Hope that you enjoy this chapter.

28th December

Nobody slept through the whole night but every member of the team go enough sleep, or time to kel'no'reem, to make them feel rested.

Sam and Jack had ended up in a similar position to the afternoon before, although this time Sam was pushed up against Jack's back rather than he against hers.

"Morning," Jack said, blinking sleep from his eyes.

"Morning sir," Sam answered. She then noticed where she was and rolled away quickly.

Jack made no comment about it and instead rolled onto his back before sitting up. "Listen," he said.

"I don't hear anything sir," Sam answered.

"Precisely," Jack stated, "That hopefully means that the storm has passed."

"Here's hoping sir," Sam agreed.

Jack smiled then picked up the radio. "Morning Daniel, Teal'c," he called down it.

"Ugh," came Daniel's reply, although it wasn't over the radio, "Why are you using the radio when I quiet enough that I can hear you without it?"

"Good point," Jack said, "But what does that tell you?"

"That the storm is over O'Neill," Teal'c stated.

"That it indeed does," Jack said with a smile, "Well we can hope it is at least."

Sam shook her head and began to get dressed, pulling on her outer layers. Jack followed her lead and began to get dressed too.

Once they were both done, and had put their sleeping bags back into their sacks, Sam moved and opened the door to the inner of the tent. She then moved forward and opened the main door.

She stuck her head out and looked around. "Well the skies clear sir," she stated, pulling her head back in, "But there's hell of a lot of snow on the ground. We'll be able to move but it'll be pretty slow going."

Jack nodded. "Well we need to get moving," he said, "We can't be too far from the village now surely."

Sam nodded and then got completely out of the tent. Jack followed her out.

"You weren't kidding about the snow were you Carter," Jack stated as he looked around.

Sam smiled before going over to Daniel and Teal'c's tent. "Come on out guys," she said, knocking on the top of the tent, "The storm's passed and it's time to get going."

"You sure Sam?" Daniel called, "Because it was hell of a windy for most of the night."

"Yes I'm sure Daniel," Sam replied, "There isn't a cloud in the sky."

She rolled her eyes at Jack, who smirked, then smiled at Teal'c as he appeared from within the tent.

"No Daniel?" Jack asked him with a smile.

"Hey," came Daniel's exclamation from within the tent, "I'm getting dressed ok."

Jack and Sam both bit their lips, not wanting to start laughing since chances were it would just put Daniel in a bad mood for the day.

While they waited for Daniel to come out Sam walked round to where she had parked the F.R.E.D.

"Holy Hannah," she muttered once she saw it, coming to a stop and just staring.

"What's up Carter?" Jack asked, having seen Sam stop. He came to stand beside her and then said, "Bloody hell."

"Yeah," Sam said, "We're not going anywhere until we dig this out of the snow sir."

"You're right about that Carter," Jack muttered.

The two of them stared at the F.R.E.D. From what they could see, which wasn't much since the F.R.E.D. was almost entirely covered in snow; nothing had blown away thanks to Sam's strong knots. The problem was going to be getting the F.R.E.D. out of the snow bank it was currently the base of.

"Well on the plus side," Jack said as he walked closer to the F.R.E.D., "It looks like your knots have held up."

"Looks like sir," Sam agreed as she too moved closer.

She moved around the machine, being careful since the snow in certain places was really quite deep, and looked at it closely.

"Well sir," she said as she came back to stand beside Jack, "I think that the best thing to do is untie the snow anchors and try to drive it out."

Jack nodded. "If that's what you think is best Carter then go for it," Jack instructed.

Sam nodded and headed back to their tent, Jack close behind her.

When they reached the front of the tents they saw that Daniel was up, and that he was squinting up at the sky.

"See Daniel," Jack said as Sam ducked into their tent to grab the controls, "Clear sky, just like the woman said."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "So when are we going?" Daniel asked, "After breakfast I hope."

Jack nodded. "Oh yeah it'll be after breakfast," he said, "Because breakfast is currently on a F.R.E.D. which is buried under a pile of snow."

"Ah," Daniel said, "That would make it difficult to get breakfast."

"Ya think," Jack said sarcastically.

Sam then came out of the tent, the controls for the F.R.E.D. in her hands.

Jack nodded in her direction and then said, "Right then, let's go get the snow anchors out and see it we can't get the F.R.E.D. moving."

The four of the moved back towards the F.R.E.D.

"I see what you mean about the snow," Daniel commented.

Sam smiled at him and then the four of them got to work. Jack brushed the snow off of the F.R.E.D. so that he could get the shovels off. He then handed one to Daniel and kept the other for himself.

Sam looked at the F.R.E.D. and said, "There's one here." She moved to stand on the right spot. "One here," she moved to stand on another spot. "The third here and the fourth here."

Jack nodded. "Right let's get started shall we."

He and Daniel both started to dig at two of the points where Sam had said the snow anchors were. Sam watched them and then smiled when Teal'c walked past, with his staff weapon in hand, and used the splayed end to begin digging at the third snow anchor.

He finished before Jack and Daniel, which made Sam smile further, and moved on to the fourth anchor.

Once all four anchors had been uncovered and pulled out Sam got the guys to clear a path through the heavier snow around the F.R.E.D. to where the snow wasn't as deep. As soon as that was done Sam used the controls to try and drive the F.R.E.D. out of the snowdrift.

It struggled a bit, but once Teal'c got behind it and gave it a shove, it came out and Sam was able to drive it round to the front of the tents.

When it came to a stop most of the snow had fallen away. There was still some snow the F.R.E.D. though so the four of them quickly got the rest of it off.

"Right now that that's done," Jack said, "I'd say that it's about time we had breakfast and got the tents down."

Daniel and Jack started on the tents while Sam and Teal'c grabbed some breakfast.

"It looks like everything's here sir," Sam called as Jack passed her their two sleeping bags, "I can't see anything missing."

"Nice job Carter," Jack congratulated her.

Sam smiled and then helped him drop their tent. Once that, and Daniel and Teal'c's stuff was all secured, the four started on breakfast.

"We're going to have to forego the fire I think," Jack said, "There's no chance of finding any dry wood at the moment."

Sam and Daniel both nodded sadly.

"So let's get going shall we?" Jack suggested, "We can't be far from the village,"

They all started walking, finding it harder going now that the snow was deeper.

It wasn't too bad though, Sam had had the brilliant idea to use the F.R.E.D. as a snow plough to clear a path.

It had had to be given a push a few times, after getting stuck, but it did make the going a lot easier for the four members of SG1.

They stopped for lunch, all feeling a little down hearted since they still hadn't reached the village.

"A day and a bit," Jack sneered, "I think the Tok'ra really need to work on their distances."

"I agree sir," Sam stated, "I'll have a word with Dad when we get back about it."

"You do that Carter," Jack muttered, "But for this mission right now I'm calling it, if we don't find the village by the end of the day then we're calling it a day and heading back to the SGC."

He looked around the team, waiting to see if anyone was going to have any objections to his plan. he was almost surprised when no one said anything, not even Daniel who was usually the first to jump down his throat when he decided to can a mission.

"Hey I'm not going to complain this time Jack," Daniel said when he saw Jack's eyes on him, "It's freezing and I just want a warm shower."

"Well that's fair enough," Jack said, "You two happy with leaving if we don't find anything?"

"No arguments from me sir," Sam said.

"Nor me O'Neill," Teal'c said.

"Good," Jack said, "Well let's keep moving then shall we."

The three nodded and carried on walking along behind the F.R.E.D.

Eventually though they did manage to find the village. "Damn," Jack muttered when they saw the smoke rising over the trees, "And here I was thinking we'd actually get home without having to spend any more time of this freezing rock."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Keep your opinions to yourself will you Jack," he muttered, "We need to make a good impression here if we want to try and make any trades."

"Sir yes sir," Jack replied sarcastically, snapping his heels together and throwing a lazy salute.

Sam rolled her eyes along with Daniel, while Teal'c just stood and watched them all.

Sam carried on walking, guiding the F.R.E.D. towards the village. Teal'c followed along behind her. Jack and Daniel glared at each other for a moment before they began walking again.

"I hope this is worth it," Jack muttered to Sam as the village became visible amongst the trees, "Because so far this mission has been very anticlimactic."

"The Tok'ra seem to think that they had something worth trading," Sam mussed.

"Mmm," Jack muttered, "But I must say that the voice in my head is getting louder, something really doesn't feel right."

"It might just be the cold air sir," Sam suggested, "It can mess with you head."

"Maybe," Jack accepted, coming to a stop and gesturing for the others to do the same, "But right now I think it's show time." He turned to Daniel. "You take point Danny-boy," he ordered, "And let's make sure we make a good impression shall we."

Daniel nodded and moved to walk in front of the F.R.E.D., Teal'c heading up with him and once the two of them had started walking Sam piloted the F.R.E.D. after them, and then she and Jack followed along behind it.

They could see the village through the trees and as the trees began to thin out they began to get a clearer view of it.

It didn't look like it was the home to a very advanced society, there was no sign of anything that would say it was, only a few stone buildings with snow covered roofs. It looked like any other village that they'd been to, aside from the thick covers on the inside of each window that must have been for keeping the heat in.

But Sam was pretty sure that she could feel a vibration through her feet, which to her felt a lot like machinery. She couldn't be sure though because she couldn't see, or hear, anything to substantiate her hunch.

Just to make sure that the cold wasn't getting to her, she turned her head to Jack and asked in a low very low voice, so that she hopefully wouldn't be over heard, "Can you feel any vibrations through your feet sir?"

Jack was silent for a moment before answering, his voice barely above a whisper, "Yeah I can. Why?"

"Just checking that the cold isn't getting to me sir," Sam answered.

Jack nodded and then just left it at there, knowing that anyone might over hear them and maybe that wasn't something they wanted.

"Movement sir," Sam muttered, loud enough for Daniel and Teal'c to hear as well.

"I see it," Jack responded, "Now let's just hope they're here to give us a warm welcome."

Daniel stopped walking a few feet clear of the tree line and stood and waited for the villagers to come to them. Sam stopped the F.R.E.D. and then she and Jack walked round it to stand with Daniel and Teal'c.

They remained still as village members, clad in assorted furs and what looked like quilted jackets came towards them. Going from the size of all of the people coming towards the team, they were all adults, and probably all men.

SG1 stood and studied the approaching group of five, while the other group studied them in return.

"You're up Daniel," Jack muttered as the group came to a stop.

Daniel nodded and slowly moved forward, away from Jack, Sam, Teal'c and the F.R.E.D., and towards the group of villagers.

"My name is Daniel Jackson," he said, stopping after taking a few steps, "And these are my friends, Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Sam Carter and Teal'c. We come from a planet called Earth. We're allies of the Tok'ra and they said that you may be open to becoming trading partners with us."

Daniel stopped talking and then stood and waited for a response. The group didn't reply straight away, but they did talk quietly amongst themselves.

"I'd really appreciate it if they wrapped this up soon," Jack muttered out of the corner of his mouth to Sam, "I'm freezing my balls off out here."

Sam smirked into the collar of her jacket but stayed silent.

The group of five then obviously came to an agreement because they turned back to Daniel and the person in the centre stepped forward. "Welcome to you Daniel Jackson and you're friends. Please come in out of the cold."

"Thank you," Daniel accepted.

The man nodded, his voice had been too deep for him to be anything but a man, and then led the way towards one of the buildings.

One of the group hurried ahead and into the building there were heading for.

When SG1 and the rest of the group reached it they all headed in through the door, Daniel and Teal'c following after the man who had spoken, and were followed by two of the other members of the group. The last member of the group however stopped and turned to Sam and Jack.

"You're thing with all your possessions on," he began, "That must stay out here."

"Of course," Jack answered, "Where would you like it?"

The man thought for a moment before pointing to the side of the building.

"Go on Carter," Jack ordered, "Park it up."

Sam nodded and manoeuvred the F.R.E.D. into position.

The three of them then walked into the building, which Sam was guessing was a house.

Once inside Sam and Jack saw that Daniel was already talking eagerly, to anyone that would listen.

Jack also noticed something else, something that he found a little alarming, there weren't many women in the room, Jack could see three and they were stood in the corners in silence, only moving to refill drinks.

"Carter," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "I think it might be a good idea if you kept your hood up and didn't say anything. I don't know if this culture is on the same page as us when it comes to women's rights."

Sam too had noticed the lack of women, and how the women who were present were acting and being treated, and nodded her head quickly in agreement.

The two of them then sat down with Teal'c and Daniel. Jack took his hood down, like Daniel and Teal'c had already done, but left his coat on as he still felt chilled to the bone.

"Is your friend not going to take their hood down too?" one of the men asked, Jack was pretty sure that it was the man who had spoken to them when they'd first arrived.

"I'm sorry," Jack answered, "But he," he heavily stressed the word for Daniel and Teal'c's benefit, "Feels the cold a lot worse than we do so needs the hood to conserve their body heat. I fear the cold may also have stolen their voice."

The man didn't look convinced but nodded anyway. "It is late," he then said, "So we will eat and drink and then discuss the possibilities of trade in the morning."

"Thank you," Daniel accepted, "That would be very much appreciated."

The man nodded before clicking his fingers. "We will eat now," he dictated.

The women around the room all nodded and then disappeared from the room.

"Sir," Sam said in a low voice right beside Jack's ear, "The vibrations have stopped. I think it might have been just before we entered the building."

Jack nodded. He was then aware that the man from outside, who Jack was assuming was the leader, or at least a person of importance, was watching the two of them.

"My friend was just wondering how it is that you manage to live in such a cold climate, and if you get many storms as bad as the one yesterday," he explained, thinking up anything that would explain Sam's whispering to him.

The man was silent for a moment. "We have adapted, just like the animals we share the forest with. We spend as much time as possible inside, only going out if we have to, to preserve our energy and warmth. As for the storms we do get them every so often yes."

Jack nodded his head in thanks, glad that he seemed to have fallen for his fake questions.

"I do have a question for you though Daniel Jackson," the man said, "How is it that you got through the storm? You have said that you came through the portal, what you call a stargate, and that is at least a day and a half from here."

"Sam saw the clouds Isaac," Daniel explained, "And we hunkered down in our tents before the storm hit properly."

Isaac nodded his head in understanding. "Then you were lucky," he stated, "Very lucky indeed. It is not uncommon for a storm that fierce to take the life of someone without a proper roof over their head."

"We are lucky to have Carter," Jack said, "Sam is good at noticing things that can keep us all out of trouble."

Isaac inclined his head in Sam's direction. "Let us eat," he then said as the woman appeared back in the room and started to hand out dishes of food.

The members of SG1 all took theirs with a smile of thanks and a nod. The other men in the room basically ignored them though.

Everyone ate quickly, the heat of the food warming all of SG1 brilliantly, as well as filling their stomachs.

Once they'd all eaten they all drank a lot of very warm, and slightly alcoholic if the fizziness in their heads was anything to go by, drinks that they were offered. The fizziness did mean that they didn't drink too much, just enough to seem polite, but not enough to become totally inebriated.

When that was done they were lead through a door, up some stairs, and then through a few more doors to a room with beds in it. There was six, but it looked like none of them were currently in use was the room was totally void of anything personal.

"Sleep well," Isaac said, "We shall speak more in the morning."

"Good night Isaac," Daniel responded.

Isaac shut the door and then the four members of SG1 all headed towards the beds.

"Well they certainly seem friendly," Daniel said, slurring his words ever so slightly.

"That they do," Jack agreed, "And you seem a little drunk."

Daniel shrugged. "Why did you call Sam he?" he then asked, "And how come you kept your hood up the whole time Sam?"

"Because they obviously have no respect for women her Daniel," Jack answered, "And if pretending Sam is a man can protect her from whatever they may think is a suitable punishment for a woman not being in whatever place they see fit for her, then she is a man for this mission."

"Ok," Daniel accepted, being to sway slightly on his feet as he spoke.

Jack saw this and shook his head. "I'd say that it's time to go to bed," he stated, "Before Daniel falls over."

The team all nodded and then began to get ready to turn in.

They all bid each other goodnight before snuggling down underneath the furs that were on the bed.