Title: And all was well
Author: MGO/Sephirothflame
Rating: PG
Character(s)/Pairing(s): TJ/Chloe, Eli, Scott, Rush, Young, Greer
Warning(s): People get sick, someone (not canon) dies.
Spoiler(s): None, really.
Prompt(s): Stargate Universe Fanfic Exchange, for livejournal's 'eternitywaits'. I honestly didn't know what to do, so it's a mixture of 1. it's all too much. 2. fear of drowning. 3. dreams and nightmares.
Word Count: Holy 4,005 Batman!
Rants: I actually lost this somewhere while I was writing it, so it didn't come out at all how I intended. Still haven't beta'd it properly. Will be done soon (I hope).
Disclaimer: Do not own Stargate Universe. Sorry.
Crossposted to: None, yet. xD
"What have you found there, Chloe?" Eli asks her, his tone genuinely curious.
Chloe turns to face him, and holds up a small sprig she'd torn from a plant for him to see. "It reminds me of Mistletoe."
"Do I get to kiss you if you hold it over your head?" Scott cut in, grinning at her across from the small 'camp'.
It wasn't much of a camp. They'd emptied a few boxes and brought them off world to help them gather some of the nuts and berries growing on the trees nearby. It had seemed like a non-threatening journey, so Chloe had volunteered to help.
"Like you need a reason," Greer said, plopping down on a rock, resting his gun across his lap.
"We're not going to get anything accomplished if everyone's sitting down," TJ said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Sorry," Chloe said sheepishly, pocketing the Mistletoe like plant carefully.
Christmas was coming – or, it would have been, if they were still on Earth – and she wanted to keep it as a small keepsake so the holiday didn't seem so desolate. Even a little reminder of home was better than nothing.
"Let's just hurry up and get back," Scott said, sighing heavily. "I didn't realize gathering stuff was so tedious. I need a shower."
"No kidding," Greer replied, standing and stretching as well. He kept his gun in his grasp, ready to shoot at anything threatening.
"Haha," Scott said, rolling his eyes.
"Boys," Chloe said, smiling thinly.
"No kidding," TJ was in agreement. She smiled at Chloe, and Chloe smiled in return.
"I wonder if Colonel Young's group is having any more success?" Eli asked, glancing into a bush nervously. The berries it held were decidedly delicious, but the thorns were sharp and abundant.
"Probably," Chloe replied, "He has no qualms about yelling at people to get them to work."
"Would you guys work faster if I yelled at you?" TJ asked, her face serious but her eyes shining with silent laughter.
"Only if you threaten to give me another shot," Eli muttered quietly. Chloe heard him though, and laughed.
"Come on guys, let's at least get one of these boxes full," Scott said. "I'm sick of sludge for breakfast, lunch and dinner."
"Who isn't?" Greer asked. He kicked a rock into the distance, sighing heavily.
"You aren't even helping," Eli pointed out. "Don't complain."
"Do you want me to shoot you?" Greer asked, lifting his gun and pointing it in the direction of Eli – not at Eli, though, he wasn't stupid.
"Right, working," Eli said, tentatively reaching into the bush to pluck some of the ripe, pinkish purple berries. "We can now have Urple Berry Sludge for breakfast."
"Urple berries?" Chloe asked, glancing over at him as she plucked some of the berries from the bush.
"Urple is a color that doesn't exist in nature," Eli replied, "Well, on Earth anyways. These are the color I always imagined urple would be." He held one of the berries up into the light, a faint smile on his face. "They're such an ugly color."
Chloe silently agreed, but made no comment. She desperately wanted to get back on the ship and take a shower. Scott was right, this work was a lot more tedious than she thought it was going to be. She could feel the sweat dripping down the back of her neck, and she wished she had a hair tie.
"How long do you think it'll take to finishing filling one of these containers?" Scott asked, glancing at the box they'd already started to fill.
"Too long," Greer replied, snorting in annoyance.
"You only got one container full?" Brody asked, tilting the box in Scott's arms to look at it better. "Sheesh, the other team had three. Way to slack off."
"Next time we go picking strange fruits on other planets, you can come too," Scott replied, hefting the box in his arms to a more comfortable position. "You know, do some real work. Get covered in dirt and sweat and blood."
"Blood?" Brody asked, confused. Scott cocked his head over to Eli, who obediently held up his hands. "What did you do?"
"There are thorns on those berries," Eli replied. "A lot of them. They hurt, too."
"If you come to the Infirmary, I'll take care of those for you," TJ offered, placing her hands on her hips. "We don't want them to get infected and fall off. Rush would have my head."
Eli laughed nervously, looking at his hands. "You don't think they'd really fall, do you?"
TJ shrugged. "It's always an outcome," she replied, earnestly. "But no, I don't think they will."
"I'm going to take these to Becker," Scott said, glancing over at TJ. "I'll come see you afterwards."
TJ nodded, then glanced at Chloe. "You going to come with?"
"I think I'm going to shower first," Chloe replied, smiling grimly. "I can't remember the last time I worked this hard."
TJ nodded again. "See you later, then."
TJ was reading when Chloe visited her after her shower. The tall blonde was jackknifed into a chair, her knees pressed against her chest with an arm wrapped around them the other holding a tattered copy of 'Life of Pi' in her hands.
"Hey, TJ," Chloe greeted, startling TJ.
"Hey, Chloe," TJ greeted, dog-earing her book and putting it aside. "Want me to take a look at your hands?"
Chloe held her hands out, and TJ stood, crossing the room to look at them. "Is that the book that's been going around?" She asked, nodding in direction of the paperback.
"Yeah," TJ replied. She took Chloe's hands, and turned them over, examining them. "Your hands look pretty good. Not nearly bad as Eli's or even Scott's. Still, if you start feeling sick come back to see me right away. We still don't know what those berries and their thorns will do."
"Of course," Chloe said, and TJ let go of her hands. They felt suddenly cold, so she tucked them in the pockets of her jeans. "Is there a waiting list for that book I should be aware of?"
"A long one," TJ said, nodding. "I think Lisa Park gets it next, though you'd have to ask Eli for the order. He made an official list so people would stop arguing over it."
"Is it that good a book?" Chloe asked, tilting her head to the side. TJ crossed the room to pick it up, and returned, to let Chloe see it.
"I like it, so far," TJ said. "But I think it's one of those books most people probably wouldn't have thought about reading if they weren't stranded on a spaceship thousands of years from home."
"Whose is it, do you know?" Chloe asked, opening the front cover and looking for a sign. "G.R.?"
"It's Rush's, I think," TJ said. "Though, I really can't see him sharing anything. Not even a book."
Chloe handed the book back, laughing slightly. "Yeah," she agreed. "I'm going to see Eli about getting my name on the list. I'll see you later."
"Later," TJ agreed, nodding her head.
As it turned out, eating the berries was completely harmless. Those who had been scratched by the thorns all ended up in the Infirmary with inflamed cuts and slight delirium, with the exception of Young and TJ, both who seemed to be immune to whatever poison the thorns held.
"What do you want me to do with everyone?" TJ asked, glancing at the Colonel with a frown. "No one wants to sit down and do as their told. I'm worried they might get violent."
"Tie them down if you have too," Young said, sighing heavily. "I'll send Greer in to help, for now. If it's not enough, we'll get you more Marines. Just, do what you can." He touched her shoulder gently, supportively, but TJ shrugged it off.
"I'm trying, sir," she replied.
All TJ can do is make her patients comfortable while she waits for them to get better. Scott had to be restrained, and so did a petite woman in the Air Force TJ doesn't really remember much about. Her name tag says 'Harrison', but she can't remember her first name. Greer doesn't remember it, either. TJ's bothered by this, but she isn't sure why.
She's more concerned about Rush and Chloe though. The older Doctor had to be dragged to the Infirmary by Young against his will. His face was flushed and his eyes livid, but as soon as he was pushed onto a cot, he relaxed and drifted off to sleep. He isn't thrashing about like some of the others, but his fever is through the roof.
Chloe, on the other hand was rolling around in her sleep, moaning about something – her father, TJ thinks – and crying. She brushes the girl's hair from her face and sighs heavily. There's nothing she can do for the girl, but her heart is breaking all the same. She hates to see Chloe like this.
Colonel Young visits once or twice, speaking soft words with TJ while looking around the room. "How are they doing?" he asks, glancing at her.
TJ shook her head. "Antibiotics aren't working, but only Rush and Harrison seem to have really bad fevers." The Colonel follows her gaze over to the Scottish Doctor, and purses his lips. "I'd have thought he'd have more to say about dying in an infirmary like this."
"I'm sure we'll never hear the end of it when he gets better," Colonel Young replied, a thin smile on his face, but it's half-hearted.
There's no way to say who will get better and who won't. There were seven people in the room and nothing TJ can do for them. She won't give up hope on them though, not when they still stood a chance.
Eli's fever broke first, almost thirty seven hours after reporting to the Infirmary. TJ was by his side in an instant, discarding the book she'd been attempting to read – she couldn't concentrate, was too worried – and she checked him over.
"What's going on?" Eli asked groggily, but TJ ignored him. The scratches were all scabbed over and no longer inflamed, his temperature and pulse were normal.
"You don't remember?" TJ asked, pulling a chair over to sit by his bed.
"I remember – remember-," his voice trailed off as he struggled to remember what it was he had been doing last. "I was adding Chloe to the wait list for 'Life of Pi'." Eli said, finally, nodding. "I started to feel a little dizzy so I came here."
"That's right," TJ nodded, smiling at him.
"How long have I been here?" Eli asked, struggling to sit up and glance around the room. "Is that Chloe? Is she okay?"
"Yes that is and she's as fine as can be expected," TJ replied, "Eli, you should really be lying down –"
Eli shook his head. "I feel fine. What do you mean, 'as can be expected'?" His voice had raised in pitch, and TJ sighed heavily.
"Eli, calm down," TJ said, "She'll be fine. We're just waiting for her fever to break. You were the first to get better. You've been here for about a day and a half. That's not bad, for a sudden infection."
"It is?" Eli asked, his eyes still on Chloe's pale form. TJ glanced at her as well, and felt a nervous guilt twist in the bottom of her stomach. "I think the poison was only meant to send a reminder, not a permanent message."
"So everyone's going to be okay?" Eli asked.
TJ hesitated, "I didn't say that." She said slowly. "I think they'll be okay, but I don't know yet."
"Oh," Eli said, frowning.
"You should lie back down," TJ suggested, standing up. "Get some rest. I'll let you know when you can leave."
"Can I get something to eat?" Eli asked, perking up. "I'm starving."
TJ laughed, and nodded. "I'll see what I can do."
Scott woke up not long after Eli, and TJ checked over him. The two boys started talking excitedly, debating what had been going on since they'd been under. Both of them watched Chloe nervously as she twitched in her sleep, but neither of them said anything.
"You guys are obviously back to normal, if the noise you're making is any indication," TJ said, sighing heavily and glaring half-heartedly at them from over Harrison's body. "And the tests I ran came back clean, so feel free to leave."
"Leave?" Eli asked, glancing over at Chloe.
"Don't worry," TJ said softly, "I'll take care of her. The best thing you can do is leave and let her rest in silence."
Eli and Scott shared a guilty look, and allowed themselves to be herded out of the room, promising to come back the minute they started feeling off once more.
"Does this mean everyone's going to start getting better soon?" Colonel Young asked, and TJ startled. She hadn't heart him enter the room.
She nodded, then shrugged. "Should be. There's no lasting damage to Scott and Eli, so…"
The Colonel nodded in understanding. "Let me know as they come back to the land of the living and stranded."
"Will do," TJ said. The Colonel smiled at her warily, but didn't try and touch her again. He stood watching Rush sleep for a while, a contemplative look on his face, before he turned and left the room.
Soon, it's just Rush, Chloe and Harrison in the room. 'Nicole', TJ corrected herself, glancing at the small Sergeant. Lisa Park says her name is Nicole. She's the only one who didn't show any signs of getting better and TJ isn't surprised when she goes to check on the girl and finds her dead.
She has trouble swallowing when she calls the Colonel to tell him, and they decide it's best to simply cover her body and move her out of the way for now. They'll send her off through the Stargate at the first viable planet, but for now there is nothing they can do.
"I'm worried about Rush and Chloe," TJ said, her voice barely a whisper. "They're not showing any signs of getting better, either."
The Colonel's jaw was clenched, and TJ can't tell what he was thinking. "All we can do is wait," he said, and TJ knew from the tone of his voice that he hated this idea.
Rush's fever breaks a few hours later, but he continues to sleep. TJ isn't concerned, not yet, and lets him sleep. The Colonel almost sounds relieved, but curses the man for being ill for so long. There was so much that needed done on the ship, and they'd had to rely on Eli to do it all.
TJ wasn't sure how to explain all of this to Rush when he woke up, but she decided it might be best for the Colonel to be there when she does. He might try and leave before she checked him over. With their luck, he would be the only one to magically be contagious.
It wasn't until the third day that Chloe's eyes opened, blinking blearily at the world around her. TJ made a choked sound in the back of her throat as she hurried to her side, checking her vitals as quickly as possible.
"What's going on?" Chloe asked, her voice cracking as she spoke.
TJ fetched her some water, and the girl drank gratefully. "You've been sick," she said. "But you're better now."
"Anyone else?" Chloe asked, sighing heavily and letting her eyes drift back shut.
"A few others, but they're all better now," TJ said. "Well, except for Rush. Sort of."
"Sort of?" Chloe asked, frowning, opening her eyes again.
"He's sleeping it off," TJ explained. "I expect he's going to start yelling when he wakes up."
"Probably," Chloe said. She started to cough, and TJ jumped to her feet in concern but Chloe waved her away. "Can't laugh." She explained, sipping at her water tiredly.
"Go back to sleep," TJ said softly. "You'll feel better soon enough."
Chloe closed her eyes and slowly drifted off back to sleep, a faint smile on her lips. TJ brushed Chloe's hair out of her face gently, and took the water from her and set it on the floor.
"Thank God," she murmured, glancing up at the ceiling.
"Gloria?" Rush murmured staring at TJ, but she wondered if he really saw her. She had been checking his vitals as best she could, and hadn't meant to waken him.
"Doctor Rush," TJ said gently, "It's TJ." Rush made a noncommittal noise, and TJ smiled at him faintly. "Are you feeling better?"
"I feel dead," Rush said, shaking his head. He brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "How long have I been here?"
"About three days," TJ replied. Disgusted annoyance crossed Rush's face, and he threw back the thin sheet covering him to stand and leave. "You really shouldn't do that."
"I've been here for three days," Rush argued. "Who knows what you've done to Destiny."
"Eli's been taking care of her," TJ said, putting a hand to Rush's chest and pushing his back down onto the bed. "He can continue to do so for another few hours."
"And what exactly am I supposed to do for the next few hours?" Rush asked bitterly.
"Sleep," TJ replied. "You're still exhausted. I'll get someone to bring you something to eat, you're probably starving."
"There's work to be done –" Rush argued, standing up and gently pushing TJ to the side.
"At least wait until you've eaten something," TJ said, folding her arms over her chest defiantly. "I won't sign you out in good health until you do."
Rush looked like he was going to complain or leave, but hesitated. TJ was glaring daggers at him, and he must have been more exhausted than he cared to admit, because he stayed.
"Fine, food," Rush snapped, folding his arms over his chest. "Then I'm gone."
"There's a good doctor," TJ grinned, nodding her head. "Sit down and stay awhile. I'll just go page someone."
Rush remained standing, but he didn't flee like TJ had thought he would. She smiled faintly, shaking her head. It was like dealing with a petulant child.
"How are you feeling?" TJ asked, watching Chloe eat Urple Berry Sludge. The darker haired girl nodded, spoon still sticking out of her mouth.
"This stuff tastes pretty good," she said, glancing at TJ. "Have you tried it yet?"
TJ nodded. "Eli brought me some earlier."
"I don't think it was worth it, though," Chloe said, glancing down at the bowl. "The girl who didn't make it. I don't think I've ever talked to her."
"Nicole Harrison. I talked to her when I was doing Psych Evals," TJ said offhandedly. "I don't think she has anybody back Home."
"How sad," Chloe said, glancing at TJ. There was a strange look in her eyes, one that TJ couldn't place. "I guess, at least no one will spend hours agonizing over her."
"A small comfort, maybe," TJ said, but shrugged a thin shoulder.
The two sat in silence for a moment as Chloe finished eating her sludge, TJ watching her intently as she did so. When she was finished, TJ took the bowl and set it aside, handing Chloe a glass of water.
"You can leave whenever you feel up to it," TJ said, and Chloe nodded her head. "Come back anytime. Especially if you start feeling sick again."
"I will," Chloe said, pushing the sheets back and standing up. "Thanks for everything, TJ."
"It's my job," TJ smiled faintly. "Just take care of yourself, now."
Chloe nodded. She moved to the door, ready to leave, but hesitated, looking over her shoulder at TJ, a strange look on her face.
"Something wrong?" TJ asked, and Chloe shook her head.
"It's nothing," Chloe said, flushing slightly. "I'll talk to you later."
"Bye," TJ said, watching her leave.
They sent Nicole Harrison's body through the Stargate onto a fiery planet. Rush assured them she would burn up before long, and there would be no traces of her left. Destiny had picked this planet for them but it left a guilty knot in the bottom of TJ's stomach.
She wasn't sure why, but when no one had any words to offer up in Nicole's honor, TJ thought she was going to be sick. A few minutes later, the 'Gate room was empty except for TJ, and she stared at the large stone ring, frowning.
Eventually, she shook her head and headed back to her Infirmary. She needed to check the supplies again, count how much had been used since this last infection. There was always work to be done, after all. Destiny wouldn't wait for them for forever.
"Something I can help you with?" TJ asked, glancing at Chloe from over the top of 'Life of Pi'.
Chloe opened her mouth to say something, then hesitated. "When I was sick, I had a dream." TJ frowned, but Chloe silenced any intention she had of speaking with the wave of a hand. "At first, I dreamt of my dad. I miss him, you know? But I dreamt of other things. Everything I've left behind, only, it's just my mom really. My friends have forgotten me, really."
"I'm sure that's not true," TJ started, placing a band-aid in the book to mark her spot before setting it aside. She crossed the room to touch Chloe's elbow supportively.
Chloe smiled weakly, but shook her head. "No, it is. Everyone on Earth has moved on without me. I started dreaming about Destiny, life on her. Scott's a good guy, you know? But he treats me the same way everyone back home did. Like I need protecting, and I'm only worth keeping around when I agree with him."
"Lots of men are like that," TJ offered, smiling faintly.
"I know," Chloe said, nodding her head in agreement. "That's when I realized something." Chloe was staring intently at TJ, but she didn't know what Chloe was trying to say. "You've always been really nice to me. I'm not used to that."
"I have a hard time believing that," TJ said, laughing softly.
"No, it's true," Chloe said, shaking her head. "They're nice to me because they think they have to be, or they want something out of me. You're not like that. Why?"
"I'm not?" TJ said, blinking in confusion. "I'm not." She said, nodding her head in agreement. "I like you. We're friends."
"Friends," Chloe said, and she looked deflated for a moment. She looked at TJ contemplatively, before sighing. "I dreamed about you, you know."
"Nothing bad, I hope," TJ said, and Chloe shook her head. "Eli says he has nightmares about me and needles, now."
"It was a good dream," Chloe said, smiling again.
"That's good," TJ said, smiling in return. "What were we doing?" She asked.
Chloe hesitated, a nervous smile on her face, her cheeks flushed. Something twisted in the pit of TJ's stomach, before Chloe leaned forward to press her lips against TJ's in a quick, chaste kiss. TJ blushed slightly, blinking her eyes.
"Oh," she said. "Oh."
"I'm sorry – " Chloe started, shifting nervously, "I just thought – you seemed to be – "
"It's okay, Chloe," TJ said, shaking her head. "It's good. We're good."
"We're good?" Chloe asked, and the expression on her face was unreadable.
"We're good," TJ replied, smiling.
This was sudden, new, but in the same breath it didn't feel like that. TJ had been worried about Chloe, more than she should have been, but it made sense now. How she hadn't noticed before, she wasn't sure, but she supposed Chloe had that affect on people.
Grinning, Chloe pulled something out of her pocket and held it over her head. TJ stared at it for a moment, before realizing what it was. "Mistletoe," Chloe said, sheepishly.
"Oh, if it's mistletoe," TJ said, leaning forward to press her lips against Chloe's, a grin on her face. Chloe returned the kiss happily, and TJ decided that this was good.