Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews!!! For some reason FanFiction isn't allowing me to reply to your reviews. 'shrug' Hopefully I can figure this out before the next update.

Once again I don't own Stargate and anything connected to it, unfortunately

Trouble: chapter four

Teyla sat on the edge of her bed, staring into space. Jennifer had left an hour ago having checked on the baby and Teyla. She was worried about how the stress would affect the baby. Her orders were clear, sleep, eat, relax, but Teyla could not. Every time she closed her eyes, John's face would fill her mind, pain in his eyes and blood covering his face. He would be beaten in front of her, without mercy. So she could not sleep nor eat, guilt eating away at her.

Her head sunk into her hands, sobs racking her body. Teyla did not hear the door to her room open or the footsteps with the grace of a dancer walk to sit beside her.

"Teyla," Ronon murmured, reaching out to pull her close to his chest. She sunk into his shoulder without protest, her ever growing belly making it difficult. Rodney walked up nervously behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He wasn't good at this but she was his team member and as a team they were there for each other no matter how difficult the times. He took the seat next on the other side of Teyla.

And so Ronon, McKay, and Teyla sat in silence. Three team members awaiting the return of their last member, their leader who was currently light years away, out of their reach.

John awoke to Sara dabbing at a particularity nasty cut above his eyebrow. He flinched away with a start which caused Sara to jump back as well.

"Oh...sorry." John mumbled when he realized it was her.

"No, I'm sorry." She said, gaining control over her heart once again and picking up the rag she had dropped. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, 'm fine." He said, struggling to get his own heart rate back to normal. "Is the code done?"

"Yes, and I believe it will work." She told him. She was about to say something when a loud bang echoed outside of the cell door. Sara quickly disappeared back into the shadows just before the Genii soldier walked in and was followed by Sora. The man carried a small syringe and what looked like a regular battery but John had a feeling it was something much more sinister. His gaze dragged back over to Sara who was barely visible in the shadows. She nodded to him encouragingly, feeding him strength even as the man touched the end of the device to his skin. The short contact sent his muscles spasming as the electrical current coursed through his body. Sora did not even look at him as she ordered the 'gate dialed. She did not demand Teyla's surrender once she received conformation that the transmission was received. Spinning she took the needle and plunged it into John's neck muscle, leaving it to dangle in his skin. Slowly, John's vision began to waver. Nothing seemed to be what he knew it to be. He was in a Afghan prison, screams echoed around him and the interrogator was in his face demanding information. He could feel the whip cracking across his back once again, the wooden bats, the knives, the red hot rods, and the car battery scorching his skin and searing his nerves. He screamed out his name, rank, and serial number in Iraqi as the car battery tongs made contact with his skin again.

Only somehow he knew he wasn't in Afghanistan, but he couldn't quite place where he was. Looking over he found himself face to face with his mother's casket. Tears ran down his face as he relived the course of her sickness. She lay in her bed, too weak to rise. He had sat by her every night. Every night but the night she had died. David had talked his nine year old brother into spending the night, one night, at a friend's house. Again the walls around him changed and he was in his room, but not the one in Atlantis, his old room from his childhood. Suddenly his dad walked into the room, he was screaming at him, but John could not tell what he had said or from what point of life he was even in, only that it was after his mom's death. He felt as if he was drowning in the memories, memories of hurt and pain. Broken bones, lacerations, and burns screamed at him but the worst pain was the emotional memories from his life. His failures, people he had been unable to save, people he had walked out on. His scream broke from his lips and echoed in his ears.

Teyla broke down, sobbing as he heard the Colonel's agonizing moans as the drug took effect. Soon he was mumbling and twitching in pain. His words were random and fragmented but she did catch him mutter 'mom' and 'ford' as well as a language she did not know. Rodney had gone pale beside her, apparently understanding more of John's mumbles than her. Hatred over took Ronon as his eyes were no longer on John but on Sora who was smirking down at her tormented prisoner as the soldier occasionally pushed the small device into Sheppard's skin, leaving small round burn marks in it's wake.

Finally Keller had reached enough, she stepped forward. "Stop! This has turned into the simple torment of a man. You are not getting Teyla so please either send Colonel Sheppard back to use or at least stop his pain."

Sora simply frowned, nodding back to the man who shoved the device into the small of his back. His scream was cut short as he fell into the darkness.

"It seems as though this is indeed over, for now." Sora frowned and turned back to the camera. The screen cut out as the 'gate connection was cut.

Sora stomped out of the room, taking the time to run her hand gently through John's hair before she followed the man out.

Sara waited until the door was shut and bolted from the outside before she rose and walked to the limp figure. Although he really wasn't limp, she found. His muscles was spasming at random and he seemed to be reacting to his unseen tormentors, whimpering under his breath. Sara lightly ran her fingers lightly over the burns, wincing as a groan escaped his lips. Tears ran slightly down her cheeks. She understood the pain he was going through, the pains of his past, replayed before him. She knew it had been painful for her with only painful childhood memories, her mother dying, losing one of her many pets, a few cuts and bruises along the way, nothing terribly painful. Sara suspected that Sheppard had had many memories that were much more painful, both mental and physical.

She sighed as he mumbled urgently, tears falling from his unfocused eyes. "'lizabeth...no..no..don't do it- Elizabeth you...you can't..." Sara jumped in surprise as he screamed again. "No!! no..no..no..please..Kolya stop-" He began to shake harder, wheezing from a panic attack, his lungs restricted by his position. Sara ran around behind him, using all of her strength to hold his weight off his arms. Twenty minutes passed before John's breathing had calmed, Sara's legs shaking beneath her. She gently released him, his arms and shoulders taking his weight out of her hands. She sighed and sat down next to him. The drug was wearing off, growing weaker over the last 30 minutes. His screams soon became muffled whimpers as the memories faded. Sara smoothed his blood matted hair away from his eyes but it stubbornly fell back in place. He flinched as her hand traveled down to rest on his cheek, wiping the blood away from his skin.

"Elizabeth.." Sheppard moaned and leaned in closer to her hand. Sara didn't know who Elizabeth was but the thought seemed to bring some comfort to John. She was glad he was able to find some peace in this. Perhaps this Elizabeth was someone wished to return home to. Sara had once entertained those thoughts. Of rescue, of home. Now that she found herself imprisoned with John those thoughts were once again threatening to flame up into hope. Hope she found, to hurt when it was lost. It hurt more than anything her captors could ever even think of doing.

Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think......