Doctor Rush lay in bed with Chloe cuddled into his chest as she cried, he just lay there quietly with his arms tight around her. Chloe had nights like this, nights where she cried for their lost daughter and Nicholas didn't know what to tell her any longer. Didn't know how to comfort her save for keeping her close to his chest. He'd promised the woman he loved that he'd get Cressida home but after months of desperate attempts and the rest of the Stargate Program's scientists had failed. Rush was Cressida's father, he loved that girl with all his heart and he'd failed her. He couldn't reunite his daughter with her broken-hearted mother.

Ez had retreated in on himself, he didn't laugh, hardly spoke. Ezra didn't know how to function without his sister. Cress was older, she'd been an only child and could survive alone but Ez was different. Cress wasn't just his big sister she was his best friend.

Rush saw it as his job to protect his family, to keep them safe and yet he'd failed monumentally. Ezra was a shell of his former self and Chloe couldn't go more than a day without weeping. The Scotsman had worked until his hands bled but there literally wasn't a single thing he could do to get a wormhole open to Destiny... that was if Destiny even still existed. It did. Rush would have felt if his daughter were gone. The Nakai had created her from him and Chloe, she was part of him, he'd know if Cressida was dead.

"I'm sorry, Nicky." Said Chloe, her voice muffled against his chest; the words snapped him out of his self-loathing.

"For what, Sweetheart? You've done nothing to be sorry for." He brushed a stray strand of chestnut hair behind her ear as he spoke.

"I yelled at you. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have and it's not your fault, I'm sorry I said that to you." She sniffled and pressed a loving kiss to the top of her head.

"That's nothing you need apologise for, Chloe."

She was referring to the day before when Nicholas had finally told Chloe that there wasn't anything else he could do to get to Cressida and she'd understandably gotten angry, accused him of giving up and told him it was his fault she'd gotten separated from them in the first place. All of which he agreed with.

"Yes I do. It's not me that lost her it's us. You, me, Ezra and Eli." Chloe finally looked up from Rush's chest and wiped stray tears from her cheeks as composure started to return to her. "I haven't seen Eli eat in days. I know he's thinned down but it was healthy, now though... he's starting to look sick."

"Don't worry." He told her softly. "I'll talk to him.

"You know, sometimes I think he loves her more than we do." The dark-haired woman's told him almost sorrowfully.

"No Sweetheart, he just loves her differently." The scientist leaned down to kiss his darling Chloe. "Like I said, I'll talk to him, promise."

"Thank you and I am sorry I yelled at you." She smiled. "I still haven't thanked you for this house either." Chloe gestured to the dark room around them.

Rush had purchased a modest home for them all about a month previous, he'd not wanted Chloe and Ez staring at the grey walls tucked away in Cheyenne Mountain forever. It have been far over shadowed by Cress' absence though.

"Aye, you're welcome, my love. It's for all of us, even Eli."

Originally Rush had intended on having the house for all of them to use on a cycle system that the SGC had wanted to put his family on. A home away from Destiny. Seemed like that was pointless now though. The house was larger than the one Rush had shared with Gloria but still modest, he had an office with huge built in bookshelves already crammed full of tomes, he'd envisioned turning the basement into a workroom for Cress and Ezra to share but the staircase was his favourite part of the house. Rush had thought it perfect to hang his and Chloe's wedding photos along the wall. However, without Cressida he couldn't bring himself to ask for Chloe's hand; so the ring just sat in his safe. If he asked her it would have felt like he was asking her to move on and he couldn't.

Rush didn't have all the answers, he, Chloe and Eli had lost her. Ezra had lost his sister and the man he'd fallen for. He couldn't fix it. Nicky didn't know what to do anymore to help them.

"Sleep now, Sweetheart, you'll feel better in the morning." Was all he could say.

"Only if you promise to sleep too. I know you just sit and watch me."

He smiled at that, a true smile not one of those sarcastic smirks he shot everybody else.

"You're just so beautiful, I can't help myself. But alright, I'll sleep."

The couple settled down against the soft pillows and Chloe instantly cuddled into his chest, all lean and warm. After a kiss to her forehead Rush watched as sleep took her, so beautiful despite her tear stained cheeks. He'd promised Chloe he'd sleep, he couldn't say anything about it being restful.

XXXX

O'Neill was at his office desk, body tense just as Doctor Jackson's was who stood on the other side of the desk. Both glared at the suit clad bureaucrat that had been sent down from the Pentagon.

"... you can't do that! We still have people out there." Complained Daniel with a furrowed brow.

"This is ridiculous." Jack shot to his feet, large hands firmly planted on the dark wood desk.

"These are your orders, General." Clucked the generic bureaucrat. "There is no discussion, no more attempts to reach Destiny. The Stargate Program has priorities."

"I'm sorry," Doctor Jackson gestured in disbelief, "our people aren't a priority?"

The bureaucrat sighed. "Don't say it like that, of course we care but Doctor Rush himself has admitted there's nothing else to be done. We can't keep the Stargate running at half capacity and continue to beat a dead horse."

"No. No, he said he hadn't thought of anything new. There's a difference. He isn't going to just give up on his own daughter. Cressida Rush saved lives, she prevented the Nakai not only taking over an ancient ship with who knows how much tech but from killing our people. She's a hero and Davis basically keeps the Pentagon running. Since he ended up on Destiny you lot haven't had a clue what you're doing!"

"Enough." The bureaucrat all but growled. "General, shut down the rescue mission."

With that the short, black suit wearing man clicked his briefcase shut and marched out Jack's office without another word. The General slumped back down into his chair and Daniel perched on the desk edge, both were silent for a moment, neither could believe that their government was on board with just giving up Davis and Cress.

Daniel sighed. "Jack, you can't just leave Paul and Cressida out there."

"I'm not. We'll call off the official rescue as ordered but I don't remember about preventing any search on personal time. I'll give Rush, Ezra and Wallace a new assignment so it seems we're following orders to the letter but I'll have all the rescue material shifted to another lab." Jack paused only for a moment. "Daniel, that kid calls me 'Uncle', I'm not leaving her."

"You're a good man, Jack. I'll see what I can do to help, you keep the Pentagon off our backs."

"It's what I do." The two men chuckled. "SG10 should be back within the hour with news from the Asgard."

XXXX

Cress had finally decided to take a much deserved break from fixing the gate, her fingers stung and Vulpine had wandered off – probably back to her and Eli's room – out of boredom; all that animal ever seemed to do was nap. Paul had vanished too about twenty minutes prior which she'd found odd because he'd told her he'd be right back.

Cressida stretched, she'd been hunched over for some time and her back ached. Her knees complained when she rose to her feet, they'd grown used to remaining in one position and didn't want to support her full weight. How long have I been sat here? Three? Four hours?

When she turned to the gate room door though she heard music drifting down the hall quickly getting louder, she knew that song, it was one of Eli's favourites; Bob Seger's Old Time Rock And Roll. Suddenly Paul slid into the room just like in the video's Eli had shown her which forced her to giggle straight away. The music was coming from an iPod that Cress had never seen before but she hardly even noticed it as Paul danced over to her, this was the playful side of himself that few ever really got to see.

"What are you doing?" The teenager laughed. "You're mad."

"Maybe General O'Neill has finally gotten to me. And you've got to love Bob Seager."

"Eli said much the same." Cress stepped closer and took the iPod from Paul's strong hands. "Where did you even find this? I've been on this ship years and never seen it before."

"It was in one of the rooms, no idea whose it is and it's a little outdated now." The song came to an end and instantly played something more classical. "With a strangely varied music selection it seems."

Paul set the iPod down on Cressida's half empty bag of tools – she'd said Ez was the messy one but frankly Paul thought they were as bad as each other – and held out his hand for Cress to take.

"It's going to take you a while yet to get the gate fixed, care to dance?"

"I don't know how." She smiled softly.

"That's alright, I haven't danced since my cousin's wedding on 2002. We can stand on each others toes."

The chestnut haired beauty just stared at him for a moment or two, chocolate orbs glinting with amusement before she took his hand. Both were awful just as had been expected and soon ended up just shuffling around in a small circle laughing. Paul really did know how to make things fun and Cressida hadn't known just how much she'd needed a laugh, to forget about the gate and ship. He seemed to know just how to cheer her up, maybe Paul should have been a therapist.