They were quick to bind Jack's wounds (simply by wrapping all the bloodiest spots entirely to avoid exposing the wound or his bare skin to the howling wind) and pick him up. Fisai grabbed up the little girl, who was sobbing softly but unharmed as far as Ian was able to see, and they headed back for the safety of the cave. Ian wanted a chance to check out Jaffer and knew Teal'c would want to do the same for Jack (the dog). On the plus side, they were in the middle of a fair sized population of people who could heal as easily as the Ancients, so Jack was probably not in any real danger now that they had him heading back to the caves alive and mostly well.

He gathered up his P90 and found Jack's where it had fallen, and followed the others back the way they'd come, grateful when they passed the entrance to the cave and the biting winds stopped. Only then was conversation possible, and he could take a better look at the bloodstains on both dogs and on Teal'c, who had assured them he did not need assistance with his injuries.

Jaffer was walking fairly well, sticking close to the two men who were carrying Jack between them, but Ian noticed Jack (the dog) was limping now that they were out of the snow, and he was going to speed up to check it out when Teal'c proved that he, too, had been watching, and reached down and easily picked the yellow lab up into his arms, earning himself an excited and pleased lick from Jack (the dog) and a surprised look from the men around them.

"What happened?" Daniel asked the moment they crossed into the large cavern. He and several others had been watching for them.

"We ran into a wraith," Ian answered, following as they carried Jack over to the fire they'd all shared with Berag. The old man was there waiting for them, and the two men carrying Jack lowered him onto a bedroll carefully.

"Gah."

Obviously he wasn't feeling his best, but Jack was wide awake and coherent. Jaffer whined and whuffled Jack's neck and face, causing Jack to flinch and push him carefully to the side.

"Easy, Little Man… I'm okay."

"Are you?" Daniel asked, concerned. He didn't look all that okay to Jack. He looked bloody and wrapped up like some kind of deranged mummy.

"Well, I'm not dead," Jack amended. "And that's a definite plus."

"You would not believe what they did," Fisai said as a woman came over and snatched his sister from his arms and immediately started checking her for injuries as Berag started unwrapping bandages the covered Jack. "They drove off a wraith!"

There were excited and interested murmurs from those listening in, and Daniel looked at Ian and Teal'c.

"What's a wraith?"

"Big nasty thing," Ian said, reaching over and getting Jaffer's attention so the big lab would come over and he could check him out. "It had a ton of teeth and a vicious tail."

"The wraith come out only when there are storms," Fisai said. "Which is another reason we seek the protections of the caves when the wind blows like it is now."

"Only sometimes people don't make it inside in time?" Daniel asked, looking at the little girl kindly. She was completely unhurt, now – her mother or whomever the woman was who had taken her from Fisai had obviously healed her already. There wasn't even a bruise.

"It happens rarely," Fisai acknowledged. "But usually with dire consequences. The wraith are not easy to run off."

"Yeah, we noticed," Jack said, grunting when the final bandage came off a little harder than he'd expected.

Berag frowned as he stripped Jack's shirt off him, and Ian could help but shake his head, too. There were several little cuts where falling rocks had torn through Jack's shirt and vest, but even worse, there were a ton of bruises – and since they were already purpling nicely, Ian knew they had to be deep. Which probably meant there would be some internal injuries as well.

Good thing they had a mess of healers handy, Ian thought relieved.

"You are injured badly, Jack," Berag said. "But we can take of it without any problem. It is-"

As he'd spoken, he'd started to reach out to press his hand against O'Neill's chest, but Jack shook his head, taking hold of his arm.

"Ian. You do it."

Startled, Ian looked at Jack. Usually Jack was just as adamant as Ian was about not letting other people know about his abilities – especially after that whole thing with the Brish and their stupid assumption that Ian was Jesus Christ.

"Me?"

"Just enough to get me mobile," Jack told him. "Don't wipe yourself out."

Ian rubbed Jaffer's ears and stood up, moving over to crouch down beside Jack while Berag moved out of the way with a curious look at both of them.

He put his hand lightly against Jack's side and closed his eyes to concentrate – and to block the stares of the others – and focused on finding out what was wrong inside Jack. Nothing too dangerous, but definitely painful. Cracked ribs, a bruised liver and a broken vertebra in his spine that was probably the worst when it came to pain at any rate. Nothing Ian couldn't fix.

He did so, checking the rest of Jack's system quickly to make sure that he hadn't missed anything major and then pulled his hand away. O'Neill was still a bloody battered mess, but the bruises would fade and the deeper cuts had been closed and the broken parts fixed. The rest would heal on their own.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief and caught Jaffer as he closed for a repeat of the licking.

"Thanks, Ian."

The New Yorker sat back, nodding. He'd been told not to over extend himself, but this was Jack that he was helping and he'd done a bit more than was probably necessary. After all, he didn't want Sam to be worried or stressed when they returned. He felt a slight tinge of nausea and a little tired, but it wasn't too bad – and definitely worth the price.

Berag looked down at Jack and then over at Ian, amazed.

"You are an Ancient!"

Ian snorted and shook his head, wishing that he'd saved something from dinner. The nausea had passed and now he was hungry.

"No more than you are a Furling."

The others continued to stare, but Ian ignored them, now. He reached into his pack and pulled out a handful of Powerbars, unwrapping one and stuffing it into his mouth – both to take care of his hunger and to avoid the need to speak.

"We aren't Furlings," Fisai said.

"Exactly," Jack said, sitting up and frowning at Ian. "You okay?"

Mouth filled, Ian could only nod, but Jack knew he'd probably be tired once he'd stuffed himself.

"I don't understand…" Berag said, sounding a little annoyed, but mostly exasperated. "How do you possess the Ancients healing gift?"

Daniel frowned, too. He didn't understand why Jack would have had Ian heal him instead of allowing one of the others to do it. They were much better at it than Ian, after all – and they didn't seem to have the same exhausted side affects when they did it.

"Did you get it from the Ancient's knowledge device?" Fisai asked.

Ian swallowed his mouthful of food and nodded. It was as good a reply as any – and would cut back on a lot of explanations.

"Yeah. Although I don't do it naturally like they did – or like you're people do it."

"And yet he is healed," Berag said, gesturing to Jack.

Ian shrugged, and opened another powerbar.