It Takes a Village

by Goddess47

Summary:

John was more than faintly surprised the Gate was still standing, although he did not see a dialing device. The more-than-a-village-but-not-quite-a-city that was a short distance from the Gate was in total ruins. Smoke still climbed lazily into the air. The attack had not been that long ago, at least within the last day.

Notes:

For Romancing McShep 2023.

I was writing other things and over-estimated what I could get done during February. So this is like 3/4 written and I will have it done in the next couple of days. But I wanted one more story for Romancing McShep during the posting period!

This is also for The Big Moxie Q1 - Inexplicable Babies.

Chapter 1: The Rescue

They watched the video transmission from the MALP -- well, the cobbled-together kinda-mobile camera carrier they called a MALP -- as the video came through the Gate. After enough bad experiences, they decided it was only sensible to send a MALP through the Gate before they went through it. Even to known, friendly worlds.

AR-3 -- Lorne, Parrish, Rodriguez, and Taylor -- and Teyla had been scheduled to go to Jinia but Taylor had the 'Pegasus flu' and John decided to take their place, since Teyla was on his team and was the contact person for the Jinians. They traded with Jinia for crops and this was just a routine check-in.

"That's... that's not good," John said slowly, watching the video that was coming back through the Gate.

"Wraith." Ronon made that declaration in a flat voice.

"Yeah, looks like," John agreed with a small nod.

John was more than faintly surprised the Gate was still standing, although he did not see a dialing device. The more-than-a-village-but-not-quite-a-city that was a short distance from the Gate was in total ruins. Smoke still climbed lazily into the air. The attack had not been that long ago, at least within the last day.

"Is it safe? Worth going?" Rodney asked with a frown.

"No activity that we can see from the camera the MALP," John said. "Let's throw a LSD through."

"We should put one on the MALP," Rodney said absently as he rooted through the desk they were standing around. "Here." He handed the device to John.

"I can throw it farther," Ronon volunteered.

John handed the device to Ronon without a word.

Ronon hurried to the Gate and stood in front of it. He hurled the device through the event horizon and turned to come back to them.

John watched on the screen as the device flew through the air and winced as it landed and bounced twice on the hard ground. LSDs were relatively tough but that kind of treatment wouldn't be good for it.

Rodney tapped at the tablet in his hand, swore at it twice, and then turned it so they all could see.

"Nothing human or Wraith that I can see," Rodney said. "For at least five miles around the Gate or even up in space."

"No survivors?" Ronon asked.

"Most likely not," Rodney admitted.

"What about the creche?" Teyla asked.

"Creche?" John questioned. "What..."

"The Jinians placed their babies in a creche," Teyla explained. "They felt it best for their children to be raised in a group environment. Mothers that wanted to work in the creche could do so, those that did not could rely on the creche to take care of their children."

"A good arrangement," Ronon nodded.

"And the creche had special protections. Not only from raiders who might take children to raise, or sell, but from the Wraith," Teyla added.

"Where was the creche?" John asked.

"May I?" Teyla indicated the camera controls.

Rodney stepped back.

Teyla looked at the camera in concentration for a moment, then guided the MALP off to the left of the Gate. She moved it a short distance and then zoomed the camera in on a mound.

"There, I think," she said. "It is some distance from the Gate but close enough to evacuate through the Gate if there is enough warning." She shook her head. "I do not think there was warning, so I do not know what we will find."

"Would there be adults in the building during an attack?" John asked. "A last line of defense?"

"That I do not know," Teyla admitted. "They kept the creche security a secret, of course."

John considered. "What are you thinking?"

"We should check," Teyla said firmly. "If there are any babies that are still alive, they need to be taken care of."

"It looks relatively safe," Rodney admitted. "Now would be the time to go, before looters come or the Wraith come back."

"Okay, gear up," John said. "We'll take a Jumper, even for the short distance, since we're not sure of the dialing device."

John called Woolsey over the communicator.

"Richard. We're going on a mission of mercy to Jinia. It looks like they've recently been culled and we'd like to check for survivors," John reported. "McKay reports no Wraith ships in the immediate area but we're going to take a Jumper because we're not sure the dialing device is still functional."

"Do you need any assistance?" Woolsey asked.

"Don't know yet," John admitted. "We'll dial in if we find survivors."

"Take care," Woolsey replied.

It didn't take long for the team to be ready to travel to Jinia. John made sure there was extra water and blankets in the Jumper, in case there were any survivors in the creche. He almost asked Carson to come with them but his gut had a sense of urgency and he didn't want to take the time to argue with Carson about going off-world.

"Carson?" John called over the communicator from the Jumper, as the Gate was dialing.

"Aye?" Carson replied.

"We're going to check on a world that's recently been attacked by the Wraith," he said. "Have the infirmary prepared, in case we find any survivors."

"I could come..." Carson began dubiously

"We've got this," John said firmly. "If we find we need a medic on site, we'll let you know. But there are no life signs--" which was the truth "--so I'm just being cautious."

"Good to know then, thank you," Carson replied with a not-so-hidden sigh of relief.

"Sheppard, out." John took the Jumper through the Gate.

"We'll pick up the MALP as you check for survivors and any lingering Wraith," John said settling the Jumper down near the device. "Rodney you check. Ronon, get the MALP."

Ronon was out and back into the Jumper with the MALP in a matter of seconds. John quickly closed the hatch.

"Not seeing any life signs at all," Rodney called as John took the Jumper in the air above the city. "Nothing in the atmosphere or in orbit, either."

From the air, they could see the destruction of the town was total.

"Looks like a hit-and-run raid," Ronon commented. "There likely was some culling but this is mostly destruction for the sake of destruction."

"True," John nodded. "Safe to check out the creche?"

"As good as it gets," Rodney said.

John maneuvered the Jumper close to the creche and settled it down.

"I'm turning on the cloak," John said. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

Rodney groaned. "Now you've jinxed it."

Ronon grunted. "I have the same feeling."

"Then we should hurry," Teyla said.

They cautiously exited the Jumper, leaving the rear hatch open in case they needed to leave in a hurry.

"Teyla? Take the lead since you have more of an idea of what might be going on than we do," John directed.

Teyla nodded and moved toward the mound. There was a door hidden by large trees that had to have been there for a long time, John realized.

Teyla knocked on the door and called out, "Is anyone there? We are travelers who seek to help you."

Teyla listened and shook her head. "I do not hear any reply."

"Ronon? Can you get that open?" John asked.

Ronon went to the door and checked it out. He looked at one side and shook his head. "This is more McKay. Looks electronic."

"On it!" Rodney said, moving closer. He poked at the mechanism for a minute. He took off his backpack and brought out some cables. He connected the mechanism on the door frame to his tablet and poked at it for a moment. He frowned once, huffed, and then poked at it again. "Got it!"

John heard a snick of something unlocking and then the door stood ajar.

"Ronon, you first," John ordered. "Teyla, stay behind him. We'll wait here."

Rodney backed away from the door as Ronon nodded and opened the door wide. He frowned. "Couple of bodies right inside the door. Looks like they were caught outside and barely made it inside before they died."

"Okay," John replied. "Keep going."

"Life signs, now that the door is open," Rodney reported. "About... lots."

Lots of babies, John thought. "Keep an eye outside the building."

"Got it," Rodney replied.

Ronon came back to the door. "No adults, just lots of babies."

"How many?" John asked.

"Twenty, thirty," Ronon said.

"Can we get them into the Jumper in one trip?" John asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not," Ronon shrugged. "Come and see."

"Rodney, stay at the door," John said. "I have this itch..."

"Got it," Rodney nodded. "Go."

John went into the building. There was dim lighting, like the remaining electronics in the building were on a back-up battery. He wondered how long those batteries would last. He didn't want to think about what would happen to the babies when the batteries died.

"There are forty-seven babies," Teyla reported. "A few that look like they are only a few weeks old. Others are up to a year old. About one year old, children are likely to be moved to another location. Once children are doing more than crawling, they have different needs."

John rubbed his forehead. Forty-seven children under a year old!

"Can we get them out in one Jumper load or do we need to come back?" John asked.

"I am not yet sure if we can get them into one Jumper load," Teyla said. "The smallest can be placed together, several in a crib, but some of the older children will not be as easy to transport in a group."

"Damn," John swore. "Okay, let's start with the littlest ones and see how many we can get out of here to start." He looked to Ronon. "Bring the cribs to the door and Rodney and I will get them into the Jumper."

Teyla and Ronon moved toward the room with the smallest babies and John went back to the door.

"Still clear," Rodney reported.

"I want to take as many babies back to Atlantis as I can in one load," John said. "Teyla is putting kids into cribs and Ronon will bring them out to us. You and I will load them into the Jumper."

"Babies? Plural?" Rodney asked, eyes wide.

"Forty-seven, according to Teyla," John said.

"What are we going to do with all those babies?" Rodney asked in a panic.

"We'll figure that out once we're back on Atlantis," John said. "Let's get them out of here first."

Teyla had packed seven babies in each of the first three cribs. There was some crying, some were sleeping, others were just looking around.

"These are the smallest ones," Ronon said over the crying. "The cribs look like they should stack two deep, so that will give us more room in the Jumper."

"Got it," John nodded. Rodney had cleared anything he could from the back of the Jumper and was strapping the cribs to the side walls.

"They're crying!" Rodney said. "What do we do?"

"Ignore it for now," John said. "It's more important to keep them alive than to comfort individual babies."

"O-o-o-kay," Rodney replied with a frown. He strapped the cribs in as John brought them to the Jumper.

"Okay, if we work at it, I think we can do this in one trip," Ronon announced as he brought out a crib with only five babies in it. "The oldest ones will be uncomfortable, but if the Jumper will hold six more cribs, we can do it."

John took the crib to Rodney. "After this one, think we can get six more cribs in here?" John asked.

Rodney looked around the open space. "We can make do. You still jumpy?"

John nodded.

"I'll make it fit," Rodney said firmly. "Won't be pretty, but it can be done."

"Do it!" John nodded.

They continued to bring out cribs of babies.

"One more after this," Ronon reported.

"Good," John nodded.

As he stepped into the Jumper with the crib, Rodney announced, "The Gate is dialing!"

"Only one more crib," John said.

"Damn, it's a Wraith dart!" Rodney called.

"RONON!" John yelled. "WE'RE OUT OF TIME!" He turned to Rodney. "Get in the front and be ready to get in the air when I say."

Rodney scrambled to the front and dropped into the pilot's seat.

Ronon carried the last crib, Teyla immediately behind him. They ran to the Jumper.

"Closing the hatch!" John called as he hit the button for that. "Rodney, get us into the air. Ronon, hang on to that crib. A Wraith dart just came through the Gate."

"It's holding the Gate open," Rodney reported from the front.

"Keep the cloak and shield on," John said. "We'll have to wait it out."

"Another dart just came through," Rodney announced.

"Damn," John said. "What are they looking for?"

"The babies," Teyla said. "If they culled the planet in the last day, it is likely someone has traded their life for the babies. Even if the Wraith were not to take the life force of the babies, they could be sent to a planet of Wraith worshipers and be brought up to serve the Wraith."

"Ewww..." John groaned. "Get us away from here. It's likely the Wraith have at least some idea of where the creche is located and will be searching this area closely."

"Moving," Rodney called. He took the Jumper around to the 'back' of the Gate. The area was undeveloped and the back side of the Gate was often overlooked.

"When the Gate closes, dial P35-074," John directed.

Rodney frowned in thought for a moment, then brightened. "Good idea!"

That planet had a steep cliff a very short distance from the Gate. At the speeds that Darts usually traveled, it was highly likely they would smash into the cliff.

They hovered over a rocky area so that the Jumper wouldn't disturb any of the flora in the area and give themselves away. The Wraith left the Gate open the full thirty-eight minutes and as soon as it shut down, Rodney was dialing the alternate address.

Sure enough, one of the Darts flew through the Gate as soon as it was open.

"One down!" Rodney called.

"What's the other doing?" John asked.

"Nothing that I can see," Rodney said. "If it's trying to talk to the other ship, the pilot may realize that the ship has crashed, since it won't answer."

"What if it calls for help? For a larger ship?" Ronon asked. "We can't stay here forever."

John considered. "We wait until the current address is about to collapse," he said. "Then we ease through. Then we can double back through a couple of other Gates to get home."

"We have a limited amount of time," Teyla put in. "Many of these babies will be hungry and fussing even more."

John sighed. "Doing the best I can."

Teyla grinned. "True. Just making you aware."

"Got it," John nodded. "Rodney. Bring us to the side of the Gate away from the creche and be prepared to use as low a speed as you can to get through. Move off to one side once through the Gate, just in case that second Dart decides to follow us through."

Rodney nodded. "Got it." He looked back at John. "You probably could do this better."

John looked down at his hand that was holding onto a crib. "I feel like I should be here. You can do it."

"Oh. Okay." Rodney took a breath and focused on the controls. He moved the Jumper to the position John chose and then announced, "Going through the Gate."

The cliff side of P35-074 loomed large in the front screen of the Jumper but Rodney managed to turn the Jumper and avoid a collision. The Gate shut down behind them.

"First Dart is scrap," Rodney announced, peering through the front window. "Second Dart didn't follow."

"Okay, Beta site first, just in case," John said.

A hop took them to the Beta site, then to the Alpha site, then to Atlantis.

Chapter 2: Getting Sorted

"Carson," John called as soon as they established contact. "We have forty-seven children from newborn to less than one year old with us. We'll need some help with them."

"Forty-seven?" Carson was astonished.

"All hands on deck," John said. "Chuck, call in whomever you can get to assist the Infirmary with the babies."

"Will do!" Chuck replied.

"There are Athosians on the mainland who would be willing to assist Dr. Beckett," Teyla added. "Send word to them and they will come."

"I'll do that!" Chuck replied.

Rodney brought the Jumper to a stop inside the Gate. John absently noted the shield going back up over the Gate as the room was flooded with help.

"Take the cribs to the infirmary," John directed the soldiers that had shown up. "Carefully."

Matiaz took over at that point. "I've got it, sir. Have nephews and nieces of my own," he grinned. "We'll take care of the kids."

Kids! John made a mental note to reach out to Keras at some point. Maybe they could help with this many babies.

It didn't take long for the Jumper to be emptied and ready to go back to the Jumper bay.

The team left their weapons and gear in the ready room and went to the infirmary. Which was barely-controlled chaos. The sound of babies crying came from all areas of the suite.

"Anyone hurt?" Nurse Bending asked as they entered the room.

"Barely got out of the Jumper," John replied.

"Stand still for a moment." She ran a medical scanner over each of them. "You're clear. At least wash your hands and then you're welcome to help. We need to change diapers and feed the babies."

"I have sent for my people to assist," Teyla said. "They should be here shortly."

Bending nodded. "Good to know! Thanks."

Figuring he should do something, John went over to a sink and thoroughly washed his hands. "Should I take off my shirt?" John asked.

Teyla glanced at him. "Just your t-shirt would be better," she replied. "The soft cloth will be better on a child's skin."

John shrugged out of his uniform shirt and shivered briefly in the cool infirmary air. He went over to what he realized was the crib he had held on to in the Jumper. He picked up one of the babies.

"Hey!" John said softly. "I have to admit I have no idea what I'm doing but I figure I can't make your life any worse than it already is."

Rodney snorted next to him. Then held up another baby in his hands. "Hold the baby firmly and talk to them. That's always a good thing. Skin to skin is better for really small babies but just the warmth of another body is good."

"How do you know..."

Rodney shrugged. "I pretty much raised Jeannie," he replied. "My parents did enough not to be accused of neglecting us but I spent more time with Jeannie than they did."

"Diapers?" John asked, feeling the soggy cloth on the baby.

"We're using towels at this point," Bending came up behind them. "Oh, good. These were next. Anything you can do will be welcome."

"How babies can turn milk into toxic waste is something no one can explain," Rodney said. "Let's clean these two up first."

There was a sort of production line to clean up the babies. A large garbage can was used to collect the dirty diapers -- and that was toxic! -- and then cleaning stations to allow care-givers a chance to clean up the baby and put a dry cloth on the baby.

"That's really gross," John teased the wriggling baby girl, lightly tickling her tummy, as he cleaned her up. "I would think there would be some way to fix that!"

"Ha! Babies will be babies," Rodney snickered as he changed the little boy he had picked up.

The baby girl looked happier as John picked her up and carried her to a smaller room where it was slightly quieter.

"Do we have bottles or something to feed them?" John asked.

"We're starting with small servings of filtered water," Bending came along, handing John a coffee cup with a plastic glove stretched over the top from a tray she carried. The 'bottles' were obviously hastily organized but they should work until they had a chance to work out better arrangements. "It's not at dangerous levels yet, but they're all dehydrated. So a couple of ounces of water to start. Dr. Becket is consulting with Teyla on what we can use for milk, since we don't have an endless supply of that."

"Some of the oldest ones may be on regular food," Rodney said. "Isn't it about a year that babies can start to transition to regular food?"

Bending nodded. "They are, and the mess is making baby food for them right now. We may need to push food at any of the older ones that will take it, because we're going to be going through supplies pretty fast with so many babies."

John nodded. It was good to know everyone had jumped in and done what they could.

"Your two are probably about two months old," Bending said, looking at the babies. "So they's still definitely on bottle feeding. Get them to take the water first and I'll be back with what we have that's closest to formula."

"Okay," John nodded. One of the fingers of the glove had a small hole in it but the mug was awkward to hold. John put the baby down and tipped the water into the glove, taking it off the mug. Knowing gloves would easily be in short supply, he twisted the end of the glove shut instead of tying it.

The girl readily latched on to the warm-ish water and drank the first few gulps thirstily. John thought she looked faintly annoyed when she realized it was just water.

"I don't know what you can taste," John said soothingly. "We're working on some milk for you soon. But water is always good for you. So drink up."

"Give her about half and then burp her," Rodney said. "Last thing you want is an upset stomach."

"Oh. Right," John said. He looked at the glove and eased it out of her mouth. "Okay, burping time!" John held the baby against his shoulder and tentatively patted her on the back.

"A little firmer," Rodney said. "Like this." He held his baby against his own shoulder and gave several firm pats to the baby. The baby gave an extended burp. "See?"

"You sure?" John asked. "She feels so delicate!"

"You'll get the hang of it," Rodney replied. "But you do need to get the air out."

"Okay," John said doubtfully. He patted a bit harder and was gratified to get a burp from her.

"Since it's only water, it should be okay," Rodney advised. "But generally put a cloth on your shoulder. Burping also sometimes means throwing up. It's part of the process."

"You wouldn't throw up on me, would you sweetie?" John cooed as he eased the finger of the glove back into her mouth. "No. You're a good baby. You'd never do that!"

Rodney just laughed.

John couldn't explain why he was reluctant to leave this particular child. He knew he couldn't put it in words and simply held on to the baby as she settled down after drinking the water. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

"Can I just walk around with her?" John asked.

"Sure," Rodney said. "Although you should see if Teyla has some of those baby-carrier things. It wraps around you and leaves your hand free."

Woolsey came into the room. "Ah! Colonel Sheppard. Dr. McKay. I see you've been pressed into baby duty."

"It's not that hard when they're this small," John shrugged.

Woolsey looked at the baby in John's arms.

"Would you like to hold her?" John asked.

Woolsey softened. "May I?"

John carefully transferred the baby to Woolsey. She immediately woke up and started wailing.

"Oh, well..." Woolsey dithered. "I guess she doesn't like me." He gave her back to John and she immediately settled down.

"Huh. Sorry about that," John said.

"No, no, no," Woolsey said. "I expect they are all upset at the changes."

"Before I forget," John said. "Maybe Keras and his people would be willing to take in a couple babies. I know they don't have a lot of room but even three or four would be a great help."

"Good idea!" Woolsey nodded. "I'll ask Chuck who is available to go there and ask."

"We did see two Wraith darts," John reported. "We got one to crash and left the second on Jinia. We came back through the Beta and Alpha sites. So we should be clear."

"Ah!" Woolsey nodded. "I'll be interested in your report, then."

"I'll get that done once we've settled the babies down," John said.

"Babies this small still need night feedings," Rodney put in. "It's not until they're about three months old that they sleep long enough to be considered 'sleeping through the night'," he said. "And some won't do it until they're six months old."

"We should be able to find homes for them by then," Woolsey said. "I would think there would be a number of allies that would take in a handful of babies each."

No! She's mine! John found himself thinking, holding the baby close. Startled, he looked closely at the little girl that stared back at him.

"Umm... Rodney, what's your first reaction if I tell you that someone will take that baby away from you?" John asked.

"No!" Rodney said without hesitation. "Oh! Fu-... um... darn!"

John gave a wry grin. He looked up at Woolsey. "That was my first reaction when you talked about finding homes for the babies. At least for this one. There's something going on here."

"That is unexpected," Woolsey frowned.

"Maybe that's why she wouldn't go to Woolsey," Rodney suggested. "She's bonded to you, somehow, and she's not ready to be with anyone else."

"That is... okay, that's weird," John said.

"It is," Woolsey nodded. "We need Dr. Beckett to check this out."

"When he's had a chance to breathe," John said firmly. "Nothing is going to happen immediately, so let's get everyone as settled as we can and we'll go from there."

"That does make sense," Woolsey agreed. "If you would work with Dr. Beckett and anyone else that should be involved?"

"I will," John nodded.

"What now?" Rodney asked.

"Let's see about some food for ourselves," John said. He looked down. "Can we take the babies with us?"

"They've already been exposed to us," Rodney said. "But I will admit to being reluctant to leave him behind."

John thought for a moment. "Maybe I can watch them both and you get some food? Does that feel like it would work?"

Rodney considered, then nodded. "If we put them on the bed, maybe they'll comfort each other. That will make it easier for you to watch them."

"That makes sense," John agreed. He watched as Rodney put his baby down and take a cautious step back. John moved next to Rodney and put the little girl down.

"Put a blanket over them," Rodney said. "At this age, they aren't good at regulating their own body temperature. So you have to help them keep warm."

"Putting them in the same blanket will help, then. Sharing body heat, so to speak," John said as he wrapped the blanket from the bed around both babies. "I won't move. Bring back whatever's available. And something to drink. Guess I'm thirsty myself."

"Be right back," Rodney said. But John saw Rodney take one last look back as he left the room.

John moved a chair close to the bed. Both babies were leaning into each other and asleep.

"Not that I really mind getting attached to you guys," John whispered. "But I think someone has some explaining to do."

Rodney came bustling back with a tray. "The mess is working on baby food and formula," Rodney reported. "So sandwiches for now."

"That's fine," John nodded.

"I, umm, did find some of that not-turkey for you," Rodney handed John a plate. "And there were some almost-pears."

"Hey! Thanks!" John smiled. "Who's working on formula?"

"Teyla and a couple of Athosians," Rodney said, taking a bite of his own sandwich. "While breastfeeding is the simplest, and preferred way of feeding babies, not everyone can do that. So the Athosians have something they use in that case."

"Good," John nodded.

Carson came into the room. "Okay! Your two are the last. Baby forty-six and baby forty-seven."

"Numbers?" John frowned.

"'Tis the simplest," Carson replied.

"Victoria," John said without too much thought. He felt himself blush. "It was my mom's name."

Rodney cleared his throat and then said softly. "Peter."

"Oh." Carson looked at them. "All right, Victoria and Peter are the last I need to examine. You have formed an... attachment?"

"Why? Has anyone else?" John asked.

"A few," Carson said. "Miko, Major Lorne, Sargent Matiaz, and Sargent Bates. I think there are a few more, but no one has admitted to it."

"Really!" John was surprised. "For a moment, I was going to go with ATA-positive folk but Bates is as non-Ancient as one gets."

"I'm doing some testing, to see if we can figure out what might be going on," Carson said. "I'll be taking a tiny sample from Victoria and Peter so I can add them to the database."

"Will it hurt?" John asked.

"Just a tiny prick," Carson said. "I only need a drop. That is what is so lovely about these Ancient devices. It doesn't take as much blood to get an incredible amount of information."

"John, if you would help?" Carson asked. "I need access to their feet. The procedure is to take pricks from the heels of small infants."

"Interesting," John said as he unwrapped the two babies. Victoria looked at John as he lifted her up so that Carson could access one of her feet. She gave a small flinch but settled back down. Peter did not fuss as John handled him and Carson quickly had his samples.

"I'll set this to working," Carson said. "Hopefully, there will be more information in a few hours."

"Can we take our kids to our room?" John asked. And, whoa! That's a sentence he never thought he'd ever say.

Carson shook his head. "Not quite yet. I understand there is progress being made on baby formula. I'd like to make sure all the babies will tolerate the formula before they leave the infirmary."

"What else can you tell us?" Rodney asked.

"The children are almost uniformly healthy," Carson said. "There are twenty-seven wee baby girls, and twenty wee baby boys. Whatever they were doing on that planet, they were raising strong, healthy babies."

John gave a small wince. "Non-healthy babies may not have made it to the creche."

Carson looked taken aback at the thought but then nodded. This was Pegasus and 'special needs' children were frequently and quietly killed. It was a horror they were in no position to do anything about. "Too true. Without more information, we will not know."

"Maybe there are survivors that we did not find," Rodney said. "Or people living further away from the Gate and who might have escaped the Wraith. We should look into going back and seeing what information we might find."

"We will," John nodded. "But I want to wait at least a couple of days, since there was at least the one Wraith on the planet when we left."

"Oh. Right," Rodney nodded. "That makes sense."

"What about the non-bonded babies?" John asked.

"They seem to be fine," Carson said. "Teyla's friends have come in and are a great help. I do think we have everything under a basic level of control."

John nodded.

They did another diaper change and fed the babies more water before Nurse Bending came around with the formula. With Lorne also tied down to a baby, John relied on the communicator to keep in touch with anything that might need his attention. He looked over. At least Rodney always had a tablet on hand to help keep busy. He would have to learn to do that more.

"Your two are about two months, which means we're starting them with four ounces of formula," she said. "Normally, they would be up to six to eight ounces, but we want to start small, in case there are any problems. If there are no problems in an hour, you'll be able to feed them another four ounces."

John nodded, taking the make-shift bottle from her.

"Okay, sweetie," John said softly. "Let's see how this worked."

Victoria latched onto the finger of the glove and sucked greedily.

"Good stuff," John said softly. "Oh, right. Burping." John eased the glove out of her mouth and held her on his shoulder. John felt more comfortable with the process, Victoria gave a wet burp and then went back to finishing off the portion they had been given.

"More coming soon," John encouraged. "Let's see if this is okay for you."

Luckily, the next hour was boring and Nurse Bending was back with another round of formula.

"If this second feeding goes down well, then you're welcome to go back to your rooms," she said. "You can use a dresser drawer or something similar and some blankets for a makeshift bed for tonight. As tempting as it will be, do not sleep in the same bed. At this age, they will sleep six to eight hours, so get your sleep at the same time. Someone will be in the infirmary with clean diapers and more formula around the clock. In the next day or so, I suspect we will have better arrangements for everything, so be patient."

"You-all have worked miracles to get this far," John replied. "Thanks."

Chapter 3: Unexpected Information

John and Rodney swung by the mess for a quick meal, to find a surprising number of Lanteans with babies.

"We're going to have to find something that will work as high chairs," Rodney commented. "Even if we find homes outside of Atlantis for a number of the babies, it looks like we're going to have more than a handful hanging around."

John nodded. "Tomorrow. Or the day after," he said. "I need some food and I'd like to sleep for as long as the munchkins will let us."

"Oh, right," Rodney replied.

They picked a table away from the balcony. While John normally liked eating outside, weather permitting, he wasn't sure if it would be warm enough for the babies. Everyone else with babies was eating inside, so John figured someone knew what they were doing.

"Leave Peter here and get food for both of us," John said. "I'll eat anything that's not moving."

Rodney laughed. He put Peter on the table next to Victoria and John put his arms out to hold the babies in place. Rodney hurried off toward the food line.

Both babies focused on John. "At least we won't have to train your taste buds to learn to like things like not-cow, and almost-turkey."

Victoria made a funny face and then sneezed. John used the edge of his t-shirt to wipe up the snot that appeared. He made -- another -- mental note to start to carry a cloth or towel with him.

"No getting sick!" John said firmly. "I need more time to just get the hang of dealing with you guys."

John hoped someone was making a list of things they would need. While things like beds and clothes were obvious, he knew there would be things he wouldn't even know to get. It would be a steep learning curve but, between him and Rodney, he knew they could figure it out.

Ronon dropped in a chair on the other side of the table.

"Cute kids," Ronon said. "You going to keep them?"

John nodded. "Something is going on but, yeah. I have this... feeling, I guess. Just don't want to let them go."

"You and McKay both, I see," Ronon grinned.

"If we're going to do it..." John grinned back.

"Umm... maybe we can go back to Sateda and find some kids things?" Ronon suggested. "There should be some things... cribs, toys, stuff like that. They'd need to be cleaned up but there should be enough to help around here."

"Good idea," John nodded. "I'm going to put you in charge of doing that. I'm not going to be going off-world for a bit. At least until the kids are settled and we can figure out some child care. I'm hoping a couple of weeks but likely a month."

Ronon nodded.

"Find some folk who don't have babies and let me know who would be interested in going with you," John went on. He pointed a finger at Ronon. "Don't go alone! We have help here and going off on your own isn't needed or safe."

Ronon gave a wry grin. "I'll ask around, see who might be interested, and let you know."

"Good. And thanks!" John said.

"Later," Ronon said as he left, before John could ask him to keep an eye on the babies while they ate. Oh, well.

Rodney brought a piled-high tray over. "I got some of everything and figured we could work it out."

"Oh, some hot food will taste good," John nodded. "Good idea." He moved over slightly so he had some open table in front of him but not so far that he couldn't reach the babies if they moved.

"Ronon thinks he can find some kid stuff on Sateda," John said. "I told him to organize a team and see what he could find."

"We never did find a lot of kid things here," Rodney nodded. "Doesn't mean it's not around someplace but we have a more immediate need."

"My thought, exactly," John replied.

They ate quickly and John took the tray and dishes back to the cleaning area.

"I hear you have kids," Corporal Chen said said as he worked with the tray.

John nodded.

"Congratulations," Chen replied. He handed John a flask. "Hot Athosian tea. In case you need it in the middle of the night. We've prepped a batch for everyone who's taken a kid in. Bring it back for refills."

"You guys are lifesavers," John replied. "I suspect this will be a godsend."

"Doing our part," Chen nodded.

John took the flask and showed it to Rodney. "Hot tea. Should still be pretty warm, even by the middle of the night when the kids will get us up."

"Good idea," Rodney replied.

Getting organized for bed was minor chaos. They didn't have drawers that seemed appropriate, they were all too large, and they had to scout around their apartment for ideas. Rodney finally dug into the back of a closet and brought out a metal suitcase.

"I don't even know why I have this, but it should work," Rodney said.

John opened the case and lay it flat on the floor. "It's too big to go anywhere else," he shrugged. He lay Victoria down in one half and Peter in the other. They both started crying.

"Put them together," Rodney suggested.

John scooped Victoria up and put her next to Peter. They both immediately quieted down.

"That works," John nodded. "Should be fine until we can arrange for something better.

"Pick them up for a minute," Rodney said.

John did so and Rodney fiddled with the suitcase. He dashed into his office space and came back with a handful of tools. He fiddled with the hinges and soon had the top separated from the bottom.

"This will be easier to work with," Rodney said. "Especially since they want to be together."

"If we turn one of those oversized drawers over, the case can be put on that," John suggested. "It will keep them off the floor, anyway."

"Better!" Rodney nodded. He emptied a drawer, shoving everything haphazardly into other drawers and came back with it. "Where do we put it?"

"How about at the foot of the bed?" John said. "It keeps them close and we won't stumble over them if we get up."

Rodney placed the drawer at the foot of the bed and John settled the case on top of it.

As if they knew it was time, both babies closed their eyes and relaxed into sleep.

"Wish I knew how they did that," Rodney sighed. "Okay, I have like an hour of work I really need to do."

"Hey, come here," John said, taking Rodney's hand. "We never talked about kids."

"Didn't think we'd have any," Rodney shrugged. "There are lots of people who would be ahead of us on a list. If there was anything like a list."

"I'm feeling entirely too calm about this," John admitted. "But the thought of raising kids with you? I'm looking forward to it."

"It's not going to be easy," Rodney said softly.

"We have a village," John grinned. "Maybe that's why I'm not nervous. Yet."

"We'll screw it up. Make them hate us."

"What parent doesn't do that?" John said. "We'll just have to do our best."

"Jeannie didn't turn out half bad," Rodney admitted.

"See? That's the spirit!" He leaned in for a soft kiss. "Do your work so you can get some sleep."

Rodney kissed him back. "Good thing I'm used to working with little sleep."

"But you can't afford to be grumpy," John said. "Come to bed as soon as you can."

"Okay," Rodney nodded.

Wailing babies meant a middle-of-the-night trip to the infirmary for diaper changes and more formula. Luckily, with the change and food, both Victoria and Peter dropped right back to sleep.

"The good news is that they both should sleep until eight or so," Nurse Smythers announced. "Both of you get some sleep. You'll need it."

John rolled his eyes and they went back to their room. Rodney dropped into the bed next to John and fell asleep.

Wash, rinse, repeat John thought to himself as they went through the same process in the morning.

"Get some breakfast," Carson said as they were leaving the infirmary. "Then come back. Most of my tests will be back by then and I'll give you whatever I can."

John nodded. "That works. Thanks!"

Food and hot coffee made the day seem better. John checked in with Lorne when he saw Lorne in the mess.

"Got one of your own, I see," John said.

Lorne looked a little wild-eyed. "This is totally unexpected. I mean... I never thought I'd have kids at all. Now? I don't want to give him up."

"This is Victoria," John said, indicating the baby in his arms. "Rodney named his Peter."

"Oh. That's a good idea," Lorne said. "I was thinking Nicholas. Nick, after my grandfather."

"Sounds good," John said. "Hopefully, Carson will have some information for us this morning."

"Let me know what I can do," Lorne replied.

"Some advice?" John said.

Lorne nodded. "Move in with Parrish. You've been dancing around him for ages. Two people can wrangle a baby better than one."

Lorne looked startled. "Do you think he'd agree?"

"Dunno, but now is the time to ask for help, if nothing else," John said.

"I will do that," Lorne nodded.

"How is everyone else doing?" John asked. "I'll talk to Woolsey later about canceling any missions for a few days. We need time to regroup but I think we can re-arrange things and see what is a priority."

Lorne nodded. "Sounds good. I'll be... around."

"Again, only do what has to be done," John said firmly. "Push off anything that can be pushed off on someone else and we'll get together... tomorrow morning to figure out what we can."

"That works," Lorne said.

John went back and found Teyla at the table.

"Congratulations, John, on your new family," Teyla said.

"Oh, you're involved in this!" John said. "Rodney and I are going to need all the help we can get and you're at the top of that list."

"I will be happy to help," she replied cheerfully.

"Ronon has proposed a trip to Sateda to see if he can find some baby furniture," John said. "If you have some suggestions, let him know. If nothing else, anything he finds will need cleaning up, and I suspect some help with that will be welcome."

"I will give him some ideas of things to look for," Teyla nodded.

"Thank your people for their help," John said. "I'm not sure how we would have managed without them."

"A few of my people would welcome babies in their families," Teyla said.

"They're at the top of the list," John said. "But I know they can't take all of them. Think about who we could discretely offer babies to. I thought of Keras, maybe they'd take one or two."

"I will think about who we might approach," Teyla nodded. "You are correct, we should be careful about that."

"Okay, we're off to see if Carson has any information for us," John said. He looked over. "Rodney? You ready?"

Rodney inhaled the last of his coffee.

"I will take your tray," Teyla offered.

"Oh, thank you!" Rodney said as he picked Peter up. "Okay. Ready!"

They made their way to the infirmary and found Carson and Woolsey together.

"Dr. Beckett was just telling me he has some initial information," Woolsey said.

"It is kinna personal for John and Rodney, but if they dinna mind," Carson said. "I do think it is important enough to share, at least for now."

John was puzzled. "Don't know what could be personal, but, sure. Stay."

"I put the blood samples I collected into the Ancient device we have been using to analyze blood," Carson started. "The device has been useful in identifying diseases, so making sure the little bairns are healthy felt like a good place to start."

"Sure," John shrugged.

"What I dinna know until this morning, was that the device also can examine DNA at a level I was not expecting," Carson continued. "Since we have been on Atlantis for a bit, almost everyone has been examined with this device."

"And..."

"I have checked the results three times and it is telling me that Victoria and Peter are siblings and the biological children of the two of you."

John stared.

"How is that possible?" Rodney asked.

"I... we, umm, Rodney and I have never been on that planet before," John protested.

"I cannot explain how, just that is what we know right now," Carson said.

"That is extremely unusual," Woolsey said.

"Wait. Check Matias' records," John said. "He has a baby and I know he's never been there either."

"Good idea," Woolsey nodded. "Dr. Beckett?"

Carson poked at the computer and brought up the file. "Oh, my."

"The same thing?" John asked.

"Yes," Carson nodded. "The baby that has attached itself to Sargent Matias is identified as his biological daughter."

"Check the others," John said.

It took a few minutes but Carson nodded. "It's the same for all of them. The babies identify as being biologically related to the adult they have bonded with."

"I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a creepy thing," Rodney admitted.

"Both, I guess," John admitted. He looked down at Victoria. "Someone or something really, really wanted me to be your daddy."

"I'll take wacky Ancient devices for a thousand, Alex," Rodney muttered.

John could only laugh.

"What do we do now?" Woolsey asked.

"I'd love to go back to Jinia and demand answers," John said. "But we didn't find any survivors and we left a Wraith Dart hanging around. I'd like to wait three or four days before we even try to go back there. But I do want to go back there."

"Maybe we can find some records," Rodney said. "Anything that might tell us what is going on."

"That is reasonable," Woolsey nodded.

"Let's gather up the... families, I guess that's what they are, and go over this with them as a group," John said. "That will save you from answering the same questions over and over again."

"Not that I have a lot of answers," Carson replied.

"It's a start," John said.

Chapter 4: More Questions than Answers

It was interesting to see the others that babies had bonded to. John held in a snicker when he saw Sargent Bates wearing a baby in a sling. Although Bates looked surprisingly competent rather than awkward.

"Looking good, Sarge," John teased.

"I had eight younger brothers and sisters," Bates admitted easily. "Going in the service was the only way to get out of permanent baby-sitting duties. My parents were... I'm just not going to finish that sentence."

"Is this okay?" John asked gently. "I hate to see you forced into something you don't want to do."

Bates shook his head. "Nah. One is easy, actually. And, well, it feels right." He grinned at John. "You know what I mean."

John grinned back. "I do. Have a seat. This is going to blow your mind even more."

"Oh, great," Bates muttered. He took a seat around the table.

Woolsey stood. "Thank you for coming. Dr. Beckett has some... interesting information to share with you. I will preface this by saying he does not have all the answers, but we will keep working on this. Dr. Beckett, the floor is yours."

Carson stood. "As you know, I took blood samples from all the bairns as part of the intake process."

Everyone nodded.

"I started with Dr. McKay and Colonel Sheppard this morning to see what information could be found, since they had two babies between them. I have checked the results many times by now, but the two babies that have... bonded is the word that someone has been using, the babies that have bonded to them are full siblings and I would assume they would be twins."

"That makes sense," Miko said.

"What cannot be explained is that the two babies DNA also shows that Dr. McKay and Colonel Sheppard are their biological parents," Carson said.

Silence.

"I have also checked each of you and your babies and find the same thing. According to the DNA tests I have performed, you are the biological parent of the child you have bonded with," Carson said.

"And, yes, we know most of you have never been to Jinia, where we found the babies," John put in before anyone could say anything. "Dr. Kusinagi has seldom been off-world and there is little to no chance anyone would have been able to collect a sample of her DNA to try to create a baby."

"To be clear, the babies are not clones," Carson added. "The DNA shows they are descendants with you as one DNA contributor and another, yet unknown person, contributing the rest of the DNA."

"Our two show that John and I are the parents of these children," Rodney said. "So they have both my DNA and John's DNA."

"If you have... partners here on Atlantis, you can talk to me privately and I will be glad to check to see if your partner is the other parent," Carson said. "I will not breach the privacy of the members of the expedition to search through the database to find a second parent. But if you have someone you would like me to check for, I am willing to do that."

"Or, the child is yours alone and anything else is none of anyone else's business," Woolsey said firmly. "While we are glad to have families here on Atlantis, it is a war zone and may be dangerous. Importantly, none of you will be asked to leave. Atlantis is your home and you will are welcome to stay."

John thought he saw a small sigh of relief at that.

"Any chance we can go back to Jinia and see if we can unearth more information?" Lorne asked.

"We're going to do that but we need to wait a couple of days," John replied. "When we left the planet, a Wraith Dart was wandering about near the Gate, so we want to wait until he goes away. Our guess is that the Darts came for the babies, but there may be something else going on that we do not know about."

"Damn, they were good people," Lorne said. "Willing to trade fair, progressive, and just... nice."

"Good to know," John said.

"I can tell you that all of the babies are healthy," Carson said. "And that means not just the ones you have taken in, but all of the rest."

"We will be looking for placements for the babies that do not bond with anyone here," John said. "Teyla has said the Athosians will easily take half a dozen, or more, if needed. We'll reach out to Keras and see if his people will be interested in two or three babies. After that, we'll be looking for ideas for placements. We don't want it widely known we have this many babies, so we do want to pick and choose who we even talk to."

"Geldar, maybe," Rodney suggested. He grinned. "Maybe Harmony would like a little brother."

John rolled his eyes. "We'll add them to the list."

"I have the staff putting together a list of things each of you should have," Carson said. "We were not prepared for more than one or two babies at a time, so we're getting things organized as we can."

"Oh! Ronon's organizing a trip to Sateda," John said. "He thinks he can find baby furniture, toys, that sort of thing. That should be happening in the next day or so. If there's something specific you'd like, let him know."

"While Dr. McKay's and Colonel Sheppard's children seem to be related, do we know if there are any other siblings in the group?" Miko asked. "I would not want to separate siblings unless there are reasons to do so."

"I will have to check for that," Carson admitted. "I will admit to being side-tracked when I found the DNA relationship to the lot of you."

"Did you get to check for ATA status?" John asked. "That will be important." Having a baby throw a tantrum that the city might interpret badly would be a nightmare.

"I have not had a chance to check for that, but you can assume that if you are ATA positive, your children are likely to be ATA positive," Carson replied. "But I will add that to the things I check for."

"Let's hope the Ancients were smart enough to deal with ATA positive babies," Rodney said. "I'm not going to be overly optimistic about it, but one can hope. I'm not sure we're prepared to baby-proof the city."

"Please, as you learn anything that is worth sharing or if you have questions, let Dr. Beckett know," Woolsey said. "He can be the point of contact for anything baby related."

John nodded. That made sense and he was glad to have something off his plate.

The next three days were a blur of feedings, diapers, sleep, reading reports, and checking for baby-safe spaces. Ronon did come back with furniture and toys, and organized a cleaning crew to refurbish what had been found. The cribs were appreciated by everyone with a baby. Victoria and Peter easily shared a crib but John knew that might change as they grew older. But it was a safer option than what they had cobbled together the first night.

It was a week later when they decided it was safe to check on Jilia. Hopefully, the Wraith had given up on whatever they were looking for and had left the planet.

As a precaution, John and Ronon went to the Alpha site to send the MALP through. It was hard to leave Victoria behind but she was with Rodney and Miko for the day.

"You be good," John said as he left her in the lab where Rodney was working. The extra cribs Ronon had recovered were being put to use in various locations since the babies adopted by Lanteans were unhappy to be too far from their parents. So 'bring your kid to work' was part of what they worked with.

"She'll be fine," Rodney said. "Wish I could go with you but I doubt the kids would be happy if we were both gone for an extended time. Hopefully, when they get a little older that will settle down."

"That would be good," John said. "We will work on that."

"Go and let's hope you find something useful," Rodney said.

"I hope so, too," John replied.

John, Ronon, and Teyla took a MALP to the Alpha site. Rodney had embedded the Life Signs Detector in the MALP and that was part of the information the MALP would sent back.

Teyla dialed Jinia. The Gate would not connect.

"Try it again," John said.

The Gate would not connect.

"What's wrong?" Ronon asked.

John considered. "We just came through the Gate, so this Gate is working fine. So the problem has to be on the other end."

"Maybe the Gate on Jinia has fallen," Teyla suggested.

"That is the most likely answer," John nodded. "Let me go back to Atlantis and send Rodney out here. Maybe he can get some readings or figure something out."

"We will wait for him," Teyla nodded.

Back on Atlantis, John went to the lab and told Rodney what had happened.

"I can stay with the kids and you can see if you can figure out what might be going on," John said.

"Not sure what I can do," Rodney said.

"We're just looking for educated guesses," John said. "If you can't figure something out in a couple of hours, give it up and we'll see what it might take to get a ship to Jinia."

"Okay, let me finish this up," Rodney said. "Give me fifteen minutes."

Rodney went off to the Alpha site and John spent time in the lab. He hadn't had a chance to see what was being worked on, or to check in with the scientists. So it was a good chance to visit and catch up.

It took more than two hours but Rodney, Ronon, and Teyla finally came back from the Alpha site.

"What's up?" John asked.

"As far as I can tell, it's gone," Rodney said.

"What?"

"Jinia is gone," Rodney said.

"How could that happen?" John asked, stunned.

"Dunno," Rodney shrugged. "Not sure if it's just the planet or the entire solar system. But Jinia is gone."

"Any chance we can scope it out on a Jumper?" John asked.

"Not really," Rodney admitted. "It's on the edge of the galaxy. If we really want to go there, we'll need to get the Daedalus to take us."

"Is it worth it?" John asked.

"That's a good question," Rodney said. "I would like to know if it was a natural disaster or if the Wraith took it out."

"Or would those rogue Asgardians be behind something like this?" John suggested.

"Any or all of the above," Rodney replied.

"Again, should we check it out?" John asked.

"Probably," Rodney nodded. "Especially if there's someone or something else involved."

"Great, just what we need," John sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Another worry."

"Do you think there's any imminent danger?" Rodney asked.

John had to take a moment to consider the question. "I really don't know..."

"Okay, I really hate to go there but, well, what does your gut say?" Rodney asked.

"That we're okay for now?" John replied.

"Are you asking or telling?" Rodney grinned.

Another pause. "Telling. I guess."

Rodney gave a small laugh. "That will have to do, then."

----

Six months later

In the end, they had little problem placing babies with their allies. Four more stayed on Atlantis, Keras took six babies for his people, the Athosians took twelve, with the rest going to Geldar. None of them seemed to bond the way the original set of babies did, but they were welcome and eagerly adopted.

"John. You available?" Rodney called over the comm system.

"Sure, what's wrong?" John replied.

"Nothing! Just... come down to the lab when you have a chance?"

"On my way," John replied.

Entering the lab, he found Rodney, Radek and Miko huddled around a laptop.

"What's up?" John asked.

"Remember the Tower? The buried Ancient city?" Rodney asked.

John nodded. "Sure."

"Remember that we sent a team back there to see if they could get access to the city's computers and the database there?" Rodney went on.

"Y-e-sss..."

"Well, it was more of a mess than Atlantis' database but Miko's been playing with it in her spare time," Rodney pointed to the screen they were huddled around.

Miko spoke up. "The information we have is incomplete and I've been cleaning it up bit by bit. It's like a jigsaw puzzle that is all one color. Everything fits together in a unique way, but finding matching pieces is an exercise in patience."

"That makes sense," John replied.

"I have found a reference to Jinia," Miko said. "But the reference implies that it was in another section of Pegasus at some time."

"How is that possible?"

"It may be a name applied to a planet," Radek suggested. "It is not the same planet, just the same name."

"The reference talks about a rescue of children from Jinia and then not being able to contact Jinia again," Miko said softly.

"What?" John was stunned.

"That's all I've been able to find," Miko said. "It is like this reference was almost deliberately left for us to find and the rest of the section is totally corrupted."

"Are you telling me this has happened before?" John asked.

"Many years ago. At least two centuries or more. Enough time would pass that the name Jinia would fall to the wayside, so that the next time it allowed contact, there would be no one to ask questions about why it was in a different location," Miko said.

"If nothing else, it would help spread the population of Pegasus and keep it expanding," Radek suggested.

"How..."

"Ah! That is a good question!" Rodney replied. "We'll keep looking, of course, but, well, we don't know."

"If we take this at face value, the children were left there for us to find," Miko added.

"Something Ancient at work, I would assume," John said.

"Probably a good guess," Rodney nodded.

"Huh." John looked at the three scientists. "Well, I guess the official answer is to keep looking. But in the meantime, if that's the best we have, it will have to do." He shrugged. "It's better than nothing."

"That's it?" Rodney asked.

"Do you want to go looking for trouble?" John grinned.

"No! Trouble always finds us!" Rodney shot back.

"Speaking of trouble, your turn to pick up the kids from daycare," John reminded him. "You know Teyla hates it if you're too late. And there's tormack for dinner tonight, so no one wants to be late."

"Oh, fu--dge," Rodney replied. Turns out smart babies start repeating sounds earlier than expected. Both John and Rodney were working on cleaning up their language. "Okay. I gotta go, then!"

"Hey!" John snagged hold of Rodney before he could get too far. "Come here." He reeled Rodney in for a quick kiss. "Now you can go get our kids."

Notes:

I love the speculations some of you have left and appreciate all of the kudos and comments. I do hope you've enjoyed this story and thanks for sticking it out to the end.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Jinia