Run
Title: Run (Yeah, I named it after the prompt, I'm creative)
Prompt: From stargateland, but it can be posted and read anywhere.
Pairing: It focuses on Rush, but definite Chloe/Rush undertones.
Summary: It's basically about the time they spent together on the alien ship in Space (1x11) with a few scenes added in, some conversations that lead to future episodes, and some speculation on my end about their possible "connection" while they were on board.
Rating: PG for some violence.
Spoilers: Nope. I will admit I took some ideas from some thoughts I had about the Season 2 trailer, but I didn't directly input a spoiler. (Unless you haven't seen 1x11)
After Dr. Rush tore the pipe from the wall, he ripped the mental probe from his forehead and threw it towards the body of the dead alien in disgust. At first, he had the instinct to run, but there was another-Chloe Armstrong, the girl that had lost her father. He had to save her, and then they had to run-get off of the ship, do something-because he was not going back into that tank again.
As he ran down the hallway, confusion swirled through his brain. He had no idea how long it had been, had no idea how Chloe had gotten into one of those tanks, had no idea exactly why he was going to rescue her-but then her father came to mind, and her screams of anguish. Tightening his grip on what he had nicknamed the ‘pipe,’ he ran faster to what he hoped would be the tank she was being held in.
It was quiet as he ran and ducked behind corners occasionally, keeping a firm grip on his makeshift weapon, and also keeping his eyes alert and open. So often, he would hear the ‘click’ of their language or their feet hitting the ground, and he would take a deep inhale and run as quickly and quietly as he could-again. His brain grew tired of the seemingly endless maze, and yet he found himself walking the twist and turning corridors without an issue-he knew where she was suddenly as if a light switch had been turned on in his brain.
--
When he finally came across her, he suddenly realized just how cold the entire ship was. Being dunked in a tank never helped one keep warm, of course, but he found that seeing her floating there like that-her thoughts rushing past her eyes, and yet, they weren’t open so lifeless-it made the whole ship feel damp. He took absolutely no time in breaking open the glass, but she didn’t wake. Panicked, he ripped off the odd breathing device that they had attached to her face, but she didn’t stir until he removed the mental probing device.
She gasped, her eyes adjusting to the bright light of the room as she took in the ship and his form, and he touched her face gently, carefully.
“We need to move,” he whispered, but she nodded before he had even finished the sentence, and he wondered for a vague moment if she suddenly knew things, like he seemed to.
He was pulling her to her feet when the alien ship that they were on was hit, presumably by Destiny-and she stumbled against him, letting out a small gasp. They were being fired upon-now his instinct to run was stronger than ever. For a moment, he thought about how quickly he could escape without the girl-but the moment passed as quickly as it had arrived. A selfish thought, he shook it from his mind and took her hand, helping her press into a wall before he peeked out slightly, making sure the coast was clear, so to speak.
“Where are we going?” She whispered, and he glanced back to see terror etched on her face. Now feeling doubly guilty about his selfish thought, he squeezed her hand reassuringly and reinforced his grip on the pipe, nodding.
“This way,” he motioned, and she nodded, her lip trembling slightly-but her eyes full of trust.
They continued to run down the twisting and turning corridors, and he made sure to keep a firm grip on her hand. While they moved, though he kept a close eye out for aliens, he found himself focused on the sound of her breathing-it almost comforted him in a small way as they ran for their lives. At one point, they were almost caught-but it was a fault all his own.
As much as he wanted to rescue her, to save himself, he allowed other matters to enter his brain, to distract him-specifically the goings on onboard of Destiny-incredibly ridiculous to think about, considering he wasn’t quite sure if they’d ever be on Destiny again, but regardless, he was distracted, and it only took a moment.
A clicking of feet told him that he had almost been seen, and for once though he hadn’t given it much thought before, he was suddenly thankful for Chloe’s tiny form. Yanking her hand backwards, she almost screamed as an alien came into view directly in front of where she had been moments ago-but now they were huddled together in a corner, terrified, and possibly out of time-he wasn’t sure about that part.
Unfortunately, the alien didn’t move for the moment. There was a console nearby, and it was moving around different switches, as he had seen them do through the mental probe. Going back was out of the question, as he just…knew it wasn’t the right way. He wondered if he had been able to get a schematic of sorts from the mental probe, but his questions disappeared when he felt the girl shiver next to him. He grimaced-tight wetsuits, cold, crisp air and water did not mix, that was for sure-he tried to think of what to do next, but she surprised him by taking the initiative.
“I was in my room on Destiny, I saw the battle and walked in the hall, and suddenly…” she trailed off a moment, motioning slightly with her arms that the next thing she knew, she was in the tank. “…how did you get here, Dr. Rush?” He noted that her face held genuine confusion, and grimaced again-of course, he hadn’t exactly expected Colonel Young to be honest about what had happened.
“That’s…quite a lengthy tale, Chloe. I also can’t deny that being here isn’t, at least, partially my fault,” he trailed off, uncomfortable-not used to explaining himself to anyone, at least not in a long time.
“Nobody deserves this,” she responded with such resolve, it surprised him. The determination in her eyes told him that she would be a powerful ally on Destiny, and he nodded in response.
“I’ll tell you about it when we get back on board,” he told her truthfully.
“If we ever-“she started, and he clamped a hand over her mouth as there was a click of footsteps again. Peeking out, his heart sank as he saw two more join the initial first that had been messing with the consoles. Knowing what they had to do, he turned to Chloe and took her face into his hands gently.
“Chloe,” he started, and she shook her head quickly.
“No, let’s just wait a little bit longer, okay? M-maybe-“She started, her bottom lip trembling again.
“We can’t afford to wait any longer than we already have. I’ll divert their attention, and when I do, I need you to run. If you keep going straight and take a sharp left at the intersection, you should see their launching bay of sorts. You need to get off of this ship, now.”
“H-how come I know where the launching bay is, too? I-I think I know how to start up their shuttles…” she trailed off, looking scared. He shook his head, unable to make sense of it.
“When I say go, don’t hesitate,” he calmly told her, finally dropping his hands from her face as he took another peek out-they were gathered, it was possible he could reach her before she took off-but that was wishful thinking.
“Dr. Rush…” she whimpered, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Almost…” The third just had to turn its back…
“No…Nicholas, this is insane,” she stressed his name in an attempt to get his attention back to her, but he continued to watch the third alien. He felt her fists hit his chest feebly, but the third alien was turning its back, and now his hands were on her shoulders.
“Run,” he whispered, and they both took off within moments.
He had enough time to register that she reached the end of the hall and was out of sight with impressive speed, and so he was able to focus on the task in front of him. He had grabbed his makeshift pipe again, and hit an alien square in the head-it went down, but he had no idea if it was still alive or not. One made a growling sort of sound and lunged at him, to which he dodged expertly, and quickly brought the large pipe down on its head as well-considering the way the other had gone down, the head seemed to be soft. With only one left and across the room, he dropped the pipe and did exactly what he had told Chloe to do-he ran, and he ran fast.
The corridor passed in flashes of blue, and for some reason, his heart was light as he ran. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew that she was still in the shuttle, waiting. He could feel her. He tried to block out the noise, but the sounds of his bare soles hitting the floor as he ran would forever haunt him, the water, the fear, the…shuttle bay?
He had been running so quickly and so sure of where he was going that he had actually gotten lost in thought. Knowing things about the alien ship (and that Chloe knew them, too) was incredibly unsettling-although, he reminded himself-whatever possible mental bleed-through that the probes had caused had also kept them alive up until this point.
They all looked the same, but he knew that she was hiding, terrified, in the fifth from the left, in the very back-hopeful that the aliens wouldn’t check around there, most likely. When he entered the shuttle, she leaped out, fists flying and eyes closed-he leaped out of the way just barely, and grabbed her before she flopped out of the door he had just entered.
“Dr. Rush?” She gasped, and he nodded as he expertly began going over the controls.
“I knew what buttons to push b-but…I knew you were still out there, and…um, sorry…” she trailed off, the shaking of her body from fear finally seemed to subside as they started to hover out of the docking bay.
“You’re apologizing for waiting for me?” He cast a confused glance her way as he continued to press buttons, although he found that it didn’t require much attention.
“I just feel like I let you down, not doing what you told me to after you made a distraction and everything…”
“I can’t exactly say I’m upset at the moment, Miss Armstrong.”
“…You can call me Chloe.”
Just as he turned his head to look at her, he saw a flash out of the corner of his eye. They had just left the docking bay, but the other alien shuttles were all re-boarding the alien ship-perhaps something had gone wrong-and then, it jumped. Realizing they must stick out on Destiny’s sensors, Dr. Rush quickly navigated the ship to land in a habitable area so that they would quickly be found.
“Looks like we made it just in time…Chloe,” he confirmed, nodding at her.
“Thank you so much,” she sincerely said, as he began to use alien technology to cut through Destiny’s hull, giving them a pressurized place to jump into.
He gave her a small smile before motioning for her to jump down first after he had scanned the area and noticed it was safe-also two life-signs nearby, so that had to be a good thing.
--
The nightmares, as realistic as they were, were just nightmares. Chloe had mentioned quietly once that hers had to do more with water and tanks, which he could understand-she hadn’t been able to overcome the mental probe-but his, he felt his were truly terrifying.
Darkness and a strong sense of fear, sudden flashes of blue hues, glowing blue eyes, but the noise-the noise was the worst. His footsteps hitting the floor as he continues to run through the never-ending maze-like ship-and his steps, they’re all alone-she’s in her own nightmare.
--
Before Dr. Rush closed his eyes that night, he tried not to be afraid. He knew that the nightmares would come again, but then pass, as they always do. He also knew that the only way to get through them is to run, so he stretched out, closed his eyes, and prepared himself for darkness, for fear, and to run.
Prompt: From stargateland, but it can be posted and read anywhere.
Pairing: It focuses on Rush, but definite Chloe/Rush undertones.
Summary: It's basically about the time they spent together on the alien ship in Space (1x11) with a few scenes added in, some conversations that lead to future episodes, and some speculation on my end about their possible "connection" while they were on board.
Rating: PG for some violence.
Spoilers: Nope. I will admit I took some ideas from some thoughts I had about the Season 2 trailer, but I didn't directly input a spoiler. (Unless you haven't seen 1x11)
After Dr. Rush tore the pipe from the wall, he ripped the mental probe from his forehead and threw it towards the body of the dead alien in disgust. At first, he had the instinct to run, but there was another-Chloe Armstrong, the girl that had lost her father. He had to save her, and then they had to run-get off of the ship, do something-because he was not going back into that tank again.
As he ran down the hallway, confusion swirled through his brain. He had no idea how long it had been, had no idea how Chloe had gotten into one of those tanks, had no idea exactly why he was going to rescue her-but then her father came to mind, and her screams of anguish. Tightening his grip on what he had nicknamed the ‘pipe,’ he ran faster to what he hoped would be the tank she was being held in.
It was quiet as he ran and ducked behind corners occasionally, keeping a firm grip on his makeshift weapon, and also keeping his eyes alert and open. So often, he would hear the ‘click’ of their language or their feet hitting the ground, and he would take a deep inhale and run as quickly and quietly as he could-again. His brain grew tired of the seemingly endless maze, and yet he found himself walking the twist and turning corridors without an issue-he knew where she was suddenly as if a light switch had been turned on in his brain.
--
When he finally came across her, he suddenly realized just how cold the entire ship was. Being dunked in a tank never helped one keep warm, of course, but he found that seeing her floating there like that-her thoughts rushing past her eyes, and yet, they weren’t open so lifeless-it made the whole ship feel damp. He took absolutely no time in breaking open the glass, but she didn’t wake. Panicked, he ripped off the odd breathing device that they had attached to her face, but she didn’t stir until he removed the mental probing device.
She gasped, her eyes adjusting to the bright light of the room as she took in the ship and his form, and he touched her face gently, carefully.
“We need to move,” he whispered, but she nodded before he had even finished the sentence, and he wondered for a vague moment if she suddenly knew things, like he seemed to.
He was pulling her to her feet when the alien ship that they were on was hit, presumably by Destiny-and she stumbled against him, letting out a small gasp. They were being fired upon-now his instinct to run was stronger than ever. For a moment, he thought about how quickly he could escape without the girl-but the moment passed as quickly as it had arrived. A selfish thought, he shook it from his mind and took her hand, helping her press into a wall before he peeked out slightly, making sure the coast was clear, so to speak.
“Where are we going?” She whispered, and he glanced back to see terror etched on her face. Now feeling doubly guilty about his selfish thought, he squeezed her hand reassuringly and reinforced his grip on the pipe, nodding.
“This way,” he motioned, and she nodded, her lip trembling slightly-but her eyes full of trust.
They continued to run down the twisting and turning corridors, and he made sure to keep a firm grip on her hand. While they moved, though he kept a close eye out for aliens, he found himself focused on the sound of her breathing-it almost comforted him in a small way as they ran for their lives. At one point, they were almost caught-but it was a fault all his own.
As much as he wanted to rescue her, to save himself, he allowed other matters to enter his brain, to distract him-specifically the goings on onboard of Destiny-incredibly ridiculous to think about, considering he wasn’t quite sure if they’d ever be on Destiny again, but regardless, he was distracted, and it only took a moment.
A clicking of feet told him that he had almost been seen, and for once though he hadn’t given it much thought before, he was suddenly thankful for Chloe’s tiny form. Yanking her hand backwards, she almost screamed as an alien came into view directly in front of where she had been moments ago-but now they were huddled together in a corner, terrified, and possibly out of time-he wasn’t sure about that part.
Unfortunately, the alien didn’t move for the moment. There was a console nearby, and it was moving around different switches, as he had seen them do through the mental probe. Going back was out of the question, as he just…knew it wasn’t the right way. He wondered if he had been able to get a schematic of sorts from the mental probe, but his questions disappeared when he felt the girl shiver next to him. He grimaced-tight wetsuits, cold, crisp air and water did not mix, that was for sure-he tried to think of what to do next, but she surprised him by taking the initiative.
“I was in my room on Destiny, I saw the battle and walked in the hall, and suddenly…” she trailed off a moment, motioning slightly with her arms that the next thing she knew, she was in the tank. “…how did you get here, Dr. Rush?” He noted that her face held genuine confusion, and grimaced again-of course, he hadn’t exactly expected Colonel Young to be honest about what had happened.
“That’s…quite a lengthy tale, Chloe. I also can’t deny that being here isn’t, at least, partially my fault,” he trailed off, uncomfortable-not used to explaining himself to anyone, at least not in a long time.
“Nobody deserves this,” she responded with such resolve, it surprised him. The determination in her eyes told him that she would be a powerful ally on Destiny, and he nodded in response.
“I’ll tell you about it when we get back on board,” he told her truthfully.
“If we ever-“she started, and he clamped a hand over her mouth as there was a click of footsteps again. Peeking out, his heart sank as he saw two more join the initial first that had been messing with the consoles. Knowing what they had to do, he turned to Chloe and took her face into his hands gently.
“Chloe,” he started, and she shook her head quickly.
“No, let’s just wait a little bit longer, okay? M-maybe-“She started, her bottom lip trembling again.
“We can’t afford to wait any longer than we already have. I’ll divert their attention, and when I do, I need you to run. If you keep going straight and take a sharp left at the intersection, you should see their launching bay of sorts. You need to get off of this ship, now.”
“H-how come I know where the launching bay is, too? I-I think I know how to start up their shuttles…” she trailed off, looking scared. He shook his head, unable to make sense of it.
“When I say go, don’t hesitate,” he calmly told her, finally dropping his hands from her face as he took another peek out-they were gathered, it was possible he could reach her before she took off-but that was wishful thinking.
“Dr. Rush…” she whimpered, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Almost…” The third just had to turn its back…
“No…Nicholas, this is insane,” she stressed his name in an attempt to get his attention back to her, but he continued to watch the third alien. He felt her fists hit his chest feebly, but the third alien was turning its back, and now his hands were on her shoulders.
“Run,” he whispered, and they both took off within moments.
He had enough time to register that she reached the end of the hall and was out of sight with impressive speed, and so he was able to focus on the task in front of him. He had grabbed his makeshift pipe again, and hit an alien square in the head-it went down, but he had no idea if it was still alive or not. One made a growling sort of sound and lunged at him, to which he dodged expertly, and quickly brought the large pipe down on its head as well-considering the way the other had gone down, the head seemed to be soft. With only one left and across the room, he dropped the pipe and did exactly what he had told Chloe to do-he ran, and he ran fast.
The corridor passed in flashes of blue, and for some reason, his heart was light as he ran. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew that she was still in the shuttle, waiting. He could feel her. He tried to block out the noise, but the sounds of his bare soles hitting the floor as he ran would forever haunt him, the water, the fear, the…shuttle bay?
He had been running so quickly and so sure of where he was going that he had actually gotten lost in thought. Knowing things about the alien ship (and that Chloe knew them, too) was incredibly unsettling-although, he reminded himself-whatever possible mental bleed-through that the probes had caused had also kept them alive up until this point.
They all looked the same, but he knew that she was hiding, terrified, in the fifth from the left, in the very back-hopeful that the aliens wouldn’t check around there, most likely. When he entered the shuttle, she leaped out, fists flying and eyes closed-he leaped out of the way just barely, and grabbed her before she flopped out of the door he had just entered.
“Dr. Rush?” She gasped, and he nodded as he expertly began going over the controls.
“I knew what buttons to push b-but…I knew you were still out there, and…um, sorry…” she trailed off, the shaking of her body from fear finally seemed to subside as they started to hover out of the docking bay.
“You’re apologizing for waiting for me?” He cast a confused glance her way as he continued to press buttons, although he found that it didn’t require much attention.
“I just feel like I let you down, not doing what you told me to after you made a distraction and everything…”
“I can’t exactly say I’m upset at the moment, Miss Armstrong.”
“…You can call me Chloe.”
Just as he turned his head to look at her, he saw a flash out of the corner of his eye. They had just left the docking bay, but the other alien shuttles were all re-boarding the alien ship-perhaps something had gone wrong-and then, it jumped. Realizing they must stick out on Destiny’s sensors, Dr. Rush quickly navigated the ship to land in a habitable area so that they would quickly be found.
“Looks like we made it just in time…Chloe,” he confirmed, nodding at her.
“Thank you so much,” she sincerely said, as he began to use alien technology to cut through Destiny’s hull, giving them a pressurized place to jump into.
He gave her a small smile before motioning for her to jump down first after he had scanned the area and noticed it was safe-also two life-signs nearby, so that had to be a good thing.
--
The nightmares, as realistic as they were, were just nightmares. Chloe had mentioned quietly once that hers had to do more with water and tanks, which he could understand-she hadn’t been able to overcome the mental probe-but his, he felt his were truly terrifying.
Darkness and a strong sense of fear, sudden flashes of blue hues, glowing blue eyes, but the noise-the noise was the worst. His footsteps hitting the floor as he continues to run through the never-ending maze-like ship-and his steps, they’re all alone-she’s in her own nightmare.
--
Before Dr. Rush closed his eyes that night, he tried not to be afraid. He knew that the nightmares would come again, but then pass, as they always do. He also knew that the only way to get through them is to run, so he stretched out, closed his eyes, and prepared himself for darkness, for fear, and to run.