"To quote Lois Lane," Daniel called to his friend, almost giddily happy to see him, and definitely glad for the hand that was crushing his wrist. "'You've got me, but who's got you?'"
"Who is Lois Lane?"
Jaffer and Jack had both slid a little ways down the side of the hill when the rock had given way, but Jack was back, now, and was whuffling Daniel happily, his wet nose all over the archeologist as if he hadn't seen him for weeks.
"I'll explain later!"
"I am tied to a rope with several members of a rescue party holding the other end," Teal'c yelled. "They will pull us up!"
"No! We have to go down!" God! They had rope! And people! He didn't know how Teal'c and Sam had known they were in trouble, but he'd never been happier to see them. "We've got to save Jack!"
"We must go up, first," Teal'c said. They really didn't have a choice. The rescue members didn't know Daniel wanted him to go down; they only knew that when Teal'c gave the signal they were supposed to pull the Jaffa up, and hope that he had some news about the whereabouts of Jack and Daniel. Teal'c gave a jerk on the rope, and suddenly Daniel felt himself being raised up along the slope of the bowl. He got his feet under him, but Teal'c wasn't about to release his hand, so there wasn't much he could do to help them get him up. There were enough of them, however, that they didn't need help, and it was only about a minute and a half later that his free hand felt the edge of the incline and the hands grabbing him by the jacket and pulling him onto level ground.
"Daniel!"
He could see Sam easily in the bright light of four large spotlights, and he didn't miss the relief on her face at having found him. Jack came bounding up beside him as Teal'c rose to his feet and came over.
"Are you injured, Daniel Jackson?"
"We have to find Jack!" Daniel yelled. "We need rope and people!"
"Has there been any sign of SG-3?" One of the rescue leaders asked.
Daniel nodded. "They're down there. We were all trapped, and a couple of them are hurt!"
Instantly they were relaying the message to the home team. The radios they'd taken were better equipped for the wet weather, and more importantly, they were all on fairly level ground and there wasn't as much interference.
"What's happened to Jack?" Sam asked him, getting close so she didn't have to yell. Close enough that Daniel could see the concern in her eyes.
"He fell through a crevasse, Sam. I couldn't find him."
Daniel reached for one of the ropes and started tying it around his waist.
"Where's Jaffer?" Sam asked, already grabbing a rope as well. She saw Jack, but the black lab was nowhere to be seen.
"Last I saw, he was on the slope." Daniel told her. "He's probably down on the bottom looking for Jack." Which was where Daniel wanted to be, too.
.........
"What the hell is going on?"
The two men at the bottom of the slope had been pretty much rained on by a clattering of loose rocks and some mud, and had fully expected to see Daniel Jackson sliding back down the hill on his face – or other parts of his anatomy – any minute.
It didn't happen though. What happened was a large black form came sliding down. One that looked nothing like Daniel, even in the dark. Then they realized it was Colonel O'Neill's black lab.
"Jaffer!" Thorpe knelt down, patting his knee, "Come here, boy!"
The black lab trotted over to him, and Thorpe ran his hands along the dog's collar, hoping to find a note or some other sign that he'd found Major Carter and Teal'c, but there was no sign. Of course, there was also no Daniel Jackson. Dern realized this as well, of course, and came over and knelt close by as well, so he wouldn't have to yell quite so loudly.
"Where's Doctor Jackson?"
"How the hell should I know?" He looked down at the lab, who was sniffing the air around him, looking for his Jack. "He must still be on the hill."
"Maybe the dog brought back help?"
"Does he look like Lassie?"
Thorpe stood up. He was glad to see Jaffer, but worried about Daniel. Civilians were always more hassle than they were worth.
"I'm going to climb up there, maybe he got stuck somewhere." He stopped talking when he noticed the cut on Jaffer's shoulder and was going to mention it when Dern suddenly hit his shoulder to get his attention. Which hurt, since he was fairly certain that shoulder was sprained.
"Captain!" Dern had looked up the hill and thought he saw a light in the driving rain. Of course, he could have been wrong, but it was so dark by now that a light was hard to miss. "Do you see that?"
He looked up, and did, indeed, see it.
"What the hell is that?"
A moment later they heard excited barking, and a yellow version of Jaffer came rushing down the slope in a rain of shale, coming over to the two men and the black lab and wagging his tail in greeting. Both men recognized Jack immediately. The yellow lab was on the base more than Jaffer was, and was far more social when it came to spending time with others. Jaffer tended to stay near Jack when he was around. Jack liked to play with anyone when Teal'c was occupied and couldn't play with him. A moment later, Teal'c, Daniel and Sam all came sliding down the hill as well, each of them attached to a rope, and each of them carrying a spot light. A minute after that, another three men arrived, with more rope, more spotlights, and some rain gear.
"God, am I glad to see you guys!" Thorpe said, limping over to them, with Dern right behind him and Jack following happily. Jaffer was still nosing the air around him, trying to pick up Jack's scent, and unable to in the driving rain.
"Not as glad as we are to see you," Sam said, wincing at the cut on Dern's cheek, and thinking that the two men looked even more exhausted than Daniel did. "We've got help on the way, and medical personnel coming to take care of your wounded once we get you out of here."
Thorpe nodded, and Sam turned the Captain over to the other rescuers, and turned to Daniel, her eyes worried. "Where's Jack, Daniel? Where did he fall?"
Daniel turned around to get his bearings, and then pointed, but Jaffer had already found it. The black lab gave a bark – a rarity for him – and took off into the darkness and rain at a fast trot. The three members of SG-1 followed, and Daniel was amazed to find that Jaffer was leading them to exactly where Jack had fallen. He didn't know how the black lab knew, but there was no mistaking it.
"Careful! Jaffer!" Daniel tried to call him back when they started getting close to the hole. He didn't want the black lab to fall through it as well, but Jaffer had no intention of stopping.
In the light of the spotlights that Teal'c and Daniel were carrying, the three of them saw the black lab aim right for the hole where rushing water had almost completely concealed the gap. There was no mistaking his intent, though. The big lab jumped right into it without a moment's hesitation. He was gone instantly.
"Jaffer, NO!"
"Who is Lois Lane?"
Jaffer and Jack had both slid a little ways down the side of the hill when the rock had given way, but Jack was back, now, and was whuffling Daniel happily, his wet nose all over the archeologist as if he hadn't seen him for weeks.
"I'll explain later!"
"I am tied to a rope with several members of a rescue party holding the other end," Teal'c yelled. "They will pull us up!"
"No! We have to go down!" God! They had rope! And people! He didn't know how Teal'c and Sam had known they were in trouble, but he'd never been happier to see them. "We've got to save Jack!"
"We must go up, first," Teal'c said. They really didn't have a choice. The rescue members didn't know Daniel wanted him to go down; they only knew that when Teal'c gave the signal they were supposed to pull the Jaffa up, and hope that he had some news about the whereabouts of Jack and Daniel. Teal'c gave a jerk on the rope, and suddenly Daniel felt himself being raised up along the slope of the bowl. He got his feet under him, but Teal'c wasn't about to release his hand, so there wasn't much he could do to help them get him up. There were enough of them, however, that they didn't need help, and it was only about a minute and a half later that his free hand felt the edge of the incline and the hands grabbing him by the jacket and pulling him onto level ground.
"Daniel!"
He could see Sam easily in the bright light of four large spotlights, and he didn't miss the relief on her face at having found him. Jack came bounding up beside him as Teal'c rose to his feet and came over.
"Are you injured, Daniel Jackson?"
"We have to find Jack!" Daniel yelled. "We need rope and people!"
"Has there been any sign of SG-3?" One of the rescue leaders asked.
Daniel nodded. "They're down there. We were all trapped, and a couple of them are hurt!"
Instantly they were relaying the message to the home team. The radios they'd taken were better equipped for the wet weather, and more importantly, they were all on fairly level ground and there wasn't as much interference.
"What's happened to Jack?" Sam asked him, getting close so she didn't have to yell. Close enough that Daniel could see the concern in her eyes.
"He fell through a crevasse, Sam. I couldn't find him."
Daniel reached for one of the ropes and started tying it around his waist.
"Where's Jaffer?" Sam asked, already grabbing a rope as well. She saw Jack, but the black lab was nowhere to be seen.
"Last I saw, he was on the slope." Daniel told her. "He's probably down on the bottom looking for Jack." Which was where Daniel wanted to be, too.
.........
"What the hell is going on?"
The two men at the bottom of the slope had been pretty much rained on by a clattering of loose rocks and some mud, and had fully expected to see Daniel Jackson sliding back down the hill on his face – or other parts of his anatomy – any minute.
It didn't happen though. What happened was a large black form came sliding down. One that looked nothing like Daniel, even in the dark. Then they realized it was Colonel O'Neill's black lab.
"Jaffer!" Thorpe knelt down, patting his knee, "Come here, boy!"
The black lab trotted over to him, and Thorpe ran his hands along the dog's collar, hoping to find a note or some other sign that he'd found Major Carter and Teal'c, but there was no sign. Of course, there was also no Daniel Jackson. Dern realized this as well, of course, and came over and knelt close by as well, so he wouldn't have to yell quite so loudly.
"Where's Doctor Jackson?"
"How the hell should I know?" He looked down at the lab, who was sniffing the air around him, looking for his Jack. "He must still be on the hill."
"Maybe the dog brought back help?"
"Does he look like Lassie?"
Thorpe stood up. He was glad to see Jaffer, but worried about Daniel. Civilians were always more hassle than they were worth.
"I'm going to climb up there, maybe he got stuck somewhere." He stopped talking when he noticed the cut on Jaffer's shoulder and was going to mention it when Dern suddenly hit his shoulder to get his attention. Which hurt, since he was fairly certain that shoulder was sprained.
"Captain!" Dern had looked up the hill and thought he saw a light in the driving rain. Of course, he could have been wrong, but it was so dark by now that a light was hard to miss. "Do you see that?"
He looked up, and did, indeed, see it.
"What the hell is that?"
A moment later they heard excited barking, and a yellow version of Jaffer came rushing down the slope in a rain of shale, coming over to the two men and the black lab and wagging his tail in greeting. Both men recognized Jack immediately. The yellow lab was on the base more than Jaffer was, and was far more social when it came to spending time with others. Jaffer tended to stay near Jack when he was around. Jack liked to play with anyone when Teal'c was occupied and couldn't play with him. A moment later, Teal'c, Daniel and Sam all came sliding down the hill as well, each of them attached to a rope, and each of them carrying a spot light. A minute after that, another three men arrived, with more rope, more spotlights, and some rain gear.
"God, am I glad to see you guys!" Thorpe said, limping over to them, with Dern right behind him and Jack following happily. Jaffer was still nosing the air around him, trying to pick up Jack's scent, and unable to in the driving rain.
"Not as glad as we are to see you," Sam said, wincing at the cut on Dern's cheek, and thinking that the two men looked even more exhausted than Daniel did. "We've got help on the way, and medical personnel coming to take care of your wounded once we get you out of here."
Thorpe nodded, and Sam turned the Captain over to the other rescuers, and turned to Daniel, her eyes worried. "Where's Jack, Daniel? Where did he fall?"
Daniel turned around to get his bearings, and then pointed, but Jaffer had already found it. The black lab gave a bark – a rarity for him – and took off into the darkness and rain at a fast trot. The three members of SG-1 followed, and Daniel was amazed to find that Jaffer was leading them to exactly where Jack had fallen. He didn't know how the black lab knew, but there was no mistaking it.
"Careful! Jaffer!" Daniel tried to call him back when they started getting close to the hole. He didn't want the black lab to fall through it as well, but Jaffer had no intention of stopping.
In the light of the spotlights that Teal'c and Daniel were carrying, the three of them saw the black lab aim right for the hole where rushing water had almost completely concealed the gap. There was no mistaking his intent, though. The big lab jumped right into it without a moment's hesitation. He was gone instantly.
"Jaffer, NO!"