Chapter Four
Do I Look Fat To You?
The days seemed to meld into one another as they grew more accustomed to living in their newfound, but temporary home. As the days went by Daniel began to notice strangeness in his body. Every day the feeling seem to grow. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he knew that something wasn’t quite right. He knew that things seemed to affect him more emotionally than they use to, but why? Was there something about this planet, its atmosphere, its food, water supply, some unknown quality, or was he just stressing out? He needed to talk to Sam to find out if she too felt the strangeness that he was beginning to wonder about. He seemed to be putting on a little weight too. He was going to half to watch how much he was eating. That in itself was going to be hard for some of their delicacies were extremely hard to resist.
“Sam, have you noticed feeling a little strange since we arrived on this planet?”
“Now that you mentioned it, I have. I feel exhilarated, more alive. There’s something else; I can’t quite put my finger on it. But if I feel this good it can’t be bad. ”
Her eyes were shining with almost a glow that Daniel didn’t remember seeing before. She did seemed stronger, more confident than he ever remembered, and there was something else that he couldn’t put his finger on, but vowed to figure out.
* * * * * * * *
Several days had passed with no sign of Jack or Teal’C. They still had not found a way out of the fortress with out Le’ Ana or the guards noticing either. They decided to play it by ear to buy some much-needed time.
Sam continued going on their daily hunting parties with the other warriors. These warriors were amazing she had to admit. The way they could sense when an animal was close by, and would just freeze until their eyes would locate the animal. Suddenly they would slowly raise their arm laser and fires before the animal had a chance to figure out were they were. Most of their game consisted of an animal that looked like a cross between and elk and an over-grown rabbit. The animal stood about five feet tall from hoof to top of its head. When Sam first saw the animal it startled her for its head seemed more like that of an elk, but the body was more that of an over-grown rabbit. It made a sound more consistent with the world’s largest bullfrog. Its meat was very lean and tender and it was extremely delicious.
She would try to sneak away from the hunting parties for just a few minutes to look at certain mountain passages that looked vaguely familiar, but the warriors would always find her and escort her back to the rest of the party. She would use the excuse that she didn’t see them go in the opposite direction or that she thought she saw something, she was never sure if they quite believed her or not”quite frankly Sam didn’t really care.
One morning while Daniel was in the market doing his daily shopping, he felt a little queasy. At first he hoped it would just go away, that it might have been from him eating his breakfast too fast. He had wanted to hurry and get to the marketing section of the town square. There was an old shopkeeper that he would talk to almost day about the history of the city and the planet. He decided to set on the edge of the retaining wall that surrounded the fountain in the center of the plaza for a few minutes until his stomach settled.
Daniel spied Altecor out of the corner of his eye. He came running up to Daniel, eager to tell him of the morning news. Daniel couldn’t believe his ears what he heard. When the daily shopping was done, Daniel raced back to the living quarter’s area. He quickly fixed something for Sam to munch on and then since he was feeling a little tired laid down to rest until she arrived.
* * * * * * * *
“Hey Daniel, I didn’t realize that your cooking skills could get any better than they already have. You have really surprised me with your wifely abilities lately.“ Sam’s voice pierced the dark curtain in Daniel’s head.
He didn’t realize that he could feel so tired when he hadn’t done that much today. It must be the atmosphere of this planet he thought. Yea that must be it. He still hadn’t figured out why he had been feeling a little “off” since arriving on P2X108. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it but hoped Dr. Fraiser could help him figure it out once they were home again.
Realizing that his stomach was churning very quickly, Daniel leaped off of the bed and bolted to the bathroom with all the speed he could muster. Barely making it before he heaved up everything and then some.
“Daniel are you alright? God, she hoped that he wasn’t really sick. That was all they needed, to be trapped on a planet and one of them sick with out knowing if the local inhabitants medicine would help them and being unsure if they would be able to get home anytime soon.
“I’m just peachy keen.” Daniel sounded and felt pathetic. All he wanted at that moment was to go home and be in the care of Dr. Fraiser.
Sam asked if she could get him anything to help calm his stomach, as she helped him back to bed. He told Sam that he must have gotten too much sun today when Altecor had told him about the prisoners and he had Altecor show him where they were kept.
He felt if Jack and Teal’C had the misfortune of being captured they must be in there since they haven’t seen or heard of them in the council chambers.
All he could do was moan when Sam asked if he was sure that she couldn’t get him some food to help his stomach.
“Maybe I should ask Angelica if there’s a doctor around that I could get for you. Surely they would have something to help settle your stomach.”
“That would be a god send, Sam.” Daniel tried to lie as still as he could, until the doctor arrived.
* * * * * * * *
“Give him one of these every four hours, and remember all the other instructions. I want to see both of you in two weeks. Make sure he eats better than what he has been.”
“I’ll see to that, thank you.” Sam walked the doctor to the door. She leaned against the closed door and quietly said, “This just can’t be happening. No one on Earth is going to believe this. Hell I don’t even believe this. How am I going to live this down? They’re going to say, stay away from her; she’ll get you pregnant.”
Feeling the bottle of pills in her hand she walked over to the kitchen and then poured a cup of water. Taking one of the pills out of the bottle she slowly walked into the bedroom. “Daniel, you need to take this, it will help calm your stomach down.”
“Thank god for that. What did she say was the problem?” Daniel gave Sam back the cup after washing down the pill. He leaned back on the pillow and looked her right in the eye. “Come on Sam what did she say?” Daniel tried to read Sam’s eyes but couldn’t.
“You’ll be just fine in a few weeks.” She tried to avoid looking directly into his eyes. She wasn’t sure if she would start to cry or laugh uncontrollably, if their eyes did meet.
“A few weeks, why so long, am I that ill? What’s gonna happen in a few weeks?”
“That’s when you will have the baby. …… Daniel… Daniel, Daniel are you in there, Daniel can you hear me?” Sam fanned her hand at Daniel. She should have waited to tell him, but it was such pure pleasure to see his expression when she told him. She couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of a man being pregnant. At last mother nature-getting revenge.
* * * * * * * *
“You were joking with me last night about me being pregnant, right Sam?” They were seated at the breakfast table the following morning. Daniel ’s eyes pleaded with her please let this be a sick joke you’re playing on me. She wanted to tell him that it was just a cruel joke, but the cruel part was, she wasn’t joking.
“It was going to be interesting to see just how Daniel would handle taking over the role of motherhood,” Sam thought. “I always thought he would be a good father, now only time would tell if I’m right.” She wasn’t sure how she totally felt about this role reversal. Secretly she always had this dream tucked way back in her mind that someday she would be the one to get fat with child and have the baby. She never envisioned impregnating a male before. I guess there is the first time for everything.
“Nooooo Daniel, I’m afraid I’m not joking with you. You are very pregnant. In about four more months you will be having our baby. On this planet pregnancies only last five months. It seems that the marriage elixir makes our bodies mass-produce sex hormones. They in turn help the couple bond faster and it also causes the males to get pregnant faster and easier.”
“That’s all good Sam but we’re not from this planet, so how can this be happening to me? I just don’t understand this; this isn’t supposed to happen, especially to me? I’ll be the laughing stock of the academic world, the military and anyone else who finds out.”
“It won’t be a picnic for me either Daniel. We both will be the laughing stock of the military. They’ll want to keep both of us in the hospital and run these entire tests and never let us leave. Daniel I don’t want that kind of life for our baby or us. But the matter of fact is it’s a reality we must consider.
Now I’m not rightly sure what caused this to happen. It must be something in the atmosphere, or the food, I’m just not sure. If we can get back home, maybe Dr. Fraiser can help figure it out. In the mean time, you have to calm down and take good care of our little bundle of joy to be. Now, let’s change the subject for a minute. Just what did you find out on your walk yesterday?”
“Well as I said before all this excitement, I found out from Altecor and hearing the other males talk that some strangers were captured yesterday morning. They were put in the prison section. They were some concern over one of the prisoners. They say that the council is deciding what to do with him. Sounds like it may be Teal’C. I’m still trying to get info on just how far we are from the Stargate and where our equipment is being held.
I had Altecor show me the section of the prison the prisoners are in. I couldn’t get close enough to the window to see who was in there. Now, what have you found out?”
“Not as good as you I’m afraid. All they did at the council meeting was discuss issues relating to running this city, and who earned the right to pick from the concubine group to bond with. If there really were prisoners brought in they didn’t discuss it while I was there.”
“I could try again today at the market.” Daniel answered as he reached for his shopping basket, but Sam took it from him.
“After you eat something.” Sam took Daniel by the shoulders and pushed him down into a chair at the kitchen table. Then she added “ You have to start taking better care of yourself now that you’re pregnant. She put a plate of assorted fruit and delicacies in front of him.
As she poured him a glass of milk she added, “Daniel this is the first for the both of us, first marriage, for me anyway, first pregnancy, first time role reversal. Neither of us knows much about this strange planet, so until we do, we need to be as careful as possible. The first priority is, taking especially good care of you. If nothing else happens while we are stuck here, we have a healthy baby. Now eat. I have to go. The hunting party will be assembling in a few minutes. I want you to get plenty of rest and don’t stay out in the sun too long either.”
“Nag, nag, nag, yes little----Hey, if I’m the mother of this kid, what does that make you, the second mom or the dad?” Daniel gave a sly grin as Sam went out the door. Sam just chuckled, but stopped and thought out loud, “Just what does that make me?” She shrugged and said, “Interesting, very “interesting.”
* * * * * * * *
Two weeks later, the doctor rushed down the corridor and into the Queen’s chamber. “I have good new for you, my Queen, good news indeed.” The doctor smiled as she enters the Queens chambers.
“I just examined the male called Daniel. It is official; he is having a boy. A very healthy boy compared to our children that have been born in the last few years. I estimate that if all goes well and he carries to term, the child will weight in about seven and a half to eight pounds.”
“That’s more than any of our children have weighed in the last several years. So he is taking good care of himself, good, good.”
“So far, but I still want to keep a close eye on him. He’s just slightly anemic, really nothing to worry about at this time, but it’s still worth checking on.” A slight frown crosses the doctor’s face.
“Are you sure it’s nothing to worry about, nothing that could cause problems?”
“If it gets any lower, I can give him either shots or make sure his mate gives him a more nutritious diet. If I really want to push the issue, I can always have him admitted to the hospital for the duration of the pregnancy.”
“By all means doctor, keep a close eye on him. We don’t want anything to happen now that we are so close to destroying the Eastern Territories plans.”
“As you wish, your highness.” With that the doctor left.
* * * * * * * *
A couple of weeks later, Daniel was standing in front of their bedroom mirror turning first to the right then to the left. A smile spread across his face as he ran his hands across the small mound that seemed to appear almost over night on his belly. Sam stood in the doorway watching him.
“Don’t fall so much in love with your reflection that you forget our doctors appointment this afternoon.”
“ I can’t help it Sam, that old saying is true. I just never gave it a second thought before, but it is true.”
“What saying is that Daniel?”
“You know, that saying that being pregnant and feeling the baby move inside of you, makes you realize that a baby is truly a miracle. No matter which of us is carrying the child, it still is a miracle.”
Sam walked over to Daniel and placing a hand under his chin she raised his face to hers and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.
“Yes, it is a miracle, one that I’m glad I had a part in with you. I have to go but as I said earlier---”
“Yes, I know you’re going to be late for the hunting party. Maybe today you will find the trail that we came in on. And don’t forget to have a good hunt, and yes I won’t forget that we are to see the doctor today.”
* * * * * * * *
“There is nothing to worry about in my asking both of you to be here to see me today. I always like to see first time parents on the first visit, to answer any questions they may have and to let them know what to expect. Then I will examine the male and let you know of any findings and then if that’s all the questions, we will make an appointment for the next two weeks.” Dr. Israel tried to be as reassuring as she could.
“Now ask any questions that you may have and I’ll do the best I can to answer them.”
“I don’t mean to sound dumb, but just how am I suppose to give birth to this baby? I mean just how are you expecting this child to exit my body?” Daniel was doing his best to not turn forty shades of red at this point, but the thought of the child traveling through a certain key part of his of his male anatomy was just a little more than he wanted to think about at this point. As usual Sam just sat there and laughed her head off at his insecurity.
“There is not a single question that I will find too stupid or embarrassing to answer. It is a valid question. I realize that some families do not discuss reproduction with their children; they wish to leave that up to their doctors. Then when it comes time for that part of their lives they feel too embarrassed to ask. But to get back to your question, I’ll need you to lie down on the table here to make it easier to explain.” Daniel did as she requested, not sure just what to expect.
After Dr. Israel uncovered Daniel abdomen she preceded with the explanation, ”Here in your lower abdomen you have an inner pouch and an outer pouch. During the first four months the child is growing and developing in the inner pouch. Then during the last month the child will move into the outer pouch. Now during the last week the child will move down to the bottom of the outer pouch in preparation for its birth. When labor starts, the flap on the bottom of the outer pouch will begin to separate from the abdomen. When approximately eight centimeters has opened it will be sufficient for the child to pass through.”
She helped Daniel to sit up then, continued, “When you first feel the pains of child birth I want you to get to the hospital right away. With this being your first child we don’t know if there should be any complications, therefore I do not wish to take any chances. You will only be in the hospital for two days, if there aren’t any problems. After that when you arrive home I want you to take it easy for a few more days. Then you may start resuming your normal daily activities. Are there any more questions?”
“Are there any special diet that he will need to be on? Or any restrictions he needs to follow?” It was Sam’s turn to ask questions that worried her.
“At this stage of his pregnancy I will need to exam him first, to better answer your questions, but normally, just no heavy lifting, or straining, not getting carried away with the sweets, lots of milk and juices and lots of rest. Now if that all the questions you have for now, I would like to exam Daniel to make sure he’s progressing well enough for this stage of his pregnancy.”
Sam waited out in the reception area until they were finished. Then Dr. Israel had her rejoin them. When Sam had rejoined them, the doctor began explaining her finding.
“Well at this time, Daniel is in good shape. A little anemic, so I’ll want to keep an eye on that, but his weight gain is good. Don’t let him get too much sun. Pregnant males think that just because they feel exceptionally good, because of the hormones raging in their bodies, they forget to watch the amount of sun they get. Our two suns can really wreak havoc with them during this delicate time in their lives. Above all remember to be extra kind to your male, the hormones are raging during their pregnancies and it makes for an emotional mate. Little things are blown out of proportion. Well if that if all of the questions you have for me now I’ll say goodbye and remember I’ll be seeing you Daniel in two weeks.”
After they left the doctors office, Daniel let out a sigh of relief; “Well I’m glad to know that babies here are not born the way I was having a nightmare about!”
Sam just about keeled over laughing and said, “Me too, I had several scenarios running through my mind.”
* * * * * * * *
After they left, Dr. Israel contacted the queen’s advisor to inform her of Daniel good condition at this stage of his pregnancy.
The queen turned to her advisor. “Excellent, just excellent. So it would be a good bet to visit the Eastern territory to have a look around to check out their children and males. If all of them are as good as this one, we just might want to think about capturing a few of them to insure our future and to stop any idea they may have about taking over our territory.”
* * * * * * * *
“Daniel, I have some good news, I think I ----“ Sam stopped as she looked about and didn’t see him. Puzzled she looked in the kitchen, then the bathroom. Where could he be, she thought, and then opened the door to the bedroom? There was Daniel, sleeping soundly. Sam slowly closed the door. Poor guy, he must really be tired to be sleeping this early in the day.
The sound of dishes clanging woke Daniel. He turned over and looked at his wristwatch. “Oh my god is it that late? Sam will be home anytime and I haven’t even started anything for dinner yet!” Daniel yawned and stretched as he sat on the edge of the bed while he got his bearing.
Daniel yawned again as he entered the kitchen but was instantly awake when he was startled to see Sam standing in front of the stove stirring a pot.
“Sam, you’re home already. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you. Are you feeling OKAY, Daniel? You don’t normally fall asleep this early.”
“I’m fine. I was just feeling a little tired so I thought I would take a short nap, then fix dinner, but I guess It ended up being an extra long nap. I’m sorry I didn’t have anything ready for you to eat.” He yawned again as he sat down at the dinner table.
“It’s fine, I still remember how to cook. Dinner is almost ready, so just help me set the table and we can eat. That is if you can stay awake long enough.”
“Hardy, har har. I’m awake now. What did you make for dinner?”
“Eat it and find out.”
A while later, Daniel was standing on the balcony off of the kitchen, looking up at the stars. Sam walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, placing her chin on his left shoulder.
“What are you thinking, my love?”
Daniel placed his hands on hers that still were clamped around him, taking a deep breath he said, “Sam, I need to ask you something. It’s very important that you answer me truthfully. Promise me you will only tell me the truth, promise?”
“Of course Daniel, you can ask me anything and I’ll be honest with you.” She was getting puzzled as to what could be on his mind.
“Sam, before this mission, now be honest with me, did you ever think of me in the romantic way at all. Feel free to be blunt if you have too, but not too blunt. Oh the hell with it just tell me honestly, did you ever have feelings for me, before they forced that damn elixir on us?”
Now that the words were out, he wished that he hadn’t said them. He honestly didn’t want to know how she felt. He only knew that he was deeply in love with her, elixir or not and he knew, deep in his heart that would never change, no matter how she felt. He would love her until the end of time.
Sam released her arms from around his waist and walked around to face him face to face. She took his chin in her hand and raised his face until he was looking her in the eyes.
“I was immediately mesmerized by you the very first time that I saw you at the debriefing when Jack brought you back from Abydos. My love for you grew with each passing day. But I always felt that my love could never be returned, because of you still being married to Sha’uri. Then when she unfortunately died, I knew that you were still grieving for her and that it was impossible for you to have any feeling for me. Don’t get me wrong, I silently prayed that you secretly held some little romantic feelings for me, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I don’t think that I could have stood it if I ever found out that you didn’t have even one little single romantic feeling for me. Don’t think me harsh, but I am extremely joyous that I am standing here next to you, with you carrying our baby. What else can I do to convince you that I am telling you the truth, ---sing to you or what?” She was beginning to feel exasperated at him. Just how many times does he want her to tell him that she is totally in love with him, elixir or no elixir?
“Huhm, singing wouldn’t be a bad idea. Yea, sing to me and I’ll be convinced for now!”
“Sing! Daniel, I can’t carry a tune. Please don’t make me sing!” She had to open her mouth. Why did she have to say she would sing?
“You said you would sing to me just how much you loved me, now you want to back down. I guess you really don’t love me after all. Oh poor old knocked up me. All you women are just alike. All you want is to take us men to bed and have your way with us and as soon as we get pregnant, it’s all over now Charlie. It’s your problem. Adios, don’t let the door slam you in the butt on your way out. Don’t know you any longer, it not my problem.” He did his best to give his most hurt look, but she wasn’t buying it.
“Alright I’ll sing, but it won’t be pretty, you know I can’t carry a tune and it’s your fault if your ears start to hurt before it’s over.” She thought a minute to try to come up with slightly decent lyrics.
“Well my glutton for punishment here I go.” Then she began to softly sing, “Before you came into my life, I had never really lived my life. But now because I love you so, I will never let you go. Please believe me that I do love you so.”
Daniel smile and then he began to softly sing, “ But now because I love you so””
Sam joined him in singing, “I will never let you go. Please believe me that I do love you so!” They laughed and hugged each other.
“I take it that you finally believe me when I say that I love you, regardless of that damn elixir.”
“Yes, I finally do believe that you really do love me regardless of anything, Sam.” All Daniel could do was hug her and smile.
“Well now that I proved to you how much I love you and you now honestly believe me, how about we have a little personal fun in the nice- big-comfy-bed of ours?” She gave a playful little smile.
“I’m game for that.” He replied and they both made a mad dash for the bedroom.
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