Thinking
Title: "Thinking"
Author: PrettySirenx
Rating: PG-13-ish
Genre: angst, some humor, some fluff
Spoilers: None.
Disclaimer: I don't own SGU.
Author's Note: This is for ladypredator and her "telepathy" prompt. =D (I cannot thank you enough for the road trip diversion!)
There was a light shining in the distance. Chloe knew that if she could just navigate through the darkness and make it to that light that everything would become clearer, and have more meaning. She wasn’t alone in the darkness: Rush was there too, searching. She wished they could meet, but it didn’t work like that -- not yet. For now, they were separate travelers traveling different roads to reach the same destination, whatever that might be. At least, until they woke up; during their waking life, they could meet and exchange dream stories.
“I was almost there!” Rush said, pounding his fist on the table.
“Me too,” Chloe replied. “But what does it mean? Why is it there? Who put it there?”
She knew who put it there, the light, but she wanted to hear him say it. If he said it, supposition would become reality.
“They did, Chloe,” he replied quietly. “They’ve put a program into our brains -- I’m convinced of it.”
“Like a computer program?”
“Precisely. Now, we have to ask ourselves the important question: why? Why would they do that -- what would be the purpose?”
“You think the answers are in the light, don’t you?”
He nodded.
“Should we go for it -- should we try to reach it?”
“It could be dangerous. It could be a trapdoor.”
Chloe wasn’t sure what a trapdoor was in computer speak, but it didn’t sound good.
“I don’t care.”
He had to admire her fearlessness. But he was afraid. At least, he was scared for her.
“I’ll go first,” he said quickly. “You watch me. We wait and see if anything happens. But one of us needs to stay pure -- and I think it should be you.”
“That’s me -- ‘Pure Chloe’,” she smirked.
“You know what I mean. It has to be me. I’ve had experience with this sort of thing before, remember? If something goes wrong, I might be able to find my way out of it, and I can’t risk losing you.”
Those last few words rang in both of their ears. However, neither one of them acknowledged their existence. They passed in that moment, and the two moved on through their conversation.
“Fine,” Chloe said. “But it has to be tonight. Matt and the others will be down on the planet. Nobody will miss us while they’re gone.”
“Then we’ll meet in my quarters after my shift?” Rush couldn’t believe he just said that, but his face remained stoic, unreadable.
“Sounds good,” Chloe replied.
Each stood up and they parted ways, not to see each other again until midnight.
Chloe zipped up her hoodie on her way down the corridor. If anyone happened to see her enter Rush’s quarters, she didn’t want them thinking…things. After all, she was with Matt. And no one would understand what she and Rush were really up to anyhow. They really were alone.
He was waiting for her there. He silently motioned for her to enter; she walked quietly past him and into the dimly lit room. It was a mess; she’d been there before, however, and expected him not to do anything about it. He was far to erratically genius to care about mundane concepts such as general tidiness.
He plopped down on the bed and kicked off his boots. Chloe thrust her hands into her pockets awkwardly.
“So, how are we going to do this?”
He smiled.
“I am going to fall asleep. If something bad happens, wake me.”
“Anything else?”
“I’m also turning on the digital recorder. That way, if I say anything in my sleep, we can log it.”
“So, I’m really here just to make sure something bad doesn’t happen to you?”
“Essentially.”
“Good thing I brought my iPod.”
Chloe sat in an armchair near the bed; she inserted her ear buds as he turned out the lights.
Three hours later, Chloe glanced up at Rush; Kings of Leon’s “Holyroller Novocain” blasted in her ears. The song should’ve juxtaposed his sleeping form drastically, but it didn’t. He was so intense; even in sleep, his presence was sheer, raw power.
He tossed. Then he turned. Then he tossed again. He was sweaty, too. She wondered if he normally slept in his clothes…She noticed his tosses and turns became more like wild thrashes, though. She took out her ear buds, jumped to her feet, and ran to him.
“Rush!” she said, shaking him. Nothing. He writhed violently, unable to wake up or perceive her in any other way.
“Rush!” she tried again. Still no response.
Chloe looked around wildly, looking for help, but there wasn’t any. She had to rely on herself, so she let instinct take over: she climbed on top of him, straddling his pelvis. She knew what she had to do: she slapped him hard across the face; then again, crying out his name.
“Nicholas!” she screamed, breaking down into frustrated sobs. She pounded half-heartedly on his chest and gave way to tears as she came to the frightening conclusion that he wasn’t going to wake up.
Suddenly he stopped moving. Her breath caught in her chest; she exhaled when he opened his eyes.
“I went into the light,” he said.
“What happened?”
“I woke up.”
Chloe smiled, relieved. He shifted his body under her.
Oh, my God. His penis is pressed against my pubic bone.
His brow screwed into an interesting shape as he asked, “What did you say?”
“Nothing,” she replied honestly.
He studied her eyes, trying to discern why she thought she could get away with her blatant lie.
Why is he looking at me like that? she thought, unnerved.
“Chloe,” he said slowly, “I think I’m hearing your thoughts.”
That had to be the explanation. They were like distant whispers at first, but now they were clearly audible, as though she were actually speaking with her mouth and lips. It was definitely her.
He’s gone around the bend.
“I haven’t!”
“You haven’t what?”
“Aren’t you listening? I can hear your thoughts.”
“That’s not possible.”
I hope he’s okay.
“I am okay -- I think. Just a wee bit telepathic.”
“Prove it.”
“Think of something personal -- something I wouldn’t know otherwise.”
Chloe closed her eyes, humoring him. He paused for a moment and then spoke with pure conviction.
“Your childhood teddy bear was called Jane Austen. Your father won it for you at the county fair when you were seven.”
Chloe gasped.
“I could get more specific -- like going into Jane Austen’s death at the hands of your cousin’s dog.”
“I cried so hard,” she said. “Mom and Dad helped me give her a proper funeral because she was so far beyond repair. I took it so hard, I never talked about it afterward. I was a very sensitive kid.”
“See?” he asked.
“Okay, so you’re telepathic. Why all of the sudden?”
“The light,” he replied. “It was the window into the telepathy program they embedded in my mind. I think it was experimental. They never used it themselves.”
“Then why imbed it into us?” she asked.
“So we could unintentionally spy for them. The telepathy was probably supposed to go both ways, but I think we have the prototypes. I think we were the guinea pigs. When we left them, they hadn’t applied the technology to themselves. Otherwise, we would’ve noticed the program sooner, because they would’ve used it, calling it to our attention on some level, at least.”
“But why hide it in our subconscious?”
“To make it seem more organic. They didn’t want us to link it to them. They think we’re stupid enough to believe it’s a gift from the gods or the Ancients or something.”
“So now what? Should I try to unlock it too?”
“Not yet -- we don’t know how safe it is. The human mind isn’t thought to be able to handle this level of information. I know that all too well.”
“Do you think you’ll be okay?”
“It’s not as bad as sitting in the Ancient chair device.”
“Maybe we should get rid of it?” Chloe asked, shifting nervously. “I don’t want your mind to explode.”
“It could be useful.”
Chloe furrowed her brow.
“I know that look, Nicholas Rush. And no -- you can’t be serious. Gaining intelligence on the military isn’t worth your life or your sanity.”
“Why not use this ability as long as I have it? It’s not like we know how to get rid of it yet anyway.”
Chloe folded her arms. Rush breathed in; he was thankful she couldn’t hear his thoughts.
“Will you promise to work on a way to get rid of it -- especially since it could be dangerous?”
“I will.”
He better not be lying.
“I’m not lying,” he said, rubbing her arms with his hands.
Oh, my God. I’m still on top of him. And I just thought that. And now he’s smiling. And now he’s trying not to smile. And…oh God. I’m such a moron.
“You’re not a moron,” he said, still trying to hide his smile. “You just think really fast -- before you can edit your thoughts.”
“I’m going to have to work on that.”
“Chloe.”
“Yes?”
“You’ll hurt your head if you try not to think.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
“I just don’t trust my thoughts around you.”
“Why?”
She sighed, shook her head, and climbed off of him. “You’re such a man.”
“That was a half-compliment.”
“I’m going back to my own quarters. I don’t want you hearing my dreams and then rating them on a scale of one-to-ten.”
He called her name just before she left the room.
“Yes?” she asked, looking over her shoulder.
“Don’t go into the light. Not until we know it’s safe.”
“Alright,” she nodded; she left on that promise.
Rush realized that telepathy wasn’t as fun as he thought it would be when he woke up in the morning and went to breakfast. For starters, Becker thought of him as a “pompous asshole”. And maybe that was fair enough. But hearing the thoughts of others was disturbing. He sat down at a table with Eli and Brody. Their thoughts couldn’t be so bad. They probably didn’t have very many of consequence, and what little they did have were probably, in all likelihood, childishly pathetic.
I can’t believe Rush nailed Chloe last night, Brody thought as he took a spoonful of porridge into his mouth. Eli will go ballistic when he finds out. I’ve got to remember to tell him as soon as Rush fucks off. The way she was calling his name was priceless and so disturbing…
Rush’s eyes widened as he swallowed his own porridge.
“Mr. Brody,” he said briskly. “I’ve left some work for you in the lab. I want you to finish it. It’s a lot of work, so I’d get cracking now if I were you.”
“Can’t I finish my breakfast?”
“No.”
Eli wasn’t laughing on the outside, but he was on the inside. Rush honed in on him.
“Eli, I want you to go down to the planet with Lt. Scott and take some readings for me.”
“Can’t you do it?”
“Afraid of getting your hands dirty?”
No, I’m afraid of the giant alien walruses we’re bound to run into. It’s only a matter of time.
“No,” Eli said quietly.
“Good,” Rush replied; he finished his breakfast with a triumphant air as Eli got up, cleaned off his plate and headed for the gate room.
Once the distractions of Eli and Brody -- and their thoughts, particularly -- were out of the way, Rush’s mind became keenly aware of the amount of people that were in the room. All he heard was a loud mumble of disjointed blather. Nothing made sense -- they were all thinking things, despite his suspicions. Without Eli and Brody’s thoughts nearby to drown out the noise, he could hear it all. And it was really uncomfortable -- physically, emotionally, and psychologically.
He had to get out of there.
Young was in his quarters. He could handle the thoughts of one mind. And Young’s were the ones he wanted to hear in particular, so he headed in that direction, but he was stopped in the corridor by Camille Wray.
“Nicholas,” she said in her usual way, “how are you this morning?”
“Fine.”
“I’m going to report to Earth -- do you have any messages you want me to pass along for you?”
“No.”
Of course you don’t. You’re hiding something.
“Actually, I do,” he said, racking his brain for something -- anything that could be useful but nonsensical at the same time. “Tell Dr. Daniel Jackson that ‘Epimetheus didn’t listen to his brother and now Pandora’s opened her jar’. Ask him what he has to say to that. It’s a riddle game we play, you see. I wager he can’t figure it out.”
“I’ve never understood those intellectual games,” she said, “but I’ll be sure to pass the message along.”
Rush sighed with relief. Not only did the message confuse Wray, but it would also alert Dr. Jackson that something might be going awry and that Rush might need some discreet help. But that was just a precaution. Rush was rather sure everything would be fine as long as he stayed away from crowded places.
He definitely dodged a bullet with Camille. The thought she had walking away was: Maybe he’s not hiding anything. Maybe he’s just so strange he seems suspicious. There was a pause. He held his breath, listening as she walked further down the corridor. No, she thought, he’s definitely hiding something and I’m going to shake it out of him.
And that’s when Rush took a sharp left abandoning his original plan to listen in on Young’s thoughts. Instead, he headed straight for Chloe’s quarters. He looked around to make sure no one was watching and overrode her door’s controls, gaining access on his own -- knocking could draw unwanted attention.
Her lights were dimmed. She was still sleeping, and it wasn’t any wonder: she had to be tired from keeping watch on him all night.
“Chloe!” he whispered through the darkness. “Chloe!”
She rose up abruptly. By the distant star’s light streaming in through the window, he could just make out her perfect, round breasts. Once again, he was glad she wasn’t able to hear his thoughts.
“Rush?” she asked hazily, pulling her covers to her chest.
“Aye -- it’s me.”
Oh, God -- he’s seen my boobs. He’s seen my boobs. He’s seen my boobs. Oh, God.
“If it’s any consolation, they’re very nice -- from what I could see, anyway.”
“I don’t know how I feel about you having seen my breasts,” she said, drawing her covers even closer.
“Yes, you do,” he said.
You’re excited by it, he thought.
“That’s a pretty big assumption,” she hissed.
“I didn’t say that out loud, Chloe.”
“What?”
“Did you go into the light?”
“No -- I don’t think so. I don’t know. I’ve forgotten my dream. It’s all foggy.”
“Well, let’s test this…what am I thinking?”
Chloe was silent for a moment. And then she said.
“You’re thinking I should throw the covers aside.”
Rush’s eyes widened. “No. That wasn’t it.”
“Yes it was,” she insisted. “It was a stray thought which you repressed and quickly replaced with ‘Eli is an annoying git’.”
“I’ll only admit to that last thought.” He sat down on the bed. “But now that we can read each other’s minds, we don’t have to bother with speaking. We could use this to our advantage.”
“How so?”
“Camille Wray is getting suspicious.”
“Of what?”
“Of me.”
“You don’t think she suspects we know more about the aliens than we’ve let on, do you?”
“I don’t know if she’s worked it out that far. She didn’t seem to implicate you in her thoughts. She was more focused on me, except she didn’t seem to have the specifics in mind. No, I don’t think she knows. But I can imagine her trying to find out.”
“Which is why telepathy will work to our advantage,” she said.
“Exactly. We’ll be able to pass information to each other without speaking. We could meet out in the open without suspicion -- but you like meeting in private?”
“I didn’t mean to think that,” she told him quietly.
“I do too,” he admitted, scooting closer. “But the amount of time we’re alone together will eventually draw suspicion. Eli’s already started to notice and it’s only a matter of time before Lt. Scott -- you don’t think he’ll notice? Why?”
“He doesn’t notice me,” she replied.
“Because he’s too busy being Col. Young’s lapdog.”
“You said it -- not me.”
“But you thought it first,” he countered. He grew more serious. “It’s painful to hear you think about him. You feel so empty and ignored.”
“But he is busy,” she said.
“Don’t make excuses for him, Chloe. You’re too good for that -- and you really are, so don’t think you’re not.”
“You really think that highly of me even though you can read my thoughts? Even though you can hear thoughts that are, perhaps, not as perfect as you once thought me to be?”
Of course I do, he thought. She gripped his hand firmly, acknowledging the thought came through loud and clear.
I don’t want you to leave, she admitted silently. She let her covers fall, fully exposing her breasts. He wanted to touch them, to feel them, to lick them…and she could hear these thoughts.
But he said out loud, “Not tonight. You have some thinking to do and I don’t want to cloud your judgment -- well of course I want to, but it would be wrong, wouldn’t it?”
“Will I thank you for slighting me in the morning, then?” she asked evenly, attempting to mask her emotion.
“I’m not slighting you at all -- I would never do that, and you know it. But yes, I think you will thank me in the morning, regardless the conclusions you come to.”
He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and left before he could think anything that might incriminate him, that might let her know how badly he really wanted to stay, and how much he hated doing the right thing -- and especially the fact that he was only doing it for her.
He literally jogged to his quarters, eager to get far enough away from her thoughts so he wouldn’t have to hear him. He didn’t want to regret doing the right thing -- at least not until the morning.
Chloe found him working alone in his lab the next morning. She approached him carefully.
“The thoughts are gone,” she said.
“I can’t hear them either,” he replied, quitting his work and looking at her. “If the telepathy only would’ve stayed longer, we could’ve accomplished so much.”
“We did accomplish something important,” she said. “We both shared thoughts with each other we were too scared to share aloud -- important thoughts.”
“I suppose you’re right,” he smiled; but his smile was somewhat sad.
“I did a lot of thinking,” she said, moving closer to him. “And you’re right.”
“Am I?”
She nodded. “And I’m making my choice right now.”
She leaned in and kissed him, gently and softly. He returned her kiss, wishing she could read his thoughts again so that she would know how happy he was. But, upon reflection, as her lips brushed his so delicately, she already did.
Author: PrettySirenx
Rating: PG-13-ish
Genre: angst, some humor, some fluff
Spoilers: None.
Disclaimer: I don't own SGU.
Author's Note: This is for ladypredator and her "telepathy" prompt. =D (I cannot thank you enough for the road trip diversion!)
There was a light shining in the distance. Chloe knew that if she could just navigate through the darkness and make it to that light that everything would become clearer, and have more meaning. She wasn’t alone in the darkness: Rush was there too, searching. She wished they could meet, but it didn’t work like that -- not yet. For now, they were separate travelers traveling different roads to reach the same destination, whatever that might be. At least, until they woke up; during their waking life, they could meet and exchange dream stories.
“I was almost there!” Rush said, pounding his fist on the table.
“Me too,” Chloe replied. “But what does it mean? Why is it there? Who put it there?”
She knew who put it there, the light, but she wanted to hear him say it. If he said it, supposition would become reality.
“They did, Chloe,” he replied quietly. “They’ve put a program into our brains -- I’m convinced of it.”
“Like a computer program?”
“Precisely. Now, we have to ask ourselves the important question: why? Why would they do that -- what would be the purpose?”
“You think the answers are in the light, don’t you?”
He nodded.
“Should we go for it -- should we try to reach it?”
“It could be dangerous. It could be a trapdoor.”
Chloe wasn’t sure what a trapdoor was in computer speak, but it didn’t sound good.
“I don’t care.”
He had to admire her fearlessness. But he was afraid. At least, he was scared for her.
“I’ll go first,” he said quickly. “You watch me. We wait and see if anything happens. But one of us needs to stay pure -- and I think it should be you.”
“That’s me -- ‘Pure Chloe’,” she smirked.
“You know what I mean. It has to be me. I’ve had experience with this sort of thing before, remember? If something goes wrong, I might be able to find my way out of it, and I can’t risk losing you.”
Those last few words rang in both of their ears. However, neither one of them acknowledged their existence. They passed in that moment, and the two moved on through their conversation.
“Fine,” Chloe said. “But it has to be tonight. Matt and the others will be down on the planet. Nobody will miss us while they’re gone.”
“Then we’ll meet in my quarters after my shift?” Rush couldn’t believe he just said that, but his face remained stoic, unreadable.
“Sounds good,” Chloe replied.
Each stood up and they parted ways, not to see each other again until midnight.
Chloe zipped up her hoodie on her way down the corridor. If anyone happened to see her enter Rush’s quarters, she didn’t want them thinking…things. After all, she was with Matt. And no one would understand what she and Rush were really up to anyhow. They really were alone.
He was waiting for her there. He silently motioned for her to enter; she walked quietly past him and into the dimly lit room. It was a mess; she’d been there before, however, and expected him not to do anything about it. He was far to erratically genius to care about mundane concepts such as general tidiness.
He plopped down on the bed and kicked off his boots. Chloe thrust her hands into her pockets awkwardly.
“So, how are we going to do this?”
He smiled.
“I am going to fall asleep. If something bad happens, wake me.”
“Anything else?”
“I’m also turning on the digital recorder. That way, if I say anything in my sleep, we can log it.”
“So, I’m really here just to make sure something bad doesn’t happen to you?”
“Essentially.”
“Good thing I brought my iPod.”
Chloe sat in an armchair near the bed; she inserted her ear buds as he turned out the lights.
Three hours later, Chloe glanced up at Rush; Kings of Leon’s “Holyroller Novocain” blasted in her ears. The song should’ve juxtaposed his sleeping form drastically, but it didn’t. He was so intense; even in sleep, his presence was sheer, raw power.
He tossed. Then he turned. Then he tossed again. He was sweaty, too. She wondered if he normally slept in his clothes…She noticed his tosses and turns became more like wild thrashes, though. She took out her ear buds, jumped to her feet, and ran to him.
“Rush!” she said, shaking him. Nothing. He writhed violently, unable to wake up or perceive her in any other way.
“Rush!” she tried again. Still no response.
Chloe looked around wildly, looking for help, but there wasn’t any. She had to rely on herself, so she let instinct take over: she climbed on top of him, straddling his pelvis. She knew what she had to do: she slapped him hard across the face; then again, crying out his name.
“Nicholas!” she screamed, breaking down into frustrated sobs. She pounded half-heartedly on his chest and gave way to tears as she came to the frightening conclusion that he wasn’t going to wake up.
Suddenly he stopped moving. Her breath caught in her chest; she exhaled when he opened his eyes.
“I went into the light,” he said.
“What happened?”
“I woke up.”
Chloe smiled, relieved. He shifted his body under her.
Oh, my God. His penis is pressed against my pubic bone.
His brow screwed into an interesting shape as he asked, “What did you say?”
“Nothing,” she replied honestly.
He studied her eyes, trying to discern why she thought she could get away with her blatant lie.
Why is he looking at me like that? she thought, unnerved.
“Chloe,” he said slowly, “I think I’m hearing your thoughts.”
That had to be the explanation. They were like distant whispers at first, but now they were clearly audible, as though she were actually speaking with her mouth and lips. It was definitely her.
He’s gone around the bend.
“I haven’t!”
“You haven’t what?”
“Aren’t you listening? I can hear your thoughts.”
“That’s not possible.”
I hope he’s okay.
“I am okay -- I think. Just a wee bit telepathic.”
“Prove it.”
“Think of something personal -- something I wouldn’t know otherwise.”
Chloe closed her eyes, humoring him. He paused for a moment and then spoke with pure conviction.
“Your childhood teddy bear was called Jane Austen. Your father won it for you at the county fair when you were seven.”
Chloe gasped.
“I could get more specific -- like going into Jane Austen’s death at the hands of your cousin’s dog.”
“I cried so hard,” she said. “Mom and Dad helped me give her a proper funeral because she was so far beyond repair. I took it so hard, I never talked about it afterward. I was a very sensitive kid.”
“See?” he asked.
“Okay, so you’re telepathic. Why all of the sudden?”
“The light,” he replied. “It was the window into the telepathy program they embedded in my mind. I think it was experimental. They never used it themselves.”
“Then why imbed it into us?” she asked.
“So we could unintentionally spy for them. The telepathy was probably supposed to go both ways, but I think we have the prototypes. I think we were the guinea pigs. When we left them, they hadn’t applied the technology to themselves. Otherwise, we would’ve noticed the program sooner, because they would’ve used it, calling it to our attention on some level, at least.”
“But why hide it in our subconscious?”
“To make it seem more organic. They didn’t want us to link it to them. They think we’re stupid enough to believe it’s a gift from the gods or the Ancients or something.”
“So now what? Should I try to unlock it too?”
“Not yet -- we don’t know how safe it is. The human mind isn’t thought to be able to handle this level of information. I know that all too well.”
“Do you think you’ll be okay?”
“It’s not as bad as sitting in the Ancient chair device.”
“Maybe we should get rid of it?” Chloe asked, shifting nervously. “I don’t want your mind to explode.”
“It could be useful.”
Chloe furrowed her brow.
“I know that look, Nicholas Rush. And no -- you can’t be serious. Gaining intelligence on the military isn’t worth your life or your sanity.”
“Why not use this ability as long as I have it? It’s not like we know how to get rid of it yet anyway.”
Chloe folded her arms. Rush breathed in; he was thankful she couldn’t hear his thoughts.
“Will you promise to work on a way to get rid of it -- especially since it could be dangerous?”
“I will.”
He better not be lying.
“I’m not lying,” he said, rubbing her arms with his hands.
Oh, my God. I’m still on top of him. And I just thought that. And now he’s smiling. And now he’s trying not to smile. And…oh God. I’m such a moron.
“You’re not a moron,” he said, still trying to hide his smile. “You just think really fast -- before you can edit your thoughts.”
“I’m going to have to work on that.”
“Chloe.”
“Yes?”
“You’ll hurt your head if you try not to think.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
“I just don’t trust my thoughts around you.”
“Why?”
She sighed, shook her head, and climbed off of him. “You’re such a man.”
“That was a half-compliment.”
“I’m going back to my own quarters. I don’t want you hearing my dreams and then rating them on a scale of one-to-ten.”
He called her name just before she left the room.
“Yes?” she asked, looking over her shoulder.
“Don’t go into the light. Not until we know it’s safe.”
“Alright,” she nodded; she left on that promise.
Rush realized that telepathy wasn’t as fun as he thought it would be when he woke up in the morning and went to breakfast. For starters, Becker thought of him as a “pompous asshole”. And maybe that was fair enough. But hearing the thoughts of others was disturbing. He sat down at a table with Eli and Brody. Their thoughts couldn’t be so bad. They probably didn’t have very many of consequence, and what little they did have were probably, in all likelihood, childishly pathetic.
I can’t believe Rush nailed Chloe last night, Brody thought as he took a spoonful of porridge into his mouth. Eli will go ballistic when he finds out. I’ve got to remember to tell him as soon as Rush fucks off. The way she was calling his name was priceless and so disturbing…
Rush’s eyes widened as he swallowed his own porridge.
“Mr. Brody,” he said briskly. “I’ve left some work for you in the lab. I want you to finish it. It’s a lot of work, so I’d get cracking now if I were you.”
“Can’t I finish my breakfast?”
“No.”
Eli wasn’t laughing on the outside, but he was on the inside. Rush honed in on him.
“Eli, I want you to go down to the planet with Lt. Scott and take some readings for me.”
“Can’t you do it?”
“Afraid of getting your hands dirty?”
No, I’m afraid of the giant alien walruses we’re bound to run into. It’s only a matter of time.
“No,” Eli said quietly.
“Good,” Rush replied; he finished his breakfast with a triumphant air as Eli got up, cleaned off his plate and headed for the gate room.
Once the distractions of Eli and Brody -- and their thoughts, particularly -- were out of the way, Rush’s mind became keenly aware of the amount of people that were in the room. All he heard was a loud mumble of disjointed blather. Nothing made sense -- they were all thinking things, despite his suspicions. Without Eli and Brody’s thoughts nearby to drown out the noise, he could hear it all. And it was really uncomfortable -- physically, emotionally, and psychologically.
He had to get out of there.
Young was in his quarters. He could handle the thoughts of one mind. And Young’s were the ones he wanted to hear in particular, so he headed in that direction, but he was stopped in the corridor by Camille Wray.
“Nicholas,” she said in her usual way, “how are you this morning?”
“Fine.”
“I’m going to report to Earth -- do you have any messages you want me to pass along for you?”
“No.”
Of course you don’t. You’re hiding something.
“Actually, I do,” he said, racking his brain for something -- anything that could be useful but nonsensical at the same time. “Tell Dr. Daniel Jackson that ‘Epimetheus didn’t listen to his brother and now Pandora’s opened her jar’. Ask him what he has to say to that. It’s a riddle game we play, you see. I wager he can’t figure it out.”
“I’ve never understood those intellectual games,” she said, “but I’ll be sure to pass the message along.”
Rush sighed with relief. Not only did the message confuse Wray, but it would also alert Dr. Jackson that something might be going awry and that Rush might need some discreet help. But that was just a precaution. Rush was rather sure everything would be fine as long as he stayed away from crowded places.
He definitely dodged a bullet with Camille. The thought she had walking away was: Maybe he’s not hiding anything. Maybe he’s just so strange he seems suspicious. There was a pause. He held his breath, listening as she walked further down the corridor. No, she thought, he’s definitely hiding something and I’m going to shake it out of him.
And that’s when Rush took a sharp left abandoning his original plan to listen in on Young’s thoughts. Instead, he headed straight for Chloe’s quarters. He looked around to make sure no one was watching and overrode her door’s controls, gaining access on his own -- knocking could draw unwanted attention.
Her lights were dimmed. She was still sleeping, and it wasn’t any wonder: she had to be tired from keeping watch on him all night.
“Chloe!” he whispered through the darkness. “Chloe!”
She rose up abruptly. By the distant star’s light streaming in through the window, he could just make out her perfect, round breasts. Once again, he was glad she wasn’t able to hear his thoughts.
“Rush?” she asked hazily, pulling her covers to her chest.
“Aye -- it’s me.”
Oh, God -- he’s seen my boobs. He’s seen my boobs. He’s seen my boobs. Oh, God.
“If it’s any consolation, they’re very nice -- from what I could see, anyway.”
“I don’t know how I feel about you having seen my breasts,” she said, drawing her covers even closer.
“Yes, you do,” he said.
You’re excited by it, he thought.
“That’s a pretty big assumption,” she hissed.
“I didn’t say that out loud, Chloe.”
“What?”
“Did you go into the light?”
“No -- I don’t think so. I don’t know. I’ve forgotten my dream. It’s all foggy.”
“Well, let’s test this…what am I thinking?”
Chloe was silent for a moment. And then she said.
“You’re thinking I should throw the covers aside.”
Rush’s eyes widened. “No. That wasn’t it.”
“Yes it was,” she insisted. “It was a stray thought which you repressed and quickly replaced with ‘Eli is an annoying git’.”
“I’ll only admit to that last thought.” He sat down on the bed. “But now that we can read each other’s minds, we don’t have to bother with speaking. We could use this to our advantage.”
“How so?”
“Camille Wray is getting suspicious.”
“Of what?”
“Of me.”
“You don’t think she suspects we know more about the aliens than we’ve let on, do you?”
“I don’t know if she’s worked it out that far. She didn’t seem to implicate you in her thoughts. She was more focused on me, except she didn’t seem to have the specifics in mind. No, I don’t think she knows. But I can imagine her trying to find out.”
“Which is why telepathy will work to our advantage,” she said.
“Exactly. We’ll be able to pass information to each other without speaking. We could meet out in the open without suspicion -- but you like meeting in private?”
“I didn’t mean to think that,” she told him quietly.
“I do too,” he admitted, scooting closer. “But the amount of time we’re alone together will eventually draw suspicion. Eli’s already started to notice and it’s only a matter of time before Lt. Scott -- you don’t think he’ll notice? Why?”
“He doesn’t notice me,” she replied.
“Because he’s too busy being Col. Young’s lapdog.”
“You said it -- not me.”
“But you thought it first,” he countered. He grew more serious. “It’s painful to hear you think about him. You feel so empty and ignored.”
“But he is busy,” she said.
“Don’t make excuses for him, Chloe. You’re too good for that -- and you really are, so don’t think you’re not.”
“You really think that highly of me even though you can read my thoughts? Even though you can hear thoughts that are, perhaps, not as perfect as you once thought me to be?”
Of course I do, he thought. She gripped his hand firmly, acknowledging the thought came through loud and clear.
I don’t want you to leave, she admitted silently. She let her covers fall, fully exposing her breasts. He wanted to touch them, to feel them, to lick them…and she could hear these thoughts.
But he said out loud, “Not tonight. You have some thinking to do and I don’t want to cloud your judgment -- well of course I want to, but it would be wrong, wouldn’t it?”
“Will I thank you for slighting me in the morning, then?” she asked evenly, attempting to mask her emotion.
“I’m not slighting you at all -- I would never do that, and you know it. But yes, I think you will thank me in the morning, regardless the conclusions you come to.”
He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and left before he could think anything that might incriminate him, that might let her know how badly he really wanted to stay, and how much he hated doing the right thing -- and especially the fact that he was only doing it for her.
He literally jogged to his quarters, eager to get far enough away from her thoughts so he wouldn’t have to hear him. He didn’t want to regret doing the right thing -- at least not until the morning.
Chloe found him working alone in his lab the next morning. She approached him carefully.
“The thoughts are gone,” she said.
“I can’t hear them either,” he replied, quitting his work and looking at her. “If the telepathy only would’ve stayed longer, we could’ve accomplished so much.”
“We did accomplish something important,” she said. “We both shared thoughts with each other we were too scared to share aloud -- important thoughts.”
“I suppose you’re right,” he smiled; but his smile was somewhat sad.
“I did a lot of thinking,” she said, moving closer to him. “And you’re right.”
“Am I?”
She nodded. “And I’m making my choice right now.”
She leaned in and kissed him, gently and softly. He returned her kiss, wishing she could read his thoughts again so that she would know how happy he was. But, upon reflection, as her lips brushed his so delicately, she already did.