Writer's Note: This was a plot bunny DDagent had that she wanted written but didn't have time to write it herself. So, I adopted it! It's my first Rushbelle fic and also my first attempt at Dr. Rush. Hopefully I'll get him right!

Chapter 1: A World like No Other

Dr. Nicholas Rush peered around in disbelief at the place where only moments before he had materialized from. It wasn't a Stargate that had brought him here. Never in his travels had he encountered a wormhole, but the last planet he'd stepped foot on had just that.

A green, swirling vortex opened the ground after a curiously transparent bean fell from TJ's hand. She and Rush had nearly fallen in, both clinging to roots in the ground, winds as strong as a hurricane bashed them about. Young had only one choice on who to save, and Rush knew instantly it would be TJ. The look of resolve on Young's face was the last thing he saw before his hold on the ground faltered and he was falling into nothingness.

The forest floor Rush so harshly dropped onto was not covered in soft leaves but hard ground, and he collided with a rotting log that truly hadn't rotted long enough. A string of curses echoed through the trees, sending birds scattering.

All Rush could see was an expansive of forest with no end in sight. He breathed in deep, moving his leg that had slammed into the fallen log. He growled lowly, his knee throbbing as he tried to stand. An unknown planet with no defense on his person was no place to be injured.

Rush hobbled a few steps, testing his injured leg. He could walk, but for how long on a throbbing knee? He had the slightest clue where even to start walking. There was no sign of civilization anywhere around him. Raising his eyes to the sun, he began to follow it, hoping it'd lead him to some form of life.

Barely ten minutes had passed and his knee throbbed so badly, he halted to lean against a tree, trying desperately to focus his mind on the last mathematical problems he was working on Destiny. The distraction would be welcomed, but his mind was clouded by circumstance and he stayed there half bent against the wide trunk.

A harsh sound ripped through the forest, what could only be described as a guttural animal noise. Rush's breath caught as his whole body went rigid. He wasn't alone in this forest. Whatever was out there sounded gigantic and dangerous and his heart nearly beat from his chest as he scanned the immediate area for any place to hide.

Finding a hiding place was hopeless. He was a sitting duck in a lake of trees that would provide no shelter from the growling being that was headed his way. He cursed his injured knee, cursed the whole forsaken planet he was stranded on, and most of all, cursed Young for letting him fall through the wormhole.

The thunder of enormous feet drew closer, and Rush decided to run. Whether he escaped being caught or not, at least he didn't just stand there and let the monstrous alien swallow him whole.

He'd hobbled only a few feet when the ripping tree limbs cued the creature's presence. Rush quickly glanced over his shoulder, his mind hardly able to think at the sight of a nearly ten foot, leather-skinned creature staring down at him.

He was doomed. He could see his own death reflected in the eyes of the monstrous being. He'd be torn to pieces and no one would ever know his fate. He'd be lost in legend aboard an alien ship that depended on his talents to survive. All that work on the Destiny was lost. What he thought was his guaranteed fate was not to be.

Rush's knee crumpled under him, spending him sprawled helplessly on the forest floor as the creature loomed over him, it's hot breath steamed down upon him.

Rush bowed his head, curling into a ball, praying to anything that would listen to spare his life from this horrid doom.

He barely heard a shout from beyond the creature, and before Rush knew it, the monstrous being was dashing away from him. Rush snapped up his head in time to see the creature crash a short distance from him. It lay lifeless between the tree trunks. He trembled from head to toe, a surreal feeling surrounding him.

He was saved.

A man clad in war-torn armor was suddenly in his sights, holding out a hand for Rush to accept. Rush stared at the offered help still shocked at the events that just took place. "Are you hurt, sir?" the armored man asked when Rush still hadn't accepted his hand.

Rush nodded slowly, swallowing to coat his parched throat. "Yes" he replied hoarsely then cleared his throat. "My knee is injured."

The armored man bent to one knee, gesturing for Rush to sit up. He wrapped an arm underneath Rush's armpits, helping him gently to his feet. Another soldier appeared out of nowhere, pulling a horse behind him.

"I am Sir Gaston," the man introduced loftily with an air of confidence. "My company will take you to the medic at the castle."

"Castle?" Rush choked out. Pieces of the puzzle finally fit together. The armor clad soldiers riding horses en route to a castle. Did he time travel to some strange alternate medieval era?

"Yes," Sir Gaston answered solidly. "Where do you reside, sir?"

"Nowhere near here," Rush mumbled more to himself, but Sir Gaston did hear him and watched him with narrowed eyes. Rush caught the look, hoping these men were accustom to strange occurrences. How could they not be with something so huge and scary running around? "I'm from another space in time."

"You are a time sorcerer?"

Rush nearly rolled his eyes at the assumption. "No, a scientist." He would have elaborated, but he could tell these men would not understand the complexity of his status.

"The King will wish to meet you, scientist," Sir Gaston stated, and he gestured for Rush to climb aboard the horse supplied for him. He'd never ridden a horse in his life, much less climb atop of one. But the soldiers seemed patient in helping him up as carefully as possible. "We must be away before more ogres come sniffing about."

Dr. Nickolas Rush, stuck on a planet where mythological creatures roamed, men dressed as knights hunted, magic was real, and technology was most likely inexistent.

Rush cursed the very idea.