Spin Me a Tale of Glass Coffins and Electrical Circuits by DD Agent

I do not own Stargate Universe, Once Upon a Time or any of their characters, or their settings - all belongs to the lovely folks at SyFy and ABC.

Thank you to EarthGurdian, Inkblood, Rayvah, Sailor Phantom of Middle Earth, R2R and Mars Argent for such lovely reviews! :D

Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and part three will be up soon.

Part Two

"Rush, are you insane?"

Nicholas Rush looked up at Colonel Young as he berated him in front of their assembled group. Eli and Brody had joined them in the medical bay, along with Camille, Greer and Scott. They were all staring at the woman that they had rescued from the pods as she lay in the hospital bed. Nick couldn't stop staring at her. He had seen her in his dreams, still remembered the weight of her hands resting on his chest.

He remembered the physical memory of carrying the slight brunette in his arms.

"She was no risk."

Young grabbed his arm and forced Rush to look at him. "No risk? We know the basics of this ship, nothing more. She could be carrying something dangerous; she could have already exposed you to it! Did you even ask yourself why she was in the pod in the first place?"

Nick looked back down to the woman. Belle, his brain helpfully supplied. She was just laying there in some sort of coma, kept far back from all the other patients so as not to stir ship gossip. From what he could understand of the ancient medical machines she was alive, breathing and had a steady heart rate and brain waves. She was effectively just sleeping.

"TJ, is there any indication that she's dangerous?" Rush asked, gesturing to the young woman.

TJ looked like a deer in the headlights as she looked from Rush to Young. Eventually she decided to just stick with the facts. "Looked at her blood work, she's clean. So far she's alive, just not awake. She may not ever wake up though, so whatever you were hoping to get from her is a long shot at best."

Young groaned. If she had provided information she may have been tolerable, but nothing? Unacceptable. "Rush..." He waved a hand, deciding not to pick a fight with him today. "I want two guards posted here at all times for when she does wake up. I want to be the first to know, are we clear?"

Scott and Greer nodded, automatically deciding to take the first shift at watching over the young woman. Young gave one glance back over at Rush before deciding to talk to Eli and Brody. Nick could hear him asking the men to look over the pods, the records; try to get any information about who the young woman was. He could tell them some things, crazy things. Like that her name was Belle, that her favourite colour was blue, that she was stronger than any woman he had ever met.

He felt a gentler hand on his arm and Nick turned to see Camille. TJ and the soldier boys had given them some room to breathe.

"Why did you get her out of the pod?" Camille asked, her eyes looking at him in that awful way. The awful way that she had looked at him when she had tried to give him counselling after Mandy had left. "You had a reason."

Nick sighed. He tended not to trust anyone, it was easier that way. But he needed to explain to someone why he had opened that pod without a second's hesitation. Taking a moment to compose himself, he answered her. "I dreamt about her."

"The girl?"

That caught TJ's attention as she checked over Belle's vitals, but she didn't join the conversation. Nick continued, deciding to get it all out in the open. "I think its Destiny trying to communicate, like they did with Colonel Young before. I think Destiny is trying to tell us that we can trust her, that we need her."

Camille seemed to accept that. No doubt it would be relayed to Young within the hour and the ship by dinner time. Nick could only imagine how they would talk; say he was losing his mind. Maybe he was: he didn't know why Destiny would use fairy tale imagery to bring across that this woman was safe, that she was a hero that could be trusted. But it was the only explanation that made any sense.

"Did Destiny tell you anything else about her?"

She was engaged and she likes blue and she has scars up and down her back from the bad men. She likes to read on the patio in the garden and she has the softest lips... "Just her name. Belle."

That made TJ chuckle and Nick gave her a curious glance across medical wing. The medic explained herself quickly. "Belle. Like from Beauty and the Beast?"

Nick shrugged and TJ continued on. "It's a Disney movie. Her father got in trouble with this cursed Beast, and she took his place in the Beast's castle. They fell in love and then he wasn't a beast anymore."

"Sounds like Stockholm Syndrome to me," Eli muttered as he moved past Rush to examine the read outs of the ancient medical machines next to Belle. He and Brody would be busy for the next few days trying to find any hint of the slight brunette in Destiny's records. For some reason, Nick knew they would find nothing.

Brody joined him and looked over the young woman. "So if she's Belle, does that make Rush the Beast?"

"Hardly," Rush hissed, turning to Brody with a fierce gaze. He would not be talked to like that by Brody of all people. He was tired of this conversation anyway, tired of fairytales. He needed to work. "I'll be on the bridge."

He gave one last lingering look at Belle before storming out of the medical bay. Camille looked like she wanted to continue talking about his dreams, but there wasn't a lot more to say. He had got the girl out of the pod, and his dreams could return to being nightmares of things he couldn't change. Unless they had any more fairytale scenarios about how to wake the maiden up.

From behind him he could hear laughter. Idiots.

X

He could see her on the decking in his back garden, feet up on the patio table. She was reading one of the books that had been buried at the back of his shop, smiling to herself. She was always reading these days. Gave her a rest from wondering exactly when the curse would break; when Regina would fall. He loved seeing her read.

They were effectively in the eye of the storm, a brief holding pattern where it seemed as if the curse had taken effect again. Nothing changed, nothing huge rocked the town. His routine was simple. Wake up beside Belle, make breakfast, work at the shop, have lunch with Bae, make love to Belle somewhere in Storybrooke, have dinner, plot against Regina, go to sleep beside Belle.

Same old, same old. But it was something he had never thought he would have again. His son had been returned to him, his love had come back to him. He had never been happier.

"You're staring."

He smiled as he began his walk over to Belle. The thin blue summer dress she wore just covered her knees; her chocolate curls were tossed over one shoulder. The teardrop diamond that he knew now belonged to her departed mother was as ever around her neck. Resting his hand on her leg, Rumpelstiltskin smiled at his lover. She was beautiful, and she was his.

"How's your book?"

Belle tapped the page and smiled. "It's very good. You know, you've been home half an hour, just staring."

Rumpelstiltskin pushed the cover of Belle's book backward and chuckled as he realised that not only was it upside down but it was a book on how to de grunge drains. He wasn't the only one who had been staring. She lifted her legs off the table and allowed him to sit opposite her. She rested her own hand on his leg, gazing up at him with a love he didn't deserve.

"Why didn't you come out to see me?"

He shrugged. "Needed some time."

Her eyes narrowed. "Time for what?"

Rumpelstiltskin gathered the few shreds of courage he had and reached down, pressing his hand against Belle's cheek. She nuzzled into his touch, craving it even. His voice caught as she kissed the inside of his wrist, closing her eyes as she did so.

Suddenly, and with a bounce to her step, Belle moved from her chair and into his arms. He placed his hands low on her back, just below where the scars of the clerics stopped. She knew what he was thinking, and she reached for him. Belle placed both her hands on his cheeks and pushed his hair back, just like she had done that night in front of his spinning wheel. Their first kiss. The look she gave him was true love, he knew it now. It was stronger than what Snow and Charming had, but maybe not as pure.

She was pure, though. She deserved so much more than him.

"How about..." Belle started as she moved her arms around his waist and pressed her head against his sternum. "We go inside and settle down by the fire?"

Rumpelstiltskin hummed. "Sounds good to me."

He leant down to kiss her, taking her lips slowly between his own. She was so soft underneath him, so willing. He shouldn't taint her with his presence, shouldn't be holding her. She should be with that hulk of a man child, should be with anyone but a crippled demon.

"I love you so much," Belle breathed, running her hand over his cheek.

He stroked her hair. "I love you too."

That was the kick of it all. She actually did love him, adored spending time with him. He wanted to spend the rest of forever with her, and he honestly hoped she did feel the same.

The moment was broken when they heard a knock at his front door. Belle cursed. "I bet that's Ruby. I'll be right back."

She left his arms and Rumpelstiltskin realised he had to do it now. Had to or he never would. "Belle."

"Be right back!" She tossed over her shoulder, shaking those curls in the cool spring breeze.

Now. Right now. "Belle." She turned back again, a smirk on her face. He beamed at her. Forever he would see that image in his mind, the sight of her standing against his house in a blue summer dress with the sun setting behind her. Looking at him like there was no one else in the world.

"Marry me."

She looked at him, not quite believing what he had just asked her. Time seemed to pause as he waited for her answer, waited for a rejection or an acceptance. Eventually, Belle licked her lips and spoke. "I'll be right back."

Rumpelstiltskin collapsed against the patio table, not sure how to feel. He had just proposed, and Belle had just left him standing there. He took the ornate ring out of his pocket, a small golden band with a diamond similar to her necklace. It was as precious, although not as precious as Belle was.

Within a minute of her leaving, Belle was walking back through the garden. She was shaking. That was it, he thought. The end to them. Rumpelstiltskin watched as she reached him on the patio and then slammed her mouth against his. She made love to his mouth, kissing him without any shred of regret. He clung to her waist, desperate to hold onto her. Desperate for her.

Eventually she pulled away and held his face. "I told Ruby not to come over for the next week." He smirked. "I love you. Of course I'll marry you."

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, crying slightly as he laughed. He closed his eyes, savouring the moment. Lithe hands tugged at his own, and he opened his eyes to see Belle slip on her engagement ring. He had never seen anything more beautiful than her.

She was the sun itself.

X

Nick wondered why he was still dreaming of such things. He honestly believed that Destiny had been trying to tell him to trust the young woman now in the medical bay, but this second dream seemed to hold no purpose. Other than to make him press his fingers against his lips, imagining her kiss. It had been so vivid, like a memory.

No memory of his.

Sighing to himself, Nick slid out of bed and decided to walk to the medical bay to see if there was any change. He doubted he would be told whether she had woken up or not willingly by Young. But after that dream, he had to see her.

Walking the corridors, Nick felt cold. Destiny was what he had been working toward for so long and in some ways it was everything he had hoped. But it had come at such a cost: his wife, Mandy. He now had to push himself harder, longer, to get the results he craved. To understand the ship and its true purpose so that everything was not a waste. But sometimes, sometimes at the edge of his mind it felt blurry. Like things were only half filled in.

There were two different soldiers waiting at the entrance to the medical bay when he arrived and they didn't stop him from entering. They were afraid of his temper, and they had every right to be. He was not a man to be disturbed, or questioned. Of course they did that to him on a regular basis, and he often got a black eye for his trouble. He'd lost count of how many times he'd been punched on this journey.

Looking towards the back of the bay, he could see she was still asleep. Reaching her, he checked her over. Her breathing was steady, and he could see that TJ was checking her vitals regularly to make sure that she was okay. There was no telling as of yet how long she had been in that pod, or when she was going to wake up. For some reason, Nick wanted her to wake up badly. He wanted to see those pools of blue.

He brushed a strand of curly brown hair off of her face. She was beautiful, like a frozen angel. Like Snow White, Nick mused to himself. Locked in a frozen coffin, waiting for someone to kiss her. But her name wasn't Snow White. Destiny told him she was Belle and no matter how many times Destiny pushed this fairytale motif he wasn't going to concede. There were no happy endings in this world.

He bowed his head. The dreams were throwing him off. When Young was having his nightmares, he only dreamt of people onboard. If Destiny wanted him to trust her, if it had put that idea in his head, how was it possible? The human brain didn't work like that. Maybe she was part of the Lucian Alliance and this was all a trick, maybe he had seen her whilst in the mind of the ship with Mandy.

Whatever the reason he was dreaming of her, he couldn't help but stare at her. She was beautiful: well, Belle did mean Beauty after all. He stroked her cheek and knelt down next to her, glad they were at the back of the medical bay. "You know, the human brain can't imagine faces. It can only bring up ones you've already seen." He sighed. "How could I have seen you…to dream you?" He didn't expect an answer, but dammit he wanted one. "Belle…how I could dream of you?"

His fingers moved over her lips. He wondered if they felt like they had done in his dream. "From what I remember when I was a lad, a kiss breaks the curse," Nick admitted to the sleeping woman. "Snow White, Sleeping Beauty..." He sighed, trying to talk himself out of what he wanted to do. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to see those blue eyes again. But this wasn't a curse; it was a coma like state brought on by the stasis pod.

Just give in, Nick. You know you want to kiss her. Do it.

Making sure no one was around; Nick leaned over and gently placed his lips against hers. They were so soft, and Nick gently parted them with his own. He felt himself closing his eyes, could feel unspeakable joy he didn't know he possessed enveloping his heart. But he pulled away, ashamed of himself. When he finally dared open his eyes, he was met with two orbs of rich blue.

"Belle?" he asked, his mouth dry. She was awake, and she was stunning.

Her smile was wide, beaming. Like before she only concentrated on him and as he turned to call out for TJ, he felt her arms wrap around her shoulders and her mouth pressing insistently against his. The small brunette curled up in his arms, her lips moving fluidly over his in a passionate embrace. Nick automatically closed his eyes and let her kiss him, enjoying it too much to stop. She tasted sweet, fresh. Addictive.

Eventually she broke away, gripping his face like she did in the dream. "You found me!" She looked so hopeful, looked she had in his dream when she had been staring at...him.

He bowed his head then, knowing that the love in her eyes wasn't meant for him. When he eventually met hers, they were confused and sad but the steel that he remembered from his first dream was there. Protecting herself. She licked her lips and stared at him. "You're not him, are you?"

The man she loved, the man from her dreams. "No." But if that was the way she looked at the man she loved, god he wished he was. He didn't think anyone had ever looked at him like that. She let go of his face and curled up on the bed. "My name is Doctor Nicholas Rush. Do you know where you are?"

"No," came the mumbled reply. He could see tears forming at the corner of her eye. She couldn't look at him now.

He rested a hand next to her on the bed. "You're on the Destiny. It's...well it's hard to explain. Maybe when you're feeling a bit stronger someone can explain it to you more." He sighed - maybe Young should have been the first one to talk to her. "You're in space."

Her eyes lit up at that, and that smile was back. "In the stars?"

Nick nodded. "In the stars." He really did enjoy that smile, and found himself grinning in response. "We found you in the stasis pods. Do you know how you got there?" Shake of the head. "Do you know your name?"

She laughed at that. "Belle. My name is Belle."

So his dreams had been right. She was Belle, the mysterious brunette he had awakened with a kiss. Unconsciously he pressed his fingers to his mouth again. "Well I'm Nick."

"Nick," she rolled his name over her tongue. She sounded a little Australian, for some reason. Had a lilt in a few of her vowels. "Good name." He chuckled at that. She leaned over and pressed her hand against his. "Could I see them? The stars?"

"Maybe later, Ma'am."

Nick and Belle turned to see that Young was watching them, a group of soldiers standing behind him. Belle didn't shrink back from them, just stood her ground in the face of Colonel Young and his boys and their toys. Nick respected her for that, and tried to ignore that her hand was still over his.

Young began to speak. "Ma'am, I'm Colonel Young, I'm in charge of this expedition. You were found in one of the stasis pods on board this ship. Any idea how you got there?"

Belle shook her head. "No, I don't know how; no I don't know why." She then smiled. "Nick already asked me these."

Young turned to Rush, the expression on his face making Nick grin. He did so love to see the man who left him to die on a barren planet lost for words. However that didn't last long, and the glint in his eye was only going to end badly for him.

"Well, thank you Doctor Rush for your assistance. I'm sure Camille can take it from here," Young smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Don't you have some people to trap in stasis pods?"

Rush gritted his teeth. Eli and Brody had run to Colonel Young about his actions, what a surprise. But before he could respond, Belle turned to Young. "If it's all the same to you, Colonel Young, I'd rather Nick stay. He brought me out of the stasis pod, and for that I'm forever grateful. He's really the only person here I know."

She flashed him a smile and Nick felt himself smile in respond. Her presence on the ship could be interesting indeed. He turned to Young with a smirk, glad to have someone in his corner, even if it was only for that moment. "I think that Miss Belle here needs to rest. Shouldn't tax her with too many questions." He flashed the man a dangerous grin, full of resentment. "If you could leave, please."

Young left, but Rush knew his fight wasn't over. It never would be. But when he turned back to Belle, her eyes were alight like a burning ocean. The sadness was gone, replaced by something else.

Hope.