Disclaimer – I own none of the Stargate franchise.

Okay, I wrote most of this at work – so I'm sorry that it's lame. Let me know what you think.

SPOILERS for series four.

Fraternal Instinct

Teyla's radio crackled into life.

"Sheppard to Teyla."

"Teyla here."

"How much longer?"

"I am not sure. Rodney assures me he is working as fast as he can."

"Well, you can assure him that if he isn't done in five minutes I'm gonna use him as a sparring staff."

Teyla gave Rodney an encouraging smile as the radio connection clicked off. "Colonel Sheppard says he hopes it is going well," she said.

The look Rodney gave her made it abundantly clear that he didn't believe her – Teyla just smiled again and went back to the game of solitaire she had been playing. Rodney was working on a new program and had been for almost an hour now, and though there was nothing Teyla could do to help him John had told her to stay in the lab with him until he was done. With all the visitors in the city Teyla was grateful of the peace.

She finished the game, and swivelled her chair round to face Rodney. He was frowning at his laptop, typing away furiously. He had been very talkative when he had first begun, complaining about the difficulty of what he was doing, but had fallen silent about twenty minutes ago, obviously very intent upon his task.

After a few moments Rodney glanced up and saw Teyla watching him. His frown deepened as he looked away again. "If you're going to ask how long I'll be, save your breath," he said. "I don't know."

"If Colonel Sheppard radios again it would be useful to have a timeframe to give him," said Teyla reasonably.

"I don't know," said Rodney irritably. "I need to finish this piece of coding, then I have to run some tests, and then I might have to change things – I don't know."

He grumbled under his breath as he kept typing, and Teyla rolled her eyes, deciding that she may as well stretch her legs while she waited.

Rodney was staring intently at his laptop, but even so he could not fail to notice that when Teyla stood up she almost fell straight back down again. If it wasn't for the work surface next to her, which she grabbed hold of, she would have been on the floor.

Rodney frowned, pausing his typing. "Teyla?"

She didn't answer him – her eyes were closed and her hands tight on the edge of the tabletop. "Teyla!" Rodney was on his feet and at her side within three seconds.

Teyla gripped the table next to her, waiting for the room to stop spinning. She felt Rodney arrive beside her and his arm slip round her shoulders. She took a deep breath and felt a little better. She opened her eyes.

"It's alright, I'm –" Teyla staggered as a fresh wave of dizziness broke over her, and Rodney tightened his grip on her. She heard his voice as if from far away.

"Teyla? McKay to Dr Keller – get to my lab – there's something wrong with Teyla."

Teyla screwed her eyes tight shut and concentrated on taking deep breaths. After a few moments she began to feel better, and she warily loosened her grip on the work surface edge.

Teyla opened her eyes and saw Rodney's shocked and worried face looming next to her. His arm was still round her shoulders and his other hand rested on top of hers.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Teyla slowly lowered herself back into the chair – Rodney helped her, and she gave him a grateful look. "Yes, thank you," she said, managing a small smile. "I just felt a little dizzy."

Rodney looked at her critically. "You're really pale," he said. "Maybe you should go to the infirmary."

Teyla shook her head. "No, I am fine –"

"Teyla – what happened?" Jennifer Keller had entered the lab, and she hurried over to where Teyla sat.

"That was quick," said Rodney.

"I was in the commissary," replied Jennifer, seizing Teyla's wrist to check her pulse. "What happened?"

"Nothing – I just felt a little dizzy for a moment," said Teyla, hating how weak her voice sounded.

Jennifer tutted. "I'm not surprised," she said darkly. "You're doing too much Teyla –"

"I am fine –"

"No you're not," said Jennifer, her voice fierce. "Teyla, I know you think you're invincible, but you can't go on like this in your condition. I want you to come up to the infirmary, now."

Teyla raised her chin proudly, ready to argue back, but was distracted by a splutter from Rodney.

"You – what condition?" He said fearfully, his eyes wide. "Teyla are you sick?"

Teyla looked at Jennifer and saw that the doctor was looking contrite for her slip, but then Jennifer folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at Teyla expectantly. Teyla sighed and looked back at Rodney.

"No, Rodney, I am not sick," she said quietly. Beat. "I am with child."

Rodney's jaw dropped and there was utter silence in the lab as he gaped at her, shock evident in his every feature.

"You're… seriously?"

Teyla nodded. "Yes – I've known for some time but I was waiting for… there has been so much going on and there never seemed to be a good time to say anything."

Rodney looked at Jennifer and then back at Teyla, who knew he was trying to decide between the many questions he wanted to ask her. "Who else knows?" He asked after a couple of seconds.

"No one outside this room."

The look of shock returned to Rodney's face. "You haven't told Sheppard?"

"No. Like I said, I have been waiting for the right time to tell you all."

Rodney was shaking his head, looking serious. "You can't keep something like this to yourself – you have to tell him. And Ronon. And Sam. They need to know."

"I know. They will."

"When?"

Teyla floundered, a little surprised by Rodney's earnestness. "I… soon."

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. Teyla jumped in surprise when her radio once again came to life in her ear. "Sheppard to Teyla."

Rodney's jaw tightened and Teyla stared at him for a moment longer before reaching for her earpiece. Suddenly Rodney's hand moved and he activated his radio before Teyla could reach hers.

"It's me," he said. "Keep your stupid hair on Sheppard, I'm almost done." He turned away from Teyla and walked back to his laptop. He sat down and began to type again. Teyla continued to watch him, but he didn't even glance in her direction.

"Come on Teyla – let's go," said Jennifer. She helped Teyla to her feet and steered her towards the exit. Teyla paused in the doorway and looked over her shoulder at Rodney – he still wasn't looking at her.

With a sigh, Teyla left the lab.

XXXXX

Teyla stood by the window in her quarters, leaning on the frame and watching the ocean lap against the pier below her. It had been several hours since her dizzy spell, and she had not heard from or seen Rodney since.

Jennifer hadn't kept her in the infirmary long – just long enough to check her over and give her a lecture on taking care of herself. Teyla had let her, knowing that she only wanted what was best for her. Besides, she had been thinking over Rodney's odd reaction to her news.

She had expected him to be very shocked that she was pregnant – and he obviously had been – but he had seemed more surprised that she hadn't told him or anyone else than the fact that she actually was pregnant.

Was that how John and Ronon would react as well? Upset that she had not told them sooner?

Teyla rested her forehead against the cool glass. She really had to tell them. She just wasn't sure how to.

Maybe Rodney would tell them. Even as she thought it she knew that it would be terrible if they found out through Rodney. It had to be her. It had to be as soon as possible. And she had to make sure Rodney didn't tell them first.

Teyla's chimes sounded and she pushed away from the window to go and answer the door. It was probably Jennifer coming to make sure she went to dinner.

It was Rodney.

He stood in the doorway, his hands behind his back, looking so awkward and uncomfortable that Teyla just stood and stared at him for a moment.

"Er, hi Teyla," he said. "Are you better?"

Teyla blinked. "Yes, thank you," she said. She stood to one side. "Would you like to come in?"

Rodney nodded and walked into her quarters, the door sliding shut behind him. He turned to face her straight away, and Teyla noticed that he was holding a paper carrier bag in one hand.

"So… I'm sorry about how I reacted when… you know…" He said haltingly.

Teyla's eyes widened. "You have nothing to apologise for, Rodney," she said earnestly, smiling. She felt immeasurably relieved to see him.

Rodney gave her a small, fleeting smile and shifted from foot to foot. His eyes flickered down to her stomach and back up to her face. "How far along are you?"

Teyla returned the smile. He was trying so hard to act normal and supportive, and she knew how difficult it must be for him. "Just over two months," she said.

Rodney nodded. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again, looking more awkward than ever. Teyla had a feeling she knew what the next question was going to be.

"Who's the father?" Asked Rodney, not quite looking her in the eye.

"His name is Kanan," said Teyla quietly.

"Oh," said Rodney, frowning. "The name kind of rings a bell."

Teyla looked down at the floor, trying to push all thoughts of Kanan and the rest of her people out of her mind. It was too painful to think on such things at a moment like this.

Rodney cleared his throat. "Anyway, I looked on the Ancient database and read up on some Athosian traditions… I read that it's tradition to give mothers-to-be material – is that right?"

It was Teyla's turn to open and close her mouth while she searched for a way to answer him. It was true that when an Athosian woman was found to be with child, others would weave cloth for her so that she could make maternity clothes and things for the baby.

"Well – yes," she said eventually.

Rodney looked relieved. "Good," he said. He held out the bag towards her. "Congratulations."

Teyla took the bag and opened it – inside was a soft, dark blue cloth, folded carefully. Her jaw dropped and her breath caught in her throat. She looked back up at Rodney – he was watching her anxiously.

"There's a couple of catalogues in there as well, that I found," he said. "I marked the pages for the baby stuff – tell me what you want and I'll order it for you."

Tears sprung to Teyla's eyes and she looked back down at the bag so that Rodney wouldn't see. She couldn't believe that he was being so thoughtful… well, that wasn't true. It wasn't as though he had never been as thoughtful or sweet before, but she had not expected such kindness today, after his reaction in the lab. She felt ashamed for not expecting him to be there for her – he always had been.

Teyla hurriedly blinked back the tears and raised her eyes to meet Rodney's again, smiling. "Rodney – thank you," she said. "Thank you so much."

Rodney shoved his hands into his pockets, looking embarrassed. "You're welcome," he said. "It's no big deal – Lorne's team was checking in on Arina and you know there's a market there so I just asked him to pick up the cloth… I hope it's okay."

"It is beautiful," said Teyla.

Rodney nodded. "Good… good…" He rocked on his heels. Teyla stayed silent – he obviously had something else to say.

"I won't say anything," he said after a moment. "To the others. I won't tell them. But… I still think you should. Soon."

Teyla nodded. "I will," she said. "Really – I will. I only…"

"You're scared?"

Teyla nodded, relieved that he understood.

"Yeah… they're gonna be pretty annoyed."

Teyla looked up, surprised, and Rodney shrugged. "Well, Ronon's gonna be angry that someone knocked up his little sister," – Teyla rolled her eyes but couldn't help a small smile – "and Sheppard will... er, you know – he'll be the same way."

Teyla looked away, out of the window, and knew that he was right. Ronon would be quite angry, and John… she just did not know how John would react.

"They'll get over it," said Rodney. "And if they try to make trouble I'll… pay someone to beat them up for you."

Teyla grinned and reached out to squeeze Rodney's arm. "Thank you, Rodney," she said. She couldn't help thinking how lucky she was to have Rodney as a surrogate brother as well.

Rodney gave her a wide smile and nodded towards the door. "You wanna get dinner?" He said.

"I would like that," said Teyla. She went to place the bag on her desk. "Jennifer keeps telling me to eat more than I am."

"Well, you are eating for two," Rodney said as she walked back over to him. "Soon you'll be eating more than me."

Teyla raised an eyebrow. "I'm not expecting triplets, Rodney," she said.

"Hey!"

Grinning, the two of them made their way to the commissary.

The End