to be given reason, Carson/Daniel (15), SLASH/MPREG
Title: to be given reason
Author: Weaselett
Rating: 15
Pairing/Character: Carson/Daniel
Word Count: 6,215
Season: AU seasons 2 and 3 SGA
Spoilers: SGA: Rising, Intruder, Duet, Critical Mass, Michael, Misbegotten and some minor spoilers for anything up to McKay and Mrs Miller
SG-1: Children of the Gods, Reckoning, Threads, Moebius
Summary: This isn’t the way they expected it to happen.
Warnings: Slash, MPreg
Author's Note: Written for daddy_beckett, beta’d by the wonderful charlies_dragon.
For the most part canon happened in the same way, but season 9 and 10 of SG-1 happened differently, so there are a few differences. This is a little different than my normal fics, but I just had to have a go. (It's a little late due to some internet issues.)
Feedback is lovely.
Daniel sighed, curling up in the middle of the bed miserably, missing Carson more than he had ever thought possible. Which was stupid really, Carson was working late, again, but Daniel wasn’t surprised, there was a lot resting on this ‘experiment’.
They had captured the Wraith a little over a week ago and so far, Carson’s drug was working, turning the beast into a man. The problem was, they didn’t know what would happen once the transformation was over, nor did they know how long the effects of the drug would last. So Carson was spending all of his time in the labs and the observation room, making sure everything was done to ensure it went well, while Daniel tried to continue his work with the ancient database and to get used to the empty bed that waited for him in his quarters every night.
It was silly. He’d been independent for years, an only child and an orphan, never really needing anyone, not even during his time at the SGC. His team had been, were, his family, but he hadn’t needed them this much. The closest he’d come to this feeling had been the months following Sha’re abduction. He’d missed her then, missed the gentle touches during the night, the feel of her body in his arms and it had hurt, but not quite this much.
Carson was different though and not just because he was a man, it was more than that.
He had been attracted to Sha’re from the moment he saw her, but it hadn’t been love at first sight. It had taken him a while to love her as much as she had deserved, too long really. They’d been married before they’d even known each other, a fact that Daniel could admit now, with the distance awarded by time, had affected their relationship. If they hadn’t been married, he’s not sure if he would have stayed, if he would have come to love her as much as he had.
There had been none of that with Carson. They had become friends during their time together in Antarctica, but it hadn’t been anything more than that, not then. They had both been far too aware of the limitations of the situation and they both believed in real relationships, built on something more than a single night.
That had changed though, after a year apart.
Carson had learned a number of hard lessons in that first year in Atlantis, while Daniel had spent a long year searching for reasons to keep fighting, to deal with the continual struggle to survive against the odds. He’d even died, again, at the hands of Sam’s replicator double, something that, combined with the deaths of Jacob Carter and Katherine Langford, had driven him to take a good look at his life.
He’d finally been allowed to join Carson in Atlantis, travelling back with Carson and the rest of the senior staff on the Daedalus. He hadn’t been surprised when a Wraith virus appeared in the system, he’d half expected it after his previous failed attempt to reach Atlantis, but he had been as relieved as everyone else when it was finally destroyed, letting them finish their journey.
He’d spent his first month in Atlantis trying to come to terms with just how amazing the city was in reality, slowly settling into his new routine. Elizabeth had given him his first tour around the city, separately from the rest of the expedition’s new members, knowing just how much being there meant to him, but after that he had been left to his own devices. He’d chosen a lab down the corridor from the rest of his new department, close enough that they could find him easily, but far enough away that they would have to travel a bit out of their way to reach him. It was windowless, because he knew that it as the only way to be sure that he would actually get some work done.
He’d refused a position on a field team, preferring to stay on base and work on translating as much of the ancient database as he could. It also meant that he was on hand at all times, should he be needed by any of the scientists, which as it turned out, he was, often.
Carson’s visits had started after a few weeks. Sometimes he came for a translation of a certain part of the database, but most of the time he came to talk, offering to take Daniel to the Athosian settlement on the mainland or checking on his eating habits, something that Jack had apparently asked him to do.
In the end meals together became regular, something that no one else seemed to find strange, but Daniel couldn’t help but be self-conscious about. Atlantis might be civilian run, but there was still a heavy military presence.
Laura Cadman joined them on occasion, after her time stuck in Rodney’s head she and Carson had become good friends, though Daniel was very aware of her wish that it be something more, so he made every effort to give them time alone together. He started to spend more time with Teyla, Elizabeth and Radek, he didn’t want Carson to make a decision because of him.
In the end it didn’t matter, or so Carson had explained to him later, while Carson thought Laura was an attractive woman, he couldn’t see her as anything more than a dear friend and she had found the same. It had taken three rather awkward dates though, which Major Lorne detailed in length during one of the missions that Daniel joined his team on and Daniel had had to hide his relief.
The dinners started again and slowly Carson worked on Daniel until one night, not long after Caldwell’s Goa’uld was removed, they moved their relationship firmly onto the next level. Something Daniel hadn’t regretted, until now, faced with an empty bed, he found himself unable to sleep.
Daniel sighed again, rolling onto his back and rubbing his stomach idly, as he stared blankly up at the ceiling, which was just as boring to look at as the ceilings on earth. The only thing he had to be thankful for these days was that the illness that had been plaguing him for a long few months seemed to be passing. He could eat full meals again, without having to worry about throwing it all back up again a few hours later, even if his tastes were slightly more limited now. But three months of throwing up whatever you ate could do that to a person, he supposed.
--
“Perhaps you should go to the infirmary, make sure there is nothing wrong.” Radek suggested idly as Daniel yawned for the third time in as many minutes. He had been worried about his friend for some time, first with the long sickness that did not seem to wish to relinquish its hold upon him and now the odd behaviour, so different from the normally kind archaeologist.
“I’m just tired.” Daniel replied irritably, pushing a piece of what the canteen was advertising as carrot around his plate with his fork, wondering if the food was really getting worse or if it was just his mood that was making it seem that way. Nothing tasted like it supposed to anymore, even the coffee tasted awful.
“You are not just tired Daniel,” Radek corrected patiently, concerned gaze fixed on his friend’s bowed head, “you have been having mood swings as well, we could hear you yelling at Doctor Lindsey from the labs.” The young woman had been seen scurrying from the scene in tears and the majority of the soft science staff had taken to avoiding their boss, for fear of his newly discovered temper.
Daniel winced blushing faintly, remembering his unnecessarily harsh words from the day before and the looks his staff had been giving him since. He really should apologise to his unfortunate victim. He gave the carrot thing one last poke before lifting his head to meet Radek’s gaze, “It’s nothing Radek, really.”
“Then surely there is no harm in visiting the infirmary?” Radek answered innocently, he had no intention of leaving his friend alone until he promised to visit the infirmary, even if it meant enlisting Ronon’s aid.
Daniel sighed, glaring at Radek for a moment before nodding reluctantly, knowing only too well that his Czech friend was not the type to give up easily, if at all. “You’re right, there isn’t.” He conceded.
--
Daniel hesitated in the corridor outside the infirmary, suddenly very aware of the tightness of his clothes and the ache in his back. If he was being honest with himself, he would have come to the infirmary on his own, weeks ago, if it wasn’t for the fact that this was were Carson had been holed up for the last month and a half.
He hadn’t seen Carson properly, hadn’t touched him, since before Michael and he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, it wasn’t just work that was keeping Carson away from him. Maybe Carson had decided that he wasn’t interested in continuing a relationship with Daniel anymore. But that was just his own paranoia talking; Carson wasn’t the kind of person who did things like that, not without saying something.
Daniel closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before taking those last few steps into the infirmary.
--
Carson sighed rubbing his temples warily leaning back in his chair, away from the computer and the report sitting open and unfinished, the feeling of failure still sitting heavily in his stomach. All of his work, all the time he had spent working on the drug, had led to this.
The drug had worked, he couldn’t argue with that, but it hadn’t worked as he had hoped it would. They had still had to keep giving the transformed Wraith doses of the drug, had had to lie to them in order to keep them calm, to keep them willing. But it hadn’t been enough.
Carson shuddered, remembering Michael’s threats and the pain. It hadn’t been anything much, not really, not when he considered what Michael had threatened to do, but it had been enough to leave him unconscious by the time Sheppard and his team arrived, enough to make his stagger on those first few steps. He’d deserved it though. Regardless of who the Wraith were and what they’d done, he hadn’t the right to play God, to try and change their nature, without thinking about the consequences, without being sure that it would be better for them.
They all died. The Wraith that had been transformed into humans by the drug that he had had a hand in the development in, they were all dead, killed by his own people to stop them from turning back and giving them away. To stop them from returning to a place that they would never have belonged again anyway. And he didn’t know how he felt about that.
He sighed, shaking his head and silently cursing himself for dwelling on things beyond his control. It was in the past now, there was nothing he could do to change it, all he could do was learn from it, make sure that he didn’t make the same mistakes again. Make sure that no one would make the same mistake again.
Carson quickly finished his report, keeping it short and succinct, careful not to let his own sense of failure colour it, before saving it and sending a copy to Elizabeth and Colonel Sheppard, as per normal procedure, before standing and grabbing his lab coat. He pulling it on carefully, glancing quickly at the clock before stepping out of his office into the infirmary, ready to start his shift.
--
“Carson.”
Carson froze, arms full of the collection of boxes he had gathered from the storeroom to refill the almost empty cupboards in the main infirmary, staring in mute disbelief at the man in front of him, shame bringing colour to his cheeks. “Daniel.” He managed after a moment, somehow managing not to drop anything.
Daniel smiled weakly, stepping forward to lighten Carson’s burden, his hand lingering for a moment longer than was necessary, but Carson wasn’t going to complain. He’d missed that hand, missed the sight of that face in the morning. Carson cleared his throat awkwardly; pulling his thoughts away from the direction they were wondering and silently leading Daniel over to the cupboards. He worked quickly, filling the shelves neatly before closing the doors and turning to face Daniel properly, watching as the other man shifted awkwardly, playing with the zip on his jacket.
“Daniel?” Carson questioned softly, concerned as he tried to catch Daniel’s gaze, “Are you alright?”
Daniel swallowed, shaking his head slowly before finally meeting Carson’s gaze, “No, no I’m not.” He admitted, eyes watering.
--
Carson pulled his chair through the curtain carefully, positioning it next to the bed before he lowered himself into it, taking advantage of the privacy curtain to take Daniel’s hand in his own, offering his lover a reassuring smile. “It’ll take a few hours for the tests to come back, you should get some sleep.”
Daniel nodded his understanding, rubbing the side of Carson’s hand with his thumb gently as he met Carson’s gaze, “I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything.”
Carson smiled fondly, squeezing Daniel’s hand, “That’s enough for me love.”
Daniel sighed softly, turning onto his side to face Carson, “I have one question first though.”
“Okay,” Carson agreed, knowing only too well that it was always better to answer Daniel’s questions then to let him wonder, “ask away.”
“What do you think it is?” Daniel asked carefully, watching Carson’s expression carefully, Carson was a much worse liar than Daniel had ever been.
Carson sighed, leaning back in his chair, considering his answer for a moment before speaking, “To be honest with you love, I don’t know. There are any number of things it could be.”
Daniel smiled ruefully, “Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.”
Carson winced faintly, shrugging, “I know that’s not very reassuring love, but it’s about all I can tell you until I get your tests back.”
Daniel nodded slowly, considering for a moment before he spoke again, “What if you used the ancient scanner?”
“It’s good for a number of things, but considering the symptoms you described it quicker and easier to rely on good old blood tests, we still don’t understand all of the information the scanner throws out.” Carson replied, taking on his professional voice, seeming to forget that his patient was his lover and that he was currently gripping Daniel’s hand with a kind of desperation that belonged solely to relatives and loved ones.
“Okay.” Daniel accepted finally, waiting a moment before meeting Carson’s gaze again, a smile touching his lips, “One last thing.”
Carson sighed, making a show of rolling his eyes, “As long as it is the last,” he allowed, “you need your rest.”
“Do I get a kiss before I go to sleep?”
Carson smiled, laughing softly as he leant forward, claiming Daniel’s lips with his own. He groaned softly as Daniel deepened the kiss, Daniel’s free hand cupping the back of Carson’s neck and pulling him closer. They broke apart after a moment, breathing heavily, their eyes dark with a longing born of over a month apart.
Carson swallowed hard; sitting back down in his chair and repositioning his lab coat carefully before giving his lover a warning look, “Now, sleep.”
--
Daniel watched silently as Carson and one of the nurses set up the scanner, keeping his panic under control by will power alone.
He’d been woken a few minutes before, from the first good sleep he had had in a while, by a grim looking and very tight lipped Carson who had told him that they were going to use the scanner after all. That, Daniel had decided straight away, was not a good sign.
Daniel swallowed hard, shifting his weight carefully and wincing as the ache in the small of his back flared up again, half considering asking if, just for this once, he could lie on his side while the scanner did its work, but he dismissed the thought, he already knew what the answer would be.
Carson stepped back from the scanner as the nurse pulled the curtain back around the bed, offering Daniel a sympathetic smile before she vanished off, back out into the infirmary, leaving him alone with Carson. Daniel glanced up at the scanner, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment before he met Carson’s gaze, giving up on his battle against his emotions, “Carson?”
“There was an anomaly in your results.” Carson answered, avoiding Daniel’s gaze.
Daniel frowned, reaching out to grab Carson’s arm, anger quickly replacing panic, “Carson.”
Carson winced as Daniel’s fingers dug into his arm, meeting Daniel’s gaze reluctantly, “I’m sorry love, but I can’t give you a proper answer yet, the blood test results weren’t definitive.”
Daniel frowned, “That’s bad?”
“Not necessarily.” Carson answered carefully, offering Daniel a weak smile, “Lie yourself back down and we’ll get the scan done, then I can give you an answer. A solid one.”
Daniel hesitated for a moment, before nodding and letting his arm drop back down to his side, closing his eyes as Carson started the scanner, his hands clenching into fists. He hated not knowing.
--
Daniel stared mutely at the screen for a long moment, eyes wide, unconsciously rubbing his stomach with one hand. He swallowed hard before turning slowly to face Carson, eyebrows raised. “I’m pregnant?!” He repeated, fighting to keep his voice low as he quashed the urge to start laughing.
Carson nodded slowly, his own disbelief clear, “According to both the blood tests and the scan.” He agreed meeting Daniel gaze before glancing back at the scan and the clear picture of Daniel’s internal organs, including the new and very out of place uterus.
“Pregnant.” Daniel repeated, gaze fixing on a spot of dirt on the curtain. This really couldn’t be happening.
“Aye.” Carson breathed, sitting down carefully on the bed next to Daniel and taking his hand gently, drawing his attention. “I don’t know how, but you’re pregnant.”
“This is insane.” Daniel commented idly as he met Carson’s gaze, “But at the same time, not completely unexpected.”
Carson raised an eyebrow, “Medically impossible.”
Daniel shrugged dismissively, “I’ve died and come back to life, a few times. We’re fighting a race of life sucking aliens, living in a city built by people who built devices that can create stable artificial wormholes and who ascended to another plane of existence to escape a plague.”
Carson smiled, squeezing Daniel’s hand reassuringly, “Well when you put it like that.”
Daniel met Carson’s gaze for a moment before finally giving in and starting to laugh, not caring that it was more than a little hysterical. He was a man and he was pregnant, that gave him the right to be a little hysterical, even if only just for a moment.
--
Carson watched silently as Elizabeth stared at the images he’d brought to show her, waiting for her to recover from the shock. It was strange how after everything they had faced in the last few years, everything they’d accepted with barely a thought, none of them were finding it especially easy to accept this. A fact that Carson had a feeling Doctor Heightmeyer would be writing an essay about when all of this was over.
He’d considered, for a long moment, not telling anyone that Daniel was pregnant, had considered making up a story about some mystery illness that mean that Daniel was going to have to be quarantined for a few months. He’d even gone as far as considering asking Laura to fake a pregnancy, but those thoughts had only lasted for a few minutes before he dismissed them. There was no way that Daniel would let him do any of it.
Elizabeth let out a breath after a moment, shaking her head slowly as she rubbed her temple warily, “I have to admit, this isn’t exactly how I saw this happening.”
Carson smiled despite himself, nodding, it had always seemed evitable that one day they would start to become a proper community, “Aye, I’ve been expecting someone to turn up in the infirmary pregnant at some point or another, but I certainly didn’t expect that someone to be a man.”
Elizabeth nodded meeting Carson’s gaze as she straightened in her chair, still holding one of the films in her hands, “Do you have any idea how this is possible?”
“I have a notion, but I can’t be certain until I can persuade Rodney to send someone to check something out for me.” Carson answered carefully, his smile widening slightly as he remembered Rodney’s response to his request.
“Rodney’s scared he might get pregnant?” Elizabeth questioned, eyes shining as she fought back a laugh.
Carson shook his head, "No, I didn’t tell him why I wanted someone to do a check for him, he’s just annoyed that I’m questioning work that he and Radek checked over months ago.”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, “No offence Carson, but you’re not normally this, sneaky.”
“You’d be surprised.” Carson replied casually as he gathered his papers back into a pile, carefully avoiding Elizabeth’s gaze.
“Really.” Elizabeth watched him for a long moment before offering him the film silently, “I’ll see what I can do about Rodney. I’ll have to tell him why I need that particular device checking out though and I’m going to need your reassurances that there’s not going to be a sudden influx of pregnancies. ”
“Aye.” Carson nodded his understanding, lowering his gaze for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, deciding on the best way to answer, “As far as I can tell, Daniel’s about twenty seven weeks pregnant, which means whatever it was that he was exposed to which caused this happened about twenty eight weeks or so ago.”
“A period during which Daniel was in Atlantis constantly.” Elizabeth provided with a sigh, remembering the weeks following the near destruction of the city only too well.
“Aye, and for most of that time he was holed up in his office working on the database, apart from when he was working in one of the new labs on the south pier with Radek, Doctor Bryce and Doctor Kusanagi. I called them in for testing, but so far it looks like Daniel’s the only one who was affected by whatever it was.” Carson pre-empted her next question quickly, reassuring her that she wasn’t going to have to worry about dealing with a further three pregnancies.
“You’re sure there’s no where else that Daniel could have been exposed to something new?”
Carson nodded, “Daniel’s sure that he wasn’t exposed to anything else that could have caused this and I checked the reports myself, just to be sure.”
“So, one of the devices in the lab, somehow, made Daniel become pregnant?” Elizabeth questioned, trying to clarify the situation, still struggling with the details.
“No,” Carson corrected carefully, “the device seems to have caused Daniel to, for the lack of a better word, grow a uterus and the accompanying organs necessary for him to get to this stage, but it didn’t actively cause the pregnancy.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrows raised, lips pursing as she watched Carson carefully as he finished his explanation, his gaze dropping to his hands, “So,” she hedged carefully, “there’s a father?”
Carson blushed, not bothering to fight it, his gaze fixed on his shoes, “Aye.”
Elizabeth let out a breath carefully before leaning back in her chair, a little stunned by this extra piece of information. She watched Carson silently for a few moments longer, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Radek had commented on the depth of Carson’s new friendship with Daniel often enough to make her wonder, but she hadn’t ever expected to get this kind of confirmation. Not that she minded, both men more than deserved the opportunity to find a little happiness. “Carson, is there something you want to tell me?” She pressed, keeping her tone carefully neutral.
Carson nodded slowly before taking a deep breath and lifting his head, meeting Elizabeth’s gaze steadily, as ready as he could ever be, “I ran some extra tests, once it was confirmed that Doctor Jackson is indeed pregnant and I can say with 100% surety that I’m the father.” Carson swallowed hard before continuing, “Which is unsurprising considering the fact that Doctor Jackson and myself have been in a relationship for some time now.”
Elizabeth stood slowly, rounding her desk carefully never once breaking eye contact with Carson. She stopped into front of him, keeping her expression neutral, “You understand that that makes you responsible for Doctor Jackson’s condition and ultimately, for the welfare and care of the children once they’re born?” She questioned, barely managing to hold back a laugh when he stiffened, obviously offended by the suggestion that he would ever have thought otherwise.
“I’m well aware of that.” Carson replied, trying to keep the edge off his voice.
“Good.” Elizabeth allowed herself to smile finally, eyes shining, “In which case, despite the rather unusual circumstances, I believe congratulations are in order.”
Carson blinked, thrown for a moment before he returned the smile, allowing his own delight to show, “Thank you Elizabeth.”
--
Daniel sighed examining himself critically in the mirror, trying to judge just how obvious his condition was. He noticed the weight gain before, but he hadn’t really thought anything of it. He’d been ill, hardly able to keep anything down for weeks, so he’d just thought he’d been regaining the weight lost then. Now however, he knew the truth.
He hadn’t picked up an especially virulent version of the illness Doctor Bryce had suffered with for almost two whole weeks; he’d been suffering from morning sickness, as unlimited to mornings as it had been. He’d been over three months pregnant by the time those particular symptoms had eased off, giving way to his present mood swings and weight gain.
Daniel groaned softly leaning his forehead against the cool glass of the mirror, idly wondering how exactly he was meant to want to leave his room, ever again.
“It’ll be alright love, you’ll see.” Carson appeared behind him, wrapping gentle arms around him from behind and pressing a gentle kiss to Daniel’s shoulder. Daniel sighed, looking up to met Carson’s gaze in the mirror with a rueful smile.
“So says the man who said this,” Daniel motioned towards his stomach, “was a medical impossibility.”
Carson blushed faintly, “Aye well, I don’t mind being wrong, in this case.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow, “Really?”
Carson grinned, tightening his grip, “Really.”
Daniel smiled, closing his eyes and leaning back against Carson’s chest, enjoying the moment. “I’m hormonal and I’m getting fat.” He commented softly, tilting his head back to look Carson in the eyes.
“You’re pregnant love.” Carson pointed out calmly, refusing to take the bait.
“It could get messy.” Daniel continued deep blue eyes solemn.
“I can deal with messy and before you continue, I feel the need to stop you by saying this, I love you and I am willing to face whatever we have ahead.”
Daniel gave Carson a doubtful look, before pulling away gently, turning to face his lover, “I’ll remember you said that, when our kids are teenagers.”
“Best you do.” Carson agreed, eyes shining.
“Rodney gave me a lecture about touching unknown ancient devices.” Daniel commented moodily.
“I hope you listened.”
Daniel glared at Carson, crossing his arms over his chest, “Just, for the record, I didn’t touch it, at any point. I translated the text for Radek, that was all, no touching.”
“Out loud.” Carson commented with exaggerated patience.
“Yes out loud, how was I supposed to know that that would turn it on?”
“No harm ever came from reading a book.” Carson intoned solemnly, ignoring Daniel’s glare. There were just so many similarities between Daniel and Evy O’Connell that he couldn’t help it if maybe, he used quotes from those films a little too often.
“It’s your fault though, really,” Daniel pointed out stubbornly, “I wouldn’t be pregnant if you could keep your hands and other parts of your anatomy to yourself.”
Carson smiled, allowing himself to feel a little smug, just this once, “Aye, but as I remember it, you weren’t complaining at the time.”
Daniel sighed, deflating, “Okay, fine it’s my fault that I’m hormonal and whiny.”
Carson laughed, leading Daniel out of the bathroom gently. “You have a good excuse though mind, it’s not like you could have predicted the consequences.”
“No.” Daniel replied doubtfully, watching silently as Carson stripped down to his boxers, raising an eyebrow, “You know, I’m pretty sure, pregnant as I am, sex isn’t really all that appealing right now.”
Carson rolled his eyes, crossing the room to assist Daniel in reaching a similar state, “You have your mind in the gutter.” He scolded gently, before dropping a light kiss on Daniel’s lips.
Daniel laughed, an eyebrow rising, “And yet, here we are both very close to naked.”
Carson smiled, moving closer, “There are things we can do that aren’t sex.” He pointed out slyly as he snaked a hand around the back of Daniel’s neck, pulling the taller man down into a kiss, desperate after so long without.
--
Daniel stopped in the doorway to the canteen, staring dumbly at the group of people gathered and the pile of covered gifts. Carson tugged on his arm gently, pulling him the last few feet into the room and to the chair that someone had obviously prepared for him. He really hadn’t been expecting this when Teyla had mentioned that they had arranged for a ‘small’ celebration of their good news.
“So, we figured you guys would need some stuff, for when the babies come.” Sheppard appeared at Daniel’s side, smiling and looking a little too smug.
“Some stuff.” Carson repeated, eying the covered pile with the same suspicion normally reserved for Rodney and his experiments.
Sheppard nodded, “Most of the stuff over there’s from the Athosians, we haven’t really had time to request anything from Earth, plus I think they’re still trying to deal with the fact that a man can get pregnant, so it might not have been a good idea yet anyhow.”
Daniel stared up at John for a moment, holding back the biting comment he so badly wanted to make. John was just being John; he wasn’t trying to make Daniel feel like a freak. “It’s the thought that counts.” He managed eventually; very aware of the relieved look Carson gave him. He might be a hormonal monster at the moment, but he could still manage to be polite, just.
“It’s real kind of you all to do this.” Carson commented gratefully to the room at large, smiling.
“This is a most auspicious event Doctor Beckett.” Halling spoke from his position at Teyla’s side, smiling warmly, “Doctor Jackson is carrying the first children to be conceived in the city since the ancestors left, so long ago. It is our people’s pleasure to provide something for your children.”
Daniel coughed slightly, fighting the urge to blush. He really needed to work on not being uncomfortable whenever someone mentioned the fact that he and Carson had had sex, especially as he was carrying the evidence around in his abdomen.
“Thank you Halling.” Carson replied, looking as awkward as Daniel felt.
Halling opened his mouth to say something else but Teyla quickly interrupted, giving Daniel a very good idea what it was that Halling had been about to ask. He really wasn’t comfortable with the amount of people that seemed to want to touch his stomach, regardless of the meaning behind it. “Perhaps you would like to see what my people have brought for you?”
“Of course.” Carson answered, catching on as quickly as Daniel and standing to help Daniel across the room, just as Ronon drew the cover off the small collection of offerings, which included one of the most beautifully crafted cribs Daniel had ever seen.
“Wow.” Daniel breathed, breaking free of Carson’s grip to touch the dark wood, touched by the fact that whoever had made it had obviously gone to great care to make sure it would be big enough to hold both of the babies Daniel was presently carrying.
“You like it?” Ronon questioned, his deep voice making Daniel jump.
“It’s perfect.” Daniel answered smiling, running hand over the smooth wood. “Thank you.”
Ronon grinned exchanging a look with Teyla, “You’re welcome.”
“I was not sure of the gender of your children so I could not give my people any guidance on what clothing should be provided.” Teyla explained as Carson sorted through the box of clothing next to the crib.
“Carson doesn’t want to know the gender of the babies until they’re born.” Daniel answered, turning away from the crib to watch as Carson sorted through the clothes, smiling as he caught sight of the obligatory booties. Apparently some things were universally considered suitable baby gifts.
--
“Contractions bad!” Daniel yelled, glaring at the nurse next his bed, wincing as another contraction hit, idly wondering what was taking Carson so long. There weren’t any teams off-world, Elizabeth didn’t have any reason to call a senior staff meeting and most of the science staff were working on Rodney’s new project. “I realise you’re all used to dealing with pregnant people who are capable of actually giving birth, but just as a reminder, I’m a man, my hips and lower extremities were not designed for this!”
Nurse Andrews gave him a sympathetic look, patting him on the arm gently, “I know you’re in pain Doctor, but I’m afraid we can’t do anything about it, not yet.”
Daniel groaned, closing his eyes against the pain as he rode out the next contraction to the best of his ability, mentally cursing Rodney McKay for teaching the nurses exactly how to deal with the more vocal patients. Daniel slowed his breathing carefully, feeling a whole level of empathy for his mother and Sha’re as he struggled against the pain. “Someone promised me a caesarean, something about me not actually being capable of giving birth naturally.” He commented idly between breaths, opening his eyes to meet Nurse Andrews’ concerned gaze.
She smiled, squeezing his arm this time, “Carson’s preparing a room for that now, that’s what we’re waiting on, it won’t be much longer, I promise.”
Daniel sighed, relieved to finally be given an answer, labour he decided was a whole other level of pain than he was used to. “Okay.”
--
Daniel opened his eyes slowly, groaning faintly as he shifted, recognising the familiar feel of stitches pulling on skin; only this time they were in a different place than he was used to. “Ow.”
“Morning.” Carson’s voice came from somewhere beside him and Daniel turned his head to look at his rather smug looking husband. Like delivering their twin babies had somehow included him in the crazy experience that had been pregnancy for Daniel.
“Where are the girls?” Daniel asked quietly, remembering his first sight of their tiny twin daughters and panicking slightly when he saw no sign of them in his private room off the infirmary.
Carson stood quickly, placing a reassuring hand on Daniel’s forehead, smiling lovingly down at his husband, “There were just a few more tests that needed to be done, I thought they’d be back before you woke up, but it’s taking a little longer than I thought.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, “They’re ok?”
Carson grinned, the picture of the proud father, “Aye, love, they’re fine.”
Daniel searched his eyes for a moment longer before relaxing, smiling ruefully up at Carson. “Sorry.”
Carson laughed, shaking his head, eyes shining, “No worries love, I think you’re entitled to being concerned after having them with you so long.”
Daniel smiled back, reaching up to pull Carson into a kiss, pulling back after a moment, “Did you tell anyone their names yet?”
“No, I wanted to wait until you were awake.” Carson answered glancing up with a smile as the door opened and Nurse Andrews wheeled the mobile crib into the room, stopping it next to Daniel’s bed before leaving with a smile, knowing that they would want a little time alone with their little girls.
Carson silently helped Daniel adjust the head of the bed before gathering the two tiny cloth wrapped bundles into his arms and sliding onto the bed next to Daniel, letting Daniel take one of his burdens after a moment.
Daniel examined both little faces carefully for a moment before sitting back with a contented sigh. “We did well, didn’t we?”
Carson smiled nodding as he settled carefully against Daniel’s side, looking from one little face to the other. “Aye love, we did at that.”
“So, when do we present Meredith Rose and Katherine Claire to the world?” Daniel questioned, shifting Merry in his arms gently, elbowing his husband when he failed to answer. “Carson?”
“Soon, love.” Carson answered distractedly, staring down at his elder daughter’s beautiful face, “Soon.”
--
Author: Weaselett
Rating: 15
Pairing/Character: Carson/Daniel
Word Count: 6,215
Season: AU seasons 2 and 3 SGA
Spoilers: SGA: Rising, Intruder, Duet, Critical Mass, Michael, Misbegotten and some minor spoilers for anything up to McKay and Mrs Miller
SG-1: Children of the Gods, Reckoning, Threads, Moebius
Summary: This isn’t the way they expected it to happen.
Warnings: Slash, MPreg
Author's Note: Written for daddy_beckett, beta’d by the wonderful charlies_dragon.
For the most part canon happened in the same way, but season 9 and 10 of SG-1 happened differently, so there are a few differences. This is a little different than my normal fics, but I just had to have a go. (It's a little late due to some internet issues.)
Feedback is lovely.
Daniel sighed, curling up in the middle of the bed miserably, missing Carson more than he had ever thought possible. Which was stupid really, Carson was working late, again, but Daniel wasn’t surprised, there was a lot resting on this ‘experiment’.
They had captured the Wraith a little over a week ago and so far, Carson’s drug was working, turning the beast into a man. The problem was, they didn’t know what would happen once the transformation was over, nor did they know how long the effects of the drug would last. So Carson was spending all of his time in the labs and the observation room, making sure everything was done to ensure it went well, while Daniel tried to continue his work with the ancient database and to get used to the empty bed that waited for him in his quarters every night.
It was silly. He’d been independent for years, an only child and an orphan, never really needing anyone, not even during his time at the SGC. His team had been, were, his family, but he hadn’t needed them this much. The closest he’d come to this feeling had been the months following Sha’re abduction. He’d missed her then, missed the gentle touches during the night, the feel of her body in his arms and it had hurt, but not quite this much.
Carson was different though and not just because he was a man, it was more than that.
He had been attracted to Sha’re from the moment he saw her, but it hadn’t been love at first sight. It had taken him a while to love her as much as she had deserved, too long really. They’d been married before they’d even known each other, a fact that Daniel could admit now, with the distance awarded by time, had affected their relationship. If they hadn’t been married, he’s not sure if he would have stayed, if he would have come to love her as much as he had.
There had been none of that with Carson. They had become friends during their time together in Antarctica, but it hadn’t been anything more than that, not then. They had both been far too aware of the limitations of the situation and they both believed in real relationships, built on something more than a single night.
That had changed though, after a year apart.
Carson had learned a number of hard lessons in that first year in Atlantis, while Daniel had spent a long year searching for reasons to keep fighting, to deal with the continual struggle to survive against the odds. He’d even died, again, at the hands of Sam’s replicator double, something that, combined with the deaths of Jacob Carter and Katherine Langford, had driven him to take a good look at his life.
He’d finally been allowed to join Carson in Atlantis, travelling back with Carson and the rest of the senior staff on the Daedalus. He hadn’t been surprised when a Wraith virus appeared in the system, he’d half expected it after his previous failed attempt to reach Atlantis, but he had been as relieved as everyone else when it was finally destroyed, letting them finish their journey.
He’d spent his first month in Atlantis trying to come to terms with just how amazing the city was in reality, slowly settling into his new routine. Elizabeth had given him his first tour around the city, separately from the rest of the expedition’s new members, knowing just how much being there meant to him, but after that he had been left to his own devices. He’d chosen a lab down the corridor from the rest of his new department, close enough that they could find him easily, but far enough away that they would have to travel a bit out of their way to reach him. It was windowless, because he knew that it as the only way to be sure that he would actually get some work done.
He’d refused a position on a field team, preferring to stay on base and work on translating as much of the ancient database as he could. It also meant that he was on hand at all times, should he be needed by any of the scientists, which as it turned out, he was, often.
Carson’s visits had started after a few weeks. Sometimes he came for a translation of a certain part of the database, but most of the time he came to talk, offering to take Daniel to the Athosian settlement on the mainland or checking on his eating habits, something that Jack had apparently asked him to do.
In the end meals together became regular, something that no one else seemed to find strange, but Daniel couldn’t help but be self-conscious about. Atlantis might be civilian run, but there was still a heavy military presence.
Laura Cadman joined them on occasion, after her time stuck in Rodney’s head she and Carson had become good friends, though Daniel was very aware of her wish that it be something more, so he made every effort to give them time alone together. He started to spend more time with Teyla, Elizabeth and Radek, he didn’t want Carson to make a decision because of him.
In the end it didn’t matter, or so Carson had explained to him later, while Carson thought Laura was an attractive woman, he couldn’t see her as anything more than a dear friend and she had found the same. It had taken three rather awkward dates though, which Major Lorne detailed in length during one of the missions that Daniel joined his team on and Daniel had had to hide his relief.
The dinners started again and slowly Carson worked on Daniel until one night, not long after Caldwell’s Goa’uld was removed, they moved their relationship firmly onto the next level. Something Daniel hadn’t regretted, until now, faced with an empty bed, he found himself unable to sleep.
Daniel sighed again, rolling onto his back and rubbing his stomach idly, as he stared blankly up at the ceiling, which was just as boring to look at as the ceilings on earth. The only thing he had to be thankful for these days was that the illness that had been plaguing him for a long few months seemed to be passing. He could eat full meals again, without having to worry about throwing it all back up again a few hours later, even if his tastes were slightly more limited now. But three months of throwing up whatever you ate could do that to a person, he supposed.
--
“Perhaps you should go to the infirmary, make sure there is nothing wrong.” Radek suggested idly as Daniel yawned for the third time in as many minutes. He had been worried about his friend for some time, first with the long sickness that did not seem to wish to relinquish its hold upon him and now the odd behaviour, so different from the normally kind archaeologist.
“I’m just tired.” Daniel replied irritably, pushing a piece of what the canteen was advertising as carrot around his plate with his fork, wondering if the food was really getting worse or if it was just his mood that was making it seem that way. Nothing tasted like it supposed to anymore, even the coffee tasted awful.
“You are not just tired Daniel,” Radek corrected patiently, concerned gaze fixed on his friend’s bowed head, “you have been having mood swings as well, we could hear you yelling at Doctor Lindsey from the labs.” The young woman had been seen scurrying from the scene in tears and the majority of the soft science staff had taken to avoiding their boss, for fear of his newly discovered temper.
Daniel winced blushing faintly, remembering his unnecessarily harsh words from the day before and the looks his staff had been giving him since. He really should apologise to his unfortunate victim. He gave the carrot thing one last poke before lifting his head to meet Radek’s gaze, “It’s nothing Radek, really.”
“Then surely there is no harm in visiting the infirmary?” Radek answered innocently, he had no intention of leaving his friend alone until he promised to visit the infirmary, even if it meant enlisting Ronon’s aid.
Daniel sighed, glaring at Radek for a moment before nodding reluctantly, knowing only too well that his Czech friend was not the type to give up easily, if at all. “You’re right, there isn’t.” He conceded.
--
Daniel hesitated in the corridor outside the infirmary, suddenly very aware of the tightness of his clothes and the ache in his back. If he was being honest with himself, he would have come to the infirmary on his own, weeks ago, if it wasn’t for the fact that this was were Carson had been holed up for the last month and a half.
He hadn’t seen Carson properly, hadn’t touched him, since before Michael and he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, it wasn’t just work that was keeping Carson away from him. Maybe Carson had decided that he wasn’t interested in continuing a relationship with Daniel anymore. But that was just his own paranoia talking; Carson wasn’t the kind of person who did things like that, not without saying something.
Daniel closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before taking those last few steps into the infirmary.
--
Carson sighed rubbing his temples warily leaning back in his chair, away from the computer and the report sitting open and unfinished, the feeling of failure still sitting heavily in his stomach. All of his work, all the time he had spent working on the drug, had led to this.
The drug had worked, he couldn’t argue with that, but it hadn’t worked as he had hoped it would. They had still had to keep giving the transformed Wraith doses of the drug, had had to lie to them in order to keep them calm, to keep them willing. But it hadn’t been enough.
Carson shuddered, remembering Michael’s threats and the pain. It hadn’t been anything much, not really, not when he considered what Michael had threatened to do, but it had been enough to leave him unconscious by the time Sheppard and his team arrived, enough to make his stagger on those first few steps. He’d deserved it though. Regardless of who the Wraith were and what they’d done, he hadn’t the right to play God, to try and change their nature, without thinking about the consequences, without being sure that it would be better for them.
They all died. The Wraith that had been transformed into humans by the drug that he had had a hand in the development in, they were all dead, killed by his own people to stop them from turning back and giving them away. To stop them from returning to a place that they would never have belonged again anyway. And he didn’t know how he felt about that.
He sighed, shaking his head and silently cursing himself for dwelling on things beyond his control. It was in the past now, there was nothing he could do to change it, all he could do was learn from it, make sure that he didn’t make the same mistakes again. Make sure that no one would make the same mistake again.
Carson quickly finished his report, keeping it short and succinct, careful not to let his own sense of failure colour it, before saving it and sending a copy to Elizabeth and Colonel Sheppard, as per normal procedure, before standing and grabbing his lab coat. He pulling it on carefully, glancing quickly at the clock before stepping out of his office into the infirmary, ready to start his shift.
--
“Carson.”
Carson froze, arms full of the collection of boxes he had gathered from the storeroom to refill the almost empty cupboards in the main infirmary, staring in mute disbelief at the man in front of him, shame bringing colour to his cheeks. “Daniel.” He managed after a moment, somehow managing not to drop anything.
Daniel smiled weakly, stepping forward to lighten Carson’s burden, his hand lingering for a moment longer than was necessary, but Carson wasn’t going to complain. He’d missed that hand, missed the sight of that face in the morning. Carson cleared his throat awkwardly; pulling his thoughts away from the direction they were wondering and silently leading Daniel over to the cupboards. He worked quickly, filling the shelves neatly before closing the doors and turning to face Daniel properly, watching as the other man shifted awkwardly, playing with the zip on his jacket.
“Daniel?” Carson questioned softly, concerned as he tried to catch Daniel’s gaze, “Are you alright?”
Daniel swallowed, shaking his head slowly before finally meeting Carson’s gaze, “No, no I’m not.” He admitted, eyes watering.
--
Carson pulled his chair through the curtain carefully, positioning it next to the bed before he lowered himself into it, taking advantage of the privacy curtain to take Daniel’s hand in his own, offering his lover a reassuring smile. “It’ll take a few hours for the tests to come back, you should get some sleep.”
Daniel nodded his understanding, rubbing the side of Carson’s hand with his thumb gently as he met Carson’s gaze, “I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything.”
Carson smiled fondly, squeezing Daniel’s hand, “That’s enough for me love.”
Daniel sighed softly, turning onto his side to face Carson, “I have one question first though.”
“Okay,” Carson agreed, knowing only too well that it was always better to answer Daniel’s questions then to let him wonder, “ask away.”
“What do you think it is?” Daniel asked carefully, watching Carson’s expression carefully, Carson was a much worse liar than Daniel had ever been.
Carson sighed, leaning back in his chair, considering his answer for a moment before speaking, “To be honest with you love, I don’t know. There are any number of things it could be.”
Daniel smiled ruefully, “Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.”
Carson winced faintly, shrugging, “I know that’s not very reassuring love, but it’s about all I can tell you until I get your tests back.”
Daniel nodded slowly, considering for a moment before he spoke again, “What if you used the ancient scanner?”
“It’s good for a number of things, but considering the symptoms you described it quicker and easier to rely on good old blood tests, we still don’t understand all of the information the scanner throws out.” Carson replied, taking on his professional voice, seeming to forget that his patient was his lover and that he was currently gripping Daniel’s hand with a kind of desperation that belonged solely to relatives and loved ones.
“Okay.” Daniel accepted finally, waiting a moment before meeting Carson’s gaze again, a smile touching his lips, “One last thing.”
Carson sighed, making a show of rolling his eyes, “As long as it is the last,” he allowed, “you need your rest.”
“Do I get a kiss before I go to sleep?”
Carson smiled, laughing softly as he leant forward, claiming Daniel’s lips with his own. He groaned softly as Daniel deepened the kiss, Daniel’s free hand cupping the back of Carson’s neck and pulling him closer. They broke apart after a moment, breathing heavily, their eyes dark with a longing born of over a month apart.
Carson swallowed hard; sitting back down in his chair and repositioning his lab coat carefully before giving his lover a warning look, “Now, sleep.”
--
Daniel watched silently as Carson and one of the nurses set up the scanner, keeping his panic under control by will power alone.
He’d been woken a few minutes before, from the first good sleep he had had in a while, by a grim looking and very tight lipped Carson who had told him that they were going to use the scanner after all. That, Daniel had decided straight away, was not a good sign.
Daniel swallowed hard, shifting his weight carefully and wincing as the ache in the small of his back flared up again, half considering asking if, just for this once, he could lie on his side while the scanner did its work, but he dismissed the thought, he already knew what the answer would be.
Carson stepped back from the scanner as the nurse pulled the curtain back around the bed, offering Daniel a sympathetic smile before she vanished off, back out into the infirmary, leaving him alone with Carson. Daniel glanced up at the scanner, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment before he met Carson’s gaze, giving up on his battle against his emotions, “Carson?”
“There was an anomaly in your results.” Carson answered, avoiding Daniel’s gaze.
Daniel frowned, reaching out to grab Carson’s arm, anger quickly replacing panic, “Carson.”
Carson winced as Daniel’s fingers dug into his arm, meeting Daniel’s gaze reluctantly, “I’m sorry love, but I can’t give you a proper answer yet, the blood test results weren’t definitive.”
Daniel frowned, “That’s bad?”
“Not necessarily.” Carson answered carefully, offering Daniel a weak smile, “Lie yourself back down and we’ll get the scan done, then I can give you an answer. A solid one.”
Daniel hesitated for a moment, before nodding and letting his arm drop back down to his side, closing his eyes as Carson started the scanner, his hands clenching into fists. He hated not knowing.
--
Daniel stared mutely at the screen for a long moment, eyes wide, unconsciously rubbing his stomach with one hand. He swallowed hard before turning slowly to face Carson, eyebrows raised. “I’m pregnant?!” He repeated, fighting to keep his voice low as he quashed the urge to start laughing.
Carson nodded slowly, his own disbelief clear, “According to both the blood tests and the scan.” He agreed meeting Daniel gaze before glancing back at the scan and the clear picture of Daniel’s internal organs, including the new and very out of place uterus.
“Pregnant.” Daniel repeated, gaze fixing on a spot of dirt on the curtain. This really couldn’t be happening.
“Aye.” Carson breathed, sitting down carefully on the bed next to Daniel and taking his hand gently, drawing his attention. “I don’t know how, but you’re pregnant.”
“This is insane.” Daniel commented idly as he met Carson’s gaze, “But at the same time, not completely unexpected.”
Carson raised an eyebrow, “Medically impossible.”
Daniel shrugged dismissively, “I’ve died and come back to life, a few times. We’re fighting a race of life sucking aliens, living in a city built by people who built devices that can create stable artificial wormholes and who ascended to another plane of existence to escape a plague.”
Carson smiled, squeezing Daniel’s hand reassuringly, “Well when you put it like that.”
Daniel met Carson’s gaze for a moment before finally giving in and starting to laugh, not caring that it was more than a little hysterical. He was a man and he was pregnant, that gave him the right to be a little hysterical, even if only just for a moment.
--
Carson watched silently as Elizabeth stared at the images he’d brought to show her, waiting for her to recover from the shock. It was strange how after everything they had faced in the last few years, everything they’d accepted with barely a thought, none of them were finding it especially easy to accept this. A fact that Carson had a feeling Doctor Heightmeyer would be writing an essay about when all of this was over.
He’d considered, for a long moment, not telling anyone that Daniel was pregnant, had considered making up a story about some mystery illness that mean that Daniel was going to have to be quarantined for a few months. He’d even gone as far as considering asking Laura to fake a pregnancy, but those thoughts had only lasted for a few minutes before he dismissed them. There was no way that Daniel would let him do any of it.
Elizabeth let out a breath after a moment, shaking her head slowly as she rubbed her temple warily, “I have to admit, this isn’t exactly how I saw this happening.”
Carson smiled despite himself, nodding, it had always seemed evitable that one day they would start to become a proper community, “Aye, I’ve been expecting someone to turn up in the infirmary pregnant at some point or another, but I certainly didn’t expect that someone to be a man.”
Elizabeth nodded meeting Carson’s gaze as she straightened in her chair, still holding one of the films in her hands, “Do you have any idea how this is possible?”
“I have a notion, but I can’t be certain until I can persuade Rodney to send someone to check something out for me.” Carson answered carefully, his smile widening slightly as he remembered Rodney’s response to his request.
“Rodney’s scared he might get pregnant?” Elizabeth questioned, eyes shining as she fought back a laugh.
Carson shook his head, "No, I didn’t tell him why I wanted someone to do a check for him, he’s just annoyed that I’m questioning work that he and Radek checked over months ago.”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, “No offence Carson, but you’re not normally this, sneaky.”
“You’d be surprised.” Carson replied casually as he gathered his papers back into a pile, carefully avoiding Elizabeth’s gaze.
“Really.” Elizabeth watched him for a long moment before offering him the film silently, “I’ll see what I can do about Rodney. I’ll have to tell him why I need that particular device checking out though and I’m going to need your reassurances that there’s not going to be a sudden influx of pregnancies. ”
“Aye.” Carson nodded his understanding, lowering his gaze for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, deciding on the best way to answer, “As far as I can tell, Daniel’s about twenty seven weeks pregnant, which means whatever it was that he was exposed to which caused this happened about twenty eight weeks or so ago.”
“A period during which Daniel was in Atlantis constantly.” Elizabeth provided with a sigh, remembering the weeks following the near destruction of the city only too well.
“Aye, and for most of that time he was holed up in his office working on the database, apart from when he was working in one of the new labs on the south pier with Radek, Doctor Bryce and Doctor Kusanagi. I called them in for testing, but so far it looks like Daniel’s the only one who was affected by whatever it was.” Carson pre-empted her next question quickly, reassuring her that she wasn’t going to have to worry about dealing with a further three pregnancies.
“You’re sure there’s no where else that Daniel could have been exposed to something new?”
Carson nodded, “Daniel’s sure that he wasn’t exposed to anything else that could have caused this and I checked the reports myself, just to be sure.”
“So, one of the devices in the lab, somehow, made Daniel become pregnant?” Elizabeth questioned, trying to clarify the situation, still struggling with the details.
“No,” Carson corrected carefully, “the device seems to have caused Daniel to, for the lack of a better word, grow a uterus and the accompanying organs necessary for him to get to this stage, but it didn’t actively cause the pregnancy.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrows raised, lips pursing as she watched Carson carefully as he finished his explanation, his gaze dropping to his hands, “So,” she hedged carefully, “there’s a father?”
Carson blushed, not bothering to fight it, his gaze fixed on his shoes, “Aye.”
Elizabeth let out a breath carefully before leaning back in her chair, a little stunned by this extra piece of information. She watched Carson silently for a few moments longer, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Radek had commented on the depth of Carson’s new friendship with Daniel often enough to make her wonder, but she hadn’t ever expected to get this kind of confirmation. Not that she minded, both men more than deserved the opportunity to find a little happiness. “Carson, is there something you want to tell me?” She pressed, keeping her tone carefully neutral.
Carson nodded slowly before taking a deep breath and lifting his head, meeting Elizabeth’s gaze steadily, as ready as he could ever be, “I ran some extra tests, once it was confirmed that Doctor Jackson is indeed pregnant and I can say with 100% surety that I’m the father.” Carson swallowed hard before continuing, “Which is unsurprising considering the fact that Doctor Jackson and myself have been in a relationship for some time now.”
Elizabeth stood slowly, rounding her desk carefully never once breaking eye contact with Carson. She stopped into front of him, keeping her expression neutral, “You understand that that makes you responsible for Doctor Jackson’s condition and ultimately, for the welfare and care of the children once they’re born?” She questioned, barely managing to hold back a laugh when he stiffened, obviously offended by the suggestion that he would ever have thought otherwise.
“I’m well aware of that.” Carson replied, trying to keep the edge off his voice.
“Good.” Elizabeth allowed herself to smile finally, eyes shining, “In which case, despite the rather unusual circumstances, I believe congratulations are in order.”
Carson blinked, thrown for a moment before he returned the smile, allowing his own delight to show, “Thank you Elizabeth.”
--
Daniel sighed examining himself critically in the mirror, trying to judge just how obvious his condition was. He noticed the weight gain before, but he hadn’t really thought anything of it. He’d been ill, hardly able to keep anything down for weeks, so he’d just thought he’d been regaining the weight lost then. Now however, he knew the truth.
He hadn’t picked up an especially virulent version of the illness Doctor Bryce had suffered with for almost two whole weeks; he’d been suffering from morning sickness, as unlimited to mornings as it had been. He’d been over three months pregnant by the time those particular symptoms had eased off, giving way to his present mood swings and weight gain.
Daniel groaned softly leaning his forehead against the cool glass of the mirror, idly wondering how exactly he was meant to want to leave his room, ever again.
“It’ll be alright love, you’ll see.” Carson appeared behind him, wrapping gentle arms around him from behind and pressing a gentle kiss to Daniel’s shoulder. Daniel sighed, looking up to met Carson’s gaze in the mirror with a rueful smile.
“So says the man who said this,” Daniel motioned towards his stomach, “was a medical impossibility.”
Carson blushed faintly, “Aye well, I don’t mind being wrong, in this case.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow, “Really?”
Carson grinned, tightening his grip, “Really.”
Daniel smiled, closing his eyes and leaning back against Carson’s chest, enjoying the moment. “I’m hormonal and I’m getting fat.” He commented softly, tilting his head back to look Carson in the eyes.
“You’re pregnant love.” Carson pointed out calmly, refusing to take the bait.
“It could get messy.” Daniel continued deep blue eyes solemn.
“I can deal with messy and before you continue, I feel the need to stop you by saying this, I love you and I am willing to face whatever we have ahead.”
Daniel gave Carson a doubtful look, before pulling away gently, turning to face his lover, “I’ll remember you said that, when our kids are teenagers.”
“Best you do.” Carson agreed, eyes shining.
“Rodney gave me a lecture about touching unknown ancient devices.” Daniel commented moodily.
“I hope you listened.”
Daniel glared at Carson, crossing his arms over his chest, “Just, for the record, I didn’t touch it, at any point. I translated the text for Radek, that was all, no touching.”
“Out loud.” Carson commented with exaggerated patience.
“Yes out loud, how was I supposed to know that that would turn it on?”
“No harm ever came from reading a book.” Carson intoned solemnly, ignoring Daniel’s glare. There were just so many similarities between Daniel and Evy O’Connell that he couldn’t help it if maybe, he used quotes from those films a little too often.
“It’s your fault though, really,” Daniel pointed out stubbornly, “I wouldn’t be pregnant if you could keep your hands and other parts of your anatomy to yourself.”
Carson smiled, allowing himself to feel a little smug, just this once, “Aye, but as I remember it, you weren’t complaining at the time.”
Daniel sighed, deflating, “Okay, fine it’s my fault that I’m hormonal and whiny.”
Carson laughed, leading Daniel out of the bathroom gently. “You have a good excuse though mind, it’s not like you could have predicted the consequences.”
“No.” Daniel replied doubtfully, watching silently as Carson stripped down to his boxers, raising an eyebrow, “You know, I’m pretty sure, pregnant as I am, sex isn’t really all that appealing right now.”
Carson rolled his eyes, crossing the room to assist Daniel in reaching a similar state, “You have your mind in the gutter.” He scolded gently, before dropping a light kiss on Daniel’s lips.
Daniel laughed, an eyebrow rising, “And yet, here we are both very close to naked.”
Carson smiled, moving closer, “There are things we can do that aren’t sex.” He pointed out slyly as he snaked a hand around the back of Daniel’s neck, pulling the taller man down into a kiss, desperate after so long without.
--
Daniel stopped in the doorway to the canteen, staring dumbly at the group of people gathered and the pile of covered gifts. Carson tugged on his arm gently, pulling him the last few feet into the room and to the chair that someone had obviously prepared for him. He really hadn’t been expecting this when Teyla had mentioned that they had arranged for a ‘small’ celebration of their good news.
“So, we figured you guys would need some stuff, for when the babies come.” Sheppard appeared at Daniel’s side, smiling and looking a little too smug.
“Some stuff.” Carson repeated, eying the covered pile with the same suspicion normally reserved for Rodney and his experiments.
Sheppard nodded, “Most of the stuff over there’s from the Athosians, we haven’t really had time to request anything from Earth, plus I think they’re still trying to deal with the fact that a man can get pregnant, so it might not have been a good idea yet anyhow.”
Daniel stared up at John for a moment, holding back the biting comment he so badly wanted to make. John was just being John; he wasn’t trying to make Daniel feel like a freak. “It’s the thought that counts.” He managed eventually; very aware of the relieved look Carson gave him. He might be a hormonal monster at the moment, but he could still manage to be polite, just.
“It’s real kind of you all to do this.” Carson commented gratefully to the room at large, smiling.
“This is a most auspicious event Doctor Beckett.” Halling spoke from his position at Teyla’s side, smiling warmly, “Doctor Jackson is carrying the first children to be conceived in the city since the ancestors left, so long ago. It is our people’s pleasure to provide something for your children.”
Daniel coughed slightly, fighting the urge to blush. He really needed to work on not being uncomfortable whenever someone mentioned the fact that he and Carson had had sex, especially as he was carrying the evidence around in his abdomen.
“Thank you Halling.” Carson replied, looking as awkward as Daniel felt.
Halling opened his mouth to say something else but Teyla quickly interrupted, giving Daniel a very good idea what it was that Halling had been about to ask. He really wasn’t comfortable with the amount of people that seemed to want to touch his stomach, regardless of the meaning behind it. “Perhaps you would like to see what my people have brought for you?”
“Of course.” Carson answered, catching on as quickly as Daniel and standing to help Daniel across the room, just as Ronon drew the cover off the small collection of offerings, which included one of the most beautifully crafted cribs Daniel had ever seen.
“Wow.” Daniel breathed, breaking free of Carson’s grip to touch the dark wood, touched by the fact that whoever had made it had obviously gone to great care to make sure it would be big enough to hold both of the babies Daniel was presently carrying.
“You like it?” Ronon questioned, his deep voice making Daniel jump.
“It’s perfect.” Daniel answered smiling, running hand over the smooth wood. “Thank you.”
Ronon grinned exchanging a look with Teyla, “You’re welcome.”
“I was not sure of the gender of your children so I could not give my people any guidance on what clothing should be provided.” Teyla explained as Carson sorted through the box of clothing next to the crib.
“Carson doesn’t want to know the gender of the babies until they’re born.” Daniel answered, turning away from the crib to watch as Carson sorted through the clothes, smiling as he caught sight of the obligatory booties. Apparently some things were universally considered suitable baby gifts.
--
“Contractions bad!” Daniel yelled, glaring at the nurse next his bed, wincing as another contraction hit, idly wondering what was taking Carson so long. There weren’t any teams off-world, Elizabeth didn’t have any reason to call a senior staff meeting and most of the science staff were working on Rodney’s new project. “I realise you’re all used to dealing with pregnant people who are capable of actually giving birth, but just as a reminder, I’m a man, my hips and lower extremities were not designed for this!”
Nurse Andrews gave him a sympathetic look, patting him on the arm gently, “I know you’re in pain Doctor, but I’m afraid we can’t do anything about it, not yet.”
Daniel groaned, closing his eyes against the pain as he rode out the next contraction to the best of his ability, mentally cursing Rodney McKay for teaching the nurses exactly how to deal with the more vocal patients. Daniel slowed his breathing carefully, feeling a whole level of empathy for his mother and Sha’re as he struggled against the pain. “Someone promised me a caesarean, something about me not actually being capable of giving birth naturally.” He commented idly between breaths, opening his eyes to meet Nurse Andrews’ concerned gaze.
She smiled, squeezing his arm this time, “Carson’s preparing a room for that now, that’s what we’re waiting on, it won’t be much longer, I promise.”
Daniel sighed, relieved to finally be given an answer, labour he decided was a whole other level of pain than he was used to. “Okay.”
--
Daniel opened his eyes slowly, groaning faintly as he shifted, recognising the familiar feel of stitches pulling on skin; only this time they were in a different place than he was used to. “Ow.”
“Morning.” Carson’s voice came from somewhere beside him and Daniel turned his head to look at his rather smug looking husband. Like delivering their twin babies had somehow included him in the crazy experience that had been pregnancy for Daniel.
“Where are the girls?” Daniel asked quietly, remembering his first sight of their tiny twin daughters and panicking slightly when he saw no sign of them in his private room off the infirmary.
Carson stood quickly, placing a reassuring hand on Daniel’s forehead, smiling lovingly down at his husband, “There were just a few more tests that needed to be done, I thought they’d be back before you woke up, but it’s taking a little longer than I thought.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, “They’re ok?”
Carson grinned, the picture of the proud father, “Aye, love, they’re fine.”
Daniel searched his eyes for a moment longer before relaxing, smiling ruefully up at Carson. “Sorry.”
Carson laughed, shaking his head, eyes shining, “No worries love, I think you’re entitled to being concerned after having them with you so long.”
Daniel smiled back, reaching up to pull Carson into a kiss, pulling back after a moment, “Did you tell anyone their names yet?”
“No, I wanted to wait until you were awake.” Carson answered glancing up with a smile as the door opened and Nurse Andrews wheeled the mobile crib into the room, stopping it next to Daniel’s bed before leaving with a smile, knowing that they would want a little time alone with their little girls.
Carson silently helped Daniel adjust the head of the bed before gathering the two tiny cloth wrapped bundles into his arms and sliding onto the bed next to Daniel, letting Daniel take one of his burdens after a moment.
Daniel examined both little faces carefully for a moment before sitting back with a contented sigh. “We did well, didn’t we?”
Carson smiled nodding as he settled carefully against Daniel’s side, looking from one little face to the other. “Aye love, we did at that.”
“So, when do we present Meredith Rose and Katherine Claire to the world?” Daniel questioned, shifting Merry in his arms gently, elbowing his husband when he failed to answer. “Carson?”
“Soon, love.” Carson answered distractedly, staring down at his elder daughter’s beautiful face, “Soon.”
--