Thanks guys for all your reviews. Not quite free from the angst yet, but getting there.

Thanks to Froggy0319; Janissima; Gwil; StargateFan; Revvie-S; debcole; Natters; LanaJoy; and Soozy87 for their continued support.

Here's a nice 'Aw' chapter for you. Fluff coming next time.

None but the Brave Deserve the Fair.

By Lingren.

Previously:

After a brief respite, they set off again and Jack could now relax and breath a sigh of relief because he knew the worst was behind them. Ahead lay shallow hills and once green pastures, which were now buried in thick mud.

Chapter 9

Sam shielded her eyes from the bright sun and looked across the devastated landscape, her heart in her mouth. They hadn't heard a thing in nearly four days. There was no way he could have survived this, for this long she thought gloomily. There was nothing as far as the eye could see, just debris from the shattered trees, and mud. Nothing but a black/brown sea of mud. In fact the DHD was almost buried in the stuff. The resultant landslides and floods had radically altered the area, all the trees that once lined to path to the town had gone, and what hadn't been broken was now under tons of thick viscous mud.

The seemingly non-stop rain had actually stopped. It was almost as if the weather had managed to inflict its worst and had now turned out reasonably pleasant again. The sun was shining above in a brilliant blue sky, innocently beaming out its radiant light but although it shed a little warmth, it was not quite enough to solidify the glutinous mud beneath the surface crust. With the cold wind still blowing as it was, it was chilly enough for her to thank god she was wearing her warm Parka.

She stood for a long time, glued to the platform on which the Stargate stood, high enough off the ground to escape any damage. Every now and then she would scan the horizon hoping to catch sight of Jack and the boys, just a glimpse would be enough. She would willingly swim through the mud if only he would appear. But it was not to be. With a heavy heart, she stepped off the dais and into the deep mire to activate the DHD for her return home.

Her feet were quickly swallowed up, as she sank almost up to her knees in the mud. It clung to her, trying to stop her from moving, reluctant to release her every move. It was cold, icy cold, and wet, and she felt revolted by the very feel of it. Was it this that had claimed her beloved and the children. This disgusting black ooze that must have filled his lungs at it swallowed him whole to make his final resting place beneath the soil on an alien land.

Sam shook her head in denial and berated herself for such thoughts, brushing the tears away brusquely. She just couldn't accept he was gone, or the children he so bravely dared to rescue. A tear escaped her hand, quickly followed by another, until she was sobbing helplessly. She leaned against the DHD to allow herself a rare indulgence, knowing that it would be impossible to let her emotions loose back at the SGC.

Finally the tears abated and she wiped them away with her sleeve, only succeeding in smearing her face with mud.

Sniffing back the last remnants of her loss of control, she slammed her fingers down on the first glyph on the DHD. It clunked loudly in the eerie silence, then wearily she hit the next one. This time there seemed to be a strange echo to it's engagement. With each following glyph, it was the same, progressively growing in sound, until her hand hovered over the orange globe as she heard the echo again.

Her hand dropped in consternation, wondering what was happening. She looked over her shoulder, feeling a definite prickling at the back of her neck as if she was being watched. It was then she saw Nerin and Merus trying to run towards her through the mud. They were still some distance away but of Jack and the others there was no sign.

The boys were shouting and waving to her as they waded, sometimes up to their hips, in the mud which was rapidly sapping their strength. One would falter and the other would help drag him free, then the same thing happened to the other, and vice-versa. This way they made slow progress, but they were getting nearer all the time.

Sam gulped down the tears of relief at the sight of both of the boys, hoping that Jack would be right behind them. She jiggled about in eager anticipation, still searching the horizon.

Sam waved at them to show the boys she had heard and seen them. She then yelled at them to go careful and take it easy. The more they struggled, the worse they became entrenched in the mud, but they either didn't hear her or they chose to ignore her words of wisdom in their desperate haste to reach her.

They eventually drew nearer to the Stargate, and Sam decided that now was the time to help them out. They were both breathless and exhausted, cold and damp. Nerin was showing signs of collapse, but Merus had kept him going until Sam dived in to help him, allowing the stronger lad to get himself onto dryer land and offered his friend a helping hand.

Sam managed to get Nerin to roll onto the platform and they all lay there fighting for breath. It was hard going for Sam, let alone the boys who had obviously struggled for miles like this.

Sam laid a hand on the stronger of the two.

"Merus..." she gasped. "What happened to the others? Did Jack find you?"

Merus could only nod in reply for the next few minutes while he fought for air.

The boy looked her straight in the eye and Sam noticed for the first time, that underneath all the mud, his eyes held real fear and anxiety.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"The others...are...following," he panted. "Jack's hurting...though he...says he's...okay. I think...he's sick too...but he denies it."

"What? I mean who's sick?"

Sam clambered to her feet, scanning the horizon again.

After a while Merus continued, having gained his second wind.

"Nemus and Jack. When we heard the Stargate activate, he sent us on ahead. He was carrying Nemus, because he was sick and he was coughing a lot, and he was all hot and sweaty. I know Jack was sick too, but he didn't want us to know. I heard him coughing last night when I was supposed to be asleep."

Sam was both relieved that he was still alive and yet at the same moment her heart thudded all the way down to her boots. It appeared that Poor little Nemus was obviously suffering from the cold and damp, but it also sounded like Jack was ill too. The fact that he'd tried to hide it from the children only made it the more believable. She assumed it was probably a combination of the cold, the constant rain and the mud. She just knew it had to be teeming with bugs out there. Her attention was brought back to Nerin when the boy shivered violently.

Without dwelling any more on the fortunes or misfortunes of their escape, she activated the Stargate and helped the boys to stand ready, though she remained where she was. Communicating with General Hammond via the MALP after sending her iris code.

"This is SG one-niner calling the SGC!" Sam only hoped her radio was still in tact, having gotten muddy too.

"SGC here. Go ahead Major Carter," came the reply moments later, much to her relief.

"General Hammond, sir?"

"Right here Major!"

"I'm sending two of the boys through now sir. Nerin and Merus. I think Janet needs to take a look at them sir." She nudged and urged the boys to walk on through, assuring them that they would be fine.

"Where are Colonel O'Neill and the others?"

"They're on their way sir, but no sign of them as yet. He sent these two on ahead when they heard the gate activate, so they shouldn't be too far away."

"Copy that Major. Do you need any assistance?"

"Negative sir. Too many people trampling over this mud would only turn it more liquid like. It's rather like the soil beneath parts of Tokyo General. During a severe earthquake there, too much seismic activity changes it's consistency to liquid and everything begins to sink. I'm still feeling the odd tremors here General. "We could end up making things much worse."

"Understood Major. We'll be expecting your call. Hammond out."

The wormhole snapped off abruptly plunging her into a deathly silence which almost overwhelmed her. She kept her eyes glued to the area where she had first seen the boys appear, hoping to catch sight of Jack and the other boys.

It was a long time before she spotted a far away blur on the landscape. Her heart swelled with pride; it had to be them. Jack was coming home.

TBC