Title: Friend Politics

Author: Angel Leviathan

Spoilers: None. I think.

Season: Future

Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis, characters, concept, etc, aren’t mine. ‘Cept Lucy and Tom.

Notes: For Elvinborn, who wanted baby!fic/kid!fic.

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"I hate Tom McKay!"

She looked up from her PDA at the sound of her daughter’s voice, head tilted in enquiry, trying to search her partner’s face for an explanation, as both walked through the main door to their quarters. On receiving a twitch and a helpless shrug in response, she stretched across the bed she was seated on and gently gripped her child’s arm to stop her storming straight into her adjoining bedroom, "You shouldn’t use that word unless you mean it," Elizabeth chided, "What has Tom done now?"

Lucy Sheppard folded her arms and glared at her mother in the best way a six year old could, "He called me short. And a baby. And a girl!"

She heard a snort of laughter from the other side of the room, one John tried to turn into a cough as he set the pack he’d been carrying down on the floor. Elizabeth bit down on her bottom lip momentarily to stop herself smiling. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and brought Lucy closer to her, "Well, for one, you’re not short," she agreed. She studied her daughter for several long seconds. Where she was in her, she didn’t know. The young girl had her father’s hair, eyes and temper. Not to mention stubbornness, no matter how John tried to attribute that to her. Elizabeth sighed softly, "And you’re not a baby. You’re six years old, you’re still very young, but-"

"You agree with him!" Lucy wailed, outraged.

"No," she shook her head, "I don’t. But you’re still very young, no matter how grown up you think you are for your age," Elizabeth smiled slightly, "And I think we both have to agree with Tom that you’re a girl…"

"He said it meant I couldn’t join in the football!"

"And no daughter of mine is told she can’t join in the football," John sat down on the end of the bed, removing his boots.

Elizabeth shot him a glare that clearly read ‘you aren’t helping’. She turned back to their daughter, "Well, Tom is a couple of years older than you and maybe he thought the boys would be better playing on their own. Maybe he didn’t want you getting hurt if things got too rough."

Lucy continued to glare at her, unconvinced.

Now she could see herself in the girl. She was delicate in her build and slight even for a girl of her age, though she’d never admit to the fact that she could probably be easily broken. If a game between the older boys got too rough, there was certainly the possibility that Lucy would come away with a broken limb. Such as when she was four and Tom had involved her in a game she had gained a broken leg from. The boy still hadn’t forgiven himself. Still, Lucy was just like her mother in the respect that she would go charging into something just to prove a point and hold her ground.

"But…I’m his best friend!"

Elizabeth smoothed her daughter’s hair down and kissed the top of her head, "I know, of course you are," she replied, "But there are times when you have to be apart and do different things, you know? You wouldn’t let Tom join you and Livi playing with your stuffed animals, would you?"

Lucy slowly shook her head, "…I didn’t want him to think I was too girly…" she mumbled.

"Well then. And you don’t hate him, do you?"

She shook her head again, staring at the floor.

"Come on, go get your football and we’ll go play. We’ll show them," John nodded toward her room.

Her eyes lit up as she nodded and quickly ran to retrieve the ball, knowing she would be making a lot of the kids jealous, the boys especially. John might be ‘just’ her Dad to her, but to a lot of the young boys in Atlantis, he was an idol.

Elizabeth collapsed back onto the bed with a sigh as soon as Lucy was out of sight.

John leant over her, voice low, "…So help me if we end up related to McKay…"

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Fin