Sibling Rivalry by liketheriver (Family Challenge)
Title: Sibling Rivalry
Author: liketheriver
Category: Gen, brotherly bonding
Word Count: 5,200
Rating: T
Characters: John, Rodney, and Teyla
Spoilers: Anything up through Outcast
A/N: Thanks as always to Koschka for the beta.Summary: And perhaps this is the real reason why she did not let her two teammates know she can hear them, because when they are comfortably at ease in one another’s company, the men on her team can be delightfully boyish.
Sibling Rivalry
by liketheriver
“So, were you and your brother close when you were kids?”
From where she’s laying on the examination table on the other side of the curtain, Teyla can’t see Rodney beyond the dark outline of his body as he asks the question, nor can she see John’s face, but she can hear his sigh in response. Ever since John has returned from his father’s funeral and Ronon informed Teyla and Rodney that he met, not only John’s ex-wife, but his brother, as well, Rodney has been asking questions about the hereto-unknown sibling. And John, being his typically tightlipped self, hasn’t supplied very much information… a fact that just seems to goad Rodney into asking even more questions.
The two men don’t even know Teyla is practically in the same room as them; she is in the infirmary for one of her prenatal checkups and John has brought their teammate in to have a minor cut examined… although from the way Rodney was originally carrying on, one would think he had amputated his arm at the elbow. Dr. Keller eventually convinced him it was not that serious and did not even require stitches, that the surgical adhesive would suffice. Rodney had finally compromised on the adhesive, but only if she numbed the area thoroughly before application because it stings. Jennifer relented, applied the topical ointment and left to give it time to take effect. Teyla had decided she would let the drama in the next examination room unfold without her attendance and had, thus, remained silent. Besides, the men on her team became uncomfortable whenever she discussed her exams, so she concluded it was probably best to keep them in the dark as to her presence.
“Close? I don’t know,” John dismisses. “I don’t really remember.”
But Rodney does not want to let it go. “I used to think I’d like to have a little brother, someone to trail along behind me and look up to me.”
The baby rolls and Teyla places a hand on her belly already subconsciously soothing her unborn child with her touch. She has been considering family a great deal lately, as well. In her condition, it is almost impossible not to think about such things, especially considering the circumstances of her pregnancy. There is the possibility of her son never knowing his father or his extended Athosian family, the possibility of his culture being explained to him in bedtime stories as opposed to living it with other children his own age. More than that, she wonders if he will ever have siblings like John and Rodney do, if he will ever know what it is like to be an older brother and, if so, what it will mean to him to be responsible for another, younger playmate. Will they squabble and bicker in equal measure to their laughter and play? Will they be protective of one another or disinterested? When they grow to adulthood, will they still seek each other out or will they be distant? But then she decides that she has more pressing matters to contend with, such as the pending birth itself and caring for a newborn and she will shake her head at how she has been planning and worrying over her son’s life so far in advance when he is not yet born.
John tilts his head at Rodney’s confession. “Prepubescent delusions of grandeur, for some reason that really doesn’t surprise me all the much.”
“So what, Dave Sheppard didn’t worship his big brother?”
“Dave was a lot like my dad and I… wasn’t. They liked having things, lots of things. I was perfectly happy with my board and a half-pike ramp that I built and set up in the driveway. When my dad saw it, he decided it wasn’t as good as it could have been, so he went out and bought a plot of land to have a skateboard park built for us. Dave’s contribution was to review the engineering designs.”
“He built you a skate park?” Rodney observes in amazement. “An entire park?”
“There’s a lot to be said for making a life instead of buying it, McKay.”
“Still… an entire park?”
“Can you just drop the whole park thing and focus on the fact that Dave and I were totally different in what we wanted out of life? In the end, he got what he wanted, I got what I wanted, and we’ve just gone our separate ways. Sometimes being brothers is a matter of genetics and nothing more.”
“Does he have the ATA gene?”
“I don’t know, I never thought of that. I suppose he could. It’s not like I whipped out a life signs detector and handed it over while I was there.”
“Maybe he does.” Rodney’s voice brightens at the thought. “Maybe it’s even stronger than yours.”
“I doubt it.” From John’s tone, Teyla can picture the line of irritation forming on his forehead.
“How do you know? You said yourself he’s never been tested…”
“Because he just doesn’t. Okay?”
“But you have absolutely no basis for your conclusion. He could have the strongest ATA gene the world has ever seen. For all you know, he could fly this city in his sleep, and set it down with just the lightest feather touch…”
Teyla bites her lower lip to keep from laughing at Rodney’s taunting, because that is obviously what it is, and it is just as obvious it is garnering the desired reaction from John. And perhaps this is the real reason why she did not let her two teammates know she can hear them, because when they are comfortably at ease in one another’s company, the men on her team can be delightfully boyish. Given the responsibilities these two carry on their shoulders daily, it is not something Teyla is fortunate enough to see, or in which they are able to partake, very often, and she hates the idea of her presence somehow spoiling this indulgence for them.
“McKay, enough about Dave’s nonexistent gene. Christ, you’re lucky you didn’t have an older brother or he would have kicked your ass long before you made it to adulthood.”
“Yeah, I thought about that growing up. Not necessarily about having an older brother, but what a brother would have been like. With my luck, if I’d had one, he would have ended up being this total jock who slept with every cheerleader and was the most popular guy in school. I decided that maybe a sister wasn’t so bad after all. Although it would have been nice to have a sibling who didn’t dress up with fairy wings and haul a suitcase full of Barbies around wherever she went, someone I could actually share my toys with.”
“You wanted to share?” John asks in surprise and Teyla almost laughs out loud at the idea.
“If nothing else, it would have been convenient,” Rodney defends. “Wasn’t it cool having someone in the house with the same sorts of toys when you were a kid?”
“You mean the exact same toys.” John snorts before continuing. “We were so close in age that we always got the same gifts for Christmas, only in a different color. And the thing was, Dave would wait for me to open mine and before he even ripped into the wrapping paper on his he’d say, ‘I wanted that one’. Same damn dump truck only his was red and mine was blue, but he wanted mine.” John shakes his head at the memory. “That’s my brother for you; always looking out for number one.”
“So, was it the same way when you were teenagers?”
“Why are you so interested in Dave?” John finally asks in exasperation.
“Oh, I don’t know, the fact that we’ve known each other for four years and you never once mentioned him makes him kind of interesting.” Teyla can picture the rolled eyes to accompany the shadow of the scientist’s flailing arms.
It is odd that John has never mentioned his brother, but he never mentioned any family, even going so far as to once tell her, albeit painful in its awkwardness, that his team and the people he had become close with on Atlantis were the only family he had ever had. With Elizabeth and Carson now gone, it just seemed to make John all the more protective and possessive of those who still remained. And that was probably why he’d accompanied Rodney to the infirmary for little more than a band-aid in the first place.
“Well, it’s not like you were exactly forthcoming about your family tree either, Meredith,” John points out.
“Yes, but you at least knew my sister existed… by watching my private transmission to her, I might add.”
Teyla watches John’s shadow lean against the medical scanner in the room. “I had to check it out before you transmitted it. You know, for security reasons.”
Rodney snorts at the feeble excuse. “Yes, because Canada is such a hotbed of international espionage.”
“Could be,” John shrugs. “It produced you, didn’t it? I mean you destroyed an entire solar system. How many governments can put that on their resume?”
“One goddamn solar system and I have to hear about it for the rest of my life,” Rodney grumbles. “It’s not like it was even inhabited. And it wasn’t an entire solar system; it was five-sixth of one… there’s still those three perfectly good moons and the planetoid mass that are out there.”
“That planetoid mass used to be a legitimate planet, Rodney.”
“So did Pluto,” the physicist points out. “Are you going to blame me for that demotion, as well?”
“As far as I know, you aren’t responsible for any planetary disasters in the Milky Way, although that probably has a lot to do with the fact that you’re currently living in another galaxy.”
“Then I suppose the United States can rest easy knowing we Canadians aren’t plotting to destroy the moon anytime soon with genetically-mutated super-moose armed with nuclear-powered hockey pucks.”
“And that’s another thing; I don’t trust any country where the national pastime involves ice that isn’t used for the express purpose of chilling your beer. Not to mention you typically don’t have to lock your doors at night.”
“What’s wrong with living in an area with a low crime rate?”
“It’s just not natural, like a person who’s always happy. You know they’re just a serial killer waiting to snap.”
“Unfortunately, that’s how it turned out for Jeannie,” Rodney mumbles.
Each of the men may have had secrets they kept from one another regarding siblings, but they have a shared secret involving Jeannie’s kidnapping. Not that Teyla and Ronon haven’t been able to come to their own conclusions about what likely happened back on Earth. With Rodney’s sister on death’s door because of a misled man trying to save his own daughter, both men would have been willing to do just about anything to save Jeannie Miller. Neither John nor Rodney has spoken of the incident since returning, but Ronon has told Teyla about what he witnessed… Rodney storming out of a room where he and John had been talking behind closed doors; John following soon after mumbling curses under his breath about the stubbornness of the scientist; both of them with an expression wavering between anger, frustration, and fear, before Rodney had returned to work in the lab and John had gone off in search of Wallace.
“Yeah, well, we found her, got her home safe, got you both home safe,” John stresses the inclusion of Rodney in the success of the mission. “In the end, that’s all that matters.”
There is a pause before Rodney finally admits, “A few years ago, I’m not sure I would have even suggested doing what I was ready to do for Jeannie, much less be willing to follow through with it… for anyone, actually.”
“And you’re never going to do it again, either,” John states firmly.
Rodney evades the order. “The point is, Jeannie and I used to be close when we were young. We spent a lot of time together over summer breaks from school, played together on weekends, the whole thing. And then I went off to college and she was still at home and I found ways to avoid coming home as much as possible and then she went off to school and got married and had a kid and I decided she’d made this horrible mistake and we had a huge fight and didn’t speak for years.”
“I’m familiar with that part of your family history, McKay.”
“Yeah, everyone seems to be familiar with it and everyone who meets Jeannie can’t understand why I broke off all ties with her when she’s so great and warm and friendly and crap like that.”
“Well, crap like that… when you put it that way, how could she ever want to break off ties with you?”
John’s dry observation has Rodney shaking his head. “That’s just it; she did break off communications with me as easily as I did with her. We had both drifted off in our own directions long before she met Kaleb and decided family was more important than physics for her, but it was physics that brought us back together in the long run. And the ironic thing is that family, in the form of our father, was what pushed us both into physics in the first place.” Teyla can see Rodney’s hands moving around, as if arranging pieces on his chessboard. “So, you see my point?”
“There’s actually a point here?”
Rodney exhales in frustration that John obviously isn’t paying attention like he should. “Yes, there is. If physics hadn’t brought me here to Atlantis, I never would have realized how important family can be. In addition, if Jeannie hadn’t felt the urge to return to physics, she never would have come to Atlantis and realized how important I was to her.” The hands twirl even faster, the numbing cream obviously already at work, as Rodney finishes up in a dismissive jumble of words. “And then I wouldn’t have been willing to die to save her so that she could be with her husband and daughter, and so forth and so on.”
“Which you’re never going to do again,” John stresses once more.
Teyla has to agree with John’s conclusion, and even that thought strikes her as to how much they have all changed over the few years they’ve been together. Not that Rodney would risk dying to save another… he had demonstrated his willingness to risk his life the very first week they had been in Atlantis when he walked into the energy creature he feared so much. But the thought of Rodney actually dying for whatever reason, or John or Ronon for that matter, makes her chest ache. She has almost lost them numerous times, and each time it seems harder and harder to take. And now…. now that the Athosians are missing, now that Carson and Elizabeth and Kate and so many others have been taken from them, now that she carries a child within her… now the thought of losing any one of them is more than she can stand. She feels the tears welling in her eyes at just the idea, and once again curses the ridiculous hormones that have been making her so weepy as of late.
“Christ, it’s not like it was my first choice for how to resolve that particular problem.”
Rodney’s justification does little to sway John. “It was the only option you presented to me at the time.”
“Oh, and I suppose you wouldn’t do the same? You and Ronon were practically in a wrestling match to be the first one the Wraith Queen fed on when she threatened me in that cloning facility.”
With a sigh, John tells him, “You’re right, Rodney; I would have done the same for you or Ronon or Teyla.”
“Ah ha!” the scientist exclaims triumphantly. “That proves my point.”
“No, it proves my point,” John contradicts.
Rodney pauses before asking in confusion, “What point? You weren’t making a point.”
“Yes, I was. I was making a point as to why you don’t need to ask about Dave if you want to know about my family. Because I’m not sure I would put him on that list of people I’d be willing to die for… at least not without really, really thinking about it first.”
“Oh,” is all Rodney can say to that.
If anything, that response makes John even more uncomfortable with his admission. “So, will you just shut up about my brother already?”
“I really wish I could have gone back with you to your dad’s funeral.”
John straightens and paces in frustration that Rodney is not going to drop the subject. “You know, I think I liked you better before you nearly ascended and released your burdens.”
“You were the one who helped me release them,” Rodney counters.
John continues to pace as he gestures in Rodney’s direction. “Well… load them back on again and, while you’re at it, see if you can suppress your inner Dr. Phil.”
“Excuse me for caring, but actually, I was thinking that if I had gone I would have met Dave myself and then I wouldn’t have to ask you about him.”
“Sure, and Teyla could have come, too. And I could have introduced the two of you as the kind-hearted couple who were good enough to bear a child for me and boyfriend, Ronon.”
“What?” Rodney demands then sputters laughter. “Oh, my God! Dave thought you and Ronon were a couple?” Teyla can picture John’s eyes rolling even as she can see him place his hands on his hips in a typically disgruntled pose. “On second thought, I’m glad I didn’t go back with you.”
“He wouldn’t have thought that about you,” John dismisses and Rodney’s humor vanishes.
“And just why not?” Rodney demands irritably.
John waves an all-encompassing arm at the scientist. “Because you’re not my type.”
“And Ronon is?”
“No! Of course not. Not like that. But I’ve always had a thing for the exotic types and you’re…” John seems to flounder for the right word.
“Canadian?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“I had no idea I hailed from such boring yet dangerously untrustworthy stock.”
“I didn’t mean it as an insult.”
Rodney ignores John’s attempt at placating him. “How absolutely deadly my Canadian blandness could be.”
“Are you done now?”
Apparently he was not yet finished. “Evidently I didn’t blow up that solar system; it spontaneously exploded to escape my noxious tediousness and lethal dullness.”
“Well, I’m about to do the same if you don’t shut the hell up. I mean, first you’re jealous of Dave and now Ronon?”
“Jealous? I’m not jealous,” Rodney protests.
“Oh, yes, you are. You only get interested in something if you want to be part of it, and you’re jealous you didn’t get to be part of going back to Earth like Ronon did… not to mention that you’re not my type.”
“Of course I’m not your type; I have an IQ larger than my chest size and I don’t wear leather and smack you around.”
“You better not let Ronon hear you talking about him like that or you’re going to be the one he smacks around,” John cautions.
“Ronon? I wasn’t talking about him; I was talking about Larin.”
John pauses before conceding, “Okay, you may have a valid point there, but you’re still jealous that Ronon went back to Earth with me.”
“You are way, way too full of yourself, Colonel, if you think being stuck with you for days is appealing.” Rodney gives a condescending sniff. “If I’m jealous of anything, it’s that Ronon got to eat at the buffet at the wake.”
“Fine, you’re not jealous of Ronon. But you’re still jealous of Dave.”
Rodney’s shadowed form shakes its head in disbelief. “Why would I be jealous of Dave?”
“Because he had me as a super cool brother and you didn’t, that’s why.” Teyla can just imagine John’s gloating smile, the one which reminds here of the way the older boys would sometimes tease the smaller ones by holding a favored toy just out of reach, and, yet, she cannot help but believe that John has found a glimmer of truth in his teasing.
“As if!” Rodney snorts. “It’s more accurate to say that I feel sorry him and I’m just curious as to how he put up with you as a kid.”
“Oh, well, in that case, I guess I should admit that I’m jealous of Jeannie.”
“Really?” Rodney asks in surprise.
“Yeah, she found a way to spend four whole years without having to talk to you. Maybe she can offer up some secrets as to how she managed it.”
“She was being a stubborn pain in the ass,” Rodney snaps back. “Something you don’t need pointers in seeing as you’ve elevated it to an art form.”
“It must run in the family then,” John observes in the same snide voice.
“I guess that’s just one more reason to pity your brother.”
“You mean envy,” John presses with a melodramatic sigh and shake of his head. “It’s really pathetic, McKay, this hero worship you have for me. Next you’ll be admitting you’re jealous that you left your lab before the city locked down and I ended up spending the quarantine with Teyla instead of you.”
Teyla’s ears perk at her name, curious to see what they will have to say about her.
Rodney folds his arms and responds blandly. “Yes, I wish I were a pregnant woman. You’ve found me out, Sheppard; my deep dark secret is revealed.”
“You have to admit, for being pregnant, she looks pretty damn amazing.”
Teyla smiles to herself at the compliment, and it just grows when Rodney agrees with John’s assessment.
“She looks great; positively glowing… and her breasts are huge.”
The smile fades.
“Ohhh, yeah,” John concurs enthusiastically before lowing his voice conspiratorially. “I mean, I knew that happened during pregnancy, but I had no idea how big they would actually get.”
Looking down at her chest self-consciously, Teyla thinks to herself that they have not grown that much.
“Do you think they’ll get much bigger?” Rodney asks curiously. “They seemed to have slowed down some but I’m not sure they’ve reached critical mass yet.”
Finally, John seems to come to his senses. “You know, I’m not so sure we should be discussing Teyla’s breasts like this.”
Wise man. Very wise man.
“Hmm,” Rodney considers before offering, “I’m thinking another half a cup size before it’s all said and done.”
“Oh, at least.”
Had she thought they were delightfully boyish? Annoyingly childish was the more accurate description. Teyla has decided that she has had enough of these men discussing her body and the very natural changes it is going through, and perhaps the time has come to let them know she can hear them. But then Rodney speaks again.
“Can you believe Teyla is going to have a baby?” His voice holds a sort of wonder that he usually reserves for the most intricate operations he performs on Atlantis. “Our Teyla, a mom.”
The flutter that passes through Teyla at the possessive term is not because the baby moved again and the warmth in her skin has nothing to do with the hormones in her system.
“She’s worried,” John tells him with a touch of his own concern, recalling their conversation during the city lock down. “Afraid of what it will mean if she’s stuck being a single mom… if something were to happen to her, who would take care of the kid… that kind of stuff.”
“You didn’t say we’d take care of it if something happened, did you?” Rodney demands in a panic.
“Of course I did. What the hell is wrong with you? This is Teyla we’re talking about.”
“What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you? Offering us up to raise a baby? Have you forgotten how I got this cut in the first place?”
“Hey, it was my turn to use the joy stick,” John defends. “You had no right to try to take it away from me.”
“You’d used it for two rounds already; I had every right to take it from you. You’re just lucky I didn’t report you to Sam for behavior unbecoming an officer.” Rodney holds up his injured hand to emphasize his threat.
“I didn’t do it on purpose; the cover came off on it’s own. Besides, what would that say about you, aside from proving you’re a great big snitch?”
“This is exactly why neither one of us should be volunteering to raise a child. Christ, we can’t even settle our own differences over a video game without one of us ending up in the infirmary. How are we supposed to care for a kid? They’re like puking, pooping, emergency room visits waiting to happen.”
Teyla cannot help but grin at Rodney’s typical reaction to anything that seems impossible to him… all out panic.
With a hand on Rodney’s shoulder, John tries to calm the agitated man. “Look, nothing’s going to happen to Teyla. Okay? Nothing. We keep her safe, then everything is fine and dandy with the baby. We just do what we always do on the team; we watch each other’s backs and everything will work out.”
“Yes, because that plans always works so well,” Rodney scoffs.
“We’re all still here, aren’t we?”
“Not all of us,” Rodney reminds quietly, no doubt thinking of those they had lost over the years since their arrival on Atlantis.
“Then we watch closer.”
John’s words are as much an order as an appeasement and Rodney nods in understanding before inquiring, “Do you ever wish you and Dave had been closer?”
John sits on the other end of the examination table from Rodney. “I used to, but not any more.”
“What changed?”
“I did.” John pauses for a moment before telling Rodney, “I came here and found something worth fighting for and it just seemed kind of stupid to keep fighting them, so I decided to stop. I mean, hell, with the Wraith and the Replicators and rogue Genii to contend with, who has time to send Christmas cards anyway?”
“Family sucks,” Rodney observes.
“Jeannie’s great, McKay. You should consider yourself lucky.”
“Ha! Don’t be fooled by that happy homemaker exterior. You make one little mistake and get her kidnapped and poof!... you’re out a Prius and eating tofurkey sandwiches for lunch. Seriously, how the hell did I end up cursed with a vegetarian sister? What’s the point of having a relative to invite you to holiday dinners if all she serves is bean curd and organic sprouts?”
“Well, you know what they say; you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose …”
“You can pick your friend’s nose,” Rodney chimes in and Teyla grimaces at the thought.
“Yep, but you can’t pick your family.”
“No, but you can end up assigned to the same intergalactic expedition with them.”
Teyla understands Rodney’s sentiment completely. Her new allies on the Atlantis expedition had quickly become friends that eventually, gradually, grew into family. And even though it pains her greatly to think she may never find the Athosians, she knows she always has a home for her and her son here on Atlantis and he will be surrounded by love… no matter what Rodney fears about his ability to care for a child.
John evidently feels the same way given how he inquires solemnly, “Hey, McKay?”
His earnest tone has Rodney responding with a hint of dread. “Yeah?” Rodney has prodded John for an emotional response, and now that he may have it, it appears he is not sure exactly what to do with it.
“Will you pick my nose?”
When John starts snickering, Rodney throws something he picks up off the tray beside the bed at his friend. “Yes, as soon as you kiss my ass.”
“Whoa, hey, as your doctor I have to tell you that neither nose picking nor ass kissing is exactly a hygienic undertaking and I can’t condone either one here in the infirmary.” Jennifer has entered the examination room to finish treating Rodney’s cut and the two men attempt to return to a more adult demeanor. She takes Rodney’s hand and applies the surgical adhesive as she tells them, “Besides, nose picking? Totally gross. I had a cousin who did it all the time. It was like he was trying to stimulate his brain by accessing it through his sinus cavity with his index finger.”
“Did it work?” Rodney inquires as she wraps a bandage around his hand.
“Considering that he’s now as a bouncer in the finest strip club on the outskirts of Kenosha, I’d have to say, no.” She finishes up before telling him, “Okay, all done. You should be fine, but if it starts bleeding again come back and see me. And try to be a little more careful moving equipment in the lab.”
Trying to maintain his cover story of a lab accident, Rodney prevaricates, “Uh, yeah, sure,” as he and John stand to leave.
“Well, I’ve kept Teyla waiting long enough,” Jennifer tells them. “So, I’ll see you two later.”
John stops and turns back, and Teyla realizes her own ruse may soon be revealed. “Teyla’s here?”
“Yeah,” Dr. Keller hitches her thumb toward the curtain with a bit of confusion. “She’s right behind here. Didn’t you know?”
When Jennifer pulls the curtain back to reveal Teyla propped back on the examination table, John frowns in disapproval. “No, we didn’t.”
Teyla gives them her friendliest smile. “I was… meditating while I waiting for Dr. Keller to finish her work.”
“Really?” John’s crossed arms suggest he does not entirely believe her excuse and Rodney tilts his head expectantly as if waiting for more of an explanation. Teyla feels her face flush at being caught in her deception, so she does the only thing she can to extricate herself from the situation… she scares them off.
“Yes, it helps me to relax before my examination. Would you like to stay? It should not take long for Dr. Keller to set up the stirrups.”
Both men’s eyes widen in alarm at the offer as they start backing away.
“No, no, I need to get back to the lab…”
“Thanks, but Colonel Carter is expecting my report…”
Her smile just grows at the success of her plan. “Perhaps another time, then?”
“Yeah, another time.” John is already on the far side of the room.
“It’s a date,” Rodney smiles nervously before backtracking. “Well, not a date date. Not a real one. Not in that sense. I mean that’s how you ended up here in the first place…”
John slams a hand into the babbling man’s chest to silence him before stating quickly, “We’ll see you at dinner,” even as he turns Rodney and pushes him toward the door.
“You don’t think she heard the whole breast conversation, do you?” Rodney asks quietly in worry as they leave.
“I think we don’t want to know,” John warns, and they are gone.
Jennifer watches them leave with an amused smile before turning a mischievous one back to Teyla. “You know we’re not doing a pelvic exam today. Right?”
“Yes,” Teyla assures her with a knowing grin of her own. “But they did not.”
Every family has its secrets. Why should hers be any different?
The End