Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Stargate SG1 and write this purely for entertainment value.

Author's Rambling: I felt really good about this story when I began to write it, but about halfway through I got kind of iffy about it... but hopefully you like it and maybe it was just my own self-doubt causing me to dislike the middle/ending! Regardless, tell me what you think, since I have another story idea I might pursue if anyone is interested (unrelated to this). I did not spell or grammar check this because I got lazy...

CARTER POV

One moment I was standing at the edge of a clifftop, looking out to scan the beautiful view of the latest planet we'd visited when I heard the sound of a weapon charging, and then I was falling straight over the side. I didn't feel pain but I could smell the familiar stench of burning flesh the staff weapon left behind. I tried to protect myself as I fell so I didn't land on anything important - like my head or neck - but looked up to the sound of gunfire and yelling above me. And so, I didn't see the stone jutting halfway down the cliff-side until my hip slammed into it with a sickening crack and pain flushed through my side and pelvis. And then I was tumbling, at what I approximated to be a 65 degree angle until I landed on the, thankfully, soft grass. The fact I was still conscious amazed me as I lay in excruciating pain and tried to rationalize what had happened and how I was going to get out of here.

The gunfire had stopped and I spent a good amount of time trying to slowly turn my head to gaze up where I had fallen. Nobody else was falling so I assumed that was a good thing. Aside from the fact my leg was currently tingling and pain radiated mostly through my hip region, with a few aches elsewhere, and a steadily increasing burning pain in my shoulder, I considered myself lucky. A fall like that could have easily broken my neck or spine; or I could have split my head open on that damned rock on the way down.

Gradually my rational mind was weakening with the strain of dealing with the growing pains throughout my body, and if it weren't for my nerve endings burning with the insult they'd been beaten with, I would've heard my time yelling at me while they approached. Instead, I was unaware of them until the Colonel scared the hell out of me when he suddenly jumped in my line of sight, which successfully silenced the roaring in my ears so I could focus on listening.

"Carter! We need to go!" He shouted and I became instantly aware of a throbbing headache. I winced and tried to move my leg. There was a feeble, half-hearted response, but the signal my brain sent me was surely not lacking. I groaned and saw stars until the pain went down enough for my vision to clear.

"I don't think she can walk..." Daniel spoke quietly, and I felt him press down on my knee. "Sam? Can you feel that?"

He must think I had damaged my spine, but if that were the case, I'd be feeling a hell of a lot more chatty. "Yes," I ground out through gritted teeth, trying to move my other leg. It moved with no pain in that side, but considering the closeness of both hip bones and the functionality of the pelvic region, it still sent a new flare of pain through the injured one. "Can't walk," I managed to say. Full sentences were too much for me, as I risked screaming out in pain if I kept my mouth open for too long. I didn't miss the grimace shared between Jack and Daniel, and I can't say I blame them. This was not a good place to have to be dragged back to the gate, especially having been attacked by Jaffa. Who knows how many more were out there?

"Sorry Carter, we don't have time to splint you up," Jack said grimly, and I nodded weakly in understanding. We had to get to the gate, and I knew it was going to hurt like hell. And as I was quickly forced up to get half carried between Jack and Daniel - Teal'c was too tall so he walked ahead and with his weapon drawn, ready to shoot anything that popped its ugly head, I knew it was going to be a long way back.

JACK POV

The moment I heard the sound I turned just in time to see a staff blast send Carter right off the edge - the same edge I had been wary about going near in the first place for exactly the same reason! And also because Daniel had a habit of falling...

The short gunfight was fueled by my rage at the attacking Jaffa for targeting my team member, especially Carter, because my male chivalry - what she called sexism - did not like any woman getting hurt. That one in particular. Once the patrol was dead or unconscious on the ground I wasted no time in ordering the remaining team down, and we carefully, with Teal'c grabbing a stumbling Daniel, made out way down the safer route. I saw her lying on the ground, covered in dirt and dust and panic grew. But she was alive, her eyes were open. The gleam of pain in them made me cringe.

There was bleed on her shoulder where the staff blast had hit her, but that was not my main concern. The fact she hadn't moved in any great significance since we made our way down worried me that she had injured an irreparable part of her body. Daniel was first to check, and her resulting 'yes' was a song of relief in my ears.

We had to leave, though. It was only a matter of time before more Jaffa came, alerted as they were to the sound of gunfire and the soon to be found bodies of their brothers. I knew she had probably broken something, most likely a leg or ankle since she claimed she couldn't walk, but we had no time to wait - the best thing we could do for her was to get back to Stargate command and let Janet work her magic. Or, I thought it was the best thing until I tried to help her stand and she let out a heart-wrenching cry of pain. She sagged against me, clearly unable to put any weight on her left leg, which I realized was the one she had been lying on when we found her, and wobbled unsteadily. Damn it. It was worse than I thought. I readjusted my grip on her to make up for the lack of mobility, but it wasn't long before she went completely limp in her arms. Part of me cursed again, because that was clearly bad, but the other part was slightly relieved - it would be easier to move her while she couldn't feel anything.

Teal'c traded places with both Daniel and I and we kept guard while he carried her. As much as I wanted to be the one taking care of her, I knew Teal'c was stronger and would find it easier, so she could get through the gate faster.

"Daniel!" I shouted as I saw the familiar head of a staff weapon through the trees, and he ducked in time to avoid the energy blast.

We fired at the incoming team, a fair patrol of 7 men. Luck was clearly on our side for the most part, and each went down with no further injuries to the team. It seemed like it took hours to get back to the gate, and we were fortunate enough to have it clear. Daniel dialed the gate while I sent in my code, carefully checking around to make sure there was nobody waiting to ambush us. It seemed strangely silent, but rather than stick around until that changed, I ordered Teal'c through the gate, still carrying an unconscious Major Carter, and followed Daniel through after.

Hammond, along with a room full of armed soldiers greeted us at the gate.

"We need to get to the infirmary!" I shouted, but Hammond must have ordered a team up the moment we called in through the gate because Janet and several doctors made their way into the room with a stretcher all set, and Teal'c laid a still unconscious Carter down on it.

"What happened? Colonel!" Hammond shouted my name when I didn't immediately acknowledge him, and I had to force myself to stop staring at my injured team mate to face him.

"We were attacked by a patrol of Jaffa, and Carter took a hit and fell pretty far down," I explained swiftly, wanting nothing more than to follow the medical team down. Hammond at least seemed to be in a good mood, or understood that I probably wouldn't be pretty good in a briefing right now so he simply nodded.

"Meet in the briefing room at 1800," he said quietly.

I knew how much he hated seeing injured SG units return, especially in situations where it was almost impossible to know what happened and how badly hurt they were - and since we were going off world, exploring new planets, impossible to know what secondary issues may arise. Such as bringing back a Goa'uld, or an implant that made an entire team hallucinate the same, annoying guy, for example. But she was my team member, and so my responsibility. I scooted past him and ran down to the infirmary with Daniel and Teal'c following behind me.

"I'm sorry, Colonel. But we need to do x-rays and check for any internal injuries. I'll let you know when I have anything," Janet said as she carefully, but purposely shut us out.

And so the waiting began.

CARTER POV

I was very foggy and confused when I finally regained consciousness. It took quite awhile for my mind to catch up with my body, and I was gratefully aware that my pain was considerably decreased. Not completely gone, but tolerable. I tried to force my eyes open and was blinded first by the white walls and dim lights on the ceiling. The second time I tried, it was a bit less of a sensory overload and I could see, albeit, blurry. When I turned my head to the side I realized I was not alone. The Colonel was snoozing in a chair near my bed, his head nodded off to one side, and I had to smile a little.

"Major Carter! I'm glad to see you're awake," Janet shifted into view only when her voice startled me enough to turn to face, and also happened to wake up O'neil. "How are you feeling?" She asked, looking between my chart to my vitals on the screen.

"Good," I rasped, my throat just dry enough to betray my word.

"The good news is, the wound on your shoulder didn't damage anything vital and should heal completely with no permanent problems. You have 3 bruised ribs, but no broken or fractured, which is probably because your pack took most of the beating. You did, however, break your left wrist, but it was a clean break and should heal fine with rest," she eyed me sternly at 'rest', knowing what me (and my entire team) was like. It just so happened I was already considering the best and easiest way to sneak out of here and get back to work when she gave me what I guess was the 'bad news'. "You do have a hairline fracture on your left hip, which we surgically had to hold together with screws so it will heal eventually."

I grimaced. Hip fractures weren't good. Sometimes it took months, up to a year, of physical therapy to recover from a fracture, which was an amount of time I did not want to spend on bed rest.

"All-in-all, you were very lucky, Major. The force that was required to fracture your hip, especially in your physically fit state, would've easily been enough to permanently disable or kill you," as she finished her report, Doctor Fraiser switched to Friend Fraiser mode. "I'm glad you're alright," she smiled at me, then glanced at Colonel O'neil who was being uncharacteristically quiet during this entire conversation before she left to leave us alone.

"Well Carter," he began, and I knew he was going to throw a jibe. "The next time you go falling off a mountain, warn me to bring some doohickies first." I had to hide a grin.

"Yes, sir. I will send in a request to begin working on personalized anti-gravitational fields soon," I responded. He raised an eyebrow at me, as if he was about to make a question as to what exactly I just said.

"I know you're supposed to be resting," he sighed, sobering up. "Please don't scare me like that again."

"I'm sorry Sir, I won't," I said, even though we both knew it was an order I probably couldn't follow through. It was just a part of the job.

"Well... I'll leave you to it," he stood up stiffly, signifying he probably had been sitting there for awhile. "I'll also tell Teal'c and Daniel you're okay. And Carter... if you feel the need to stand up and stretch your legs... don't." And with that, he turned and left the room, leaving me silently cursing the fact that I really wanted to go up to my office and do some work.