Chloe was recalculating power curves for the defrosting Eli simulations and watching Rush sleep when she heard the change in the FTL drive, a slight whine, a lurch and then the normal 4.8 seconds of power down that no one else could hear except herself and Rush. The change woke Rush and he sat up, blinking sleepily on the pallet next to her.
"We've dropped out of FTL." Said Rush.
She nodded. The deserted storage room near Eli's pod was now a regular hideaway, but radios were omnipresent and Rush's radio crackled into life.
"Rush, this is Greer, we've dropped out of FTL."
Rush picked up the radio.
"Greer, this is Rush, on my way to the bridge, you'd better wake the Colonel."
He stood and offered her a hand to haul her to her feet. She accepted and they left the storage room.
"I'll go via the canteen and bring tea." She said. Not good to arrive together.
"Thanks." He said gratefully.
They split up and she made her way to the mess hall.
"Hi Becker." She said. "Any tea? I've just seen Rush and he's been dragged out of bed to the bridge. It's a mercy mission. Actually, make it five, he said they're waking up Young and Greer and Brody are up there."
Becker grinned. "You're too good." He told her. He provided her with five tin mugs of tea on a tray.
Chloe wandered up to the bridge, tray in front. They were clustered around the display screen.
"You," said Greer taking a tea, "are officially my favourite girl at the moment."
"What is it?" she asked him.
"No idea." He said, nudging Brody to take a tea. "It's some sort of object ahead of us."
Brody took the tea.
"Objects." Said Rush. "It's a debris field with some large pieces." He took a tea from the tray, and put it into the hand of Young whose eyes were glued to the screen, then took his own.
Chloe took her own from the tray and slid the tray down the side of a console out of the way. They waited as Destiny brought herself closer to the debris field.
"Whatever it is," said Brody, "Destiny must think it's important enough to drop out of FTL."
"Err Colonel, Doctor, I'm picking up a signal here." Said Greer, looking at a red box on a console between him and Chloe.
Chloe leaned over to look at it, all attention moved to the box on the screen. They all crowded round the console. Rush moved up behind her, put a hand on the her left shoulder to prop himself and looked over her right shoulder to look at the screen.
"It's a distress beacon." Said Rush. "An Ancient distress beacon."
"From what?" Young demanded.
"I have no idea."
He reached round her right shoulder and tapped at the screen. Chloe was acutely aware of his arm across her back and his chest pressing into her shoulder. She could hide the blush from the others in the dim light, but he had to see the glow and hear her heartbeat speed up. After a few moments she heard his speed up in response and his muscles tensed very slightly against her shoulder.
"It's automated, on repeat, a text message." Rush said.
"But what from." Repeated Young in frustration.
They waited as Rush tapped at the screen. Chloe moved sideways to let him past and shivered as his fingers slid across the back of her shoulders.
"A ship." Rush said finally. "An Ancient ship."
"Wreckage of an Ancient ship." Brody added.
They all looked at the screen where the debris field was coming within the range of stronger sensors. As they neared it, it was clear that there were several larger chunks of ship almost intact, surrounded by the debris of the rear end of the ship.
"It's a seed ship, looks like the FTL engines are smashed to pieces, but there's at least two large parts of the rest of the ship largely intact." Said Brody.
"If we can find some intact structure," Rush said without looking up, "we may be able to use the scrubbers from the empty base to repressurise some of the compartments and cannibalise them for parts."
Rush was tapping away at the controls, scrolling through sensor logs.
"Do it." Said Young. "We need anything we can get."
By the time Destiny had come to a halt at the edge of the debris field the field had been scanned seven ways from Sunday. There were four massive sections of ship and two appeared to have sections which retained structural integrity. Rush, Brody, Volker and Chloe pored over the data from the scans, identifying which areas to target.
Four sections seemed of most benefit. An area which appeared to have been control rooms and workspace was largely intact and seemed to somehow have retained enough power to send the signal. They would focus on that first, for parts of the ships controls and life support.
Another promising section was showing a high concentration of naquidah and mass was probably the engineering section. On the last seed ship that had contained the Stargate factory and other manufacturing facilities. It would be the next to be plundered for raw materials. The other two seemed less important, but if they had time would be investigated.
The shuttle took the first party out. Scott, Rush and Brody in vac suits. Chloe waited, glued to a sensor screen until it, and the radio, indicated that they had successfully installed the temporary life support. As soon as sensors indicated it had filled the fragment with enough air, the first foraging parties went in. Chloe was on parts detail, removing components and any specific discrete objects that could be found. Back pack after backpack of parts were delivered into the shuttle and ferried back to Destiny, where they were stacked in empty compartments for identification and storage.
Shattered after an eight hour shift her party exchanged places with another and she fell into bed with Matt and a deep exhausted sleep, only to wake up at the summons of the radio to repeat the process again.
Her shift was interrupted by the crackle of a radio.
"Scott, Young, this is Rush." Rush's voice was hoarse.
Chloe turned to look at Matt, pulling out the radio.
Young was faster than Scott his voice tinny. "Young here."
"Scott here." Matt added.
"Lieutenant James and I have made it though to the large void on the scans. The void is a large service bay."
Chloe's eyes widened. James's voice took over.
"Rush is working on opening the doors, but looking through the windows, we think we've got glass sheets for the dome, maintenance drones, there's a lot of crates and a complete shuttle and some parts. Rush wants Brody, Volker or Chloe down there to help."
Scott lifted the radio to his mouth.
"We're closest, Chloe and I will be there shortly."
"Rush says get Brody to bring the power cell." James relayed.
"Will do." Responded Young "See you there shortly Lieutenant."
Chloe led the way, barely needing the torch Matt was carrying and they made their way as fast as possible to the area of the void. Chloe stopped in a hallway, waving Matt to silence, listening hard before leading them off down two further corridors to where James was watching Rush fiddling with the control panel next to a large hatch, double the width of the bridge hatch on Destiny, the torch attached to her P90 providing the only light.
"Where's Brody with the power cell?" demanded Rush without looking up.
"On his way." Said Chloe. "What do you need me to do?"
"Other side." He replied tersely, still nose deep in the panel, "main power conduit from ships power, you need to disconnect it so Brody can connect the power cell. It's green and reflects warm." He added in a quieter tone.
She stepped over to it, pulling open the panel. There were several conduits, but only one that visibly reflected the warmth of her hand back at her and she started to disconnect it at the door end. There were stumbling noises and Brody, Greer, Young and Airman Chu arrived lugging the heavy power cell.
Chloe heard Scott rush to help them with it, and James evidently turned away to see, as the torch light disappeared. Chloe looked up.
"Lieutenant," snapped Rush, "I need that light."
He looked up to glare at James who swung back round to them then stepped back with a shout. Young and Scott spun to see James pointing her gun at Rush and Chloe looking up from where they were bent over the ancient devices.
"What the hell are you doing James!" demanded Young.
"Err, sir, I think we've got a problem." James raised the gun and attached torch a little higher.
Two pairs of eyes glowed whitely in the brilliant torchlight, blinking back at them.
Young's snarl of anger was visceral as he strode over and grabbed Rush by the front of his clothes, yanking him away from the Ancient console.
"When the fuck were you going to tell us!" he shouted. "How long have you been like this?" He shook Rush who thrust his arms up to push the Colonel away. Young slammed him back into the console lifting him off his feet.
Chloe stepped forward and slid a hand in between them, putting her palm flat on Young's chest.
"I knew." She said, "I knew from the beginning."
Young dropped Rush and took a step back to look at them both. Chloe could see Matt staring at her in horror over Young's shoulder.
"You knew," said Young, "and you didn't tell anyone."
Chloe pressed her lips together then took a step forward. Young took a step back reflexively.
"I thought you would quarantine us both and then there would be no-one to get Eli out." She told him.
"Too damn right I will." Young said.
"And then you'll just be without us and Eli." She said. "All we had to do was get Eli out and then we could tell you and you could quarantine us for as long as you want, you'll have Eli."
"Oh for heavens sake!" spat Rush. "I'm not turning into an alien, she's not turning into an alien. I've barely been alone since we realised what was happenin'. I've been sleeping on the floor in the core room so Chloe can keep an eye on me in case I have blackouts. I am not turning into an alien!"
"The hell you aren't!" Greer growled.
"At least part of it's true," Matt said, "Every time I come off shift she's in there doing math or running simulations and he's sleeping on the floor. And TJ's been giving Chloe regular check ups."
"Which is fine as long as we trust Chloe." Young said.
"Surely you don't think that Chloe...?" Scott's voice tailed off.
"My opinion of Chloe is certainly higher than my opinion of Doctor Rush." Said Young, "I could believe practically anything of Rush."
Rush and Chloe's eyes both widened at the statement and Young could see the plea in both of them not to raise old history. He swallowed his anger before he spoke again, the last thing he needed was to completely throw Scott off balance with accusations that were almost completely certainly unfounded. Probably.
"Get the door open and then hand over to Brody." Young snapped at Rush and Chloe "I want you finished here and off this ship. I'll sort you both out when we get back on board Destiny. Lieutenant Scott, I'm sorry but I'll need you to remain on the ship to coordinate the foraging efforts and try and pilot that shuttle."
"Yes sir," Scott's voice was tight with strain.
"What's going on?" demanded Camile as James and Airman Chu brought Rush and Chloe through the hatch of the shuttle at gunpoint. She was waiting with Volker, who stepped backed off hurriedly at a glare from Rush.
"They're aliens." Said James. "Colonel Young's orders are to take them into custody."
"We're not aliens," snapped Rush turning to face James as well as Camile. "It's the effects of that ruin planet."
James scowled at Rush.
"Your eyes glow Doctor," she said flatly, "that's not right."
He took a step forward, hands out, palms flat in front of him and she took a step back, hands tensing on her P90.
"My eyes don't glow," he growled, "they reflect."
"Mine do too," added Chloe, "and TJ's given me a clean bill of health."
"Just move," ordered James uncertainly, "you can discuss it with the Colonel later. You're going straight to lock up," ordered James, "his quarters or yours, choice is up to you, but with a full foraging party on the ship I'm only posting one set of guards."
"Mine." Said Rush.
"Fine. Get moving."
Rush stalked out, leaving a stunned Camile. Chloe had to trot to catch up, James and Chu marching behind. Rush almost walked into TJ coming out of the infirmary.
"Doctor! Chloe!" she looked startled. "What's going on?"
Rush didn't slow. "Ask your fucking boyfriend." He snarled.
The door to Rush's quarters closed behind them. Chloe stood by the door as Rush paced over to the chair and threw himself down in it, rubbing his eyes.
"Fucking Young!" he growled, reduced by rage from his usual sarcasm and vitriol into profanity.
He propped his elbow on the arm of the chair resting his forehead in his hand. After almost a whole minute he realised Chloe was still standing by the door and looked up at her. Hot tears were coursing down her face, his new vision showed him this clearly, glowing streams of tears flowing from her eyes, cooling as they ran down her cheeks and dropping as luminescent pearls to the floor. Suddenly very tired, he stood and walked over. Chloe was so tense she was almost rigid, hands balled into fists by her sides, shaking as she cried silently.
"I can't do it." She said, her voice small and tight. "I can't do this again!"
He reached out, putting his arms around her and she practically collapsed, leaning into him, forcing him to hold her up as finally she released control of her emotions and cried great heaving sobs into his chest. He was suddenly unsure what to do with her, still furious with Young for confining them and angry with himself for not managing to release Eli before being found out.
He guided her to the bed and with gentle pressure to release her tight hold of him, sat her down on the edge, She wrapped her arms around his waist and continued to sob into his stomach. He rested his arms gently round her shoulders and let her cry for a while to give himself time to calm down. After a while he realised she was still crying though and pulled away slightly, she fell forward to lean on her knees, chest still hitching with hoarse sobs.
"Chloe," he said. "Look at me."
His words had no effect and her sat down on the bed next to her, pulled her up to sitting again, and grabbed her jaw to look into her face.
"Chloe, calm down. There's nothing you ken do yet, you're just making yourself sick."
She was hyperventilating, her breathing hitching in her chest, too shallow, too rapid.
"I can't cope with being a freak again." The words seemed dragged from her throat, "I can't stand the way that they look at me. Can't stand the way people stand away from me."
She wasn't looking at him, her eyes were focussed down at his chest, and she was still hyperventilating. He realised she was in the grip of a full blown panic attack.
"You're not alone." He snapped. "I'm in this as bad as you if not worse. Now calm down, this is getting nowhere. Breath slowly."
She made eye contact finally, then took a deep breath and began to try and stop panting, slumped forward slightly. She looked as tired as he felt and he let go of her face.
"Come here." He said and wrapped his arms around her again. "You foolish girl."
She buried her face in his shoulder and he stroked her hair.
"Come on," he said, "they'll not be doing anything with us until they've finished with the ship. You can get some rest at least."
She didn't let go and after a moment he lifted his legs up onto the bed and pulled her up around onto the bed with him.
"I'm sure this won't be the last in a series of bad decisions I've made." He muttered acidly. Laying on his side he pulled her into the curve of his body and dragged a blanket over to cover her. "Try and sleep."
He wrapped an arm over her and tried to relax, running through the Stasis Pod schematics in his head. Chloe gradually relaxed, and he was vaguely away of her breathing softening into sleep, shortly before his own exhaustion caught up with him and consciousness faded out.
The door opened, startling Rush into wakefulness. He stayed immobile, spooned up against Chloe, arm round her waist, his hair thankfully covering his eyes. Her felt her muscles tense.
"Quiet." He murmured into the back of her neck.
She had his hand in hers and gave it a minute squeeze. Rush opened his eyes just a crack, peering through the curtain of hair. Young, Camile and TJ stood in the doorway.
"Oh!" Said TJ quietly in a surprised voice looking at them on the bed.
"Quite." Muttered Young.
Camile frowned. "I don't think we should be jumping to conclusions. They've been in here for nine hours and it's two in the morning." She said quietly. "I'd be in bed."
"Together?" Asked Young.
"Well there isn't anywhere else to sleep." She shrugged. "For all of his behaviour, I can't see him..."
There were footsteps in the corridor.
"Colonel!" Matt's voice.
Rush felt Chloe tense.
"Is she okay. Can I..." As Matt stepped into the doorway he looked over Young's shoulder into the room and his voice stopped sharp.
"Matt," said Camile quietly, "They're asleep."
"No they aren't" he said in a stiff voice. "They were awake the minute the door opened. Footsteps in the corridor will wake her up, even before the door opens."
Rush gave up the act, reached up and pushed the hair from his face then put his hand back down on Chloe's shoulder. He regarded the small party in the doorway.
"You can take your dirty minds out of the gutter." Rush's tone of voice dripped malice. "If you'd care to notice we're both fully dressed, and I don't think either of us is that sort of a person."
He propped himself up on his other elbow.
"Won't you come in?"
Chloe sat up and pulled her legs up to sit cross legged by Rush's stomach. He was a little surprised she didn't get up off the bed.
Young stepped into the room with Camile, TJ following more cautiously. Matt hovered in the doorway. Young gestured Camile to take the chair as TJ sat herself on the edge of the counter. Young was blatantly furious.
"So," Young opened, "it would appear you have a lot of explaining to do….both have a lot of explaining to do." He corrected himself. "Would you care to start with your side of the story?"
Rush rolled on to his back and pushed himself up with both hands to face them.
"From the beginning? I realised about a week after Chloe's symptoms came to a head that I was experiencing improvements to my sight." He said. "I spoke to TJ", TJ nodded, "but we were more worried about what was wrong with Chloe and we thought it was probably something from the planet wi the empty base. I didn't think it was very significant at the time, but Chloe pointed out a couple of days later that she'd noticed I smelled different."
"So you decided not to say anything."
"I didn't think anything of it, I didn't need my glasses anymore, James didn't need her shoulder fixed and Volker's hand was better. It wasn' a big thing." Rush said with emphasis. "We were more worried about Chloe and getting Eli out of the pod." He pushed his hair back off his face. "It wasn't a quick thing, not like Chloe, it came on slow, and it wasn't till Chloe noticed the smell was getting stronger I really thought about it." He shifted his legs. "I thought you'd decide to incarcerate me." He said. "And I was right. So I left it, Chloe's been keeping an eye on me, and we always planned to tell you when we'd freed Eli, but you need one of us, Eli or myself." He made a frustrated gesture. "I haven't slept unsupervised since the senses began to change for fear of waking up someone else. I've been catching sleep in the Core Room while Chloe is there or on the bridge while crew are around, occasionally getting my head down in the mess hall. And I've been making sure I'm not turning blue."
"I'll need to check you." Said TJ
"Yes, we're not exactly going to take your word for it." Young's voice was sarcastic, "I know where tat gets us."
"He doesn't have any skin changes." Chloe spoke for the first time.
Everyone turned to stare at her. She looked vulnerable and defeated.
"Well someone had to check." She said. "He's not going blue."
Stunned silence overtook the room, people turning the possible implications of her words over in their heads.
"Oh for Christs sake, you have filthy minds." Rush said derisively.
"What?" she asked. "I know the risks to Destiny, I've been the risks to Destiny."
Young shifted to look at her.
"I find it hard to believe that you didn't tell someone, Lieutenant Scott at least."
"Matt would have had to tell you, or be disobeying orders." She said. "Look, I can see what you're thinking and I'm not turning into an alien and I'm not in a relationship with Doctor Rush." Her voice had the detached, slightly emotionless quality it had had when her death had been imminent. "Someone had to check, same as we had to get Eli out. You need him. If I'd told you, you'd have locked him up."
Rush wasn't sure whether Chloe was talking to Young or Matt, but it was Young who responded
"Too damn right I would have," snapped Young, "and now I'm locking both of you up until I'm certain neither of you pose a threat to the ship or it's crew."
Young's face was angry, Camile's curious, TJ's worried and Matt's simply betrayed. Chloe looked at him and he looked away.
"Chloe," Young said to get her attention, "I'll have you escorted back to your quarters."
"No," she said quickly. "I won't go."
Matt's eyes flicked back to her, betrayal written large across his face. Chloe looked away. Young looked shocked and the others surprised.
"I can't do it again." She said quietly. "Two months!" she paused to slow her breathing. "Two months of being locked up on my own with every now and again a visit from someone who thought I was going to do something alien. Two months of being alone, losing my mind and waiting to die."
Her voice raised to a strained note as she spoke, and her look was pleading. In the doorway Matt turned away. Chloe looked at Young and then at Rush. He shrugged.
"I'm sure you can bring a mattress in here on the floor for me for a night or two," Rush told Young with hard sarcasm. "Maybe you can find us a suite in the long term..."
"I'm sorry." Chloe said to Matt.
"It's okay." He said, no emotions. "I'll visit."
She smiled wanly. "I'll finish your socks." She offered.
"Fine." Said Young. "We're done for the moment then."
"We're never done." Muttered Rush.
Young ignored him.
"TJ will be undertaking some tests on you." He told them. "I expect both of you to comply."
He walked to the door and left, Matt gave Chloe a searching look then followed.
"I'll have someone bring some of your things Chloe." Said Camile not unkindly. She turned to Rush. "While I can see your reasons, Doctor, I have to support the Colonel where the safety of the crew is concerned. You should have said something."
Rush shrugged and laid back on the bed as Camile and TJ walked out.
"Well that coulda gone worse." He said cynically.
Chloe looked at him then lay down next to him on her back.
"You didn't have to stand up for me." He said. "TJ's going to check me out anyway."
She shrugged. "I didn't want them to think I was a complete moron and hadn't thought about any of this."
"So now they just think you're sleeping with me." He said in frustration. "I coulda protected you from that."
She was silent. After a while Rush reached out and turned out the light. The conversation wasn't going to be resolved immediately anyway. Sleep came slowly for both of them.