DISCLAIMER: The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-1, the goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.

A Snake In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush

Part seventeen

There was no one in the immediate vicinity of the cave as Clare made her way quickly to the wooded area at the foot of the slope where their cave lay.

Moving more slowly now, she took her time in treading carefully, watching where she put her feet to avoid making any unnecessary noise. Her foot stepped on an unseen branch, giving out a loud crack. Freezing for what seemed like an hour, but was really only five minutes, did not bring anyone to investigate so she continued on her way to the 'gate, moving ever more cautiously as she got closer, but unable to detect other people in the woods.

After nearly two hours Clare reached the spot where Jack had been injured two days ago, making use of the natural cover to survey the ground before the gate.

What she saw did not bring her any reassurance. Sitting before the gate were a number of the men who had attacked SG1, around a small campfire to one side of the big fire circle that had been alight when they had first seen them. There weren't as many as before, only about a dozen now, but she knew that while they remained there was no way could she get to the gate on her own, let alone with an injured and feverish Jack.

As she stood there indecisively, their clear voices carried towards her and she realised she could make out some of what they were saying. It wasn't English but her enhanced memories must have picked up the smatterings she'd heard yesterday and allowed her brain to process the information and interpret what was being said.

'…no sign of anyone else…'

'…gods cannot say we have not done our duty…'

'…we leave at the rising of the next sun…'

Waiting to hear no more, Clare carefully withdrew and began making her way back to the cave. She hadn't gone far when she felt an arm snake around her neck from behind, a knife pricking her skin causing a trickle of blood to work its way down her throat.

Terrified, Clare was only aware that the other hand of this - man - it could only be a man - was moving down the front of her body, then back up again, fumbling with her jacket, whispering in that harsh, guttural language, words she couldn't quite make out but their meaning was abundantly clear.

Trying to think clearly through the haze of fear she recalled some of the lessons Jack had given her. Use your attacker as a weapon.

Of course. Stiffening slightly in the tight grasp in which she was held, Clare suddenly let herself go limp as if she had fainted. Her attacker grabbed at her instinctively, allowing Clare to snatch the knife from her vest, to turn around in one swift movement and drive it into the soft part of his stomach just beneath his rib cage and then force it up towards his heart. Gasping in shock, one hand still clutching his own knife, he lashed out at the woman in front of him. Clare was too close to avoid him altogether and his knife bit deeply into her arm even as his grip loosened, his knees buckled and his eyes went blank.

Not waiting to see if there was anyone else around, Clare bolted for the safety of the cave. She reached it and stood for a moment outside to catch her breath and calm herself, her first thoughts going to the man inside who needed her.

Inside, Clare realised that unless help came soon it would be too late for Jack. In spite of the painkillers she had administered, which should have knocked him out for hours, Jack was delirious and very irrational, crawling to the entrance of the cave as if he was trying to escape from something. Lying in pieces to one side of the cave was his radio. Clare could not know that Jack had been disturbed by the radio crackling as the 'gate had been opened and a MALP sent through. In his feverish state he had been unable to think clearly, imagining that this was some kind of threat and had used all his strength to smash the thing to pieces, now he was trying to escape from it.

Pushing her own feelings of desperation, disgust, fear and loneliness to one side she crouched beside him, one hand on his shoulder to reassure him that she was back but was unprepared for what came next. Jack's arm lashed out in her direction, his fist making contact with her jaw, sending her flying. She landed on her side, her head coming down with a crack on a rock at the side of the cave stunning her. Desperately fighting the swimming feeling in her head and the darkness threatening to envelope her, Clare realised that Jack had apparently used up the last of his strength and collapsed again. She didn't try to move him this time, just covered him over with the sleeping bag, checked his wounds had not re-opened and gave him another shot of painkiller.

As she turned to dispose of the needle Jack attacked her again, grabbing her by the throat with both hands in an attempt to squeeze the life from her. Clare tried to fight back but even with this fever he was much stronger than she was and she knew she was fighting a losing battle. Suddenly, just as she could see black dots swimming in front of her eyes, she realised she could breathe again and could hear Jack's shallow, gasping breathing beside her.

Acting quickly, not knowing how long he would be out for this time and not wanting to risk him hurting either himself or her again, Clare went to one of the packs lying against the wall where she had seen a couple of lengths of rope. Moving the now unconscious Jack into a relatively comfortable position, she tied his hands securely together in front of him to avoid damaging his injured shoulder further. That done, she tied his ankles and knees together, to prevent him from crawling either. She then proceeded to cover him with the sleeping bag and retreated to the wall opposite him to tend her own injuries.

Her arm was sore and she'd probably have a pretty big bruise there before long, her throat was rapidly becoming more comfortable although it had really hurt to swallow at first. Her head was her main worry. She was still feeling dizzy and light headed, whether it was shock or concussion she wasn't sure, but she knew if it was concussion she would have to try to keep herself awake, to fall asleep might mean she never woke up again, and Jack's life depended on her.

Reminding herself of this constantly kept her going through the rest of that day and into the night. She talked till she was nearly hoarse. Talking to Jack about what she'd done that day and what she'd found out. Talking to him about how much she appreciated the friendship she'd found with SG1 and about how she was starting to feel as if she had a purpose in life.

She didn't mention how frightened and lonely she was feeling, especially after he'd attacked her. She wasn't really frightened of him and knew it was only because he was so ill that it had happened, but frightened that she would not be able to get help to him in time and that she might be left on her own on this planet.

As the night wore on it became harder to remain awake and she frequently found her eyes closing when a sound roused her from the half doze she'd fallen into. Looking at Jack, she realised that it hadn't come from him, he lay where she had left him, his breathing harder to hear now. Before she had chance to go and check on him, the noise came again. Footsteps; and they were heading this way.

Grabbing Jack's zat gun from where she had placed it on the floor beside her, she backed herself up against the wall of the cave opposite the entrance, partially shielding Jack where he lay alongside the wall further in.

A figure appeared in the doorway, casting a long shadow into the cave. In a blind panic now, remembering what had happened earlier in the woods on the way back from the 'gate, she fired and saw the figure go down, calling something out as he went.