Story Notes:
I normally don't write kid and/or babyfic but at the time that I wrote this, the idea grabbed me and wouldn't let go. It's an OT4 (as opposed to an OTP - One True Pairing) story which I don't write often enough.
For the uninitiated OT4 in SG: Atlantis fandom would be Teyla Emmagan, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay and Ronon Dex all together, which is why I flagged for slash even though it's not explicit.
Disclaimer: All known characters belong to their respective copyright holders. All situations and original characters herein belong to the author. This story is for entertainment purposes only.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Her eyes open when the moon is still high in the night sky and for a moment, she can't say what made her wake so quickly. Then she feels it: a ripple across her consciousness followed by an accompanying ripple across her abdomen. She takes in the moment and savors it, knowing it will never be exactly like this again.
Her hand ghosts over the curve of her belly even as she caresses the arm of the man beside her.
"Wha? Teyla?" Rodney's voice is thick with sleep. "What's wrong?"
Teyla smiles in the darkness. "It is time, Rodney."
"Time?" He sits upright in bed and flicks on a nearby lamp. "Time as in," his big warm hands slide over her belly even as his eyes meet hers.
She nods then gasps as the first rolling wave of contraction hits. "Yes. Where is John?"
"Patrolling," Rodney says as he slides out of bed and grabs his radio. "John," he barked.
"Rodney," John's drawl comes back. "What's up?"
"It's time."
There's a pause before John's says, "Like time for real or is it another false alarm?"
Rodney turns to see Teyla sitting on the side of the bed, carefully controlling her breathing. "I think we're way past false alarm here," he says, excitement tinging his voice.
"Call Beckett. I'm on my way."
**
They were on the mainland when Ronon popped the question. Rodney's mouth dropped open, John looked thoughtful and Teyla had regarded him speculatively.
"Got nobody but the three of you," Ronon said quietly, hands curled around the metal cup full of Athosian moonshine. The light of the fire cast shadows across his skin. "On Sateda, if I didn't have mates of my own, I'd ask a close female friend to bear a child for me." He grinned, teeth gleaming in the firelight. "It makes sense."
"Sense?" Rodney sputtered, not really angry but more than a little shocked. "You want to marry us in some bizarre Satedan ritual. What next? All of us in the same bed?"
Ronon grinned. "Seems to me the three of you already have that part covered."
John shifted against the tree stump that was serving as his back rest and nudged Rodney. "I told you he'd figure it out sooner or later." He then looked over the fire at Ronon. "So, not married but...
"Closer than married. More important."
As the three of them talked, Teyla stared into the fire, her fingers trailing in the pine needles and dirt.
**
John rushes into the room, Carson not far behind. They find Rodney already changed into a t-shirt and swimming trunks; he sits behind Teyla, cradling her against him.
"Ronon," Teyla murmurs even as another contraction threatens to steal her breath.
John kneels before her, taking his hands in her own. "He's here," John says softly. "He's here with us right now."
Teyla's hands clutch his, the only indicator that she's even heard him. Behind her, Rodney buries his face in her hair.
**
It was a world like any other, on a day of no particular significance. There were ruins upon ruins, another world ravaged beyond saving.
There should have been more than just a shout of warning, the whine of a high-energy blaster, and the hiss of a Wraith. But that's what there was.
When they pelted around the corner, Ronon was already down, a Wraith kneeling beside him with its hand planted on his chest.
Three P-90s cut the Wraith to pieces even as three screams of rage and grief cut across the landscape.
When they came home, Carson and his team met them in the gateroom. "We'll take him, lad," he'd said gently to John only to take a step back when three sets of red-rimmed eyes stared at him. The room quieted as they bore Ronon's lifeless body toward the infirmary on the stretcher that Carson had brought. No one said anything about Ronon's fingerbone necklace that now hung around Rodney's neck, his blaster that was stuck in John's waistband, or his sword that Teyla carried like a warrior queen.
Late that night, curled up in the bed that they had never really shared freely for fear that others would find out, Teyla said, "I am pregnant." She took John and Rodney's hands and placed them against her still flat abdomen and they both thought they could feel Ronon's spark somewhere deep inside of her.
The next day they went and told both Elizabeth and Colonel Caldwell the when, why and how of it all. Elizabeth had to check herself before her eyes slid to the side to find their absent fourth. Caldwell sat back in his chair and didn't say anything. Only later did he corner John on an out of the way balcony and demanded the truth.
"It's our baby," John said firmly, his gaze trained over the choppy waves. "Me, Teyla, Rodney and Ronon."
The last name hung before Caldwell like a shield and a promise. "I could send you back, you know."
"You could."
**
The city is just waking when the baby slides from Teyla's body into the warm waters of the birthing pool. Buoyed by her mother's and fathers' welcoming hands, she breeches the surface to take her first breath as Carson cuts the umbilical cord.
It is only when the three of them are left alone with their daughter gently nuzzling Teyla's breast that they breathe a sigh of relief.
"That was a lot easier than I expected," Rodney opines, one finger lightly stroking the dark chocolate hair as though it might potentially rise up and hurt him.
"You'd think that you were the one who pushed out a kid, McKay," John replies not unkindly. He peers over Teyla's shoulder and waves his fingers at his newest family member who is still focused on the soft, warm flesh before her.
Teyla reaches out and strokes her fingers over Rodney's arm before leaning back to rest against John. "Do not mind him, Rodney," Teyla says. "We were all necessary for this effort...oh!"
Right at that moment, a small mouth latches determinedly on Teyla's nipple and begins to suckle with gusto.
"The appetite is a dead giveaway," John says with a chuckle. "Definitely our kid."
**
"Haldith," Ronon had said. "Old word from before Unification."
They were in Teyla's room, the remains of lunch spread before them and a warm breeze coming in through the windows. When they finished making love, Ronon rested his head on Teyla's belly and whispered prayers that he remembered from when he was a boy. Teyla ran her fingers through his locks and asked, "What did you say?"
"I asked the mothers to watch over you, over all of us, and to grant us a child. A father's prayer." Ronon's fingers drew light circles on Teyla's soft skin. "Haldith. Continuity. If I fall, my child might survive me."
His straightforward answer disturbed her and she fought to dispell her sense of sudden foreboding. "Did you ask for a son?" Teyla asked lightly. "That seems to be the way of fathers galaxy-wide."
Ronon grinned. "Nope, a daughter. Daughters are a Dex family tradition. No reason not to continue." He pressed another kiss on her skin, whispered more words and Teyla let the sounds carry her to sleep
**
Their daughter has a name: Shirin Dex Emmagan McKay Sheppard. Father, mother, heart fathers. Haldith. Continuity. Ronon Dex lives.