A/N: Thanks to my reviewers CharlotteAshmore, Twyla Mercedes, Erik'sTrueAngel, NeverIsTheEternal, JosephineM, crazykat77 and jewel415

So, in case you didn't read the last one, Rush and Belle had a sweet moment of calm, followed by some serious smut. Then Eli walked in on them. Onward.

Eli backed out of the room, watching the door swish shut in front of him, thankfully cutting off the sight that had greeted him when he entered. His face was burning. Okay, perhaps he should have waited for a response from inside before entering, but who would have thought Rush would be naked? With a woman? With Belle? Eli's throat bobbed in consternation as he debated what to do. He had been tasked with collecting Rush to assist in getting the ship's systems back up and running, now that he thought he knew how to bypass the malfunction. Young was impatient to get the matter resolved, and Eli was unsure how to tell him that Rush was 'indisposed'. It wasn't as though he could tell everyone what he'd just seen; Belle wouldn't appreciate it and he wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it. Or think about it. He opened and closed his hands in confusion, wondering what to do, and turned back up the corridor. Perhaps he could say Rush would be along soon. Surely he would, after… No, he really didn't want to think about it.

"Eli?" Colonel Young's voice pulled him away from his thoughts, for which Eli was grateful. "Did you find Rush?"

"I – yeah – he…" Eli cut off, unsure what to say. "He asked for an extra half hour or so," he added lamely.

"For what?" demanded Young, hands on hips. "He's suddenly taking an interest in sleeping? I need him back there now. You shouldn't let him push you around." He barged past Eli, heading for Rush's quarters.

"No no no, don't go in there!" stuttered Eli, alarmed, making a grab for his arm, but Young took no notice, slapping his hand against the door control.

Once the door had closed on Eli's horrified face, and Belle had stopped giggling, she reached up to kiss Rush again, her hand gently cupping his cheek. Her thumb stroked the soft bristles of his cheek and chin as her tongue teased his, and she smiled into his mouth as she felt him twitch inside her. She pulled back reluctantly.

"I guess we'd better get up," she sighed, and Rush grunted in agreement, kissing her once more before sliding out of her and pushing up out of bed. He snatched up his clothes, looking back at her with a slight grin on his face. Belle had rolled onto her front, her head resting on her folded arms, the sheet draped over her delightful rear end. She swung her feet up in the air behind her, crossing them at the ankles as she watched him pull on his pants. Her curls were falling over her face becomingly, and he was tempted to say bugger off to everyone else on Destiny and get back into bed with her. The ship, though. If Eli had worked out a way to fix the systems, he would be needed. He frowned as he thought the problem over; eight hours' sleep and the general contentment that his time with Belle had induced was helping his brain to form connections. There might be a way, if they changed the conduits on the sensors in the secondary navigation system to bypass the default feed… Equations ran through his head, pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

"I think I know how to fix the ship," he said quietly, and Belle smiled at him.

"Great. I'll be along to help, but think I might take a shower first," she said. "Tell them I'll be ten minutes, okay?"

At that point the door swished open and Colonel Young entered, Eli behind him in the doorway with his hand outstretched, looking alarmed. Rush lifted his eyes to the ceiling with a sigh as he fastened his pants, the small, tight muscles of his bare chest jumping.

"Does no one bloody well knock in this place?" he asked acerbically, and Young frowned at him.

"Look, Rush, I know I said twelve hours, but we really need…" He rocked back on his heels as he saw Belle lying in Rush's bed, his eyes widening. Belle pushed herself up on her elbows, chin resting on her linked fingers, and raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to say anything. Young managed to get his face under control after only a brief moment of confusion.

"Doctor French," he said carefully. "What are you doing here?"

Belle gave him a flat look. "Do you need me to draw you a diagram?" she asked dryly, and Rush snorted with amusement. Young set his mouth in a thin line.

"You know, when I told you two to get to bed, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind," he said coolly. Rush buckled his belt with a fierce tug, flicking his hair out of his eyes.

"Well, it appears that your orders were open to interpretation," he said tersely. "Now, Colonel, from your presence in my quarters, I take it you require my assistance?"

Young gave him a long look, his eyes briefly flicking to Belle, who was continuing to swing her feet back and forth behind her.

"I'll see you in the control room in five," he said brusquely, and turned on his heel as Rush and Belle shared an amused look.

Young stormed past Eli, who fell into step beside him and had to trot to keep up. They marched up the corridor in silence.

"I did tell you not to go in there," said Eli, after a while, and Young made a non-committal sound, not looking at him.

"If you think about it, maybe this could be for the best," went on Eli. "I mean, Rush isn't the easiest person to get along with, but if he's – chilling out, now and again..."

"Really don't feel like talking about this, Eli," said Young grimly. "It's none of my business. Or yours."

"Oh, sure, sure." Eli fell silent as they walked, their footsteps echoing in the empty corridors. Eli was frowning as he walked.

"What do you think she sees in him?" he said eventually. "I mean, I know he's a genius, but there are a ton of really smart people on board Destiny, and unless he's great in bed, which I really don't want to think about…"

"Eli!" snapped Young, and Eli shut up, his thoughts whirling. He would have to ask Belle. If Rush, of all people, could find a girl, then there was hope for everyone.

A few minutes later, Rush sauntered up the corridor with a spring in his step. He couldn't help feeling a surge of something that felt like triumph. He had spent the past few weeks in a state of disbelief, ever since the first time Belle had come to his quarters and ravished him. He hadn't expected it to ever happen again, and when it had, repeatedly, he wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming or hallucinating. Now, at least, he had reliable third party evidence to convince him of the fact. As a bonus, the Colonel knew about it. He smirked as he walked. He was covered in Belle, her scent still on his fingers and in the stubble on his cheeks and chin, the pain of her scratches still stinging his back and shoulders. He was tempted to go into the control room shirtless, just to rub the point home.

Colonel Young gave Rush a brief, appraising look when he entered, and Eli eyed him nervously from across the room.

"Gentlemen," said Rush, with a grin. "I understand you need my help."

The two men looked at him, Eli not quite meeting his eyes, a furtive expression on his face. Young folded his arms across his chest and leant back against one of the workstations.

"Eli?" said Young evenly. "Perhaps you could let Doctor Rush know what you need."

"I - I've had some thoughts on what we might do," began Eli, a little nervously. Rush nodded curtly as he went to one of the screens, and began inputting code at a rapid rate. Eli broke off to watch him curiously, and Young made an urgent gesture to him. Eli cleared his throat.

"Um – Doctor Rush, if you want to look at the calculations I've done, I think you'll find…"

"Mm-hmm," said Rush absently. "Eli, could you bring up the secondary navigation systems?"

"Uh – sure." Eli hurriedly pushed some buttons, and Rush tapped keys, his fingers dancing around, his gaze intense. He eyed the screen before him shrewdly, before pressing a key with vigour. He stepped back, folding his arms with a satisfied smirk on his face as the ship juddered and slipped into FTL once more.

"How the hell did you do that?" asked Eli wonderingly, and Rush smirked again.

"It appears I benefited from the rest and relaxation," he said mildly, eyeing Young, whose face was like stone. Rush grinned at him.

"I suppose I have you to thank for that, Colonel," he said dryly, and looked rather ostentatiously at Young's watch. "Speaking of, I believe I have almost two hours left before I'm officially on shift, so if you gentlemen will please excuse me…"

He grinned at them both, waggling his eyebrows, and swaggered towards the door, slipping out of sight. Eli looked at Colonel Young.

"See?" he said, with a shrug. "That's the most pleasant I've ever seen him. Plus he fixed the ship. If we had the ingredients I'd make Belle a muffin basket."

Young grunted something.

"Let me know if you have any more problems," he said grimly.

Rush felt like whistling as he made his way swiftly along Destiny's corridors to the showers. At this hour, the stalls were unoccupied. All except one. He took a quick look underneath to ensure he wasn't about to barge in on Sergeant Greer or someone as equally unappetising, and grinned to himself when he saw pale, shapely feet, one of which had been curled in his hair not one hour previously. Straightening up, he spied her clothes, folded neatly on one of the benches to the side of the room. Quickly, he peeled off his own clothes, dropping them in a pile next to Belle's, and opened the door to the shower. He took a moment to admire her pale body, the curve of her waist and hips and the groove of her spine, the movement of her firm muscles beneath her soft skin. He stepped in, moving up behind her and sliding his hands over her hips. Belle shrieked in alarm, wrenching out of his grip and covering herself with her hands before she realised it was him.

"You bastard!" she snapped. "You scared me half to death!"

"I remembered what you said about the shower," he said, grinning at her, and her expression softened. She let her arms fall to her sides, and he let his eyes roam over her breasts, his lips parting as he took in her beauty. He could feel himself hardening as he looked at her, and her eyes automatically dropped to his groin.

"Again?" she giggled. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"Oh, I'm ready," he whispered, reaching for her. Her eyes sparkled up at him, her smile warm and inviting.

"Well," she said, putting her hands on his chest and sidling up to him. "What are you waiting for?"

She tilted her head back for his kiss, and he plunged his hands into her hair, his mouth finding hers, tongue sliding between her lips and making her moan. He pulled away, kissing across her jawline, licking at her earlobe before kissing her again.

"God, you taste good!" he breathed, and pushed her back against the wall of the shower, kissing down her neck to run his lips across her collarbones. Belle let out a squeak of pleasure as his hands slipped down to her breasts, cupping them, squeezing.

"I thought you didn't want to risk it in here," she said breathlessly, clinging to his shoulders as his mouth moved down to suck at her nipple. She let out a moan, and felt him smile against her. His tongue circled her nipple, and Belle watched it harden, the feel of his stubble against her skin a delightful sensation. He kissed the dark pink bud, flicking his eyes up to hers.

"I fixed the ship," he said, by way of explanation, and Belle rolled her eyes.

"So, what? I'm your payment?"

He chuckled, his breath hot against her skin, a mischievous light in his eyes.

"No, Belle, I'm just feeling immensely pleased with myself and wanted to share that with you."

"So," she said, with a rueful grin. "Now Colonel Young's seen me in your bed, anything goes, hmm?"

"Does it make me a terrible person if I say I'm glad he caught us?" he asked, with a sly grin, and she giggled.

"Admit it, you're happy that he caught us."

"Well, I did enjoy the look on his face," he admitted, kissing his way back up her body to bite gently on her neck.

"Hm." Belle was amused. "You know, I wish your arrogance wasn't so bloody attractive."

"No you don't." He raised his head to kiss her again, his tongue parting her lips, and she pressed her body against his, her fingers running over the ridges on his back where she had raked him in her pleasure. Rush slid his hands down her body, one cupping her buttock and the other sliding between her legs, teasing her. Belle moaned into his mouth, her hands tightening on his shoulders as he slipped his fingers inside her, the knuckle of his thumb rubbing against her. He pulled back, waggling his eyebrows as his fingers pushed deeper inside, working rhythmically.

"Mmmm." His expression was positively indecent, and she blushed, making him grin wickedly.

"So wet for me, love," he rasped, his accent thickening. "So beautifully tight." He used the pad of his thumb, slippery with her juices, circling her clit and making her mewl.

"Do you – oh! – do you want to go back to bed?" she gasped, and he ran his tongue up her neck to her ear, nibbling on her lobe.

"No. I want to have you here," he growled. "Will you let me, beautiful?"

"It was my idea, dumbass," she breathed, and reached down to grab him. She found him hard and ready, and rubbed her thumb over the tip of his cock, spreading the bead of moisture she found there and making him groan.

"Fuck, Belle!" he gasped.

"Yes!" she whispered, in his ear, enjoying the feel of him shiver at the touch of her lips. Her hand stroked him firmly. "You want to fuck me, I know it. I want it, too. Hard and fast, Rush, what do you say?"

In answer he withdrew his fingers and bent slightly, lifting her up and parting her legs so that he could get in between them. Belle raised her arms, looping them over the top of the shower stall to take some of her weight. He pressed himself against her, fumbling a little as he lined them up, and locked eyes with her, his breath coming in pants.

"Do it!" she whispered fiercely, and he pushed up inside her with a groan, filling her, making her moan and throw her head back, her legs wrapping around his waist.

"God, you feel incredible!" he whispered, his hands gripping her hips. His forehead was pressed against hers, his scent enveloping her, and she closed her eyes with bliss as he pulled out and thrust deeper, taking her slight weight on his arms as he moved up and down. She arched her body into his, loving the feel of his mouth on her skin, on her neck, the sharp pain of his teeth worrying the skin of her shoulder. His lips trailed up her throat, pulling at her earlobe, his breath sending shivers through her.

"I could do this all day, Belle, I swear to you," he breathed. "I could keep you in my bed and fuck you all day long!" He spoke in time with his thrusts, his voice a low growl, his body creating a wonderful friction against her, and Belle cried out at the feel of it, sweat beading on her skin and causing her curls to stick to her forehead. She could feel her climax building, the bliss waiting to take her, and she let her head fall forwards so that she could look at him.

"Harder!" she gasped. "Oh God, Rush! Harder!"

He redoubled his efforts, slamming her back against the wall, hitting the sweet spot within her that made her come apart in his arms. She was almost there, she could feel it, ecstasy rising up, threatening to flood through her, wanting to claim her. His eyes were alight with a burning intensity, his jaw tight, lips parted, and he shifted her weight onto one arm, reaching down between them with his other hand to rub at her clit. Belle let out a cry of release and pleasure, her arms swinging around his neck to hold onto him as she felt herself break, her face pushed into his hair. His movements quickened, pulling muffled shrieks from her, making her jerk and twitch, and she felt him come, heard his own cry of release, felt burning heat pass from his body into hers. Off-balance, he toppled to the side, and Belle squawked as they both hit the floor. He rolled off her onto his back, chest heaving, steam rising up from their bodies, and Belle winced, rubbing at her hip.

"Sorry," he gasped, running hands over his face and drawing up his knees. "Not as young as I was."

She made a sort of purring sound, which she had never heard herself utter before, and turned to throw her arm across him, pillowing her head on his chest.

"Whoa," she said, and he nodded, unable to speak.

Belle tried to catch her breath, snuggling against his side.

"We should get clean," she said sleepily, and he grunted agreement, putting his arm around her and pulling her tight against him.

"A moment," he said wearily, and they lay on the floor of the shower, the strange cleansing mist covering them. Belle recovered first, sitting up and leaning over to kiss him.

"How long until we're on shift?" she asked tiredly, and he groaned.

"An hour, perhaps. We should probably get something to eat."

Belle combed her hair with her fingers, stretching contentedly.

"Okay, I'm getting clean," she said, and stood up, running her hands over her body. He pushed himself up on his elbows to watch her, slender hands running over her pale, flawless skin, all firm muscles and soft curves. He was absolutely convinced that she knew she was driving him crazy.

"D'you think Colonel Young will tell everyone about us?" she asked, and he frowned.

"He didn't say anything to me about what happened," he said. "Would it bother you if he did?"

"Of course not." She smiled at him over her shoulder. "I just – wasn't sure if you wanted to keep things private, that's all."

"I wasn't aware that there was a 'thing' to keep private," he said honestly. "What exactly is going on here?"

Belle hesitated, lifting her hair up off the back of her neck for a moment and turning slowly before letting it tumble down her back once more.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I think there's definitely something, though. Don't you?"

He smiled, his entire face softening. "Yes."

He got to his feet, putting his hands on her shoulders and pulling her towards him, and Belle let out a murmur of contentment as his mouth found hers. Her kiss was warm and sweet, and he let his fingers sink into her hair, enjoying the feel of her against him. She pulled back after a minute or two, blue eyes gleaming with warmth and mischief.

"Careful, Rush," she said softly. "You'll start to make me think you actually care."

He grinned, pulling her back against him, his hands framing her face as his gaze locked onto hers.

"Good," he growled, and kissed her again.

A/N: Bless Rush, he's already falling head over heels for his blue-eyed beauty.

I know I said I was expecting them to argue, but they wanted to be all sweet in the showers, so who am I to argue? Next one-shot has to involve a big-ass fight. And smut. Possibly at the same time.