Rating is changing to M due to darker material involved in this chapter.

Chapter 2

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"What's going on? Why'd you call us?" Rodney asked as he approached the gate platform, Ronon right behind him, to see Sam Carter watching the shimmering, blue event horizon.

"We got a message from Major Lorne. They found something," Carter replied giving a tiny smile. "His team is coming through now."

Rodney's eyes lit up with hope. "They found Sheppard and Teyla?"

"No," Sam sighed and her eyes watched as McKay deflated, knowing this was very difficult for the man. "They did get some Intel, though. He said it was a solid lead."

They all looked back and saw the blue start to ripple and four men walked through, Lorne in the lead. They waited while he made sure all his men were through and watched as the gate shut down.

"Did you find them?" McKay blurted out unable to wait any longer.

"We didn't find them,' Lorne reported. "But we did find who took them and where they'd been."

"Was it the slavers?" Ronon growled menacingly like he wanted to go tear someone apart for taking his best friends away from him.

Lorne just nodded and tilted his head up toward Carter's office indicating this information should not be broadcast around the city. And they all knew the gate crew, while highly efficient, were also the best source of gossip around. Sam nodded and they all followed her up the stairs, her steps heavy. She had only been in this position a few weeks when Sheppard and Teyla had been taken and she was finding it difficult to realize she wasn't exactly sure what to do in this galaxy. Luckily she had a crew who were extremely knowledgeable and experienced. She had to make sure she listened to them.

Once the door was closed and they were all sitting, except Ronon who leaned in casual alertness against the wall, Lorne continued.

"We followed that lead we got from the vendor on Vimta and discovered this sordid little business on a planet called Atrox. The …proprietress," Lorne scowled like that was hardly what he wanted to call her, "a woman named Erus, wasn't very helpful at first. But once she saw what our weapons could do and we maybe hinted that we would use them to free all her 'merchandise' then she became much more accommodating."

"I'll bet she did," Ronon said. "I've heard of that planet and her. She's been around for a long time. And you know she doesn't deal with just regular slaves, right?"

Lorne's face frowned in disgust. "Yeah, we figured that out pretty quickly when we saw her set up."

"Wait!" McKay stopped them. "What do you mean not regular slaves? What are irregular slaves?"

Lorne looked distinctly uncomfortable so Ronon supplied the answer for him. "She deals in sex slaves."

Sam sucked in a deep breath but Rodney's face contorted into a horrified visage. "Holy crap! So Sheppard and Teyla are being sold as … Oh, God! Are you sure they were there? Maybe it was someone else."

Lorne reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a small black square that had some sort of reel inside it. "Apparently this Erus documents all her transactions and she has enough technology to get it all on tape."

"Did you view it?" Sam asked warily.

Lorne frowned. "Enough of it to make sure it was Teyla and Sheppard. And to see if we could get any more leads from it."

Rodney couldn't quite get the look of disgust off his face. "What exactly do they document?"

Lorne's face mirrored McKay's. "Things you really don't want to know about."

Sam gave a huge sigh and leaned forward, her hands rubbing her face. "Why don't you give us the Reader's Digest version of what's on there, Major."

Lorne looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. "It starts by showing us close ups of Sheppard and Teyla, almost like an advertisement…"

"Wait," Sam interrupted, "so they're both on the same tape?"

"Yeah," Lorne sneered. "They were being sold as a set. Thought it would bring their price up."

"A set?" Rodney questioned. "If you want sex slaves why would you want one of each? Wouldn't most people want a few girls or a few guys?"

Ronon pushed away from the wall and leaned down on the back of Lorne's chair. "A set is usually sold to a couple. I know the type. They're usually very wealthy and a bit older. They buy an attractive young couple so they can get several uses out of them."

Rodney still looked confused so Ronon continued, "Sometimes the slave couple will need to 'perform' so their masters can get excited from watching. Sometimes they funnel that excitement into doing it with each other or sometimes they'll join in with the slaves. Other times the individual slaves will be used to satisfy one of the masters if the other partner is away or not feeling well or just not in the mood."

"Holy Crap!" Rodney muttered again. "We need to get Sheppard and Teyla out of there before someone buys them."

"I'm guessing it's already too late or Erus wouldn't have given you the tape and you would have found Sheppard and Teyla in their 'supplies'," Carter said.

Lorne nodded miserably. "Apparently they were much sought after. Two couples got into a bidding war over them. That was about a week after they went missing."

"A week?" Rodney gasped. "So that means Sheppard and Teyla have been … slaves," he couldn't bring himself to say what kind out loud, "for over three weeks now. Oh, God, this is not good."

"Did you get the name of the people who bought them and where they're from, Major?" Carter asked.

"No, ma'am," Lorne frowned again. "Erus apparently doesn't deal in names and places, just currency. But she does video the entire transaction including the presentation of the 'merchandise' to the customers while they're shopping. So there's an image of what these people look like. Maybe we can get their picture out and have our allies try and figure out who they are and where they're from by looking at their clothes and mannerisms and such."

"That's an excellent idea, Major. Good work. Rodney can you take the tape and try and get an image of these people? And I want to see it myself to see if maybe there aren't any other clues to finding them in there."

Rodney nodded and held his hand out for the tape but Lorne hesitated. "The stuff in here is pretty disturbing, Dr. McKay. I just want to warn you. And the image of the people who have them isn't until the end, obviously, since once they were sold she didn't need to keep documenting anymore."

Carter cleared her throat and commented, "You never did give us the run down on what was in there."

Lorne closed his eyes for a second then took a deep breath. "Like I said there are close ups and pictures of Teyla and Sheppard separately and together. Apparently being sold as a set she needed them to show they could 'perform' as Ronon put it."

Rodney interrupted yet again. "Are you telling me that she's got Sheppard and Teyla doing it on tape? With each other or other people?"

Lorne lowered his eyes and felt he was betraying his CO by saying this. "With each other."

Rodney pushed on. "And they just did this without any protest, right in front of the cameras?"

Lorne's eyes grew fierce. "Oh, they protested plenty, they just really didn't have much choice. Erus threatened that if they didn't, she'd have the four, big burly guards who were standing around with them take turns with Teyla and she warned that they weren't known for being gentle. Needless to say they complied."

"That must have killed Sheppard," Ronon grunted. "He'd never do anything to hurt Teyla and this must have ripped him apart at having to do that to her."

"He obviously didn't have much of a choice," Sam defended quietly. "I'm sure Teyla understands that and realizes it was better than the alternative."

Ronon snarled. "We know that but I know Sheppard. He'll never forgive himself, doesn't matter what the alternative was. He'll feel he should have protected her better."

"So, is that the worst I'll see on there?" McKay almost hated to ask.

Lorne shook his head, his lip turned up in a snarl. "Erus doesn't allow any test drives but she has no problems allowing a little free sample when customers are interested."

Rodney looked extremely pale at this thought. "And that's all on the tape?"

"Yeah, and that's the part where you'll have to get the image of the buyers. There were two couples who came to look but it's the second set that actually 'purchased' them. You may need to zoom in and hopefully you can clear up some of the static. It's not the best quality video."

Lorne finally handed it over to him and Rodney took it like it was an infected needle.

Before they left, Carter looked at the group and clarified, "I'm sure I don't have to say this but none of what we discussed can leave this room. Rodney, I suggest you work on that someplace where no one can get at it or walk in on you. Lorne, did your men all see this tape?"

"No, ma'am. I was the only one, although they certainly got an idea of what kind of place it was when we went in there."

"Then I'll want to see them just so they know the importance of keeping this quiet. Once we find Colonel Sheppard and Teyla and bring them back, it'll be hard enough for them to deal with what happened or what is probably happening right now. We certainly don't need the rest of the city gossiping about them behind their backs. We'll just say they were sold as slaves; we don't need to mention what kind. I don't even plan on giving that information to the SGC. Are there any questions?"

They all shook their heads and began to leave. Carter called out to Ronon before he got to the door.

"Ronon, I'll need your help quite a bit with this one. You're more familiar with this galaxy and where we might get reliable information. It sounds like you've run into this seedy type of character before. So I was wondering if you would head this investigation. The IOA won't want to continue pouring funds into this search for much longer. It's already been a month. So are you okay with taking charge?"

"Yeah," Ronon growled like he would have done it regardless of her request. "Sheppard and Teyla have been my best friends here. I'd do anything for them."

Carter just smiled and said, "Good. Keep me apprised of your findings."

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Teyla opened her eyes to the sound of the birds chirping outside the cottage. John must have cracked a window open when he left for his run this morning like he did every morning. He knew Teyla liked fresh air but the nights were often too chilly to leave the window open during that time. She liked that he thought of her each morning and was kind enough to do this.

She climbed out of bed and did a few simple stretching exercises to wake up her muscles then she padded to the kitchen area to pull out a mug. She turned to the stove and sure enough there was a kettle sitting on the front corner with steam escaping through the nozzle. Just another thing John did for her each morning. She made herself a cup of tea and while it was cooling she quickly washed up and dressed for the day.

She would be helping in the clinic today so she chose a comfortable yet attractive outfit. The long, flowing skirt was made of a very soft animal skin and John said it was like suede. Her blouse, which she had just gotten yesterday, was light pink and fit her very nicely. The top of the sleeves were somewhat loose but then closed tighter around the elbow and down further where they were lined with tiny buttons. It was very different than anything the Athosians would design but she had liked the way it looked.

She pulled her hair into a ponytail in the back and tied it with a matching ribbon. She knew it was silly to be so vain about her appearance but life here was very simple and she had found that things like matching her hair ribbon to her outfit made her feel just a tiny bit better. And John usually teased her about it and though she would never tell him this she secretly loved when he teased her. She finished up the outfit with the light brown boots that rose to just below her knee and laced up the front.

When she was done she sat down at the table with her tea and wondered if there was a pastry from Tenyse left. It had been a few days since she and Finn had come over for dinner but there had been plenty and she and John had tried to conserve them. She looked at the counter next to the sink and saw the basket but suddenly felt she did not want one. Her stomach must not have woken up yet and felt a bit strange and she feared putting a sweet pastry in it might upset it further. She would nibble on something while she was at the clinic.

She washed and rinsed her mug and left it to dry then turned to the large slate board that John had mounted next to the front door. Presently it had the word 'RUN' scribbled across it in John's bold handwriting. She took a dish towel and wiped the word off then picked up the chalk and wrote 'CLINIC' in its place. John had figured this was the easiest way of letting each other know where the other one was if they weren't able to see each other.

It was still a bit chilly outside so Teyla picked up the waist length leather jacket that matched her boots and slipped it on. She began the mile long hike to town and looked around her as she walked. The road was level and therefore hardly a burden to go down. And the scenery was extremely pleasant. Trees lined the simple dirt path and she could hear the sound of the rushing river to her left. She would follow that sound the whole way as many of the larger buildings in the town used the river to help run their simple machinery.

John would be returning from his run soon and begin his own day. She knew he was meeting with Shuntar to discuss making a few more of the coolers that John had designed. Since John had gotten it to finally function correctly many people had asked if they could purchase one. Shuntar was what John called a machinist and was more than happy to construct this new appliance that would help preserve their food longer. John was just happy that he could now keep his ale cold.

She smiled at the thought of John and how well he had adapted to life on this world and in this village. They had learned that the planet was called Dimitta and this town was known as Flumar. It was one of several towns in the area, the closest being the one right across the bridge called Pontis. These two towns and the two that were located just north of here, a few days travel, lived a very symbiotic lifestyle. They each had goods and services that they were well known for and participated in trade happily with each other.

Teyla had been to Pontis on many occasions as it was a short distance but the other two she had not seen; other than in their beautiful goods. They herded an animal that lived in the nearby mountains with quite silky fur and used that for weaving a very fine fabric. It could also be used in a courser way for rugs, blankets and heavy coats and apparently it was quite warm. For now though she and John had more than they needed as the weather was growing warmer and John kept the fire stoked regularly throughout the night.

She wished John would reconsider and allow her to sleep on the settee or at least share the large bed that was in their cottage. But after what had happened to them, she knew John had a difficult time even looking her straight in the eye. Her stomach twinged at that thought and she tried to take a few deep breaths to calm it. It hurt that John could not look at her properly or touch her but she allowed that his disgust was not based on her but what had been done to her. She could hardly blame him for wanting to have no physical contact.

She thought about Finn and Tenyse and felt envy that Finn could welcome Tenyse back into his house, his life and his bed after all she had endured. And he was not shy when it came to displaying his deep affection for his wife. Why could John not do that also? Have things be as they were before? But she knew that Finn and Tenyse had been deeply in love and had raised two children together before she was abducted. She and John had merely been friends no matter how much she had secretly longed for them to be more. And now they never would be more with the events hanging always between them.

A few more houses dotted the landscape as she got closer to town and she remembered that John said it had reminded him of an old western town, very rustic but nice. Teyla had to admit that the people they had met here had certainly been most pleasant and welcoming to both she and John. And they had been able to provide services for others enough that they were now earning their own keep instead of counting on the generosity of others as they had first needed to do.

But bringing Tenyse back to her family and her friends in this town had solidified their place among the community and Teyla honestly felt that she and John could sit back and do nothing and these people would still provide for them. Of course that was simply not something she or John would ever do. They both craved activity too much to be able to be idle for long.

The larger buildings of the mills and shops came into view and she noticed people moving around a bit more here. The day had certainly begun. She smiled and waved as she passed people on the way to the clinic. She had met most of them at some point although she knew she would never remember all their names if asked.

She entered the clinic and was greeted by Shalise who was the medical provider for this town. She was similar age to Teyla and had been training for years under Dr. Valetudo. He was a highly trained doctor who had actually studied off world when they still had a working gate. Teyla knew he was also almost eighty winters in age. He travelled between the four towns and stayed in one every fourth week. He had just left Flumar three days ago and was now stationed in Pontis for the next week.

Teyla had enjoyed working with him and they had discussed several worlds that they had both visited. He was quite flirtatious with all the women no matter the age but Teyla had noticed that he had toned it down some when he worked with her. She wondered if it was because of the circumstances that had brought them here. He had been the one to completely check out Tenyse and declare that she was free from any disease that she might have contracted while she had been absent. Therefore he knew exactly what had gone on where they had been.

Teyla was unsure who from this town knew of their situation. She believed that Finn had told people Tenyse had been a slave in the kitchen for some rich baron. And as she had been working in the kitchen when they had found her, there was no reason for anyone to know that she had also held another position when she had first arrived there. Teyla had been just one in a line of replacements when the master had grown weary of her and wanted newer, younger blood. Tenyse had been lucky that she had been allowed to work in the kitchen and not been sold to someone else in her same former position.

"Good morning, Shalise," Teyla gave the woman a broad smile and removed her jacket to hang it on the hook near the door. "Are we in for a busy day today?"

Shalise smiled back. "Not too bad so far. I have several people I would like to visit though and wondered if you could possibly take over for me here in case there are any emergencies. I will go after lunch as that time seems to be the slowest of the day."

"I would be happy to," Teyla replied. "Will you be checking on Mrs. Mulier? I heard from her son that she is not happy that she is being required to stay seated throughout the day."

"Yes," Shalise confirmed. "I need to emphasize to her that her leg will not heal properly if she continues to walk on it while it is still injured. She is so worried that her animals will not get fed, though I am sure her son is certainly capable of doing so."

"Yes, he is, though he is in lessons most of the day. She is concerned that the animals will somehow perish if they do not have their feed directly at the noon hour. John has promised to go see to them today and I believe several of the men have offered to take turns until her leg is well enough that she may do it herself."

Shalise breathed a sigh of relief. "Wonderful. One less thing I have to worry about. How is John? I have not seen him in the past few days."

"He is well," Teyla answered. "I have not seen him yet this morning myself as he was on his run when I awoke and he had not returned by the time I left to come here."

"He does like his morning run, doesn't he?" Shalise mused. "It is a strange custom to run for so long and so far with no destination in mind."

Teyla chuckled. "On his world he is a warrior and needs to be ready at a moment's notice so he does it to keep his body in shape."

Shalise gave a wide grin and observed, "Then he is very successful because I would definitely say his body is in fine shape. I am sure you have noticed this before."

Teyla blushed but replied, "It is hard to miss. What would you like me to start with today?" she said trying to get the woman's mind and her own off John.

Shalise started listing off things that needed to be done during the day and allowed Teyla the choice of which she would like to work on first. Teyla chose to restock the supplies from the storage room and while she did this the first patient arrived.

Teyla kept busy during the morning and tried not to think about John but she knew he was having his meeting with Shuntar and wondered how it went. Not that John was the entrepreneurial type but he knew that letting others have the cooler design was just another way of paying them back for their kindness.

She wondered how she could pay John back for what he had done for her during their captivity. She knew he was disgusted by the thought of having sex with her, most specifically because they had done it for the pleasure of others, not their own. But when the slave trader, Erus, had threatened to have Teyla taken viciously by several of the guards at once, John had complied. And he could not have been more gentle with her.

She gazed out the store room window as she remembered how he had faced her in the empty room, although they knew they were being supervised through an observation window. He had taken her face softly between his hands and spoken in a whispered voice.

"Teyla, look at me, just at me," he had said and his tone had begged her to do so. "It's just us, there's no one else around, it's just us, okay. Try to think that way. Just keep looking at me."

He had lowered his forehead to hers and stared into her eyes for the longest of moments then touched his lips to her cheek as he continued, "I don't want to hurt you, Teyla. I care for you, you know that. You're one of the best friends I have and I would never want to hurt you if I could possibly help it."

His lips had then settled on hers and Teyla remembered how they had felt. Regardless of the circumstances she had enjoyed John's lips pressed to hers and had responded to them. His hands had continued to caress her face as his lips moved along hers. Slowly he had begun a seduction of her that she had responded to intimately. His hands glided along her exposed curves and hers moved along his strong muscles.

He had continued to whisper to her to just look at him and tell her that he cared for her and would never hurt her. She had believed him and had allowed his advances to continue. But she knew it had been hard for them to play the part. She had always dreamed of having John look at her and touch her like that however she knew it was not what he had ever wanted.

But somehow they had gotten through it and she had climaxed powerfully while he held her close. But tears had trickled down her cheeks knowing that it was all an act for the benefit of their captor. And John had only done it to save her from a brutal, degrading attack. But she knew he had gotten pleasure from her body and he was sickened by it. She had known him long enough that she could read his very expressive eyes and they told her as much.

After they'd been allowed to dress and had been thrown back in their holding cell, John had pulled her in close and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She had rested her head against his chest and had tried to forget that what they had done was only for show. There had been no real feelings behind them, at least not on John's part. She knew he regretted what he had done as he whispered over and over, "I'm sorry, Teyla. I am so sorry. Please forgive me."

Her sadness overwhelmed her for a moment and she felt tears well behind her lids as she stood in the storeroom. She knew there was no sense dwelling on this issue. It would not change anything. She shook her head and passed her hand over her eyes to clear them then continued her work.

She wondered if perhaps John would prefer to not be in the same dwelling as her while they resided in this town. They had been living amicably so far but their conversation was strained at times when they were alone and she often found John staring off into the distance. She knew he could be thinking about Atlantis, as she often did, but she sometimes wondered if he was disgusted that he needed to occupy the same space as her. It was possible that she was a constant reminder of the revolting activities he was forced to be involved in. She would have to think some more on this subject.

Teyla was helping Shalise rewrap an injured arm when the door jangled open. They both looked up to see John walk in. He had his typical smile pasted on his face as he approached them. They both greeted him and he looked at Teyla, asking if she had gotten any lunch yet. But Teyla searched his eyes as he glanced at her and she could see that his eyes held a sadness in them. And she knew she had been part of what had caused that sadness.

She made the decision right then. She would speak to him about perhaps finding separate living accommodations. And she would speak with him tonight.

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"Okay, that's gonna have to be good enough," Rodney whined as he zoomed in and adjusted the exposure on the image of the people who had 'bought' Sheppard and Teyla. "Because I just can't look at this stuff anymore. It's just too sick what these people are doing."

Sam Carter couldn't disagree. She'd been through the tape a few times since Rodney had adapted some equipment to be able to play it. She'd fast forwarded through a good deal of it since it was so incredibly private. She figured John and Teyla wouldn't appreciate having anyone viewing what had happened.

She sighed at how gentle John had been with Teyla, though, trying to get her through it the best he could. He had kept his eyes glued to her face and continued to encourage her to just look at him and not think about what was actually going on as they became intimate. It couldn't have been easy for either one of them. Watching them, one could almost believe that they truly cared deeply for each other. And thinking of her own background and experience Sam did wonder how they felt about each other. She had read a few reports from a Sgt. Bates in the first year of Atlantis that hinted that there could be more than just team friendship.

She looked at Rodney as he pressed a few keys to print the close up picture of the customers who had John and Teyla. Ronon had been here earlier too but after the 'shopping' scene he had growled in extreme frustration and stormed out. She could hardly blame him.

John and Teyla had been strapped up in the middle of the room with their arms above their heads, mouths gagged. The customers had walked around checking them out like they were nothing more than a side of beef. They had lifted and moved clothing and pinched and prodded and 'sampled' like they were squeezing a melon to see if it was ripe. Teyla and John had struggled with very little success especially as they got a small whack on the back with a stick if they protested too much.

But the act that had made Ronon howl in anger had been when Teyla had attempted to kick the 'shopper' because he had pulled open the sheath she was wearing, exposing all of her to his eyes. The camera was behind them and so they only saw Teyla's back view but they could certainly understand what was going on. Two guards had grabbed her legs and held on tight as the customer had kneeled in front of her. He hadn't been there long but they could see him move closer toward Teyla. And she had struggled more than ever. But John had also started struggling at this point, worse than before, trying desperately to stop what the man was doing.

Shortly after, the customers had moved to Erus to discuss bidding and John and Teyla's bonds had been released. They both dropped to the floor and Teyla had curled herself into a tight ball. John had only taken a second to pull his pants up and lower his gag then he crawled to Teyla's side and pulled her inside the warmth of his arms. Teyla had curled further into them and John had almost rocked back and forth, his lips near her ear, perhaps whispering assurances to her. They had stayed that way until the video had ended.

Sam felt a stab inside her knowing what they'd seen here was bad enough. She couldn't imagine what they were going through now. They'd been with these people for over three weeks. She hoped this picture would be helpful and that they could find someone who knew who they were soon and knew where to find them. Then she could send a few Marine units to go and get them back.

But even once they returned, Sam knew it would be a very long time before John and Teyla could forget about what they had gone through. But first they had to find them. Sam looked at the reel that held the video and debated whether they still needed it. But she had gone through it several times looking for anything they could use to find their people. Aside from the picture of the 'buyers' there was really nothing. And she never wanted anyone to get their hands on this.

She stood up and pointed to the screen in front of McKay. "Once you've got a few different angles of these people, Rodney. I want you to destroy this tape. Make sure there's nothing left of it. Understood?"

Rodney closed his eyes briefly but gave a little sigh of satisfaction. He nodded. He didn't want there to be any little reminders of what had happened to John and Teyla, either.

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