Chloe walked into the showers. It was late and usually the showers were deserted at this time of night, but stepping through the door, she could hear the faint sounds that suggested a shower was running. As she turned to survey the room she realised one was still running, but no one was in it. Someone had left it on. Colonel Young would be deeply unimpressed, given the general level of their water supplies.

She vaguely registered a neat pile of clothes on a further bench as she stripped quickly. Someone must have forgotten something or been called away. Oh well, waste not want not. Grabbing her towel, and moving on tip toes across the freezing floor she slipped into the running shower, throwing the towel over the side.

She almost shrieked as her foot landed on something wet that gave under it. She managed to stifle it to a strangled bleat and jumped back so her back hit the cold glass of the shower enclosure. Squinting down through the mist she could make out a body on the floor, apparently naked in the shallowly pooling water. She squatted down next to it.

"Dr Rush!" She said surprised and touched his shoulder.

He was slumped half on his side with his legs folded in what must be an uncomfortable angle. His chest, complete with the scar that still disturbed her dreams with unpleasant flashbacks, was moving shallowly but he didn't respond to her touch. Water had pooled in the too deep hollow of his collarbone. He really was very thin. Chloe's gaze ran down his body and then flushing deeply she whipped it back to his face.

"Dr Rush?" she asked urgently, moving a little closer to look into his face. "Dr Rush, wake up!"

He didn't respond. Chloe leaned forward, his breathing sounded too shallow and slightly wet. His face was pale and drawn and if she couldn't see the slight patterns his breathing made as it passed over the water it was resting in, she almost would have thought him dead to look at him. She shook his shoulder, unwilling to touch any more of the naked man, and he rolled backwards onto his back, but there were no more signs of returning consciousness, just a slight bubbling sound to his breathing.

For a moment she faltered, but then moved around his head and taking a deep breath, slid her hands under his armpits. Pushing the stall door open with her back, she dragged him out of the shower. His head rested on her collarbone as she pulled him across the floor, and she could feel his hair brushing her breasts.

Moving backwards across the room she hit a wet patch on the floor and carrying the unbalanced weight of his top half, she wavered for balance for a split second before her foot went out from underneath her. She tumbled backwards, her bottom hitting the floor hard and her head cracking on the bench behind her.

For a moment she saw stars, then realised with a growing horror she was sitting naked on the floor with a naked man between her stretched out legs, his head and torso leant back against her naked body where they had fallen. He suddenly took a deep rasping breath then coughed, two, three, four times. His eyes floated up weakly to her upside down face, where they stopped sharp. His body tensed suddenly, though feebly, in surprise and he swallowed then had another coughing fit. After a moment he looked up again.

"Chloe?"

"Dr Rush?" She could feel her cheeks flaming in embarrassment.

"I'm naked on the floor." He stated the obvious in a slightly shaky voice.

She nodded mutely.

"So are you from what I can feel."

She nodded again.

He regarded her from where his head rested between her breasts. His eyes closed for a moment then flicked open.

"Would you like to enlighten me why?"

She swallowed hard, but it only made her stomach press against his back.

"You collapsed in the shower and I didn't see you and trod on you and I couldn't wake you up and so I pulled you out but my feet slipped and I fell over and hit my head and that's where…" the monologue began to run out of steam. "That's where you,.. you ah... woke up." Her voice wavered. "Do you, uh….feel alright?" she asked timidly.

"I ken think of worse places to regain consciousness." He said sardonically.

Chloe didn't think her face could get any redder and tears of embarrassment began to prick at her eyes. Dr Rush apparently noted her extreme discomfort and moved on.

"I feel somewhat dizzy and weak. My head aches, I'm stiff and I have bruises. I'm not sure standing would be a good idea jest yet." He looked down at himself and to where she was studiously but very awkwardly staring at his face. "However…" His hand clutched reflexively where it rested just below her kneecap as he tried to push himself up, but failed. His weight fell back across her.

"Should I radio for TJ? You need help."

"Good God no!" he said sharply.

Tears pricked at her eyes again and his face softened.

"Chloe I'm sorry. I just don't think I want anyone, anyone else, to see me, see either of us for that matter, in this position." He shook his head slightly, then stopped abruptly when he realised its effect. "Look, it's just overwork, we've all been busy."

She stared down at him.

"When was the last time you slept properly?" She asked.

He gave her a sharp and slightly truculent look, and then relented.

"Well, not for a day or too really." He said. Chloe's look didn't waver. "And you know the nightmares yourself."

"How much." She demanded quietly.

He was silent, then in the face of her stern look responded.

"A few hours maybe….in the last week."

She shifted uncomfortably, the floor was cold, her head and butt were sore, and he was a heavy weight on her torso.

"We have to get you to your quarters at least, if you won't let me get TJ. You need sleep. And when was the last time you ate properly?"

"There's too much work." He said. "There's…"

"…No chance you'll get anything done if you pass out and drown in the showers Dr Rush." She cut in.

With her free hand she pushed herself upwards to a sitting position, using the hand still trapped under his arm to steady him and self consciously aware of his back sliding up over her breasts as she brought him up cheek to cheek with her.

He swayed again, thrusting out his arms to try and balance himself. Chloe wrapped an arm around his chest to steady him against her and froze as his breathing stuttered.

"Are you alright?" she asked, the breath of her words passing over his cheek.

"Oh I'm fine," he said with notable sarcasm, "I'm used to waking up naked on the bathhouse floor pressed to the chest of naked pretty girls! It's a regular occurrence at Icarus Base and the SGC." His voice was harsh.

Scrabbling one handed behind her she clawed down a towel from the bench and passed it round in front of her. Although she couldn't see now over his shoulder, he managed to take it from her and pull it over himself. His body relaxed a little.

"Do you think you can sit up yet?" She asked cautiously.

"I don't know. I ken try."

Carefully she moved her hand from across his chest and stopped taking so much of his weight. He swayed a moment, but stayed upright.

"I'm going to get up." She said.

She cautiously drew her knees up and with some difficulty extricated herself from between Dr Rush's back and the bench. There wasn't anywhere she could stand up and not be at least partly in his line of view so with as much dignity as she could manage she stood and reached for a towel one handed. His eyes flicked up her, rapidly seeking her face and a safe place to look.

"I'll help you back to your room." She said, wrapping the towel tightly around her and tucking it in. It felt indecently short but looking around she could see her own clothes soaking wet in a puddle on the floor where they had been dragged off the bench when she fell over.

"There's no need for that." He protested. "I'll be fine after a rest."

"You can barely sit up at the moment Dr Rush, and you're cold, wet and exhausted. I know how far your quarters are."

He scowled up at her.

"And it's late," she continued challengingly, "it's not like there'll be anyone around to see the great Dr Rush in his hour of weakness."

His face clouded over and his mouth opened for an angry retort, but she forestalled it.

"I'm not taking no for an answer Doctor. If you won't let me get TJ then you'll have to let me help you." she said hotly. She changed tack. "Our safety depends on your ability to get us home, you can't do that if you're unconscious or dead."

She flushed, waiting for the response. He blinked at her, then with a rueful twist of his mouth broke eye contact and looked away, his acquiescence implicit.

"I can't, at that." He said.

He pulled his feet towards him slowly, putting a hand flat on the floor. Chloe crouched in front of him, taking his arms and putting them around her neck. His breath brushed over her collarbone. Leaning forward slightly, she wrapped her other hand around his waist, then with some effort and a hand on his other hip to hold his towel, she straightened her legs, rising to standing, hauling him up with her.

They stood, swaying; eye to eye and chest to chest, his arms round her neck leaning on her heavily, her arm snugly around his waist holding him up. For a few moments his knees wobbled and she gripped him tighter then he steadied.

"Can you hold on to me Doctor if I let you go for a second?"

He nodded briefly. "I think so." He furrowed his eyebrows, noticing the deep blush spreading across her cheeks again. Realisation dawned as she flipped the towel, hanging slack from her hand at his left hip, round behind him, through the front and tucked it in. "Thank you." He said quietly then another fit of coughing was forced from his chest, bowing him forward and into her neck. Chloe whipped her hands up again to support him.

"I think…I must have inhaled some water." He rasped as the coughing subsided.

She shuffled awkwardly until they were side by side, his right arm over her shoulders gripping her right hand and her other arm wrapped around his waist.

"Can you walk?" she asked.

"I'd have said if I couldn't." he replied. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

It seemed much longer to get to his quarters than Chloe had remembered, even knowing he'd selected quarters in an isolated part of the ship, however the corridors were mercifully deserted. Their progress was slow, walk a bit, pause a bit. Chloe noted he appeared to be stiff from immobility on the cold floor as well as exhausted.

"Chloe stop!" he said urgently.

They lurched to a halt in the chilly corridor.

"The towel!" he said.

Chloe looked at him helplessly, both hands unavailable. Finally she slid her hand down his hip to grab the towel. The end of the towel came completely untucked and swung free as she grabbed the side, but she had enough to maintain his decency. They moved on.

At the door of his quarters he slapped the door panel and as the door slid open they stumbled in. A little off balance, Chloe guided them towards the unmade and dishevelled bed and they stopped, swaying in front of it.

It registered on Chloe's mind that getting him onto the bed with any dignity remaining was going to be a difficult manoeuvre and she was going to have to let go of the towel. Dr Rush's legs had begun to shake and he was pressing his weight more heavily across her shoulders, She could feel the muscle burn in her arms.

"Chloe!" said Rush insistently, swaying in her grip.

"Alright Doctor."

She let go of the hand draped over her shoulders and as he slipped, grabbed him tightly around the waist with her other arm to stop him falling. He broke into another coughing fit, doubled over, grabbed at her and they were both falling sideways onto the floor. Chloe felt her head hit the bed with another thump, and saw stars again.

They lay there for a moment in a pile of tangled limbs on the floor breathing heavily.

"Are you okay Chloe?"

"I'm…alright Doctor Rush"

Doctor Rush snorted involuntarily.

"What?" she focussed on his face, centimetres from her own.

"I'm sorry, it seems a little incongruous to be called Doctor Rush by a naked girl who is lying on top of me. "

"Oh!" she blushed, realising that his towel was tangled around their feet and hers was somewhere near her waist, bunched between them. "Should I….move…?"

She looked into his eyes then, impulsively, closed the gap and kissed him gently. His eyes closed and his lips softened in reaction as she kissed him, then flew open again.

"Chloe!" His surprise was palpable.

"Thank you." She said softly.

"What for?"

"You rescued me." She replied and kissed him again.

"Well you mustn't feel like you have to say…"

She stopped him with a finger on his lips.

"On that ship, you rescued me, and you held me, and for the first time in a long while I felt safe."

"Chloe." He said trying to maintain a rational sounding tone.

Rush's eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed as he looked up at her, searching her face. He raised a hand and stroked her cheek.

"Chloe, I think…"

She shifted her weight slightly and her body slipped sideways, her leg slipping down in between his thighs. They froze, Chloe looking down at him as her thigh pressed into his treacherous groin. Rush's face was immobile as he waited for her reaction. There was none.

"This is a bad idea." He said.

She was silent, did nothing. His hand stroked her face, then her shoulder.

"Tell me to stop, Chloe."

Her eyes closed and her lips parted as he stroked down her arm. He could feel goose bumps on her skin. His hand slid over her shoulder blade and down the curve of her back till it met the towel still tangled round her hips.

"Tell me," he said as his hand traced the edge of the towel, "tell me to stop, Chloe."

Her thumb stroked over his lips, traced the line of his cheekbone. His fingers slid under the towel, smoothed over her buttock and traced the crease of her thigh. She pressed against him reflexively, sending a kick of pleasure through him. His breath hitched as her eyes closed and her head tilted back a little.

"Good God this is wrong." He whispered, shaking his head as his fingers kneaded her behind.

His other arm was trapped under her stomach and he pulled it out. Her eyes flicked open again and caught his, pupils dilated, lips parted, trapping his gaze. Her fingers tightened in his hair and he groaned, both hands sliding up her back to her shoulder blades.

She shifted her weight, rolling onto her side, pulling him with her, freeing him from his entrapment and rolling onto her back so his body partially covered her.

One arm was trapped behind her shoulders and he stared into her eyes with a mixture on anxiety and surprise. Her expression was too complex to read, but the offer was clear, he was free to go.

"God help me." he said as his free hand slid down over her collarbone.

Her nipple tautened under his touch and he cupped her breast. His eyes sought hers as he ran his thumb over the hard nipple.

"Tell me to stop, Chloe."

She arched into his touch with an inhalation and he gasped as her hip pressed into his groin.

"Chloe!" he gasped.

The hand on her breast slid to her hip to maintain balance, and as her eyes caught his momentarily, he bent his head and ran a tongue over her breast, sucking her nipple hungrily into his mouth. The smell of her skin was like a drug. His free hand slipped over her belly, freeing the last of the towel and smoothing it back over her hips. He stroked his palm over her belly, his fingers catching in the hair over her pubis and stopping, circling in the hair at the base of her belly as his tongue circled her nipple. He released her breast and raised his head to look into her eyes.

"Tell me to stop Chloe." There was an edge in his voice, half wondering, almost fearful.

She was silent, but her gaze was hungry and her fingers tightened in his hair as almost of their own accord his fingers gently stroked down over her pubis, sliding down the side of his own hip and between her legs.

She was warm and slick even on the outside and his finger slipped between her outer folds even as his hand slipped between her legs, cupping her pubis. She ground into his hand with a sharp breath and her hip rolled over his erection dragging a matching gasp from him. His fingers tightened reflexively, gripping her pubis and forcing the tips of his fingers inside her.

She rocked into him as he moved his hand to slide two fingers deep inside her, thrusting, searching, the base of his thumb rubbing over her clitoris again and again. After a while her gasps came harder and he took his hand away from her groin, eliciting a moan of protest. He freed the arm trapped underneath her with difficulty and pushed himself up, propped on his elbow. With effort he slid over, his erection flat between them, trapped between his belly and her groin.

They stared into each other's eyes, trapped in time.

"Tell me to stop Chloe." He said and even he could hear the almost plea in his voice, wanting her to tell him to stop, at the same time as he was desperately wanting her to tell him to continue.

They stared at each other, him propped above her, one of her hands tangled in his hair the other on his hip.

"Tell me to stop, Chloe." He said, and not waiting for an answer sheathed himself in her.

She cried out wordlessly as he gasped.

"Chloe!"

He slid into her again, and unable to hold his weight up collapsed onto her, thrusting into her again. She wrapped her legs round his thighs, hooking her heels behind his knees, trapping him against her.

Rush caught her lips in a bruising kiss then as he slid into her again, she gasped and the hand in his hair grabbed him close, forcing his head into her neck. He could hear her gasping into his neck,

"Doctor….don't….don't stop…"

Her nails dug into his hips and dragged a cry and a deeper thrust from him. She arched and cried out, her hips widening to let him in even further, as she tightened around him.

"Nicholas!"

His rhythm gone, her body tightening and clenching around him, he thrust into her again and his orgasm hit him. The world went white as he bucked into her shuddering body.

"Chloe!"

As the shockwaves abated and they lay panting, a wave of dizziness hit him and his vision darkened. She caught him as his shoulders slipped sideways.

"Doctor Rush?"

He waited until his vision cleared.

"I woulda thought Chloe, after that," he panted into her neck, "you could call me Nicholas."

There was a pause as they both lay, exhausted but wrapped in a warm post coital glow on the floor.

"Are you alright…Nicholas?"

She shifted.

"I don't think I ken move." He admitted, his eyes crinkling at the sides as he squinted sideways at her. "I'm as weak as a newborn kitten."

She carefully slid him sideways and rolled over so they lay on their sides, face to face, her arm under his body holding him up, she kissed him. They stared into each other's eyes until she rolled backwards and with her free hand, pulled a blanket from the bed. She settled it over them, pulling him into the side of her body, settling his arm over her chest and his thigh over hers.

"This is not a good idea…." He said, but his voice was sleepy. "Lieutenant Scott…"

"On the planet for another ten hours." She murmured. "Shh, sleep"

Unable to keep his eyes open and snuggled warmly into the curve of her body he gave in to a deep and blessedly dreamless sleep.

The insistent buzzing of the door alarm woke him. He struggled up, pulling on boxer shorts and a rumpled t-shirt and covering Chloe. The door alarm went again and he staggered over to open it. Colonel Young stood in the doorway, holding a bundle.

"You're four hours late for duty." He stated coldly. "And when you refuse to answer your radio I find it in a bathroom, in a heap of your clothes and Chloe's, who I subsequently find out is also missing."

He looked past Rush to the bundle on the floor.

"What the hell is going on Rush?" Young demanded, his pointing finger stabbing in the direction of the blankets on the floor.

Rush swayed slightly and grabbed the doorframe.

"If you'll let me get a word in edgeways Colonel, I'll explain." Rush snarled.

The Colonel put the bundle down on the outthrust of the bulkhead next to him.

"I'm waiting." He said.

"Chloe found me collapsed, passed out in the shower stall, pulled me out and virtually carried me back here."

The Colonel looked at him suspiciously.

"Why didn't she call TJ?"

Rush pushed the hair back off his forehead in annoyance.

"I wouldn't let her. I was just overtired. I ha'n' slept in days. So she made me go to bed and as I wouldn't let her call TJ she insisted on watching over me, and sleeping on the floor to make sure I was fine."

Young looked over the Doctor's shoulder to the sleeping bundle on the floor and the tangle of blankets on the bed. Chloe shifted.

"Nicholas?" she asked sleepily.

Colonel Young raised an eyebrow at Rush.

"Doctor?" he queried.

"Look Colonel, I think when a girl's found you naked as a babe on the bathroom floor, carried you back, dressed you, put you into bed and sat up half the night with you, she's entitled to use your given name."

He looked over his shoulder to where Chloe's anxious face had appeared in the blankets.

"It's just Colonel Young, come to find out why I'm slacking off work."

Rush turned back to Young.

"Look Colonel, I know your opinion of my moral standing is about as low as it ken be."

Young's eyebrows rose again, sardonically.

"But surely you're not suspecting Chloe of all people?"

After a moment Young's face relaxed.

"You're right," he said. "You I could suspect…"

"Of pretty much anything." interrupted Rush.

"Indeed, but Chloe," Young paused and added nastily, "I think Chloe has higher standards."

"Indeed." Rush responded acidly.

Young picked up the bundle of clothes and thrust it at Rush, then stepped back.

"I suggest you both get yourselves decent and back on duty."

Young palmed the door closure, and the door closed between them, ending the conversation.

"Bastard!" snapped Rush at the door.

Chloe sat up, blanket falling away. Rush turned to face her, putting the bundle of clothes on the counter.

"Your honour is safe." He said to her.

She stood and walked over to him, naked and beautiful.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Better than yesterday." he said. "Its midday, fourteen straight hours of sleep will do that to a man."

They stood, inches apart, staring into each other's eyes. Finally she closed the gap, taking him in her arms and kissing him gently on the lips. He wrapped him arms round her, stroking her back.

She kissed him again.

"Nicholas," she said quietly, "no regrets."

"No regrets." He echoed.

He kissed her gently back and they stood, in each others arms, foreheads pressed together, faces curtained by their hair, for a long time until by mutual assent they broke apart.

"C'mon," he said, "let's get out of here."

"Alright, Dr Rush."