Two minutes.

The mission was utterly routine, or as routine as these things ever were. His presence wasn't desired. It never was, but this time it wasn't required, and so he stayed and she went. He had work to do anyway.

Rush had plenty to occupy himself, yet from the moment Belle left he couldn't concentrate on any of it. This was new for them. Up until today, he was always the one to leave, never the one who was left. It was not a change he relished.

The hour dragged on leaden feet, his mind cheerfully categorizing all the myriad number of things that could go wrong while she was there and he was here. He was accomplishing nothing, and so he finally planted himself in front of the Stargate and waited, arms wrapped around himself, willing the surface to shiver.

Ninety seconds. Sixty.

The hour had dragged, but the last minutes flew, time compressing as precious seconds ticked away at ten times their proper pace. There was no air in the room, so he stopped breathing and kept waiting.

Thirty seconds. Twenty.

Belle was not coming back. He shoved the thought away, locked it up with all the other thoughts he didn't let himself think, but it refused to stay where he put it. Like Belle herself it intruded, stole his focus, filled up all the empty spaces.

Without her, he was all empty space.

Fifteen. Thirteen. Eleven.

The gate opened and the team was back, familiar faces spilling out into the room. He didn't recognize any of them because there was only one person who mattered, and she was the last one through. He shoved through the group, eyes riveted to her, and he could tell the exact second she saw him because her face lit in that glorious smile she saved just for him, and she had just enough time to drop everything she was holding before he was on her.

He crushed her against him, seizing her mouth without closing his eyes because he couldn't bring himself to look away. He still couldn't breathe, but she was doing it for both of them, returning his life to him when it had been seconds away from being snuffed out completely.

Reaching down he grabbed her ass and hoisted her higher in his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist as he carried her from the airless room, mouth never leaving hers. He could feel stares against his back, and it couldn't matter less because Belle was in his arms- safe and whole.

He staggered down the corridor toward their quarters, some sanity returning but not enough to get him to let go of her. She was eleven seconds away from never coming back, and this would not happen again. From this moment on, his Belle would go nowhere without him.

They weren't going to make it to their quarters. They barely made it to the wall as he pinned her there, thrusting against her lewdly in a public corridor while he devoured her mouth and she stroked his hair, petting him like an animal, trying to soothe.

He clutched her ass and yanked her tighter against him, still feeling distance between them even though he was plastered against her like a second skin. He growled into her mouth as he pushed against her, and only the depressing realization that it was physically impossible for him to actually fuck her through the rough fatigues she was wearing got him moving again.

Their quarters had never seemed so far away, but somehow he made it, tumbling them onto the bed with her beneath him. Only then did he manage to tear himself away from her mouth in favor of her neck, sucking and biting, leaving a trail of bruises in his wake, but Belle only sighed and carded her fingers through his hair to hold him in place, somehow knowing that he needed this.

He needed her naked, but he could only drag himself off of her long enough to pull down her khaki fatigues until they bunched around her ankles and slide between her bound legs as he freed himself from his own trousers. A quick brush of his fingers verified that she was ready for him, and then he was pushing himself deep, unable to wait another second.

Wrapping his arms around her, Rush let his full weight rest on her slight form. No doubt he was crushing her, but Belle just held him tighter, drawing her knees up until her booted feet rested against his lower back, holding him exactly where he wanted to be held. He wasn't even thrusting really- just grinding against her, trying to push his way deeper without pulling back. He couldn't. Any distance between them was too much.

Keeping one arm locked around her, he reached up to cradle her face, tilting her head back so he could stare into her eyes, his nose brushing hers. He could taste her breath, feel her panting against his mouth, and for the first time in what seemed like hours he felt like he could draw a full breath, the roaring in his ears finally quieting.

She couldn't possibly be getting much out of this as he ground against her, unable to let her go even to offer her pleasure. He wanted to tell her to touch herself, but he still hadn't remembered how to talk, and she was clinging to him just as tightly. Instead, he sucked on her lower lip, then ran his tongue along the inside of it, never breaking eye contact. Belle's eyes darkened, and he did it again, then nipped.

She gasped against his mouth, the sweetest sound he'd ever heard. Otherwise the room was quiet, only his soft grunts breaking the silence as he pushed and pushed against her, unable to get close enough. Her hand slid up his spine to rub his neck, fingers digging into his tight muscles, trying to banish the tension. It hurt, but it was such a Belle thing to do that he never wanted her to stop. He needed her eyes, her body, her mouth, her touch. He needed to feel everything she was all at once to remind him that she was still here.

"I'm back," she whispered, and he could taste the words on her lips, "You're not alone. I'm back."

Rush shuddered, the orgasm catching him by surprise. He hadn't even realized he was close. He hadn't been thinking about it, his focus limited to getting as close to Belle as humanly possible, then getting closer. Her eyes softened as he jerked against her, smiling into his, and seeing that smile felt even better than his climax did.

He rested his forehead against hers, still not looking away, trying to catch his breath. Whatever bestial impulse had seized him was easing its grip now, his mind clearing. He should get back to work; this interlude had already cost him time he could ill-afford to lose.

He had work to do, but he also had Belle in his bed. He had clothes to strip off of her, and every inch of her precious body to inspect for possible damage, There were things they had to discuss, like how she was never leaving Destiny without him again even if he had to tie her to the bed to keep her safe. There were amends to be made for a rather selfish sexual encounter. He was certain that hearing her scream his name would put an end to any last remaining terrors from this wretched afternoon.

Work could wait.