Title: Never Stood A Chance
Author: ladygreta
Fandom: Stargate: Universe
Characters/Pairing: Eli/Rush
Disclaimer: That would be my wildest dream, to own this franchise. Sadly I do not.
Summary: That's when a hand touched the back of his neck and slowly made its way to the top of his curly head, in one long caress.

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Eli Wallace was not in a good mood.

His head was pounding, his eyes was bleary and he could have sworn that he went to bed last night in a completely different room then what he woke up in.

Leaning forward he laid his head down on his arms and tried to block out the sounds of Dr. Rush and Col. Young yelling back and forth at each other. He didn't understand why everyone couldn't get this one simple fact down.

They were never going home.

They didn't even know where they were now. They knew that they were all heading towards the edge of the universe and oh yeah, they were heading into one of the countless galaxies sun's, which didn't make for a good conversation. What point was there in being stressed and yelling and threatening mutiny? He agreed with Dr. Nick though he made sure not to mention any of this out loud. Not after he got cornered by all those people, wanting to know what's going on.

As if they tell him anything.

Eli hunched his shoulders up close to his chin and tried to bury his head deeper into his arms. There was just no point in fighting it anymore.

That's when a hand touched the back of his neck and slowly made its way to the top of his curly head, in one long caress. He lifted his head a bit and blinked tiredly, his face still red from his little frolic on Planet of the Apes World. Turning slightly, he tried to lift up his head more to get a good look at whoever touched him. But he ended up looking into one of the lights that was still functioning, and it shined directly into his eyes, making his pounding headache into a pounding migraine. With a solid thud, his head went back to the tabletop as he tried not to whimper.

Dr. Rush looked down at the curly haired boy as he plainly tried not to look weak in front of whoever had touched him. Lifting his hand away from Eli's head, he glared at Colonel Young then looked towards the door. Young just smirked and limped his way outside, the door humming to a shut behind him. Rush looked back down at Eli's head and placed his hand back on top of it, lightly petting him.

Eli once again tried looking up but his head just hurt so badly. He felt whoever it was stroking his head and gave a soft sigh. That felt so much better. He snuggled into his arms and gave a small smile.

Rush almost gave a smile himself at the sight but the most he could manage was a small smirk. A few more strokes of his hand then he went over to the window in the huge room and stared at the star that certainly sealed their doom. He could do nothing but stare. It was very sad that it would all come to an end before they even had a chance to start. Eli's voice echoing through the room startled him.

"Your hands are very soft."

Rush whirled around so fast he almost spun himself into one of the railings. Catching himself quickly enough he coughed to cover up his almost fall and gave Eli a questioning look. "What are you talking abo-"

"Your hands." Eli cut him off without opening his eyes. He gave a slight chuckle and opened them, staring directly at Rush, who felt like his air supply had ran short. "They feel very soft. And soothing. Totally made my migraine stop throbbing so much." He lifted his head up and rubbed his eyes before resting his head back on the table. He turned his head towards Dr. Rush as an invitation. "Please…could you do it again? My head, it hurts so bad and I don't even know why and this…"

Before he could even finish his sentence Rush had made his way back over to him and laid his hand back on his neck. He began to stroke from his neck to the top of his head again and Eli could do nothing more but sigh happily and close his eyes. Rush could do nothing more but shake his head as he petted Eli into a light nap. He should have known from the first time he saw him standing on his front doorstep that he never stood a chance. He never stood a chance at all.