[Backdated; for Carter]

[scientificsnark]

Rodney missed distractions. Granted, the kind of distractions he'd had to deal with on Atlantis had been of the mortal danger variety, and he didn't much enjoy those. But...he could have done with just one impossible problem to solve, just one deadly situation to get out of, because the alternative was thinking about his current circumstance and he

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[gate_expert]

"Hey there, McKay," Sam said as she walked by. "What are you doing sneaking around like that?" Not that Rodney really needed a reason; it was his hut and he could do whatever, but Sam liked to give him a hard time now and then, since she wasn't his boss anymore and she totally could.

[gate_expert]

Whatever disaster she'd been thinking of, it hadn't been that, and she blinked a little in surprise, then smiled faintly. "But McKay, that's not..you were talking like this was something awful," she said finally. "But I guess neither of you were expecting this, huh?"

[scientificsnark]

Rodney blinked. He'd expected something less...understanding, like "You bastard!" and a slap. But maybe that was just his guilty conscience at work.

"That's an understatement," he said.

[gate_expert]

To be honest, the idea of McKay reproducing was a little bizzare. She'd never imagined him as a father in any sense of the word, and had never encountered any Rodney-spawn in any alternate timeline, parallel universe, or alternate reality she'd been a part of, so out of all the unlikely things she had seen, this hadn't been one of them.

Then again he'd never been with anyone that Sam liked as much as she liked Jill, so she'd never had an impetus to imagine it.

"Okay, so, it's a surprise," Sam said, "and totally unexpected and maybe not what you want--I'm guessing?--but that doesn't mean it's something awful. And I'm not really sure that means you have to sneak around New Atlantis and slink in your back door like a thief or something." She looked at him. "What does Jill think about it?"

[scientificsnark]

"I'm sure if there was a...safe way out, she'd take it," he snorted bitterly. He couldn't really blame her. He wasn't ready for this. At all.

"I haven't really talked to her much since she told me," he added, guiltily.

[gate_expert]

Sam frowned. "You haven't?" It wasn't really a question, more of a statement of disapproval. "Is that because she needs some space and you're being a nice guy and giving it to her, or is it because you're being a complete chickenshit and don't know what to say or do?"

Not that Sam would know what to do either if she were in Jill's shoes--and it wasn't as though it hadn't crossed her mind after Valentine's Day, but thankfully she'd been lucky, and it wasn't going to be an issue--but this was McKay, the guy who didn't know that It's not you, it's me was universal breakup code.

[scientificsnark]

Rodney nodded. That was more like it. Then he realized he probably shouldn't be pleased he was getting bitched out, but in some way, he felt as if the status quo had been restored.

"I needed the space," he said. "And...okay, I already told you there's nothing I can do. Or say. But if you have any ideas, oh Miss Perfect Relationship, I'm all ears."

[gate_expert]

"Um, McKay?" Sam said, a little sarcastically, because the jibe about her relationship had hit a little too close whether he knew it or not. "You don't have to do anything except be there. Because whether you like it or not, you're going to have a kid, and no matter how freaked out you are about it, or how much you don't want it, Jill's going to be about ten times more freaked out about it because she's the one that's going to have to make a whole lot more adjustments in her life than you are. And she's doing to need you. Even if you're not doing anything."

[scientificsnark]

And there it was; the truth Rodney had been trying to avoid all this time. He grimaced expressively for a while, and stared at the toes of his worn sneakers.

"But," he said in a small voice, suddenly meek, "I don't think I know how."

[gate_expert]

Damn McKay. Sam wanted to be irritated with him for, at least as far as she could tell, leaving Jill high and dry and stranded, but he looked kind of pitiful staring at his shoes like that and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him too. "I wouldn't know how either, if I were you," she said, and nudged him again a little with her elbow. "But I don't think that matters. I think the important thing is that you make the effort. And then you and Jill can kind of figure out together where to go from here."

[scientificsnark]

"I guess," Rodney sighed. At least Samantha hadn't hit him. And he had to admit, her advice was kind of...useful. Well, she was nearly as intelligent as him, and definitely a little better at the whole interacting with people thing. He could have resented that, and what she had to say, but the truth was he'd needed someone to say it and now she had, there was no point in hiding anymore.

"Do me a favour," he said, looking back at her. "Don't tell anyone about this. I, uh...I think Jill should be the one to tell people. When she's ready. She'll probably kill me for telling you this much," he added darkly.

[gate_expert]

"I wasn't planning on it," she assured him. Not that she would blab her mouth about something that wasn't her business anyway, but since this wasn't exactly something Rodney or Jill were thrilled about it was even less her place to say anything. And she was kind of impressed that Rodney seemed to be taking Jill's feelings into consideration, at least a little, even if he was doing a crap job of doing anything about it.

"She might not kill you, though," Sam added. "We seem to get along pretty well."

[scientificsnark]

"Don't remind me," Rodney said. "The woman I used to have a gigantic crush on palling up with my pregnant girlfriend? Yeah, that's going to end well."

He managed a smile, albeit a small one. More of a smirk, really.

[gate_expert]

"Of course it's going to end well," Sam said brightly in an attempt to cheer him up at least a little. "I'm going to be the cool Aunt Sam who spoils the crap out of your kid and tells lots of stories about your amazing adventures through the stargate."

She could spoil McKay's kid, right? She hadn't got to spoil her brother's kids as much as she wanted, since she was always occupied with work (oh, the irony there).

[scientificsnark]

"Well, you'll probably make a better aunt than I did an uncle. Or a father. So far my track record with either isn't great," Rodney complained, frowning again. He sighed and shook his head.

"I don't even know how to have a relationship, let alone be a father."

[gate_expert]

She elbowed him again. "Seems to me like you've been doing okay on the relationship front here," she said. "You know, except for right now. Seriously, have you ever been with anybody as long as you've been with Jill? You're mostly making that work, right?"