Title: Fearing the Worst
Disclaimer: As much as I wish it did, Stargate has nothing to do with me – life's just not that fair!
Rating: PG
Spoilers: It's set around early Season 7, so anything up to that point
Notes: I realized recently that I have only written and posted one Stargate fic, despite there being at least two more sitting half-written on my hard drive. So, I decided to rectify the situation by starting a completely new one (yes, I'm that crazy) and here is the result. I honestly have no idea where this came from.
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Chapter 1 of ?
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Shots rang out. Colonel Jack O'Neill scanned his environment, determining the locations of his team members and trying to spot their attacker, a lone sniper. He hated planets like this, P4X-something – its full designation had long been erased from his memory, not that he really concentrated enough in the briefing to let it ever sink into his mind. The planet had two things; large expanses of nothing, and large expanses of trees. Unfortunately for them, the two hour trek they had made from the Stargate brought them into a large expanse of nothing, but with slight sand dunes from where the sniper was attacking and from where they were seeking refuge. Actually, the planet had three things, the other being the whole reason they had made the trip; it was Naquadah rich.
"Carter, head for the trees," he yelled as they were subjected to another round of fire, "I'll cover you." Major Samantha Carter acknowledged his words with a quick nod of her head and followed his instructions. "Daniel, you're next," he called, locking eyes quickly with the archaeologist.
As soon as the younger man reached relative safety, Jack motioned to Teal'c and the two remaining SG1 members ran to join the others, dodging bullets from the sniper and firing shots in return. Their shots missed every time, as they couldn't get a firm position on their assailant. Suddenly, a bullet whizzed by Jack, coming from the direction of the trees, and he instinctively turned to follow its path; he barely made out the profile of someone behind a sand dune. The shot from Sam's gun just missed the sniper, but they ducked for cover. Jack took advantage of the lull in crossfire and increased his speed, Teal'c following closely behind.
"Remind me why we're here," said Jack dryly as he made it to the trees and assessed his team.
"Because this planet is rich with –"
"I was joking, Teal'c," he said as the Jaffa started to explain. "Carter, you have blood coming out of your arm," he noted matter-of-factly, moving closer to her.
"It's nothing, Sir," she said lightly.
"I'll be the judge of that. Let me see," he ordered as she started to shift away from him. He tugged on her non-injured arm and she eventually let him inspect the wound.
"It's just a flesh wound, Sir, the bullet just grazed me."
Jack nodded his agreement, but insisted that it needed to be cleaned and dressed. "Let's move back a little more into the trees and then I'll deal with this," he decided. As they found a spot deep within the trees, Daniel and Teal'c kept lookout while Jack retrieved his first-aid kit and washed out the wound, not bothering to hide his smirk at the hiss of pain emitted from Carter's lips as the iodine made contact with her skin. "Just a graze, huh, Carter?"
"It's not deep," she insisted.
"No, it's not, but it's still bleeding, so I'm gonna apply some gauze, okay?"
"I'm sensing I don't get a choice," she muttered.
His task complete, Jack argued with Carter about forgetting the Naquadah and heading back to the SGC.
"Sir, we really need to get some more supplies and, if this planet is as rich as the probes said, it could be a godsend," she pressed.
"Okay, but we still gotta deal with Rambo out there," he pointed out, waving his arm in the direction of the sand dunes. She pinned him with a hopeful gaze and he shook his head, knowing he was giving in too easily. "Alright, there may be more snipers out there, so I think we should split up as we go through the trees, try and confuse 'em. Wait," he paused and turned to Carter, "we do have to go through the trees, right?" She confirmed that they needed to go straight through for at least another hour's walk and he muttered, "Typical," in an annoyed voice. "Okay, Daniel, you go with Carter," he ordered, "and you might have to use your gun, so be ready." Daniel nodded. "Oh, and Daniel? Make sure you change the dressing on her arm in a little while, otherwise the blood will congeal and it'll be a nightmare later."
"Uh, Jack?" said Daniel hesitantly. Jack looked at him questioningly. "I don't think I should go with Sam."
"Why not?" queried Jack with obvious irritation; he was not in the mood to hang around while there was a sniper in the area.
"I'm no good with the sight of blood and –"
"Oh, for cryin' out loud," yelled Jack, but Daniel's sheepish look caused him to calm down a little.
"O'Neill," said Teal'c suddenly, drawing their attention to him. "Is it not soon approaching darkness?"
As all eyes turned to her, Sam said quietly, "It's due to get dark in less than an hour, Sir. We lost a lot of time with the sniper."
"Great, just great," grumbled Jack. "Alright, new plan," he said after a moment's thought. "Let's get a bit further and find some cover. We set up camp and then head for the Naquadah at first light, keeping to the trees as much as possible." The rest of SG1 nodded their agreement and Jack took point as they headed deeper into the trees. "Never thought I'd be so glad of trees," said Jack to himself as they walked.
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They took turns eating while the others kept watch for snipers. Only one tent had been set up, so that it would be faster to pack up the next morning. Their chosen camp area was at the edge of a small clearing, with their tent nestling among trees and giving them a full view of anyone who attempted to enter the area from all sides except that behind the tent, though that was visible if you sat in the right orientation. Usually, Jack would be worried about attackers from overhead, hiding in the trees, but the trees were not sturdy enough to allow that.
"How long until first light?"
"About another eight hours, Sir," supplied Sam immediately, having glanced at her watch only moments before.
"Okay, we'll take two watches, three hours each, so we can determine whether to move out early. Teal'c, you and Daniel take first watch so Carter's arm has a chance to heal a bit. I'll take watch with her just in case she can't shoot properly."
"I'm fine, Sir," she protested, but was silenced by his look. Bidding them all goodnight, she retreated into the tent and crawled into the sleeping bag. Her arm was itching and she started to scratch the area around the bandage that the Colonel had applied when they had made camp. It wasn't long before he joined her in the tent and ordered her to stop scratching.
"Carter, what's wrong?" asked Jack around ten minutes later, tiring of hearing her moving around every few seconds.
"Nothing."
"Carter," he warned, his voice weary.
"I can't get comfortable," she admitted. "I can't sleep in my usual position."
"Why not?"
"Because my usual off-world position is to lie flat on my back, arms behind my head –"
"Sounds familiar," he muttered quietly.
"But I can't put my injured arm behind my head," she continued, "because of the huge bandage you put on it."
"It needs it, Carter," he insisted, smiling to himself as he remembered her earlier objections about the bandage he was applying being three times the size of the wound. "Look, just sleep on your side or something, I'm not gonna tell anyone that you didn't sleep in the get up quick position," he said softly, the lilt in his voice persuading her.
"Okay," she agreed and turned away from him, letting her eyes fall closed.
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"Carter, up and at 'em," said Jack as his watch alarm went off to signal it was time for them to start their watch. She didn't stir, even when her own alarm started to beep. "Carter, come on," he said more loudly. "I know you're not a morning person, but get up, fix your bedhead and get out there." She still didn't move, not even an eyelid and he felt the pang of worry creeping into his stomach. "Carter!" he yelled, worry increasing by the second. He pushed her shoulder to try and waken her, but jumped back in alarm as his hand became wet.
"Jack, what's going on?" asked Daniel as his head peered inside the tent. He found Jack rummaging around, trying to find his flashlight. As it was switched on, Jack cast the light in Carter's direction. "Jack, she's drenched."
"I know, Daniel," he said irritably. "She won't wake up." He let the light roam over her body and stopped as it fell on her arm. "What the hell?" The visible area around the bandage was a dark red color and looked incredibly painful. "Holy -- We gotta get her back to the SGC," he said firmly. "Get Teal'c and get this place packed up." Daniel nodded silently, knowing Jack wanted action, not words.
"DanielJackson, what is wrong?" asked Teal'c as a stricken looking Daniel emerged from the tent.
"It's Sam," he replied, his voice full of shock, "she's unconscious."
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TBC…
A/N: I usually write longer chapters than this, but I figured I'd try out cliffhanger endings for the first time ;-)