Jack was relieved to find himself relatively without pain when his consciousness returned. He opened his eyes slowly wincing at the bright over head lights of the infirmary.

"Welcome back Colonel" Janet's voice was like music to his ears.

He groaned as she shone an even brighter light into his eyes.

"How long was I out?" he asked groggily.

"How long were you missing? Or how long were you unconscious?"

"Either. Both"

"It took SG-1, 4 and 8 nine days to find you. And you've been unconscious for a little over twelve hours, more from exhaustion than anything else you'll be happy to know. Your left arm and leg are broken as well as three ribs on your left side. But whoever set the bones did a good job and your well on your way to making a full recovery"

He sat up slowly, ignoring the pain that flared and looked around the unusually comforting surroundings of the infirmary. Nine days? It had seemed like both less and more. His time with Lalia has passed quickly but he felt he had known her a life time. He glanced at the other empty beds.

"Where's Lalia?"

Janet frowned. "The women that the rescue team brought back with them?"

He nodded.

"Her situation is a little more complicated that yours. Apart from the lesions on her back she too was suffering from a few broken ribs and one of them had punctured her lung. We almost lost her in the gate room. We had to operate and her situation is still critical, the next few hours will tell."

He buried his face in his hands and reached out with his mind to find hers, she was there but he could feel how weak she was.

"Can I see her?"

"I'd rather you rest a little first Colonel. General Hammond will be here soon to get a verbal report"

Jack nodded, normally he would have argued but he felt drained and tired, and he needed to figure out how much General Hammond needed to know about Lalia.

___________________________________________________

He was re-running through everything that had happened when the Daniel, Carter and Teal'c arrived in the infirmary.

"How ya feeling?" Daniel asked casually.

Jack groaned "I've been better. Thanks for coming to get me guys. I'm surprised it took you nine days before you checked the village"

"Actually sir that was the first place we checked" Carter said.

"Then how come you came back?"

All three looked uncomfortable and Daniel reddened slightly before finally answering.

"We all had the strangest feeling that we should check again and I even had the weirdest sensation that you were telling me to go back"

"Me too sir"

"I too had this feeling"

His mind jumped back to the words he had muttered to himself in the darkness.

"Check again guys"

"Ah" he said now, looking at each one of his team mates in turn.

Daniel frowned. "You don't think that's a little weird Jack?"

"Weird yes Danny boy, but I can't say I'm surprised"

Carter opened her mouth to speak but cut short her words as Hammond entered the room.

"Colonel I'd like to hear your verbal report, if you're feeling up to it"

Jack nodded and looked at the four people who the closest thing he had to a family, hoping they would understand what he was about to ask of them. He had decided to tell them the whole story now and get everything out in the open, hoping that they could come up with a solution that didn't involve the NID getting their hands on Lalia.

"First I need you all to promise me that what I'm going to tell you doesn't leave this room. You'll get the full unedited version now but I'm not sure my final report will tell exactly the same story"

Hammond opened his mouth to protest, but Jack held up his hand.

"Please General this is important, you'll understand when I'm finished"

Hammond nodded as did Daniel, Carter and Teal'c. Jack relaxed slightly back on the pillows that were propping him up and launched into his story, telling every detail from waking up in the cave, Lalia's amazing gift and his apparently, to their journey through the forest. The only detail he skipped over was their nightly dips in the hot spring and what had happened there on their last night in the cave. The memory was still to raw and he had to fight to control the surging mix of fear for her and anger over not being able to help her.

When he had finished he looked at each of them hoping to gage their response. All four stood silently looking at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Well?" he asked.

"Well uh…….. Janet check you for head trauma right?"

He shot Daniel his worst glare and the younger man reddened slightly.

"Jack?"

The voice in his mind was faint and his concentration so centered on the people in front of him that at first he didn't hear it.

"Jack?!"

He could feel her alarm, her fear and quickly sat up.

"Help me up will ya"

"Colonel, Dr Frasier has ordered you to rest"

"I need to see Lalia" he said swinging his legs over the side of the bed and groaning at the pain that throbbed in his body.

Both Daniel and Teal'c were at his side in an instant steadying him as he hobbled to his feet.

"Jack I really think you should be resting"

He shrugged off the younger mans restraining arm and hobbled slowly towards the room where the intensive care patients were normally tucked away.

"She's awake, and she's frightened"

"How……?"

Jack glanced over his shoulder at them as they stood in open eyed wonder.

"Haven't you been listening Daniel?"