The Heart of the Matter

Disclaimer - I still don't own SGA. MGM does.

Rating - K+

Pairing - Ronon/Jenn, established,

Episodes - Future fic

Summary - Inspired by circumstances surrounding the birth of my first granddaughter. My hat's off to all the healthcare people who deal with this all the time.

This was the closest thing to a nightmare Ronon could think of. Carson was standing there explaining to him why Jennifer needed to have a C-section - now. Jenn had been laboring for so long and the baby was in distress.

Ronon nodded vaguely. If there was one doctor aside from Jenn he trusted implicitly, it was Carson. Any version of Carson. Carson turned to go scrub for the surgery and Ronon sat down by Jenn to smooth a strand of hair away from her face.

"You heard that I guess."

Jenn nodded at his stated question.

"You and the little one will be alright. Carson knows what to do." Ronon kept the worry out of his voice. His whole life was there on the hospital bed. "You go and have a beautiful baby. I'll be waiting for you when you wake up." The nurse came to wheel Jenn into the OR and Ronon went up to the observation deck to pace.

In a surprisingly short amount of time, he was looking through the glass down at his daughter. She was so very small and helpless. In automatic movements, he worked his way down to the OR doors. Carson met him there and placed his daughter in his arms.

Ronon felt a wave of emotion crash over him. Nothing in his experiences had prepared him for that. He'd fallen in love with his heartmates, Melena and Jennifer, gradually. This intense rush of emotion was completely new to him. He had only just met her and he'd die for her. He'd kill for her. And Ancestors help anyone who tried to hurt his little girl.

"Come along, Big Man. Let's get her checked out." Carson steered Ronon in the right direction as he was still absorbed in meeting his daughter. "Set her down, son. We'll get her checked over."

Ronon couldn't take his eyes off her. He cooed and counted fingers and did all the things new fathers did when they first met their child.

"Ah, bugger." Carson did his best to keep his voice down, but Ronon heard.

"What's wrong, Doc?" He felt panic claw at his chest when he saw Carson's worried demeanor.

"She has a heart murmur. It doesn't sound like an innocent one either." Carson's heart broke. Ronon's eyes were begging him to make everything better, but he didn't have that skill. "Gather her up again. We'll put her under the scanner so we can get some accurate information. She'll need to be seen by a pediatric cardiologist on Earth, and that doctor will want accurate information."

The scanner passed over the tiny girl. She kicked and fussed at the loss of her father's warmth. Ronon locked his knees against the waterfall of fear and panic crashing on him. And for the first time in many years, he prayed. With the scan over, Ronon gathered the babe and followed Carson to his office.

Carson spent a moment going over the results. "There's the likely problem." Ronon clapped eyes with him. Carson took another moment to consider how best to tell him. "First, I must tell you, this is an educated guess. She still needs to be seen by a specialist." Ronon nodded in understanding. "There are four parts to the heart. The wall between the two largest parts is thicker than it ought to be." He paused to see if Ronon was processing the information. "The way it's thickened is slowing the blood flow to the rest of her body."

Ronon paled beneath his bronzed skin. His skills set ran more along the lines of strategy, training, warfare, and self-aid. One thing he did know was that restricted blood flow was bad for the body and mind. "What do we do?"

"We'll rig up an incubator for her trip to Earth. Radek is already on it."

Ronon got up and paced the office, his tiny daughter in his arms. He was feeling trapped. Or probably more accurately, he was feeling the need to obliterate the threat to the tiny life he held. She fussed a bit at feeling the tension pouring off her father. Ronon added a bit of a bounce to his step as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"We haven't even named her, Doc. Jennifer and I talked about some names. . . It just feels wrong to leave Jenn out of that." Carson steered Ronon out to the recovery rooms. There was already a bassinet near Jennifer who was slowly coming out of the anesthesia.

"Hey, beautiful." Ronon leaned down to kiss her brow. "We have a baby girl." He placed the infant in Jenn's arms.

"She's so beautiful!" Jenn touched the baby's dark hair. Radek bustled in with various pieces of equipment to attach to the bassinet. "What's going on, Ronon?"

"We need to talk." As Radek affixed a heat lamp and O2 hose to the bassinet, Ronon explained what was going on. He lifted his daughter and placed her in the crib. "What're we naming her?"

"I think she needs a strong name. We're naming her after two of the strongest women we've known. Merika Elizabeth." Jenn's groggy voice was decisive.

Ronon grinned. "Perfect. Carson's probably still making arrangements with Woolsey. And we need to tell the team. You up for some company?"

"Bring them in."

Ronon broke the news to his team. Jenn filled in little bits of information that Ronon filed away for future reference.

John looked around to his team and saw the same solidarity he felt with the new parents. "What can we do for you, buddy?" he offered.

Ronon shook his head. He knew his request would shock them all, but he didn't see any other way if he hoped to be there for Merika. "I need McKay to come with me to Earth. At least until Jenn is back on her feet." Ronon willed Rodney to not be difficult. Ronon needed him there. "I need someone to explain everything to me so I can understand. You're used to doing that, plus you know all those medical terms." He didn't add that he needed someone to steady him if he felt the need for violence.

"Me?" Rodney looked stunned. "Yes, of course I'll go. I just need to threaten the idiots who work for me. Radek can keep a lid on them for a few days anyway." He sat up a little straighter. Somehow, he never thought Ronon wanted him around - especially in these circumstances.

Ronon offered him a relieved smile and turned his attention to John and Teyla. "I need you guys to look after Jenn until Carson clears her to follow me in a couple of days."

Jenn bristled at that. "I'll be following you tomorrow at the latest."

Ronon took one of her hands and kissed the center of her palm. "You need to wait until Carson clears you. I'll be worried enough for Merika and for you. Please don't add to that."

Jenn wasn't happy about it, but she settled back into the bed in acquiescence.

A/n - Reviews are just like lime sherbet on a hot day!