Chapter 51
I hope you liked the angst in the previous chapters. One chapter tonight for both stories – Louise and Seasoned with Love. Enjoy and review!(pretty please? Puppy looks)
They've thrown her into a cell and taken everything valuable from her – her watch, her bag, her IDC, her sidearm, even her vest. It's cold and humid in there and she's feeling the cold start creeping her up arms, making her shiver. She doesn't know how long she stays there before a guard enters the room and grabs her not too gently without a word, pushing her along a gloomy corridor. "Where are you taking me?" she demands only to be met by indifference.
She's led into a chamber where the same men she's seen before, plus another one, are sitting behind a long table. She's made to stand in front of them. "What is your name?" one the men asks, not giving her time to ask her own questions.
"Louise Léger," she simply says, seeing for the time being, the only reasonable response is to comply.
"Where are you from?" That's a tricky question. She's not supposed to reveal the location of Atlantis and should be lying but she'd rather die than give it to them so she decides to come clean, hoping it will help. Atlantis has quite some leverage now on their partners around the galaxy. It might make those guys think twice if they're still entertaining the idea of punishing her for stepping through the gate.
"Atlantis," she answers and sees the look of fury in their eyes.
"You're lying!" one of the men bellows. "The Ancient City was destroyed long ago. No one survived the Replicators."
She shakes her head, feeling there's something terribly wrong here. "No. The City was dormant, not destroyed. Surely, you've heard of us – the Lanteans? We wish you no harm!"
The men look very upset. "We have had no contact with any other civilization for centuries and we wish for it to go on as our forefathers declared. The rule admits no exceptions."
The cogs are turning in her head. No contact with anyone and yet they're talking about the destruction of Atlantis. Where has she landed? Provided she's still in the same universe at all.
"We've searched your bag," they go on and one of the guards sets it on the table. "And have found very strange objects in there. We wish you to tell us what they are," the elder orders her.
She shrugs despondently. "You're going to kill me anyway." She's trying not to panic but if she's landed in another reality as she surmises or way back in time, there's no way John will get to her on time, provided he's even realized she's gone. He's probably too occupied flirting with Larrin at the moment.
"We can make it more painful..." he counters, making her fear creep up her spine. He gets a few items from her bag, including her medical kit. She eyes it knowing she'll soon need a new shot and food too if she doesn't want to collapse. The stress is not helping either. She feels weak but tries to keep a brave front.
He pushes the IDC towards her, then the P14, then her medical kit. She names the items one by one, spending more time on the last one. "I have a disease and this is what I need to survive," she says, tentatively opening the bag. Surely these people cannot be so cruel they'll refuse her to be treated properly while she awaits trial?
She gets her device she uses to test her blood sugar level and shows them how it works. That's when it happens. She's not demonstrated how the other two items were working so they're just inert objects for them but when she activates her device, it beeps, making them stand in alarm and point at her, their eyes wide with fear. "That's witchcraft!" The guards grab her from behind and make her fall on the floor where she cowers under the bows they've trained on her.
She slowly lifts her hands in surrender. "I never meant to scare you," she apologizes. "Surely you know of technology if you know about the existence of Atlantis. Let me explain. It's just an object used by our doctors. There's no magic into it."
"Technology was banned from our world by our founding fathers, way after Atlantis was destroyed," one of the men informs her, his face white with rage. "So was medicine. They are a plague for our souls." He puts all the items back in the bag and hands it to one of the guards. "Destroy all this immediately. The population must not even know about it."
"No!" she screams. "You don't understand. If I don't get my medication, I'll die."
"You'll die anyway," the elder replies sternly. "We are going to gather a few of our citizens and you'll stand trial for appearance's sake but you can already prepare your soul. You'll be accused of witchcraft and proof will be brought forward. You do not stand a chance."
She thinks about what John would do, should he be in her shoes and sneers. "What evidence?" she mocks him. "You've just ordered it to be destroyed!"
He sneers. "That, yound lady, won't be too difficult to find. That fair skin you have indicates freckles and moles will certainly be found on your body." He leans forward. "The mark of the devil..." he hisses. He motions for the guards to remove her from his sight. "Our population doesn't take too kindly to witches. They'll gladly watch you burn at the stake."
Her eyes widen with fear. She's landed in a Medieval, backwards society and yes, she doesn't stand a chance. She's inherited it from her father's side of the family. Aiden had nicknamed her Lily when he'd seen her in her swimsuit at the beach because of her fair skin and John always makes sure she puts sunscreen on when he takes her offworld or to the beach to surf. It's always been a joke among her friends as has been Rodney's and above all John's "little witch" nickname but here, it will be her death sentence.
By the end of the next morning, she's too weak to stand and they decide to ajourn the trial after barely an hour. The population is upset and the elders ponder executing her that very day but they need to set an example and she's a godsent.
They've given her bread and soup the night before that she's refused to take, only drinking the water from the pitcher they've set on the floor next to her straw mattress. It's not been enough though to stave off her thirst and keep her sugar level from reaching dangerous limits and she's not been allowed more. She sees they want her alive and standing so she bargains for more water in exchange for eating a little. She's asked for her insulin but has never received an answer about it and surmises it's been destroyed.
She tells herself if she can last a little longer, maybe McKay will figure out where she is and how to get to her but it's now only a flimsy hope in her delirious mind. She's feverish and the elders, seeing she won't last long and won't give them the satisfaction of confessing that she is indeed a witch, even under the duress of torture, finally decide the next morning the execution will take place at sundown.
"You need to work faster, Rodney," John growls at his friend, peaking over his shoulder for the umpteenth time that morning. "Jennifer says she won't probably last more than forty-eight hours before she get into a coma if she doesn't have her insulin. She had barely what she needed for a couple more shots when she left. The rest is still in the medical bags."
Rodney slaps his hand on the table, making a hell of a noise. He turns to John and glares. "I know! And before you say anything else, Sheppard, you're not the only to care about her. I'm doing everything I can. We've figured it out but if I don't narrow it to the moment she stepped through the gate there, we will never get to her on time. I guess retrieving her body is not one of your options, right?" he sniggers. He sees John's murderous look. "Well, then, if you want to get to her while she's still alive, let me work!" He turns back towards his workstation and ignores him altogether so John huffs and leaves the room, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders sagging.
Ronon reaches him as he's halfway down the corridor. "Hey, buddie, he's doing everything he can. I don't know how those archeologists found it in the ruins and I still can't wrap my head around this whole AU thing, but if it can save her, you have to stay put and keep your fingers crossed, OK?"
John gives him a tense smile. "Yeah. But it kills me to be here and do nothing."
"That's not true," Ronon counters him. "With what they discovered at the ruins, we now know it's not the first time it's happened. You acted fast and made sure no one else got lost and that's doing something." He checks his gun and smirks. "And when Rodney is ready, we'll be ready too."
They hear Rodney yelp then leave at a run, right on cue. He skids into a halt in front of Sheppard and allows himself one of his impossibly arrogant "I'm the smartest guy ever" remarks then adds with a blinding smile: "Let's go get our little witch."
"What have you got for us, Doc?" John asks Jennifer, looking as if he were going to explode any minute. He's been pacing up and down the hall for the last fifteen minutes, not even hearing Ronon's remark that he's going to dig a furrow in there if he doesn't stop soon.
She pouts, looking worried. "She was in a coma when you got to her. What do you expect? She's dehydrated, starving and her blood sugar level is gonna take time to reach acceptable levels. No irreversible lesions to her kidneys, eyes or limbs though and that's the only good news I can give you. She has three broken ribs, one that almost punctured a lung, and she's got burn marks all over her body." She is looking at John at the moment so she can't see the others' reaction but his eyes widen in fear. "I told you," she says, "it doesn't look good. I'm treating the burns to avoid infection and if she responds to the insulin treatment, then I'll consider her on the mend. If not though..."
He gasps. "This is a nightmare. This can't be happening," he adds, rubbing his hands on his face he hasn't had time to shave since she disappeared. He's barely caught a few hours sleep. They all have. "Look," Jennifer says, laying a soothing hand on his arm, "I don't want to scare you. And if we want to look on the bright side of things, she was not sexually assaulted."
He nods, looking murderous. "I killed a few of those bastards but if they had, I'd have to go back to finish them all," he says through clenched teeth. She gasps at the unrepressed anger, knowing it's no empty threat.
"Can we see her?" Teyla asks softly.
Jennifer smiles. "She's flickering in and out of consciousness. Give her a few hours and I'll allow you to see her."
They take turns waiting in the corridor while the others grab a quick lunch and shower. Rodney returns to his lab to run simulations with Zelenka on the malfunctioning gate. No one is allowed to step through the gate until they find a solution.
She finally wakes up in the afternoon of the next day, her condition having gone from worrying to recovering.
Jennifer makes it sure everyone understands she must not be kept talking for more than a few minutes at a time, being still very weak. John calls dibs and no one refuses him to go first but Jennifer stops him before he reaches the room. "She doesn't want to see you, John," she informs him, looking embarrassed.
He gasps. "Why?"
"Something to do with how battered she looks at the moment, as I gathered. But I think it's also got to do with the reason why she disobeyed your orders and lied to return to Atlantis," she replies. "Give her some time," she advises him.
"The hell I will," he says, pushing her aside and entering the room.
She's propped up with a couple of pillows and is still hooked to an IV. He sees bandages on her arms and knows there must be more. Jennifer has told him she's counted a couple dozen burn marks all over her body where they tried to burn moles and freckles. She's worried about it and has contacted Beckett to get his expertise. He'll be there shortly to assess the damage.
Louise looks away when she sees him enter. "Why can't you leave well enough alone, John? I told you to stay away from me," she whispers.
"And I won't let you keep me at arms' length, Louise. I've had my share of whumping and you were always there for me. What's so different?"
She shrugs. "I'm a woman. It's not sexy to be whumped," she replies sarcastically.
He chuckles. "You think I'm sexy when I'm whumped? Well, that's good to know! Next time, I'll use it at my advantage."
"I hope there won't be a next time," she whispers back.
He sighs and falls silent. Jennifer enters the room. "Colonel, I'm gonna ask you to leave now. Louise is tired. She needs to rest. You've seen she's alive. The rest will have to wait." Her tone is final and he agrees he must not strain her.
He nods and approaches the bed to kiss her forehead but she turns her head to the other side. "You've heard the Doc, Colonel," she rebukes him.
He's not allowed in her room in the next few days she spends at the infirmary. She's made it clear to Woolsey she does not want him there.
He pouts but relents. "But, Ms Léger, you need to understand you won't be able to keep him at bay for much longer. There are matters to be answered and as military commander of this City and head officer on that mission, it's his right to ask you questions and subsequently discipline you."
She looks away, ashamed. "I know, Sir. I'm just not feeling up to it right now. And you can make the decision yourself if you want. No need to go soft on me because I almost died. I'm guilty of all charges."
"And have to send you back to Earth for disobeying our orders? No, thank you," he answers and stares her down. "You did put us in a very difficult position, Ms Léger. I do not wish to discipline you or have you removed from your position but you won't get out of this unscathed. As for now, I must warn you of one thing, though. Colonel Sheppard might be tempted to ask for your head for putting your life in danger and disobeying his orders as well as lying about what he'd allowed you to do," he points out, making her turn beet red, "but John Sheppard was wild with worry when you disappeared and your friend will demand answers. You'd better be prepared to give them and make amends."
She reflects upon it as she leaves the infirmary, finally being allowed to return to her quarters some days later. She's asked Jennifer to give her a head start before she informs the CO. "Crap," she mutters when she sees him walking towards her in the corridor. He's been obviously waiting for her.
"Crap indeed," he replies with a sarcastic smirk. He crosses his arms on his chest and regards her coolly. She winces, knowing what's next. "Before you head back to the infirmary to yell at Jennifer, you need to know she didn't rat on you. I've been monitoring the cameras since this morning, knowing you'd probably be discharged today."
She nods. "Fair enough. So, what's next? Where do you want to give me a talking-to?" she sneers, looking more confident than she feels.
"Talking-to doesn't even come close to describing what I have in store for you, Léger," he warns her, narrowing his eyes at her.
She cringes and motions for him to follow her. "Well, then, let's get this over with. My quarters?" she offers.
He nods and falls into step with her. She doesn't try to make light conversation. The thoughts are spinning in her mind faster and faster as they approach her room. How is she gonna explain to him why she acted so recklessly?
They get inside and she waits until the door has closed before turning to him. He watches her and gets into her personal space, surprising her. "Before we start with the "talking-to", Louise, I need to do something if that's OK with you." She watches him as he gets closer and lays his hands on her shoulders. "Permission to hold you in my arms?" he asks gently. He hasn't for some time and he needs to make sure she's still OK with it. "Cuz I sure thought for a whole forty-eight hours we'd lost you and that has haunted my dreams ever since."
She walks into his embrace and wraps her arms around his middle but soon whimpers when he wraps his arms more tightly around her shoulders. He pulls away and looks her in the eye. "You still hurt?"
She nods, wincing, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Ribs?" he asks.
She shakes her head. "The burns. They're still not completely healed. Jennifer said they'll leave marks but apart from that I'm OK, it seems."
"I'm sorry," he simply says, caressing her cheek.
She sighs and chokes back her tears. "Not your fault. It was my stupid mistake. I'll have to deal with it. Please, stop stroking my cheek. It's distracting, especially when I know you're going to yell at me."
He shakes his head. "I'm not going to yell at you. I might have if I had not been given time to cool off but I've had time to think, seeing how you forbade me to keep you company," he points out and she hears the underlying reproach.
She pouts. "But you're still going to discipline me for disobeying you..."
He nods. "I need to or soon, there'll be mayhem all over the City. I need to set an example."
Her eyes are now red with unshed tears. "That's what they said to me... That they were using me to set an example," she whispers.
He wraps his arms around her once more. "Louise, I'm so sorry. It's not what I meant. You and everyone else here need to understand how wrong and reckless and stupid what you did was. And for what, might I ask?"
He looks at her expectantly and she sighs. She cannot possibly say it. It's not acceptable. Acting out of pure jealousy is not acceptable – especially after telling him so not so long ago. "I wanted to get back to Atlantis to gather some more food..." she starts.
"Enough," he bellows and sits her on the edge of her bed then crouches in front of her, his glare boring into her frightened eyes. He looks pissed and there's a dangerous edge in his eyes. "You and I both know this is a fat lie, Léger, and an insult to our friendship. I want you to come clean about why you left in such a hurry or I'll do it myself. Don't think for an moment I'm a complete idiot. I did not make it to Lieutenant Colonel by being cute and dumb!"
She shakes her head. "I can't," she whispers. If she says it out loud, he'll act upon it and she's not ready for that.
"Vey well," he says, looking hurt. "Then I'll do it myself. Mila came back with that list of yours and the intel you'd headed for the gate by which time it was too late to stop you. When I wondered aloud why you'd done such a stupid thing when I had promised I'd be down at our tent shortly, she said she knew jealousy when she saw it, confirming my doubts. Now, are you jealous of Larrin, Louise?" He looks into her eyes and waits, his jaw clenched but she doesn't answer and looks away, tears of shame burning in her eyes. "Are you?" he growls. He wants nothing more than to shake her to put some sense into that thick head of hers but he knows her wounds are still healing so he schools himself, slowly breathing in and out.
"I..." she hesitates, feeling they're back to square one and she's going to push him away again just so she won't have to suffer more than she already has.
"Don't lie to me, Léger. You've already pushed my limits too far," he warns her.
She nods and breathes out. "What I'm going to say, I want you to tuck it away in a distant corner of your mind and not use it against me." She waits for him to comply. He nods relunctantly so she knows there's no turning back now. "Ever since we went back to Earth together and spent the night on Midway Station," she whispers, looking away because the memories are too sweet and she needs to be brave here, "you've edged closer and closer, both physically and emotionally. And our recent run-ins with quite a few difficulties have not helped. I've let you get closer because we both needed the comfort of each other's arms." She gulps. "I'm not accusing you of doing it on purpose, John, but you've pushed the limits of our friendship to the breaking point. You cannot tell me you're jealous of men spending time with me and expect us to still be just friends. It's either one or the other, John, and given your reputation and seeing how you've been acting around Larrin, I cannot allow this to go on because, yes, I unwilling felt that pang of jealousy shoot through me when I saw you two together simply because at one point, your attitude towards me let me entertain the idea that there could be more to our friendship than I'd ever imagined. And it's not fair to me, not fair at all, because we both know you'll always feel the need to be Captain Handsome and I cannot simply compete with those girls. Look at me! Look at you!" she scoffs dejectedly.
He gasps. "Louise, no, let me explain..." but she cuts him in.
"There's nothing to explain, John. My bad! I'm ashamed of feeling jealous when I know we'll never be more than friends. So," she adds, and he feels those butterflies in his stomach grow to epic proportions, "from now on, I'm gonna be more guarded. I'm not ending our friendship," she goes on, seeing his look of apprehension, "don't worry. I'll always be there for you. But no holding hands and no nights in each other's rooms. And you need to start seeing other people and let me do the same if we want this to work. It's high time everyone stopped seeing us as an item. It's clearly not healthy for any of us."
He gulps. "Can we talk about the jealousy thing?" he asks, not wanting to let go without at least putting in a good fight.
She shakes her head and looks away. "We don't need to talk about it because it won't happen again," she says pointedly.
"Louise, you're not being fair here," he accuses her. "You're back-pedalling as you always do. Living is forward, you know," he points out, "not backwards. It's normal to have relationships evolve."
"Well, that's the thing, John. I don't want to change a damn thing. I'm moving backwards because you forced me to. I was content with what we had. We'd found a balance and you screwed it up all. Now deal with it!" she says through clenched teeth. She walks to her door and passes her hand over the sensor. The door wooshes open. "Please, leave. I'm tired. I need to rest."
He looks hurt but complies, knowing for the time being, whatever he says, she won't listen. He bites his bottom lip. "I know you don't want to hear it, Louise, but I'm gonna say it anyway. You're scared of living and you're hurting us both in the process. When you disappeared and we thought we'd never find you on time, I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. If that doesn't say something about how I don't care being Captain Handsome if you're not by my side, then what does?"
TBC