Title: Silent Enemy
Author: x_varda_x
Recipient: Written for sqweakie
Prompt: Teyla and Rodney stranded on a planet together.
Word Count: ~20k
Rating: 12A
Summary: After an earthquake, Rodney and Teyla get stranded offworld on a seemingly deserted planet.
Notes: Set sometime in S2. Gen/friendship, with UST and some angst/hurt/comfort. This is my entry for the LJ sticksandsnark exchange. I made a (non-spoilery) banner for it too over on my LJ (linked via my author homepage)

Chapter One

Rodney grumbled passionately all the way across the field from the gate. It was bugs and allergies while they walked through the grass, then the heat and humidity in the forest they entered. Nothing was safe from his observations, and all of it was unpleasant.

Teyla endured his complaints with patience. She usually found his words tolerable, even amusing, but he was being particularly troublesome today for a reason known only to him… the rest of the team, and anything on the planet fortunate enough to be blessed with the gift of hearing.

Before Teyla lost her composure, John stepped up to the task of quietening the wayward scientist. "McKay! You're not going to step on a poisonous frog if you look where you're going instead of at the scanner!"

"But, but…"

Teyla forced a smile. "We are heading towards the caves. I have been here many times with my people. We used to trade here until the inhabitants of this world were culled to extinction, several generations ago. Now there is nothing here other than small, shy animals, shala plants growing wild to use as an herb, and the ore in the rocks for metalwork."

Ronon patted Rodney on the back. "The animals bite."

Rodney grimaced and took one last wistful look at his scanner before pocketing it with a sigh.

----------

Several hours later the team picked their way back to the gate, laden with rock, soil and plant samples. Ronon had caught a couple of creatures about twice the size of rabbits and slung them over his back on a stick.

"Dinner," he uttered when asked.

Rodney was sweating profusely and winded from the heavy pack he now wore. He was the only one who'd brought a rucksack so the others had all thought it would be a fun thing to do if they loaded him up like a donkey. Even though they had each taken it in turns to carry the bag.

It was now Rodney's turn to carry it as they hiked through the field. Rodney huffed and gasped, "Are we nearly there yet?"

John rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "No. That big round thing ahead isn't the way back."

Ronon asked, "Want me to carry it for the last ten steps?"

Rodney looked down at the grass. "No no no. I'm fine," he panted. "One foot in front of the other and everything."

They reached the bottom of the small raised platform the gate was positioned on. It was more of a rock shelf than steps though, weathered over the centuries to be almost smooth. Ronon dialled the gate and sent through his IDC.

John waved at the open wormhole inviting them home. Rodney leant forwards with his hands on his thighs, breathing heavily and rapidly. "Just give me a minute."

John shrugged and left Rodney with Teyla at the foot of the gate podium as he and Ronon went through first.

Teyla smiled kindly at Rodney. "Do you require assistance?"

He frowned back at her incredulously as he straightened up. "Are you kidding?! I have to go through the gate with the bag on. Makes it look like I carried it all the way back by myself. Ten miles!" He lifted his chin up and beamed.

Teyla was a little indignant at his pride, but rationalised that it was better to be in the presence of a happy Rodney, than an unhappy, complaining and demoralised one.

"We should leave."

Rodney nodded, "Way ahead of you."

He hefted himself and the pack up towards the gate. But as he was about to step into the pool, the ground suddenly shifted violently to the left, and then to the right.

Both Rodney and Teyla were sent sprawling, Rodney fell down the rock platform and landing with a grunt next to her. The gate shut down and shook on its foundations in the earthquake.

The tremor seemed to go on for a very long time and Teyla stayed down watching the nearby ground warily in case any fissures formed.

Rodney tried to get up, but Teyla shouted above the tumultuous sound of trees falling and the ground trembling. "Stay down!"

Rodney had managed to get up onto his knees, but quickly lost his balance, even on all fours, and went down. The pack kept him on his side and he covered his head with his arms.

The quake ended with a deafening crack close at hand, and gradually the ground settled and became still. Teyla pushed herself upright. Her legs shook and it felt like the earth was still moving for several unnerving seconds.

She looked at Rodney and asked, "Are you alright?"

Rodney groaned and said, "I think I broke my back. This bag's really heavy." He pulled his arms out of the straps with a relieved sigh and rolled his shoulders as he sat up. He looked up at Teyla, there was a small graze on his face and a thin line of blood ran down his grubby cheek and dripped from his chin. "Next time you can all bring bags and carry your own boulders back."

Teyla reached out to him, only just noticing the cuts and scrapes all over her bare arms from lying and jostling on the ground.

Rodney took her hand as she helped him upright. His eyes widened at something behind her and he breathed, "That better not… no…" He stumbled past her and Teyla tracked his progress, only then seeing what had made him gasp.

The DHD had been split in half where the ground underneath was broken by a small fissure. The gate itself was still intact, but tilted at an angle slightly off completely vertical. They were lucky it had not fallen on them.

Teyla watched with mounting concern as Rodney knelt down in front of the DHD and placed his hands inside the workings. He pulled out handfuls of broken and loose crystals. His face fell in despair as though he was taking apart a much loved friend who could never be restored to health.

Teyla went over and crouched down next to him. "Can they not dial in and send a Jumper?"

Rodney reached down into the pile of crystals he had pulled out and held one half up to her. "No. Without this crystal… well in fact, most of them. We're stuck here."

"Are you able to fix the device so that we may dial Atlantis?"

Rodney looked at her and his mouth hung agape for a second. His face fell into an expression of anger as he waggled his finger down at the pile of components. "What am I supposed to fix it with?! Grass and rocks?"

Teyla smiled at him reassuringly. "I have faith in you, Rodney."

"Can your faith repair broken crystals?"

Teyla released a silent breath, but did not answer.

She stood up and left Rodney to analyse the damage. A quick scout of the area revealed that, apart from the cracked ground under the DHD, most of the earth was stable and solid, although many trees had fallen in the forest surrounding the field. An aftershock shook the land for a few seconds, but she planted her feet and stayed upright.

When she came back to Rodney, he had a small padded bandage secured to his face over the wound. She watched while he sorted the crystals into piles seemingly at random, but he must know what they were for. She asked him, "How long until the Daedalus can come and retrieve us?"

Rodney closed his eyes for a moment and held up one finger. He then snapped his eyes open and looked at her intensely. Teyla thought she saw a flicker of hopelessness, but it was soon replaced by annoyance. "At least four days. Probably nearer to five. They're on their way back from Earth. Provided Atlantis tells them to divert to collect us, then that's my best calculation."

"Then we will need to set up a campsite. Preferably close to the gate for when they do arrive."

Rodney looked at the small fissure under the DHD and then up at the gate, with his eyes wide. His voice shook a little as he spoke, "Not too close, I hope. One more earthquake like that and the gate might fall right over. Honestly, hadn't the Ancients heard of foundations?!"

Teyla looked at the rock under the gate. "Yes, but countless centuries of wear have undermined them. This was going to happen eventually. It was just unfortunate that it happened while we were still here."

Rodney glared down at the mess of crystals in front of him and started to rearrange them into different piles. "Luck, yes. We don't have a lot of that. Especially not me."

Teyla leant down and placed a reassuring hand on his back. "I believe that I am lucky in that you were not injured from falling off the platform and that I am also not here alone."

Rodney grimaced, and nodded. "I won't last a day here. What is there to eat? Doesn't it get cold at night? Oh no! What are we going to sleep on? This ground is like solid rock, my back…"

Teyla gave him a long suffering, but affectionate smile. "I will require your assistance once you have assessed the damage. For now, I will stay here and keep watch."

Rodney blinked at her in panic, "Watch for what?!" His voice rose at the end into a squeak.

"Poisonous frogs and biting animals."

Rodney glared at her and then went back to the piles of crystals, once again restarting his crystal sorting operations. He muttered, "That really isn't funny."

Teyla rubbed his back gently and then settled down on the ground so that she could look out across the field behind him. Close enough to offer assistance if he needed it, but also to keep him safe from the world around them.

----------

Chapter Two

Rodney and Teyla sat together by the broken DHD and tilted gate until the sun was low in the sky. Rodney had rearranged the crystals a dozen times, without any progress at all. Although he had previously found reason to complain frequently and loudly about his discomfort from the grass and pollen and heat, he was so engrossed in manipulating the technology that he only huffed and grumbled a few times throughout the day.

They had rations in their vests and Rodney had, as usual, packed enough power bars and MREs in his rucksack to last them until the next morning at least. They both had P90s, sidearms and knives, so finding food should not present a problem. Teyla remembered a stream in the forest and the water could be used for drinking and washing as necessary.

Survival was not going to be difficult, but it was just the two of them alone on a whole planet. Teyla was unsure how she was going to deal with Rodney once he finally realised that no matter how many times he rearranged the crystals before him, the DHD was truly unfixable. Without any technology or object of scientific interest to occupy his overactive mind, he was bound to become despondent and more irritable than ever.

She broke the silence first. "It will be getting dark soon; we must prepare for the coming night."

Rodney frowned down at the crystals and then stuck his hand in the DHD and pulled out a cracked tray. He waved her off, "You go. I'll be fine."

Teyla looked at him dangerously, although her expression was lost when he did not look up. She said, "You need to help. Unless you wish to be cold and sleep on the hard earth?"

Rodney stopped moving and looked at her, "You wouldn't!"

Teyla narrowed her eyes.

Rodney sighed. "Oh no no!" He tossed the tray into the pile of broken components. "I think I'm done for today. I've now sorted the crystals from least to worst damaged and paired up each broken half."

"That is good progress, Rodney. But our immediate survival has become a priority. I have never before been here at night."

Rodney's eyes widened. "You don't think there are animals? Giant things hiding in the caves that only come out in the dark?!"

Teyla glanced around at the deceptively calm and empty land in front of her leading towards the forest. "I do not know, which is why we must build and maintain a fire. Not only for warmth, but for protection and light."
Rodney stood up and stretched out with a crack. Teyla could not help it as her eyes roamed up his body as he unintentionally showed himself off in that manner, but quickly averted them when he opened his own and looking down at her.

"Alright then. Lead the way, oh wise survival expert."

Teyla pursed her lips and instructed him to empty the pack of its samples and to follow her into the forest. They often had to step over and around broken earth and fallen trees, which slowed their progress.

They soon found the stream and Teyla cleaned the cuts on her arms with the water, but they were already sealed and no longer painful.

Rodney followed her lead and rinsed off the blood on his face. He dabbed at the cut with some disinfectant cream from his medical kit, but succeeded in missing the wound entirely.

Teyla sighed softly and went over to him and crouched down. She eyed the tube of cream and asked, "May I offer assistance?"

Rodney shook her off, "No no. It's fine. I've got it." He continued to liberally spread more cream around the wound, but not to cover it at all.

"Unless you have cuts which I am unable to see, it appears that none of it is on the injury."

Rodney huffed in irritation and handed her the tube. She dabbed it on his face and he winced in pain, making Teyla's heart clench that she was the one hurting him. She suspected that he may have been exaggerating to gain her sympathy, but his expression did not look unreal and it did not stop her reaction. She quickly finished and said, "You may relax now, Rodney."

He opened his eyes and released a shaky sigh as Teyla pressed the tube into his hands. He frowned down at her arms, "You're hurt too!" He waved the tube around, "Do you need some?"

"I am quite alright, but thank you."

They re-filled their water canteens and collected wood on the way back. Rodney mentioned several diseases Teyla had not heard of by the names he gave them, but she did not press him for an explanation. To her relief, he was soon too heavily laden and breathless to talk any more. Although Teyla may have intentionally overloaded him for that purpose, she too was carrying a great deal of small logs and twigs.

By the time they got back to the designated campsite near the gate, the sun had set and darkness was closing in, along with cooler air.

Despite Rodney's frequent complaints, he did as she asked, and they soon had a fire lit, and enough of the soft grass was flattened down for sleeping on.

They took an MRE each and sat next to the fire. Teyla glanced at Rodney and saw the lick of flames reflecting in his intelligent eyes. His face was brightened in flickering shadows and the orange of the firelight, accentuating his handsome features and most notably his solid jaw line. He caught her looking and turned the piercing glance towards her. "So, what are we going to do for fun around here tomorrow?" he asked.

Teyla offered him a small smile. "I thought we may go hunting."

"We? As in both of us?"

Teyla frowned at him.

He elaborated, "But I can't hunt! I'm trying to fix the gate, and besides, I don't want to have to kill small furry animals."

Teyla felt anger rising within her that he thought himself better than to lower to the level of a hunter. She lost some of her composure in her reply, "If you do not help, you will starve."

Rodney squeaked in fright, "You wouldn't let that happen!"

Teyla held her tongue and changed the subject instead. "How far have you progressed with fixing the gate?"

Rodney sighed and gazed into the fire pensively. "Not very. Honestly, I don't think I can do any more without replacement parts, it's pretty much hopeless."

"You may continue once we have sufficient food."

He did not complain again as they finished off their dinner. Teyla looked at him as he yawned loudly and stretched his arms up over his head before relaxing and blinking languidly back at her.

They sat in companionable silence for a while longer. Teyla used the time to meditate on the day's events, until Rodney broke her out of her thoughts. "I'm going to try and get some sleep."

Teyla nodded, "I will keep first watch."

"I thought there wasn't anything here?!"

"As I informed you earlier, I have never been on this world at night." She thought that perhaps one of the native animals would not be danger to them, but if they were attacked by a pack it could quickly get out of hand.

Rodney sighed, "Better safe than sorry." He steeled his expression, "Well, wake me up in a while and we'll swap places."

"Very well."

Teyla kept looking out and listening intently for any unfamiliar and threatening noises. Other than the sound of Rodney's heavy breathing and occasional grunting snores, there were none.

She went over to him and was startled to find him shivering. The air was quite cool, but she had not realised how cold he was. She placed her hands on his back but could not lie down as she had to remain wary for danger.

He woke up on his own a couple of hours later and blinked up at her sitting next to him. His expression quickly changed into confusion and nervousness. "How long have you been watching me?"

Teyla looked away and out into the darkness beyond their small circle of firelight. "I am watching over you. Should my sightline not include you also?"

He cleared his throat, "Yes, probably. Anyway, it's my turn."

She gratefully exchanged places with him and soon slipped into sleep.

----------

Teyla spent some time hovering between the blissful state of sleep and wakefulness, enough so that she felt another body lying behind her, pressed against her back. Rhythmic breaths passed over her neck and she shivered. She turned her half-open eyes behind her, and saw that it was actually Rodney behind her with his front pressed up against her back, drooling slightly in sleep. There was pleasant warmth between them and Teyla leant back into him where they fitted together. That was until she heard a soft snore and startled fully awake in shock.

She sat up and shook his shoulder. "Rodney! You are supposed to be keeping watch!"

"I'm tired," he mumbled, keeping his eyes closed. "It's been a long day and I've got sore bruises over the bruises on my wrenched back. Why did you make us carry so much wood back?"

When she did not answer, he opened his eyes and Teyla gave him a stern look. He looked bewildered and grabbed the life signs detector out of his tac vest pocket. "I set it to make a loud noise if anything or anyone approaches. We'll wake up if any animals try to get us."

Teyla sighed and nodded. "Very well. But you should have informed me earlier, before I kept watch for many hours."

Rodney looked abashed. "Well, I was so sleepy, I could hardly think straight. If you hadn't made us traipse all through the forest and carry half a tree back I might've thought of it."

Teyla smiled and said, "It is alright. I am also very tired."

The fire had nearly gone out and the air had become cold. Teyla shivered and rubbed her arms. Rodney leant forwards and ran his large, rough and warm hands up and down her bare arms, making her shiver in a completely different way.

He suddenly let go and looked away. "Sorry. Sorry!"

Teyla took both of his hands in her own and held them tightly.

Rodney sat up and unzipped and pulled off his tac vest. The jacket came off next and he passed it to her. Goosebumps immediately rose on his arms shadowed in the dull light from the remaining fire. Teyla shook her head, "I am cold, but it is not that bad."

Rodney dug in his heels though. When she didn't take the jacket, he tossed it into her lap and put his tac vest on again. "You need it more than I do."

Teyla wrapped it around her shoulders and felt the heat still locked in the material seeping through to her skin. Rodney's warmth. It smelt of him too, a tangy mix of dried sweat and soil. It was not unpleasant though as it only served to intensify the pure male scent of Rodney that was now surrounding her and making her senses tingle.

She got up and added more logs to the fire until it was roaring and warm once more. She went back to Rodney who was curled up on his side and lay down behind him, opening the jacket and wrapping her arms and the material around his bare arms to keep him covered. He drew his legs up towards his chest and Teyla matched his shape with her own body to conserve the heat.

She liked the solid feel of him pressed against her chest and the way his ribcage expanded and contracted where her arms were encircling him snugly. His breathing soon evened out in sleep and his shivering slowed and stopped in the heat pooling between them.

Teyla smiled and drew in a deep breath, not minding that Rodney's messy and unkempt hair was mere inches from her nose, nor the smell or feel of him where she held onto him so tightly.

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Chapter Three

"There's nothing here but squirrels and flowers and broken trees," grumbled the only other person on the whole world with Teyla.

It was nearing midday and they were still hunting through the forest trying to catch some of the rather elusive animals.

Teyla kept lookout with her gun poised as she quietly asked, "Squirrels?"

"A small rodent. More fur than meat. You'd need to catch about ten of the things for a decent meal. Although you'd probably end up with the fleas making a meal out of you and then you'd get sick."

"Ronon believed the animals on this world to be suitable for consumption."

"You're talking about a man who'll eat anything to survive."

"And we must do the same."

Rodney frowned and kept his lips parted, but he was unable to think of a suitable retort and his mouth snapped shut.

Teyla suddenly held up her hand and motioned for him to stop and keep silence. Rodney glanced around, but he couldn't see anything. Hoping to get a better view of what Teyla had spotted, he sighed and stepped backwards.

There was a loud crunch as he stepped on a twig, followed by a rapid scurrying sound that gradually got quieter as it moved further away.

Teyla turned and looked at him and Rodney smiled lopsidedly back at her. Fury twisted Teyla's face and Rodney knew he had really done it this time to break her usually rock solid veneer of calm.

She kept her voice low and neutral when she spoke though, belying the obvious anger in her features. "Perhaps you should return to camp and continue repairing the dialling device. Otherwise I believe we may starve before we are rescued. We have nothing at all to show for spending the entire morning hunting."

Rodney nodded, slightly peeved that she was telling him to go away, and equally relieved that he wouldn't have to carry dead animals back to the camp. And to get out of the firing line of Teyla's wrath, which would no doubt involve sticks soon if he annoyed her too much.

Their radios were off to conserve battery power, so Rodney walked back to the camp in silence. His only guide was the life signs detector and the batteries in those things lasted a long time, but not indefinitely.

His back was itchy in the heat, so he removed his tac vest and slung it over his shoulder.

As he went, he snagged some wood to replenish their stocks, even though it was heavy and rubbed his bare arms and was no doubt giving him some parasitic infection or another.

When he reached the field, he had a very brief moment when he thought about removing his shirt too, but quickly put that thought down to heat stroke addling his mind. He would rather his skin didn't turn red and flaky from the sunlight, and he also really didn't want to be caught strutting around bare-chested when Teyla got back. She'd be upset, and he'd never live down the embarrassment.

He dumped the wood into the pile with the rest, and left his vest by the remains of the fire. He unclipped his gun and dropped that off too, relieved at the removal of the weight strapped around his thigh. He pulled at the material stuck to his upper leg where it had been attached and grimaced.

Swigging down some water and wiping his brow, he wandered over to the useless DHD and sat down in the grass. The crystals were still there exactly how he had left them.

He sighed and used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face and eyes again, which stung as he did so.

The DHD was well and truly broken. He might be able to put the crystals back where they should go, but even then there was no way he could get it to work. The gate itself might be damaged anyway.

He wished Teyla was there so that he could have someone to share his pessimism with. Grumbling internally did nothing to alleviate his bad mood. So he mumbled out loud in a stream of negativity that would've made even Teyla downcast.

Rodney stomach rumbled and he shifted uncomfortably at the hungry ache within him. He prodded the crystals again and sighed, wondering what to do with himself. Deciding that he might as well make himself useful, he stood up and was about to set off back towards the forest to gather some more wood, when there was a sharp pain in his back.

He cried out more from the shock that the pain, and spun around.

What he saw made him yelp again in fright, even as another spear was jabbed towards him. His instincts obeyed him for once and he dodged out of the way and held up his hands.

Like an idiot, he'd turned off the life signs detector with attached alarm, not only to conserve the battery, but also because he felt safe in his own arrogant belief that there was nothing dangerous on this world.

But now, judging by the glint of the sharp pointed weapons and the gleams in the eyes of those who wielded them, he was about to pay for that mistake with his blood and pain.

There were at least ten fur clad and camouflaged humans surrounding him. He wished more than anything for his gun or radio or to have Teyla there so that at least they could stay together.

Teyla! She didn't know about them either! If he were to be subdued or killed, they'd go after her next. He couldn't let that happen!

They held long wooden stakes as spears, complete with sharpened rocks attached to the end. A good indicator of their hostile intentions. Some had knives fashioned in the same way, with animal hide or vines wrapped around the hilts.

Their faces were painted in stripes of blue, white and black, and they malevolently glared at Rodney from under the mask of the skin markings.

He shifted between his feet again and peered around at all, his hands shaking where he held them up and sweat running down his forehead and back.

Rodney broke the tense silence when he asked, "Wh-what do you want? Where did you come from? We thought this world was uninhabited!"

They did not reply. In fact, they made no sound at all, even as one of them rushed him. Rodney quickly sidestepped and bunched his hands into fists, ready to fight from becoming another meal for these insane, invisible people. If their get up was anything to judge them by, they were really into human sacrifice and were no doubt cannibals too - just to complete the unprovoked attacking crazy native package.

They all suddenly tipped their spears down and staked them into the ground so that they were unarmed.

Rodney's heart sank – they wanted him alive, and preferably unharmed, but he wasn't going to let them take him. No no. At least not until Teyla came back.

The punch into his back caught him offguard and Rodney lost his breath as he was thrown forwards into the waiting fist of another man. This one connected with his jaw and finally galvanised him to fight back.

He punched and kicked and screeched at them. Hoping the noise against their strange muteness would discourage or scare them away. But they were unfazed and if anything, even more aggravated by the sounds he made. He took a lot of hits and soon sunk to his knees, panting and exhausted and unable to get a full range of movement through the pain.

He continued to shout at them, hoping that maybe his cries would at least breach the forest and alert Teyla to the danger.

He fought them with all the strength he had, and then pushed out more. But what could one unarmed civilian scientist do against ten armed and hostile men?

Keep fighting was his only reply. And try not to let them kill you.

He grabbed the nearest leg from his strategic position on the ground and gave it a pull.

One man down, nine to go.

A kick in the chest and then one in the stomach stopped that plan of action. He lashed out again.

Two men down. Eight to go.

No! That first one seemed to be up again! How did that happen?!

Nine to go.

He looked around himself and blinked.

Okay… ten to go.

Rodney wasn't a complete pushover and he wasn't going to let them take him without first fighting tooth and nail. Unfortunately that meant they had to subdue him, and their only method for taking him down was to rain equal violence back at him in return. Strong as he was, ultimately he was no match for ten men

A kick to his face made his nose gush blood and he coughed. He found that he could no longer fight with unconsciousness as well as the natives. The last image to enter his mind was of all ten natives, although some looking a little worse for wear, retrieving their spears and angling them towards him with evil intent etched on their faces as he slumped forwards and sprawled out onto his front.

Maybe they were going to kill and eat him after all, but at least he was out of it, and hopefully he'd sustain them for long enough that Teyla would remain safe.

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Chapter Four

Once she had been left alone, Teyla had finally been able to catch some of the easily startled creatures. She was starting to enjoy the extra time she now had on the planet, almost like it was a holiday, finding herself, especially grateful for Rodney's company on what would otherwise have been a very lonely wait for rescue. His constant stream of words were usually irritating, but Teyla found comfort in them now – the way that nothing that was on his mind was ever kept inside him, and the life signs detector he wielded reassured their safety

She could not help the slightly selfish notion in her heart that she was glad that the gate had shut down when it did - before he went through.

She carried four of the creatures from her hunt, and based on the size and weight of the animals, it would be plenty of food for the rest of the day and most of tomorrow too. Rodney's pack was filled with edible nuts and berries she had found.

The planet was suitably peaceful, except for Rodney himself being there. Now that there were no longer any pressing survival issues, she might spend some time in quiet meditation and reflection, provided Rodney allowed her a moment of uninterrupted silence to do so.

When she arrived back at the campsite several hours after Rodney had left her, she was not immediately concerned that Rodney wasn't there. He was a grown man after all and had more than once shown that he could take care of himself. Perhaps he had sought shade from the heat?

She saw that the wood pile was higher than earlier and made a mental note to thank Rodney for using his initiative. It may only be a small thing, but for a man such as him, who despised such primitive ways, he would hopefully see it as a great compliment, and it may help to encourage future similar behaviour.

But a seed of worry was planted in her when she saw that Rodney had left not only his tac vest, but also his weapons and water canteen behind. Most alarming of all was that the life signs detector was lying by the dialling device, inactive and covered in grains of soil. He would not be so foolish as to venture away from their camp unarmed, without any supplies at all. Even if he wasn't going to use it, she doubted he would leave behind a device as precious to him as one of the Ancestral scanners.

Teyla frowned and relieved herself of the heavy burden of supplies she bore. She glanced around and even amongst the broken and upturned earth created by the earthquake the day before, there were clear signs that a struggle had taken place.

She crouched down and ran her hands over the ground next to the dialling device. She had learned to track in her childhood and found that the marks were of many pairs of feet, most likely human. How they were on the planet and who they were, she did not know.

She frowned down at a patch of dark liquid on a nearby rock. She ran her hand over it and when she looked at what it was, she was startled. It was blood. Although she didn't know whose blood it was, or whether it was even human, she suddenly felt a deep pang of anxiety for Rodney's current condition and whereabouts.

She gathered his weaponry and tracked the footprints and drops of blood away from the campsite. The prints were difficult and nigh on impossible to see in places where the trail led her into the devastated trees, but the blood splatters were clear enough. None of Rodney's prints were in amongst them, which was also of great concern to Teyla and increased the urgency of her hunt.

She found Rodney a short while later. He was surrounded by ten tall and strong looking men. They appeared unarmed, but stakes were driven into the ground in a circle around the clearing they had chosen. They moved around and carried out their tasks in absolute silence. Not a word or a whimper left their lips and Teyla also kept her peace and resigned herself to watch the proceedings and only intervene when safe to do so.

Then she saw Rodney.

His body was slack in the bonds wrapped around both of his forearms and wrists and tied to the thick posts driven into the ground on either side of him in the middle of the circle, so that he was suspended with his feet trailing on the ground. It gave the natives access to his back and front for whatever they were about to do to him. It looked most uncomfortable, but Rodney seemed unaware.

Rodney's eyes were closed and his mouth hung open. She could see dark bruising around his eye sockets. His nose was swollen too and there were streaks of blood on his face and shirt where it had dripped down.

She was afraid for him and what they were going to do. But she was also ashamed of herself that she had let him be captured. If he were to be killed by them, she would not only have failed him, but herself in her duty to protect him.

One of them suddenly approached Rodney's limp form with a wickedly long and sharp knife. It may only have been crudely hewn rock, but it would cause serious, and most likely, fatal damage if used on him. Teyla's hand tightened on the trigger and she took aim, but the man merely used it to slit open Rodney's shirt and remove the material. There were several livid bruises on his pale midsection and Teyla fought down a sympathetic wince. But he was completely unresponsive to any touch or press of the hands of the men surrounding him.

Teyla released the breath she had not realised she was holding, and willed her thumping heart to slow. She prayed to the Ancestors that they had no desire to kill him or hurt him as part of their silent plan, but she held her gun ready so that at the first sign of the intention of physical harm against him, she would be ready.

They had some bowls of paint and daubed it on Rodney's skin in stripes of white and black and blue. It stained his front and back and face in diagonal streaks like animal markings.

There were too many and Teyla was forced to keep her peace and watch as they carried out their ritual. Her gun was up and ready as she kept it pointed towards them in case they tried to injure Rodney with the knives and spears they wielded. She had no desire to kill people unless she was provoked. They may have taken Rodney away and drawn some blood from him, but as much as she could see, he was alive and breathing and most importantly - whole.

Two men approached Rodney as he started to moan and twitch against the restraints. One held a small bottle and the other grabbed Rodney's head and tilted it back. Rodney flinched when they gripped the bruised part of his face and then started struggling in earnest.

Before they tipped the liquid down his throat, which could have been poison for all Teyla knew, she started shooting over their heads. They were so startled and afraid of the noise that they abandoned their ritual and ran away. Although judging by the drying patch of liquid on his discarded shirt, they had already forced him to drink the poison or drug before she had arrived.

They just left him there: shirtless, and skin-marked, staked out and strung up between the two posts.

She asked herself why they would do such a thing, but was unable to find a suitable answer.

She cautiously approached and cut him loose. He was a heavy weight as she slowed the speed of his slide to the ground in a limp heap. She held him in her arms and he blinked up at her tiredly through the marks on his face. "Teyla?" She placed a hand on his forehead to soothe and ground him and he looked confused. "You came? I thought they were going to eat me!"

"I am here, Rodney. I believe you have been drugged and beaten, but you are safe now."

She retrieved her canteen and held his head up, with her fingers curled into his soft hair, as she tilted the water bottle to his lips for him to sip. Some of it dribbled down his chin and he huffed and wiped it away in annoyance.

He gave her a weary smile just before his eyes fluttered shut and Teyla released her hold and carefully laid him down on his side. She used some more water and a piece of cloth to clean the paint off his face and chest. As she sponged more and more of the markings off, and saw him up close, she found that patches of his skin were red with scrapes and purple with bruising. She gentled her touch to the lightest of sweeps as she revealed more and more injuries on his torso. His skin was pale in the light and he murmured in his sleep many times. But the drug to keep him complacent was good as very little of his pain broke through to consciousness.

His back was the same. Each stripe of colour intersected with his backbone and spread out over his shoulders and around his ribcage and sides to meet up with the paint on his front. She found two small, jagged puncture wounds, one in his lower back and the other near his navel. But they did not appear to be very deep and no blood came from them.

She retrieved his ruined shirt and wrapped it around his shoulders and waited for whatever they had given him to wear off.

----------

Rodney started stirring little over an hour later and Teyla deemed him well enough that they could leave the forest and take up a defensive position by the gate. That location would be best, as there were very few obstacles blocking the view all the way around the gate across the field there.

As she hefted Rodney upright, he suddenly pulled himself away and collapsed down onto his hands and knees and vomited into the undergrowth. Teyla crouched down and rubbed his back. She placed one hand on his shoulder and one in his hair to comfort him as he groaned and shook.

"Are you able to continue?"

"Water…" he gasped.

She passed him the canteen and he swigged and spat out a mouthful before taking a longer draw and swallowing.

They staggered back to the campsite as the sun lowered, Teyla refilling both canteens in the stream on the way. Once they were back, she helped Rodney to sit down and then dabbed some of the disinfectant ointment on the open wounds she could see. He tensed up, but his eyes were still half closed and his only response was a few quiet hisses and flinches.

When she was done, she placed large plasters over the sorest looking injuries and then rewrapped him in his torn shirt and enclosed the jacket around him.

The drug he had been given did not seem to have completely worn off yet and he tipped over to one side the moment Teyla let go of him. She made sure he reactivated the scanner life-sign alarm and then lay him down and he was soon deeply asleep.

She built up and lit the fire again, preparing and roasting some of the meat for dinner. Rodney remained unconscious though, so she ate on her own in silence.

She soon felt tired, so lay down behind Rodney. She wrapped her arms around his upper body from where she fitted herself into place behind him as she had done so the night before for warmth. She smiled at the steady and rhythmic tap tap tap of his heart against the hand she held spread out in the middle of his chest. It lulled her and tried to make her sleep, but she stayed awake for his sake and revelled in it instead.

So entwined with him, she began the night's vigil.

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Chapter Five

A few hours later, still in the dark, Rodney was feeling sufficiently well enough to wake up and moan.

Teyla passed him a canteen and he swigged it down greedily. He then munched his way through the roasted meat she had cooked earlier, wrinkling his nose, but not complaining for once. He must have been really hungry to place his hollow belly above the need to talk and berate the food he took.

"Why did they attack you?" she asked. "Did you do something to provoke them?"

"I don't know," he mumbled with his mouth full. He made a giant gulp and his voice cleared. "And no, I didn't provoke them. Do I seem like the kind of man who aggravates weapon-wielding crazy people?!"

Teyla kept her lips sealed.

"I have no idea. They surrounded me, I told them to leave me alone, and then they attacked." He puffed out his chest and lifted his chin, "I fought them off for a few minutes but then I must've fallen on one of their outstretched fists, because the next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground in your arms. Not necessarily a bad way to wake up," he added with a smirk. "But I would've preferred it without the added fun of the bruises and nausea."

Teyla allowed him to finish and was glad for the darkness to conceal her expression. "You spoke to them?"

"Yes."

"Perhaps that is why they became aggressive. All the time I watched them, no words or sounds were exchanged. They may have perceived you as a threat."

Rodney looked at her wide-eyed and horrified. "These people don't talk, and attack those who do?!" His eyes darted from side to side, "H-how? Why?"

"I do not know. But until we are rescued, it may be prudent to keep our spoken words quiet and to a minimum. Silence would be preferable, but I do not think even I can ask that of you."

Rodney glared at her, "Are you saying I talk too much?"

Teyla answered as tactfully as she could, although, it was very tempting not to. "It is not a negative trait, but it could be dangerous on this world."

Her words had the desired effect and Rodney's shoulders slumped from the defensive tenseness his frame had taken. He had been ready for a fight, but Teyla thought it would be cruel to engage him in one so soon after his ordeal. At least it marked that he was indeed feeling better, and for that Teyla was glad.

She drifted off into a light sleep and was easily awoken what felt like only moments later by an insistent shaking of her shoulder courtesy of a fearful looking Rodney. "There's something out there," he whispered with his eyes wide and shining in the dark.

It was very cold and cracks of light were splitting the sky indicating the approach of dawn. Teyla placed a finger on his lips to keep him quiet and nodded as she drew up her P90. The fire had burnt low, but not low enough so that they would be hidden from anyone approaching.

Rodney also had his sidearm ready and brought out the life signs detector and deactivated the alarm. He waved it at Teyla and she saw there were many readings encircling them and closing in.

Rodney whispered fearfully, "What do they want?"

"I am unsure." Teyla said under her breath, right into his ear. "I have been here before and not seen them, so I do not know their intentions. Perhaps they dislike us staying on their world for so long."

Rodney nodded and they watched the approach of the life signs in trepidation.

They were soon surrounded by many men, all wielding spears and knifes hewn of the same rock as the ones from the day before. Torchlight and dull firelight glinted off the implements aimed towards them.

Teyla was unsure how to proceed, but she knew that just the two of them could not hope to stand against the others without much bloodshed and their inevitable deaths at the hands of the silent hidden warriors.

Without using her voice, she stood up and held her hands out in supplication, hoping that the universal sign of friendship, but not surrender, would prevent them from attacking. She felt the reassuring weight of the P90 clipped to her vest and ready to raise at a moment's notice.

Rodney grunted and heaved himself upright. He swayed alarmingly and Teyla had no choice but to turn and grab his upper arm to prevent his fall. He hung his head down and blinked tiredly as he rubbed at his forehead and grimaced.

He released an involuntary and ever so quiet moan, but the natives were quicker than Teyla was to defend him and a spear was jabbed at his unprotected back. Rodney flinched into Teyla and cried out in pain. "Hey! Ow!"

Teyla was still regaining her balance after Rodney's weight had just knocked into her, so was unprepared as she was grabbed and her hands swiftly bound behind her back and a foul tasting gag tightly pulled into her mouth so that she could no longer close it.

They took her gun, perhaps sensing its worth even though they did not have such weapons themselves.

As earlier, this was all done in unnerving silence.

Rodney was soon similarly bound, but able to walk, so it was unlikely to be more than his pride that had been badly hurt by the spear.

The natives surrounded them, clad in animal skins of brown and stripes, and Teyla and Rodney were herded into the woods in the chill of dawn, now in enough light so that they could see where they were going and not trip so bound.

----------

After much stumbling and attempts to remove the wrist restraints on Teyla's part, she, along with Rodney and their companions, soon reached the caves. It was completely light by then and the air was beginning to warm.

The caves were as Teyla remembered then, there were many tunnels each formed of two walls leading up and open to the sky. But Teyla had never known there to be people here, they must have hidden themselves away when she had visited. They were clearly intolerant of anyone staying for longer than a few hours though if this treatment was any judge of their ways.

They were brought into an open chamber, also well lit by the gaps in the ceiling, but the natives also held flaming torches aloft to increase the light.

Teyla and Rodney were pushed down to their knees. Rodney grumbled vehemently and unintelligibly through the gag, although Teyla got the gist of what he was complaining about from the tone. She turned to him just in time to watch as his growl was abruptly cut off by a swift kick in the sternum by one of the men.

Rodney's breath left him in a cough as he fells sideways and scrunched his face up in pain. He didn't breathe for a few seconds and Teyla shuffled nearer to him in concern, but then he coughed again, drew a noisy breath through his nose and opened his eyes.

Shifting his eyes to Teyla first, she nodded at him and then he knelt back up on his haunches and aimed his best glare at the men encircling them. Teyla was sincerely glad she had never been subjected to the same look Rodney was now giving their captors, but could imagine the anger behind it, as she too was feeling incredibly put out by their treatment.

She could see the coverings the men wore over their feet from her strategic position near the ground. They were also made of animal hide, but as she studied them, she now understood why they were so difficult to track the previous day and why she had never noticed their presence before. For Ronon to not have noticed any habitation on the planet was concerning, but the people here must have learnt to hide themselves from offworlders as well as the Wraith to remain as well hidden as they were.

The first woman they had seen that day entered the area from one of the side tunnels. She had a large covering over her head, made from more animal fur with horns attached. She gestured to the men encircling the captured Lanteans and then indicated the tunnel.

Teyla and Rodney were then pulled upright and shoved onwards along the tunnel. It became darker as there was no longer the light from the sky where the rocks were split in half. She allowed Rodney to go ahead of her and in the silence he stumbled and she heard his breaths coming in noisy pants through his nose.

She went over so that they walked side by side in the low ceilinged and increasing dampness of the small tunnel. She bumped his shoulder and nodded reassuringly, but his eyes spoke of panic and he looked up at the low ceiling in great terror.

Although Teyla had not previously heard of the enclosed space fear that Rodney had, prior to her getting to know the people from Earth, she could understand it. The walls were close and they were both helpless against their captors with their hands bound and mouths blocked. The earthquake that had led them to become stranded on this world together was also some cause for worry. If the caves were in any way unstable and another tremor struck, they could be trapped or crushed by falling rock.

They soon reached a second larger room, still sealed off from the elements, and Teyla heard Rodney's laboured breaths deepening and slowing. They shared a look and then faced the woman who had led them there.

Teyla felt the bonds on her wrists loosen and then fall away, then the strip of cloth around her head was released. She worked her jaw to ease the stiffness and licked her dry lips. Rodney sighed next to her and he rubbed at his wrists and then removed the gag himself. He glared at the people around them, but Teyla was glad to see that he had learnt his lesson, for he did not speak.

The woman led them down another tunnel and only two guards went behind them now. Teyla tried to remember the path they had taken, but it seemed that for each tunnel and featureless room they passed through, there were numerous intersecting passageways and they were not straight, so she soon lost her bearings. There were no signs of habitation in any of the tunnels they traversed, and she was beginning to understand how the natives had remained hidden all the times she had previously visited. She had never gone this far before, nor even realised the true extent of the cave network.

A tunnel sealed by fallen rocks on the left of the passage reminded her of the earthquake again, but the natives merely bypassed it and continued the meandering way to wherever they were leading Teyla and Rodney.

Rodney suddenly coughed and rubbed the centre of his chest, making the natives halt and stare at him for the noise, but he had the sense to keep his mouth shut this time, and merely grimaced. Teyla gripped his upper arm and squeezed in comfort and he furrowed his brow. In the silence, it was all she could do.

They entered another large room, and this one finally showed some signs of occupancy. There were paintings on the walls depicting complex scenes which would require closer scrutiny to understand.

The natives stopped and indicated for Rodney and Teyla to sit. They complied and the woman came back a few seconds later holding a long and ornately carved piece of wood with one sharp end. It must have indicated some form of rank in the society that she wielded the stick and special headdress and that the visitors had been brought to her. She sat down in front of Rodney and Teyla and drove the stick into the ground in front of them so that it was upright. The guards stood behind them with their spears, and Teyla was keenly aware of them and all available exits in case the natives wished harm upon either of them.

The woman indicated the walls around and eyed them suspiciously in the flame brand orange glow.

Teyla and Rodney walked together to the edge of the room and examined the paintings, which illustrated the history in a series of crude lines and shapes and colours. They showed a timeline of events which had led to the confinement and silence that was apparent all around them now.

The pictures showed that people had once spoken like they did on every other world. But then the Wraith had come. They took all the people and destroyed the dwellings. Those who were able and swift of foot took refuge in the caves, but they inferred that speech and living in the open had brought the Wraith down on them.

So it was true, as she had suspected from the moment she saw the people - they were the descendants of those culled by the Wraith many generations ago. But cowed and living in silence and hiding from their fear. They would not become a great society living this way, but as no one else had known of their existence, then perhaps what they had would work, as it was unlikely the Wraith knew either.

The children never learnt speech as no-one around them talked. It was five generations ago that the Wraith came. No one had uttered a word since then, so any words from Teyla and Rodney, they simply would not understand. They could only communicate in actions, gestures and by indicating the paintings showing their history.

Anyone who spoke after the time they had fled into the caves was put to death. The image showed a man staked out, much in the same way Rodney had been before Teyla intervened. Lines emanating from his mouth showed that he was still talking. So they drugged all who did not comply and left them to die in an agonisingly slow execution at the mercy of the elements. It was barbaric. But so many civilisations had lost their way in the hope of surviving the cullings.

Teyla would never have allowed her people to have been so thoroughly destroyed by the fear of culling. For that way the Wraith would destroy not only their culture, but their hearts and minds also. A world without speech was peaceful, but she thought it better to live for fewer seasons with knowledge and talking and laughter, than to live a life of peace in what was essentially solitude of the mind.

If the Wraith did not come, then it clearly worked, but how had they remained completely hidden?

Teyla turned to Rodney for his reaction and to make sure he comprehended what they were being shown, but he was frowning down at his scanner, the shifting light playing across his features while he worked and accentuated his jawline in shadow.

He turned to Teyla with his eyes alight in excitement and waved his scanner at her as he whispered, "The rocks are shielding us. No life signs."

But the caves were large and even the smallest sound echoed loudly in the stillness.

Rodney once again found himself on the receiving end of a savage jab by one of the guards. He cried out in pain as he was pushed forwards from the impact to his back. Teyla grabbed him and ran her hand down his back checking for blood and injury. When she looked to the native who had attacked him, she noted that the spear was turned over so that only the blunt end had been used to inflict the blow.

Rodney winced and straightened up. Teyla held his upper body for a few more seconds and when she was sure that he was not bleeding or too seriously injured, she released him. Rodney would have to learn to control his tongue even just for a couple of days if they were to survive here. It was going to be difficult for both of them.

Teyla squeezed his shoulder and kept her hand on him until he looked at her. Her warning look received one of disbelief from him, and his eyes were still watery and tight at the corners from the hit he just took. His mouth downturned, but stayed firmly shut.

Teyla nodded in gratitude that now that her calming hand had been placed on him, Rodney was no longer looking for an argument. But it did not ease the tight knot of apprehension in her chest that had been there since the moment they had first entered the caves.

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Chapter Six

After a light meal for breakfast, consisting mainly of berries and nuts along with a watery fruit juice, Teyla and Rodney were parted as they were forcefully assigned their tasks by the natives. It was not as though they had anything else to do except assist the natives while they waited for the Daedalus to arrive.

Rodney was handed a spear and shoved out of the caves, for hunting duties most likely. He squeaked in protest and tried to stop them, but Teyla gave him a warning look and the natives pointed the business ends of their spears at him and he desisted into silence. His face spoke of fury and indignation and Teyla imagined the internal battle being waged within him. Intelligence won through in the end, as he decided that keeping it his mouth shut, even as he glared, was better than being impaled.

Teyla did not like being left behind in the caves. Well, she would not have minded it too much had she alone been left behind on the world, but she was worried about Rodney who had been made to unwillingly part from her. For she could no longer keep watch over him and make sure he did not forget himself and try to talk, no matter how angry and frustrated he became.

She was led to a large room, where light filtered down through gaps and torches were attached to the walls for extra illumination. The smoke was lost through the ceiling, and the entire room was filled with equipment and many soft seats made from the same fur the natives all wore were littered around the floor.

Teyla took her place and was soon surrounded by silent workers. Women of all ages, even children, sat around in the room, stitching animal hides together, cleaning and preparing food. Men, who were too young or old to hunt, fashioned spears and knives from the rock, clinking them together in showers of sparks to sharpen the edges.

Somehow she thought Rodney and herself would have done better had their roles been reversed. She did not think for a moment that Rodney's dextrous and nimble hands would've have been ill suited to the work she performed. But it would have been most likely to have ended with him strung between the posts again, as she was unsure he could have keep his tongue and not complained against such menial, but necessary work.

It was demeaning that women were still the ones who did such work and there were such associations with the men and women of this world. But it also seemed that women could lead, as demonstrated by their encounter with the woman wielding the spear and headdress who appeared to be the leader. Perhaps the men were seen as beings suited primarily to the tasks requiring greater physical exertion.

Teyla herself found it relaxing, although she was unsure exactly what Rodney would have thought had he been there with her. She allowed her mind to wander in deep thought and meditation, the silence only broken by the sounds of work. Her thoughts often strayed to Rodney, and what exactly he was doing outside with the natives. Had they managed to catch anything, or was he irritating the silent men who had gone with him?

She hoped they did not become so annoyed with his ways that they would hurt him. Where there were no words, it was easy to reach the wrong conclusion about someone who was brilliant in mind, but perhaps lacked a certain finesse with regards to physical activities. Although his tongue was acidic, he had a tendency to talk his way out of narrow corners, but then he usually created them with words in the first place.

She pulled another stitch through the cape she was making and inhaled deeply.

----------

The only good thing Rodney could think of about being in his current situation was that he was out of the fearfully narrow tunnelled and pneumonia inducing dampness of the caves. But that still meant Teyla could get ill. She may be tough as old boots, but he doubted that even she wouldn't eventually succumb to some nasty airborne pathogen or another.

He was in a party with five other men. They had handed him one of their crude spears, but he longed for the compact and lightweight P90. He considered whacking the natives with the weapon they had stupidly given to him, for all of about two seconds. But he wasn't Ronon and would most likely end up literally staked out. Besides, he had to look out for Teyla now, and his actions could lead to bad things happening to her too.

It was only another day or so until the Daedalus would arrive to rescue them from this primitive, silent nightmare. He longed more than ever to berate the men around him for their amazingly snazzy dead-animal dress sense, and that bows and arrows were so much lighter and more convenient for snaring creatures anyway. Although he thought they would probably then see him as a creature to be shot full of arrows, so he reasoned that perhaps it was a good thing he couldn't talk. And there was absolutely no way he was going to try and help them make projectile weapons to use on him!

The leader of their quaint hunting posse held up his spear to signal that a quarry was near. Rodney sighed and pulled his weapon out of the ground with a loud leafy crunch from where he'd been using it as a walking stick.

Whatever the man had seen, Rodney couldn't make it out, but the others were circling around one point behind a tree like wolves honing in.

Rodney sighed and stepped forwards, he followed them, stalking in a crouch. But he was so intent on mimicking their ways and straining to see what poor innocent furry critter they were after, that his eyes missed the carelessly misplaced tree root and he stumbled and grunted as he fell into a tree trunk and had his breath forced out in a noisy rush.

The sound of tiny feet scampering away, and then some much louder and more dangerous feet approaching him, had Rodney open his eyes and straighten up.

The natives were glaring murder at him, just as he remembered Teyla doing only the day before. At least then he had known that no matter how angry she was, she wouldn't intentionally hurt him. But these men had no such qualms. They were certainly not his friends.

He held the spear ready, but the lead hunter merely flipped his weapon over and delivered a sharp jab into Rodney's overly abused midsection. He gasped and clutched himself with his eyes closed as his breath was stolen for a second time in the space of a minute. At least it had been the blunt end, but this was the fourth or fifth time it had happened and the 'punishments' were getting steadily worse. Next time the man might not bother to flip it over.

Teyla would be alone if they left him out in the woods to bleed. He imagined and hoped that she might be upset enough to try and avenge him, but they would most likely kill her too. The Daedalus would then assume the animals or the earthquake had got them, and that would be the end of it.

Rodney had his spear taken away after that, and a couple of loops of cloth tied tightly around his wrists. He peered at them curiously and wondered what they were for, until they came to the stream and Rodney was pushed up against a tree. He hit out, but a tight tap to the bruises he already had, sent him gasping, and the next thing he knew he was tied to said tree and gagged.

Not again! He hadn't even said anything this time!

He waited for the humiliating unclothing to take place and the paints to come out, but they just left him there and stalked off upstream.

"Oh no no no!" he thought as he panted harshly through his nose. They'd left him to die again! He shut his eyes and tried to control his breathing, but it was hopeless and he could feel his chest tightening in the tell tale sign of a pending panic attack.

He was therefore slightly surprised when the friendly group of merry hunters returned what felt like only moments later, carrying between them three giant dead ferrets that Teyla also enjoyed gutting and munching. And then Rodney saw what he could only describe as a dog sized bat, complete with inch-long fangs and a bloody spear hole in the middle of its furry body.

Rodney grimaced as he was released. The natives used the spare spear they had taken from him to stake the animals on like a morbid kebab and then passed it to Rodney to carry for them.

Well, pack mule was better than punching bag, so he took the spit of dead things and rested it on his shoulder as he followed the other men.

He glanced at his watch and saw that it was past lunchtime. His stomach lolloped in understanding. Didn't these people eat anything? How could he alert them to his fatal hypoglycaemia if he wasn't allowed to tell them he had to eat? The animals they had caught so far were inedible, uncooked as they were.

Rodney got tied up once more. But the third time they pushed him firmly into a tree and reached for the ropes, he growled at them, hoping they'd understand that he didn't need to be restrained to stop following them. He got a smack in the face for that little sound, but they seemed to get the message and left him be.

This time they came back with only one more dead creature, another man eating bat, but also some berries folded into a cloth bag which was slung over Rodney's shoulder and strapped across his chest.

He hung back as they tracked deeper into the forest and he was utterly lost as to where they were. He thought that if he could only find the stream again, he might be able to follow it and remember something from his trips with Teyla.

He was really starting to feel faint now and his feet snagged branches and leaves and he stumbled many times.

As the natives knew what to do with him now, they had at least stopped hitting him. They seemed to be going around in circles, because they soon came back to the stream again. Whether it was the same one or not, Rodney couldn't be sure, but at least it was something.

He checked the berries and finding that they were the same ones he had been forced to eat for breakfast seemingly so long ago, he grabbed a handful and stuffed them into his mouth while none of the others were looking.

He sighed happily at the sickly sweetness of them, but he needed more to stave off the hungry ache deep in his belly.

He chewed on a few more, but then one of the men turned to him and he was caught.

Two of the natives charged and Rodney quaked. He was too heavily laden to fight them off as the giant kebab fell to the ground and he was pushed into a nearby tree. He felt his forearm bruise and graze against the bark. Another shove turned him around and he twisted his ankle and fell backwards. He cried out in shock as the ground where he landed didn't entirely absorb his weight and crumbled under him.

He fell down and landed in a small ditch, no longer bearing any of the burdens he had been forced to carry, and shut his eyes tightly at the throbs in his arm and ankle. When he had sufficiently recovered to open his eyes again, he discovered that he was alone.

The natives had not only taken all the food, but had run off somewhere, leaving him to die! It was murder!

He clawed at the soft earth around him and scrambled up to the surface barely a metre above him. His ankle hurt, but supported him, but it was no doubt something nasty like a double fracture. Once they could speak, he would get an earful from Teyla about walking on it, and then he had Carson's lecture to look forward to. He rolled out onto the surface and stared up at the leafy canopy overhead. Who would've thought eating a few buries was an offense punishable by death? Well, these people were living like cavemen.

He hoped his most offensive transgression of eating because he was starving wasn't going to have repercussions on Teyla. He had to get back and warn her! She could handle herself reasonably well in a fight, but if twenty of these over-reacting lunatics went at her with those spears, she wouldn't stand a chance!

He could feel new scrapes and bruises just about everywhere. No doubt the contusions were in fact internal bleeding that would slowly kill him in agony on this backwards planet. If that didn't happen, then the bleeding cuts would get infected with whatever the muck was he had just landed in.

Rodney pushed himself upright and limped over to a likely looking stick on the ground. He used it as a makeshift crutch as he picked a direction and headed along the course of the stream.

Finally free from his mute companions, Rodney had no qualms about letting out a stream of complaints, expletives and colourful curses, many of his own invention.

Among a great many other things, he mumbled, "Primitive idiots! Wood working mud lovers who think tech is witchcraft and speech leads to justifiable murder!"

It made him feel a lot better to be able to talk again, even if it was only to himself and the trees housing those enormous bats. If he didn't get back before dark, then the animals would be eating him this time.

He was still going when he recognised a gnarled tree trunk from his last trip to the stream with Teyla. He adjusted his course and headed deeper into the woods, hoping that he was going the right way and wasn't going to get turned around and totally lost before reaching the caves.

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Chapter Seven

Teyla grew anxious when the other men returned without Rodney. Where was he? Unless she had been right about him being impatient and his inability to remain silent for more than a few minutes had led to him getting tied out to die.

She tried to find the leader, but was held back by guards at every exit. Glaring at them to show her displeasure had no effect, for they did not seem to care, and any speaking would end badly, no matter how justified she felt in doing so.

Her fear soon diminished when Rodney came stumbling back into the cave. Teyla thought he was one of the best things she had ever seen; a friend in an unfamiliar place. But his face was one of misery and he was covered in dirt, the right sleeve of his jacket stained with something darker, possibly blood. He was also leaning heavily on a stick and breathing harshly.

What had they done to him? Was he hurt? Why had they left him behind when he was clearly injured? Not that she put if past them to be the ones who had hurt him.

She stood up from where she had been sharing the evening meal of dried meat and fruit. Although she had not been able to eat very much, her concern over Rodney suppressing her appetite.

She went over to him and helped him to sit at the edge of the room and lean back against the wall. He winced and leant into her support and he was very heavy, but somehow she managed to guide him floor-wards and place him down gently with only a soft grunt into her ear on his part. She came back with food and passed it to him. A flash of gratitude passed over his sweaty and dirty face, but with the natives so close, neither of them could speak.

She brought a bowl of water and a towel over, but Rodney patted her hands away with an irritated huff when she tried to clean him up. He snagged the rag himself and smeared the dirt around his face in streaks, leaving pieces of the towel shredded into his stubble, before washing his hands off. Teyla smiled at him not unkindly and he sighed and rolled his eyes as she cleaned the rest off far more efficiently.

There were new bruises under the dirt and she had mistaken a gash on his cheekbone for mud, until he flinched and it started bleeding again. She dabbed a clean cloth on it until the blood flow stopped and met his eyes in worry. He furrowed his brow, but even with such depth in his startlingly blue eyes, they did not allow her to read his mind.

His ankle was swollen, but she did not think it was broken. Without a healer or the Earth machines and proper equipment, she could only bandage it securely and hope that it was not too serious.

She would have to wait until they were alone before she could find out what had happened to him.

----------

They ate with the others in silence and Rodney's eyes began to droop and his head lolled forwards.

Teyla imagined a whole day of activity, along with his abandonment, must have worn him out far more effectively than a day sitting around in the labs on Atlantis.

A couple of guards came over and prodded him awake. His eyes darted between them, then back at Teyla in question. She nodded at him and they both stood and were guided out of the room. Perhaps they did not sleep in the same space where they ate? Or at least, Rodney and Teyla were not going to be allowed to do so.

Rodney walked with a pronounced limp, but he did not make a sound and pushed away any help that Teyla offered.

They were led down a passage and into another, much smaller room, with thick hanging animal pelts to seal them in, like a door. The guards then left them and Teyla made sure that they had gone a sufficient distance that no words would be heard, so that she could talk to Rodney. There was a torch already in place and cushioned mattresses on the floor, and a draught from somewhere so they would not suffocate. But the ceiling and walls were too dark to see the source, and it was most likely dark outside now anyway.

Rodney immediately went over and spread himself out on one of the mattresses with a quiet moan of contentment.

Teyla offered him a small smile as she looked down where he lay. He released a soft sigh and put his hands behind his head, then stretched out with an audible crack, so loud that even Teyla had to suppress a wince.

He starred up at the ceiling for a moment, his eyes widening, and then back at Teyla. He whispered, "Have they gone?"

Teyla came over on settled on the second bed next to him. "I believe so."

Rodney sat up to face her and leant in closer, his eyes still wide and his breathing heavy. "Why do I feel like we're being held prisoner?"

"I also have the same concern. There are no doubt guards watching us and we have not been allowed to go as we choose."

Teyla pulled out the small knife she had taken from the workroom that day. She used it to cut the tight strips of cloth from Rodney's wrists as he gave her a puzzled look.

She said, "You are not the only one who is suspicious about the hidden intentions of these people. I tried to leave to find out where you were, but the guards prevented me from going any further along the tunnels."

"Did you see their faces when I got back? I think they hoped I'd get lost and starve to death out there."

"I am certainly glad that you did not. I find this way of life... difficult. Speech is required for true comprehension and advancement. I believe these people to be deceitful in that they are hiding everything from us and do not seem capable of sharing knowledge even amongst themselves."

"I just want to get out of here! The whole hunter gatherer thing was already pretty old before we got here. It's even more tedious without being able to talk. What is this place, the naughty corner at school? How can I tell everyone about how wonderful my latest ideas are, let alone put them into practice?"

Teyla tried to ignore the insult in his comment about hunting, as that was the way that many societies still functioned in the Pegasus Galaxy. Although most of the time he was less blunt and direct around her, his rudeness and honesty guarded; unlike the words he often spoke to Sheppard. Whether this was because she was a woman, or a person not from his world, or something deeper, she did not know. And in matters such as these, Rodney, who normally held his emotions out with the clarity of a flaming brand ahead of the path, veiled his feelings well. For Teyla did not truly know all of his thoughts or any of his intentions in their relationship. And in the enforced silence around the others, it was even more difficult to read him.

He ploughed onwards and Teyla felt a tight knot of worry forming at his rapid words and the rate at which his eyes began to dart around every corner of the room.

"Every day like this forever is in no way a good use of my genius! Wasted! How are we supposed to get out of here? Th-the very fact that it was an earthquake that stranded us here in the first place means that this area is tectonically unstable. And…and there could be another one at any moment!"

His fear widened eyes met hers and Teyla saw the depths of his terror and quaked inside herself just as the ground had before.

He reached out and grabbed her hand and before she could ask or pull away, he placed it against his own chest.

"Can you feel that?" he asked in a high voice. "What's wrong with me?!"

Teyla spread her hand out. He was right. His heart was pounding so hard she could feel it drumming rapidly against her fingertips.

"Is it just me, or is this room really, really small?" His voice rose and his breaths became ragged as he continued, "Also not mentioning the fact that there are countless tonnes of rock above and around us. We're trapped and it's an earthquake zone!"

His face was getting redder as he struggled to breathe.

Teyla glided her hand over his hitching chest in a slow back and forth motion to try and calm him down and he shivered, but his condition was worsening.

----------

Abruptly, Rodney discovered that he couldn't breathe at all, there just wasn't enough air. No matter how fast he sucked it in and pushed it out again, he got dizzier and dizzier. And seriously, who lived in an airtight cave with a fire lit anyway?!

The palpitations of his heart became so great that he thought it was going to explode.

Through the growing weakness he felt his jacket loosen as he screwed his eyes closed and panted in a dizzy haze. Soft words were being spoken, but he couldn't make them out above the rasp of his breaths and blood rushing past his ears in a torrent.

Then there was a hand in his hair and one on his chest, his bare chest? Stroking, stroking… and his heart directly under the touch began to slow down.

Teyla kept one hand on his chest while the other rubbed his back as his breaths actually gave him some air.

A soothing female voice washed over him. "Deep breaths through the nose and out of the mouth. These walls withstood the last earthquake and they will continue to stand while we are here. You are safe."

"Wha..." he gasped as he allowed her to guide him back until he was lying down again. "What happened?"

"You were having a panic attack," Teyla replied, stilling her hands and just keeping the contact over his central point. "There is plenty of air here, despite your attempt to take it all. I felt clean and fresh air entering the room from a hidden opening."

Warmth spread out across Rodney's face and from the point of contact as he looked down at himself. His jacket had been opened to ease his breathing and the shirt he was still wearing underneath was ruined and split down the middle, revealing an expanse of pale, lightly haired flesh. The scratches and bruising inflicted by the natives were still visible across his chest and belly, along with some of the stubbornnest streaks of paint that hadn't been fully cleaned off yet. He frowned.

Teyla suddenly lifted her hand away and Rodney begrudged the loss. "Hey," he huffed and then smirked mischievously. "I think I can feel another attack coming on."

Teyla gave him a look and smiled. "I believe you will be fine."

Rodney hung his head down in disappointment and then pushed himself up into a sitting position. His heart was still hammering away, but in a completely different way now, as Teyla regarded him with her emotions completely veiled where they had been left alone in the room.

----------

Chapter Eight

Teyla woke up with her limbs entwined with Rodney's. She was unsure exactly how they had become so tangled during the course of the night, but was glad for the warmth they shared between them, as when she pulled away, she shivered. Light was coming from a gap in one of the walls – the source of the cool air now streaming through the cave they were in.

Rodney twitched and Teyla touched his chest and then his face to rouse him. "Rodney? We must converse before we are unable to do so."

A sliver of blue met with Teyla's eyes and then disappeared. "Oh, no. Are we still here?"

"I am afraid so. It is now the fourth day. Did you not say that the Daedalus will arrive on the fifth?"

"Within the next 24 hours. The days are longer here, so my watch is a bit out of sync."

Rodney stiffly pushed himself into a sitting position with a grimace and glared down at the floor as he rubbed his lower back and mumbled, "What the hell are these things made of? Iron railings?!"

"We need to know exactly when they will arrive, so we must formulate and act upon an escape plan at precisely the right moment."

Rodney glared at her. "Yes, because I have my calculator right here and have worked out the exact nanosecond the Daedalus will scoop us up and take us back!"

Teyla narrowed her eyes. "In that case, we must be ready to move when the time comes or they may not find us."

Rodney shifted his legs and then crossed them before zipping his jacket up as a visible tremor ran through him. He swivelled around to face Teyla and said, "I think we need to go now. If they split us up again, it'll be difficult for either of us to get away. Well, certainly for me. I'm sure you could deck them all and get out of here, but I'll end up in another ditch somewhere." He shuddered. "Most likely with a spear though me this time."

"We must go far away from this place and hide in the forest. But escaping will be very difficult. I counted at least thirty people here yesterday. But I am unsure of the exact size and configuration of the caves."

Rodney shot her a smug smile which was rather annoying, but even so, Teyla could not help it as the obvious show of self confidence raised her hopes. He said, "I memorised the way out yesterday. I just reversed it to get back in. Strangely, no-one stopped me getting in and I didn't see any guards."

"I believe that staying here is not the problem. But leaving will be."

Rodney sighed enormously and Teyla felt the blast of air wash over her. She said, "You lead the way. And keep silent."

Rodney raised his eyebrows. "I am now the master of silence!"

Teyla stood up and turned around, taking the opportunity to roll her eyes as she heard Rodney huffing and puffing behind her to find his feet. Her own muscles were stiff and sore, however she was able to suppress most of it, and knew that Rodney was in far worse shape than herself.

She pulled back the hanging covering the doorway to the tunnel beyond and motioned for Rodney to quieten his heavy breathing so that she may listen. Not hearing any footsteps or signs of other people, she indicated that they may proceed.

Rodney was still limping, although not as badly as the night before. He kept quiet and Teyla made a note to thank him in some way after they returned to Atlantis. She imagined it was very difficult for him; a man so used to talking non-stop about everything and nothing. It was often a challenge to filter out the most important things that he said - the ones that she really should take heed to.

He went ahead of her and forged a path through the dimly lit tunnel network. Light was streaming through cracks in the ceiling, so Teyla knew they were nearer to the exit than before. The chamber with the paintings was the deepest they had gone into the complex.

Rodney held up his hand to stop them, but it was too late.

Five guards with short spears and knives stood before them and blocked their path.

One flipped his spear horizontal and thrust it forwards at Rodney. Teyla watched from behind him as he flinched and staggered backwards with a small cry muffled by the close stone walls. He turned to Teyla with his eyes tight in pain and holding the place where he had been jabbed.

Teyla moved past him and stood between him and the guards in protection. She knew that John would be deeply upset if anything happened to Rodney. And John would no doubt blame her, especially if she was uninjured herself. She willed the guards not to hurt Rodney again or attack her. But they did not seem overly eager to do any further damage now that their captives had stopped trying to get past them.

Teyla kept watching them as she moved back the way they had come. She felt herself collide with something soft that yielded with a whoosh of air over her neck, but Rodney got the message and moved with her.

The guards eyed them for a moment longer and then resumed their sentry duties.

Rodney and Teyla turned around and spoke together quietly. Teyla was the first to speak and eyed him in concern. "Are you badly injured?"

"Just a little tiny stab wound," he ground out. "But after I've bled to death you shouldn't have any trouble sneaking out on your own."

Teyla knew that if he had the breath and strength to complain so heartily, then he was hurt, yes, but not so badly that she needed to fear for his very life.

She checked the wound anyway, pushing up his jacket and shirt to do so. He grabbed hold of the cloth and kept it up while she leant forwards to examine him. There was a jagged cut towards his lower right hip and the bleeding had already stopped. Rodney furrowed his brow and looked at her fearfully. "How bad is it? Am I going to die?"

Teyla straightened and he pulled his clothing down to cover himself again. "It is not serious. You will be fine."

Rodney sighed in relief and they continued up the passageway towards the breakfast room.

Teyla knew that even as her own people had done so, there was nothing preventing these people from speaking with each other and living peaceful lives outside on the surface. When the wraith came, they would merely have to take shelter in the caves. It would be no hardship, although she was not one to judge and neither was she in the position to dissuade them from the ways that had kept them hidden for as long as they had been.

She reasoned that the last major culling had decimated their population and led to such fear that they had lost their speech. Over the generations since then, with no one speaking, the offspring of the people would not have learnt to talk either. And so the silent culture had been born in fear.

----------

After the early morning excitement of the failed escape attempt was all over, Rodney and Teyla were once again pushed back into the breakfasting cave. The day of interacting with the natives started in much the same way as the previous one.

Rodney, despite his injuries and the very pronounced limp he had developed, was forced to go with the hunters again, while Teyla took up her place in the room as she had done so the day before. Although, for his sake, Teyla very much hoped that he was exaggerating and was not in as much pain as he showed

At least if Rodney remained outside when the Daedalus arrived, he would be found and could tell the others of her whereabouts.

She sighed as she stitched more of the soft fur pelts together and began another day of silent meditation.

----------

Rodney once again found himself stalking through the forest with his band of unmerry men. Except this time every step was agony and his ankle was swelling by the minute. He had no way of communicating his discomfort to them and every time he took a break, they prodded him onwards.

It was mid-morning when it happened. Rodney had once again been left while the natives caught something, when there was a loudening rumble which was soon also marked by the ground trembling.

Rodney held onto the nearest tree to prevent himself falling as he mumbled, "Not again!"

Splitting wood and cracking earth and rock sounds rent the air and Rodney eventually did lose his feet when the tree he was holding gave up its roots. He was thrown backwards and only just missed being hit by unnumbered tons of tree trunk and branches, as it fell towards him and he rolled out of the way. The earthquake felt easily as big as the one that had unsettled the gate.

He stayed down as before and breathed heavily in fear as he rode out the last of the shaking and the ground finally stilled. Patters of twigs and leaves falling were punctuated by bangs and vibrations through the earth of half toppled trees going the whole way down.

There was a distinctly human sounding shouting coming from the direction where the natives had gone and Rodney felt compelled to stand and move towards it. The adrenaline buzz dulled the pain from his new bruises as he jogged and dodged around the debris. He sincerely hoped that Teyla and the others were alright back in the shelter of the caves, and that his fears from the night before, about the caves being sealed by new fissures and collapses, were unfounded.

He initially intended to run back to caves to save Teyla and even the other people if he could, despite them getting off on the wrong foot, or indeed both feet. He was damned if he was going to stay here and even more so if he was to be left without Teyla.

But first things first…

He soon came across the source of the wailing. Although the natives didn't talk, they could scream and shout just like any other people. There may not have been any actual words, but it was horror alright and Rodney's heart clenched.

Four natives were standing, more or less unharmed, around one of the many fallen trees. The fifth was pinned under it, unmoving. It was a spindly tree, and was held up by several thick branches so that it hadn't completely crushed the man… yet. But there was an ominous creaking sound, so every second wasted was a chance it could give up.

Rodney went over and crouched down, steeling himself for what he might find. He really hoped there wasn't any blood or other nastiness to contend with as he reached out and pressed his fingers to the man's neck.

He found a pulse and seeing no more than a few bleeding cuts (which were still enough to make him grimace at the sight of the red liquid) he backed up and shouted to the natives in their wandering despair. "Hey, stop squawking and help me shift this!"

They all turned to him and became silent as they glared. Rodney backed away and held up his hands, "No no no! Don't poke me again; just help me move this." He gestured down at the tree and then went over to it. He grabbed hold of a branch and pulled with all his might.

The tree trunk wobbled, but stayed down.

The natives got the message and swarmed around him. With all five of them, they managed to shift it. Rodney shouted in exertion and the others were not afraid to do the same.

With shaking arms and legs, Rodney knelt down by the man and checked him. His eyes were already fluttering open, and there did not seem to be any obvious breaks or bleeds.

Rodney straightened and brushed his hands off on his trousers and turned to the others. "Okay, I know you don't understand me. But I've got to go. Seems like you've got everything covered here."

Before they could locate their spears to stab him for talking, he picked up his feet, gathered his flagging strength together, aimed himself towards where he thought the caves were, and ran.

----------
Chapter Nine

When Rodney reached the cave entrance a while later, he was panting and nursing a side-splitting stitch.

Two other hunting parties were also there, but the caves were obviously not as tough as Teyla had tried to convince Rodney, because the entrance was blocked by fallen rocks.

"Other entrances?" Rodney called out to the men around him.

They stared at him in disbelief and one approached him and struck him on top of his shoulder with the handle of his spear. Rodney was forced to his knees from the blow and shouted angrily through the pain, "Stop hitting me! I'm trying to help!"

He drew a diagram in the soil with a large circle indicating the caves and a cross to show the entrance nearby. Through a series of arrows, hand gestures and curses, one of the natives finally seemed to understand and beckoned the others to follow him as he ran off around the edge of the cave complex.

Rodney huffed and stood upright, rubbing his shoulder with a wince, but knowing that as this entrance had collapsed, far worse things may have happened to the people inside. They could be trapped or hurt or… he stopped there and concentrated on breathing and ignoring the knife-twisting pain in his ankle to keep up with the gruelling pace set by his companions.

----------

When Rodney arrived, what he previously thought of as merely a stitch in his side was more like one of those spears now. He really hoped he hadn't ruptured anything. Running was definitely not his favourite pastime. But as he ducked into the second entrance behind the others, he only had one concern in his mind. A single word on his lips more important than anything else:-

Teyla.

He wished he had his scanner to find the people who were trapped. "Because it works so well with the… life sign shielding rocks," he bit out in frustrated anger. The natives had finally decided to ignore his disobedience as they clawed through the fallen rock pieces to reach their trapped kin.

Rodney joined them and they soon cleared the passage in a cloud of dust that made Rodney and several others instantly develop a deep hacking cough and streaming eyes in the grit.

They may be unwilling to talk, but crying out and screaming didn't require words and Rodney was really not looking forward to finding all the injured people. Seeing his own blood was bad enough, but red stuff leaking from other people? No.

The natives forged a path through the tunnels. They seemed to know where they were going and held torches up to light the way, Rodney following on in fearful silence.

They cleared two more rock falls, several larger boulders requiring many men to shift and lift out of the way. By the time they were done, Rodney's hands were scraped and bruised and bleeding. He tore off parts of the already heroically torn shirt under his jacket and bound them up as best he could, using his teeth to tighten the knots.

When they reached what Rodney really hoped was the last of the hand hurting blockages, the ground started to rumble again. Rodney fell sideways into an unforgiving rock face and sunk down to the ground and covered his head as the world crashed and rolled around him. There were no doorways to stand in, nor any tables to hide under, small chance they'd protect him against tons of falling rock anyway. All that he had was his fear and fate and the knowledge that he was going to die, and most likely in the next few seconds.

The noise was terrible, cracks and clanging amplified to ear bleeding levels by the small tunnel they were in.

Rodney felt hard impacts to his body and curled inwards with a harsh cry drowned out by the cave around him. He waited for the fatal blow to fall and held his breath. For even if he wasn't hit again, the shifting rocks would soon compress him into the consistency of strawberry jam.

And then it was over.

The ground settled down, the sounds became quieter and the dust and clink of pebbles resetting themselves into their newfound positions slowed and then ceased.

There was more incoherent shouting and Rodney stood up. He whimpered at the pain in his chest and hip, but there were far more important things to worry about. Where were the others? Where was Teyla?! How could he make the unspeaking natives understand that they had to get out of the caves before they imploded and crushed everyone to death in a rocky tomb?

The latest blockage had actually been cleared by the tremor and Rodney followed the others. Some were injured too, but kept going, as determined as Rodney was to find their loved ones in this nightmare.

"Teyla!" Rodney gasped as he came out into the larger room with light streaming through the ceiling and dust hanging in the air.

He ran over to her as fast as his damaged limbs would allow, and ignored as best he could the pull in his side which left him breathless, and crouched down with a grunt. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, despite being covered in rock dust and with a nasty laceration on her arm. It looked like a piece of falling debris had caught her, but that alone wouldn't have caused the unconsciousness. His fear level rose when he found matted blood in her hair and she still had not stirred.

"Come on," he said as he took the rest of his shirt from under the jacket he wore and wrapped part of it around her arm. The head wound had already stopped bleeding and her eyes fluttered when he lightly touched her face.

"Can you understand why I don't like enclosed spaces now?"

He didn't even think of his own injuries, despite the constant burning in his side and chest, because he knew that he wasn't as badly hurt as her. He was awake and moving, so definitely one of the lucky ones.

She coughed and croaked, "Rodney?"

"We have to get out of here! This place could come down at any minute."

"I am sorry, Rodney," Teyla said in a low voice, "But I am unable to comply. My leg is broken."

"Oh." He glanced around the room and saw that the others seemed more concerned about tending their own wounded than hitting and stringing up Teyla and Rodney for talking. Some were helping them to get out of the room, and Rodney grumbled, "Finally some sense."

He turned back to Teyla, and spoke more brightly than he was feeling. "Well, splints and bandages it is and then we can go." He coughed as he took a healthy breath of dust ridden air, and the pain made him see stars that sent him to the ground.

He choked and gritted his teeth until the fit had subsided and then crawled over to a spear handle lying next to a pile of sharpened flint pieces. He snagged some flat twine for good measure, along with a longer stick she could use as a crutch and went back to Teyla.

Once she was all splinted and ready to go, she eyed him intently and asked, "What about you, Rodney? Are you alright?"

He curled a hand around his side as he waved her off, "I'm fine. All good. Especially now that I know you're safe. Well, broken a bit and in pain, but safe for now."

She moved herself closer to where he was sitting and lightly touched his chest. He exhaled a sharp breath and flinched away from her fingers and held his arm across his middle with one hand still wrapped around his side. It was an innate reaction to pain and his body could not hide it as well as his words and it irritated him that she had found out.

"You are injured. You should be truthful more often. It is one thing to hide things by not speaking at all, but quite another to twist words into untruth. How seriously are you hurt?"

"My ribs," he gasped, still recovering from her touch.

"Is there anything else?"

"I… I'm not sure…"

Teyla raised her eyebrows and he gabbled, "Honestly! I don't know. My right side was a bit tingly, but I can't really feel it now."

"May I?" Teyla asked as she reached for him.

Rodney huffed, "What, have you suddenly obtained a medical doctorate since I last saw you?"

"No, but it would be useful to know whether you should be still moving around or conserving your energy. I have dealt with medical emergencies amongst my own people before, although I am not a healer."

She gently took his right side and pressed, eliciting a hiss and further withdrawal from her on Rodney's part. But Rodney knew there was no way of knowing until he could get under one of those machines that showed his insides.

He winced and pulled away from her. "Okay, I can definitely feel that now."

"It feels normal, but I am unsure."

"We have to leave the caves and wait in the open for the Daedalus. Nothing more we can do until then."

Rodney helped her upright, and that she couldn't prevent the cry that escaped her usually stoic lips was deeply troubling. He passed her the long stick as he pulled her arm over his shoulders in support. His ribs compressed and he knew they were probably tearing up his insides with every step, but they had to get out of the caves quickly or his broken ribs and internal bleeding would be the least of his concerns.

Every step brought increasing agony, and Teyla was breathing heavily. Everyone else was leaving the caves around them too, so Rodney did not feel too badly for only helping Teyla. It was not as though they had been treated kindly anyway.

The daylight was the second best thing Rodney had seen that day after the ordeal of getting Teyla out into the relative safety of the open. But with the relief came absolute exhaustion and the adrenaline from the prolonged stress promptly ran out, along with his strength. He carefully lowered Teyla to the ground, then collapsed down more heavily next to her and no longer had any qualms about giving into the encroaching darkness.

----------

Chapter Ten

Teyla's heart leapt up into her throat the moment Rodney collapsed. His gentle lowering of her down to the ground belied his condition as he passed out a moment later. She shimmied over to him through the leafy carpet where they had both landed and winced as her leg jostled and her head throbbed in time with her pounding heart.

Pressing her fingertips against his neck, she was relieved to find his pulse was steady and strong, but his breathing was shallow and faltering. He had complained about his ribs, but she feared what other injuries he may have hidden for which there was nothing she could do to help him until the Daedalus came. She rolled him over onto his left side so that he could breathe more easily and kept watch.

----------

While Teyla waited through the hours until the Daedalus arrived, there were further tremors, smaller than the original one. Her leg was sore and aching, but a lot better since it had been splinted and she was no longer moving.

The natives were gathered short distance away from the cave where Rodney had given up the last of his strength to stay conscious. Broken limbs were splinted in mimicry of what Rodney had done to Teyla's, cuts were cleaned and wrapped up tightly and bruises bathed with cool water.

She recognised the woman who had shown them the cave paintings - the leader. She was walking amongst the injured and approached Rodney and Teyla. There was no way to communicate to her that help was on the way and medical assistance could be offered if they wanted it.

She crouched down and eyed both of them critically, touching Rodney's forehead and then Teyla's unhurt arm. Teyla felt a flare of over protectiveness in herself, which puzzled her, as the woman gently touched Rodney again and then nodded before moving on.

Teyla was unsure whether anyone had been killed or seriously injured and left behind, she just did not know how many of them there were and had not been living long enough to recognise and remember all the faces that had passed by her in the last few days. Without names it was that much more difficult to distinguish and remember, and she was curious as to whether they had other ways of communicating, perhaps pictures or symbols for each other to avoid family ties from becoming too close.

The leader returned with a bowl of water and a cloth, and Teyla used it to clean Rodney's face before resting the damp cloth of his forehead and whispering into his ear. "Rodney, can you hear me?"

He groaned and she saw his eyes shift from side to side under the lids, which very briefly brought a relieved smile to Teyla's face. "How long?" he asked under his breath.

"You have been unconscious for several hours."

Natives were giving her suspicious looks so she hushed Rodney's next words and settled on physical contact instead. As she held his upper arm, he suddenly pushed himself up into a sitting position and shut his eyes tightly as he held his breath.

Teyla frowned at him, but when he opened his eyes, he swept her up and down with scrutiny and then grabbed the cloth and dabbed at her head - right where the most painful place was, making Teyla grimace and pat his ministrations away. The Daedalus had to be close now, and before Rodney had interfered, she had not been feeling so much pain.

He sat up and shifted over to sit next to her. He stretched his arm across her back, with a short huff and whimper that only registered to Teyla's hearing because he was so close. The warmth she felt from him, and the comfort he gave as he held her, somehow made the aches in her head and leg more bearable.

The most able of the natives helped the others, bringing food and water for the rest of the morning.

It was just after lunch that a bright white light appeared through the trees, making Teyla tap Rodney awake and point over to it.

Several minutes later and many men clad in Daedalus marine uniforms swarmed around barking orders. The natives who were able to scattered and ran, leaving their wounded behind.

"We are over here!" Teyla called and winced as in her haste to shout she shifted her fractured leg.

Two approached and one crouched down as the others surveyed the carnage of the makeshift triage area. "Dr McKay, Teyla," he said. "I'm Major Buchanan. Are you injured?"

"Yes," Teyla replied. "But you must help the others. They do not speak here, it is greatly insulting and against their whole culture. Any assistance provided must be done in complete silence."

The Major tapped his radio and spoke in a low voice, "Buchanan to Daedalus… We have them. The natives are armed, but non-hostile. We require medical assistance with a special request…"

While he listened to the other side of the conversation, he smiled at Teyla and then glanced at Rodney who was sprawled on the ground holding his ribs again.

"Beam them straight to sickbay and send a full medical team down with an escort. Tell them not to make any noise and we'll explain everything when they get down here."

A moment later Teyla's vision was filled with white.

----------

"A computer. I need a computer," Rodney whispered as he was lifted from the floor onto a nearby bed in the Daedalus sickbay.

"It is alright, Rodney," Teyla said across the gap between them. "Try to relax."

"But the gate. Fix the gate and then Atlantis can help the others. More staff and beds for all the people down there."

The medical team quickly inserted IV lines into both of them, feeding painkillers and fluids and antibiotics while their injuries were assessed.

One of them handed Rodney a computer, and with shaking hands and a grimace fixed on his grubby face, he quickly typed in the crystals required to fix the gate. He passed it back to the medic and gasped out, "Hermiod will know what to do."

"I'll make sure he gets it," the man said. "You'll feel better in a moment when the drugs kick in. Relax and breathe slowly."

Rodney had no qualms about doing that. He glanced across at Teyla and she sensed him looking and turned to capture his gaze. She smiled back at him serenely and inhaled a deep breath before sinking back into the pillows and allowing the medical staff to tend her injuries.

----------

The gate was quickly fixed by a team from the Daedalus as they had access to the necessary replacement parts. That way the natives were free to choose whether or not they wanted to return to their old ways.

All the injured were tended after the initial panic of the invaders wore off - once they had learned that no harm was intended by the newcomers.

Zelenka and a team went back and ascertained that the area around the gate would remain tectonically stable for a while as the latest series of earthquakes had released the pressure. There was nothing the Lanteans could do anyway, as the caves were reopened and settled again by the natives before they could even contemplate intervening. Life returned to normal for the silent people on the planet.

Rodney and Teyla were sent back through the gate once they were stabilised and ready to transport. Once they returned to Atlantis, neither of them had needed a long stay in the infirmary. Teyla was diagnosed with a minor concussion along with the broken leg that had to be set. And Rodney definitely had broken ribs as well as many cuts and sprains and deep bruises.

----------

A few days later, Teyla caught up with Rodney in the mess hall. It was late afternoon, so he was easy to spot in amongst the few people in there. They were mostly those on breaks and people who had neglected to have lunch at the appropriate time, Rodney included as he so often was (although he sometimes did not even turn up at all).

She clacked over to him using her crutches to keep the weight off her bad leg enclosed in the tight, warm cast, and he glanced up from his computer and half eaten and seemingly long forgotten sandwich, and met her eyes. He looked blank for a fraction of a second, before he jumped up to his feet and staggered. For he too had been injured, not only to save her, but to help the natives too, even though they had treated him badly and tried to kill him at least twice.

He pulled out a chair and pointed over to the food table. Teyla nodded. "It is alright, Rodney. We may speak now."

He gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes. "It's hard getting used to it again. Keep expecting to find a spear in my back from some silent assailant sneaking up on me."

"I'm sure we can arrange that," a low voice mumbled, and Ronon suddenly appeared behind Rodney, making him jump and clutch his side.

"Internal bleeding here!" Rodney ground out and promptly folded down into the chair he had only just vacated, with a sad little huff.

Ronon patted him lightly on the shoulder and Teyla saw that John was with him too, carrying a couple of trays laden with sandwiches and drinks and fruit. Ronon snagged Teyla's crutches before she could protect them and started hopping backwards and forwards around the tables, going as fast as he could and shoving chairs out of the way while John hovered nearby with a hopeful look.

"What are you guys, five?" Rodney called out to them.

Teyla was confused, but also slightly amused by the walking aids she had been given, and how John and Ronon keep on taking them from her and playing around, so that she was unable to get anywhere.

They were all on down time while Rodney and Teyla recovered from their injuries. Ronon and John used it mainly for sparing and training, while Teyla meditated or 'chilled out' as John liked to call it. However, she did not find herself cooling down any more than usual. Rodney was catching up with the experiments he missed out on and barking at his subordinates for the mistakes made while he was gone and out of commission in the infirmary.

Teyla leant across the table where Rodney's expression was half torn between irritation and the same mysteriously expectant look that John wore. She asked, "Would you also like to try them out?"

He waved her off and then clutched his chest with one hand and grimaced. "I think my broken ribs and bruises are telling me to pass."

"Come on, McKay, lighten up," John called from where he now clacked across the floor. Ronon grabbed him and they fought for ownership of the sticks.

"Hey, I broke things too!" Rodney cried indignantly.

Ronon mumbled, "We know."

John cut in, "You only told us…"

"Once or twice."

"Yes," Rodney said without looking up from his tablet, although a small frown was creasing his brow, and his eyes weren't moving. "Anyway, I'm sure the crutches are great fun until you need to use them from some injury or another."

Teyla reached across and rested her hand over his. He looked up at her with his face unguarded in hopefulness. She smiled at him as she said, "You saved many lives on the planet, my own included. And for that you deserve praise."

Rodney lips quirked upwards and his grin broadened when Ronon grunted in agreement from the other side of the room and John said, "Yeah. Good one, Rodney."

But a second later and the moment was gone.

"Sure you don't want a go, McKay?" John teased.

Teyla smiled at Rodney one last time and then turned back to the two thieves. She rolled her eyes and thought, "Men and their toys," or more appropriately, her stolen mobility. For without them, she could only hobble in great pain.

"Don't know how you survived on that planet at all, McKay," Ronon said as he came over and grabbed a sandwich before stuffing it into his mouth whole.

John nodded and dodged the next tackle Ronon aimed at him. "A planet where talking has the death penalty! Isn't that your worst nightmare?"

"That's really funny, Sheppard," Rodney grumbled. "But the last time I checked, I was still alive."

Teyla placed a placating hand on his forearm and his hurt expression shifted to her. She spoke so that only he could hear. "You are aware that they are only teasing, for they do not know what really happened."

Rodney nodded at her and pressed his lips together in a crooked line of sadness that always made her feel the inescapable urge to try and cheer him up in any way she could. She smiled back at him and said quietly, "I know firsthand that you were very brave. You did not have to do all the things you did. Also, I really did mean what I said a moment ago."

Gradually his expression altered and his mouth turned up into a small smile of his own. He directed his gaze towards Teyla which made her heart dance and took her breath away.