Title: Ten Days
Chapter: 4
Author: GeekyDollie
Date: 2006
Summary: Elizabeth awakes as a prisoner in a cold cell. Her people have no idea where she is. Will she lose hope?
Spoilers: The Eye, The Storm, and Coup D'Etat
Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis and the characters belong to TPTB of the Stargate franchise.
Elizabeth…
Elizabeth awoke in the dim light, thinking she heard her name. Turning her head, she looked to the door of the cell.
Elizabeth…She saw a silhouetted figure approaching her. Still reeling from the shooting of the girl and the interrogations, Elizabeth shifted away slightly.
The shape of him… his walk, his voice… sounded so familiar.
"John?" her tentative voice was barely a whisper. He was at her side now. And she could see his face.
Elizabeth tried to scramble to a sitting position. She wanted to touch him, to feel the warmth of him… something to calm the chill she felt in her heart. He reached out for her, and when his hand contacted her shoulder her steadfast façade crumbled. His other hand caressed the side of her face as he laid her back onto the cot. Elizabeth's breaths were short, and she fought against the impending tears as she looked into John's face with wild eyes.
"John…"
His thumb traced across her cheekbone before his hand combed through her hair.
"John… did you see? The girl. They killed her." Elizabeth raised a trembling hand to grasp his, the memory too fresh in her mind. "John. Oh God, they…"
"They brought us the jacket," John nodded. "Don't think about it right now. You're ok. We'll get you out of here."
He was so confident there beside her. At this moment, he was her strength, and he was here with her.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and felt the comfort of his fingers tracing across her face, her hair,… her mouth. She felt the warmth of his skin near her face, and then felt his lips softly on hers. Her heart was calmed; her trembling subsided.
Elizabeth was lost in the sensation of his fingers and the caresses of his lips before she realized that she was kissing John Sheppard. She was no longer in the chill darkness of her cell. She was standing under the evening stars on the balcony in Atlantis with the balmy summer air blowing through her hair. The rough woolen blanket she had wrapped around her was gone, and the warmth that was John enveloped her. She was safe. She was home.
Elizabeth sighed as John pulled away from her. Her mind's eye still envisioning the peaceful scene as her eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Elizabeth…"
Her eyes opened to the dark prison. She reached out to her side to recapture John's hand… and felt the cold rough fabric where he should have been. She glanced to her side and only saw the shadows on the concrete wall. An icy realization crept up her spine and throughout her body. It wasn't real. John was never here. Had she wanted him to find her so much that her exhausted mind dreamed him? Maybe so, but she hadn't imagined hearing her name.
"Elizabeth…"
She rose from the cot and turned to the voice.
"It's me, Corun," he placed a tray with meager rations at the other end of her bed.
"Thank you," Elizabeth eyed him when he hesitated in leaving.The young man seemed to stand contemplating what to do next. Maybe this time she could get him to talk. "Corun, how many of you are in Sora's resistance?"
"Several dozen, but our numbers are growing."
"And you all are opposed to Ladon?"
"We believed in Cowan's leadership. He saved us from the last culling. Ladon refuses to see the larger issues."
"The Wraith."
"Ladon's government will provide for the Genii to live in comfort and health, but we know it will only benefit the Wraith when they come again. Without uniting our friends from other worlds, our defenses against the Wraith are weak. Ladon has been so obsessed with erasing Cowan's legacy that he is blind to these things."
"There must be other means to convince Ladon to listen to your concerns without resorting to… this." Elizabeth motions to the surroundings.
"He would never willingly open discussion with Sora. Maybe at one time they would have seen eye to eye, but now he thinks she's a radical."
"Then maybe to another? Maybe you. There is no need to perpetuate the violence."
Elizabeth observed him as he paused. He looked away from her towards the other wall. In the dim light, he seemed so young.
"I didn't know Sora was going to kill the girl. She told me that she wouldn't kill like Cowan."
"Then stand up to her. Let me help you." Elizabeth met his eyes carefully, seeing a conflicted boy under such a tough exterior. She wondered what Sora must have said to him to make him believe her plan.
"Sora will kill me. Even without me, she has many sympathetic to her cause. Some will do anything to gain her favor."
Elizabeth carefully considered her next words. She knew Corun was her best hope for getting out of here. She was surprised, however, when he sat down next to her on the cot.
"One of your teams from Atlantis has come through the Ring of the Ancestors several times," Corun whispered and glanced toward the hallway to make sure no one was listening. "Sora has posted her guards to ambush them if they get too close to this complex."
Elizabeth's eyes widened at the news, and Corun continued.
"While I do not agree with all of Sora's methods, I stand steadfast to my belief that we must be heard. If I can alert your people, will you take our cause to Ladon?"
"If you can get me out of here, I will do what I can to make sure you are heard."
"I can't promise that I will be successful," Corun stood suddenly and headed for the door.
"Nor can I," Elizabeth admitted.
"Someone's coming." He slipped out of the cell and met her eyes quickly before slamming the cell door.
That was the last time Elizabeth saw Corun come to her cell.
TBC
