Hello again Dearies – I know it has been an extremely long time since I updated last, and for that I cannot be sorry not yet at least. When I started Sensitivity I set out to tell a story, and along the way as more people started to read, I realized that I was rushing the plot and some of the character interactions, just to make a deadline and keep everyone happy. I lost sight of the story, and what I truly like to do – tell a wonderful story. I left blaring plot holes, that my Beta and I didn't even see until recently, and have spent some time re-working my story to accommodate them, or at least keep those plot holes as an "accidental intentional". Losing sight of what I really love to do – tell a story worth reading – means that I left ideas and plot un-resolved, and backed myself into a corner that took me a while to fix in my outline and draft. What does all this mean for you? Well, unfortunately it means longer times between posts, but happily it means that you'll be reading the story as it was intended, filled with my patented reveals and plot twists, and believable character interaction and growth in line with their intended/hinted Universal growth. While I can only guess at what the creators had in mind for everyone, I do know that there was a very specific path set for everyone, and towards the end of Season Two, we began seeing those paths open up, and characters naturally begin to gravitate towards those hinted at futures.

Thank you to all who have stuck by, waited out my unintentional hiatus, and continue to read and give feedback – I love you guys and you're the reason I didn't continue to plunge head first into my errors and just hope they would resolve themselves. I'm telling you all a story, and if I half-assed it, I'd not be giving you the best story I can give. So all that blah blah blah aside, on with the story, as it was originally intended.

Chapter 14 – Marvel

Chloe woke from the simulation induced sleep, her head groggy as she realized fully that she should in no way feel the pain of lack of sleep; that she controlled her environment completely, and instantly felt better. Beside her Rush started to stir from his own simulated sleep, his arms snaking around her waist as he drew her back into his embrace. He pinned her as he threw one of his legs over her, holding her still as she rubbed her cheek across the smooth skin of his chest.

"We don't have to be awake for another hour." He stated as he nearly purred with the feel of her cheek rubbing across his bare skin.

"We don't need sleep at all and you know this." She countered, going boneless as his hands started to work across her back.

"It feels real enough to me, so real I say it is." He tucked her head under his chin as she threaded one of her legs between his, reveling in the feel of being as close to him as she was now.

"You didn't even sleep did you?" She pressed her lips to Rush's chest, relaxing as the familiar patterns started to run through her brain once again. She didn't think it was odd, a few days and they all had adjusted quickly to the constant flow of data streaming through them at all times, even in supposed sleep.

"Aye, I slept, or rather, Destiny told my brain I slept in a bed, twined limb for limb with the prettiest lass I've ever laid eyes upon, but only after I had her screaming my name at the top of her lungs." Rush opened an eye at the small swat his words earned him, his voice dropping as he continued. "Oh, Peach, but I do so enjoy when you try and be coy…"

"And you're no better than a teenager." She smarted back as he rolled over her.

"A teenager, you say?" He asked, Chloe realizing quickly how awake he really was, the feel of his hips wedged tightly between hers started the languid burn in her abdomen, the immediate response to press close to him.

"Yes, we're trying to figure out a way to create a supply chain, to dial back to Earth, even one way, and here you are intent on mapping every inch of me in your brain instead. If I didn't know exactly what you were thinking right now, thanks to the simulation, I'd almost feel incredibly flattered, but seeing as how only twenty per cent of your attention is on me, while the other eighty is off running so many diagnostics it makes even my head hurt, I know otherwise." Chloe leaned up, her lips ghosting along the edge of his ear. "And for the record, I'm not even beginning to play coy, Nicholas."

Rush pulled her under him, his lips touching her skin anywhere they could as he lifted one of her legs over his shoulder, a quick thrust of his hips burying him deep inside her folds, the mutual feeling of contentment washing across their synapses at the same time. While not as rewarding as their time in the real world, both enjoyed the feeling Destiny's computers gave them of intimacy, even when they both knew the truth of the matter, their time in the simulation a pale comparison for their stolen moments before their cryogenic sleep.

He took his time, all searches and queries he had been working on gone as he focused ever single bit of his attention on her, letting the data stream fall into the background of his consciousness as Rush lost himself in the feeling of body to body contact. Skin moving against skin, Chloe's hands gliding over his chest, her fingertips on his hips – trying to make him hurry, her lips against the pulse point, forehead pressed to the crook of his neck; more than the feeling of the soft curve of her calf on his cheek, the silky flesh of her inner wrist, the soft thatch of dark curls at the apex of her thighs crushing against his lower abdomen with each movement forward. Real world or simulation, Rush would always give her his entire self when enfolded in one another as such – she deserved that much and so much more – and he was determined that for as however short his life may now be, that he give her all. He knew no other way.

Passionate, was the word Chloe had been looking for. Passionate, so much more than she had ever felt with any other person, Rush's passion for her, for their mission, for their time together was all consuming, and Chloe could imagine no other way she'd want him. The intense focus he showed in all aspects of life had kept in the simulation, even though the both of them knew they could be lost in one another like this, and continuing to work with little effort. That Rush blocked out everything when he was with her like this made her want to cry, to be so – cherished – was something Chloe had never felt in her life, and that he could show her such in a computer made her long for a time that seemed so impossibly far in the future.

"Come back to me, Peach," he commanded, resting her forehead against hers, their movements still lazy, intense, not wanting to be parted at all as they both registered the pleasurable rush of endorphins flooding their digital systems at the same time, both feeling the breathless moment before losing themselves in touch once again – a ritual they had kept for each 'morning' they had spent in their supposed 'sleep'.

Chloe stretched beneath him, both reluctant to start their delving of the data-stream again so soon, both having realized their fist day being under that while they could block it out for short periods of time, it was always there when they closed their eyes, even in sleep. Rush felt Chloe begin her translation of the ship's medical logs once again, as he allowed the query into naquadria rich worlds Destiny had charted over the millennia to stream to him once again.

"I'm always with you," Chloe muttered, the ghost like feel of her consciousness threading its way around – through his own bringing the deep satisfaction slamming back into the forefront of his attention once again.

"Aye, you are."

A sharp rap on the door brought them both glaring at the noise, both reluctantly leaving the bed and finding clothing quickly. While in the simulation, all of them had decided to keep doing mundane things like eating and dressing so in case anyone paid special attention they'd not notice anything out of the ordinary. Clothes in place, Rush flipped the covers back over their bed, giving it the semi used state it usually appeared in, and would be less shocking to some of the crew.

Chloe and he had been doing their best to not openly scream their sexual relationship, and thus Rush took special care when members of the crew came anywhere near their quarters. It just wouldn't do to have someone poking their nose around where it wasn't wanted. Or for that matter, realizing that they were far too close, too quickly for what had been a three year sleep. The masquerade of being awake had to be kept in place. Not every civilian aboard the Destiny would understand, much less be fine with being in what amounted to a large scale Sims game for an indeterminate amount of time before they could properly refuel and build up food reserves enough to bring everyone back into a conscious state.

Chloe palmed the door release as she straightened out her hair, instantly seeing that she had no need too. "Lisa!" She said happily as she reached a hand out to her friend, helping to guide her into the room and settle her into a seat on the couch. "What brings you out here so early in the morning and unaccompanied I might add?" Park giggled a bit, following Rush's movements around the room as he took a seat on the chest before the bed.

"Good morning Dr. Park," he acknowledged her, before rising from his seat, and leaning in to press a kiss to Chloe's cheek. "I'll be in the mess, give you two some space." Rush grinned as he left the room, his footsteps quickly retreating down the hallway.

"He didn't need to leave…" Park began as Chloe took the other woman's hands, the ghost like embrace of Rush's consciousness still threading through her own. Chloe would be incredibly sad when they woke and had to return to not being so close to him. "I know he feels guilt; I can hear it in his voice still."

"What?" Chloe started, pushing herself back into the present, blinking as she watched Park's face, seeing the twisting emotions play across the woman's features.

"Sometimes when he speaks to me, his tone changes, as if he's ashamed about the decisions made when I…when I got locked out of the main parts of the ship." Park explained, her thumbs stroking over the backs of Chloe's hands, feeling the tension set in suddenly. "I've never blamed him. He made the decision with the knowledge of needing to take care of everyone, not just me. I've just, never told him I understood, and didn't hold him accountable for it."

"I'm not sure he would take that and let go of any guilt he felt. That man is the most secretive person I've ever met. As well as the fact that he would never admit any guilt freely, he holds it all inside, lets the tension build inside until he blows up at someone who doesn't really deserve it, and then the cycle begins again. He is good inside, though, I've never doubted that. Sure he's an asshole, but he's a good person." Chloe thought over her words, along with her knowledge of him now, raw, open to her in a way that would never have been possible in the real world.

Rush could never claim to be a nice person, but indeed, he was a good man – he'd make fun of you to your face, belittle your work, and be a rather unpleasant force to be dealt with at times, but he had never done anything out of pure malicious intent. Unless you counted the man he hunted down across the planet, regardless of the threat of being left behind. Rush had stopped in his singular pursuit though, he had stopped to defuse a bomb that had been on Park's sweater. He could have left it for someone else to deal with, but he had taken the time, rage boiling over, to stop and help the woman who sat in front of her now.

"You drifted away there for a moment." Park interrupted the silence, Chloe smiling at her friend's ability to see with more than just her eyes, as damaged as they still were.

"I was thinking about one of the rare moments when Rush showed regard for another person outside of his normal sphere of worry." Chloe leaned back into her place on the couch, closing her eyes, feeling more at home in Park's presence that most everyone else on the ship. Everyone, of course, but Rush – he was her home now, and she'd follow him into the abyss and back as long as they were together. Chloe did enjoy though being able to turn off her sense of sight to feel more kindred with the other woman, even if it was just a false comfort that Park had no idea about.

"He's been known on occasion to be rather caring, even outside of you." Park smiled, Chloe could hear it, such an easy thing to catch when everything else was so much more attended to her surroundings.

"But enough about Rush, and me for that matter, you obviously are bubbling over with news if you risked a walk down this corridor alone before breakfast." Chloe opened her eyes, smiling brightly, chestnut curls falling into her face as she took on the role of excited female companion, the role coming easier these past few months, more so than before. Before she was a Senator's aide, the daughter of an influential politician who had been held in high esteem and Chloe's behavior had to be as such with everyone. Certain things were expected of the daughter, let alone aide, of a politician, and Chloe was finding it much easier to just be a young female, in love, and finding lasting friendships that weren't superficial.

"Ronald is asking Young to perform a small ceremony for us. It won't be recognized on Earth, of course, but it will be perfect regardless. I came to see if you might have any of your make-up left. I know how precious it is now, out here, with no idea If we'll ever get home, but I wanted to ask if maybe…" Park trailed off, biting her lower lip. "If my eyes are going to be closed when I'm married, I want my eyelids to at least be pretty." She finished.

"Vanity…?! From the bubbly sun-shine of our little misfit crew?!" Chloe teased, the giggle erupting from her before she could stop it. Soon they were both folded into laughter, gripping one another's hands. Chloe felt lighter, happy, after such a long struggle to secure her own happiness. It appeared that others weren't waiting either. It was a good sign for the long term success of their "mission", as Rush put it. It meant that despite the lingering hope of returning back to Earth eventually, they were making long term plans as well, letting that lingering hope go finally and moving on.

"I would be happy to make sure you're the prettiest thing this side of the universe on your wedding day. I am also honored that you came so early to share the news." Chloe couldn't keep the giddiness from her tone as she squeezed Park's hands once again, much happier than she was even letting on. People putting aside the hope that they'd ever return to Earth, making long term plans and acting on them was the first in the small steps of truly accepting that of the eighty-six of them left, that this was their actual lives and community from now on. Small, tightly knit, differences put aside for the betterment of everyone involved was the first in a series of baby-steps needed to usher them all into the acceptance needed for their long term survival. Park and Greer were leading the way, even if neither of them knew it yet.

"Oh thank you so much, Chloe, you have no idea how much better that makes me feel!" Park leaned forward, hugging the other woman tightly. "Thank you so much." Chloe smiled brightly as she wrapped her arms around Park, not yet ready to let her go. For Park, this was a marriage to a man she had secretly longed for well over a year, their time together on Icarus, and then Destiny solidifying that bond. For everyone else, a marriage would be the first joyous event in a series meant to give new hope and comfort, not the disappointment of realization that their home was no longer Earth, but the comfort that even in the most desolate waste lands hope could always begin anew.

"Of course Lisa, it's not every day one of us gets married you know!" Chloe finally told her friend, new hope blooming in her that their future wasn't as bleak as it had been only a few months before.

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Young stared at the Master Sergeant, mouth hanging open for a moment before he caught himself and then nodded once. The Colonel was attempting to piece together the words Greer had said, and he was finding that the lack of true rest, even in a digital setting that proved he needed no such thing, shattering his normally cool exterior.

"Sir, did you just hear what I asked?" Greer said again, as Young nodded once more, blinking a few times in shock. Greer's blank face twisting into one of amusement that he was able to shake his commanding officer still.

"I believe you just asked if I would marry you and Lisa Park." Young was having a hard time wrapping his head around the request. He hadn't slept well the previous evening, or rather, his mind knew he hadn't slept, he had been running over data while he waited for TJ's simulation of sleep to be over – and while he knew he was just a data stream at the moment, he was running several different scenarios and searching for what he could in the database. Another line of attention needed to be added to his stream of consciousness to allow him to properly process the request being made of him.

Damnit, he thought. I'm starting to sound like Nick when he first came out of the chair. For that matter, when did I start thinking of him as Nick instead of Rush, damnit all – I need to sleep, he continued to talk to himself, trying to reconcile everything happening all at once. This was more difficult that navigating around the blue alien body via the stone, and that was saying something. Young had a hard time even getting the body to move at all the first few seconds of connection, but being a being of consciousness alone was incredibly harder for him. He was happy that Chloe, Nick and Eli had adjusted as well as they had, because Young was still fumbling around while they seemed to be able to seamlessly transition from one stream to another.

"Yes Sir, I did." Greer left the statement at that, waiting for his superior officer to give clearance to his request. Young pulled his attention away from the data stream he had been working on for a cure for TJ and gave that attention to Greer, knowing the Marine in front of him needed an answer and not a half-formed reply as he juggled the different data streams in his immediate scope, or rather, dropped them as awkwardly as his first attempt at unclasping a bra hook. His embarrassment was just as burning now as it had been at sixteen.

"I lifted the ban on fraternization a long time ago Greer. Are you asking permission to marry her, or are you asking for me to officiate the service? You know it won't hold weight back on Earth if we ever do get back." Young slid his glasses down his nose, setting them on the desk in front of him. Greer was currently wreathed in the flow of data, Young's mind partially in the simulation and processing at the same time now. It had taken him almost a full twenty four hours to figure out how to slow the data down to where he could grab the bits he was looking for as it streamed by, and that was when he wasn't feeling like an idiot child trying to grab at items that weren't really there as the flew by him in the constant golden rush.

"I am asking you to officiate, sir. And with all due respect, we're not getting back to Earth in our life time. It's time for all of us to lay that hope aside, and make the most of what we have here and now." Greer kept his tone respectful, but Young stared at the younger man regardless. He nodded again, an annoying habit on him, but it was one he was familiar with and didn't mind repeating over and over.

"So you've given up hope of ever retuning to Earth?" he asked, as Greer stiffened.

"No Sir, I just believe that if we're to entertain the hope of going home, we need hope now as well. Weddings, pairings, festivities keep peoples' minds engaged, as well as give them day to day hope. Instead of always grasping at an uncertain hope, why not have something more physical, here, and now? Seeing people continue on in life, instead of continuing in the same cycle of unfulfilled hope, might give everyone the boost they need to keep going, even when all hope seems completely lost to us." Young noted that this might have been the first time he had heard the Marine speak more than five to ten words in the course of one of their conversations. From what Young was able to glean off Chloe's data, she was having the same conversation with Park currently. Chloe's thoughts in line with Greer's own made Young nod in approval. It was about time they all started to look forward to the future, to live in the present, and to learn, but not linger in their past.

"You've given this some thought then, and Park, has she thought all this over as well?" Young asked, knowing full well from the data he was getting from Chloe that Park seemed to be just as happy as Greer appeared to be, if you could call the emotions Greer was feeling happy. Young wasn't entirely sure that Greer knew what happy was, or if the Marine knew what it was, and just chose not to let himself feel the emotion very often. Happiness gave the impression of false hope, and from everything Young knew about the younger man, Greer wasn't one to grasp at hope, let alone trick himself into some façade of happiness just for the sake of his own sanity. Greer was an easy read in that – he accepted things at face value, refusing to get lost in the overtly human emotion of doubt. That in itself was something that Young had always admired in the younger man, Greer did not doubt, but accepted what came his way with a calm and quiet composure of a warrior twice his age.

"Yes, sir."

"Then yes, I will officiate. Nothing too fancy mind you, we've not the resources to go full out just yet." Young added, keeping the masquerade in place as he had agreed to with the others.

"Thank you, sir." Greer snapped to attention and saluted.

"Enough with that, Ronald, go and see to your ward, and then have a couple drinks and go to sleep. We'll have a busy day when you two set a date."

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Ginn found Park some time later, after the woman had gone and completed her time with Chloe, put in her appearance in the mess for breakfast. Ginn was incredibly angry with Park. The other woman had gone off to find Chloe on her own, nearly jeopardizing them both, as it was only a matter of time before someone noticed that Lisa Park was well aware that they were not awake, three years in the future, but still in stasis, and only a few days in at that.

"You could have ruined everything. Armstrong and Rush are incredibly smart, and you finding your way to their quarters, unaccompanied, was reckless. I only agreed not to tell the others that you knew because you can control the damage to your eyes allowing you to see here." Ginn began as she appeared beside the other woman in her quarters.

"I'm sorry, I didn't even think about it with how happy I was to go and tell Chloe. I will be more careful, I promise." Park said quickly, holding out her hands to Ginn, knowing the younger woman was being false with her own love, to allow Park this kindness. "I know it puts you in a terrible position," she added quickly.

"The fact that you were able to hide it as long as you did, even when Rush and the others were still trying to figure it out is incredible. You can't lie to save yourself." Ginn sat down on the edge of the bed, pushing her hands into her hair, keeping their data streams hidden from the other aware parties. It wouldn't do to have Eli, Rush, Chloe or Young figure out that Ginn was hiding Park's awareness from them.

"When all you know is unending blackness, golden Ancient text rushing into your visual cortex is pretty noticeable. Once I figured out why, I was able to keep it to myself a little better." Park moved to the table, taking a seat in one of the chairs she and Ronald had set there.

"You need to stop trying to clue Greer in as well. He is eventually going to figure it out, but you need to keep it hidden from him as long as possible. The more people aware of the simulation, the greater the danger to the crew, and you know this as well as I." Ginn trailed off, hating that she was keeping secrets from Eli. Soon she and Park would have to make a call to start permanently uploading one or two of the crew, just to make sure the rest of the people aboard would have enough power to live. Their actions the first few days of being under, of dealing with Dr. Perry, had drained too much of the ships power. Even getting everyone into the pods within their estimated two weeks wasn't enough. Ginn had run the numbers over and over. Soon, if they didn't make a decision, the ships power wouldn't be enough to keep everyone in stasis – Destiny would pick someone on her own to protect everyone else and herself – if they couldn't decide.

"I don't like hiding things from him."

"Neither do I, but you're the reason we're in this mess. Had you come forward earlier, told Dr. Rush and Eli, they could have fixed this without the drain on the resources. It is only a matter of time before they discover the truth for themselves, and then, you and I both will be in hot water with all of them. It's difficult enough keeping them all unaware of you, let alone keeping secrets from them. The least you could do was to try harder not to blow this up any worse than it already is." Ginn groaned, incredibly frustrated by her current assessment of the situation. She had no right to keep this knowledge from the others, especially when it put everyone else at danger. Ginn was in the unique position though to know exactly what Park was feeling. Ginn was dead. She had no body to return to when this was all over, but she was able to see, feel, and touch Eli while they were all here. Park was able to see. They understood one another in a way the others would never be able to. This alone had stayed Ginn's decision to alert the others. Understanding alone wasn't enough to keep Ginn from doing what she could to correct the problem at hand.

"I know, and I also know the reason you're so mad is because someone will have to die for everyone else. It's Senator Armstrong all over again." Park's shoulders slumped, knowing this time that the loss of life was on her. That knowledge haunted her every moment since Ginn had enlightened her to what her actions had wrought. "It should be me, as recompense."

"You're an integral part of the team, thinking by Dr. Rush's own logic so to speak. While he may feel your knowledge is limited and useless at times, you're a part of the team, and that will not be acceptable." Ginn rubbed the tops of her thighs, thinking still. "I'm rather partial to allowing Destiny to make the choice. She knows what she needs to succeed, and will make the most logical decision, without emotions attached."

"Technically speaking, we could just tell everyone, and let them decide on their own. At this point, everyone here knows how important survival is, I'm sure that someone would step forward for the greater good." Park was grasping at straws.

"And when it comes to life and death, do you really want the last truly honorable people left aboard to have to make that sacrifice. Choose then, Greer, Young, Eli, or Scott. You know if you put that vote to the population aboard that one of them is going to be stupid enough to step forward. They all believe in the mission and know exactly what it means for all of us to survive." Ginn's anger was seething over at this point, Park seemed to miss all the things that were right there staring her in the face. "You'd sacrifice your lover, or mine? TJ's? And for that matter, James' now? You'd ask someone to give up their life for your mistakes, knowing you'd be safe since your knowledge is a requirement for continued survival of the crew?"

"It's not like that, Ginn, you know it isn't! We've talked about this before, you know I did not know what I was doing would have such far reaching and catastrophic consequences! What are you really angry at, since we've hashed this out so very many times before?" Park was frustrated, looking over the smaller woman. Park hadn't been aware that her actions in the first few hours they had been asleep had been so bad, surely they couldn't possibly be as bad as Ginn was calculating. Eli had done the math, and so had Rush – they would make it, Lisa knew they would.

"The matter is that I don't like the idea that I have to keep things from the people I care about. Even if those cares are electrical impulses that Destiny is telling me are real. I know what I felt when I was flesh and blood, and I know what it's like to only exist inside of Destiny. I know what it's like to feel blinded, lost, alone, scared, I know all of those feelings Lisa, but what you did, it might mean having to sacrifice someone, and I know, without a doubt, that if you and I do not make a decision, and let Destiny decide, she'll choose Eli." Ginn buried her face in her hands, sighing loudly as she stood up and kicked the wall.

"How could you know that, she may decide that someone who has an incurable disease that will die an agonizingly long and painful death might be a mercy? Of course," Park paused, her face falling, "she might choose Tamara if that was the case, and I can't let Tamara be the one, not when she and the Colonel are so happy now."

"I know…" Ginn started, her voice more forceful than she intended. "Because Destiny knows that neither Eli nor I are happy with the current situation. If she can't give me a new body, the next best thing is to bring Eli into the computer with me, so we'd not have to be apart anymore. She wants us happy, Destiny does. She is systemically finding what our true desires are and giving them to us, any way she can. Tamara wanted to be with Colonel Young still, here they can be, so she'll never let us dial Earth properly again. The two of them, they want to be together, their silly notion that if they hope we never return to Earth they can be together for good, keeps us from being able to dial to Earth." Ginn paused.

"Rush, he wanted someone he could love, truly love, after Gloria, he thought he didn't deserve love at all. Chloe was growing tired of how adolescent and unthinking Matthew was, especially with her new found knowledge and yearned for someone on her own intellectual level. Greer is simple, he wants to feel needed. You being blind makes him feel needed, useful, he has you to protect, so his world is complete. You want to see, and deeper down, you want someone there for when you finally do wake up, and have to face the world blind once again. Even Franklin, Lisa. Franklin knew his body was failing him, knew that his mind would be trapped in a body that wouldn't respond to his commands anymore. He's here, in Destiny," Ginn motioned to the air around them. "He doesn't show himself, because he's been too far gone in the data stream to know how to connect to another person properly."

"You can't tell me that Destiny has been making all this happen, surely Rush and Chloe know their own minds and can make their own decisions." Park pointed out, head tilting to the side a bit as she contemplated the bigger implications of Destiny quietly pulling their strings all along. It made sense, in a way – everything that had happened up to this point in time seemingly happened to "solve" some crisis. As if they had been being tested all along.

"Can't it? Think about it, logically. Truly step back from any emotional connotation, and look at it from a purely logical choice. You're a seemingly sentient ship, who has been traveling alone for eons, and someone finds you, and you've been so lonely, what would you do? You'd create havoc, to make that new company work, see how dependent they are on you for survival. They start to become unhappy, or unstable, and you'd find ways to fix the issues, or to take out the problems. How many on board have complained of depression the few weeks leading up to entry into the cryogenic pods?"

Park shook her head, pulling the visual memory of her time playing aide in the infirmary. "None, the last few who had depression or a history of depression either were killed off world, or…"

"Shot themselves in the head, giving Rush the idea of how to question Colonel Young's authority."

"You and Kiva's crew coming on board?"

"Tamara was pregnant, as far as I've been able to tell, freezing two people in the pod, not such a big deal, freezing an unborn child inside the mother? Well, logically, we don't know if the child would survive, and the death of the child caused Young and TJ to be closer."

"Young making Telford suffer in Rush's body?"

"Telford posed a threat to Destiny's continued time with her people, if they had been able to continually dial, then Destiny would lose her people. Letting Telford die to break the brainwashing meant that she would get her Rush back, and be able to sever the connection, since Rush would invariably make sure that the connection could not be made again. He, above all others aboard, does not want to leave."

Park shook her head, trying to find any example she could of how everything that had happened to them had not been engineered by Destiny wanting them to stay. "The others coming back from the planet." She finally settled on.

"To show us that we cannot, and should not find another place to live right now, and the ramifications of what would happen should we choose to do so. Think on it, once they returned and started to die the same ways, no one, absolutely no one has thought about living off board of Destiny. We always return to her. We find seemingly impossible ways to return, every time."

"If, logically speaking, of course, what you say is correct, then how did she know that we'd be coming eventually."

"She left us the map. The Stargates. The address in Atlantis. The entire time that she's been gone, and whatever reason the Ancients finally left, or Ascended, she knew … she knew that eventually someone would find her." Ginn shrugged. "That is, if I'm not over personalizing a ship."

"I'd like to think you're over personalizing Destiny," Park commented, as the FTL light shuddered out of existence, dropping them into what appeared to be range of another planet.

"Status quo to keep us from suspecting, or just happy coincidence?" Ginn asked as Park's face fell into a deep set frown, the emotion looking incredibly out of place on the normally happy woman.

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Rush eyeballed the console untrustingly. They had all decided that it was best to continue on as if nothing had changed, as if they were not currently housed inside of Destiny's data banks, but when the FTL drives had disengaged and dropped them out by a planet that looked teeming with resources, Rush knew they'd have a bit of theater to play out. He confirmed the readings on the planet, all well within acceptable range for the human body. Oxygen saturation in the air was nearly perfect, gravity was on the dot a perfect match for Earth, there was even a single yellow dwarf star which said planet rotated around. The solar year would have been a little shorter than Earth's, by about a month, but otherwise noted the planet seemed to be in that infamous Goldilocks Zone that could reasonably allow for liquid water. Young came into the room, his gear properly in place, and his tactical jacket fitted out with everything he would need to lead the mission.

"Status report," Young commanded in a seemingly blasé tone.

"Earth standard, nearly perfect," Rush told him as he walked to stand next to the Colonel, his arms folded across his chest as they watched the puddle ripple across the Gate. "Kinos already been through and confirmed all the readings twice." Rush and Young exchanged a glance, knowing the theater act was needed.

"Alright, let's get this over with. James, Greer, I'm through first, you two bring up the rear." Young stepped to the Gate, chancing a glance of his shoulder to Rush. The older man inclined his head to the side, but otherwise gave no indication that any of what they were doing should be outside the norm for the simulation. If Destiny was intent on keeping them active as if they were awake, then certainly she could conjure up a planet for them to go exploring on. Young took a deep breath and went through the Gate, the same jump feel that always followed – the disjointed effect – finally receded as he stepped out onto the platform, eyes taking in their surroundings. The planet was a damn near perfect replica of the North Western United States – tall mountains rising high, trees that looked like aspens and pine, even steam that would roll off thermal vents like Young had seen in Yellowstone once as a child.

"There's some thermal activity, sulfur smell. Reminds me of …" Young trailed off, searching the memory banks of his mind.

Rush cut in. "Grand Prismatic at Yellowstone."

"Yeah. I haven't thought about that place since I was a kid."

"If there are thermal vents, we can safely assume that you're in an area near an active volcano, possible even the caldera, much like the Park. Be careful running tests on the water. Depending on the chemical makeup of the rocks the water is filtering through, the pH can run from incredibly base to highly acidic, and will range from lukewarm to possible enough to be boiling, depending on the vent." Rush cautioned over the radio, pulling the information from memory. Geology had never been his area of expertise, but he had to admit the Park had made an impression on Gloria while they had been there. She had loved it, every bit of it, sometimes spending hours staring at a single pool. He had indulged her. It had been their treat to one another after her first round of chemotherapy. The trip had been good for them.

"We'll keep that in mind, Dr. Rush." Young radioed back, breaking Rush out of the sweet memories of his first wife, his mind automatically going to how badly he wanted Chloe to see the planet, to see how she would react. He wasn't comparing them, only, observing differences in the only way he knew how. Shared life experience, things that he had enjoyed with Gloria might not be the same, and while sex was a good indication so far, much more than Rush had ever thought he'd have again in his lifetime, lasting past the initial hearts and rainbows required shared interests. Chloe had learned chess quickly, capable of giving him a run for his money, and he would never admit to anyone else that he had teetered on one foot, mimicking her yoga in the mornings and had actually enjoyed himself.

"Colonel, if everything checks out, I think an off ship expedition might be the thing that several of us need." Rush radioed.

"I think you might be right." Came the reply, only seconds later.

"Well, I could have told you that," Rush joked, clipping the radio to his belt as he made his way to his and Chloe's quarters to ready them both for a jaunt off ship. It wasn't a National park back home, and it wasn't Gloria, he kept reminding himself. The last time he had gone off world, he had been shot. Or rather, he had thought he had been shot. He wasn't too keen on seeing what would happen if one of them happened to boil a hand off in an acidic pool, or worse, died while "off ship" and suddenly woke up the next morning, well and whole again.

Rounding the corner to their rooms, he palmed the door release and let himself in, a grin settling over his features as he found Chloe still asleep. Shedding his tee shirts, belt and shoes, he climbed under the covers with her, pulling her close. Nose buried in her hair, he breathed deep.

"I dreamed of the park," she said, curling back into his chest.

"Oh?" Rush asked, kissing her bare shoulder as Chloe laced her fingers with his, grasping their hands to her chest.

"I stopped running searches, and let Destiny give me the sleep feeling. I dreamed. Dad took me there with mom as a teenager. I couldn't have been more than thirteen at the time." Chloe continued. "We toured the park for hours in this great big SUV my parents had rented." Rush propped himself up on one elbow, cheek rested on her shoulder now. "I remember, we were driving through this valley, and this big bison was on the side of the road, grazing, like we weren't even there. Dad wouldn't let us out of the car. Mom and I sat there snapping pictures of this majestic creature who wasn't the least bit concerned that we were there. It was,"

"Breath-taking," Rush finished. "Elk, along the river as you entered from the west. A whole herd of them, calling out in the morning mist."

"The sapphire color of the pools, and the heat rolling off them," Chloe added, kissing one of his knuckles. "Is the planet really like it?" she asked, looking over her shoulder to where he rested on her.

"As far as I can tell, yes."

"I want to go." Chloe released his hand, turning over to curl up to his chest. "I want to be reminded."

"As soon as Young gives the okay, I think it's a good idea that anyone who wants to go and explore, help with salvage and gathering, should do so. It will be good for morale, and since we know we're all still safely aboard the ship,"

"It shouldn't be too much of a problem, even if something strange happens." Chloe yawned. "What if someone gets seriously injured?"

"Well then, we'll be putting a theory to test." Rush explained, kissing her forehead. "If we'll all seemingly 'wake up' tomorrow and not remember a thing of what happened, or if the person has a recovery period, or if they simply stop being in this part of the simulation or not."

"You'd test that out on someone?" Chloe asked, eyes narrowing a bit.

"On me."

"No," Chloe immediately protested.

"I survived being shot in the simulation. I have a pretty good idea of what will happen, and I'm not even hesitant to test said theory." Rush rolled over on his back, pulling her along with him.

"I don't like it," Chloe protested still.

"You, Young, Eli or me, take your pick." Rush countered.

"Young," Chloe supplied, not missing a beat.

"No. It has to be me. I won't take the chance that someone else could really be hurt. Destiny didn't let me get hurt before, she won't let me get hurt now, and this is the perfect chance for us to test the boundaries of the rules of the simulation. All programs have boundaries you cannot cross, we need to know the ones of this simulation to be able to reasonably assess if the data we're processing is real, or something we're supplying on our own wishes." Rush let out a breath, closing his eyes as he processed his decisions. "If I'm right, then we'll all wake up 'tomorrow' and this little off world jaunt will have just been a dream."

"And if you're not, you could be seriously hurt, or worse … dead." Chloe buried her face into the crook of his neck, feeling like crying suddenly, the constant stream of data that had flooded her senses not even enough to take the sadness away from her.

"When have you ever known me to be wrong, and before you answer that, shush?"

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Well my dearies, that's it for this installment. It's shorter than most, but it compensated for some flaws I realized were in the story, and got us back to the story at hand. While I will not chronicle their entire time asleep – that'd just be too much – the first few days shall supply us with a good amount of their time spent asleep. Next time! Journey to the New Planet! What new hardship will the crew face? Will they ever figure out a way to dial home, and what has Rush suddenly set on destroying his hard won peace and contentment with Chloe?!

All joking aside, I do want to thank my most wonderful Beta, CharlotteAshmore, who finally talked me out of the funk that had me mulling over whether I had destroyed my story or not yet. She has been an invaluable help with the polish on these last few chapters, and I can never thank her enough for the kind push she initially gave me to start writing again. Charlotte, you my love, are a treasure, thank you so much again.

All my incredibly wonderful reviewers my many thanks go to you as well. I was not telling you the story I wanted to tell you, and so I want to thank you all once again for sticking out this hiatus, and keeping with me until I solved this. You're all wonderful people who if I knew in real life I'd be baking cookies for on a semi-regular basis – that's a hobby of mine you know!

No promises on when the next chapter will happen – I had to massively rework my outline to compensate for the gaps I found, and with that, it will be posted as soon as I have the next few thousand words done. - Sed