Fic: Life, Death and Motherhood (Beckett/McKay, NC-17)
Title: Life, Death and Motherhood.
Author: flubber2kool
Recipient: juri_anne
Paring: Slash Pairing : Carson/Rodney : - First time, m-preg, H/C, angst, jealousy, UST <-If you squint hard.
Rating: NC17 (To Be On the Safe side!)
Characters: Carson Beckett, Rodney McKay, Chuck, Elizabeth Weir, John Sheppard, Jennifer keller, Evan Lorne. OC- Calien, Tranir, Unknown Zombies.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any cannon characters or settings. I only lay claim to the OC's and non-cannon settings.
WARNING: This story contains mild horror and Zombie death.
Authors Note: This story is set sometime in the first two seasons. It is AU because Sunday never happend and Atlantis gets cut off from Earth. This story contains the following: A small bit off fluff, a little bit of jealousy. There is a plot, a little bit of UST, a little bit of smutt and some H/C, Dr Weir, Zombies and M-preg. This covers most of the things that juri_anne wanted.
I apologize for the fact that John and Jennifer make an appearence, as this was not wanted but, I have kept it to a minimum but I did feel that it was needed for the plot.
I wouls also like to thank my beta phenix_00 for all her hard work on this story and for the illustration she has done.
-o-
This is the journal of Doctor Carson Beckett-McKay. I am writing this to document the occurrences that led to Doctor Meredith Rodney Beckett McKay giving birth to our son, Meredith Carson.
Carson stopped for a moment and looked over the chair. Rodney was sitting with a blanket round his shoulders, with little Meredith nestled against his breast, suckling away.
What I am about to relate to you sounds like something out of a book or the script for a movie. But I swear to you that it really happened. Well hell, I have wee boy to show that I'm not making it up. It all began on a visit to M9X 666, (which turned out to be quite an appropriate designation), otherwise known as Morion.
Colonel Sheppard's team had gone through on, what was supposed to be a routine mission. Teyla had said that the Morion people were farmers and would have fresh produce the that may be willing to trade. So Dr Weir agreed to the mission. In some ways, I wish she hadn't. In other ways, I'm glad she did.
Carson took another look at Rodney. He was in the process of burping the little one. Carson couldn't help noticing the look of serenity that he had on his face. Who would have thought that the man who, over the years had expressed such a dislike of children, could find such contentment in bringing one in to the world. But there he was. Motherhood suited him and Carson was glad for him. Glad for them both.
Carson turned back to the computer ...
I suppose in some ways, you could say that this mission was routine. Routine in so much as what was supposed to be a simple 'milk run' of a mission ended up turning in to something dangerous. Something that would change mine and Rodney's lives forever, in ways that we could've never imagined. It all began with an unscheduled transmission from the planet ...
Chuck sat at the gate control. Suddenly the alarms went of as the gate activated. " We have an unscheduled gate activation." he lapsed in to silence for a moment as he studied the screens, " It's Colonel Sheppard's IDC"
By this time Elizabeth was standing beside him. "Colonel Sheppard. Do you have a problem?"
"No, we're OK. It's the people here that I'm worried about." he responded, "Something is happening to them. They're are suffering from what looks like a coma and some of them are just lying there staring up at the ceiling."
Elizabeth listened as John continued, " I was hoping that we could get Carson here to see if there is anything that he can do to help"
Nodding Elizabeth said, " I'll contact Carson and get him to you as soon as possible. Wait by the gate for him."
Elizabeth called me and explained the situation. I really hate going off world as on the few times that I have done it, nothing good seems to come of it. But being a good doctor I couldn't ignore the request. So that was why, fifteen minutes later, I found myself standing in the gate room ready to go.
Elizabeth stood and looked down in to the gateroom as Carson prepared to leave. " Be careful Carson. Colonel Sheppard will be on the other side to meet you. Please check in and let me know the situation."
Carson nodded and said, "Aye, I will. As soon as I have an idea of what we're dealing with."
With that, he swallowed hard and walked through the gate. As he got to the other side he found Colonel Sheppard waiting for him, a concerned look on his face.
"So what's the matter Colonel?" Carson asked as they walked from the gate.
"People have been found in coma's and others are just lying there staring at the ceiling." John winced, "I've seen it before but never like this."
Carson nodded, "Do they have any idea what's causing it?" he asked as they kept walking.
John shook his head and said, "No. That's why I called you in. I thought you might be able to give them some help."
Carson looked at him and said, "I'm not sure what I can do here. But I can have a look."
John nodded as he carried on towards the town that lay before them at the bottom of the hill.
I had seen the odd person in a coma before when I worked in the A&E in Glasgow. It was something that happened rarely and was usually caused by a major trauma. As for the other, that sounded like Catatonia. It wasn't something that I had encountered personally, but I had read about it. So, I was expecting one or two cases. Nothing prepared me for what I discovered when John led me in to the building that served as the towns medical center.
John nodded to one of the medical staff as they headed in to the building. A harassed looking woman came up to him.
"My name is Calien. I am the head healer here. You must be Doctor Beckett. Your warrior friend told me that he would bring you here to try to help us." she said as she led them further in to the complex, "I hope that you can. We have done everything that we can for these people. But nothing that we have can seem to help them."
As they walked through the corridors, Carson watched as the medical staff busied themselves moving from one room to another. Calien led Carson to the doors at the end of the corridor. Opening them, she let Carson walk in. He was amazed to see what he thought was at least twenty beds, lined up on each side. Each one was occupied. As he walked down the length of the room, he noticed that some were in comas but they weren't the ones that he found disturbing. It was seeing the ones who were in a catatonic state, that got to him most. Lying there unmoving, eyes staring blankly in to the ceiling. Carson had learnt about Catatonia, but he had never seen it for real before. It was all he could do not to shudder.
Carson turned to Calien and asked, "How did they get like this? When did it start?"
Calien looked at him, the sadness clear in her eyes. " The first ones came in about Six lunar cycles ago. The last ones came in about twenty one solar cycles ago."
"Was there anything in common with these people? Anything that they did? Anywhere they went?" Carson enquired.
"They were all working on the fields to the east of the town. Down beside Tranir's complex." She ran her fingers through her hair, " I believe that the only reason that cases have stopped, is because the High Council stopped the work on those fields. Even though this will leave us low on food."
Then she looked at him and drew him in to a small office, closing the door behind her, "But that is not the worse of it. I believe that there is something far worse happening. I have seen the effects of it myself but when I have tried to speak of it, I have been laughed at."
Carson looked at her inquisitively as she continued, " It began three lunar cycles ago. We had sent out a team to go through the great ring for trading. The had come back in the darkness and were making their way back to the town. Only three of the four arrived back. On a search the next day we found his remains. They were badly mutilated. Everyone put it down to some sort of wild animal. But I wasn't so sure. When I did a close examination of the remains I noticed that the marks looked..." She hesitated then continued, " Well they look more humanoid."
Carson was stopped short by this, " Are you trying to tell me that they were eaten by a person?" Despite himself, he couldn't help sounding incredulous.
Calien looked at him and said, " I know how strange it seems but when I was a child my parents used to stop me going in to the forest by telling me stories of those who would not cross over."
Carson thought about it for a moment. "Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me that there are zombies, the walking dead on this planet?" She looked at him in confusion, " Sorry lass, back where I come from that's what we call them.'
She looked at him and nodded as she spoke in a hushed voice, "I used to think that they were merely stories told to make children do as they were told. But now? After what I have seen I am beginning to wonder if there is some truth to them."
Carson breathed in hard. He really didn't know what to think. As far as he knew, zombies, the walking dead were things that appeared in horror movies. He still couldn't get his head around the fact that they may be real. But then, until he came to the Pegasus galaxy, he hadn't thought that life sucking aliens were real either.
Calien interrupted his train of thought, " As I told you for those who are in our facility, we can do nothing. They have not responded to any treatments that we have given them. All we can do now, is make sure that they are washed and given sustenance as best we can. It is heartbreaking as we know that given the passage of time, no matter what we do, they will fade and die. We have already lost three of the eldest."
Carson looked to the kit that he had brought with him. "Well now that I'm here, I'll see what I can do. I'm not promising anything lass. But I will try." As he put his kit down, he continued, " If it's OK I would like to draw blood from those effected and those who are not. It maybe that something has got in to the blood stream and is causing this. If it is, it maybe something we can work towards curing. Also, it may mean taking the samples back with us so we can have a better look for any pathogens that might be present."
Calien nodded. It was an unusual request but as it came from a fellow healer, she believed that the people would be willing to help.
It was then Carson remembered that he had said that he would call in to let Elizabeth know what was going on. "This is going to be an interesting conversation!" he thought to himself.
"I need to go back to the gate. I am expected to check in and let them know what's going on?" Looking at Calien, he continued, "I have no idea of the time lass. Or how long it takes to get to the gate and back. After what you've told me, I really don't want to get caught out there after dark."
Calien smiled. "Worry not. The solar cycle is still young. You will have plenty of time before the darkness comes. Have you eaten yet?"
Carson thought about it for a while and said, "Well I did have breakfast lass. But that seems so long ago so if there is anything going then I wouldn't say no." Then looking at the door, he said sadly, " I have a feeling that we may be here for some time."
Calien smiled. We headed out of the medical complex, picking up Rodney, John, Ronan and Taylor on the way. Rodney was moaning of course. Well until food was mentioned. But that's nothing new for my Rodney. When we got to the dining hut, we were met by a strange man who Calien introduced us to. I didn't like him straight from the start. There was just something about him that really made my flesh creep. I just couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe it was the way that he looked at Rodney. Even now, after it's all over, I'm not sure what it was. But I digress ...
Calien led them to the eating area. A man walked over to them. He was as tall as Ronan but not as well built. His skin was white and there was an almost cadaverous look about him.
Calien looked at the man and smiled. "This is Tranir. He is the leader of our science research division."
"Nice to meet you." Tranir reached out his hand, " I understand that you are going to try to help us cure the condition that has befallen our people."
Carson nodded. " I will do my best lad. I canna promise anything. But I will do everything that I can."
Tranir nodded. Then Calien introduced him to the rest of the team. Carson couldn't help noticing that when he came to Rodney he lingered. Especially when he found out that Rodney was in charge of sciences. Carson began to feel annoyed at the attention Rodney was getting. A touch of jealousy perhaps? But that was ridiculous. He and Rodney were just good friends. Or at least he thought that they were. Then Rodney looked up at him. Even from where he was standing Carson could see something in his eyes. Maybe there was something there after all.
"Now is not the time lad." Carson thought to himself as he watched what was happening.
Calien led them all to serving area. Carson was impressed at the variety of foods that were there.
"You didnea have them put this on especially for me did you?" Carson enquired.
Calien laughed. "No we didn't Doctor. This is our communal eating place. We feed all our workers here. The town's elders and council provide this facility."
She smiled at Carson as everyone helped themselves to the food and went and found a table together. The meal was spent in pleasant conversation.
I realized that Tranir reminded me a lot of Janus. He was the inventor who created the time travelling puddle jumper that allowed Elizabeth to survive to keep Atlantis from drowning. The only thing was I still wasn't sure whether I completely trusted him or not.
As lunch finished Carson looked at Calien and said, "I would like to start by taking blood samples of those who have been affected."
Calien nodded. As they moved back towards the medical center, Carson noted that Tranir dropped something on the ground. He stooped to pick it up and handed it back to Tranir. As he did, he felt something warm go through his hand but paid no attention to it. Carson also failed to notice the look on Tranir's face as he handed it back to him.
Tranir smiled and said, "Oh thank you. I didn't realize that I had dropped it." Then he said, " I am sure that you have things to do, so I will take my leave of you." With that, he turned on his heels and left the group.
Carson returned to the medical center to set about taking blood samples. Thanks to Calien and the rest of her staff he was able to give names to the people that lay in the beds. And in some cases to find things out about them. Although medically this made things easier for Carson, on a personal level the exact opposite was the case. This was because he stopped seeing them as nameless patients for him to treat and started to see them as people who had names and lives.
Carson had no idea how much time had passed when Teyla tapped him gently on the shoulder. "Dr Beckett, it is getting late. If we are to make it to the gate and back before nightfall, we need to go now. If you would like to carry on, I am sure that we could deliver a message to Dr Weir for you."
Carson sighed, " That would be nice lass, but I would feel better telling her myself." With that he finished marking up the vial he was holding. After telling Calien where he was going he walked out of the building and met up with the rest of the team.
He also noted that there were some other people with them. Teyla explained that they were there to give them protection if anything happened on their trip to the gate. Remembering what he had been told, he wasn't sure that this gave him any comfort at all.
The journey to the gate was uneventful and if anything a little boring. Rodney was doing his usual, moaning about this and that. Ronan, John and Teyla were chatting about what they had seen in the town. The men that were with them were looking around them warily.
Eventually they made it to the gate. Rodney dialled Atlantis and there was the familiar Kwoosh as the gate connected. Carson contacted Dr Weir and explained the situation.
Back on Atlantis Dr Weir thought about it for a while and said, "I understand Carson. Report back to me in another 12 hours and let me know how you are doing. And Carson," she said, "You know that if you need anything all you need to do is contact us.
Carson smiled as he replied, " Thank you. I will bare that in mind."
The gate closed and the team prepared to head back to the town.
I don't really remember much after that until I woke up in bed in a strange room. There were bars over the windows and they were locked closed. I had no idea where I was or what had happened. As I lay there, there was a knock at the door. It was Rodney. He looked as shook up and confused as I felt. The fact that he was standing there gave me hope that we were not being held prisoner. But until I had got up and seen what was happening for myself I couldn't be sure.
Carson got up and got dressed. He couldn't help noticing that all his clothing was there, as well as his gun and thigh holster. He checked it out and saw that all the bullets were there. Strapping it to his thigh he looked at Rodney and gave him a nod. With that they both headed for the door. As they walked around they noticed that there were no guards or sentries around. Carson took this as a good sign as well. Maybe they could just leave now and that would be the end of it. As they reached the bottom of the stairs and were about to go out the door they heard footsteps behind them. Carson instinctively reached for his gun. He was a Doctor and hated using the damned thing, but he had learned since coming to the Pegasus galaxy he was better off having it than not.
"There is no need for that Doctor Beckett. I assure that I am an not trying to keep you here. It will just be in your own interest not to leave at this time." The voice was familiar.
As Carson turned round he saw Tranir standing on the stairs as he continued, " I am not keeping you here as prisoners. It's just that there are many nasty things out that you really wouldn't want to meet. And they come out in the darkness." Carson said nothing as Tranir walked down the stairs to meet them. "I give you my word that that door is open. I was just coming down to lock it for the night. Just as a precaution, you understand."
Carson made his way to the door and opened it. Tranir had been right. "Why don't you two get back to bed and we can sort this out in the morning."
Rodney looked at Carson and said, "Well I suppose that we don't have much choice do we?" Reluctantly Carson nodded.
Carson lay in bed thinking about what Tranir had said and what Calien had told him. He wanted to believe that it was just strange beasts in the forests beyond but he couldn't help thinking of the teeth marks in the bones. If they were humanoid then, he really didn't want to think about it too much. Suddenly there was a scream. Carson shot up in bed.
"What the hell was that?" he thought to himself.
Not long after that there was a knock at the door. "Carson can I come in?" It was Rodney.
Carson sighed and said, "Aye lad. Come on in and join me."
Rodney came in to the room and stood at the end of the bed. " Look. Do you mind if I stay here tonight? This whole place gives me the creeps." He had a pleading look in his eyes as he continued, " I don't think that I could sleep if I stayed on my own."
Then it dawned on him that there was only one bed and Carson was laying on it. " Err ... do you mind if I ...err join you?"
By the glow of the bedside light, Carson was sure that Rodney was blushing. He thought that he looked so handsome and beautiful standing there. With a shake of his head Carson pulled back the covers and invited him in. It wouldn't be the first time he had had to do this. It didn't mean a thing. Only this time it did as he was with a man who, he now realized, meant the world to him. Rodney smiled at him as he climbed in to bed. Carson let him settle down before he, in turn, settled down and turned so that he was facing the wall. The warmth at his back bled heat through his body. He sighed and went back to sleep.
When we woke up the next morning, we went down to breakfast with Tranir. He explained to us that we had been brought back from the forest alone. It seemed that Colonel Sheppard and the others had made it back through the gate and the we had become separated from them. I decided to go back to my research. Tranir said that we were welcome to stay the night before we headed back to the gate. We decided that would be a good idea and that it may give Atlantis a chance to come back and fetch us. Little did we know what we were letting ourselves in for.
Carson left Rodney with Tranir. He wanted to show Rodney his research and what he was working on. Carson couldn't help smiling as he made his way to the medical center. He also couldn't help thinking of how Rodney felt against his back.
"God don't torture yourself lad. It's not like anything's going to happen." Carson sighed and set about his work.
It was late in the afternoon when Carson received a message from Rodney. It read, 'Please come back. Tranir has something that he wants to show us both. He says that its a piece of Ancient tech and he would like to see if we can do something to get it to work. And before you ask I may have said something about us having the ATA gene, BUT I haven't told him about where we come from. OK.' Carson smiled and finished what he was doing and headed back to Tranir's home. Rodney met him at the door.
"Come on Carson." Rodney said, grabbing him by the arm.
Carson sighed and thought, "Here we go again."
As they walked Rodney said, "Tranir doesn't know what this piece of tech is but he thinks it might be ancient. I said that we would see if we could help him." then he looked over at Carson and said, "Yes. Before you say it, I know that it may not work and the way our luck has been going it probably wont. But that's not the point. We have to try."
Carson shook his head affectionately. This was typical Rodney. He was like Pavlov's dog when it came to Ancient technology. Tranir met them and took them to down to his labs in the basement of his residence. They were led in to a room. At one end was a large rectangular unit with places for two people to stand and there were handles either side of the spaces.
Tranir said, "If you would follow me. Now Doctor Beckett would you stand on the left hand side," then he turned Rodney and said, "Can you stand on the right hand side. Now I need you both to keep hold of the handles till I tell you to let go."
Rodney and Carson did as they were asked. Carson noted that there was a blue symbol on it but didn't really take much notice of it. They waited to see what would happen as Tranir started to operate the machine. Carson felt a small tingle go through his hands but nothing more.
Tranir looked at them and said, "I am sorry that nothing happened. It's possible that it's broken."
Rodney looked disappointed but he didn't say anything.
He then asked, "Would you mind if try to take some data from the machine?"
"No not at all." Tranir said with a smile.
Rodney went and got his pad. He attached in to the machine and downloaded some information. He watched as the information came up on the screen. His brow furrowed and he made the 'huh' noise that meant that he had discovered something that wasn't really that helpful.
"It looks like we will have to translate this. I think that it's ancient but it's not like the language that we have come across before." he then looked at Carson and said, "I'll get Elizabeth to take a look when we get back."
There wasn't much else to do, so I left the building and went for a short walk. The sun was low in the sky and after what I had heard last night I really didn't want to get caught outside the compound as night fell. As I headed back I noticed a symbol on a wooden sign beside a path that led in to the forest. I thought that I would ask about it later.
Carson returned to meet Tranir at the door. "Ah. Good to see you are safe. If you would care to join Dr McKay and myself for dinner." He led Carson to a large room, where Rodney was sat at a table that was set for dinner.
The meal was as wonderful as lunch had been the day before. The three men sat and chatted about the day and life on the planet. After they had finished dinner they sat enjoying a drink.
Carson decided now was the time he would ask, "When I was walking back here, I saw a symbol on a sign beside the wood. It was a broken red and black symbol with some sort of writing inside it."
Tranir's smile slipped a little bit but he managed to keep his composure, "Ah yes. That is a symbol for danger. We put it there to stop people walking in to that part of the woods. It is a dangerous place even in daylight."
Rodney nodded and looked at Carson. For some reason, he didn't look completely convinced but as he didn't say anything Rodney didn't make anything of it.
Rodney then asked, "I noticed that there were some devices by the front door. What are they for?"
Tranir smiled neutrally, "There are there as insurance. Just in case the creatures make it in to the compound. We have found that they are not happy around fire. So we use our flamers to drive them back." Then he added, " But we haven't had to use them very often."
Carson wasn't sure that this made him feel any safer at all.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Someone walked in and spoke to Tranir in hushed tones. At the end of the conversation Tranir said, " I am sorry gentlemen. The ruling council have called and meeting and I have been asked to attend. Please feel free to walk around at your leisure."
Carson and Rodney watched as the man left the room.
Rodney and I looked around the building. We became aware that there were people there working but no one stopped us from going anywhere. Rodney discovered Tranir's computer system and decided to download some more information. Rodney said, "I have no problems with this. It's not like he has got this secured or anything." I wasn't so sure but then this was Rodney. After he had finished we decided to go back down to the lab. Rodney wanted to have another look at the machine. He wondered if he might be able to figure out what was wrong with it. It was then that we heard a noise from a room at the end of the corridor. We decided to go and have a look.
Carson and Rodney listened as they made their way down the corridor. There was another noise but it was hard to make out. Eventually they reached the end. One of the doors was open slightly, light shining through the crack. Rodney looked at Carson and swallowed hard. Pushing gently on the door, it opened. The sight that met them filled them with horror. There was something, or was that someone, in a cage. The figure was in a state of decay. The sight and smell was enough to make their stomach's turn. Rodney and Carson had no idea what was going on but they had the sense to know that they really needed to get out of there. Grabbing his computer, Rodney grabbed Carson by the arm and dragged him out of the room.
"We have to get out of here." Rodney said, "We need to get our kit and leave as soon as possible. I have no idea what's going on but I don't like it. I've seen enough Zombie movies to know that given time that thing is going to escape. And I didn't spend my time getting two PhD's to end up lunch for the living dead!"
As they were moving up to their rooms Carson panted, "Aye lad. You're right."
After gathering their equipment, Carson and Rodney ran towards the door. Suddenly Rodney stopped and pointed to the 'flamers'.
"I think we should take a couple of those," he stopped and looked down at his gun, "I have a feeling that these won't help us much!"
Carson nodded. After having stopped long enough to work out how to light the flamers, the two men headed out, weapons in hand. Rodney flinched at every noise as Carson and he made their way from Tranir's compound out on to the path that headed towards the gate. The path seemed much darker and much smaller than it had when they had walked it in daylight. Carson realized that he wasn't sure if they were heading in the right direction.
"Oh damn," he thought. "We're in trouble now!"
There was the sound of something crashing through the trees. This was followed by what sounded like a growling noise. The moon cast an eerie light through trees and suddenly Carson and Rodney became aware of shadows in the moonlight. Instinctively, the two man raised the 'flamers' and gave them a blast. The sight that met them filled them with dread. The path in-front of them was filled with figures, some of which were in a far worse state than the one that they had seen in the lab. Rodney turned to go back the way that he and Carson had come. That was blocked to.
"Err ... Carson." Rodney said, a sense of panic in his voice, "I think we're in trouble!"
Carson looked behind them to see what he meant and swallowed hard. This was not what he signed up for. Standing back to back with Rodney, they both used the 'flamers'. They were holding them back, but Carson knew that it was only a matter of time.
Suddenly from behind them there was another, even louder crash. A voice called out, "Hey Doctor Beckett, Dr McKay. If you're there come towards my voice."
Carson turned back to see the opened hatch of a cloaked ship, with someone motioning towards them.
Carson called out to Rodney, "I think we have a way out of here!"
The two men walked backwards towards the jumper, using the 'flamers' as they went. Rodney even managed to set one of the creatures on fire. It's screams sent shivers of fear through the two men. Eventually, despite some close calls, they made their way on to the jumper. Rodney couldn't help noticing the moving arms and legs that were sticking out from beneath the ramp.
When the two men were safely on board, Major Lorne called out, "We have them. Let's get out of here."
When the jumper was underway, Evan turned to look at Rodney and Carson, "What the hell were those things out there?"
Rodney and Carson looked at each other and Carson replied, "We have no idea lad. We're just glad that you came back for us."
Once that we had assured Major Lorne that we were OK, Rodney and I sat in silence. Rodney's eyes were still wide with fear and he was shaking. I instinctively put my arm round his shoulder and held him close to me for comfort. As he didn't object, I didn't move. When we got back to Atlantis, Rodney and I were taken directly to sickbay. Fortunately for us, there was nothing wrong. I don't know how Rodney slept that night, he never told me, but I know that I was plagued by nightmare visions of what we saw on that planet. The next day we found ourselves in Elizabeth's office. We had just finished the debrief ...
She looked at them with a worried expression, " That sounds horrific. I'm sorry that you had to experience that. Do you have any idea what they were?"
Carson looked at Rodney and shook his head, "I'm not sure at all. I really don't know what to think. I have a horrible feeling that those creatures had something to do with the people that were in the medical center. But the only way that I will be able to know for sure is if I can get back to do some more research."
Elizabeth looked at him. She knew that what she was going to say wouldn't go down well. But she had no choice. "I'm sorry Carson but I can't let you go back. From what you've told me, you only just made it out of there. I'm not willing to send you back in to that without knowing exactly what we are facing."
Carson started to speak, but she cut him off. " I know that it can't be easy for you Carson. But you have to understand that I can't risk sending you back to them."
Rodney looked at them both and then at his laptop. "Oh, I nearly forgot. I managed to get some information from the computer at Tranir's lab. It looks like it's in some kind of ancient dialect. I wondered if you would take a look for me."
Elizabeth smiled. This was more her territory. "Of course I will and I will get back to you when I get any information."
It took a lot longer that Rodney and I had anticipated. Four months, to be exact. According to Elizabeth, it took two weeks to get the basics of the language so that she could get Radek to write a translation program. And the rest of time was spent trying to get the translation program written and to get it to work. During that time, it was noticed that something strange was happening to Rodney. One minute he was bellowing at his co-workers, the next he was sitting in a corner crying quietly. Not only that, he started spending more time in his room than he did in the lab. Radek and I, among others, were starting to get really worried. Eventually Elizabeth was true to her word. She called me in to her office alone, a worried look on her face.
Carson sat down in front of Elizabeth's desk. She had a grave look on her face and he wondered what she had discovered.
"Carson I have managed to translate Tranir's files and it doesn't make easy reading." She looked at Carson with a look of concern on her face, "According to the files there was a machine that was able to help couples have children. It was also designed to be able to help males to have children in cases where there was a population imbalance."
Carson listened as she continued, "I'm not a doctor but from what I can gather in the case of females it aids a successful pregnancy. As for the males, if I have interpreted this right, it facilitates physical changes to normal physiology that allows the male to carry a foetus and to look after it after birth."
Carson looked at her in surprise. "Are there any illustrations of the machine?"
Elizabeth nodded and showed him the picture. Carson looked at it and something caught his eye. It was the symbol that he had seen on the machine back on the planet. it was a near complete blue and black symbol with writing on it. Carson looked at it and swallowed hard.
"Do you know what this symbol is Dr Weir?" Carson asked.
"Yes. This is the symbol for life. There is a corresponding symbol for death." She answered.
Elizabeth continued, "It looks like you may be right about the fact that there maybe a link between the creatures that you came across and the people in the medical center. I'm not entirely sure, but it looks like it has something to do with the use of the machine. There appears to be a lot of scientific details here. Maybe you can make sense of it."
Carson looked at it. He and Rodney had been in that machine. Was it possible that Rodney was pregnant? Would that explain why Rodney was acting strangely? Then he thought of the symbol that he had seen in the forest. It didn't stand for danger as Tranir had said, it stood for death. Why had he lied? Was there something more to this than met the eye.
Elizabeth looked at Carson. He had gone rather pale. She was worried. "Are you alright Carson?"
Carson looked at her. "Rodney and I were in that machine. Tranir said nothing happened but I'm not so sure. Since we came back Rodney has been acting strangely. It's possible that he maybe pregnant." Elizabeth looked at Carson, speechless, "I don't want you to say anything to anyone especially Rodney."
Elizabeth promised that she wouldn't. Now I just had to go and find Rodney. This was something I wasn't looking forward to at all. When I tried to find out where he was, it turned out that he was already in the infirmary. I didn't stop to ask why, I just made my way there as fast as I could.
Carson ran in and watched as Rodney complained about a cut on his finger. Carson stopped long enough to grab some gloves and a syringe. Before Rodney could move off the bed where he was sitting, Carson motioned for the nurse that was dealing with him to keep him there.
Rodney looked at Carson as he walked towards him. "What's wrong Carson? I'm dying aren't I? Please tell me how long I have left!"
Carson tried not to laugh as he said, "Don't be daft lad. You're fine. I just want to take some blood to check something." Rodney winced at the sight of the needle but Carson was an expert when dealing with these things and managed to get Rodney to sit still.
After he had taken the sample, he said to Rodney, " I am just going to check that everything is OK. I promise that I will call you back if there's a problem."
Rodney looked worried. It took some persuading, but eventually Rodney left the infirmary. Carson took the blood sample and just to be sure decided to run two samples at the same time. He gave one to Jennifer and he worked on the other sample himself. Some hours later both he and Jennifer had the results. It was just as Carson had feared. Rodney was pregnant. This was not good. If Carson's calculations were right, this would mean that Rodney would be about four months gone. Carson took time to explain about the machine and everything that Elizabeth had told him.
"So do you think that Rodney realizes?" Jennifer said with a grimace.
Carson looked at her and said, "I don't think so lass. And the way that he is about children, I'm really not sure how he is going to handle finding out either."
"It's alright." Jennifer said, putting her hand on his shoulder, "I'll tell him. I am getting used to picking up the flack where he is concerned."
Carson nodded. He was glad that she was around. It certainly made his job easier. Carson decided to go and get a drink from the mess. He was really thirsty. As he came back in to the infirmary, he heard an all to familiar voice. This time it was raised in anger.
Rodney was screaming loudly, " I can't be pregnant. I am a MAN. A MAN you understand. We don't do the motherhood thing apart from in very bad movies." Jennifer tried to comfort him, but it wasn't working. " I don't care. I hate the man that did this to me. I hate him with a passion. And I want rid of this abomination that's inside me."
Jennifer carried on talking but I couldn't hear a word that she said. I dropped my mug and hurried away, Rodney's words hanging in my mind. "I hate the man that did this to me. I hate him with a passion." What had I done? I had hurt a person that I cared about very much. Alight, I knew that Rodney didn't return these feelings but it still hurt that I had done something to make him feel that way about me. The next three days were hell. I took to eating in my quarters so that I didn't have to see him. It also meant that I didn't have to face the rest of SGA-1 either. I really didn't want to have to try to explain to them how I had accidentally got their team scientist pregnant and hadn't realized for four months. I only realized that I may have made a mistake when, on the third day, there was a knock at my door. I opened it to find Dr Zelenka on the other side.
Radek walked in to Carson's quarters and sat down on the bed looking at him. "So what do you think you are doing? I have had Rodney sitting on the lab floor crying his heart out because you won't talk to him."
Carson looked confused, "Why would he want to talk to me? He said that he hated the person that made him pregnant." This time it was Radek's turn to be confused, "So that must mean that he must hate me right?"
Radek tipped his head as he regarded him, "No. Unless you have changed your name to Tranir. Then I don't think that it's you he hates at all." Carson's face dropped as he realized what an idiot he had been, "Now, I would be grateful if you would talk to each other and get this sorted out."
Carson nodded. Radek tapped his radio and a short time later there was a knock at the door. It was Rodney. As Rodney came in, Radek made his excuses and left. Rodney stood up looking very awkward. Carson motioned him to sit down.
Carson looked at him uncertainly, "I'm so sorry Rodney. When I heard you talking I immediately thought that you meant me. After all, I am the one that technically got you pregnant."
"Please. Why would I hate you? I think that you are the most wonderful person I know." He moved to sit beside Carson, "I really like you a lot." Rodney rolled his eyes, moved towards Carson on the bed and put his arm round his shoulder and pulled Carson toward him.
Carson looked in to Rodney's eyes as he moved. "Are you sure? I ... didn't think you were ... well I didn't think you were gay. If I had I would have done something sooner."
Rodney laughed and said, "Well its not something you shout about now is it?" As he finished, he kissed Carson on the lips.
Carson surrendered to him without a moments thought, deepening the kiss. He opened his lips to allow Rodney to enter if he wanted to. Rodney responded, allowing his tongue to map out the inside of Carson's mouth. As they kissed Carson lay his hand on Rodney's stomach and suddenly he was overwhelmed by an awful feeling.
When they broke the kiss Carson looked at Rodney and left his hand on Rodney's stomach. Rodney felt it and looked down. He sensed what Carson was thinking and said, "It's alright Carson. Our little one is still there. At first, I thought about getting rid of it, but when Jennifer managed to calm me down, she made me realize that I wasn't going to be alone. That's why I wanted to speak to you."
Carson smiled at him adoringly, "You know that I will never leave you alone. I have always wanted to have children and I can't think of another person that I would love to have them with."
Rodney looked at him in surprise, "Well ... there is. Sorry did you just say that you would never leave me?"
Carson looked at Rodney, "Especially, as now you are being a mother to our child." Rodney blushed as he looked at Carson, "I don't care what anyone says, you will make a fantastic parent. I promise to stand beside you and that any problems you have you will not have to face alone!"
Rodney stood up taking Carson with him. He wrapped his arms around the man that was not only now his lover but also the father of his child. It was hard for him to get his mind round this but Rodney was sure that, with Carson's help, he would get used to it in the end. Slowly, Rodney and Carson undressed each other, taking time to explore each other's body. When they were both naked, Carson started to kiss down Rodney's body starting at his lips, moving down his body stopping at his nipples to suck them. Rodney moaned in appreciation. Carson carried on down his body until he came to the hair that was above, Rodney's now half erect cock. He nuzzled his face in to the hair and inhaled. Looking up at Rodney, Carson smiled as he took Rodney's cock in his mouth and began to suck it to full erection. Soon the room was filled with the sound of the two men exploring each other in the midst of making love.
When they were finished Carson lay with Rodney in his embrace. He knew that his life would never be the same and he couldn't be more contented.
We spent the rest of that day talking about how our lives were going to change. Rodney asked me to be there when told the rest of team SGA -1 and Elizabeth. Everyone was pleased for him. Elizabeth was a star as she reacted as if she had no idea what was going on. A fact that I was very grateful for. It must be her diplomatic training. Rodney decided immediately to remove himself from active duty. He knew that it would be a pain to find a replacement but, as we had no idea what was going to happen, he didn't want to risk ending up being off-world if he needed medical attention. John suggested getting back in touch with Tranir to ask if he had any details of what happened during male pregnancies. There had been next to no information on it in the notes that Rodney had brought back. That was how, the next morning, Rodney and I found ourselves standing in the gateroom.
Rodney looked more than a little nervous as he stood beside Carson. He had no idea what Tranir would say. Elizabeth walked down to stand beside Chuck. Giving him the nod she stood back as he began to dial the gate.
When it got to the seventh symbol nothing happened. Chuck furrowed his brow and tried again. Still nothing. Chuck looked up and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't establish a wormhole."
Elizabeth walked over to Carson and put her hand on his arm. "I'm really sorry. But right now there is nothing we can do."
Carson nodded and looked at Rodney. "It's OK. We'll be alright. We'll make it through."
Rodney swallowed hard, taking Carson's hand. "I know my love. I know."
Over the next five months, Rodney was taken to the infirmary for various scans. His physiology was changing. A uterus had formed in his stomach, holding a perfectly formed baby. Not only that, the area of his breast tissue began to change. His nipples grew larger and he lost the hair around them. And eventually he began to lactate. Of course he was a little bit shocked by that. But I told him that it was all a part of motherhood and smiled at him. Taylor manged to find him something to wear to stop the leaking from them. Of course, the course of motherhood never runs smooth. We all got on the wrong end of Rodney's moods one way or another. At the time it felt like I was spending more time with Rodney in the lab, than I was in the infirmary. But still, it was going to be worth it. We had no choice but to deliver the baby by C-Section.
The day of the birth had arrived. Carson had elected not to do the surgery so that he could stand beside Rodney as their child was born. The nurses came and prepped Rodney for surgery. Dr Keller was going to do it for them and she came and stood beside the bed.
"Don't worry Rodney." She said, putting her hand on his shoulder, "It'll be OK and Carson will be with you."
Rodney look nervous. Carson took his hand and said, "Don't worry love. Everything will be fine. You're in safe hands with Dr Keller."
Jennifer walked out leaving the two men to wait until it was time to go through to the operating theater. Eventually, the room was filled with the crying of a healthy baby. After the baby was dried off and weighed, a nurse brought the baby to Rodney and Carson.
As she handed the baby to Carson, she said, "It's a boy."
Carson couldn't help grinning as he handed him to Rodney saying, "Say hello to our son,"
"Our son." Rodney repeated, as he snuggled the baby to his chest.
Later that day, as Rodney lay in bed breastfeeding their son, Carson came down and sat beside him. "I've been thinking about names for our child."
Rodney looked up, "Oh yes. I supposed you want to call him Carson."
Carson smiled and said, "Aye, well sort of." Rodney looked at him curiously. "I want to call our son Meredith Carson Beckett-McKay."
Rodney looked at him and said, "You can't do that to our son. It's a girls name."
Carson replied, "Aye, that's as maybe. But to me it's the name of the wonderful man that I love and the person that brought our child in to the world."
Rodney blushed at this and then said, "Meredith Carson Beckett-McKay." Thinking about he said, "OK. But when he gets older if he wants to call himself Carson, you'll have to live with it."
Carson couldn't help laughing at that. After a few days, Rodney was allowed out of the infirmary to the new quarters that he was now sharing with Carson. At one end of the room was a lovely crib that Teyla had brought along with some children's clothes and blankets. Looking at Carson he lay Meredith down in the crib. He gurgled at them happily, looking at them with eyes of blue. Carson looked at Rodney and saw a tear in his eye.
When Rodney felt like getting out and about with little Meredith, Teyla came round and showed how to use the carry shawl that he had been given.
As she settle him against Rodney's chest Teyla said, "He is a beautiful baby."
Carson couldn't help noticing how proud Rodney looked as he said, "Why don't we see if we can speak to earth? It would be nice to let everyone know that we have had a beautiful baby boy."
Teyla smiled. "I never thought that I would see the day that Rodney would be like this over a child."
Carson grinned, "Aye, well lass. This isn't just any child. This is our son."
Teyla nodded in agreement as they headed to the gateroom. On the way, they were stopped as Atlantis personnel cooed over little Meredith. Carson was so proud of the way that Rodney was handling looking after the child.
As they entered the gateroom, Elizabeth walked down to them. "Hello Rodney." she looked at Meredith, "So this is your son." She looked at him and said, "Hello little one. Welcome to Atlantis."
She then turned to Chuck and said, "Dial the gate." There was the familiar kwoosh as the wormhole established. "This is Atlantis calling earth." General Landry appeared on the screen, "Hello General. This is Dr Weir here. I would like to introduce you to the latest member of our expedition."
Rodney unwrapped Meredith and handed him to Elizabeth who held him up to the screen. "I would like you to meet Meredith Carson Beckett-McKay."
The General asked, "How are Dr McKay and Dr Beckett coping with being parent?"
Elizabeth said, "'Well it's only been a few days, but so far I think they're are doing OK."
The General started to say something when suddenly the screen went blank and the wormhole closed. Elizabeth looked at Chuck as she handed Meredith to Carson. Chuck tried to get the gate reopened. But nothing happened. Within minutes Rodney was on the radio shouting out orders and getting people to work on checking the systems and the gate itself. It turned out the problem was not with the Atlantis gate which meant that the problem was with the earth gate. Of course that got everyone worried. But everyone knew that only time would tell if earth was OK or not.
That was four weeks ago. We still haven't heard anything from earth, although a craft has been detected at edge of the sensor network. We can only hope that it's the Daedalus and that it's only a system malfunction and not something more sinister. Right now though, my world is filled with Rodney and our son Meredith.
With that he stopped typing. Putting away his laptop, Carson walked over to where Rodney was sitting with Meredith asleep on his naked chest. Rodney looked at him and smiled.
"Are you OK my love?" Carson said quietly.
Rodney looked at him and said, "I'm just worried about Jeannie."
Carson nodded. "Aye lad. We're all worried right now but at least we have each other and our son. And I'm sure that everything will be OK."
Meredith moved in Rodney's arms and he said, "Yes. I'm sure that you're right. But ...."
Carson looked and him and gave him a hug of comfort as they lapsed in to silence. Not hearing from Earth was something to worry about. But now at least he knew that whatever happened he would always have his family in the Pegasus galaxy.
Author: flubber2kool
Recipient: juri_anne
Paring: Slash Pairing : Carson/Rodney : - First time, m-preg, H/C, angst, jealousy, UST <-If you squint hard.
Rating: NC17 (To Be On the Safe side!)
Characters: Carson Beckett, Rodney McKay, Chuck, Elizabeth Weir, John Sheppard, Jennifer keller, Evan Lorne. OC- Calien, Tranir, Unknown Zombies.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any cannon characters or settings. I only lay claim to the OC's and non-cannon settings.
WARNING: This story contains mild horror and Zombie death.
Authors Note: This story is set sometime in the first two seasons. It is AU because Sunday never happend and Atlantis gets cut off from Earth. This story contains the following: A small bit off fluff, a little bit of jealousy. There is a plot, a little bit of UST, a little bit of smutt and some H/C, Dr Weir, Zombies and M-preg. This covers most of the things that juri_anne wanted.
I apologize for the fact that John and Jennifer make an appearence, as this was not wanted but, I have kept it to a minimum but I did feel that it was needed for the plot.
I wouls also like to thank my beta phenix_00 for all her hard work on this story and for the illustration she has done.
-o-
This is the journal of Doctor Carson Beckett-McKay. I am writing this to document the occurrences that led to Doctor Meredith Rodney Beckett McKay giving birth to our son, Meredith Carson.
Carson stopped for a moment and looked over the chair. Rodney was sitting with a blanket round his shoulders, with little Meredith nestled against his breast, suckling away.
What I am about to relate to you sounds like something out of a book or the script for a movie. But I swear to you that it really happened. Well hell, I have wee boy to show that I'm not making it up. It all began on a visit to M9X 666, (which turned out to be quite an appropriate designation), otherwise known as Morion.
Colonel Sheppard's team had gone through on, what was supposed to be a routine mission. Teyla had said that the Morion people were farmers and would have fresh produce the that may be willing to trade. So Dr Weir agreed to the mission. In some ways, I wish she hadn't. In other ways, I'm glad she did.
Carson took another look at Rodney. He was in the process of burping the little one. Carson couldn't help noticing the look of serenity that he had on his face. Who would have thought that the man who, over the years had expressed such a dislike of children, could find such contentment in bringing one in to the world. But there he was. Motherhood suited him and Carson was glad for him. Glad for them both.
Carson turned back to the computer ...
I suppose in some ways, you could say that this mission was routine. Routine in so much as what was supposed to be a simple 'milk run' of a mission ended up turning in to something dangerous. Something that would change mine and Rodney's lives forever, in ways that we could've never imagined. It all began with an unscheduled transmission from the planet ...
Chuck sat at the gate control. Suddenly the alarms went of as the gate activated. " We have an unscheduled gate activation." he lapsed in to silence for a moment as he studied the screens, " It's Colonel Sheppard's IDC"
By this time Elizabeth was standing beside him. "Colonel Sheppard. Do you have a problem?"
"No, we're OK. It's the people here that I'm worried about." he responded, "Something is happening to them. They're are suffering from what looks like a coma and some of them are just lying there staring up at the ceiling."
Elizabeth listened as John continued, " I was hoping that we could get Carson here to see if there is anything that he can do to help"
Nodding Elizabeth said, " I'll contact Carson and get him to you as soon as possible. Wait by the gate for him."
Elizabeth called me and explained the situation. I really hate going off world as on the few times that I have done it, nothing good seems to come of it. But being a good doctor I couldn't ignore the request. So that was why, fifteen minutes later, I found myself standing in the gate room ready to go.
Elizabeth stood and looked down in to the gateroom as Carson prepared to leave. " Be careful Carson. Colonel Sheppard will be on the other side to meet you. Please check in and let me know the situation."
Carson nodded and said, "Aye, I will. As soon as I have an idea of what we're dealing with."
With that, he swallowed hard and walked through the gate. As he got to the other side he found Colonel Sheppard waiting for him, a concerned look on his face.
"So what's the matter Colonel?" Carson asked as they walked from the gate.
"People have been found in coma's and others are just lying there staring at the ceiling." John winced, "I've seen it before but never like this."
Carson nodded, "Do they have any idea what's causing it?" he asked as they kept walking.
John shook his head and said, "No. That's why I called you in. I thought you might be able to give them some help."
Carson looked at him and said, "I'm not sure what I can do here. But I can have a look."
John nodded as he carried on towards the town that lay before them at the bottom of the hill.
I had seen the odd person in a coma before when I worked in the A&E in Glasgow. It was something that happened rarely and was usually caused by a major trauma. As for the other, that sounded like Catatonia. It wasn't something that I had encountered personally, but I had read about it. So, I was expecting one or two cases. Nothing prepared me for what I discovered when John led me in to the building that served as the towns medical center.
John nodded to one of the medical staff as they headed in to the building. A harassed looking woman came up to him.
"My name is Calien. I am the head healer here. You must be Doctor Beckett. Your warrior friend told me that he would bring you here to try to help us." she said as she led them further in to the complex, "I hope that you can. We have done everything that we can for these people. But nothing that we have can seem to help them."
As they walked through the corridors, Carson watched as the medical staff busied themselves moving from one room to another. Calien led Carson to the doors at the end of the corridor. Opening them, she let Carson walk in. He was amazed to see what he thought was at least twenty beds, lined up on each side. Each one was occupied. As he walked down the length of the room, he noticed that some were in comas but they weren't the ones that he found disturbing. It was seeing the ones who were in a catatonic state, that got to him most. Lying there unmoving, eyes staring blankly in to the ceiling. Carson had learnt about Catatonia, but he had never seen it for real before. It was all he could do not to shudder.
Carson turned to Calien and asked, "How did they get like this? When did it start?"
Calien looked at him, the sadness clear in her eyes. " The first ones came in about Six lunar cycles ago. The last ones came in about twenty one solar cycles ago."
"Was there anything in common with these people? Anything that they did? Anywhere they went?" Carson enquired.
"They were all working on the fields to the east of the town. Down beside Tranir's complex." She ran her fingers through her hair, " I believe that the only reason that cases have stopped, is because the High Council stopped the work on those fields. Even though this will leave us low on food."
Then she looked at him and drew him in to a small office, closing the door behind her, "But that is not the worse of it. I believe that there is something far worse happening. I have seen the effects of it myself but when I have tried to speak of it, I have been laughed at."
Carson looked at her inquisitively as she continued, " It began three lunar cycles ago. We had sent out a team to go through the great ring for trading. The had come back in the darkness and were making their way back to the town. Only three of the four arrived back. On a search the next day we found his remains. They were badly mutilated. Everyone put it down to some sort of wild animal. But I wasn't so sure. When I did a close examination of the remains I noticed that the marks looked..." She hesitated then continued, " Well they look more humanoid."
Carson was stopped short by this, " Are you trying to tell me that they were eaten by a person?" Despite himself, he couldn't help sounding incredulous.
Calien looked at him and said, " I know how strange it seems but when I was a child my parents used to stop me going in to the forest by telling me stories of those who would not cross over."
Carson thought about it for a moment. "Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me that there are zombies, the walking dead on this planet?" She looked at him in confusion, " Sorry lass, back where I come from that's what we call them.'
She looked at him and nodded as she spoke in a hushed voice, "I used to think that they were merely stories told to make children do as they were told. But now? After what I have seen I am beginning to wonder if there is some truth to them."
Carson breathed in hard. He really didn't know what to think. As far as he knew, zombies, the walking dead were things that appeared in horror movies. He still couldn't get his head around the fact that they may be real. But then, until he came to the Pegasus galaxy, he hadn't thought that life sucking aliens were real either.
Calien interrupted his train of thought, " As I told you for those who are in our facility, we can do nothing. They have not responded to any treatments that we have given them. All we can do now, is make sure that they are washed and given sustenance as best we can. It is heartbreaking as we know that given the passage of time, no matter what we do, they will fade and die. We have already lost three of the eldest."
Carson looked to the kit that he had brought with him. "Well now that I'm here, I'll see what I can do. I'm not promising anything lass. But I will try." As he put his kit down, he continued, " If it's OK I would like to draw blood from those effected and those who are not. It maybe that something has got in to the blood stream and is causing this. If it is, it maybe something we can work towards curing. Also, it may mean taking the samples back with us so we can have a better look for any pathogens that might be present."
Calien nodded. It was an unusual request but as it came from a fellow healer, she believed that the people would be willing to help.
It was then Carson remembered that he had said that he would call in to let Elizabeth know what was going on. "This is going to be an interesting conversation!" he thought to himself.
"I need to go back to the gate. I am expected to check in and let them know what's going on?" Looking at Calien, he continued, "I have no idea of the time lass. Or how long it takes to get to the gate and back. After what you've told me, I really don't want to get caught out there after dark."
Calien smiled. "Worry not. The solar cycle is still young. You will have plenty of time before the darkness comes. Have you eaten yet?"
Carson thought about it for a while and said, "Well I did have breakfast lass. But that seems so long ago so if there is anything going then I wouldn't say no." Then looking at the door, he said sadly, " I have a feeling that we may be here for some time."
Calien smiled. We headed out of the medical complex, picking up Rodney, John, Ronan and Taylor on the way. Rodney was moaning of course. Well until food was mentioned. But that's nothing new for my Rodney. When we got to the dining hut, we were met by a strange man who Calien introduced us to. I didn't like him straight from the start. There was just something about him that really made my flesh creep. I just couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe it was the way that he looked at Rodney. Even now, after it's all over, I'm not sure what it was. But I digress ...
Calien led them to the eating area. A man walked over to them. He was as tall as Ronan but not as well built. His skin was white and there was an almost cadaverous look about him.
Calien looked at the man and smiled. "This is Tranir. He is the leader of our science research division."
"Nice to meet you." Tranir reached out his hand, " I understand that you are going to try to help us cure the condition that has befallen our people."
Carson nodded. " I will do my best lad. I canna promise anything. But I will do everything that I can."
Tranir nodded. Then Calien introduced him to the rest of the team. Carson couldn't help noticing that when he came to Rodney he lingered. Especially when he found out that Rodney was in charge of sciences. Carson began to feel annoyed at the attention Rodney was getting. A touch of jealousy perhaps? But that was ridiculous. He and Rodney were just good friends. Or at least he thought that they were. Then Rodney looked up at him. Even from where he was standing Carson could see something in his eyes. Maybe there was something there after all.
"Now is not the time lad." Carson thought to himself as he watched what was happening.
Calien led them all to serving area. Carson was impressed at the variety of foods that were there.
"You didnea have them put this on especially for me did you?" Carson enquired.
Calien laughed. "No we didn't Doctor. This is our communal eating place. We feed all our workers here. The town's elders and council provide this facility."
She smiled at Carson as everyone helped themselves to the food and went and found a table together. The meal was spent in pleasant conversation.
I realized that Tranir reminded me a lot of Janus. He was the inventor who created the time travelling puddle jumper that allowed Elizabeth to survive to keep Atlantis from drowning. The only thing was I still wasn't sure whether I completely trusted him or not.
As lunch finished Carson looked at Calien and said, "I would like to start by taking blood samples of those who have been affected."
Calien nodded. As they moved back towards the medical center, Carson noted that Tranir dropped something on the ground. He stooped to pick it up and handed it back to Tranir. As he did, he felt something warm go through his hand but paid no attention to it. Carson also failed to notice the look on Tranir's face as he handed it back to him.
Tranir smiled and said, "Oh thank you. I didn't realize that I had dropped it." Then he said, " I am sure that you have things to do, so I will take my leave of you." With that, he turned on his heels and left the group.
Carson returned to the medical center to set about taking blood samples. Thanks to Calien and the rest of her staff he was able to give names to the people that lay in the beds. And in some cases to find things out about them. Although medically this made things easier for Carson, on a personal level the exact opposite was the case. This was because he stopped seeing them as nameless patients for him to treat and started to see them as people who had names and lives.
Carson had no idea how much time had passed when Teyla tapped him gently on the shoulder. "Dr Beckett, it is getting late. If we are to make it to the gate and back before nightfall, we need to go now. If you would like to carry on, I am sure that we could deliver a message to Dr Weir for you."
Carson sighed, " That would be nice lass, but I would feel better telling her myself." With that he finished marking up the vial he was holding. After telling Calien where he was going he walked out of the building and met up with the rest of the team.
He also noted that there were some other people with them. Teyla explained that they were there to give them protection if anything happened on their trip to the gate. Remembering what he had been told, he wasn't sure that this gave him any comfort at all.
The journey to the gate was uneventful and if anything a little boring. Rodney was doing his usual, moaning about this and that. Ronan, John and Teyla were chatting about what they had seen in the town. The men that were with them were looking around them warily.
Eventually they made it to the gate. Rodney dialled Atlantis and there was the familiar Kwoosh as the gate connected. Carson contacted Dr Weir and explained the situation.
Back on Atlantis Dr Weir thought about it for a while and said, "I understand Carson. Report back to me in another 12 hours and let me know how you are doing. And Carson," she said, "You know that if you need anything all you need to do is contact us.
Carson smiled as he replied, " Thank you. I will bare that in mind."
The gate closed and the team prepared to head back to the town.
I don't really remember much after that until I woke up in bed in a strange room. There were bars over the windows and they were locked closed. I had no idea where I was or what had happened. As I lay there, there was a knock at the door. It was Rodney. He looked as shook up and confused as I felt. The fact that he was standing there gave me hope that we were not being held prisoner. But until I had got up and seen what was happening for myself I couldn't be sure.
Carson got up and got dressed. He couldn't help noticing that all his clothing was there, as well as his gun and thigh holster. He checked it out and saw that all the bullets were there. Strapping it to his thigh he looked at Rodney and gave him a nod. With that they both headed for the door. As they walked around they noticed that there were no guards or sentries around. Carson took this as a good sign as well. Maybe they could just leave now and that would be the end of it. As they reached the bottom of the stairs and were about to go out the door they heard footsteps behind them. Carson instinctively reached for his gun. He was a Doctor and hated using the damned thing, but he had learned since coming to the Pegasus galaxy he was better off having it than not.
"There is no need for that Doctor Beckett. I assure that I am an not trying to keep you here. It will just be in your own interest not to leave at this time." The voice was familiar.
As Carson turned round he saw Tranir standing on the stairs as he continued, " I am not keeping you here as prisoners. It's just that there are many nasty things out that you really wouldn't want to meet. And they come out in the darkness." Carson said nothing as Tranir walked down the stairs to meet them. "I give you my word that that door is open. I was just coming down to lock it for the night. Just as a precaution, you understand."
Carson made his way to the door and opened it. Tranir had been right. "Why don't you two get back to bed and we can sort this out in the morning."
Rodney looked at Carson and said, "Well I suppose that we don't have much choice do we?" Reluctantly Carson nodded.
Carson lay in bed thinking about what Tranir had said and what Calien had told him. He wanted to believe that it was just strange beasts in the forests beyond but he couldn't help thinking of the teeth marks in the bones. If they were humanoid then, he really didn't want to think about it too much. Suddenly there was a scream. Carson shot up in bed.
"What the hell was that?" he thought to himself.
Not long after that there was a knock at the door. "Carson can I come in?" It was Rodney.
Carson sighed and said, "Aye lad. Come on in and join me."
Rodney came in to the room and stood at the end of the bed. " Look. Do you mind if I stay here tonight? This whole place gives me the creeps." He had a pleading look in his eyes as he continued, " I don't think that I could sleep if I stayed on my own."
Then it dawned on him that there was only one bed and Carson was laying on it. " Err ... do you mind if I ...err join you?"
By the glow of the bedside light, Carson was sure that Rodney was blushing. He thought that he looked so handsome and beautiful standing there. With a shake of his head Carson pulled back the covers and invited him in. It wouldn't be the first time he had had to do this. It didn't mean a thing. Only this time it did as he was with a man who, he now realized, meant the world to him. Rodney smiled at him as he climbed in to bed. Carson let him settle down before he, in turn, settled down and turned so that he was facing the wall. The warmth at his back bled heat through his body. He sighed and went back to sleep.
When we woke up the next morning, we went down to breakfast with Tranir. He explained to us that we had been brought back from the forest alone. It seemed that Colonel Sheppard and the others had made it back through the gate and the we had become separated from them. I decided to go back to my research. Tranir said that we were welcome to stay the night before we headed back to the gate. We decided that would be a good idea and that it may give Atlantis a chance to come back and fetch us. Little did we know what we were letting ourselves in for.
Carson left Rodney with Tranir. He wanted to show Rodney his research and what he was working on. Carson couldn't help smiling as he made his way to the medical center. He also couldn't help thinking of how Rodney felt against his back.
"God don't torture yourself lad. It's not like anything's going to happen." Carson sighed and set about his work.
It was late in the afternoon when Carson received a message from Rodney. It read, 'Please come back. Tranir has something that he wants to show us both. He says that its a piece of Ancient tech and he would like to see if we can do something to get it to work. And before you ask I may have said something about us having the ATA gene, BUT I haven't told him about where we come from. OK.' Carson smiled and finished what he was doing and headed back to Tranir's home. Rodney met him at the door.
"Come on Carson." Rodney said, grabbing him by the arm.
Carson sighed and thought, "Here we go again."
As they walked Rodney said, "Tranir doesn't know what this piece of tech is but he thinks it might be ancient. I said that we would see if we could help him." then he looked over at Carson and said, "Yes. Before you say it, I know that it may not work and the way our luck has been going it probably wont. But that's not the point. We have to try."
Carson shook his head affectionately. This was typical Rodney. He was like Pavlov's dog when it came to Ancient technology. Tranir met them and took them to down to his labs in the basement of his residence. They were led in to a room. At one end was a large rectangular unit with places for two people to stand and there were handles either side of the spaces.
Tranir said, "If you would follow me. Now Doctor Beckett would you stand on the left hand side," then he turned Rodney and said, "Can you stand on the right hand side. Now I need you both to keep hold of the handles till I tell you to let go."
Rodney and Carson did as they were asked. Carson noted that there was a blue symbol on it but didn't really take much notice of it. They waited to see what would happen as Tranir started to operate the machine. Carson felt a small tingle go through his hands but nothing more.
Tranir looked at them and said, "I am sorry that nothing happened. It's possible that it's broken."
Rodney looked disappointed but he didn't say anything.
He then asked, "Would you mind if try to take some data from the machine?"
"No not at all." Tranir said with a smile.
Rodney went and got his pad. He attached in to the machine and downloaded some information. He watched as the information came up on the screen. His brow furrowed and he made the 'huh' noise that meant that he had discovered something that wasn't really that helpful.
"It looks like we will have to translate this. I think that it's ancient but it's not like the language that we have come across before." he then looked at Carson and said, "I'll get Elizabeth to take a look when we get back."
There wasn't much else to do, so I left the building and went for a short walk. The sun was low in the sky and after what I had heard last night I really didn't want to get caught outside the compound as night fell. As I headed back I noticed a symbol on a wooden sign beside a path that led in to the forest. I thought that I would ask about it later.
Carson returned to meet Tranir at the door. "Ah. Good to see you are safe. If you would care to join Dr McKay and myself for dinner." He led Carson to a large room, where Rodney was sat at a table that was set for dinner.
The meal was as wonderful as lunch had been the day before. The three men sat and chatted about the day and life on the planet. After they had finished dinner they sat enjoying a drink.
Carson decided now was the time he would ask, "When I was walking back here, I saw a symbol on a sign beside the wood. It was a broken red and black symbol with some sort of writing inside it."
Tranir's smile slipped a little bit but he managed to keep his composure, "Ah yes. That is a symbol for danger. We put it there to stop people walking in to that part of the woods. It is a dangerous place even in daylight."
Rodney nodded and looked at Carson. For some reason, he didn't look completely convinced but as he didn't say anything Rodney didn't make anything of it.
Rodney then asked, "I noticed that there were some devices by the front door. What are they for?"
Tranir smiled neutrally, "There are there as insurance. Just in case the creatures make it in to the compound. We have found that they are not happy around fire. So we use our flamers to drive them back." Then he added, " But we haven't had to use them very often."
Carson wasn't sure that this made him feel any safer at all.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Someone walked in and spoke to Tranir in hushed tones. At the end of the conversation Tranir said, " I am sorry gentlemen. The ruling council have called and meeting and I have been asked to attend. Please feel free to walk around at your leisure."
Carson and Rodney watched as the man left the room.
Rodney and I looked around the building. We became aware that there were people there working but no one stopped us from going anywhere. Rodney discovered Tranir's computer system and decided to download some more information. Rodney said, "I have no problems with this. It's not like he has got this secured or anything." I wasn't so sure but then this was Rodney. After he had finished we decided to go back down to the lab. Rodney wanted to have another look at the machine. He wondered if he might be able to figure out what was wrong with it. It was then that we heard a noise from a room at the end of the corridor. We decided to go and have a look.
Carson and Rodney listened as they made their way down the corridor. There was another noise but it was hard to make out. Eventually they reached the end. One of the doors was open slightly, light shining through the crack. Rodney looked at Carson and swallowed hard. Pushing gently on the door, it opened. The sight that met them filled them with horror. There was something, or was that someone, in a cage. The figure was in a state of decay. The sight and smell was enough to make their stomach's turn. Rodney and Carson had no idea what was going on but they had the sense to know that they really needed to get out of there. Grabbing his computer, Rodney grabbed Carson by the arm and dragged him out of the room.
"We have to get out of here." Rodney said, "We need to get our kit and leave as soon as possible. I have no idea what's going on but I don't like it. I've seen enough Zombie movies to know that given time that thing is going to escape. And I didn't spend my time getting two PhD's to end up lunch for the living dead!"
As they were moving up to their rooms Carson panted, "Aye lad. You're right."
After gathering their equipment, Carson and Rodney ran towards the door. Suddenly Rodney stopped and pointed to the 'flamers'.
"I think we should take a couple of those," he stopped and looked down at his gun, "I have a feeling that these won't help us much!"
Carson nodded. After having stopped long enough to work out how to light the flamers, the two men headed out, weapons in hand. Rodney flinched at every noise as Carson and he made their way from Tranir's compound out on to the path that headed towards the gate. The path seemed much darker and much smaller than it had when they had walked it in daylight. Carson realized that he wasn't sure if they were heading in the right direction.
"Oh damn," he thought. "We're in trouble now!"
There was the sound of something crashing through the trees. This was followed by what sounded like a growling noise. The moon cast an eerie light through trees and suddenly Carson and Rodney became aware of shadows in the moonlight. Instinctively, the two man raised the 'flamers' and gave them a blast. The sight that met them filled them with dread. The path in-front of them was filled with figures, some of which were in a far worse state than the one that they had seen in the lab. Rodney turned to go back the way that he and Carson had come. That was blocked to.
"Err ... Carson." Rodney said, a sense of panic in his voice, "I think we're in trouble!"
Carson looked behind them to see what he meant and swallowed hard. This was not what he signed up for. Standing back to back with Rodney, they both used the 'flamers'. They were holding them back, but Carson knew that it was only a matter of time.
Suddenly from behind them there was another, even louder crash. A voice called out, "Hey Doctor Beckett, Dr McKay. If you're there come towards my voice."
Carson turned back to see the opened hatch of a cloaked ship, with someone motioning towards them.
Carson called out to Rodney, "I think we have a way out of here!"
The two men walked backwards towards the jumper, using the 'flamers' as they went. Rodney even managed to set one of the creatures on fire. It's screams sent shivers of fear through the two men. Eventually, despite some close calls, they made their way on to the jumper. Rodney couldn't help noticing the moving arms and legs that were sticking out from beneath the ramp.
When the two men were safely on board, Major Lorne called out, "We have them. Let's get out of here."
When the jumper was underway, Evan turned to look at Rodney and Carson, "What the hell were those things out there?"
Rodney and Carson looked at each other and Carson replied, "We have no idea lad. We're just glad that you came back for us."
Once that we had assured Major Lorne that we were OK, Rodney and I sat in silence. Rodney's eyes were still wide with fear and he was shaking. I instinctively put my arm round his shoulder and held him close to me for comfort. As he didn't object, I didn't move. When we got back to Atlantis, Rodney and I were taken directly to sickbay. Fortunately for us, there was nothing wrong. I don't know how Rodney slept that night, he never told me, but I know that I was plagued by nightmare visions of what we saw on that planet. The next day we found ourselves in Elizabeth's office. We had just finished the debrief ...
She looked at them with a worried expression, " That sounds horrific. I'm sorry that you had to experience that. Do you have any idea what they were?"
Carson looked at Rodney and shook his head, "I'm not sure at all. I really don't know what to think. I have a horrible feeling that those creatures had something to do with the people that were in the medical center. But the only way that I will be able to know for sure is if I can get back to do some more research."
Elizabeth looked at him. She knew that what she was going to say wouldn't go down well. But she had no choice. "I'm sorry Carson but I can't let you go back. From what you've told me, you only just made it out of there. I'm not willing to send you back in to that without knowing exactly what we are facing."
Carson started to speak, but she cut him off. " I know that it can't be easy for you Carson. But you have to understand that I can't risk sending you back to them."
Rodney looked at them both and then at his laptop. "Oh, I nearly forgot. I managed to get some information from the computer at Tranir's lab. It looks like it's in some kind of ancient dialect. I wondered if you would take a look for me."
Elizabeth smiled. This was more her territory. "Of course I will and I will get back to you when I get any information."
It took a lot longer that Rodney and I had anticipated. Four months, to be exact. According to Elizabeth, it took two weeks to get the basics of the language so that she could get Radek to write a translation program. And the rest of time was spent trying to get the translation program written and to get it to work. During that time, it was noticed that something strange was happening to Rodney. One minute he was bellowing at his co-workers, the next he was sitting in a corner crying quietly. Not only that, he started spending more time in his room than he did in the lab. Radek and I, among others, were starting to get really worried. Eventually Elizabeth was true to her word. She called me in to her office alone, a worried look on her face.
Carson sat down in front of Elizabeth's desk. She had a grave look on her face and he wondered what she had discovered.
"Carson I have managed to translate Tranir's files and it doesn't make easy reading." She looked at Carson with a look of concern on her face, "According to the files there was a machine that was able to help couples have children. It was also designed to be able to help males to have children in cases where there was a population imbalance."
Carson listened as she continued, "I'm not a doctor but from what I can gather in the case of females it aids a successful pregnancy. As for the males, if I have interpreted this right, it facilitates physical changes to normal physiology that allows the male to carry a foetus and to look after it after birth."
Carson looked at her in surprise. "Are there any illustrations of the machine?"
Elizabeth nodded and showed him the picture. Carson looked at it and something caught his eye. It was the symbol that he had seen on the machine back on the planet. it was a near complete blue and black symbol with writing on it. Carson looked at it and swallowed hard.
"Do you know what this symbol is Dr Weir?" Carson asked.
"Yes. This is the symbol for life. There is a corresponding symbol for death." She answered.
Elizabeth continued, "It looks like you may be right about the fact that there maybe a link between the creatures that you came across and the people in the medical center. I'm not entirely sure, but it looks like it has something to do with the use of the machine. There appears to be a lot of scientific details here. Maybe you can make sense of it."
Carson looked at it. He and Rodney had been in that machine. Was it possible that Rodney was pregnant? Would that explain why Rodney was acting strangely? Then he thought of the symbol that he had seen in the forest. It didn't stand for danger as Tranir had said, it stood for death. Why had he lied? Was there something more to this than met the eye.
Elizabeth looked at Carson. He had gone rather pale. She was worried. "Are you alright Carson?"
Carson looked at her. "Rodney and I were in that machine. Tranir said nothing happened but I'm not so sure. Since we came back Rodney has been acting strangely. It's possible that he maybe pregnant." Elizabeth looked at Carson, speechless, "I don't want you to say anything to anyone especially Rodney."
Elizabeth promised that she wouldn't. Now I just had to go and find Rodney. This was something I wasn't looking forward to at all. When I tried to find out where he was, it turned out that he was already in the infirmary. I didn't stop to ask why, I just made my way there as fast as I could.
Carson ran in and watched as Rodney complained about a cut on his finger. Carson stopped long enough to grab some gloves and a syringe. Before Rodney could move off the bed where he was sitting, Carson motioned for the nurse that was dealing with him to keep him there.
Rodney looked at Carson as he walked towards him. "What's wrong Carson? I'm dying aren't I? Please tell me how long I have left!"
Carson tried not to laugh as he said, "Don't be daft lad. You're fine. I just want to take some blood to check something." Rodney winced at the sight of the needle but Carson was an expert when dealing with these things and managed to get Rodney to sit still.
After he had taken the sample, he said to Rodney, " I am just going to check that everything is OK. I promise that I will call you back if there's a problem."
Rodney looked worried. It took some persuading, but eventually Rodney left the infirmary. Carson took the blood sample and just to be sure decided to run two samples at the same time. He gave one to Jennifer and he worked on the other sample himself. Some hours later both he and Jennifer had the results. It was just as Carson had feared. Rodney was pregnant. This was not good. If Carson's calculations were right, this would mean that Rodney would be about four months gone. Carson took time to explain about the machine and everything that Elizabeth had told him.
"So do you think that Rodney realizes?" Jennifer said with a grimace.
Carson looked at her and said, "I don't think so lass. And the way that he is about children, I'm really not sure how he is going to handle finding out either."
"It's alright." Jennifer said, putting her hand on his shoulder, "I'll tell him. I am getting used to picking up the flack where he is concerned."
Carson nodded. He was glad that she was around. It certainly made his job easier. Carson decided to go and get a drink from the mess. He was really thirsty. As he came back in to the infirmary, he heard an all to familiar voice. This time it was raised in anger.
Rodney was screaming loudly, " I can't be pregnant. I am a MAN. A MAN you understand. We don't do the motherhood thing apart from in very bad movies." Jennifer tried to comfort him, but it wasn't working. " I don't care. I hate the man that did this to me. I hate him with a passion. And I want rid of this abomination that's inside me."
Jennifer carried on talking but I couldn't hear a word that she said. I dropped my mug and hurried away, Rodney's words hanging in my mind. "I hate the man that did this to me. I hate him with a passion." What had I done? I had hurt a person that I cared about very much. Alight, I knew that Rodney didn't return these feelings but it still hurt that I had done something to make him feel that way about me. The next three days were hell. I took to eating in my quarters so that I didn't have to see him. It also meant that I didn't have to face the rest of SGA-1 either. I really didn't want to have to try to explain to them how I had accidentally got their team scientist pregnant and hadn't realized for four months. I only realized that I may have made a mistake when, on the third day, there was a knock at my door. I opened it to find Dr Zelenka on the other side.
Radek walked in to Carson's quarters and sat down on the bed looking at him. "So what do you think you are doing? I have had Rodney sitting on the lab floor crying his heart out because you won't talk to him."
Carson looked confused, "Why would he want to talk to me? He said that he hated the person that made him pregnant." This time it was Radek's turn to be confused, "So that must mean that he must hate me right?"
Radek tipped his head as he regarded him, "No. Unless you have changed your name to Tranir. Then I don't think that it's you he hates at all." Carson's face dropped as he realized what an idiot he had been, "Now, I would be grateful if you would talk to each other and get this sorted out."
Carson nodded. Radek tapped his radio and a short time later there was a knock at the door. It was Rodney. As Rodney came in, Radek made his excuses and left. Rodney stood up looking very awkward. Carson motioned him to sit down.
Carson looked at him uncertainly, "I'm so sorry Rodney. When I heard you talking I immediately thought that you meant me. After all, I am the one that technically got you pregnant."
"Please. Why would I hate you? I think that you are the most wonderful person I know." He moved to sit beside Carson, "I really like you a lot." Rodney rolled his eyes, moved towards Carson on the bed and put his arm round his shoulder and pulled Carson toward him.
Carson looked in to Rodney's eyes as he moved. "Are you sure? I ... didn't think you were ... well I didn't think you were gay. If I had I would have done something sooner."
Rodney laughed and said, "Well its not something you shout about now is it?" As he finished, he kissed Carson on the lips.
Carson surrendered to him without a moments thought, deepening the kiss. He opened his lips to allow Rodney to enter if he wanted to. Rodney responded, allowing his tongue to map out the inside of Carson's mouth. As they kissed Carson lay his hand on Rodney's stomach and suddenly he was overwhelmed by an awful feeling.
When they broke the kiss Carson looked at Rodney and left his hand on Rodney's stomach. Rodney felt it and looked down. He sensed what Carson was thinking and said, "It's alright Carson. Our little one is still there. At first, I thought about getting rid of it, but when Jennifer managed to calm me down, she made me realize that I wasn't going to be alone. That's why I wanted to speak to you."
Carson smiled at him adoringly, "You know that I will never leave you alone. I have always wanted to have children and I can't think of another person that I would love to have them with."
Rodney looked at him in surprise, "Well ... there is. Sorry did you just say that you would never leave me?"
Carson looked at Rodney, "Especially, as now you are being a mother to our child." Rodney blushed as he looked at Carson, "I don't care what anyone says, you will make a fantastic parent. I promise to stand beside you and that any problems you have you will not have to face alone!"
Rodney stood up taking Carson with him. He wrapped his arms around the man that was not only now his lover but also the father of his child. It was hard for him to get his mind round this but Rodney was sure that, with Carson's help, he would get used to it in the end. Slowly, Rodney and Carson undressed each other, taking time to explore each other's body. When they were both naked, Carson started to kiss down Rodney's body starting at his lips, moving down his body stopping at his nipples to suck them. Rodney moaned in appreciation. Carson carried on down his body until he came to the hair that was above, Rodney's now half erect cock. He nuzzled his face in to the hair and inhaled. Looking up at Rodney, Carson smiled as he took Rodney's cock in his mouth and began to suck it to full erection. Soon the room was filled with the sound of the two men exploring each other in the midst of making love.
When they were finished Carson lay with Rodney in his embrace. He knew that his life would never be the same and he couldn't be more contented.
We spent the rest of that day talking about how our lives were going to change. Rodney asked me to be there when told the rest of team SGA -1 and Elizabeth. Everyone was pleased for him. Elizabeth was a star as she reacted as if she had no idea what was going on. A fact that I was very grateful for. It must be her diplomatic training. Rodney decided immediately to remove himself from active duty. He knew that it would be a pain to find a replacement but, as we had no idea what was going to happen, he didn't want to risk ending up being off-world if he needed medical attention. John suggested getting back in touch with Tranir to ask if he had any details of what happened during male pregnancies. There had been next to no information on it in the notes that Rodney had brought back. That was how, the next morning, Rodney and I found ourselves standing in the gateroom.
Rodney looked more than a little nervous as he stood beside Carson. He had no idea what Tranir would say. Elizabeth walked down to stand beside Chuck. Giving him the nod she stood back as he began to dial the gate.
When it got to the seventh symbol nothing happened. Chuck furrowed his brow and tried again. Still nothing. Chuck looked up and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't establish a wormhole."
Elizabeth walked over to Carson and put her hand on his arm. "I'm really sorry. But right now there is nothing we can do."
Carson nodded and looked at Rodney. "It's OK. We'll be alright. We'll make it through."
Rodney swallowed hard, taking Carson's hand. "I know my love. I know."
Over the next five months, Rodney was taken to the infirmary for various scans. His physiology was changing. A uterus had formed in his stomach, holding a perfectly formed baby. Not only that, the area of his breast tissue began to change. His nipples grew larger and he lost the hair around them. And eventually he began to lactate. Of course he was a little bit shocked by that. But I told him that it was all a part of motherhood and smiled at him. Taylor manged to find him something to wear to stop the leaking from them. Of course, the course of motherhood never runs smooth. We all got on the wrong end of Rodney's moods one way or another. At the time it felt like I was spending more time with Rodney in the lab, than I was in the infirmary. But still, it was going to be worth it. We had no choice but to deliver the baby by C-Section.
The day of the birth had arrived. Carson had elected not to do the surgery so that he could stand beside Rodney as their child was born. The nurses came and prepped Rodney for surgery. Dr Keller was going to do it for them and she came and stood beside the bed.
"Don't worry Rodney." She said, putting her hand on his shoulder, "It'll be OK and Carson will be with you."
Rodney look nervous. Carson took his hand and said, "Don't worry love. Everything will be fine. You're in safe hands with Dr Keller."
Jennifer walked out leaving the two men to wait until it was time to go through to the operating theater. Eventually, the room was filled with the crying of a healthy baby. After the baby was dried off and weighed, a nurse brought the baby to Rodney and Carson.
As she handed the baby to Carson, she said, "It's a boy."
Carson couldn't help grinning as he handed him to Rodney saying, "Say hello to our son,"
"Our son." Rodney repeated, as he snuggled the baby to his chest.
Later that day, as Rodney lay in bed breastfeeding their son, Carson came down and sat beside him. "I've been thinking about names for our child."
Rodney looked up, "Oh yes. I supposed you want to call him Carson."
Carson smiled and said, "Aye, well sort of." Rodney looked at him curiously. "I want to call our son Meredith Carson Beckett-McKay."
Rodney looked at him and said, "You can't do that to our son. It's a girls name."
Carson replied, "Aye, that's as maybe. But to me it's the name of the wonderful man that I love and the person that brought our child in to the world."
Rodney blushed at this and then said, "Meredith Carson Beckett-McKay." Thinking about he said, "OK. But when he gets older if he wants to call himself Carson, you'll have to live with it."
Carson couldn't help laughing at that. After a few days, Rodney was allowed out of the infirmary to the new quarters that he was now sharing with Carson. At one end of the room was a lovely crib that Teyla had brought along with some children's clothes and blankets. Looking at Carson he lay Meredith down in the crib. He gurgled at them happily, looking at them with eyes of blue. Carson looked at Rodney and saw a tear in his eye.
When Rodney felt like getting out and about with little Meredith, Teyla came round and showed how to use the carry shawl that he had been given.
As she settle him against Rodney's chest Teyla said, "He is a beautiful baby."
Carson couldn't help noticing how proud Rodney looked as he said, "Why don't we see if we can speak to earth? It would be nice to let everyone know that we have had a beautiful baby boy."
Teyla smiled. "I never thought that I would see the day that Rodney would be like this over a child."
Carson grinned, "Aye, well lass. This isn't just any child. This is our son."
Teyla nodded in agreement as they headed to the gateroom. On the way, they were stopped as Atlantis personnel cooed over little Meredith. Carson was so proud of the way that Rodney was handling looking after the child.
As they entered the gateroom, Elizabeth walked down to them. "Hello Rodney." she looked at Meredith, "So this is your son." She looked at him and said, "Hello little one. Welcome to Atlantis."
She then turned to Chuck and said, "Dial the gate." There was the familiar kwoosh as the wormhole established. "This is Atlantis calling earth." General Landry appeared on the screen, "Hello General. This is Dr Weir here. I would like to introduce you to the latest member of our expedition."
Rodney unwrapped Meredith and handed him to Elizabeth who held him up to the screen. "I would like you to meet Meredith Carson Beckett-McKay."
The General asked, "How are Dr McKay and Dr Beckett coping with being parent?"
Elizabeth said, "'Well it's only been a few days, but so far I think they're are doing OK."
The General started to say something when suddenly the screen went blank and the wormhole closed. Elizabeth looked at Chuck as she handed Meredith to Carson. Chuck tried to get the gate reopened. But nothing happened. Within minutes Rodney was on the radio shouting out orders and getting people to work on checking the systems and the gate itself. It turned out the problem was not with the Atlantis gate which meant that the problem was with the earth gate. Of course that got everyone worried. But everyone knew that only time would tell if earth was OK or not.
That was four weeks ago. We still haven't heard anything from earth, although a craft has been detected at edge of the sensor network. We can only hope that it's the Daedalus and that it's only a system malfunction and not something more sinister. Right now though, my world is filled with Rodney and our son Meredith.
With that he stopped typing. Putting away his laptop, Carson walked over to where Rodney was sitting with Meredith asleep on his naked chest. Rodney looked at him and smiled.
"Are you OK my love?" Carson said quietly.
Rodney looked at him and said, "I'm just worried about Jeannie."
Carson nodded. "Aye lad. We're all worried right now but at least we have each other and our son. And I'm sure that everything will be OK."
Meredith moved in Rodney's arms and he said, "Yes. I'm sure that you're right. But ...."
Carson looked and him and gave him a hug of comfort as they lapsed in to silence. Not hearing from Earth was something to worry about. But now at least he knew that whatever happened he would always have his family in the Pegasus galaxy.