Set You Free

by Raisintorte

"We would not be in this situation if you had not gotten aggressive with the elder's son." Teyla said with a distinct note of censure in her voice.

"With all due respect ma'am, we wouldn't be in the situation if you hadn't insisted on coming with us." Bates might not trust Teyla, but when they were off-world, he felt responsible for her. As soon as the elder's son had tried to play grab ass with her, Bates had intervened. No woman was going to get manhandled on his watch.

"These people do not like outsiders. If I had not come with you, you would not have been able to meet them."

"That seems to be the case a lot - it's a wonder anyone meets anyone in this galaxy. Besides, if we hadn't met them we wouldn't be tied to a tree." They were each on opposite sides of the tree, with a rope wrapped around them multiple times. The tree itself wasn't that big - if he reached back with his fingers, he could almost feel hers. They were just in a very awkward position.

"Are you accusing me of being deceitful, Sergeant Bates?" Teyla said sharply. Bates couldn't see her eyes, but he imagined they were narrowed ever so slightly. He didn't understand why the Major put such complete trust in her. She had done nothing to deserve it.

"If the shoe fits," he muttered under his breath. Teyla had been moving around a bit and he felt her go very still when he finished talking.

"What was that Sergeant?" The way she said that made him feel like he was in high school again and being called on the carpet for passing a note. He probably shouldn't have said it, but it was her fault they were in this situation. The Major and Doctor Weir should not be putting a relative unknown in such a high position. If she betrayed them, she could cripple the expedition and probably get everyone killed.

Even if he shouldn't have said it, he wasn't going to back down now. He raised his voice, "I said 'if the shoe fits.' It's an earth phrase for - "

"I know what it means Sergeant. Doctor McKay has explained it to me before." If Teyla had sounded cold before, she was downright frosty now.

Regardless of his feelings, they had to get out of there, and they were going to have to work together to do that. "I'm sorry ma'am. I shouldn't have said that. I'm just very frustrated with the situation." And you, but that part was left unsaid.

"I accept your apology, and I do understand your frustration, but this is not your world. You are going to need to trust me so we can get out of this situation and locate the rest of the team. They might not have been as fortunate as us." His hand brushed up against hers as they were both moving around, trying to loosen the bonds. She didn't recoil against his touch, so that was start.

"Fortunate? I don't see being tied to a tree and left as not!bear bait, fortunate." He still couldn't believe how fast the situation has devolved. One second he had theelder's son in a choke hold, and the next they were surrounded by weapons. The rest of the team had been spread out around the village, so calling for help hadn't been an option. Without even waiting for explanations, the villagers had stripped them of their gear and tied them to a tree about two clicks into the forest. They could have fought back, but he hadn't wanted to deal with collateral damage. He had learned through his time at theSGC that sometimes it was better to get tied to a tree and rescued than start a fight.

"We are alive - I consider that fortunate. I think we should try pulling at the bonds one at a time. Both of us struggling is getting nowhere."

That was a good idea. "You start. You're smaller, you might be able to slip out easier. I'm not feeling much give over here."

"I am not either. However, there is a sharp piece of bark behind me. If I rub at the right angle, I might be able to wear the bonds near my wrist down." Teyla grunted a bit as she spoke.

"I don't think that's a good idea, ma'am." Bates put deliberate emphasis on the last word, "I don't want you hurting your wrist. We might not see eye to eye, but that doesn't mean I want you hurt. You came on this mission in one piece, and I will return you to the Major in one piece."

"You do not think I can do this without harming myself?" From her tone, he knew he was treading through dangerous territory, but he had a duty, and that duty was to return his team in the same condition they left in.

"I'm not saying that, ma'am. I'm just saying I don't think it's worth the risk."

"Well, I do. The less time I spend tied to this tree with you, the better."

"Agreed." Bates could feel Teyla moving around, trying to free herself. He felt like he should say something while she she worked, but he didn't know what to say. So he stayed silent until her heard her gasp softly.

"You okay, ma'am?"

"I am fine - I just nicked myself a little. It is not serious. I am almost free." Teyla grunted a bit more and Bates felt the ropes around his left wrist give. He started to reach around for something sharp when he felt the rest of the ropes give. "They did not check my ankles," she said, "I still had a knife, I just could not reach it before now."

Bates stood up and moved around the tree to help Teyla up, but she was already standing. Teyla turned to him, "we should hike back to the Stargate - I don't think we should risk going back to the village."

"I agree. But first you need to let me see your wrist." He moved over to her side. He could see it was raw, but he couldn't tell the full extent of the damage the bark had done.

"It is fine, Sergeant." Teyla pulled her jacket cuff down over it as she was talking.

"Then it shouldn't be a problem for me to have a look." He gave her his best no-nonsense look, hoping that would work, and it did. She rolled up her jacket sleeve and showed him her wrist. There were a lot light scratches, and one deep pink one running down the middle. It wasn't bleeding, but he didn't want it to get dirty. They no longer had their tac vests, so he ripped a piece off the bottom of his shirt.

"That is unnecessary."

"I do not believe so." He held her wrist gently while he wrapped the shirt around it, tying it off at the end.

Teyla pulled her wrist from his hand. "Thank you, Sergeant Bates. We should get going."

They had walked in silence for a bit, when Bates heard some rustling in the trees. He held up his hand to motion her to stop, but once again, she was one step ahead of him. They looked at each other and in silent motions decided Bates would go left and Teyla right. She had her knife out, and he picked up a large stick. He circled around the trees on his side and ducked behind some bushes at the edge of a clearing where a large group of not!bear congregated in the middle.

"Sergeant," Teyla whispered, falling into a crouch beside him, "the gate is a short distance past this clearing. If we walk along the treeline, we can avoid the mongrars - they are a very aggressive animal."

"Agreed, ma'am." Bates had just stood up when he caught a reflection near the pack of animals. He reached out and stopped Teyla. "Our radios and GDO are just to the left of the mongrars - they must have picked them up somehow."

"We should retrieve them."

"How fast can these suckers run?" Bates could run fast, but he really hoped these guys couldn't. He just spent 30 minutes tied to a tree, so he wasn't exactly in fighting form.

"Not very."

"Good. How about I create a distraction and get them to chase me, and you can retrieve the items?"

Teyla gave him a rare smile, for him at least, it was he type of smile she usually reserved for people she liked, "I have no problem with you being the bait."

"I figured." He gave her a wry smile; he still didn't think she had any place on an off world team, but he was starting to see why the Major kept her around. "I'll start shouting and running toward them. I'll lead them away from the treeline. If at any point they start coming toward you, back off. Radios and a GDO aren't worth it."

"I have done this before - go." Teyla made a shooing motion as she headed off to hide closer to the gear.

Bates ran toward the mongrars, screaming his head off. The leader of the pack saw him, and started running his way, with the others in tow. He didn't waste time looking back to see if Teyla was doing her job - if it could be done, she was.

He realized as he was running away, they hadn't thought of an escape plan for him, or a rendezvous point to meet up. Great planning, Sergeant. He ran for five minutes more and then decided to circle back to the clearing. Teyla should have their gear by now and the mongrars were running out of steam.

Bates had lost the mongrars by the time he made it back to the clearing. He saw Teyla waiting for him by a tree with their gear. He was surprised when she gave him a once over to make sure he was intact.

"We may not always see eye to eye, but I do not wish you ill," she said, clearly taking note of his surprise. "I got in touch with the rest of the team, they are going to meet us by thestargate. We should go."

"Alright, ma'am. Thank you."

She handed him a radio and they moved out. A few minutes later they were walking up to gate and the rest of their team hadn't arrived yet.

He wasn't really sure what to say to her, but he figured he needed to say something. "Well, ma'am it wasn't the worst mission I've ever been on." From the look on her face, that probably hadn't been the best thing to say.

"No. It was not the worst mission." She smiled a little at him and touched his arm. He smiled back.

They would probably never see eye to eye, but today, she had earned his respect.

And to Bates, that was a big deal.