Sara POV
"Well it certainly seems like you accomplished all you could, given the circumstances." Elizabeth leaned forward in her seat at the head of the table in the conference room on Atlantis. The doors to the room were not completely closed, and she cast a glance outside to where Marissa stood with Teyla, her blindfold still in place and the blanket Marcus had given her wrapped tightly around her shoulders. "I guess the question for now is what to do with the woman you brought back with you?"
"I'm going to take her to Tarus for tonight," Marcus spoke up. "She's my responsibility, so I'll see to it that she is kept on watch until we can return her to wherever it is she came from."
"You don't intend to keep the deal you made for her purchase then?" Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. "It could cause problems for us when we return there in the future."
"I know," Marcus agreed. "And I'll come up with something. Just give me a couple of days to think on it."
"Very well," Elizabeth turned to the Colonel. "I assume you are alright with this?"
He pursed his lips. "It's a tricky one," he said. "If the Major reneges on his deal, it will certainly complicate matters for us with Rydan." He cocked his head to the side, "but I really don't have the heart to send the woman back... I suggest we find a way to rescue Ronon and the General before the four days is up. Then we can simply disappear and it won't matter either way."
"Alright, we'll leave it at that for now," Elizabeth agreed. "Tomorrow morning we'll assemble again at Tarus and discuss our options from there." She looked around the room. "Does anyone have anything else they want to add?"
Nobody responded, and so the meeting was called to a close. I stood up and followed Marcus outside to join Marissa and Teyla. It was getting late, and I was anxious to get home to Natara. "Are we ready?" I asked.
Marcus bent his elbow and extended it towards Marissa. "Take hold of my arm," he instructed.
She reached for him tentatively, her fingertips brushing his stomach before finally locating his arm. It was an oddly intimate moment and I averted my eyes rather than stare.
"Sara?" Teyla's voice reminded me she was still beside me.
"Oh," I said as I realized she still had my ring. I held out my hand and she placed it in my palm. Quickly, I picked it up and pushed it back onto my finger. "Thanks," I told her. "It turns out that John was probably right to suggest I leave it behind."
"In my experience, the man is seldom wrong," she replied, and then rolled her eyes as she added, "I would appreciate it if you did not tell him so however."
"I won't say a thing," I assured her with a smile. We said goodbye to each other and then I waved farewell to the others and quickly caught up with Marcus and Marissa. We passed through the portal to the control tower a few minutes later, and I gave Alcied there a brief rundown on events while Marcus guided Marissa down the stairs, still with her eyes covered. I caught them up on the tarmac outside.
"You can probably take that off now," I gestured to the blindfold.
He lifted the strip of fabric off over her head and Marissa got her first look at Tarus. I realized that she would need a place to stay and Marcus and I began to discuss the options as we walked towards Thornby.
"We could talk to Hector at The Blue Whale," he suggested. The publican at the main drinking hole in Tarus did not actually rent rooms as such, but it was well known that sleeping arrangements were always available for anyone who overindulged and could not make their way home after a night out.
I shook my head and rejected the suggestion. "Too noisy," I said. "And too public. She could stay at Thornby, I guess..." I trailed off as the idea lost its appeal. It might not be wise to let a complete stranger have access to such a private area. There was no telling what she might find if she was so inclined to look around.
"How about my place?" Marcus suggested. "I can bunk down for a couple of days at my brother's."
I glanced at Marissa who walked between us in silence. Marcus's intentions might be genuine, but given her history, I did not think she would feel comfortable in a place where an unknown man might reappear at any time. "It might be better all-around if we settle her in the garden-cottage at Thornby," I replied.
Familiar with the cottage, Marcus readily agreed. "Do you need me to come with you to help out with anything?" He asked.
"It would be helpful if you could explain things to Isobel for me." I told him. "I need to check on Natara before I can get Marissa settled in.
"Sure," he said as we approached the main entrance and stepped inside. Isobel came out to meet us right away and Marcus took her to one side and began to tell her everything that had happened since we had left that morning. I showed Marissa to a nearby chair and quickly sought out Natara, who I found playing with Summer and their assortment of dolls on the living room floor. She got up and ran over the moment she saw me.
"Mommy," she held her hands out towards me.
I bent and scooped her up in my arms. "Hey, Nattie," I covered her face with kisses. "I missed you lots today.
She laughed and clutched onto my leather jacket. "Daddy?"
I ignored the sudden stab in my heart, and did my best to keep my voice light. "Daddy's gone away for a little while," I told her, "but he misses you and he'll be coming back soon. "
To my relief, she let the matter drop and I carried her from the room without any fuss. "I've got a special friend I'd like you to meet," I told her as we approached Marissa. "Marissa is going to be staying with us in the garden-cottage for a while."
Natara regarded her warily, and I led the way outside towards the far corner of the garden. The cottage, hidden from view by a thicket of shrubs, was built many years ago buy my grandfather, Josiah Thorn as part of the original settlement. With the later erection of Thornby, the cottage slowly became redundant and was now used only on rare occasions. I put Natara down as it came into view and we walked along the concrete path to the rustic looking front door. The cottage interior was clean and aired, with the beds kept made and ready for use, and Natara ran ahead to explore as I showed Narissa through.
Make yourself at home," I told her as we finished the brief tour and wound up again in the main living room. "I'll drop by again a bit later and bring you some clothes and something to eat."
"Thanks," she said. "I might just take a shower…"
I nodded. "If you need anything before I get back, just come to the main house and find me."
We bid each other farewell and Natara and I left. Ahead of me now was the daunting task of telling my aunt and cousins about Troy's death. I picked up Natara and together we took a jeep over to their house. One hour and many tears later, I returned to Thornby and put Natara to bed. I was both mentally and physically drained, but I selected some items from the pantry as well as some clothes that I thought might suit Narissa's smaller frame, and took them down to the cottage for her. I found her sitting quietly in the dark when I arrived.
"The lights work," I told her as I flicked the switch and lit up the room.
She sat in an armchair wrapped in the same blanket as earlier, her damp hair the only evidence she had moved at all since I left. I showed her the clothes I had brought and she attempted a smile, but her enthusiasm was noticeably muted. Too tired to tempt her into conversation, I placed the food down on the table in front of her and left for the night.
Isobel was waiting for me when I got back to Thornby. She passed me a hot drink and we sat down together in the living room and talked through everything that had happened. It was a relief to be able to unburden myself to my sister in law and by the time I finally got to bed I was exhausted. The moment my head hit the pillow though, I found myself wide awake with worries of Ronon, Tarus, Erik and Troy. All night I went over things again and again, until finally in the very early hours of the morning, I slept.
-O-
I rose and showered early, and then took Natara with me down to check on Marissa before the people of Atlantis arrived. To my dismay, I entered the cottage to find her in exactly the same position as I had left her the night before. Still wrapped in the blanket, the items I had brought for her remained untouched upon the table.
Hi," I said. "How are you doing?"
She looked at me, her face devoid of expression. "I don't know," she replied.
I raised my eyebrows. Something was definitely not right here. I sat down in the chair opposite and pulled Natara up onto my lap. "Something you want to talk about?"
"I don't know," she said again. "I guess I should be happy… But for some reason I'm just… not."
I nodded. "You've been through a lot," I told her. "It will take a while to get over things…" I paused. "Marcus can take you home today if you like?"
"I have nowhere to go," she lowered her eyes to stare at her hands, clasped together in her lap. "The wraith culled my home world to the point of extinction."
"How did you end up on Danisine?" I asked, something I had been curious about since I first saw her.
"My family fled the culling and booked passage on a ship destined for another world. We planned to start again there – only the ship got boarded in mid-flight and instead we were captured and sold to Rydan."
"Your family are still there?" I asked. "With Rydan?"
She shook her head. "My father died in the ring shortly after we arrived. Erin, my older brother, was strong, and he held out for much longer… He died in the same way just three months ago."
I was silent. I could not imagine how hard it must have been for her to watch her family destroyed in such a way.
"My mother… was very beautiful," she continued, her voice low. "Rydan put her to use… in other ways. When she grew sick and weak from his constant attentions, he sent her to the death cell. I never saw her again."
I shuddered. I did not know exactly what the death cell was, but the name seemed sufficiently self-explanatory. "I'm sorry," I told her. Natara began to wriggle upon my lap, so I set her down on the floor to play. "You have nowhere to go at all then?" I asked.
She shook her head, her eyes focused unseeingly on the table in front of her.
"Well, we're not about to cast you out, in case you're worried," I told her. "You're welcome to stay here for as long as you like. We're not a large settlement, but we are safe from the wraith…"
She continued to stare at the table. "Thank you," she said, "But I just can't imagine ever fitting in here. I miss my home, and I miss my family too much."
My heart ached for her. "I know," I told her, "But you can't give up now, not when the worst is finally behind you. Your family would want you to keep going…. And it will get easier, with time." I cast around for something else to say. "Eventually you will make new friends here – maybe even start a family of your own."
She gave a wry smile. "I have seen and done things that are so sordid they could be deemed as unspeakable. No man would ever want a relationship with someone like me now."
I stared at her. Surely she didn't believe that? "Trust me," I said, "The men I know will take one look at you and fall all over themselves just for the opportunity to speak to you. You'll meet the right one, and your past won't matter to him."
She shook her head, unconvinced by my words.
Reluctantly I let the subject drop. As much as I wanted to help, I could not think of a way to reach her that would not make her feel more wretched than she already did. An abrupt knock at the door snapped me from my thoughts and I turned in my seat. Who would be calling at such an early hour – or even calling here at all?
I'll get it," I said as I got up. I opened the door to see Marcus standing outside.
"Morning," he said. "I was uh… expecting Marissa. Can I come in?"
I raised my eyebrows – not in the least because of the guitar he carried beneath one arm. As far as I knew, Marcus did not possess a musical bone in his body. "What do you want?" I asked him. Given how despondent Marissa was right now, I wasn't sure if a visitor was such a good idea.
"It's personal," he told me. "Are you going to let me in, or not?"
I sighed. "She's kind of… fragile this morning," I told him in a low voice. "Maybe you could come back later?"
"I'll only be a moment," he persisted, and then added in a somewhat annoyed tone, "What do you think I'm going to do to her?"
I shook my head and reluctantly stood aside to let him in. "Don't say I didn't warn you," I whispered as he walked past me into the main room. Marissa looked up as he entered.
"Hi," Marcus said to her. "I was on my way to the meeting and I thought I'd drop by first to give you this…" he held out the guitar. "It's not mine," he explained. "I borrowed it off a friend. I thought you might play… or sing… or…or something."
I stared at him in disbelief. Where the heck did he get that idea come from?
Marissa tucked the edges of the blanket under her arms and uncoiled her tanned legs to take the guitar from him. I watched in surprise as she caressed her palm slowly over the smooth wooden curves of the instrument. "Thank you," she said as her fingers automatically found the correct position upon the strings.
"Do you play?" I asked her.
She nodded. "Only a little though… I gave it up when I started singing."
Marcus fixed me with a smug look. "There's a meeting due to start in about twenty minutes," he said to Marissa. "We're looking at ways to get our friends back from Danisine. I was thinking it would be useful if you came. You know the place better than anyone else here."
She plucked gently at the guitar strings and a few soft notes floated around the room. Marcus's suggestion made sense, only I wasn't sure how Marissa would cope with being in a room filled with strangers. She continued to pluck the guitar softly and then she slowly looked up. "I'll come if you need me to," she said.
"Great. I'll see the two of you at the house then." Marcus turned to leave and I suddenly found myself alone with Marissa again. By now she had progressed from plucking the guitar to resting it under her arm and strumming it softly. Her hair fell forward and covered her bare shoulders as her movements became more pronounced. "I don't get it," I said to her. "Did you tell Marcus that you play?"
She shook her head. "No."
"How did he know then?" I wondered aloud.
She strummed a couple more notes and then stopped and slowly extended her left arm out towards me. I watched as she turned it over to reveal a tiny musical note, tattooed on the underside of her wrist.
I was shocked. Marcus had seen that? The tattoo was so tiny that it could easily have been mistaken for a dark freckle. "Oh," I whispered, "I guess that might explain it..."
Reluctantly, she put the guitar to one side and stood up. "I should get dressed," she said as she repositioned the blanket around her.
I watched her mover towards the bathroom. "Natara and I will wait and walk up to the house with you," I told her. While I would not describe her as being happy, she at least appeared to be functioning again which was a vast improvement on how she was when I first saw her that morning. I looked at the guitar she had left behind and I smiled. She was wrong to think that no man who knew her past would ever want her. I suspected I already knew one who did.
-O-
Colonel Sheppard sat propped upon the arm of the red leather settee in Erik's office. "No matter how we look at it, there's no way to get them out of the complex while we're unarmed. We need a plan to get our weapons past the gate," he said.
I glanced at Marissa who sat in silence in the far corner of the room. She, Marcus and I had been assembled with the people from Atlantis for almost two hours now, and we were yet to come up with a cohesive plan on how to break Ronon and Erik free from Rydan's grasp.
"As much as I hate to say it," Elizabeth said, "I think our best chance of getting them out might be during the upcoming tournament. Other than the fences surrounding the gate and complex, the place doesn't appear to be highly manned. If the tournament attracts a large number of visitors, we could use the influx of people to work to our advantage."
John turned to Narissa. "How many people can we expect to be at this…ring fight?" he asked.
"The stadium seats around three hundred people," she replied. "It's always filled to capacity."
"Okay then," he turned to Elizabeth. "You might be onto something… McKay, you say you can over-ride the circuits that control the fence around the ring?"
"Of course," Rodney replied. "The wiring is so basic as to practically be child's play to somebody of my expertise."
Elizabeth looked to Marissa. "Do you know how many guards Rydan has? What is their positing during the tournaments?"
"Rydan has eight guards," she replied. "On tournament days, three patrol the gate, three more help out in the ring, and the other two are positioned next to Rydan in his private viewing area."
"That makes eight armed guards to the four of us," Marcus summarized.
"Technically, it's only five," John replied, "Since three will be tied up at the gate…"
"Ah… hello?" Rodney put up his hand. "You're missing the point here… Five armed guards, behind protective fences," he emphasised. By my count, that does not make for very good odds in our favour."
"Can I suggest something?" Marissa suddenly spoke from the corner. Everyone looked at her in surprise as she stood up. "The guards already have weapons inside the complex. Rather than trying to bring in your own, you should be looking for a way to secure theirs."
Looks were exchanged around the room. It seemed she made a valid point.
"What are you suggesting?" Elizabeth asked.
"If you gain access to Rydan's private viewing area, you will be within direct reach of two firearms. The guards will not expect such a brazen attack in public and you can use this to catch then unaware."
"Oh. Great idea," Rodney exclaimed. "Except of course for the tiny detail that we don't have access to said area, nor do you make any mention Rydan himself. What? Is he supposed to just sit there while we relieve his men of their weapons?" He shook his head and looked around the room. "Am I the on one who sees the gazillion flaws with this plan?"
Elizabeth gave him a look. "Let her speak, Rodney."
All eyes turned back to Marissa. The pale blue shirt I loaned her hugged her slim torso, while around her knees swayed a loose black skirt as she approached the chair where Marcus sat. "If you take me back to Rydan," she said, "I will be in his viewing area during the tournament. You can approach and offer to buy me from him permanently," she stopped right in front of him. "At the very least, he will probably let you through the gate to hear what you have to say…"
Marcus appeared to think this over. "Okay," he said. "So I get inside the viewing area… I'm still only one man against three. Two of who will be armed."
"One man against two," she corrected him. "I will take care of Rydan myself."
"How exactly to you intend to do that?" he looked up at her.
She stepped closer to the chair in which he lounged. "Rydan likes me to… tend to his needs in public during a tournament," she said. "It's a power thing I guess, meant to elevate his status while at the same time lowering my own." She stood over Marcus and slowly began to sway her hips. A moment later she joined her hips with her arms in a slow seductive dance.
I could not speak for the women in the room, but I noticed she certainly had the attention of every man, Marcus in particular.
"He knows how much I hate it," she said as she continued to sway and move. "I think that's part of why he makes me do it…" She lifted her leg and placed her foot on the corner of Marcus's chair. The long skirt she wore concealed her leg and she slowly hitched it up to display her long leather boot. I saw Marcus swallow, and across the room Rodney's mouth dropped open as she gently eased the zip on her boot down. "You could say that I hate everything about the man…" she said, as she suddenly pulled a knife from her boot and lunged towards Marcus.
He jumped, and a moment later Marissa froze above him with the blunt end of her knife pressed firmly to the side of his neck. The room fell into stunned silence. Slowly, Marcus reached up and closed his fingers around Marissa's upon the handle of the knife. Holding her eyes, he gently guided her hand upwards across his skin until the knife rested beneath his jaw in an upwards angle. "Here is a more effective point of entry," he told her.
She stared at him for a moment and then, as he released her hand, she lowered the knife and stepped back from the chair. His eyes followed her as she bent to refasten her boot.
"Okay then,"Colonel Sheppard drawled. "I guess that takes care of Rydan, unless anyone else has a better idea?"
Nobody spoke up, and so we began to build a plan around the scenario Narissa suggested. It was eventually agreed that Marissa would strike at Rydan while Marcus sprung an attack on his guards. All going well, he would secure their weapons and hopefully pick off a couple of the guards inside the ring before they realized what was happening. Rodney would be responsible for short circuiting the fence on cue, while John and I would enter the ring to locate Ronon and Erik. As we had no idea if or when the two of them might be required to fight, it would be an added bonus if either of them happened to be armed at the time.
"I guess that about sums it up," Elizabeth said as the ideas finally stopped flowing. "There's probably a bit of fine tuning we need to do, but we've still got five more days to get it right."
John stood up and stretched, and Rodney got up beside him. Before long, the room emptied out so that only Marissa, Marcus and I were left.
"You really want me to take you back there?" Marcus turned in his chair to face Marissa.
She nodded. "It is the best way."
"The best way?" he echoed. "Are you out of your mind?"
"Maybe. But I don't think so… It's something I need to do."
He shook his head and rose from his chair. The action was so abrupt that Marissa flinched and took a step backwards. He stared at her in disbelief and then shook his head again. "I'm out of here," he said as he spun around and strode from the room.
Marissa lowered her eyes as he left. "He doesn't get it," she said to me.
I raised my eyebrows. I wasn't all that sure that I got it either. She would willingly expose herself to further abuse at the hands of a man who had already done so much damage to her? I found myself coming to Marcus's defence. "He'll come around," I told her. "He's just worried…. There are a lot of risks in what we are attempting to do."
She nodded. "I think I'll go back to the cottage now, if that's alright?"
"That's fine," I told her as I watched her quickly slip from the room. I looked around Erik's office and then went over and sat in his chair. A tall bookcase filled with documents stood to my left, and a file cabinet rested beside it. Inside this room was everything I needed to keep Tarus running in my brother's absence. I opened the top drawer of his desk and took out a pen and paper. Troy's memorial needed to be arranged. The service, the catering, family, mourners… I sighed, and put down the pen. I had hoped to return to Danisine and free Ronon and Erik today. Instead, it now looked like it would be at least another four days before I saw either of them again. Troy's memorial slipped from my thoughts and I found myself thinking of Natara. Right now, all I wanted was to find my daughter and spend the afternoon with her. I stepped out of Erik's office and pulled the door closed behind me.
-0-
A/N: Sorry this chapter was all Sara's POV. Ronon will get the next one, I promise. Thanks to Chelsie66 and Garber Baby for reviewing my last chapter! You have no idea how much I enjoy reading your feedback
