A/N: Okay...it get a bit darker here, but not too bad yet. Please, let me know what you think.
Elizabeth's mind raced furiously. Stay unconscious, Rodney! Stay unconscious, please! She was really hoping Kolya would do nothing until Rodney was responsive. Surely, his sick mind would realize torture would be no fun if the person weren't able to respond. Immediately, Elizabeth shook her head in horror at her own thoughts. She was thinking like a madman now?
She was scared to death, but couldn't just leave Rodney in this man's hands. "Kolya! Leave him alone!" With no thought in her mind except protecting her friend, Elizabeth hurried over. She dropped to her knees and tugged Rodney close again.
"Please. Stop this! We've done nothing to you. We were merely protecting our home! Can't you understand that?" Elizabeth tried to draw on her words. The words that had always gotten her out of situations.
A Wraith hive ship was one thing. You can't talk to them. You have no choice but to fight. Even then, she was trying to find a way to talk to the Wraith, though eventually giving up. But this…one man could be talked to. Reasoned with. And yet, her mind was whirling uncooperatively. Her words were failing her and at this moment, she had no idea what she could do to get them out of this.
Kolya eyed her in disgust, and whirled to stomp the other direction, obviously trying to calm himself down so this wouldn't end before he had his pleasure. As Elizabeth pulled Rodney closer, she noticed the gun in his thigh holster. A quick glance at Kolya reassured her he wasn't watching and she quickly slid it from the holster and tucked it into the back of her pants, covering it with her shirt.
Elizabeth knew she could never fire it. Everything within her screamed at even picking it up. She'd been against violence and guns her entire life, knowing they solved nothing. And yet, she picked it up. She may be able to bluff her way out of it, if nothing else. But for now, her team was unconscious. Bluffing would do her no good. She couldn't hold a gun to him for hours waiting for them all to wake up. Kolya was crazy, yes, but he wasn't stupid. He would figure out she was bluffing and eventually take the gun from her, leaving her worse off than before.
Kolya returned, calm and in control once more. "I believe I told you to stay over there, Doctor Weir." He gestured to where they had previously talked. "You will do as I ask, or not only will I take your life, but I will take everything else I can before you die, until you beg for your death. Do you understand?"
Elizabeth paled and went numb as the meaning of his threat became clear. At her nod, Kolya continued. "Unless you'd rather hold Doctor McKay and try to soothe him as I dissect him? Maybe look into his eyes and lie to him? Tell him everything is going to be fine?" He laughed at his own sick humor and gestured with the gun again. "Now…I grow tired of this. Move back to where you were told. I will not tell you again."
Elizabeth sighed in defeat and again let Rodney go, then rose and headed back to the wall. She knew continued talking would only irritate him further, but she had no choice. "Kolya. Please. Surely, there is something we can give you. Trade for our lives. There must be something you need. Anything." She knew she sounded desperate, but as Rodney began to stir, she became frantic to distract him.
"Doctor Weir, I have already told you, but I will explain it as precisely as I can. The only thing that you can do for me now….is die. Slowly and painfully. Preferably with a lot of kicking and screaming as possible, if you wouldn't mind."
She had nothing she could say to that. Beg for her life? Tell him she'd do her best to scream loudly? Maybe even, promise to not bleed on him if he'd end it quickly? As the frantic laughter bubbled up inside her, Elizabeth knew she was about to snap. She was losing control of herself and becoming hysterical would not solve anything.
As she sat there trying to bring her thoughts back into order, Kolya returned to Rodney and jerked him upright by his bound hands. Rodney's eyes snapped open as he stumbled, trying to stay standing as Kolya yanked him over to a console and forced him to lean against it while raising Rodney's hands to tie them to an overhead pipe. Rodney was left with his feet on the floor if he stood on his toes, but no leverage. His eyes darted frantically around the room to try to make sense of this nightmare.
He spotted Elizabeth sitting curled up on the floor on the other side of the room. Her face was swollen and bloody, a jagged cut at the corner of her mouth, making it obvious she'd been hit.
His anger fueled, Rodney turned back to the man who'd tied him up and spat out, "Kolya. I thought that was you when you hit me. Don't care for the fair fights huh? You'd rather knock out a guy then beat up on a woman?" He knew he was going to pay for it, but seeing Elizabeth cowering was too much.
Kolya merely laughed, which, to Rodney, was worse than being hit. The pure evil in the sound was enough to convince him they weren't getting out of this. He didn't know where Sheppard and Zelenka were, or if they were even still alive. He doubted it, as Sheppard would have died himself before he'd allow Kolya to strike Elizabeth. So that meant it was up to just Elizabeth and him.
"Lizabeth? Are you okay? Can you talk?" He was shocked as she looked fearfully at Kolya, who nodded and gestured for her to answer.
"Rodney. I'm….okay. Kolya has decided he wants…revenge for all that we have cost him." Kolya nodded again, pressing her to continue. "He plans to kill us. Slowly as payment for our actions."
Rodney looked at her in shock. Not at what Kolya was going to do, but that she said it so matter of factly. The Elizabeth he knew would not bow to this lunatic, and yet she appeared to have no fight in her. He looked back to Kolya with a glare.
"What the hell did you do to her? If you harm her, I will kill you myself at the first possibility that presents itself." Kolya didn't say a word. He simply stepped forward and kicked Rodney's feet out from under him, causing Rodney to yelp as his arms jerked his shoulders painfully.
"Do not threaten me, Doctor McKay. You will find that I hold all the advantage in this. All you have to decide is if you'd rather I kill Doctor Weir first, letting you watch and hear her screams, hearing her beg me for death. Or rather you'd rather go first, leaving her to watch you die slowly and painfully."
At this, Rodney glanced over at Elizabeth, catching her gaze that mirrored the fear in his. Kolya watched the silent exchange and smiled, "Awww….maybe you'd rather go together? Maybe I should let you take turns until you're both minutes from death so you don't have to live without the other. What do you think, Doctor Weir? Rodney first?"
With no warning, Kolya spun and slammed the blade of his knife into Rodney's right thigh. Rodney screamed in pain as Elizabeth jumped to her feet and yelled, "NO!"
Kolya calmly withdrew his knife slowly, causing Rodney to cry out as he twisted it slowly while he pulled it out. Elizabeth sobbed at the look on Rodney's face, and brought her hands up to cover her eyes for a moment, before sliding them down to cover her mouth, tears coursing down her cheeks.
Kolya turned to Elizabeth. "What was that? You have decided you want to go first? Well, it is your decision." He made in only a couple steps towards her before Rodney ground out through clenched teeth.
"NO! You will leave her alone. If you have to take your revenge on someone, let her go and do what you want with me." Elizabeth's eyes opened wide in horror, already shaking her head silently.
Even Kolya seemed surprised. "Why, Doctor McKay. How very…brave of you."
"Yes, it was, wasn't it? Well, anyway. Do we have a deal? I will give you my life willingly as soon as I know she's safely off the planet." He had no idea where the bravery was coming from; he just knew he could not watch Elizabeth die. And if he was going to die, he didn't want her to have to watch.