AN: Yay, you make the Author happy, feeding the Request Monster! This is a fairly short chapter. No graphic whumpage, but still some bits I'm quite pleased with, in my evil manner.

Chapter 3

McKay was uncharacteristically quiet for the next two hours. Sheppard was nursing a hell of a headache, but through the haze of dizziness that attacked him every time he tried to move too quickly, he could see the wheels in Rodney's mind spinning double time. The Colonel paced around the perimeter of the cell, searching for weaknesses as best he could.

He could hear Teyla in the cell across the way trying to get as much information about these "Guardians" out of Karina as possible. Unfortunately, the woman didn't seem to know much about them other than they protected the people of her world against the Wraith. No one was sure how they did it, just that the Wraith had not come in a long time.

Sheppard heard the hiss of the door down the hall opening again, and he hushed his companions. Footsteps echoed down the hall towards them again, and once again, the group came to a halt outside their cells. The men's cell door opened again, and in stepped the same four men as last time, supporting a naked and slightly struggling Zelenka. He was bleeding, soaking wet, and shivering. Though the Czech's arms were now unbound, he was still no match for the men at either side of him. His eyes were wide, wild, and fearful, but when he saw his friends, he used what energy he had to try and preserve his modesty, though it was too late for that.

"What the hell did you do to him!" McKay cried, making no attempt to hide the horror on his face. The Canadian was ignored, and Zelenka was dumped unceremoniously on the floor. McKay and Sheppard glared at the men, both wishing that their arms weren't bound. The could hear the cries of outrage from the women across the way.

The gray-haired man turned, and still without a single word, he and his assistant turned and grabbed Sheppard by the arms to haul him away. The Colonel tried to fight them, but their grip was vice-like, and he could practically feel his arms bruising under their fingers. He twisted to face McKay as best he could before he was whisked out the door.

"Figure a way out of here!" the Colonel shouted, and McKay knew it was an order. He stood by helplessly as the guards backed out of the cell and the door slammed shut yet again. McKay's eyes darted nervously back and forth, as if searching for the answer floating in the air.

"Okay, first things first," he said, more to himself than anyone else. He stepped over to Radek, curled up on the cold metal floor to try and ascertain the other man's condition. Rodney could see numerous cuts tracing their way along Zelenka's skin. Thankfully, they didn't look deep, but the other scientist was obviously still in pain, and clearly freezing. McKay knelt down next to the other man, wishing for the umpteenth time that his damn hands weren't useless.

"Zelenka," Rodney said quietly, "Are you all right? Well, that's a stupid question, obviously you're not all right. But, what I mean is, uh--" Rodney trailed off as he watched his friend shiver. He wasn't sure if Radek was in shock or just lost in his own little world, but he wasn't responding at all to Rodney's words. McKay's stomach twisted, but now was not the time for pussyfooting around. He had to switch tactics.

"Ok Radek, enough of this," Rodney said, snapping his voice back to his usual caustic, sarcastic tone. "Your hands are free, now make yourself useful and see if you can get these restraints off of me!" McKay was pleased to see that his change in tone had the desired effect, as Zelenka pulled his head up off the floor and squinted at Rodney. McKay only just noticed that Radek's glasses were missing. Rodney's gut twisted slightly at the haunted look on Zelenka's face. Now that he had Radek's attention, Rodney's tone softened slightly.

"Look," McKay said, "I can give you my jacket, but only if you can get these damn restraints off of me." Zelenka still didn't say a word, but slowly he sat up, glancing nervously across the hall to where the women were. Teyla and Karina had been watching the men with concern in their eyes, but when they saw Radek glance at them, they both got the hint and immediately turned away. Rodney, for his part, scooted over and plopped himself down directly between Zelenka and the door of the cell. He then bent forward at the waist as much as he could and lifted his arms so the restraints were as close to Radek's face as possible. For a moment, he felt nothing happen.

"Come on, Radek, this isn't exactly comfortable!" he groused. In a moment, he felt nimble fingers probing the restraints that bound his arms. McKay smiled grimly. "That's more like it!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

End Notes: I'm bad. But I PROMISE, tomorrow's chapter has MUCH whumpage (we follow Sheppard! Wahahahaaa!). If the Review Monster gets fed, that is!