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Another planet, another jungle and a lot of what felt like wasted time. John Sheppard was leading his team along an old winding path, hoping to find some sort of civilization out here. So far it was nothing but bug bites and strange plants. None of them knew if any of them were poisonous or even carnivorous, so they steered clear. They still held out hope of finding people though, because someone or something made this trail.
"Seems pretty abandoned, look at all these plants." Ronon, the tallest of the group, complained as he slashed his machete at an encroaching vine. As he swung, his dreadlocks swung around and hit his face. Briefly, he tossed his head back to get them out of his line of sight.
"But it still has to lead somewhere, even if it's not being used anymore." Teyla pointed out, her soft brown eyes scanning the area, looking for anything of interest, or dangerous.
Rodney McKay, their scientist, was about to voice his opinion; but they'd all already heard it. Sheppard held up his hand and glanced over his shoulder. "We'll see where this path leads, nothing more, nothing less."
That seemed to appease Rodney, as the shorter man went back to poking at the device he had in his hand. Ronon rolled his eyes but carried on anyway, right behind Sheppard.
After about ten more minutes of traversing, the plant life started to let up a bit and the path widened, giving some breathing room in the form of a small clearing. The four scattered and started to look around. There were signs of someone having once lived here, with broken pots, metal brackets, torn burnt cloth and charred wood... Perhaps a house was burned down here?
"It looks like someone's house... but what happened to the tenants?" Teyla asked, though she didn't expect an answer right away, seeing how they just got here.
"Who knows. I don't see any bones, maybe they made it out?" John suggested as he kicked around some half-burnt boards. Whoever these people were, they were advanced enough to cut wood similar to Earth. Rodney noticed that unlike modern boards though, this wood was far older and denser. It was a shame it was burned; it could be worth bringing some back, even if they had far stronger materials now.
Sheppard spotted a planter pot that wasn't broken. It was tipped over, but not burned, making it stand out. He walked over to see what was inside, it perhaps being the only thing that survived the flames. Some of the soil was spilled, but the plant was still holding on and it looked very different from the other plants they’d seen here, or anywhere.
"Huh..." John looked around and saw the others were all poking at different things. With a shrug, he crouched down and stood the pot up, getting a good look at the strange plant. It had a single green stalk, about the width and length of a pencil, with an oval bulb at the top. It was soft purple in color with green and pink... fuzz? They weren’t spines, he could tell that. Deep down the man knew he shouldn't mess with it, it was unknown and could very well be dangerous, but the temptation was too difficult to resist. It looked soft, like fur on a kitten.
He slowly reached with his right hand, using his index finger to delicately touch the top of the bulb. He was right! it was soft! It tickled the pad of his finger, making him snicker quietly. It was like petting a tiny plant bunny.
"John! What are you doing?!" Teyla asked in a sharp, alarmed voice. It made him flinch and he knocked the bulb with his hand, which caused it to release a cloud of light pink dust in his face.
"Ack!" He put an arm over his face and stumbled back from it, but he had a dreadful feeling that he inhaled plenty of the dust. A spike of anxiety ran through him, was he going to turn into a bug again? Or worse, a plant? Were plants going to grow inside of him and--
"Sheppard, are you okay?" Teyla's voice broke his train of thought and he looked up at her warily.
"I... I don't know, do I look fine? I'm not turning into some monster, right?" He asked worriedly. John started to look over his hands, arms and then patted his scruffed face, hoping to not feel any hard spikes, scales or goodness knows what else. As of the current moment, he was fine, but it didn't stop him from worrying.
Ronon and McKay walked over to Teyla to see what their friend got into. "Looks fine to me," came Ronon's matter-of-fact voice, followed with a shrug.
"Well, these things often take time; we should probably take you back to Atlantis, have Carson check you over." Rodney suggested, a bit worried about the effects too. He didn't want a scary monster John running around again; once was bad enough. Thankfully he didn't hurt anyone too badly that time, but he very well could have.
Sheppard nodded in agreement and moved to stand up. "Should we... bring the plant with us?" He asked the others, glancing back to the fuzzy bulb, still sitting upright, looking rather innocent.
Rodney shook his head. "We know where it is if we want to take samples, best not risk everyone getting exposed to whatever this is until we learn it's effects."
"I agree," Ronon added.
"Let's go then," Teyla announced.
The team worked their way back to the stargate. As John followed last, he couldn’t help his reeling thoughts about all the crazy stuff they’ve been through in recent times. The stargate itself was strange, walking through what appeared to be a vertical pool of water in a giant metal hoop, being ‘de-materialized’ as he was told. Somehow, beyond his limited knowledge of the process, they travelled through space within this wormhole, only to then reappear on a whole other planet, or back on Atlantis, a floating city. It depended on what ‘address’ they dialed, like a phone number but with alien symbols instead of numbers.
John prided himself in being the defender of the team, being both their shield and sword, so to think he could become a danger to them a second time didn't sit well with him. He fidgeted and kept his distance, even though he wasn't feeling anything yet. With any luck, if it was going to be dangerous, it would just be dangerous to himself.
Teyla offered some wordless comfort with a hand on his back, but Rodney’s nervous looks didn’t help at all. He would look away any time John spotted him, but that almost made it worse. He looked at him like some sick animal that could turn on them at any moment.
After a while, John kept his gaze to the jungle floor, holding his P90 in one limp arm. Teyla stayed by his side, her rifle more at the ready in case anything tried to attack them.
Finally, after what felt like forever, they made it to the gate and McKay dialed the address to Atlantis. Teyla shot John a comforting smile, wanting to tell him it would be okay, but she didn't know that yet. She didn’t want to lie and give him false hope, but she felt bad for him.
The team stepped through the gate once they got confirmation that the shield was down on the other side.
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Once through, they took John straight to Doctor Carson's Infirmary.
"He inhaled some spores from a plant; no symptoms yet but we didn’t recognize the species." Teyla quickly explained to Carson as the group led Sheppard to the checkup table.
"I see." The doctor clicked his tongue and approached John. "Are you feeling anything abnormal?" He asked as he grabbed a cotton swab and swiped it across John's cheek, collecting spore samples.
Sheppard kept still and focused on what he was feeling. "Not really, no. Maybe it's nothing?" He asked with a glimmer of hope.
Carson hummed. "It very well could be, but it never hurts to be careful about these things. We need to get these spores off of you without spreading them and I'd like for you to stay here in the Infirmary for a few days while I keep an eye on your vitals." He requested, John looking a bit disappointed to hear that, but he understood the need to be careful.
"Alright doc."
The rest of the check up went well; nothing had changed. Unfortunately everyone knew it was too early to tell and anything could happen at this point. Carson explained to Sheppard that most spores are harmless to the human body, but with it being from an alien planet, they just had to make sure.
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Twenty four hours passed since then.
"That's strange...." Sheppard heard Carson mumble as he was looking at some charts and images from the scans they did this morning.
"What's 'strange'?" John asked warily, sitting up on the medical bed.
"Oh it's... I don't think it's bad. But this scan shows a peculiar.... growth? Coming off your lower esophagus. It's quite small." Dr Beckett explained as he walked over to Sheppard, showing him the images. To the untrained eye, it didn't look like much of anything. John briskly handed the pictures back, since they all just looked like weird blobs to him.
"Sooo, what does that mean?" Sheppard asked, unsure if he should be freaking out yet or not.
"Not much, but just to be safe, I would suggest you skip food today and drink plenty of water until we figure out what this thing is."
John almost seemed to pout, he was hungry and hadn't eaten much since lunch yesterday. He flopped back on the bed with a sigh.
"Don't worry, once we figure this out and don't have to worry about food getting lodged into it, you'll get to eat as much as you'd like." Carson assured with a casual pat on his shoulder. The doctor then went back to his studies about this and his other patients.
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Another 20 hours passed since the team’s trip back.
Sheppard stirred awake after having fallen asleep waiting for Carson to spit out what he found. The doctor paced the room a few times before he finally noticed John was awake.
"Oh good, you're up. We uh... or, well actually, you have a bit of a development."
John swallowed dryly. "Okay... what now?" He tried to hide his nervousness, but it was difficult. Thankfully he didn't feel violent or aggressive, but he could tell something was off, deep inside.
"Well... first off, do you feel any pain or discomfort?" Doctor Beckett asked, purposely not letting him see the scan results.
Sheppard frowned and slowly sat up, feeling... fine? "No? Why, should I be?"
"Not exactly, but I was wondering." He turned to grab a chair and sit beside John's bed.
"It got bigger, more developed. It... appears to be a second stomach. It's not connected to your gallbladder or liver. It has its own sphincter now, which means you can go ahead and eat today if you're hungry."
John swiftly got out of the medical bed. “Come again?”
Carson rubbed the back of his neck briefly. “I’m afraid I am not well versed in alien mutations, but according to my research here, that’s what it is.”
Sheppard closed his eyes, his face twisted in discomfort as he recalled the last time ‘alien mutations’ was brought up. This time seemed more harmless than the last, not that it made him feel much better.
"Right, well, I'm starving. Apparently now more than ever if I have two stomachs." He laughed a bit after that, though he did wonder what purpose a second stomach would have? He was perfectly content with just one, and hoped he would never hear the word ‘sphincter’ again. If he wasn’t so hungry he probably would have made a quip about it.
Carson laughed with him and stood up. "I'll go see what we can get in here. I'd like to keep an eye on you for at least one more day, until the changes stop."
Sheppard was okay with that, as long as he got something to eat.
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Later that day...
The expression of 'eating like a horse' has never been so true until now. John ate a lot, to catch up on the meals he missed. It almost seemed impossible that he ate so much in one sitting without getting sick. He didn't notice, but his middle was distended a bit by the time he was finally full.
McKay walked in the Infirmary later and blinked to see a content John sitting in a normal chair. "Wow, you look like you swallowed a watermelon." He remarked.
Sheppard blinked and then looked down, his face twisting to confusion. "Uuuh… I guess I did eat... a lot."
His stomach was stretched, almost making him look pregnant. "That doesn't hurt? I know when I eat too much it hurts and I can't even... ya know, see it." Rodney asked, stumbling a bit on wording.
John laid a hand over his middle, just to make sure it was real. He did feel a bit overstuffed, but he wasn't in any discomfort. His insides let out a low gurgle as it worked to digest the mass of food he ate. "No, it feels... fine? Almost nice actually. Except it's kinda freaking me out."
"It's freaking me out too!" McKay exclaimed, just in time for Carson to come back from tending to his other patients.
"Oh yeah, that... I wasn't sure how to explain. But basically your body has become more... accepting of larger meals."
McKay and John both looked alarmed.
"Your new second stomach, or storage stomach-” Carson started, but got cut off by Rodeny.
McKay shook his head. "Wait, what? Storage stomach?"
"Oh right uh... after looking into it a bit more, it appears that the second stomach? It's not capable of digesting anything inside. At least not right now. It doesn't have the proper cells to create hydrochloric acid, or any sort of fluid that you'd see in your normal stomach for digesting food. It's... more like a fleshy pouch?"
Sheppard and Rodney exchanged looks, trying to figure out what that could be about. John was glad that so far he didn't seem to be becoming some monster, or dying, but the mutation was still... odd.
"We won't know all the details until later, but for now none of this is really cause for alarm. So you're welcome to roam about Atlantis freely if you want, but I want to check up on you again tomorrow. I would honestly appreciate to know anything you're feeling that isn't normal as well."
Sheppard was happy to hear that as he jumped up out of the chair like a kid released from class. The extra weight in his stomach didn't seem to slow him down at all as he was just glad to have freedom.
McKay and Carson stayed behind to yammer about... Well, what John would call ‘smart people stuff’, which wasn't to say John wasn't smart, but he wasn't really interested in all that yet either. He would actually love to be back out in the field, but for now he was content with wandering Atlantis, see who could use his help or just, literally do anything but sit around and worry about this mutation of his.
Sheppard did end up helping Teyla a bit and he sparred with Ronon, but overall the day was uneventful. His stomach slowly flattened as his body digested the food and soon he was normal, or normal enough. He didn't feel any different and even ate the usual amounts throughout the rest of the day.
John soon turned in for the night, thankful to be able to go to his own quarters to sleep. Finally, he was starting to relax about this whole thing, realizing that perhaps there wasn't anything to be freaked out over. He wasn't going to become a monster, he didn't have any urge to eat anyone or crawl on the ceilings, so that was a good sign.
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It was the third day since the plant incident and Sheppard woke up feeling refreshed, though a little paranoid. Just to be sure, he grabbed a handheld mirror he had on his nightstand and checked himself in it. So far everything seemed fine, his skin was smooth and human, his eyes were his usual green, he just needed to shave, again. He flopped back in his bed with a content sigh, it looked like he got off pretty well, except for the extra organ inside. He looked down at his middle then, trying to figure out what purpose it could have, though not much came to mind.
Sheppard went about his daily routine, though soon became a bit left out when most of his team went off world on a simple mission that day, since Carson hadn't cleared him for active duty. Thankfully the mission was pretty basic, they just wanted to bring a sample of that plant back and they didn't see any lifeforms last time they were there.
With over half of his friends gone, John was bored and remembered Carson wanted to check up on him again anyway. So he figured, with nothing else to do, he'd get that out of the way.
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“Interesting.” The doctor mused.
John was sitting on a chair as he waited for the results and soon frowned, it was rarely good when that word came to mind after being scanned.
“What now?” He asked warily.
“Oh it’s nothing new, thankfully. The mutations seem to be over, nothing changed since yesterday.” Carson said and generally seemed happy, or relieved. The feeling was mutual.
“So what’s ‘interesting’ about it?” John asked, less wary but still wanting him to spill the beans.
“That’s just it. I thought your second stomach would continue to develop, but it hasn’t. It seems… done.”
“So… it’s useless?” Sheppard instinctively laid a hand over his middle and looked down. He was unsure how he should feel about having a useless organ inside of him.
“I wouldn’t say that, we just might not understand what the purpose is yet. I’ll keep looking into it, in the meantime why don’t you go get some fresh air?” Carson suggested, sounding friendly and optimistic. He probably noticed how John seemed a little moody today.
He was glad that the mutations were over though, that meant no transforming into a bug or a plant.
“Okay sure, can’t do much else. Thanks doc.” John said in a nicer tone. He didn’t want to be rude to Carson, the doctor had been nice to him after all.
“It’s no problem. If anything out of the ordinary happens, let me know right away.”
“Yeah, will do.”
As Sheppard left the infirmary, Carson looked back at his studies. Truth be told, he did have a theory on what the mutated organ could be used for, but he wanted to look into it more and not freak John out over a simple theory. It was harmless and Carson didn’t believe there was any cause for alarm, especially now that the mutation had stopped developing.
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It was a nice day; the sun felt refreshing on Sheppard’s face and he found himself slipping back into his usual easy-going self. He walked out on the farthest pier of Atlantis and carefully slid down to a lower ledge that closest reached the water. Most of the edges around Atlantis were too high, but here it was just barely low enough.
From there he took his shoes and socks off, then rolled up his pant legs before dipping his feet in the water. It was rather chilly, as it was still morning, but it felt nice after walking all the way down here from the main tower. He relaxed and let his eyes drift shut, enjoying the peace and quiet. No one else seemed to be down here, so he was more or less alone from what he could tell.
Or, he thought he was alone anyway. The squeaky, frightened voice that called for help proved otherwise.
John scrambled up to his feet and looked towards the source of the call. Down the side of the pier, out where it was too high to get back up; he saw something-no, someone, struggling in the water, someone small, possibly a child?
Thankfully with his military training, swimming wasn't such a hard feat. He dove into the water and quickly swam towards the little one. As he got closer, he noticed she, it was a girl, was scrawny and small, not that it mattered much, it actually made helping her easier.
"Someone help me! Please!" She pleaded, having not spotted Sheppard yet as he swam up to her.
"Gotcha," he said in a calm, friendly voice as he gently scooped her up in one arm. He felt her quickly latch onto his neck, thankfully being too small and weak to hurt him any. He wondered how she fell in; she seemed to be fairly old, for a child anyway. She was at least old enough for him to understand what she was saying clearly. So surely she knew better than to jump in.
Quiet sobs filled his ears as he swam to the ledge he had been previously sitting at. The poor little one was terrified, shivering against him. He was worried that he was scaring her, but he wasn't sure what else he could have done?
"Shh, it's okay kiddo, I'll help you," Sheppard said in a gentle tone, trying to show she was going to be alright.
"T-thank you mister.... Thank y-you so much," the child mumbled, still shivering and crying, but... Maybe it was that... happy crying thing? He never personally experienced it, but she seemed alright.
He soon grabbed the edge and pulled them both up, which was a little tricky with one hand, but he managed to do it with the help of his knees. Thankfully his knees were still covered by his pants, giving him some padding on the hard floor. Once upon 'land' such as it was, he set the little girl down on her own two feet.
"Are you okay? Can you breathe alright?" John asked as he laid on his back, both to rest and hopefully appear less scary.
"Y-yeah I'm okay now... thank you for saving m-me." She said sweetly and Sheppard found himself smiling when the kiddo grabbed his right arm and hugged it. With how little she was, it was probably the best she could do. It still left him with a warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest as he glanced towards her.
As he took in her soaking wet, rather... pitiful appearance, he noticed she was still shivering. Of course... The morning air was probably cold for such a small kid, while soaking wet. He carefully sat up and turned to face her, his expression that of concern.
"Are you cold?" He asked as the little one huddled close to him, probably because he was warm. She hugged his arm again and let out a sad sounding little murmur.
"Y-yeah... t-the water, it's... C-cold." She said, starting to shiver a bit more now. He frowned, before he looked around the area and tried to figure out if maybe her parents were nearby. He didn't see anyone though, no parents, no one at all. He flinched in surprise and focused his gaze back on the kid when she grew a bit more bold and climbed onto his lap, huddling against his abdomen as that's all she could really reach. By reflex, Sheppard wrapped an arm around her in a half hug of sorts. He wasn't really sure what to do, but he wasn't going to deny the child some comfort. Especially since it seemed like he was the only source of warmth in the immediate area.
As he took in the sight of the tiny child huddled against him, he started to realize there was something he could do for her to warm her up even more than this. Something deep inside of him stirred, something instinctual and protective of the cold, small child.
Before Sheppard fully realized what he was doing, he gently picked the kid up with two hands. With a warm smile, he then opened his mouth and cautiously eased the girl's head and shoulders inside.
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Sarah was content in this nice man's presence, but she did notice a slight shift when he picked her up. He didn't seem mean or bad, but she let out a surprised squeak when she found herself partly inside of his jaws! She tried to say something, but before she could, he eased her deeper in before taking a strong swallow. Powerful muscles pulled her down inside to the point only her legs remained outside.
Squished in his gullet, she was fairly restrained, but it was quite warm inside of here. His breath washed over her, chasing away the cold chill in her bones; while the fleshy, velvet-like walls of his throat almost seemed to be hugging her. It wasn't uncomfortably tight or crushing, plus he didn't bite down or anything. Instead, she felt him tip his head back, preparing to send her down the rest of the way. Little Sarah didn't feel like his actions were hostile, so she decided to relax the best she could and let the kind man swallow her down.
And swallow her down he did. She felt every muscle flex and shift around her from the gulp, engulfing her entirely with such ease. She slid down past his lungs and heart, which she noticed was beating really fast, like... he was panicking?
She then felt herself ease past a ring of muscle and slid down into a sizable chamber, which stretched even more to fully accommodate her. It was pitch black inside, but it was also quite snug and comfy too. Warmth and softness surrounded the little one, along with a strong wall of muscle behind the softness, giving her a sense of security. She curled up comfortably in the man's belly, hearing it rumble happily around her.
"Oh no..." Sarah heard the man say, his heartbeats thumping even faster. The way he spoke sounded oddly matter-of-fact, but she guessed that he was anything but calm.
She shifted a bit in his belly and felt around. She didn't feel any discomfort or pain, or anything dangerous. She could even breathe comfortably in here, the air helping warm her up the rest of the way. After she fully made sure she was safe, Sara felt like she should maybe try to assure him, preferably before his heart exploded.
She giggled softly then and pressed one hand into the stomach wall in front of her.
"I'm okay mister, it's very warm and cozy in here. Thank you." She said, her voice perfectly calm, sweet and trusting.
There was nothing at first, silence and stillness, aside from the rapid pounding of the man’s heart above her. Then, about 30 seconds later, she heard him sigh, probably in relief, then felt a gentle pressure against her from the outside.
"Okay uh… I’m sorry that I ate you." He said a bit awkwardly and she heard what sounded like a cough, or maybe him clearing his throat?
He then spoke again, the thumping just as fast as before though. “If anything hurts, let me know, alright kiddo?” He requested, sounding a bit worried, but more collected than before.
She found it sweet and giggled, before she snuggled the soft tummy walls and got comfortable. "I will, but I think everything is okay mister."
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Sheppard was internally freaking out, he was half tempted to cut himself open right here and now and get her out of there. Thankfully he didn't have a knife on him. He knew she was currently in that... second stomach thing, but he was still worried. He ate her and he didn't really understand why yet? He stood up and gathered his shoes and socks, before he quickly made his way back to the main tower, straight to Carson's Infirmary.
The little girl remained oddly content and happy in his belly, acting as if she was in the most comfy place in the world. He made sure to keep checking on her though and thankfully she humored him. He had no idea how she could be so calm about this.
"Carson? Carson are you here?" John called out once he was in the Infirmary. He didn’t sound nearly as panicked as he was feeling, but his tone was slightly distressed.
The Scottish doctor poked his head from behind a laptop, confused. "Aye, what's wrong?"
Sheppard swallowed dryly and gestured to the rather... adorable-sized lump in his middle. "T-this, Carson I..." He looked around before he stepped closer to the doctor, so he didn't have to speak up so loud. "I... I ate a kid..."
Carson jumped out of his seat. "What? Are they okay?" he asked, understandably concerned as Sheppard was.
"She says she is but… how do we get her out? Can you cut her out?" He asked, still keeping his voice down and surprisingly keeping his external cool.
Carson took a moment to collect his senses and not freak out, before he led John over to the usual check up area. "We don't have to do that, if she went down okay, she can come back up just the same," he explained, basically telling John that he could likely cough the kid back out.
"Do I have to leave? It's so warm and soft in here." The wee one asked from within Sheppard's belly and both men exchanged looks, one confused and one just… disturbed.
Sheppard wasn't sure what to say, so Carson decided to take over. "Aye, I'm afraid we know so little about where you are, we don't want you getting hurt. It's best that you come out." Carson kindly explained to the little one, though his tone held a sense of awkwardness understandably.
"Aww... okay. But.... if you figure it out more and it's safe, can I come back?" the child asked hopefully. The two men exchanged glances again, wondering why this little girl liked being inside of Sheppard's gut so much. Carson silently shrugged to John, showing he didn't have much of an explanation for it either. The only thing the doctor could think of was the little one felt safe inside and perhaps she was right. Neither Sheppard nor Dr Becket were willing to risk the little tot's safety until they were sure it was safe though.
"That's up to Sheppard, wee lass. But first, let's get you out of there. Try to keep still, okay?"
John was getting anxious, but relaxed as Carson seemed to be getting to the point. He didn't plan on eating the kid again and he hoped they could get her back to her parents and forget any of this happened.
"... Okay," came the simple, but faintly sad response. Sheppard was far from heartless and felt a pang of guilt to hear the poor girl's voice like that. Instinctively, John found himself giving a comforting, tender rub to his belly. Though he stopped as soon as he realized what he was doing. The child inside murmured happily though. That was weird…
Carson noticed the moment and John could have sworn the doctor smiled a little, like he saw something cute. Sheppard returned it with a death stare.
The stare didn't last long, as the feeling of the girl snuggling his insides caused him to flinch. Maybe Kate Heightmeyer, their therapist, could help explain to them why the little girl wanted to be tucked inside of a stranger's stomach. If he had time to think about it, perhaps he could have figured it out on his own. But for now he was a bit too focused on how to get her out. Thankfully, Carson was too.
"Alright now, you need to focus on your innards, tighten your new stomach and try to swallow in reverse," Carson started to instruct Sheppard.
John blinked at the doctor like he was crazy. "Swallow in reverse? Do I look like a snake to you?"
Carson sighed, then grabbed some papers from a nearby table and turned them towards John. "No but your esophagus and jaw is now built much like one, from my scans here. Just... try it, I think it will come easier than you think."
Sheppard narrowed his eyes, the scan pictures not helping since he still didn’t understand them; but what else could he do? He shook his head, then adjusted his spot on the checkup table. He glanced around, before closing his eyes and forcing himself to relax. After that, he did as the doctor instructed. He carefully squeezed around the large lump inside of him, which proved to be a little difficult as she giggled a bit and wiggled. He put a hand where she was and gently pressed inward to help keep her still.
Soon, much to John's surprise, he felt her start to exit his second stomach and move upwards, into his esophagus. His body instinctively wanted to swallow her back down, but he fought against those instincts and forced his throat to work in reverse. It felt unusual. Thankfully the child kept still now as his muscles squeezed and rippled, kneading her back up towards freedom.
Carson couldn't do anything except watch. Though he was confident this could work, based on his scans on the progress of John's changing body. The second stomach was the most obvious change, but there were so many other little things, and the doctor felt bad that he didn’t tell John about his theory before sending him off.
Sheppard's entire body changed to become more flexible, to even have a child able to pass through him without breaking a rib or two. He noticed how the cartilage that connected his ribs to his spine and sternum allowed for them bend more than a normal human. Even the muscles responsible for swallowing, vomiting and stomach movement had changed, becoming more independent, moving with a more conscious effort from Sheppard instead of being automatic and uncontrollable.
The doctor was taken out of his thoughts when he heard Sheppard let out an awkward cough, before he opened his mouth and a pair of delicate little hands started to slide out past his lips. Carson grabbed her wrists, slowly starting to pull and aid John in getting her out. Her head and shoulders came next, which Sheppard reached to help pull her out by just under her arms.
Carson let go then and backed up to give them room. Besides being coated in a thick layer of drool, the little one looked unharmed as Sheppard pulled her out the rest of the way and gently set her down on her feet.
"It worked..." John breathed in surprise, while Carson rushed to check over the kid, to make sure she was truly unscathed.
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"Are you alright, wee lass? Anything hurt? Do you feel dizzy?" he asked as he checked her arms, face and forehead. He looked for signs of acidic burns, but there was nothing. Her skin wasn't even irritated and with how pale she was, he would easily notice if it was. As for being dizzy, he was concerned about how much air she had inside. Though that was yet another thing he noticed. While the second stomach wasn't attached to Sheppard's liver or gallbladder, it was connected to his lungs, which Carson now realized must have been for sending small amounts of oxygen inside.
Carson then checked her eyes with a penlight for any signs of suffocation, but she was a perfectly healthy child with seemingly no harm done to her in her time within Sheppard. It defied what he knew about what happens to things that were eaten, but it also matched perfectly to his medical knowledge and theory. From his research on John's progress over the last few days, there was no reason for the little one to be in any danger inside of John and perhaps his theory was right; that was what this mutation was all about.
The girl shook her head, but soon shivered as the cool air of the Infirmary got to her. "No I'm fine, j-just a little cold again... It was very warm inside of Mister Sheppard's tummy." she said with a hint of longing. Sheppard gave an awkward smile, but soon looked away. Carson meanwhile grabbed a nearby white towel and draped it around the girl to help dry her off.
"Cold... again?" Carson asked, curious now about how this happened.
"Y-yeah.... Mister Sheppard saved me from the water, but I was cold outside... When I tried to hug him, he ate me up instead. But I don't mind, I wasn't cold anymore and it was very comfy!" The young one explained, and John just looked... embarrassed.
"I mean it... it kinda happened... before I knew it? She was shivering and huddled against me and then... I don't know. Something inside just urged me to do it and at the time it didn't seem bad." John awkwardly added on before he slid off the inspection table.
Carson then glanced to Sheppard, his theory of the practical reasoning for this development becoming more and more true. It seemed that the young girl triggered a protective response in him and the mutation was literally meant for exactly what John used it for. To swallow and protect smaller beings, perhaps even children. He had heard of something similar in a certain frog back on Earth, as well as how many animals would hide their young in their mouth, this was just a bit more of an extreme version. He didn't see how it would have literally built a livable pouch inside of him if that wasn't the case.
"It's nothing to be ashamed about. I believe your reaction was intended and not anything to be concerned about. The plant was in a flower pot, right? Which means the people who lived there likely valued the plant for this purpose. Perhaps they even used it to protect their own children this way. Once they bring the plant here, we’ll know more from our botanists. But for now I would say that it wasn’t bad at all." The doctor explained, before he gave the child a light pat on the head.
She beamed at the kind doctor, then skipped over to John and hugged his knees. "See?! Everything is okay!" She cheered.
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John stiffened when the little one hugged him, afraid he might be overtaken by the mutations again. But it was hard to resist the little beam of sunshine and he soon crouched down to give her a proper hug, letting her latch her arms around his neck again.
"Don't worry, I don't believe the mutations are controlling you, they just enhance the protective drive that is already there." The doctor assured, probably having noticed his concern. Though Sheppard felt a bit embarrassed at the mention of 'protective drive' like he was some... dog or something. Though it wasn't inaccurate, he did have a protective drive for anything vulnerable and or under his command.
"So I'm not going to run around and devour all the children of Atlantis?" John asked in a joking, light hearted tone, which earned a giggle from the child huddled in his arms.
"Not unless you purposely go out and do that. Though I don't recommend it. It could cause a bit of unrest." Carson warned, in case Sheppard got any silly ideas later.
John made a face and shook his head. "No I'm not going to do that... Instead, I want to find this kiddo's parents and get them reunited before there's a panic." Personally, he hoped he would never end up eating anyone else again, though something told him that might change. He wasn't as averse to the idea as he was before, since he knew now that it was perfectly safe. The whole thing was still weird to him and he hoped this won't cause trouble later.
"Good idea, I should check on my other patients." Carson announced, before he turned to do just that. Before he left, he paused and looked back. "Also, I'm clearing you for active duty. Just… be careful about eating anyone else? I don’t think most would be so accepting of it."
Sheppard chuckled, but was glad to hear that, hoping that meant no more morphing or growing extra body parts. “Yeah, don’t tell McKay especially, okay?” John requested.
“Doctor patient confidentiality, don’t worry Sheppard.” He said, leaving the room.
He then looked down at the child, to see she seemed... sad? "Hey, what's the matter?"
The girl sniffed, before she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "I-I won't get to see you again, will I?" She asked, tilting her head back to look up at him. He paused, trying to think of what to say, what should he say?
"I guess that might be up to your parents? You're welcome to come up here in the main tower, though I might be busy during the day." He wasn't sure about having a child visit him, but he didn't have the heart to tell her no.
The girl however still seemed disappointed. "I... don't have any parents, mister Sheppard..." She meekly admitted. John was not expecting that... at all. He blinked, taking a moment to let it sink in that the poor little one was an orphan. That explained why she was so attached to him, she had no one else.
"Oh..." He wasn't sure what to say, he supposed that they could try to find some folks willing to take her in, maybe someone here lost a child recently and would like to adopt her?
"Would you like to have parents?" Sheppard asked and watched as the young girl beamed to life again.
"Yes! Yes yes yes!" She cheered and hugged him with all her little might. John chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as he stood up.
"Alright, let's see if we can find some." He announced with a chuckle, as if they were looking to adopt a puppy or buy something from the store. He just wanted to make the situation lighter for her.
"Thank you! You're the most awesome person in the world!" She cheered as the man carried her out of the Infirmary and headed back down to the civilized area of Atlantis.
He chuckled from the little one's intense praise. "I am pretty awesome." He smugly responded back. It earned him a giggle from the child, but amazingly she fell quiet afterwards.
The two spent the rest of the day trying to find someone willing and able to take her in, which proved to be rather difficult, just as Sheppard feared. Though on their quest, he learned that the child's name was 'Sarah'. A pretty yet simple name, many others agreed.
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John let out a heavy sigh as he made his way to his room, eager to rest. It was late by the time they found the child a proper home. Many people of Atlantis were barely holding on, forced to leave their homes and nearly everything they owned behind due to the Wraith. But thankfully, they found a couple that was willing and able to take her in. They need to set up some accommodations for Sarah but overall it seemed like a nice start, the kiddo was certainly excited.
Sheppard flopped onto his bed as soon as he shed his boots and day clothing to put on something more comfortable. Grey sweatpants and a simple black T-shirt. He laid there, face first for a good ten minutes before he finally moved to roll on his back. It didn't take much longer after that before his eyes started to droop closed, his mind slipping into a peaceful sleep.
That was, until he heard the doors of his room slide open. He opened his eyes, now wide awake, but not really motivated to get up.
"M-mister Sheppard? Are you sleeping?" A soft voice whispered towards him. It was Sarah, speaking pretty quietly but she was close enough that he heard her.
"Not yet." He answered, before he slowly sat up in his bed and looked around. He wondered how she found him, though she probably could have simply asked anyone around here and they'd tell her. It's not like she was a threat to anyone.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, looking back down at her.
Sarah shook her head. "No, my new parents are very nice! B-but... They don't have a bed for me yet, they will tomorrow though!" She explained and John was starting to see where this was going.
"And you want to sleep in my bed?" He asked, almost hopefully, because then he could just go sleep on the couch or something. But he knew that's probably not what the little one was hoping for.
The girl looked down and fidgeted with her sleeves. "I... I was actually hoping that maybe I... C-could sleep in your tummy?" She asked and even while it was dark in his room, Sheppard could still see and hear the big pleading eyes she was giving him.
He let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead with one hand. "You're a weird kid, you know that?" He remarked, but in a friendly way. He meant every word of it though. What child purposely tracks down a man that swallowed her whole, then proceeds to ask him to do it again?
The child giggled shyly. "I'm.... I'm sorry if I am bugging you, mister Sheppard...." She said, perhaps worried that he wouldn't help her.
He could hear a sense of sadness in her tone and realized he didn't quite agree yet. He awkwardly smiled and scooted closer to the edge of the bed, towards the little tot. He still felt weird and awkward about this whole thing, but he... didn't really see the harm in it either. If the child felt safe and comfortable all curled up in his gut, it felt mean to deny her that safety and comfort.
"You're not bothering me. It's just... Are you sure you want me to eat you again? I'm probably going to sleep shortly after and you'll be cooped up inside for like, eight hours." He warned. Of course if she merely woke him up and asked to be let out earlier he very much would, but that wasn't really the point.
However, he was pretty sure the kid looked even happier to that as she took a few steps closer to him. "That sounds nice... I haven't slept well at all in so long... I promise I'll let you sleep and won't bother you." She explained.
The kiddo seemed determined to get swallowed up again and he wasn’t going to make her walk all the way back home in the dark. Those protective instincts were also starting to flare up again, not uncontrollable, as Carson said, but still there. He took a deep breath, not quite believing he was actually going to agree to this, before he answered.
"Alright kiddo, I'll... uh, let you sleep inside." He said and watched how it seemed to brighten the little one up tenfold.
"Thank you mister Sheppard! I promise I'll be quiet." She said with seemingly uncontrollable happiness, but she managed to keep her voice down a bit. The one thing that wasn't quiet, was John's stomach. It let out a deep, almost ominous sounding gurgle and Sheppard winced, folding an arm over his middle. He was a bit concerned that the sound would scare her, but when he looked up at her, she just patiently waited for him to gobble her up.
John swallowed dryly, thinking on the best way to proceed. He reached out towards her then and gently picked her up by her waist, her hands moving to rest on his arms to steady herself. He figured this time it'd be nicer if she wasn't upside down. So he lifted her up above his head and opened his mouth, then lowered her feet inside first. She was barefoot, but he noticed her new parents likely had her take a bath. Just in time to get all slimy again.
Sheppard then swallowed, almost engulfing her entire legs in just one gulp. The little one squeaked in surprise, but she didn't seem scared. Perhaps she just forgot how easily he could devour her; she wouldn’t be the only one. He was tense, nervous about the whole process, about hurting her or scaring her, but so far she was fine. He moved his hands up to hold her by her shoulders, gently easing her deeper down with softer, smaller gulps and swallows. Bit by bit, the young child vanished past Sheppard's jaws, engulfed by warm, velvet-like throat muscles.
Soon, just her head and her arms remained, the rest was firmly tucked halfway down inside of him. She remained still and quiet, letting John send her down into his belly. He reached up to gently pat the top of her head, which did earn him a cute giggle. He felt a warm, content feeling in his chest from that and soon took a hefty gulp, finishing the little one up and sending her down into his second stomach.
Sheppard took a deep breath, since he wasn't able to breathe during that. He then instinctively rested a hand over the little lump in his middle, where the small child was all safely nestled away in his belly. Now that he knew she wasn't in any danger, he wasn't freaking out quite so much and it started to sink in a bit on why little Sarah wanted to be inside.
He looked down at his midsection and found himself smiling. Knowing that something so innocent and sweet was comfy, warm and safe from danger was a good feeling; like he had done something right, despite what it took to get her inside. As Sarah snuggled up and got comfortable in his stomach, John started to become less tense, realizing that this was okay. She was protected and happy, he didn't hurt or scare her, there wasn't really anything to be worried about.
John scooted up further on his bed and gave some gentle rubs to his stomach, feeling quite full for obvious reasons, but also content. "Thank you mister Sheppard! Night Night!" He heard Sarah say, followed with some more soft snuggles from the sweet little one.
"Goodnight, kiddo." He said back, giving a few more rubs to his belly. He then slowly moved to slide under his bed covers, making sure not to jostle his little visitor too much. John adjusted to lay on his side, one arm protectively draped over his middle, while his other arm tucked under his head, almost like a pillow. The child wiggled just a little bit inside to adjust to the new angle, but after that, she remained still and almost instantly fell asleep. Sheppard fell asleep soon after, as he said he would. The two slept peacefully throughout the night and Sarah was safely returned to her new family, with a new and proper bed.