The tunnels had begun to close in around Teal'c as his feet pounded their way through the dirt and mud as he tried to retrace the steps of General O'Neill and Colonel Carter. The only way out was behind him now and escape was not likely but Teal'c had never been the type to give up easily.

His pace came to a sudden stop as he reached the cave in. Testing for it's stability, Teal'c pushed as hard as he could against the cave in only to realize that it wasn't going to budge. His patience was wearing then, and for a Jaffa, this was uncommon.

"GENERAL O'NEILL!! COLONEL CARTER!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME!" He tried to scream through the cave in, but it was useless. He would have to think of something else. He turned to run back to the exit, knowing that something would have to be pulled off in order to save them—this was going to be a tough one.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CAVE IN...

"The shaking stopped." Carter said as she lifted her head and looked about the small space that was dimly lit by her flashlight.

"Yeah, it stopped a while ago. I guess the Goul'ed gave up." O'Neill said helping her sit up. "You feeling better? You've been out for a while."

"Besides a pounding head ache, I'm alright."

Reaching over, O'Neill looked over her forehead without her permission. Carter pulled back a moment and squinted.

"Sorry." He said softly as he saw the knot that had developed. "It's not bleeding anymore, that's good."

"I guess."

"Everything else alright?" He said looking down to see if she had any other wounds.

"No." She said not noticing the smirk on his face.

It disappeared as soon as it had formed and O'Neill returned to his usual scowl as she looked up at him.

"They should be getting us outta here any time now." He said averting her sight.

Letting out a deep sigh, Carter settled back against O'Neill's shoulder.

As they both relaxed into the silence, O'Neill's radio began to filter static and then a clear voice came through.

"General O'Neill, Colonel Carter can you hear me?"

"Teal'c?" O'Neill called into his radio.

"General O'Neill, we are going to transport you up using the ring transporter, our sensors detect a clear area in the middle of the cave you are trapped in. Stand clear and will send the rings down."

"Roger that Teal'c!" He called back. "See, I told ya he'd find us." O'Neill said standing to his feet and holding out a hand to help her up.

"I like being wrong." Carter said reaching out to take his hand.

"Have you actually ever been wrong about anything?" He said as Carter stood and lost balance and fell against his chest.

"I'm sure I was...as a kid..." She said getting her balance.

Smiling down at her he couldn't resist the urge to kiss her. She looked so beautiful—even if she wasn't semi-unconscious.

"The room is spinning again." She said holding on to his shoulders as she once again felt the pain in her forehead.

"Woah there,"

He caught her just as the rings settled down around them and as she once again fell into his arms the rings activated and they were transported to the ship above.

The blinding light disapated and O'Neill and Carter found themselves standing in the middle of a cargo hold on board of a Tok'ra ship. Teal'c and Jacob Carter staring at them as though...something else were going on.

As Carter regained control of her body from the rings she lost conciousness and collapsed into O'Neill like a damp dish cloth.

"Help me with her!" He called out as he lowered her to the floor. "She hit her head pretty hard." He said brushing back her hair from her face to see the wound on her forehead that was bleeding once again.

"I've got a Goul'ed healing device, that should do the trick." Jacob said retrieving his pack.

O'Neill sat on the floor as Jacob held the device over Carter's forehead. As it began to glow the wound was healed and her eyes soon fluttered open.

"Jack?" She called out just above a whisper.

"I'm right here." He said taking on a tone that was of a concerned...lover instead of a commanding officer. She reached out to take his hand, not even thinking and sat up to rest against his shoulder as she sat across from him.

He held her up as she caught sight of her father who peered down from above.

"Daddy?" She asked, blinking through her delirious.

"Hey, feeling better?"

"Yeah," She said suddenly aware of how her actions must have looked, did she just call him Jack?

"Just take it slow," O'Neill said making sure she didn't stand. "We'll be back at the base soon and get you checked out." He said getting his distance from her and standing.

"Alright, I am a little tired." She said moving to the bulkhead and leaning back.

"Lets uhm...get this hunk o' junk outta here uh?" O'Neill said abruptly heading for the forward section.

He had to get away from the situation that was beginning to suffocate him.

He had always known that once he let the walls down that normally kept him from Carter that he'd never be able to put them back up again. And now, he felt naked without them.