Rush sighed and rubbed at his eyes. Destiny was being difficult again. He loved the old girl, he really did, but sometimes she made him want to tear his hair out. He looked into his mug and growled. The brown substance that substituted as coffee was gone. Again. How was he supposed to work when the idiots on the ship couldn't even get him a fucking cup of coffee? He pushed his chair back and stretched, wincing as his muscles moved. He slowly limped out of the room. Just as he was about to enter the cafeteria, something barreled into him. Rush was knocked to the floor and he growled,
"Watch it." He looked up and wished he'd bitten his tongue. It was Belle, his beautiful assistant and girlfriend of sorts. She was also almost four months pregnant with his child and it made Rush feel all the more guilty. Luckily, Belle didn't seem to hear him. She pulled him up and grabbed his hand. Without explanation, she pressed it to her belly. At first he just looked at her, confused. Then, he felt it. Their child. Moving. It was the first time he felt it, the first time it truly hit home. Belle was pregnant. He was going to be a father.
He looked up at Belle, who was grinning. Rush ignored the strange wetness in his eyes as he pulled Belle in and pressed his mouth to hers. She kissed him back, moving her hand to cover hers on her belly. Rush pulled back and whispered,
"I love you." He pressed his forehead to hers until he could feel her breath on his nose. Belle smiled up and put her hand on his cheek,
"I love you too." She kissed him and said, "Now, I believe you were running off to get your eighteenth cup of coffee?" Belle said. Rush had the decency to at least look a little ashamed. Belle laughed,
"Listen carefully. We are going to go in, eat a decent dinner, and then go sleep. Understand?"
"But—"
"No 'buts'. You haven't slept in over 30 hours. You're sleeping and that's that." Belle grabbed him by the elbow and marched Rush into the cafeteria. Others cleared out pretty quickly, leaving Belle and Rush alone. They quickly finished their oatmeal and Belle led Rush back to their bedroom. As she closed the door, Rush whined,
"I'm not tired. Really Belle, I'm fine." He stifled a yawn against the back of his hand. Belle shook her head and pulled off his jacket and shirts. She pushed him onto the bed and quickly followed. They crawled under the covers together, Rush holding them up so Belle could climb in first. Once he was beside her, Belle snuggled up to Rush's naked chest. He wrapped his arms around her, letting his hands rest on Belle's belly. Occasionally, he felt their baby move, but it wasn't long before he fell asleep. Belle glanced over her shoulder to find him snoring lightly and she smiled. Not tired, indeed. She moved closer and sighed happily. They might have been hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth, but in that moment, Belle was home.