This is my longest chapter so far, but I just couldn't find a good break point. :-)


"I am curious, Colonel. Why do you have such an interest in this slave and no other?"

John glanced up from his cup of wine and hesitated before answering. He was seated at a long wooden table across from the sleazy plantation owner known as Damien.

"Well…" he began slowly, "I was passing through the market the other day when I saw her. I would've made a bid, but I didn't have enough money at the time. Now, I do."

Damien seemed to accept this answer, and returned to his wine. John noted that the man's nose was slightly swollen; it had obviously been broken recently. His determination to get Elizabeth away from this place alive was the only thing keeping him from breaking more than just the bastard's nose.

John had come alone to barter for Elizabeth after much discussion on the journey from Phaestus' farm. Teyla agreed to stay behind since they had no idea how Damien would react to a strong female presence. And Rodney had refused to go anywhere near the place. He didn't want to jeopardize Elizabeth's life with his terrible bluffing skills.

And so it happened that, with a stern lecture from Teyla on keeping his temper in check for Dr.Weir's sake, John headed in to calmly do business with the one man on this world he really wanted to put a bullet into.

John was pulled back into the scene around him when a side door opened and one of Damien's guards came forward to whisper something to his master. Damien smiled and gestured to the Colonel, "She is ready for inspection. Shall we?"

John's emotions were roiling as he stood to follow Damien out of the room. He was relieved and elated that he would see Elizabeth soon, yet terrified that he might find her hurt or broken. This, coupled with the ever-present feelings of hatred and revulsion toward the evil man in front of him, left him strangely nervous and afraid that he wouldn't be able to rein in the emotions when he finally saw her.

Before he knew it, they were standing in front of a heavy wooden door with a padlock. John took a deep breath and steeled himself for whatever he might see beyond that door. Oh god, please let her be ok…

The door swung open, and the emotions churned and intensified: immense relief and a growing and intense anger. The strongest woman he'd ever known stood there in front of him with chains on her ankles, wrists, and neck. If it were possible, John thought she looked thinner than before, and it was obvious from the slight droop in her shoulders that she was exhausted.

But all John's fears that the experience would break her evaporated the moment she raised her head. Her eyes had not changed at all; they still radiated confidence, strength, and determination. John's heart swelled, and he thought himself foolish for believing for an instant that she could be so weak. Pride in their ability to take whatever life threw at them had always been something the two leaders of Atlantis shared, and he couldn't believe he had ever doubted her.

"Well, what do you think?" Damien asked, that sickening smile still plastered onto his face. He turned to Sheppard and waited expectantly for an answer.

Elizabeth could hardly believe her eyes…it was him! Her breath caught in her chest, and she felt the prickling of tears. He had finally come. She wasn't alone anymore; she never really had been.

She finally regained control of her breathing when Damien asked his question. She started to open her mouth to voice a question, but stopped when John gave an almost undetectable shake of his head. Ok, John must be the buyer they were talking about. And he doesn't want Damien to know that we're…whatever we are. He probably thinks Damien will give me up easier if he doesn't know. He's probably right.

She caught John's eye and gave him the barest of nods. Then she dropped her face again and tried to play the obedient slave. There would be time for emotion later, when they were far away from this nightmare.

John struggled to regain his composure without giving anything away. He finally managed to grunt a reply to Damien's question. "Uh, yeah…nice." He tried to hide his grimace of revulsion at what he was saying. Here he was, standing here talking about Elizabeth like she were a piece of merchandise or something! The sooner this was all over with, the better!

They suddenly realized that Damien was speaking once again. "Oh yes, she's quite lovely. Bit feisty though, I can tell you for sure." At this, his hand wandered absently toward his face to touch his slightly crooked nose. Neither John nor Elizabeth hid their smirks very well, but thankfully Damien was distracted and didn't notice.

Clearing his throat, John turned to Damien once again. "Ok, we've already discussed the price, and now I've seen her. So let's get this show on the road. Is this finished yet?"

Even though she knew this was her only ticket out of here, Elizabeth still felt a small measure of shame that she was in this situation in the first place. She was a slave, and John was buying her freedom. She could think of nothing that would be more humiliating for her right now.

Elizabeth, you're being ridiculous, she thought sternly to herself. Get a hold of yourself and concentrate on getting out of here and going home

Damien nodded to Sheppard and said, "Of course. Wait here and I'll retrieve the papers to finalize the transaction." As he turned to leave, he caught Elizabeth's eye. The smirk returned to his face as he spoke. "My dear Elizabeth, it's a shame you weren't able to enjoy your time here more thoroughly. Still, I know you have something you can always remember me by. Good luck breaking this one, Colonel…I had some trouble in that department." With that, he strode from the room and down the hall, leaving John standing confused and angry in the doorway and Elizabeth trying desperately to control her emotions.

And then, for a few precious moments, they were alone.

John quickly closed the gap between them and reached for her hands. He noticed how tightly she was holding them, and he absently rubbed his thumbs along the back of her hands. "Are you all right?" he asked, his tone full of concern.

"I'm fine," she said softly, "or at least, I will be soon." John saw the tears building up in her eyes, but before he could comment further, she straightened her shoulders again in the familiar Dr.Weir mode.

She met his eyes once again and asked, "Did you bring one horse or two?" At his answer of one, she nodded. "In that case, you'll have to leave the restraints on until we're away from the plantation. He'll give you a key, but you can't unlock them yet or he'll get suspicious. They'll expect you to ride the horse and lead me behind you."

When John looked like he was about to protest, Elizabeth cut him off. "Please John, I don't like this any more than you do, but right now I just want to get out of here."

"Ok," he nodded, "we're going home as quickly as we can, I promise." He reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, then let his hand linger on her cheek for a moment. Elizabeth closed her eyes and fought to keep the sudden tears at bay. Suddenly they heard footsteps approaching. John gave her hand a quick squeeze and reluctantly stepped away from her.

A few moments later, they stepped out into the sunshine. John mounted his horse, and tried to stop himself from glancing back at Elizabeth. Playing along with this barbaric experience was killing him. He ached to rip the restraints off of Elizabeth and slap them onto that miserable slug of a human being now holding the chain attached to Elizabeth's neck.

"Well, Colonel, she's all yours." Damien smiled as he handed over the chain, and John set his jaw, willing himself not to do anything that would jeopardize Elizabeth's safety. Oblivious to the colonel's anger, Damien grinned and spoke almost absently, "Now that you've paid, I don't mind telling you that I had a few disciplinary problems with this one. Damn stubborn bitch, I must say. Still…" he stepped over and cupped Elizabeth's face in his hand, "she is definitely nice to look at…"

Unable to stop himself, John growled "Damien…"

At this, the slave master seemed to snap out of his reverie. He turned back to Sheppard and said, "Of course. I'm sure you have a long journey ahead of you. Safe travels, and it was a pleasure doing business with you!" With that, he turned and strode back toward the house.

John didn't trust himself to speak, so instead he nudged his horse in the direction of the town and tried not to think about the fact that he was leading Elizabeth behind him like an animal.

For her part, despite the humiliation she felt at the entire situation, Elizabeth found it difficult to walk calmly away. She wanted nothing more than to sprint through the stargate and forget the past two weeks ever happened.

As soon as they were a safe distance from the plantation, John dismounted and plucked a small key from a pocket of his vest. He quickly unlocked and discarded the wrist and ankle restraints, as well as the long heavy chain.

But she stilled his hand as it reached for the collar around her neck. Looking into his eyes, she said softly, "Your key won't unlock that. They said the collar is permanent…the mark of a slave."

John's mouth set into a grim line as he moved his hand to rub her upper arm reassuringly. "McKay will be able to get it off once we're back in Atlantis." She nodded, appreciating his optimism and support. She had every confidence in Rodney and his team, and she knew they would find a way once they were home.

Home. She drew in a shuddering breath as it suddenly sank in. She was going finally going home. Once again, tears threatened to overwhelm her, but this time the emotion behind them was completely different. Looking up, she noticed John's concerned expression and gave him a small smile to let him know she was alright.

As if reading her thoughts, he pulled her close to him in a hug and whispered into her ear, "It's alright. You're going home. It's all over." She struggled to breathe air into her lungs as she attempted to choke back the tears. She didn't want to lose it yet. Not here, not while she still wasn't completely out of this hellhole.

Finally regaining some measure of composure, she loosened her grip on John. He gave her one last squeeze, and she bit back the small gasp of pain from the pressure on her still-tender back. He didn't seem to notice, and she didn't want to reveal that little piece of information to him until they were safely away from here…and until he was too far away to try anything stupid out of anger.

"Come on," John said, flashing the first grin he'd managed since Elizabeth had been abducted. "We need to regroup with McKay and Teyla. They're supposed to be waiting for us over that hill."

Elizabeth nodded, grateful for the warning before meeting up with other members of the team. She felt comfortable breaking a little in front of John, but she still tried to maintain her professional strength when around others of the expedition. She quickly swiped a hand across her eyes, smoothed down her dress, set her shoulders, and followed John over the hill to see her friends.

Just a few more days, she thought. Then she would be back home in Atlantis and life could return to normal…although the rational part of her mind doubted it would be anywhere near that easy.


Ok, I also know that some of you are waiting anxiously for that conversation between John and Elizabeth, but it just wouldn't happen yet...sorry! Keep reading! I promise you'll get it eventually:-)