III: Air Part III
Belle slumped wearily over the console, a Kino remote propped against the screen so she could monitor the images as well as the ships schematic. One team was still doing a random search of one of the corridors near the dome room … which had been sealed off. The rest of the teams had been recalled due to the thinning air and complaints of headaches and tightness in their chests. She snorted. She was still working, but then, she had an iron will and determination to get her job done. Some of these people didn't know what hard physical work was, never having ventured away from a desk in their entire career. If it was one thing she'd learned living in the Dark Castle, it was that a little hard work was good for the soul. It kept not only the hands, but the mind occupied. And that was exactly what she needed now.
The searches Rush was running through the database had turned up nothing so far, and she only had to check them periodically. The only thing of interest she'd learned was the ship's name … Destiny. She was certain her workaholic boss would contemplate the meaning of that for a good while. Another secret pertaining to the ancient rust bucket they were trapped on, and he'd missed it because he had insisted on journeying through the gate to the desert planet.
I should be with him, she thought irritably. It wasn't fair that he got to go down to the first planet the ship stopped at since their arrival and she had been forced to remain behind. She was his assistant. Where he went, she followed … or she had before this. She didn't want to admit to herself that she was worried something would happen to him and he wouldn't return. It was bad enough she'd opened up to him about what had happened to Gold. What had possessed her to do that?
She drew in a ragged breath and lifted the radio to her mouth, recalling the team and sending them to the gate room with the others to report their findings to Young. It had been easier than she'd thought it would be to talk to Rush. He'd opened up to her about his wife's death, after all. That couldn't have been any easier for him to do than it had for her to tell him about Gold. If she were honest with herself, it had felt good to unburden herself to him. Perhaps now she could finally put it to rest and let the pain fade. She couldn't dwell on the past anymore if she were going to move forward.
"Belle, did you hear me?" Dr. Lisa Park asked, her brows raised in question.
Belle shook her head, forcing her troubled thoughts to the back of her mind. "I'm sorry, Lisa. I guess I was just lost in thought," she apologized as she maneuvered the Kino into a corner of the gate room so she could have a good view of the stargate. "Did you find something?"
Park moved over to Belle's console and switched through several screens before finding the one which had so intrigued her. "I've been trying to identify and catalogue the different compartments which are habitable, and I noticed there are these large common areas attached to each of the sections of crew quarters, but I don't recognize this word."
Belle glanced down, a slow smile curving her lips as she read the words written in Ancient. "Lavatory. We know some quarters already claimed by the crew - if that's what you want to call this ragtag bunch - have en-suite bathrooms. Perhaps this is a communal bathing chamber?"
"Maybe we should check into it?" she asked, delighted by the prospect of slipping away from work for a while to go exploring.
Belle frowned down at the screen. "Lisa, what section of the ship is this? I thought all the crew quarters were on the starboard side. These are on the port side, and they seem larger than the ones we've seen so far." She noted they might be bigger, but were also lacking an en-suite bathroom, and were somewhat isolated.
"Maybe they were for the ship's officers?" Park replied with a shrug.
"I don't know. I'll check it out later if I have time. Why don't you go and investigate this possible bathroom. If we're going to remain here for any length of time I really don't want to think about doing without a shower," she said, smiling at the woman. "Take Brody or Volker with you, ok? I don't think it would be a good idea to go alone until we get a better feel for the ship. I don't want you getting lost."
Belle continued to study the schematic after Park had gone, wondering if these could be possible quarters for her and Rush. She knew he'd want something far removed from the rest of the crew, his privacy important to him. She'd already labeled the schematic for each crew member who'd chosen quarters. They were the only two who'd been too busy not to stake a claim. She switched the screen back to the search of the database and noted there was no change, so she retrieved her rucksack from beneath the bench and slung it over her shoulder.
She tucked the Kino remote into the back pocket of her jeans and lifted the radio to her mouth as she set off for the unused section of the ship. "Riley, this is Belle. Come in, please."
"They're not back yet, Belle," came the sergeant's automatic reply.
"I wasn't -" she began.
"The team has only been gone for two hours. Scott reported they'd had no luck in the immediate vicinity of the gate, and they were going to venture farther afield." The young man sighed and lowered his voice to a friendlier tone. "I promise if I hear any more news, I will let you know."
She sighed in frustration, her worry increasing. She knew what the planet was like, having seen the visuals provided by the Kino as well as the atmospheric readings. It was not going to be pleasant. "You're right, I'm just worried."
"We all are, but Greer and Lt. Scott won't let anything happen to our people," he assured her.
"Okay. Look, I'm going to check on quarters for me and Rush. Do you think you could monitor the search of the database from the console in the gate room," she asked.
The radio crackled again as his voice filtered up from the device. "Are you sure you should be investigating the ship alone?"
"I'll be fine. My radio is on so it's not like I'm really alone."
"I'll let you know if anything turns up with your search then," he said, a smile in his voice. "Riley, out."
Belle followed the corridor past the observation deck and ventured into one of the hallways towards the previously unsearched sections of the ship, praying she could remember the way from her brief study of the schematic. Her trek brought her past the dome room which had been sealed off due to damage and into a deserted corridor with muted lighting, four doors spaced a good distance apart on either side. Eight chambers in total.
The first chamber she entered, reminded her of the quarters Colonel Young had commandeered for himself with a large desk and comfortable seating area with a doorway which led into a modest bedroom with a dresser, a bed flanked by a nightstand on either side and a table and two chairs. She didn't think it would do for Rush, so she left the chamber behind and ventured to the next, palming the lock. She didn't feel right about that one either, feeling it was more to his taste, but just not what she was looking for. Neither did the next two. Finally, she came to the last chamber on the left of the hallway.
This one was more suited to his tastes, and she wondered if the Ancients had decorated the chambers with their own particular sense of style in mind. There was a comfortable sofa and coffee table near the door, a larger bed than most she'd seen so far, a dresser and a nice sized table with two comfortable looking chairs. A shelf spanning the wall, with muted lighting at intervals, served as a headboard for the bed and it, too, was flanked by a modest nightstand on either side of the bed. Yes, this would do nicely.
She set her rucksack on the bed and began unzipping the large compartment she'd set aside for him when they'd packed to leave for Icarus. The man hardly ever dragged his nose out of his ever-present notepad full of equations and calculations and therefore couldn't be depended upon to be prepared for a situation the likes of which they'd found themselves. Being his assistant, she'd taken it upon herself to prepare for him. It was a habit she'd developed when she'd fled Storybrooke. She very seldom kept more with her than what was necessary, and she was always prepared to run. She'd never been more grateful than now that she was.
Belle withdrew his laptop and set it on the table, the power cord hastily wrapped around it. Hopefully, there would be some way to charge it later. She stacked several of his notepads in the nightstand to the left side of the bed and an unopened pack of pencils and a sharpener she found at the bottom of her pack. I don't even remember tossing that in there, she thought with amusement. She moved to the dresser and deposited the clothes she'd brought along in the top drawer. Two vacuum-sealed space bags containing shirt, jeans, underwear, and socks that she decided he could unseal later at his leisure. She'd been embarrassed enough rifling through his things at the base. She was wishing, now, she could have fit another pair of boots in there for him, but there just hadn't been room. She set a small bag with his toiletries atop the dresser and gave the room a once over, nodding in satisfaction that she'd done all she could. It had a homier feeling now that his things occupied the chamber.
The pack felt lighter, the lack of weight making her fidget nervously and she forced herself to clamp down on her nervousness and set it aside. She was being silly. There was nowhere to run now. The gate couldn't be dialed back to Earth and being on the other side of the universe, there wouldn't be a shuttle trip home. If the life support system could be fixed and they didn't all die of asphyxiation, she could comfortably settle in and not have to worry about moving any time soon.
She left the chamber to seek out her own, inspecting the four across the hallway before deciding on one for herself. Dropping her pack on the bed, she left it there with a sigh. She would have time to unpack later, she thought, and set out in the direction of the large chamber at the end of the hall enclosed by frosted glass doors. The lights flickered on as she entered and she was better able to see the layout of the room. Several enclosed stalls off to her right revealed stainless commodes and she was pleased to see she wouldn't have to trek very far in the middle of the night to use the facilities. There were benches along one wall as well as hooks to hang clothing from while occupied elsewhere, she supposed. It was the shower stalls which captured her full attention. The thick frosted glass enclosures would ensure privacy, though she was hoping she wouldn't have to share the facilities with anyone when it came time for her to wash. She was a very private person, and the thought didn't please her at all.
Unless ...
No, no, no, no, no! I refuse to give birth to that thought, she scolded herself firmly. She was not going to think of slipping into the shower with Rush. It was bad enough she was having improper thoughts and even more scandalous dreams about the man. The thought of him naked and wet was … nope, she wasn't going there.
Her cheeks were still flaming with heat as she opened one of the stalls and stepped inside to investigate. There were jets spaced along the walls of the cubicle and one large lever which must be the operating mechanism. Well, she didn't have time for a shower and decided to leave that for later, anxious to get to the gate room.
X*X*X*X*X
It was a bloody nightmare! That was the foremost thought which kept tracking itself through his brain as he followed the rest of the team across the endless dunes of white sand. So far, they'd had no luck in finding the limestone needed to repair the life support system and if they didn't find it soon, things were only going to get worse. Although, he had to admit, he'd never been so thankful for his little assistant's obsession with hard fruity candies, he thought, popping another Jolly Rancher between his lips. His mouth flooded with moisture as he sucked on it idly, rolling his eyes as Eli continued with his best impression of Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes. The boy was determined to find something to entertain himself. He had that in common with Belle … neither of them seemed comfortable with silence.
Rush's teeth ground together in irritation as Franklin complained for what seemed the tenth time that they should investigate the other gate addresses available to them. "The ship locked those out for a reason," he hissed. "This is the gate available to us. We'll find what we need here."
It was quiet for a good five minutes, each one wanting to argue, but no one anxious to spark the doctor's virulent temper. Eli sidled up next to Greer some distance ahead of Rush, but his voice was still loud enough to carry back on the oppressive air.
"So, what's the story with Belle and Rush?" Eli asked in a stage whisper, causing the master sergeant's lips to quirk up into a smirk. "When I first met her, I thought she was his wife."
"Seriously?" Scott asked from his left, joining in on what would surely be an entertaining conversation. "You thought they were married?"
"They fight like they've been married for years," Greer said, chuckling. "Miss Belle's a sweet girl … much too good for the likes of him, but apparently she's been his assistant for years."
Eli glanced over his shoulder at Rush, but the man gave no indication that he was listening. "I know, right? She's sweet and she really seems to know what she's doing, but it's just creepy sometimes the way those two interact."
Scott cut him a look of surprise. "You interested in her, Eli?"
Eli looked taken aback and the two soldiers couldn't tell if he was red in the face from the unrelenting rays of the sun or something more. "What?! No, no, of course not … well … no," the boy stammered.
Rush's hand tightened on the handle of the bag of testing gear he carried as he listened. Eli was a good kid, but not someone Belle would be romantically interested in … would she? Now that the seed had been planted in his mind, he couldn't shake it loose, and he didn't like what it was doing to him. His stomach churned as if he'd eaten live eels and he was reluctant to identify that feeling as jealousy. Yet, he couldn't deny the unmistakable anger which roared through his slight frame. It was so acute, he was surprised to look down and notice his hands were still their same tanned color instead of emerald green. He snorted. What did he have to be jealous over? Belle had worked with him for years and she'd never shown the slightest interest in anything but her work.
His brows drew together as he scowled at the men walking ahead of him. They were all trapped on the ship now. What if the cramped quarters and day to day danger of surviving made Belle long for comfort from the opposite sex? She had her choice of eligible males. He stopped as that unwelcome thought slammed into his gut with the force of a battering ram, casting a glance in the direction from which they'd traveled … the direction of the gate.
"Dr. Rush?" Scott called, curious as to why the scientist had come to a halt.
"We'll test here. It's as good a place as any," he snarled, dropping to his knees and pulling the testing supplies out of his bag, Dr. Palmer moving to his side to assist him. He was happy to have the blonde geologist to help him, because his mind was far from his task, his thoughts filled with Belle and what she was doing in his absence.
X*X*X*X*X
Belle drummed her fingers on the console she stood before in the gate room, her short nails tapping out her agitation in a rapid tattoo of sound. The colonel and Chloe had used the communication stones to visit Earth … Young to report to O'Neill and Chloe to visit her mother to relay the sad news of the senator's death. Unfortunately, the colonel had switched with Colonel Telford. She had to admit he was better than Dr. Peirce, but not by much. He was cocky and arrogant and just rubbed her the wrong way. As much as she disliked Young, she knew he would lead them well. She didn't trust Telford to have their best interests at heart.
She could have happily kicked Brody for mentioning the four other gate addresses Destiny had locked out. "I don't care," the man snarled, the lines around his mouth and eyes tight with pain from having to share Young's body and his many injuries sustained when he'd evacuated the base. "We need to explore all options available to us."
"Rush advised against it. Every time we dial the gate, it drains our already limited power reserves," Belle told him, meeting the man's hostile gaze with one of her own.
"I don't give a damn about what Rush advised. There may be something on the other planets necessary for the survival of this crew. That is our top priority. Now find a way around the lockout," Telford hissed. "That's an order, Miss French."
"Then, thankfully, I'm not under your command, Colonel, and therefore don't have to obey."
TJ intervened as Telford reached up and pressed a hand to Young's bruised ribs. "Colonel, you need to rest," she said evenly, leading him away from the gate room before he could argue.
Brody snickered at her side. "Actually, Belle, we're all pretty much under their jurisdiction, this being a military operation."
"That was so not in my job description," she deadpanned. "When it has to do with the scientific aspect of my job, I will always follow Rush's orders. If I'm stuck on a planet and find myself in danger of aliens or wild boar? Then I'll defer to Young and his team. But then … that wasn't Young now, was it?"
Belle watched them go and turned back to the console, her meaningful glare daring Brody to dial one of the locked-out planets. One of these days her mouth was going to get her into some serious trouble. But not today, she thought with a wicked grin. She had more experience with bullies than the colonel or anyone else of her acquaintance knew, and she wouldn't go against Rush's instructions to follow Telford's orders. She glanced up at the countdown clock, the numerical figures clicking down in Ancient. Six hours left, she thought miserably. Where are you, Rush?
X*X*X*X*X
"Miss French," Colonel Young greeted, a faint smile on his lips as he limped to her side at the console.
She cocked her head to the side, regarding him silently as she took in the lack of hostility in his posture that Telford usually displayed. "Good to have you back, Colonel," she returned with a nod.
He huffed a short laugh, her sentiment high praise considering he wasn't one of her favorite people. "Has there been any news?"
"Last contact was from Eli. He said Scott split them into two teams. Scott, Greer and Rush on one and Eli, Palmer, Curtis and Franklin on the other. Scott figured they could cover more ground if they split up," she informed him, rubbing her hands over her face in an effort to scrub away a bit of her weariness. It was going on far too long since she'd slept, and the thinning air wasn't helping her fatigue in the least.
Her gaze jerked up as the puddle rippled and Riley cried out, "There they are."
Belle didn't hesitate, sprinting across the short distance to where Rush struggled down the ramp under the bulk of a wounded Franklin. Barnes, Dunning and Spencer rushed forward to help the wounded scientist as TJ hurried into the gate room to assess his injuries. "Rush!" she breathed out, nearly weak in her relief. "What happened to Franklin?" she asked, casting a frown at the downed scientist.
Rush collapsed to his knees against the cold floor, his breath coming fast and labored. "Greer ..." he gasped, trying to make himself clear, the words barely making it past his parched throat. "Greer shot him. Water!"
Belle turned to fetch him a drink to find Riley at her side, holding out his canteen. Rush snatched it out of her hand, upending the vessel to his lips and drinking greedily. She laid a hand over his where it tightly gripped the canteen, her eyes meeting his. "Slowly. You're going to make it come right back up if you drink too fast."
He didn't, however, heed her warning, knowing well what his body needed far better than she did. He thrust the canteen back at Riley, not a drop left. The young sergeant smirked his displeasure. "Well, that was my ration for the day."
Belle nodded to her own canteen sitting on the console across the room. "You can have what's left of mine. Thank you," she said, smiling at her friend. She would fetch more for him from their limited stores. "Rush, you look dreadful," she murmured, helping him to his feet.
He leaned heavily on her, smiling weakly. "Yeah, well ..."
Young limped over. "What's going on, Rush? Where are the rest of our people?"
A condescending smirk lifted one corner of his mouth. "Oh, we had a lovely day at the beach. How 'bout you?"
"Could we cut through the horseshit and give me a straight answer?"
"Fine!" Rush snapped, shifting a bit so he wouldn't crush Belle beneath his weight. "Palmer and Curtis dialed the gate to one of the other planets. Eli tried to stop them, but they went anyway. Franklin was going to go, too, and leave us stranded without the remote to dial back to the ship so I ordered Greer to shoot him. Scott is out there on his own looking for the limestone and Greer left me and Eli at the gate before he went to search for him."
Young nodded, already swinging around and calling for Lt. James. "Take two men and an extra Kino through the gate, Lieutenant. Have Eli dial and get Palmer and Curtis back. Then I want you to help Sergeant Greer search for Scott."
Belle turned her back on Young, leaving him to see about the rest of the mission and led Rush over to sit on the stairs. "Miss Fr - Belle!" he hissed in exasperation. "Stop hovering, I'm fine!"
Her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line as she crossed her arms over her chest. Without a word, she left him there to sort himself out. He winced and smacked his palm over his face, burying his head in his hands as she stalked angrily back to the console she'd been monitoring. He'd let his earlier annoyance bleed over into the present when she'd clearly been nothing but concerned for his well-being. He wasn't deserving of her concern if he was going to constantly act like an ass, he thought miserably, sneaking a glance in her direction. She wouldn't even look at him, concentrating on her work. Damn!
Why do I continue to keep her at arm's length, he wondered, casting a furtive glance at her … only to see she wasn't there any longer. He sighed and leaned his head against the metal railing which curved up the side of the stairs, closing his eyes. If he hadn't let Eli's earlier conversation with Scott and Greer get under his skin, he most likely wouldn't have snapped at her. No, scratch that. Who was he kidding? When didn't he take his nasty temper out on her?
Belle French was his only friend on the entire bloody ship. If he weren't careful, she wouldn't want to have a thing to do with him and then where would he be? For starters, she was the only person with whom he could have a decent conversation, her vast intellect rivaling even his. He definitely couldn't see sharing down time with Volker or Brody … or, heaven forbid, Young. He shuddered. Belle had been with him so long, he didn't want to imagine his life without her working by his side. He couldn't let his longing for her get in the way of that, nor could he continue to take advantage of her giving nature. He was going to have to show her he wasn't the complete bastard other people thought him to be.
He pushed his nausea aside - he suspected he might have a mild case of heatstroke - and prepared to seek her out to learn what she'd been doing in his absence when a pair of soft brown suede boots appeared in his line of sight. He kept his face impassive as he lifted his eyes to meet hers. He could tell she was still angry with him from the tight set of her jaw, yet still, she'd come to him to offer comfort.
Belle took the cool wet cloth and moved his hair aside to lay it across the back of his neck and then handed him the canteen she'd filled. "I brought you some more water. I would advise again to drink it slowly … not that you ever listen to me," she mumbled acidly beneath her breath. "The search through the database has proven useless so far."
Rush did as she asked and sipped at the water when his fervent desire was to guzzle it. "Thank you, Miss -" He stopped abruptly when her eyes narrowed menacingly. "Belle," he amended. When he scooted closer to the railing, making room for her, she took the hint and settled at his side.
"I did find something interesting though," she said, removing her iPhone from her pocket and pulling up the pictures she'd taken. "Look at this." She pointed to the screen, showing him what she'd found.
"Destiny?" he asked, scrolling through the pictures.
She nodded, fighting back a yawn. "Yeah. I pulled it up on your console in the control interface room. Provided no one went in there and started pushing buttons."
He handed the phone back, anxious to see the data for himself, but knowing it would have to wait until their current crisis had been resolved. "And our quarters?"
She rose from her seat and offered him a hand up. "I think you'll be pleased with what I was able to secure for us. I'll show you … later."
Rush watched her walk away, a slight bounce in her step and a smile on her lovely lips. He wondered if he should be pleased that she'd completed her task or worried over the mischief so evident in her gaze.
X*X*X*X*X
Belle slumped against the console in the gate room, wondering how she was even still on her feet as tired as she was. Lt. James and her team had returned moments ago with no luck in finding Greer or Lt. Scott and they were running out of time. "We've got less than three minutes before the ship jumps again," Rush grumbled, his eyes fixed on the countdown clock embedded into the wall behind them over the door leading further into the ship.
She raised the radio to her lips. "Anything yet, Eli?"
"No," came his worried response. "Nothing. Nothing but sand."
A steady beeping noise, the alarm to alert them time was running short, sounded and Belle entered the command to shut it down. "Less than one minute," Rush said, his gaze moving back and forth between the clock and the gate.
Belle chewed worriedly on her lower lip, to quell the whimper which fought to escape. She would not let her courage fail her now. She jumped when the radio burst to life in her hand, Eli's excited tones meeting her ears. "They're here. They're carrying something! They've got the lime ... and they're not going to make it!"
"Forty seconds," Riley cried, the countdown clock seeming to speed up.
"Give me the radio," Rush commanded, holding his hand out to Belle. He moved to stand at the base of the short ramp leading to the gate, speaking urgently into the radio. "Eli, I want you to stick your arm into the event horizon of the puddle."
"Seriously?" Eli squawked.
Young stepped to the doctor's side and gave him a dubious look. "Are you sure?"
Rush shook his head. "No, but I'm betting there's some kind of safety protocol to prevent someone from getting cut off en-route."
"But what if there isn't?" the colonel questioned, worried for his team.
Rush cast him a scathing glance.
"Twenty seconds!" Belle called.
Rush clicked the radio's comm button again. "Do it now, Eli!"
Belle stepped back, away from the console, and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest and hugging herself to ward off the chill which was slowly creeping over her. The low tones of Riley's voice droned on as he counted down. "Five … four … three … two … one." They were going to leave without them and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
The alarm sounded again as the clock reached zero, the ship beginning to groan as the FTL drives revved in preparation for the jump and still the gate remained open, the puddle rippling softly. She offered up a silent prayer that Rush had made it back safely. If they were all going to die, at least they'd be together, she thought a little hysterically. The ship groaned and she clenched her hands into tight fists to still their trembling. It seemed as if every man and woman in the gate room were frozen in anticipation and fear.
Greer and Scott tumbled through the gate, staggering down the ramp - with the heavy duffle filled with lime between them - to collapse onto the cool metal floor. Eli was but a second behind them and Rush hurriedly made his way to the boy's side, shoving a canteen of water into his hands. "Well done, Eli, well done," he praised, clapping him on the back.
Belle slid down the wall, burying her head against her knees as the gate whooshed closed and Destiny jumped back into FTL.
X*X*X*X*X
Belle clipped her radio back to the waistband of her jeans and leaned against the wall. Rush stood nearby, overseeing the last node - or scrubber as Brody and Scott were fond of calling it since it would scrub the CO2 from the air - put in place in the corridor leading to the control interface room. It had been cleaned of the sticky black gunk which had built up on it for who knows how long and filled with the solution made from the lime. It just needed to be fitted back into place and turned on. One last task and then maybe she would be able to find her bed.
Brody and Volker lifted the node and secured it into place, making sure it was set and flipped the switch. But instead of fresh clean air wafting sweetly from the vents, there was a buzzing alarm alerting them that something was wrong. Belle threw her hands into the air and bit down on her tongue to hold her temper in check. What else would persist in bedeviling them today? She rubbed absently at the tension in the back of her neck as she marched back down the corridor into the control room and brought up the data she needed, the screen flashing red on the schematic where they'd just installed the node.
"Just great," she sneered at the screen.
Rush came into the room to stand behind her, peering over her shoulder at the console. "What is it?" he asked, leaning in closer and wishing his glasses hadn't been broken upon his arrival through the gate when they'd evacuated Icarus. His hand brushed hers aside and caressed her nape as she so often did to him. "You know we can finish this without you if you want to go to bed."
"No," she protested mildly, "I want to see this finished." She didn't add that she wouldn't retire until he did. He needed rest every bit as much as she did … even if he was too stubborn to admit it.
He pressed the comm button on his radio, drawing it out of his breast pocket. "Brody, do you see an access door to the maintenance corridor behind the node? Someone's going to have to go in there and manually reset it. It should be fairly easy.
"Uh-oh," came the reply.
"What do you mean, uh-oh? What kind of answer is that? Either it's there or it's not," Rush snarled into the radio. Belle was practically asleep on her feet as he took her hand and pulled her from the room to where the two men stood staring into the darkened maintenance corridor. He peered inside, stepping around them. "Damn."
"That's what we meant," Brody told him, shoving his hands into his pockets and waiting to hear suggestions from the others as to how they were going to reach the manual reset.
"How are you going to fit in there?" Belle asked, taking in the cramped space. There were various panels and what looked like cooling pipes, not that she really knew what she was looking at. Give her numbers and calculations and she could run them all day long. When it came to technical workings such as this, she was lost. All she knew for certain was that it was going to be a tight squeeze. She felt the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end at the thought of going down that corridor.
Volker looked her over, his eyes traveling her petite form from head to toe. "Belle shouldn't have any problems maneuvering her way through there. She's tiny enough."
"I'm not sending Belle in there," Rush growled, not liking the idea of his little assistant in the dark confined space.
"N-No, I'll go," she assured him with a weak smile, refusing to show fear in front of her coworkers. "I can do it." Already her breath was threatening to freeze in her lungs at the thought of going in there, but she couldn't let everyone down, least of all Rush. It was her job to go where she was needed, and she wouldn't shirk her duty now when she never had before. "I can stand up in there at least. I won't have to crawl. Just don't let the door close on me, okay?"
"You don't know how to reset the system, Belle -"
"You can talk me through it," she nodded, pulling her iPhone from her pocket and turning on the flashlight app. She stepped up to the door hesitantly, taking a deep breath before walking through, ignoring the sharp acrid taste of spine-chilling terror on the back of her tongue.
Rush, however, wasn't going anywhere. "Volker, go to the control room. The schematic is already pulled up on my console," he commanded brusquely, taking Brody's radio and thrusting it at the ginger-haired astrophysicist. He didn't look at the man's disgruntled expression as he stalked off to do as he was told, stepping towards the door.
"Rush it's going to be cramped enough in there with just Belle. You shouldn't -" Brody warned, but Rush cut him off.
"Do not presume to tell me something I can clearly see with my own eyes, Mr. Brody. If she isn't able to do it, I can help her." He followed her down the corridor, noticing that she glanced back every so often, her wide eyes confirming the door was still open.
"Rush, I told you I could do this," she retorted, stopping about halfway down the long corridor. She stood just behind the node, a panel on either side.
He smirked at her in the dim glow of her flashlight. "And it never hurts to have an extra pair of hands." He clicked the comm button on the radio. "Volker, we're just behind the node. There are panels on either side. Tell me the procedure for the reset."
"Good thing you decided to go in with her, because it's going to take both of you to reset the system," Volker replied. "Take the panel coverings off."
"Volker, there's barely room to move in here," Rush snarled.
"It should be fairly easy, Dr. Rush. There are fastenings on either side of the panel and then it should slide down to reveal the mechanism."
"Got it," Belle called loud enough to be heard through the radio, having released the covering on her side while the two men were bickering.
"How are you doing that without dropping the flashlight?"
"Ingenuity, Rush," she snarked, turning to him so he could see she'd tucked the phone into her bra, the light sticking out of the top. He felt his mouth go dry as he stared at her chest.
"Rush?" Volker called.
He snapped back to attention, turning his gaze away from the tantalizing view to concentrate on the myriad buttons and whatnot inside the panel. "Alright, we have both of the covers removed. Next step."
"Inside there should be a row of green buttons. Are you on the left or right of the node?"
"The left," he snarled through clenched teeth. Really what did it matter? He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, trying to banish the image of Belle's top pulled down over her breasts so she could use her bra as a handy phone holder.
"Ok, you have to depress the first and fourth buttons simultaneously on both panels. Then just behind the node is a lever. Pull it and it should manually reset."
Belle smiled, hoping he wouldn't see how her hands trembled from being in the confined space. "See, that should be simple enough." On the count of three, they pressed the buttons, a series of red lights above the panels showing clearly that they'd succeeded in their task. Belle quickly replaced her panel, the sooner the better to be free of the corridor and back into the open space of Destiny's main corridor. All that was left to do was pull the lever. Rush squeezed around her in the tight space and wrapped his hand around the lever, the node whirring to life, the solution inside the glass cylinder beginning to bubble and churn.
The door slid shut with an ominous whoosh.
Belle made her way as quickly as she could in the cramped space, to the door, planting her hands on it with a sharp smack. "Brody, open the door!" she screamed through the heavy immovable metal.
"The door lock isn't working," he called back.
Belle was frantic as she felt along both sides of the door for the release mechanism, panic rising in her breast to choke her. "Brody, get me out of here … now!"
Rush crowded in behind her, making it feel as if the walls were closing in on her as he tried to help her find the door release. She whirled on him, the top of her head bumping his chin as she grabbed a handful of his flak jacket in her icy fingers. "Rush, please make him open the door. I can't be trapped again. MAKE HIM OPEN THE DOOR!"
"Volker, what the hell is wrong with the damn door?" he growled into the radio. "It appears Belle is claustrophobic. I need it opened."
"Then why'd she go in there?"
Rush wanted to bang his head against the pipes at his back. He figured it would somehow be less painful than talking to the man. "There should be some way to open it - an override - there on the console."
He was quickly losing his patience with the man as Belle's soft whimpers turned into sobs which wracked her petite frame. "Uh-oh," came Volker's reply, a quaver in his voice.
"Not this again," Rush murmured. "What now? There's no override?"
"There is, but I'm not as well versed in Ancient as -"
"Then find someone who is. Where is Park?" he asked, wincing as Belle's nails dug into his chest.
"Um ..."
"Go find her!" He shoved the radio into the back pocket of his jeans and slipped his arms around Belle's waist, tucking her head beneath his chin. "There, we have help coming. We won't be here long. At least we have the flashlight," he whispered softly against the crown of her head.
The flashlight died a slow flickering death, leaving them in the muted glow of the lights from the panel behind them. SHIT! She struggled against him, her sobs nearly hysterical now. "Belle, It's ok, look at me," he crooned softly in a soothing tone he didn't know he was capable of making.
"Out, Rush, you … have to get me … out," she panted. "Can't let her … have to get … out. Please! Don't let … don't let her lock me up again."
She beat her small hands against his chest, and he was forced to take the phone from her, slipping it into his pocket before she dropped it and damaged it beyond repair, wondering who had locked her away and why she was so terrified of it happening again. Another mystery about his little assistant he'd need to solve, but that would have to wait. Right now, he needed to restore some semblance of calm before she hurt herself, or him. She was stronger than she looked.
"Belle, shh, listen to me. Take a deep breath," he murmured, enclosing her within the circle of his arms and trapping her hands between them as he rubbed gently at her nape, his fingers digging into the knot of tension at the top of her spine. "Deep breath. Can you do that for me?"
She drew in a shuddering breath, her entire body trembling violently, her nails digging into his chest, but she stopped fighting to get away from him. She was so tense, her muscles seized, she felt like a marble statue instead of the soft woman he knew her to be. Finally, after years of yearning to have her in his embrace, and he couldn't even take the time to enjoy it. What had happened to this precious woman to have her reduced to utter panic and desperation? Who had done this to her?
"Nothing is going to harm you, Belle. I won't let anything hurt you," he whispered, his lips brushing against her temple in a soft caress. "Think wide open spaces. Remember the lounge on Icarus? You'd sit in front of the window and stare out at the horizon … big and open … the panoramic view seemed to go on forever ..." He knew he was mumbling nonsense, but after a while, she didn't seem quite so tense. His knuckles skimmed over each nub of her spine in a light circular motion, moving on to the next, one after another and then moving back up to start again. "Did you ever go to the beach with your friends when you first came to California? The wide open space, the endless blue of the Pacific ..."
"Didn't have any," she whispered, pressing her face into the crook of his neck where it met his shoulder.
"California has beaches everywhere, Belle," he said, a smile in his voice. It died quickly in his throat at her next murmured response.
"Friends … didn't have any. You were the first person I allowed myself to get close to," she admitted, realizing too late she'd left herself open for ridicule should he be inclined.
"Oh, Belle," he groaned, "I -"
The radio crackled and he hurriedly reached for it. "Dr. Rush, we've encountered a problem," Dr. Park said tentatively. She was all too familiar with his volatile temper, having worked on his team for the last six months and she knew he wouldn't take well to the news.
"What problem? We need to get Belle out of here now," he growled into the radio. Belle was still a mess, and the distraction of soft words and gentle touches was fading back into her previous state with the interruption. "Fix it."
"I'm sorry, Dr. Rush, we're doing what we can. The system has a fail-safe to prevent tampering with the reset. The door will remain open for only a few moments before it automatically seals, giving you only a limited time to get out. We would have to remove the node, wait an estimated time and then replace it. However, since you've already reset it from the panel in the corridor, it shouldn't be a problem to reinstall it on this side and have it restart properly."
"How much time?"
"Half an hour?" she asked, making it into more of a question.
"You're asking me? Last I checked, there isn't a console in here, Dr. Park. Perhaps you could pull Brody and Volker from the hallway, and their arduous task of standing about, and see if they might assist you!" he hissed, clicking the radio off and replacing it in his pocket. "Bloody imbeciles."
A violent tremor shook her petite frame and Rush pulled her closer. "It's ok … it's ok … they'll get us out," he assured her with a confidence he didn't at all feel.
"Rush," she whimpered against his chest. "We have to get out. I can't be locked up again. I can't! You have to do some -"
She struggled, she fought, she clawed, trying to free herself from him to pound on the door. Surely someone would hear her, someone would let her out. The walls felt as though they were closing in on her, pressing ever closer, robbing her of air and threatening to crush her until she was nothing but dust. Being behind a locked door brought all her memories screaming to the forefront of her mind, memories she'd tried to bury years ago of being Regina's prisoner, first in the tower of her castle and then in the basement asylum. She couldn't go through that again. She couldn't stand to be locked away in the dark and cold with no chance of escape.
Rush could hear Park and the others already starting to work on removing the node from its enclosure. If she could just hold on for a little longer. She needed another distraction, but he didn't think the efforts he'd tried previously would work again. She was too far gone into her state of panic to listen to anything he might say to comfort her. So, he did the only thing he could think of which might shock her enough to regain some sense of self and control. He kissed her.
Belle froze in surprise, her lips parted on a gasp at the first brush of his lips against hers. His strong hands exerted gentle pressure as they rose to cradle her face, holding her in place as his lips slid tenderly over hers, slanting slightly to keep his nose from bumping hers. Warmth flooded through her, chasing away the icy coldness which had gripped her. And it was over far too quickly, not even giving her a chance to respond before he was pulling away to gaze down at her in the dim light.
"Belle ..." he whispered, his warm breath fanning against her lips as he rested his brow to hers. "Breathe for me."
She drew in a deep shuddering breath, holding his gaze, filling her lungs with much needed air and slowly she felt the panic begin to subside. He was her comfort, her solace, her strength. With him, there was a deep burning need within her to trust … something she hadn't felt in more years than she could count. For four years, he'd slowly pushed her to follow her academic dreams, to reinvent herself and leave her past behind, to start fresh and have another chance at happiness. She'd stood beside him and helped him cope with the loss of his wife, supporting him without hesitation when he'd joined the project which had led them here. She did trust him, but not completely. Yet, now … now she felt herself longing to trust him with that part of her she kept hidden from the world, the part of her she'd buried away to prevent herself from ever knowing pain and heartbreak again.
"Good girl," he breathed, sharing his air with her, never having felt closer to her. "Deep breaths … calm, even breaths. Nothing can hurt you, Belle. I'm here." His hands slipped away from her face, trailing along her smooth skin to rest on her shoulders, his thumbs drawing back and forth over her rapidly beating pulse points in her neck.
He held her, continuing to whisper softly … utter nonsense, really, but she wasn't paying attention to his words anyway, concentrating more on the sound of his voice … until the last of her tension drained away, leaving her soft curves pliant and yielding where his lean lines pressed into her. She withdrew her sharp nails from his chest, smoothing over the area she'd damaged with a soft touch, and he sighed in relief to feel her relax into his embrace rather than fight against him. No longer did he represent the specter of her past, but rather another chance, the first threads of hope and faith in a brighter future.
"Nicholas ..." It was uttered so softly, he might have missed it if he hadn't been staring so avidly at her mouth, her soft pink lips holding his rapt attention. That one word, his name, spoken with reverence, longing and so much need nearly shattered the firm control he exerted over his baser instincts. He'd wanted her for so long, to have her in his arms, to press his lips to her creamy flesh, but he couldn't take advantage of her lapse into hysteria to sate his own cravings. Her hand slid up along his chest, her thumb brushing back and forth against the hollow of his throat, and he shivered, the pleasure of her innocent touch sending fire rapidly spreading through his body.
Her fingers curled in the ends of his hair, tugging gently, coaxing him to bring his lips back to hers once more. She was wrapped in a cocoon of warmth, his body blanketing her against the door, and she wanted more … needed more … and he was helpless to resist. His lips barely brushed against hers, the touch feather light, but it left her feeling as if she'd run for miles, butterflies the size of condors taking flight in her belly and leaving her breathless with anticipation.
Rush's head jerked up, his hands falling away from her as the door whooshed open and he was faced with the brighter light of the corridor. Cool air rushed in to greet them, helping to clear the haze of desire which had robbed him of his good sense. Belle slumped against him in relief as TJ and Park reached in to her, pulling her forward quickly to assure themselves that she was alright.
He glared at Brody and Volker as Young stepped between them. "You turned your radio off," the colonel accused in a mild tone, seemingly amused that the brilliant doctor had somehow locked himself in a maintenance corridor.
"Yes, well, I had more pressing issues which required my full attention." He turned to Park, brows raised. "The door remains open, so I'm going to assume you were able to override the failsafe."
"Yes, Dr. Rush," she confirmed as TJ led Belle away to the infirmary to check her out, Belle protesting loudly. "Once we restarted the node I was able to go into the ship's computer and enter the commands to prevent this from happening again."
He sent Park, Brody and Volker back to the control room with the assurance that he'd join them after he'd changed out of the BDUs he'd worn down to the planet, leaving him alone in the corridor with Young.
"I didn't know Miss French was claustrophobic," Young mused aloud, limping beside Rush as they headed in the direction of the infirmary.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about her." There were still things he didn't know, but he wasn't about to tell the Colonel. "Not everything is written in her personnel file," he bit out acidly, wishing the man would take himself off elsewhere. He wanted to get to Belle and assure himself she was alright.
"The situation on board this ship is tenuous at best, Rush."
"Just what are you implying, Colonel?" he snapped, stopping to glare at the man.
Young smiled, a wry twisting of his lips. "I'm not implying anything. I'm simply saying this is not the place for romantic entanglements."
Rush's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, heat rising in his already sunburned face to stain it a vivid crimson. "Whatever entanglements may or may not develop between members of this crew are none of your concern. There are civilians on this ship who are not accountable to your military rules of conduct. More so those involving me or my assistant. Her conduct has always been above reproach and will remain so."
"It's not her I'm worried about."
Rush scoffed, casting him a contemptuous glare and turned on his heel, stalking off to find Belle and wishing the colonel to perdition.