Note: Thank you for all the reviews! They're better than chocolate! This chapter would have been posted a LONG time ago, but ffnet had other ideas, like not letting me load any documents. I apologize for the delay.

Silent Sacrifice – Chapter 2

It took John almost an hour to find the cave he had briefly seen from the air. He followed the trench dug by the jumper for a while, collecting scattered supplies into piles as he went. Eventually he came to the rear hatch, mangled and torn, partially wrapped around a tree. When he ran out of trench to follow, he just walked in the general direction he thought they had come from. The cave sat about fifty feet farther up the hill. The path he plotted to get up the hill was rocky and uneven, difficult traveling even when you didn't have a broken leg or wrenched back.

The cave was approximately eighteen feet deep and twelve feet wide, almost in an oval shape. The opening was similar in width to the average door, but a bit shorter. There was plenty of head room inside, as the ceiling seemed to be about eight feet tall. The floor was relatively flat and covered in a thick layer of dirt. Sheppard smiled as he stood in the doorway. This should offer some good protection against the elements until the cavalry arrived. Now all he had to do was get Ronon and Rodney and all their supplies up here. His whole body ached and his headache pounded away, but he couldn't let himself think about that now, he still had work to do.

Sheppard picked up the pace as he neared the place where he had left Ronon and Rodney. He was suddenly worried about the length of time he had left them alone. As he passed through the trees, their two forms sitting under the trees came into view. Relief flooded in for a brief moment. He didn't let himself think about what really could have happened during his scouting trip. Rodney's eyes were closed and it occurred to John they should have been keeping him awake because of his head injury. A surge of panic replaced his momentary relief, causing him to move more quickly until he was kneeling beside the scientist.

"Rodney!"

Rodney opened his eyes and looked at John for several seconds. "Hey. Where's Elizabeth?"

Fear clutched at John's stomach. "She's back in Atlantis, remember? Rodney, do you remember who I am? Do you remember what happened?" He could see Ronon in his peripheral vision, watching them.

Rodney yawned. "Oh yeah, back in Atlantis. You're Colonel Sheppard, aka, the man who crashes jumpers."

John looked a little relieved. "Yeah, that's me. How's your headache and your back?"

Rodney rubbed his face as he became more aware of his surroundings. "They haven't gone anywhere. Believe it or not, I wish Carson was here. Actually, not so much that Carson was here, but that we were there, back in Atlantis."

John smiled and nodded slightly. "Yeah, me too." He turned and looked at Ronon. "So, how are you holding up?"

Ronon just nodded. "I'm okay."

John knew he wasn't really okay, but figured it meant that he wasn't in so much pain that he couldn't handle it. "Okay, guys, I've got good news and bad news; the good news is that I found a cave we can set up camp in. It should give us some protection against the weather and keep our supplies relatively safe; no resident wildlife, room to stand up – all in all not a bad home away from home under the circumstances. The problem is going to be getting you up there. It's quite a walk and the ground is pretty uneven and rocky between here and there."

Rodney watched him speak, but John's stomach was sinking watching Rodney try owlishly to keep tracking what he was hearing.

"It's the option we have. We'll have to make it happen." Ronon told them. Though John could detect the tiredness in his voice, as ever he new Ronon still had gas in the tank.

John nodded, turning his attention to Ronon. "I'm thinking I'll move Rodney about halfway, then let him rest while I come back and get you. Then I can move Rodney the rest of the way while you rest, get McKay in situ, and then finish moving you to the cave. When you guys are all set, I'll need to come back and collect the supplies I stacked up along the way."

Neither man looked very happy about having to be moved that far, but no one said anything because they knew it was necessary. John looked down at the supplies he had left between them. The MREs were still there, but the power bars had been eaten. "Do you guys need to eat something before we move?"

Rodney grimaced. "No, I don't think it would stay down very long. The only reason I ate the power bar is because he threatened me." Rodney motioned toward Ronon with his hand.

Ronon grunted. "I don't want you getting hyper . . . hyping . . . "

"Hypoglycemic," John and Rodney said in unison.

"Yeah, that. I knew you needed to eat."

Rodney sighed and leaned his head back against the tree trunk. "Well, I appreciate the sentiment, but eating while you're nauseous is not always the best idea. Having to heave it up won't help me any."

"Rodney, do you think you can walk a little if I help you?" asked John.

Rodney dreaded the movement and the pain it would bring. While his head and back still hurt, he had managed to find a position that seemed to minimize the pain and he really hated to give it up. On the other hand, he didn't want to spend the night out here under a tree. "I guess, if I must."

John gave a supportive pat on the leg and grinned. "You must." He knelt beside Rodney and slipped his hand around Rodney's waist as Rodney put his arm around John's neck. John stood with Rodney leaning on him as well as steadying himself against the tree trunk.

When they were standing, Rodney moaned and began to list to one side. John tightened his grip as Rodney fought the dizziness and graying vision. Several seconds later, he felt himself steady as his vision cleared. "Wow, talk about a head rush. That was bizarre."

"You ready?" asked John, watching him carefully as he tried to assess his condition.

"Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be. Let's do it before I change my mind."

John nodded and looked down at Ronon. "I'll be back in a bit to get you."

Ronon waved him off. "I'll be fine. Just go carefully."

"Okay, Rodney, we're moving." John stepped forward and Rodney followed, grimacing at the pain that shot through his back. They walked for half an hour before John lowered Rodney to the ground, leaning him against a tree. "Okay, I think this is about half way," he panted.

Both were breathing heavily and covered in sweat from the effort. Every step had been painful for Rodney and dizziness had come and gone every few minutes. John handed Rodney a bottle of water. "Drink some, but not too much and not too fast or you'll make yourself sick."

Rodney took the bottle and made himself drink slowly. "Did . . . we bring . . . those Tylenol?"

John reached into one of his vest pockets and pulled out a small package. "Just so happens I have some."

Rodney took the package and began opening it. "Good. I'm going to fantasize that this is morphine. Hope my imagination is still working." He popped the pills into his mouth and washed them down with a drink of water. Looking up, he eyed John. "What about you? Are you sure you're okay enough to be able to help both of us up to that cave?"

John took a deep breath and smiled. "Sure, piece of cake. Will you be okay while I get Ronon?"

"I don't have much choice, do I?" He looked up to see John looking at him expectantly and noticed how tired the man looked. "I'm fine, just go get Ronon."

John nodded and turned back the way they had just come. He zoned out for a bit, just concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other until he heard Ronon's voice rumble.

"Sheppard, where are you going?"

He stopped and looked around, realizing he had almost walked right past the former runner. He shook his head in an attempt to focus, but only succeeded in making his head ache worse. "Sorry, guess my head was somewhere else."

Ronon frowned at him, but decided not to say anything more about it. "If you can find me a stick, I can help support my weight better."

John nodded and looked around under the trees for several minutes before finding one large enough. He broke off the side branches and the narrow tip, so that only the thick part of the limb was left and it was about the right size. He brought it over to Ronon and helped him stand. They finally worked out a system of Ronon leaning partly on John and partly on the stick so that he could keep most all of his weight off his leg.

Ronon never cried out, but he grunted a few times when he accidentally put too much weight on his injured leg. John tried to go slowly and carefully, knowing the Satedan was in agony. Unfortunately, the lurching gait they were using was jarring his bruised ribs and making him nauseous all over again, as well as stirring up the remnant feelings of dizziness. His courage was waning and his belief in his own ability to pull this off was fading fast. He was just about to tell Ronon he couldn't make it any farther when he saw Rodney up ahead, sitting under the tree. Gritting his teeth and steadying his hold on Ronon, they made it to the tree next to Rodney.

John got out another water bottle and package of Tylenol and handed them to Ronon. Taking a sip from his own water, he slid down a third tree and rested his back against the trunk. His head throbbed and the muscles in his arms and shoulders burned. He leaned his forearms on his knees, letting his head hang down. The nausea increased as he felt the unsteadiness in his shaking hands. He couldn't let himself do an inventory on his battered body yet, not yet. Wiping the sweat from his face, he turned to Rodney.

"Just let me catch my breath and we'll get you to the cave."

"You need to rest a while first. You look exhausted," Rodney offered.

John shook his head. "I don't know how long we have until dark and I definitely don't want to try going up and down that hill at night. Just give me a minute and I'll be okay."

Five minutes later they were up and moving. It took another forty-five minutes to get Rodney up to the cave. The distance wasn't any farther, but the slope was steeper, especially the last twenty feet to the cave. It quickly got narrow and uneven and they had to walk sideways so that John could still help support Rodney. Rodney lost his footing once and nearly took them both over the precipice.

Once inside the cave, Rodney was glad they had made the trip. "Not bad accommodations, Sheppard. If we have to live in miserable, primitive, barbaric conditions, we could do a lot worse. You could have picked a place a little more accessible though."

John didn't reply as he slid the pack off his back that he had picked up on the way to the cave. Checking the contents of the bag, he set them out against the back wall of the cave. "Looks like we have four MREs and a few bottles of water in this one." He picked up the empty pack and slung it over his shoulder. "Do you need anything else before I go get Ronon?" He gazed down at Rodney, mentally ticking off water, food, and Tylenol.

"No, I'm okay. Shouldn't you rest first?"

"No time. I'll rest later."

"Why are you taking an empty backpack?"

"To carry the loose supplies that fell out of boxes. I'll gather some up and carry them back as I bring Ronon. That'll be less stuff to get later."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. Just . . . be careful. That path is treacherous and don't crap with me Sheppard, you know I know you're starting to get tired."

"I'm okay. I'll be back with Ronon in a little while. I have to do this Rodney, who knows what kind of nocturnal pets this planet has . . . I just don't want to have to meet one with my hands full and be in the dark."

Rodney sighed, nodding his grudging agreement. He knew Sheppard was right, but it didn't stop him worrying about the pilot.

An hour and a half later, he was back with Ronon. Getting Ronon up the steep part of the hill proved even more difficult than the trip with Rodney. Ronon was bigger, heavier, and very unsteady on his feet from the pain of constantly bumping his leg. By the time John got him into the cave, Ronon was panting and sweating and extremely dizzy. John barely got him seated before the man's good leg gave out from under him. John crouched on the balls of his feet, catching his own breath for a couple of minutes before he was able to get the water out for Ronon.

John set the two packs he had brought down and began to dig through one of them. Finding what he was looking for, he turned to the injured teammates next to him. "I have some good news for you big guy. I grabbed the med kit and we have a few field doses of morphine."

Rodney looked indignant. "What do you mean good news for Ronon? What about me?"

John shook his head. "Not tonight, head injury, remember? I get to wake you up every two hours."

"That was hours ago," McKay whined.

"Not long enough. I want the two of you to try and eat something, too. I can fix you an MRE before I go collect what supplies I can find."

Ronon shook his head. "Not for me. Maybe when you get back, but my stomach isn't too happy right now."

John turned to Rodney. "What about you?"

Rodney seemed to be considering it for a moment, but then shook his head. "No, I'll wait too. I'm not really hungry right now."

"Okay, but you both eat when I get back. I'll try to hurry."

"Don't!" his two team mates snapped in unison, making John smirk gently before Ronon continued for the two of them.

"Watch you're footing – you're tiring and the light is fading. If we don't retrieve the supplies tonight, then that's how it's to be. We can't reach you if you lose your footing on the precipice."

"Yeah, what he said." Rodney pointed at Ronon, turning the full glare of his blue eyes on John.

"I know guys, I know, trust me; I don't want to be having any more accidents today . . . but we need those supplies. What we've got here ain't gonna cut it . . . but I will be careful." John nodded, the humor of the situation evaporating. Even though their plight was definitely on the bad side of "not that good", he felt owned; these were his team mates, his family, and it occurred to him just how much he had started to feel that he belonged.

John left the cave and walked back to where they had started, noting the supplies he found on the way. He then began packaging and collecting the supplies on his way back. He ended up not being able to carry everything, so he took what he could to the cave and checked on Rodney and Ronon. He then walked back to the place where he had left off collecting supplies and began gathering things up to take back to the cave.

By the time he was almost back to the cave, it was dark. He was exhausted and his whole body hurt, his muscles burning and shaking with the exertion of the day. He stumbled along in the dark until he finally lost his balance and felt himself falling.

John opened his eyes to an MRE about three inches in front of his face. He lay there looking at it for several seconds before he realized what it was. He then wondered why he had climbed in bed with a prepackaged meal. Lifting his head against the groaning muscles in his arms, he looked around and remembered where he was. Crap, how long had he been out? He hurriedly grabbed the scattered supplies, stuffing them back in the bag they had fallen out of. Picking up the rest of the gear, he headed back to the cave.

"Where have you been?" asked Rodney sharply as soon as he stepped foot in the cave. "We would have sent out a search party, but neither of us can walk on our own right now."

"Sorry," Sheppard mumbled. "I got turned around in the dark," he lied. He dug around in one of the packs until he found a flashlight. "I'll get you something to eat." He stacked and arranged the MREs against the back wall of the cave. "Okay, we have eighteen MREs." He called out the different varieties and then grabbed the ones they requested.

"What about you?" asked Rodney.

"I'll get something later. While you guys eat, I'm going to grab some wood and start a fire." Neither of them had said anything, but John was well aware that the night air had chilled and that their limited mobility would hamper their efforts to stay warm. Although he had managed to find a blanket, he knew that a shared blanket wouldn't be enough to keep them all warm.

Rodney's mouth dropped open. "You can't go out there now."

"Why not?" asked John as he grabbed a second flashlight from one of the packs.

"It's dark and if you don't fall to your death, you'll probably get eaten by mountain lions or bears or something equally dangerous. And then Ronon and I will starve to death because there won't be anyone to take care of us."

John snorted. "I'm not going to die and you'll be fine. If I don't come back, you have eighteen, or rather sixteen MREs, some power bars, and . . . quite a few bottles of water. If you run out of water, I think there's a stream a couple of miles from here."

"Don't even think about talking like you're not coming back! How are we supposed to walk two miles when we can't go two feet?"

John grinned through the grime and dirt on his face. "I'm not going to die, McKay. I'm just going to get some wood. I'll be back in a minute to tuck the two of you in."

"He'll be fine," said Ronon, waving his plastic fork at Rodney. "Sheppard's a big boy; he can take care of himself."

"Yeah, right." Rodney settled back against the rock wall of the cave, but he still didn't look convinced.

John used the flashlight to carefully pick his way down the hill. He knew he was tired and hurting, so he took extra care choosing his steps. Rodney had been right about one thing, they needed him to be okay if they were to survive. He had to keep it together for at least a week.

He stood in the dark for several minutes, just contemplating their situation. Then he slowly began to gather wood. He made two trips to ensure he had enough to last the night. As soon as he got back to the cave with the second load, he went about starting a fire, getting it close enough to provide heat without being a danger. He also made sure it was where most of the smoke would vent out the opening to the cave. It didn't take long before the cave began to warm and his injured comrades began to get sleepy. They were all exhausted from the events of the day. He helped them out of the cave one at a time to relieve themselves, and then settled them close together where they could share the blanket. When they were tucked in, he gave Ronon a dose of morphine so he could get some sleep.

"Are you really going to wake me every two hours?" asked Rodney quietly.

"Yes, I am. Beckett will have my hide when we get out of here if I don't."

"I won't tell if you'd rather . . . " Rodney yawned. " . . . let me sleep."

John smiled as he sat down and leaned back against the cave wall. "Go to sleep, Rodney."

A few minutes later, the gentle snores told him that both of his charges were asleep. He watched the fire, wondering if he dared sleep and just hope he woke in two hours. He finally decided he couldn't trust himself to wake up, especially as tired as he was. He'd stay awake for the first couple of checks and then, if everything looked okay, he might try to catch a few winks himself.

He looked woefully at their meager stack of supplies. Sixteen MREs wouldn't last very long. He knew Rodney and Ronon needed them more than he did. If he let them have two a day, they wouldn't last the week. He could get by on an occasional power bar.

Realistically, it could easily take even longer than a week to get rescued. The plan had been for them to spend two days per planet, with check-ins every time they took off to change planets. They could open the gate from space to make contact, since the gate was in orbit around one of the planets. When they missed their first check in, Elizabeth would probably send a team to look for them, but they wouldn't know which planet they were on or where to find them on the planet. Scanning an entire planet for life signs could take a while. If any of the planets had people, they'd have to land and scout it out to figure out they weren't there. He hoped they would start with this planet, but the chances of that were slim.

He had to start planning like they would be here longer that a week, just in case. That meant limiting the MREs and finding something to supplement their food. He could probably find some roots or berries to collect. He knew there was a stream close by so water wouldn't be a problem, other than hauling it up to the cave. He wasn't going to think about that right now though; in a day or two he'd be stronger. He just needed to rest and he'd be ok to keep going.

He watched the fire crackle and was surprised at how much comfort it provided. He had removed his jacket earlier, when he was hot from moving people and supplies up to the cave. The night air was beginning to chill him, though, in spite of the fire, so he put his jacket back on and pulled it tight around him. He was pretty sure he had felt every muscle while carrying out the small task. He was probably as tired as he ever remembered being. Leaning forward, he poked the fire with a stick, pushing the wood into a tighter array so that the heat would last longer. He felt heartened that at least the wood he had found was managing to burn for a decent amount of time. He tried not to think about having to go and find more if this lot burned out too quickly.

Ronon groaned in his sleep as he shifted under the blanket, causing Rodney to shift and mutter something about numbskull help. John's mouth turned up in a small smile as he watched the sleeping pair. He could do this. He had to keep them safe until a rescue team arrived and that was exactly what he planned to do, no matter what it took to do it. He was getting them out alive, if it was the last thing he did.

TBC