I'm so happy this series won The Espenson Awards for Smut: Best Anyelle and Best Rushbelle *does happy dance*. I love writing my Rushbelle and thank you so much to everyone who nominated and voted for the series.

This is the second of my 200-follower celebration prompts on tumblr. Melissabosquez prompted: 'Oops, Belle's pregnant! I need to see Daddy!Rush so bad!'.

Well, you asked for it. This is a lot more angsty than I originally planned.


Rush was concentrating. He was using the rough lump of chalk in his hand, worm smooth at one edge, to scratch out equations on the walls of the corridor. Six of the large panels were already filled with his workings, and he periodically took a step back, frowned to himself, and walked up and down the corridor to read the whole of it. He tapped the chalk against his leg, not noticing the smear of white he left on his pants, as he read over what he had scrawled on the latest panel, and scowled.

"Fucking thing," he muttered under his breath, and scrubbed out a couple of mathematical symbols with the heel of his hand, replacing them with others. This bloody ship would be the death of him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to control the countdown and the ship's autopilot, and he knew they needed to find a way past the ridiculous anomalies in the system that were preventing him from finally taking control of his ship. And she was his, every nut, bolt and wire of her. She had been waiting for him, all this time.

"You're not helping me out here," he muttered, running his eyes over his calculations again. Destiny's engines continued to hum, the ship slipping through space at incredible speed, moving away from their last stop on an alien planet with plenty of wildlife but no civilisation beyond the Gate. He was beginning to wonder if they would ever find somewhere they could rest for a while. Sure, he was quite happy spending his days tinkering with the systems, but some shore leave would be welcome to the others. Not that he cared what they thought.

"Daddy!" A small voice pulled him out of his pondering, and he looked around to see TJ walking up the corridor, holding Lily's hand. His four-year-old daughter beamed at him, toddling towards him on sturdy little legs, her dark curls bouncing. His face broke into a broad grin, and he squatted down so that she could run to him.

"Here," said TJ, smiling. "Belle had to go lie down, so you're on Rushlette duty."

Rush swung his daughter up, settling her into the crook of his left arm, and she nestled against him with her thumb in her mouth, gazing sleepily at TJ with large brown eyes.

"How has she been?" he asked, and TJ rolled her eyes.

"Like father, like daughter," she said dryly. "She called Greer a poophead when he told her to stop running around."

Rush barked a laugh. "That's my girl," he said fondly. "Always speaking the truth." He kissed Lily's hot little cheek, and she screwed up her nose.

"Whicksers!" she complained, scrubbing at her face where his beard growth had tickled her. Rush nuzzled her cheek, making her squeal and bat him with her hands before throwing her tiny arms around his neck and planting a wet kiss on him. He settled her in his arms, turning to face TJ and flicking his hair out of his eyes.

"Is Belle alright?" he asked, concerned, and TJ shrugged.

"Just tired. She's been overdoing it again. You should tell her; she never listens to me."

"And you're assuming she'd listen to me?" he grumbled. He kissed the top of Lily's head absently. "I'll talk to her. Thanks, TJ."

"Anytime. Bye, lemon drop." She brushed Lily's nose with a finger, making her giggle, and sauntered back up the corridor.

"Okay sweetheart," he said gently, and walked up and down in front of the panels. "What do you think of this, then?"

Lily shifted a little in his arms, pursing her lips thoughtfully as she looked at his scrawls. He pointed to one of the symbols, a looping figure-eight lying on its side.

"Do you remember what this means?" he asked, and she bit her lip in a way that was so reminiscent of Belle that he smiled and kissed her cheek again.

"'Finity," she said decidedly. "For ever and ever."

"Clever girl. And this one?"

"Time," she said, and yawned. "Will it take 'finity to solve the puzzle, Daddy?"

"No, treasure, it won't take me forever," he said wryly, even though it felt like it at times. "Why don't I finish for today, and we'll go and get some dinner, hmm?"

"Need to solve the puzzle," Lily insisted, pouting, and Rush sighed.

"You can help me later, how about that?" he reasoned. "We'll take some dinner to Mummy, instead."

She twisted in his arms, looking straight at him. "Mummy's coming now."


"Colonel!" Brody looked up from the monitors, his face rigid with shock. "We've got company! Someone dialled the Gate!"

"How the hell…" Young stormed from the room, snatching the walkie from his belt as he marched along.

"James!" he barked. "Get your men down to the Gate room, now! We got incoming!"

"It's okay, Colonel, I'm already there." James's voice sounded relieved. "It's our people. We got everyone back. I don't know how the hell they did it, but they found us."

Young stopped in his tracks. "They – dialled the ship from all that distance?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Affirmative, sir. They're all here, safe and sound."

"Young out," he said, dazed, and hooked the walkie back on his belt, increasing his pace. When he reached the Gate room, he wanted to sag with relief at seeing all his crew back safe. He pumped Scott's hand and clapped him on the back, the Lieutenant confirming that everyone was accounted for and that they had managed to bring back plenty of food. Belle was being hugged by TJ, and Eli joined in, making the two women giggle. Young quickly gave orders for the food to be taken away and stored, and raised his voice to request that the entire away-team attend for a de-briefing at 22:00 hours. Belle was smiling as she lifted her head to listen, but her gaze immediately swept the room around him, a slight frown forming on her face. She pulled away from Eli and TJ and approached him, and Young's mouth set in a grim line. He knew what her first question would be.

"How did you do it?" he asked, to forestall her. "We didn't think it was possible to dial the ship from so far away. We thought we'd lost you all."

Belle closed her mouth, swallowing what she was about to say.

"Eli," she said simply. "He worked it out. It was amazing."

"It was luck," admitted Eli ruefully, looking up from where he had been hugging TJ. "I'm not sure I could do it again."

"Doesn't matter," said Young calmly, secretly thinking that he would have Eli working on nothing else until he worked out how to get them home. "As long as you're all…"

"Where's Rush?" asked Belle. "I would have thought he'd be here. It's been days."

Young hesitated, and she frowned, putting her hands on her hips.

"Colonel?" she asked evenly, and he grimaced slightly, thumbs tucked into his belt.

"We couldn't find a way back to you," he said flatly. "He's using the chair."

Belle's eyes widened, and she took a step forward, hands raised, the fingers curled into claws.

"And you didn't stop him?" she spat, and Young laughed humourlessly.

"Are you serious? Stop Rush when he's made his mind up about something? Sneaky bastard went behind my back, of course."

Belle opened her mouth furiously, then shook her head, barging past him and making for the door.

"Belle!" Eli trotted to catch up with her as she made her way to where she knew Rush would be, her arms pumping in fury. If the stupid bastard got himself killed, she'd find a way to resurrect him just so she could kill him all over again.


Rush walked up and down the corridor, his brain whirring, Lily lying contentedly in his arms. He thought she had fallen asleep, but every now and then she would make a tiny noise, like a cat that had been disturbed, and would murmur something under her breath. It was a pleasant distraction from the constant calculations he was doing in his head, and strangely her murmurings usually led him to think of something he hadn't considered before. He chalked extra figures on the middle panel, eyes roving to see if his equation balanced, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Rush!" Young's peremptory tone, unwelcome as ever, pierced his concentration, and Rush scowled. Lily sighed, stretching a little.

"What is it, Colonel?" asked Rush acerbically, as Young strode towards him down the corridor. The taller man put his hands on his hips, his face a picture of calm determination.

"I need you back at the Gate room," he said. "Brody's having a problem with fluctuating readings."

"Get Eli to help him," said Rush dismissively, turning away.

"Eli's not around. I need you," said Young firmly. Rush sighed in frustration.

"Colonel, as you can see, I'm at a very important stage in my calculations," he said impatiently.

"Well, it's waited this long, surely it can wait a while longer," suggested Young. "It's not as though this is an emergency, right?"

Rush hesitated. There was something in the Colonel's words that didn't make sense to him, something that was ringing an alarm bell in the back of his mind, but it was a weak and feeble thing, and disappeared when he tried to look too closely at it.

"Well, I suppose I could take ten minutes," he began.

"Need to finish this," interrupted Lily, having taken her thumb out of her mouth and scowled at Young. Rush snickered.

"Apparently my daughter wants me to carry on working here," he said mildly. "Go find Eli, Colonel, I'll be along as soon as I can."

Young's eyes narrowed. "I was giving you an order, Rush," he said coldly.

"Yes, and we both know how well I respond to those," said Rush sarcastically.

"Colonel Young, stinky bum," whispered Lily, in a sing-song voice in his ear, and Rush choked back a laugh as the Colonel turned his gaze on the child.

"I heard you sassed Sergeant Greer, young lady," he said sternly, and Lily sent him a disarming smile, showing her tiny white teeth. Young rolled his eyes.

"Good job you have your mother's looks," he said dryly. "You've got your father's lack of respect for authority down pat." He turned his attention back to Rush. "Ten minutes, Rush. I'm serious." He turned on his heel and marched off back down the corridor. Lily stuck out her tongue at his back, and Rush curled his lip.

"Well, perhaps we can get something done now," he muttered, and turned back to his work, frowning as he looked it over. Lily wriggled in his arms, and he set her down, watching her out of the corner of his eye. She had found a chunk of chalk that had broken off the larger piece he held, and was drawing on the floor with it, loops and spirals. He left her to it, beginning to pace up and down once more. Numbers and figures whirled in his head, dancing around one another, as his brain tried to make connections.

"Binary," said Lily suddenly, and Rush started.

"What?" he asked, and she shrugged, going back to writing on the floor. He frowned, tapping the chalk against his lower lip and not noticing that he was giving himself a white streak on his chin. Movement caught his eye. Lily had finished drawing and was walking very upright and stiff, stomping from one foot to another as she did so.

"Come here, princess," he said gently, and Lily frowned.

"I'm not a princess, I'm a dinosaur," she said, as though it should have been obvious.

"Right, of course," he said, only thrown for a moment. "And a fearsome one you make, too. What do dinosaurs eat, do you think?"

Lily looked thoughtful, chewing her lip. "Dead things," she said decidedly, lifting her arms up, reaching for him. He picked her up, settling her in the crook of his arm, and she looked up at him owlishly, wide brown eyes that matched his own.

"Dinner time," she said solemnly. "Or the dinosaurs will eat you."


Belle burst into the room, TJ and Eli running in her wake. Rush was in the chair, motionless, the clamps on his temples and around his wrists digging into his skin. Belle hurried to his side.

"Rush!" she said desperately. "I'm back! I'm okay!"

There was no response, not that she had expected there to be. His eyes were closed, his chest barely moving with his breath. She reached up to touch his face, and his skin was warm, his stubble tickling the palm of her hand as it always did. She bit her lip.

"How long has he been like this?" she asked, looking around, and TJ sighed.

"Since Destiny jumped and left the planet behind," she said simply. "You should have seen him, Belle. We thought he was going crazy – crazier than usual, I mean. Colonel Young wanted me to sedate him."

Belle scowled.

"I wouldn't do it," TJ added hastily. "I talked to Rush, told him we'd find a way to get you guys back, even though I didn't think there was one. He seemed to calm down. I guess that's when he thought of the chair."

"He's trying to tap into Destiny's systems," nodded Eli. "He thinks he can solve the problems we've been having that way." He shrugged. "I guess if anyone can get through to Destiny, it's gonna be Rush."

"Not if he bloody kills himself in the process!" said Belle sharply.

"We got some fluids into him," said TJ, pointing to the IV hanging from Rush's arm. "That's as much as we can do, Belle. He's hydrated. He won't die." She hesitated. "Not from that, anyway."

Belle ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "What the hell is he doing? What did he say?"

TJ sighed, putting an arm around her. "He was muttering to himself for hours. Said the ship was hiding something. Said his calculations were right – you know how he gets. It's the countdown, the autopilot. He's convinced he can get around it."

Belle shrugged out of his grip, stroking a hand over Rush's shoulder and down his arm, feeling the warm familiarity of his body. She bit her lip, watching for any sign of movement from him. He sat motionless, his eyes closed, breathing lightly through his nose, as though he were sleeping.


Belle was still in bed when Rush carried Lily back to their quarters, and she looked up with a tired smile as the two of them entered. She sat up, kissing the sleepy child before Rush put her to bed in the small adjoining room and turned on the tiny nightlight. He yawned as he walked back into the main room, stripping off his shirt. Belle was watching him, leaning on one elbow in the bed.

"You look tired," she said, concerned, and he nodded ruefully.

"Young made me help Brody out with something," he said. "I'm close on the answer to this problem, Belle, I know it! I just…" He shrugged and pulled a face, dropping his shirt over the back of a chair and bending to tug off his boots.

"You should rest more," said Belle gently. "Don't exhaust yourself with this. I need you."

He sighed, letting his head drop. She was right, of course, but a lifetime of being a workaholic wasn't something that was easy to cast aside. He finished undressing and climbed into bed with her, spooning up against her back and making her murmur contentedly.

"TJ said you've been overdoing it, as well," he said quietly, and imagined that she was pulling a face.

"I'm okay," she said. "Just tired. She's right, though, I should start looking after myself."

Rush ran his hand over the curving mound of her belly, which was already starting to swell with their second child. He hoped the birth would be easier for her this time. He had never been more terrified when she was in labour, and Destiny had never seemed more alien. They had no pain relief, and Belle had been scared. Camille had offered to use the communications stones so the crew back on Earth could send a midwife, but even so it had been a hard birth for Belle, and he wouldn't have been surprised if she had never let him touch her again.

He remembered her lying in the medical room, crushing his hand almost beyond repair.

"Just – just breathe, sweetheart," he had said helplessly, as another scream was pulled from her, and Belle had shot him a baleful glare that almost flayed the skin from his bones.

"Thank you for your fucking advice, Doctor, that is so helpful!" she had snapped. "For a moment there I was gonna forget and asphyxiate! Thank God you were here!"

"Okay," he had said gently, stroking her hair back. "How about you count between contractions with me? It might take your mind off things."

"How about you go and stick your head up your arse, Rush!"

"I'm only trying to…"

"This is all your fucking fault!" she had screeched, squeezing his hand again and making him grimace. "You fucking well did this to me, you bastard!"

"Well, I seem to recall you were more than happy to…" Rush had cut off at TJ's hasty shake of the head. The midwife had looked at him as though he were deranged.

"Sorry, darling. You just hang onto me and call me all the names you want, how about that?" he had suggested tentatively.

"Fuck off! Arsehole! Wanker!" Belle had put her head to the side and screamed through another contraction.

"My God, this is like a scene from The Exorcist," murmured TJ, recoiling as Belle glared at her. Rush had taken a damp cloth and pressed it to her brow.

"There," he had said softly. "How's that?"

"Oh, just fucking brilliant!" snapped Belle. "For a moment there I'd completely forgotten I'm trying to squeeze a person out of myself!"

"It's almost over," he had soothed.

"No it fucking isn't! You're a lying bastard!"

"Just push when you're ready, sweetheart." He had winced as she almost dislocated his fingers. "That's my girl."

"I hate you!" she had said venomously, and he had sighed.

"I know, darling. I hate me too."

It had been worth it, though, when his tiny daughter was wrapped in a square of blanket and placed in his arms, and he had felt an outpouring of love like nothing he'd ever experienced. Belle had been crying with pain and exhaustion, and the tears had fallen down his own cheeks as the helpless bundle waved a tiny arm at him, her face screwed up in protest at being dragged into the world. Raising a child had not been easy aboard Destiny, but she was growing into a beautiful little version of Belle. His eyes, though. The stubborn nature of both her parents. She was exceptionally bright, too, and he had revelled in teaching her to read and count, displaying a patience that had amazed the rest of the crew.

Rush was looking forward to this new child they had made being born, and bent his head to nuzzle Belle affectionately, slipping his hand down between her legs and making her purr in pleasure. Encouraged by the response, Rush moved back a little, rolling Belle onto her back and kissing down her neck.

"I thought you were tired," she said, with a giggle, and in answer he flicked out his tongue and ran it down her chest, pulling the vest up so that her breasts were exposed to him. Belle made a contented sound deep in her throat as he suckled at her.

"You know, I wasn't planning on getting ravished tonight," she murmured, and he lifted his head to gaze up at her.

"I could stop if you like," he whispered.

"God, no! Don't you dare!" She let her head roll back, and he grinned, feeling a surge of pride as he made his way down her belly. He gently hooked his fingers under the hem of her panties, pulling them down over her hips and off her legs, and Belle's breath quickened as she was exposed.

"Is Lily asleep?" she asked, as his lips trailed over the tiny silver stretch marks below her navel.

"Out like a light," he said softly, raising his eyes to gaze at her. "Do you think you can be quiet, love?"

She grinned mischievously. "Probably not, but I'll do my best." She let her head fall back with a tiny moan as he ran his tongue along the seam at the top of her leg. He breathed her in with a contented sound, and she murmured something, letting her legs fall open a little further. Rush gently slipped his tongue in between the soft folds of flesh between her thighs, making Belle moan and lift her hips a little. He slid his hands up over her knees, pushing her legs further apart, feeling himself growing hard against the bedclothes, and began to use his tongue against her. He circled her clit with the tip, making her wriggle, and then stroked the flat of it against her, grinning to himself as she swore under her breath and threw an arm up over her face, her other hand sinking into his hair. His hand slid up her thigh until his fingers found her entrance, and he gently slipped two fingers inside her, sliding slowly in as the tip of his tongue flicked against her clit. She tasted amazing, all honey and musk and the salty-sweet tang of her arousal, and he couldn't get enough of her, burying his face in her and coating his skin with her juices.

"God!" she gasped, and he grinned, swirling his tongue against her.

"Hardly," he growled, and Belle moaned, gripping the sides of his head with her inner thighs as he began to move his fingers in and out of her, her hips rising up and down with his movements. He groaned as he felt her body stiffening, her muscles tensing, wet flesh clenching around his fingers, and Belle exhaled with a muffled scream, biting into the soft muscle of her forearm to stifle her cries as she came. He tasted her on his lips, sweet nectar in his mouth, and withdrew his fingers, slipping his tongue inside her, pushing as deep as he could go.

"I need you!" she whispered, and he kissed her inner thighs, kissed up over the curve of her belly, his hands finding her breasts, cupping her. Belle pushed up into him with a mewling sound, her fingers sliding down over his shoulders as he slid further up. His mouth fastened on her hardened nipple, and she bit back a cry as he ran his tongue back and forth across it.

"Dammit, Rush!" she breathed. "Would you get on me this minute?"

He grinned, moving up to kiss her, her mouth hot and sweet as their lips met and her legs tightened around his waist. She reached down between them, gripping him tightly and moving her wet flesh against him, making him hiss through clenched teeth and shake his head.

"Bloody tease!" he muttered, and she giggled, relenting, allowing him to push into her, to slide deep inside, where he belonged. She hummed in contentment and lifted her head for his kiss, sighing into his mouth as his fingers danced across her face and pushed through her hair. His tongue teased hers, and their lips parted, the familiar soft scratch of his stubble brushing along her cheek as he trailed his mouth around to her ear, nibbling at her skin. Belle wrapped her arms around him with a low yowl, and he quickened his movements a little, pressing her down into the bed, biting into the soft flesh of her throat, groaning at the feel of her around him. Her fingertips dug into his shoulders as he moved.

"That's good!" she whispered, and he grinned as he kissed her, slipping his tongue back inside her mouth, loving the feel of being inside Belle, bathed in her light, in her bright beauty. He could feel himself nearing his peak, every muscle in his body tensing, and Belle sensed it, lifting her hips and grinding against him to increase the friction. He pulled his mouth from hers, gazing down into her blue eyes, dark with want and staring into his soul. She was close, too. He pressed his forehead to hers, breathing her in.

"Bite your tongue, my love," he growled, and Belle kissed him hungrily, hands plunging into his hair, tugging at it. She bit his lip, instead, and he swore under his breath as he pumped against her, coming apart in her arms, white light bursting in his head. She pushed her face into his shoulder, muffling her cries as she came, and his arms slid around her and held her close, rocking their bodies together in the blissful aftermath. He pressed soft kisses to her neck and shoulder as he tried to get his breathing under control, a trickle of sweat on his brow.

"What are you doing?" The sound of their daughter's curious voice made Belle start, and Rush groan and collapse onto her. Belle dug him in the ribs, and he pushed himself up on his hands, turning his head. Lily was wrinkling her nose.

"You're always kissing!" she said disgustedly.

"Why aren't you in bed, sweetie?" asked Belle, and Rush sighed, slipping out of her and rolling onto his back with his arm over his eyes.

"Not sleepy," said Lily stubbornly, and Belle ruffled her hair.

"Okay, why don't we read a story, then?" she offered.

"I want Daddy to tell me a story," said Lily, lifting her chin. Rush ran his hands over his face, breathing in Belle's scent as he did so.

"Fine," he said wearily. "Go get into bed, treasure, and I'll be there in a minute."

Lily trotted off happily, and Belle smiled as she watched her go.

"You do realise we'll have two of them doing this before long?" said Rush dryly. "It may be time to get some bigger quarters. With doors that lock."

Belle chuckled. "Good luck getting Young to agree to that," she said. "I can't see him wanting to add to the possibility of there being more Rushspawn running around the place."

Rush smirked, and turned to kiss her, the warmth of her skin pressing against him, her lips soft on his. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, pulling on his jeans and shirt and padding barefoot to his daughter's room. Lily was propped up on her pillow with the covers drawn up to her chin, looking expectant.

"Okay," said Rush, holding up the two books of fairy stories that Belle had made for her from the remaining notebooks on Destiny. "What'll it be?"

"Tell me one of your stories," said Lily, and Rush dropped the books on the bedside table, pinching the bridge of his nose to clear his vision. He sat down on the edge of the bed, patting her leg through the covers.

"Fine," he sighed. "This is the story of Johannes Kepler, the elusive laws of planetary motion, and the evil Catholic Counter-Reformation."

"I want a good story," said Lily dryly, and Rush chuckled.

"Okay, okay, let me see if I can keep you interested," he said, and he started to tell her about Kepler, about the man who had been tasked with deciphering the secrets behind the orbit of Mars, and had tried to ignore what his own observations were telling him about the fact that its orbit was elliptical. Rush even fished the chalk out of his pocket to draw a map of the solar system on her wall, complete with the planetary orbits.

"There," he said, pointing to the third planet out from the Sun, a tiny, chalked circle representing their distant home. "That's Earth. Where everyone on this ship came from, apart from you."

"I'm a Destiny girl," she announced proudly, and he grinned.

"Indeed. You have dual nationality, Miss Destiny-Earthling." He flipped her a salute, and Lily giggled.

"So Kepler discovered, contrary to what was accepted as truth at the time, that the planetary orbits were elliptical," he went on, pointing to the rings he had drawn on the wall. "He didn't believe what his observations were telling him at first, of course."

"Why didn't he believe it?" asked Lily curiously.

Rush leaned forward a little. "Sometimes," he said. "People can have so much belief in what they think to be true, in the wisdom of others that went before them, that they can't consider any other possibility. Never think that you know everything, sweetheart, okay? Never have so much belief in what you think you know that you don't look for different answers. There's always more to learn. What you thought was true can be disproven. That's how we grow, how we learn."

"Mmm." Lily burrowed down in the bedclothes a little way. "I like learning."

"I know you do. He was wrong about how he got the answers, too," he added. "But that doesn't make them any less valid."

"TJ says it's okay to get stuff wrong," put in Lily.

"TJ is quite right. And this theory," he pointed at the wall. "We can apply this to planets that the Stargate opens up on, even all the way out here. I could tell you about how Kepler's third law helps us to calculate the revolutionary period for each planet."

Lily yawned widely, and Rush grinned.

"But I won't," he added.

"Good, I'm sleepy."

"The important thing to remember," he finished. "Is that you can find the answer that everyone is looking for, even though you don't understand how you got there."

"But you want to know why, right?" she asked sleepily, and Rush smiled.

"Yes, darling, I want to know why," he agreed. Lily snuggled down in the bed, tugging the blanket around her chin.

"I like that space has rules," she murmured, and he grinned widely, bending to kiss her soft curls.

"Only you could turn a bedtime story into a lecture." Belle's dry tone from the doorway made him grin, and he got up from the bed, going to Belle and touching her cheek gently.

"Ah, come on!" he growled. "She's gonna be brilliant!"

She bit her lip, amusement sparkling in her eyes, and reached up to press her mouth to his.


Belle kissed him gently, feeling the slight warmth of his lips. She ran her hand across his cheeks, parting his lips with her tongue, but there was no response. Feeling tears welling in her eyes, she pulled away, stroking his hair back from his face. The others were watching her, and she knew that the small, intimate moment must appear strange to them. She was well aware that most of the crew considered her a little crazy because of her relationship with Rush; certainly the military personnel made no secret of the fact that they didn't trust him, and many were now wary of her. Quite why sleeping with someone made you less trustworthy, Belle wasn't entirely sure. She certainly hadn't planned for it to develop into something more than bloody great sex. She hadn't intended to fall in love with him.

"Come back to me, you stubborn bastard!" she said softly.


Rush was pacing up and down the corridor. He muttered to himself as he walked, gesturing fitfully in the air in front of him. Lily was sitting with her feet tucked under her, drawing on the floor with her little piece of chalk and watching him as he marched up and down, his pacing getting quicker the more frustrated he got. He couldn't remember her getting there, couldn't remember much other than getting up while Belle was sleeping and making his way along the silent corridors of Destiny to this spot, where he seemed to have been working on the same bloody problem forever.

"Can't see it!" he growled, tapping at the side of his head with a fingertip. "Slips away every time! What the bloody hell is wrong with me?"

"Talking to yourself again, Rush?" Young's dry voice cut through his mutterings, and the blurred, murky picture that had been forming in Rush's brain disappeared like a pricked bubble. He whirled to face the Colonel, his face dark with outrage at being interrupted again.

"I'm working! What the bloody hell do you want?" he demanded. Young was impassive.

"I called you on the walkie," he said mildly. "You're on shift. Get your ass down there. Doctor Park needs a break."

"Someone else can fill in," said Rush, waving a hand dismissively.

"No." Young met his eyes, calm and implacable, and Rush marched up to him, glaring up at the taller man.

*I said I'm fucking working!" he shouted. "Who the fuck do you think covers for me at three in the fucking morning, hmm? Fucking no one! Go round up one of the others from wherever the hell they're getting drunk or screwing their brains out or whatever it is they do for the multitudinous hours they're not doing any bloody work, and tell them I said for them to pull their fucking weight!" He waved his hand up and down the panels of scrawled equations. "If you think I'm going anywhere until I've got this bloody thing to make sense, you can fuck off!"

Young raised an eyebrow, and nodded over Rush's shoulder.

"Might want to watch your language," he said calmly.

"Fuck," said Lily pleasantly, and Rush whirled back to face her, his eyes widening, holding up his hands pleadingly.

"No, no, don't say that, sweetheart," he said hastily.

"Fuck!" she said, clapping her hands with a gleeful expression. "Fuckety-fuckety-fuck-fuck-fuck!"

Rush groaned, running a hand over his eyes. He could feel Young's amusement, and wanted to strangle the man.

"Well, perhaps I will try and find someone else, and leave you to your baby-sitting," the colonel said, amused. "It appears you're doing a bang-up job raising a child, Rush."

"Fuck off!" said Lily cheerfully, and Rush snorted with laughter as Young frowned and stalked away.

"Please don't say that, treasure, it's not nice," he said, more sternly. "Your mother will kill me if she hears that coming out of you."

"You said it, Daddy," she said, frowning slightly.

"Yes, well, I'm not nice either," he grumbled, rubbing tired eyes. He ruffled her hair absent-mindedly, casting his eyes over the loops and swirls she had drawn on the floor. Something was prickling in his mind, that same something that had almost swum to the surface before Young interrupted his train of thought, but it slipped through his fingers like smoke when he reached for it.

"Go back to the start," declared Lily, and Rush turned to look at her.

"What was that?" he asked softly, and she smiled up at him, brown eyes gleaming.

He eyed the shapes she had drawn, frowning as his tired brain seemed to form them into galaxies, into the orbits of planets around distant stars. Something clicked in his brain, and he shook his head, muttered an imprecation under his breath, and tugged his T-shirt off, using it to wipe the walls clean in a frenzy.

"It's obvious," he muttered. "It's fucking obvious, as fundamental as bloody Kepler. And if we can monitor the binary signals we can navigate without the ship's interference…" He trailed off, thinking hard.

"Back to the start," he nodded decidedly, and fished out his chalk again. He worked feverishly, covering the first panel in a little under two minutes. His head ached, a sharp pain starting in his right temple. He tried to ignore it, to push it away. He was close, he could feel it. He was too fucking close.

"You're bleeding, Daddy," said Lily solemnly, and Rush started, brushing at his nose with the back of his hand. A bright red smear stained it, and he sniffed, shaking his head and turning to his work once more. He couldn't stop now.


Belle watched in horror as a thick red line spread down from Rush's right nostril, dark as wine.

"Oh God, he's bleeding!" she said helplessly, and turned to Young furiously. "Do something, for fuck's sake!"

"Belle, we can't do anything," said Young patiently. "Pulling him out now could kill him. He has to come through this on his own." Or not, his tone implied, and Belle shook her head fervently, reaching out to touch Rush's cheek, her thumb running over his stubble, brushing his hair back from his face.

"Please," she whispered. "Please come back to me, you bloody idiot!"

"Belle," said Young gently. "You should get some rest. This isn't going to bring him back."

Belle bit back a snarl, turning to face him with fire in her eyes.

"If that's all the help you're going to be, Colonel, I'd prefer to be left alone with him," she said icily. "No doubt you have more important things to be doing than worrying about the man who's pulled all our arses out of the fire time after time."

She turned her back on him, and Young sighed, raising his eyebrows at TJ.

"I'll stay out of the way," he said wearily, and she nodded, squeezing his arm briefly as she turned back to Belle and Eli.

"What's going through his mind, do you think?" asked Belle quietly, and Eli shrugged, moving a little closer.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Rush seemed to think that whoever sits in the chair might be able to take complete control of Destiny, to feel their way around the ship, like – becoming one with it." He puffed air through his cheeks, looking troubled. "Of course, that was what the Ancients may have done. Who knows how it affects him?"

"Or if he even has any control over it," Belle nodded. She sighed, sinking down with her hands on Rush's thighs, and stared up at him, his face blank and still, the blood gently trickling past the corner of his mouth.


Rush scrawled furiously, dabbing the blood from his nose as he went, the bright red mixing with chalk-dust on the back of his hand into an unpleasant pinkish paste. He had finished the fourth panel, and started on the fifth, whispering under his breath as he did so. His head was pounding, the pain behind his eyes growing worse, as though something was trying to burrow into his skull. He bent over with a curse, pressing the heel of his hand into his right eye socket in an attempt to ease the pain, blood spattering on the floor from his streaming nose. A small hand tugged at the leg of his jeans.

"You're hurt!" Lily's eyes were wide and frightened, and Rush tried to calm himself, to will the pain away, to soothe her.

"I'm alright, sweetheart," he said gently, and straightened up, feeling as though he'd had an ice pick jammed between his eyes. "See? I'll be fine." He bent to the panel, scratching out what he felt should be there, what he knew should be there. His hands were trembling as finished the panel, and he staggered backwards, the final symbols an untidy scrawl. The answer was there before him, the puzzle he had been trying to solve for all this time having finally given up its secrets. The code seemed to shimmer in the air in lines and swirls of gold, opening up a well of knowledge in his head, making his brain want to burst with the flood of information. He felt a wave of dizziness hit him, and sat down on the floor with a thump, letting out a grunt of surprise and exhaustion. It felt good to sit on the floor, to do nothing, and he let his head fall back against the wall with a sigh, closing his eyes for a moment, smiling wearily as he felt his daughter climb onto his lap and put her arms around his neck. He exhaled deeply, pushing his face into her soft hair and hugging her tight. His head thumped painfully, and he dashed blood from his nose again.

"You finished the puzzle," whispered Lily, and he nodded, but held onto her for a moment longer before sitting her up and looking into her dark eyes, the mirror of his own.

"You're going away," she said, almost accusingly, and he smiled sadly.

"Yes," he said softly. "You're a dream, treasure. You're a beautiful dream, both of you. All of you." He stroked her tousled head gently, and she bit her lip in that way of Belle's, making tears sting his eyes. He leant forwards and kissed her forehead tenderly.

"Thank you," he whispered, and got to his feet, his entire body aching. Lily watched him, her small face curious, then turned her back and toddled off down the corridor. Rush watched her go, hands on his hips, and heaved a deep sigh. His headache was getting worse, but he knew what he needed to do now. He turned and started making his way to the Gate room, his steps slow and weary. The ship was silent around him, devoid of its ghosts, now that he had discovered its secrets. Turning into the Gate room, he saw the Gate open and ready, silver light rippling across the event horizon. For a moment he wondered if he was mistaken, if he should turn around and go back to where Belle was sleeping, waiting for him. The part of his brain that recognised that none of this was real gave him a nudge, even though the rest of his being cried out for him to go and be with his small family, with his wife and his daughter, and the child that was on its way. He let his grief wash over him, forcing himself to take first one step, then another, and plunged into the shimmering pool of the Stargate at a run.


The clamps on the chair popped open with a sharp, clacking sound, and Belle surged up to catch Rush as he slumped forwards. He seemed still to be unconscious, and she looked around helplessly until TJ and Eli swooped in to take his weight from her.

"Shall we take him down to the med-lab?" asked TJ, but Belle shook her head.

"Help me get him to his room," she said. "He can rest just as well there. Better, probably. I want to sit with him."

Young stepped up with a sigh, heaving the limp and unresponsive Rush to his feet and bending to lift the smaller man over his shoulder. They made a small procession to Rush's room, TJ clutching Belle's hand in comfort. Rush was starting to groan as Young laid him on the bed, and Belle hurriedly pulled off his boots, rushing to his side and stroking his hair back.

Without warning, Rush sat up with a jerk, clapping a hand to his temples, where blood stained the grey in his hair, and his eyes flew open.

"Hey," said Belle gently. "Do you remember what happened?"

Rush closed his eyes with a sigh, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

"I was working," he muttered. "Did I collapse or something?"

TJ exchanged a worried glance with Belle, and Rush opened his eyes again, scanning the room.

"Where's Lily?" he asked softly, and Belle's brow crinkled.

"Who's Lily?" she asked, and his eyes widened, suddenly appearing to see her for the first time. He clutched at her forearms, his fingers digging in almost painfully, and shook his head wordlessly, his face crumpling. He collapsed onto Belle, his arms going around her, and she bit her lip as she realised he was weeping, his shoulders shaking as he held her. She looked up sharply, glaring at the others.

"Get out!" she said fiercely. "Get out! Now!"

Surprised by her outburst, they began filing slowly out of the room. She held him tight, running her fingers through his hair, whispering soothing nonsense to him. He shook in her arms, tears soaking into her vest, and she rubbed her cheek against his hair, as though she were a cat, pressing kisses wherever she could reach. Gradually he calmed, taking deep, gulping breaths, letting out a shuddering sigh as she stroked his hair.

"You were using the chair," she said gently. "Do you remember? You were trying to find a way to get around the countdown, to control Destiny. To get us back to the ship."

"You," he said, his voice shaking, muffled by her hair. "To get you back."

She kissed his cheek, fingertips running over his scalp, and he pulled back a little, reaching up to touch her face, to brush his thumbs over the soft swell of her cheeks. There was wetness on his face, tears brimming in his eyes, and he swallowed hard.

"I love you, Belle," he said brokenly. "I thought I'd lost you, and I never told you. I should have told you. Every day, I should have told you."

Belle's heart swelled, tears pricking her own eyes at the sincerity in his. She brushed his hair back, brushed his damp cheeks with her thumbs.

"It doesn't matter," she said gently. "I'm here now. I love you too."

He leaned in to kiss her, his mouth warm and hungry, his lips pushing hers apart as his tongue tasted her. There was salt on his lips, tears spilling from his eyes anew as she pushed her fingers through his hair and shifted a little closer. Somehow his hands found their way inside her vest, and her hands dropped to his belt, and then they were undressing one another in a frenzy. Belle let her head roll back as he pressed hot, wet kisses down her neck to her breasts, as his thumbs hooked under the waistband of her pants and pushed them down over her hips. She wriggled out of her clothes, trying to kiss any exposed bit of skin she could find, tasting salt on his neck, breathing in his warm scent. Her fingers danced over the smooth skin of his chest, thumbs gently rubbing over his nipples, and he reached for her urgently, almost desperately, his mouth sweet and wet against hers.

Belle tugged at his belt, pulling it open, pushing his pants over his slim hips along with his underwear, reaching down to his feet to tug the pants off before straddling him. He felt for her core, sliding his fingers over her wet skin, coating them in her juices and lining them up. Belle shifted her hips, cupping his face with her hands and sinking down onto him with a cry of relief. Rush groaned loudly, fingers twisting in her hair as he kissed her hungrily, and Belle pressed her breasts against him as she moved, riding him slowly, her arms sliding around his neck. His thumbs tucked under her chin, his mouth pulling away from hers so that he could kiss along her jawline, could lick at her pulse point and whisper in her ear.

"I thought I'd lost you," he said softly. "Can't lose you, Belle. Can't ever lose you. Stay with me."

"Yes!" she breathed, and kissed his neck, her hair hanging in his face, her flesh gripping him tightly, holding him inside her, tugging at him. His hands slid down her body, gripping her waist, pulling her tighter against him, and Belle moaned as heat and wetness and friction made her see stars.

"I want you!" she whispered, and ran her hands through his hair, moving her hips against him. "I love you," she said softly, and he groaned, tilting his head back to kiss her, his mouth warm and sweet. She ground herself down, loving the feel of him pressed as deep as he could go, feeling the pleasure building where their bodies joined. She released his lips and let her head roll back with a moan, sweat beading on her upper lip.

Rush tugged her against him, wanting to feel her, wanting to push as deep inside her as he could, wanting to pour himself into her. He could feel her tensing around him, and knew that she was close. He brushed her hair back tenderly, running his eyes over her flushed cheeks, her plump, parted lips. She was so beautiful it fucking hurt, and he wanted to kiss her, to taste her sweet mouth, to make her scream, to make her his. He pressed his mouth to hers, his tongue pushing between her lips, tasting salt and sweetness and everything that was her, and she made a tiny sound, almost a whine, as she picked up the pace. She slammed against him, pulling her mouth free, the sounds she was making growing in pitch and volume, and Rush felt her let go, felt her squeeze him hard as her limbs went slack and her head fell forwards with a cry of release. He followed her with a wordless shout, pulling her down on him, flooding her with his seed as she twitched and moaned.

Belle tried to move. Couldn't. Wearily, she let arms that felt like cooked spaghetti slip down from around his neck, resting her hands at his waist. Rush was breathing hard, his face pushed into the top of her chest, and she managed to raise an arm and stroke his hair gently.

"Hey," she said quietly, and felt him smile.

"Hey," he said, his voice muffled by her skin. Belle cradled his head with her arm, pressing kisses to the side of his face.

"You okay?" she asked softly, and he groaned.

"No, my head is fucking killing me." He straightened up with a grunt, leaning back a little so that he could look at her. Belle saw that his eyes were red-rimmed and tired, his face drawn with exhaustion and emotion, blood dried to a dark reddish-brown crust on his nose and around his mouth. Stroking his hair back, she kissed his brow gently, and he closed his eyes with a sigh. She could feel him softening, slipping out of her. She wanted to keep him there, to hold him inside, and she bent to kiss him, his lips soft and moist.

"I'm here," she said gently. "I'm home."

"Yes." He kissed her again, a little more urgently, before pulling back. "How did you do it?"

"Eli worked it out," she said, still stroking his hair. "He doesn't remember how, but I imagine Young won't let him off shift until he figures it out again."

"Yes," repeated Rush, somewhat vaguely. Belle put her head to the side.

"What is it?" she asked. "What did you see?"

He hesitated, meeting her eyes briefly before looking away again.

"I'm not sure," he said evasively. "I think – I may need to do some more work, see if my calculations are correct." He patted her leg, and Belle lifted up off him, curling up on the bed and watching as he reached for the jug of water she kept on the nightstand, pouring some into the tin cup that sat there.

"You used the chair," she said. "Was Eli right? Can you communicate with Destiny?"

He drank deeply, not looking at her, as he pondered how to answer. He lowered the cup, a bead of water shining on his upper lip.

"In a way," he said. "Destiny helped - she - she sort of wanted me to, I think. She sent a kind of guide, but there were - things there, too. Trying to put me off. I'm not sure what to make of it." He waved a hand dismissively. "It's complicated. I think I need to rest, work out what's going on."

"Oh." Belle hugged her knees to her chest. "Okay. Are you coming back to bed?"

He looked around at her, at where she was sitting, arms wrapped around her legs, dark hair falling around her face. She looked too young, too pure, and he suddenly felt very old and very tired.

"I'll come to bed," he agreed, and set the cup down, climbing in beside her and lying back. Belle wriggled until her body was pressed alongside his, her arm across his chest and her head on his shoulder.

"I love you," she whispered. "I'm glad we found a way back, and I'm glad you're okay."

Rush smiled against her hair. "I love you too."

He kissed her forehead, his arm tightening around her, and lay silent while she drifted off to sleep, his mind whirring with what he had seen, with whether he should reveal it, and what that might mean for all of them.


A/N: Sooo, this one had a cute prompt, but ended up being angsty and with Rush being a secretive bastard. Sorry (not sorry)