With Shivering Hearts We Wait
Rating: T (just to be safe)
Pairing: TelfordOC
Summary: "Cold instantly bit into Eva's skin – horrible, bitter cold that only got worse as time went on." Sucked into space and left behind by the Destiny, Evaline O'Shay is shocked to find herself somewhere she never thought she'd see again – Earth.
Evaline O'Shay jumped as a bulkhead closed and locked shut behind her, turning to put her palms against it. "Brody?" she asked, lifting her walkie-talkie in confusion.
"Eva, there's something wrong-" Brody's voice cut off in a crackle of static.
Eva turned to survey the room she was in. "Bother," she muttered. There was nothing helpful, just a corridor, in front of her. Lifting her flashlight, she pushed the button on her walkie-talkie again. "Jeff," she said to her companion, who was on the other side of the bulkhead, "keep on going. I'll do my best to find a transporter or something."
"All right," Jeff agreed.
Eva set off down the corridor, looking around and trying to find something to take her back to the rest of the ship. Every door she tried, however, was locked. Finally, she sagged against the wall and lifted the walkie-talkie once more. "Can anyone get me out of here?" she asked, plaintively.
"I'm working on unlocking the door right now, Eva," Rush's voice came over the speaker. "It will be a while; I have to go around some safeguards. The ship is quarantining that area for some reason."
"Take your time," Eva said, sinking to the floor. "I'm in no hurry." She put her walkie-talkie on the floor next to her and rested her head against the wall, thinking back over the past few weeks. She had been so excited to go home when Colonel Young had suggested doing so, and waiting in the gate room had made her giddy. The news that it was too dangerous to attempt dialing while in the star had sent a stone straight to her stomach. Then the news that Telford had died while on the other Destiny had come, and Eva's day had only gotten worse. The colonel had been one of her only friends onboard, and she'd been hysterical at the news of his death.
After calming down, she'd gone to look at the Stargate standing quietly in the Gate room. The others hadn't had time to retrieve his body before the other Destiny had gone into the star, so there would be an empty-casket funeral. She'd folded her arms tightly across her chest, trying to keep the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes at bay. TJ had come to stand beside her, putting an arm across her shoulders. "Technically, he's still alive," she'd said. "The other him is back on Earth, safe and sound."
That had comforted Eva slightly, but she still missed him. Then, a few days after that, communications had been knocked out with Earth. For six days Eva agonized with no news of whether Homeworld Command had been destroyed by that bomb, but fortunately the senator had diffused it in time. Things had gone relatively smoothly since then.
A door opened to her right, further down the corridor. Eva got up and went through it, leaving her walkie-talkie and flashlight behind on accident. The door closed again before she could go back and get them. "Drat," Eva muttered. "Hello?" she called, hoping that Rush or one of the other scientists could hear her over the shipboard communications system. No one replied. Figures that communication would be out in this area, too, Eva thought sourly.
Another door opened, and again Eva went through it. Perhaps Rush had figured out a way to open the doors and was leading her to a transporter, where she could come back to the rest of the ship. The loss of the flashlight and walkie-talkie was regrettable, but maybe someone could figure out how to get the door open again and come to get them. Again, the door closed and locked behind her, but another opened at the same time. Eva went through door after door, going further and further from the rest of the ship.
Suddenly, a door opened and all the air in the compartment Eva was in rushed out into space, taking her with it. Cold instantly bit into Eva's skin – horrible, bitter cold that only got worse as time went on. Eva vaguely remembered that she'd heard that people can survive thirty seconds in space unprotected, and she counted down the seconds she had remaining. Her lungs burned for want of air. The cold was unbearable, and her eyes closed as it continued to worsen. The water began boiling on her tongue as she reached sixteen seconds. And then, very suddenly, something flashed brightly against her closed eyes and she knew no more.
She woke to blessed warmth. Oxygen was everywhere, and she rejoiced tiredly without opening her eyes. Curling into the solid warm thing in front of her, she tried to get all of it that she could as she took a deep breath of wonderful air. A surprised grunt made her wonder where, exactly, she was, so she opened her eyes and looked around. Then she blushed. A very confused-looking Colonel Telford stared back at her, rubbing sleep from his eyes with one hand. "What happened?" she asked in a small voice.
David woke to something in bed with him. He was vaguely aware of it there as he slowly journeyed toward wakefulness, but when it curled up against him he was instantly catapulted into full consciousness. A small redheaded form was hastily moving back, confused blue eyes glancing away quickly as a blush heated the pale skin. "What happened?" the girl asked timidly.
"Why don't you tell me?" David retorted, moving back. "You weren't here last night." The girl looked at him in surprise, and suddenly he recognized her. "Eva?" he asked, feeling his eyebrows furrow slightly in confusion.
"Colonel," Eva breathed, and then very suddenly her tiny form was wrapped around him. He froze, unsure of what to do with himself, and Eva moved away with a huge grin. "You're not dead after all!"
"Why would I be dead?" he asked slowly. "And aren't you supposed to be on the Destiny?"
Eva looked confused again. "Yeah," she nodded. "But I think I died. I got sucked into space, you see. It was horribly cold there. And then I was waking up here, and I was warm again. I'm not sure what happened."
"The same thing that happened to Kane," David realized. "The aliens from that planet must have transported you here. I certainly hope that the same fate doesn't befall you," he added.
Eva tried to get up, but she was too weak. That seemed odd, since she'd been plenty strong when she was hugging him. He slid out from under the covers and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to straighten it out. "I'll go to Homeworld Command and see about connecting to Destiny. You stay here, all right?"
Eva burrowed into the covers. "I don't think I can get up, so all right." She smiled at him slightly, radiant joy in her eyes.
David pulled on a shirt and got into his car, hoping that Eva would be all right by herself for a few hours. He'd have to find somewhere for her to stay while they contacted her family. After arriving at the base, he went straight to the communication stones and placed one on the plate. The next thing he knew, he was standing on the Destiny. "Everett," he said, for Colonel Young was standing a few feet away.
"David, good to see you," Everett said, shaking his hand. There was something very fragile about his movements, and his handshake seemed tired. "I'm sorry; I'm a little distracted right now. We just lost Evaline O'Shay. Somehow she was sucked into space and she was left behind, dead before we even knew she was gone."
David shook his head. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Everett. She's safe and sound and at my house right now."
Everett looked astonished. "What?"
David shrugged. "I don't know how it happened, only that the same aliens that took Kane and the others back the Destiny must have transported her into my house. She said she was cold, and then the next thing she knew, she was…" he cleared his throat.
Everett looked slightly amused. "What is it?"
"Well, she woke me up this morning by appearing in my bed," David explained. "It was just a little awkward, that's all."
Everett laughed. "Well, I'm glad she appeared in your house. She missed you something terrible, you know."
David shook his head. "I didn't know. But now that you know she's all right, I've got to get back. I have to see about getting her checked out and all that," he explained. Corporal Barnes disconnected the stones, and David was back in his own body. Suddenly, he felt a thrill of worry for the girl in his house, and he forgot all about getting her checked out and calling her parents. He went straight home, walking into the kitchen to see that Eva, obviously having regained her strength, was wiping down the counters. He leaned against the doorway to watch, since she hadn't noticed him.
Humming along with the radio, which was on, she reached across the counter to scrub at a particularly stubborn spot of food. One of her feet popped up, apparently for balance. The speck of food finally came up and she turned to the sink, draping the dishrag over the separator between the two depressions.
"You didn't have to do that," David said.
Eva jumped about a foot and whirled around. "Oh my goodness," she breathed, holding a hand to her chest, "you scared me! I wanted to. I did eat some of your food, after all, so I did the dishes and cleaned up after myself. I was being responsible," she smiled.
He smiled back. "Did you know that your foot pops when you lean forward?"
Eva looked flustered. "It does?"
David took a few steps into the kitchen, tossing his keys onto the counter. "It does," he confirmed with a grin. He cocked his head slightly. "Everett—Colonel Young informed me that you've had a rough couple of weeks," he said carefully.
Eva froze. "What did he say?" she asked, looking like she was trying not to blush. She failed, a faint pink glow spreading across her cheeks. It gave her a very sweet look.
"That you were distraught when I 'died'," David clarified. "I didn't know you cared, Eva."
Eva turned abruptly, clearing her throat. "Of course I care," she replied, a little too quickly. "You were one of my best friends onboard the Destiny, and life was decidedly worse without you. If Colonel Young died, you would have been the same way."
"Perhaps," he answered, "only I think I would be upset in a different way than if you died."
"What makes you say that?" Eva asked, cocking her head. She looked positively adorable when she did that, not unlike a fourteen-year-old shyly flirting with a boy she liked. He shook the thought from his head, although he had to admit that he liked the idea of her flirting with him.
"Because you are one of my friends, as well," he explained, "and closer than Everett is."
"Oh," Eva said, clearly disappointed.
David had to grin. "You don't look happy with that answer, Evaline."
She shot him a look. "I don't really like my name, and you know that," she retorted. "Call me Eva, please. I believe we've been over this."
"We have," David agreed, taking a few steps closer.
Eva didn't notice, carrying on with her lecture. "I thought so. I remember telling you, 'Call me Eva, because I don't like my name.' I was pretty sure I had told you before." She looked up and then squeaked and took a hasty step back as she found him close to invading her personal space. "Do you have to keep sneaking up on me?" she complained, apparently trying and failing to fight down another blush.
He smiled slightly. "Yeah, I do," he answered. "You make it easy, Eva. Too easy."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked defensively, dropping her hands from her hips.
He shook his head. "Nothing. I was just thinking on the way home, actually, that you should probably stay here for a while. We have no idea if you died before being transported here, or if what happened to Kane is going to happen to you. I don't want to put you in the hospital because I don't think they'll be able to help you any more than I would if you start dying of hypothermia for no reason."
Eva nodded. "That makes sense."
David smiled. "We'll wait a couple of days, and if nothing happens, we'll assume you're in the clear. Okay?"
"Okay," Eva smiled back.
The days passed quickly. Colonel Telford was able to take a few days off, but he spent most of his time in his office working on paperwork for his various jobs. Eva went about her business, trying to make herself useful and keep herself out of trouble. She mowed his lawn as best she could, and did some laundry to tackle the boredom of not doing anything.
He came in one day as she was sitting on top of the washing machine, watching the dial. "Eva," he asked, a chuckle in his voice, "what are you doing?"
Eva didn't look up. "Your washing machine sprays water out of the little tube that takes the water someplace else. If I don't stop it and let it drain every so often, the water spills out."
He leaned against the door. "I know. Why are you sitting on top of it?"
The washing machine began spinning the water out, and sure enough it began rising in the pipe. Eva leapt forward and pushed the dial in, stopping the machine long enough for the water to drain out. "Closer to the dial," she smiled at him.
He smiled back. "You don't have to do the laundry," he told her.
Eva sighed. "You don't have much else to do around here. This is the last load, anyway."
Colonel Telford looked thoughtful for a second, and then held up his finger. "How do you feel about Disney movies?" he asked.
Eva cocked her head. "What kind?"
He led her into a small closet, where there were a few rows of Disney DVDs. "This kind," he answered.
She crouched down and looked over the titles, and then giggled. "You have Tangled?" she asked.
A small smile greeted her question. "They're for my niece and nephews, when they visit."
Eva sat back on her heels, looking up at him thoughtfully. "I didn't know you were an uncle," she told him.
"I am." He leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms across his chest.
She watched him for a few minutes, but he was looking at the DVDs and didn't notice. "I think that you are probably a wonderful uncle," she said at last. He looked at her sharply and she grinned. "What other self-respecting bachelor has a shelf of kid's movies in his house just for the little ones?"
She ended up selecting Tangled. Colonel Telford went back up to his office to continue his paperwork, but Eva knew that he was paying attention to what was going on downstairs. Thus ended her fourth day since returning to Earth, which she thought was fitting. Watching movies was one of her favorite pastimes. Eva turned in that night confident that nothing was going to happen.
She woke up three hours later with an inexplicable feeling of dread. Then the cold hit her like a brick wall, and she sat straight up in bed, shivering uncontrollably. "Colonel!" she screamed without thinking.
Telford appeared in the doorway and took everything in within mere seconds. Then he was crossing the room, shrugging his shirt over his head as he went. Without a word, he slid into the bed next to Eva and pulled her into his arms, holding her as close to him as he could. Then he reached up and fumbled with the control for the electric blanket, turning it on as high as it would go and wrapping it securely around her back as it slowly heated up.
"It's so c-c-cold," Eva's teeth chattered.
She barely felt him nod as he wrapped his arms more tightly around her. "I know. Your skin is like ice, Eva." He waited to see how she was responding to his added warmth, and then shook his head. "I think you'd be warmer if it was skin-against-skin."
"W-w-what do you m-mean?" Eva could barely think straight, trembling against him. It felt like there was ice on her skin; it burned whenever Telford's hands brushed against her arms. She'd forgotten how being in space felt. She was actually surprised that she was able to breathe, but figured that, since there was oxygen on Earth, that part of her maybe-death couldn't be replicated.
"I mean that you're going to have to take the nightgown off," Telford said apologetically. Eva could only nod, desperate for any kind of warmth. Telford moved away just long enough to yank the gown unceremoniously over her head, and then pulled her back against him as close as possible. His hands rubbed at her skin vigorously, but it didn't seem to be making a difference to Eva. "Your lips are turning blue," he said softly.
Eva couldn't even reply. The cold was painful. It made her eyes burn and her mind feel sluggish. She felt her head sag against Telford's chest, and he shook her roughly. "Eva, stay with me," he commanded.
Tears poured from her eyes, tears of pain and tears of fear. "C-cold," she managed.
"I know that it's cold, but you have to stay awake, okay?" Telford pressed.
"Okay," she whispered. And then, suddenly, she couldn't breathe. Her eyes widened as she struggled to take in a breath. She couldn't speak, either, but Telford seemed to know what was going on. He quickly pinched her nose with two fingers and began breathing for her. Again, Eva felt the water boiling on her tongue.
A few more tense seconds passed, then she felt the cold slowly passing and warmth—blessed warmth!—took its place. Eva relaxed slightly against Telford, sagging against him limply. He exhaled in relief as he must have felt the warmth returning to her skin, pulling his mouth back from hers to let her breathe on her own. She snuggled closer, seeking his heat. As soon as she was properly warm, Eva fell asleep.
She woke to a strong, rhythmic thumping noise. The noise seemed oddly familiar, as if she should know what it was, but she didn't recognize it. Eva forced her eyes to open and, as her mind slowly caught up with her body, realized what a predicament she was in. Telford must have stayed with her the night before, either afraid of waking her up by moving or worried about her having another attack, because she was currently sprawled across his chest with her ear over his heart.
Well. That explained the thumping noise.
Eva moved her head slightly, seeing if he was already awake or not. She hoped he wasn't; this would be a very awkward situation if they were both conscious. Her legs were tangled with his, which made her feel rather uncomfortable. Suddenly she realized how hot she was. Sweaty hair was stuck to her forehead, and as she looked around she saw that sweat was beading on Telford's chest as well. The electric blanket was still on. Taking a chance, she sat up and turned the blanket off, reaching for her nightgown at the same time. Thank goodness she wore underwear to bed, too. She'd just pulled it over her head when Telford's breathing changed. He was waking up.
"Are you okay?" he asked without opening his eyes.
Eva smiled. "I'm fine, thanks to your quick thinking," she reassured him.
He sat up, wiping his forehead with his forearm. "Why is it so hot?"
She giggled. "I think the electric blanket was on high all night." She looked down at the blankets between them, suddenly very embarrassed. "Thank you, Colonel. You saved my life."
He laughed. Eva frowned; that was not the reaction she'd been expecting. "You're not a subordinate officer, Evaline, you don't have to call me by my rank," he chuckled.
Eva shot him a look. "It's Eva. And since I don't actually know your real first name…"
He gave her an odd look in return. "You don't?" She shook her head, and he smiled. "It's David."
"David," she repeated softly. Eva looked up to meet his eyes. "You didn't have to stay, last night, if you didn't want to," she informed him quietly.
"I wanted to," he informed her in return, just as quietly. "I wanted to make sure that you'd be okay. And I was afraid of waking you up."
Eva felt her mouth quirk up in an ironic smile. "Actually, that's the best night's sleep I've gotten in a long time," she admitted. "I was pretty bushed, to be honest."
"I'm sure you were," Telford said with a crooked smile. He got up to go, reaching down to grab his shirt from where it had been hurriedly dropped on the floor the night before. "Apparently, the aliens transported you back to Earth before you died," he mused, almost to himself.
Eva suddenly had a thought. "Where did you get all these clothes?" she asked, gesturing to her nightgown.
Telford smiled. "My sister leaves them here, just in case. I'm sure she wouldn't mind that you're using them." Then he was gone, closing the door behind him. Eva showered and dressed quickly, and went downstairs to the kitchen, intent on finding some breakfast. She was starving.
Coming into the kitchen, Eva found Telford drinking coffee with his back to her, staring out over his backyard. "Is something wrong?" she asked without thinking.
He glanced over his shoulder at her, looking thoughtful, then smiled. "No, there's nothing wrong," he assured her. "I was just thinking."
Eva poured herself a glass of water and joined him. "Thinking about what?" she inquired.
"You, of course. What else would I be thinking about?" He was teasing her, she was reasonably sure of it. So she sent him her best 'I'm going to tolerate that without a snarky comment' look, smiling.
"Ha ha, very funny."
He surprised her by shaking his head. "I'm serious, Evaline."
Eva sighed, looking at him pointedly over her glass as she took a drink. "We've been over this, Colonel, it's Eva. Why do you tease me?"
Telford smiled suddenly. "Because you're so much fun to tease, Eva."
Eva snorted. "Of course I am," she muttered, finishing off the water in her glass and setting it carefully on the counter behind her. "So you think about me, huh?" she asked, to change the subject and tease him in return.
Suddenly, Telford turned around and put his hands on either side of her body, leaning against them and pinning her to the counter. "Of course," he answered. "More and more often, these days."
Eva leaned backwards to put some distance between the two of them. "Really? Why?"
"Why do you think?" His eyes were challenging and dark. The expression in them reminded her of the time that he had talked her off of the railing where she'd been about to jump.
"I really have no idea," she answered truthfully, confused and feeling muddled in the head. His close proximity was making her heart pound ridiculously hard. She absently wondered if he could feel it.
Telford's mouth curled up slightly in a small, amused smile, his eyes softening somewhat. "Because I've been longing to do this," he said softly, and then he bent down and kissed her.
Eva's first impulse was to jerk away in shock. Her second impulse, which overtook the first almost immediately, was to kiss back. She went with the second, tilting her head slightly to the left to make things easier. Telford lifted his head a few seconds later. "You took a chance there," Eva informed him breathlessly.
His eyebrow quirked. "Did I?"
She nodded. "What if I'd pulled away and told you that I was in love with Dr. Rush, or something?"
"Are you?"
Eva looked up at him, scandalized. "No! Jeez, Colonel, the guy is probably twenty-five or thirty years older than me!"
Telford laughed. "Eva, I'm probably at least fifteen years older than you. And my name is David, remember?"
She shrugged. "Sorry, force of habit. I'm twenty-four, so you're forty?" She looked up at him skeptically. "You don't look like you're forty."
"Thirty-eight," he shrugged back, but looked almost flattered. "Close enough. Doesn't that bother you, at least a little bit?"
"Not really. My parents were fifteen years apart." Eva cocked her head. "Why? Do you want it to bother me?"
He smiled. "No. I was just checking." And then he kissed her again.