Sheppard, Teyla and pregnancy: Comments on Quarantine

[blue-skyz]

Each pair trapped together should have their own thread, so here’s a start.

Sheppard, Teyla and pregnancy: Comments on Quarantine.

Sheppard acting like Teyla is glass and needs to be looked after.
Sheppard’s right about the movies and Teyla looks big enough to go into labor right there.
(Horrible, horrible, horrible maternity outfit.)

Interesting ideas on pregnancy here:

Teyla wants to continue to go on missions, possibly putting her baby’s life in danger.
But wonders about keeping it up after the baby’s born, because she doesn’t want the baby to grow up without his mother.

Sheppard doesn’t want Teyla to go on missions while she is pregnant, she could be putting herself, the baby and the rest of the team in danger.
But expects her to go back to risking her life when the baby is a few months old.
(I liked the story about the cop with three kids that goes to work to protect them and everyone else.)

Please, please, please make this baby normal in every way (except the tiny bit of Wraith DNA like Teyla that we already know he must have). I want to see Teyla as a working mother. The baby can just stay in the background and mostly be unseen and give Teyla something to do). Normal aging process, please.

It was sweet that Sheppard told her the baby would always have a family on Atlantis. (Notice that he didn’t say with him or the team.) But telling her that did make her sniffle about the family that he might not have anymore.

It’s funny, and not so funny, that a pregnant belly and a kicking fetus are fair game for anyone in the vicinity. Touching a pregnant belly is not an intimate act, it is a public attraction. Sheppard feeling the baby kick was a touching moment, though. Nice to see him smile.

Teyla getting on the ledge was ridiculous. (A little common sense would be nice.) I think she intended to show Sheppard that she could still be a member of his team, but once she got on the ledge the implications of the current geometry of her body finally dawned on her. Maybe now we can move beyond the discussion of fitness for missions, but I doubt it.

[Mitchell82]

Each pair trapped together should have their own thread, so here’s a start.

Sheppard, Teyla and pregnancy: Comments on Quarantine.

Sheppard acting like Teyla is glass and needs to be looked after.
Sheppard’s right about the movies and Teyla looks big enough to go into labor right there.
(Horrible, horrible, horrible maternity outfit.)

Uh thats because at this point Rachel was way more pregnant than the character. There was a month or so break in filming between TMC and BAMSR. As to the Teyla is glass part Shepard is trying to protect her I found that sweet.

Interesting ideas on pregnancy here:

Teyla wants to continue to go on missions, possibly putting her baby’s life in danger.
But wonders about keeping it up after the baby’s born, because she doesn’t want the baby to grow up without his mother.

Her hormones are going crazy and she has conflicting feelings also she felt like she was still the same she always was in BAMSR and SoW but only briefly in SoW. Now she realizes there are more concerns than just her life.

Sheppard doesn’t want Teyla to go on missions while she is pregnant, she could be putting herself, the baby and the rest of the team in danger.
But expects her to go back to risking her life when the baby is 2 months old.
(I liked the story about the cop with three kids that goes to work to protect them and everyone else.)

I don't see him expecting that he was giving an example.

Please, please, please make this baby normal in every way (except the tiny bit of Wraith DNA like Teyla that we already know he must have). I want to see Teyla as a working mother. The baby can just stay in the background and mostly be unseen and give Teyla something to do). Normal aging process, please.

I'm pretty sure JM siad it would be.

It was sweet that Sheppard told her the baby would always have a family on Atlantis. (Notice that he didn’t say with him or the team.) But telling her that did make her sniffle about the family that he might not have anymore.

I liked that too.

It’s fumy, and not so funny, that a pregnant belly and a kicking fetus are fair game for anyone in the vicinity. Touching a pregnant belly is not an intimate act, it is a public attraction. Sheppard feeling the baby kick was a touching moment, though. Nice to see him smile.

I actually liked that part.

Teyla getting on the ledge was ridiculous. (A little common sense would be nice.) I think she intended to show Sheppard that she could still be a member of his team, but once she got on the ledge the implications of the current geometry of her body finally dawned on her. Maybe now we can move beyond the discussion of fitness for missions, but I doubt it.

It was very in character for her imo. As I said her hormones are going nuts and so is she. She realised right away that she is not the same she was.

[Rosehawk]

Interesting ideas on pregnancy here:

Teyla wants to continue to go on missions, possibly putting her baby’s life in danger.
But wonders about keeping it up after the baby’s born, because she doesn’t want the baby to grow up without his mother.

It is totally normal for a pregnant woman to question her job and whether she should go back to it or not after the baby is born. And when the job is high risk, the decision is even tougher. Many times women won't make the decision until the baby is a few months old.
Just because a woman is pregnant, doesn't automatically mean that everything in her life suddenly falls into place for the baby. There are real emotional issues to deal with because ones life is going to radically change.

I would have been disappointed if tptb hadn't had Teyla questioning her role on Atlantis once the baby is born.

Sheppard doesn’t want Teyla to go on missions while she is pregnant, she could be putting herself, the baby and the rest of the team in danger.
But expects her to go back to risking her life when the baby is 2 months old.
(I liked the story about the cop with three kids that goes to work to protect them and everyone else.)

I didn't see Sheppard as expecting her to go back to work. I saw Sheppard as trying to offer her support, it was obvious Teyla was struggling with whether it made sense for her to go back or not.

Please, please, please make this baby normal in every way (except the tiny bit of Wraith DNA like Teyla that we already know he must have). I want to see Teyla as a working mother. The baby can just stay in the background and mostly be unseen and give Teyla something to do). Normal aging process, please.

I agree. They had Janet as a working mother with Cassie, so it can be done.

It was sweet that Sheppard told her the baby would always have a family on Atlantis. (Notice that he didn’t say with him or the team.) But telling her that did make her sniffle about the family that he might not have anymore.

That was the sensitive Sheppard that we rarely get to see. For a guy who is socially inept, he does seem to have some nice tender moments with Teyla.

It’s fumy, and not so funny, that a pregnant belly and a kicking fetus are fair game for anyone in the vicinity. Touching a pregnant belly is not an intimate act, it is a public attraction. Sheppard feeling the baby kick was a touching moment, though. Nice to see him smile.

I liked this scene. Touching a pregnant belly is very personal, it is just alot of people think it is fair game and don't ask or wait to be asked. I am really glad that Sheppard did reach out and touch Teyla's belly after Teyla asked him to. For a brief moment, I was worried that he might be reluctant to.

Teyla getting on the ledge was ridiculous. (A little common sense would be nice.) I think she intended to show Sheppard that she could still be a member of his team, but once she got on the ledge the implications of the current geometry of her body finally dawned on her. Maybe now we can move beyond the discussion of fitness for missions, but I doubt it.

Oh, I so cringed when she got out on the ledge. I think she may have just been checking to see if she could see Sheppard, however balance can be affected by pregnancy since the baby is growing and can throw balance off.
I was so yelling at the TV for her to get back inside and I rarely do that when watching TV shows.

[Shan Bruce Lee]

I thought she was gonna try to climb at first but after she came back in I realized (IMO) she was probably just trying to see if she could see where Shep was.

[Skydiver]

i think it was a turning point for both of them.

shep got to realize that she's still 'normal' and they got to clear the air. and, my gut is, that shep will be the baby's 'uncle' so to speak

as to teyla, i thikn she finally realized that she's nto as capable as she thinks she is...in the mobility department that is.

unpregnant, she could have climbed up after shep, but now she can't. not just physically unable, but she had to realize that if she fell, it wasn't just her life she was risking.

I think this is the end of 'i can still go on missions' and will be the beginning of teyla's 'nesting' phase.

[Rosehawk]

shep got to realize that she's still 'normal' and they got to clear the air. and, my gut is, that shep will be the baby's 'uncle' so to speak

Uncle Shep, what a concept. I think Shep would be a great 'uncle' to Teyla's kid!

[Tupopoflungo]

IMO Teyla was looking to see if Sheppard had made it, I think this was evidenced by the fact that after looking up to see if he was on the tower, she looked down with a bit of fear in her eyes. Granted, this might have been because she was like 20 stories high, but I think she was more worried that he might have fallen...

[blue-skyz]

It is totally normal for a pregnant woman to question her job and whether she should go back to it or not after the baby is born. And when the job is high risk, the decision is even tougher. Many times women won't make the decision until the baby is a few months old.

Actually most women don’t have the option of questioning whether they should go back to work. (Been there.) That is the world Sheppard comes from. (High risk? A change of jobs would certainly be considered.)

I would have been disappointed if tptb hadn't had Teyla questioning her role on Atlantis once the baby is born.

It is the dichotomy of the scene I find interesting. Teyla wanting to maintain normality by continuing to risk her life (and her baby’s life) while pregnant; Sheppard refusing to let her. Teyla worried her baby might lose his mother; Sheppard accepting the possibility as a normal part of their lives.
(And, yes, I ignored the whole finding her people and the baby’s father on purpose in that statement.)

I didn't see Sheppard as expecting her to go back to work. I saw Sheppard as trying to offer her support, it was obvious Teyla was struggling with whether it made sense for her to go back or not.

The line he says is:
“It’s not permanent. You’re just going to have to ease off, then you have your baby and in a few months you’re back in action.”

I’ve tried to rephrase what he means in my head and the word “expect” refuses to be replaced. It doesn’t mean that he would require/force her to continue on the team. She has been more than adamant about being allowed to continue on the team while pregnant. It is only reasonable to extrapolate that to her wanting to get back to the team as soon as possible after the birth.

I think it has been obvious since the moment he found out about the pregnancy, that he has her best interests at heart. He wouldn’t be Sheppard, if he didn’t. He would support any decision she made, the same way he supported Ronon’s decision to leave, albeit with fewer reservations .

That was the sensitive Sheppard that we rarely get to see. For a guy who is socially inept, he does seem to have some nice tender moments with Teyla.

He does have another side we rarely see. There is more to Sheppard than we know, or will ever know directly.

Oh, I so cringed when she got out on the ledge. I think she may have just been checking to see if she could see Sheppard, however balance can be affected by pregnancy since the baby is growing and can throw balance off.

There had been too much time between when he climbed out the window and when she did. The self destruct alarm had already been turned off. She didn’t need to climb all the way out to look down or up. IMO, she intended to climb up to help, but realized that couldn’t anymore.

[Raven56]

I didn't see Sheppard as expecting her to go back to work. I saw Sheppard as trying to offer her support, it was obvious Teyla was struggling with whether it made sense for her to go back or not.

I thought that he expected her to, but only because he expected her to want to, after her insistence earlier on being part of missions. Does that make sense?

That was the sensitive Sheppard that we rarely get to see. For a guy who is socially inept, he does seem to have some nice tender moments with Teyla.

Thank you! After so many comments in places about him being a horrible flirt and always after the women, it's nice to find someone who also feels that he's not this horrible Lothario! I've always thought he hasn't been all that successful with the ladies. "I never see this coming", "I do remember you wouldn't even date me!", his horrified backpedalling when his comment when introduced to the Genii was taken badly, and his embarrassment at the 'Athosian head touch' in Rising are all examples. I really like the way Teyla manages to bring him out of himself safely. The relationship between them is 'comfortable', and even better, allows both shippers and non-shippers to have a field day in their own minds!

I liked this scene. Touching a pregnant belly is very personal, it is just alot of people think it is fair game and don't ask or wait to be asked. I am really glad that Sheppard did reach out and touch Teyla's belly after Teyla asked him to. For a brief moment, I was worried that he might be reluctant to..

In rewatching, it looks as if Teyla actually had to take his hand and place it on her - which is even better, since that made it entirely her choice. And his expression was perfect.

as to teyla, i thikn she finally realized that she's nto as capable as she thinks she is...in the mobility department that is.

ROFL! Her arms definitely aren't as long as they used to be!

[blue-skyz]

Thank you! After so many comments in places about him being a horrible flirt and always after the women, it's nice to find someone who also feels that he's not this horrible Lothario! I've always thought he hasn't been all that successful with the ladies. "I never see this coming", "I do remember you wouldn't even date me!", his horrified backpedalling when his comment when introduced to the Genii was taken badly, and his embarrassment at the 'Athosian head touch' in Rising are all examples. I really like the way Teyla manages to bring him out of himself safely.

I’m always surprised, although I shouldn’t be anymore, when someone describes Sheppard as “always Kirking around.”

I used to immediately ask for examples of his “Kirking.”
Funny thing is, I never once got an answer to that question.
Why don’t people spend 10 sec thinking about a concept before they blindly repeat it?

The fact is, it can’t be substantiated. If you count every time in 73 episodes that Sheppard has so much as looked at a woman that he does not work with regularly, you don’t come even close to “always.” IIRC there are people that have actually made counts similar to this, but I don’t have the references. The easiest one is the kiss count: 4 times as himself in 73 episodes.

The Kirk comment was a McKay joke and it started as a reference to Sheppard’s concern for his jumper not a woman. The joke is and continues to be funny to me, the derogatory comments are not.

I think Sheppard has always shown concern for the people around him and extra concern for the women. And now he is showing even more concern for his pregnant friend. Very credible and in character. He is, after all, an officer and a gentleman.

[Sweetsong]

My question is, where did she get the maternity wear? That shirt did not look Athosian, so am assuming Earth ordered her some Maternity clothes or perhaps other pregnant people on base lent them to her.

I was most taken aback by what she was wearing, thought I don't know what I expected her to wear once she reached this stage of the pregnancy, Vala wore long dresses 'cause she was over in the Ori galaxy, though her SG uniform when she took over Daniel seemed to work too.

[Raven56]

I’m always surprised, although I shouldn’t be anymore, when someone describes Sheppard as “always Kirking around.”

Yeah. Me too. One other comment (somewhere, can't remember where) was that it was 'disgusting; he's too old to be flirting'. I almost choked on that one. If I could find it again, I'd ask the poster at what age flirting should be banned. 20? 25? 30?

The Kirk comment was a McKay joke and it started as a reference to Sheppard’s concern for his jumper not a woman. The joke is and continues to be funny to me, the derogatory comments are not.

Agreed wholeheartedly. And I LMAO at the 'My ship?' comment. Along with John's 'Remember where we parked'. Weren't both comments in the same episode? Defiant One?

I think Sheppard has always shown concern for the people around him and extra concern for the women. And now he is showing even more concern for his pregnant friend. Very credible and in character. He is, after all, an officer and a gentleman.

Agreed. I love the way he's being all 'goofus' with her, as if she'll shatter into a million pieces if she so much as breaks a fingernail.

Also, I usually prefer 'no ship' on a show itself, just ambiguity - it leaves things wide open for the fanfic . And when I 'ship' in my mind, it's usually slashy-type stuff (Jack/Daniel, anyone? RAWR). Ahem. Anyway, it's fairly unusual for me to het on a S/F show - but this time, I'll have to say I like John/Teyla. I just like the way they act with each other. But in any case, I hope TPTB don't actually hard-line any shipping. Just IMO.

[Skydiver]

My question is, where did she get the maternity wear? That shirt did not look Athosian, so am assuming Earth ordered her some Maternity clothes or perhaps other pregnant people on base lent them to her.

I was most taken aback by what she was wearing, thought I don't know what I expected her to wear once she reached this stage of the pregnancy, Vala wore long dresses 'cause she was over in the Ori galaxy, though her SG uniform when she took over Daniel seemed to work too.

given that they're not cut off from earth my presumption is that they could have gotten her some from there. or perhaps they traded with a group of aliens to get her some, or maybe to purchase some cloth and she made her own

i doubt it'll be mentionede but where there's a will, there's a way...or a maternity top

[Rosehawk]

Actually most women don’t have the option of questioning whether they should go back to work. (Been there.) That is the world Sheppard comes from. (High risk? A change of jobs would certainly be considered.)

I think it is normal for a woman to question whether or not she should go back to work or at the least go back to the job she was doing. Even more so in jobs that are considered high risk or high stress. Doesn't mean that she has the option to make the choice she wants, just that there are options that get considered.

I've been there too and while I had to go back to work, I have seen alot of women choose not to go back to work. Though I have seen many women choose to go into daycare while they kids were young which would be considered a change of jobs.

It is the dichotomy of the scene I find interesting. Teyla wanting to maintain normality by continuing to risk her life (and her baby’s life) while pregnant; Sheppard refusing to let her. Teyla worried her baby might lose his mother; Sheppard accepting the possibility as a normal part of their lives.
(And, yes, I ignored the whole finding her people and the baby’s father on purpose in that statement.)

I found the scene quite interesting as well and would have be so disappointed if this scene (or similar one) hadn't found it's way into the show before Teyla's baby was born. The decisions that Teyla is going to have to make are not going to be easy for her. I did find it interesting that Teyla was worried that the baby could lose it's mother, when she has always lived under the threat of the Wraith which I am sure has made more than one child parentless.

The line he says is:
“It’s not permanent. You’re just going to have to ease off, then you have your baby and in a few months you’re back in action.”

I’ve tried to rephrase what he means in my head and the word “expect” refuses to be replaced. It doesn’t mean that he would require/force her to continue on the team. She has been more than adamant about being allowed to continue on the team while pregnant. It is only reasonable to extrapolate that to her wanting to get back to the team as soon as possible after the birth.

I thought that he expected her to, but only because he expected her to want to, after her insistence earlier on being part of missions. Does that make sense?

I will need to rewatch the episode again. I have to wait for it to come out on iTunes since I don't have it recorded.
When I first read 'expects' it seemed more like a demand/requirement, but thinking more about it, it is just reasonable that he would assume she would want to come back to the team, so in that sense, he would be expecting her to come back.

I think it has been obvious since the moment he found out about the pregnancy, that he has her best interests at heart. He wouldn’t be Sheppard, if he didn’t. He would support any decision she made, the same way he supported Ronon’s decision to leave, albeit with fewer reservations .

Sheppard is great that way. The team is his family and he supports them anyway he can.

There had been too much time between when he climbed out the window and when she did. The self destruct alarm had already been turned off. She didn’t need to climb all the way out to look down or up. IMO, she intended to climb up to help, but realized that couldn’t anymore.

Yeah, my first instinct was that she wanted to try to follow Sheppard by climbing as well. And when she couldn't do that she tried looking for him.
I think given her background, she almost had to try something to see if she could do it. I am glad she had enough common sense to get back in, though she went a bit too far out on that ledge for my comfort zone.

Thank you! After so many comments in places about him being a horrible flirt and always after the women, it's nice to find someone who also feels that he's not this horrible Lothario! I've always thought he hasn't been all that successful with the ladies. "I never see this coming", "I do remember you wouldn't even date me!", his horrified backpedalling when his comment when introduced to the Genii was taken badly, and his embarrassment at the 'Athosian head touch' in Rising are all examples. I really like the way Teyla manages to bring him out of himself safely. The relationship between them is 'comfortable', and even better, allows both shippers and non-shippers to have a field day in their own minds!

I’m always surprised, although I shouldn’t be anymore, when someone describes Sheppard as “always Kirking around.”

Yeah, I've never liked the term kirking and never thought it applied to Sheppard. I really like how Teyla is managing to draw the sensitive side for Sheppard out. I hope we see more of this as her pregnancy progresses.

In rewatching, it looks as if Teyla actually had to take his hand and place it on her - which is even better, since that made it entirely her choice. And his expression was perfect.

I really liked how this was done. Her reaching out was giving him permission to share her joy, I thought at first they would make Sheppard skimpish with this but they didn't. I loved his reaction, it was perfect.

[Raven56]

i think it was a turning point for both of them.

shep got to realize that she's still 'normal' and they got to clear the air. and, my gut is, that shep will be the baby's 'uncle' so to speak

And it was neat how he again didn't want to discuss it, but it turned out slightly differently than what he was nervous about.

as to teyla, i thikn she finally realized that she's nto as capable as she thinks she is...in the mobility department that is.

unpregnant, she could have climbed up after shep, but now she can't. not just physically unable, but she had to realize that if she fell, it wasn't just her life she was risking.

Yeah, Teyla seems to be the kind of person who won't take other's opinions on what she's capable of doing - she will try whatever it is herself, just to be sure. Now, that's good in lots of ways, but it can give those around her cardiac arrests if she takes it too far .

I think this is the end of 'i can still go on missions' and will be the beginning of teyla's 'nesting' phase.

Agreed. I just hope, as a viewer who really likes Teyla, that she doesn't need too long (actress or character) before she's up to being 'out there' again.