Things are cooking both on and off the screen for Rachel Luttrell. As has happened once before in the Stargate universe (with Vala Mal Doran), what’s cooking happens to be the same thing … but for different reasons!

The actress behind Atlantis‘s Teyla Emmagan will soon be giving birth to her first child, and she couldn’t be more thrilled. Her baby will have significance both on the show and in real life.

“Everything is going wonderfully,” Luttrell told UnderGroundOnline. “I have had a pretty charmed pregnancy. I’ve pretty much diverted all of the usual complaints that people have. I had no nausea, no terrible fatigue, no real aches and pains; it’s just been really good.”

Shooting for Atlantis has been extended by one week to October 12, but as far as Rachel’s concerned, she has already finished one task and is on to the next. “I’m actually done. I am currently wrapped, whereas the rest of my cast mates are still slugging it out. They’ve got another week and a half to two weeks left, and I have had the past two weeks off. It’s been really great, because I finally got to a point where… I love going to work, but I was getting tired.”

Early Season Four episodes such as “Adrift,” “Lifeline” and the Teyla-heavy “Missing” will feature a good deal of action — particularly the latter episode. Despite being pregnant, Rachel has continually brought her “A” game.

“I wasn’t showing, and so I did a lot of very physical things,” she says. “I did a couple of fights that were the biggest that I’ve done to date, so there you have it. But looking back, I really enjoyed it and pretty much my entire pregnancy has been documented now on Stargate.”

Any hints as to the baby’s father [in the show]? “I wonder how much of that I can speak of. Obviously, Teyla is pregnant and it wasn’t brought about by divine conception, so there is somebody … There’s somebody who will be new to the audience that is very important for Teyla, and also very important to her history and her connection with her people. Hopefully, that’s enticing enough without giving anything away.”

Be sure to check out the entire interview, available now at UGO.com!

New episodes of Stargate Atlantis return to the SCI FI Channel this Friday, September 28!