A/N

In a sense this could be a spiritual sequel to Cancellation, in not only the time period but the 'vent my spleen' progression in regards to the cancellation of Stargate Universe, a progression from a Planet of the Apes-esque moment against syfy to the fact that everything comes to an end and at this point in my life, I'm used to it. Meh. What fanfiction is for I guess.

Addiction

"Oh Rush, how the mighty have fallen."

Doctor Nicholas Rush didn't look up from the sludge that was apparently considered coffee in Stargate Command. Firstly, the words were barbed, and it was thus better not to pay any attention to them. Secondly, he didn't need to look up to know that it was Doctor Lisa Park who had uttered them. Thirdly, by not looking up, there was every chance that he'd be left alone.

"So, is there any milk or sugar in that? Or is it just caffeine?"

Or not.

Rush didn't know why Park was here, or why she was apparently seeking his company. Upon the Destiny Expedition's return to Earth through Cheyanne Mountain's stargate, the crew had mainly been confined to various quarters. Ostensibly the reason was the risk of disease-every time SG teams returned from an uncharted planet, they were instructed to go through medical examinations. But since those stranded on Destiny had visited various planets, and the number of visits varied per individual, the medical staff of SGC had their work cut out for them. The best they could do was isolation, individual examinations and if pathogens were present, hope cross-referencing could identify the source.

Rush didn't mind really. He wasn't in the mood for company right now.

"First thing back to Earth, it's straight to-…"

"No, Doctor Park, the first thing I did when arriving back on this side of the universe was to check to see on whether there was any news of interest to me whilst we were making actual discoveries," Rush snapped, finally diverting his gaze from the sludge to Park's visage. "Since that apparently isn't the case, all I can do is wait to pass through medical screening and if I'm lucky, maybe find another galaxy worthy of interest."

"Or you could find something to interest you on Earth."

Rush blinked. He didn't consider himself an expert on human psychology. Indeed, he often tried to keep such interactions to a minimum-a case of "press button a instead of button b, while I work on the mysterious relationships between factors c to z." There were exceptions, but as bitter experience with Gloria and Mandy had shown, those exceptions were indeed best left as nothing but exceptions. So with Park going beyond the usual paradigm of a means to an end, he wasn't sure how to respond.

"I can see what's bothering you," Park began. "You're falling back on your coffee addiction because-…"

"Miss Park, you must be truly as stupid as I first thought you were if you think this sludge is going to get me addicted to anything," Rush snapped, sending the mug sliding towards the edge of his table, not caring if it fell off or not. "You want to know what I'm addicted to? Discovery. Knowledge. Things that until a few days ago, I was free to indulge in on Destiny. And before you preach that addictions are best supressed, I'll point out that I'm a scientist. SO are you…supposedly. So if you think for one moment that coffee is the high point of anything on Earth, you're wrong. You know why? Because there is no high point."

Rush half expected Park to respond, to preach that science was meant to help mankind and all that. Not that such a line of thought was without basis, but if the Stargate Program had taught humanity anything, it was that sometimes seeking knowledge for knowledge's sake was a worthy pursuit, whether it be a better understanding of astrophysics or stopping a goa'uld attack on Earth. Whether Park, Brody, Volker or even Eli thought the same was another matter.

Not bothering to watch Park as she stormed out, Rush supposed that it was another matter that was of no interest to him.

Just like everything else right now really.