Sorry for the delay! I have the middle chapters pretty much written & was struggling on how to get from here to there, but think I've got it sorted now :)

Thanks for the reviews btw, makes my day when I get a notification (exciting life I lead, I know!)

As always, SG1, the Stargate & associated characters aren't mine, am just borrowing them

Chapter 4

O'Neill took a second to assess his options, his team was weakened; splitting up had seemed a good option under the circumstances, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. He focused on the present, Teal'c was still on the other end of the radio, "Think you can get him back camp?" he asked. There was a pause at the other end, his hopes slightly raised as he realised Teal'c must be conferring with Daniel. He looked down at Sam, still lying unresponsive by his knee, wishing she too could join in the conversation. He always trusted her judgement, they'd been in so many tight situations together.

"Yes," came the reply over the radio, "DanielJackson thinks he can make it."

O'Neill let out relieved sigh, not quite as bad as he'd thought. "Right, we'll meet you there, Carter's unconscious but I should be able to carry her ok,"

"Do you think it is wise to move MajorCarter in her current condition?"

O'Neill considered this for a moment, "Yeah, she's got no injuries as far as I can tell, I don't think I can make anything worse... We'll see you back at camp, O'Neill out."

He stowed his radio and looked around, they were still about 100m from the structure, but from what he could see it was the equivalent size of a garden shed, with an open doorway and no windows. He wasn't the expert in ancient architecture or alien technology, but he wasn't convinced the stone hut would contain the tech Sam had been looking for. He tried to make out more details, but it was just too far away; he didn't want to slow down their return to camp, so left further investigation for another time.

Turning his attention back to his stricken teammate, he adjusted his pack and weapon and bent down in preparation to put her over his shoulder. 'My knees aren't going to thank you for this Carter,' he thought. As he began to adjust her position so he could lift her, Carter's body jolted as though she'd been electrocuted, and a pained moan emerged from her lips. He immediately released his grip, afraid he'd come into contact with an injury he didn't know about. Positioning himself on her other side, he tried again but was instantly rewarded with the same reaction. She showed no signs of regaining consciousness but something was obviously causing her pain.

He hated seeing her like this, Major Samantha Carter was anything but a helpless damsel in distress, and yet, here she was, incapacitated. Again he knelt beside her, but instead of trying to lift her, he gently ran his fingertips over the back of her hand, forgetting their ranks just for a moment, trying to soothe her pain. His action seemed to have the opposite effect as her hand jerked away and she inhaled sharply. He couldn't understand it, his touch seemed to be causing her pain; there was no way he could carry her back if just his fingertips could cause that reaction.

"Change of plans," he announced into the radio, "Daniel? Think you can make it up the hill the other side of the camp? About a klick due East? I'm gonna need some help here,"

"On our way!" came the immediate response from Daniel, the worry for Sam evident in his voice from just those three words. O'Neill felt fractionally better now reinforcements were on their way. He removed his day pack, retrieved a space blanket, and being very careful not to touch her, settled it over Sam; the air around them felt damp and cold and he didn't want that to affect her too. They each carried a mini first aid kit with bare essentials, but there was nothing in there he could see to help this situation. He sat down next to her to wait, his eyes darting around their surroundings, on the lookout for danger, but they always returned to Sam. He didn't like to admit it to himself, but he was scared for her. They'd been in so many dangerous situations before but this felt different, this felt like a different kind of danger and it was singling her and Daniel out.

Daniel had radioed as they'd reached the clearing, confirming he would pick up the full medkit but lamenting that they didn't have a stretcher with them. O'Neill, not for the first time, made a mental note to talk to the quartermaster on his return. He'd once more tried to move Carter into a more comfortable position but she'd shied away from his touch with a moan and he'd decided not to try again.

Just under fifteen minutes after their last contact, Jack saw the rest of his team approaching and he rose to meet them. Daniel was slightly out of breath from the climb but Teal'c looked as stoic as usual. He hadn't even broken a sweat following his rapid descend of the opposite side of the valley and climb of this one. The archaeologist took in the scene as he approached and immediately rushed to Sam's side, taking her wrist to check her pulse before Jack had a chance to warn him. "Daniel!" he cried, "Don't!" but the contact had already been made.

Daniel looked up at him, startled, a puzzled expression etched across his face. He glanced at the floor around him, suddenly fearful that he'd step on a tripwire or landmine, but all he saw was Sam. It was O'Neill's turn to look puzzled; she hadn't reacted. In fact, he realised, she had reacted but not in the way he expected. She hadn't wrenched back her hand or yelped in pain, and even as he looked at the pair of them on the floor, he could see her eyelids start to flicker. She was coming to. He realised Daniel and Teal'c were still giving him confused looks. "I... er... I was about to warn you not to touch her, she wasn't liking it a moment ago... but... er..." he ended his sentence with a slight shrug.

Sam was becoming more aware by the second and was soon struggling to sit up. "Give me a hand," Daniel called to O'Neill who was still looking a little dumbfounded at Carter's sudden recovery. He moved forward and reach out cautiously, not wanting to cause her more pain. Carefully he slipped his hand under one arm while Daniel did the same under the other. Nothing. He could touch her again. She swayed slightly and he steadied her, his heart missing a beat as she turned and smiled at him.

"Thank you sir, not quite sure what came over me then,"

"What do you remember?" he asked.

"Erm..." she paused while she gathered her thoughts, quickly scanning her surroundings. "We were heading to investigate that structure," she gestured to the rundown building up the hill from them, "and my head hurt, like really hurt... and... not a lot after that I'm afraid." She gently shook her head. Looking a little apprehensive she continued, "Why? What did I miss?"

"Not a lot, just you re-enacting a scene from sleeping beauty..." As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them. He'd been trying to lighten the mood, quell the fear, but he'd effectively just called his second in command beautiful. There was a slight pause and O'Neill could sense Teal'c's eyebrow lifting without even looking round.

Carter gave a small, slightly nervous laugh, and tried to reciprocate, "Well, as long as I wasn't woken by a Prince kissing me, it's all good!" She smiled at his slightly shocked expression & gestured for him to help pull her to her feet.

"How do you feel?" asked Daniel as he gave her a quick check over.

"Like I've been lying on a rock," she rolled her shoulders, "I could sleep for a week though."

"Hmm," Daniel replied, "did you feel dizzy, lightheaded?"

"Nope, just a sudden headache,"

"What about you?" O'Neill suddenly cut in, concerned for his teammate, "You felt bad too,"

"Not like Sam though, I just got gradually more lightheaded and dizzy as I walked, I thought it was the climb or the rations to be honest, but the further I went the worse it got. Began to feel better once I turned back though,"

"Hmm..." said Sam as Daniel's comment triggered something in her still sluggish brain. "How far did you guys get from the gate?"

Teal'c and Daniel looked at each other, considering. "Well, assuming the monuments are equidistant from the gate, erm... pretty much, this far."

"I concur," added the Jaffa, "we've travelled an equal distance from the gate."

"So, maybe that's it!" Sam exclaimed, "maybe being a certain distance from the gate affects us somehow, maybe that scan did something..." she tail off in thought. "Or not." She sighed. "How do you feel now Daniel?"

"Fine, actually... Ah. I see your point. We're the same distance from the gate but feeling ok. And it's not proximity to the monuments either, as that's the same,"

They both fell silent, contemplating all the possible reasons for their recent ailments.

O'Neill was a man of action & standing still did not come naturally. "Right," he announced, clapping his hands together, "The way I see it, we have two options, one - return to camp and let the two of you recover while I update Hammond or two- we take a little look-see at the shack up there before we go?"

The two academics shared a brief glance & a nod. Neither of them were feeling brilliant after their experiences, in fact Sam was still feeling decidedly not herself, but there was no way they were walking away from the structure now they were this close. Seeing their body language was enough; the whole team could often communicate without the need for words. Turning on his heel, O'Neill adjusted his cap, "Okay, off to the shack it is..."

Thanks for reading, will try & update again soon! any feedback greatly appreciated :)