New chapter, more apologies for lateness, blaming college, hope you all like. And Innogen, it's really fine, I hope you keep reading though. Oh, and welcome to my LJ flist!

puddles1311: I love coming up with funny memories, there's a few more yet. As for Caldwell, I hate the guy and write him so. I am heartless, but I don't care. :)
Simple Hope: The photograph will return! It's cruel, I know, but it's where this fic is going. And thank you so much for the praise. I feel very special.
LtAthena: Sorry if this is too long to wait!

Chapter 6: Cold and numb

When John arrived in the briefing room the next morning, it was clear to see he hadn't slept. There were dark circles under his slightly bloodshot eyes. He was pale and looked positively ill. But there was something else about him. Something that wasn't quite right.

"Anyone got any ideas then?"

The room was full of scientists and soldiers each instructed to think of a way to rescue Doctor Weir. There was a problem though.

"We've got nothing."

John spun to face Bates as he spoke.

"What?"

"We have no ideas on how to rescue her. The base is too well guarded from space and on the ground. The base is also too far underground for the Asgard beams to be of any use, even if we could get close enough."

"What about cloaking devices?"

"I am afraid the Genii have technology to see jumpers even when cloaked."

John looked across at Zelenka. He looked terrible as well, but not quite as bad as John.

"Do we have anything?"

No one answered. They couldn't even look at him.

John shook his head. Caldwell couldn't be right. There had to be a way.

"I can't believe you are all going to give up on her like this."

"We're not giving up on her."

"Then do something for Christ's sake."

Zelenka shrank back in his seat; he wished he'd never said anything. He could see John was upset, but couldn't John see that other people were upset too?

"We will try to think of something, but at the moment, all we can do is pray she is okay."

John shook his head and stormed out of the briefing room. He carried on walking until he came to one of the practice rooms. Inside, he found Teyla practicing with her sticks.

"Major Sheppard. How are you?"

"How do you think?"

Teyla decided not to press the matter any further. She gestured at her bag lying on the floor.

"Would you like to join me?"

"Sure."

John grabbed a set of sticks and took up his position on the mats. They began to fight, but John's emotions quickly overtook him. He began to lash out angrily, his speed increasing as he became more agitated. Teyla managed to block most of shots, but a few hit her. They were painful, but she tried not to let it show.

Suddenly, their sticks caught together and the vicious battle was frozen.

"Major, you must calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down."

John pulled his sticks loose and hit Teyla across the face hard. She was knocked to the floor by the force of the blow. As she lay there, she coughed and spat on the floor. She looked down to find blood. Wiping her hand across her mouth, she felt something warm on her hand. She looked at her hand; there was a line of blood across it. Turning she looked up at John. He was stood towering over her.

"I don't need lectures, especially not from you."

John threw his sticks to the floor, narrowly avoiding hitting her. He turned and left without another word.

It wasn't long before he heard Rodney behind him.

"John, John!"

He tried to ignore the voice, but he felt a hand on his arm.

"John, what the hell is wrong with you?"

John spun around and pushed Rodney up against the wall.

"What the hell do you think is wrong with me?"

"Look, I know you're upset, a lot of people are."

"I suggest you shut up now Rodney."

"Or what? You're gonna hit me like you hit Teyla?"

John glared at him, but he let him go.

"You've all given up on her."

He turned and began to walk away down the corridor.

"We will never give up on her, we just can't find a plan yet."

"And if you don't find one?"

He stopped, waiting for the answer.

"We'll find one John."

"You didn't answer my question."

Rodney sighed and looked at the floor.

"I thought as much."

John began to walk away again. He wondered whether he should feel guilty about what he'd just done, but he didn't. In fact, he didn't seem to feel anything. He was numb.

Pain was the first thing Elizabeth felt when she woke up. Then she felt sick.

She turned over just in time to throw up what little was in her stomach.

After that, she sat up slowly. Everything ached, but it wasn't as bad as earlier. She wanted to say last night, but she really had no idea about the times of day. Her watch had been smashed when they'd beaten her. Without her watch, she was beginning to feel disorientated. She needed to know the time, or even just if it was day or night.

Now that she'd thrown up, she didn't fell sick anymore. Instead it was replaced by hunger. She was definitely thirsty. She had no idea how long it was since she'd eaten or drunk anything, as she had no idea how long she's been on the Genii base. She began to realise how important time really was to her.

She heard footsteps outside the door just before it was opened. Into the cell stepped two guards, a different pair to yesterday, and Koyla.

He smiled down at her.

"Well hello again Elizabeth. Are you comfortable?"

"Not really."

Her voice seemed harsh and her throat hurt as she spoke.

"You don't sound too good. Anything the matter?"

Elizabeth didn't respond. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hearing her complain.

"Fine, if you are going to be like that."

He nodded his head and the two guards stepped forward. They roughly dragged Elizabeth to her feet and held her arms tightly. She winced slightly as pain raced up her arms.

"As you may be able to tell, these men do not mind causing a woman pain. Remove her jacket."

Elizabeth stared in horror at Koyla. He merely smiled. She began to struggle, but she knew it was useless.

"Oh dear. Guess I'll have to help."

He reached out and undid the zip on her jacket. Elizabeth felt sick again. The idea of him having his hands anywhere near her was too much to think of. The two guards pulled the jacket off, and then quickly held her arms again.

"You may not know this Elizabeth, but I have eyes and ears everywhere. Even in you cell."

He took a few steps forward until he was right up close. She could feel his breath on her face and the warmth coming of his body. The cell suddenly seemed very cold. He slowly looked down from her face towards her chest. Elizabeth's blood ran cold. He wouldn't. Not with these men here. She was in no state to fight him off if he tried, so what use was it for them to hold her.

Koyla reached out slowly and let his finger brush the top of the pocket on her blouse. His eyes seemed to sparkle with triumph. She wondered whether she should try to struggle again, but she didn't want his hands touching her anymore than they already were.

His slid his fingers down into the pocket until they touched the edge of the folded up picture. As realisation hit Elizabeth she could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

"Leave it alone."

Koyla looked up and smiled as he pulled the picture out. He unfolded it with great care.

"How pathetic. You carry a picture of those fools around with you. Truly pathetic."

She saw the glint in his eye and then watched in horror as he slowly began to rip up the picture.

"No."

The word was choked out by her rough voice. Silent tears fell slowly as Koyla destroyed her only comfort.

He dusted his hands off and looked down at the destruction below him.

"Excellent. I do enjoy torturing prisoners mentally. How about we have a little physical torture now?"

The two guards pulled Elizabeth back across to the chair and tied her to it once more.

"I wonder, are you cold Elizabeth? Or are you thirsty?"

Elizabeth just stared straight ahead. He wasn't going to win. He wasn't going to beat her down. He wasn't going to break her.

Koyla sighed.

"I wish you wouldn't persist with this attitude."

He looked across at the guards for a moment. The pair nodded and left the cell quietly.

Koyla darted forward and grabbed Elizabeth's face roughly. He forced her to face him, but she still refused to meet his eyes.

"I heard you last night. You honestly think they are coming to rescue you?"

His voice was soft and mocking, but Elizabeth refused to rise to it.

"They're not coming, and you know they're not. They know there's no way to rescue you. You know there's no way they can help you. You're waiting for Sheppard to come and play the hero aren't you?"

Elizabeth tried to show he was getting to her, but Koyla saw her eyes flash with anger.

"You may not be as intelligent as I gave you credit for."

"And you're just a pathetic little man. You aren't going to win this."

Koyla glared at her as she met his gaze. It took every ounce of control to keep her eyes locked on his; it made her feel physically sick again. He released her face just as the guards reappeared with two large buckets.

"No matter. You see things are about to get a lot colder in here."

Koyla stepped back as the two guards emptied the buckets over her. They were full of freezing cold water. As it hit her, her breath was forced out and she quickly began to shiver.

"The temperature in you cell will be lowered once we've left. Perhaps this will cool down that temper of yours that seems to flare up."

He smiled at his own joke, turned and left the cell. The guards were right behind him.

Once the door slammed shut, Elizabeth let out a loud gasp. She could feel the temperature going down very quickly around her. The water had soaked through her thin shirt and her trousers weren't much better. Her hair hung around her face in a straggly mess. As she shivered, drops of water hit her face making her colder. She was fairly sure she was loosing the feeling in her bare feet. She licked her lips and captured a few drops of water for her parched throat. The water slid down and hit her empty stomach. She tried to get more water into her mouth, but it wasn't working well. The cold water would make her ill anyway she knew.

As she looked down at the pieces of her picture, a few warm tears fell. They reached her lips and she could taste the salty water. But soon, her tears became cold as they mixed with the water on her face. She could feel everything becoming dull as her mind began to close down. The blackness was returning, but it didn't seem to matter. Nothing seemed to matter. She could only think of one thing. That one thought replayed constantly as she fought to stay awake. She was cold.