Fathers Day - Epilogue (Harlequin challenge) by kharma2815
Title: Fathers Day - Epilogue
Rating: Um, going with Teen for this one
Disclaimer: Nope still not mine.
Summary: Everybody loves a hapy ending
Spoilers: None
Pairing: McShep
Warning: M/M relationship but nothing explicit (apart from a couple of kisses)
Feedback: Loved, craved, adored.
A/n: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first part of this. A few of you asked for a sequel and this is the result. Tried to write crackfic, but it seems I'm only capable of writing fluff.
Not betaed, so any mistakes are mine and mine alone.
FATHERS DAY
EPILOGUE
Rodney McKay walked through the lounge and stopped in the kitchen doorway. He leant against the frame and just stared for a few minutes.
John was leaning against the counter, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans with the top button undone, hair sticking up all over the place, tea towel draped over one shoulder and a baby held securely against his chest, one large hand gently rubbing her back in an attempt to get the newest addition to their family to burp after her 3am bottle and whispering nonsense to her.
Rodney couldn’t help smiling at the sight of Colonel Sheppard, a man who could reduce grown airmen to tears with just a look, totally captivated by a 4 month old baby girl. “Hey,” he said softly. “I was going to feed her.”
John looked up and smiled. “I know” he said with a shrug. “But I figured you could do with the sleep after dealing with Katie and the boys for the last week.”
Rodney walked over and gently caressed the baby’s back before leaning in and brushing John’s lips with his own. “I appreciate it,” he said. “But you’ve only just got out of the infirmary, John. You should be resting.”
A surprisingly loud burp suddenly came from the little girl and the two men looked at her in astonishment. “Oh yes,” Rodney said. “She’s definitely your daughter.”
John looked proud and kissed her on the top of her head. “That’s my girl,” he told her and smiled goofily down at her.
“I thought I was your girl,” a voice said from the doorway and John handed the baby to Rodney before hurrying across the room and sweeping Catherine into his arms.
“Katie!” he whispered into her hair as she snuggled into him. “I missed you.” He suddenly pulled back slightly and laid a hand on her forehead. “How are you feeling now? Fever gone down?”
Catherine Elizabeth Sheppard-McKay rolled her eyes at her father’s behaviour. “I’m fine, Daddy,” she said patiently. “It was just a mild case of chickenpox. Uncle Carson said I can go back to school in a couple of days now that the spots have started to go. Are you okay?” she suddenly asked. “Dad said you got hurt.”
Rodney walked across and joined them. “I also told you it was nothing serious, didn’t I?” he asked and Catherine nodded but clearly didn’t believe him.
John put one finger under her chin and gently made her face him. “I promise you I’m okay, Little Miss Katie. It was just a couple of fractured ribs and Uncle Carson wanted to make sure I was okay before he sent me home, that’s all.”
“Promise?” the young girl asked tearfully and John gave her his most charming smile.
“Have I ever lied to you?” he asked and Rodney snorted, making Katie giggle. John looked over at him and glared slightly. “I was talking to her not you,” he told the other man, getting nothing but an innocent smile in reply.
The baby in Rodney’s arms suddenly yawned, which was quickly followed by one from Katie. “I think it’s time for these two young ladies to be in bed, don’t you?” John asked and Rodney nodded.
Catherine sighed but gave in to the inevitable with good grace. “Okay,” she said and reached up to wrap her arms around John’s neck and pull him down for a kiss goodnight. “Love you, Daddy,” she told him and then did the same to Rodney. “Love you, Dad.”
“Love you, too, Catherine,” he told her and she smiled. Everybody else in the city called her Katie, only her Dad called her Catherine and she loved that he was the only one to use her given name.
She held her arms out for the baby still held in his arms. “Give her to me, Dad,” she said. “I’ll put her to bed for you and then you can put Daddy to bed.”
“Hey!” John said indignantly. “I do not need anybody to put me to bed, young lady.”
Rodney looked at him from under his eyelashes. “Sure about that?” he asked softly. John thought about it for a second and then smirked.
“On second thoughts, I think I could stand to be put to bed, just for tonight. I have only just got out of the infirmary after all.”
Rodney handed the baby over to her big sister. “Be careful,” he admonished her.
“Honestly Dad,” Catherine said with a roll of her eyes. “I think I’m quite capable of putting a baby to bed by now. I’ve had enough practice after all.”
She held the baby firmly in her arms and walked out of the room, leaving her fathers wondering just when their little girl had grown up quite so much. She suddenly poked her head back in. “Hey!” she said. “What are we going to call her anyway?”
The two men looked at each other and shrugged. “We’re still working on it,” John told her and she shook her head in disbelief and walked back out of the room. “Katie!” John called.
“What?” she said with a long-suffering sigh as she came back into the kitchen.
“Check on the boys for me, would you?”
“Already did,” she said smugly. “Michael had kicked all the clothes off the bed again, so I covered him back up and the twins are staying at Aunt Lizzie's overnight.”
John winked at her. “Thanks baby,” he said.
Catherine walked back out, still with the baby in her arms. The two men smiled as they heard her talking to her new baby sister. “Don’t worry about them,” she told her. “They’re totally insane but you’ll get used to them and don’t worry about not having a name yet. They’ll find the perfect one eventually.”
The door to the babies room closed and the voice cut off, leaving their quarters in silence. John suddenly coughed slightly and winced in pain, getting Rodney’s instant attention. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“Nothing,” John reassured him. “I just forgot I’m supposed to hold my ribs when I cough, that’s all.”
Rodney ran gently fingers over John’s side. “You sure?”
John captured his hand and bought it up to his mouth to press a kiss to the palm. “I’m sure. Thanks to that wonderful new device my clever husband found 6 months ago, the ribs are fully healed and the bruises are gone, I’m just a little sore still.”
Rodney grinned up at him. “I always said I was a genius.”
John suddenly pulled Rodney towards him and he went willingly, arms automatically wrapping around John’s waist.
“Didn’t somebody say something about putting me to bed?” John asked quietly as he nuzzled Rodney’s neck and kissed him behind the ear, a spot that he quickly found was guaranteed to turn the other man into a pile of go.
Rodney shuddered and relaxed into John’s arms. “I believe it was mentioned, yes,” he murmured as he tilted his head to one side give John easier access.
“Gross,” a voice suddenly said from the doorway. “Get a room.”
“We have a room,” John said calmly. “This whole apartment is ours and I thought you were going to bed.”
Katie waved the small white bear in her hand at them. “I’m going,” she said. “I just came back for Lissa’s boo-bear that somebody left on the kitchen table.”
Rodney turned to face her, still in the circle of John’s arms. “Lissa?” he asked and Catherine shrugged.
“I got fed up waiting for you two to pick a name for her so I did it myself. You like it?” she asked, looking suddenly nervous.
John and Rodney exchanged glances. “Lissa Sheppard-McKay,” John finally said. “I like it.”
Rodney nodded. “Lissa it is then,” he agreed and Catherine smiled.
“So glad that’s finally sorted out,” she said. “Now if you will excuse me, I’m going to bed.” She turned to go back to her room. “Don’t you two do anything I wouldn’t do,” she called over her shoulder.
“Brat!” John growled and she ran back to her room, giggling.
“How old is she again?” Rodney asked in disbelief as they finally made their way to bed.
“According to Carson, she’s about 14.”
Rodney looked scared for a moment. “We don’t need to have The Talk with her, do we?” he asked.
John chuckled. He could actually hear the capitals in Rodney’s question. “Relax,” he said. “That young lady knows more about the birds and the bees than we ever will. She practically lives in the bio lab, don’t forget.”
"Remind me to have words with whoever let her spend her free time in the
bio lab," Rodney said and John smirked.
"Sure," he said, waving a hand in the vague direction of the other side
of the room. "There's a mirror right over there. Knock yourself out."
Rodney blushed slightly as he realised that he had actually given
permission for Catherine to work in the labs after school and climbed
into bed.
John wandered across the room and glanced at the pictures scattered
across the dresser and on the walls. "Do you ever find it strange that
we seem to have become the official foster parents of Atlantis?" he
asked quietly.
"Not particularly," Rodney said with a smirk. "After all, you're
nothing but a big kid yourself. Makes perfect sense to me."
John straightened a few pictures and then climbed into bed himself.
"Seriously," he said as he turned on his side to face the other man and
propped his head on his hand. "In the seven years that we've had Katie,
we've cared for eighteen children until we found their families and
adopted another two. I just find it a little weird, that's all."
"We're hardly the only ones, John. Elizabeth and Carson have fostered
four and adopted two, Radek's adopted one and even Teyla's fostered
five. At some point, pretty much everyone in the city has looked after
a lost, abandoned or orphaned child."
John sighed. "I know," he said. "But have you ever noticed how we
always get the weird ones?"
"What exactly do you mean by weird?" Rodney asked.
"Well," John said slowly. "Like Katie for instance. She was about a
year old when we got her, she's been here seven years and she's suddenly
fourteen! Not to mention the telepathy and telekinesis that
mysteriously disappeared when she was three."
"Catherine is not weird!" Rodney declared. "Her people just age at
twice the rate we do and, according to Teyla, once she gets through
puberty and reaches adulthood she'll age at the same rate as everybody
else.
"You know perfectly well that the advance aging and the mental abilities
were designed as a defence mechanism to make it easier for the children
of that planet to survive in an undoubtedly hostile environment."
"I am well aware of that, Rodney, I'm just making an observation, that's
all. You know how much I love Katie. Besides," John said with a tender
smile as he ran his hand down Rodney's arm and laced their fingers
together. "I will always be thankful to her for giving me you."
"And just what do you mean by that remark?" Rodney demanded irritably as
he pulled his hand away. "You make me sound like a prized possession or
something!"
"You are," John said seriously. "Thanks to Katie coming into your life
and needing a Daddy, you're all mine and I'm never letting you go."
Rodney huffed, pretending to be irritated, but a year of friendship and
seven years of partnership meant that John could read his partner like a
book and he knew he was secretly pleased.
"Weren't we discussing something else in the kitchen before we were so
rudely interrupted?" John asked and Rodney smirked.
"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. Sheppard,"
Rodney said innocently and leant over him to turn off the bedside light.
John grabbed his hand and pulled him down so that he was laying half on
top of him. "That's Colonel Sheppard to you, Doctor McKay," he almost
growled. "And I was talking about this."
With that he leaned up slightly and covered Rodney's lips with his own,
meeting token resistance at first, but then Rodney relaxed against him
and by the time they broke apart, they were both gasping for breath.
"Oh," Rodney breathed. "That!"
John nodded smugly. "Yes," he said. "Exactly that."
Rodney looked thoughtful for a moment and then grinned. "Okay," he
said. "But I get to be the head scientist of the human colony in the
distant Pegasus galaxy and you get to be the big, bad USAF Colonel who's
the scourge of all our enemies but who's a big softy at heart and a
dynamo in the sack."
"A dynamo?" John asked. "Really?" Rodney nodded and John smiled.
"Cool!" he whispered and proceeded to show the love of his life just how
much of an dynamo he could be.
The end.
Rating: Um, going with Teen for this one
Disclaimer: Nope still not mine.
Summary: Everybody loves a hapy ending
Spoilers: None
Pairing: McShep
Warning: M/M relationship but nothing explicit (apart from a couple of kisses)
Feedback: Loved, craved, adored.
A/n: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first part of this. A few of you asked for a sequel and this is the result. Tried to write crackfic, but it seems I'm only capable of writing fluff.
Not betaed, so any mistakes are mine and mine alone.
FATHERS DAY
EPILOGUE
Rodney McKay walked through the lounge and stopped in the kitchen doorway. He leant against the frame and just stared for a few minutes.
John was leaning against the counter, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans with the top button undone, hair sticking up all over the place, tea towel draped over one shoulder and a baby held securely against his chest, one large hand gently rubbing her back in an attempt to get the newest addition to their family to burp after her 3am bottle and whispering nonsense to her.
Rodney couldn’t help smiling at the sight of Colonel Sheppard, a man who could reduce grown airmen to tears with just a look, totally captivated by a 4 month old baby girl. “Hey,” he said softly. “I was going to feed her.”
John looked up and smiled. “I know” he said with a shrug. “But I figured you could do with the sleep after dealing with Katie and the boys for the last week.”
Rodney walked over and gently caressed the baby’s back before leaning in and brushing John’s lips with his own. “I appreciate it,” he said. “But you’ve only just got out of the infirmary, John. You should be resting.”
A surprisingly loud burp suddenly came from the little girl and the two men looked at her in astonishment. “Oh yes,” Rodney said. “She’s definitely your daughter.”
John looked proud and kissed her on the top of her head. “That’s my girl,” he told her and smiled goofily down at her.
“I thought I was your girl,” a voice said from the doorway and John handed the baby to Rodney before hurrying across the room and sweeping Catherine into his arms.
“Katie!” he whispered into her hair as she snuggled into him. “I missed you.” He suddenly pulled back slightly and laid a hand on her forehead. “How are you feeling now? Fever gone down?”
Catherine Elizabeth Sheppard-McKay rolled her eyes at her father’s behaviour. “I’m fine, Daddy,” she said patiently. “It was just a mild case of chickenpox. Uncle Carson said I can go back to school in a couple of days now that the spots have started to go. Are you okay?” she suddenly asked. “Dad said you got hurt.”
Rodney walked across and joined them. “I also told you it was nothing serious, didn’t I?” he asked and Catherine nodded but clearly didn’t believe him.
John put one finger under her chin and gently made her face him. “I promise you I’m okay, Little Miss Katie. It was just a couple of fractured ribs and Uncle Carson wanted to make sure I was okay before he sent me home, that’s all.”
“Promise?” the young girl asked tearfully and John gave her his most charming smile.
“Have I ever lied to you?” he asked and Rodney snorted, making Katie giggle. John looked over at him and glared slightly. “I was talking to her not you,” he told the other man, getting nothing but an innocent smile in reply.
The baby in Rodney’s arms suddenly yawned, which was quickly followed by one from Katie. “I think it’s time for these two young ladies to be in bed, don’t you?” John asked and Rodney nodded.
Catherine sighed but gave in to the inevitable with good grace. “Okay,” she said and reached up to wrap her arms around John’s neck and pull him down for a kiss goodnight. “Love you, Daddy,” she told him and then did the same to Rodney. “Love you, Dad.”
“Love you, too, Catherine,” he told her and she smiled. Everybody else in the city called her Katie, only her Dad called her Catherine and she loved that he was the only one to use her given name.
She held her arms out for the baby still held in his arms. “Give her to me, Dad,” she said. “I’ll put her to bed for you and then you can put Daddy to bed.”
“Hey!” John said indignantly. “I do not need anybody to put me to bed, young lady.”
Rodney looked at him from under his eyelashes. “Sure about that?” he asked softly. John thought about it for a second and then smirked.
“On second thoughts, I think I could stand to be put to bed, just for tonight. I have only just got out of the infirmary after all.”
Rodney handed the baby over to her big sister. “Be careful,” he admonished her.
“Honestly Dad,” Catherine said with a roll of her eyes. “I think I’m quite capable of putting a baby to bed by now. I’ve had enough practice after all.”
She held the baby firmly in her arms and walked out of the room, leaving her fathers wondering just when their little girl had grown up quite so much. She suddenly poked her head back in. “Hey!” she said. “What are we going to call her anyway?”
The two men looked at each other and shrugged. “We’re still working on it,” John told her and she shook her head in disbelief and walked back out of the room. “Katie!” John called.
“What?” she said with a long-suffering sigh as she came back into the kitchen.
“Check on the boys for me, would you?”
“Already did,” she said smugly. “Michael had kicked all the clothes off the bed again, so I covered him back up and the twins are staying at Aunt Lizzie's overnight.”
John winked at her. “Thanks baby,” he said.
Catherine walked back out, still with the baby in her arms. The two men smiled as they heard her talking to her new baby sister. “Don’t worry about them,” she told her. “They’re totally insane but you’ll get used to them and don’t worry about not having a name yet. They’ll find the perfect one eventually.”
The door to the babies room closed and the voice cut off, leaving their quarters in silence. John suddenly coughed slightly and winced in pain, getting Rodney’s instant attention. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“Nothing,” John reassured him. “I just forgot I’m supposed to hold my ribs when I cough, that’s all.”
Rodney ran gently fingers over John’s side. “You sure?”
John captured his hand and bought it up to his mouth to press a kiss to the palm. “I’m sure. Thanks to that wonderful new device my clever husband found 6 months ago, the ribs are fully healed and the bruises are gone, I’m just a little sore still.”
Rodney grinned up at him. “I always said I was a genius.”
John suddenly pulled Rodney towards him and he went willingly, arms automatically wrapping around John’s waist.
“Didn’t somebody say something about putting me to bed?” John asked quietly as he nuzzled Rodney’s neck and kissed him behind the ear, a spot that he quickly found was guaranteed to turn the other man into a pile of go.
Rodney shuddered and relaxed into John’s arms. “I believe it was mentioned, yes,” he murmured as he tilted his head to one side give John easier access.
“Gross,” a voice suddenly said from the doorway. “Get a room.”
“We have a room,” John said calmly. “This whole apartment is ours and I thought you were going to bed.”
Katie waved the small white bear in her hand at them. “I’m going,” she said. “I just came back for Lissa’s boo-bear that somebody left on the kitchen table.”
Rodney turned to face her, still in the circle of John’s arms. “Lissa?” he asked and Catherine shrugged.
“I got fed up waiting for you two to pick a name for her so I did it myself. You like it?” she asked, looking suddenly nervous.
John and Rodney exchanged glances. “Lissa Sheppard-McKay,” John finally said. “I like it.”
Rodney nodded. “Lissa it is then,” he agreed and Catherine smiled.
“So glad that’s finally sorted out,” she said. “Now if you will excuse me, I’m going to bed.” She turned to go back to her room. “Don’t you two do anything I wouldn’t do,” she called over her shoulder.
“Brat!” John growled and she ran back to her room, giggling.
“How old is she again?” Rodney asked in disbelief as they finally made their way to bed.
“According to Carson, she’s about 14.”
Rodney looked scared for a moment. “We don’t need to have The Talk with her, do we?” he asked.
John chuckled. He could actually hear the capitals in Rodney’s question. “Relax,” he said. “That young lady knows more about the birds and the bees than we ever will. She practically lives in the bio lab, don’t forget.”
"Remind me to have words with whoever let her spend her free time in the
bio lab," Rodney said and John smirked.
"Sure," he said, waving a hand in the vague direction of the other side
of the room. "There's a mirror right over there. Knock yourself out."
Rodney blushed slightly as he realised that he had actually given
permission for Catherine to work in the labs after school and climbed
into bed.
John wandered across the room and glanced at the pictures scattered
across the dresser and on the walls. "Do you ever find it strange that
we seem to have become the official foster parents of Atlantis?" he
asked quietly.
"Not particularly," Rodney said with a smirk. "After all, you're
nothing but a big kid yourself. Makes perfect sense to me."
John straightened a few pictures and then climbed into bed himself.
"Seriously," he said as he turned on his side to face the other man and
propped his head on his hand. "In the seven years that we've had Katie,
we've cared for eighteen children until we found their families and
adopted another two. I just find it a little weird, that's all."
"We're hardly the only ones, John. Elizabeth and Carson have fostered
four and adopted two, Radek's adopted one and even Teyla's fostered
five. At some point, pretty much everyone in the city has looked after
a lost, abandoned or orphaned child."
John sighed. "I know," he said. "But have you ever noticed how we
always get the weird ones?"
"What exactly do you mean by weird?" Rodney asked.
"Well," John said slowly. "Like Katie for instance. She was about a
year old when we got her, she's been here seven years and she's suddenly
fourteen! Not to mention the telepathy and telekinesis that
mysteriously disappeared when she was three."
"Catherine is not weird!" Rodney declared. "Her people just age at
twice the rate we do and, according to Teyla, once she gets through
puberty and reaches adulthood she'll age at the same rate as everybody
else.
"You know perfectly well that the advance aging and the mental abilities
were designed as a defence mechanism to make it easier for the children
of that planet to survive in an undoubtedly hostile environment."
"I am well aware of that, Rodney, I'm just making an observation, that's
all. You know how much I love Katie. Besides," John said with a tender
smile as he ran his hand down Rodney's arm and laced their fingers
together. "I will always be thankful to her for giving me you."
"And just what do you mean by that remark?" Rodney demanded irritably as
he pulled his hand away. "You make me sound like a prized possession or
something!"
"You are," John said seriously. "Thanks to Katie coming into your life
and needing a Daddy, you're all mine and I'm never letting you go."
Rodney huffed, pretending to be irritated, but a year of friendship and
seven years of partnership meant that John could read his partner like a
book and he knew he was secretly pleased.
"Weren't we discussing something else in the kitchen before we were so
rudely interrupted?" John asked and Rodney smirked.
"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. Sheppard,"
Rodney said innocently and leant over him to turn off the bedside light.
John grabbed his hand and pulled him down so that he was laying half on
top of him. "That's Colonel Sheppard to you, Doctor McKay," he almost
growled. "And I was talking about this."
With that he leaned up slightly and covered Rodney's lips with his own,
meeting token resistance at first, but then Rodney relaxed against him
and by the time they broke apart, they were both gasping for breath.
"Oh," Rodney breathed. "That!"
John nodded smugly. "Yes," he said. "Exactly that."
Rodney looked thoughtful for a moment and then grinned. "Okay," he
said. "But I get to be the head scientist of the human colony in the
distant Pegasus galaxy and you get to be the big, bad USAF Colonel who's
the scourge of all our enemies but who's a big softy at heart and a
dynamo in the sack."
"A dynamo?" John asked. "Really?" Rodney nodded and John smiled.
"Cool!" he whispered and proceeded to show the love of his life just how
much of an dynamo he could be.
The end.