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Chapter Two

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Jack snapped his head around at Carter's frantic cry. At the sight of Daniel flailing around in his chains, Jack felt his heart start to pound. "No! Damn it! Daniel!" Jack spun back toward his own shackles, pulling against them with everything he had. "Teal'c, get me out of these damn things! Daniel!"

Jack and Teal'c pulled furiously against the chains. It was becoming obvious that Teal'c's bolts hadn't been as strong as Jack's were turning out to be. Both men grunted with the effort as they strained, their muscles tight and sweat beading on their faces.

"Colonel …"

Jack blocked Sam's quiet plea out of his mind and focused solely on getting out of his restraints and trying to reassure Daniel. "Just hang on, Danny. I'm coming. I'll be… right… there!"

As the last word crossed Jack's lips, he and Teal'c managed to dislodge the bolts from the wall. The sudden lack of resistance threw both men off balance. Jack flew across the room and landed hard on his back at Daniel's feet.

Ignoring the pain that was now shooting down his own spine, Jack scrambled to his feet and lunged for Daniel. "Teal'c, get him loose!"

The command was unnecessary. Teal'c had already wrapped his large hands around the chains and braced one foot against the wall. His arms bulged as he pulled against the bolts that secured Daniel's shackles to the wall above him.

Jack reached out and grabbed Daniel's face in his hands, heavy chains still dangling from the large metal bands that circled each of his wrists. "Daniel! Look at me! I'm here… I'm right here."

Daniel's thrashing slowly abated as the seizure released its hold on him. He slumped to the floor, his whole weight suspended from his arms and his head lolling back.

"O'Neill, I cannot release him in this position," Teal'c said softly, looking down at the men at his feet. "If I attempt to use the chains as leverage, Daniel Jackson will be injured."

Jack nodded his head quickly. "Sorry about this, Daniel," he whispered, knowing that what he was about to do would cause the younger man more pain, but also knowing that there was no other choice. Jack positioned himself as far behind Daniel as possible, pressing himself into the small space between Daniel's upraised arms and the wall. With a deep breath, Jack wrapped his arms around Daniel's chest and pulled. Daniel moaned deeply and his eyelids fluttered. It took only seconds for Jack to haul Daniel back into a seated position. The chains and his arms went slack as the pressure against them was relieved.

Teal'c grasped the bindings in his strong hands again and resumed his efforts to pull them from the wall.

Jack sat for a few seconds, breathing through the fading waves of pain from his back. He was seated behind Daniel, with his legs to the side and Daniel's shoulders resting against his chest. Jack reached out with his right hand and placed it against Daniel's forehead, gently pulling the too-warm head back to rest against his left shoulder.

"God, he's burning up," Jack whispered. He wrapped his left arm more tightly around Daniel's chest while he used his right hand to brush the sweat-soaked hair out of Daniel's eyes.

Jack heard Sam whimpering to his left, and he looked up at her. He knew that he should say something reassuring to her, but at that moment he had no idea what to say. He shrugged slightly, wanting nothing more than to be able to tell her for a fact that Daniel would be all right. So upset was he at being unable to do that, and unwilling to lie, Jack couldn't even bring himself to smile for her.

Sam understood Jack's lackluster response. At least he and Teal'c were able to help Daniel; she was still chained to the wall three feet away. She couldn't even touch him, much less help him. Knowing that there was nothing more she could do for any of them, she gave Jack the smile he had been unable to give her.

"The bolts are nearly free," Teal'c announced.

Jack nodded and looked back down at Daniel. The wide blue eyes that stared back at him were a surprise.

"Daniel?"

The younger man blinked at him in confusion. "Jack? Wha's goin' on?"

Jack smiled at the slurred words, relieved to hear Daniel's voice again. "Oh, same old same old. You know how it is," he answered, glancing up at Teal'c to check his progress. Another few pulls and Daniel would be free. "How are you feeling?"

"Hm… bad," Daniel said softly. His eyes fell closed again. "Eyes hurt… neck, back… headache …"

"Yeah, I know," Jack whispered. He turned his face away and leaned his head against the wall, suddenly feeling very tired and very, very old.

"Jack?"

Jack closed his eyes briefly before lifting his head and turning back to answer.

"Yeah, Daniel?"

"I think… think I'm sick."

Jack leaned back against the wall once more. "Yeah, Danny. Yeah, you're sick."

"O'Neill."

Jack looked up at Teal'c's quiet summons. The Jaffa nodded toward Daniel's arms, then at the bolts above them. Jack understood the unspoken concern, and reached above his head with his right arm. He grasped both manacles tightly in his hand, and with his left arm drew Daniel closer to him.

"Hang on, Daniel. This might hurt a bit."

Daniel nodded slowly, turning his head until his cheek rested against Jack's chest. "Okay."

Jack nodded at Teal'c. The large man gave one last great pull, pushing against the wall with his leg. His muscles rippled and his face flushed, sweat pouring down in rivulets as he strained against the chains. At last, the wall released its hold on the ancient rusted metal, and the bolts flew free. Teal'c stumbled back at the shift in balance, dropping the chains immediately, but somehow managed to stay on his feet. Daniel moaned involuntarily as the sudden momentum yanked his arms forward, but Jack's tight grip on the shackles stopped the movement from causing him serious harm.

"Teal'c, help me," Jack said softly.

Teal'c was on his knees at Daniel's side in less than a second. He wrapped his large hands around Daniel's wrists gently. As Jack released his hold on the manacles, Teal'c lowered the archeologist's arms until his hands came to rest in his lap.

"Your jacket …" Jack began, but found it unnecessary to finish the thought. Teal'c had already removed his jacket, folded it, and placed it on the ground.

"Okay, Daniel. We're just gonna lay you down now, okay?"

Jack felt Daniel's nod against his chest, and glanced up again at Teal'c. The Jaffa moved slightly, until he was on his knees directly across from Jack. The two exchanged concerned glances. With a deep sigh, Jack spoke again. "All right, let's do this."

Daniel felt Teal'c's strong hands on his shoulders, and Jack's cool hands behind his head and neck. He knew they were moving as slowly and carefully as they could, but he couldn't stop the cry of anguish as pain flared to life in his spine, shot up his neck and exploded behind his eyes. By the time his head came to rest against Teal'c's folded jacket, tears were running freely down his cheeks.

"Get Carter loose," Jack ordered as he pushed himself to his knees. He leaned over Daniel and placed his hand against a fevered cheek. "Shhh… it's okay, Daniel. It's all right."

"Jack… make it stop. Oh God, please… make it stop."

Jack swallowed the lump in his throat, but he couldn't hide the moisture in his eyes as he looked up toward the other two members of his team. "Carter?"

Sam forced herself to look away from Daniel, blinking her own tears away as she met her commander's eyes. "We've got morphine," she answered. "Over there, in my pack."

Jack reached for the pack that had been thrown into the corner of the cave and dragged it closer. After fumbling with the buckle for a few seconds, he threw it open and started digging, speaking softly to Daniel as he did.

"Okay… okay, Daniel, I'm gonna make it stop, okay? I'm gonna make it stop hurting." He found what he was searching for, and pulled the syrette from the small box with his fist clenched in triumph. "Here we go, Daniel. Just a little longer. Give me your arm. We need to get your jacket off. Can you do that?"

Daniel nodded slowly and tried to move onto his side. Jack helped him roll, letting Daniel's back rest against his thighs, then took the cuff of Daniel's sleeve between his fingers. A quick visual comparison of the tight cuff and the large band of metal that circled Daniel's wrist convinced Jack that the jacket would be impossible to remove entirely without causing Daniel to suffer tremendously. "Okay, well… let's just get it off your shoulder. We can do that. Just a little more, Daniel. This might hurt, but it'll all be over soon." As gently as he could manage while still moving quickly, Jack pulled down on the jacket until Daniel's upper arm was free of it. He then pulled the sleeve of Daniel's black T-shirt up and out of the way.

"Teal'c, how's it coming over there?"

"Captain Carter is nearly free, O'Neill."

"Okay, great. You hear that, Daniel? Carter's almost loose. As soon as she is, we're gonna get you home. You can hang in there that long, right?"

"They caught us… once …" Daniel whispered.

"Ah ah! Don't even talk like that. That is so not gonna happen again." Jack ripped a sterile wipe open with his teeth, then shook it out and wiped it across the back of Daniel's arm. "We're going home, Daniel."

"You could… could run …"

"No!" Jack's answer was more forceful than he intended, and he saw Daniel flinch. He took a deep breath and concentrated on softening his voice. "Daniel, I said we're going home. We. As in all of us. I told Tuathal, and I'm telling you. If we go, you go. If you stay, so do we." Jack pressed the syrette against the warm skin. "Okay, little sting here." Daniel jumped slightly as the needle penetrated his arm. "It's okay. Just a few minutes now, Daniel, and it won't hurt any more. I promise."

Jack pulled the syrette away and rubbed the injection site with his hand. "All done." Jack gently tugged Daniel's sleeves back into place and rolled him onto his back again. He reached out and laid his hand on Daniel's forehead. "Hey, you still with me?"

Daniel's nod was almost imperceptible. Jack patted Daniel's cheek in response before raising his head and looking up. "Teal'c?"

Teal'c didn't answer, and Jack glanced toward the loosened bolts that held Carter's chains. Remembering his own experience with sudden freedom, and noticing that Carter was pulling as hard as he himself had been, Jack tried to shout out a warning. "Carter, brace your …"

The bolts broke free, and Sam Carter found herself in a very undignified, and painful looking, heap at Teal'c's feet.

" …self," Jack finished, a slight smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.