Hey! I've been really struggling with this story so I'd appreciate some reviews. I wasn't sure how to bring out my desired result from this chapter even with a few different scenarios in mind so I hope I picked wisely. Is it overdramatic? A ridiculous scene? Feedback, please!

Kylie couldn't shake the ominous feeling radiating through her chest. Something was awry but she couldn't figure out what. The elders were speaking with Sheppard and Rodney in a nearby hut. Ronon had joined them but he was more there as a 'just in case' measure and mostly stood at the doorway watching Kylie out of the corner of his eye. The women were going about their day. Most of the children were crowded around helping Kylie make 'pan of cakes' they had been promised. Some of the children were helping to mash a sweet banana-esque fruit native to the village, some were helping grind oats down to a fine flour, others were bringing Kylie collections of spices they had to see which she could use as a salt and cinnamon type flavour, and some were fetching milk from what could have been a breed of goat. Everything was running smoothly, everyone was calm and happy.

But then she spotted it. The one thing that she must have noticed in the back of her mind but hadn't readily seen. The village's hunting party had recently returned and though the rest had gone about their business of settling back into their homes and readying their fresh kill, one had taken to skulking in the background. A young man, in his early twenties from Kylie's estimate, was behind a nearby hut watching them with a look that definitely did not say he was looking to make friends.

She didn't stare back, didn't give the hint that she had seen him, she kept right on mixing and making pancakes for the kids. She shot a tense look at Ronon but, conveniently, it had been the one moment he had looked away. Kylie moved to stand but was distracted by a cup being shoved at her by a stoutly older woman.

"Here. Drink. Tis almost time to dine." Were her only gruff words before marching off to hand drinks to the others in the hut.

Kylie sipped absently at her drink pursing at the overly sweet tang as she made her way to where the man had been a moment ago. Passing by the elders hut as she went, hearing the men laughing as they bartered and drank.

Maybe it was being under the sun all day, or maybe it was the calming breeze through the trees causing all those relaxing childhood memories of camping out in the country that made Kylie's body feel weighted and tired. Not enough to lay down or fall down but enough that she had to push back the thought of how comfortable that field of heather looked.

She may have come to make the villagers more comfortable accepting strangers, she may not be part of the barter, but she had a purpose and she was going to do something about it. As she approached the last spot she had seen the man she heard muffled voices and slowed to a crawl.

"Are you sure you gave enough to the big one?"

"As much as I dared, sir. We've never used it on someone his size before, it's hard to say how well it'll work."

"But did you see them drink it? All of it?"

"Yes, sir. Are you sure about the woman, sir? She was good with the children, wouldn't she be worth more alive? She can't be much of a threat, I didn't see-"

The man's words were drowned out by a crash, followed by a barbarian cry that could have come from none other than Ronon. Kylie hurried for her automatic when she realized she had left it with John before she played with the children. Ducking for the handgun in her boot her heart was beating too loudly in her ears for her to hear the footsteps behind her.

A break of glass and a sharp pain were the last things she remembered before it all went to black.

Kylie came to with barely enough light to see her own hand in front of her face. If that weren't frightening enough Ronon's groans were echoing alarmingly loud in whatever cave or confinement they were in. The sound shocked her into action and she leapt forward to find him.

"Ronon? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" She followed the groans slowly through the dark. A hand shot out and grabbed her arm, halting her search.

"Kylie. The drinks…"

"I know. Where are John and Rodney?"

"There." Came the terse reply. "Still out. Didn't work on me. They – they hit me with something."

"Tell me what's wrong." On high alert she placed her hands gently on his arms.

"I – I feel everything. It hurts. They must have given me some poison. I'm not sure if it's going away or if I'm…"

"Alright. Take deep breaths with me, Ronon. Follow me, okay? Feel how I'm breathing." She took one of his hands and placed it on her chest, palm flat against her skin, her hand over his. "Listen to me. It wasn't poison, Ronon. You're reacting to the drugs they gave you. You're hypersensitive but it'll pass." He groaned and tensed, his fingers curling painfully into her chest. With her other hand she cupped his face. "The harder you fight it the more it'll hurt. You need to relax. Think calming, positive thoughts."

A pained laugh followed by, "Bullshit."

"Breathe, relax, don't panic." She smiled at him through the dark. She felt the fingers on her chest twitch as they relaxed and opened. "Good… What's something that calms you down? What can I-" She stopped herself, an idea coming to mind. Moving to kneel between Ronon's legs Kylie held his face in her hands and gently pressed her lips to his. Different from the heated kisses before, this one held reassurance and comfort. It was not imposing or demanding. Ronon, once tense, sighed into the kiss and Kylie could practically feel the shift in him. Though the kiss was short, they leisurely parted, Ronon leaning his forehead against hers and breathing deep.

A moment later, before Kylie even realized he was moving, she found herself turned around and drawn against Ronon. One arm hooked around her chest and the other around her stomach he held her close, burying himself in the crook of her neck and breathing deeply. They both found immediate comfort in the embrace and Kylie couldn't help but drift off in his arms.

Kylie awoke gradually instinctively curling into the gentle warming vibration that seemed to be surrounding her. A comfort broken only by the shrill tones of McKay being promptly silenced by Sheppard, plummeting her back into the reality she had momentarily been blissfully unaware of.

"Look just because his girlfriend here-"

"Ronon's right, McKay. Shut it. She's never been in this situation before and she's only here now cause she was doing us a favour. Lets not bring her into the panic until absolutely necessary."

"I appreciate the concern but I was never under the impression that being off world would be safe." Kylie spoke before anyone knew she was awake. She could feel McKay's smarmy grin before he even spoke.

"See? Now if you're finished shushing me I have some thinking to do."

"Do you really need your mouth for that?" Kylie felt the rumble of Ronons words and felt the pull of that fleeting comfort she'd had just moments before. She moved to get up before the pull grew stronger but was halted by Ronons grip. Staring up at him she realized that they had a good amount of lighting in their confinement ow. He was no longer a vague outline in the dark but a real tangible figure, staring at her in open contemplation. No longer being shrouded by the dark Kylie felt their proximity on a while other level. Ronon was the first to speak, all pain and anxiety obviously gone, the drug now out of his system.

"Thank you."

"I'm happy to help. Sorry for falling asleep on you… That's probably at the top of the list of things not to do when you've been taken prisoner, right?" She felt heat rapidly spreading through her and was finally drawn out of her own little bubble and into observing their prison. The cave was small and just one person why of being too crowded to allow. I had more room living in my Jeep… she thought. There were no doors and no windows but light, as well as small wisps of smoke, came through cracks in the stone. "Dare I ask… Where are we?"

"Judging by what I saw through the cracks before the smoke started, the ever rising heat, and that campfire smell I'd say we've been putting in a bonfire or something similar." Rodney answered as if it were the sort of thing that happened all the time. "Obviously I can't say much about how we're positioned or what we're in exactly but think of how you'd steam vegetables and you'll essentially get the gist of it."

Kylie wanted to fight, wanted to scream in panic, but knowing how useless that would be all she managed was a small "Oh."

"Nicely delivered, Rodney." Sheppard bit out sarcastically. "Don't worry Kylie, whoever put us in here was obviously in a hurry and missed the back up radio in my vest. Weir got through to us during the check in and she's sending help. We just gotta sit tight."

"You said 'ever rising heat'. We're about to be worse off than steamed broccoli. So while I appreciate the effort John, please don't sugar coat it where impending death is concerned. How long do we have to be found and how wide is the search area?"

"It's difficult to say considering we can't get a visual on what sort of area we're in. But we couldn't have been out for too long so we can't be far from the village. As for time…" Rodney offered as near a sympathetic reassurance type of smile as he could manage. "At least they have the Puddle Jumpers. It can't be that hard to find a bonfire, right?" But no one knew how to answer.

Kylie wasn't sure if several minutes or a few hours had passed but the heat was beginning to be devastating. It hadn't been long after their conversation that Kylie mentioned that the heat of the cave and Ronon's man heat was too much to take and so moved away to sit alone.

John and Ronon had long since passed gotten rid of their shirts. Kylie's body really should have known better considering their situation but apparently it didn't care and it took serious concentration on Kylies part not to stare shamelessly. Rodney must have been feeling out of place next to John and Ronon as well. Sweat was practically pouring from Rodney's face by the time he threw in the towel and started stripping layers, complaining the whole time in the usual McKay way.

Kylie wanted to. Oh, she so desperately wanted to. But even in such a situation she couldn't manage to push passed that barrier and actually do it. She started thinking of all those summers she spent overheating in long pants and shirts just to spare herself from strangers gawking. She thought of the times she deigned to wear normal summer clothes only to be yelled at to cover up or go away by men driving by and hear the appalled gasps of nearby women. Her head was close to spinning, the sweat was getting to be ridiculous, her clothes felt like they were shrinking on her body. She wanted to take her shirt off so bad she ached.

It was then that she started to hyperventilate, falling forward on to all fours. A sob broke from her having absolutely nothing to do with the heat. But the spinning of her world slowed and as her breathing got back in check and the tears stopped she found Ronon beside her. Her heart throbbed as she heard a song he hummed as he played with her hair and stayed with her. Seeing the change in her he sat her upright, "Are you back with us? You alright?" but a simple nod was all she could manage. "You're overheating too quickly, Kylie. Being conscious will help when they save our asses so you need to take something off, give yourself more time."

Though she nodded, though she complied, she shed tears through tightly shut eyes as she pulled the shirt over her head. And there she sat, shirt discarded, immediately feeling relief out of the black cotton long sleeve but refusing to open her eyes. Kylie knew what would happen, she's seen it a hundred times before. As she felt her skin throbbing she mentally locked on to the few fleeting moments she had had with Ronon and tried to make peace with the usual "it was nice while it lasted". She blocked the comment she knew Rodney must have made, the rest of it being muffled by John smacking him upside the head.

She held her breath and opened her eyes, staring hard at the ground determined not to look at Ronon. But it was no use. Kylie saw his once concerned expression contort into anger and she refused to feel that shattering sensation deep down. She looked back down only to be met with the sight of her own body.

Kylie liked her body. Hell, she loved it. Strong legs, thick thighs, leading up to a (in her opinion) fantastic ass. She may have nearly nonexistent breasts but with her eye catching curves she didn't really mind. Yes, she had stretch marks and a muffin top. But she truly loved it all. What she hated was the angry welts across her skin. The plaques that spread over her entire body. That tore her open when she turned and stung when she bathed. The ones that now stood out on her skin, raised and red from the heat.

Another one bites the dust, she thought, having seen this reaction so many times before. Seeing the disgusted look or the anger that she had let them touch her at all.

Kylie was able to cope with the heat much better without her thick cotton long sleeve. But right at that moment she wondered if she wouldn't have been better off leaving it on and passing out. The familiar cold, bitter feeling knotted itself in the pit of her stomach as she shut her eyes tight and tried to steady her breathing. More than once she heard the shuffle of Ronons feet making his way towards her, only to turn back.

And there she sat, eyes closed and breathing heavy, battling the same old thoughts. Desperately wishing she were anywhere else in the universe.

An hour later they were found, running out of air, dehydrated, and barely conscious. Though Kylie couldn't really bring herself to care.