A/N: Okies, I'm admitting that this isn't the best of fics... I wrote it for a friend of mine after watching the incredible "Waters on Mars" because we both loved the dynamic between The Captain and her Deputy, and we needed something to fill the drought :D It's a little choppy with a few structuring problems, but I wanted to post it for anybody who needs an Ed/Adelaide fix :) This is a standalone... I'm not good at writing novels!

Short summary: What was the reason why Adelaide couldn't forgive Ed?

Rated just to be safe... Rather fluffy in places... please don't flame me too much if you don't like! :) Enjoy :)

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She slammed the metal door shut and pressed the blue plasma buttons to lock it, knowing all too well it wouldn't do any good. She leaned back against the shiny metal surface and turned her head, panting to catch her breath after all the running. The cool material chilled her flushed face as she shut her eyes. She would be damned if she would let any of the tears fall through the façade she had so carefully built. How could she have let this happen? She was the Captain of this expedition, she shouldn't…

Adelaide's eyes snapped open as a low beeping noise told her someone was trying to get through the door.

"Adelaide…" the man called. "Adelaide!"

She had to move. She couldn't face him, not yet, so she powered forward into the un-natural garden Eden they had made, with the un-clicking of the door's lock ricocheting around the glass dome.

She hadn't realised where she had been heading as she ran from the, what could she call it; situation, but she found herself in the garden dome.

Moving through the leaves quietly, Adelaide could hear the other person's footsteps catching up with her. Trying to catch her breath, she tried to mingle within the leaves to hide but could hear him coming closer.

She wondered if he could hear her thundering heart as his footsteps echoed around her.

"Adelaide!" he called, his voice still as strong as before, never wavering.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Damn, she thought, how could she have been such a fool?

Adelaide shut her eyes and let the stillness of the air calm her.

"There you are." his soft Australian accent hung in the air. Her eyes snapped open.

Damn.

"Please, Ed, leave me alone." Adelaide sighed as she moved away from her 'hiding place.'

"You know I can't do that, Ade."

"Don't you call me that," she hadn't meant the venom to drip through her voice quite so much.

"Sorry." Ed whispered as his eyes looked towards the ground, suddenly interested in how these earth plants could grow on this strange, red planet.

The silence was unbearable for the both of them.

"I have to go." Adelaide's voice split through the air as she moved to walk past Ed, but he blocked her way.

"No," Ed stated. Adelaide tried to move past him once more but he caught her wrists to stop her. "We have to talk about what happened. I ki…"

"NO!" Adelaide cut across him. "We do not have to talk about it. It is in the past."

She tried to struggle against him but to no avail. His fingers on her skin sent tiny impulses through her body that she tried so hard to ignore.

"Please, Ed, get off me!" She gave up struggling against his grip and looked up into his tender, grey eyes. She could feel his breath on her cheek as she tried to resist him. Closing the gap between themselves, they could almost taste each other.

"Ed, this is wrong." Adelaide whispered into his lips.

He pulled back sharply and buried his face into one of his hands.

"How can it be wrong, Ade?" His arms fell to his side, as he got lost in her liquid blue eyes. "I kissed you," he paused, searching her façade for a breaking point, "and you kissed me. How can it be…"

"Because I am your Captain." She retorted. It was her turn to make contact as she pushed his chest. "Because I am your Captain and it would be wrong."

Ed went to cut through her Captain's speech, but she used her power to carry on, her resentment and anger building with every breath.

"If something happened to you because of a decision I had to make, I would never ever forgive myself." She pushed his chest still harder, venting her anger at him for making her feel like this. "Would you want me to carry that guilt around with me for the rest of my life? I…"

"Nothing is going to happen to me, Ade." Ed interjected.

"Don't call me that!" She hadn't realised that a single tear had broken through her façade. "Don't you dare. I will never forgive you for kissing me, for making me feel like this!" Adelaide's anger was overwhelming her and she forced herself not to crumble. She looked away, her heavy breathing being the only sound clinging to the air.

Ed took a step closer to the woman who had filled his head ever since their first meeting. He gently lifted her chin with his hand, slowly caressing her soft skin with his thumb, forcing her to look at him. "And how do you think I feel every time you have to make those decisions. To see your face fall as the coincidences of them hit you. Knowing I can't comfort you. Just let me in, Adelaide."

"No, I ca…" and Ed did the only thing he could think of to shut her up.

He kissed her.

Not being able to resist him any longer, her hands snaked up his neck to his head so her fingers could entwine with his messy hair. His arms wrapped around her waist to pull her as close as he could. A slight moan escaped her lips making him smile that cheeky smile. The kiss deepened as he sneaked his hand up and under her t-shirt. The electric that shot through them both was just enough to awaken Adelaide's senses.

"Mmm, no, Ed, please," she broke the kiss and tried to push him away, still acutely aware of his bare hand against her bare back. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't move out of his arms. She felt warm and safe, but would be damned if she would ever show her feelings to Ed.

"Adelaide, I'm in…" she suddenly feared what he was about to say. She didn't want to hear it so she kissed him, quick and hard, and used all her might to pull away.

She stood in front of him, taking a chance to glance up at him but soon looked away from his beautiful grey eyes. She went to say something as she put her hands up, as though confronting him, or defending herself.

Thinking better of it, she walked past him, not letting her façade down.

Ed turned to see her back retreating, her t-shirt still rucked up where his hand had been just moments before.

"Adelaide." He called.

She stopped and half turned her head.

"I can't forgive you, Ed, for making me feel like this."

And she walked away, pulling herself up and reminding herself that she was the Captain. She didn't hear Ed whisper something under his breath.

"But I forgive you, Adelaide."