"Niall, it's good to see you looking so well." Daniel shook Niall's hand warmly when he greeted them at the entrance of the mine.

"And you, Doctor Jackson," Niall replied, leading the way into the cavern.

Daniel switched on his helmet light and followed. "Call me Daniel," he urged as he jogged to keep up with the pace the others set.

The snow had cleared so the passage up to the entrance of the mine was not as bad as Sergi had feared. He'd packed ropes and pulleys just in case the horses struggled but hadn't needed them as the sun's warmth had melted the ice.

Tanger mine was situated at the foot of the hills that surrounded Gowton to the west. The entrance led to many winding tunnels that branched off to different sections that spanned the length and breadth of the hills. It was estimated that the mine covered a ten-mile square area underground and produced enough Naquada to keep everyone happy. The Mandana's used it mainly for trading though Sam was teaching them how to adapt it as a power source so their days of gas lamps would soon be over. Small groups of miners were dispatched to different parts of the mines daily; they would use picks to chip off the Naquada, which would be shovelled into a trolley and sent to the surface by a pulley system. It was a hard, arduous task and many people had lost their lives in their attempt to keep up production. Most of Ben's patients came from accidents in the mine and the SGC was organising experts to help make things safer come spring thaw.

"How far is it?" Daniel asked when Ben appeared at his side.

"Not too far, it's just a bit awkward to get there," Ben turned and smiled.

"Oh?"

"Just a bit narrow, okay it's a lot narrow," he shrugged, patted Daniel on the arm and jogged after his father in law.

"Oh, piece of cake," Daniel mumbled to himself, double checked that he had his safety ropes, and then hurried after his friend.

Nothing was easy.

Xxx

"Okay, I need more light, Ben."

Daniel and Ben were in the cavern that housed the writings. Ben had not been wrong when he said that the corridor leading to the cavern was narrow and Daniel had struggled to position his body at the right angle in order to squeeze through. He wasn't surprised that the markings had not been discovered earlier as the cavern was obscured from the main tunnel.

Daniel had quickly pulled out his equipment and started to concentrate on the wall, he needed to get the information as quickly as possible so they could get back. He knew Ben was worried about Lilly and felt guilty about pulling him away from his wife's side.

"Thanks," he smiled as Ben joined him at the wall and the beam from the light on his helmet joined his. "I won't be long," he promised.

"It's fine," Ben returned the smile. "Lilly will be fine," he added, knowing just what Daniel was thinking.

"Right." Daniel removed his digital camcorder and started filming the wall, panning round the rest of the cavern for any signs of further markings. The sides and floor were wet and slippery; the roof was low and claustrophobic.

"Where does this path lead to?" He shone his flashlight down a tiny path that led from the back of the cavern.

"I'm not sure," Ben admitted as he followed. "We didn't get this far last night."

The two men started to inch their way down the path, keeping their hands on the walls as a guide. They paused when they heard Sergi shout their names and back tracked so they could hear him better.

"What was that, Sergi?" Ben shouted.

"You have to return now!"

Ben looked at Daniel, shook his head and shrugged. He was just about to reply when he felt the floor begin to shake.

"What the hell...?" He mumbled and braced himself against the wall when the whole cavern then shook. "Sergi, what the heck is going on?"

"You have to get out of there. There has been an explosion in the mine above."

The whole room shook as the roof started to cave in...

Xxx

"Quick, in here," Sergi grabbed Niall and pulled him into a small hole in the wall when the explosion reverberated through the mine. They plastered themselves against the back wall and watched as debris fell in the corridor.

There had been no warning, just a rumble and then a crescendo of noise and shaking. There had been no time to help Daniel and Ben.

When the earth stopped shaking, Sergi and Niall rushed back into the corridor. They were shocked and dismayed by the sight of the rocks blocking the cavern entrance.

Sergi scrambled to the top of the pile and started to remove the rocks one by one.

"Benjamin, can you hear me? Doctor Jackson, are you there?" He shouted as he tried desperately to clear a way through to the trapped men.

Niall stood at the behind Sergi and watched. "There's no way you're going to get to them like that," he coughed into the crook of his arm. "It will take forever."

Sergi continued to call and shovel frantically but in the end, he had to admit defeat.

"We need help," he said. "What is the way back like?" He shone his flashlight down the corridor and sighed with relief at the glimpse of orange-tinged sky at the end.

He turned back to Niall. "You need to get help, son. We're going to need plenty of help to dig them out," he admitted, rubbing the dust out of his eyes. "And, God knows how many people are trapped elsewhere," he sighed.

Niall nodded slowly. "Okay, sir," he reluctantly agreed. He wanted to stay and help his friend but knew that, without help, it was going to be an impossible task. Grabbing his pack he turned to leave but a hand on his arm halted his urgency.

"Y...you'd better let Lilly know what's happened," Sergi stammered. Hanah had told him how unwell his daughter was and he didn't want to worry or upset her but the fact that there had been no reply to their calls probably meant the men were injured or worse. Lilly would never forgive him or herself if she didn't come.

"Okay, I will," Niall, promised. "I'll send word to the hospital and to Harold, he'll arrange help." He picked up his pack again and gave Sergi's hand a squeeze. "I won't be long."

Sergi nodded and then watched as Niall limped towards the entrance. His heart sank when he realised he was on his own and help was a long way off. Taking a deep breath, he turned and resumed his desperate clearing, calling Ben and Daniel's names as he worked.

Xxx

God his head hurt!

After struggling to sit up, Ben rested his aching head on his knees and took some deep breaths in an attempt to control his spinning world.

He had no idea how long he'd been unconscious but he did know, from his rolling nausea and double vision, that the collapsed ceiling had obviously caused a pretty bad concussion. He had had fleetingly thought that the bang on the head had rendered him blind, but slowly his eyes were getting used to the darkness of the cave.

He tried to assess his injuries as he concentrated on keeping the contents of his stomach. His head was pounding and he could feel blood beginning to trickle down his face. The position he was sitting in was causing sharp pains in his chest, which could point to a broken rib or ribs and the agony of an obviously broken wrist was growing by the second.

Overall, he was not in good shape but what worried him more was the complete silence he received when he called Daniel's name.

He needed to find his friend.

Patting the stone floor with his good hand, he was relieved to immediately find his flashlight. Slumping against the wall, he fiddled with the controls and when it finally lit up his surroundings, he found he had to close his eyes for a few seconds as the bright light had caused his nausea to return. He took a couple more deep breaths before he risked opening his eyes again to assess the situation.

He could see that the rockslide had blocked off the entrance to the cavern and the passageway into the tunnel at the back had now disappeared. When he noticed his pack on the other side of the small cavern, he sighed in relief but the sigh turned into a groan when the light found Daniel, unconscious and half-buried by rocks right next to it.

Ben made his way over to his pack, his injured arm wrapped around his aching ribs. He needed to medicate himself before he could tend to his patient so he grabbed a pack of Tylenol and dry swallowed a couple before routing for a sling to support his broken wrist. The act of struggling into it caused his head to hurt even more and sweat to pour down his body. He was feeling incredibly light headed and weak but he couldn't give in to his own injuries, as he urgently needed to check Daniel out.

After resting for a few minutes, he scrambled over to his friend. "Daniel?" Resting his injured arm on his raised knee, he gently shook the unconscious man's shoulder but again, he received silence in response. Moving his fingers to Daniel's neck, he signed in relief when he discovered a strong and rapid pulse.

"Thank god," he mumbled, inching closer and angling the flashlight with his knee so he could get a better look at Daniel's injuries.

They had matching gashes on their foreheads so Daniel had probably joined him in the concussion club. There were no signs of blood anywhere and his breathing seemed regular so Ben picked the flashlight up and shone it down Daniel's body, pausing when that simple act made his head swim again. He wanted so much to give into the greyness that was pulling at his world but knew he needed to complete his examination. The fact that a large rock was covering Daniel's legs meant that there were probably hidden injuries. Ben crawled his way down to Daniel's lower body, placed the flashlight on the floor, angled upright again and started feel the ground under Daniel's legs for any signs of blood. When he found none he turned his attention to the rock and started to ease it off the unconscious man.

Ben's pulse thumped in his ears, nausea rolled in his stomach and he had to stop several times to either throw up or concentrate on remaining conscious himself but finally he managed to move the rock sufficiently enough to free Daniel.

He was concerned about the lack of reaction he received from his friend when he gently pulled his legs to one side. Grabbing the flashlight again, he shone it towards his face, and was relieved to see the steady rising and falling of his chest so returned his attention to assessing for any damage to Daniel's legs.

"Okay," Ben muttered as he patted down Daniel's leg. "Looking good so far," he added when he found no obvious injuries and then reached up and rested his hand on Daniel's abdomen and pressed down slightly...

Daniel's groan in response was not a good sign and Ben eased his way up slightly so he could examine him further. When he felt bone shifting slightly under his touch, he knew Daniel's condition was serious.

"Not liking this," he mumbled as he pulled his hand away. He couldn't be sure but he thought that Daniel could have broken his pelvis. The good thing was that he didn't seem to be bleeding outwardly but Ben knew the risk of internal bleeding was very serious with a fracture and there was no way he was going to be able to move him without causing any more damage.

With one hand, he managed to remove Daniel's belt and then reached for an ACE bandage, which would supply support to the unstable bones.

The act of actually bandaging the pelvis was by no means easily, especially with a broken wrist and concussion and it seemed to take Ben ages but after stopping to rest many times he was happier that Daniel's fracture was now stabilized. He taped the edge of the bandage in place with one hand and the help of his teeth. He stretched out at Daniel's side, rested his head on the unconscious man's shoulder and, keeping one hand on Daniel's chest, he was then powerless to stop his spiralling decent into oblivion.