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Froggy0319; janissima; Gwil; StargateFan; Revvie-S and debcole.

None but the Brave Deserve the Fair.

By Lingren.

Previously:

The earthquakes were growing stronger and more numerous as time went by, and with it, Sam's level of concern rose.

Chapter 5

Jack clung to his precarious position with all the strength he could muster into his fingertips and toes; they were all that was keeping him attached to the hillside along the old goat trail. The shaking of the hillside beneath him subsided and he moved on, more confident now. He cast a disparaging look down the steep rock cliff face beside him then turned back to concentrate on staying on the path, hoping against hope that it was still there when he rounded the bend.

The children were supposed to have camped out, in or near one of the caves about a mile or so above him, and he hoped that's where he'd find them. He trudged onwards and upwards, climbing higher towards the danger, but his heart kept him focussed. There was no way he would abandon those children. He just couldn't leave them behind. He had grown fond of each and every one of them over those wonderful few weeks. The mission had taken on all the quality of a holiday; a home from home, and although tiring, he had enjoyed himself immensely. Though he would never admit that to his team. After all, he had a reputation as a bit of a groucher to maintain.

He was getting closer. He could hear the rain swollen stream growing closer with each step as it thundered over the cataracts further on. Knowing he would have to cross it, he only wished that it hadn't become too deep from all the rain, for him to ford.

He swatted at the lush green vines that now dangled from the trees which creaked and groaned when the ground trembled again. He'd passed the most dangerous part of the path and was now walking through the lush tropical forest that thrived in the damp atmosphere beside the waterfall, the path was constantly criss-crossed with streams and the main river that fed the town below from the lake.

Another quake shuddered through the ground and he clung to the nearby tree trunk, hoping it would keep him upright and not fall on him. There was an ominous cracking from nearby and suddenly another tree toppled beside him, it's uppermost branches swooping down to knock him off his feet, it's sharp bark scratching his exposed flesh as it fell, disintegrating on contact and as he went down underneath it, it distorted his world, shutting him off from his awareness.

OoOoOoOoO

The thunder rolled ominously in the distance and grew louder with each rumble, whilst the lightning intensified its awesome light show, so that the darkening sky was riven with brilliant flashes, it illuminated the growing devastation around them. The wind had picked up now, howling and tugging at everything in its relentless path. Trees were being stripped of their leaves which swirled around the last survivors as they hurried through the gate in terrified haste. The cold driving rain had begun again in earnest, sweeping in waves along the ground and soaking everyone and everything in its path.

With Teal'c helping the last of the struggling refugees, along with their various flocks and herds, through the event horizon to where Daniel awaited them at the alpha site, Sam shielded her face from the heavy rain while her eyes swept over the far off hillside, wondering how Jack was faring. There had been several more tremors, and they were building in both number and intensity. How could it be possible for him to continue out there? But she knew one thing for sure; he'd never give up until he found them and brought them to safety.

Seeing nothing but the fleeting images of his apologetic but determined face as he left, she sighed and reminded herself that nothing would have prevented him from going, not even his love for her. She wondered briefly whether she should be pleased or annoyed with his last minute confession. Yes, she was more than happy to know at last that he really loved her; she had always loved him, despite the brief fling with Pete. She'd known deep down in her heart that Pete could never have replaced him, though it wasn't for lack of trying. But, she was also annoyed that he had waited so long to tell her how he'd really felt. It would have saved her a lot of soul searching over the past few months. Of all the times to confess, her mind ranted. Now, she would feel even more bereft if she lost him.

She sucked in a deep breath and held it there, silently whispering to the wind to watch over him and keep him safe.

A hand on her arm recalled her wandering thoughts and she turned to see Teal'c standing beside her. So lost in her thoughts, she hadn't heard him approach.

"Major Carter, the last of the evacuees have gone through to the Alpha site. We should leave now."

She took a last lingering look back before nodding in acceptance.

"Okay Teal'c, I'm coming."

"I believe O'Neill is more than adequately capable of successfully completing his mission. I am therefore certain of his return."

"I wish I could believe that Teal'c, but I'm not so sure even 'he' can survive this." She waved a hand indicating the worsening conditions. With another glance over her shoulder, she stepped towards the gate and the waiting wormhole. Pausing on the very threshold to look behind her again, she felt as if she was leaving a part of herself behind.

Teal'c squeezed her shoulder before entering the wavering flux at her nod, leaving her with her thoughts, confident that she would follow him through in a moment.

"Don't let this be goodbye Jack," she yelled to the empty tempestuous planet, even knowing that he wouldn't hear her; but it made her feel slightly better for having said it anyway. Maybe her voice would be carried away on the wind to whisper her words in his ear. "Take care my love and hurry back to me!"

With a last look and a deep longing sigh, she too joined the exodus and moments later the wormhole collapsed, leaving the planet to wreak its worst.

OoOoOoOoO

Jack opened his eyes and came face to face with green foliage. He shook his head in an effort to clear away the cloying fog then dragged himself upright from beneath the prison of shattered wooden limbs, thankful that the branches were fairly rotten and had broken into smaller pieces as the tree crashed to the ground around him. He shuddered to think what might have been if the tree had been a perfectly healthy specimen. Checking himself over he was thankful that only his head and hands appeared to have come off worse. He was bleeding from several cuts, and an annoying little trickle ran down from that vulnerable spot over his left eye, but he was relieved that nothing else was broken apart from the outer layer of his skin. Ignoring the deep scratches he glanced at his watch, and was satisfied he'd only been out of it for mere minutes; he hadn't wasted that much time, thank god.

He looked upwards feeling the rain for the first time as he climbed free of the foliage. Now he was rushing towards the noise of the stream. It was the last water he hoped to have to cross before he reached the caves and the children.

The ground shook once more, causing him to stumble and fall again. He braced himself on the waterlogged ground and waited it out. The rumble went on and on and he could hear more trees come crashing down behind him. He sighed with disappointment, the fact that so many trees were falling was going to make life difficult when it came to taking the boys back that way. As far as he knew it was the only path down to the Stargate; but then, maybe the older boys knew of a different route.

Eventually the ground stilled and he ran onwards again, only stopping when he stood at the very edge of the river. He bent double, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath, eyeing the fast flowing torrent that barred his way with barely contained frustration.

A few moments later when he'd regained his breath, he recalled Merus saying that there was a hidden pathway behind the waterfall. Jack took off, running beside the raging river all the time hoping that it wasn't too badly flooded for him to cross.

When he arrived, it was to find the water levels much higher here, and to even reach the waterfall he would have to wade through several feet of churning, muddy water. He set off, stumbling and slithering but eventually he found the first step and tentatively stretched his foot out to find the next rock.

It was slow going and after slipping from the rocks and getting dunked under the water a few times he finally reached the other side. He shivered in the cold wind that seemed to blow straight through his soaking clothes. He was cold, tired, hungry, bedraggled and he hurt everywhere, his knees in particular had taken a beating every time he had slipped or fallen. But he resolutely pushed his own selfish thoughts away and scrambled up the steepest part of the path yet. The rain had made it slick and treacherous, and after slipping backwards for the umpteenth time he finally made it to the top. Now he could just make out the caves in the gathering darkness, and hurried on over the last part of his outward journey, desperate to find the kids safe and dry.

TBC