***

CHAPTER TWO

***

Jack and Teal'c had jumped to their feet the minute they had heard Sam's cry. But before Jack could respond, he saw Sam take off running.

"What's going on?" Daniel asked.

But the other two men were already running after her.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c shouted as they ran. He pointed to the boy in the river. Jack poured on the afterburners. Sam still had a good lead on them. She was the only one who stood a chance in hell of saving the kid, but the idea of her jumping into the cold, raging river was not pleasant.

*Please tell me you're not gonna do what I think you're gonna do, Carter,* he thought.

Then he saw her drop her gun.

*Oh, shit. This is not good.* She was on the rock now.

She jumped.

*Oh, shit.*

**

*Oh. Shit. Cold. There went my hat,* were Sam's four thoughts as the cold of the water hammered her limbs and shocked the air from her lungs.

Then her mind went numb except for one thought: Swim. She pushed away the stinging numbness in her body and forced her legs and arms to move. *Where is the boy?* She strained to raise her head above the water... *There!* He was just ahead of her. Not looking conscious.

She swam harder. Just a few feet more. Her fingers brushed against the boy's shirt, but they were too cold and numb to obey her. He slipped away.

"Damnit!" She sputtered and kicked harder. A crest carried the boy back toward her and this time she was ready. She caught him with her body and immediately wrapped her left arm under his arms and around his torso.

But the water was so fast. Yes, she had the boy, but now what? Remembering her white water rafting training, she turned onto her back with her feet pointing downstream. This would be better protection against hitting rocks down river. She cradled the unconscious boy on top of her chest.

And as she gasped for air between each white cap, she prayed that her team mates would reach her in time.

**

*Hang on, Carter. I'm coming.* Jack's keen eyes kept searching the path ahead, looking for some hope. *There!* Jack was too winded to shout to Teal'c and Daniel, but he knew they would follow his lead.

He raced to their last hope. Sam's last chance.

A large tree had fallen on the bank of the river. Its gnarled trunk, long since stripped of any foliage, jutted out about ten feet to hang just over the river.

Jack tried to calm his legs as he hopped onto the tree and began to walk it like a balance beam. Stubby remnants of limbs and bark did not want him to succeed. The slick moss that had taken over the surface was perilous. Jack's foot slipped.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c shouted in alarm as he saw the Colonel lose his balance. Jack fell, but landed on the trunk, his already battle-scarred knees taking the brunt of his weight.

"Okay," he winced. "That hurt."

While Teal'c followed Jack onto the tree to assist, Daniel yelled from the bank...

"Jack! There they are! Hurry!"

Jack looked up to see where Daniel was pointing. *Shit!* They had to move. He scrambled to the end of the tree, ignoring his sore knees. He knew he would only get one chance.

"Teal'c, my legs!"

"I have you," Teal'c replied as his hands clamped down on Jack's legs.

Jack leaned out and over the water, his hand outstretched. "C'mon, Carter..."

**

Sam had almost given up trying to breathe. Every time she tried she was greeted with a mouth and nose full of water. Her body felt so heavy...

Then, between the crashing sprays of water breaking over rocks, she saw Jack.

*Yes!*

He was perfectly positioned. She just needed to get one hand up... They were getting closer...almost there... Her eyes locked with Jack's determined stare.

"Carter! Grab my hand!"

It wasn't pretty, but she managed to raise her deadened right arm just at the last second.

**

"Gotcha!" Jack yelled. He had a death grip on Sam's forearm, but the current was trying to take her and the boy away, sweep them under the tree and on to certain death.

He realized that he had to lift the boy first. While he held fast to Sam with his right arm, he reached down and tried to grab the boy with his left.

Sam tried to help. She let her body turn with the current, bringing the boy closer to Jack's left hand. He latched onto the boy's shirt and heaved him out of Sam's arms, immediately passing him back toward Teal'c.

"Take the kid!"

Teal'c didn't want to release his hold on Jack, but he did as his friend commanded. He took the boy and lifted him to safety. He carefully made his way back to shore where Daniel was waiting.

Jack tightened his grip on Sam's arm. He had to bow his head just for a moment to catch his breath. When he looked back up, he could see that Sam was fading fast. But still, her eyes told him that she had complete faith in him.

"Your turn, Carter," he stated firmly.

Sam didn't have the strength or breath to speak. She simply nodded her head.

Jack pulled. He used every muscle in his body, trying to leverage his Major up and onto the tree.

But it wasn't working. For every moment he pulled, the river tugged. Sam tried to lift her left arm, tried to reach for the tree to help, but her body was not going along with the program.

"Let's do this another way. Stay with me, Carter!" Jack ordered.

Slowly, inch by inch, he began to back up toward shore, pulling Sam along the side of the tree.

One foot. Then two. They had made it to the halfway point and Jack wasn't sure he could hang on much longer. Sam was no longer gripping his arm in return. His fingers were slipping...

Suddenly, Teal'c was there beside him. His hand clamped down on Sam's jacket collar. Within seconds, the trio had reached the river bank.

Teal'c gently laid Sam down on the ground and Jack promptly collapsed beside her.

"You okay?" he asked between breaths.

Sam was exhausted and shivering all over. But instead of answering, she rolled slightly onto her side to look for the boy.

"Is he okay?" she coughed.

Jack followed her gaze. Daniel was kneeling beside the boy, administering CPR. *C'mon, kid,* Jack prayed. Teal'c moved over to help Daniel. He took over the shallow chest compressions as Daniel performed rescue breathing.

Just as Jack and Sam were about to give up hope, the boy began to cough. His back arched up from the ground and water bubbled out of his mouth. Daniel turned the boy onto his side and soothingly rubbed his back.

Sam rolled onto her back and closed her eyes in relief. But now that the crisis was over, her own body was protesting. She couldn't control the shivering that rippled throughout her body.

Jack reached out to brush some wet strands of hair from her face. Sam opened her eyes, surprised by his touch.

"Good job, Major. Now. How are you doing?"

"Just a...bit...cold...Sir," she sputtered between chattering teeth.

"No broken bones?" Jack persisted, his eyes moving up and down her body, looking for blood or other signs of injury beyond the scrapes on her hands and face.

"Nothing...a very large...hair dryer won't cure," she replied.

Jack nodded. Good news. "Then I'll be right back," he told her, letting one hand linger on her arm for just one second longer than necessary.

But as he started to rise, Sam stopped him.

"I just...Thank you, for...pulling me out," she said quietly.

"Any time, Major. Let's just not do it again today, okay?" He smiled and squeezed her hand. Then he got up and walked over to Teal'c and Daniel. Daniel had already wrapped the boy in his field jacket.

"How's he doin'?"

Daniel looked up, relief on his face. "He should be fine as long as there's no infection in his lungs from all that water he swallowed. How's Sam?"

"No serious injuries, but we need our medical supplies and a blanket. And a fire."

"I will go and retrieve our packs, O'Neill," Teal'c volunteered. He got up and walked toward Sam. Jack smiled to himself, knowing that the stoic Jaffa really wanted to make sure for himself that Sam was all right first. Then the Jaffa stood and ran back toward the site where they had dropped their gear.

Jack got to work readying the fire, collecting dry leaves and dead wood. In a few minutes, flames were beginning to get down to business. Teal'c returned with the packs and quickly pulled out some disinfectant and bandages to see to Sam's scrapes. Satisfied that warmth would soon be provided, Jack turned his attention to Daniel and the native boy.

Jack knelt down beside the boy and smiled. The boy was still shaky, unsure of whether to stay or to try and run.

"My name's Jack," the Colonel stated in his friendliest voice.

The boy just stared at him.

"I tried talking to him. He wouldn't respond. And look at his clothes..." Daniel gestured.

Jack's eyes widened as he noticed the boy's appearance for the first time. His features were interesting. Almost Eurasian, but not quite. His hair was dark but his eyes were blue. And his clothing seemed to be a mix of different cultures. His pants were made of something like buckskin, but his shirt was woven cloth, a deep rust color. With buttons. Very unusual compared to other cultures they had visited.

"Jack. This was around his neck..." Daniel held out a choker type necklace. The beads appeared to be made of bone, but dangling in the center...

"A bullet cartridge? .45 caliber, too," Jack remarked. "What the hell?"

Suddenly, the boy reached out and snatched the necklace from Daniel's hand. He clutched it to his chest protectively. His cold body shook as he coughed.

"Okay, okay. You can have it back. It's okay," Daniel tried to soothe. "I wonder where his people are. Don't think he lives all alone on this planet," he quietly commented to Jack.

But Jack wasn't looking at him or the boy anymore. Daniel looked up.

"Oh. I think I know where they are," Jack replied.

They were surrounded by a fierce looking tribe. A tribe that held very sharp spears and bows with arrows.

And all of them were pointed at the four members of SG-1.

***