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Ronon lifted Clover so he could tap the window in the marine biology lab with both his hands and bare feet. Sometimes he demanded to be held close enough to use his head as a fifth limb, but Carson tried to discourage that.
Tennyson had learned to use his tentacles in pairs for this game. Or dance. Despite watching Tennyson and Clover play together every evening for five years, Ronon wasn’t sure what it meant to them.
Meanwhile, Carson had brought a picture book about life in Earth’s oceans that he was holding up to the glass in response to question raised by some of their ocean kids when they swam together earlier that day.
Carson called their daily swims and the sunset meetings by this window “family time.” Ronon wasn’t sure what that meant anymore either. While they spoke of their “ocean kids” as siblings to Clover and Ano and therefore just as truly part of their family, Ronon couldn’t deny feeling differently for the kids he held in his arms and spent hours attending to everyday. As Ronon began to wonder what was keeping the second of those kids, Ano, from their nightly ritual, his radio and Carson’s activated simultaneously.
Rodney’s voice came through in a rush, “Need a parent to play bad cop at the marine bot hanger.” There was a pause before Rodney added, “Ano wants you to know they’re safe and don’t need another lecture. Seriously, if Ano thinks what I gave them was a lecture, then they have no idea what a real McKay lecture sounds like.” A slightly higher pitch and softer tone suggested Rodney spoke directly to Ano after that. “My lectures are usually much longer and involve more yelling, so Ano is lucky to hear from me as their Uncle Rodney, who is being helpful, and not as the person in charge of maintaining Atlantis and discouraging id—people from carelessly dismantling night vision bots that are supposed to be fully functional and in the water in twenty minutes.”
By two sentences into the radio rant, Ronon and Carson had agreed through shared glances and head motions that Ronon would go this time. Clover stomped his bare feet at being set down but then dropped to sit on his butt with his feet and hands pressed to the window again. Tennyson instantly shifted to match limbs at the lower position.
When Ronon reached the marine bot hangar, installed a year ago next door to the marine biology lab on the East Pier, the floor of the small shed was covered with crystals, curved lenses, and gutted electronics. Rodney cut off his explanation of infrared cameras and thermal imaging to say, “Teach your kid to ask before disassembling someone else’s experiment.”
Ano’s glowing eyes shown through overgrown curls that they refused to have cut. “Daddy, Uncle Rodney’s going to make a better minisub just for me!”
“No, no, no!” Rodney protested. “That’s not what I said. You might get to use it, even help me design it, but we don’t have private vehicles here, let alone private submarines. And you have to get in trouble with your dad before I can claim this is a teachable moment and get back to science.”
The relationship Ano had built with Rodney made even less sense to Ronon than Clover’s games with Tennyson.
“I already got in trouble. You complained about me scratching the crystal contacts here and breaking the solder there.” Ano pointed with one tiny finger while focusing back on Rodney but then turned to Ronon. “Please, Daddy, don’t be mad. I wanted to see the extra colors. Avery said this bot could see light humans can’t. I used to see more colors when I lived in the ocean. And my old body could have fit right between this lens and the motor.”
Rodney blanched. “That wouldn’t have turned out well for you or the bot. I’ll check with Avery to make sure none of your siblings with nimble tentacles can pry their way inside. For now, I need to re-assemble this bot. You need to talk with your dad about where you can safely go and what not to get into now that you’re on your own more often.”
Ano wrapped their fingers around two small crystals. “But Uncle Rodney, I want to help you! Shouldn’t I put this bot back together to make up for taking it apart?”
The pleading look Rodney gave Ronon made him look almost as young as Ano.
The thing was, both Ronon and Carson wanted to encourage Ano’s interest in science and connections with Rodney and John. On Sateda, the uncles might have been considered a second set of parents. “You missed sunset family time and didn’t tell us where you were.” Ronon tried to sound serious, but compared to the Wraith threat he grew up under, it was hard to worry about Ano breaking into a bot shed. “We’ll discuss consequences for that when you get home. First, you have twenty minutes to help Uncle Rodney fix the bot. Then you sweep or whatever’s needed to clean this mess up. Run home after. No stopping.”
“I’ll have to stop in the transporter.”
Ronon stood taller. “Run in place. Makes your body stronger.”
Ano looked ready to argue, but Rodney said, “Clock’s ticking.”
Noticing that Rodney had already reassembled half the bot, Ano started cleaning a crystal on their shirt. Rodney passed them a special cloth to use instead and said, “I’ll radio to let you know when Ano’s headed home.”
In the blink of an eye, or the joint focus of four eyes on a heap of metal and glass, both child and scientist forgot Ronon in favor of their project.
#
The suite smelled like the honey-flower tea the kids had already finished by the time Carson wrapped up their family meeting that night. He asked Ano, “What rules did you forget?”
“Don’t touch medicine or tech without a grown up.” Ano rolled their eyes.
“And?” Ronon prompted.
“Don’t enter labs or workspaces without permission. But I really didn’t think the bot shed counted.” Ano buried their hands beneath their legs as they sat cross-legged on an orange floor cushion.
“Then we’ll add a rule not to enter storage spaces.” Carson crossed his arms as both kids groaned. “Now, what sort of reparations could you offer Avery for taking apart their marine bot? Think carefully about what Avery might appreciate.”
Ano’s head hung low and their shoulders curved forward, as if weighted down by all the talk about responsibility and boundaries that had come before. “If I watch Rodney make a minisub first, maybe I can make one for Avery?”
Clover bounced in his seat. “I want a minisub. Remember when Ano knocked over my sand tower at the beach last summer? I never got anything but an apology for that.”
Carson patted Clover on the shoulder. “Once we accept each other’s apologies, it’s not fair to pile past mistakes on top of newer ones. And not every misdeed requires reparations. Now Ano, while I hope you and Rodney will share any minisubs you make with Avery and others, I’m asking what you can offer Avery to help make up for your mistake today. Something you could offer tomorrow, in addition to an apology. What does Avery like?”
“Me, sea creatures, surfing, and berries,” Ano answered.
“Me, too!” Clover drummed on the table. “Avery likes me just as much and all our ocean siblings and Cyrell, who runs the fish farm.”
Carson covered his mouth to hide his amusement. “Let’s keep this simple. We have three kinds of berries in our kitchen. If you’re willing to get up early tomorrow, Ano, I’ll help you make fresh berry scones to bring to Avery.”
Ano nodded silently, but the hint of a smile told Ronon they appreciated this suggestion.
“I want scones!” Clover waved an arm in the air.
“We’ll make enough for our own breakfast, too. But only if we all get to bed on time. Now tidy up and brush your teeth.”
Minutes later, both kids were tucked in. Clover’s bed had recently been positioned as the top bunk. Ano slept under the lower bunk in a sleep cave hidden beneath their quilt and filled with soft blankets and pillows.
It was Carson’s turn to continue a bedtime story cycle about small people called Hobbits who, at least the way Carson told it, spent most of their time gardening and cooking. Earth stories were strange.
Finally, after kissing both kids on their foreheads and noses, Ronon and Carson had some time to themselves.
#
Taking Ronon by the hand, Carson led him to shower together. As parents they’d learned the sound of falling water offered privacy for quiet conversations and other activities. The shower off their master bedroom was easily large enough for two, with three shower heads above a square base that could be converted to a spa tub. For now, Carson let warm water rain around them as he squeezed shower gel onto his palm.
Ronon leaned against one wall, watching Carson with a half-smile. “You’re so good with them.”
“You don’t think I was too stern earlier?” Carson rubbed suds up and down Ronon’s chest and stomach.
“No.” Ronon flexed as Carson circled his pecs, tracing the firm muscles he’d come to know so well.
“Or not stern enough?” Carson shivered despite the warm water.
Ronon pulled his lover closer, spreading the slippery foam between them. “What’s wrong?”
Carson almost didn’t answer. “Have you heard how Jinto, one of the first kids on Atlantis, let loose a creature that fed on energy? It’s only luck he wasn’t killed. For a while we thought that energy creature had killed Ford. In the end, Rodney risked his life to lure it though the Stargate.”
“You think I could know Rodney—or John—this long and not have heard about one of the first times Rodney saved everyone on Atlantis?” Ronon ran his hands up and down Carson’s arms, both holding and stroking.
“But what if…” Carson couldn’t voice the thought that one of their kids might cause that sort of trouble, might put Rodney or someone else’s life at risk.
“Seems more a lesson from early days than a lesson about kids. Rodney would be the first to tell you all he’s done to make Atlantis safer, especially now, for our kids.” Ronon sighed and ran his fingers up Carson’s neck. “Warning the kids not to mess with medicine or tech makes sense. Family meetings and talking through reparations shows what a great parent you are, in ways I never would have imagined.”
“Even if Atlantis and Pegasus are safer now, I don’t feel qualified to parent here.” Carson rested his hands on Ronon’s hips, breathing in his clean scent as the last of the shower gel washed away. “I couldn’t do this without you.”
“Not even with Uncle John and Uncle Rodney?” Ronon teased.
This time Carson shuddered in mock horror. “Do you think Rodney seriously intends to build a minisub for our kid?”
“I think we should ask him and John to co-parent with us.” Ronon’s fingers circled Carson’s scalp as he finally voiced the suggestion aloud.
Instead of bristling, Carson relaxed against Ronon’s chest and imagined their friends moving in across the hall. With all Ronon had said about multiple adults parenting together on Sateda, the idea seemed natural now. Obvious even. “We should ask them tonight.”
#
John was surprised to be invited to Ronon and Carson’s place after the kids’ bedtime, but on the way over Rodney caught him up on the drama with the marine bot.
The door opened to reveal Ronon pulling a sleeveless shirt over his damp chest. Carson’s hair was still wet from a shower they had clearly taken together, but he nonetheless greeted them with, “Glad you could come on such short notice. Would you like some tea?”
Shoving his hands in his pockets, John answered, “Sure.”
Rodney said, “If you’re angry with me, I need coffee. Otherwise, I want hot chocolate.”
“Hot chocolate it is.” Carson shook his head and smiled.
In minutes they were all seated on bright cushion around a low wooden table, all except Rodney drinking tea. Rodney had been given a large round mug with hot chocolate and a generous dollop of whipped cream.
The smile on Carson’s face failed to reassure John as the doctor said, “We have a proposal we’d like you both to consider.”
John thought he’d hidden his slight recoil, but Ronon quickly said, “Not a sex thing.”
“It’s actually more to do with parenting.” Carson glanced nervously to Ronon who only nodded for him to continue. “Evidently, on Sateda it was common to have more than two adults act as parents in a family. Our kids already call you both uncles, and you’re as close to family as I have at this point, not to mention that you’ve been Ronon’s teammates since he first arrived.”
John was glad Ronon had clarified upfront that this wasn’t about sex, but Carson’s gentle tone and heartfelt declaration left John itching to flee or at least joke the intense moment away. With anyone else, John would deny the warmth he felt in response, the nearly painful stab of hope. Those weren’t feelings John had ever associated with his family on Earth. He’d never expected to have another family, could barely believe most days that Rodney wanted him.
Beside him, Rodney seemed nearly as uncertain. He cradled his hot chocolate in both hands and took two long sips until the cup was drained and whipped cream edged his upper lip. “What exactly are you suggesting?”
With a grunt, Ronon said, “Suite across the hall is empty.”
“That’s for families,” Rodney said. “I mean, different families there and here. Or did you want to send Ano to live with us?”
“If you chose to set up extra beds so one or both of the kids could sleep over sometimes, we certainly wouldn’t object.” Carson leaned forward to meet Rodney’s eyes. “Or maybe a playroom or kid-safe workshop. We’re asking if you’d like to co-parent with us, in whatever way works for you.”
John struggled to imagine sharing his living space with a child. Then he thought specifically of cuddling up to share stories on the couch or wrestling on the floor with Ano or Clover or both. John started to smile. “We’d need another beanbag chair, or two. There are some things I refuse to share.”
#
A month later, John came home to a suite completely decorated in kid art. The living room held three beanbags, a Pegasus-papason, and a hammock chair that converted into something like a sofa bed. A large tube, like a human-sized habitrail, allowed the kids to cross the hall at just below ceiling height without opening either front door and then slide down to the floor.
Clover was sitting on the horizonal final section of the tube-slide holding a jump rope like a lasso and wearing knee-high leather boots. “I’m going to be a cowboy!” he announced.
“Great. I can be your practice horse, until we visit a planet with riding animals.”
“Yes!” Clover waved his rope above his head and then carefully lowered the loop to “catch” a stuffed cat toy Miko had given him.
Following the sounds of John’s arrival, Ano came running from the kids’ workshop area shouting, “My sub is going to have a double-sealed pass-through just the right size for an arm or tentacle, so I can touch-communicate with my ocean-siblings!” The child half climbed to John’s left hip before John could help lift them. Rodney insisted that Ano had learned to tell left from right and figured out bilateral symmetry by learning which side John would always carry them on. John enjoyed the child’s cuddly nature as Ano told him, “I’ll be able to view all sorts of wavelengths, visit wherever other Sartreans go, and help if they’re injured. But I’ll be safe inside my sub with a hull as strong as a Puddle Jumper and a homing device and a shield set up to trigger in case of emergencies.”
As John reached the open door to the workshop with the model sub and a wall full of nothing but submarine drawings, Rodney said, “There are going to be remote-piloting options and every sensor and tracker we can manage, as well.”
“Best sub ever!” Ano chanted a little too loudly as they tucked into John’s neck for one more hug before they jumped down to work with Rodney on the sub.
“Carson offered to play Johnny Cash cowboy songs if you want to cook ‘cowboy’ cornbread and chili with him and Clover tonight. We won’t be done with the pass-through prototype for an hour or more, so you have time to teach Clover some basic knots and rope safety first.” Rodney smiled, reminding John of all the fun ways Rodney used rope to comfort and relax him.
John hummed Johnny Cash’s “flesh and blood need flesh and blood” as he made his way back to their living room to play cowboy games with Clover. He couldn’t have asked for a better family.
The end