Author's note: Okay, you guys are really paying attention! More than one of you caught my mistake with Chad/Jeff Kindell.. His name was originally going to be Chad.. I changed it because I thought Chad might be too hard for me to remember so I switched it to Jeff (which is one of my dog's names) then I reverted back to Chad anyways, and can't get my fingers to make him Jeff... so his name is Jeff, but his middle name is Chad, and he likes that better, so that's what he has everyone call him... yeah... I just... umm... didn't want to go into that in the story... because... um... it'd take too long to get into that... yeah, that's it... lol... on with the story!

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An agonized cry of pain brought O'Neill abruptly back into consciousness. Followed immediately by a sharp blow to his already broken ribs that was so sudden he yelped in pain himself. He was still on his side, pressed tightly Andrew to keep him warm, and Andrew had finally woken up and the first thing he'd done when he felt the searing pain was to start thrashing. Luckily he couldn't hurt his legs, since they were so completely immobilized that he couldn't have moved them if he'd wanted to.

Unfortunately, being immobilized didn't mean they didn't hurt, and Andrew had never felt anything like the pains that were shooting up his legs. He cried out again, and Teal'c wrapped strong arms around the boy, both to assure him he wasn't alone, and to keep him from thrashing any further and hurting himself or O'Neill.

Jack rolled away from Andrew, clutching his chest and trying to keep from passing out from the pain of the sudden blow. Teal'c would have to take care of him for the moment; Jack wasn't in any condition to.

"Andrew, I am here." Teal'c ran gentle fingers along the boy's cheek with one hand as he held him firmly with the other. The little boy was completely engulfed in the Jaffa's grip and the thrashing ceased, even though he still struggled and cried out.

"Andrew!" Teal'c said, more firmly, hoping the boy could hear him. He carefully pressed his cheek against Andrew's, avoiding the injured shoulder. "There was an avalanche and we were buried, but we are going to be all right. You must believe."

"Scrappy, Teal'c," Jack gasped; reminding the Jaffa of the term that the boy's father had introduced Andrew as.

"Indeed. If ever there was a time to be scrappy, now it that time," Teal'c told the boy over and over. "We are taking care of you, and will get you back with your parents soon. I promise you."

Andrew didn't hear this the first time Teal'c said it. He didn't even hear it the second time. From the moment he became aware of the pain, he hurt so badly that all he could hear was the throbbing in his legs that seemed to spread all over his body. He'd never hurt like this before, and couldn't even think of a term for the torture he was in. All he could do was react to it, and the only way he knew how to react to pain like this was to scream and cry and thrash.

Teal'c's voice got through the third time, but Andrew didn't hear the words, only the voice. He knew Teal'c's voice very well – after all, Teal'c had spoken to him quietly in the darkness many times in the week that he spent at summer camp. Even though Andrew was in agony, his subconscious remembered that it was Teal'c's deep voice that had soothed the pain and loneliness of homesickness that week, and he reacted accordingly this time as well, automatically straining to hear the voice that soothed hurts.

"We are taking care of you, Andrew," Teal'c repeated, noticing the boy was becoming a little less panicked. "You need to hold on and be scrappy."

"Teal'c?" Andrew's voice was similar to O'Neill's. Both were filled with anguish. But Andrew's was filled with fear as well. He wasn't used to hurting so badly, and it frightened him.

"I am here, Andrew. You must do your best to remain still, so you do not hurt yourself further."

"It hurts!" he wailed, sobbing.

"I know. We have wrapped your legs, but I have nothing to give you for the pain."

"Hang in there, Andrew."

Andrew didn't recognize that voice at first. It was low, but not deep. Almost a whisper that he nearly didn't hear at all. But where Teal'c was, Jack had to be as well, his pain-fogged brain told him.

"Jack?"

"Yeah, buddy..."

"It hurts..."

"I know, Andrew..." Jack sounded like he hurt, too, Andrew decided as he tried to stop his sobs so he could hear what the two men were saying to him. "It's starting to get light out... Teal'c's going to go for help, soon."

"Don't leave me!"

Teal'c held the boy close, as Jack reacted to that fearful cry as well and rolled back over to wrap his arm around the boy, too.

"We are not going to leave you alone, Andrew," Teal'c assured him. "We would never leave you."

"That's right... I'll stay with you..."

Andrew started crying, unable to hold back the pain anymore. The two men held him closely; both talking to him, both telling him that he'd be fine. Andrew was unconscious again in only minutes, his little body finding the easiest way to deal with the pain being to allow it to overwhelm him.

"Can..." Jack took a couple of breaths, trying to get his wind back. "Can you tell how light it is?"

Teal'c looked up at the hole in the top of their cave. It was no longer pitch black out. The sky had the odd tinge to it that it usually had a couple hours before the sun actually made its appearance. False dawn, some called it.

"It is light enough," Teal'c decided. He knew as well as Jack did that they needed to get help, and couldn't wait for help to come to them. He just wasn't sure about leaving O'Neill and Andrew alone.

"You'd better go... then."

"You must remain awake, O'Neill."

"I know, Teal'c." Jack's voice was the smallest of whispers.

"I shall head uphill," Teal'c told him as he got to his feet. The Jaffa took off his heavy coat, and draped it over Andrew and Jack. He was wearing a sweater underneath and would be moving, so he figured they'd need the warmth more than he did. "The snow must have carried us down the slope."

"Sounds... right."

"Stay –"

"Awake... I know."

"Indeed."

"Be safe, Teal'c," Jack told his friend as the Jaffa started digging an exit in the snow.

"I will return as soon as I can."

"I know. We'll be here."

Teal'c carefully made sure that the exit he made himself was only big enough for him to leave. He didn't want to open the entrance too much and risk exposing them to more cold than he needed to. When he broke through to the surface of the snow pack, he was careful to walk far enough away that his weight wouldn't bring the cave down on Jack and Andrew. Then he looked back at the hole in the snow once more.

"Stay awake, O'Neill!" He called to his friend, reminding him once more. Then he turned in the near darkness and looked up the slope, unable to see much more than just a dim outline. It was enough, though, for him to see where he was going. Shivering in the cold, Teal'c headed uphill, moving carefully but as swiftly as he could in the mostly hard-packed snow.