Chapter 4 - Captured
Teyla tried to sit up. This time she succeeded, though she suffered from the pain. Michael, sitting in the other corner of the cell, staring merely in front of him, did not stir. He had come back an hour ago, but had not said a thing to her, he just sat down there, remaining silent.
"Are you angry with me?" Teyla asked.
"Yes. You did not take your medicines." He turned slowly in her direction. The expression on his face was somber.
"I don't know what kind of effect those medicines can have," she explained. "I just don't want to get poisoned."
"I would not poison you."
"Yes, you would! You beat me with a baseball bat, and you want me to believe that you don't want to hurt me?"
Michael frowned. "Yes, I hurt you once, but that won't happen again," he answered firmly.
"Okay, then let's forget about it, shall we?" Teyla's voice filled with sarcasm, "It's not a big thing anyway."
"You wanted to kill me with your friends," he retorted, getting angry in a flash, "You blew up the planet I was on!"
Teyla sighed, "Why don't you kill me? Come and finish this agony! If revenge is your aim..."
"No," he interrupted, "I don't want your death."
"What do you want from me, then? You want me to suffer? Then enjoy it!" She turned away from him. Her eyes wandered to the rails dividing her cell from the corridor, which was woven all over by organic, moist offshoots. The shade of reddish blood-color turned into pale lilac and brown at some places on the walls.
"I want you to stay here with me. It's the only thing I want from you," he replied quietly.
Teyla's eyes filled with pity. "Michael, I..." she stopped. She was not sure what to say to ease the situation.
They both kept quiet, and they just sat there in silence.
"Michael, I'm glad that I have the chance to see you again," she said finally. "When that planet exploded, I thought that you'd died. I felt so miserable. I've always liked you, and..."
"I don't believe you!" he hissed at her. "Your friendship to me was just a role-play for me to feel comfortable at your base. You've never liked me. You'd never like a Wraith!"
Teyla sighed, and she gave no reply. She saw that sweet talk would not help her that quickly. She needed time to persuade Michael about her good intent towards him. It seemed to her the best way to get out of here if she was able to make him believe that he could trust her.
"Is there a bathroom here or something like that?" she asked a few minutes later.
"I'll show you," Michael got up from the corner, turning to the left wall of the cell. He pulled away an excrescence of the meat-colored branches running up and down on the wall, and pushed a dark button on a thin panel. A hidden door became visible as its two edges departed, opening the way to a hollow, which was dimmed by the plenty of organic, membranous stripes hanging from the ceiling. A few flexible, red, cauldron-like things stood in the small room, pulsating, bubbling with some kind of greenish liquid inside.
It was so disgusting that it made Teyla feel creepy.
"That's your bathroom," he explained. "Do you like it?"
"It's... it's okay," she lied timidly.
Michael threw a cold, exquisite glimpse at her. "You can tell me the truth. You hate Wraith design!"
"Well, it's really... weird, but I do like it. It's something I've never had a chance to see in my whole life. I find it kind of interesting and kind of thrilling." She was not sure if he believed her or not, but he showed no sign of anger anymore, he just went to her, offering his hand to her.
She took it, and tried to get onto her feet, but her head seemed so heavy, so dizzying that she could not stand on her own, she fell into the arms of the Wraith. Michael clasped her in his arms, not letting her sink onto the floor.
"I... I'm sorry..." she gasped. "It's so much pain..."
"No problem," he answered coolly. He lifted her up, and he carried her into the bathroom.
"I... I'd like to take a bath," Teyla whispered, "for my hair is sticky with blood."
"Will you manage to do it alone, or do you want me to help you?" he asked while he was taking her to the biggest cauldron which seemed to share the functions of a bathtub.
„No, I don't need your help," she protested feverishly. „Don't stay here, please."
Michael aided her to sit onto the edge of the tub. "Take care that you don't turn giddy and don't fall..."
"It's okay, you can leave now," Teyla said to him quickly.
"I'll be right here outside, call me if you need help," he told her, leaving.
Teyla sighed, and she began to undress, but her headache turned so acute as she was pulling her vest over her head that she felt unable to go on. She seized the brim of the tub gasping, struggling desperately to keep her balance and not to fall onto the ground.
"Michael," she winced. "Michael, can you, please, come back?"
The Wraith stepped in without saying a word. He went to support her, while she was removing her clothes. Teyla tried to imagine that she was alone, there was no monster standing beside her, but she could not. She did not even notice her pain; her only thought was to get into the tub as soon as possible. When she finally got rid of the last part of her outfit, Michael helped her to sit into the tub. The greenish liquid was warm and smooth around her, she could have enjoyed it in a different situation.
"Do you feel awkward?" Michael asked silently.
"What's your guess?" Teyla sighed. "You've almost killed me, and now you are expecting me to feel alright naked with you in this horrid, disgusting bathroom?"
"So you lied to me again! You don't like this bathroom at all!" His voice filled with anger.
Teyla realized how foolish her reply was.
"Actually, this bathroom is okay," she answered quickly. "I just wanted to say something annoying to you, that's why I told you that it was horrible."
"You are trying to deceive me." Michael's voice became contorted by his fury. "You hate everything about this place, and you hate everything about me!" His gestures became abrupt; his features grew more Wraith-like and appalling.
"No." Teyla took his hand. "We were friends, Michael, and not as a part of your integration into the community of Atlantis. I saw something in your eyes when I first met you, which made me well disposed to you. I truly liked you. Well, it may happen that we are not friends anymore, but I will never hate you!"
The misshapen, evil expression seemed to pass away from his face.
"Does that mean that you see any chance for us to be friends again?" he asked silently.
She sighed. "No, Michael, it's too late for that."
"I intend to heal you; I'm taking care of you. I know your human habits, I know that it's something you should be thankful for..."
"It's not enough for a human friendship."
"I try to be nice to you..."
"You should try it harder or practice it because you still behave like a monster! If you want to be like a human, you should take me back to my friends, you should release me, you should..."
"Enough!" Michael shouted at her. He grabbed her hair which made her groan from the pain. "You'll never leave this place, you filthy humanoid bitch!" The sudden anger burned in his eyes with mad flames.
"Is this the nice part of your personality?" she asked quietly.
He pushed her to the side of the tub violently, and then he left, growling Wraith phrases. Teyla, choking from the pain, held on to the brim for a while. When she gathered enough strength, she began warily washing the blood out of her hair.