On the way to recovery

Thea hit the cold, unforgiving ground with a hard thump that knocked the air from her lungs. When she finally struggled in a great lungful of air she found herself in a vicious coughing fit, and she watched strangely vacantly as blood drops appeared before her on the floor.
The dirty bastards, she thought. They broke my ribs. Thea wished that was all they had done, even now that she was alone in her cell she could not think back on what they had done to her. She had never felt such pain before in her life. Her whole body throbbed with an agony that was blinding and made every breath a struggle.
She heard heavy footsteps and a dragging sound and knew that Teal'c was being returned to his cell. She heard them throw him down and winced in sympathy. With great effort she dragged herself to the gap low on the wall, biting back the hot tears of pain that threatened to spill down her cheeks. Thea had a rule never to cry.
'Teal'c.' She spoke her voice cracking, forcing her to cough again against the dryness of her throat. The coughing left her exhausted as fresh waves of hurt sparked through her being.
The Jaffa did not move his head to speak; he simply carried on staring at the dank ceiling as he lay on his back, his considerable length stretched out.
'I will live, Captain Simone. How are your injuries?'
Thea let out a rattling laugh, almost feeling the exact point where two of her ribs were fractured, the pain was that intense.
'Bad. A few more sessions like my last and I might not be around much longer.'
Teal'c was silent before he said in a low voice,
'I am sorry there is no way we can heal you, Captain Simone.'
Thea nodded. 'Me too. And call me Thea.'
'Thea.' Teal'c said as if practising the word. It would have induced a smile under different circumstances.
'You should probably do your Kell'Nar Reem thing.' Thea's voice was flat.
'And I'll try and get some sleep.'
Thea noticed before she turned away from the gap that Teal'c did not pull himself into a sitting position like before. He must be hurting badly too.
Spreading herself carefully across the floor, Thea tried valiantly to find a position that did not cause her pain. When it became obvious that this was impossible, she merely closed her eyes and begged for sleep. She got it. Her body needed time to heal.

Thea had no way of telling time apart from the small watch she wore on her right wrist. This survived until the fourth day when a burly guard stamped on Thea's wrist, breaking both the watch and her bones.
Now Thea was unsure how long Teal'c and herself had been at the mercy of these people. Even now she could not work out their agenda. They wanted to know everything about her, from her origins to her position in the team. Of course Thea told them nothing, focussing her mind on figuring out what they wanted the information for and whom they took their orders from, but as of yet she had nothing. And in all honesty thinking was a luxury now.
In the rare moments when Thea was lucid she would push her left, undamaged hand through the gap in the wall, her fingers searching until they closed on the solidity of Teal'c's own large, rough hand. It was her only source of comfort. Before when Thea could still talk, before her throat had dried out with dehydration and her brain could still function correctly, the two had talked. Thea told Teal'c all about her childhood in Los Alamos; how her parents had taken her to their labs and taught her all about the fascinating world of science, and how her older siblings had taken her deep into the wilderness where they tracked elk and cougars, feeling in the soft dirt for tracks and carefully watching their backs for any over-keen cougars on the prowl.
Teal'c in turn told her all about his time as First Prime of Apophis, how he felt when the so called god died in front of his eyes; of his child and his wife, of Brat'ak, a man Thea decided she would like and wanted to meet. And all the while the two held onto each other's hand through that small gap, taking comfort from the heat and life of another. But even in her state, Thea could feel that Teal'c's grip was gradually weakening.
By the time the gunfire sounded in the corridors Thea was out cold and had been for over a day. Teal'c was barely cognitive yet he hoped fervently that Thea was still alive. He had kept a vigil through the gap, making sure that her chest kept it's rise and fall.
When the remainder of SG-1, including Major Samantha Carter, came charging down the corridor, their backs covered by the steady line of fire being supplied by another SG team, Teal'c attempted to stand. He could not.
He heard, however, Carter's intake of breath as she came to stand outside their cells, and the loud cursing of O'Neill.
Something flashed against his eyelids and he opened his eyes to the sight of Jonas cutting through the metal bars, O'Neill standing back with a haggard look on his face. When they dragged him out, he turned his head to look into Thea's cell, and the image he was met with would stay with him, and many others, forever.