Chapter 3

They settled for routine over the next couple of days, which in TJ's surprise, managed to work. Rush stayed in his room for those two days and ate under TJ's supervision (or if she wasn't available, Chloe). He worked on some things, Eli having been present and showing some stuff to Rush via a kino feed. Young didn't yell at him for being insufferable and Rush did talk to the colonel in a civil manner.

By the end of the second day of Rush's room arrest, TJ didn't have any reason why Rush couldn't leave his room and get back to work. The two day rest must have done him some good because he didn't have any sort of episode again.

'Isn't it a bit early to tell," voiced out Chloe as TJ looked over Rush in the infirmary. "I mean I don't think two days is enough of an R&R in your case."

TJ watched the look exchanged between the two. TJ couldn't believe at first how much the relationship between the two had changed...well being abducted by aliens could be a bonding experience for two people.

"I'm fine Chloe," replied Rush patiently. That sentences was becoming a mantra of his, with the name being changed to the person who looked at him in concern. The name had changed from Lieutenant, to Eli to Colonel to Chloe and Rush saying the particular sentence more than 50 times for the past two days.

"Varro said he didn't know how long the effects will last," began TJ but Rush countered her.

"But he did say I should take it easy and I have for the past couple of days," argued Rush.

"Past two days," corrected TJ but she sighed. "How about you work 8 hour-shifts for the rest of the week and let's see what happens."

Rush knew any form of argument might just worsen his current predicament so he only nodded and promised TJ that he wouldn't take his usual work until he dropped philosophy.

"Eli and I will make sure he eats and does work only 8 hours," said Chloe, going after the scientist leaving TJ alone in the infirmary.

Something she found unsettling.

Once she was fit to be back on duty, she hated being alone with her own thoughts. Because her thoughts would wander to what she had lost...to what she had failed to protect.

The distraction of having someone to look after in the infirmary, Rush being one of them, helped her forget. But remembering her conversation with Rush two days prior, TJ knew she had to face her own grief and her own troubles sooner rather than later.

Rush had done the same thing she was doing and it didn't end well, seeing as the death of Gloria Rush was still a fresh wound to Rush even to this day. The man never got over her death and his approach to coping with it never led to any acceptance. Never led to any moving on at all.

TJ didn't know if she herself would find a day when she herself could move on.

She sighed and remembered how Chloe and Rush had acted earlier. Chloe had hated Rush with every fibre of her being because of the loss of her father but then...there they were, looking out for each other. They moved on from that chapter in their lives.

If there were any two people she could talk to about losing someone they love, it was either Chloe and Rush.

There was another person but TJ couldn't bring herself to have any sort of personal conversation with Young right now…

For the time being, she was just going to have to look out for the rest of the people on Destiny and look at her own well being when the thought of her own child wouldn't bring her to tears.

"Dr. Rush, it's been 8 hours," said Eli hesitantly as he approached the man leaning over his console. No one from the Science Team had even bothered him as he remained in front of his console ever since returning from the infirmary.

He sprouted orders yes, but not barked them in his usual strong Scottish brogue. Brody and Park remembered a time when he was like this, like a good breeze could pretty much land the genius on a heap on the floor.

The last time Rush was like this was when he had gotten back to work after having chest surgery. And they all remembered how that ended up.

Rush didn't pay attention to Eli hovering behind him but kept on pushing buttons on his console. Eli turned to the others for help but they all just gave him a shrug.

The science team had been informed by Young that under no circumstances were they to provoke the scot into a any sort of stressful situation. That meant not angering him, irritating him, aggravating him...and so on. Brody surmised that maybe this was why Young hadn't show up in the Interface Room the whole time Rush had been there.

"Dr. Rush…" began Eli again. If this wouldn't work, he was going to call Chloe. She was the only one besides TJ who could get away with ordering the man without making it into a stressful situation.

"I heard you the first time Eli," replied Rush as he continued to do something on his console. Eli turned to the others again and they all motioned for him to continue. Not that they wanted Rush out of the room but they still also cared about him. Rush had been through a lot already, it couldn't hurt the man to take it easy after who knows what the Alliance did to him. Young didn't go into details, just that it was not good.

"So yeah ummm…" began Eli again. "Maybe I could take over-"

Rush still didn't answer but consulted his little notebook before pushing a few buttons again on the console. Eli turned to the rest but they all gave him a shrug once again.

"Please don't make me call-" but he was cut short by Rush who raised his hand to silence the boy.

He did one last thing on his console before flipping his notebook closed and turning to the youngest member of his team. "I was just putting a system's check to everything in Destiny, Eli. I trust you were patient enough before calling Chloe or Lieutenant Johansen to take me to my room."

The suppressed laughter from Volker and Brody did not fall on deaf ears as Rush left the Interface Room and Eli all but collapsed on the vacated console.

"Smooth Eli," said Volker when they were sure Rush was no longer in earshot.

"Hey the man should take it easy," replied Eli, looking up from the console. "You guys didn't see him when Scott and Greer carried him the infirmary a couple of days ago."

"We didn't but we can imagine," replied Park. "Col. Young did talk to all of us." She paused and eyed her colleagues. "What do you think the Lucian Alliance did to him?"

Brody sighed and began working again as he spoke. "Personally, I wish it was what the Alliance did to him and not what we did to him."

Volker turned to Eli and they both knew what Brody was talking about. "Brody-"

"I cut off the air to that room," said Brody rather harshly. "We don't know what consequences that had on both Telford and Rush."

"It wasn't Rush in that room," tried Eli.

"But it was still his body," fired back Brody. "His body that he is currently using with a consciousness that was currently being tortured while we were cutting oxygen from his body."

Silence fell after Brody's outburst and was broken only when the man himself resumed working on the console in front of him. "I get it that he had to jump back in the middle of things because we were under attack...but damn it, Rush needs to learn that he's not some kind of enhanced human being."

He stopped and turned to everyone. "It's selfish...but we're not going to find a way home if something happens to Rush."

"Well what can we do?" asked Volker. "It's not like he's going to let any of us help him."

"He's letting TJ and Chloe," replied Park. "He trusts us more than anyone else on this ship. Why does he think we don't care about him?"

"He stood in front of us when those Alliance soldiers threatened to kill us," added Eli. He turned to Volker. "He cares about us but he just doesn't show it."

"Maybe because the last time he cared...she was taken away from him." replied Brody. They had known of course. Brody, Volker, Park...Chloe learned from Rush himself and she told Eli. Young, TJ and Camille had known because of the personnel file of the base.

Eli never could have guessed that Nicholas Rush was a husband once. The rest of the team would say that they heard that Rush wasn't always like the bastard they had gotten to know. He wasn't the work until you dropped kind of guy.

"So what do we do?" asked Eli. "The last time he was like this, he was able to rest because we had no choice but to circle a star and we didn't have much things to do then."

"Maybe we drop out of FTL in a more peaceful place," offered Volker, as he checked over the data on his console. "Or drop out of FTL after a another week or so."

"If we only had control like that," scoffed Brody. "With our luck, something's going to happen soon and we're all going to rely on Rush again to bail us out."

TJ was not in her usual mood. Rush did not appear in the infirmary as she had instructed the scientist. Upon further investigation, TJ had learned that Rush did only work for 8 hours and went back to his room...or so the science team had said. No one had followed the man. And even worse, no one has seen the man since he left the Interface Room.

TJ sighed. For sure, Rush would have found another room with a console and just began working again.

She marched right to the Interface Room as soon as it had reached the one hour mark from the time Rush was supposed to check-in at the Infirmary. She was surprised to only see Eli and Brody there. No Rush.

"Where is he?" asked TJ, crossing her arms in front of her, not amused.

"I'm guessing Rush," offered Brody who did not look up from his console. "No clue."

"Last we knew," answered Eli. "He headed to his room after his 8 hour shift. He should be arriving here in a couple of minutes."

An hour went by and the arrival of Park and Volker, but no Rush. Eli, Brody and TJ all turned to each other, silently agreeing on a joint decision and left in the direction of the scientist's room which was located somewhat isolated from other people. Trust Rush to pick a room farthest away from anyone else.

They all stopped in front of the door to Rush's room, TJ studying the other two before opening the door. She had prepared herself to find a sleeping scientist, or a scientist who would be awakened by the entrance to his room being opened, or just the site of the scientist himself.

She did not expect an empty room that looked to not have been touched since the previous day when TJ had fetched Rush to go the infirmary. Where was Rush?

TJ immediately got her radio as Eli took out his remote for the Kinos. "Have them search empty rooms that Rush could use as a workstation." ordered TJ then she turned on her radio. "Scott, Greer, Rush is missing. I need you to help me search all possible routes to his room and see where he could have possibly have disappeared to."

"When was he last seen?" came the Colonel's voice and Brody beat her to the answer as the other scientist already had his radio on hand.

"Last night when his 8 hour work shift ended," replied Brody. "We were all there and saw him leave."

"None of you thought to actually make sure he went to his room?" asked Young, the annoyance not unheard lining his voice.

"We all just thought…" began Eli softly but it must have been picked up by the radio because TJ heard the Colonel take a deep breath.

"Scott, Greer, go with TJ," said Young and in the background TJ could hear him moving. "Eli, Brody go back to the Interface room. I'll meet you there. Eli, have your kinos search the ship at random locations."

TJ waited for the other two in front of Rush's room before they set out to the different hallways that surrounded that part of the ship.

"What are you thinking?" asked Scott as they opened all rooms they could find.

"Honestly," began TJ. "I'll be more relieved to see him working."

Scott nodded as the room he had looked into was empty. Greer ahead of them also came up empty. "Knowing the Doc, he's just somewhere doing equations or something on his little notebook and he would look at us as though for him an hour hasn't passed."

TJ wished with all her might that it was just that. Rush was just hiding somewhere, working on the ship or doing math or trying to think of something science-y to distract himself.

Another hallway and TJ's calm demeanor was breaking. Where the hell had Rush gone to?

The Alliance was watching his every move like hawks to a prey. Kiva was pacing behind him and he could feel her eyes on his back every now and then. He was just about to say something to irritate them once again when his entire body went rigid…and he couldn't breathe.

He was back on Destiny...a storage room of some kind with appeared to be boxes. He was leaning heavily on one and he turned his head to the door. He could vaguely see people on the other side. Did they sever the connection? Took them long enough...but why couldn't he breathe?

He tried to take a deep breathe but as he blinked Kiva was over him...kneeling over him? When did he fell to the ground? No...why was he back with the Lucian Alliance?

He blinked and he saw what appeared to be a ceiling of some sort...Destiny? His entire chest burned as he tried to breathe but no air would come…

He gasped and there was Kiva again, she seemed to be shouting at someone. At the back of his mind, he felt cold steel pierce his skin but the pain never registered…

His eyes refocused and this time it was Young, doing compressions on his chest and as he gasped, air finally feeling his lungs, Young's hands were immediately cradling his head…

And then it was Kiva again, her face grim as he let the darkness consume him.

Author's Note: So where do you think Rush is? As usual Reviews are welcome! :)