Fic: The Geek Tycoon's Convenient Lover (Harlequin Romance challenge)

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Title: The Geek Tycoon's Convenient Lover
Author: SGAtlantisLight
Characters: McKay, Beckett, Dex, Heightmeyer, Zelenka, others mentioned
Relationships: McKay/Beckett
Rating: R
Warnings: MPreg, references to ancient sex toys
Spoilers: None
Summary: Harlequin Romance challenge. Inspired by the plot summary for The Greek Tycoon's Convenient Mistress
Disclaimer: The characters, the setting, etc. are NOT mine, even if I wish they were.

Cover Blurb: Geek billionaire Rodney McKay had never kept a lover for longer than three months...until Carson Beckett entered his bed. But now, even after two years together, Rodney has no intention of making Carson his husband. Carson knows it is time to leave the man he loves, but then he discovers that he's expecting his child. Suddenly Rodney is looking at things very differently...his formerly convenient lover will become his permanent husband.



Carson Beckett surveyed the room, frowning in thought, trying to see it with new eyes. He had become used to the decadence in the two years that he had shared Rodney McKay's bed. It was sumptuous beyond compare-- thick, rich carpeting; tall windows that let in the light; a king-sized four-poster bed with deliciously sinful silk sheets; a sunken bathtub, large enough for two; French doors leading out to a balcony where they could look out at the breathtaking view of the Canadian Rockies; walk-in closets that would be bedrooms in themselves in more moderate houses; a wet bar; doors leading to a broad corridor that led, in turn, to the gleaming labs where McKay made his fortune. And then there were the devices-- old and seemingly alien devices-- scattered about the room, the ones Rodney had determined were intended for pleasure. Carson flushed thinking of how thoroughly and how often his lover put them to use on and in his body.

But there was another feeling accompanying the memory of pleasure.

He had known he wasn't the first lover the billionaire had kept in this room. He had heard tales of exotic Teyla Emmagen, lithe John Sheppard, and multi-lingual Elizabeth Weir, among others. But none of the others had lasted very long before Rodney had tired of them. Most of them had stayed on, working in one of the many companies under Rodney's control and had done well for their brush with power. Emmagen headed up Athos United, a trading consortium. Sheppard had worked his way up to CEO of Atlantis Aerospace. Weir held the reins at Pegasus International, a firm that seemed to have a hand in everything. Beckett himself headed up the biotech division of Ancient Technology Alliance.

Rodney McKay did not choose weak or stupid lovers.

Why, then did he feel so weak and stupid?

It had been two years. There had been and still was great passion, but their relationship was more than that, now. The two men shared a passion for discovery as well as for each other. Their conversations, like their lovemaking, were a pleasure.

But now when he thought of it, he felt only bitterness.

"I'm sorry, Carson," Rodney had said, "I'm just too busy right now," and had gone back to the notes on his laptop.

"And when will ye not be busy, love?" Carson had asked.

"What? I don't know. Why does it matter? What's wrong with the way things are?"

"It matters because I want it," Carson had said. "And the way things are is lovely, I'll grant you, but--"

"Then let's leave it well enough alone. Why mess with a good thing?" Rodney had sighed in exasperation at something on his screen and pulled out his cell, hitting the quick dial. "Hold that thought. Zelenka? I'm looking at the design for the new intercontinental bullet plane. First, who came up with the name Puddlejumper-- Ford? Oh, John did? I don't think I like it." He had listened, nodding. "Yes, yes, I can see the marketing advantages... No, never mind, I'll talk to John about it. What I really wanted to talk about was the design. It looks like Kavanaugh has been playing with it and has screwed up the aerodynamics. Yes. Pull up the new schematics. You'll see..."

Carson had sighed. He knew they would never get back to their discussion.

Now, he looked down at his suitcases, filled with everything that had been Carson's in this room. He glanced at the oblong device sitting on the table by the bed and considered packing it. It had been inside his body many times in the last couple of months, filling him with a soft relaxing heat as well as a comfortably slick and lasting lubrication, easily and quickly preparing him for Rodney at his most passionate. He tried not to think about Rodney. He picked it up and added it to his things. Rodney knew not to share sex toys between lovers, so he would understand. This had been inside Carson, so it was now his. Besides, a small division of ATA had reverse engineered the thing and was almost ready to release it to certain specialty shops. Rodney could get many more as he needed them.

Carson sighed and rubbed his abdomen. This decision had been weighing on him for a while. His loss of appetite and vague sense of nausea, especially upon first waking, had gotten worse over the last couple of weeks.

The door flew open and Rodney stood there, taking in the scene. "Lorne said you were packing," his lover said.

McKay's manservant hovered behind him, casting Beckett an apologetic look.

"Aye. I am, love."

"Why? What did I do wrong?"

Carson looked up at Rodney's baffled expression. "Ye said no."

"What?"

"To marrying me. I can't keep on like this, Rodney. I either want to be your husband or I want you to let me go to find someone who wants to spend his life with me. I can't continue living a half-life. I'm not some convenient toy, like one of your little devices, Rodney. I have feelings and hopes and dreams."

"I didn't say no," Rodney argued. "I said we didn't have time now."

"And when will we have time, Rodney? In another two years or four or eight or never?"

"That's not fair!"

"No, it isn't, but it's true. There's never going to be a convenient time. We're never going to have time unless we make the time... unless we make the commitment. And you don't seem willing to do that."

Rodney flinched, but said nothing.

"Rodney," he said, waiting for his lover to meet his eyes, "will you marry me?"

He watched as Rodney's face hardened and knew the answer before his lover spoke it. "I'm sorry, Carson. I don't appreciate being pressured like this. The answer is no."

***

"You're getting a bit soft about the middle," Ronon Dex commented as he watched Carson pull his shirt off.

Dex owned the gym where Carson worked out several days a week trying to keep his body fit, lifting weights, throwing a few punches at the punching bags, even occasionally stepping into the boxing ring for a bit of sparring. Carson spent way too much time in the lab and this was his only defense against fat and flab. Dex spoke very little. When he did, Carson had learned it paid to listen.

He glanced down at his abdomen, seeing, not for the first time, the little pooching out of the beginnings of a beer belly. "I don't know how. I've been off my feed for a couple of weeks now."

"Problems?" Dex asked.

Carson sighed. Dex was a good listener, and the gym was relatively empty. He began to talk, interrupted only by an occasional grunt to indicate that Ronon was listening, not that Carson doubted that. Dex's eyes never left him during his entire tirade.

When he had wound down, Dex gave him a swift slap on the shoulder. "Sorry. Want to spar?"

***

"What in the world are you eating?" Doctor Kate Heightmeyer asked as she joined him at the table.

"Barbecued pork sandwich with extra ketchup," he answered.

"But they had that oriental salad that you're always going on about."

"I know. I just didn't feel like it today. I had this weird craving for barbecue. And grapefruit! I've been wanting grapefruit in the worst way."

She laughed. "You sound like my sister. She's three months pregnant and she gets the weirdest cravings. Sent her husband out at midnight to buy chicken livers of all things. By the time he got back, she didn't want them."

"I did that, too, the other night. Except it was guacamole," Carson said.

"Well," she said, smiling, "I guess you should tell Rodney the good news." Then she froze. "Oh, dear, I'm sorry, Carson. I keep forgetting. Damn."

He was crying again. "It's okay. I'm just an emotional mess lately. I can't figure out what's going on with me. I mean, I've had worse break-ups than this, but I can't seem to even think straight."

"I know how you feel," she sympathised. "It's the ones that you think are going so well that are the hardest."

***

"It's got to be some sort of a tumour or a metabolic imbalance. I can't think how else to explain it."

Dr. Biro explored his swollen abdomen with expert fingers, trying to find any sort of mass. "I'm not finding anything, but it may be too deep. I'm going to order a full work-up, see if we can't find out what's going on."

***

Rodney stepped into the private dining room of the Mikado Teahouse and nodded at Carson, already seated at the low table.

Even now, the sight of Rodney McKay's face made his heart leap. Or perhaps, he thought, that was just nerves.

Rodney smiled coolly at him. "Carson, you look well." McKay levered himself onto the floor. His eyes studied Carson's face across from him, registering surprise. "Actually, you look really well, almost... glowing. Did you... did you ask me here to tell me... you've met someone else?"

Always one to get straight to the point, Carson thought ruefully, completely missing the break in Rodney's voice.

"No, not that. I--" He paused as the door opened and a woman in a kimono came in, nodding to them. "Ah, Miko isn't it?"

She nodded. "What may I get for you?"

Suddenly, the thought of food was entirely unappealing. "Just green tea for me, please."

Rodney looked at him in befuddlement. "Saki. And your sushi sampler. Make sure there's no citrus, though. I'm deathly allergic."

She bowed. "I will be sure."

"So, how's work?" Rodney asked, waiting to pursue their earlier discussion for after they had gotten their food.

Carson shrugged. "Still fighting the FDA over the retrovirus project."

"Yeah, legal's been keeping me informed. We've been looking over several prospects for where to set up shop for your stem cell research. I've actually pulled Weir in as a consultant. She understands all the political niceties."

They compared notes on a few other things, then their server arrived back with Carson's tea, and Rodney's sake and sushi.

The next few minutes were spent in silence as they concentrated on their food.

"Mm! The sake is excellent. You should have some," Rodney said.

"I'm giving up alcohol for a while," Carson said.

"Really? Why?"

Carson sighed. This was too weird for words. He opened his briefcase and pulled out the securely-wrapped package, removed the wrapping, placing it on the table, then placing the object on top.

Rodney looked bemused at the alien sex toy. "Um. Okay, I'm not getting it. Are you returning it to me, because you know I shouldn't be using it with anyone--"

"No, Rodney, I'm not returning it. I have had my people doing a little more investigation into it, though."

McKay looked even more puzzled. "I must admit, I find that faintly disturbing. Why?"

"Because I needed to know how it was possible that I was pregnant."

Rodney stared at him in shock. "You're... what?"

Carson slid back from the table, stood, and slipped off his suit jacket to reveal the bulge stretching the dress shirt underneath. "The device does more than we realised, Rodney. I'm pregnant."

***

Well, hadn't that gone spectacularly well?

First, Rodney had passed out cold. Carson had decided it was nothing but shock and had managed to revive his former lover before their server returned. Then Rodney had turned into a blithering idiot, confessing how much he had missed him and couldn't live without him and would Carson consent to be his husband.

But the proposal had come too late. Carson had said no.

Rodney had argued, "But, the baby..."

"I'm not marrying you just because I'm pregnant!" he had found himself shouting. "If you really loved me, you'd have accepted my proposal. Or you would have come after me at least! How dare ye? I'm not even sure I'm keepin' it," he spat out, though that was daft because there was no way on earth he'd not keep it.

"Not keep it? You have to! You can't--"

"It's my body and I'll bloody well do what I want with it! What makes ye think I'd want to keep any part of you?"

Rodney's face had gone completely white, then, eyes wide with shock. "I'm-- I'm-- Carson, I--"

"Shut up! I don't know why I even told ye." He felt hot tears spring to his eyes. "Don't come after me, Rodney. I never want to see your face again." And he had turned and stormed out, not looking back.

***

He was surprised to see Radek Zelenka standing outside his door. He debated for a moment just remaining silent so that Rodney's executive assistant would think he wasn't home, but curiosity got the better of him.

"Dr. Zelenka," he greeted.

"Dr. Beckett," the Czech nodded. "May I speak to you for a moment?"

"If Rodney sent you, tell him I've not changed my mind. I don't want to see him."

Zelenka shook his head. "I have come on my own because there is something I think you need to know."

Carson stood, unsure, studying the man.

"May I come in, please?"

Reluctantly, he opened the door wider and stepped back to let the Czech in. Radek's eyes fell once on his abdomen, but quickly flickered away, studying the apartment. "You have nice place here."

"Thank you. But you didn't come to talk about my decorating skills," Carson said. "What do you need?"

Zelenka didn't answer, merely walking through to the living room and sitting down on the couch. Carson followed, sighing. Zelenka reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, followed by a small jewelry box. "Rodney asked me to return this for him today. Said he didn't have the heart to do it himself."

Gingerly, Carson picked up the box and opened it. A gold band with three small, tasteful diamonds, set off by engraved thistle flowers sat inside.

Radek handed him the paper and he could see that it was a receipt. It was a special order for the engraving on the ring. "Look at date, please."

His eyes fell on the date. Rodney had ordered the engraving a week ago. He had picked up the ring yesterday, before their dinner. "What ha' I done?" he asked, tears springing to his eyes.

***

"Congratulations," Dr. Biro said, laying the squirming baby into his arms, "it's a boy."

Rodney's face was wet with tears as he leaned over to kiss his husband. "God, I wish I could tell you how much I love you right now, Carson."

Deep blue eyes stared up at the two men under a thatch of light brown hair.

"Still doing all right?" Biro asked.

"Can't feel a thing," Carson answered.

"That's what we want to hear. Maybe Dad Rodney could take the baby for a minute while we sew you up."

Rodney gently took their son from Carson and settled into the chair next to Carson's bed, his eyes glued to the baby's face.

"What are you going to name him?" one of the nurses asked.

"Terran Radek," Carson answered.

Rodney nodded. "Terran Radek Beckett-McKay. Surely a name that will change history."

Carson smiled. "He already has, love. He already has."

Comments

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Of course it was angsty-- it was by me. Thanks! Glad you liked.