Work Text:
It all happened so quickly, but then everything on Destiny happens quickly. It’s been the norm, hurtling from disaster to disaster, stargate to stargate, trying desperately to keep Destiny from falling apart around them. So far, they’ve succeeded, but who knows when their luck will run out.
Her relationship with Nicholas also happened quickly, and it was something she never saw coming. He had found her alone, bemoaning her sunburn after escaping the desert planet. She had seen something in his eyes when he handed her salvation in the form of a water bottle in the gate room, something that almost looked liked concern. She thought the same thing when his hand came to rest on her forehead, noting the stark divide between white, unmarred skin and skin that was red and tight and currently causing her frustration. His hand felt so foreign, but it was cooler than she was, so it was welcome.
She laughed to herself. “If only I had some ice and a washcloth.”
His face remained stoic. “I almost lost you, Eli.”
“I almost lost my arm. That was quite a gamble you put me in, Dr. Rush.”
The kiss was unexpected. She barely knew this man. What she did know of him left her half annoyed, half in awe. It was his fault she was here. If it wasn’t for him, she’d be home, stealing the cookie batter spoon from her mother like she was still six years old. But it was his fault she was here. On board Destiny. Flying through space, something she had never even dreamed possible, not in a million years. Yes, he was an acerbic ass who didn’t listen to anyone, even when he should, but he was brilliant and confident, and that was incredibly attractive.
The accent didn’t help matters, either.
So it wasn’t any surprise to Elizabeth when she let Nicholas lead her to her bed, take off her clothes, and make her forget about her sunburn.
--
Elizabeth isn’t like Lisa. Where Lisa – quiet, demure, Lisa – is in a different bed almost every night, Elizabeth stays with Nicholas. Their physical relationship takes a back seat to the issues aboard ship, but she does her best to see that he takes care of himself. She doesn’t succeed half the time, but each hand wave and caustic retort seem to lose their bite each time they’re offered to her. It’s his way of saying while he can’t stop, he would if he could, because of her.
It’s the price she pays for getting into a relationship with a scientist with a savior complex.
--
Elizabeth is a week late.
She thought it was stress, because when was she not under stress since they all arrived on Destiny, but she felt… different. Not herself.
She goes to TJ in the infirmary, after TJ finishes with the last of the inoculations.
She doesn’t know how a pregnancy test would have made it into TJ’s emergency supplies, given the circumstances, but there was one.
It was used.
It was positive.
--
There was no time to tell Nicholas. His discovery of The Chair and Spencer’s suicide never gave Elizabeth the time she needed to get him alone, to tell him that their one time…
And then, there was the Kino footage. His removal of Spencer’s gun. The pieces fitting into place.
Seeing Nicholas’ involvement in this, to try to cast doubt on Colonel Young, made her stomach turn, even moreso than it already was. She loved him, but Colonel Young was beginning to fill that father-shaped hole in her heart. His encouragement, his attention that wasn’t bound to success or failure, it was… refreshing.
Elizabeth was conflicted in the worst way possible.
--
And then, Nicholas was gone.
--
Holding up his flash drive. Asking her to… destroy the evidence. She would do it, of that she had no doubt. Knowing what she knew, knowing the antagonistic relationship Nicholas had with Colonel Young, she had a hard time believing the story he told about the rock slide. She needed to believe it, though. She didn’t want the Colonel to have… stooped to Nicholas’ level. He was too good for that.
But she also knew her scripture. An eye for an eye. If he had harmed Nicholas, then she would harm him back.
She took the drive from the Colonel’s hand, looking him straight in the eye.
“You should know, Colonel. I’m pregnant. Nicholas is the father.”
Young tries to say something, but no sound comes out. He just stares at her.
Eli moves toward the door and opens it. Before she leaves his quarters, she turns to face Young again.
“I hope your victory was worth it.”
She walks out, her head held high; knowing that if he had been there, Nicholas would be beaming.