as well. Are we returning to the method of sending messages via Daedalus, or would you like to schedule a date for another gate connection?"
There was a moment of silence, as Landry considered on the other end. "Let's leave it for now. We'll send new orders with Daedalus on that subject."
"Yes sir."
Sam frowned, wanting to ask more questions, but conscious of every second eating more of the ZPM's power.
Landry had obviously reached a similar conclusion. "If there's nothing else pressing, Colonel, I'll let you sign off."
"There's nothing else sir." She said. Nothing that can't wait for the Daedalus, anyway. "Carter out."
She nodded to Chuck, and the wormhole disengaged.
Three weeks until the Daedalus arrived. She'd probably have the beginnings of a baby bump by then.
Crap.
Teal'c knocked on O'Neill's front door. The General opened it with Beth in his arms.
"Teal'c. This is a surprise."
"I am sorry to disturb you, O'Neill, but there is something I must discuss with you."
O'Neill shifted the one-year-old girl in his grip, and opened the door wider in invitation.
Teal'c inclined his head in thanks, and entered the house. He took himself to the living room, the floor of which was scattered with Beth's brightly coloured toys, and took a seat on the couch.
O'Neill set the baby back on the play-mat, and sat down opposite in the armchair.
"Well?" O'Neill prompted.
Teal'c watched the little girl, troubled. He was in two minds about his purpose here. He had vowed to Colonel Carter that he would hold his tongue in regards to her condition, in order that she could tell O'Neill in person when she returned to Earth at the end of her assignment in less than two weeks.
However, it would now in all likelihood be close to two months before she could return, or even send a message to O'Neill. By that time, her pregnancy would have advanced to the point that others would know of it. And he suspected, or at least hoped, that if she was able, she would approve of Teal'c breaking his silence in the circumstances in which they now found themselves.
"There is something I must tell you." He started. "As her return to Earth was imminent, Colonel Carter had intended to tell you this herself, in person. However, as it will now be much longer before she can speak with you again, I feel she would want me to tell you in her stead."
"Tell me what?" He sounded nervous.
Teal'c held his gaze, communicating the gravity of his news. "She is with child."
Shock registered prominently in O'Neill's expression. "She's pregnant?"
"Indeed."
O'Neill covered his face with his hands, and was silent for a few moments.
"How far along is she?" He asked eventually.
"She said that the child was conceived during her short visit with you after defeating the Replicators." Teal'c said. "I believe that was a little more than eight weeks ago."
O'Neill shook his head in disbelief and sat back in his chair.
"I'm assuming she hasn't reported it yet?" He asked.
"No. She wanted to tell you herself, first."
"Who else knows?"
"Only myself, and Dr Keller." Teal'c canted his head, considering his words. "You should know, that she did not intend to tell me. She had wanted you to be the first to know."
"Why did she then?" O'Neill asked gruffly.
"I guessed the truth." He explained. "I am familiar with the signs of a woman in early pregnancy, and I have known Colonel Carter for many years. It was not difficult to reach the correct conclusion."
"She's not showing yet though, is she?"
"She is not. But there are other indicators."
O'Neill looked distinctly uncomfortable. Teal'c decided it would be best not to speak further on the subject.
"If Casey doesn't know, he's not going to order her to come back with the Daedalus." O'Neill said after a moment. "And knowing her, she won't come unless she's ordered."
"Do you intend to tell General Casey yourself?"
He sighed. "I don't know. I probably should. But … officially, Sam or Dr Keller should have reported it. If it comes from me, I'll get them both in trouble for not reporting it themselves."
"Under the circumstances, I believe Colonel Carter will now report it through the appropriate channels herself."
"Yeah, she'll probably assume that you'll have told me. But without Midway, reporting it through 'appropriate channels' now means sending word back with the Daedalus on its return trip. That means at least six weeks before Casey gets wind of it." O'Neill sat forward again, looking at Teal'c seriously. "Buddy, I need to ask a favour."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow in inquiry.
"I need you to be on the Daedalus when it leaves. My wife is pregnant and alone in another galaxy. I need someone I trust there watching her back as soon as humanly possible."
Teal'c bowed his head. "I will return to the SGC immediately to request permission to do so."
"Thank you." O'Neill sighed, and reached forward to stroke his daughter's soft blonde hair. "And when you get there, make sure she's reporting the pregnancy to Casey and requesting a transfer home?"
"I will."
It seemed like it had been the longest three weeks of Sam's life.
She spent a good deal of time with Teyla, who was understandably worried for all three of her team mates. The two of them became quite good friends, and she became the first person that Sam intentionally told about her pregnancy. Teyla, who of course was in the advanced stages of pregnancy herself, was thrilled for her.
Meanwhile, life in the city went on. An outbreak of a new plague on several different worlds kept Sam's life busy, co-ordinating the various off-world teams and the efforts of Dr Keller's team. And, they kept one eye on the sky at all times, half expecting Todd or his ilk to make an appearance, wanting retribution for their failed attack on Earth.
Finally, finally, they got a subspace transmission from Colonel Caldwell on the Daedalus, who had just re-entered the galaxy and gotten within communications range.
"I won't beat around the bush, Sam. We have successfully recovered Colonel Sheppard, Dr McKay, Dr Lee, and Dr Kavanagh." Steven Caldwell told her. "I'm afraid the rest of Sheppard's strike force were lost, and Midway has been destroyed. I have Ronan and Teal'c on board as well."
"Teal'c's with you?" Sam asked, surprised.
"He is. We'll be with you in approximately four days."
"We'll keep the lights on for you." Sam said, smiling. "Will you be returning immediately to Earth after you arrive?"
"We'll take a couple days to re-stock, and so we can exchange information, but yeah, after that we'll need to head back."
Sam nodded. "Have the SGC sent any orders about scheduling a direct dial between Atlantis and Earth?"
"They said that unless you have something pressing to talk to them about, we'd stick with the Daedalus back and forth for now."
Sam winced. "Sorry Colonel." She said sympathetically. "I know that's not good news for you."
"I was just starting to enjoy not being a glorified bus driver anymore." Steven griped. "But … c'est la vie, and all that. By the way, Sheppard wants to know if Teyla's doing alright?"
Sam smiled at Teyla, who was in fact standing right beside her. "You wanna answer that?"
"I am well, Colonel Caldwell." Teyla spoke into the microphone. "Please tell Colonel Sheppard that I am looking forward to your arrival."
"Will do." Caldwell replied. "I'll sign off for now, Sam, unless you've got anything else?"
"Actually there is just one more thing." Sam said. "I don't suppose you brought with you a new leader for Atlantis?"
"Colonel?" He sounded confused.
"My tenure here was supposed to end a week ago." She explained. "I knew it was a long shot, but I was hoping they might have sent my replacement along with you."
"Sorry Sam, I don't know anything about that." Caldwell replied. "I guess maybe they want you to stay in place a bit longer?"
Sam sighed. They probably did. Bastards.
"OK, well, that's all I've got." Sam said.
"Alright. I'll call back when we have a more precise ETA. Daedalus out."
Sam looked at Teyla, who was grinning. Sheppard and McKay were alive. That, at least, was very good news.
Sheppard, McKay, Ronan, Teal'c, and Caldwell all transported down to the Atlantis gate-room together, upon Daedalus' arrival in orbit.
Teyla went straight to greet her team mates, while Teal'c and Caldwell headed for Sam.
"Welcome back." She greeted them both wryly.
"I wish the circumstances weren't quite so cumbersome." Steven replied. "Lee and Kavanagh have opted to stay up on Daedalus. They'll make the return trip with us."
Sam nodded, and looked at Teal'c. He gave her a little head-bow. "It is good to see you again, Colonel Carter."
"I hear you and Ronan single-handedly saved the SGC from a Wraith attack." She said, raising her voice a little to encompass Ronan as well.
Sheppard patted Ronan on the back. "Our boys did good, didn't they Colonel?" He said to her jovially.
Sam smirked and looked sheepishly at Teal'c. He had over a hundred years on her in age. Still, he didn't seem to mind being referred to as 'her boy'.
"May I discuss a matter with you privately, Colonel Carter?" Teal'c asked.
Ah. Here we go.
"Uh, sure … assuming you don't need me for anything, Colonel?" She looked to Caldwell.
"Not right this minute, no. I'll go start organising the re-supply."
"Ok. My office?" She asked Teal'c, and he nodded.
She led him up to the office, and closed the door.
His gaze dropped to her mid-section. She was showing a little bit, now. Not enough to be obvious to someone who didn't know it was there, but … enough that it would be glaringly clear to Teal'c.
"I must confess something to you, Samantha." He said, sounding contrite.
"You told Jack." She guessed.
"I did."
"It's ok, under the circumstances I was hoping you would have." She said. "If you hadn't, he would have ended up finding out from General Casey when the Daedalus gets back there in three weeks. And that's a best case scenario."
Teal'c inclined his head, clearly glad that Sam felt that way.
"How did he take it?" She asked.
"He was surprised, and concerned for your welfare. It was he who requested that I return to Atlantis with the Daedalus."
"Why is that exactly?" She asked.
He raised an eyebrow and said nothing.
She huffed. "Please tell me it's not so you can play 'bodyguard' or something equally ridiculous?"
"He wished to have someone he trusted in your presence, to 'watch your back', as he put it."
"Of course he did." Sam muttered, disgruntled. "For crying out loud, I'm pregnant, not an invalid."
"He also wished me to make sure that you were reporting your condition to Casey through the proper channels, and officially requesting a transfer back to Earth."
Sam fumed. "Obviously I am. Seriously, what does he take me for?"
Teal'c just gave her the eyebrow again. She gave a frustrated sigh and sat down.
"I do not believe he intended it as a slight on your capabilities or judgement, Samantha." Teal'c said gently after a long moment. "He is simply concerned for your welfare, and is feeling your absence keenly. Especially in light of your condition."
Sam felt a stab of pain in her psyche. God, but she missed him too. Not to mention her daughter.
Teal'c crouched down beside her, and she looked at him through the sheen of tears in her eyes.
"What is your plan?" He asked.
She took a deep breath to clear her head. "I've already written a report and a transfer request, and Dr Keller has prepared her report as well. It's all together and marked 'urgent' for General Casey's attention, and it will go back with the Daedalus. Then, it's just a matter of waiting for my orders."
"If you have to wait until the Daedalus returns again, your pregnancy will be quite advanced by the time you reach Earth." Teal'c commented with concern.
"I'll probably be around the twenty-five week mark." Sam agreed. "It's not ideal, but there's not a great deal we can do about it, unless we use the ZPM to dial direct, and I won't do that if it's only for my own sake."
"Will you consider returning with the Daedalus now?"
"I can't, Teal'c. Atlantis needs a leader, and for the moment, I'm it. I can't abandon them. And that's before we get into the fact that officially I have to wait for transfer orders."
Teal'c looked down with reluctant acceptance. "Then I will but hold out hope that there will be cause and opportunity for you to return directly by stargate."
Sam gave him a strained smile. "Me too."
In the end, Sam convinced Teal'c to go back with the Daedalus. She didn't need or want an overprotective shadow, and he would have very little to do in Atlantis if he stayed. She charged him instead with delivering her transfer request directly to General Casey, and impressing upon the General the depth of her desire to return home as soon as possible.
She also told Steven Caldwell about her pregnancy. His reaction for some reason reminded her forcefully of her father. He elicited a promise from her that she'd take it easy and try to stay out of trouble.
On the night that the Daedalus disappeared from sensor range on its way back to Earth, she watched it go on a monitor in the control room, a hand resting unconsciously over her subtly rounded abdomen, wishing she was going with them.
Now that she was going to be here a while longer, Sam knew it was time to come clean to the rest of Sheppard's team. It wouldn't be too long before they realised that the bulge in her mid-section wasn't due to an over-indulgence at mealtimes.
Having learnt her lesson the last time, Sam started with Rodney.
One evening, after the team had returned from assisting a world hit by the mysterious new disease they were tracking, she paid a visit to McKay's lab.
She settled on a stool on the other side of his workbench.
"Do you need something?" McKay asked, barely glancing up from his laptop.
"Can I talk to you, for a minute?"
He looked a little startled by her tone, recognising that this wasn't Colonel Carter the boss, but Sam the quasi-friend.
"Uh, sure." He said, closing his laptop lid. "What's up?"
"I have to tell you something." She squirmed a little. "Remember when I first got here, and it took me two months to tell you that I was married and had a daughter?"
His face pulled into a disgruntled expression at the memory. "Vividly, yes."
"Well, this is me trying to avoid making the same mistake twice." She said.
He looked confused. "Sorry, not following."
She gave him a strained smile. "I'm pregnant."
The startled look on his face was adorable. "Oh?" He squeaked, and then coughed and repeated it several octaves lower. "I mean, oh? Really, that's uh … well, congratulations, I suppose."
"You suppose?" Sam said with a raised eyebrow.
"No, I mean, obviously … congratulations. Very happy for you."
She smiled at him. "Thanks Rodney."
"I assume it's um … you know, his?"
Sam reminded herself that this was Rodney, and he didn't mean offence, he was just not very good at this. "Yes, Rodney, it's Jack's."
He suddenly seemed to realise what a predicament this put her in, with the loss of Midway, and he gave her a look of genuine sympathy.
"You're going to be stuck here for a while, aren't you?"
She nodded, chewing her lip.
"I'm sorry. I mean, I wish there was something I could do to help you get home …"
She reached across the workbench and squeezed his hand. "Thanks. It's alright though, even if I have to wait to go back with the Daedalus on their next trip, I'll still be home well before my due date."
He gave her a little smile, which she returned. She suddenly realised she was going to miss him, when she went home.
If she'd told herself that five years ago, her past self would have thought she'd lost her mind. Maybe she'd have to remember that for when she was the General Carter she'd met in the future. Along with the cryptic warnings and advice, she could tell her younger self that 'one day, you will miss Rodney McKay'. It boggled the mind, really.
Next were Sheppard and Ronan. It was evening, but before midnight, so chances were they'd both be in the Rec Room. Sam headed off in that direction.
She was close to the Rec Room, only a couple of corners away, when she abruptly started feeling dizzy, and couldn't catch her breath. She faltered in her walk, trying to clear her head, but then the world pitched and yawed and span, and the ground rushed up to meet her.
Sam was alone when she came to. It wasn't that surprising – it was night, and this was not a frequently used corridor. She blinked at her watch, trying to focus. She couldn't have been out for more than a few minutes.
She got to her hands and knees, and tried to stand, but the dizziness hit her again, and she ended up on her backside, clutching at the ground.
Crap.
She toggled her radio. "Sheppard, this is Carter, come in?"
"Sheppard here, go ahead?"
"Are you in the Rec Room?" She asked.
"Yeah, why?"
Thank God. He's close.
"Can you head to the corridor that's lined with windows overlooking the West Pier, the one you'd take if you were heading from the Rec Room to McKay's lab?"
"Sure … why, what's going on?"
"I need your help." She said, ambiguously.
"Ok, just a minute."
It was actually less than a minute later that Sheppard and Ronan appeared around the corner ahead, at a jog. They sped up when the spotted her on the floor. She'd shifted so that her back was against the wall, but the fact that she was down there at all was doubtless a give-away that something was amiss.
"Sam, what's wrong?" Sheppard asked as he reached her, and crouched at her side.
"I need you to take me to the infirmary." She said breathlessly. "I'm dizzy, I can't get up."
"I'll call a med team …" Sheppard said, reaching for his radio, but she stopped him with a hand.
"No, it's ok, just help me up and walk me down there, please?"
He didn't look happy about it, but he nodded, and ordered Ronan to her other side with a cant of his head. The two of them took hold of her arms and practically hauled her off the floor.
Her vision swam a little as she regained her feet, but by leaning on the guys she got it under control.
"Alright?" Ronan asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm good."
"Let's take it slow." Sheppard said. "Any idea what's causing this?"
She gave a hollow laugh. This wasn't exactly how she'd been planning on telling them.
"Well, I'm pregnant, so I'd be surprised if it's not somehow related to that."
Sheppard stared at her. "You're kidding?" He looked at Ronan over her head. "Everyone's getting pregnant round here, seriously, is there something in the water?"
Sam wasn't sure that she and Teyla really constituted 'everyone', but she was too busy focussing on putting one foot after the other to argue the point.
"Congratulations." Ronan said, squeezing her arm where he held it. He was smiling warmly at her when she looked up at him.
"Thanks."
"How far along are you?" Sheppard asked.
"Sixteen weeks, thereabouts."
"That's what, almost four months?"
"Yes."
"Why are you still here?" Sheppard asked. "You could have gone back with the Daedalus."
"When we lost Midway, I became effectively stuck here in place as expedition leader until such time as General Casey orders me back. I did send an official request for a transfer back with the Daedalus though, along with Dr Keller's report on my condition."
"It's ok, we'll look out for you until you can go home." Ronan said reassuringly. "Teyla hasn't had any problems with managing her pregnancy in the city."
"At least the infirmary have some experience in that area." Sheppard added.
They got into a transporter. Sam let go of the guys' arms experimentally. She was feeling quite a bit steadier now.
When the doors opened, she walked forward unaided, although she felt Sheppard's hand alight on the small of her back, obviously prepared in case she should collapse again.
"It's alright, I'm feeling much better now." She said.
"Well, forgive me but I'm not going to relax until you're sitting on an infirmary bed with Dr Keller telling us you're fine." Sheppard said.
Sam smiled.
Of course, it was effectively night time, so Dr Keller wasn't on shift. She was, however, the only doctor on staff who knew about Sam's pregnancy, so Sam reluctantly asked the doctor on shift to call her in.
She was sitting on the edge of a bed, kicking her heels against its side, when Dr Keller rushed in, in the middle of tying her long hair back into a ponytail.
"Colonel? What's going on?" Keller asked.
"She got dizzy and passed out." Sheppard told her.
"I'm feeling ok now though." Sam added.
"Any other symptoms?" Keller asked.
All three of them looked at her expectantly. She sighed. "I was just walking towards the Rec Room, when I suddenly felt short of breath and very dizzy, and I blacked out. I can't have been unconscious for more than a couple of minutes. When I came round I was still very dizzy, but that faded on the walk down here."
Keller frowned. "I'm going to check your blood pressure, and we'll run some tests and get you under the scanner to be on the safe side."
Sam winced. "Look, it's probably nothing. I expect I just didn't drink enough fluids today or something."
"Have you been drinking enough fluids?" Keller asked pointedly.
Sam looked chagrined. "I think so."
Keller nodded. "We're doing this my way, Colonel. Now, take off your jacket please."
Sam sighed. It looked like she'd be here for a while.
"Well?" Sheppard asked, as Sam and Dr Keller walked back into the infirmary-proper from the scanner room.
"It looks like it's just low blood pressure." Keller answered. "Everything else is fine."
"So the baby's ok?" Ronan asked.
Keller looked at Sam in surprise.
"I told them on the way down here. Ironically I was actually on my way to tell them about it when I blacked out." Sam looked at Sheppard. "McKay and Teyla know too, but that's it, in terms of Atlantis personnel."
Keller nodded. "Well, the baby is just fine. Low blood pressure in pregnancy isn't uncommon. We'll keep an eye on it, to make sure it doesn't dip too low. In the meantime, you just need to make sure you're drinking lots of fluids, eating a balanced diet, and taking it easy."
Sam winced. "Historically I don't have a good track record of 'taking it easy'." She admitted.
"Well, that's about to change." Sheppard said firmly. "In the morning you and I can have a conversation about delegating."
Sam nodded resignedly. In another situation she might have been indignant at the suggestion that she needed the help. But, as she had just blacked out, alone, putting her baby at risk … maybe she'd let Sheppard take some stuff off of her plate.