Within the hour, Carson was able to roll onto his side. He pulled the threadbare blanket up to cover his bare chest, but he could do nothing about his back. His neck muscles protested the awkward position he'd been in since arriving in this hut. Refusing to think about that, he eyed Reya as she huddled across the way. She hadn't spoken since confessing to conceiving a child out of wedlock. Carson could have cared less if she no longer had relations with the babe's father, but she'd done the right thing. She'd allowed the man to marry her, and, from the brief time she'd spoken of him, he could tell her husband was a hero in her eyes.

Moving slowly so as not to irritate his back any further, Carson propped his head on his arm, lying on the only cot in the room. Reya was pale, a result of the blood loss from her miscarriage, and it made her bruises stand out against her skin. Her hair still fell around her face in a gloriously tangled mess, but it gave her a wild appearance. For a moment, Carson was transported back in time to the days when his family visited the Highlands. Reya could pass for his sister in those days, running and skipping along the hills.

Shaking the memory from his mind, he broke the silence. "Wha's his name?"

Reya looked up from where she'd stared at her feet. She met his eyes and smiled ever so slightly. "Jotham." She paused for just a moment. "The last time I saw him, he was bound and. . . ." Her voice broke, and Carson cursed his inability to get up to comfort her.

"I'm so verra sorry, love," he said softly.

She nodded. "You did not have to take my place."

"Yes I did," he said carefully. "I couldnae allow ye ta be punished when it might have killed ye."

She turned those amazing green eyes to him, eyes that he wished held more than grief and fear. "Why did you do it?"

"Because I'm a doctor. I save lives, an' I couldnae stand 'round while ye were strapped to a post and beaten." He shook his head. "I couldnae live wi' it."

For a very long moment, Reya studied him. Her eyes narrowed, and Carson resisted the urge to squirm. Lying in front of a pretty woman—married or not—was not how he wanted to remember his visit to the only planet to ever remind him of home. Yet, here he was, of his own free will. She finally sighed. "Thank you."

He glanced away. "I only wish I could ha'e done more."

Neither of them spoke again until a mysterious benefactor arrived with their evening meal.

oOo

"He did what?" Sheppard's furious voice echoed through the study of Dougal's croft. He stood in front of the village elder, doing his best to incinerate the guy with his glare. From the way Ronon shifted, Sheppard knew the Satedan had reached for his weapon. "And you allowed him?"

Dougal shrugged as if totally unconcerned. "He chose to take the servant's place. I cannot say why he did so, but it was his decision. And we honored it."

"You honored it?" Sheppard's voice dropped from the angry volume it had reached a moment ago. He stepped toward Dougal, making sure to keep his P90 menacingly in front of him. "A member of my team, someone from Atlantis, was flogged at your post."

McKay interrupted. "Do you have any idea what that means to us?"

"By our law, Dr. Beckett was well within his rights to intervene. And there is only one way to intervene in this situation." Dougal met all of their eyes. "I am sorry, and I hope this will not affect our trade relations. But you must understand that Dr. Beckett chose this."

"Because you gave him no choice!" Sheppard glared, his mind already racing to figure out exactly how Elizabeth would react. Her Chief of Medicine had been flogged in public, humiliated, and had, according to this guy, chosen to do so of his own free will.

Teyla stepped forward before Sheppard could say anything. "What will happen to him now?"

Dougal's gaze shifted from Sheppard to her. "He will remain confined for the duration of the servant's punishment."

McKay folded his arms across his chest. "And how long is that, hmm?"

Dougal finally showed signs of uncertainty. His gaze darted away from all of them, and he shifted on his feet. "Normally, in cases such as this, the servant and her replacement would be confined for the remainder of their lives. Given the unique circumstances, however, I am willing to release Dr. Beckett back to you after a month."

"A month?" This time, Rodney nearly shouted. "Carson isn't just some medic on Atlantis. He runs our medical department! He can't be gone for a month!"

Teyla again intervened. "What Dr. McKay is trying to say is that Dr. Beckett is not simply a member of our people. He is part of our leadership and very close to Dr. Weir."

"I am sorry," Dougal said again. He refused to meet their gazes. "I will release Lieutenant Baker and his men to you. They were arrested for attacking me, but I realize they were only trying to protect Dr. Beckett. But Dr. Beckett must stay here. I cannot change that."

Sheppard continued to glare, knowing the man likely felt the heat of his anger without another word being spoken. When he'd come through the gate, he'd expected to find that Beckett and his team had merely lost track of time while the good doctor treated a few local illnesses. Discovering that a member of his team had been flogged and then imprisoned in order to take someone else's place shocked each of them. And angered them. Sheppard worked his jaw as he tried to find his voice so that he could issue an ultimatum. Release Beckett or face Atlantis's wrath.

A knock sounded before then. The team turned as another man rushed into the room. He was dressed similar to Dougal and had the same aristocratic bearing. Carrot-colored hair fell to his shoulders, and his beard fairly glowed in the late evening sunlight. "Dougal, I apologize for interrupting. I did not realize that you had visitors."

Dougal gave Sheppard a meaningful glance. "They were just leaving."

"No-ooo," Sheppard said with a smirk that belied the danger in his eyes. "We weren't just leaving. We just barely arrived."

The newcomer ignored him. "Again, I apologize. But he escaped."

Sheppard watched the change come over Dougal. The village elder seethed, and his face hardened. "When?"

"I do not know. Sometime after the. . . ." The man eyed Sheppard. ". . .after the flogging."

Dougal turned to face Sheppard. "Forgive me. But I must attend to this matter. A dangerous criminal has escaped, and we must locate him. I believe you know your way out." He left the room before they could answer.

Sheppard turned to face his team as the door closed behind their rude host. He wanted to say something, but Teyla shook her head. She nodded toward the door, and he understood. While Dougal's people weren't technologically advanced, they weren't above stationing someone next to the door to eavesdrop.

Leading the group from the room, Sheppard nodded once to Eilis out of courtesy more than anything as he left the house. The rest of his team followed him, and he glanced at the sky. The sun was setting, and they had an hour of daylight left—if that. Ronon also picked up on his thoughts and met his eyes. "What do you wanna do?"

Sheppard slipped his aviators onto his face. "Find Beckett."

McKay glanced around. "What? Now?"

"Yeah, Rodney, now!" Sheppard glared. "I don't know about you, but I'm sure the doc would appreciate heading back to Atlantis for some medical treatment and pain medications."

"Right. Of course." McKay looked suitably chastised.

Sheppard turned and looked around, trying to get a feel for the village. The elder's croft, as Carson called the house, sat at the edge of the village, facing toward the central square. Other houses and businesses bordered the marketplace, but outlying homes held more people than they cared to count. This was a farming community, and farms tended to have a lot of land attached to them.

Ronon moved to John's side. "I don't think he's in the village. These people would want to keep their prisoners away from their citizens, and that means out in the countryside."

"Yeah," Sheppard agreed. "Any ideas where?"

"No, but I should be able to figure it out." Ronon frowned at the ground. "The main roads leaving the village will have a lot of traffic that's old. But, based on what I've seen, these people don't have problems with the law very often. That means the path to their prison or whatever should be easy to find."

Sheppard motioned with his hand, indicating that Ronon needed to take the lead. The Satedan took off toward the gate, and the entire team knew what he was doing. He was giving the impression of leaving while planning to circle around the village and find the path. John glanced at the sky one more time. He just hoped they had enough daylight.

oOo

Another hour passed before Carson found the strength to sit up. He ground his teeth together but wasn't able to suppress the growl that rumbled in his throat at the pain. As his muscles shifted, the cuts along where he'd been flogged pulled and made him wince. But it felt good to be upright.

As he moved, Reya carried a rough work shirt over to him and then turned her back, sensing his desire for privacy. Carson accepted it. "Thank you, dear." His soft voice seemed loud in the hut, and he felt the cool breeze of late evening starting to permeate the building. With only one cot, he'd be forced to lie on the dirt floor in order to get Reya to rest. Somehow, he doubted she'd allow that.

Clenching his jaw to keep from making any noise, Carson lifted the shirt over his head and carefully let it fall over his back. As soon as he'd covered himself, he pushed aside the blanket. He still wore the pants for his Atlantis uniform, but he didn't need to be told that his shirt and jacket were destroyed. At first, his thin shirt had shielded his skin from the flogging. But, after several moments, Dougal had insisted it be removed. That was when the punishment really began hurting.

Wishing for a mirror so that he could assess the damage, Carson pushed to his feet and swayed slightly. His head nearly touched the ceiling with only an inch or two to spare, and he wryly mused that Ronon wouldn't fit in this thing. Moving to Reya's side, he did his best to hide exactly how unsteady he felt. "How long will we be here?"

She glanced up at him. "I do not know. Since you are from Atlantis, he may release you."

"But not you?"

"No." She turned to stare between the bamboo stalks at the glimpses of the sunset they could see. "I will remain here until my death."

"But I thought. . . ."

"That you'd free me by taking the flogging?" She sneered. "Yes, he would tell you such a thing. But the truth, Carson, is that you are stuck here with me. The law says that prisoners will be released after a determined length of time. But, for me, there is none."

"Why?"

"Because I am no longer his daughter. And servants who escape are seen as some of the worst criminals."

Carson wanted to rail against the injustice of it, against the thought that any society saw this as a good form of government. But he refused to say anything that would further humiliate Reya. She was a victim in all of this, and he could not hold her responsible for their current situation. Had he not intervened, he was certain she would be dead. Even now, she was pale and showing weakness associated with blood loss.

Noise outside drew his attention. Carson moved to the wall of the hut, peering through the cracks and twilight to try to identify who approached. "Here." The rough voice, so out of place for the absolute silence that had surrounded them for hours, startled Carson. He whirled and had to steady himself with a hand on the wall of the hut. Between the stalks, he saw Ronon headed their way from the opposite direction, followed closely by Sheppard, Teyla, and Rodney. Whatever Dougal had used to lock them inside was no match for Ronon's blaster, and the door soon swung open.

Carson tried to grin. "It's about bloody time!"

Rodney frowned. "Hey, Carson, you doing okay?"

"No." Carson hated to admit it, but he silenced Rodney's next question with a direct gaze at Sheppard. "Dougal has agreed ta release us?"

"Not exactly." Sheppard eyed Reya, the anger that had been simmering in his eyes now flaring into an all-out inferno as he saw the injuries on her body. "He's agreed to release Baker and his team. He wants you to remain here for another month."

"But I thought. . . ." Carson turned to Reya. "You said he might release me."

She didn't answer but merely shrugged.

Sheppard nodded. "Doesn't matter, Doc. We're here now, and we can leave if we go quickly. Dougal's been distracted by the escape of an actual criminal, or so his visitor said. We have an opportunity, but we need to leave now."

"Visitor?" Carson frowned, still trying to work out the change in their situation. "You want me to escape?"

"Yeah!"

"I can't." Carson watched the reactions to his objection. "If I leave now, Dougal will return an' take it out on Reya."

Sheppard glanced at the young woman in the hut. "She can come with us."

Carson almost agreed, but Reya put a hand on his arm. "I cannot leave until I know that Jotham is safe."

Rodney frowned. "Jotham?"

"My husband," Reya answered. "He was taken at the same time I was because we married without consent from our families."

Carson let out a deep breath. "It's a feudal society, Colonel. Reya and Jotham are from different classes, and that was frowned upon by their society. That Reya was Dougal's daughter did not help matters. He's got a temper that would put a Scotsman to shame."

Sheppard frowned at him. "Coming from a Scot, that says a lot."

"Aye, that it does," Carson agreed. He leaned a little more on the wall, not wanting to show the team exactly how badly injured he really was.

Sheppard considered their situation for a moment. "Do you know where Jotham is being kept?"

Reya shook her head. "No." Her eyes fell. "He was returned to his. . .lord."

"And who is that?" Sheppard asked.

"His name is Cashel." She looked up almost desperately. "Cashel is even crueler than my father. If he has Jotham for long, he may. . . ." Her voice cracked, and Carson put a hand on her shoulder.

Sheppard ran a hand over his face, his frustration with the situation seeming to grow with every passing moment. Carson tried to head it off at the pass. "Reya, if you come wi' us now, perhaps we can return and try ta find Jotham when Dr. Weir handles the diplomacy of this entire situation."

"You still do not understand!" Reya's eyes filled with tears. "Jotham tried to protect me when they came for us. He put up a fight, wounding Cashel's son in the process. It is a serious wound, one that may take his life. Cashel will see Jotham executed at sunrise."

Teyla stepped forward, her voice gentle as she put a hand on Reya's other shoulder. "Perhaps we can speak to this Cashel. If you tell us what he looks like, then we may be able to negotiate for both of your releases as a condition of Atlantis's continued support."

Even Reya knew it was a stretch, and her face said as much as she regarded Teyla. "Cashel is the same size as my father, though ruddy. He has orange hair that he keeps long with a well-trimmed beard."

Carson watched Sheppard's face change at her description. "You know him?"

"Yeah." Sheppard's brows dropped into a glare. "While we were talking with Dougal, he came into the office. Told Dougal a dangerous criminal had escaped."

Reya's voice caught, but she managed to speak. "Jotham is no criminal. He was fighting to protect me!"

Sensing the situation spiraling out of control, Carson held up a hand to still Reya's pleas. He had the perfect solution, though no one there would like it, him the least of all. But it would solve their problems with getting Reya out of the situation. "Colonel, let me stay here. If I escape, ye'll have a tough time o' reestablishin' trade relations. Let me stay here while ye find this Jotham. Then, we go back to Atlantis."

Just as he'd expected, John glared at him. "You can't be serious, Carson."

"Aye, I am." Carson straightened as much as possible and moved to Sheppard's side, speaking very softly. "Reya's already lost her unborn child to Dougal's cruelty. I do not trust him to keep her alive once I leave. An' right now, the only way we're goin' ta get her ta leave is either by kidnappin' her or findin' her husband. Personally, I'd rather see a happy reunion than a grieving woman."

Sheppard nodded once. "You know what you're asking for, Doc."

"Aye," Carson agreed. "But would we continue trade relations even after they kidnapped and flogged me? Even the Genii have not gone that far."

"We'll agree to disagree about the Genii, Doc." Sheppard still obviously stung over Kolya's invasion of Atlantis during their first year in Pegasus. "But you're right about Elizabeth. She'll be furious when she finds out."

Sensing that he'd won the argument, Carson waited for the answer. Sheppard eyed him again. "Are you going to be alright? I mean. . . ." He motioned to the rough brown shirt that Carson now wore. "Obviously your uniform was ruined."

"Och, I'll be fine." Carson smiled, but the pain in his back betrayed him. He winced as he tried to shrug, and it gave him away. At Sheppard's pointed look, he waved a hand. "I've got a couple o' wounds that may be deep. But I'm not showin' signs of infection, an' I should be alright for a day or two. Just long enough for ye ta find Jotham and get us out of here."

Sheppard stared at him for a long moment. The night had settled during their conversation, and Carson felt the chill of it permeating the hut. Finally, John turned to Reya. "How often are you brought food and such?"

"I do not know." Reya couldn't meet his eyes. "Normally, the family of the prisoners bring them food, but, since Carson doesn't have family here, I have no knowledge of what my father intends to do to keep us fed."

Sheppard's jaw clenched again as he realized their situation. "Okay, look. We're going to head back to the gate and, providing it's not guarded, radio for backup. And a Jumper. That way, we can track down Jotham and hopefully find him before Dougal does. In the meantime, we'll leave you with what rations we have. That should keep you until tomorrow. If we haven't found him by morning, then we'll try to bring you some warm coats and supplies."

Carson nodded, surprised that Sheppard had given in so easily. He'd have to deal with the fall-out back on Atlantis, he knew. Elizabeth would be none-too-pleased that her Chief of Medicine placed his life in danger in this fashion. But, if he could reunite Reya with Jotham, it would be well worth the risk.

Surprising them all, Ronon shrugged out of the massive coat he wore and gave it to Carson. "Here. It's not much but. . .uh. . ."

"Thank you, Ronon." Carson knew the Satedan wasn't accustomed to showing his emotions very well. But the gesture demonstrated how loyal he was to this team.

Sheppard cleared his throat. "Do you know where Jotham might hide?"

Reya thought for a moment. "There are caves near the Ring of the Ancestors. A lot of them are dangerous, but he might try to hide there. If not, he would go to the western side of the village, away from society into the Bad Lands."

McKay shifted on his feet. "Bad Lands?"

Reya's smile was gentle in spite of her urgency. "They are only bad if you do not know how to survive. And Jotham does. But he may not have much time if Cashel is searching for him."

Sheppard emptied his pockets of the few power bars he'd packed, indicating to the others that they do the same. Rodney fussed, of course, until Sheppard pointed out they could get more when the Jumper arrived. Making sure Carson and Reya had some food for the night was more important. Finally, Sheppard met Carson's eyes. "First thing tomorrow morning. Be ready to go. We should have Jotham by then."

"Aye, Colonel, I hope so." Carson waited while Sheppard closed the door and fixed the lock so it looked untouched. Through the bamboo stalks, he peered into the darkness. "Good luck."

"Thank you," came Sheppard's dry voice. "We'll need it."

~TBC