Sam had given up after only a brief try to get through to the Colonel. She gave up mostly because she was coughing so hard she was seeing stars again and couldn't have kept talking even if she'd wanted to. By now she had been sitting up long enough that she felt just a degree less dizzy. It was time to move. If she was ever going to stand a chance of reaching Teal'c and the bunker…she was going to have to go soon. She needed medication and she needed to warm up. And who knew how Teal'c was doing? Guilt threatened to drive her to tears again. She estimated that she hadn't checked on him for several hours now and he had been barely alive before. Dragging herself to her feet slowly, Sam tried not to let the lightheadedness discourage her. She was going to make it back to the bunker safely and that was all there was to it.

Jack had been vaguely aware of things going on around him. Vaguely aware he was being dragged along on a painful leg, vaguely aware of an annoyingly persistent voice urging him to keep moving, and vaguely aware of cold rain. Suddenly, he was acutely aware of the sensation of falling and then rolling down a rocky hill. The awareness of rolling down the hill ended with a bone rattling jolt. He was wide awake for the first time in he wasn't sure how long. He was also currently flat on his back staring up at the dark sky. The rain was falling persistently on his face making it difficult to keep his eyes open. The ground was cold and wet even though he felt like he was burning. He felt entirely miserable.

About two seconds after his roll down the hill ended, another rolling body ended its travels next to him with a painful thud. Jack rolled his head to the right and squinted, assessing Daniel's condition. He had landed on his stomach, his face turned toward Jack's. His eyes were closed and his glasses were gone. Jack floundered weakly, flopping his hand toward Daniel's arm. Slapping dirt a few times, he finally managed to smack Daniel on the arm. That elicited a groan.

"Daniel." Jack said as loudly as he could.

Another groan and Daniel forced his eye open. Oh that had hurt. He groaned again for good measure as he tried to focus on Jack's face. He was relieved to see Jack conscious. "You alright?" He asked hoarsely.

Jack nodded.

Daniel struggled to get off his face. It wasn't easy, but he managed to get to his knees, his arm held tight to his chest. He shivered and realized he was a little blinder than he had been before. Great. Just what he needed. He looked blearily around the area, trying to regain his bearings. Even if they hadn't been lost before, now they were. He couldn't tell from where he was which way they had been going. He took a deep breath and slowly shook his head. Which way to go? Might as well pick a direction. One was as good as the next at this point.

He realized Jack was slapping at the mud again. He looked down. "Jack?"

Jack didn't have the strength to speak or even raise his hand again so he merely pointed beyond Daniel and wiggled his finger.

Daniel followed his wiggling finger and squinted into the dark uncertainly. He couldn't see anything. It had better not be an animal or a Jaffa because he couldn't see them and he didn't have his P90 at the ready. Shaking his head at his lack of caution, he unwrapped his arms from around himself and grabbed the weapon. He forced himself to his feet and staggered unsteadily in the general direction that Jack had indicated. After a few steps, he discovered a hidden shelter. It was a well-disguised lean to built under a shelf of rocks and a heavy amount of brush reinforced with some timber. As he peered inside, Daniel was hit by two revelations at once. One, the lean-to was warm. Two, he had a pretty good guess whose shelter it had been. It made every bit of sense that it had belonged to the late Jaffa. Well, he wasn't going to turn up his nose at it. It was warm.

"Home sweet home, Jack." He said, turning back, thankful to find Jack's eyes still on him.

Jack couldn't find the strength to speak but he managed to smile. A little. At least he thought so. It might have been a grimace. He was losing the will to remain conscious and felt incredibly sorry for Daniel who was evidently going to have to drag him into the shelter. His eyes slid closed and he was just about to drift off into peaceful oblivion. Unfortunately, before he could succumb to the blackness, Daniel was shaking his shoulder.

"Don't you dare." Daniel ordered and Jack's eyes popped back open, "You do not have permission to pass out until we are both under that shelter. You hear me? You pass out now and I will leave you right there in the mud. I am not dragging you…" He was working quickly, even as he spoke, to pull Jack upright. He realized he had very little time. He gritted his teeth and summoned his last bit of reserve willpower and managed to pull Jack to his feet. It was a good thing the shelter was only a few yards away or they never would have made it. Jack was nearly deadweight and Daniel actually wondered if he wouldn't have been further ahead to have simply dragged him.

As it was, they ended up collapsing rather than walking into the shelter. Daniel ungraciously shoved Jack to the side in order to pull himself off the floor. Once he had done that, he got straight down to business. He unclipped their weapons and packs and shoved them to the side, then pulled off their rain slickers and hats. Flicking on Jack's flashlight, he took a quick look around the surprisingly well equipped shelter. There was a pallet on a low platform in the back and it didn't look nearly as moldy and ratty as the bedding they had found back in the bunker. Daniel dragged Jack over to the pallet and barely succeeded in pulling him onto the bed. It hadn't been very easy for either of them and it left Daniel gritting his teeth at the pain from his shoulder.

Jack was only peripherally aware of what was going on around him. He was managing to keep his eyes open, but that was about all he could currently claim to his credit. Jack blinked slowly trying his hardest to stay awake and try to think. Now that he was still, he could feel the pain in his leg and hand and the heat enveloping him. His mind seemed to be working like…well, like something very slow. He tried to look around, tried to sit up. Both efforts failed. He realized that he was in a lot of trouble. There was nothing he could do at this point. He had no strength at all.

As soon as he had Jack in a semi-comfortable position and covered with a blanket, Daniel tore into his pack for a med kit. He pulled out the antibiotics and Tylenol. He didn't need a thermometer to know Jack's temperature was extremely high. He needed to get the meds down before Jack passed out again. Holding up the canteen, he said, "Jack, you've got to get these meds down." He got a drowsy blink for a reply, and figured that was the best he was going to get. Gently, he lifted Jack's head and administered the meds and some water.

"Ok." He nodded, setting the canteen aside. He glanced around and saw a round device near the center of the room. It seemed to be some sort of a brazier, albeit a more technological version than he typically saw. Ah, so that was where the heat was coming from. He considered it a bit more closely and saw some dials on the side. Fiddling with them, he soon had the heat turned up several more degrees and a cheery glow from a bright crystal on top of the device. It lit the little room rather well. Daniel turned back to Jack who was watching him silently. He said, "You're not going to like this, but it's time we do a bit of surgery."

Twenty minutes later, Jack was out cold with a freshly dressed hand and leg. Daniel wrapped up the old dressings and tucked them into an empty zip lock bag. The leg wound was a whole lot better looking than the hand wound. It had been a clean wound from an energy weapon and it was no longer bleeding. His hand, however, was infected and the old dressing had been saturated with purulent drainage. Daniel only hoped that the antibiotics were going to stand up to the alien infection. So far he hadn't seen any improvement whatsoever. He sighed and decided it was as good a time as any to try to contact the rest of the team.

Teal'c had been in and out of consciousness for what he estimated had been about 3 hours. Each time he had drifted back to consciousness, he had managed to stay alert for a bit longer. At present, he had been awake for about 20 minutes and he was growing more and more chilled. The fire, which had once been snapping cheerily, had died down to embers that just were not quite keeping him warm. It was the chill, coupled with his concern over the long missing Major Carter that finally pushed Teal'c into moving. While he felt far from well, his symbiote had managed to repair his wounded body enough that he felt like he might just live after all. For a few hours there, he hadn't been sure. As he attempted to roll onto his side, Teal'c reflected on the fact that if it had been any of his teammates who had been attacked by the Sha, they would most likely be dead by now. Thankful that he had been the one to take the brunt of the attack, he reached out for the edge of the fireplace to pull himself onto his right side.

An involuntary groan escaped his lips as almost all of his body screamed in protest to the movement. But he made it to his side without passing out or seeing more than a dozen stars. He remained on his side for several minutes, just staring into the glowing embers, gathering his strength. He could feel every place on his body that had been torn by the teeth and claws of the Sha. Trying not to dwell on that, Teal'c found his thoughts once more consumed with worry for his missing teammates. He hadn't heard from anyone in hours and Major Carter had been clear in her intention to check in on him frequently. Which meant that either he had slept through her visits or she had never been back. Judging by the waning fire, it seemed likely that she had been in some way delayed. Which did not bode well. Just as he considered this, he realized he should try his own radio. It was lying next to him and all he had to do was reach for it.

All he had to do.

Of course, it was a bit more of a challenge than it usually would have been, but with something productive to focus his mind on, Teal'c found his motivation. Before he could reach the radio, however, he heard it crackle to life.

"Sam…it's Daniel again. I really hope you're ok. We're pretty worried about you. If you can call me back it would be great. And Teal'c, maybe you're awake and could give me a sign…"

Teal'c wanted nothing more than to give him a sign. He could tell Daniel Jackson was exhausted and discouraged. It sounded like Major Carter hadn't been in contact with him recently either which also concerned Teal'c. He reached out again and felt the radio with the tips of his fingers. Almost.

"Anyway…we're just camping out for the night." There was a hesitation. "We've been somewhat delayed. Ran into a few issues along the way. So I just thought I'd ring you guys up and see how you were doing. Guess you're out or watching reruns or something. Oh well, I'll stay by the phone in case either of you get lonely."

The radio went silent again and Teal'c finally got a hold of the radio. Pressing the button, he found his voice, "Daniel Jackson."

"Teal'c!"

"It is I."

"Teal'c I can't tell you how happy I am to hear your voice. How are you doing?"

"I am doing somewhat better."

"You're not pushing yourself are you?"

Teal'c almost smiled. If Daniel Jackson knew that the only pushing he'd done was to roll to his side… "No, I am not."

"Have you seen Sam?"

"Not for several hours."

There was a long silence. "I haven't heard from her either."

"I shall go and seek her."

"Teal'c, are you sure you're up to it?"

"I will do my best." Already, he was struggling to keep his breathing at a normal rate. A shot of something strong for the pain wouldn't have been turned away at this point. If he was going to be able to sit up, he was going to need to concentrate all of his attention on moving. "I will call you again shortly."

"Oh, ok. I'll be waiting."

Teal'c let the radio fall to the ground, his hand shaking from the strain. He hated to cut off their conversation as he needed the contact with his team and could tell the archeologist was acutely worried. But it was far too difficult to keep speaking. And he hated to let on how very not likely it was that he would be able to actually go and seek Major Carter at all.

Daniel stared at the radio. As grateful as he was to have heard Teal'c's voice, his concern only had increased. So he wasn't the only one who hadn't heard from Sam in who knew how long. Which meant nothing good. Either she was too ill or she'd been injured and was unable to call. And Teal'c clearly was still unwell. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes, reminding himself of the fact that he was short a pair of glasses. Lifting his head, he peered outside and debated whether or not he wanted to go back out into the rain and hunt for his glasses. At the rate the rain was falling, he figured that he'd better hunt for them now before they washed away in the river flowing down the hill. He sighed, dragged himself to his feet and pulled his rain slicker and hat back on. He pushed aside the makeshift door that disguised the entrance to the shelter and less than enthusiastically stepped back out into the rain.

He had his P90 at the ready as he headed back toward the place they'd tumbled down. Hunting around, he didn't see anything. He hesitated, but finally gave up and flicked on his light and looked around more carefully. Pointing the light up the hill, he was able to make out their path where they had tumbled down the side of the hill. Ah, was it possible his luck had changed? That looked suspiciously like the glint of his lenses. He climbed a few yards up the hill and reached out for his glasses. Daniel couldn't believe it. His glasses were in one piece!

"Finally!" He said softly. They were covered in mud but the heavy rain was already helping to wash it away. Daniel didn't care; he slid them on, grateful to be able to see again. He looked around the area. It was heavily wooded and rocky. Looking back over his shoulder, he realized how well disguised the shelter was. Good. He did not want visitors. It was too dark to do much more of a survey and he wasn't comfortable with leaving Jack alone for too long at this point.

He noticed a metal barrel positioned right outside the door. There was a simple filtration system attached to the rain barrel. So at least they wouldn't be short on drinking water. He reentered the shelter, and pulled the covering closed again, taking care to ensure that it was securely disguising the opening. Once more, he pulled off his wet things. He took the time to grab both his and Jack's ponchos and drape them over some jutting rocks in the wall. He glanced over at Jack who was still sleeping, or unconscious. Well, now was as good a time as any to do a bit of exploration of their little home and to take an inventory of their supplies.

Daniel went through their packs first and found they were running low on food. As he'd expected. A handful of granola bars, some gum and a few candy bars and two MREs. That was it. They were ½ way through the antibiotics in Jack's pack. Which left Daniel's supplies. Ok, so it could be worse. Time to play housekeeper. The shelter was about 10 feet wide and was about 16 feet deep. The pallet was up against the back wall and a set of low shelves lined the right wall, behind Jack's head. There were a few books and several simple wooden utensils and a few bottles of water on the shelves. He found a zat gun and some assorted tools on the ground along the left wall next to a small chest that was locked. Daniel left it for the moment and opened another small box that was unlocked. That one was filled with some dried fruits and meats. Helping himself to one of the sticks of dried meat, Daniel continued his examination of the room. He found the breast-piece of a Jaffa uniform in the corner. It bore the same symbol as had been on the Jaffa he'd shot in the woods.

What had led a Jaffa to live in the woods in such a dismal shelter? Daniel chewed on the meat and glanced back at Jack. He was shifting uncomfortably, pushing at the blankets and muttering. Daniel checked his watch and made a mental note of when Jack should get his next dose of antibiotics and Tylenol. They needed to keep his fever down and, clearly, it was only rising even as he watched. Taking the last bite of the meat, Daniel slid closer to Jack's side and pulled out a handkerchief and poured some water on it and laid it on Jack's forehead. Jack moaned but didn't otherwise respond. Daniel sighed and decided to down some Tylenol of his own. He was feeling every ache and pain of his beaten body at present and he wanted nothing more than to take something much stronger and try to sleep. Clearly that was not going to happen anytime soon. He was not taking any chances that the dead Jaffa might have a roommate…or that an animal of one sort or another might find its way to his door. So he pulled his supplies closer to his side, scooted so his back was against the low ledge the pallet was resting on and settled in for the duration.

Sam hadn't heard the conversation between Daniel and Teal'c over the heavy rain and her own coughing. She was moving on sheer determination and not much else at this point. But she was mere feet away from the bunker door. Tripping suddenly over her own stumbling feet, Sam found herself on her knees. She swayed, trying her hardest to stay upright. How was she ever going to be able to pull that door open? She stared at it; feeling like it was as far away as the moon at this point. Hands dropping, she determined to crawl if she had to. Of course, that still left the question of how she was going to be able to open the door…

Teal'c counted it a major victory that he had managed to reach his knees. Every part of his body screamed in protest and he could feel his wounds pull with his movement. Several of the smaller cuts had already torn open and he felt the warmth of his own blood. Thankfully, the wounds that had been stitched were still intact and he was trying to keep them that way. He was unaccustomed to feeling so lightheaded. He put his hand down on the edge of the fireplace to prevent himself from swaying. His mouth was dry and he longed for a sip of water. He realized that Major Carter had left him a canteen as he glanced slowly around the room. Issue was…it was on the other side of the makeshift bed he'd been lying on. Which meant he wasn't easily going to reach it right now. His goal was to lever himself up so he could sit on the ledge of the fireplace for a few moments until he gathered his bearings.

Reaching that goal wasn't easy…but finally he made it. He sat there for a solid five minutes with his eyes closed and his hands gripping the edge of the stone ledge so he wouldn't fall over. After that time, he felt somewhat better and slid his eyes open again. There were a few pieces of wood lying next to the fireplace and he kept his left hand pressed to his chest as he leaned over and dragged the wood into the fire. That took too much energy and left him longing to be horizontal and under the covers again. He had not expected to feel so weary after so very little activity. Closing his eyes again and cursing his weakness, Teal'c thought once more of his conversation with an obviously concerned Daniel Jackson. He had sounded so relieved to hear Teal'c's voice, and had indicated he had not heard from either of them in hours. He had also made mention of running into some issues and being delayed. Daniel Jackson had not elaborated, but Teal'c feared their situation was no better than his and Major Carter's.

Thinking of Major Carter spurred him once more to action. He had to find her. Surely something must be far wrong for her not to have returned in so long. He grasped the zat that he had found resting on the ledge of the fireplace. Summoning all of his willpower, Teal'c took a careful breath and powered himself to his feet. It was only that willpower that kept him standing as the room darkened dramatically before his eyes. He reached out a hand to the wall, turning toward it. He was overcome with nausea and knew he was nigh unto passing out. Breathing through it, he held onto consciousness and the brightness of the room finally returned to normal. He took another shaky breath, and then decided it was now or never. The path between him and the heavy door seemed insurmountable.

But it had also seemed insurmountable that anyone would ever stand up to, no less defeat, Apophis. And he had done just that with the support of his friends. He pushed off from the door and took his first, very small, step. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to leave the service of Apophis. Bra'tac and he had made plans of course, and had dreams. But never had he seriously expected them to come to fruition. Thinking back as he struggled to move his left leg forward, Teal'c remembered that moment when the Tau'ri leader had offered his help. What a tremendous leap of faith both the Colonel and he had made at that moment. And even though he had found much heartache and pain to go along with his betrayal of Apophis, Teal'c had never regretted that move. He took another step, clenching his teeth against the pain.

Sam could hear noises behind her in the woods. Her heart clenched and she feared that there was a Sha out there coming after her. The door to the bunker had never seemed so far away. If it was one of the beasts, there was no way she was going to outrun it. Coughing harshly, she pulled out the blaster and pushed herself to her feet. Desperation was winning out over everything else. She couldn't run, but she could jog even if it left her seriously breathless. She nearly collapsed against the door. Turning her head and looking frantically around behind her, she couldn't see anything coming toward her yet, but that didn't mean that it wasn't out there. Her hand hit the handle of the door and she focused her energy and attention on pulling the door with all her strength. At first, she feared she was going to collapse right there outside the door and die on the spot, never able to pull the door open. It was extremely heavy and difficult. But finally she felt it give. Groaning, she pulled some more and was surprised when it suddenly felt like the door was sliding open much easier.

Teal'c had reached the heavy door, found it unbolted, and after leaning up against it for a few minutes, found the strength to push. It was agony, and he had no idea how he was going to find the strength to take one step beyond the door once he did get it open, but Teal'c didn't give up. He groaned and put his shoulder against the door. It slowly opened and his whole body shivered with the chill as the falling rain hit his exposed skin. He pushed as hard as he could, then hit his knees as his last bit of resolve and strength failed him. He rested his head against the door for a moment. Above the rain, he was surprised to hear coughing. Forcing his head up again, Teal'c blinked in the pouring rain and listened carefully. There it was again, coughing. He couldn't see anything, but he decided to take a chance.

"Major Carter." His voice was ridiculously weak and soft and he hardly heard himself. "Major Carter, is that you?"

"Teal'c?" An equally weak voice asked from outside.

A moment later, and a familiar face peered wearily around the door. Relief flooded through Teal'c and he smiled. "I am most relieved to see you."

Sam felt tears roll down her cheeks. She had never in a million years expected to see Teal'c up and at the door. She eased herself around the heavy door, dismayed to find him on his knees and looking a frightening shade of grey. "Teal'c!" She touched his shoulder. "We have to get this door closed."

He nodded slowly and with great effort dragged himself to his feet once more. Together, they pulled the bunker door closed and pushed the bolts home. They both leaned heavily against the door and met each other's eyes. Teal'c said weakly, "You do not look well, Major Carter."

Almost laughing, Sam smiled, coughing harshly. "You don't either, Teal'c."

"We should sit down."

"I agree." She nodded. The adrenalin had worn off by now and she was feeling lightheaded and extremely chilled. Now, the question was whether or not either of them could even make it to the other side of the room. She really didn't fancy sleeping on the cold hard floor. Even as ill as she was, she knew they both needed to take some medications and get a good night's rest. Teal'c was bleeding from several of his wounds and he was about the same color as the grey walls of the SGC. The fire was down and the room was cold. So she needed to get the fire stoked, get both of them some Tylenol and antibiotics, redress Teal'c's wounds and get them both horizontal. Sam sighed. That was a lot more effort than she felt up to attempting at the present time.

"One step at a time, Major Carter." Teal'c had his eyes closed, but a smile on his face.

She smiled back and nodded. Yes, one step at a time, it was true. But the problem was that there were a lot of those steps between her and her goal. "Let's go." She said quietly, touching his shoulder. She gently pulled his arm so that his hand was around her shoulder.

He nodded and together they pushed off from the door. Teal'c didn't like how much he had to lean on her as they walked. She was very weak herself and her cough was harsh and terribly congested. He could tell breathing was painful. But they had little choice but to combine their efforts and stumble across the room together. A few more steps….that was all. She was safe and so was he. They could sleep and then reassess their situation in the morning. It seemed like an eternity before he was able to sink down on one of the cots. Once he hit the cot, he lost his strength and fell backward on it, gasping with the pain.

"Teal'c!" Sam exclaimed, not having expected him to fall back quite as abruptly as he had done. His eyes met hers, but he was clearly only semi-conscious. She found lifting his legs onto the cot nearly sapped her strength. Leaning against the cot, she coughed and tried to regain her breath. Blanket. Fire. Meds. Sleep. Focus, Sam!

After a moment, she dragged several blankets up over Teal'c, and then unsteadily walked around him to the fire. The fire was completely out, but the coals were still warm and, though it took more effort than she wanted to expend, Sam soon had the fire crackling nicely again. It took her the next half hour to medicate and hydrate them both and clean and rebandage Teal'c's wounds. Finishing up, she rested her head on the edge of Teal'c's cot. She was shivering with the cold and planned to drop down onto the pallet Teal'c had rested on earlier. Before she could do so, their radios crackled to life.

"Teal'c? I know you said you'd call me back when you could, but it's been nearly an hour, and I'm just wondering how you're doing…"

Sam smiled, reaching for her radio, "Daniel!"

"Sam!" The relief in his voice was pronounced. "Are you with Teal'c?"

"Yes. We're safe in the bunker." She coughed, and then recovered, "Just took our meds and ready to sleep."

"Thank God! I've been worried about you; it's been hours."

"Sorry, haven't been feeling the greatest." She felt her brain slowing to a stop even as she spoke. Teal'c was asleep and she wanted to be too. "I'll call you in the morning; I've got to lie down." Sam hated doing it, but she really, really needed to be lying down.

"Oh…uh, yeah, ok. Get some rest and be safe."

"You too." She slurred as she slid sideways onto her bed. The radio dropped next to her and, as she fell into an exhausted sleep, she realized that she hadn't even asked Daniel if he and the Colonel were safe.