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None but the Brave Deserve the Fair.

By Lingren.

Previously:

Long minutes later, the last of the waters had flowed past the cave and they sat huddled together bereft of any feelings. They were numb with the cold and numb with the realisation that they were well and truly on their own now. Merus, the older of the boys decided they should wait a while longer and rest. It would be best to let the waters subside before attempting to move away from their safe haven. He wrapped the sobbing Nemus in his arms to warm the shivering boy, who was now crying in between bouts of coughing for the loss of his friend. Nemus settled eventually and dozed off, but his sleep was disturbed now with nightmare images of Jack being swept away.

Chapter 7

Jack was so cold and wet that his hands felt like blocks of ice and it made his precarious hold on the tree more tentative with every moment that passed, his numb fingers were badly grazed and bloody from the rough bark. The water eventually slowed a little, the lake having emptied most of its contents by now and after what seemed like hours it had calmed enough for him to release his strangle hold on the life-saving tree. He half swam, half waded over to an even calmer patch of water, pulling himself free of the muddy waters to climb onto the grassy bank. He wasn't out of the woods yet though and Jack now had to climb back up the devastated hillside to find the others again.

After a few minutes in which to catch his breath and thank god he was still alive, he picked himself up, staggering slightly in pain from his many bruises, to make his way back to the cave. He wasn't sure how far he had been carried down the hillside but it was easy to find the route the waters had taken him. The river of mud had carved a wide ugly swathe through the landscape, taking everything with it and leaving a layer of thick viscous mud in its wake. Sometimes Jack would sink up to his knees and almost lost his boots, but he stopped to tie them on more securely, hoping he could keep them from being sucked right off his feet; it was a miracle he still had them on.

Finally Jack after an exhaustive climb, he spotted the cave again just as it was growing dark once more. He was shattered beyond anything he had ever experienced and thought it best to rest over night again before making a move to find the Stargate tomorrow. Hoping of course that the water's hadn't either washed it away or submerged it in so much mud so that they wouldn't be able to gate home at all until he'd dug it out.

Ashon spotted him this time and raised the alarm. The other boys, with the exception of Merus and Nemo, came running and overwhelmed him with their enthusiastic welcome. He'd thought last night's greeting was special but this capped even that. They were absolutely ecstatic to see him alive. Jack was glad to see them again but he was more worried about Nemo. They all wondered if the young child was going to die before Jack could get him to a doctor.

Jack tried to assure them that although Nemo was very sick, he would be fine after they got home and he'd had some medicine. His smile reassured them though he doubted his own words. Nemo hadn't spoken or made any attempt to move from Jack's arms since Jack had returned to the cave. He made the boys sleep again and promised that by tomorrow night, all being well, that they would be safe, and warm again and full of hot dogs or burgers and ice cream. Jack had insisted they try the strange sounding food that he would get them when they were cleaned up and rested.

They looked at each other and laughed. They were all wet and muddy, but Jack looked far the worse having been swamped by the filthy waters of the lake, and half the hillside with it. It would take Jack an age to scrub himself clean again.

"Settle down now kids. C'mon, let's try and get some sleep huh?" Jack muttered, exhaustion slurring his words.

He forced himself to go to each one of them in turn to whisper a few words of comfort and to make sure they were okay. He'd had to keep a hold of Nemo in his arms as he went, for the child refused to release his vice like grip on Jack, not wanting him out of his sight.

Jack settled back against the rocky wall once more and tried to relax. His chest was hurting like hell now and he so recognised the feel of a cracked or broken rib or maybe two. He couldn't afford to give into the agony it was causing him so when the children were sound asleep he gently laid Nemo down against his legs so that if the boy woke he would still feel his presence, and Nemo's arm snuck round to grip his knee. Jack smiled at the boy's unconscious movement, amazed at the reaction.

Moving slowly he dragged out a soggy but relatively clean bandage from his vest and bound his ribs as tight as he could. He needed to keep going and this was the only way he was going to manage it. Grunting softly in pain he eased his shirt back down and pulled his soggy mud caked jacket back on. Not sure which was the worse of the two evils. To go without it and freeze, or to wear it and still freeze. There wasn't anything with which to build a fire as everything outside the cave had been ruthlessly washed away and what there had been inside the cave, the boys had already used before he'd arrived the previous night.

All through the brief night he kept waking to feel Nemo's forehead. His temperature was still up but it seemed no higher, for which he silently thanked god. The other boys were faring better in their adventure and none seemed the worse for wear. He shivered again and knew that he himself was now developing a chill. Though whether as a result of the frequent plunges into icy water that he'd had over the last few days or because his long forgotten wounds had become infected, he wasn't sure. Right now he didn't give a damn either way. He had no choice but to keep going. There was no way he was going to let these kids perish out here; that scenario just wasn't an option.

Eventually the pull of sleep engulfed him and he fell into a deep sleep.

OoOoOoOoO

"Daniel!" At the sound of his name, he looked up to see Sam approaching him.

"Hi Sam! What did General Hammond have to say this time?"

"There's still no news yet. The link from the MALP just showed how much devastation there was. There was no sign of Colonel O'Neill or the children, and the SGC couldn't establish any radio contact with him either. It doesn't look good, does it?" she sighed miserably.

"Sam," Daniel sighed, knowing how his friend must be feeling right now. "You know what Jack's like. He's the proverbial bad penny. I'm pretty sure he'll show up, given time."

"I wish I had your confidence."

"You don't believe he'll manage to do it?"

"It's not that exactly. It's...damn! General Hammond relayed the MALP's pictures Daniel. I saw what had happened to that planet. I just don't see how anyone could have survived that level of devastation. I don't doubt Jack's ability so much as..." her words trailed off in a sob, her voice failing.

Daniel understood what she meant, and that it was so hard for her to come to terms with. That she loved Jack was plain to see, at least from his point of view. How they had said goodbye would be forever imprinted in his memory. But, and it was a big 'but', she had to bury it under a ton of military regulations and would never be able to show how much this was hurting her. It must be weighing her very soul down. He stepped forward and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I know this is hard for you Sam. I'm his friend too, though you're far more special to him. You have to believe he will make it back. He probably took shelter somewhere to ride out the worst of the storm and the flood."

Sam sucked in another shuddering sob and sniffed back the threatening tears she couldn't allow to fall.

"He's a survivor Sam. All we can do is trust him."

OoOoOoOoO

Jack roused and dragged his weary bones up from the rocky floor to shake the other boys gently to wake them.

"C'mon guys, it's time we made a move. Looks like the weather's in our favour today."

The boys nodded silently, hardly speaking at all. Jack worried about each one of them. They were all feeling a little worse for wear now, very dirty, hungry, thirsty and beyond weary.

He shivered again even though he felt the heat flood through his body. He was beginning to feel like death warmed up, stiff and very sore, and he knew that little Nemo must be feeling pretty miserable too.

The boys worked to get their few things together and within 15 minutes they were ready to set off. Jack led the way carrying Nemo, who'd barely responded at all during the first part of the night, although he didn't keep Jack awake with his coughing fits when Jack finally succumbed to a deep sleep. He was really worried about the boy. He'd all but refused to drink anything and wouldn't even look at any food. Not that they had much left at all, it was almost gone.

He felt light-headed, but whether that was because of a low grade fever or due to the fact he'd hardly eaten over the last two days was immaterial. He was determined to ignore it and pushed on. He had to get the boys home.

They encountered several steep descents and Jack went down first with Nemo and then laid the boy down while he turned to help the others. He slipped several times and was rewarded with even more bruises for his trouble.

Then they reached a broken part of the trail, and Jack could see that it had been completely washed away, all they were left with was an even steeper climb down. He studied the lay of the land and came to only one solution he could think of. He would have to lower them down somehow. Handing Nemo over to Merus, he painfully climbed the tree. It was tough going, but he managed it, and using his knife, he cut a length of vine that hung from one of the branches to use as a rope.

"Okay guys, this is what we're gonna do," he said when he'd climbed back down again. "I'm gonna tie this vine around you and I'll lower you down, one at a time. You'll have to sort of walk down the side of the cliff, holding on as best you can. Merus, as the oldest you get to go first. Then when you're down, pull the harness off and I'll pull it back up here for Nerin, then Ashon and Anson it'll be your turn. When you're all down safe, I'll lower Nemo to you, then I'll climb down myself. All clear on that?" Jack asked fashioning the vine into a rough harness.

"It's a long way down Jack," Anson and Ashon said together, their voices quivering with fear at the prospect of dangling over the cliff.

Jack squatted down so that he was more or less eye level and held onto both of them, his hands on one shoulder of each.

"I know it looks scary, but we have no choice. I promise you both that you'll be perfectly safe. I've done this heaps of times, so I know what I'm doing. Okay?" They nodded in unison. "Good. Now you watch and see how the others do it. Right kids?" He patted their cheeks with reassurance, and smiled confidently at their trust in him.

He turned then to Merus and Nerin and they nodded too.

"It's a piece o' cake guys. Really!" he assured them. "It's fun! Honest!"

He made a harness from the rope and slipped it over Merus then clasped the boy's arms giving them a little squeeze.

"You okay with this?"

"I'm fine Jack," he answered proudly. Anything Jack said was going to be okay, meant just that. That it would be alright.

Jack grinned and helped the boy over to sit on the edge before taking up the slack from the rope, and securing it within his grasp, telling him to hold on tight. He nodded, and Merus slipped over the side. The pull on the rope was sheer torture on his sore hands. The vine was rough but he grimaced in determination and lowered away. The other boys lay on their stomachs at the edge, watching as Merus was dropped approximately twenty feet towards the ground safely.

There was odd sounds of harsh breathing from Merus as he slithered and slipped. And Jack could hear loose rocks and dirt falling as Merus tried to grip the side of the cliff with his feet.

"I'm down Jack!" Merus' voice wafted up from below, sounding strange as it echoed around the devastated valley.

Jack's hands were already hurting from the burn of the rope against them and the prospect of doing this several times more did nothing to make them feel better. He ignored the stinging sensations and hauled the rope up for Nerin, stretching his back a little before he once again fashioned the harness around the next boy.

It was the same with the twins. In the end they had seen enough to basically get down themselves and were justifiably proud of themselves for conquering their fear.

TBC