See Chapter One for full disclaimer and author's notes.

Chapter Twenty

Daniel began to stir just as Teal'c reached the doorway they had used to enter the temple. The disorientation of being suspended upside down over Teal'c's shoulders was enough to send his stomach spiraling up into this throat. Groaning, Daniel attempted to lift his head.

"Do not move, Daniel Jackson."

"Teal'c? Lemme down."

"One moment, we are nearly there."

Daniel swallowed hard as Teal'c's shoulder dug into his stomach.

"Teal'c, for the love of God, put me down before I puke all over your back."

Stopping just to one side of the doorway leading to the forest outside, Teal'c eased Daniel off his shoulders, steadying the younger man as he swayed slightly in place.

"Holy shit… what hit me?"

"A zat'nikatel."

"A zat? That's it, just a zat? You'd think I'd be used to those things by now."

"It appeared to be altered in some way. I have brought it with me for further study."

"Great, just my luck to get hit with a souped up zat," Daniel groused, rubbing his head absently as he looked around for the third member of their team. "Where's Sam?"

"The Jaffa set off the internal alarms. She stayed behind to set the final charges. We must move quickly. Will you need assistance?"

"Just give me a minute to get my breath, I'll be fine."

The dull rumble sounded at first like distant thunder but grew in intensity until the ground beneath their feet shook with it. Daniel lost his footing, tumbling to the ground in a heap as Teal'c struggled to keep upright, clinging to the smooth walls for support.

"What the hell is that?" Daniel called out, his voice nearly swallowed in the rumble of the explosion.

"The lab!"

"My God, Sam's still back there isn't she?"

"I do not know. Get out, Daniel Jackson. Get to the trees and signal Colonel Reynolds. Advise him of the situation. I'm going back for Colonel Carter."

"The hell I will! I'm going with. I'm not going to leave either of you behind. Not this time!"

Teal'c ground his teeth in frustration. He didn't have the luxury of standing there arguing with Daniel. If he was going to find Colonel Carter, he was rapidly running out of time. The explosion would undoubtedly draw any remaining Jaffa patrols and personnel to the lab and he didn't have the firepower to take them all out, even with Daniel's help.

"With me, but we must hurry."

Daniel only nodded, pulling himself shakily to his feet. He felt far from 100, but that wasn't going to stop him. He was going back for her, even if it meant bringing back her body. He wasn't going to leave anyone behind ever again.

As they made their way down the corridor, the temple continued to shake. If all the C-4 they had planted in the lab had been detonated, it was unlikely they would find anyone left alive. But he had sworn an oath to O'Neill. He couldn't go back on that oath now, no matter the consequences. He vowed to bring Samantha home, and that was what he was going to do.

They had gone only a few feet when the rumbling ceased and a roiling, acrid smoke filled the corridor. Both men feared the worst, but neither would give voice to that fear. Speaking it aloud would make it real and the reality of those fears was something they sought to avoid.

They moved swiftly back the way they had come only moments before until an urgent beeping from Teal'c's pocket brought him up short and he pulled the scanner out to peer at the readout.

Daniel nearly crashed into him from behind. "What the hell are you doing? Why are we stopping?"

Teal'c didn't answer, but simply stared at the instrument in his hands. The reading was unmistakable. There was no reason to go back. He was sure of it now. He held out the scanner to Daniel who looked at it uncomprehendingly.

"Yeah, 15,894 units. So what? Why aren't we moving? Sam's still back there!"

"No, Daniel Jackson. She is not."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"The reading on this scanner. If it reached a level over 15,000, it would indicate the weapon had been activated. Even if she survived the explosion, Colonel Carter is dead. She could not have survived the weapon."

Daniel looked around dazedly. No, no this can't be happening. Not again. Dear God, not again… His face brightened, "If that's the case, why aren't we dead too? Shouldn't we be dead?"

"You deciphered the weapon yourself, Daniel Jackson. It was possible to limit the effects of the weapon to a single room. We should turn back. We need to get to a minimum safe distance and I will attempt to detonate the remaining C-4."

"What makes you think there's any C-4 left?"

"If the entire laboratory had been destroyed, then the weapon could not have been activated after the explosion. There must be explosives left inside. We must complete our mission, we must detonate the rest of the lab and destroy the weapon before Ba'al can use it on Earth."

Daniel leaned wearily against the wall, suddenly feeling more exhausted than he could ever remember. It was all too much. Rationally, he knew that Teal'c was saying was right. They had a planet to protect. But they also had a teammate to protect and he had failed in that, again. He wasn't sure that making it out of the temple and back to the SGC was something he still wanted.

Making his decision quickly, he pushed off from the wall and turned toward the lab.

"I'm going back. I have to be sure, Teal'c. What if she got out? What if she wasn't in the room when the weapon went off? I can't leave until I know for sure. You go on. If I'm not out in fifteen minutes, blow the C-4."

Going back was something the former First Prime wanted desperately, and Daniel had just given him an excuse to do just that. He too had to know for certain.

"Come, we don't have much time," Teal'c said, taking the lead as he jogged down the corridor, trusting that Daniel would be right behind him. One way or another that lab would be destroyed, but he owed it to Colonel Carter to be totally sure of her fate before he fulfilled his duty. A grim silence followed the two men as they ran through the smoke clogged hallway, each fearful that what they would find would change them, forever.

SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1-SG1

The Stargate began to spin, jerking Jack's attention away from his inbox.

"Unscheduled off world activation! Unscheduled off world activation! General O'Neill to the control room!"

Jack was nearly down the stairs before Sergeant Harriman had finished speaking. "Report, Sergeant."

"It's Colonel Reynolds, Sir."

"They're twelve minutes early."

"Yes, Sir. On screen."

"Colonel Reynolds, report."

There was an intense burst of static before Reynolds' face materialized on the command center view screens.

"We believe there's been a detonation, Sir."

"You believe? You're not sure?"

"No, Sir. We're not. But that's not all. The weapon was discharged. Our equipment when ape shit about three minutes ago. According to Garrett, the only thing that would account for the spike in energy readings would be a discharge from that weapon. They set the goddamned thing off."

Jack was stunned, took an involuntary step backward from the control room monitors. He wanted with every fiber of his being at that very moment to run and hide in the deepest hole he could find and never come out; never face what was happening. But he couldn't. He was the General.

"How…" his voice broke on the word and he cleared his throat before continuing. "How many were inside?"

The expression that passed briefly over Colonel Reynolds' face was one of profound loss and pain, an expression only someone who had lost men and women in battle could possibly recognize or understand. Jack had seen it too damned many times over the course of his career.

"The advance team was inside, Sir. We haven't been able to raise them."

The advance team. Teal'c, Daniel, Sam. Oh God, no.

The other shoe had finally dropped and O'Neill felt as though it had hit him squarely on the head. Jack allowed his head to drop between his shoulder blades, slick tendrils of nausea licking at the back of his throat. I let her go. Christ Almighty, I let her go.

Jack forced himself to raise his head, knowing that all eyes were on him. How he handled the next few minutes may well determine how well his team dealt with the disintegration of the operation. Sucking in a couple of deep breaths, Jack forced the grief and pain to the back of his mind, he simply couldn't deal with it right now. Once he was alone and he would give vent to the rage. But not before. For now, he cloaked himself with the rigid military bearing he had relied on throughout his years in the Air Force.

"Colonel Reynolds."

"Here, Sir. I've ordered the back up team to displace from the 'gate. They're ready to move in."

Jack paused for a moment. Ordering good men and women into a deadly situation weighed heavily on him, but they had no choice. It was between the billions of people on Earth and the lives of one SG strike team; in the end the choice was gut wrenchingly simple.

"Get them moving, Colonel. We need that weapon knocked out. Find a way to create a distraction. See if you can draw some of those Jaffa out away from the temple. That might buy your second team some time."

"Yes, Sir. On our way."

"Colonel, make it happen."

"Aye, Sir. Will do."

Reynolds broke the connection with the SGC and turned to signal his team. This time he would lead them himself. There was no way they were going to fail in this mission. It simply wasn't an outcome he was going to accept.

"Alright people, you heard the General. Let's do this."

Setting off in single file, staggered slightly to avoid making themselves an easy target, the team moved into the treeline. Each knew their jobs and knew what needed to be done. And each resolved that the sacrifices that had already been made would not have been in vain.

To be continued…

Author's note: I really must apologize for the cliff hanger here. Never fear, I'm working on the next chapter right now and hope to have it posted by the end of the weekend.