Unexpected, (G)
Title:Unexpected
Author: goddess47
Rating: G
Warnings/Spoilers: No spoilers; mpreg
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Words: 2000
Summary: It's Pegasus, things go wrong.
Note: This part of a WIP that's probably never going to see daylight, at least not anytime soon. Since this fit the challenge I'm sharing....
John woke when Rodney moaned in his sleep. There was pain under the sound that John knew wasn't right. "Rodney?" he shook the sleeping man gently.
Rodney didn't answer but curled into a ball holding his stomach.
"Rodney!" John said again trying to get his attention.
"Pain," Rodney ground out. "Can't... breathe...."
John fumbled for the radio on the bedside table."Keller," John called.
He could hear the sleep in her voice but she answered almost immediately, "Yeah?"
"Rodney's in some major pain and having trouble breathing," John tried desperately to remain calm. He knew that losing his cool wouldn't help. Rodney groaned again. "Infirmary, now," he decided.
"He shouldn't walk and don't you dare try to lift him or help him," Keller warned John. "Be there in two minutes."
John understood in his head but it didn't make it any easier to wait. He knew that Rodney needed to be in the infirmary -- and now. Just as he was reaching to help Rodney up in spite of Keller's direction, Keller came flying in, pushing a wheelchair. "Help me get him into this," she directed. She had only thrown a robe on over what were obviously sleeping clothes.
John wrestled Rodney up from the bed and between them they eased Rodney into the chair. John put a hand on Rodney to help keep him steady and they set off at a brisk trot. Keller had to have called her staff on her way to get Rodney because there were more hands to help once they got there. As John stood back, fidgeting, Rodney was efficiently stripped and put on a bed. Keller put an oxygen mask on Rodney and once his breathing was stabilized, she started taking blood samples. John stood in a corner of the room. He wasn't leaving at this point and Keller didn't say anything.
Keller gave Rodney an injection, watched for any immediate reaction before she came over to speak to John. "It's essentially pre-eclampsia. Rodney's blood pressure has been slightly elevated for a while now. I've been watching his protein levels and they've reached a critical stage. He and I talked about this. There really is no other option than ending the pregnancy. If I don't do anything, it will kill both of them."
John never noticed that she had taken his arm and made him sit down. "He didn't tell me..." John stuttered. "I knew he was watching his blood pressure, but he didn't tell me it was that serious."
Keller sighed. "He was supposed to, damn him," she said. "There really is no choice, now that it's progressed this far. We have to end the pregnancy." She hesitated and said softly, "I'm sorry, but I need your approval since Rodney's in no condition to make a decision."
Rodney.... John wanted to weep. Rodney really wanted this baby. But he wasn't going to lose them both. "Do it," he told Keller sadly. As she started to walk away he asked, "Can I stay?"
"Since I don't understand what's going on here, yes. He'll be calmer if you're with him even under the sedation. Get some scrubs and I'll get a chair moved into the operating room. I don't want you standing that long under this stress," she directed him. As he stood there she said, "Move. There's no time."
John went out of the room and someone handed him scrubs. He took them blindly and changed. He assumed it was the same nurse under the scrubs and mask who led him back to the operating room and he was told kindly, "They're prepping Dr. McKay now. Wait here." The nurse sat John down in the chair and he waited.
Rodney was wheeled into the room on a table and slid into a space next to John. John reached up and took Rodney's free hand. "I'm so sorry," he whispered to the now-sleeping man. John rested his head next to Rodney's shoulder.
Keller and her team came in. She didn't make John move too much, just re-arranged them so she could do what she had to do. Too soon she asked, "Scalpel." John heard the instrument slapped into her hand. He closed his eyes, he couldn't watch.
A sudden intake of breath made John open his eyes. Floating above Rodney was a... damn, it had to be an Ascended being. He had never seen one beside Chaya and even then she hadn't taken anything like this form, but he had read enough of the SG-1 mission reports to realize what he was looking at. "Stay where you are," John commanded. "Nothing we can do to stop it, and, maybe...." He held his breath. He didn't know what he hoped for.
The being extended two glowing tendrils, reached toward Rodney and then touched him. From within Rodney came a smaller glowing light that escaped from him and into the extended tendrils. They joined momentarily and then the smaller light grew slightly. They hovered above Rodney for a moment, the smaller being reached out and touched Rodney's forehead. Together they rose to the ceiling and out of the room.
Rodney sighed in his sleep and relaxed on the bed. That was Keller's signal to shake herself and go back to what she was doing. Before she cut into Rodney she stopped. She lay a hand on his stomach and said, "What the hell?"
"What?" John asked her.
"I... The baby looks like it's gone..." she told him. "I have to check...."
John laughed sadly. "Rodney, Rodney, Rodney....." He leaned over and lightly kissed Rodney's forehead. "Who loves you as much as I do?"
Keller interrupted him and said, "What the hell just happened here?"
Holding Rodney's hand, John turned to her and said, "Our baby just ascended. I have to assume it had some help. Hopefully Rodney can tell us something when he's awake." John said softly, "Let's get him out of here."
Since there no longer was a need to operate, and essentially nothing had been done, Keller had no option but to go along with John's suggestion. She took some more blood samples and palpated Rodney's stomach to check his physical condition. She ran a hand scanner over Rodney to check his physical condition and "tsk'd" at what she saw but didn't explain to John. Once done, they moved Rodney back to a quiet room, took out the IV they had started and left them alone. John sat down to wait for Rodney to wake. He knew Keller wasn't far away and hoped they would have some privacy before they had to explain whatever happened.
~*~
"Rodney, lad?" Carson's voice sounded like it came from far away. "Rodney, I need you to pay attention."
Rodney opened his eyes and found himself standing with Carson out on the East pier. The sun was setting and the air was mild. Rodney took a deep breath of sea air. "Good to see you again, Carson," Rodney said turning to face his friend. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"
"Mostly," Carson replied. "But I had to come for the wee one." His voice was soft and sad. "It was my fault this happened to you and I asked to come and make it right." Carson held out his hands and the small glowing bundle there grew in size and took shape. It became a young girl of
about 10 or so, Rodney never could tell the ages of children that well. She stood next to Carson holding his hand.
"Papa," she said, "they've let me say hello and good-bye in one visit. You would have been such a good papa, you and dad together. As you will be for my sister, Julianna. Although I think she will give you some trouble along the way. Be patient with her and I will help you keep an eye on her. They will let me do that much."
Rodney swallowed and stared. "Carson? How... What...."
Carson reached out to Rodney. "The gene therapy. It was enough to allow you into the room and to be treated by the machine. So young Jeannie here came to be. But it wasn't enough to prevent the complications. The ones that would have taken both of you and I wouldn't let them do that to John. He would have had Julianna -- your daughter -- but without you, he would not be the same." He looked down at the young girl next to him. "By taking Jeannie back now, you live. You and John can stay together and raise Julianna."
Rodney knelt down to look at Jeannie on her level. "You look like your dad, you know. You have his eyes," Rodney told her. "He would have been proud of you." Rodney took a steadying breath. "I wish.... I wish you did not have to go."
"You can talk to me, sometimes, papa," Jeannie told him serenely. "Tell me what you're thinking or what we might have done together." She smiled at him.
Rodney nodded, "I can do that." The grin became watery. "I miss you already, you know."
She leaned in and brushed a ghostly kiss across his forehead. "They aren't paying attention and I can leave you this. Remember me...."
Rodney closed his eyes to treasure the moment.
~*~
From the side of the bed, John watched Rodney open his eyes. John had dozed in the chair, with his head on his arms on the bed. John felt Rodney move a hand to settle on his arm to let John know he was awake. "Rodney?" John asked softly.
"She was so beautiful," Rodney said wistfully. "She had your eyes, and your hair. I... if it was a girl I wanted to call her Jeannie. I didn't think she'd mind." Rodney sighed. "She was bright and cheerful the way you always hope your children will be."
John eased himself into the bed and put his arms around Rodney. "What happened?" He listened as Rodney told him about meeting Carson and their daughter.
Rodney put his hand on John's growing stomach. "Her name is Julianna," Rodney said softly. John could see the unshed tears. "She'll be a handful but comes with a guardian angel."
"Jeannie I understand, and she would have like that, you know," John assured him. "Julianna?" he asked curiously.
Rodney shrugged. "Not from me, figured maybe you had something to do with it," he replied. Seeing John shake his head, he went on, "Well, guess we don't have to work on a name, then." Rodney gently rubbed a hand over John's stomach.
"You going to be okay?" John asked softly.
Rodney hesitated. "I don't know. Physically? Carson took care of that," he decided. "I suspect some more freaking out is to be expected." He grinned slightly, "I have you to worry about, too, you know. So, yes, I'll mostly be okay." He turned and kissed John.
Footsteps in the hall alerted them to the arrival of company. Dr. Keller stepped into the room. "I need to check Dr. McKay. Sorry, out," she directed John to sit in the chair. She palpated Rodney's stomach, took his blood pressure and took a blood sample. "Okay, what can you tell me?"
Rodney ran through a condensed version of the story he told John. He had better control of his emotions at this point and he left out some of the more personal details.
When he was done, Keller stood thinking. "Well, at this point, there's no sign of the pregnancy, your pressure is back to normal and I bet your blood work will come back near to normal. I still want to do a full body scan before I let you out of here but there's no other reason to keep you here." She shook her head and pointed at John. "You're still pregnant and you need some sleep."
"Yes, ma'am," John agreed, willing to do almost anything now that Rodney was safe. He knew he was starting his own freak out.
Author: goddess47
Rating: G
Warnings/Spoilers: No spoilers; mpreg
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Words: 2000
Summary: It's Pegasus, things go wrong.
Note: This part of a WIP that's probably never going to see daylight, at least not anytime soon. Since this fit the challenge I'm sharing....
John woke when Rodney moaned in his sleep. There was pain under the sound that John knew wasn't right. "Rodney?" he shook the sleeping man gently.
Rodney didn't answer but curled into a ball holding his stomach.
"Rodney!" John said again trying to get his attention.
"Pain," Rodney ground out. "Can't... breathe...."
John fumbled for the radio on the bedside table."Keller," John called.
He could hear the sleep in her voice but she answered almost immediately, "Yeah?"
"Rodney's in some major pain and having trouble breathing," John tried desperately to remain calm. He knew that losing his cool wouldn't help. Rodney groaned again. "Infirmary, now," he decided.
"He shouldn't walk and don't you dare try to lift him or help him," Keller warned John. "Be there in two minutes."
John understood in his head but it didn't make it any easier to wait. He knew that Rodney needed to be in the infirmary -- and now. Just as he was reaching to help Rodney up in spite of Keller's direction, Keller came flying in, pushing a wheelchair. "Help me get him into this," she directed. She had only thrown a robe on over what were obviously sleeping clothes.
John wrestled Rodney up from the bed and between them they eased Rodney into the chair. John put a hand on Rodney to help keep him steady and they set off at a brisk trot. Keller had to have called her staff on her way to get Rodney because there were more hands to help once they got there. As John stood back, fidgeting, Rodney was efficiently stripped and put on a bed. Keller put an oxygen mask on Rodney and once his breathing was stabilized, she started taking blood samples. John stood in a corner of the room. He wasn't leaving at this point and Keller didn't say anything.
Keller gave Rodney an injection, watched for any immediate reaction before she came over to speak to John. "It's essentially pre-eclampsia. Rodney's blood pressure has been slightly elevated for a while now. I've been watching his protein levels and they've reached a critical stage. He and I talked about this. There really is no other option than ending the pregnancy. If I don't do anything, it will kill both of them."
John never noticed that she had taken his arm and made him sit down. "He didn't tell me..." John stuttered. "I knew he was watching his blood pressure, but he didn't tell me it was that serious."
Keller sighed. "He was supposed to, damn him," she said. "There really is no choice, now that it's progressed this far. We have to end the pregnancy." She hesitated and said softly, "I'm sorry, but I need your approval since Rodney's in no condition to make a decision."
Rodney.... John wanted to weep. Rodney really wanted this baby. But he wasn't going to lose them both. "Do it," he told Keller sadly. As she started to walk away he asked, "Can I stay?"
"Since I don't understand what's going on here, yes. He'll be calmer if you're with him even under the sedation. Get some scrubs and I'll get a chair moved into the operating room. I don't want you standing that long under this stress," she directed him. As he stood there she said, "Move. There's no time."
John went out of the room and someone handed him scrubs. He took them blindly and changed. He assumed it was the same nurse under the scrubs and mask who led him back to the operating room and he was told kindly, "They're prepping Dr. McKay now. Wait here." The nurse sat John down in the chair and he waited.
Rodney was wheeled into the room on a table and slid into a space next to John. John reached up and took Rodney's free hand. "I'm so sorry," he whispered to the now-sleeping man. John rested his head next to Rodney's shoulder.
Keller and her team came in. She didn't make John move too much, just re-arranged them so she could do what she had to do. Too soon she asked, "Scalpel." John heard the instrument slapped into her hand. He closed his eyes, he couldn't watch.
A sudden intake of breath made John open his eyes. Floating above Rodney was a... damn, it had to be an Ascended being. He had never seen one beside Chaya and even then she hadn't taken anything like this form, but he had read enough of the SG-1 mission reports to realize what he was looking at. "Stay where you are," John commanded. "Nothing we can do to stop it, and, maybe...." He held his breath. He didn't know what he hoped for.
The being extended two glowing tendrils, reached toward Rodney and then touched him. From within Rodney came a smaller glowing light that escaped from him and into the extended tendrils. They joined momentarily and then the smaller light grew slightly. They hovered above Rodney for a moment, the smaller being reached out and touched Rodney's forehead. Together they rose to the ceiling and out of the room.
Rodney sighed in his sleep and relaxed on the bed. That was Keller's signal to shake herself and go back to what she was doing. Before she cut into Rodney she stopped. She lay a hand on his stomach and said, "What the hell?"
"What?" John asked her.
"I... The baby looks like it's gone..." she told him. "I have to check...."
John laughed sadly. "Rodney, Rodney, Rodney....." He leaned over and lightly kissed Rodney's forehead. "Who loves you as much as I do?"
Keller interrupted him and said, "What the hell just happened here?"
Holding Rodney's hand, John turned to her and said, "Our baby just ascended. I have to assume it had some help. Hopefully Rodney can tell us something when he's awake." John said softly, "Let's get him out of here."
Since there no longer was a need to operate, and essentially nothing had been done, Keller had no option but to go along with John's suggestion. She took some more blood samples and palpated Rodney's stomach to check his physical condition. She ran a hand scanner over Rodney to check his physical condition and "tsk'd" at what she saw but didn't explain to John. Once done, they moved Rodney back to a quiet room, took out the IV they had started and left them alone. John sat down to wait for Rodney to wake. He knew Keller wasn't far away and hoped they would have some privacy before they had to explain whatever happened.
~*~
"Rodney, lad?" Carson's voice sounded like it came from far away. "Rodney, I need you to pay attention."
Rodney opened his eyes and found himself standing with Carson out on the East pier. The sun was setting and the air was mild. Rodney took a deep breath of sea air. "Good to see you again, Carson," Rodney said turning to face his friend. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"
"Mostly," Carson replied. "But I had to come for the wee one." His voice was soft and sad. "It was my fault this happened to you and I asked to come and make it right." Carson held out his hands and the small glowing bundle there grew in size and took shape. It became a young girl of
about 10 or so, Rodney never could tell the ages of children that well. She stood next to Carson holding his hand.
"Papa," she said, "they've let me say hello and good-bye in one visit. You would have been such a good papa, you and dad together. As you will be for my sister, Julianna. Although I think she will give you some trouble along the way. Be patient with her and I will help you keep an eye on her. They will let me do that much."
Rodney swallowed and stared. "Carson? How... What...."
Carson reached out to Rodney. "The gene therapy. It was enough to allow you into the room and to be treated by the machine. So young Jeannie here came to be. But it wasn't enough to prevent the complications. The ones that would have taken both of you and I wouldn't let them do that to John. He would have had Julianna -- your daughter -- but without you, he would not be the same." He looked down at the young girl next to him. "By taking Jeannie back now, you live. You and John can stay together and raise Julianna."
Rodney knelt down to look at Jeannie on her level. "You look like your dad, you know. You have his eyes," Rodney told her. "He would have been proud of you." Rodney took a steadying breath. "I wish.... I wish you did not have to go."
"You can talk to me, sometimes, papa," Jeannie told him serenely. "Tell me what you're thinking or what we might have done together." She smiled at him.
Rodney nodded, "I can do that." The grin became watery. "I miss you already, you know."
She leaned in and brushed a ghostly kiss across his forehead. "They aren't paying attention and I can leave you this. Remember me...."
Rodney closed his eyes to treasure the moment.
~*~
From the side of the bed, John watched Rodney open his eyes. John had dozed in the chair, with his head on his arms on the bed. John felt Rodney move a hand to settle on his arm to let John know he was awake. "Rodney?" John asked softly.
"She was so beautiful," Rodney said wistfully. "She had your eyes, and your hair. I... if it was a girl I wanted to call her Jeannie. I didn't think she'd mind." Rodney sighed. "She was bright and cheerful the way you always hope your children will be."
John eased himself into the bed and put his arms around Rodney. "What happened?" He listened as Rodney told him about meeting Carson and their daughter.
Rodney put his hand on John's growing stomach. "Her name is Julianna," Rodney said softly. John could see the unshed tears. "She'll be a handful but comes with a guardian angel."
"Jeannie I understand, and she would have like that, you know," John assured him. "Julianna?" he asked curiously.
Rodney shrugged. "Not from me, figured maybe you had something to do with it," he replied. Seeing John shake his head, he went on, "Well, guess we don't have to work on a name, then." Rodney gently rubbed a hand over John's stomach.
"You going to be okay?" John asked softly.
Rodney hesitated. "I don't know. Physically? Carson took care of that," he decided. "I suspect some more freaking out is to be expected." He grinned slightly, "I have you to worry about, too, you know. So, yes, I'll mostly be okay." He turned and kissed John.
Footsteps in the hall alerted them to the arrival of company. Dr. Keller stepped into the room. "I need to check Dr. McKay. Sorry, out," she directed John to sit in the chair. She palpated Rodney's stomach, took his blood pressure and took a blood sample. "Okay, what can you tell me?"
Rodney ran through a condensed version of the story he told John. He had better control of his emotions at this point and he left out some of the more personal details.
When he was done, Keller stood thinking. "Well, at this point, there's no sign of the pregnancy, your pressure is back to normal and I bet your blood work will come back near to normal. I still want to do a full body scan before I let you out of here but there's no other reason to keep you here." She shook her head and pointed at John. "You're still pregnant and you need some sleep."
"Yes, ma'am," John agreed, willing to do almost anything now that Rodney was safe. He knew he was starting his own freak out.