Chloe's cerulean orbs fluttered open to a room lit only by the green, blue and purple wisps of a FTL mosaic lighting the room, she knew it was early despite there being no sun to tell her so, seemed her internal clock still kept perfect time. For a moment she wondered where she was but as soon as those blue eyes cast downwards to her stomach she remembered, I'm in Rush's room. In Rush's bed! Rather than panicking like most other people probably would Chloe just found herself asking if she'd covered herself over with the gold-copper covers or if maybe Rush had done it.
Glancing over she found him and Cressida still fast asleep, Cress on her side with her face buried in her Father's chest and Rush turned to face Chloe and the door. He had his arm thrown over Cress with his hand resting on Chloe's stomach, in the night she'd obviously wriggled which had caused her pink yoga top to ride up ever so slightly meaning she could feel the tips of his fingers on her warm skin... and it wasn't unpleasant. She found herself thinking about how soft his fingers were despite the callouses that coated them and just how peaceful he looked with bits of brown hair flashed with grey draped across his sleeping face. It was kind of strange seeing him so peaceful but it did make him look years younger and showed off just how handsome he really was, the scowling usually hid it; Chloe would go so far as to say he looked cute.
Suddenly Cress shuffled a bit but didn't wake and Chloe just watched her little chest rise and fall while listening to the gentle hum of Destiny's engines, she'd always wanted a family. Alien DNA tampering wasn't what she'd had in mind, still it was a nice image, Rush would make a good family man; he was already making an excellent father.
Dragging her mind away from happy families Chloe realised it would most likely be rather awkward for Rush to wake up to her watching him so she carefully pushed his hand away to hold Cress and extracted herself from the bed. She froze when he twitched but he didn't wake.
Chloe left entirely unaware that Nicholas had actually woken the second she touched his hand.
Combing her fingers through her hair as she walked, Chloe wandered back to towards her and Matt's quarters with a mind full of thoughts, it had only just dawned on her that it was the fist night since the Nakai had kidnapped her that she'd not had a nightmare. Normally Matt had to wake her up in the middle of the night because she was thrashing around and covered in sweat, yet not last night, she'd slept all nigh through without so much as a hint of fear. Was that because of Cress? Or Rush? Chloe didn't know the answer and wasn't a hundred percent sure if she wanted to know. She'd woken feeling refreshed and without stinging eyes, a welcomed change.
As she grew closer to her quarters she realised just how pleased she was that early those awake were coming up on the end of their shift and everyone else was either in their room or in the mess hall eating, no one saw her leave Rush's room pulling her top back down. No one could get the wrong idea. That was when she remembered the Kino, damn! It didn't matter though, if Young said anything about it he could clearly see that Cress didn't want her to go and that nothing happened.
Before she could push the door release it flew open and Matt nearly crashed into her, she'd expected him to look mad for not coming back but strangely he seemed more like she was going to tare his head off.
"Chloe, there you are. I was looking for you." She opened her mouth to speak but he got there first. "I'm sorry."
Huh? What did I miss?
"What for?" She asked softly wondering what she'd missed.
"For not coming back last night. I had too much of Brody's moonshine after the poker game and passed out. I've got one hell of a headache. Please don't be mad."
He didn't know she'd ever left the room, maybe it was wrong to let him believe she'd never left but it was better than telling him she'd spent the night in Rush's bed cuddled up with Cress like a real family.
"It's alright, I'm not mad at you. You're headache is punishment enough." She offered him an elicit smile.
"Yeah." He breathed out a laugh. "I'll ask TJ if she's got anything for it after breakfast. You want to go to the mess hall?"
Chloe nodded.
"Lead the way."
XXXX
Over the next few days Colonel Young started to relax around Cressida since she'd not suffered a single blackout, after being informed of where she came from and how she'd been made he actually felt sorry for her. None of that meant he trusted her though, she'd have to earn that just like everyone else had, to be honest he trusted Doctor Rush more than her; not by much though. She'd taken to assisting Rush working on the ship and had, reluctantly, found from Brody that she was rather efficient, while Volker had told him that her presence seemed to have a calming effect on the chief scientist; Volker was rather pleased with Rush yelling less.
The small girl was having an affect on TJ as well, Young knew it was both pleasing and painful to have her there for TJ. His mind filled with thoughts of Carmen and he couldn't help the sigh that fell from his lips. He didn't dare talk to Tamara about it, Young didn't know if he was ready for their daughter to be part of casual conversation.
Meanwhile on the other side of occupied Destiny Chloe wandered the halls pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she went. Since waking from stasis Doctor Rush had been teaching her Ancient only to discover that she was a natural, complements from Nicholas Rush were a rarity so Chloe found herself lapping it up with glee; Rush was such a good teacher. Volker and Brody had also put several of their engineering manuals and textbooksonto a flash drive for her to go over, Rush had even been kind enough to explain certain bits to her, Chloe knew the answers but couldn't understand why she knew that was the answer; like finishing a jigsaw without having any of the pieces.
Noon, right after lunch had become their Ancient language lessons but when she left Matt in the mess hall to meet Rush she found the blackboard corridor void of grumpy Scottish chief scientists, and anyone else for that matter. He'd probably gotten caught up fixing something, running a diagnostic or yelling at Volker. With that in mind Chloe headed up to the bridge expecting to find him hunched over a terminal half way through mumbling at Brody and Volker but he wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"Hey guys, where's Doctror Rush?" She asked softly while walking down the steps, one hand on the railing.
"Not a clue." Replied Mister Brody without looking up from his terminal, it was clear he wasn't really paying attention. "Maybe he went out for some milk."
"Hi Chloe." Volker smiled and Chloe offered one in return. "He was muttering to himself as usual and writing in that notebook of his, next thing I knew he was gone. Thought he'd gone to meet you. You two have a lesson right?"
"I do." She responded in Ancient.
"You're getting good."
"Thanks! I guess I'll continue the search, there's only so many places he could be."
Volker said good-bye but Brody remained too engrossed in whatever he was doing to notice the chestnut haired beauty leave the bridge.
The halls were surprisingly empty considering lunch had just ended, she peaked in the observation deck but only found Greer and Doctor Lisa Park, quickly she darted away not wanting to interrupt the two of them. Feet carried Chloe to a few more places, the gateroom being the last before finally winding up in the control interface room; why is it always the last place you look? Loan behold there he was bent over the main terminal at an angle clearly detrimental to his spine.
"Hello." She greeted, pleased when he looked up rather than just ignoring her as he did with so many. "Did you forget about our lesson today?"
"... Oh, yes I did. I apologise."
"That's alright." Chloe moved further into the room, so close she could easily peer over his shoulder at the terminal. "What is it you're doing?"
Rush sighed.
"I'm just trying to improve the ships power efficiency, I may have found a way to boost it by fifteen percent."
Rush seemed engrossed in his work as usual, Chloe could almost see the cogs turning in his head.
"Would that mean we wouldn't need to go into stasis again?" Chloe asked curiously with a hint of hope.
"Depends on how large the next gap is." Said Rush flatly.
"I hope we don't need them." Rush easily noticed the blatant sadness on her face. There was something inside him that said he should reach out and comfort her but he wasn't sure it would be welcome. "There's too many of us now."
Suddenly it dawned on him that they'd only just had enough stasis chambers for the last jump but now they had Cressida to think about. She didn't have one, she'd be... Rush didn't want to think about any of that. He'd make sure they never needed stasis again! He'd build another one if needed, I can figure that out! Rush promptly realised Chloe had started speaking and left his thoughts.
"... I'll leave you to your work. We could maybe have our lesson tomorrow."
Chloe flashed him a twinkle of a smile before turning to leave, she made it three steps before Nick verbally stopped her with a wait and an extended hand, she turned back to face him.
"Take a look at these for me. You think they're right?"
She smiled and went back to the terminal, it was nice to be asked. Chloe looked over his calculations for a little while hoping she didn't miss anything and throw his work off.
"I can't see any mistakes." She told him honestly.
"I know. I just wanted to double-check."
There was silence for a moment that had a hint of... something to it that made his breath quicken ever so slightly.
"Thank you." She beamed after a time and Rush's eyebrows shot up.
"What for?"
"For asking me to help. I know it's not much but it means a lot to me. Volker and Park test me sometimes but you're the only one that asks for my help or opinion." Before she could stop herself Chloe leaned in and pressed a kiss to his scruffy cheek.
In an instant everything stopped and their eyes locked, rich dark brown met dazzling cerulean. Rush's mind stopped dead as though his ability to think had been stolen, Chloefelt much the same. An invisible force used all its might to push her over the edge and into unadulterated emotion, passion. She shouldn't, she shouldn't... but God did she want to. Before her mind had realised what was happening her lips had pressed to his.
He tasted bitter as though he'd just eaten some of that so-called oatmeal that Destiny called food. His greying beard scratched at her cheeks and chin but Chloe didn't care, her mind was much too lost in his soft lips. Just as her mind started to return Rush let out a deep growl, grabbed her neck and deepened the kiss almost brutally. There's need and want in the kiss; teasing, torment and passion. Chloe found herself falling into it shamelessly, heart pounding. Logical thought fled both their brains leaving only raging desire that both had denied until that very second, it was warm and rich.
One of them let out a moan but neither knew who it came from and to be honest neither really cared much, they were much too lost in the moment. With a sudden surge of nonplusstrength Rush cupped Chloe's ass and lifted her up to sit on the main terminal, a move that aroused and shocked her. She felt calloused hands slip up her yoga pant covered thighs knocking them apart so he could fill the gap, his chest pressed against her own causingChloe to gasp; Rush took advantage of her parted lips quickly and slipped his tongue into her mouth. Her body vibrated with pleasure when he started to map her mouth as though he'd never get to kiss her again, maybe he wouldn't. Her heart pounded in her chest with the speed of a falling star. She tasted sweet like sugar and something else that was quickly becoming addictive. Maybe she should have worried about someone walking in or the console collapsing but instead Chloe parted her legs a little more and pulled him closer by the collars of his t-shirts. Another moan, nails digging into his shoulders. He nibbled at her neck reviling in the sweet little sounds she made when his long fingers gripped her hips.
In that moment everything was perfect... but then that moment end and life invaded again.
"Rush come in, this is Young." The radio crackled to life brining everything to a halt.
Nicholas sighed and backed away a few steps, chest rising and falling breathing out air that had once been in Chloe's lungs. Chloe watched as he reached for the radio and responded.
"What is it Colonel?" God I hope Young doesn't notice how breathless I sound.
"We've dropped out of FTL-" Rush hadn't even noticed. "-Brody says there's a gate in range."
"I'll be there in a minute. Rush out."
Nicholas clipped the radio back onto his belt and just stood there for a moment trying to fully process what had just happened, it took a second for his mind to re-boot. Chloestarted speaking before he'd figured out what to say and hopped down off the console, Rush didn't want to just walk away knowing it would only upset her.
"I'll go and get Cress from TJ. I have a present for her anyway, she can't stay in that black t-shirt forever."
With that she shuffled out the room and off down the corridor desperately trying to ignore the wetness between her legs.
Doctor Rush stood there for a few seconds before audibly sighing and trudging to the gate room. Young, Brody and Doctor Volker stood by the gate terminal while Sargent Greer and Lieutenant Scott waited off to the side a few steps. The gates blue-silver light flashed over the metal walls like some kind of sleepy disco.
"Have you sent a Kino yet?" Rush asked the second he entered the gate room.
"Just done it." Volker responded without looking up from the Kino feed.
"And?" His tone was demanding.
"It looks like a built up area." Brody began. "Advanced but entirely abandoned as far as I can tell."
In an instant Colonel Young and Rush had gathered directly behind Mister Brody to see the footage for themselves. The area around the gate seemed to be a large city that had been abandoned years previous, roads had large cracks and buildings were derelict coated a thick scattering grass and trees that had laid claim to the wreckage. They twisted and turned into the old metal hiding civilisation behind the world of nature.
"What the hell happened here?" Greer asked quickly while glancing between the Kino screen and the open gate.
"War." Young deadpanned. "Look at the buildings, some of the larger ones are singed while the smaller are blown to bits. They were bombed."
"I'd say world war." Rush announced without looking away from his terminal. "I'm not getting any indication of the planet being inhabited. They probably wiped themselves out, like Russia and America only this lot actually launched."
"Is there radiation?" Scott asked quickly with a slight look of concern on his face that seemed to mirror Young's own.
"No. Readings indicate it's fine, no harmful radiation at all." Finally the chief scientist looked up. "We can send a team through."
It was a little strange when Dale Volker finally pipped up, they'd all gotten used to him being silent, stood behind Rush just staring at the screen.
"We could salvage so much from a place like this. It could be a goldmine."
"My thoughts exactly Doctor Volker." Young turned to Lieutenant Scott. "Scott would you put a team together please, we'll see what this place has to offer."
"Can do." Having been given his orders Scott set off on his task leaving the room.
All eyes shot to Chloe and Cressida as they entered just after Matt had vanished out of sight, Chloe wore a pleasant smile on her dazzling pink lips and Rush desperately tried not to blush at the memory of their kiss. His mind turned to other matters when honey eyes fell to his daughter, instead of the borrowed black t-shirt she wore a gold-copper dress, knee-length and basic but there was no denying it was beautiful on her and fit so much better than Airman Dunning's t-shirt. It had tiny cap sleeves, one of which was ever so slightly longer than the other, practically unnoticeable. Unbeknown to the Destiny crew Chloe had spent days carefully stitching fabric together in an attempt to give Cress something acceptable to ware; something that showed her for the beautiful little girl she really was. The little golden brown bow around her waist was the perfect finishing touch, the dress would win no awards but what it lacked in skill the dress more than made up for with care and consideration; It was a product of a Mother's love.
"Daddy! Daddy! Look what Mommy made for me." She seemed so excited and Rush couldn't blame her, most of Destiny's crew would kill for a new outfit. Chloe just continued to smile.
"Yes I see, very pretty. You look beautiful."
Cressida beamed and spun around leaving the skirt to flare as she showed it off proudly. Rush's brown eyes locked on Chloe's cerulean ones.
"How did you make it?"
"I took the bedsheets from one of the unused rooms and borrowed a knife from Corporal Barnes. It was just time after that. I had enough fabric to make her another outfit too, this one seems to be her favourite though." Chloe's smile matched Cressida's almost perfectly. "She wanted to come see the Kino feed and show you her dress."
"Can I see the planet? Please Daddy."
Rush's lips turned upwards in a little half grin which still confused everyone but they all had to admit it was rather refreshing to see. The chief scientist went to his child and bent to pick her up easily before walking back over to the Kino screen, Volker automatically backed out of his way.
"Sure, of course you can see."
The look of pure awe in her chocolate eyes almost brought tears to Rush's eyes, he pushed that away though, there was no way in hell he'd cry in front of them; in front of anyone. It occurred to him that though Cress knew what the sky, grass and sun was she'd never actually seen them before, and that was heart-breaking.
Lieutenant Scott returned then with James, Varro and Corporal Barnes following behind, seemed he'd gathered the others of the away team. Within a few moments Volker, Greer and Rush himself had been told to gather their things and Rush was thankful to have a chance at some fresh air, Varro felt much the same.
They had a new planet to discover.