Eli brought up the kino footage again. There had to be more clues in there about what Chloe and Rush were doing. It took a while of scanning through footage but he finally isolated four chunks of footage where Chloe or Rush were instructing Destiny to either turn the lights off or on, or open a door.

He watched. He watched the footage over and over again. He turned away, closed his eyes and listened to the footage repeatedly. Finally he went back and identified footage where the pair were just talking about Destiny.

He cut the relevant sections into a single video and folding up his laptop went off to find Doctor Jackson.

He finally found him sitting at a secondary console in the core room. He looked up as Eli walked in.

"Oh hey," said Eli nervously.

"You're Eli aren't you?"

"Yeah," Eli walked over, "um, can I show you something?"

Daniel turned on the stool to face Eli.

"Of course, what is it?"

Eli put the laptop on the console and opened it up, bringing up the footage.

"I've been listening to this for two hours, does this sound the same to you?" he asked.

He clicked the play button on the video. Chloe's face appeared.

"Destiny..." the video switched "Destiny..."

The footage repeated but with Doctor Rush. Doctor Jackson reached for the laptop and Eli stepped back. He replayed the video a couple of times, then looked up at Eli.

"No." He said, "the stress is different. In the first the stress is on the first and last syllable of the four, in the second it's on the second, which is where I'd expect it to be."

He repeated them, Dah de-de Dah, de Dah de-de

"Yes!" said Eli. "That's it!"

"What?"

"Destiny, turn out the lights."

The lights went out.

"Destiny, turn on the lights."

The lights went on. Eli grinned at Doctor Jackson.

"It's how they're telling Destiny to do things, or at least how Destiny knows they're telling it to do things. Destiny, close the door."

The door slid closed.

"Destiny open the door." Said Daniel.

The door slid open.

"All you need to know is how to talk to Destiny and what the things are actually called in Ancient." He said. "Though I don't think everything works like that, just some stuff."

Daniel gave him an approving look.

"I've done it!" Eli said excitedly, and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Daniel asked.

"I've proved it's safe for them to be let out! It isn't anything about them that makes Destiny do things, we all can, all I need is TJ's DNA results." said Eli. "Then I need to see Colonel Young,"

Jackson got up to follow him out.

"Why TJ's results?"

"To prove the synthetic DNA is the fix from the planet." Eli said over his shoulder.

Jackson followed him along the corridor.

"Okay, slow down Eli, and explain."

Eli kept walking but began speaking slower.

"Okay, well TJ is going to get ALS, which is this weird degenerative disorder. We know from this thing with our descendants from two thousand years ago." he trailed off.

Daniel nodded. "I read the reports."

"Well you know Chloe had some weird DNA from the blue aliens and we didn't think Doctor Rush did, as he didn't change." He explained. Daniel nodded. "Okay, so then Rush and Chloe both go in the chair, and when that doesn't work the aliens put Chloe back to normal, except for her brain and everyone thought she was fixed, and after that they both go in the chair again for different reasons."

They turned into a corridor Daniel didn't know.

"Anyway," continued Eli, "then we go into stasis for three years and wake up in the planet, well I don't but everyone else does. Chloe and Rush and the others go to the empty base planet and walk through the arches, but they don't know anything is happening. Then Chloe begins to change and after her, Doctor Rush begins to change."

"Destiny, open lab door." The door opened and Eli turned to Daniel in the doorway and grinned. "That is so cool. Okay, the door frames on the planet gateroom check all the people and find that Chloe and Doctor Rush's DNA isn't the same all the way through and both of them have got things done to them that haven't been completely finished." Eli's words continued to pour out in a long stream, tumbling over each other, "I don't know which bits are which but they've got DNA from the blue aliens which is too different to be theirs properly and DNA from the Ancients from the chair which is quite close. So it tries to fix them, replacing the blue alien DNA with synthetic DNA to fix it and to make the Ancient DNA work."

Daniel gave him a long look.

"It's a theory." He acknowledged.

"It's my theory, Daniel." Said a Scottish accent from the laboratory.

"Carson." Daniel greeted him.

Eli and Daniel walked into the room.

"I've got the results of Lieutenant Johansen's DNA test and on the specific place I'd expect to see the indicators for ALS I've found synthetic alterations to her genome, and a couple of other places too, which will be useful for ALS research in the future I'm betting. I'm going to check every member of the crew who has been down to those planets."

Daniel looked thoughtful.

"How would they even recognise the DNA?"

Eli grinned again.

"I think they found a seedship." He said. "Doctor Rush, Brody and Volker all thought that the technology from the planet was derivative of Ancient technology, and if they had it long enough to copy it's technology then they probably had access to it's systems."

"Colonel Young this is Eli."

"Eli, this is Young. What's up?"

Eli looked at Beckett and Jackson who nodded.

"Can you come to the new lab on the corridor below the messhall? I need to show you something."

"Is it important?"

"Yes it's important!" Eli's voice held a hint of outrage.

"Okay Eli, I'm coming."

Young walked in a couple of minutes later and his gaze took in Eli, Daniel and Beckett.

"I've worked out what's happening with Doctor Rush and Chloe." He said to Young. "With help from Doctor Beckett and Doctor Jackson." He added quickly.

Young looked at the two doctors who nodded.

"Well go on then lad, tell him," said Beckett, "it's your research."

Eli tugged his t-shirt down.

"We managed to get the DNA machine in here working so we can see their DNA. They, I mean Doctor Rush and Chloe. We did tests on old DNA before they were changed, and new DNA from now, so we can see the difference."

"Which is?"

Young actually looked interested.

"They used to be just human and now they've got Ancient genes and some that Doctor Beckett thinks are synthetic, made to fix them. Like two hundred or more new genes. And TJ's got synthetic genes too."

Young looked at Beckett.

"One hundred and ninety eight Ancient genes and forty nine synthetic genes, if I'm reading this right." Beckett added. "There isn't anything else. And comparing a DNA test from Lieutenant Johansen who had no contact with the blue aliens, the system here is saying that the eight synthetic genes she has are similar, so we can expect that they are from the same source."

"The machines on the base planets." Said Eli.

"Okay, I'll buy that." Said Young. "And the rest of it."

"I think they got the language from the chair." Eli said. "But…Destiny, open the door."

The door opened.

"It's not hard." He said. "It's just a matter of asking the right way, I don't know how they knew it, but if you can say the words right, Destiny can understand you."

He turned back.

"Destiny, close the door."

The door closed.

"It has a problem with some new Ancient words, and you have to be able to say Destiny right, and she doesn't recognise it in English."

Young looked at him.

"So we can all do this?" he said.

"I don't know how much Destiny will let you do, but if you say it right you'll be able to open doors, turn the lights on and off, turn the showers on and off." Eli shrugged. "I can, and I've never been in the chair."

Young walked into the Observation Lounge. Rush was sitting on the bench with Chloe, reading to her apparently. He noted that Airman Deacon was sitting on the floor nearby listening in and Lisa Park and Greer were listening also from a table.

"Miss Bennett would not play at all amiss if she practiced more and had..."

"Rush." He said.

Rush stopped and turned in his seat, putting the battered paperback down.

"You're free." Said Young. "No restrictions."

Rush stared at him, then slid round to face Young better.

"None at all?"

"None." Said Young.

There was a pause as a series of thoughts evidently passed through Rush's head. Young watched the look on his face.

"And what's brought on this little change of heart?" Rush demanded.

Young relaxed and smiled a little ironically.

"Once again you have Eli to thank." He said, enjoying Rush's reaction to that little titbit. "He's managed to prove that anyone can control the ship verbally, and provide believable evidence that your DNA has been altered but not in a way that's liable to result in you turning into a blue alien."

"And you agree?" Rush snapped. "You actually understand Eli's explanation and agree that we aren't a danger."

Young scowled. "It doesn't matter whether I understand Eli's explanation or not, he has Doctor Beckett and Doctor Jackson agreeing with him. Anyway," he spoke slowly and carefully, "Destiny, turn off the lights."

The lights went out. Rush began to laugh.

"Destiny, turn on the lights." He said finally. The lights went back on. "So you admit you were wrong?" he asked Young.

Young laughed. "No," he said, "I was completely right. I managed a potential risk to the ship and crew until it was proved safe."

"You locked Chloe and myself up needlessly for five months."

They stared at each other. Finally, to Young's surprise, Rush folded first.

"So I have access to Destiny's systems again. I can go back to work."

Young nodded. "No doubt TJ will be able to arrange someone to look after Chloe."

"She comes with me." Rush snapped instantly.

Young considered this. Chloe was still staring out of the observation window.

"Fine," he said, "but I expect you to ask TJ if you are working in any area that might be hazardous to her."

"Agreed."

Young looked at Rush.

"For what it's worth I'm glad the two of you aren't turning into blue aliens." He said. Rush didn't look convinced. "You need to speak to Eli and Doctor Beckett though. It's an interesting set of DNA results."

He walked off before Rush could quiz him further. He'd let Eli have the pleasure of that conversation. He had a meeting scheduled with General O'Neill that Doctor Jackson had already preceded him to.

Rush found Eli with Beckett and TJ in the lab. He'd left Becky looking after Chloe, reading.

"What did y' find?" he demanded.

Eli gulped and began the recitation again, to far and away the toughest audience.

Eli walked into the Core Room. He smiled when he saw Doctor Rush at the console and stopped in surprise when he saw Chloe perched on a stool next to him, staring vaguely at the console. Rush looked up at him briefly then went back to the console.

"Uh, hi Doctor Rush," he faltered, "hi Chloe."

"Is everything okay Eli?" Rush asked him, still tapping away at the console.

Eli swallowed.

"I uh, wasn't expecting to see Chloe."

Rush looked up through a curtain of hair.

"Where else would she be?"

Eli could see he was digging himself into a hole here.

"Uh, in the infirmary with TJ?"

Rush glanced at Chloe.

"Lieutenant Johansen is quite busy enough already. And Chloe is perfectly fine here." His tone brooked no argument.

Eli wisely shut up and got to work. After a while he realised Rush was mumbling, or at least talking quietly. He stopped a moment and listened. He could pick out most of what Rush was saying, although his Ancient wasn't really up to scratch and listened to Rush describing the work he was doing to Chloe. Rush stopped.

"Eli?"

"Yes?"

"Get back to work."

Rush pulled Chloe's yoga pants down round her ankles then stood. He applied gentle pressure to her shoulders until she sat on the edge of the bed. Kneeling down he slid her pants off over her feet, slipped off her socks then put them all on the chair. He kissed her forehead, swung her legs up, laid her back and pulled up the covers.

As always, as he had every night for the last three weeks, he walked round the other side of the bed and slid in next to her. Laying on his side, he threw an arm over her and waited for her to fall asleep. He tried to relax, waiting for it to happen, dreading the night it didn't.

He heard her breathing slow, felt her muscles relax and knew she was asleep. He lay there listening to her heartbeat, waiting. Finally, she rolled over, curling into his body, hand seeking his chest, snuggling sleepily into him. With a sigh of relief he wrapped his arms around her and she murmured and slid her fingers into his hair.

Camile and TJ said it was a good sign, that if she seemed normal in her sleep, it was more likely the problem was psychological rather than brain damage. Rush refused to think about it, he would take what he could get, whatever she gave him.

TJ had had an exhausting week. The last of the patients from the battle had finally been signed off as healthy enough to return to at least light duties, but she'd had a series of minor injuries to manage, mainly from work on clearing what looked like a small cargo hold. Finally, and she'd been expecting it, two crew members had turned up pregnant. She'd prepared herself for it, and truly the crew were in a much better situation now than before, but it had brought up old and painful memories. She stirred the soup around in her bowl. What she needed was for Destiny to drop out of FTL near a nice safe planet, she wanted to feel ground under her feet and wind in her hair, something that wasn't metal walls and artificial yellow light, something different.

Movement caught her eye and TJ watched Rush lead Chloe out of the messhall. He had sat there, once again, with two bowls and one spoon, feeding the both of them. He had fed Chloe first and his food must have been stone cold by the time he got to eat it, but he had shovelled it into his mouth in his usual hasty fashion, in stark contrast to the patience he had displayed feeding Chloe.

TJ could hear someone behind her making a comment.

"I can't believe he brings her in here like that." Said one of the civilians.

"He probably likes her like that," said another, "she does what he wants and doesn't answer back."

TJ whirled to give them a piece of her mind, but Vanessa James was sitting across the aisle from the speaker and was faster. A swift step and a lightning fast fist and the man was laying on his back on the floor, shaking his head muzzily. TJ watched as a furious Vanessa stood there, almost shaking in fury, too angry to even shout at the man. Finally Vanessa strode out. TJ stood and walked over to the table.

"For your information," TJ said to the man on the floor, "you just had a very lucky escape. I suggest you keep your stupid opinions to yourself. Doctor Rush may not have many friends here, but Chloe does and none of them have any concerns about him caring for her, nor do I as her medical practitioner. Chloe is a member of this crew and entitled to respect, whatever her condition." She paused and fixed the second speaker with a glare. "And making accusations of sexual abuse against your senior is also likely to get you in serious trouble."

The two offenders looked terrified, not meeting her gaze. The rest of the table stared at her in stunned silence.

"Maybe you should think about what he's giving up to care for her?" she asked. "He finally does something human and you run him down on that too? You're a waste of good air."

At least half the table had the good sense to look shamefaced.

She walked off, fuming.

Another night, another wait for her to sleep and turn to him. This last week she had seemed more relaxed in the day time but her nights had been disturbed. The preceding two nights she'd woken him with nightmares, waking to her crying out and sitting bolt upright, frozen in panic but with silent tears rolling down her cheeks. It had left him tired and irritable with everyone as he tried to get the internal sensors working in the Garden Dome, although he suspected they were fried beyond repair. Chloe had seemed to find the garden relaxing though, at least her heartbeat and breathing had seemed calm, and he'd persisted with the sensors beyond what was really realistic. It was not like anyone else was going to argue with him. Not successfully anyway.

She fell asleep and finally rolled into him, fisting her fingers into the fabric of his t-shirt, but it took him a while to relax, waiting to see if her nightmares would reoccur. Eventually he fell into a restless sleep himself.

The nightmare was one of those incoherent dreamscapes that played out his worst memories and most nightmare imaginings alike. He watched Gloria die, saw Destiny exploding, blue aliens through thick glass, Ginn's (Mandy's) body on the corridor floor, Mandy fading before his eyes, night time on a desert planet. Finally he stood, in the control interface room, watching Chloe in the chair, and saw and felt the room grow cold.

That hadn't happened, not to her. A part of his mind was shouting at him not to believe it as in a growing glow of light across spectra and plummeting temperature, he was unable to see her.

"Don't leave me!"

He could hear himself repeating it over and over again, but he couldn't reach the console.

"Don't leave me!"

His eyes flew open, and he realised he had been shouting and his face was wet with tears. He wiped at his eyes with his hand but tears still rolled down his cheeks.

Movement startled him. Sleep heavy eyes were blinking drowsily at him, furrowed with concern as her fingers came up to touch the tears on his face.

"Nicholas?"

"Chloe?"

She gave him a small smile.

"Where've you been?" He asked.

There was a long pause.

"I think…" she seemed to be looking for the words. "It was so hard to think, and it hurt so much."

Her eyes welled and he drew her to him.

"It's okay," he said. "It's okay."

He held her as she cried and cried until finally she slowed, sobs coming infrequently until she rubbed at her eyes with her hand and looked up at him.

"I remember you reading," she said, "and being in the control room. Were we on the bridge?"

Rush pulled back and smiled.

"We're free." He said.

"Free?"

He scowled.

"Eli fixed it."

She laughed at him.

"Again?"

They walked through the ships corridors, until they reached the Bridge, Chloe was subdued, tucked herself under his arm into his side, but managed to ask some questions as they walked. As he'd got used to doing, he talked, to the only person he talked to. Lisa Park and Varro were the night watch and looked up in surprise as they walked in. Chloe smiled nervously at them and looked around.

"We're part Ancient?" she asked.

"Approximately one percent. And synthetic, as is Lieutenant Johansen. Two hundred and forty seven genes."

As they stood on the balcony, she pulled his arm tighter around her, but her tenseness began to relax as they watched Destiny fly through the void.

"What do they all do?"

Rush shrugged then smiled fondly at her.

"I have no idea." he said, "but I've no doubt we'll find out soon enough."

***FIN***