Chapter Nine: Life
"I'll wait, if it's all the same to you," Rush fairly insisted as he regarded the medic through narrowed eyes. "Belle first."
TJ gave him a blank look and then rolled her eyes as the next crew member - who hadn't already collapsed from the virus - stepped forward to be inoculated. "Rush, you're burning with fever and It's only by pure stubbornness, I'm sure, that you haven't succumbed to unconsciousness. Belle would want you —"
"I'll wait for her!" he growled, pinning her with a stare which brooked no objection.
"Well, at least sit down before you fall over. I can't believe you haven't already."
"I'm still not so sure I won't anyway," he mumbled as he dropped onto the stool beside her workstation. Apparently, the venom she'd transformed into the serum which would save them all had some adverse side effects. One being extreme fatigue. He didn't have time for a damn nap! His work had already been placed on the back burner in light of their new crisis. And where the hell was Belle?!
Belle shouldered her way to the front of the line as she entered the infirmary. "TJ, how's it going? Need any — Nicholas! What are you still doing in here?" she asked, making her way around the table to his side. "And you're burning up with fever." She pressed the back of her hand to his brow, shrinking back when the touch nearly burned her. "Has he had a dose, Tamara?"
"No, I bloody well have not. I've called for you repeatedly over the last twenty minutes. Where the hell have you been? I've been waiting —"
Without a word, TJ pressed the inoculation gun into Belle's hands and picked up another. While Rush was distracted with his latest tantrum, Belle pressed the gun to his neck and pulled the trigger, the serum slowly dispensing through the tip. He cringed, but otherwise didn't protest. "There," she soothed softly, brushing the hair away from his brow. "You shouldn't have waited for me. You're very sick, Nicholas, and to deny yourself a life-saving injection, well, it's bloody well stupid."
Belle shrugged one arm out of her flak jacket and presented it to TJ who swabbed a small patch of skin and injected her with the serum. A serum she apparently didn't need, Belle thought bitterly. She pulled the jacket back on and thanked her friend.
"You might want to get him to bed. Both of you. The serum is affecting everyone differently as far as side effects are presenting, but the majority are suffering fatigue and will want their own beds before they collapse in one of the corridors," the medic warned with a weary smile.
"I'll stay and help if you need it," Belle assured her, not really wanting to have that discussion about what they'd seen on the Kino with Rush anytime soon.
"No, you go. I only have a few people left and then I'll be ready to find my own bed."
Belle nodded and turned to her cantankerous boss. And yes, though they'd started this new phase of their relationship, he was still, in fact, her boss. He still signed her checks … sort of, she thought with a roll of her eyes. "Alright, Nicholas, let's get you to your quarters and — Nicholas!" she shrieked as he pitched forward. He would have easily toppled to the floor if she hadn't already been there to catch him.
"What the hell, man?" Eli asked from his place in line.
Rush lifted his head and grinned at Belle, then pulled her closer and rubbed his face against her stomach, closing his eyes with a sigh of contentment. Her face went up in flames of mortification as his arms wrapped around the backs of her thighs. She shook his shoulder, turning slightly to shield him from the last of the marines and airmen snickering over her shoulder.
"Nicholas!" she hissed, shaking him harder. Her brow creased in concern. It reminded her of the time she'd found him in his office with a half empty bottle … of … scotch. Fuck! Just what she needed … a drunk Rush.
"TJ, a little help?" she asked dolefully over her shoulder. "Is this one of the side effects?"
The medic's brows disappeared somewhere near her hairline, and she wasn't able to hide her surprise. "Wow, he must have really been sleep deprived if the serum worked this fast."
"Aww, seems like Dr Rush has his own personal teddy bear," Spencer sneered from his place in line.
Belle whipped her head around, pinning him with her narrow-eyed stare, but before she could reprimand the marine sergeant, Greer smacked him across the back of his bald head. "Show some respect for Miss Belle," he hissed.
"Damn, man, just sayin'. Look at him," the man protested.
Rush snuffled softly against her belly, oblivious to the fact that the military personnel in the room would have more than a fair bit of ribbing in store for him the next morning. Belle turned back to him with a pained expression as she lifted a hand to the back of his neck and kneaded his tired muscles. He pressed closer, his arms tightening about the backs of her thighs.
"What are you talking about?" Eli asked, his gaze swinging between Rush and TJ.
"The effects vary. We already know it causes extreme fatigue. Everyone knows Dr Rush doesn't sleep as he should, so it's understandable the serum would affect him quickly," she explained.
"Alright, damnit," Belle scoffed. "Any volunteers to help me get him to his quarters?" Her hands wrapped tightly around his left bicep as she tried to urge him to his feet. "Nicholas, can you stand up? We need to go for a short walk and then you can sleep," she cajoled in a calm tone. It was the same she used on him when he was in a particularly foul mood.
He grumbled and again rubbed his face against her belly. "Don't want to," he murmured, his voice muffled against her shirt.
She shot a pleading look at Eli when no one else stepped forward to help. She knew Greer would have offered his help had TJ not been waiting to give him his dose of medication. Rush slumped heavily against her as she and Eli got him into an upright position, his feet unsteady beneath him. She winced as he buried his fever-hot face against the crook of her neck.
"Don't feel well, Belle," he murmured, swaying a little as he fought to keep his balance. "What did she do to me?"
Belle glared at the marines as she passed the lot of them, Eli supporting the doctor on his right. "It's alright, Nicholas. You're just tired and the serum is making you more so," she crooned softly as his head dropped to her shoulder.
Eli yawned. "So, Belle, how are you?" he asked, bearing more of Rush's weight to ease her burden. He tried to take measured steps as they started down the dimly lit corridor. "That couldn't have been very easy for you to … um … y'know, watch the …"
"I'm alright, Eli," she assured him with a small smile, touched by the boy's concern.
He looked thoughtful as they turned a corner. "And you know you can't really go by what was on the recording because I mean it really wasn't us … not us us, y'know? Maybe it was … but like an evil twin type of reality and …"
"Eli!" Belle admonished, shaking her head. "Everything will be fine now. Time travel notwithstanding, we're fine. We were warned in time to save everyone and that's all that matters."
Rush snuffled softly against her neck, and she could practically feel the gesture against her skin. "My Belle," he slurred, losing his balance and jerking away from Eli in the process. Belle was carried along with him as he tripped into the bulkhead, trapping her between his body and the metal wall. He grinned sleepily, his brow dropping to her shoulder as he inhaled sharply. "You smell good."
"It's ok, Nicholas," she crooned softly, petting his hair as he sighed happily. "We're almost there. Can you stand up for me? I'm a bit squished," she lamented as Eli stood nearby trying to look anywhere but at the two of them in such an intimate position.
"Tired," he mumbled, pressing his hot face against her cool skin, searching for relief. "Wanna sleep. Will you sleep with me?"
"Maybe we should have left him in the infirmary," Eli suggested, glancing back in the direction from which they'd come. It would be a shorter distance to return him to TJ's care than it would to continue to the doctor's quarters, and the sooner he was quit of Rush's out of character behavior, the better. He could deal with the sniping, snarling, sneering abrasiveness or even the cool disdain and outright mocking, but this was a side of the scientist he had hoped never to see.
Belle snorted as she pushed against Rush's shoulders and got him back to an upright position so Eli could grab his right arm. "Yes, Nicholas, I'll sleep with you," she agreed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He rumbled happily, a silly grin spreading over his face, and snuggled closer to her. As if she'd be able to sleep on Destiny anywhere other than at his side. She wrapped Rush's left arm around her shoulders and looped her hand through his belt, assured that she had a good grip on him before they set off again down the long hallway towards the dome and the corridor which led to their quarters. "Would you really want to see his reaction come morning? I don't think he would take kindly to us abandoning him in the infirmary. It's better we get him to his own bed."
Rush's head lolled to the right, landing on Eli's shoulder. He slowly turned to look at the boy and jerked upright, stiffening in affront. "Eli! Why aren't you working!?" he snarled in a brief moment of clarity.
"Um … I … ah," Eli stammered under the full weight of Rush's patented death glare. "Would you believe I'm on my way there now?"
Belle huffed a light laugh. "Nicholas, leave Eli alone."
Rush swung his head around to Belle, a devilish smirk transforming his mouth as he regarded her through half hooded eyes. "Belle … need coffee. Work … coffee," he mumbled, his head dropping to her shoulder again. "… love you … my Belle … mo chroí."
Eli coughed loudly, quickening his pace as a blush crept up his neck and continued all the way up to his hairline. Thankfully, that was the last Rush said until the door of his quarters slid open, and Eli could relieve his burden into Belle's capable hands. The doctor flopped back onto the mattress, his feet still planted on the floor as Belle turned to Eli.
"Thank you, so much … truly, Eli. I do appreciate it," she said, raising up on the balls of her feet to kiss his cheek. "You're a good friend."
Eli dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand before burying them both in the pockets of his jacket. "Hey, anytime. I … yeah … think I'm just gonna go," he stammered, backing awkwardly to the door. "Really tired."
"TJ said the serum would make you sleepy. At least it didn't put us all into a coma as it did to Scott on the recording. If you can't make it back to your quarters, there are any number of rooms you can choose on this side of the ship," Belle offered. "I wouldn't want you passing out in the hallway on your way back to your own."
"No, I'm good. See you tomorrow."
Belle's shoulders drooped as the door whooshed shut, raking a hand over her braid and brushing its loose strands away from her face. She gazed down at Rush as a little snore slipped past his lips. "And, I guess, you're not going to be any help, are you, darling?" she muttered with a roll of her eyes as she knelt at his feet and pulled his boots and socks from his feet. He barely stirred as she made quick work of the rest of his clothes, leaving him clad only in his boxers before tucking him beneath the cool sheets.
She stripped out of her fatigues and reached for the first thing available lying in a neat pile of freshly laundered clothes. She pulled Rush's white button down on and methodically fastened it before she slipped into the bed. She hadn't slept apart from him since they'd come aboard Destiny, and she wasn't about to start now. Her head barely had time to settle on the pillow before he was gravitating towards her.
Belle opened her arms to him, his head pillowed on her shoulder as he pulled her tightly against him to be cocooned in the other's embrace. He mumbled incoherently as she carded her fingers in his hair, scratching her nails lightly against his scalp. If he didn't have a headache bordering on the worst hangover he'd ever had, she'd be surprised. She could feel a pleasant lassitude settle in her limbs, but the serum hadn't affected her mind.
She stared up at the ceiling, her wide cerulean eyes burning with unshed tears. She didn't want Rush to wake and find her weeping. It would open herself up for too many questions for which she didn't have answers.
I will always protect you, my darling Belle. If it is within my power, no harm will ever come to you …
A tear slid from the corner of her eye, and she hastily brushed it away. She thought she'd cried all the tears she possibly could before dragging herself off the floor in Eli's quarters. How could Gold have done this to her? Dead is dead … how many times had she heard him say that to those who'd begged for his help? She'd seen it herself on the recording … she was dead. There had been a gaping hole of torn and mangled flesh between her shoulder blades. HOW?!
She forced herself to calm as she felt Rush shift restlessly. Even after several deep breaths, her heart was still racing. Stop being such a goose and think! she scolded herself. She closed her eyes and concentrated, focusing on remembering things she'd read in her sorcerer's vast library, large magical tomes he'd forbidden her to read. She'd happily disobeyed him then in an effort to understand him better. If he were going to remain content to shut himself off from her, she had needed to find a way to know him somehow and what better way than through books he'd studied, some he'd even written himself.
Rumpelstiltskin had been the most powerful sorcerer in the known realms. It should have come as no surprise that when he'd said he would protect her always, he'd meant it … and he'd been steadfast in his vow. Spells, potions, charms, recipes for cordials all danced through her never-ending memories. Bits and pieces, certainly, faded with time, but there, nonetheless. Her frantic heartbeat slowed as the fragments of her dilemma seemed to finally fit together like pieces of a jigsaw.
She fingered the tea cup pendant about her throat, and she couldn't help but wonder what price he'd had to pay for the magic he'd imbued upon it. Without a doubt, his healing magic had gone into it. There was no other explanation for the way her skin had knit back together without so much as a scar. Thinking back over the time she'd been apart from him, she remembered another time shortly after she'd begun working for Rush. In her clumsiness, she'd tripped on the stairs leading out of the auditorium style classroom and fallen due to her inability to maneuver in her tall heels. A broken wrist and a sprained ankle had been minor in comparison to the broken neck she could have suffered.
A frown settled between her brows as she continued to draw her fingers through the silky strands of Rush's hair as he slept. She'd paid little heed to her ankle, having too much work to do to worry about a minor injury. Her wrist had been plastered, so at the time she'd put it out of her mind as well. The doctor had proclaimed her healed in a matter of six weeks and she had full mobility as if the accident had never occurred. Now she had to wonder if maybe she'd healed faster than any of them had previously thought. What of the injury she'd sustained in their mad dash to board Destiny? Surely …
She lifted her hand to her temple and pressed her fingers to her cool skin. Had it, too, healed sooner than it should have? Had the protective charm in her pendant saved her from a serious concussion or memory loss or a myriad of other things inherent with a head injury? It still didn't explain what she'd seen. Even his magic wouldn't have been able to heal a corpse. It was impossible … unless …
Could the pendant also hold some form of magic which would preserve her an inch from death until the healing properties had a chance to piece her back together? What if she'd lost a limb? There had to be a limit as to what his power could accomplish, and she wasn't quite crazy enough to damage herself to force the experiment. She could go quite mad trying to piece together the complexities of what he'd done to her pendant. She groaned. There was one person she could ask, but just as quickly as the thought entered her head, she pushed it away. She'd happily set herself on fire before she ever asked Regina for help.
Her former true love had vowed to protect her and even in death he'd kept his promise. He'd even gone so far as to charm the necklace to prevent it from being removed. In the ten years since she'd received it, she hadn't even tried … until tonight. She doubted even a pair of bolt cutters would do the job. She would just have to learn to deal with the ramifications of such a powerful magical object and learn to live with it … and pray no one ever learned her secret. Otherwise, she'd be strapped to a steel slab and forced to be someone's guinea pig. Belle was certain Rumpelstiltskin would not be happy.
And what of Rush? On the recording, he'd professed to love her … and that wasn't a conversation she was looking forward to having. Would he still love her despite her differences? It's not as though it was her fault. Would he shun her? No, it was best if she didn't tell him. She'd already had to explain her past without dragging magic, fairies, evil witches and the like into the equation. He'd think her certifiably insane.
This would be just another closely guarded secret to add to the many she already held buried deep inside her. She couldn't lose him, too. After Storybrooke, he was the only person she'd ever allowed to get close to her, the only person she'd let herself trust.
Now, he was all she had, and she wouldn't give him up without a fight.
It had been so long since she'd been happy, and he was a great part of that happiness. No, she'd bury her secret in the vault with the rest and carry on as she always had. This would change nothing. Oh, who am I kidding?
X*X*X*X*X
The merciless pounding in his head, most of it centered behind his closed lids, made Rush groan and clasp his pillow more closely to his face. At least until his pillow grumbled softly in her sleep. It was then that the rest of his senses kicked in as he pried his eyes open. His Belle, he thought, smiling against her skin as he dropped a soft kiss between her breasts revealed by the open collar of her - his - shirt.
Her arms were wrapped around his shoulders, holding him close even in her sleep, and it was easy for her hands to find his nape to knead at the tense knots hiding beneath his flesh. He groaned again, unable to enjoy the full experience of her talented fingers due to his headache. "What time is it?" he asked, the raspy croak of his voice sounding foreign to his ears.
Belle lifted her left arm and squinted at the lighted dial of her watch. "A little after six," she whispered. "We don't have to be on shift for another hour and a half. How are you feeling?"
"My head feels like someone has tried to cleave it in two," he rasped as he pressed his brow to her collarbone.
"I still have half a bottle of Advil. Let me up and I'll get some for you," she offered, carding her fingers through his hair as she continued to knead all the right pressure points to bring him relief. He wanted nothing more than to lie there and let her soothe him, but the pounding was nigh unbearable.
He rolled onto his back, releasing her from his embrace and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, cursing softly. "What the hell did Lt Johansen put in that serum?"
Belle sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, searching blindly through the drawer on the nightstand for her bottle of pain relievers. She shook four out into her palm and held them out to him, along with a cup of water. He took them without complaint and dropped back onto the bed, holding his arms open for her to return to them.
"How'd I get here, by the way?" he asked when she'd settled back into his embrace, her head pillowed on his shoulder. "The last thing I remember was you charging into the infirmary and stabbing me in the neck with the inoculation gun."
"Um … well …" she hedged, burying her face against his bare chest so he wouldn't see the smile lingering about her lips.
He groaned. "Please tell me I didn't embarrass myself again like I did when I had my breakdown."
"No, no," she assured him amidst a barrage of giggles. "It's really not that bad. You … ah … you just pretty much wrapped your arms around my legs and went to sleep against my stomach."
"What?" he asked, a pained expression curling his thin lips and creasing his brow.
"Spencer was the only one to comment, but Greer put an end to that rather quickly," she teased. "You didn't say anything really embarrassing until we got out into the corridor. So, if Eli is a little more uncomfortable around you this morning than usual, don't pay any attention to it."
He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wonderful. How bad was it?"
Belle bit her lip and grinned up at him. "It wasn't … I promise," she assured him. "You were a bit incoherent … and drugged, so you can't be held responsible for what you said." He pursed his lips in displeasure, and she giggled, leaning forward to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth.
His brows mashed together over his troubled eyes as the blue FTL lights streaming through the porthole illuminated her face with its dim glow. He reached out, running one long finger over her cheek, tracing the thin salt trail left by tears, scratching gently with his nail. "You've been crying. Why've you been crying, Belle?"
"It's nothing, Nicholas, really," she said, pushing his hand away. "It was just stress and hormones and … that's all."
Rush brushed a curl behind her ear and tilted her chin up so he could see her more clearly without her face so cast in shadow. Her excuses were clearly a dodge, the telltale signs more than evident in the way she bit her lip and averted her gaze. He'd seen it too many times in the past when he'd gotten a bit too close or brought up a subject of which she had no desire to discuss. "Tell me what's wrong, love," he coaxed softly, closing the distance between them to press a kiss to her lips.
"I promise, Nicholas. It's nothing to cause concern," she vowed, unable to hide the slight tremor in her voice.
"I know when something's troubling you, Belle. I know you," he insisted. His heart fell somewhere in the region of his knees. "Does your distress have anything to do with what you saw on the Kino footage yesterday? Belle, I —"
She pressed her fingers to his lips. "It's ok, Nicholas. People say things like that in the heat of the moment. You … well, the Rush on the recording … he was afraid and thought we were going to die and —"
"What if it's true?" he asked, cutting her off.
Belle looked down into his dark sable gaze and sucked in a sharp breath. She'd never seen him look quite so vulnerable, not even after he'd lost his wife, and she could feel the panic beginning to well up in her chest. She didn't want him to love her. Their situation on Destiny was so precarious, she knew if he loved her, it would just be more difficult to lose him should some catastrophe befall them.
"Nicholas," she began, searching desperately for something to say to him. "It's enough that we care for each other, isn't it? That we enjoy working together and just being with each other?" She lifted his left hand and kissed his knuckles above the ring resting on his fourth finger. "You're still wearing your ring. And don't you for one moment think I would ask you to give that up," she said, quick to reassure him. "But do you really think we're ready to love each other?"
Rush sighed wearily, realizing she was running again. She was forever running, hiding, trying to escape her heart. At least this time, they were trapped on Destiny, and she couldn't let her fears drive her to pick a different part of the country - or the world, for that matter - to hide in. "Belle, I do lo —"
She didn't give him a chance to finish, leaning down and slanting her lips over his in a lingering kiss meant to distract him. He opened his mouth to protest, but the words never made it past his lips as her tongue delved past his teeth to explore. She caught his moan on a whisper of breath, and she melted into him, reveling in his taste as her tongue skimmed over his teeth and the roof of his mouth, seeking out every part which would bring him pleasure.
"Can't we just enjoy each other, Nicholas? See where it goes from there?" she pleaded as she nipped lightly at his lower lip. "I care for you so much … can't that be enough for now?" She couldn't let herself believe in the fairytale again. She'd promised Rumpelstiltskin forever, and he'd left her, sacrificed himself to save her and Bae. She knew when it came to love, it was fleeting. If she lived for the moment and didn't put her hope into a future that may or may not happen, she could protect herself from the damning despair which would dig a gaping hole in her chest should she lose him.
His arms came about her waist as she straddled his hips, and he groaned as she ground down on his burgeoning erection. He watched her closely, feeling the wall around her heart as if it were a tangible thing, preventing him from reaching her. He'd loved her for so long, it was almost a physical pain to have her reject his feelings out of hand. He would have to continue to chip away at the barrier she'd erected to protect herself, continue to show her how sincere he was and hope that eventually she'd let him in completely.
Rush nodded slowly, acquiescing to her pleas without need for words and she sighed happily, the lines of stress easing around her eyes and mouth as she kissed him again. Her hands splayed across his bare chest, her nails scratching lightly against his flat nipples, and he couldn't help bucking against her. Rush could feel her smile against his skin as her lips trailed over his collarbone, lavishing it with her attention. It wasn't the first time over the last several days they'd woken to explore each other, but she'd never been quite so fervent in her desire.
"Belle … what ..." he gasped as her hands slid up his chest and into his hair, tilting his head to the right as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing him in. His cock twitched against her, and he had to bite down on his lip to stop himself from crying out as her tongue swirled beneath his ear. "W-We still have … have one more … day," he panted as she ground her hips down with more force.
"Shh, Nicholas. Just let me touch you," she whispered against the shell of his ear as her hands tightened in his hair. She moaned as his hands slipped beneath her shirt to knead gently at her lower back and over the rounded curve of her behind, the sound vibrating pleasantly against his flesh as she bit the tendon where his neck met his shoulder. Her tongue laved the bite as she sucked his skin into her mouth with more force than necessary, determined to mark him. She didn't give a damn who might see the mark. He was hers to claim, hers to mark, and she was proud to have him as her lover. Let Young take his fraternization rules and stick them up his ass!
A growl of primal need rumbled deep in his chest as he arched beneath her, his hands restless as they sought out every inch of skin already bared to him. She sat up to look down at him, a satisfied smirk playing on her lips. He was thin and wiry and … beautiful. His eyes were dark with need, his pupils blown wide with his desire; his hair tousled on the pillow and his lips parted, his breath rushing past them under the weight of his passion. She ran the flat of her palm down his chest and over the smooth plane of his stomach, reveling in the fact that she had every right to do so.
His hands clasped her hips tightly as he arched into her touch. "Belle, we … what …" he rasped out, clenching his teeth as she pressed her soft lips to his protruding hip bone and trailed kisses to his navel. "Belle, I can wait … we can wait … fuckkkk …" She reached between them and cupped him through his boxers and he nearly unseated her, his hips bucking and his head thrashing back and forth on the pillow. "Nevermind," he panted. "Whatever you want, mo ghrá."
"My Nicholas," she murmured as she left tiny bites along the skin at the waistband of his boxers. "Are you mine, darling?" she purred silkily. "Do you want to be mine?" She looped her thumbs in the elastic and pushed it down over his hips to rest somewhere around his knees. Gods, how long has it been since he's had anyone touch him like this? she thought bitterly. Everyone he knew treated him with no regard for his feelings, so it was no wonder that he shied away from physical contact. She vowed then to not let a day go by without showing him, in even the smallest way, how much she cherished her time with him.
A soft whimper escaped him as she raked her nails along the sensitive flesh of his inner thighs. "Yours, Belle … yours …" he groaned. Her lips followed the path of her hands as she rained soft open-mouthed kisses over the prize she'd revealed. She bit her lip as she wrapped her hand around his throbbing shaft and looked up briefly to meet his gaze.
The imperturbable Dr Nicholas Rush looked completely wrecked and she grinned wickedly at the thought that she was responsible. She rubbed her thumb over the glistening moisture at the head as she ran the flat of her tongue along his length. His hands fisted in the sheets beneath him as he threw back his head with a keening moan.
When she took him fully into her mouth, he stopped breathing, and she was forced to stop and make sure he was alright, rubbing her hand over his belly until he sucked in a sharp breath.
She continued to soothe him as she pressed a soft kiss to the head of his cock and drew him back firmly between her lips, her tongue sliding sinuously over the satiny softness encasing the steel core. She took his right hand and guided it to her hair, which he resisted. "D-Don't want to h-hurt you," he lamented.
Belle let go of him with a soft pop and met his eyes, her grip firm on his hand. "You won't, Nicholas. I want you to touch me," she crooned softly, her voice a caress to his over-sensitized nerves. It was her turn to moan as his long fingers wound through the soft strands of her hair, his blunt nails scratching lightly against her scalp.
She took him into her mouth again as she wrapped her small hand around his base, bobbing slowly as she stroked him, trying to prolong his pleasure for as long as possible. He jerked violently, a shiver running through his entire body as she took more of his length, the head bumping gently against the back of her throat. She glanced up at him as with every upward stroke she swirled her tongue over his tip, the tendons in his neck standing out in sharp relief as he tried to hold onto his fragile control. She quickened her pace, and she could feel his hold on her hair tightening reflexively as he fought against his desire to thrust.
"Belle, please, love … I can't … I'm going to …" he gasped, his other hand slipping into her unbound hair to pull her away.
She cupped his balls in her other hand and caressed him with a light touch, pressing them up to the base of his cock, releasing him for just a moment. "Let go, Nicholas. Come for me, darling," she urged, taking him as deeply into her mouth as he could go. She sucked hard at him, humming her own pleasure, the vibration radiating to his every pore, and he howled as he thrust upward into the heat and softness of her mouth. He came with a cry of her name, spilling his seed between her lips in thick spurts, his entire body quivering with pleasure as she continued to lave him with her tongue until he lay boneless beneath her.
Belle pressed several soft kisses to his belly before resting her chin on her hand and smiling up at him. She rather enjoyed seeing him in such a mindless state of satiation. He looked more relaxed than she'd ever seen him and it pleased her greatly. With the daily stresses they faced, he needed to find something to make him feel good and she was more than willing to fill that role.
She squeaked in surprise as he wrapped his hands about her upper arms and hauled her up the length of his body to lie across his chest. Before she could relax into him, he rolled her beneath him and claimed her mouth in a searing kiss, his tongue slipping in to duel with hers. He groaned at the taste of himself on her tongue.
"You are too wonderful for words, mo chroí." His head dropped wearily to her shoulder, and he pressed his face to her neck as his arms tightened about her. "Is breá liom tú an méid sin, mo Belle," he breathed reverently as he held her, telling her exactly what was in his heart without having her scold him for the words.
She wrapped her arms about his shoulders and dropped a soft kiss to his temple. "One of these days I'm going to make you tell me what your beautiful words mean, Nicholas," she hummed softly with contentment as she basked in his embrace.
He breathed her in and nipped softly at her ear. "Perhaps."
X*X*X*X*X
Rush groaned as he sat up in the bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. What the hell? he thought, blinking at the darkened room. Belle wasn't at his side, causing him to frown. Even the sneakers she'd worn yesterday were missing. He remembered her dragging him out of the control interface room around midnight, complaining that he'd work himself into an early grave if he didn't get more sleep, but she'd come with him. He distinctly remembered her warmth spooned up against his back last night, but he'd grown accustomed to awaking beside her as well.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and raked a hand through his shaggy brown hair, reaching the other out to his radio on the nightstand. "Belle," he croaked into the device, his voice raspy with the last dregs of sleep. "What is your location?"
"A deck," she replied, her breathing labored.
Rush glowered at the radio. "What, may I ask, are you doing?" He glanced down at his watch to see it was only seven thirty.
"Running. The colonel wants everyone in shape, so Chloe and I convinced Eli he'd be better off exercising with the two of us rather than the marines," she huffed with a breathy laugh.
He could hear the boy wheezing loudly and could imagine Eli wasn't at all happy with this new turn of events. He wasn't very happy either. "Why didn't you wake me?"
"Because you needed to sleep, and it's not like you would've joined us for a run," she drawled in a dry tone as if that should have been obvious.
He snorted. "Indeed not. What is your schedule this morning?"
"I'm helping Eli with the data from Telford's experiment. HWC is badgering Young, and we need to run the numbers a few more times before his meeting with O'Neill," she explained. "I should be able to join you in the control room before lunch, though."
He sighed, not looking forward to a morning spent working without her at his side. "Alright."
"And Nicholas … Dale is going to be on shift with you this morning. Try to be nice," she cajoled.
He could hear the smile in her voice and felt the corners of his own mouth lift as well. "No promises. Rush out."
X*X*X*X*X
Belle grinned at Eli as he collapsed against the railing on the balcony in the gate room, breathing heavily. Chloe leaned in next to him and rubbed soothing circles on his back. "Wow! Eli, have you never gone running before?" the senator's daughter asked with a chuckle.
"Um … NO!" he wheezed. "I'm more of a sit-in-front-of-the-computer type of guy."
"Which is where you should be now," Colonel Young snarked as he stepped out onto the balcony to survey the marines and civilians alike participating in the calisthenics below. "I want that data as soon as possible."
Belle bit back an angry retort and ignored the man, choosing to focus on the activities below and Spencer's sneering voice as he belittled the civilians who struggled to keep up with his sharp commands. "Why is that man in charge of this?" she asked angrily, whirling to face Young as she watched Franklin empty the contents of his stomach on the gate room floor. "He's a brute on an ego trip. Not to mention his tendencies towards violence."
Young rocked back on his heels, frowning down at Rush's petite assistant. "Scott was going to handle this, but he's using the stones to visit his family."
"Well," she snarked, her brows rising in disapproval. "Might I point out that this is an epic fail? You cannot expect the civilians to immediately conform to the same standards of discipline as the military personnel. They weren't trained for your rigorous program, nor did they go through boot camp. And it should be their choice whether or not they want to participate."
"Hey!" Eli protested. "You guys didn't give me a choice when you dragged me out of bed this morning."
"Shut up, Eli!" Both Chloe and Belle snapped in unison.
Everett's brows rose as he huffed a short laugh. "And I suppose you could do better, Miss French? Or you, Miss Armstrong?" he asked dubiously as a plan began to form in his mind.
"I'm sure we could do better than Spencer," Belle retorted, having never liked the sergeant. "He's cruel and no one should be subjected to his beastliness."
"Belle," Chloe murmured in an aside, worried over what her friend was getting her into. "Should you —"
"Very well, Miss French," Young said with a calculating smile. "Three days a week, you are to incorporate an exercise program for civilian and military personnel into your schedule, and I'm certain Miss Armstrong will be a more than capable partner."
"Now wait just a minute. I'd have to talk to Rush about —"
"You seem to forget, Miss French. This is my command. You may work for Dr Rush, but you need to remember that ultimately you answer to me," he informed her, asserting his authority. He nodded at Chloe in parting, shooting over his shoulder, "Have fun, ladies."
"Crap," Chloe groaned.
Eli laughed softly and then quickly squelched the sound as Belle glared at him. "Sorry."
"Contemptible bastard!" Belle hissed. "And don't think this lets you off the hook either, Eli."
Chloe crossed her arms over her chest. "So … what are we going to do?"
Belle sighed. "Well, provided Nicholas doesn't come to blows with Young over this, I think I have an idea of how to make this fun. Young expects us to fail and we're going to prove him wrong."
X*X*X*X*X
Rush raked a hand through his hair and then pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing the pressure behind his eyes would relent and let him work in peace. He entered more of his equations into his laptop and then consulted the data on his console, making certain he'd entered it correctly. Where was Belle? He glanced down at his watch and shook his head. It was eleven thirty and she still hadn't made it to the control room.
Brody and Volker spoke in quiet tones across the room as they hunched over a console, and Rush could only wonder what had them so enraptured. He was more than certain, by their grins, they weren't working. "What, might I ask, is so fascinating?" he asked in dryly as he arched a questioning brow at the two.
Volker flushed a bright red, the color clashing with his ginger hair. "Nothing," he muttered quickly, entering the commands to banish his present screen.
"I'm sure it wasn't nothing, judging by your reactions," Rush sneered as he rose from his console and stalked across the room. The two men backed away sheepishly as he approached and entered the commands on the keyboard to bring up the previous screen. His brows scrunched together as he realized it was Kino footage of the gate room.
"Why would you waste time —"
He inhaled sharply as the Kino zoomed in on Belle, clad only in her yoga pants, sports bra and sneakers, leading a group in a rather vigorous aerobics routine. What the fucking hell? She blew off working for this? He wasn't even aware of the growl which erupted from his chest as he switched off the console and headed for the door. He encountered no one in the corridors, thankfully, and those he did took one look at his glowering countenance and gave him a wide berth.
Rush emerged on the balcony to find Young and Greer overlooking the proceedings, and he was tempted to cover his ears as the ship's hidden speakers blasted Livin' La Vida Loca. Sometimes he had to wonder over her taste in music … if it could even be called that.
"Rush!" Young called, grabbing the man's arm as he started towards the stairs. "Don't do it, Rush."
The doctor shook him off, his lips curled over his lip in a snarl. "She's making a spectacle of herself!" he hissed, not really caring whether or not his voice could be heard over the music. "And who the hell is commandeering the Kino that's recording this?!" He wanted to know who to kill.
"Come on, Doc, look at her," Greer yelled over the music, nodding to Belle. "She's got the entire crew participating. They're laughing and enjoying themselves. Before she stepped up and took over, they were plotting a mutiny."
"Beside the point!" Rush snapped. He knew better than anyone what a boost his little assistant could be for morale. She'd always been able to coax him out of a temper with a mere smile. By turning the exercise program into something fun, it could only save the colonel and his officers from a myriad of troubles. However, he would not let Young turn her into his own personal cruise director.
Young groaned as he watched Rush stalk angrily down the stairs. "This doesn't bode well," he said to Greer who only chuckled and shook his head.
"Alright, pick it up," Belle called, her hips twitching in time with the beat as she focused her attention on the steps of her hastily made routine. She was more than pleased to see the crew enjoying themselves. Even Spencer, with his perpetual surliness, had been seen smiling as he followed her steps. She hadn't felt this good in ages, having missed her daily runs around Icarus and before that on the campus at Berkeley.
The song changed and she easily flowed into the next phase of her routine, but the crew was slowly coming to a standstill, their focus coming to rest on something over her left shoulder. The hairs on her nape stood up at attention and her skin prickled with awareness. Without even turning, she knew it wasn't invading aliens. That could only mean …
Belle turned to Chloe, who was manning the Kino remote - they'd decided to allow Eli to document their first session for his documentary - and called her over. "Bring them through a cool down and then dismiss them," she ordered, smiling at the girl, the faint quirk of her lips betraying her nervousness.
Chloe simply nodded and picked up where Belle had left off as the shorter woman turned to face Rush. He was holding out her cardigan, ready for her to slip her arms into the sleeves. He said not a word as the soft gray material settled over her shoulders. Belle squeaked as he reached for her hand, his grip vise-like, and literally dragged her from the gate room.
"I can explain, y'know," she chided softly as the music faded the farther they moved along the corridor. He simply held up a finger for silence, his jaw clenched and the muscle ticking away dangerously in his cheek. "Can I at least ask where we're going? I need to take a shower before I meet up with Eli to work on the data Telford's scientist's col —"
He pulled on her hand, bringing her to an abrupt halt at his side. "You were supposed to be working with me, Belle. I do believe that's why you are drawing a paycheck, is it not?" he hissed furiously, and Belle gasped at the heat radiating from his dark eyes. "I've got half a notepad filled with calculations which need to be entered and logged into the database … work you're supposed to be doing so I can focus on trying to unlock the master systems of this ship."
"Nicholas —"
"And where do I find you? In the gate room indulging in frivolity when your talents are needed elsewhere. In the meantime, I've got Young breathing down my neck with his idiocy about dialing the gate and those two idiots I'm forced to work with ogling my girlfriend on a Kino recording!"
Belle gasped at the comfortable use of the word girlfriend. He was jealous. Jealous of the time she had devoted to others and jealous of her friends watching her on the recording. Her heart fluttered, warmth spreading through her chest as she tugged her hand free and wrapped her arms about his waist.
"I'm sorry," she apologized sweetly - though it wasn't necessary - twining her fingers with his as she kissed his cheek and urged him on towards the control room. "I really didn't mean to get sidetracked this morning and neglect my work. Young was being a complete ass, however; yes, I know, not surprising. Of course, Chloe and I had to set out to prove him wrong, and with the success of our little endeavor … we succeeded."
He pinned her with a pointed stare as they entered the control room. "I just thought this mission was more important to you."
"You know it is!"
Rush glanced up to find Brody and Volker hunched over the console, trying to pretend they weren't hanging onto their every word. "Out! Now!" he growled as Belle huffed an exasperated sigh and waited for the room to clear.
"You know how much I care about this mission, Nicholas, but according to that jerk in command, I don't have a choice in the matter. Actually, I'm quite stunned he hasn't tried to separate us permanently since our relationship is common knowledge amongst the crew."
She could have smacked herself the moment the words left her mouth as his brows drew together in a worried frown and his dark sable eyes filled with insecurity. He turned to his console, his hair falling over his eyes as he looked down at the data on the screen, trying to hide what she'd already seen. "Are you regretting your decision to be with me?" he asked, trying to keep his tone nonchalant. "Would you have rathered that the crew didn't find out about our relationship?"
"Oh, Nicholas, no," she insisted, her features softening dramatically as she stepped to his side and cupped his cheek in her hand. "You know I want to be with you." She brushed her lips to his and sighed happily as his arms slipped around her waist to pull her close. "More than anything. I should have talked to you this morning about what was happening. I'm sorry."
"There's no need to keep apologizing, Belle, but I need you here. I suppose I'll have to speak to the colonel about your duties and make him understand your role on Destiny," he said, his jaw clenching with suppressed anger at the thought of the man trying to focus Belle's energies elsewhere.
"Just let me grab a quick shower and I'll get right to work, ok? I can perhaps get with Eli this evening after my shift or —"
"No, do what needs to be done because," he murmured huskily against the shell of her ear, "when your shift is done, you belong solely to me."
Belle shivered and curled into his embrace as he kissed her gently and nipped at her lower lip. "Completely," she agreed.
X*X*X*X*X
Belle sat back and scrubbed her hands over her face as the console flashed another red FAIL. It was the fifth failed scenario in three hours, and she was getting antsy, the need to move overwhelming. "The data is sound, Eli," she told him gently, reaching out to rub the boy's tense shoulder. "However, Destiny is just not capable of dialing the gate. There just isn't enough power."
"But if we can channel the star's energy directly into the gate, it should work," he interjected with a desperate, pleading look in his eyes.
She shook her head. "As it is now, when we enter a star and the ship refuels, per se, we're not charging to one hundred percent … you know this, Eli. As desperate as the IOA, HWC and Telford himself are to get us home so they can send their own team, it's not going to work until we can operate on full capacity and with a full working knowledge of all of Destiny's systems."
"And without the core systems online, we're pretty well screwed," he huffed indignantly, tossing his pencil at the console.
She sighed, her lips curling slightly. "Look, take a break. We'll try again tomorrow. I know it can't be easy with the colonel breathing down your neck. I'll back this up on your laptop, ok?"
Eli sat back in his chair and let out an enormous yawn. Partway through it, Rush's voice sounded over the radio. "Eli."
The boy lifted the radio, still yawning, his voice muffled with fatigue. "Yo."
"We've managed to secure two more sections of the ship. I'm sending a team in to take a look. I need you to operate the Kino for me," the lead scientist said. Belle could hear the weariness in his voice, and she groaned. She doubted without her there working with him that he'd bothered to take a break for lunch.
"Kinda busy here."
"Doing what?" Rush asked, affronted by his protégé's unwillingness to help.
"Belle and I are working on something for the colonel," he answered somewhat reluctantly.
"Eli, do me a favor," Rush snarked impatiently. "Have a look at your chest. Is there any insignia there … anything that says lieutenant or sergeant or anything like that?"
Belle muffled a giggle as she finished up with her task of transferring all the data to Eli's flash. She returned to the home screen and frowned, one of the icons flashing insistently. Shrugging, she clicked on the icon and pulled up the program, which was running in the background, a cold shiver quickly racing up her spine.
Eli, rolled his eyes, not paying attention to what Belle was doing. "No, all I've got is 'You are here'," he replied, looking down briefly at his red tee.
"Exactly," Rush hissed. "You know what, don't bother. I'll manage."
"UGH! What is his problem!?" he growled in frustration, tossing the radio onto the bed behind him. He froze as Belle skimmed through the numerous recordings of downloaded Kino footage on his hard drive, wincing as she turned her angry cerulean gaze on him. "Belle … um … I can explain … I —"
"There's really no need, is there, dearie?" she asked in a deceptively calm tone as she rose to her feet to stare down at who she had thought was her friend. Anyone who didn't know her well would say she was the epitome of calm dignity … those who did would know she was flaming mad and an inch away from unleashing her wrath upon the masses in a fiery display of temper. "You're spying on Nicholas. Did Young order you to do this? Because I simply will not believe you'd want this for your documentary."
"Belle," he groaned. "He doesn't trust Dr Rush and he feels that —"
"And now I can't trust you!" Belle pointed her finger in the center of his chest as he stood up, not appreciating the height advantage he had on her, but she refused to back down without having her say. "To think that I asked Nicholas to go easy on you, to work with you rather than against you." She picked up her radio from the console and clipped it to her belt before turning on her heel with a bitter laugh. "Y'know, Eli, I always try to give people a chance, thinking if I don't, perhaps I'll never get to know who they really are ... and I'm always disappointed."
She left without a word and she was still in a right fit state of temper when she barged into the control room to take her place at Rush's side at his console. "Belle, love, what's wrong?" he asked, regarding her through narrowed eyes. She was practically vibrating with tension.
"It's nothing," she mumbled, brushing off his concern, but he'd have none of it as he took both of her hands in his and made her look at him. "I can't tell you now. It's a discussion better left for later when we're assured of our privacy." She glanced down at the console to see the Kino feed of Greer and his team searching out the newly unexplored section of the ship. "What are we doing?"
He gestured to the console where the Kino he was manning from the control room followed after Greer and two of his men as they searched through the unfamiliar corridors. "So far, all they've found is more quarters, but they've barely begun."
Belle smiled at TJ as she entered the room and dropped down onto one of the benches that lined the wall. "Hey, what's up, Tamara?" she asked, leaving Rush to his work as she went to sit beside her friend. She lowered her voice so only the blonde could hear. "Have you been arguing with Everett again?"
TJ dropped her head into her hands and let them slide down over her face until they came to rest over her mouth. She shook her head slightly and turned to look at Belle. "No, nothing like that. We don't argue … we don't even talk anymore. I just …" she let her voice trail away, not wishing to discuss her relationship with the colonel. "I just don't know anymore. I guess, I'm just tired."
Belle reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "We missed you this morning. I'm sure you heard about Young's newest dictate for the crew to get in shape."
TJ chuckled. "Yeah, I heard you and Chloe were quite the success with your new program. I wish I could say the same for my project."
"Oh? What project? Anything I might be able to help with?" she asked, more than willing to lift her friend's spirits.
"Belle …" Rush growled, clearly eavesdropping on their conversation.
She ignored him. TJ glanced between the two, torn as to whether or not she wanted to say anything, but relented when Belle nodded persistently. "The colonel wants me to do psych evals on the crew and so far it's not really going well," she murmured dejectedly. "I've got eight done so far, but no one seems to be comfortable talking to me."
"I'm surprised he didn't ask Camille. She has a doctorate, doesn't she?"
"He wants me to do it, though I don't know how successful I'll be in completing this task if I can't get more people to sit down and talk to me." She cast large hopeful eyes over at Belle. "You wouldn't be willing to spare me a little time for yours, would you?"
Belle failed at hiding her chagrin, biting her lower lip in nervous agitation. Considering her previous history with psychiatrists, she had no desire whatsoever to sit down and talk about her feelings. Yet, how could she deny her friend's request when she was in need of help. "I … I guess, but I can only spare about thirty minutes or so. I'm behind on my work and …"
Rush gave her a tender smile over his shoulder. "Thirty minutes is adequate, Belle. It's fine as long as you keep your radio on so I can reach you if I need you."
It was only a short walk to TJ's office off the infirmary, but she felt as though she were being led to the gallows. Belle dropped down onto the sofa, and she had to smile at the delicious pull of her muscles from a morning well spent in physical exertion. She'd missed it more than she'd thought. To be respectful of TJ and the role she was having to fill as the ship's psychiatrist, she turned her radio down low enough so it wouldn't interrupt, but loud enough to hear should Rush call for her.
TJ set a notepad on her lap and leaned back in her chair, smiling reassuringly as she hoped talking with Belle would be easier than her previous evaluations with some of the crew. "Just relax, Belle."
Belle tucked her feet beneath her and tried to get comfortable, smiling a little awkwardly. "Yeah, trying. I don't really feel comfortable talking about myself sometimes … anytime, really," she admitted ruefully as her fingers toyed with a loose thread on the hem of her blue tunic style top.
Her friend returned her smile. "Oh, and why is that?"
Belle's eyes crinkled at the corners, narrowing ever so slightly as she regarded the medic. And so it begins, she thought with a sigh. "Let's just say, there are things in my past which make it difficult for me to trust and leave it at that. Next question."
"Ok," TJ nodded, her pencil scratching furiously against her notepad. When she was done, she folded her hands in her lap and tried to appear relaxed. "So, how are you coping with life on the ship?"
"Seriously?" Belle asked with a dubious arch of her brow, as if it wasn't apparent to one and all how much she adored her life on the ship. "I love Destiny. All the hard work Nicholas and I put in to get us here … it's amazing. There's so much about Destiny to explore, mysteries to be uncovered, new challenges," she said reverently.
TJ looked taken aback. "The lack of food and resources doesn't bother you?"
"Tamara, there are always difficulties to be faced whether here or back on Earth. It's life. We seem to be doing ok for now and I think the more we acclimate ourselves with the situation, the better we'll be equipped to handle it. I have faith in our crew … and Nicholas," she murmured, a fond smile curling at her lips.
"So, you and Dr Rush … things are getting serious between you two?"
A rosy blush rose to settle in her cheeks. "Nicholas and I are happy together, no matter what our relationship might bring, but yes, we're growing closer."
"And how do you feel about that?" TJ asked as she rested her chin in her palm.
"How do I feel about it," Belle snorted. "Terrified. You didn't know Nicholas after he lost his wife. He was … difficult, you could say, to work with. It was a struggle for both of us, but I —" she looked down at her tightly clasped hands, her brow furrowing. "I had been through a similar situation myself before we met. I could understand the pain he was going through. In a way, we were able to help each other."
TJ cast her a sympathetic smile. "Dr Rush doesn't seem the type to accept help easily."
Belle chuckled wryly. "Understatement. He was an antisocial, workaholic, cantankerous curmudgeon! It took him quite a while to get used to me being his assistant, but once he did … he's a very special man," she breathed, a wistful note in her voice.
"You love him," TJ said, stating the obvious.
Belle scrambled to her feet, crossing her arms protectively over her chest. "Um … I care about him, but … no. No, I don't love him," she denied.
TJ shot her a dubious look, clearly not believing her friend. "Ok, ok," she backtracked, holding her hands up in surrender. "If you say so."
Belle cast an uneasy look between her friend and the door, chewing nervously at her lower lip. "Well, I'm just going to go. Work to be done and all."
"Belle, you know you can talk to me, right? Not just because of this evaluation, but because I'm your friend. You can trust me."
Belle hugged herself tightly. She remembered others telling her the same over the course of her life … her father, Mary Margaret and Emma, Ruby … she snorted. Yeah, some friend she was, chaining me to a pipe in the library. They'd all found some way to be her friend only to turn their backs on her when she needed them. First Gold, once he'd decided to be honest with her and let her fully into his heart, and then Nicholas had never disappointed her by turning their backs on her. As much as she valued TJ's friendship, she still couldn't find it within herself to trust her.
"I know, TJ, and … thanks."
X*X*X*X*X
Rush rubbed tiredly at the back of his neck as he focused on the Kino feed on the console and tried to coordinate with Greer over the radio. He watched as the master sergeant stopped in front of another closed door. "Go ahead, sergeant," Rush said, raising the radio closer to his mouth.
Greer activated the door control and shined his light into the room. "More quarters, Dr Rush."
"Alright," Rush sighed wearily, "try the next corridor to your left."
Greer did as instructed, Cpl Rivers and Airman Evans following in his wake, weapons drawn. Really, what did they expect to jump out at them, Rush thought caustically. Greer slapped his hand against the door mechanism and watched it slide open with a whoosh before nodding at his team to enter.
Evans lowered his weapon, gesturing to the center of the large circular room. "What the hell is this supposed to be?"
Rivers rolled his eyes. "Well, it would appear to be a chair, Captain Oblivious," he snarked.
Greer shone his torch on the chair, a cheerful smile lighting his face. "Hey! Looks like we've found the dentist's office!"
In the control interface room, Rush toggled between the Kino footage and several screens of data he'd been trying to decipher. His eyes narrowed on the screen as Greer pushed a button on the chair and the lights flashed on in the room. On the chair, clamps sprung out into a position where if someone were sitting in it, they would trap the person's wrists and ankles to hold them securely in place. At the same time, a device swung over the top of the headrest into a position where it would clamp firmly on the occupant's temples. His mouth fell open with excitement as he pressed the comm button on the radio.
"Don't touch anything!" he commanded. "Leave it … I'm on my way." He clipped the radio to his belt and hurried from the room, nearly bumping into Belle as she made her way back to the control room.
"Nicholas, what is it?" she asked as he grabbed her hand and spun her back in the direction from which she'd come, turning to the right as they reached the dome room and taking a corridor which had before been off limits. "Where are we going?"
"Your friend found something fascinating," he told her, urging her faster along the corridor and into the newly acquired room.
Belle circled around the chair, her eyes alight with curiosity. "What's it do?" she asked, running her hands over the clamps on the arm rests. "Can I sit in it?"
"No."
"But —"
"No," Rush reiterated, moving over to one of the two consoles in the room and switching it on. "You will not be sitting in the chair, Belle."
She stuck her tongue out childishly and moved to his side to see what the new device would mean for them.
X*X*X*X*X
Belle eyed the colonel with no small amount of irritation as she continued to decipher the Ancient text into Rush's laptop as Nicholas tried to explain to the man what he'd discovered about the chair. She just knew Young wasn't going to be happy about it. He was rarely happy about anything.
"Neural interface?"
Rush leaned an elbow against the console and stroked his long fingers over his stubbled chin. "A precursor to an Ancient device SG-1 discovered several years ago. A repository of knowledge which can be literally downloaded into one's mind," he murmured thoughtfully, his mind minimally focused on his conversation with Young as the possibilities of the chair weighed heavily upon him.
Young's brows drew together as he studied the chair. "And you think this is one of those things?"
"Within that knowledge may be the master code to unlock the ship's core systems: navigation, propulsion …" he explained.
"You're sure?"
Belle nodded. "Well, we can't be certain until Rush lets me sit in the chair, but —"
"Belle, for the last time, you are not sitting in the chair," Rush growled, his dark sable eyes glowing hotly as he turned to give her a reproachful look.
"But, Nicholas, if —"
"No!"
"Enough, you two," the colonel snarled.
Greer pointed the nozzle of his rifle at the pronged headrest. "It looks like it holds you down and shoots bolts into your head."
Rush brushed that off with a dismissive wave of his hand. "These are merely electrodes allowing the transfer of data."
"Do you know what a device like this did to General O'Neill?" Young asked, glaring at Rush.
Belle nodded and saved her work on the laptop before she closed it. "The sheer amount of information overwhelmed him," she answered, having heard the story when she'd first joined the Icarus project and began trying to learn as much as she could about the stargate program.
"It damn near killed him, is what it did!" Young fairly yelled, glowering fiercely at her.
"Be that as it may," Rush interrupted Everett's blustering, trying to focus the colonel's attention away from his assistant. "It led to incredible discoveries."
Young narrowed his gaze on the two scientists. "And it damn near killed him. In fact, the only thing we know for sure is an Ancient device like this is pretty much a death sentence. Nobody sits in this thing." He turned to address Greer, ordering, "I want a guard detail posted."
Rush glowered at him with unmistakable disdain. "So, what are we to do, Colonel? Just ignore what this chair can do?"
Young refused to back down, however. "I'm not telling you to ignore it. I'm telling you to study it without sitting in it."
"And what good is that going to do us? We can't even get it to activate without someone sitting —"
"I said no, Miss French, and I will not relent as long as it can't be determined whether or not there is a danger," he insisted, turning back to Rush.
Rush pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to relieve the pressure behind his eyes. Talking to Young always gave him a headache and now was no different. "Look, Colonel, this pre-dates those found in the Milky Way. I'd be willing to bet the effects are far less severe."
Young walked slowly, steadily towards him, doing his best to intimidate Rush with his height advantage. "Would you bet your own life? Or Miss French's?" he asked, taking supreme satisfaction in the clenching of the doctor's jaw. He knew for a fact, as protective as Rush was of Belle, he'd never risk her, and coward that he was, his own life would never be put in question.
Rush looked away, his eyes focusing on Belle as he weighed his options.
"So, you're fine as long as someone else volunteers," Young sneered derisively.
Greer smiled cheekily. "Well, if it means getting these people home, I'll sit in the damned thing."
"Colonel," Rush interrupted, "so far, I've only managed to access portions of Destiny's database. We still can't actually control the ship."
"Even if we could turn this thing around right now and head back to Earth, how long would that take?" Young scoffed. "Another million years? Rush, you want this chair to be some kind of wonderful discovery, that's fine. Prove it. You prove we can use it safely to do something we actually need it to do. Until then ..." he warned, his voice stern as he made it a direct order, "... no-one goes near it."
Rush nodded dejectedly as Young left the room.
Belle rubbed gently at the back of his neck and felt him relax under her gentle touch, her presence soothing him as nothing else could. "Don't let him get to you, Nicholas. We will find a way to make this work," she said confidently. "Now let's get down to business."
X*X*X*X*X
The rest of the science team, Brody, Park and Volker, joined Belle and Rush, immediately setting to work gathering and processing data, clearly excited with the new discovery.
"If someone wants to volunteer to sit in it, why won't he let 'em?" Brody asked, his gaze swinging to each member of the team.
Lisa looked up from the console and shrugged. "He's just trying to protect us."
"He's trying to dictate to us about things of which he has no knowledge … as usual," Belle mumbled under her breath as she ran a diagnostic on the chair. "He's a meddling, interfering bas —"
"Belle," Rush hissed quietly under his breath.
"Oh, please!" Brody snorted. "If he's trying to protect anything, it's his command."
Volker's pencil scratched to a halt on his notepad as he looked up to meet Brody's agitated gaze. "It's politics. He resists at first, comes round eventually, gives it the green light and if it works, he's the big hero, and if it doesn't, well …" he looked over at Rush who stood at the console quietly working, "… you get to take the blame."
Rush looked up with a closed off expression, bottling his dislike for the colonel behind a mask of cold indifference. "Yes."
X*X*X*X*X
Rush walked along the corridor, fiddling with his broken glasses. He really needed to remember to grab his spare pair from his quarters, but with all the distractions - namely his warm and oh so desirable Belle - he kept forgetting.
TJ came out of the infirmary as he passed on his way to the chair interface room, a notepad clasped tightly to her chest. "Hey, Dr Rush. You got a sec?"
Rush didn't look up at her, neither did he slow. "No," he said in a clipped tone, certain he knew what she had on her mind.
"I'm doing psych evaluations for the entire crew," she pressed, ignoring his short reply.
"No, thank you," he sighed, trying to be polite for Belle's sake.
"Colonel Young ordered them. It's just a talk, see how you're doing, give you a chance to voice any problems or frustrations," she continued as if he hadn't already rejected her twice.
Rush hurried his step and moved over the threshold of the neural chair interface room before turning back to her. "Well, I'm fine. No problems, no complaints. Is that it?" He smiled at her, and not giving her a chance to answer, hit the door mechanism, sealing her out.
TJ sighed and turned on her heel, her shoulders drooping with frustration. "Yeah, guess so."
X*X*X*X*X
Belle huffed out a loud breath, blowing a tendril of hair out of her eyes as she continued to enter data from Rush's notebook into the database while he explained to the colonel and a yawning Eli what he'd found in the ship's computer.
"I've been able to access the subspace link between Destiny and the unmanned ships that were sent out ahead of her."
Young crossed his arms over his chest, listening attentively. "The ones seeding the stargates on the planets?"
Rush nodded, backing away from the secondary console so Eli could scoot in to have a look. "Yeah. We now have data on literally thousands of gates that have already been seeded. Only managed to get through a fraction of it, but I found something quite interesting."
Eli continued to read the Ancient text on the screen, his mouth falling open in stunned disbelief. "Woah! Almost the same mineral composition as the Icarus planet."
Young looked thoughtful as he mulled over this new information. "How long?"
"One year away," Belle answered automatically as she continued to enter data.
"Naturally occurring naquadria throughout the planet's crust. Ample for our needs to dial Earth," Rush went on as if Belle beginning his sentence was the most natural thing in the world.
Eli rolled his eyes, but was too excited to let their eccentricities get to him. "One more year, we can gate back home?"
"Not quite that simple," Belle said, her cerulean eyes rather icy as she looked at the boy. She was still quite upset with him for spying on Rush.
"We have to learn how to steer the ship, how to orbit the planet …"
Belle picked it up from there in a dry tone, still not happy about the prospect of returning to Earth. "… not to mention how to make the gate work to dial home from there."
Rush sighed, crossing one arm over his chest to grip the other. "Yes. As I said, much to be done" he turned to Young, "but we will of course need the master code."
Young rubbed a hand over his lower face as he stared at the scientist. "Well, then, you'd better get to work cracking it. Sounds like you've got the better part of a year," he said as he turned to leave the room.
"But the neural interface device —" Rush interjected.
"… is still off limits," Young said, turning back to his adversary. "God! You think I don't know what you're doing here?" He pointed angrily at Rush. "Crack the damned code, Rush. That's your job."
Belle's hands balled into fists at her side, but she somehow managed not to throw the curse, moldering away on her tongue, at the colonel.
X*X*X*X*X
Eli rubbed fitfully at his eyes in an effort to keep them open as he sat at his console wishing for a good eight hours of sleep. He wiped the tears from his streaming eyes and blinked down at the console screen as a new alert popped up. "Shit!" he cursed, rising unsteadily to his feet to search out the colonel to inform him of the new information.
X*X*X*X*X
Rush sat on the metal bench beside Belle, fiddling with his newly repaired glasses as Young stormed into the neural chair interface room and began to pace and screech before him, claiming him to be ten kinds of a bastard.
"Everett, really, could you tone it down a notch?" Belle asked, rubbing at her temples. It was late and it had been a long day. She was tired and in no mood for one of his temper tantrums.
"You lied to these people!"
Rush snorted and folded his hands in his lap as he stared blankly at the man. "I gave them hope."
"False hope, Rush!" the colonel shrieked angrily.
"Yeah, well," the scientist countered, "so was dialing Earth. I knew it was pointless at the time, but you persisted. Why? To boost morale. You tell me the difference."
Young raked a hand through his close-cropped dark hair. "I'll tell you the difference. One's a lie!"
Rush shrugged. "Who cares?" Young stopped in his pacing to give Rush such a look of loathing he should have perished on the spot. "Who else knows about this then?" he asked.
"Camille overheard, so we can assume everyone on the ship knows."
"Oh, lovely. I'm sure she was just too happy to spread the news," Belle snarked.
"Well done, Colonel," Rush intoned, his voice dripping with condescension. "You've just ruined the chance to maximize productivity."
"I wasn't the one who planted false information into the ship's computer!"
"Look, there may very well be an Icarus-type planet buried in the data. Belle and I have only begun to scratch the surface, but I'd be a lot further on if you would just let me use the …"
Young's lips turned up in a sneer as he interrupted. "Again, with the chair."
Belle shot to her feet, pointing her finger in the man's chest. "Yes, the chair! It could very well be your salvation, colonel."
"It could also kill somebody!" he raged.
"A sacrifice which could save the lives of everyone else on this ship!" Rush snarled angrily, rising to his feet and stepping around Belle.
Young walked to the closed doors of the room and slammed his hand against the wall panel, the doors sliding open. He turned back before he could exit, getting right into the shorter man's personal space. "I'm not stopping you. Go, sit. Be my guest."
Rush stared him down for a moment before his face crumpled in defeat, lowering his eyes as he turned away. How could he put himself in danger when it would jeopardize not only his own life but everyone else on board? Whether the man wanted to admit it or not, they'd be screwed without him.
"That's what I thought," Young sneered, backing away with one last contemptuous look at Rush.
Rush grimaced as he dropped back down on the bench and let his head fall into his hands in defeat. Belle smacked her hand against the door mechanism, closing them in before she growled in frustration, the sound taking him by surprise.
"I fucking hate him!"
He looked up, startled at her outburst. "Belle …"
"I'm sorry, Nicholas. I don't usually let myself feel so negatively about another human being, but that man …" she paused and took a deep breath. "There is just something wrong with him. Do you think it's the military training that's made him this way?" she pondered for a moment. "Maybe he needs to get laid. What the hell is wrong with TJ? I need to have a talk with her and —"
"Belle!"
She sauntered over to him, his eyes drawn to the gentle swaying of her hips. She settled herself on his lap and wrapped her arms about his neck, brushing the hair away from his eyes. "And what is wrong with you?" she gently scolded. "If you'd wanted to plant false data in the computer, why didn't you ask me to do it for you?"
He smiled against her lips and drew back to meet her gaze with a puzzled frown. "You're not upset that I was devious and underhanded?"
"Pfft!" she scoffed, brushing it off. "I don't care if we ever go home. I have Destiny and I have you … I don't need anything else. However, it is important to our shipmates. I understand why you did it."
"Do you, now?" he asked, resting his head against her shoulder as his arms tightened about her waist.
"Of course. I know you, Nicholas. You wanted access to the chair, but at the same time you wanted to increase productivity and give everyone hope." She carded her fingers through his hair as he hummed his pleasure against her neck. "I will not fault you for it."
"Just my methods."
"Naturally, darling. If you'd have asked for my help …" she said, trailing off as his hands traced along the bare skin of her back as he slipped his hands under her shirt.
"What?" he asked, pressing light kisses along her collarbone.
"If you'd asked for my help … you wouldn't have gotten caught."
A/N: Since this episode was mainly focused on Scott and Camille on their downtime on Earth (that so wasn't happening), I took a lot of creative license with the chapter. Hope you weren't too disappointed.
Is breá liom tú an méid sin, mo Belle … I love you so much, my Belle.
