Chapter 12

Jack had just stepped out of the shower when his cell phone rang. He grabbed a towel and reached for the phone.

"O'Neill."

"Jack. It's Daniel."

Something about the tone of his voice made Jack freeze, the forgotten towel dangling limply in his hand. "Daniel," he said, hoping against hope that he'd imagined that eerie note of fear. "You're back early."

"Yeah. There's been an accident."

Oh God. He dropped the towel and snatched his shirt from its hanger. "What happened?"

"Bank gave way." There was the briefest hesitation, and then, very quietly. "It's Sam."

No. God no. This wasn't happening. Fear made his heart race, but he forced the beast back, slamming the door on it. Panic wouldn't help anything. When he spoke, his voice was tight, but controlled. "Is she hurt?"

"She's missing, Jack. She went into the river and Teal'c and I couldn't find her. I came back for SG-6."

"Take eight as well."

"Will do."

"Be there in twenty minutes."

"Yeah."

Jack disconnected the phone, finished dressing, and was out of the house in under three minutes. By the time he arrived at the SGC, Daniel was nearly ready to go. The gate room was filled with men and women making last minute checks of their gear. Daniel stood at the base of the ramp, talking to the CO of SG-6, and Jack made a beeline in that direction, barely noticing the people who scrambled to get out of his way.

"Daniel!" Jack said, "You were out there all night. You sure you're up to this?" He already knew the answer, knew that death itself probably couldn't keep Daniel from looking for her, but as acting CO, he had to ask.

"I'm fine, Jack." Daniel nodded at SG-6's team leader, who moved off to check on his team. "There's not a chance in hell I'm staying here."

Jack snorted at that. "You think I'd try to make you?"

Daniel shook his head. "No."

"I believe the phrase was, 'not a chance in hell'."

"Yeah. Well."

"I just…" Jack stopped. Looked away. Met Daniel's eyes again. "Bring her back, Daniel."

"I'll do my best."

Jack nodded, wishing desperately that he could join the search. Then he forced the thought aside, knowing that indulging in if-only's would only frustrate him further. Besides, there wasn't a damn thing he could do for Sam that Daniel, two SG teams, and a group of battle scarred Jaffa wouldn't be able handle just as well, if not better.

He saw that the teams were ready and waved a hand at Walter in the control room. "Fire it up!" He turned back to the assembled personnel. "Bring her home, boys." Then, to Daniel, "Bring her home safe."

Daniel nodded.

"Chevron seven locked!"

There was a burst of sound as the wormhole formed. Barely waiting for the event horizon to stabilize, the teams stepped through and were gone.

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Sam had opened her eyes as soon as the sky began to show the faintest hint of the coming dawn. Her rest had been fitful, punctuated by bouts of shivering and the occasional sneeze. She'd shifted frequently, trying in vain to get comfortable in her bed of mud and gravel. Longingly, she'd remembered the bath she'd enjoyed at home the night before this mission. What she wouldn't give to be back in that tub again, her body immersed in water so hot it made her skin tingle.

She needed to get up and moving. The coming of daylight meant that she'd be able to see to work her way back upstream. It also meant an eventual end to the aching cold that had kept her awake for most of the night. She stood carefully, cringing as her muscles loudly protested her decision to move. Still, she was smart enough to know that she couldn't stay here. She needed dry clothes, and she needed food, neither of which was going to come looking for her.

It took a while to drag the still wet socks over her icy feet. She considered not bothering with them, but knew that she had a lot of walking ahead of her, and the socks would protect her from blisters. Besides, they'd dry eventually. There was a faint squishing sound as she forced them into her waterlogged boots, and she grimaced in disgust. Finally ready to face the coming hike, she eyed the waterfall that had concluded her wild trip down the river the previous day. It was steep, but not dangerously so, and she was pretty sure she could make the climb without too much trouble. Determined not to wait around for somebody to come and rescue her, she took a deep breath, and set off.

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By tacit agreement, Teal'c took his team of Jaffa down the east bank of the river, while Daniel and the SG teams took the west. Luckily, the search area was confined by both the strength and direction of the current. Most likely, Colonel Carter would have been carried a good distance downstream, unable to work her way to shore until the current slowed. Teal'c did not allow himself to consider the possibility that his friend might not have survived the experience. Colonel Carter was a warrior. She would be fine.

He glanced around, checking on the Jaffa searchers who had fanned out above and below him. It was slow going. During ancient times, the water had carved its way deep into the mountain range, and following its path now was both difficult and dangerous.

They had already worked their way several kilometers down the river, but there had been no sign of Colonel Carter. Teal'c had hoped that she had been able to find a handhold along one of the steep cliff walls, thus pulling herself to safety. But as the time passed, and there continued to be no evidence that she had escaped from the raging torrent, he became more and more concerned.

There was a shout, and he turned to see Bra'tac coming toward him.

"What is it, old friend?"

"One of the warriors found this," Bra'tac said, handing Teal'c Sam's GDO. "It was wedged in the rocks some distance down river."

"Show me." Perhaps there would be some other sign of her nearby. Perhaps they would find her soon after all. He keyed his radio. "Daniel Jackson."

Daniel's tired voice came back almost immediately, frustration and worry sharpening its edges. "Here, Teal'c."

"A Jaffa warrior has located Colonel Carter's wrist device."

"Really?" The device, small as it was, was nevertheless a link to Sam. "Where?"

"I am told the location is some distance down river. We are proceeding in that direction with great haste."

"Thanks, Teal'c. Keep me posted."

"Indeed."

Teal'c nodded at Bra'tac, and the two friends began walking downstream. On the way, they continued to keep a sharp eye on their surroundings. It was always possible that Sam had found a way out of the river someplace upstream from where the device had been found.

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Daniel was becoming increasingly frustrated as the hours passed. He'd been hopeful when Teal'c and Bra'tac had reported the find of Sam's GDO, but a further search of that area had proved fruitless. That had been more than two hours ago and there'd been nothing since. The Stargate teams had begun sending doubtful glances his way, and he knew they were thinking that it was time to give up the search. He also knew that nobody wanted to be the first to go back to the SGC with the news that Sam hadn't been found.

Within the past hour, he'd noticed a slow leveling out of the terrain and sensed that the end of the search might be near. Once the canyon widened out into the lower plains the current would slow, and if Sam had survived the horrendous trip through the canyon itself that's where the weight of her body would finally have brought her to a stop. He only hoped that when it had happened she'd still been alive.

His concentration on the search was so intense, his exhaustion by now so complete, that when he finally saw her he didn't immediately believe his own eyes. He stopped, rubbed the grit out of them, and stared at the slim figure moving slowly toward him through the late afternoon sun.

Her shoulders were slumped, chin resting almost on her chest as she trudged along, but she was alive, and walking, and coming his way. Relief washed over him in a great wave, and he broke into a run, ignoring the startled looks of the other searchers, who still hadn't seen her. He didn't hear their own cheers or see them start after him. He only knew that he had to get to her, to make sure she was all right.

"Sam!" He swept her into a hug, ignoring the drying mud that stiffened her uniform beneath his touch. "Thank God."

She hugged him back, wincing a little. "Hey," she said tiredly. Then, with a weak smile, "Miss me?"

He smiled back at her. "Nah. We just figured you were trying out a new extreme sport."

He stepped back, looking her over as the medical corps arrived. Her clothes were torn and muddy, and the bruise on her cheek was probably one for the record books, but she didn't appear to have any broken bones, and in spite of her obvious fatigue she seemed to have survived her adventure remarkably unscathed.

Within moments they were surrounded by medical personnel who, he knew, would poke and prod at her for several minutes. He stepped aside and keyed his radio, glad that this time he had good news to share.

"Teal'c, come in?"

"I am here, Daniel Jackson"

"We've got her, Teal'c. She's alive."

There was a second's silence, and then Teal'c's relieved voice. "That is good news. Is she unharmed?"

"Some bumps and bruises. Nothing that won't heal."

"I am pleased to hear it."

Daniel shook his head. Teal'c's ability to downplay his feelings would never cease to amaze him. For his part, he wanted to jump up and down, dance a jig, throw a party, whatever it took to let the whole world know that he'd found her, and that she was miraculously unharmed.

"It doesn't make sense to hike all the way back up the canyon from here," Daniel said. "Once the med crew is finished checking her out, we're going to head straight back to the gate."

"Then I shall meet you there," Teal'c said. "Please convey my regards to Colonel Carter."

"Will do. Jackson out."

Somebody had loaned Sam a dry jacket, and when he returned to her side she was buttoning it closed under her chin. "I was beginning to think I would never be warm again," she said.

He shook his head admiringly. "I don't know how you did it, Sam."

"Did what?"

"I saw that river. I watched its power. How in the hell did you manage not to get yourself killed?"

She shrugged. "Karma? Fate? Luck?"

He grinned. "Whatever. Just…"

"What?"

"Don't do that again, okay?"

"Believe me, I won't."

The rest of the search parties had been informed that Sam had been found, and SG-6 had already left the area. The SG teams would regroup at the gate before heading home.

"You okay for the walk back?" Daniel asked.

"Daniel, if it meant getting out of these horrid squishy shoes I'd walk to hell and back."

He laughed. "It isn't quite that far."