“That being said, I believe that our best allocation of resources at this time, limited as they are, would be to start investigating the operations in the eastern wing of the base but I can’t start doing that if you keep sending my people to help Zalenka grow god damn flowers,” Rodney swore from the other side of the desk, Daniel rubbing his face in dismay.
“We have plenty to get us through the winter, the commissary is well stocked, so we have food Daniel, we have supplies, now let’s get something actually accomplished, unless you’re more concerned about your stomach,” the scientist continued, turning the next page in his folder dramatically, since when did he use a folder and not that stupid computer, as dramatic as the breath he was taking before continuing his rant.
Without a word Dr. Daniel Jackson stood, walking past Rodney McKay and right out of his office, not bothering to even close the door. Powering across the bridge, his name and sir being called out a few times as he passed, Daniel continued on to the transporter at the far end of the main control room, stopping only to push the button to call the box to him. The door slid away, his tall form still ducking for fear of hitting his head on the smaller space the tubes here in Atlantis afforded, selecting the correct floor from the choices allotted in the array of glowing dots. He didn’t move a muscle the entire ride, not even to mutter to himself, stepping out of the elevator when he arrived at his floor, just as silently as he made his way down the long hall.
Making it there in record time, he turned the corner, no tapping of his knuckles against the open door, walking right across the broad expansive, past tables, chairs, diagrams and view screens, taking a seat in the chair in the corner.
“Sha? Is everything alright?” Adrienne asked as he sat, having watching him trod across the room without so much as a word to she or Nicholas.
“No, it’s not. I’m the commander of the only Ancient city station known in existence, the most amazing thing an archaeologist could ever hope to explore to understand who we are and where we came from but what am I doing?!?”
Shaking her head, but not saying a word, Adrienne walked over to the coffee machine, grabbing his cup from her desk as she did.
“Rodney wants to take half of Zalenka’s crew on his latest insane mission, a group of scientists who are trying to re-establish a way for us to feed ourselves without Cam spending the rest of his life flying back and forth here with supplies. He’s in my office right now probably still trying to convince my chair that constructing a geothermal link to this planet’s volcanic core like they had before despite the fact that we have the PPS here with us is more important than anyone eating...”
His wife didn’t say a word, tapping the button on the machine to reheat the liquid, leaning back on the counter, her arms folded across her chest.
“John’s maintenance report this morning says that we have three, not one like he said last week, but three jumpers in need of repair, one that might need an engine overhaul which I didn’t even know was possible on those things. Ronon’s last security check-in, because I can’t call his two lines he gives me each week any kind of a report, claims that there are NO other life forms on this planet, humanoid at least, which I find VERY difficult to believe, and I’m honestly considering asking Vala to take over writing security reports. Vala, Ad are you hearing me? Vala. I actually weighing giving Vala REAL responsibility,” he continued, Adrienne calmly pouring a cup as the light flicked to the ready position, adding one cream, two sugars, before turning to head for the spare desk in the corner.
“Oh and remember that adorable married couple you thought were so cute, so perfect for each other, the Corbins? They’re in the physics department? They’re getting divorced, so I need to rearrange quarters, which we barely have set up anyway, and we have no shrink here, no therapist, and Teyla, kind as she is, is trying to step in and help, but she can’t handle her own duties and be a mother all while she’s trying to be our, what’s that lady on Star Trek you keep calling her?”
“Deanna Troi.”
“Right, that one, well, Teyla’s not the ship’s counselor and these two are at one another’s throats so bad that I’m not even sure if they can stay on the same level, let alone the same hall. There’s a leak in the south corridor, under the floor tiles, but the section of the city manual, oh wait, did you know that we have an electronic city manual? Rodney did, chose not to tell me that, and now he keeps referring to it as if I should have the god damn thing, read, memorized and be able to cite back passages specifically. Ja-wer, I’m gonna punch him in the face which makes no sense because of the two of us, YOU are the one prone to punching people...”
Smiling Adrienne shook her head, today being a touch worse than the episode a few days back, now that Daniel was threatening violence, violence that he wouldn’t carry out. A small yellow packet in her hand, she walked over to him quietly, handing over both the cup and sponge cake.
“We’re almost out of Twinkies,” was all she said, crossing her arms again and waiting.
“Can you make cupcakes when we run out?” he asked quietly, his expression softening as he took a sip of his coffee slowly, letting the snack cake sit in his lap.
“Dad?” a voice from the corner shouted out, Daniel feeling instantly guilty to have overlooked that other important person in his life, who was sitting happily at the miniature desk, two spiral notebooks and one of his journals on Ancient littering the surface.
“I’m sorry Nicholas, I didn’t say hello,” he apologized quickly, the boy’s small pursed mouth turning up to a smile at the acknowledgment.
“It’s ok, you’re stressed. Do you need some help? I can talk to Uncle Ronon and write his reports if you’d like,” he offered, putting down the small pencil, a tiny hand reaching for his tablet computer.
For a moment Daniel paused, considering it, letting his nine month old genius child write reports for him, after all the child’s grammar was impeccable, crazy Cajun mother or not. He didn’t agree though, Adrienne reading his face and his mind, frowning at him and shaking her head.
Wow Daniel, you’ve gotten desperate...
“No son, it’s all right. This is just a lot different than I’m used to and it’s gonna take a little more than a month to get used to it,” he answered instead, the Cajun glare disappearing at his words.
“Ka Naya ka nok,” Nicholas added with a grin, Daniel getting the message loud and clear as he son repeated his offer to help, Adrienne turning her glare on him as well.
“Stop speaking Unas, both of you,” she warned, Nicholas still smiling.
“Ser amil,” the child covered quickly, Daniel shaking his head. It should bother him, the boy learning Unas to speak to him in secret, Elvish for his mother, but instead he found it rather endearing. For as large as the city was, between Daniel’s job as commander, Adrienne’s as the head of Archaeology/Anthropology and the fact that the city itself was so sparsely populated, there were few opportunities to spend one on one quality time with their son, but these secret languages almost made up for it.
And the Unas drove Adrienne insane, more so because she just couldn’t wrap her head around it to save her life.
That alone was gold.
“Indy, you’re the boss now, but being boss doesn’t mean that you have to do all of this yourself. Why are you making John report to you on puddlejumpers? Why not only have Ronon check in when there is a problem? Get engineering on the leak, you’re not a plumber. Give Rodney Zalenka’s crew for a day and let them all quit when he goes bananas,” she offered, Daniel shaking his head as he opened the package containing his momentary indulgence.
“I can’t,” he said before shoving the cake into his mouth.
“Yes, you can. You won’t. You’re a control freak sha, admit it,” Adrienne joked. Frowning, causing himself to choke slightly on the cake, Daniel swallowed, gulping down some coffee.
“I am not,” he protested, knowing full well that she was right.
Damn Adrienne, always damn right...
“Yes, you are, but I’m not gonna argue with you while you’re sulking,” Adrienne said with a smile, peeking over her shoulder to the rather simplistic Greek design clock on the wall. That had taken a bit to get used to, the lack of cell phones at their beck and call, each and every person outfitted with an ear communicator and wrist watch, his own clunky digital device hanging heavily on his wrist. His wife, of course, had opted for the neon pink banded watch and a rather large clock in the Greek key design, Roman numerals and all.
“What are you looking at?’ he asked, now worried that he had missed something, forgotten something but Adrienne was shaking her head.
“Not for you, your next meeting with the botany department isn’t until four, your last of the day...”
“Wait, shit, that’s right, why has this job made me so...”
“Stop Indy stop. You’re getting used to it. It has not made you disorganized or anything else. Stop. I’ve got you covered; you won’t miss a single meeting,” she assured, walking her tablet computer over to him, his schedule for the week laid out on the screen carefully.
“Ad, you’re not my assistant anymore, you’re the head of the department, you can’t be worrying with my schedule,” he scolded as the tablet was removed from his hand, then the coffee mug, Adrienne taking a seat in his lap, facing him, flashing her left hand in his face.
“See that. That makes us a team and a team works together, regardless of what our titles are,” she said with a smile, tossing her arms onto his shoulders, bringing her lips to his.
“On that note,” the child stood from his desk, stumpy legs and a body that didn’t match the brain walking right for the door, “I’m gonna see what Uncle Ronon is doing.”
“Behave,” Adrienne shouted her traditional good-bye, returning her gaze back to her husband’s perfect blue eyes, “My appointment’s at two.”
Daniel paused for a moment, having forgotten what they were talking about before they had embarrassed their son with an outward display of affection when he remembered, the one thing on the calendar that he couldn’t forget. He moved Adrienne from his line of sight, but not his lap, peering over at the clock.
“That’s in thirty minutes,” he clarified, Adrienne nodding her head.
“Yeah, I was gonna call up to your office but your little tantrum saved me the effort,” she teased gently.
“Can I come? I understand if you don’t want me there, but,” Daniel started, his stammering cut off immediately with a kiss.
“I want you to come. And if it works, Vala and Ronon are gonna keep Nicholas for the night...” she whispered so softly, kissing down his neck, making him remember last night, when she came to his office as he worked late, telling him that they needed to break it in...
“We should head down early just in case he can see us,” Daniel said quickly, pushing Adrienne upward, all of his thoughts from this morning disappearing as he focused on his wife and the news that they wanted to hear. That had been a bombshell dropped on him the day they arrived, that Adrienne wanted another child, that despite everything working against them she wanted to try to get pregnant again. They had visited Carson the very next day; the doctor suggesting that Adrienne go off of her medication immediately to see if that would heal the damage. Oma had suggested as much when she brought Adrienne back, no, when she helped him bring Adrienne back, from the dead.
Today they would find out if that hunch was right, if without the drugs that kept her from healing would her body continue the repair what it had naturally begun when her heart gave out.
A process that Daniel had selfishly stopped, just to feel her heartbeat again.
“Come on sha,” she teased, sitting back down, resuming her soft kisses, “Carson said we needed to keep trying too, all systems go...”
“Lock the door,” he relented, standing to strip away half of his uniform as she dashed to fulfill his request.
*****
“Carson, I’m sorry we’re late,” Adrienne apologized, blushing, the good doctor shrugging as he walked over to the counter, reaching out to guide her to the table.
“Addy, on time is something I will neva expect ya ta be,” the Scot replied, Daniel slightly relieved that he hadn’t caught on. It was such a stupid thing to worry about, so what if he could tell by their glow what had happened, they were a happily married couple for over a year now, even he was there as they celebrated their first anniversary on the journey through space. That had been fun, Adrienne threatening for the first two weeks since lift-off that if he were to do something sappy, like write poetry or declare anything ship wide, that she would kill him.
Instead, he just threw a party, one to not only celebrate their first year as the Jacksons but that boosted morale as some personnel left the Milky Way behind for the first time.
“Up on the scanner,” he patted the machine gently, Adrienne reaching to undo her uniform, quickly tossing gray pants and jacket aside.
“Addy, I can run the scan through clothes,” Carson noted as the archaeologist crawled onto the table, orange tank top, sports bra and panties alone.
“Any excuse to get out of that uniform,” Daniel spoke before he could have thought his words through better, blushing himself now.
Damn Adrienne; damn her making me so flustered.
“You’d think that sleeping with the big boss would get me some perks in this job, but it hasn’t. Grey itchy wool like everyone else,” she joked, red cheeks again in Daniel’s face as Carson chuckled.
“Lay down,” he ordered, his fingers across the screen bringing the scanner to life, “now, no medication correct, none,” he started as the bar to the machine whirred to life over Adrienne’s feet, slowly moving upward.
“Not a one and Daniel on half dose like you said. We tested last week with a steak knife and it’s the same as before, I timed the healing at approximately eight seconds,” Adrienne explained, Daniel nodding in agreement. He hadn’t like testing that in their quarters either with the smuggled piece of cutlery, but he understood that Adrienne wanted privacy in this. He was sure that she hadn’t told a soul that they were trying, not even Vala, who she seemed to tell everything.
Everything.
That he didn’t want to think about right now.
“Good lass,” Carson responded, not looking up, “it makes it far easier when a patient actually listens.”
That, Daniel thought, is not problem for Adrienne; to her a doctor might as well be a deity.
“Anything yet?” she asked instead of replying to his remark, watching Carson frown, dancing his fingers around the scanner.
“Not yet Addy, can ya lie still please?” the doctor muttered, the Cajun complying under her husband’s serious glare.
“Jennifer said that the next step will be to clock Adrienne’s cycle to see when she’s ovulating,” Daniel spoke now, his mind steps ahead but Carson still wasn’t speaking, leaning closer to the read-out screen. Not liking the look, Daniel let go of Adrienne’s hand, walking around the foot of the scanner trying to read the results for himself.
“Daniel, Addy, I’m sorry,” Carson said as soon as Daniel was at his side, certain that his commander could read the results for himself.
“What do you mean I’m sorry?” Adrienne asked, sitting up, mouth open, looking to Daniel who was reading the screen, biting his lower lip.
“Ja-wer, it didn’t work...” Daniel started slowly, watching her, reading her, waiting for her to fall apart.
“It didn’t?” she asked instead, so very calmly, eerily calm. It was a calm Daniel knew, one that meant the break was gonna be worse.
“No Addy, I’m sorry. There has been no change in the scarring. You could conceive, but the fetus would miscarry very early in the pregnancy,” Carson explained as he brought the portable screen to her side, Adrienne still completely collected.
“Carson, that can’t be accurate. I haven't had a dose of my medication in over thirty days, Daniel hasn’t either,” the archaeologist flinched at that reveal, they had promised to keep that a secret since as the head of Atlantis he wasn’t supposed to be compromising himself more than a half dose, “and we’ve had unprotected sex at least once a day if not more since we stopped the dosages. If anything, I should have not only healed but decreased in age by five years!”
Daniel flushed with embarrassment. She wasn’t trying to be, well, Vala-like, airing their personal information for the entire medical bay to hear, which thankfully was empty. She didn’t understand, and he didn’t either, but that had been part of this mess all along. No one knew why they healed really, other than the Dopamine counts, no one knew why the alternate of himself he had met did not have the healing abilities, nor did his also descended wife.
“Addy, there was a chance that this wouldn’t work. Whatever this is also left both of your tattoos, so it seems to be as confusing itself as it is to us...” Carson was kind, his natural beside manner soothing and for that Daniel was grateful as his wife seemed tranquil, continuing her very reasonable argument.
“Then we continue down the non-medication route. I’ll start tracking my ovulation, since you say I can conceive and we will make sure to concentrate our efforts on those times and if at any time my uterus becomes hostile, the fetus can be removed and...”
“Adrienne, you’re not listening. In the state your uterus is now the embryo would not even be able to attach itself to the uterine wall. You would lose every child that you and Daniel would conceive, almost immediately...”
Frozen, Daniel stood between the love of his life and the doctor unsure as to what he should do. Granted, were he married to anyone else but Adrienne Rowan Jackson, he would be holding her and comforting her while she cried, but not his Ad. If anything, she was the strongest person he had ever met, she was his rock, and right now he was torn between wanting to be hers and knowing when she needed space.
Adrienne, however, didn’t remain still, reaching to her left to unlock the latch holding the main portion of the scanner in place, slipping her legs off of the side and reaching her bare feet to the cold stone floor.
“Thank you Carson. I’ll stop by tomorrow so we can restart my medication,” she said without expression, walking over to Daniel, leaving her clothes, her shoes, approaching him in a tank top and underwear alone.
“I’m gonna swing by the room and get my gym bag, hit the workout room. Can you pick up Nicky after your four o’clock?” she asked, Daniel’s eyes cutting over to Carson as if the doctor could explain what was going on, but he was shaking his head, agreeing with what Daniel’s gut was telling him to do, to let her go.
“Sure Ad. I’ll call down to Ronon and see if he can hang out with Nicky until I’m done,” Daniel replied, Adrienne standing on her toes to peck his lips lightly.
“Thanks sha. Love you,” she said again without expression the words she no longer left his presence without saying.
“Love you,” he answered as she whisked herself away in her underwear headed for the gym.
“Daniel,” he heard Carson speaking behind him, “she’s gonna need to deal with this. I know she wanted, that you both wanted this so badly...”
They had. Nicholas had been the second surprise of his life, second only to Adrienne herself, but to have another child, one that was planned, one that didn’t need to be shielded from the dangers of an angry former foe would have been even more perfect.
“We did, but she’ll be alright. She just needs to blow off some steam,” he responded, Carson nodding silently.
Nothing else to say to the doctor, Daniel tapped his communicator at his ear, calling down to his chief security office to find his son.
*****
“Get up, it’s time to get my ass in trouble with the commander,” John said from the other side of the bars, but all he got was a back in return, the prisoner refusing to look at him.
“I have lived in this room for years, like an animal, and now you come asking for my aide as if we are friends,” he answered, still not moving, John reaching his hand to rub his temples. Todd had a point, he did, but it wasn’t John Sheppard’s place to explain Earth politics and military procedure to his old friend, for lack of a better word.
“You’ve lived in the room, for years, with everything you could have wanted and more. If anything it’s more like a very exclusive college dorm than a prison cell,” the colonel countered as if the Wraith would have any idea what a college dorm was, but then again he might. John made sure that Todd had TV, access to the experimental food energy source from Rodney, anything he needed though he asked for nothing. He hadn’t even asked for his freedom because really, where would be go? There was the retrovirus, it would have made him human, let him start a life on Earth, albeit monitored, but it would have been a life.
A life he refused.
So, Todd has remained confined to Atlantis, the only people knowing of his existence and that he survived the battle with the super hive were John Sheppard, Woolsey and General Samantha O’Neill, who felt it best to tell Daniel after they had established themselves back on Atlantica given his feelings about prisoners in general. Truth was, no one trusted Todd, except for John, who for some strange reason couldn’t figure out why the man/thing had just remained quietly in his cell for all of those years.
“Fine Todd, you know what? I don’t care. Sit here and rot. I’ll just go up to Daniel’s office myself, inform him that you’re down here and let him figure out what to do with you,” John threatened, beginning to leave when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.
So predictable, he thought, halting his exit.
“Am I free?”
John wished he had an answer for that because ultimately, as Sam had said, it was Daniel’s decision.
“Probably,” John didn’t lie, already anticipating this conversation with his new boss, a man who he still could not believe killed Anubis without so much as a blink. So, judging by that action alone, as long as Todd didn’t lay a finger on Addy or Nicholas then everything should be fine.
John watched as the tall being sat there, weighing his options before standing.
“Your sport football is improperly named since one rarely uses the foot,” Todd said as he pointed back to the TV, an old Cowboys game playing on the screen, pushing past the Colonel before he could answer.
*****
“Ronon, is Nicholas with you?” Daniel asked as he powered through the halls of the city, hoping his wife had ventured to the training room like she had said. He’d gone to their quarters first before calling Dex, thinking that she might just go there and break down and cry, but she was gone, her gym bag was gone and there was no note.
“Yeah, little guy’s helping me walk the perimeter,” the Sateadan answered, Daniel breathing out a small sigh of relief. At least he knew where one member of his family was, now to find the other.
“Listen, I hate to ask you guys this but-” Daniel started, stepping into a side alcove for privacy when Ronon interrupted him.
“Doc said it’s a no go?”
Daniel frowned. Of course Ronon would know, because if Ronon knew that meant Vala knew which meant that Adrienne had told her everything. He appreciated the bond between the two women, as odd as it had been for him at first, but there were times when he wondered if there would ever be a part of his life that Vala Mal Doran would not have intimate details of.
Damn space pirate.
“Daniel?”
“Yeah,” he finally answered, resigning himself to this reality, hoping Adrienne didn’t give Vala details like she had given the doctor, “she can’t.”
“Is she ok?” he now asked, a question even Daniel himself couldn’t answer.
“I have no idea. She left the infirmary and said she was going to work out and I can’t get a hold of her,” might as well be honest with Ronon myself, Daniel thought.
“I’ll send Vala down there, and I’ve got your boy,” was his reply before the communication was terminated. With that at least taken care of, Daniel glanced at his watch again noting he only had fifteen minutes until his meeting with the Botany department, no time at all to go to the gym himself.
Distracted, worried, and overall annoyed, Daniel jogged to the transporter, headed back to his office.
*****
Adrienne had wanted to run, but that meant she had to run the path she created around the base and Daniel might find her.
Daniel was the last person she wanted to talk to.
He hadn’t done anything wrong, it was quite the opposite. It had been his idea to stop his own medication, putting himself at risk for whatever might happen; it had been Daniel who kept a calendar and had gotten Vala and Ronon to keep Nicky so they could lock themselves in their room during her ovulation. Daniel had tested himself and her daily to see if the healing was taking. She knew he blamed himself for not letting her heal completely before waking her again, but it wasn’t his fault any more than it was hers. They’d played the blame game right after their initial appointment, three days after landing at Atlantica, both of them a sad blubbering mess of apologies until she had realized it wasn’t either of their faults.
He would blame himself nonetheless, she knew he would and he would start holding her, and try to make sure she was alright and have another plan, have made another appointment, suggest calling the Furlings so he could do this himself, he would do anything a wonderful perfect husband would do to make her happy.
She just didn’t want to hear his voice right now. Right now, she just wanted to sweat.
When she slipped through the training room doors she expected to be alone since it was mid-afternoon, the time of the day the city seems to dwindle to quiet before dinner and the other activities of the evening, but she wasn’t. In the center of the field stood Teyla, a stick in each hand, running through a slow, methodical martial arts form. Adrienne stood there for a moment, watching, absorbing when the Athosian stopped, glancing back over at her.
“Good afternoon Adrienne,” she greeted, her legs still deep in a stance. Shaking her head, the archaeologist tossed her bag aside, taking a few steps forward.
“Hey,” was all she could muster, the first word she had spoken since informing her husband that she was going to the gym.
“Is something the matter?” Teyla now asked, Adrienne swearing inside. The woman sensed too much for her own damn good and the last thing that Adrienne Jackson wanted to do was talk about anything relating to the past few hours.
“Just a bit stressed,” she chose instead, “needed to get the blooding flowing.”
Teyla smiled. If anything Adrienne knew that Teyla, among many members of the Atlantis crew, understood better than anyone the need to exercise to deal with stress. It had been what made her and Cam fast friends, that primal drive to sweat and get the heart rate up.
Geez, no wonder Daniel got so jealous.
“I understand, that is why I have come down as well,” she answered as she walked over to the side of the main floor, dropping her batons into the large equipment cylinder. Adrienne felt bad in that very moment, having forgotten what Teyla was going through these past two months since departure. They’d all hoped that when they arrived that the Athosians would be waiting to greet them on the mainland, where Teyla herself remembered Kanaan touching his forehead lightly to hers as she went to fight with the city and he with their people.
Adrienne had almost convinced herself of that very fact, insisting their second day here to accompany Ronon, Teyla and John to the former village site to bear witness to the happy reunion.
Kanaan, however, was not there, nor were any signs of any inhabitants in years.
Teyla was heartbroken.
She didn’t cry, didn’t express any outward emotion, but Adrienne had promptly volunteered to take Torren to ‘keep Nicky busy’ and give Teyla some time alone. Too absorbed in her own pain and planning, Adrienne hadn’t bothered to check and see how Teyla was doing and now, standing here worried about her own idiotic problems when she had a husband and child of her own by her side, Adrienne was at a loss for words.
*****
Daniel held up a finger, not rudely, but just to halt Radek Zalenka for one moment while he looked at the proposed garden. It was significantly bigger than the last one and would provide nearly everything plant based they would need, provided his staff stayed at the one hundred and fifty people that it was now. Plans of course were to expand to a full city, but with certain sections not yet explored even though they were now at full power, one hundred and fifty was where that number was gonna stay.
Hopefully...
“This is good, so then what do you need?” he asked, setting the tablet down as Zalenka smiled, reaching over to cue up the list on the screen.
“A few items, but they can wait. To get started we need twenty five more red fluorescents to enhance the growth. That seems to be the one color we lack, and the Asgard devices just can’t duplicate them like I’d like,” the scientist replied, Daniel nodding as he looked back at the list. It was lengthy and he was sure he could get everything they needed on the next supply run but the lights were needed as soon as possible to get anything started. He also needed to see if Rodney, did he ever wish that Sam was here, could look at that Asgard replication device and see why it was so damn glitchy...
“Radek, have you used the communication stones?” Daniel now asked, deciding to test out his theory from the other day. Given that the Destiny had been asked to change course, from the Milky Way to the Pegasus, she insisted that Daniel take one stone with him. Granted, the powers that be had argued that flying to the Pegasus really was only three weeks less of a journey but Daniel knew the real reason and he appreciated it. Sam wanted to give him and his team, namely Adrienne for now, but others as they were trained, a chance at the ship first before the United States government could intervene.
In the meantime, Daniel could use the stones to get quick messages to Earth, via an eager Eli Wallace as well as spy on Nicholas Rush.
It was a win win.
“No, but I know how they work,” he answered with hesitation in his voice. It was a little freaky, Daniel had to admit, but the stones were harmless and he’d rather have Radek do it himself than send anyone else. Pursing his lips, Daniel turned to his computer screen, keying in his access code, Alexander Skarsgard’s birthday.
Yes, that was to mess with Adrienne.
“I want you to head down to the communications room, I’ve sent my authorization. Head to the Destiny and explain everything to Eli, let him switch to Earth. Just request the lights for now, I don’t want for any of the new IOA guys to start giving Sam a hard time and while you wait go ahead and take a look around, feel things out, and check on Chloe. I know Carson wanted to be kept abreast of that,” Daniel explained, smiling, hearing his wife’s voice in his head telling him that was exactly how he needed to do things, one small step at a time and to delegate.
“Really?” Radek asked as if he didn’t believe him, Daniel nodding in assurance.
“Yea, but you might want to hurry in case Cam is being limited to his cargo this round.”
Relieved, poor Zalenka must know that whatever bullshit Rodney was filling him with was just that, bullshit, the scientist started to head out of the door when a thought flashed through Daniel’s head.
“Hey, Radek?”
The man paused, peering back as Daniel smiled, feeling satisfied and wanting to toss in just one more thing...
“Have Cam bring Adrienne some running shoes. Size ten, Adidas,” he requested, Zalenka chuckling.
“Machine can’t replicate those either?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not to her liking anyway,” he replied, Radek laughing and making a note on his screen, turning once more to leave.
“At least one thing has gone right today,” Daniel said, only to himself or so he thought, reaching across his desk to grab a pen when there was a figure at the doorway, crossing the threshold, startling him for a moment.
“John,” he greeted, sitting back in his chair, trying to relax.
Please don’t tell me another jumper is busted, please...
“Hey, Daniel, ya got a sec?”
Daniel didn’t like that tone. It was another jumper, they’d left three on Earth as it was, and that meant with four out of commission, they’d have, wait, how many would that be, where were his notes...
“This kinda can’t wait,” John urged, cautiously, Daniel shaking his head back to focus.
Deep breaths...
“Yea, what’s up? Another jumper?”
Colonel John Sheppard, however, shook his head.
“There’s someone I want you to meet,” he said instead, reaching his hand behind to motion for someone to enter.
Now, Daniel wasn’t exactly sure as to who would walk in.
Could John have found the Athosians?
Did the Vanirs show up to torment Daniel a second time?
Maybe Rodney had, God forbid, managed to clone himself to get more done...
What Daniel hadn’t expected was a Wraith to walk in the room, unbound, freely, heading straight for his desk.
“What in the hell!?!” Daniel shouted as he stood quickly, backing up, looking for the zat he knew that he had stored near his desk.
“Daniel, I need to explain, this is Todd,” John said, the Wraith, Todd, coming to a stop in front of the desk, his hands clasped in front of him.
“Todd?” his commander asked in return, a vague memory of the name coming out in meetings about the base, how there was a Wraith that had switched sides...
“Yes, Todd. He’s part of the reason we made it to Earth, that the super hive was defeated,” John was explaining but Daniel didn’t care.
“You brought THAT here with Adrienne and Nicholas!?! And it’s loose?!? Take it to the brig, I’ll deal with it later,” was all he could spit out, wanting it gone, not wanting to hear the explanation that was tumbling out of John’s mouth.
“But Daniel, listen, I can’t take him back there, he’s been locked up for years...”
Recalling this later, Daniel wasn’t exactly sure what he said, how loud it was, how profane it was, or if in fact it was Cajun, but he did remember John grabbing the tall bluish thing, dragging it out into the passageway.
He needed moonshine, and a Twinkie.
Shame he was out of both.
***
“I thought you said he was more compassionate than the other man?” Todd inquired as John led him down the hall, back to his cell, having decided not to piss of Daniel any further.
What had come out of that man’s mouth was not English.
“He is, well, he... It’s complicated since he got married and had a kid,” John tried to explain, knowing that was exactly what Daniel was going on about, well, thought that was what Daniel was going on about.
“Why? Is she frail? Infirmed?” the Wraith now asked, curious, John shaking his head back and forth in response.
“Actually, no, she could probably kick your ass,” the colonel replied, making his comrade even more curious.
“So, she is a great warrior?”
John shrugged.
“Yeah, but I think it’s more of she’s Cajun...” he trailed, as he stepped back into the transporter.
*****
By the time Teyla Emgammon had punched Dr. Adrienne Jackson in the face for the second time, she knew the archaeologist wasn’t even trying to defend herself. It wasn’t that Adrienne was a superior fighter, the Athosian found herself often evenly matched with the human woman since Teal’c had begun to train her, but this was abnormal. Her fist made contact with the high pale cheekbone, sending Adrienne momentarily to the floor before the Cajun leapt up, in a fighting stance again.
“Adrienne, is something the matter?” she ventured but her opponent swung at her, missing, sending her barreling into the floor. This was not like Adrienne either, it was sloppy and inconsistent with their past sessions. Teyla was turning, to stop the fight when a foot slammed into her side, knocking her to the floor. She should have restrained herself, but it was a low blow, literally, and she jetted up to her feet, shoving Adrienne back and kicking her square in the solar plexus. She should have gone down, but she just held her middle for a moment and smiled, charging Teyla like a wild animal, forcing her to kick the Cajun a second time.
That time, Adrienne fell to her knees.
“Adrienne, what is going on?” she asked again, dark mysterious eyes shooting up as again her foe was on her feet, punching haphazardly, Teyla having to kick out yet again when she noticed that Adrienne wasn’t even protecting her middle. Pulling her foot back as fast as she could, Teyla reach out instead to catch her friend who was falling, collapsing, sobbing.
“Just break it. I want it out, I want it gone. I can’t....” she was rambling, Teyla completely confused as Adrienne’s knees slammed onto the hard floor, reaching to punch herself in her lower abdomen.
“It’s not fair! I never asked for this, it’s just not fair!!!” the shrieking continued, Teyla unsure as to what to do, what Adrienne was talking about when she felt a hand on her shoulder, glancing behind her. Not a word was spoken, Vala Mal Doran was there, shaking her head slowly, biting her lip.
“I jus want anotha baby. Why can’t I ‘ave anotha baby? I didn’t ask ta be raped...” Adrienne was in the floor now, away from Teyla who was starting to put the pieces together. She didn’t know what to say truthfully, Vala kneeling beside them, reaching out her hand only to have it smacked away.
“I neva dought I wanted any of dis till Daniel ahn naw I canna even give ‘em anotha chile...” full blown Cajun speak now, Teyla trying to decipher as Vala leaned in past her, extending her arm a second time.
“Addy, listen, Daniel doesn’t care about that. You’re his entire world, you know that,” she was urging but Adrienne just cried harder. Sighing, Vala looked back at Teyla, indicating that she leave, that she would handle this in Daniel’s absence. Standing slowly, heartbroken for the woman she was leaving on the floor, Teyla left her own equipment behind as she headed for her quarters.
****
“What’s that?”
“Pegasus Calibrated DHD.”
“And that?”
“Spare engine pod.”
“And that?”
“I thought you read the manual?” Ronon asked, peeking around the jumper John Sheppard had asked him to repair to the Jackson genius child, sitting across from him on the cool tile floor.
“I did, but I didn’t commit it to memory. And mom took it away. She doesn’t want me flying one,” Nicholas answered, fiddling with the notebook in his hand.
“How could you fly one? You didn’t get an injection,” the Sateadean noted, deciding not to mention that he could never reach any of the controls without help, but the boy was ready to answer, the smile emanating from the child unmistakable.
“Dad’s DNA goodies. Don’t need it. Neither does mom,” he answered, Ronon having forgotten the DNA craziness that was the Jackson family.
“So you can fly one?” the man now asked, fearing the answer from the small boy, that maybe there was something he didn’t know.
“In theory.”
There was a confidence in his voice, something that told Ronon that he had probably thought through his size disparity and was simply seeking more mechanical knowledge.
The little shit was trying to con him.
“Why don’t you go get some lunch?” Ronon now suggested, the thought of Adrienne discovering that he was teaching Nicholas about jumpers making him just a little nervous.
That is where he gets it from, he thought, his mother.
“I’m not hungry,” he replied, much to Ronon’s sheer frustration. He couldn’t very well send the child to his room, Vala had called from the Jackson quarters to say that she had finally calmed Addy down, but seeing the child she did have was the last thing his friend needed to endure. Besides that, he had promised Daniel that he would look after the little guy until his father could relieve him. He was a good child, but the problem wasn’t his behavior; it was that he was too smart for his own good.
“Ok, ok. No more jumper lessons,” Nicholas relented, Ronon almost sighing out at dodging the bullet, “can I ask you about the ‘Q’ trials?”
Or not.
And more than that, how did the little shit know that he was the subject in the ‘Q’ trails?
Or for that matter, what the ‘Q’ trails were?
“I looked it up on Mom’s computer,” the boy answered for him.
“You can read minds now?” this wasn’t good and it wasn’t good considering some of the other thoughts he had run through his head in the child’s presence.
“No, but you looked shocked so I put two and two together.”
He was shaking his head again, honestly trying to figure out how Daniel and Adrienne lived with this.
“What are you doing over there?” he tried to redirect, the boy seeing through his ploy but smiling nonetheless.
“I’m working on my Ancient,” Nicholas answered, flashing the pages in Ronon’s direction, scrawled and scratched with utter nonsense. Granted, some of that nonsense was on the jumpers too, but Ronon knew how everything worked without having to read a dead language.
“Trying to show up your mom and dad?” he joked as the boy frowned, much like his father.
“No, trying to help. They’re both really stressed out and mom can’t concrete as well with trying to get pregnant again,” the words rolling out of his mouth only seconds before Ronon dropped a very delicate Ancient tool onto the floor.
“Uncle Ronon, you’re so funny. It’s ok, I know how that works and I think a brother or sister would be cool,” Nicholas responded, standing awkwardly.
“Where are you headed?”
“I need, a, uh, change,” the boy admitted, his cheeks flushed as he tossed the notebook aside, toddling out of the bay.
“Stay close Nicky!” Ronon shouted behind, trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
*****
Teyla knew what had happened to Adrienne and of course the city was small, in population at least, and she had heard that they were trying. She hadn’t really thought much about it other than to be happy for them; for the time she had known Daniel and now Adrienne, they deserved every good thing that came their way. The assumption had been made, as it had by she was certain most of her colleagues, that there would be an announcement, maybe even over the loudspeaker as Daniel liked to embarrass his wife, that she was expecting their second child.
The thought had never crossed her mind that it wouldn’t work.
She wondered what had gone wrong exactly, her knowledge of medicine being rather extensive for a lack of a formal education and there was only one place she could get answers.
Radioing to see if Torren was still playing in the botany lab children’s garden, Teyla changed course, heading for the elevators.
*****
“Take another shot.”
“I can’t Vala, I’m trying to get pregnant,” Adrienne whined, rolling around on the bed, the alcohol starting to dim her senses.
“No, we determined that’s not happening about three shots ago. Glasses is firing blanks,” Vala teased, pulling Adrienne upright who was fighting her, weakly.
“He is not. Shut up. Leave Daniel alone,” she answered, but it was more like one long slurred word rather than anything that made actual sense.
“It’s his fault, I bet, it’s always his fault,” Vala countered, pouring another drink and setting it aside, reaching again for her friend’s wrists.
“I dun told ya mon ami, it nah ‘im, but we can blame it on ‘im. I can make ‘im feel al guilty ahn do nice dings fa me...”
“None of that made any damn send Addy, none of it,” Vala replied, passing the drink as Adrienne sat.
“Ready?”
“Why in da ‘ell nah?”
“Ok, sure, one, two, three, drink!”
Vala slammed hers a lot faster, Adrienne barely making her mouth. If anything, this pregnancy planning had made her friend a light weight, off her meds or not.
“Nah, leave Indy alone, ‘ee tries so ‘ard...”
That Vala somewhat understood, not only her words but what Adrienne was trying to say. It was very endearing; it was what made Vala realize that they were meant to be together.
Daniel bent over backwards for Adrienne like he had never done for anyone else, on a personal level at least.
She did the same for him, pampered him a bit too much in Vala’s opinion...
“Did ah eva tell ya, back when we first gah tagetha dat ‘ee I caught ‘im looking up ‘ow ta,” Adrienne was giggling, falling back on the bed.
“Looked up what?”
The way the Cajun woman was rolling around on the bed in hysterics Vala could only imagine what was gonna come out of her mouth. Adrienne took in a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself, wiping tears from her eyes.
“We was plannin ah romantic evening, at ‘is apartment, befah ya’ll knew we was tagetha. I was supposed ta come afta my meetins’ but my las meetin’ gawt cancelled,” she explained, Vala straining to understand, “so I be early, real early, ahn when I got dere ‘ee was in da showa.”
Oh shit, Vala thought, please no sex details about Daniel, please...
“So, I go inta his room, ta change clothes, put on some yoga pahnts ahn der be ‘is laptop ahn he been doing research, jus nah da kinda research ya’d expect...” she was laughing now, hysterically, reaching for her stomach.
“ ‘Ee was lookin’ up ow ta please me, wit his mouf....” and she was completely lost in giggles.
Vala, on the other hand, was completely disgusted. There was no way that he didn’t know how to do that, no way in hell, but Adrienne was trying to compose herself again, something else to say.
“Indy be comin’ out da bafroom, in ‘is towel, gah jus ‘is towel, ahn ‘ee catched me lookin’ ahn starts stammerin’ and gettin’ all nervous like he do, ‘ee was so embarrassed....”
Dare I ask, Vala thought, or is she just gonna tell me?
Oh, she’s drunk, what the hell...
“So what did you do?”
“I did wha any good gainne wud do. I taught ‘im,” and Adrienne was gone, there was nothing else that she was going to be able to say clearly, thankfully, since Vala didn’t want to hear anymore. Before, yes, of course she would have wanted details, but now that she and Addy were so close, it was just not something she wanted to discuss.
“Ahn, ya wanna know wha ‘ee did?”
Oh dear god, what have I started?
“Sure Addy,” Vala replied, sitting up to pour herself another drink, hoping Ronon had the boy taken care of.
*****
Normally, Daniel Jackson wasn’t a quitter, but he’d had it today. His morning had begun with the discovery that the commissary was out of waffles, much like his desk was out of Twinkies. Nicholas had decided to start potty training himself, which had been a giant disaster from the moment the small child rejected the plastic training toilet until Daniel had left for his office listening to the boy and his wife argue. He’d been barraged with reports, had to endure his daily dose of Rodney BS and then the appointment. The Wraith that according to John has been living on the base for years was just icing on the cake, and he was torn between securing a communication stone to go scream at the SGC himself and check on Adrienne.
“Daniel?’ it was a female voice at the doorway, Teyla, and the commander glanced up to see that she was alone and sweaty. She must have been working out, which is where Adrienne had gone, making him focus instantly in his wife’s well-being.
“Teyla, hi, what can I help you with?” he asked first, not wanting to jump right into worry; Adrienne wouldn’t appreciate that in the last. Eerily quiet, Teyla turned to close the door behind her, securing the lock before approaching his desk.
“I was wondering if we may speak in confidence.”
And the day just got worse.
He had no news about Kanaan, he had no news of anything other than a Wraith was living among them, so he wasn’t sure what she needed. He hadn’t given her any special duties and he had hoped she wasn’t offended by that, but she seemed pleased with being allowed to keep her position on the base’s primary team while still being able to raise her son in the fashion she felt was acceptable.
“Of course, have a seat,” that was something that he hadn’t gotten used to saying yet, nor was he totally used to sitting on the other side of the desk, especially when someone came to him like this. He remained in his seat however, Teyla taking position in the chair across from him gently.
“I’ve been down in the gym with Addy,” she began, Daniel instantly relieved, “and we were training.”
That was exactly where he knew she would be, and he was pleased that she hadn’t taken to their quarters sobbing, suffering without him.
“Is she showering?” Daniel asked as it hit him that Teyla was alone, not accompanied by a happier, well-exercised Adrienne.
“Vala is with her. Daniel, she...” the Athosian trailed, Daniel leaning forward on his desk.
“She what?”
“Daniel she had a bit of an emotional breakdown I believe you call it. She was trying to get me to harm her, harm her womb, and when I stopped the fight she fell apart.”
There was nothing else that Daniel needed to hear, as he dashed from his desk, leaving everything behind, Adrienne his only thought when he felt a hand on his wrist, holding him back.
“Leave her,” Teyla instructed, “it is best that she not see you right now.”
Daniel was confused. He was Adrienne’s rock as much as she was his; why wouldn’t she want to see him?
“She feels as if she has failed you and your marriage. It is best that you give her space,” she advised, pulling him back to the white sofas lining the room, “that however, is not why I am here.”
Confused, no, Daniel wasn’t confused now.
He was livid.
“Teyla with all due respect my wife needs me and I could care less about what is happening anywhere else in this city!” He hadn’t meant to shout but the words just tumbled from him, Teyla standing and shaking her head.
“Kanaan may be lost, I understand that and understood it when we embarked on this journey,” she just kept talking as if he wasn’t angry, as if his face wasn’t red with rage, “However, rather than just wait and continue to feel helpless, I would like to help you and Adrienne.”
“With what?” his words asked, but let me leave is what they were saying, Teyla taking a stance that she only took when she was serious.
“I have spoken to Carson, before I came, and he informed me that Adrienne can conceive a child but cannot carry it to term,” she admitted to snooping, guilting Carson into breaking doctor-patient confidentiality, “I can.”
Daniel froze for a moment, wondering if he was hearing things or just imagining what she was saying, jumping to conclusions.
“I would like to volunteer to serve as a surrogate as Carson called it. I would like to help you and Adrienne have another baby.”
He wasn’t jumping to conclusions; she was saying exactly what he thought she was saying.
In that very moment the day turned.
Unsure as to what to say to Teyla just yet, Daniel simply grabbed her hand, dragging her along as he raced back to his quarters.
*****
“So I am to remain here?” Todd asked as he passed back through the bars, John feeling awful. He hadn’t visited him much over the years, but he had visited, trying his best to make his strange ally and cautious friend as comfortable as possible.
“For now,” John started, directing the guards that had followed them to leave, “the shock is gonna need to wear off but he’ll come around. Any other commander I’d be worried, but not Daniel.”
“If you say so,” Todd replied as he took a seat, grabbing a book from the side.
“You read?” John asked, noting the book’s title, A Brave New World. Fitting, John thought, his mind still not completely accepting of this new reality. He’d gotten used to fighting his way through life here, and then had gotten used to working on Earth, but getting the base set up again and starting up normal operations, especially with things at full power, was definitely a Brave New World.
“Your language is simplistic; it was easy enough to learn.”
On that note...
“Sheppard?” Todd inquired as John made it to the door, peering back quickly over his shoulder.
“Though they provide no nourishment I would like more of those Reese’s candies, the brown and orange ones,” he requested, John stifling a laugh.
“I will see what I can do,” he replied, wondering if beside the candy treat were there any more power cells to feed their friend.
*****
“Uncle Ronon?”
The boy had returned a few moments ago, Ronon refraining from asking what exactly he had done, but it hadn’t been long and he was right back on the floor, sitting as promised.
“Yeah,” he answered, still loosening the cargo hold latch, hoping that would give him better access to the array of tubes and lines running along the bottom of the ship.
“Do you think it’ll be like me?” the baby asked, Ronon holding back the swear as the bottom slab of metal slammed onto his fingers.
“What’ll be like you?”
“The new baby,” he asked, for the first time since Ronon had started really interacting with the child, sounding like, well, a child.
“It’ll look like you; it’s still gonna be a Jackson,” the Sateadan stopped what he was doing to sit up and face the dark brown eyes gazing back at him.
“No, I mean, think like me?”
Oh, Ronon thought, that. It hadn’t really occurred to him before, but it was probably a pretty lonely existence, an adult mind trapped into a child’s body with a child’s motor skills.
“Maybe,” he answered the most honest answer he could come up with, the boy considering his words, “Do you want it to?” he added carefully.
“I’m not sure.”
Honest enough.
“Well, they have to get pregnant first,” Ronon now said, the boy nodding thoughtfully.
“Yeah, I guess so,” he sighed, tapping the small pen to the paper.
“Get up,” Ronon ordered, standing, walking over to his side. Confused, Nicholas peered up at the much taller human, his head cocking to the side.
“Get up. Don’t you wanna go for a jumper ride? We can get one in before your dad comes to get you.”
Nicholas Jackson didn’t need to be told twice.
*****
Maybe Daniel should have expected the sight he walked in on, but nonetheless he felt a little embarrassed to find Adrienne passed out in their bed across Vala’s lap, the latter gently stroking the hair of the former.
“She didn’t have that much,” Vala spoke up immediately, “she was mostly just upset but I got her calmed down.”
Frowning, Daniel walked over to his nightstand where a bottle of tequila sat, two shot glasses nearby.
“Don’t get sassy with me,” Vala added as she gently moved Adrienne to her place on the bed, “she told me lots of goodies on you sir that I’m more than happy to use if needed.”
Damn Adrienne and her damn big mouth.
“Thank you Vala,” he chose instead, walking to the bed, momentarily leaving Teyla behind as he crawled in beside her.
“Would it be best if I leave as well?” the Athosian inquired as Vala collected a few things, cleaning up with the clear intent of leaving.
“No, if it isn’t too much trouble I’d like for you to be here, would you wait in the living area?” Daniel requested before he could stop himself, feeling bad instantly at his request. If this woman was willing to allow them to use her body, for forty four weeks being that she was Athosian, he shouldn’t be asking any more of her, but she only nodded, trailing behind his pseudo-sister-in-law and into the main room.
Alone at last, for the first time since Carson had told them the finality of their plight, Daniel redirected his attention to Adrienne, who was snoring lightly.
“Ja-wer?” he shook her gently, hoping this was a light sleep and that this wouldn’t be like waking her up normally. She stirred slightly, rubbing her face and muttering.
“I donna wan anymah Vala. Jus let me lay ‘ere till Indy gets back,” she requested, Daniel unable to help but laugh.
“Indy is back, right here, to clean up your mess,” he whispered in her ear, Adrienne’s eyes prying themselves open.
“Oh sha, how long ‘ave I been asleep?” she asked a question to which he did not have the answer, instead reaching for a bottle of water left on her nightstand.
“Long enough, drink this.”
She took the water, sipping slowly, sitting up only enough to cuddle into his arms, burying her face into his chest as soon as the bottle was empty.
“I overreacted,” she admitted quietly, Daniel pushing her forward to unzip the wool coat and toss it aside, taking her into his embrace again.
“No, you didn’t. You reacted for both of us. I just didn’t have the chance,” he whispered, kissing her head, holding her as tightly as he could.
“I need to tell Teyla I’m sorry, for scaring her,” Adrienne was pulling away, Daniel standing to take her hand and pull her to her feet.
“You ok?”
“Yeah, weird side effect of no meds, super quick to get light headed and super quick to clear it. Might want to tell Carson that one,” and his wife was back, in learning and research mode, eager to analyze her own blood’s ability to metabolize tequila.
“Teyla’s in the living room,” he said as she staggered forward, intent on her goal making her pause in her tracks.
“Oh no, did I do something that I don’t remember? Did I hurt her? I wasn’t trying to hurt her, only myself,” and now we had Adrienne part two, back to worrying about others.
“No, she told me Ad, and that’s not why she’s here. She wants to talk to you, to both of us about something very important,” he didn’t want to say it here; he wanted Teyla to tell her in case the reaction wasn’t the joy he had felt when he heard the words himself.
“About what? Is everything ok? Daniel is she ok? Torren?” she was rambling now Daniel stepping forward and reaching out, clasping her fingers.
“She’s fine, can you just go out there,” he tried the best he could to ease her fears but she could read him, she had always been able to read him and she knew that something was dead wrong in his expression.
“No Daniel,” no Indy, no sha, nothing, just pure seriousness in her voice, “you tell me right now what trouble I’ve caused.”
She had a point, after all, this was all her fault in theory...
He was smiling, he’d missed it but he was smiling and now his wife stood before him utterly confused.
“Daniel?”
“Ad, Teyla is out there not because of anything that anyone did wrong. She wants to help us,” he started, unable to contain himself, “Adrienne, Teyla is volunteering to have our baby.”
And with that, Dr. Adrienne Jackson almost fell to the floor.
*****
Radek Zalenka sat at the small cafeteria like table, stone in one hand and a cool drink in another. He had jumped into Scott’s body, thankfully, since Daniel had warned him before he made the link that he could get Rush.
Daniel Jackson wanted Nicholas Rush as far away from Atlantis as possible for now.
He’d met the man, little arrogant, no more so than Rodney, but Daniel seemed to think that there was something more sinister about the man that no one else could see.
“RadekZalenka,” Eli Wallace’s body jolted to life, the stone doing its task, sending the young genius’ mind to D.C. replacing it with...
“Teal’c?”
“No,” the man smiled, “my father is going to be staying on Chulac to aide in the assimilation of the rebels into the Jaffa Free Nation.”
Of course, Radek thought, it was wise to send Teal’c to deal with such matters, pleased to see that Ry’ac had recovered enough from his shattered arm to get back to work.
“How fares Atlantis?” the young Jaffa asked, his robotic Jaffa speak through Eli’s mouth confusing his memory banks, hurting his head a bit.
“Well. Daniel is a very competent commander,” he replied, believing it wholeheartedly. After all, he was keeping Rodney in check, with only minimal blowback and that in and itself was good enough in his book.
The men sat in silence.
“Do not repeat this, but this ship is dismal, as is the SGC. I am most fortunate that Washington DC has so many gardens as I never realized how much I have missed nature until it was no longer a part of my daily existence,” Ry’ac said, Zalenka looking around the ship in agreement. It WAS dingy here and to be honest it was a big reason he had asked to work with botany department getting things started. For a big and bad Jaffa, the scientist found it almost endearing how much Ry’ac seemed to miss vegetation.
And he did too, in fact, there were nights since that arrived on Atlantica that he wanted more than anything to just have a cot sent down to the garden, it just felt more like home for some reason, Radek having gotten accustomed to nearly daily walks along the Washington Mall in DC or desert jogs near Area 51.
Which gave him an idea.
“Ry’ac, if you’ll excuse me,” Radek said as he stood, remembering the other things Daniel asked that he work on, planning his next proposal to his boss on the way to the infirmary.
*****
“Is it bad to be excited?” Adrienne asked as Daniel crawled into bed, his turn to read Nicholas a story before bed. The child could read himself, Daniel having been the one that taught him, but he still seemed to like the ritual.
“No, why would it be?” he replied as he reached over, shutting off the lights.
She paused, Daniel peering over at her in the dark.
“Because I get another baby and I don’t even have to be pregnant.”
“Ok, yea Ad,” he started laughing, adjusting his pillow, “that’s bad.”
“Damn cooyon,” she shoved him, leaning up to allow him to get comfort so she could cuddle close in beside him.
“No, Nicky was hard on you,” he assured as she crawled her way onto his chest, “so maybe this is a blessing.” He kissed her head, holding her in his arms but she was pulling away, her face deadly serious.
“I told him.”
He didn’t need any explanation and he should have figured that she would tell their son; they had a relationship that was far beyond what he had ever expected a mother and child to have.
“Really?” he feigned surprise, reaching for her fingers, “When? He didn’t say anything to me.”
“When you were meeting with Zelenka, when he got back. I explained it all to him.”
“And?” he asked the real question that he had, a little apprehensive at the answer.
“He’s excited,” Adrienne smiled, the smile she only gave him, waves of relief rushing over him.
“Good, that’s what I was hoping for,” Daniel replied, starting to lay back when he remembered, rolling over quickly to face his wife, “Oh! I forgot! I forgot to tell you! Radek came back with this great idea.”
“I’m listening...”
“He wants to start growing trees, on the base, fruit trees. We could have fresh fruit everywhere. It would liven up things, make it feel less robotic and like a spaceship and more like a home...” he didn’t even get to finish before she was on top of him, tackling him, wrapping her body around him.
“I love you,” she whispered so softly, his face in her hands. He didn’t hesitate pulling her to his lips to kiss her softly.
“I love you too,” he said as he broke away smiling, “What brought that on?”
“Just you. You have this side. You get things done but you understand what’s truly important. Makes me love you even more.”
Everything, he thought, this moment right now makes everything worth it.
“Things are really starting to look up. You were right Ad, I can do this...” he was about to thank her for listening to him whine and being his never ending support system but her distracting lips were on his neck, kissing high, making him breathe in.
“We might not be able to get pregnant ourselves, but we can pretend we’re still trying...”
Damn distracting Adrienne.
He groaned out, moving her to where he wanted her on his body, running his hands down her backside.
“But can you make me cupcakes tomorrow ja-wer, I’m out of Twinkies.”
The kissing stopped, and the next thing Daniel knew a pillow was being slammed into his face.
Perfect end to a terrible day.
*****
He was walking through a hive ship, the lights brighter than he imagined but maybe he was transposing his own experience of the past years onto the scene. It was oddly loud for a Wraith vessel, not in movement but in voices, conversing voices all around him.
Curious, he dipped around a corner, a gathering of figures clustered ahead. They were not in clothes he was accustomed to, they looked more like the clothing that women would wear and their skin was all wrong.
He was about to step forward, ask them how they had gotten onto the ship when the tallest of the men turned, facing him, his face familiar as well.
This was wrong, this was all wrong, and he spun on his heels to flee, to find an escape pod, to warn John, taking a step without looking.
“You were never here,” the man ahead of him stood, a man, a brown skinned man with a black left eye, three taller blue figures standing behind him.
Todd sat up in his bunk, his half human heart pounding in his chest.
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“That being said, I believe that our best allocation of resources at this time, limited as they are, would be to start investigating the operations in the eastern wing of the base but I can’t start doing that if you keep sending my people to help Zalenka grow god damn flowers,” Rodney swore from the other side of the desk, Daniel rubbing his face in dismay.
“We have plenty to get us through the winter, the commissary is well stocked, so we have food Daniel, we have supplies, now let’s get something actually accomplished, unless you’re more concerned about your stomach,” the scientist continued, turning the next page in his folder dramatically, since when did he use a folder and not that stupid computer, as dramatic as the breath he was taking before continuing his rant.
Without a word Dr. Daniel Jackson stood, walking past Rodney McKay and right out of his office, not bothering to even close the door. Powering across the bridge, his name and sir being called out a few times as he passed, Daniel continued on to the transporter at the far end of the main control room, stopping only to push the button to call the box to him. The door slid away, his tall form still ducking for fear of hitting his head on the smaller space the tubes here in Atlantis afforded, selecting the correct floor from the choices allotted in the array of glowing dots. He didn’t move a muscle the entire ride, not even to mutter to himself, stepping out of the elevator when he arrived at his floor, just as silently as he made his way down the long hall.
Making it there in record time, he turned the corner, no tapping of his knuckles against the open door, walking right across the broad expansive, past tables, chairs, diagrams and view screens, taking a seat in the chair in the corner.
“Sha? Is everything alright?” Adrienne asked as he sat, having watching him trod across the room without so much as a word to she or Nicholas.
“No, it’s not. I’m the commander of the only Ancient city station known in existence, the most amazing thing an archaeologist could ever hope to explore to understand who we are and where we came from but what am I doing?!?”
Shaking her head, but not saying a word, Adrienne walked over to the coffee machine, grabbing his cup from her desk as she did.
“Rodney wants to take half of Zalenka’s crew on his latest insane mission, a group of scientists who are trying to re-establish a way for us to feed ourselves without Cam spending the rest of his life flying back and forth here with supplies. He’s in my office right now probably still trying to convince my chair that constructing a geothermal link to this planet’s volcanic core like they had before despite the fact that we have the PPS here with us is more important than anyone eating...”
His wife didn’t say a word, tapping the button on the machine to reheat the liquid, leaning back on the counter, her arms folded across her chest.
“John’s maintenance report this morning says that we have three, not one like he said last week, but three jumpers in need of repair, one that might need an engine overhaul which I didn’t even know was possible on those things. Ronon’s last security check-in, because I can’t call his two lines he gives me each week any kind of a report, claims that there are NO other life forms on this planet, humanoid at least, which I find VERY difficult to believe, and I’m honestly considering asking Vala to take over writing security reports. Vala, Ad are you hearing me? Vala. I actually weighing giving Vala REAL responsibility,” he continued, Adrienne calmly pouring a cup as the light flicked to the ready position, adding one cream, two sugars, before turning to head for the spare desk in the corner.
“Oh and remember that adorable married couple you thought were so cute, so perfect for each other, the Corbins? They’re in the physics department? They’re getting divorced, so I need to rearrange quarters, which we barely have set up anyway, and we have no shrink here, no therapist, and Teyla, kind as she is, is trying to step in and help, but she can’t handle her own duties and be a mother all while she’s trying to be our, what’s that lady on Star Trek you keep calling her?”
“Deanna Troi.”
“Right, that one, well, Teyla’s not the ship’s counselor and these two are at one another’s throats so bad that I’m not even sure if they can stay on the same level, let alone the same hall. There’s a leak in the south corridor, under the floor tiles, but the section of the city manual, oh wait, did you know that we have an electronic city manual? Rodney did, chose not to tell me that, and now he keeps referring to it as if I should have the god damn thing, read, memorized and be able to cite back passages specifically. Ja-wer, I’m gonna punch him in the face which makes no sense because of the two of us, YOU are the one prone to punching people...”
Smiling Adrienne shook her head, today being a touch worse than the episode a few days back, now that Daniel was threatening violence, violence that he wouldn’t carry out. A small yellow packet in her hand, she walked over to him quietly, handing over both the cup and sponge cake.
“We’re almost out of Twinkies,” was all she said, crossing her arms again and waiting.
“Can you make cupcakes when we run out?” he asked quietly, his expression softening as he took a sip of his coffee slowly, letting the snack cake sit in his lap.
“Dad?” a voice from the corner shouted out, Daniel feeling instantly guilty to have overlooked that other important person in his life, who was sitting happily at the miniature desk, two spiral notebooks and one of his journals on Ancient littering the surface.
“I’m sorry Nicholas, I didn’t say hello,” he apologized quickly, the boy’s small pursed mouth turning up to a smile at the acknowledgment.
“It’s ok, you’re stressed. Do you need some help? I can talk to Uncle Ronon and write his reports if you’d like,” he offered, putting down the small pencil, a tiny hand reaching for his tablet computer.
For a moment Daniel paused, considering it, letting his nine month old genius child write reports for him, after all the child’s grammar was impeccable, crazy Cajun mother or not. He didn’t agree though, Adrienne reading his face and his mind, frowning at him and shaking her head.
Wow Daniel, you’ve gotten desperate...
“No son, it’s all right. This is just a lot different than I’m used to and it’s gonna take a little more than a month to get used to it,” he answered instead, the Cajun glare disappearing at his words.
“Ka Naya ka nok,” Nicholas added with a grin, Daniel getting the message loud and clear as he son repeated his offer to help, Adrienne turning her glare on him as well.
“Stop speaking Unas, both of you,” she warned, Nicholas still smiling.
“Ser amil,” the child covered quickly, Daniel shaking his head. It should bother him, the boy learning Unas to speak to him in secret, Elvish for his mother, but instead he found it rather endearing. For as large as the city was, between Daniel’s job as commander, Adrienne’s as the head of Archaeology/Anthropology and the fact that the city itself was so sparsely populated, there were few opportunities to spend one on one quality time with their son, but these secret languages almost made up for it.
And the Unas drove Adrienne insane, more so because she just couldn’t wrap her head around it to save her life.
That alone was gold.
“Indy, you’re the boss now, but being boss doesn’t mean that you have to do all of this yourself. Why are you making John report to you on puddlejumpers? Why not only have Ronon check in when there is a problem? Get engineering on the leak, you’re not a plumber. Give Rodney Zalenka’s crew for a day and let them all quit when he goes bananas,” she offered, Daniel shaking his head as he opened the package containing his momentary indulgence.
“I can’t,” he said before shoving the cake into his mouth.
“Yes, you can. You won’t. You’re a control freak sha, admit it,” Adrienne joked. Frowning, causing himself to choke slightly on the cake, Daniel swallowed, gulping down some coffee.
“I am not,” he protested, knowing full well that she was right.
Damn Adrienne, always damn right...
“Yes, you are, but I’m not gonna argue with you while you’re sulking,” Adrienne said with a smile, peeking over her shoulder to the rather simplistic Greek design clock on the wall. That had taken a bit to get used to, the lack of cell phones at their beck and call, each and every person outfitted with an ear communicator and wrist watch, his own clunky digital device hanging heavily on his wrist. His wife, of course, had opted for the neon pink banded watch and a rather large clock in the Greek key design, Roman numerals and all.
“What are you looking at?’ he asked, now worried that he had missed something, forgotten something but Adrienne was shaking her head.
“Not for you, your next meeting with the botany department isn’t until four, your last of the day...”
“Wait, shit, that’s right, why has this job made me so...”
“Stop Indy stop. You’re getting used to it. It has not made you disorganized or anything else. Stop. I’ve got you covered; you won’t miss a single meeting,” she assured, walking her tablet computer over to him, his schedule for the week laid out on the screen carefully.
“Ad, you’re not my assistant anymore, you’re the head of the department, you can’t be worrying with my schedule,” he scolded as the tablet was removed from his hand, then the coffee mug, Adrienne taking a seat in his lap, facing him, flashing her left hand in his face.
“See that. That makes us a team and a team works together, regardless of what our titles are,” she said with a smile, tossing her arms onto his shoulders, bringing her lips to his.
“On that note,” the child stood from his desk, stumpy legs and a body that didn’t match the brain walking right for the door, “I’m gonna see what Uncle Ronon is doing.”
“Behave,” Adrienne shouted her traditional good-bye, returning her gaze back to her husband’s perfect blue eyes, “My appointment’s at two.”
Daniel paused for a moment, having forgotten what they were talking about before they had embarrassed their son with an outward display of affection when he remembered, the one thing on the calendar that he couldn’t forget. He moved Adrienne from his line of sight, but not his lap, peering over at the clock.
“That’s in thirty minutes,” he clarified, Adrienne nodding her head.
“Yeah, I was gonna call up to your office but your little tantrum saved me the effort,” she teased gently.
“Can I come? I understand if you don’t want me there, but,” Daniel started, his stammering cut off immediately with a kiss.
“I want you to come. And if it works, Vala and Ronon are gonna keep Nicholas for the night...” she whispered so softly, kissing down his neck, making him remember last night, when she came to his office as he worked late, telling him that they needed to break it in...
“We should head down early just in case he can see us,” Daniel said quickly, pushing Adrienne upward, all of his thoughts from this morning disappearing as he focused on his wife and the news that they wanted to hear. That had been a bombshell dropped on him the day they arrived, that Adrienne wanted another child, that despite everything working against them she wanted to try to get pregnant again. They had visited Carson the very next day; the doctor suggesting that Adrienne go off of her medication immediately to see if that would heal the damage. Oma had suggested as much when she brought Adrienne back, no, when she helped him bring Adrienne back, from the dead.
Today they would find out if that hunch was right, if without the drugs that kept her from healing would her body continue the repair what it had naturally begun when her heart gave out.
A process that Daniel had selfishly stopped, just to feel her heartbeat again.
“Come on sha,” she teased, sitting back down, resuming her soft kisses, “Carson said we needed to keep trying too, all systems go...”
“Lock the door,” he relented, standing to strip away half of his uniform as she dashed to fulfill his request.
*****
“Carson, I’m sorry we’re late,” Adrienne apologized, blushing, the good doctor shrugging as he walked over to the counter, reaching out to guide her to the table.
“Addy, on time is something I will neva expect ya ta be,” the Scot replied, Daniel slightly relieved that he hadn’t caught on. It was such a stupid thing to worry about, so what if he could tell by their glow what had happened, they were a happily married couple for over a year now, even he was there as they celebrated their first anniversary on the journey through space. That had been fun, Adrienne threatening for the first two weeks since lift-off that if he were to do something sappy, like write poetry or declare anything ship wide, that she would kill him.
Instead, he just threw a party, one to not only celebrate their first year as the Jacksons but that boosted morale as some personnel left the Milky Way behind for the first time.
“Up on the scanner,” he patted the machine gently, Adrienne reaching to undo her uniform, quickly tossing gray pants and jacket aside.
“Addy, I can run the scan through clothes,” Carson noted as the archaeologist crawled onto the table, orange tank top, sports bra and panties alone.
“Any excuse to get out of that uniform,” Daniel spoke before he could have thought his words through better, blushing himself now.
Damn Adrienne; damn her making me so flustered.
“You’d think that sleeping with the big boss would get me some perks in this job, but it hasn’t. Grey itchy wool like everyone else,” she joked, red cheeks again in Daniel’s face as Carson chuckled.
“Lay down,” he ordered, his fingers across the screen bringing the scanner to life, “now, no medication correct, none,” he started as the bar to the machine whirred to life over Adrienne’s feet, slowly moving upward.
“Not a one and Daniel on half dose like you said. We tested last week with a steak knife and it’s the same as before, I timed the healing at approximately eight seconds,” Adrienne explained, Daniel nodding in agreement. He hadn’t like testing that in their quarters either with the smuggled piece of cutlery, but he understood that Adrienne wanted privacy in this. He was sure that she hadn’t told a soul that they were trying, not even Vala, who she seemed to tell everything.
Everything.
That he didn’t want to think about right now.
“Good lass,” Carson responded, not looking up, “it makes it far easier when a patient actually listens.”
That, Daniel thought, is not problem for Adrienne; to her a doctor might as well be a deity.
“Anything yet?” she asked instead of replying to his remark, watching Carson frown, dancing his fingers around the scanner.
“Not yet Addy, can ya lie still please?” the doctor muttered, the Cajun complying under her husband’s serious glare.
“Jennifer said that the next step will be to clock Adrienne’s cycle to see when she’s ovulating,” Daniel spoke now, his mind steps ahead but Carson still wasn’t speaking, leaning closer to the read-out screen. Not liking the look, Daniel let go of Adrienne’s hand, walking around the foot of the scanner trying to read the results for himself.
“Daniel, Addy, I’m sorry,” Carson said as soon as Daniel was at his side, certain that his commander could read the results for himself.
“What do you mean I’m sorry?” Adrienne asked, sitting up, mouth open, looking to Daniel who was reading the screen, biting his lower lip.
“Ja-wer, it didn’t work...” Daniel started slowly, watching her, reading her, waiting for her to fall apart.
“It didn’t?” she asked instead, so very calmly, eerily calm. It was a calm Daniel knew, one that meant the break was gonna be worse.
“No Addy, I’m sorry. There has been no change in the scarring. You could conceive, but the fetus would miscarry very early in the pregnancy,” Carson explained as he brought the portable screen to her side, Adrienne still completely collected.
“Carson, that can’t be accurate. I haven't had a dose of my medication in over thirty days, Daniel hasn’t either,” the archaeologist flinched at that reveal, they had promised to keep that a secret since as the head of Atlantis he wasn’t supposed to be compromising himself more than a half dose, “and we’ve had unprotected sex at least once a day if not more since we stopped the dosages. If anything, I should have not only healed but decreased in age by five years!”
Daniel flushed with embarrassment. She wasn’t trying to be, well, Vala-like, airing their personal information for the entire medical bay to hear, which thankfully was empty. She didn’t understand, and he didn’t either, but that had been part of this mess all along. No one knew why they healed really, other than the Dopamine counts, no one knew why the alternate of himself he had met did not have the healing abilities, nor did his also descended wife.
“Addy, there was a chance that this wouldn’t work. Whatever this is also left both of your tattoos, so it seems to be as confusing itself as it is to us...” Carson was kind, his natural beside manner soothing and for that Daniel was grateful as his wife seemed tranquil, continuing her very reasonable argument.
“Then we continue down the non-medication route. I’ll start tracking my ovulation, since you say I can conceive and we will make sure to concentrate our efforts on those times and if at any time my uterus becomes hostile, the fetus can be removed and...”
“Adrienne, you’re not listening. In the state your uterus is now the embryo would not even be able to attach itself to the uterine wall. You would lose every child that you and Daniel would conceive, almost immediately...”
Frozen, Daniel stood between the love of his life and the doctor unsure as to what he should do. Granted, were he married to anyone else but Adrienne Rowan Jackson, he would be holding her and comforting her while she cried, but not his Ad. If anything, she was the strongest person he had ever met, she was his rock, and right now he was torn between wanting to be hers and knowing when she needed space.
Adrienne, however, didn’t remain still, reaching to her left to unlock the latch holding the main portion of the scanner in place, slipping her legs off of the side and reaching her bare feet to the cold stone floor.
“Thank you Carson. I’ll stop by tomorrow so we can restart my medication,” she said without expression, walking over to Daniel, leaving her clothes, her shoes, approaching him in a tank top and underwear alone.
“I’m gonna swing by the room and get my gym bag, hit the workout room. Can you pick up Nicky after your four o’clock?” she asked, Daniel’s eyes cutting over to Carson as if the doctor could explain what was going on, but he was shaking his head, agreeing with what Daniel’s gut was telling him to do, to let her go.
“Sure Ad. I’ll call down to Ronon and see if he can hang out with Nicky until I’m done,” Daniel replied, Adrienne standing on her toes to peck his lips lightly.
“Thanks sha. Love you,” she said again without expression the words she no longer left his presence without saying.
“Love you,” he answered as she whisked herself away in her underwear headed for the gym.
“Daniel,” he heard Carson speaking behind him, “she’s gonna need to deal with this. I know she wanted, that you both wanted this so badly...”
They had. Nicholas had been the second surprise of his life, second only to Adrienne herself, but to have another child, one that was planned, one that didn’t need to be shielded from the dangers of an angry former foe would have been even more perfect.
“We did, but she’ll be alright. She just needs to blow off some steam,” he responded, Carson nodding silently.
Nothing else to say to the doctor, Daniel tapped his communicator at his ear, calling down to his chief security office to find his son.
*****
“Get up, it’s time to get my ass in trouble with the commander,” John said from the other side of the bars, but all he got was a back in return, the prisoner refusing to look at him.
“I have lived in this room for years, like an animal, and now you come asking for my aide as if we are friends,” he answered, still not moving, John reaching his hand to rub his temples. Todd had a point, he did, but it wasn’t John Sheppard’s place to explain Earth politics and military procedure to his old friend, for lack of a better word.
“You’ve lived in the room, for years, with everything you could have wanted and more. If anything it’s more like a very exclusive college dorm than a prison cell,” the colonel countered as if the Wraith would have any idea what a college dorm was, but then again he might. John made sure that Todd had TV, access to the experimental food energy source from Rodney, anything he needed though he asked for nothing. He hadn’t even asked for his freedom because really, where would be go? There was the retrovirus, it would have made him human, let him start a life on Earth, albeit monitored, but it would have been a life.
A life he refused.
So, Todd has remained confined to Atlantis, the only people knowing of his existence and that he survived the battle with the super hive were John Sheppard, Woolsey and General Samantha O’Neill, who felt it best to tell Daniel after they had established themselves back on Atlantica given his feelings about prisoners in general. Truth was, no one trusted Todd, except for John, who for some strange reason couldn’t figure out why the man/thing had just remained quietly in his cell for all of those years.
“Fine Todd, you know what? I don’t care. Sit here and rot. I’ll just go up to Daniel’s office myself, inform him that you’re down here and let him figure out what to do with you,” John threatened, beginning to leave when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.
So predictable, he thought, halting his exit.
“Am I free?”
John wished he had an answer for that because ultimately, as Sam had said, it was Daniel’s decision.
“Probably,” John didn’t lie, already anticipating this conversation with his new boss, a man who he still could not believe killed Anubis without so much as a blink. So, judging by that action alone, as long as Todd didn’t lay a finger on Addy or Nicholas then everything should be fine.
John watched as the tall being sat there, weighing his options before standing.
“Your sport football is improperly named since one rarely uses the foot,” Todd said as he pointed back to the TV, an old Cowboys game playing on the screen, pushing past the Colonel before he could answer.
*****
“Ronon, is Nicholas with you?” Daniel asked as he powered through the halls of the city, hoping his wife had ventured to the training room like she had said. He’d gone to their quarters first before calling Dex, thinking that she might just go there and break down and cry, but she was gone, her gym bag was gone and there was no note.
“Yeah, little guy’s helping me walk the perimeter,” the Sateadan answered, Daniel breathing out a small sigh of relief. At least he knew where one member of his family was, now to find the other.
“Listen, I hate to ask you guys this but-” Daniel started, stepping into a side alcove for privacy when Ronon interrupted him.
“Doc said it’s a no go?”
Daniel frowned. Of course Ronon would know, because if Ronon knew that meant Vala knew which meant that Adrienne had told her everything. He appreciated the bond between the two women, as odd as it had been for him at first, but there were times when he wondered if there would ever be a part of his life that Vala Mal Doran would not have intimate details of.
Damn space pirate.
“Daniel?”
“Yeah,” he finally answered, resigning himself to this reality, hoping Adrienne didn’t give Vala details like she had given the doctor, “she can’t.”
“Is she ok?” he now asked, a question even Daniel himself couldn’t answer.
“I have no idea. She left the infirmary and said she was going to work out and I can’t get a hold of her,” might as well be honest with Ronon myself, Daniel thought.
“I’ll send Vala down there, and I’ve got your boy,” was his reply before the communication was terminated. With that at least taken care of, Daniel glanced at his watch again noting he only had fifteen minutes until his meeting with the Botany department, no time at all to go to the gym himself.
Distracted, worried, and overall annoyed, Daniel jogged to the transporter, headed back to his office.
*****
Adrienne had wanted to run, but that meant she had to run the path she created around the base and Daniel might find her.
Daniel was the last person she wanted to talk to.
He hadn’t done anything wrong, it was quite the opposite. It had been his idea to stop his own medication, putting himself at risk for whatever might happen; it had been Daniel who kept a calendar and had gotten Vala and Ronon to keep Nicky so they could lock themselves in their room during her ovulation. Daniel had tested himself and her daily to see if the healing was taking. She knew he blamed himself for not letting her heal completely before waking her again, but it wasn’t his fault any more than it was hers. They’d played the blame game right after their initial appointment, three days after landing at Atlantica, both of them a sad blubbering mess of apologies until she had realized it wasn’t either of their faults.
He would blame himself nonetheless, she knew he would and he would start holding her, and try to make sure she was alright and have another plan, have made another appointment, suggest calling the Furlings so he could do this himself, he would do anything a wonderful perfect husband would do to make her happy.
She just didn’t want to hear his voice right now. Right now, she just wanted to sweat.
When she slipped through the training room doors she expected to be alone since it was mid-afternoon, the time of the day the city seems to dwindle to quiet before dinner and the other activities of the evening, but she wasn’t. In the center of the field stood Teyla, a stick in each hand, running through a slow, methodical martial arts form. Adrienne stood there for a moment, watching, absorbing when the Athosian stopped, glancing back over at her.
“Good afternoon Adrienne,” she greeted, her legs still deep in a stance. Shaking her head, the archaeologist tossed her bag aside, taking a few steps forward.
“Hey,” was all she could muster, the first word she had spoken since informing her husband that she was going to the gym.
“Is something the matter?” Teyla now asked, Adrienne swearing inside. The woman sensed too much for her own damn good and the last thing that Adrienne Jackson wanted to do was talk about anything relating to the past few hours.
“Just a bit stressed,” she chose instead, “needed to get the blooding flowing.”
Teyla smiled. If anything Adrienne knew that Teyla, among many members of the Atlantis crew, understood better than anyone the need to exercise to deal with stress. It had been what made her and Cam fast friends, that primal drive to sweat and get the heart rate up.
Geez, no wonder Daniel got so jealous.
“I understand, that is why I have come down as well,” she answered as she walked over to the side of the main floor, dropping her batons into the large equipment cylinder. Adrienne felt bad in that very moment, having forgotten what Teyla was going through these past two months since departure. They’d all hoped that when they arrived that the Athosians would be waiting to greet them on the mainland, where Teyla herself remembered Kanaan touching his forehead lightly to hers as she went to fight with the city and he with their people.
Adrienne had almost convinced herself of that very fact, insisting their second day here to accompany Ronon, Teyla and John to the former village site to bear witness to the happy reunion.
Kanaan, however, was not there, nor were any signs of any inhabitants in years.
Teyla was heartbroken.
She didn’t cry, didn’t express any outward emotion, but Adrienne had promptly volunteered to take Torren to ‘keep Nicky busy’ and give Teyla some time alone. Too absorbed in her own pain and planning, Adrienne hadn’t bothered to check and see how Teyla was doing and now, standing here worried about her own idiotic problems when she had a husband and child of her own by her side, Adrienne was at a loss for words.
*****
Daniel held up a finger, not rudely, but just to halt Radek Zalenka for one moment while he looked at the proposed garden. It was significantly bigger than the last one and would provide nearly everything plant based they would need, provided his staff stayed at the one hundred and fifty people that it was now. Plans of course were to expand to a full city, but with certain sections not yet explored even though they were now at full power, one hundred and fifty was where that number was gonna stay.
Hopefully...
“This is good, so then what do you need?” he asked, setting the tablet down as Zalenka smiled, reaching over to cue up the list on the screen.
“A few items, but they can wait. To get started we need twenty five more red fluorescents to enhance the growth. That seems to be the one color we lack, and the Asgard devices just can’t duplicate them like I’d like,” the scientist replied, Daniel nodding as he looked back at the list. It was lengthy and he was sure he could get everything they needed on the next supply run but the lights were needed as soon as possible to get anything started. He also needed to see if Rodney, did he ever wish that Sam was here, could look at that Asgard replication device and see why it was so damn glitchy...
“Radek, have you used the communication stones?” Daniel now asked, deciding to test out his theory from the other day. Given that the Destiny had been asked to change course, from the Milky Way to the Pegasus, she insisted that Daniel take one stone with him. Granted, the powers that be had argued that flying to the Pegasus really was only three weeks less of a journey but Daniel knew the real reason and he appreciated it. Sam wanted to give him and his team, namely Adrienne for now, but others as they were trained, a chance at the ship first before the United States government could intervene.
In the meantime, Daniel could use the stones to get quick messages to Earth, via an eager Eli Wallace as well as spy on Nicholas Rush.
It was a win win.
“No, but I know how they work,” he answered with hesitation in his voice. It was a little freaky, Daniel had to admit, but the stones were harmless and he’d rather have Radek do it himself than send anyone else. Pursing his lips, Daniel turned to his computer screen, keying in his access code, Alexander Skarsgard’s birthday.
Yes, that was to mess with Adrienne.
“I want you to head down to the communications room, I’ve sent my authorization. Head to the Destiny and explain everything to Eli, let him switch to Earth. Just request the lights for now, I don’t want for any of the new IOA guys to start giving Sam a hard time and while you wait go ahead and take a look around, feel things out, and check on Chloe. I know Carson wanted to be kept abreast of that,” Daniel explained, smiling, hearing his wife’s voice in his head telling him that was exactly how he needed to do things, one small step at a time and to delegate.
“Really?” Radek asked as if he didn’t believe him, Daniel nodding in assurance.
“Yea, but you might want to hurry in case Cam is being limited to his cargo this round.”
Relieved, poor Zalenka must know that whatever bullshit Rodney was filling him with was just that, bullshit, the scientist started to head out of the door when a thought flashed through Daniel’s head.
“Hey, Radek?”
The man paused, peering back as Daniel smiled, feeling satisfied and wanting to toss in just one more thing...
“Have Cam bring Adrienne some running shoes. Size ten, Adidas,” he requested, Zalenka chuckling.
“Machine can’t replicate those either?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not to her liking anyway,” he replied, Radek laughing and making a note on his screen, turning once more to leave.
“At least one thing has gone right today,” Daniel said, only to himself or so he thought, reaching across his desk to grab a pen when there was a figure at the doorway, crossing the threshold, startling him for a moment.
“John,” he greeted, sitting back in his chair, trying to relax.
Please don’t tell me another jumper is busted, please...
“Hey, Daniel, ya got a sec?”
Daniel didn’t like that tone. It was another jumper, they’d left three on Earth as it was, and that meant with four out of commission, they’d have, wait, how many would that be, where were his notes...
“This kinda can’t wait,” John urged, cautiously, Daniel shaking his head back to focus.
Deep breaths...
“Yea, what’s up? Another jumper?”
Colonel John Sheppard, however, shook his head.
“There’s someone I want you to meet,” he said instead, reaching his hand behind to motion for someone to enter.
Now, Daniel wasn’t exactly sure as to who would walk in.
Could John have found the Athosians?
Did the Vanirs show up to torment Daniel a second time?
Maybe Rodney had, God forbid, managed to clone himself to get more done...
What Daniel hadn’t expected was a Wraith to walk in the room, unbound, freely, heading straight for his desk.
“What in the hell!?!” Daniel shouted as he stood quickly, backing up, looking for the zat he knew that he had stored near his desk.
“Daniel, I need to explain, this is Todd,” John said, the Wraith, Todd, coming to a stop in front of the desk, his hands clasped in front of him.
“Todd?” his commander asked in return, a vague memory of the name coming out in meetings about the base, how there was a Wraith that had switched sides...
“Yes, Todd. He’s part of the reason we made it to Earth, that the super hive was defeated,” John was explaining but Daniel didn’t care.
“You brought THAT here with Adrienne and Nicholas!?! And it’s loose?!? Take it to the brig, I’ll deal with it later,” was all he could spit out, wanting it gone, not wanting to hear the explanation that was tumbling out of John’s mouth.
“But Daniel, listen, I can’t take him back there, he’s been locked up for years...”
Recalling this later, Daniel wasn’t exactly sure what he said, how loud it was, how profane it was, or if in fact it was Cajun, but he did remember John grabbing the tall bluish thing, dragging it out into the passageway.
He needed moonshine, and a Twinkie.
Shame he was out of both.
***
“I thought you said he was more compassionate than the other man?” Todd inquired as John led him down the hall, back to his cell, having decided not to piss of Daniel any further.
What had come out of that man’s mouth was not English.
“He is, well, he... It’s complicated since he got married and had a kid,” John tried to explain, knowing that was exactly what Daniel was going on about, well, thought that was what Daniel was going on about.
“Why? Is she frail? Infirmed?” the Wraith now asked, curious, John shaking his head back and forth in response.
“Actually, no, she could probably kick your ass,” the colonel replied, making his comrade even more curious.
“So, she is a great warrior?”
John shrugged.
“Yeah, but I think it’s more of she’s Cajun...” he trailed, as he stepped back into the transporter.
*****
By the time Teyla Emgammon had punched Dr. Adrienne Jackson in the face for the second time, she knew the archaeologist wasn’t even trying to defend herself. It wasn’t that Adrienne was a superior fighter, the Athosian found herself often evenly matched with the human woman since Teal’c had begun to train her, but this was abnormal. Her fist made contact with the high pale cheekbone, sending Adrienne momentarily to the floor before the Cajun leapt up, in a fighting stance again.
“Adrienne, is something the matter?” she ventured but her opponent swung at her, missing, sending her barreling into the floor. This was not like Adrienne either, it was sloppy and inconsistent with their past sessions. Teyla was turning, to stop the fight when a foot slammed into her side, knocking her to the floor. She should have restrained herself, but it was a low blow, literally, and she jetted up to her feet, shoving Adrienne back and kicking her square in the solar plexus. She should have gone down, but she just held her middle for a moment and smiled, charging Teyla like a wild animal, forcing her to kick the Cajun a second time.
That time, Adrienne fell to her knees.
“Adrienne, what is going on?” she asked again, dark mysterious eyes shooting up as again her foe was on her feet, punching haphazardly, Teyla having to kick out yet again when she noticed that Adrienne wasn’t even protecting her middle. Pulling her foot back as fast as she could, Teyla reach out instead to catch her friend who was falling, collapsing, sobbing.
“Just break it. I want it out, I want it gone. I can’t....” she was rambling, Teyla completely confused as Adrienne’s knees slammed onto the hard floor, reaching to punch herself in her lower abdomen.
“It’s not fair! I never asked for this, it’s just not fair!!!” the shrieking continued, Teyla unsure as to what to do, what Adrienne was talking about when she felt a hand on her shoulder, glancing behind her. Not a word was spoken, Vala Mal Doran was there, shaking her head slowly, biting her lip.
“I jus want anotha baby. Why can’t I ‘ave anotha baby? I didn’t ask ta be raped...” Adrienne was in the floor now, away from Teyla who was starting to put the pieces together. She didn’t know what to say truthfully, Vala kneeling beside them, reaching out her hand only to have it smacked away.
“I neva dought I wanted any of dis till Daniel ahn naw I canna even give ‘em anotha chile...” full blown Cajun speak now, Teyla trying to decipher as Vala leaned in past her, extending her arm a second time.
“Addy, listen, Daniel doesn’t care about that. You’re his entire world, you know that,” she was urging but Adrienne just cried harder. Sighing, Vala looked back at Teyla, indicating that she leave, that she would handle this in Daniel’s absence. Standing slowly, heartbroken for the woman she was leaving on the floor, Teyla left her own equipment behind as she headed for her quarters.
****
“What’s that?”
“Pegasus Calibrated DHD.”
“And that?”
“Spare engine pod.”
“And that?”
“I thought you read the manual?” Ronon asked, peeking around the jumper John Sheppard had asked him to repair to the Jackson genius child, sitting across from him on the cool tile floor.
“I did, but I didn’t commit it to memory. And mom took it away. She doesn’t want me flying one,” Nicholas answered, fiddling with the notebook in his hand.
“How could you fly one? You didn’t get an injection,” the Sateadean noted, deciding not to mention that he could never reach any of the controls without help, but the boy was ready to answer, the smile emanating from the child unmistakable.
“Dad’s DNA goodies. Don’t need it. Neither does mom,” he answered, Ronon having forgotten the DNA craziness that was the Jackson family.
“So you can fly one?” the man now asked, fearing the answer from the small boy, that maybe there was something he didn’t know.
“In theory.”
There was a confidence in his voice, something that told Ronon that he had probably thought through his size disparity and was simply seeking more mechanical knowledge.
The little shit was trying to con him.
“Why don’t you go get some lunch?” Ronon now suggested, the thought of Adrienne discovering that he was teaching Nicholas about jumpers making him just a little nervous.
That is where he gets it from, he thought, his mother.
“I’m not hungry,” he replied, much to Ronon’s sheer frustration. He couldn’t very well send the child to his room, Vala had called from the Jackson quarters to say that she had finally calmed Addy down, but seeing the child she did have was the last thing his friend needed to endure. Besides that, he had promised Daniel that he would look after the little guy until his father could relieve him. He was a good child, but the problem wasn’t his behavior; it was that he was too smart for his own good.
“Ok, ok. No more jumper lessons,” Nicholas relented, Ronon almost sighing out at dodging the bullet, “can I ask you about the ‘Q’ trials?”
Or not.
And more than that, how did the little shit know that he was the subject in the ‘Q’ trails?
Or for that matter, what the ‘Q’ trails were?
“I looked it up on Mom’s computer,” the boy answered for him.
“You can read minds now?” this wasn’t good and it wasn’t good considering some of the other thoughts he had run through his head in the child’s presence.
“No, but you looked shocked so I put two and two together.”
He was shaking his head again, honestly trying to figure out how Daniel and Adrienne lived with this.
“What are you doing over there?” he tried to redirect, the boy seeing through his ploy but smiling nonetheless.
“I’m working on my Ancient,” Nicholas answered, flashing the pages in Ronon’s direction, scrawled and scratched with utter nonsense. Granted, some of that nonsense was on the jumpers too, but Ronon knew how everything worked without having to read a dead language.
“Trying to show up your mom and dad?” he joked as the boy frowned, much like his father.
“No, trying to help. They’re both really stressed out and mom can’t concrete as well with trying to get pregnant again,” the words rolling out of his mouth only seconds before Ronon dropped a very delicate Ancient tool onto the floor.
“Uncle Ronon, you’re so funny. It’s ok, I know how that works and I think a brother or sister would be cool,” Nicholas responded, standing awkwardly.
“Where are you headed?”
“I need, a, uh, change,” the boy admitted, his cheeks flushed as he tossed the notebook aside, toddling out of the bay.
“Stay close Nicky!” Ronon shouted behind, trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
*****
Teyla knew what had happened to Adrienne and of course the city was small, in population at least, and she had heard that they were trying. She hadn’t really thought much about it other than to be happy for them; for the time she had known Daniel and now Adrienne, they deserved every good thing that came their way. The assumption had been made, as it had by she was certain most of her colleagues, that there would be an announcement, maybe even over the loudspeaker as Daniel liked to embarrass his wife, that she was expecting their second child.
The thought had never crossed her mind that it wouldn’t work.
She wondered what had gone wrong exactly, her knowledge of medicine being rather extensive for a lack of a formal education and there was only one place she could get answers.
Radioing to see if Torren was still playing in the botany lab children’s garden, Teyla changed course, heading for the elevators.
*****
“Take another shot.”
“I can’t Vala, I’m trying to get pregnant,” Adrienne whined, rolling around on the bed, the alcohol starting to dim her senses.
“No, we determined that’s not happening about three shots ago. Glasses is firing blanks,” Vala teased, pulling Adrienne upright who was fighting her, weakly.
“He is not. Shut up. Leave Daniel alone,” she answered, but it was more like one long slurred word rather than anything that made actual sense.
“It’s his fault, I bet, it’s always his fault,” Vala countered, pouring another drink and setting it aside, reaching again for her friend’s wrists.
“I dun told ya mon ami, it nah ‘im, but we can blame it on ‘im. I can make ‘im feel al guilty ahn do nice dings fa me...”
“None of that made any damn send Addy, none of it,” Vala replied, passing the drink as Adrienne sat.
“Ready?”
“Why in da ‘ell nah?”
“Ok, sure, one, two, three, drink!”
Vala slammed hers a lot faster, Adrienne barely making her mouth. If anything, this pregnancy planning had made her friend a light weight, off her meds or not.
“Nah, leave Indy alone, ‘ee tries so ‘ard...”
That Vala somewhat understood, not only her words but what Adrienne was trying to say. It was very endearing; it was what made Vala realize that they were meant to be together.
Daniel bent over backwards for Adrienne like he had never done for anyone else, on a personal level at least.
She did the same for him, pampered him a bit too much in Vala’s opinion...
“Did ah eva tell ya, back when we first gah tagetha dat ‘ee I caught ‘im looking up ‘ow ta,” Adrienne was giggling, falling back on the bed.
“Looked up what?”
The way the Cajun woman was rolling around on the bed in hysterics Vala could only imagine what was gonna come out of her mouth. Adrienne took in a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself, wiping tears from her eyes.
“We was plannin ah romantic evening, at ‘is apartment, befah ya’ll knew we was tagetha. I was supposed ta come afta my meetins’ but my las meetin’ gawt cancelled,” she explained, Vala straining to understand, “so I be early, real early, ahn when I got dere ‘ee was in da showa.”
Oh shit, Vala thought, please no sex details about Daniel, please...
“So, I go inta his room, ta change clothes, put on some yoga pahnts ahn der be ‘is laptop ahn he been doing research, jus nah da kinda research ya’d expect...” she was laughing now, hysterically, reaching for her stomach.
“ ‘Ee was lookin’ up ow ta please me, wit his mouf....” and she was completely lost in giggles.
Vala, on the other hand, was completely disgusted. There was no way that he didn’t know how to do that, no way in hell, but Adrienne was trying to compose herself again, something else to say.
“Indy be comin’ out da bafroom, in ‘is towel, gah jus ‘is towel, ahn ‘ee catched me lookin’ ahn starts stammerin’ and gettin’ all nervous like he do, ‘ee was so embarrassed....”
Dare I ask, Vala thought, or is she just gonna tell me?
Oh, she’s drunk, what the hell...
“So what did you do?”
“I did wha any good gainne wud do. I taught ‘im,” and Adrienne was gone, there was nothing else that she was going to be able to say clearly, thankfully, since Vala didn’t want to hear anymore. Before, yes, of course she would have wanted details, but now that she and Addy were so close, it was just not something she wanted to discuss.
“Ahn, ya wanna know wha ‘ee did?”
Oh dear god, what have I started?
“Sure Addy,” Vala replied, sitting up to pour herself another drink, hoping Ronon had the boy taken care of.
*****
Normally, Daniel Jackson wasn’t a quitter, but he’d had it today. His morning had begun with the discovery that the commissary was out of waffles, much like his desk was out of Twinkies. Nicholas had decided to start potty training himself, which had been a giant disaster from the moment the small child rejected the plastic training toilet until Daniel had left for his office listening to the boy and his wife argue. He’d been barraged with reports, had to endure his daily dose of Rodney BS and then the appointment. The Wraith that according to John has been living on the base for years was just icing on the cake, and he was torn between securing a communication stone to go scream at the SGC himself and check on Adrienne.
“Daniel?’ it was a female voice at the doorway, Teyla, and the commander glanced up to see that she was alone and sweaty. She must have been working out, which is where Adrienne had gone, making him focus instantly in his wife’s well-being.
“Teyla, hi, what can I help you with?” he asked first, not wanting to jump right into worry; Adrienne wouldn’t appreciate that in the last. Eerily quiet, Teyla turned to close the door behind her, securing the lock before approaching his desk.
“I was wondering if we may speak in confidence.”
And the day just got worse.
He had no news about Kanaan, he had no news of anything other than a Wraith was living among them, so he wasn’t sure what she needed. He hadn’t given her any special duties and he had hoped she wasn’t offended by that, but she seemed pleased with being allowed to keep her position on the base’s primary team while still being able to raise her son in the fashion she felt was acceptable.
“Of course, have a seat,” that was something that he hadn’t gotten used to saying yet, nor was he totally used to sitting on the other side of the desk, especially when someone came to him like this. He remained in his seat however, Teyla taking position in the chair across from him gently.
“I’ve been down in the gym with Addy,” she began, Daniel instantly relieved, “and we were training.”
That was exactly where he knew she would be, and he was pleased that she hadn’t taken to their quarters sobbing, suffering without him.
“Is she showering?” Daniel asked as it hit him that Teyla was alone, not accompanied by a happier, well-exercised Adrienne.
“Vala is with her. Daniel, she...” the Athosian trailed, Daniel leaning forward on his desk.
“She what?”
“Daniel she had a bit of an emotional breakdown I believe you call it. She was trying to get me to harm her, harm her womb, and when I stopped the fight she fell apart.”
There was nothing else that Daniel needed to hear, as he dashed from his desk, leaving everything behind, Adrienne his only thought when he felt a hand on his wrist, holding him back.
“Leave her,” Teyla instructed, “it is best that she not see you right now.”
Daniel was confused. He was Adrienne’s rock as much as she was his; why wouldn’t she want to see him?
“She feels as if she has failed you and your marriage. It is best that you give her space,” she advised, pulling him back to the white sofas lining the room, “that however, is not why I am here.”
Confused, no, Daniel wasn’t confused now.
He was livid.
“Teyla with all due respect my wife needs me and I could care less about what is happening anywhere else in this city!” He hadn’t meant to shout but the words just tumbled from him, Teyla standing and shaking her head.
“Kanaan may be lost, I understand that and understood it when we embarked on this journey,” she just kept talking as if he wasn’t angry, as if his face wasn’t red with rage, “However, rather than just wait and continue to feel helpless, I would like to help you and Adrienne.”
“With what?” his words asked, but let me leave is what they were saying, Teyla taking a stance that she only took when she was serious.
“I have spoken to Carson, before I came, and he informed me that Adrienne can conceive a child but cannot carry it to term,” she admitted to snooping, guilting Carson into breaking doctor-patient confidentiality, “I can.”
Daniel froze for a moment, wondering if he was hearing things or just imagining what she was saying, jumping to conclusions.
“I would like to volunteer to serve as a surrogate as Carson called it. I would like to help you and Adrienne have another baby.”
He wasn’t jumping to conclusions; she was saying exactly what he thought she was saying.
In that very moment the day turned.
Unsure as to what to say to Teyla just yet, Daniel simply grabbed her hand, dragging her along as he raced back to his quarters.
*****
“So I am to remain here?” Todd asked as he passed back through the bars, John feeling awful. He hadn’t visited him much over the years, but he had visited, trying his best to make his strange ally and cautious friend as comfortable as possible.
“For now,” John started, directing the guards that had followed them to leave, “the shock is gonna need to wear off but he’ll come around. Any other commander I’d be worried, but not Daniel.”
“If you say so,” Todd replied as he took a seat, grabbing a book from the side.
“You read?” John asked, noting the book’s title, A Brave New World. Fitting, John thought, his mind still not completely accepting of this new reality. He’d gotten used to fighting his way through life here, and then had gotten used to working on Earth, but getting the base set up again and starting up normal operations, especially with things at full power, was definitely a Brave New World.
“Your language is simplistic; it was easy enough to learn.”
On that note...
“Sheppard?” Todd inquired as John made it to the door, peering back quickly over his shoulder.
“Though they provide no nourishment I would like more of those Reese’s candies, the brown and orange ones,” he requested, John stifling a laugh.
“I will see what I can do,” he replied, wondering if beside the candy treat were there any more power cells to feed their friend.
*****
“Uncle Ronon?”
The boy had returned a few moments ago, Ronon refraining from asking what exactly he had done, but it hadn’t been long and he was right back on the floor, sitting as promised.
“Yeah,” he answered, still loosening the cargo hold latch, hoping that would give him better access to the array of tubes and lines running along the bottom of the ship.
“Do you think it’ll be like me?” the baby asked, Ronon holding back the swear as the bottom slab of metal slammed onto his fingers.
“What’ll be like you?”
“The new baby,” he asked, for the first time since Ronon had started really interacting with the child, sounding like, well, a child.
“It’ll look like you; it’s still gonna be a Jackson,” the Sateadan stopped what he was doing to sit up and face the dark brown eyes gazing back at him.
“No, I mean, think like me?”
Oh, Ronon thought, that. It hadn’t really occurred to him before, but it was probably a pretty lonely existence, an adult mind trapped into a child’s body with a child’s motor skills.
“Maybe,” he answered the most honest answer he could come up with, the boy considering his words, “Do you want it to?” he added carefully.
“I’m not sure.”
Honest enough.
“Well, they have to get pregnant first,” Ronon now said, the boy nodding thoughtfully.
“Yeah, I guess so,” he sighed, tapping the small pen to the paper.
“Get up,” Ronon ordered, standing, walking over to his side. Confused, Nicholas peered up at the much taller human, his head cocking to the side.
“Get up. Don’t you wanna go for a jumper ride? We can get one in before your dad comes to get you.”
Nicholas Jackson didn’t need to be told twice.
*****
Maybe Daniel should have expected the sight he walked in on, but nonetheless he felt a little embarrassed to find Adrienne passed out in their bed across Vala’s lap, the latter gently stroking the hair of the former.
“She didn’t have that much,” Vala spoke up immediately, “she was mostly just upset but I got her calmed down.”
Frowning, Daniel walked over to his nightstand where a bottle of tequila sat, two shot glasses nearby.
“Don’t get sassy with me,” Vala added as she gently moved Adrienne to her place on the bed, “she told me lots of goodies on you sir that I’m more than happy to use if needed.”
Damn Adrienne and her damn big mouth.
“Thank you Vala,” he chose instead, walking to the bed, momentarily leaving Teyla behind as he crawled in beside her.
“Would it be best if I leave as well?” the Athosian inquired as Vala collected a few things, cleaning up with the clear intent of leaving.
“No, if it isn’t too much trouble I’d like for you to be here, would you wait in the living area?” Daniel requested before he could stop himself, feeling bad instantly at his request. If this woman was willing to allow them to use her body, for forty four weeks being that she was Athosian, he shouldn’t be asking any more of her, but she only nodded, trailing behind his pseudo-sister-in-law and into the main room.
Alone at last, for the first time since Carson had told them the finality of their plight, Daniel redirected his attention to Adrienne, who was snoring lightly.
“Ja-wer?” he shook her gently, hoping this was a light sleep and that this wouldn’t be like waking her up normally. She stirred slightly, rubbing her face and muttering.
“I donna wan anymah Vala. Jus let me lay ‘ere till Indy gets back,” she requested, Daniel unable to help but laugh.
“Indy is back, right here, to clean up your mess,” he whispered in her ear, Adrienne’s eyes prying themselves open.
“Oh sha, how long ‘ave I been asleep?” she asked a question to which he did not have the answer, instead reaching for a bottle of water left on her nightstand.
“Long enough, drink this.”
She took the water, sipping slowly, sitting up only enough to cuddle into his arms, burying her face into his chest as soon as the bottle was empty.
“I overreacted,” she admitted quietly, Daniel pushing her forward to unzip the wool coat and toss it aside, taking her into his embrace again.
“No, you didn’t. You reacted for both of us. I just didn’t have the chance,” he whispered, kissing her head, holding her as tightly as he could.
“I need to tell Teyla I’m sorry, for scaring her,” Adrienne was pulling away, Daniel standing to take her hand and pull her to her feet.
“You ok?”
“Yeah, weird side effect of no meds, super quick to get light headed and super quick to clear it. Might want to tell Carson that one,” and his wife was back, in learning and research mode, eager to analyze her own blood’s ability to metabolize tequila.
“Teyla’s in the living room,” he said as she staggered forward, intent on her goal making her pause in her tracks.
“Oh no, did I do something that I don’t remember? Did I hurt her? I wasn’t trying to hurt her, only myself,” and now we had Adrienne part two, back to worrying about others.
“No, she told me Ad, and that’s not why she’s here. She wants to talk to you, to both of us about something very important,” he didn’t want to say it here; he wanted Teyla to tell her in case the reaction wasn’t the joy he had felt when he heard the words himself.
“About what? Is everything ok? Daniel is she ok? Torren?” she was rambling now Daniel stepping forward and reaching out, clasping her fingers.
“She’s fine, can you just go out there,” he tried the best he could to ease her fears but she could read him, she had always been able to read him and she knew that something was dead wrong in his expression.
“No Daniel,” no Indy, no sha, nothing, just pure seriousness in her voice, “you tell me right now what trouble I’ve caused.”
She had a point, after all, this was all her fault in theory...
He was smiling, he’d missed it but he was smiling and now his wife stood before him utterly confused.
“Daniel?”
“Ad, Teyla is out there not because of anything that anyone did wrong. She wants to help us,” he started, unable to contain himself, “Adrienne, Teyla is volunteering to have our baby.”
And with that, Dr. Adrienne Jackson almost fell to the floor.
*****
Radek Zalenka sat at the small cafeteria like table, stone in one hand and a cool drink in another. He had jumped into Scott’s body, thankfully, since Daniel had warned him before he made the link that he could get Rush.
Daniel Jackson wanted Nicholas Rush as far away from Atlantis as possible for now.
He’d met the man, little arrogant, no more so than Rodney, but Daniel seemed to think that there was something more sinister about the man that no one else could see.
“RadekZalenka,” Eli Wallace’s body jolted to life, the stone doing its task, sending the young genius’ mind to D.C. replacing it with...
“Teal’c?”
“No,” the man smiled, “my father is going to be staying on Chulac to aide in the assimilation of the rebels into the Jaffa Free Nation.”
Of course, Radek thought, it was wise to send Teal’c to deal with such matters, pleased to see that Ry’ac had recovered enough from his shattered arm to get back to work.
“How fares Atlantis?” the young Jaffa asked, his robotic Jaffa speak through Eli’s mouth confusing his memory banks, hurting his head a bit.
“Well. Daniel is a very competent commander,” he replied, believing it wholeheartedly. After all, he was keeping Rodney in check, with only minimal blowback and that in and itself was good enough in his book.
The men sat in silence.
“Do not repeat this, but this ship is dismal, as is the SGC. I am most fortunate that Washington DC has so many gardens as I never realized how much I have missed nature until it was no longer a part of my daily existence,” Ry’ac said, Zalenka looking around the ship in agreement. It WAS dingy here and to be honest it was a big reason he had asked to work with botany department getting things started. For a big and bad Jaffa, the scientist found it almost endearing how much Ry’ac seemed to miss vegetation.
And he did too, in fact, there were nights since that arrived on Atlantica that he wanted more than anything to just have a cot sent down to the garden, it just felt more like home for some reason, Radek having gotten accustomed to nearly daily walks along the Washington Mall in DC or desert jogs near Area 51.
Which gave him an idea.
“Ry’ac, if you’ll excuse me,” Radek said as he stood, remembering the other things Daniel asked that he work on, planning his next proposal to his boss on the way to the infirmary.
*****
“Is it bad to be excited?” Adrienne asked as Daniel crawled into bed, his turn to read Nicholas a story before bed. The child could read himself, Daniel having been the one that taught him, but he still seemed to like the ritual.
“No, why would it be?” he replied as he reached over, shutting off the lights.
She paused, Daniel peering over at her in the dark.
“Because I get another baby and I don’t even have to be pregnant.”
“Ok, yea Ad,” he started laughing, adjusting his pillow, “that’s bad.”
“Damn cooyon,” she shoved him, leaning up to allow him to get comfort so she could cuddle close in beside him.
“No, Nicky was hard on you,” he assured as she crawled her way onto his chest, “so maybe this is a blessing.” He kissed her head, holding her in his arms but she was pulling away, her face deadly serious.
“I told him.”
He didn’t need any explanation and he should have figured that she would tell their son; they had a relationship that was far beyond what he had ever expected a mother and child to have.
“Really?” he feigned surprise, reaching for her fingers, “When? He didn’t say anything to me.”
“When you were meeting with Zelenka, when he got back. I explained it all to him.”
“And?” he asked the real question that he had, a little apprehensive at the answer.
“He’s excited,” Adrienne smiled, the smile she only gave him, waves of relief rushing over him.
“Good, that’s what I was hoping for,” Daniel replied, starting to lay back when he remembered, rolling over quickly to face his wife, “Oh! I forgot! I forgot to tell you! Radek came back with this great idea.”
“I’m listening...”
“He wants to start growing trees, on the base, fruit trees. We could have fresh fruit everywhere. It would liven up things, make it feel less robotic and like a spaceship and more like a home...” he didn’t even get to finish before she was on top of him, tackling him, wrapping her body around him.
“I love you,” she whispered so softly, his face in her hands. He didn’t hesitate pulling her to his lips to kiss her softly.
“I love you too,” he said as he broke away smiling, “What brought that on?”
“Just you. You have this side. You get things done but you understand what’s truly important. Makes me love you even more.”
Everything, he thought, this moment right now makes everything worth it.
“Things are really starting to look up. You were right Ad, I can do this...” he was about to thank her for listening to him whine and being his never ending support system but her distracting lips were on his neck, kissing high, making him breathe in.
“We might not be able to get pregnant ourselves, but we can pretend we’re still trying...”
Damn distracting Adrienne.
He groaned out, moving her to where he wanted her on his body, running his hands down her backside.
“But can you make me cupcakes tomorrow ja-wer, I’m out of Twinkies.”
The kissing stopped, and the next thing Daniel knew a pillow was being slammed into his face.
Perfect end to a terrible day.
*****
He was walking through a hive ship, the lights brighter than he imagined but maybe he was transposing his own experience of the past years onto the scene. It was oddly loud for a Wraith vessel, not in movement but in voices, conversing voices all around him.
Curious, he dipped around a corner, a gathering of figures clustered ahead. They were not in clothes he was accustomed to, they looked more like the clothing that women would wear and their skin was all wrong.
He was about to step forward, ask them how they had gotten onto the ship when the tallest of the men turned, facing him, his face familiar as well.
This was wrong, this was all wrong, and he spun on his heels to flee, to find an escape pod, to warn John, taking a step without looking.
“You were never here,” the man ahead of him stood, a man, a brown skinned man with a black left eye, three taller blue figures standing behind him.
Todd sat up in his bunk, his half human heart pounding in his chest.
You continue to amaze me with your plotlines. You’ve captured the personalities of everyone, including Todd (love) and Radek, even Eli (also love). The “bigger” plot of getting Atlantis back up and running, and Daniel doubting himself with being commander... and now Todd having visions? dreams? weird aliens in his head? Wow.
ReplyDeleteAnd the personal story of Adrienne and Daniel, the heartbreak of not being able to conceive... and now Teyla offering to be a surrogate! Beautiful! Of course, you know I love Ronon with Nicky. Sweet. Honestly, how do you come up with this stuff? I was thinking as I was reading how this feels so comfortable, because it’s finally moving the Stargate story beyond where SGU left off, including all the parts of SG1, SGA, and SGU. Awesome.