Fic: What's in a Name? (a Grandview story) Rated G
Title: What’s in a Name?
Rating: G
Warnings: This is like a montage…
Spoilers: None
Word count: 717
Series: Grandview
Summary: John took Rodney’s beer and sat it on the coffee table. “You’ve had enough when you start suggesting names of people who lived BC.”
Disclaimer: Sadly, neither Stargate Atlantis nor her characters belong to me. If they did, the show would never have been nor would it ever be cancelled. We may have to move it to Cinemax though.
“No Rodney,” John said as he turned off the lamp on his side of the bed, “we’re not naming him Einstein… or Albert,” he added cutting off what he knew would come out of Rodney’s mouth next.
This was the third day they’d spent trying to come up with a name and they were no closer than they had been on Christmas.
“Alexander,” John said as he flicked through the channels. Rodney was in their bathroom brushing his teeth.
“That’s okay, but Alexander Sheppard doesn’t come out right. It’ll be a maybe,” Rodney replied around his tooth brush.
John wrote it down on the yellow legal pad that had been sectioned off to yes and maybe. There were five names on the maybe side and none on the yes side.
“Andronicaus,” Rodney suggested as he handed John another beer.
“What?” John asked seriously, “who the hell is that?”
“He’s a famous astrophysicist, lived around 100 BC.”
“You’re kidding right?”
“Nope.”
John took Rodney’s beer and sat it on the coffee table. “You’ve had enough when you start suggesting names of people who lived BC.”
“Parker,” John said as he watched Rodney take the liner out of Etoo’s litter box.
Rodney stood up and glared at John. “That’s a last name.”
“It could be a first name too.”
“Parker Sheppard? Do you even say the names in your head before you suggest them?”
“Yes, and it sounded better than when you said it.”
Rodney tied up the bag. “That’s a no, John.”
Rodney sneaked a glance up the stairs and down the hallway then added ‘Eugene’ to the maybe side of the yellow legal pad and scratched off Christopher, then went up to get dressed.
John sneaked a glance up the stairs and down the hallway then scratched ‘Eugene’ off the maybe side of the yellow legal pad and added Matthew.
Etoo decided to make his bed on the yellow legal pad after John and Rodney had both left for work.
“Bartholomew,” Rodney suggested as he and John shared a shower.
“No,” John said firmly.
“You’re right,” Rodney said after a moment, “everyone would call him ‘Bart’.”
“Yeah, especially O’Neill, and I’ve heard enough ‘d’oh’ out of him to last a lifetime. I don’t need it to change to ‘Bart!’, how about Andrew?”
“Eh, we’ll add it to the maybe list.”
“Jeremiah,” John said as he put a box of spaghetti noodles in the cart.
“Nope, to Biblical,” Rodney said, adding a box of macaroni and cheese.
“Rodney, you could probably trace everything back to the Bible.”
“Doesn’t matter, I don’t like that name anyway.”
“Okay,” John sighed and pushed the cart down the aisle.
“Joseph,” Rodney said as he pressed into John’s body.
“Rodney, now is really not the time to be thinking of baby names.”
“I’ll take that as a maybe,” Rodney said and began thrusting.
“Erick,” John said and handed Rodney a soapy plate.
“Mmmm,” Rodney groaned, “maybe,” he allowed as he ran the plate under the running water.
“Rodney,” John said and handed him another plate, “at this rate, the kid’ll be twelve before we name him.”
“Well, we just need to come up with something we both agree on.”
“What do you think we’ve been doing?”
“Saying names without putting them in the context of ‘our son will be stuck with that name forever’. Maybe we should get a name book, or look online.”
John had his back leaning against one arm of the couch and Rodney was leaning on the other. John’s feet were on the sides of Rodney’s hips and Rodney’s feet were resting on John’s thighs.
Rodney had his laptop open and resting on his lap and John’s laptop was sitting on Rodney’s shins. They were tossing names back and forth, the yellow legal pad was sitting on the coffee table, the maybe list had grown and now covered three quarters of the page. Of course every third or fourth name had been scratched off. Whenever a name was scratched off, they didn’t suggest it again because it was obvious that one of them didn’t like it.
On March thirteenth they finally decided on Nathan. Another two weeks of arguing over a middle name, and John suggested McKay.
On March twenty-seventh their son was given a name: Nathan McKay Sheppard.
TBC…