Snow and Feet
Although she could barely hear him past the howling wind she was sure there was no end to the carping.
"Temperate climate you said, about 50 degrees and sunny."
O'Neill continued to gripe as they desperately tried to make their way to the Stargate in the blinding snowstorm.
The entire mission wasn't a total failure. Daniel had found five scrolls in a hidden chamber of a crumbling stone structure. The scrolls were in a unknown script and disintegrating but Daniel was happy.
They had been at it for almost four days, a two day walk to the ruins, one day there. The one day walk back was mostly uneventful, although the temperature plummeted through the day. Snow flurries started just as they were about to have dinner around the campfire. During his watch in a brief lull in the storm he noted the snow cover, crystalline and sparkling in the moonlight would have been beautiful if it wasn't potentially deadly. Unfortunately after that it kept falling hour after hour. They were safely tucked in their tents and in their sleeping bags hoping for better weather in the morning.
They woke to eight inches of snow on the ground and zero visibility. They broke camp quickly and efficiently and hoped to reach the Stargate before they froze to death. By mid morning O'Neill was looking for a decrepit cabin they had passed on their first day. They needed shelter. Even to just get out of the wind would increase their chances of survival.
By shear luck they just about fell into the small shelter. The cabin was ancient but had been well crafted, the walls were stone and a roof of slate shingles. There was a hearth at one end and nothing much else but a bed platform against a side wall. Otherwise all else was dust and dirt.
The door was warped shut so Teal'c muscled it open. Once SG-1 was inside the door was forced closed. They had tried to knock off most of the snow covering them before entering but had been in a hurry to get out of the blizzard. O'Neill was amazed how secure the old structure was and then set about heating water to prepare a hot drink for the team. He was have an overwhelming feeling of deja vu. Once they were feeling more human they dug into MRE's, they needed the calories.
There were a few sticks of fire wood, not enough to last the night so Teal'c and O'Neill went out to see if they could procure more. Daniel and Carter were assigned the task of making the cabin more habitable for 4 adults.
Teal'c found an abandoned supply of firewood and he and O'Neill piled arms full close to the door and carried even more into the cabin. Before long there was a roaring fire and the exhausted members of SG-1 were all thinking about settling in for the night. Daniel had appropriated the sleeping shelf and offered to share with Sam. Sam though it would be fine, the colonel had already took possession of a spot on the floor and Teal'c sat by the fire to tend it and to meditate. Sam spread her sleeping bag down on the platform and Daniel's would be spread over them. It was warm enough by now to at least shed hats and gloves and most outerwear.
Since it was deemed impossible for anything to be out in this storm they didn't keep watch. Of course Teal'c meditated with one eye open.
Carter started out side by side with Daniel. It was like sleeping beside your brother. That's if your brother snored in your ear. Poking and prodding did nothing to lessen the sound effects so Sam got up and turned around. This seemed to work for less than a minute.
Sam considered taking the top sleeping bag but Daniel had spooled himself up in it.
Sam abandoned that idea and unzipped O'Neill's sleeping bag.
"Move over" the weary woman demanded. Carter glared and he moved.
He rolled to his side to give her room.
"Please sir, Thank you, colonel." O'Neill muttered.
She got in and zipped it up, it was a tight squeeze.
Sam was cold and tired and didn't need the sarcasm.
"What's the matter?" he whispered in her ear so as to not disturb the others.
"He snores."
"Yeah and?"
"Have you ever smelled his feet?"
Pressed tightly against him she could feel O'Neill laughing. She wondered if jabbing her elbow into a superior officer's ribs was a court martialable offense.