Author: Porthos

Spoilers: Duet, Critical Mass

Summary: Cadman and McKay got separated at the end of Duet, but little did Laura know that she took a bit of Rodney with her…McKay/Cadman, Beckett/Cadman

Author's notes: I thought Cadman's comment in Critical Mass, that "Something came up," was a little vague and significant, but it never really got explained on the show, so this is my own version of an explanation. This part takes place just before the events of Critical Mass. Also, this is the latest in my "pair McKay with anyone" kick, so you've been warned. Further caution for male readers: contains brief discussion of women's menstrual cycle, so if that stuff icks you out, either don't read further, or just skip that part when you come to it. :D

Written in about 30 minutes and unbeta'd, despite the fact that my old beta aaobuttons does a magnificent job, I just don't have the time to get stuff beta'd right now. Therefore, any mistakes and/or crapiness are completely my own. Also, I hate this title, but I suck at titles, so if anyone can think of something better, please, please let me know.

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Prologue: Something's Come Up

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Carson normally sat with me while I was in the infirmary. Well, unless there was some sort of medical emergency while I was there, but that was just the one time. I'm not really sure you could even call it an "emergency," but Rodney and Colonel Sheppard had certainly caused an uproar when they came back from P4X-393 covered in slime and bright yellow feathers. By the way, the Big Bird jokes were so not started by me, no matter what Sheppard thinks.

Okay, well, maybe just the one about it being an improvement on the Colonel's hairstyle, but that one had nothing to do with Big Bird.

Anyway, the reason I was currently sitting in the infirmary was because I was losing my fight with the flu bug I'd been battling for a while. It was a nasty little monster, too. I'd been having headaches and nausea for going on two weeks now, and I just couldn't seem to shake it. Hence, the check up. Well, that and the fact that I was supposed to be shipping out on the Daedalus later that day. I didn't like the idea of spending several weeks away from Carson, or from Atlantis, but it was all part of the rotation of non-essential personnel, and I was apparently labeled as "non-essential," much to my displeasure. The reason I wasn't listening to my boyfriend's soothing brogue tell me just how essential I am is because he was off getting the results of the myriad of tests he'd run on me. Since sitting in the infirmary Carson-less and bored really sucked, I decided to amuse myself by playing with the light switches…with my mind. So cool.

The gene had been Rodney's parting gift after our separation, although he certainly didn't have any say in the matter. Carson had said that Zelenka's calculations regarding the Wraith beaming device may have been slightly off, and that some of McKay's DNA had been inadvertently transferred into me, namely the ATA mouse-gene that he carried. Carson assured me that there were no complications and allayed my fears that I might start to display some of Rodney's more…pervasive character traits. Of course, Rodney had loudly ridiculed the whole of the science staff upon this little revelation, protesting that if he had been in complete control of his faculties, the separation would have been perfect. Don't think I didn't catch the accusing glare he shot my way as he said it. Well, don't worry McKay, you drove me just as crazy as I drove you, so I guess we're even.

My mental workout of the Atlantian electrical system was cut short by the appearance of Carson, and to my dismay, he was wearing The Look. You know the one I mean, the look that people wear when they've got bad news and they don't want to tell you, because they don't know how you're going to take it. I know that look well, and…Oh, god, I'm dying aren't I? Or worse, Carson was breaking up with me. Right before I shipped out. Well, this bites.

"Carson, what's the matter?"

He seemed genuinely shocked that I knew something was up. Honestly, that man is even worse at bluffing than McKay.

"It's nothing." He looked down at what I can only assume was my results, then back up at me. He looked stuck between elation and pain, kind of like when my parents told me they'd gotten me a car for my sixteenth birthday, then took me out to the front yard and the only thing sitting there was a beat up, baby-puke green Yugo. It may have been missing both its fenders and a tail-light, but it was better than nothing.

"Actually, it may be something, but it's a good something." He seemed to reconsider that statement. "At least, I think it's a good something, although you might not see it that way…" At my impatient glare, he continued, "I need to ask you a few questions first, and you're probably not going to like them."

I gave him a stern look. "I can handle whatever you can dish out, Beckett."

He nodded, then took a breath. "When was your last period?"

"Uh," I had to think about it for a second. It's not like I kept a highlighted calendar of my menstrual cycle in my back pocket or anything. Although, come to think of it, I probably needed to schedule a day to start wearing my "I have PMS and a Gun" t-shirt. Gotta keep those flyboys on their toes. "I think it was somewhere around five or six weeks ago, so I guess I'm a little late." I answered. "Why?"

He didn't answer, at least not at first. He just got another pained look, then said, "Have you had unprotected intercourse recently?"

I blushed profusely. "Carson, you know we've never—" I motioned vaguely between us.

He turned positively scarlet. "No, I think I'd remember something like that."

"I should hope so." It was out before I could think about it, and it made Carson turn even redder. I wondered briefly if his heart had any blood left to pump, since it all seemed to be located in his face. Although I probably looked about the same. "Carson," I continued, "what is all this about?"

He started fidgeting before he managed to speak. When he did start to talk, he did an impressive imitation of McKay's rambling geek-gasm of an explanation. "Well, I ran your blood tests, and I detected some hormonal imbalances, and of course that seemed preposterous, so I ran them again, and then I ran a chorionic gonadotropin test to confirm my suspicions, and—"

"Carson!" I admit, it might have been a bit rude to shout at him like that, but I don't feel too bad. Once he wasn't talking, he seemed to free up enough brain cells to remember that breathing involved inhaling as well as exhaling.

A bit more calmly, he continued. "Laura…you're pregnant."

I'm pretty sure the blood draining from my face solved my blushing problem. "Okay, your accent must be thicker than I thought, because I could have sworn you just said I'm pregnant."

"I did."

My laugh sounded mildly hysterical, even to me. "No no no, Carson, that's impossible, because you have to do something very specific to get pregnant, and I haven't done that in a while, longer than I'd care to admit, actually, and certainly not since we started seeing each other." My voice sounded smaller than I would have liked. "You believe me, right?"

Carson's face immediately softened and he took my hand. "Of course I do, love. And I've got a sort of…theory…on how this might have happened, but I'll need to run a few more tests, just to be sure."

"What do you mean? What's your theory?"

"I don't want to say anything until I know for sure."

"Carson," I tried to sound demanding, but I think it just came out sounding whiny and pleading. "I'll go crazy waiting for more tests. I need to know now."

There was a moment's hesitation as he mustered his resolve. "You know how you 'inherited' some of Rodney's DNA from the Wraith beaming device?"

Uh, oh. I so did not like where this was going.

"Well, I think some of that DNA may have found its way into an unfertilized egg and…fertilized it."

Okay, the floor is definitely not supposed to tilt like that. I gripped the edges of the infirmary bed in an effort to stop the spinning. "So, you're saying that…that Rodney is…and I'm…" It seems I was only able to manage one coherent thought before I passed out.

'Oh, crap.'

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Author's notes 2: I stole "geek-gasm" from someone, because I love it, but I can't remember who it was. If you used it, let me know, and I'll give you credit for coining the term. :D

And yes, I know this is horribly bad science, but if they can use the "transferred DNA equals pregnancy" line in the movie Supernova, then I can use it here. ;P

And I'm just sort of experimenting with writing Cadman and Beckett. Let me know if their characters or voices sound off, because I've never really written them before. Thanks!