Author's Note: Written for the "Multi-Media Bingo" challenge last year at LJ's stargateland. Nine interconnected drabbles that actually managed to end up as a story. :D
Disclaimer: I own neither the show nor the characters. I don't earn any money with this piece. I just do it for fun.

Question

While it is not unusual for Chloe to visit him nowadays, Rush is surprised to see the young girl standing next to her as he answers his door.

He vaguely remembers seeing her before, in one of the corridors, where she had been staring at him without the fear Jason and Ellie had displayed upon meeting him.

"Chloe." Stepping aside, he motions for them to enter, and watches closely as the two women look at each other before they follow his invitation. There's a strange tension surrounding them and Rush is not sure what to make of it. It's making all of his senses tingle. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"We have to talk." Chloe's expression is an odd mix between somber and sympathy as she extends her hand, a data storage unit in her open palm. "There's something you should see."

Smile

Rush raises a brow at her and nods in the direction of the young girl. "And what does she have to do with it?"

"Oh, I am sorry. This is Jane." Her cheeks flush in embarrassment at her lack of manners as she turns to the girl who shyly smiles in return and suddenly Rush has a moment of déjà vu, as if he has seen that smile before. "The data unit is actually hers and has been in her family's possession for a long time."

"Really? Hmm..." Plucking the data unit from her hand, Rush examines it from all sides, squints at the small marks on it, before handing it back to Chloe. "That's all very interesting but why do you want me to look at it?" He crosses his arms, his usual position when he's signaling that he's not really interested.

"It's not the unit itself but what's stored onit that we want to show you," Jane speaks up and her voice is unexpectedly strong, compared to her previous shy appearance.

Your Choice

"Please," Chloe pleads with him, frustration with his lack of cooperation and something else shining in her eyes. She's sensing Rush's hesitation, knows it's already difficult enough for him to deal with the fact that an entire civilization descended from their alternates except for his and that he is reluctant to become further involved but this is just too big to stay a secret forever.

"It's about-," her voice wavers and Rush straightens up, unsettled at Chloe's obvious anxiety. Even when the alien DNA had taken over her mind and body, she hadn't been this distressed.

"Chloe..." His expression softens and he reacts without thinking, reaching for her hand. Only when she stiffens at his touch, Rush realizes what he's done, and his eyes meets her shocked and bewildered ones.

Usually he is not the one to initiate skin-to-skin contact but when it comes to Chloe, he blurs the boundaries without thinking about it.

Deliberately keeping his gaze on her, he gently pries her fingers open, turns her palm sideways and lets the data unit drop from her hand into his.

A discreet cough breaks the spell and Chloe jerks her hand free, heat blooming in her cheeks, while Rush briskly walks to the station on the other side of the room, his back to the two women, effectively hiding his own slightly flushed face.

Night

Seated around the console in his room, Chloe to his left, Jane on his right, Rush connects the unit to the system much faster than Eli did and soon the screen lights up, the picture grainy and dark, but he has no problems making out the face that appears.

Rush gives Chloe a quizzical look but she shakes her head and simply gesture at the screen, biting her lower lip and he follows her silent command.

On screen the other Chloe from the alternate time line speaks quietly into the Kino, an air of sadness surrounding her.

"...knows about is, not even TJ, but I will have to tell her soon. I am pregnant. And it's not Matt's." She sighs, running a hand across her face.

"I don't even know why I am doing this. Sneaking off in the dark of the night with the only Kino we have, leaving a message behind that you probably will never see...but if Eli is right and one day you, well, we will return, you should at least know, Ru-, Nicholas."

Opposite

She never has used his given name before and now hearing it from her lips, even if it's her alternate self, is...strange, for lack of a better word, but before he can think further about the implications of that, the alternate Chloe starts talking again.

"I don't know if you went through with the attempt to dial Earth or if you tried something completely different, but either way I cannot be sure things are going to happen the same in the future."

She winces and mutters something the Kino can't pick up, before she sits up straight. "I'll have to keep it short to prevent Eli from finding this recording in the data bank, so I will just..." Her voice trails off and her gaze becomes unfocused as if she's looking at something the viewer can and never will see.

"Do you remember the fifteen minutes Col. Telford granted us before the others would go through the Stargate? You took me aside and wanted to know one thing: Why did I choose to stay."

Refocusing, she stares intently at the Kino. "My answer took us both by surprise and what followed still seems like a dream, a fantasy, and yet I know it happened." One of her hands gently cradles her stomach. "After all, Nicholas, this is you child."

And the screen turns black.

Outdoors

Blood's rushing like waterfalls in his ears, his mind is completely blank and-

"Rush?"

This is one of the few times when he is at a loss for words.

"Rush? Do you...are you alright?"

"Just...give me a minute, okay?" His voice is hoarse, clearly showing the impact the revelation has on him. Truth be told, he feels badly out of his depth.

"Maybe it would be, ah, better to watch the rest first before you-"

His head snaps around, fixing Chloe with an incredulous stare. "There's more?"

"One other recording, that's all." She reaches past him, taking the decision out of his hands, and presses the 'play' button.

"It's been...five months since my son was born. Unlike TJ's son, Nick was not born on 'Novus' but on one of the planets we visited in search of food and other materials necessary for our survival." She wistfully smiles at the Kino.

"Yes, I named him after you, Nicholas. Matt and Col. Young protested but if it hadn't been for you, we would be probably all dead. And there is of course the other reason, the most important one, for naming him Nick." The Kino shakes, the picture's getting darker and darker.

"I don't-," she sighs. "Our future is unwritten and...and maybe nothing will happen the way it did, maybe we will never have that moment but...I want you to know that you are-"

Family

He's staring at the frozen image of the alternate Chloe, not trusting himself to speak yet. In his peripheral vision Chloe is fidgeting and he understands her feeling of restlessness. His skin is too tight, too hot, he wants to burst out of it, his pulse is racing faster than Destinyin FTL and his mind...his mind is on the edge of a breakdown.

His other self had a child. Had a son with the other Chloe. With the alternate Chloe. It's so...surreal.

"Rush?" Her hand tentatively touches his arm and the contact burns through his shirt, across his skin, leaving no doubt that this is very much real.

"You are a descendant." It's not a question, he knew he recognized that smile from somewhere. It's his own.

"Yes." Jane's voice however is definitely Chloe's.

"Did he have-" He glances at Jane.

"Children? Yes. In fact, he and his wife had many." Jane moves toward the window as she recounts her family's history, giving him space to breathe and Rush is thankful for it.

He doesn't know how long he can keep his emotions under control, it's becoming more difficult with every passing minute, and if it weren't for Chloe's calming presence and her hand on his shoulder, he would have already broken down. But he wants, no, needs to know what happened.

Groovy

"She kept it a secret from the rest of Destiny's crew and told her son when he was old enough. It sort of became the family skeleton in the Kino." A smile sounds in Jane's voice and Rush hears Chloe stifle a laugh of her own. There's a quick, wry quirk of his own lips in response and he starts to feel a little bit more like himself again.

"The knowledge of their parentage and the hidden message in the Kino were passed down from generation to generation until technology allowed us to transfer it to a separate data unit."

"And no one ever suspected anything?"

"No. TJ thought the baby to be born a month too early and that was it." He snorts, clearly showing what he thinks of that, and Chloe squeezes his shoulder hard in retaliation. "Although from what we know, Mr. Brody took a particular liking to Nick, and when he and others decided to found their own country, Nick went with them. Maybe Mr. Brody suspected something."

"Brody is such a know-it-all," Rush mumbles under his breath and both women promptly burst into fits of laughter. "What?" He doesn't like being kept out of the loop.

It takes them more than a few minutes to calm down but when they do, it's Chloe who explains. "Jane's cousin sounds exactly like you when he says that about Brody's offspring." Rush smirks, clearly proud of his descendant, but then a horrible thought occurs to him.

"Wait, Brody procreated?"

Sweet

Time flies by faster than they anticipated, and soon Jane stands up to leave, saying she has to go back to her family and friends, but she would love to get together again for dinner, so they can meet the others. Especially her cousin can't wait to speak with Rush, she adds slyly.

"Oh, please, don't. His ego is going to explode any minute anyway," Chloe moans but the grin on her lips belie her words and Rush, sitting on the couch next to her, can't hide his own smug look.

Oddly enough there is no awkwardness as the door closes behind Jane, just a comfortable silence.

"She is perfect, isn't she?"

"Aye." He feels her shift until she is facing him.

"Do you think...?"

"Maybe but...what about Matt?"

Shrugging, she casts her eyes down, and sighs. "He and I are...we don't really click anymore."

"Chloe." He puts his finger under her chin and lifts her head, so she's looking up into his eyes. "If you are sure, really sure, we could always give it a shot and see where it takes us." He is blurring the boundaries again but this time he's not stopping.

His hand skims her cheek, leaving a trail of fire behind, until he reaches her ear where he tugs an errant strand of hair behind it. "I like you, Chloe. I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with but if you are truly willingly..."

"Yes." There's no hesitation. Just that one word, that promises a whole new world.

"Good." Offering her his hand, he rises from the couch. "Then lets go and become acquainted with our brilliant creations."

Chloe's laughter turns a few heads as they exit Rush's room but they ignore the curious stares.

They have somewhere to be.

- END -