Consequences of Love von Dream Painter
Kapitel Bemerkung:This was originally an SG-1 idea, but I got to thinking and my muse convinced me that it would work better as an SGA story. I'm happy with the result and I hope you all agree. I've given you all the suitable warnings I could think of, so from here on out, it's read at your own risk. A special thanks to Fraggledragon for Scottish accent translation and beta-reading.
---
Elizabeth Weir lay on her side sleeping in her bed. She hadn't been feeling very well lately. One of the teams had brought back an illness which had spread upon their return. It wasn't anything too terrible—nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, and fever—Carson had said that it was a bacteria which behaved much like Earth's influenza virus. Since they were dealing with a bacteria, the Scot had put the afflicted on antibiotics. Fortunately, it seemed that only one in five people were actually susceptible to the illness. That still meant about a fifth of the city had fallen ill, though, and Elizabeth was one of them.
The bed shifted behind her, causing her to rouse slightly. She felt a hand on her arm followed by a kiss on her shoulder and another on the side of her head.
“I love you,” her lover whispered.
“I love you, too,” she murmured without opening her eyes. Elizabeth didn't remember him coming in the night before, so he probably joined her after she'd fallen asleep.
Dr. Weir didn't actually wake up for another hour or so. Turning over, she glanced at the clock: 5:47. Squinting in the early morning light streaming through her window, she briefly reflected that she would've never thought John Sheppard was such a morning person. Who got up before six without an alarm? Well, there was at least one man in two galaxies who did. Pulling the covers over her head, Elizabeth settled back into the pillow. She was sleeping in.
---
By the time she woke again at 8:00AM, Elizabeth was feeling a bit better. At least she didn't have a headache anymore. After getting ready for the day, she decided she would go to the mess and try to find something to eat. If all else failed, she was sure she could get one of the cooks to get her some more broth.
The smell of something amongst the cooked food made her feel nauseous again as did the coffee, so she finally settled for a piece of toast, oatmeal, and a bowl of fruit. She ate slowly, hoping that her selection would settle well with her stomach. Fortunately, it did. Upon finishing everything else, she absently pushed a rejected piece of fruit around the bowl. She really should be getting back to her office...
“Elizabeth!” Carson greeted as he passed. Having run out of tea, he’d stopped by the mess hall for some coffee. “It’s guid tae see yeh up and about. I see yeh’ve been eating. How’re yeh feeling?”
“Still a little sick, actually,” Weir answered, giving him a small smile.
“Really, now? So is yer stomach still bothering yeh?” he asked.
“A bit...” she admitted. Carson frowned.
“Well, if yer done eating, love, yeh might as well walk with me tae the infirmary so I can have look at yeh... since yeh managed tae avoid me the first time.” Elizabeth was about to decline until she saw the man's face. She didn't have a say in the matter.
“Alright,” she agreed. Rising from her chair, she walked with him to the infirmary. The first thing Carson did was take blood and saliva samples. It took awhile for him to come back.
“Well,” Carson began slowly upon his return, “there disnae seem to be any sign of the bacteria in yer system, yeh probably never even had it.”
“What? Then, why have I been feeling ill?” she asked. The Scot met her questioning gaze.
“Because you're no’ sick,” he answered. “You're pregnant.”
---
The words hit Elizabeth like a freight train. Had Carson just said..? Could it be that..? No. No, no, no... that would not be good. That would bad on many levels. For starters, there was protocol to follow, never mind the fact that they were already breaking it! What would the people back on Earth at the SGC say? She had a pretty good idea that it wouldn't be anything she'd want to hear. But, wait a minute—what would John say??
“Excuse me?” she managed, her brain still in complete and utter shock. Carson regarded her sympathetically—it had been rather unfair of him to dump it on her like that.
“Elizabeth,” he repeated gently, sitting on a stool in front of her, “the symptoms yeh've been experiencing weren't caused by the bacteria Lt. Hunt and his team brought back with them fae M4H-713, yeh've been having morning sickness. We could’ve determined that before, but yeh didnae let anyone examine yeh and we were so busy with the outbreak here in the infirmary that I let several of yeh get away with it.
“When I checked yer blood for the presence of the bacteria, I didnae find any, but there wis a fair amount of human chorionic gonadotropin, the hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy. Obstetrics are no’ my specialty, but I wuid say that you're eight or nine weeks pregnant.” The doctor finished his explanation as Elizabeth continued to stare at him in a mixture of confusion, disbelief, and horror.
“Are you sure?” she whispered finally, her eyes beginning to mist with tears.
“Aye, I'm pretty certain, but we could dae an ultrasound if yeh'd like, jist to be sure.” The woman nodded dumbly and Carson led her to another part of the infirmary. He pulled the curtain shut around the bed as Elizabeth laid down on the bed. “Alright, I'm gaun tae apply this conductive gel tae yer stomach, it might feel a bit cold,” he told her as she pulled up her shirt. As he applied the transducer, both of them turned their attention towards the monitor.
“Is that..?” she motioned towards the image on the screen.
“Aye, lass, it is.”
“Oh, my god,” Elizabeth covered her face with both hands and tried her hardest not to cry.
“Elizabeth, love, dae yeh know who the father is?” Carson asked gently after turning off the machine and putting the equipment aside. She took a deep, shuddering breath.
“Yes,” she answered, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. “Yes, I do.”
“Thought you might.”
“Carson, I know you'll eventually have to report this to the SGC, but not yet, please... don't tell anyone,” she looked at him pleadingly.
“Not a word,” he promised. “Not yet. And Elizabeth, I know this isnae the kind of news yeh'd want tae hear, but congratulations, anyhow.” He gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze before turning and leaving her by herself. The tears began to flow as Elizabeth cleaned the gel from her abdomen with the towel Carson had given her. She'd always wanted a child, but not right now—not at such a cost...
---
To be continued...
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