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three_fathersTitle: Beneath Your Heart, Within Your Arms
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
perspi
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~10,000 total
Pairing: None
Summary: The best family is the one you make, and if it has three fathers, how is that not wonderful?
Relates to Episodes: Season 4
A/N: This is the combined version of my two fics originally posted as Beneath Your Heart and Within Your Arms. This combination puts events from both stories in chronological order.
Continued from Part 1
Two weeks after the ambush that injured Ronon, Teyla felt her first contractions before breakfast. Ronon was stumping around the main room with his cane and Rodney was in the kitchen griping about the coffeemaker when Teyla called out. She hadn't heard John awaken, but he was by her bedside first.
"Teyla? You okay?" he asked, kneeling so he could look her in the eye.
"Is it a contraction?" Rodney asked breathlessly, landing hard on his knees next to John. "Oh my god, is it time? It's time, isn't it?" He bounced back up and headed back out into the main room, asking the air where he'd left his radio.
Teyla breathed out slowly as the pain eased. "I believe they are contractions," she confirmed, "but they are merely uncomfortable."
"How often are you having them?" Ronon asked from where he leaned against the wall.
"They are erratic," she replied, allowing herself a small smile when John started unconsciously rubbing across the front of her belly. "But the last three have been fifteen minutes apart."
John swallowed audibly and pulled his hand back. "Okay," he said with forced brightness, "that's good, yeah? Three's a pattern. We'll just get you down to the infir—"
"I am giving birth here," Teyla reminded him firmly.
"We'll just get Keller to come here, then." John switched conversational paths quickly, then stood up, his knees popping like gunshots.
"She's on her way," Rodney announced, hands waving as he came barreling back into the room. "If only we had a midwife, or an obstetrician, but oh, wait, we don't, because somebody blew up the gate bridge and the Daedalus had engine trouble!"
"Not helping, McKay," Ronon growled and poked him with the end of his cane. Ronon's reach was truly impressive, and Rodney sputtered, grabbing at the cane.
"And somebody else doesn't trust any of the—"
"I believe I would enjoy a shower," Teyla said loudly, bringing the nascent argument to a halt as she pushed herself into a sitting position. John and Rodney were immediately at her side; by the time they got to the bathroom she had to remind them, repeatedly, that she was perfectly capable of showering by herself.
"What do you mean, false alarm?" Rodney half-shouted. "You said Teyla was in labor!"
Jennifer looked ready to punch Rodney herself. "Sometimes it happens, Rodney. She is in very early labor; everything's getting ready for the main event, she's just not there yet. Everything's fine."
Rodney drew in a long, shuddering breath and collapsed on the couch, head in his hands. "I'm not!" he said querulously. "I can't take this."
Teyla patted Rodney's shoulder as she headed to the kitchen for some ice cream.
"It's time? Is it time, this time? Should I call Keller?"
"Every ten minutes, like clockwork."
"How many?"
Teyla panted a little. "This is number seven."
"Oh my god, this is it!"
"They stopped again? What the hell, Teyla?"
"I assure you, Rodney, I am not doing this on purpose."
After a long morning trying to teach scientists how not to get killed, John popped back to the Penthouse for a quick shower before the afternoon's briefings. He stopped short in the doorway when confronted by the sight of Ronon and Teyla on the couch, watching TV.
They were sprawled together like lazy college students, complete with blank faces, Ronon's injured leg stretched out onto the coffee table. Teyla leaned back into Ronon, and he had one arm curled around her belly. On a second look, John noticed that Teyla was sound asleep. Ronon glanced up, then went back to watching the screen.
John came around behind the couch to see what had Ronon so entranced. A perpetual-motion toy was swinging back and forth, then a plastic solar system slowly rotated, then it switched to a bubble toy John hadn't seen in decades, all accompanied by classical music. It was strangely compelling, and John couldn't tear his eyes away.
It was almost two full minutes before John asked, "Is this that Baby Einstein thing?" Ronon simply held up the DVD case in answer.
John was late to his briefing, and if Carter thought it odd that he wouldn't say why, well. At least she kept quiet about it.
"This is exciting and everything, and don't get me wrong, it's way better than playing 'how would you like your doom today?', but I'm getting really sick of this. OW!"
"You're not the only one, buddy. And I only hit you because Teyla's too far away."
"I am going for a walk," Teyla announced as she threaded her way around the furniture of the main room.
Ronon picked up his cane and shoved himself out of his chair. "I'm coming with you. Good for the leg."
They paused at the doorway, looking expectantly back at John, who huffed, but grabbed his trainers anyway.
John lasted halfway out the East Pier before he couldn't handle their pace and took off running, Teyla and Ronon's laughter following behind him.
They spent the rest of the afternoon puttering around the Penthouse. Teyla was perched on one of the balance balls from the gym, focused on her (lopsided) crocheting, so Ronon took the opportunity to watch her. He would never cease to marvel that a woman so pregnant could have such grace, but his sister had had it, too, in the last months of her pregnancy.
At least, she was graceful when sitting; pushing herself to a stand looked...awkward. Until Teyla's eyes went wide and she grabbed her belly with both hands. "Oh," she said softly.
"Teyla?" Ronon asked, not waiting for her answer before levering himself up—not exactly a graceful process, either, even though he'd finally mastered smooth. "What is it?'
John picked up the sudden change in tension from across the room. "Everything okay?"
"I believe my water has just broken," Teyla told them, and John sprang to his feet so quickly he nearly overbalanced.
"Okay," Ronon said just as John asked, "What does that mean?"
Teyla leveled a look at John that stopped him in his tracks. "Right now it means I am very uncomfortable," she snipped and disappeared into the bathroom.
Ronon looked over at John, who looked back with a dumbstruck expression. He could see the nervous energy creep back in when John's hand started twitching. It was only a matter of time before he started twitching all over.
Ronon tossed John a radio, which he fumbled and scrambled after. "You call Keller, I'll tell Rodney."
"Why can't I call Rodney?"
"You think he'll believe you?" Two days before, Rodney had come running to a panicked radio call from John, only to be greeted by the sight of Teyla and Ronon sacked out napping on the couch.
"Oh, right," John said, obviously remembering his prank. "Fine, okay, you call Rodney."
Ronon lurched into the kitchen before keying the radio. "McKay."
"Yes, what do you w—" Rodney snipped, then paused. "Ronon?"
"It's time."
Rodney's voice over the radio was tinny with annoyance. "Oh, right, ha ha, very funny. Whatever Sheppard's paying you, it's not worth it. I have had enough with the false alarms and false labors and I am not going to come running again just so you can hide around the corner and la—"
"Have I ever radioed you before?" Ronon interrupted. He couldn't keep the grin off his face as he scuffed the end of the cane against the floor—Rodney had been working up to a truly spectacular rant.
"Ah. Well, no," Rodney admitted. "I suppose that could mean that something's really happening, but then again, maybe Sheppard's just taking advantage of your natur—"
"Teyla's water broke."
"Oh." Rodney took a deep breath, audible even over the connection. "Um. Then, I guess I'll...be right there?"
"Yeah," Ronon said. He was stopped from tapping his radio off by Rodney's voice, almost whispered in his ear.
"She's going to kill us, isn't she? Women in labor can be vicious; Jeannie said she nearly broke Kaleb's hand."
"Relax, McKay," Ronon assured him, although he secretly agreed; the idea of Teyla in labor was terrifying. "We'll give her Sheppard first."
Rodney arrived twenty minutes later with a flurry of hands and kinetic energy to find all three of them sitting in the living room. He pointed at Ronon as soon as he'd processed the sight. "You. You told me it was for real this time."
"I am glad you are here, Rodney," Teyla soothed with a broad smile. "Ronon did not lie to you."
"Wha—" Rodney had opened his mouth to continue, but he shut it and cocked his head, giving Teyla a baffled little smile. "Really?"
"Truly," Teyla affirmed, and Rodney settled on the chair closest to where she'd perched back on the balance ball. She took both his hands in hers. "Dr. Keller has already come and gone; she assures me that labor is indeed progressing, although I am only feeling mild contractions."
"She's three centimeters already," John added proudly, like he had anything to do with it.
"Why did Keller leave, if you're—"
"She has two critical patients, and this could take some time," she reminded him.
Rodney sat back a little. "Oh. Well. Can I—can I get you anything?"
"Perhaps now would be a good time to finish your chronometer," Teyla suggested, sending her gaze to the side table Rodney had covered in electronic components. She had been quite taken with the idea, seen first in an Earth birthing video, of timing both between and within contractions, so of course Rodney had volunteered for the job.
It was only Teyla's hold on him that kept Rodney from bouncing out of his seat, saying, "It's practically done; give me a half-hour."
John could tell the contractions were getting more and more uncomfortable—Teyla shifted positions in between each one and went frighteningly silent during them. Ronon and Rodney had both looked at John the first time Teyla ignored them all in favor of a contraction. John had looked back, sure their terror was reflected on his own face.
They were all waiting for the yelling to start.
"John."
He couldn't help it; John was at Teyla's side before the rest of him could protest the idea. "I would like to try something for the next one," she said, and without waiting for his permission, she turned and buried her face in his chest, her arms winding around his neck in an odd parody of a high-school dance.
John stiffened up just as Teyla did; Rodney was only paying attention to her and started the countdown. This close, John could feel Teyla panting, "No, no, no, no, no."
He forced himself to relax and pat at her shoulder. "You're doing fine, Teyla."
She eased back and dropped her arms, but to John's dismay she didn't step back. "That position is off the list," she announced crisply.
"So we can—" John started to shift his shoulders away but stopped when Teyla's eyebrows twitched. "Or not, whatever you want."
The next contraction saw Teyla in a similar position, only this time she leaned forward more, digging her nose into John's ribs and holding onto his hips. There was nowhere to put his hands but on her shoulders, nothing for him to do but stand there and let her lean on him.
Fortunately, Rodney's reminders to breathe worked for him, too.
Apparently they'd found the magic position, and John didn't know how long he played Teyla's totem pole. Sometimes she sat against the arm of the couch, sometimes she stood, but always she leaned on him. After a while he even kind of liked it, that Teyla wanted him right where he was.
At some point Teyla decided she wanted counterpressure, or maybe that Ronon shouldn't feel left out, so she drafted him into pushing against her lower back. She kept demanding more until Ronon looked like an odd stork, standing on his good leg and leaning heavily onto Teyla. John was functionally holding them both up, and if he had been his normal self, he would have invited Rodney to hang on his back and complete the team.
The mess sent up sandwiches and an oversized card that said "Happy Labor Day!" signed by almost everybody on the base. Teyla didn't notice when John snuck a bite over her head and dropped crumbs in her hair.
It wasn't long after the sandwiches that Teyla decided she wanted to be in the bath, and John had never before been so appreciative of the speed of Ancient plumbing. The relief on her face as she lowered herself into the warm churning water was beautiful—and John was distantly aware of how he and Ronon and Rodney all sighed in relief, too.
It took almost a full minute before John realized Teyla was completely naked. Fortunately a contraction distracted everyone from his blush.
When Teyla began whimpering that she couldn't do it (and Rodney suspected it surprised everybody in the room, including Teyla), Rodney signaled to Ronon to call Jennifer while he and John helped Teyla out of the tub.
"You can do this, you're almost done," he reassured her, mind racing to try and remember everything he'd read in the past four months. "I think you're in transition; just, just hang in there."
John draped her with towels and they made their way to the bed. She crawled on, holding herself up on her knees, and she draped her arms around John's shoulders. John looked only slightly more comfortable with it than he had before the bathtub. He patted at her shoulder and said, "Okay, you just...do what you need to do."
Ronon gimped in and sat alongside Teyla, where he resumed his counterpressure. Teyla murmured, "Just rub, please, Ronon," and she sighed contentedly when he followed her orders.
Rodney counted them through three more contractions when he noticed how completely Teyla was relaxing between each one. John had apparently noticed, too, because just then he asked, "Is she asleep?"
Rodney peered around John's shoulder to where Teyla had hidden her face in his neck, then he gently pulled a bit of hair away from her eyes. "I think she is," he stage-whispered, and he couldn't keep the smile off his face.
Teyla wasn't sure how long she'd knelt on the bed, but it had been long enough for John to get tired and trade places with Rodney, who was considerably more comfortable. She made a mental note to have Rodney close by if she ever did this again.
Finally, finally Jennifer agreed it was time to push and rearranged everybody. Teyla sat back against Ronon's solid chest, John and Rodney at her knees and Jennifer between her legs.
Teyla thought pushing felt far better than it had a right to, considering.
"Teyla, open your eyes and meet your son," Jennifer cried, and suddenly her arms were filled with the wettest, most beautiful creature she'd ever seen.
"Welcome, Sennot," Teyla breathed as Sennot wailed in tiny anger.
"Hey, buddy," John soothed as Sennot waved his fists.
"Benedic ti, Sennot," Ronon rumbled as Sennot kicked his legs.
"Oh, thank God you're here," Rodney sighed and tucked Teyla's hair behind her ear.
Much later, after cleanup and nursing and a huge meal, with Teyla finally sleeping, John found Rodney and the baby on the balcony. The early morning starlight softened the city spires, the sound of the sea soothing Sennot in his sleep. Rodney nodded when John stood next to him, not breaking his slight swaying rhythm. Finally, eventually, John mused, "You ever think about what will happen when they recall us back to Earth?"
"What?" Rodney asked sharply, but not loudly enough to disturb the child cradled against his chest. "You're just thinking about this now?"
"No, no," John answered quickly, "I've thought about it before. Just, I didn't ask— Look, just answer the damn question, would you?"
Rodney shifted, and John could feel his irritation subside. "Yeah, I think about it. Pretty regularly, in fact."
John waited, one breath, two breaths. It didn't look like Rodney was going to offer any more, so he prodded, "And?"
"And what?" Rodney lifted his chin and glared at John, his peevish look completely at odds with the way his whole body gently moved. "I'm not leaving."
"They're going to want to retire us sometime, McKay," John pointed out. "The SGC is going to want us back on Earth."
"I'm not leaving," Rodney repeated. "We're not leaving Teyla and Sennot alone out here, and don't you dare tell me that they'll have Ronon because we both know that's not good enough. This is our family now, Sheppard, and if the SGC wants me back on Earth without them they can suck it."
"What about Jeannie?"
"Of anyone on Earth, Jeannie would understand this," Rodney said, his chin set. "I'm not leaving our son."
Because John had long ago learned to follow where Rodney led, because Rodney's vow loosened something in John that he'd been worrying at for weeks, because the family he'd found was so much more than the family he'd left, John cupped a hand around Sennot's head. "Yeah," he whispered, "I'm not leaving, either."
Author:
perspi Rating: PG
Word Count: ~10,000 total
Pairing: None
Summary: The best family is the one you make, and if it has three fathers, how is that not wonderful?
Relates to Episodes: Season 4
A/N: This is the combined version of my two fics originally posted as Beneath Your Heart and Within Your Arms. This combination puts events from both stories in chronological order.
Continued from Part 1
Two weeks after the ambush that injured Ronon, Teyla felt her first contractions before breakfast. Ronon was stumping around the main room with his cane and Rodney was in the kitchen griping about the coffeemaker when Teyla called out. She hadn't heard John awaken, but he was by her bedside first.
"Teyla? You okay?" he asked, kneeling so he could look her in the eye.
"Is it a contraction?" Rodney asked breathlessly, landing hard on his knees next to John. "Oh my god, is it time? It's time, isn't it?" He bounced back up and headed back out into the main room, asking the air where he'd left his radio.
Teyla breathed out slowly as the pain eased. "I believe they are contractions," she confirmed, "but they are merely uncomfortable."
"How often are you having them?" Ronon asked from where he leaned against the wall.
"They are erratic," she replied, allowing herself a small smile when John started unconsciously rubbing across the front of her belly. "But the last three have been fifteen minutes apart."
John swallowed audibly and pulled his hand back. "Okay," he said with forced brightness, "that's good, yeah? Three's a pattern. We'll just get you down to the infir—"
"I am giving birth here," Teyla reminded him firmly.
"We'll just get Keller to come here, then." John switched conversational paths quickly, then stood up, his knees popping like gunshots.
"She's on her way," Rodney announced, hands waving as he came barreling back into the room. "If only we had a midwife, or an obstetrician, but oh, wait, we don't, because somebody blew up the gate bridge and the Daedalus had engine trouble!"
"Not helping, McKay," Ronon growled and poked him with the end of his cane. Ronon's reach was truly impressive, and Rodney sputtered, grabbing at the cane.
"And somebody else doesn't trust any of the—"
"I believe I would enjoy a shower," Teyla said loudly, bringing the nascent argument to a halt as she pushed herself into a sitting position. John and Rodney were immediately at her side; by the time they got to the bathroom she had to remind them, repeatedly, that she was perfectly capable of showering by herself.
"What do you mean, false alarm?" Rodney half-shouted. "You said Teyla was in labor!"
Jennifer looked ready to punch Rodney herself. "Sometimes it happens, Rodney. She is in very early labor; everything's getting ready for the main event, she's just not there yet. Everything's fine."
Rodney drew in a long, shuddering breath and collapsed on the couch, head in his hands. "I'm not!" he said querulously. "I can't take this."
Teyla patted Rodney's shoulder as she headed to the kitchen for some ice cream.
"It's time? Is it time, this time? Should I call Keller?"
"Every ten minutes, like clockwork."
"How many?"
Teyla panted a little. "This is number seven."
"Oh my god, this is it!"
"They stopped again? What the hell, Teyla?"
"I assure you, Rodney, I am not doing this on purpose."
After a long morning trying to teach scientists how not to get killed, John popped back to the Penthouse for a quick shower before the afternoon's briefings. He stopped short in the doorway when confronted by the sight of Ronon and Teyla on the couch, watching TV.
They were sprawled together like lazy college students, complete with blank faces, Ronon's injured leg stretched out onto the coffee table. Teyla leaned back into Ronon, and he had one arm curled around her belly. On a second look, John noticed that Teyla was sound asleep. Ronon glanced up, then went back to watching the screen.
John came around behind the couch to see what had Ronon so entranced. A perpetual-motion toy was swinging back and forth, then a plastic solar system slowly rotated, then it switched to a bubble toy John hadn't seen in decades, all accompanied by classical music. It was strangely compelling, and John couldn't tear his eyes away.
It was almost two full minutes before John asked, "Is this that Baby Einstein thing?" Ronon simply held up the DVD case in answer.
John was late to his briefing, and if Carter thought it odd that he wouldn't say why, well. At least she kept quiet about it.
"This is exciting and everything, and don't get me wrong, it's way better than playing 'how would you like your doom today?', but I'm getting really sick of this. OW!"
"You're not the only one, buddy. And I only hit you because Teyla's too far away."
"I am going for a walk," Teyla announced as she threaded her way around the furniture of the main room.
Ronon picked up his cane and shoved himself out of his chair. "I'm coming with you. Good for the leg."
They paused at the doorway, looking expectantly back at John, who huffed, but grabbed his trainers anyway.
John lasted halfway out the East Pier before he couldn't handle their pace and took off running, Teyla and Ronon's laughter following behind him.
They spent the rest of the afternoon puttering around the Penthouse. Teyla was perched on one of the balance balls from the gym, focused on her (lopsided) crocheting, so Ronon took the opportunity to watch her. He would never cease to marvel that a woman so pregnant could have such grace, but his sister had had it, too, in the last months of her pregnancy.
At least, she was graceful when sitting; pushing herself to a stand looked...awkward. Until Teyla's eyes went wide and she grabbed her belly with both hands. "Oh," she said softly.
"Teyla?" Ronon asked, not waiting for her answer before levering himself up—not exactly a graceful process, either, even though he'd finally mastered smooth. "What is it?'
John picked up the sudden change in tension from across the room. "Everything okay?"
"I believe my water has just broken," Teyla told them, and John sprang to his feet so quickly he nearly overbalanced.
"Okay," Ronon said just as John asked, "What does that mean?"
Teyla leveled a look at John that stopped him in his tracks. "Right now it means I am very uncomfortable," she snipped and disappeared into the bathroom.
Ronon looked over at John, who looked back with a dumbstruck expression. He could see the nervous energy creep back in when John's hand started twitching. It was only a matter of time before he started twitching all over.
Ronon tossed John a radio, which he fumbled and scrambled after. "You call Keller, I'll tell Rodney."
"Why can't I call Rodney?"
"You think he'll believe you?" Two days before, Rodney had come running to a panicked radio call from John, only to be greeted by the sight of Teyla and Ronon sacked out napping on the couch.
"Oh, right," John said, obviously remembering his prank. "Fine, okay, you call Rodney."
Ronon lurched into the kitchen before keying the radio. "McKay."
"Yes, what do you w—" Rodney snipped, then paused. "Ronon?"
"It's time."
Rodney's voice over the radio was tinny with annoyance. "Oh, right, ha ha, very funny. Whatever Sheppard's paying you, it's not worth it. I have had enough with the false alarms and false labors and I am not going to come running again just so you can hide around the corner and la—"
"Have I ever radioed you before?" Ronon interrupted. He couldn't keep the grin off his face as he scuffed the end of the cane against the floor—Rodney had been working up to a truly spectacular rant.
"Ah. Well, no," Rodney admitted. "I suppose that could mean that something's really happening, but then again, maybe Sheppard's just taking advantage of your natur—"
"Teyla's water broke."
"Oh." Rodney took a deep breath, audible even over the connection. "Um. Then, I guess I'll...be right there?"
"Yeah," Ronon said. He was stopped from tapping his radio off by Rodney's voice, almost whispered in his ear.
"She's going to kill us, isn't she? Women in labor can be vicious; Jeannie said she nearly broke Kaleb's hand."
"Relax, McKay," Ronon assured him, although he secretly agreed; the idea of Teyla in labor was terrifying. "We'll give her Sheppard first."
Rodney arrived twenty minutes later with a flurry of hands and kinetic energy to find all three of them sitting in the living room. He pointed at Ronon as soon as he'd processed the sight. "You. You told me it was for real this time."
"I am glad you are here, Rodney," Teyla soothed with a broad smile. "Ronon did not lie to you."
"Wha—" Rodney had opened his mouth to continue, but he shut it and cocked his head, giving Teyla a baffled little smile. "Really?"
"Truly," Teyla affirmed, and Rodney settled on the chair closest to where she'd perched back on the balance ball. She took both his hands in hers. "Dr. Keller has already come and gone; she assures me that labor is indeed progressing, although I am only feeling mild contractions."
"She's three centimeters already," John added proudly, like he had anything to do with it.
"Why did Keller leave, if you're—"
"She has two critical patients, and this could take some time," she reminded him.
Rodney sat back a little. "Oh. Well. Can I—can I get you anything?"
"Perhaps now would be a good time to finish your chronometer," Teyla suggested, sending her gaze to the side table Rodney had covered in electronic components. She had been quite taken with the idea, seen first in an Earth birthing video, of timing both between and within contractions, so of course Rodney had volunteered for the job.
It was only Teyla's hold on him that kept Rodney from bouncing out of his seat, saying, "It's practically done; give me a half-hour."
John could tell the contractions were getting more and more uncomfortable—Teyla shifted positions in between each one and went frighteningly silent during them. Ronon and Rodney had both looked at John the first time Teyla ignored them all in favor of a contraction. John had looked back, sure their terror was reflected on his own face.
They were all waiting for the yelling to start.
"John."
He couldn't help it; John was at Teyla's side before the rest of him could protest the idea. "I would like to try something for the next one," she said, and without waiting for his permission, she turned and buried her face in his chest, her arms winding around his neck in an odd parody of a high-school dance.
John stiffened up just as Teyla did; Rodney was only paying attention to her and started the countdown. This close, John could feel Teyla panting, "No, no, no, no, no."
He forced himself to relax and pat at her shoulder. "You're doing fine, Teyla."
She eased back and dropped her arms, but to John's dismay she didn't step back. "That position is off the list," she announced crisply.
"So we can—" John started to shift his shoulders away but stopped when Teyla's eyebrows twitched. "Or not, whatever you want."
The next contraction saw Teyla in a similar position, only this time she leaned forward more, digging her nose into John's ribs and holding onto his hips. There was nowhere to put his hands but on her shoulders, nothing for him to do but stand there and let her lean on him.
Fortunately, Rodney's reminders to breathe worked for him, too.
Apparently they'd found the magic position, and John didn't know how long he played Teyla's totem pole. Sometimes she sat against the arm of the couch, sometimes she stood, but always she leaned on him. After a while he even kind of liked it, that Teyla wanted him right where he was.
At some point Teyla decided she wanted counterpressure, or maybe that Ronon shouldn't feel left out, so she drafted him into pushing against her lower back. She kept demanding more until Ronon looked like an odd stork, standing on his good leg and leaning heavily onto Teyla. John was functionally holding them both up, and if he had been his normal self, he would have invited Rodney to hang on his back and complete the team.
The mess sent up sandwiches and an oversized card that said "Happy Labor Day!" signed by almost everybody on the base. Teyla didn't notice when John snuck a bite over her head and dropped crumbs in her hair.
It wasn't long after the sandwiches that Teyla decided she wanted to be in the bath, and John had never before been so appreciative of the speed of Ancient plumbing. The relief on her face as she lowered herself into the warm churning water was beautiful—and John was distantly aware of how he and Ronon and Rodney all sighed in relief, too.
It took almost a full minute before John realized Teyla was completely naked. Fortunately a contraction distracted everyone from his blush.
When Teyla began whimpering that she couldn't do it (and Rodney suspected it surprised everybody in the room, including Teyla), Rodney signaled to Ronon to call Jennifer while he and John helped Teyla out of the tub.
"You can do this, you're almost done," he reassured her, mind racing to try and remember everything he'd read in the past four months. "I think you're in transition; just, just hang in there."
John draped her with towels and they made their way to the bed. She crawled on, holding herself up on her knees, and she draped her arms around John's shoulders. John looked only slightly more comfortable with it than he had before the bathtub. He patted at her shoulder and said, "Okay, you just...do what you need to do."
Ronon gimped in and sat alongside Teyla, where he resumed his counterpressure. Teyla murmured, "Just rub, please, Ronon," and she sighed contentedly when he followed her orders.
Rodney counted them through three more contractions when he noticed how completely Teyla was relaxing between each one. John had apparently noticed, too, because just then he asked, "Is she asleep?"
Rodney peered around John's shoulder to where Teyla had hidden her face in his neck, then he gently pulled a bit of hair away from her eyes. "I think she is," he stage-whispered, and he couldn't keep the smile off his face.
Teyla wasn't sure how long she'd knelt on the bed, but it had been long enough for John to get tired and trade places with Rodney, who was considerably more comfortable. She made a mental note to have Rodney close by if she ever did this again.
Finally, finally Jennifer agreed it was time to push and rearranged everybody. Teyla sat back against Ronon's solid chest, John and Rodney at her knees and Jennifer between her legs.
Teyla thought pushing felt far better than it had a right to, considering.
"Teyla, open your eyes and meet your son," Jennifer cried, and suddenly her arms were filled with the wettest, most beautiful creature she'd ever seen.
"Welcome, Sennot," Teyla breathed as Sennot wailed in tiny anger.
"Hey, buddy," John soothed as Sennot waved his fists.
"Benedic ti, Sennot," Ronon rumbled as Sennot kicked his legs.
"Oh, thank God you're here," Rodney sighed and tucked Teyla's hair behind her ear.
Much later, after cleanup and nursing and a huge meal, with Teyla finally sleeping, John found Rodney and the baby on the balcony. The early morning starlight softened the city spires, the sound of the sea soothing Sennot in his sleep. Rodney nodded when John stood next to him, not breaking his slight swaying rhythm. Finally, eventually, John mused, "You ever think about what will happen when they recall us back to Earth?"
"What?" Rodney asked sharply, but not loudly enough to disturb the child cradled against his chest. "You're just thinking about this now?"
"No, no," John answered quickly, "I've thought about it before. Just, I didn't ask— Look, just answer the damn question, would you?"
Rodney shifted, and John could feel his irritation subside. "Yeah, I think about it. Pretty regularly, in fact."
John waited, one breath, two breaths. It didn't look like Rodney was going to offer any more, so he prodded, "And?"
"And what?" Rodney lifted his chin and glared at John, his peevish look completely at odds with the way his whole body gently moved. "I'm not leaving."
"They're going to want to retire us sometime, McKay," John pointed out. "The SGC is going to want us back on Earth."
"I'm not leaving," Rodney repeated. "We're not leaving Teyla and Sennot alone out here, and don't you dare tell me that they'll have Ronon because we both know that's not good enough. This is our family now, Sheppard, and if the SGC wants me back on Earth without them they can suck it."
"What about Jeannie?"
"Of anyone on Earth, Jeannie would understand this," Rodney said, his chin set. "I'm not leaving our son."
Because John had long ago learned to follow where Rodney led, because Rodney's vow loosened something in John that he'd been worrying at for weeks, because the family he'd found was so much more than the family he'd left, John cupped a hand around Sennot's head. "Yeah," he whispered, "I'm not leaving, either."
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no subject
Date: 2009-03-07 02:57 am (UTC)And a little envious that Teyla will have three co-parents. Man, that's gotta be helpful.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-28 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-01 03:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-23 06:28 am (UTC)I popped over from chkc's post.
Re: Beneath your heart
Date: 2011-08-09 10:35 pm (UTC)