Fic: Sympathy for Eve, 1/27 (R)
Title: Sympathy for Eve, 1/27
Author: SGAtlantisLight
Characters: McKay, Beckett, Sheppard, Zelenka, Kavanagh, Weir, Cadman, Simpson, Dex, Emmagan
Relationships: Beckett/McKay
Rating: R for this part, but the series may end up being NC-17
Warnings: Gender switching, mpreg, icky female stuff
Spoilers: References to Duet
Summary: When Rodney gets turned into a woman for a month, he decides to experiment, but little did he know it could have unforeseen consequences. Set somewhere in a nebulous third season after any cliffhanger-y stuff has been resolved. First part of the Sympathy for Eve series.
Disclaimer: The characters, the setting, etc. are NOT mine, even if I wish they were.
John knew it had gotten bad when he walked into the lab to find Kavanagh and Zelenka arguing over who got to go fix the sewage treatment facility.
"No, no. I will go," Zelenka insisted. "Rodney is always sticking you with unpleasant jobs, so I will do it this once."
"No, really, it's not that bad," Kavanagh answered. "Besides, having done it so much, I'm pretty much the expert on it."
"Will one of you just go!" the woman with light brown hair, striking blue eyes, and a slightly crooked mouth yelled, glaring. "Kavanagh, move. Now! Radek, where the hell are those power schematics?"
Kavanagh gave Zelenka a victorious smirk and fled the room.
"Srac!" Radek muttered at the other scientist's retreating back, then turned to the woman. "I put them on your desk last night, Rodney. Let me help you find them."
"I'm not helpless!" the female Rodney snapped, then glared at John. "Did you just come to stare like an idiot or did you actually have business here?"
"Um. A couple days ago, you mentioned that Jumper 6 would be fixed today and in need of a test flight. I was just coming to see if that was still on schedule."
Rodney rolled his... her -- God, he couldn't think about this! -- eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, I had a bit of medical crisis and ended up stuck in the infirmary half of the day yesterday enduring indignities no human should ever have to face."
John shrugged. "Can't be any worse than a prostate exam."
Radek looked at him like he was insane.
"Oh, yes, like you would know! I note you conveniently didn't switch genders when you thought at that thing."
"Hey, you were the one that told me to activate it! How was I supposed to know--?"
"Activate, yes! Not use," Rodney spat back
"I didn't--"
"So you've said. Did you have anything else? No? Then go away. Radek! Power schematics!"
Radek gave him a pleading look, but John knew when a tactical retreat was in order.
***
"It's PMS," Carson said.
"What?"
"Pre-menstrual syn--"
"Yes, yes, I know what PMS stands for. You-- you're telling me that I'm going to... Oh, God!"
"I've brought some supplies," Carson said. "We can, ah, talk later about how to use them. But the good news is the way you're feeling is temporary."
Rodney turned to Elizabeth. "Please, tell me you've got good news."
"I've been personally overseeing the linguists' search through the Ancient database and their translation efforts. The device the colonel activated appears to be, well, what amounts to a sensitivity-training device."
John lifted an eyebrow. "You mean like the seminars?"
"Yes," Elizabeth answered. "The concept is that if you experience life as a member of the opposite sex, you'll be more sensitive to their needs and experiences when you're returned to your normal gender."
"'When'? So that means this is temporary?" Rodney asked, desperation in those blue eyes.
"Yes. From what I can gather, you get to experience one full month as a woman and then you should revert back to normal."
"A month?" both John and Rodney asked at the same time.
Elizabeth nodded. "Sorry, Rodney. Looks like you're going to need those supplies."
"A month," Rodney said. "I can... I can handle a month. Only a month. Oh, thank God!"
The other three exchanged uncomfortable looks as Rodney buried her face in her hands. There was a long silence, only broken by sobs, then Carson cleared his throat. "Do ye need a tissue, Rodney?"
"Oh, shut up!"
***
Cadman slid into the seat across from the figure, at once strange and familiar, and smirked at the large bowl of ice cream swimming in chocolate syrup on the other woman's tray. "Been one of those days?"
Rodney looked up and groaned. "Please, just... don't."
"Hey, I'm just trying to be sympathetic. I do sort of know what it's like, after all."
"Why are there halos around the lights?" Rodney asked.
"Halos?"
"And everything tastes kind of... off. Tinny. It wasn't like this, this morning."
Cadman considered her dining companion. "Have you ever had migraines, Rodney?"
"No."
"Sounds like you could have one coming on. I get them the first couple of days of my period and sometimes the day before."
Rodney gave her a stricken look.
"Oh, wow, I never thought of that." She smirked. "Welcome to womanhood. Oh, and go see Carson for something for migraines. It's better to treat it before the headache actually hits."
"You're entirely too happy about this turn of events," Rodney accused.
"Hey, you know, you can suffer through this or you can see it as an opportunity. Being a woman isn't all about periods and poor upper-body strength, you know. There are some good things, too."
"Name one," Rodney groused.
"Okay. Multiple orgasms."
The scientist looked shocked and glanced around to see if anyone had overheard.
Cadman laughed. "Enjoy it. I mean, right now you might not feel like it, but once all the messy stuff is past, you should go find some agreeable friend and try some things out."
Rodney grunted and returned to her ice cream. A moment later, a suspicious look crossed her face and she looked up at Cadman. "You didn't... while you were me..."
Cadman rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Rodney! Did you think we were so tired that we slept in till two because we'd gone jogging?"
"Oh, God!"
"But don't worry. I didn't involve anyone else. Just me and my, or your, hands. I know I teased, but you've got a nice body, Rodney. You shouldn't be so ashamed of it."
***
"I swear, I don't know how big-breasted women handle it," Rodney complained, groaning as Carson's hands dug into her shoulders. "My shoulders have been aching for days."
"Just relax, Rodney," Carson soothed, shifting forward on his couch slightly to better work the knots in Rodney's shoulders. "How have you been feeling otherwise?"
"Bloated, cramped, messy, frazzled. And maybe horny. I'm not sure how to tell."
"The menstruation should be over now," Carson said.
"It is," Rodney answered. "I'm feeling better other than my shoulders. God, that feels good! Oh, yeah, right there..."
"If ye want to lie down, I could do your whole back," Carson answered.
Rodney tensed. "I... Carson, um, you and Cadman aren't dating anymore, are you?"
Carson gave Rodney a confused look, though she couldn't see it. "No. We broke up several months back. Why?"
"I was just... Well, she and I had this conversation..."
"About me?"
"No. No, about the experience of being female. Cadman suggested I find a friend and... well, get the whole experience, if you know what I mean."
Carson withdrew his hands, gaping at his friend. Rodney turned back around to face him and he noted that her eyelashes really weren't any longer now than before the change. "Are you... are you asking me...?"
"You don't have to," Rodney quickly reassured him. "I could always ask the colonel or Radek or maybe Ronon. Or, you know, I'm sure there are some others."
Carson tried hard not to imagine Rodney in the arms of those other men. "Can I... can I think on it for a wee bit?"
"Sure. I've still got 3 weeks."
***
"Is it me? You know, knowing I'm not really female..." Rodney asked, staring up at the ceiling in Carson's room.
Carson sighed. "Not really, no."
"I know I'm not, you know, experienced at this. But I thought since I knew what turned me on, I'd have a bit of an edge. I guess my turn-ons aren't as universal as I thought."
Carson flung his arm over his eyes. "Can we not talk about this right now?"
"Sorry. Maybe we're just moving too fast. I really like what you do with your hands."
"It's the breasts," Carson blurted out suddenly.
"Breasts?" Rodney asked, confused. "What's wrong with my breasts?"
"Nothing. They're quite lovely, I'm sure."
Rodney sat up, hands cupping the parts in question protectively. "What do you mean, 'I'm sure'? You've been looking at them for the last four nights."
"Oh, for God's sake!" Carson swore, flinging his arm aside and sitting up to meet his friend's gaze. "Rodney, I'm gay. I thought when you offered, that maybe you'd... Oh, bloody hell!" He flopped back into the pillow.
Rodney gaped at him. "Gay?!"
"Yes, gay. Queer. A ponce. A poof. A faggot!" His accent was thick, his voice raw as he blurted out the hated terms. "I'm sorry. I thought you'd figured it out."
"But... Cadman..."
"Was good cover," Carson admitted. "But I couldn't keep using her like that."
Rodney stared at him for a moment, calculations running behind blue eyes and long eyelashes, models of the universe being adjusted for this new information. "Huh."
"'Huh'? I've just confessed to being gay and all you can say is 'Huh'?"
Rodney smiled. "And you thought I was maybe making a play for you while it was, what, more socially acceptable? And then if we kept on seeing each other afterwards, it would somehow be more excusable? 'Oh, they got together while Rodney was a girl and fell in love and couldn't break it off when he turned back to a male.'"
Carson sighed. "Well, yes. I suppose I'd hoped--"
"Huh," Rodney said again. "I like that idea. It could work. Good thinking."
It was Carson's turn to gape. "Wha'? But you're..." Carson considered his friend sitting there before him wearing a female form, but still distinctively Rodney. "Well, I guess I can't say I thought you were straight, given what I was hoping."
Rodney shrugged, her large breasts rising and falling with the motion. "I'm not picky." She laid back down facing Carson, one hand reaching out to trace around a nipple. "Now, about your problem... I think I have an idea..."
Carson looked at her doubtfully. "What?"
Rodney leaned in. "Well, now that I know you'd be interested, I thought I'd tell you some of the things I've fantasized about doing to you..."
***
"Here. Let me get that," Rodney said, grabbing the laptop Kavanagh was trying to juggle with his coffee mug, a donut, and a stack of folders.
Kavanagh stared in shock as the female Rodney took his coffee cup and the papers that were threatening to topple and walked them over to his lab table. He followed, skittish.
"How are those power flow simulations you were working on going?"
"Uh, well... I've hit a bit of a snag," Kavanagh admitted, then added defensively, "But it shouldn't be much longer."
"Let me look and see if I can give you a hand."
Kavanagh's eyebrows shot up and then he composed himself. "Oh. Uh. Sure. Here, let me show you..."
Around the lab, scientists exchanged mystified expressions.
***
"I just hope he doesn't go into another PMS phase before he changes back," Simpson said. "I still don't understand how being female has made him so much nicer, though."
Radek shook his head. "I'm not sure it's being female." He nodded his head at a far table where Carson and Rodney sat, chatting. At that moment, Carson said something that made Rodney laugh and Carson smiled, a light in his eyes.
"Oh," Simpson said, then considered a moment. "This could be very bad when he changes back."
"Then we should hope it doesn't change anything," Kavanagh said.
"McKay being in a gay relationship wouldn't bug you?" Simpson asked.
Kavanagh shrugged. "If it makes him happy, then it gets him off my back. Why the hell should I care?"
***
Carson woke up with the familiar warmth of Rodney's body next to his. He stretched and slipped his arms around his lover.
And froze.
Gone was the soft, smooth, curvy form. In its place was a harder body, lightly covered in hair. Carson allowed his fingers to curl through the chest hair, exploring.
"Mmmm..." Rodney hummed in appreciation. Then his eyes popped open. "Hm?"
"You're back," Carson said.
Rodney reached up and ran his hands along his stubbled face, and then down to his chest, sliding over hairy chest and down to his stomach and out to his hips. Carson found himself getting hard just watching. Then Rodney's hands slid back up, one hand grasping his own erection while the other cupped his balls. His crooked lips smiled. "Yeah. Definitely back."
Carson allowed himself to soak in the sight of Rodney naked in his bed, a fantasy he'd entertained for almost three years.
Rodney smiled indulgently. "So?"
"'So,' what?"
"Do I get welcome-back-to-your-body sex or not?"
***
When a male Rodney arrived in the labs later that morning, it was to anxious looks from his staff. "Good morning!" he said heartily. "Let's see, what's on our agenda today?"
***
"Hell, if I'd known getting him laid would make him this much easier to work with, I'd have done him myself," Kavanagh commented at lunch.
"Ew!" Simpson said.
"What? You don't have any problem with Carson fucking him, but the thought of him and me freaks you out?"
"They're cute together."
"And I'm hideous. I understand," Kavanagh shot back.
"Oh, it's not like that! Just forget it."
***
"I mean, hello, do I look like a Wraith? The first spear I can understand, but after you've seen that the people emerging from the gate are not life-sucking Marilyn Manson wannabes, you should stop trying to skewer the friendly visitors!"
John hissed as Carson finished dressing the wound in his leg. "Well, at least they missed you."
"Only because I ducked. It literally parted my hair!"
"Calm down, Rodney," John said as Carson double-checked the dressing on Ronon's arm.
"Calm down? We knew this planet wasn't going to be good for anything but food. We've got the Daedalus making regular trips. Why the hell are we risking our lives for food?"
Carson slipped the blood pressure cuff around Rodney's arm and began pumping.
"We need to be as self-sustaining as possible, in case something were to happen to the Daedalus. You know that."
"Quiet a moment," Carson ordered as he released the pressure on the cuff. "Your blood pressure's a wee bit high, Rodney. You need to take the colonel's advice and try to calm down."
"I'm sorry if I'm a little wound up from being attacked."
"You need to take him home and fuck him," Ronon said to Carson. "That would calm him down."
"What?" Rodney squeaked.
"It relaxes you," Ronon said and shrugged.
"You... What are you...? Oh, God!"
John smirked at him, then waggled his eyebrows at Carson.
"Oh, my God! You know?"
"Of course we know, Rodney," John said. "You'd have to be blind not to know."
Teyla smiled. "We are very happy for you and Carson. Seeing such relationships developing among your people has encouraged me that you are truly making a home here in Atlantis, which brings hope to the people of the Pegasus Galaxy."
Carson chuckled and squeezed Rodney's shoulder. "Well, love, you have always been tremendously easy to read. And my mum always said I wore my heart on my sleeve." He leaned down and pressed his lips to Rodney's. "I'll see you for lunch in our quarters then."
***
It had been five weeks. While they weren't flaunting their relationship, they weren't hiding it either. Rodney had practically moved into Carson's quarters and spent most nights there. Over the weeks, Rodney's toothbrush, hairbrush, razor, and half of his wardrobe had slowly made their way to Carson's apartment. If anyone had a problem with it, they were keeping quiet.
Carson sat curled on the couch, reading a medical journal while Rodney sat at his desk, typing on his laptop. Suddenly, Rodney launched out of the chair, dashing toward the bathroom. Carson lowered the journal and frowned at the sounds of Rodney retching. He was quickly on his feet and in the bathroom, kneeling beside his lover.
"I don't like this. This has been the fourth night in a row where your supper hasn't sat with you," he said. "Tomorrow morning, I want to run some more extensive tests and see what's going on."
Rodney nodded miserably, then gagged again.
Carson rubbed his back, offering what little comfort he could until the worst of it passed, then helped Rodney up and stood by as his lover washed and brushed his teeth, then led him to the bed, where Rodney laid down and curled up into a wretched ball, too ill to even complain.
***
The two men stared at the screen where the Ancient scanner revealed the secrets of Rodney's body.
"This is impossible!" Rodney whispered, then turned panicked eyes to Carson. "What if it's some kind of alien?"
"It's not an alien, love. It's a perfectly normal human foetus."
"Perfectly normal?! How can it be perfectly normal when it's...? You have to get it out. Now! Right away! I can't... Where would it go? It can't come out. I'm... Oh, God! You have to get it out!"
"Rodney, calm down," Carson said. "I can't do anything until I understand exactly how this has happened."
"Hello! Man, woman, tab a, slot b. Only I'm not a slot anymore and there's nowhere for it to go!"
"It appears to be perfectly healthy," Carson said.
"Carson! You're not listening to me. I don't want this. I can't have this. This can't be happening. Do you understand me?"
Entranced, Carson reached up and touched a button on the side of the scanner. The room filled with a pulsing sound.
"I can't--" Rodney stopped. "What is that?"
"That's a heartbeat."
"A... a heartbeat?"
"The baby's heartbeat. Your baby's heartbeat... No, our baby's heartbeat."
Rodney's eyes grew large. "My... our... Carson, I can't do this. It's impossible."
"Ye may be right, love. The odds are good that this can't work. But there's always the possibility. Do you want to try or not?"
"We're talking about a baby! A person. We can't just shrug our shoulders and walk away if it doesn't work out."
"Aye, you're right. But if I get rid of it, then you can't change your mind, either."
Rodney closed his eyes, listening to the heartbeat. Carson's fingers curled into his. "Okay. Let's... let's at least see what can be done. It's not a yes, though."
"I understand, love. We'll do what's best."
And then Carson slipped his hand over Rodney's belly and stared at the screen where the tiny, strange life curled. His blue eyes were full of wonder and Rodney knew then that he could never fill them with pain. "Yeah," he whispered. "We will."
Next part
Author: SGAtlantisLight
Characters: McKay, Beckett, Sheppard, Zelenka, Kavanagh, Weir, Cadman, Simpson, Dex, Emmagan
Relationships: Beckett/McKay
Rating: R for this part, but the series may end up being NC-17
Warnings: Gender switching, mpreg, icky female stuff
Spoilers: References to Duet
Summary: When Rodney gets turned into a woman for a month, he decides to experiment, but little did he know it could have unforeseen consequences. Set somewhere in a nebulous third season after any cliffhanger-y stuff has been resolved. First part of the Sympathy for Eve series.
Disclaimer: The characters, the setting, etc. are NOT mine, even if I wish they were.
John knew it had gotten bad when he walked into the lab to find Kavanagh and Zelenka arguing over who got to go fix the sewage treatment facility.
"No, no. I will go," Zelenka insisted. "Rodney is always sticking you with unpleasant jobs, so I will do it this once."
"No, really, it's not that bad," Kavanagh answered. "Besides, having done it so much, I'm pretty much the expert on it."
"Will one of you just go!" the woman with light brown hair, striking blue eyes, and a slightly crooked mouth yelled, glaring. "Kavanagh, move. Now! Radek, where the hell are those power schematics?"
Kavanagh gave Zelenka a victorious smirk and fled the room.
"Srac!" Radek muttered at the other scientist's retreating back, then turned to the woman. "I put them on your desk last night, Rodney. Let me help you find them."
"I'm not helpless!" the female Rodney snapped, then glared at John. "Did you just come to stare like an idiot or did you actually have business here?"
"Um. A couple days ago, you mentioned that Jumper 6 would be fixed today and in need of a test flight. I was just coming to see if that was still on schedule."
Rodney rolled his... her -- God, he couldn't think about this! -- eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, I had a bit of medical crisis and ended up stuck in the infirmary half of the day yesterday enduring indignities no human should ever have to face."
John shrugged. "Can't be any worse than a prostate exam."
Radek looked at him like he was insane.
"Oh, yes, like you would know! I note you conveniently didn't switch genders when you thought at that thing."
"Hey, you were the one that told me to activate it! How was I supposed to know--?"
"Activate, yes! Not use," Rodney spat back
"I didn't--"
"So you've said. Did you have anything else? No? Then go away. Radek! Power schematics!"
Radek gave him a pleading look, but John knew when a tactical retreat was in order.
***
"It's PMS," Carson said.
"What?"
"Pre-menstrual syn--"
"Yes, yes, I know what PMS stands for. You-- you're telling me that I'm going to... Oh, God!"
"I've brought some supplies," Carson said. "We can, ah, talk later about how to use them. But the good news is the way you're feeling is temporary."
Rodney turned to Elizabeth. "Please, tell me you've got good news."
"I've been personally overseeing the linguists' search through the Ancient database and their translation efforts. The device the colonel activated appears to be, well, what amounts to a sensitivity-training device."
John lifted an eyebrow. "You mean like the seminars?"
"Yes," Elizabeth answered. "The concept is that if you experience life as a member of the opposite sex, you'll be more sensitive to their needs and experiences when you're returned to your normal gender."
"'When'? So that means this is temporary?" Rodney asked, desperation in those blue eyes.
"Yes. From what I can gather, you get to experience one full month as a woman and then you should revert back to normal."
"A month?" both John and Rodney asked at the same time.
Elizabeth nodded. "Sorry, Rodney. Looks like you're going to need those supplies."
"A month," Rodney said. "I can... I can handle a month. Only a month. Oh, thank God!"
The other three exchanged uncomfortable looks as Rodney buried her face in her hands. There was a long silence, only broken by sobs, then Carson cleared his throat. "Do ye need a tissue, Rodney?"
"Oh, shut up!"
***
Cadman slid into the seat across from the figure, at once strange and familiar, and smirked at the large bowl of ice cream swimming in chocolate syrup on the other woman's tray. "Been one of those days?"
Rodney looked up and groaned. "Please, just... don't."
"Hey, I'm just trying to be sympathetic. I do sort of know what it's like, after all."
"Why are there halos around the lights?" Rodney asked.
"Halos?"
"And everything tastes kind of... off. Tinny. It wasn't like this, this morning."
Cadman considered her dining companion. "Have you ever had migraines, Rodney?"
"No."
"Sounds like you could have one coming on. I get them the first couple of days of my period and sometimes the day before."
Rodney gave her a stricken look.
"Oh, wow, I never thought of that." She smirked. "Welcome to womanhood. Oh, and go see Carson for something for migraines. It's better to treat it before the headache actually hits."
"You're entirely too happy about this turn of events," Rodney accused.
"Hey, you know, you can suffer through this or you can see it as an opportunity. Being a woman isn't all about periods and poor upper-body strength, you know. There are some good things, too."
"Name one," Rodney groused.
"Okay. Multiple orgasms."
The scientist looked shocked and glanced around to see if anyone had overheard.
Cadman laughed. "Enjoy it. I mean, right now you might not feel like it, but once all the messy stuff is past, you should go find some agreeable friend and try some things out."
Rodney grunted and returned to her ice cream. A moment later, a suspicious look crossed her face and she looked up at Cadman. "You didn't... while you were me..."
Cadman rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Rodney! Did you think we were so tired that we slept in till two because we'd gone jogging?"
"Oh, God!"
"But don't worry. I didn't involve anyone else. Just me and my, or your, hands. I know I teased, but you've got a nice body, Rodney. You shouldn't be so ashamed of it."
***
"I swear, I don't know how big-breasted women handle it," Rodney complained, groaning as Carson's hands dug into her shoulders. "My shoulders have been aching for days."
"Just relax, Rodney," Carson soothed, shifting forward on his couch slightly to better work the knots in Rodney's shoulders. "How have you been feeling otherwise?"
"Bloated, cramped, messy, frazzled. And maybe horny. I'm not sure how to tell."
"The menstruation should be over now," Carson said.
"It is," Rodney answered. "I'm feeling better other than my shoulders. God, that feels good! Oh, yeah, right there..."
"If ye want to lie down, I could do your whole back," Carson answered.
Rodney tensed. "I... Carson, um, you and Cadman aren't dating anymore, are you?"
Carson gave Rodney a confused look, though she couldn't see it. "No. We broke up several months back. Why?"
"I was just... Well, she and I had this conversation..."
"About me?"
"No. No, about the experience of being female. Cadman suggested I find a friend and... well, get the whole experience, if you know what I mean."
Carson withdrew his hands, gaping at his friend. Rodney turned back around to face him and he noted that her eyelashes really weren't any longer now than before the change. "Are you... are you asking me...?"
"You don't have to," Rodney quickly reassured him. "I could always ask the colonel or Radek or maybe Ronon. Or, you know, I'm sure there are some others."
Carson tried hard not to imagine Rodney in the arms of those other men. "Can I... can I think on it for a wee bit?"
"Sure. I've still got 3 weeks."
***
"Is it me? You know, knowing I'm not really female..." Rodney asked, staring up at the ceiling in Carson's room.
Carson sighed. "Not really, no."
"I know I'm not, you know, experienced at this. But I thought since I knew what turned me on, I'd have a bit of an edge. I guess my turn-ons aren't as universal as I thought."
Carson flung his arm over his eyes. "Can we not talk about this right now?"
"Sorry. Maybe we're just moving too fast. I really like what you do with your hands."
"It's the breasts," Carson blurted out suddenly.
"Breasts?" Rodney asked, confused. "What's wrong with my breasts?"
"Nothing. They're quite lovely, I'm sure."
Rodney sat up, hands cupping the parts in question protectively. "What do you mean, 'I'm sure'? You've been looking at them for the last four nights."
"Oh, for God's sake!" Carson swore, flinging his arm aside and sitting up to meet his friend's gaze. "Rodney, I'm gay. I thought when you offered, that maybe you'd... Oh, bloody hell!" He flopped back into the pillow.
Rodney gaped at him. "Gay?!"
"Yes, gay. Queer. A ponce. A poof. A faggot!" His accent was thick, his voice raw as he blurted out the hated terms. "I'm sorry. I thought you'd figured it out."
"But... Cadman..."
"Was good cover," Carson admitted. "But I couldn't keep using her like that."
Rodney stared at him for a moment, calculations running behind blue eyes and long eyelashes, models of the universe being adjusted for this new information. "Huh."
"'Huh'? I've just confessed to being gay and all you can say is 'Huh'?"
Rodney smiled. "And you thought I was maybe making a play for you while it was, what, more socially acceptable? And then if we kept on seeing each other afterwards, it would somehow be more excusable? 'Oh, they got together while Rodney was a girl and fell in love and couldn't break it off when he turned back to a male.'"
Carson sighed. "Well, yes. I suppose I'd hoped--"
"Huh," Rodney said again. "I like that idea. It could work. Good thinking."
It was Carson's turn to gape. "Wha'? But you're..." Carson considered his friend sitting there before him wearing a female form, but still distinctively Rodney. "Well, I guess I can't say I thought you were straight, given what I was hoping."
Rodney shrugged, her large breasts rising and falling with the motion. "I'm not picky." She laid back down facing Carson, one hand reaching out to trace around a nipple. "Now, about your problem... I think I have an idea..."
Carson looked at her doubtfully. "What?"
Rodney leaned in. "Well, now that I know you'd be interested, I thought I'd tell you some of the things I've fantasized about doing to you..."
***
"Here. Let me get that," Rodney said, grabbing the laptop Kavanagh was trying to juggle with his coffee mug, a donut, and a stack of folders.
Kavanagh stared in shock as the female Rodney took his coffee cup and the papers that were threatening to topple and walked them over to his lab table. He followed, skittish.
"How are those power flow simulations you were working on going?"
"Uh, well... I've hit a bit of a snag," Kavanagh admitted, then added defensively, "But it shouldn't be much longer."
"Let me look and see if I can give you a hand."
Kavanagh's eyebrows shot up and then he composed himself. "Oh. Uh. Sure. Here, let me show you..."
Around the lab, scientists exchanged mystified expressions.
***
"I just hope he doesn't go into another PMS phase before he changes back," Simpson said. "I still don't understand how being female has made him so much nicer, though."
Radek shook his head. "I'm not sure it's being female." He nodded his head at a far table where Carson and Rodney sat, chatting. At that moment, Carson said something that made Rodney laugh and Carson smiled, a light in his eyes.
"Oh," Simpson said, then considered a moment. "This could be very bad when he changes back."
"Then we should hope it doesn't change anything," Kavanagh said.
"McKay being in a gay relationship wouldn't bug you?" Simpson asked.
Kavanagh shrugged. "If it makes him happy, then it gets him off my back. Why the hell should I care?"
***
Carson woke up with the familiar warmth of Rodney's body next to his. He stretched and slipped his arms around his lover.
And froze.
Gone was the soft, smooth, curvy form. In its place was a harder body, lightly covered in hair. Carson allowed his fingers to curl through the chest hair, exploring.
"Mmmm..." Rodney hummed in appreciation. Then his eyes popped open. "Hm?"
"You're back," Carson said.
Rodney reached up and ran his hands along his stubbled face, and then down to his chest, sliding over hairy chest and down to his stomach and out to his hips. Carson found himself getting hard just watching. Then Rodney's hands slid back up, one hand grasping his own erection while the other cupped his balls. His crooked lips smiled. "Yeah. Definitely back."
Carson allowed himself to soak in the sight of Rodney naked in his bed, a fantasy he'd entertained for almost three years.
Rodney smiled indulgently. "So?"
"'So,' what?"
"Do I get welcome-back-to-your-body sex or not?"
***
When a male Rodney arrived in the labs later that morning, it was to anxious looks from his staff. "Good morning!" he said heartily. "Let's see, what's on our agenda today?"
***
"Hell, if I'd known getting him laid would make him this much easier to work with, I'd have done him myself," Kavanagh commented at lunch.
"Ew!" Simpson said.
"What? You don't have any problem with Carson fucking him, but the thought of him and me freaks you out?"
"They're cute together."
"And I'm hideous. I understand," Kavanagh shot back.
"Oh, it's not like that! Just forget it."
***
"I mean, hello, do I look like a Wraith? The first spear I can understand, but after you've seen that the people emerging from the gate are not life-sucking Marilyn Manson wannabes, you should stop trying to skewer the friendly visitors!"
John hissed as Carson finished dressing the wound in his leg. "Well, at least they missed you."
"Only because I ducked. It literally parted my hair!"
"Calm down, Rodney," John said as Carson double-checked the dressing on Ronon's arm.
"Calm down? We knew this planet wasn't going to be good for anything but food. We've got the Daedalus making regular trips. Why the hell are we risking our lives for food?"
Carson slipped the blood pressure cuff around Rodney's arm and began pumping.
"We need to be as self-sustaining as possible, in case something were to happen to the Daedalus. You know that."
"Quiet a moment," Carson ordered as he released the pressure on the cuff. "Your blood pressure's a wee bit high, Rodney. You need to take the colonel's advice and try to calm down."
"I'm sorry if I'm a little wound up from being attacked."
"You need to take him home and fuck him," Ronon said to Carson. "That would calm him down."
"What?" Rodney squeaked.
"It relaxes you," Ronon said and shrugged.
"You... What are you...? Oh, God!"
John smirked at him, then waggled his eyebrows at Carson.
"Oh, my God! You know?"
"Of course we know, Rodney," John said. "You'd have to be blind not to know."
Teyla smiled. "We are very happy for you and Carson. Seeing such relationships developing among your people has encouraged me that you are truly making a home here in Atlantis, which brings hope to the people of the Pegasus Galaxy."
Carson chuckled and squeezed Rodney's shoulder. "Well, love, you have always been tremendously easy to read. And my mum always said I wore my heart on my sleeve." He leaned down and pressed his lips to Rodney's. "I'll see you for lunch in our quarters then."
***
It had been five weeks. While they weren't flaunting their relationship, they weren't hiding it either. Rodney had practically moved into Carson's quarters and spent most nights there. Over the weeks, Rodney's toothbrush, hairbrush, razor, and half of his wardrobe had slowly made their way to Carson's apartment. If anyone had a problem with it, they were keeping quiet.
Carson sat curled on the couch, reading a medical journal while Rodney sat at his desk, typing on his laptop. Suddenly, Rodney launched out of the chair, dashing toward the bathroom. Carson lowered the journal and frowned at the sounds of Rodney retching. He was quickly on his feet and in the bathroom, kneeling beside his lover.
"I don't like this. This has been the fourth night in a row where your supper hasn't sat with you," he said. "Tomorrow morning, I want to run some more extensive tests and see what's going on."
Rodney nodded miserably, then gagged again.
Carson rubbed his back, offering what little comfort he could until the worst of it passed, then helped Rodney up and stood by as his lover washed and brushed his teeth, then led him to the bed, where Rodney laid down and curled up into a wretched ball, too ill to even complain.
***
The two men stared at the screen where the Ancient scanner revealed the secrets of Rodney's body.
"This is impossible!" Rodney whispered, then turned panicked eyes to Carson. "What if it's some kind of alien?"
"It's not an alien, love. It's a perfectly normal human foetus."
"Perfectly normal?! How can it be perfectly normal when it's...? You have to get it out. Now! Right away! I can't... Where would it go? It can't come out. I'm... Oh, God! You have to get it out!"
"Rodney, calm down," Carson said. "I can't do anything until I understand exactly how this has happened."
"Hello! Man, woman, tab a, slot b. Only I'm not a slot anymore and there's nowhere for it to go!"
"It appears to be perfectly healthy," Carson said.
"Carson! You're not listening to me. I don't want this. I can't have this. This can't be happening. Do you understand me?"
Entranced, Carson reached up and touched a button on the side of the scanner. The room filled with a pulsing sound.
"I can't--" Rodney stopped. "What is that?"
"That's a heartbeat."
"A... a heartbeat?"
"The baby's heartbeat. Your baby's heartbeat... No, our baby's heartbeat."
Rodney's eyes grew large. "My... our... Carson, I can't do this. It's impossible."
"Ye may be right, love. The odds are good that this can't work. But there's always the possibility. Do you want to try or not?"
"We're talking about a baby! A person. We can't just shrug our shoulders and walk away if it doesn't work out."
"Aye, you're right. But if I get rid of it, then you can't change your mind, either."
Rodney closed his eyes, listening to the heartbeat. Carson's fingers curled into his. "Okay. Let's... let's at least see what can be done. It's not a yes, though."
"I understand, love. We'll do what's best."
And then Carson slipped his hand over Rodney's belly and stared at the screen where the tiny, strange life curled. His blue eyes were full of wonder and Rodney knew then that he could never fill them with pain. "Yeah," he whispered. "We will."
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