Expected -- by Goddess47 (g)
Title: Expected
Author: goddess47
Rating: G
Warnings/Spoilers: Mpreg
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Length: 1350 words
Summary: For the sga_flashfic Amnesty Challenge: Kidfic -- Something finally goes right.
Note: Second part of a larger WIP that may never see daylight that, well, I'm sharing as is. An earlier and related piece is here Unexpected and while it's not required, this makes a tad more sense if you read that first since it's precedes this part of the story. But heck, now that I have this much done I may actually go off and finish it.
John woke lazily... today was the day Keller had decided it was time Julianna would be born and he was glad it had finally come. He was really only physically comfortable lying down, on his side -- anything else led to a backache after too short a period. It wasn't enough to complain about but it was wearing.
Rodney was curled around his back, still sleeping. They hadn't had too much time together recently and it felt nice to just lie here and absorb the warmth. Rodney's hand had reached over him and lay open on his stomach - the large, capable hand was comforting and reassuring.
John had resorted to the 'puppy dog' eyes to get Rodney out of the lab early the night before. He knew he and Zelenka were on the verge of a major breakthrough in being able to recharge a ZPM but John had wanted this one last night together. There weren't any other crises, all of the off world teams had come back on time and without injuries, and there wasn't anything that really couldn't wait another day. So John had pulled rank and played the guilt card to get some time alone with Rodney. They didn't do anything special but watched some Torchwood and snacked on popcorn that Rodney seemed to have an infinite supply of.
There was a moment when the baby was tap dancing on the inside of him that John took Rodney's hand and together they felt their daughter move.
"Rodney..." I'm scared.....
Rodney cleared his throat. "Me, too," he said softly. I'm here....
John closed his eyes to breathe and compose himself -- now wasn't the time to fall apart. Rodney's other arm went around him and drew him in close.
"Carson'll be watching," Rodney assured him.
"He better be," John muttered.
Rodney laughed. "Think of the basket case we'd be if we were both going through this," Rodney teased.
That sentence, as much as anything, reassured John that Rodney had been able to deal with losing Jeannie. He had caught glimpses of sadness as Rodney had watched Julianna's development but outside of their normal, casual, "You OK?" and "Yeah" conversation, they never had talked about it. This was Rodney's first overt reference since the night Carson had taken the baby away from him.... from them.
John leaned back from the embrace and put a hand on the side of Rodney's face. Rodney leaned into the touch.
"You okay?" John asked. Seriously....
This time, Rodney didn't answer automatically and John could see him going through his own internal checklist.
"Yeah," Rodney finally responded with a small nod, "I am."
John leaned in for a soft kiss, one that Rodney returned just as softly with an added layer of caring and love.
"Let's get some sleep," John suggested.
"Last chance at undisturbed sleep for a while," Rodney agreed as they settled in for the night.
John finally couldn't lie still any longer and as he shifted he heard Rodney mutter, "Is it time?"
"Shhh.... Not yet," John reassured the sleepy man. "She's sleeping on my bladder. Be right back." He eased out of bed and padded to the bathroom. He was again glad for the rugs on the floors to keep the morning chill away.
As he crawled back into bed, Rodney said, "Hey.... Come here."
John snuggled back into the warmth. At some point the alarm went off and Rodney stretched over John to shut it off.
Deep breath. John let it out and said, "Let's go have a baby." Since he wasn't allowed solid food before the surgery due to the anesthetic, Keller figured first thing in the morning would be best. John suspected she also wanted to keep Rodney's level of stress down to manageable levels and the less time he had to fret the better it would be for everyone.
In the infirmary, Keller pointed, "Rodney, I had a tray brought, eat some breakfast. Nothing you can do for the moment and you need to eat."
John added as Rodney was about to protest, "It's right there, go ahead." Rodney gave a quick squeeze of John's hand and moved across the room.
"Okay," Keller drew John's attention to her. "How are you feeling?" she asked as she attached monitor leads to him.
"A little nervous," John admitted.
She leaned in a bit and whispered, "Me, too!"
"Don't let Rodney hear that!" John rolled his eyes.
She grinned at him. "Oh, never! Why do you think I had coffee and breakfast brought in for him?" She sobered, "Piece of cake. We've been over this, any last questions?"
John had learned more than he had ever wanted to know about the differences in male and female anatomy over the last two months as Keller explained the changes in his body as best she could with the limited help of the Ancient database and what she would be doing to 'deliver' Julianna. Since this really was a surgical delivery, John was going to be unconscious but Rodney would be there - only after John had made him promise to not badger Keller during the operation.
"Ready?" Keller asked the room in general.
Rodney was at John's side, concern evident in his eyes but he said lightly, "See you on the other side."
"No giving Keller a hard time," John reminded him.
"You either," Rodney shot back.
"Go. Scrub," Keller directed Rodney.
After Rodney had left, they wheeled the bed into the room where she was going to do the surgery. Supervising the nurse giving the anesthesia, as the injection was complete, Keller directed, "Okay, John, count backwards from one hundred for me."
John got to eighty-seven before everything went dark.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Carson! What's wrong?" John asked in a panic.
"Shh... nothing. Sorry to scare you," Carson Beckett soothed. "Just checking on you. Jennifer has done fine, although I'm not sure I could say the same about Rodney. Tsk.." He shook his head.
"Carson!"
"Oh, right. Nattering," Carson answered cheerfully. "Thought you might want to meet Jeannie. This is the only chance we'll have." A young girl appeared next to Carson.
Rodney was right. She was perfect. Her smile was bright and... she had Rodney's eyes.
"He misses you," he said huskily.
"Poppa talks to me," Jeannie replied. "It's good for him. And he has you and now Julianna to take care of." She held out her arms and John picked her up and sat her on one hip. "Tell Julianna about me and give Poppa a hug." She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. Leaning back, she put a hand on the side of John's face in a caress and said softly, "This is for Poppa..."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey! Sleepy! Wake up and meet your daughter," Rodney's voice called to him.
John fought his way to consciousness. When he thought he might be able to manage, he started to move to sit up but a hand on his arm stopped him. "No sitting up, remember?" Rodney said. "Hold on." He fiddled with the bed so the back moved up to get John to sit up slightly.
"Ready?"
No.... "Okay," John answered. With the reverence Rodney reserved for delicate crystals, he handed John a bundle that he seemed reluctant to let go of.
"While you were napping, Keller and her staff cleaned her up, counted that she has the proper number of fingers and toes and took an amazing amount of blood for the screenings," Rodney recounted and John looked down into the face of their daughter.
"Rodney....." she's beautiful.... "We did this?" He couldn't keep the amazement from his voice and knew Rodney felt the same way from the look on his face.
"Yeah." A whisper.
John held the sleeping child. He poked into the blanket to find a tiny fist that wrapped itself around his exploring finger.
Author: goddess47
Rating: G
Warnings/Spoilers: Mpreg
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Length: 1350 words
Summary: For the sga_flashfic Amnesty Challenge: Kidfic -- Something finally goes right.
Note: Second part of a larger WIP that may never see daylight that, well, I'm sharing as is. An earlier and related piece is here Unexpected and while it's not required, this makes a tad more sense if you read that first since it's precedes this part of the story. But heck, now that I have this much done I may actually go off and finish it.
John woke lazily... today was the day Keller had decided it was time Julianna would be born and he was glad it had finally come. He was really only physically comfortable lying down, on his side -- anything else led to a backache after too short a period. It wasn't enough to complain about but it was wearing.
Rodney was curled around his back, still sleeping. They hadn't had too much time together recently and it felt nice to just lie here and absorb the warmth. Rodney's hand had reached over him and lay open on his stomach - the large, capable hand was comforting and reassuring.
John had resorted to the 'puppy dog' eyes to get Rodney out of the lab early the night before. He knew he and Zelenka were on the verge of a major breakthrough in being able to recharge a ZPM but John had wanted this one last night together. There weren't any other crises, all of the off world teams had come back on time and without injuries, and there wasn't anything that really couldn't wait another day. So John had pulled rank and played the guilt card to get some time alone with Rodney. They didn't do anything special but watched some Torchwood and snacked on popcorn that Rodney seemed to have an infinite supply of.
There was a moment when the baby was tap dancing on the inside of him that John took Rodney's hand and together they felt their daughter move.
"Rodney..." I'm scared.....
Rodney cleared his throat. "Me, too," he said softly. I'm here....
John closed his eyes to breathe and compose himself -- now wasn't the time to fall apart. Rodney's other arm went around him and drew him in close.
"Carson'll be watching," Rodney assured him.
"He better be," John muttered.
Rodney laughed. "Think of the basket case we'd be if we were both going through this," Rodney teased.
That sentence, as much as anything, reassured John that Rodney had been able to deal with losing Jeannie. He had caught glimpses of sadness as Rodney had watched Julianna's development but outside of their normal, casual, "You OK?" and "Yeah" conversation, they never had talked about it. This was Rodney's first overt reference since the night Carson had taken the baby away from him.... from them.
John leaned back from the embrace and put a hand on the side of Rodney's face. Rodney leaned into the touch.
"You okay?" John asked. Seriously....
This time, Rodney didn't answer automatically and John could see him going through his own internal checklist.
"Yeah," Rodney finally responded with a small nod, "I am."
John leaned in for a soft kiss, one that Rodney returned just as softly with an added layer of caring and love.
"Let's get some sleep," John suggested.
"Last chance at undisturbed sleep for a while," Rodney agreed as they settled in for the night.
John finally couldn't lie still any longer and as he shifted he heard Rodney mutter, "Is it time?"
"Shhh.... Not yet," John reassured the sleepy man. "She's sleeping on my bladder. Be right back." He eased out of bed and padded to the bathroom. He was again glad for the rugs on the floors to keep the morning chill away.
As he crawled back into bed, Rodney said, "Hey.... Come here."
John snuggled back into the warmth. At some point the alarm went off and Rodney stretched over John to shut it off.
Deep breath. John let it out and said, "Let's go have a baby." Since he wasn't allowed solid food before the surgery due to the anesthetic, Keller figured first thing in the morning would be best. John suspected she also wanted to keep Rodney's level of stress down to manageable levels and the less time he had to fret the better it would be for everyone.
In the infirmary, Keller pointed, "Rodney, I had a tray brought, eat some breakfast. Nothing you can do for the moment and you need to eat."
John added as Rodney was about to protest, "It's right there, go ahead." Rodney gave a quick squeeze of John's hand and moved across the room.
"Okay," Keller drew John's attention to her. "How are you feeling?" she asked as she attached monitor leads to him.
"A little nervous," John admitted.
She leaned in a bit and whispered, "Me, too!"
"Don't let Rodney hear that!" John rolled his eyes.
She grinned at him. "Oh, never! Why do you think I had coffee and breakfast brought in for him?" She sobered, "Piece of cake. We've been over this, any last questions?"
John had learned more than he had ever wanted to know about the differences in male and female anatomy over the last two months as Keller explained the changes in his body as best she could with the limited help of the Ancient database and what she would be doing to 'deliver' Julianna. Since this really was a surgical delivery, John was going to be unconscious but Rodney would be there - only after John had made him promise to not badger Keller during the operation.
"Ready?" Keller asked the room in general.
Rodney was at John's side, concern evident in his eyes but he said lightly, "See you on the other side."
"No giving Keller a hard time," John reminded him.
"You either," Rodney shot back.
"Go. Scrub," Keller directed Rodney.
After Rodney had left, they wheeled the bed into the room where she was going to do the surgery. Supervising the nurse giving the anesthesia, as the injection was complete, Keller directed, "Okay, John, count backwards from one hundred for me."
John got to eighty-seven before everything went dark.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Carson! What's wrong?" John asked in a panic.
"Shh... nothing. Sorry to scare you," Carson Beckett soothed. "Just checking on you. Jennifer has done fine, although I'm not sure I could say the same about Rodney. Tsk.." He shook his head.
"Carson!"
"Oh, right. Nattering," Carson answered cheerfully. "Thought you might want to meet Jeannie. This is the only chance we'll have." A young girl appeared next to Carson.
Rodney was right. She was perfect. Her smile was bright and... she had Rodney's eyes.
"He misses you," he said huskily.
"Poppa talks to me," Jeannie replied. "It's good for him. And he has you and now Julianna to take care of." She held out her arms and John picked her up and sat her on one hip. "Tell Julianna about me and give Poppa a hug." She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. Leaning back, she put a hand on the side of John's face in a caress and said softly, "This is for Poppa..."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey! Sleepy! Wake up and meet your daughter," Rodney's voice called to him.
John fought his way to consciousness. When he thought he might be able to manage, he started to move to sit up but a hand on his arm stopped him. "No sitting up, remember?" Rodney said. "Hold on." He fiddled with the bed so the back moved up to get John to sit up slightly.
"Ready?"
No.... "Okay," John answered. With the reverence Rodney reserved for delicate crystals, he handed John a bundle that he seemed reluctant to let go of.
"While you were napping, Keller and her staff cleaned her up, counted that she has the proper number of fingers and toes and took an amazing amount of blood for the screenings," Rodney recounted and John looked down into the face of their daughter.
"Rodney....." she's beautiful.... "We did this?" He couldn't keep the amazement from his voice and knew Rodney felt the same way from the look on his face.
"Yeah." A whisper.
John held the sleeping child. He poked into the blanket to find a tiny fist that wrapped itself around his exploring finger.