The next morning the Jaffa woke them just before sunrise and after they quickly ate and Sam checked Jack's bandages they started moving again.

Daniel, with the help of a fallen branch which he used as a crutch, made his way on his own two feet. Their pace today was faster than it had been yesterday; a semi decent night sleep and food had done wonders for them all.

They had been going for maybe two hours when they heard the horn. "Your escape has been detected," one of the Jaffa said, "Now the guards at the gate will be excepting you."

Jack looked grim as he asked, "How far are we?"

The Jaffa all looked at each other before one answered, "An hour or two Colonel."

Jack nodded and looked at his team, seeing how they were doing. Teal'c looked as strong as ever, all his cuts having now healed, the only evidence that they had been there at all was the slits and blood stains that were all over his BDU's. Daniel was resting heavily on his branch, keeping his weight off his still slightly sore ankle as much as he could, but when his eyes met Jack's he could see the determination there. He finally looked at Sam and could see nothing but steel in both her stance and her eyes. He knew then that no matter what happened in the next few hours they were either going to get through the gate or die trying, although Jack was hoping that his first option was the one that came true. He nodded once as they continued to move towards their escape.

An hour and a half later the Jaffa motioned for everyone to stop and to be silent. They all stopped and then proceeded in a crouch, Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c taking the rear.

They knelt at the edge of the trees, hiding behind some of the larger ones and took stock of the situation.

They counted eleven Jaffa standing guard, watching the woods carefully. They could hear them muttering from where they were watching and Daniel said in a low voice, "They're waiting for us; they know this is the easiest way off the planet."

The leader of the free Jaffa, the one who had taken them out of the cell motioned for everyone to move back, further into the trees. Once they were all out of ear shot of the Jaffa at the gate they all stopped and squatted or sat and decided on their plan.

"Will they be expecting reinforcements?" Jack questioned, keeping his voice quiet just in case.

The Jaffa nodded. "They will yes," he answered equally as quietly.

Jack smiled, "Well that's our way in. You pretend to be the reinforcements and they won't be suspicious of you and will let their guard down around you. You then attack and we'll be waiting at the tree line to help."

The Jaffa leader nodded in agreement, "That is what we will do. But we cannot put the plan into action yet, the nearest place reinforcements could come from is many hours walk away, and even at a run it would still take much time. We must wait another hour before we risk it, or the ruse will not work."

Jack nodded his agreement and they all got comfortable for their wait. Sam took the chance to check over both Daniel and Jack, much to the annoyance of the latter.

"Where will we gate to?" Sam questioned, "We don't have a GDO to deactivate to iris."

"We will travel to an empty planet first," one of the Jaffa answered, "And then we will travel to the world of the free Jaffa. What you do from there is your choice."

Sam nodded while Jack smiled lightly. Daniel saw the smile and asked, "Why are you smiling Jack?"

"Because," Jack said, his smile growing, "We're nearly home and I'm looking forward to seeing you kiss the doc. I'm just trying to decide whether I want it to go well or if I want you to get stuck with one of her big needles."

Daniel blushed while Sam and Teal'c joined in with the quiet laughter as the Jaffa watched on.

When they all stopped laughing they all settled down to wait. Jack noticed that Sam was rubbing at her arm and asked, "What's up Carter."

"Nothing sir," she answered quickly, "I'm fine."

There was something in her voice though that told Jack she was lying. He shook his head, "You're a terrible liar Carter. What's wrong with your arm?"

Sam sighed and rolled up the arm of her jacket just enough for Jack to see the marks there. He took her arm gently and said, "When did that happen Sam? Ba'al said you were to be taken straight back to the cell when you revived."

Sam shook her head, "He changed his mind. When the sarcophagus opened he was there. He told me I was the only one left; that he had killed the rest of you because I knew all the answers that he needed."

Jack now understood why she had been so relieved to see them when she had been thrown back into the cell. "Then he used the acid again when I wouldn't talk. I think he hoped that the shock of losing you, Daniel and Teal'c as well as the pain would make me talk."

One of the Jaffa then spoke up, "I have never seen anyone stay quiet when so much acid is used."

Jack nodded, "Sounds about right for Carter."

Sam blushed slightly and then shrugged, "It was only acid. Over the years I've sort of got used to the pain from acid burns."

Jack shook his head but nobody said anything more, deciding that while they were being quiet and they were out of ear shot they didn't want to risk getting heard.

Once the hour had passed the ten Jaffa all stood and made sure they had everything they needed to pull of the ruse. As they moved into a position where it would look like they came to act as reinforcements, Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c all silently made their way to the tree line so they could watch and help if needed.

They watched as the ten Jaffa walked in and talked to the guards. Once the guards who were already there were happy with the story they were being told they returned to watching the trees. That was when all hell broke loose, the leader of the free Jaffa signalled to the other nine that had escaped with SG1 and they all primed and shot their weapons together, taking out all the guards except one who got knifed in the throat by the Jaffa standing closest to him.

Sam, Jack, Teal'c and Daniel quickly made their way towards the gate while one of the Jaffa dialled it. It activated and they all made their way through, Jack looking over his shoulder just before he went through and smiled, they'd made it and they were going home.

On the other side they quickly dialled the gate again and then found themselves on the planet the free Jaffa were using as a base.

Bra'tac was the first to congratulate them but before anyone got any further Sam collapsed against Jack. He caught her and whispered, "You rest now Sam, and tomorrow we go home."

With the help of Teal'c they carried Sam to a tent and all settled in for the night. Jack knew that Sam was fine, that she was just exhausted and the pain from her wounds had finally gotten to her. Just before he joined Daniel in the land and sleep he stroked Sam's hand gently and whispered, "Well done Sam, we made it and we're safe."

Nearly there, only two more chapters since I'm probably going to do an epilogue.