Chloe looked up as Matt walked over to them in the messhall. She shot a nervous look at Greer who was standing nearby, but Greer gave her a nod and an approving look.
"Doctor Rush." Said Matt. "I want to apologise for hitting you."
Rush looked up at Matt from where he sat hunched over his bowl next to Chloe, and for a split second Chloe thought he was going to make some sort of sarcastic remark. She realised she was holding her breath while Rush blinked at Matt.
"Apology accepted Lieutenant." He said finally.
He nodded, face impassive and Matt nodded back, face equally blank. Chloe released the breath she had been holding as Matt walked off. Rush went back to his meal as if nothing had happened. She leaned into him just a little, and felt his leg press against hers under the table.
"Did y' think I'd embarrass you in public?" He murmured.
"I didn't know." She said quietly. "He did hit you."
"Don't you trust me?"
She turned her head to look at him but he was still looking down, stirring the contents of his bowl with his fork.
"Of course, but…" she hesitated "it's different out here to in there."
Her implication hung unsaid between them, as heavy as the invisible press of the crowd around them.
"Trust me," he said, finally looking sideways at her through the curtain of hair, "please."
His face was serious, concerned. She looked at him, then her face relaxed and she nodded. He reached out and put an arm round her shoulders, hugging her into his side and pressing a kiss onto the top of her head. Chloe heard conversations faltering around them. She relaxed deliberately into him, tucking her head in to rest on his cheek, it felt good. After a moment conversations restarted awkwardly.
She looked down and saw his dinner, only faintly showing warmth.
"Your dinner is getting cold." She said.
"It can't taste any worse than it does hot."
A further few days passed uneventfully with the sole occurrence of any importance being the final release of the fabric made from the paper trees, a cause for significant excitement, despite the announcement of uniform. Chloe took the ration of fabric for herself, Rush and Eli to make the permitted shirts and underwear and then arranged a trade with Barnes to make her clothes if Barnes would knit all the socks from the wool from the almost-moose on the last planet visited.
She sewed constantly for four days, following Rush wherever he was working and sitting nearby on the floor, fabric bunched in her lap, sewing and embroidering. She had an airman leave Eli's clothes on his bunk ready for when he woke up. As expected Rush scowled at his uniform shirt, but it didn't take him long to change into the clean shirt and underpants. He seemed as pleased as her in her identical new clothes. He was even willing to be persuaded into tolerating the laundry party in the messhall, as a good third of the crew sat there in new shirts and underpants, taking turns to wash and wring clothing in hot water in Ancient crates. Becker and his assistant boiled kettle after kettle of water, and she and he scrubbed out t-shirts, underwear, jeans and yoga pants, among excited chatter and clouds of steam. It was loud and smelly to her senses, but it was amazing what difference clean clothes had made to everyone.
"Everett."
"General."
"You look like a pirate." Said O'Neill, taking in the simple off white linen-ish shirt that had replaced his Icarus issue black shirt.
It was a good fit, evidently pulled on over the head with bone buttons at the collarless neck and cuffs. Someone had considerately embroidered YOUNG on the right breast in black military capitals, his rank insignia on the left breast, and what O'Neill assumed was an outline of the Destiny with a Tauri logo inside on each bicep, all in black.
"New uniform." Said Young shortly. "Don't knock it sir, it's the first new shirt I've had in four years. We're making enough from the whole crew from the fabric we've managed to make, we've gone uniform for all crew members military or otherwise to make it absolutely fair, one new shirt, two new pairs of under pants and two pairs of almost-moose-wool socks for each crew member."
O'Neill looked him up and down, then checked his own borrowed body, luckily still in uniform.
"We're several billion light years from the nearest supply station. I have very creative and resourceful crew." Young said with apparent pride, or at least a completely straight face. "And a knitting circle. Shall we, sir?" He gestured to the door.
A crew member with stepped forward, wearing a similar shirt with Dawson on the breast and a Pi symbol instead of military insignia holding out a badge. It appeared to be homemade from a safety pin and waste plastic, drawn in red biro.
"Hello my name is General Jack O'Neill." O'Neill read disbelievingly.
"Scientists sir," apologised Young, "but it reduces confusion."
O'Neill pinned it over the name of the airman whose body he was inhabiting.
"What's going on back home?" asked Young.
"We're still having issues with the Lucian Alliance." O'Neill said. "They've taken another two of the independent planets, Esdrin and Tanara. There's some murmurings of some sort of trouble on Langara, but they broke off diplomatic contact after the Gate incident so we've only got second hand information. What's the news here?"
Young nodded. "Things have been pretty quiet here. We've been in FTL for a little over three weeks now. It's mainly been minor repairs and processing supplies. Brody thinks he's got the salvaged repair drone working, but I've seen no evidence of it doing anything yet. No progress on defrosting Eli. No real crew problems, Airman Hansen and Doctor Roy had bronchitis, they're recovering, Doctor Rush and Chloe haven't shown any more changes, but there was a bit of trouble between Rush and Lieutenant Scott."
"Trouble?" O'Neill gave him a look.
"Scott hit him." Said Young. "Fraternisation issues."
"That was to be expected." O'Neill said blandly. "You dealt with it?"
Young nodded and was pleased when O'Neill changed the subject.
"Quite the handicrafts boom here." He noted as they walked through corridors and he saw another couple of pirate uniform shirts, all similarly embroidered with name, Destiny logo and rank or Pi symbol some with more complex designs.
"What's with the Pi symbols?"
"Scientist insignia. Camile Wray suggested I made the scientists organise a chain of command, with equivalence with the military personnel. They weren't very happy about it, but in an emergency they'll know who's in charge. The scientists decided on nominal rank symbols with lines below the symbol for senior staff and arcs above for doctorates. They're very proud of those, I'm humouring them."
O'Neill gave a short laugh. "Yeah, you have to humour your geeks. Okay, show me the stuff."
They walked into the chair room where a dark haired man with two lines under his Pi was waiting by a console with a woman with a broken line under her symbol.
"Doctor Brody I presume." Said O'Neill reading his chest.
"Just Brody." said the man "Engineer."
"This is the chair." Said Young.
"Hi Jack." Said a tallish black airman.
O'Neill read the badge on his chest out loud. "Hello my name is Dr Daniel Jackson". He looked back up at the man's face. "Daniel, this is weird."
Daniel nodded grinning.
"So this is the chair." O'Neill said. "It doesn't look like our one."
"It's much older than the one in Antarctica." Said Brody. "This one has electrodes to contact the brain."
"Eww." O'Neill said. "I just got weird lights or face suckers."
Brody goggled at him.
"Well," said Young, "this one seems to make considerably more of a meal of people. We've lost one crew member completely and as I said we're still having issues with whether or not it affected Chloe and Doctor Rush."
Chloe was sitting on the bed sewing something in the off white fabric. As the door opened she was already looking at it. She was wearing a uniform shirt with "CHLOE" on the right breast and scientist symbols on the other although it was belted round the waist with what appeared to be a wide sash made from a strip of the shiny bedding material. There was a radio on the bed next to her.
"Miss Armstrong." Said O'Neill.
"Hello General." She said with some surprise as she read the badge.
"Scientist?" he asked her.
"They scientists decided Eli and I are part of the science team."
"Not your surname though." He noted.
She smiled. "Eli and I both appear to have lost our surnames somewhere along the way. I'm not even sure that some people here know what my surname is." She said jokingly. "What are you doing on Destiny?"
"Reviewing the troops." He said vaguely.
"Checking up on what's happening with Nicholas and I."
He looked at her with a slightly amused expression. "That as well. You're a senator's daughter, he's the head of the scientists on one of my commands."
She put the sewing down next to her.
"What did you want to know?" she asked.
"How you are." He said. "Generally speaking."
"I'm fine." She replied. "I'm pretty used to the new senses now." She wriggled in her seat a little "Things have blown over a little with Matt," she admitted, "I guess you know about that."
"Yeah." Said O'Neill. "I guess that sucked."
She looked at him. "You're not like most of the Generals I've met."
"I guess you've met a few as a senator's aide." He shrugged. "Save the planet a few times, they're willing to overlook some of my more charming personality traits and promote me up with the assholes anyway." He said a little self mockingly.
"So do you get to decide what they do with us?"
"I'll be giving Colonel Young my opinion."
"And he'll do it."
"Maybe." Said O'Neill noncommittally.
"I'm fine General." She repeated. "Really, I'm happy like this. I don't want to be locked up but I wouldn't want to go back to being normal now."
He nodded, and smiled.
"Well, if you don't mind, I've got some other parts of the ship to tour."
"Thank you for coming by." She said politely.
The airman in the stones room chair flinched and looked around.
"It's Telford." He stood up. "I need to see Colonel Young now."
He walked out of the room without waiting. "On the bridge!" the Airman on guard called after him going for his radio to notify the bridge.
"Everett." said Telford walking onto the bridge. "Good news!"
Young looked at him.
"David." He said. "Long time no see."
"I've been off world."
Telford looked almost excited.
"What brings you here?"
Telford looked at the staff on the bridge with Young, Scott and Brody.
"Can we talk somewhere private?"
They walked out and into a nearby room. Telford sat on the edge of a table.
"We've been in negotiations with the Langarans again." He said. "They aren't willing to let any of our military personnel back on their planet, but in return for some concessions, have agreed to allow some of our scientists to try to open a wormhole to Destiny for a brief period in order to test the capabilities. It'll be one way, it may be the only opportunity we get for some time. We aren't going to be sending any personnel through, there are serious concerns about the stability of any wormhole at the moment, and frankly the Langarans won't let us. But we think we'll be able to send some supplies through, focussing on medication and basics. The Langaran's have prohibited the idea of any weaponry or any non-medical equipment. Frankly they don't trust us. But they're willing to trade this for some concessions in the interests of alleviating suffering."
"But we'll get medication? Supplies? Food? Clothes?"
"You have four days to let me know what you need. Assume you'll get six crates of goods through, and tell me what you need as a priority. Then give me a further list of up to thirty more crates in priority order."
Young leaned against a bulkhead regarding Telford with barely concealed distaste.
"What were the concessions?"
"Help to make a vaccine." Said Telford grimly. "They have an epidemic. Things are pretty desperate there."
"You've been there?"
Telford nodded. "They're suffering badly, people are dying. They're very scared this will blow up their planet and they don't trust our military but they were willing to let our scientists do this and take readings. McKay says even this will be helpful for getting you back in the future."
Young leaned on the back of a chair, rubbing the stubble at his jawline
"When will we get this?"
Telford shrugged.
"That's down to the politicians and scientists." He said. "I think you'll be waiting a month at least. The Langarans won't permit us access until we've come up with the vaccine. We need time to get the crates and supplies organised though."
The pair looked at each other, in uneasy truce.
"I'll have the list for you within the next few hours." Young said. "Was there anything else you wanted?"
"I'll just have a walk around while you get the list together." Said Telford.
Young gave him a short nod and palmed the door release.
"Be my guest."
Young sat up straight as he opened someone else's eyes on Earth. Telford was standing by the door.
"Paper." He demanded.
He began to write out the carefully memorised list, specific medications and medical equipment from TJ, food, lists of particular seeds and supplies from the hydroponics specialists, clothes, tools and spare parts, raw materials and cables, and a list of films, study materials, books, technical texts, entertainment and craft manuals to be put on DVD-Roms or flash memory and packed in any empty spaces. Finally a list of food stuffs. The airman sitting next to him suddenly spun to look at him.
"Brody?"
The airman nodded.
"Check the list."
Brody checked the list correcting names of seeds and technical documents.
"That's mine done." He said and disconnected.
The airman blinked hard then reconnected the stones. Thirty seconds later he blinked and changed posture again.
"TJ?"
"Colonel." She scanned the list, added, corrected then disconnected.
Telford watched the proceedings as several crew members checked the list.
"We're done." Said Young finally. "The medicines, seeds and tools come first. Then all the raw materials, equipment and spare parts, clothes and documents and files next. Food if you can send it comes last, that we can provide for ourselves."
Another set of simulations had finally been finished on Eli's defrosting, and Chloe and Rush were spending most of their time in the lab, arguing the figures with each other and with Brody, Park and Volker. While they calculated, Brody and Volker were still battling with the control systems for the drone. It booted up now, and they could get it to perform single actions with the control interface mapped across from the laptop, but they had failed to find any control systems in Destiny's memory or systems which was causing them some problems.
Chloe tried to concentrate as the debate got louder. It was pretty loud for normal ears by the look on Lisa's face, but it was beginning to cause her a real headache and Rush had taken his chaperone off to try a couple of alterations to the external pod controls to get away from it.
She stood up.
"It has to be something simple." Shouted Volker. "If there isn't a complex system it has to be something simple. Maybe Destiny controls it herself."
"We've tried that." responded Brody. "We haven't found any way of getting Destiny to control the drone!"
"Maintenance drone," said Chloe quietly, "Go ring the door chime."
The pair spun as the maintenance drone stalked out from between them, rose on it's legs and hit the door chime.
"Maintenance drone," repeated Chloe "Go fix the broken air conduit on the corridor outside the infirmary."
They spun to look at her. The drone walked out of the door, to the surprise of Airman Dunning. Brody looked from Chloe to the drone stalking off down the corridor and back again a couple of times.
"That's weird." Said Volker.
"Chloe," said Brody in a cautious voice, "tell the door to close."
"Destiny, close the door."
The door hissed shut. He turned to Dunning.
"Dunning, I think you need to escort Chloe back to her quarters." Brody said nervously.
Chloe was not surprised when Colonel Young turned up at the door.
"How are you Chloe?"
She suddenly stopped and looked at the door, putting the fabric down and standing up.
"What's wrong with Nicholas?" she demanded.
"I suspect he's unhappy with my decision."
She rounded on him. "What decision."
The door opened and Rush stormed in, flanked by two armed guards.
"I hope you have a good explanation for this!" he shouted at Young. "We were just about to start the first alterations to the system for defrosting Eli."
"Sit down Doctor." Ordered Young.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Sit down Doctor." Young's tone brooked no challenge and he took a step forward. "Shut up and listen."
"I've just been marched away from my project at gunpoint." Rush was furious. "Do you want Eli out or not?"
The door opened and Camile, TJ and Daniel Jackson walked in.
"Sit down Rush." Young's voice was icy.
"Sit down Nick." Said Daniel.
Rush turned away swearing in Ancient.
"Sit down Nick. This is important."
Rush turned, looked at Daniel and walked to stand next to where Chloe sat.
"Chloe has now started to be able to tell Destiny's systems what to do verbally." Young said.
Rush looked at Chloe.
"I just told a maintenance drone what to fix," she said, looking nervous, "and closed a door."
"Obviously this new development is a cause for concern." Said Young.
"Concern!" Rush's voice was incredulous.
Chloe looked from one to the other, before turning back to Rush. She took Rush's arm. Automatically he patted her shoulder.
"Our best guess is that Destiny did something to you. Probably when you used the chair." Said TJ. "We don't know what but I think it must have done something to your mind, apparently something physical and possibly something that affected your DNA."
"I'm absolutely certain it's the only place where you could have obtained the knowledge of Ancient you've got." added Daniel "The fact that you've almost entirely quit speaking your first language between yourselves is a concern." Seeing Becker's face with the serious concerned look so typical of Daniel was odd.
"I'm also worried about your behaviour, your interdependence and emotional attachment to the ship. Both of you." Camile added.
"It's my life's work." Snapped Rush.
"But not Chloe's and you've said on several occasions that your relationship with Chloe is against your better judgement."
"The good news," said TJ, "is that we're pretty certain that you don't have any remaining mental effects from the blue aliens."
"Finally!" snapped Rush.
Chloe looked hopeful.
"But I don't have the equipment I need to check what has changed," TJ admitted, "but now we have the medical bay you and Brody opened on the new corridor, I'm hoping that something there will be of use."
Rush threw his hands into the air. "If you can even identify what the equipment is."
Chloe shuddered and leaned into Rush's hip and he put his arm round her.
"I'm staying to do some translation." Said Daniel. "And I've requested one of the medical staff from Atlantis swap with someone here. They spent a long time using Ancient medical equipment. I'm hoping some of what is here will be familiar."
"You're locking us up again?" asked Chloe.
"Until we have a better idea of what has happened we can't let either of you near any of Destiny's systems. We don't know what you can do to Destiny or what Destiny will do to you." Said Young. "We have to assume there is some sort of agenda or programme running here."
"So what areas of the ship am I allowed in?" demanded Rush.
"Mess hall, Observation Lounge, Showers, quarters, your chalk board corridor." Said Young. "You can consult with your scientists and assign work but until we've got to the bottom of this you touch none of Destiny's systems. You'll also continue to have your guard duty. The same applies to Chloe."
"And I suppose if I don't agree, you'll simply lock us both in here." Rush said,
Young gave a short laugh.
"You suppose right." He said. "Although I'd prefer not to."
Rush spun angrily on his heel, dipping his head and pressing the heels of his hands into his forehead. He took a deep breath, dropped his hands and stared out of the porthole.
"Agreed." He said "Now get out of our quarters."
He turned back toward them and took two steps back to Chloe reaching out his hand. She took his finger tips with hers. They looked at each other.
"I said get out." Said Rush without looking away from Chloe's face.
They left.
"Do you think they're right?" Chloe asked him." Do you think its Destiny making us…like this?"
"It wasn't Destiny made you drag me from a shower and into bed." He said in English.
"No."
She stood up.
"Does it matter?" he asked, pressing her finger tips between his thumb and fingers.
"I guess not." She replied. "Destiny, lights off."
The lights went out and he raised an eyebrow. She took a step towards him.
"Love me?" she asked.
He stopped and searched her face, lips slightly parted, trying to read her. She began to strip and stood there once again, naked and beautiful in front of him in heat and FTL-light. Only this time he had time and permission to look. Rush smiled at her and it was broad and clear and a little sad, a smile that went all the way up to his eyes and lightly set the crinkles around them.
"Maybe I'm a consolation prize?" she offered quietly.
"Never."
He walked over to her, placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed the hair back from her face, letting it run through his fingers like water. She smiled again and Rush leaned in to kiss her. He felt her slide his waistcoat off his shoulders and shifted one hand then the other so it fell to the floor behind him, replacing his hands on her shoulders, still kissing her softly.
Her hands slid round his waist untucking his shirt and stepped back to allow her to draw them over his head. She stepped forward to him, before he could move, leaning in for a kiss that pressed her breasts against his bare chest. One of her hands was undoing his belt and the other sliding up and down his back.
She skated his pants down off his hips and pushed them down with the instep of her foot, so he could step out of them. He wrapped his arms around her and they stood naked, pressed together, cheek to cheek, listening to each others heartbeats, just breathing.
Her hands slid up to run through his hair and she turned her head, began pressing kisses to his cheek. He turned his face towards her to catch her lips and they kissed.
She drew him back to the bed and sat, drawing him down with her as she lay back in the FTL-light. Rush moved onto the bed, lowering himself to his elbow alongside her. He watched her for a moment, then ran his fingers over her stomach. She shivered and looked at him with a smile as he reached up to cup a breast and kiss her again. A thumb skated across her nipple, already taut and made her sigh into the kiss and he repeated it. Her hand came up to touch his arm and she made as if to roll towards him, but he pressed her gently back.
"No. I want to see you."
She sighed as he kissed her again and stroked down her torso to massage the upthrust of her hip bone with his fingers and run his thumb down the crease of her thigh along the edge of the soft hair. He gasped as she twisted her fingers, trapped down by her side, to slide up the length of him.
"Unfair." He said.
He slid his fingers down between her legs to skim gently over her labia, slide up and begin to rub her. She took a deep breath in and closed her eyes as he stroked her, watching her melt as he caressed her. It was intoxicating and he almost didn't notice how close he had brought her as she started to rock into his fingers. He slowed down, drawing a sound that was more than a whimper than a moan from her lips.
He kissed her then, and she responded, rolling over to wrap her arms round him and deepen the kiss. Mid kiss she hooked her leg up over him and slid herself onto him. He broke away from the kiss with a gasp as she rolled him onto his back, pressing herself down his full length.
"Watch me." She said.
Chloe stroked his cheek, and ran her finger tips over his lips where he kissed them, stroking the short tuft of his beard that stuck out just a little just below the centre of his bottom lip. Kneeling either side of his hips, with him pressed deep into her, she began to rock gently. He rested his hands lightly on her hips, not holding, just touching, watching her. It was excruciatingly slow but exquisite as she rocked above him, breasts moving gently, skin luminous and perfect, hair framing her face. He watched her face as she watched him back intently, slowly beginning to increase the movement. This time he saw the point she began to lose her control and he raised his hands to draw her down to him, change the angle and increase the pressure where it would cause her the most pleasure.
She shifted slightly as he wrapped her in his arms, her legs stretching out along his, as he took the lead, not increasing the pace, just loving her with long deliberate strokes. She finally reached her end. The feel of her contracting around him brought him to his own shuddering climax, wrapped around her, buried deep within her.