Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warning, pairings, etc.

Part 11/17

-Chapter 10-

Torture

Beckett hustled through the doors, his wide eyes moving between Teyla's huddled form and Ronon's look of shell-shocked agony. "What's goin' on?" he gasped.

Teyla buried her face in her upraised knees and muttered: "Letmegoletmegoletmego," a mantra that made Ronon want to clap his hands over his ears. "I think it's getting worse." Rhetoric was all he could manage at the moment; his brain was still scrambling to take in all that Teyla had told him.

The Scottish doctor hesitated, looking torn. He wanted to help Teyla as much or more than anyone, but it was obvious that he had no clue what to do. "I'll wake Doctor Weir," he finally muttered, hand reaching for his headset as he left the room.

Ronon watched Teyla. She continued her fevered muttering; it was punctuated every few seconds with sharp, gasping breaths. He shifted slightly to get a better look at her eyes. Beyond the smokiness of the Wraith changes, he could see that they were glazed. She stared right through him glassily; it was as if she did not even realize he was there anymore.

"Doc!" he called sharply. He was no doctor, but he just somehow knew they were losing Teyla. Ronon unconsciously reached out to her, remembered the shield, and sharply withdrew his hand. "Come on, Teyla, look at me! Recognize me, please!" He wasn't past begging.

She winced at his voice and curled in tighter on herself, rocking slowly back and forth. Silent tears trailed down her cheeks, a stark contrast to the dead look in her eyes.

"No!" Ronon leapt to his feet and crossed the room in six long strides. Reaching out the door, he seized Beckett by his collar and dragged him back inside. "Doc! Something is wrong with her!" He pointed back at Teyla.

"It's too early for another transformation!" Forgetting that his radio was still transmitting everything to the expedition leader, Beckett reached into his pocket and withdrew a syringe. He snapped an order to Ronon as he paused a few inches from the invisible wall the shield made. "Lower the shield and keep your weapon on stun, lad. I'm goin' in."

Ronon pulled out his blaster and checked it twice to make sure it was on stun. Gripping it tightly to keep his hand from quaking, he reached out his other and deactivated the controls keeping the door to the cell sealed and the shield active.

Beckett barely waited until the door was open enough to admit him. He slipped past it and into the cell, keeping the syringe hidden with his white lab coat as he reached out his free hand towards Teyla. His heavily-accented voice was low and soothing, but it just seemed to make Teyla even more agitated.

Ronon shifted closer to the doorway, maintaining a clear shot at Teyla. Would I really be able to take the shot? He pushed the thought away. He would. He had to. That's right. I just need to keep right on trying to convince myself. He winced. Why her? He felt as disjointed as his thoughts.

"Easy, lass, it's goin' t' be okay, now," Carson crooned. He slowly began to withdraw the syringe from within his coat.

Teyla spotted it. Suddenly she was no longer the timid, rocking little woman crazily muttering. Now she was a wild, screaming banshee. Her left hand shot out, knocking the syringe away. It hadn't even hit the floor when the same hand swung to push Beckett in the chest. The doctor landed on his backside and skidded across the floor, barely catching himself before the back of his head slammed against the bars on the opposite side of the cell.

By now Teyla was on her feet, eyes darting to and fro, looking frantically for a way out. Her chest heaved with shuddering gasps; she shuddered when her eyes met his and held for a fraction of a moment that felt like an eternity.

He was standing between her and the freedom she so longed for. It took her only another moment to make up her mind. She charged him.

Ronon forced himself to shut down his emotions and not think of her as Teyla – his Teyla. He clenched his jaw tightly and tightened his finger on the trigger, watching with a pit in his heart as the jolt of red burst free from the barrel of his weapon and struck Teyla square in the chest.

Her forward momentum reversed abruptly upon impact, knocking her backwards a few steps. For a moment she stood, stunned, her right hand clutched to her chest protectively. She stared at him, shock and betrayal in her eyes. To him, that one look was like a kick in the gut.

What have I done to her? Ronon's heart and hand wavered at the same moment. He started shaking, the gun in his hand lowering ever-so-slightly.

Sensing his weakness, Teyla let out a wounded cry and dashed at him again. Still clutching her right hand to her chest, she shoved her left shoulder into his body full-on as she used her left hand to wrench his blaster away from him. As he hit the floor and skidded backwards on his side, he saw her stumble-running out the door.

"Teyla!" He scrambled to his feet and dashed out after her, weaponless but still determined to catch her.

It was not difficult to follow her. She left a trail of stunned Marines and scientists in her path; most had been fired upon by his weapon, still set on stun. Some had merely been pushed out of the way as she ran down the halls of Atlantis, cutting a clear path to the Gateroom.

Fear slithered up from the dark place he'd buried it long ago and clenched around his heart. Hate and anger for the Wraith that had done this to Teyla fueled his adrenaline and hastened his steps as he followed in her footsteps, hoping – praying – he'd catch her before she could dial out and leave the city – leave him.

Ronon tore into the control room, ascertaining two things in a span of as many seconds. One, almost everyone in the control room had been stunned by his weapon, leaving only Doctor Weir and Chuck left conscious. Two, the Stargate in the room below was active, and Teyla was already on her way down the steps towards it.

He barely spared Weir and Chuck a glance as he ran after her, taking the steps two and three at a time. Teyla hit the bottom and walked toward the Stargate, her steps slow and even. It was as though she was in a trance, and some invisible force was drawing her towards the puddle.

"Teyla!" Ronon leaped the last four steps as he called out to her.

She heard him and stopped, only a few inches away from the beckoning event horizon. She still held his weapon, but it was lowered at his side.

"Please, stay." He took two hesitant steps toward her, desperate to get her to listen to him, to keep her there. "Please, Teyla."

She turned toward him, eyes meeting his and holding. Now there was painful recognition in her eyes; she recognized him. She knew he was, knew what he was asking of her.

Ronon dared take a few more steps toward her, forcing his hand to stay steady as he held it out. "Somehow we're going to get through this, Teyla. But we can't if you're not here." He stopped, swallowed, and hated himself for allowing his voice to break like it had. "Please, Teyla, I love you. Please stay." The admission cost him dearly; he had at last torn down the last wall keeping his heart from hers. If she tore it, he didn't know if he could handle it. All he could do was hope, and reach out for her.

Her eyes flitted from his hand back up to his face. He could tell she was uncertain, but she still took one step forward towards him. He almost had her back now–

Teyla's eyes looked past him towards the doorway into the room. He turned his head just far enough to where he could see the Marine security team pouring into the room, weapons steadily aimed for her. She let out a cry and took an involuntary step back, dangerously close to that event horizon.

"Hold your fire!" Ronon snapped, but he knew it was too late. In one second they'd destroyed all that he'd built up with her over what felt like an eternity.

Teyla looked back at him, a single tear trailing down her cheek. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, still reaching for her.

She shook her head, dropped his weapon at her feet, then turned and plunged through the Stargate without a backwards glance.

With a suck and a pop, it shut down behind her.

Ronon shuddered. He stared with disbelieving eyes at his blaster, lying harmlessly before the inactive Stargate. The truth slapped him across the face like a stinging blow.

She's gone.

-To Be Continued-