A/N: let's see if I really need to go and see a doctor for whumping everybody grin. Thanks for reviewing, guys! You are fantastic. Here's another chappie.


Daniel woke up, shivering from the cold and exhaustion. Wondering how long he'd been out, he struggled to get up, supporting his broken and abused ribs with one arm. Every muscle in his body was screaming in agony and he had been bleeding from several cuts; probably he'd hit some rocks under water, he figured.

He crawled closer to his friend. Jack was still unconscious, lying on his side and Daniel, having more room to move now than back on the rocks in the river, started checking his friend over thoroughly.

Jack's pulse was weak and slow, his breathing labored. His skin was cool and pale, with his lips almost looking somewhat blue. No fever, he was too cold for that. A nasty burn on his forehead; but then Daniel already knew that. Not wanting to think about what Ra must have done to cause a burn like that, he gently let his fingers run over Jack's back, biting on his lips in sympathy as the man moaned softly. More moaning, a little louder, when his fingers checked his chest and ribcage. Damn. Not good, not good at all. At least the gashes and cuts covering Jack's body weren't bleeding anymore. If only he could find a way to cut through those ropes…

Jackson shifted his attention to the Colonel's legs, peering through the torn clothes. His fingers had told him of a problem before; now he saw the colored bruises and swelling on the back of Jack's legs. Someone must have hit him at the back of his knees hard; and more than once, Daniel realized, suddenly remembering the Colonel had been swaying on his feet back in the pyramid. Without waking his friend, he searched for something he could use on those ropes. He needed something solid, and sharp. Crawling all over the place, he finally came back with a piece of rock, sharpened on one end, resembling a dagger. Starting on the rope around the wrists, he tried cutting, gashing, picking through the rope, attempting to loosen or break it.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with one arm and continued. It was difficult to try to cut through the rope without damaging the wrists of his friend any further and he concentrated on working precisely and steadily. His efforts were rewarded when he eventually managed to loosen the rope and he pulled it off Jack's wrists, wincing at the sight of the rope burns that his actions revealed.

After having placed Jack's arms into a more comfortable position, Daniel worked on the rope around his chest. When he was almost through, O'Neill started stirring and Daniel placed one hand gently but solidly on the man's shoulder to keep him from getting up.

"It's okay, lie still, Jack." With a jerk, the linguist broke the rope after cutting it almost through. When he removed the rope, Jack groaned out loud.

"Oh, shit…" attempting to raise his body to get up, Jack coughed again, hard, deep, his lungs hurting and as fast as he could, he got to his hands and knees to empty his lungs and his stomach, his body trembling and shaking all over. Not able to do more than rub his friend's back, Daniel stayed close, concerned, thinking about how on earth they were going to get dry and warm. Hypothermia was something they really didn't need right now, but if they didn't find a way to warm up, that was definitely their next problem.

Too caught up in his friend's misery to be aware of his surroundings, Daniel didn't notice the serpent guards as they surrounded them until it was already too late. Cursing in five different languages, he raised his hands, waited for Jack to finish retching and then said with a soft voice, "err, Jack, I think you need to look up now."

Wiping his mouth with a wet sleeve, O'Neill moaned and sat up straight, staring directly into the faces of two serpent guards. Although they had their weapons aimed at them, the Colonel immediately struggled to his feet, turning towards the water.

"Kree!!! Tok da'ta nau!"

Taking in the other three guards, he helplessly shrugged his shoulders. "Guess you don't want to go for a swim?" Wincing as every muscle in his body protested the movement he raised his arms slightly. "Nah, you're not wearing your swim suits. With that heavy metal stuff on you'll sink so fast you won't even notice. Not that I'd care…"

"Silence!" Apophis' First Prime yelled. Motioning to his Jaffa, the First Prime ordered them to take the Tau'ri in their midst. "We will escort you."

"That's kinda nice, but really, we don't need you. We'll be all right," Jack tried, only to be rewarded with a hard push in his back, shoving him roughly forward. Staggering and stumbling, the Colonel was forced to walk between two serpent guards, while the two other guards guided Daniel Jackson. Following the Prime Jaffa, they set off deeper into the forest.

**********

The team only made a slow progress. Not only the staff weapon blast to the Major's leg hindered their progress but the rough terrain, the ground uneven, ridged, with slippery rocks and fallen trees made it difficult to climb down. While Carter searched for the best trail down to the river, Teal'c assisted Major Ferretti.

It took them a couple of hours, but finally they reached the bottom of the valley and Sam called for a halt, raising a finger when the Major was about to protest.

"Sir, I know you don't need the rest, but I need to check your bandage, so humor me," she said with a grin. Gathering some pain pills from her pack, she handed them over along with a canteen of water before turning her attention to the Major's leg.

The bandage was still securely in place and the wound was not bleeding anymore. Satisfied for the moment, Sam stocked her supplies back in her pack, waiting for the next set of orders.

Ferretti got back to his feet, with Teal'c's help. "Let's keep going, people. Keep your eyes open for any sign of the Colonel and Dr. Jackson."

Pointing in the direction they were going, he limped forward. He addressed Carter. "Captain, lead the way."

Moving on the sandy riverbed was easier. They scanned the riverbanks, searching for any sign of life. It was maybe five miles further from where they'd descended, when Sergeant Winston pointed across the river. "There! Ropes!"

Moving closer on the opposite side, they now all saw it, a bundle of ropes, lying a couple of feet away from the waterside. Ferretti let out a sigh of relief.

"At least one of them is alive, and maybe they both are. We have to cross the river."

Teal'c was already in the river, the water reaching up to his ankles, using the back of his staff weapon to determine the depth of the river closer to the middle. "I think it is safe to wade through. I do not think the river is deep and the current is not strong."

Ferretti investigated the river, the waves and the current, both upstream as downstream, before nodding in approval. Yet, he was not willing to take any risks.

"Okay, let's line up. Teal'c, I want you on this side. Carter, on Teal'c's right." Ferretti positioned Teal'c upstream and stepped next to Carter. "Winston, you're next, then Spikes. Johnson, you're on the other end. Unbutton the waist band of your backpack, hook in on each others arms and let's take this nice and slow."

Step by step, they entered the river, carefully examining the footing under water before putting one foot in front of the other. Teal'c, the strongest of the group, caught the major part of the current and tried to deflect it with his body. By the time they reached the middle of the river, the water only came up to their waists. They reached the other side without any trouble. Now that they were closer, they also spotted trails where bodies had dragged themselves or been dragged out of the water.

Teal'c was already investigating the area further away and soon found more traces. He found footsteps of several large and heavy persons, four at least, around the ropes and leading away into the woods, with lighter footsteps embedded in between.

"I assume Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson have been captured by at least four guards. They were taken that way," he stated, pointing towards the woods.

"Damn!" Ferretti cursed. "Let's follow the trail but keep your eyes open."

"Sir, I need to apply a dry dressing to your thigh," Carter suggested, worried the water had not been clean enough to do the wound any good.

"Later, Captain, that can wait. The Colonel needs our help," Ferretti responded briefly, accepting Teal'c's offered arm for support and headed into the forest.

**********

Daniel was trying to keep up with the march. It was hard for him to stay on his feet, between the broken ribs, the exhaustion along with the damage done to his body by the beatings and their little swim in the river plus shivering from the cold. Throwing some concerned glances at his friend, Daniel could tell Jack was barely holding on. O'Neill stumbled, staggered, gasping for breath and unable to keep up with the pace but was being dragged forward, one guard pushing him in the back while a second guard grasped him roughly by the arm, pulling him along. The Colonel coughed hard and often, bending forward to ease the strain but unable to rest.

"Damn-it!" Daniel yelled, stopping when he watched how his friend was almost choking, gasping for air between the coughing fits. "Stop! He's suffocating! I don't think Apophis is going to be happy when you bring him a dead body, do you?"

Angrily shaking the hands of the serpent guards off, he stepped forward, just in time to catch Jack and lower him to the ground as the man's knees buckled. The Colonel's face was ashen gray, his face screwed up from pain and discomfort, one arm pressed around his waist.

Heaves were wracking his body as he choked, coughed and gasped. Without waiting for the heaves to pass completely, the First Prime decided they'd had enough rest. The Jaffa hauled them back to their feet to continue their trek, allowing Daniel to walk next to his friend, one arm around the Colonel's waist for support.

The First Prime finally had enough of their slow progress and snapped his fingers. "Jaffa, ta pola k'no."

One serpent guard simply grabbed Jack and threw him in a fireman's carry over the shoulder, while another guard did the same with Daniel. The sudden impact of his ribs on the shoulders of the Jaffa sent a wave of agony through Daniel's chest and he passed out.

**********


A/N: uh-oh. So Apophis has them now, but what do you think, will Ra be determined to get them back? Don't you just love to be the subject of a good fight?