Yikes, this took a long time. I got wrapped up in a new story and...well, I need to quit making excuses. Sorry ya'll. here's chapter six, and please tell me if you like it and what you think and if you want the rest of the story and all...cause it has kinda been a little while, lol. Sorry again. I hope you enjoy this chapter; we're getting some action again. :) Look forward to hearing from you all. Thanks!

Chapter 6

Daniel felt Vala snuggle closer to him and glanced at her, flashing a smile as she snaked her around his and leaned against his shoulder. He squeezed her arm gently, while reaching out with his free arm to stoke the fire that was going in the center of SG-1's campsite on P8X-252 with the stick that was in his hand. Once he'd done that, he dropped it beside the log he and his wife were sitting on and pulled her closer. The night was cool, and even though the fire was warm, after the announcement of a few days before he had another excuse. Besides, there was no on else in sight. The others were out doing the last rounds of the surrounding area while he and Vala watched the campsite.

When they returned, all but one of them would settle in to get some sleep for the night, but for now they had the place to themselves. Vala grinned and wrapped her arms around him too.

"What are we going to do with a third? We won't be even anymore; either the guys or the girls will be outnumbered," Daniel joked.

"Unless it turns out to be one of each," she smirked.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you know something I don't know?"

"No, just thinking aloud."

"Good, because I don't even want to go there."

She smiled innocently at him. "What, you wouldn't want four children?"

"Why don't we see how we do with three first?"

Vala shrugged but didn't continue the banter. That was fine with Daniel. He was perfectly happy just to sit here with her, wondering what life would be like with yet another child.

Daniel was pulled out of his thoughts, however, when the nearby bushes rustled. Vala sat up straighter, as did he.

"What was that?"

"I don't know…" he answered, thumbing his radio. "Sam, Cameron, Teal'c, any of you back near here yet?"

There were various 'no's to answer him.

"Why? What's wrong?" Sam asked over the radio.

"Thought we heard one of you…or something," Daniel answered warily.

"Want us to head back that way?" Cam asked.

"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea."

"We will be there shortly," Teal'c answered. Then the others signed off the radio as well, leaving Daniel and Vala alone again. Vala was looking around, squinting.

"Do you think we're in any danger?" she asked.

Daniel's eyebrows went up. "I sure hope not."

Unfortunately, that was the very moment that something else decided to refute that hope. The campsite exploded into sudden noise, as primitive-looking masked natives burst from the foliage. They hadn't even seen evidence that there were people on this planet until now.

Both Daniel and vala jumped to their feet in surprise, but before either could say anything or take even a step, bows had been drawn back and released , and both abruptly had an arrow driven into one of their legs and collapsed again.

"AH!" Daniel went down, grimacing at the offending object protruding from his right thigh.

"OW! Hey!" Vala cried, clutching her left calf.

Biting back a moan of pain, Daniel looked up again at the circle of men closing in on them. "Hey, wait…we come in peace. We're explorers. We don't mean you any harm; can't we just talk to each other? Aggression isn't necessary."

There was no response. Either they didn't understand him, or they didn't care want he had to say, because his words didn't phase them. Either alternative was disconcerting. Vala stared at them wide-eyed, grabbing one of his hands. While a few kept them surrounded--not that either of them could have gotten up easily anyway, with leg wounds, the others began to ransack the camp, taking anything and everything that looked interesting or useful to them, or so it seemed.

"Are you all right?" he asked Vala quietly.

She was wincing in pain, but nodded. "It's nothing major; I'm fine. What about you? That looks deeper than mine."

Daniel couldn't deny that, and it hurt like heck too, but he was more worried about what these people might do once they were done taking and destroying what they wanted. Granted, if they had wanted them dead outright they probably would have done it already, but they still might have further plans that weren't pleasant. He shrugged.

"I'll be okay."

Quickly, Daniel made a decision not to let the natives take them. If they were taken captive, it would be extremely hard for the others to find them, especially since they didn't even know there were people here to have taken them captive. Anything could happen, and he wasn't going to risk it.

The camp wasn't that large, and soon the natives were done with their search. Most of them gathered the spoils and started off, leaving Daniel hopeful that he and vala would be left alone now. Vala seemed to think the same thing, and squeezed his hand. But before he could squeeze back, her hand was ripped away from his when two of the men jerked her to her feet, another pulling out a coil of rope.

"Ow!" she gasped, favoring her injured leg.

Daniel's eyes went wider, but let them pull him up too, sucking in a quick breath from the pain. How did they expect them to walk like this? He decided it didn't matter, because he wasn't going to let these people take them. His wife and child's life hung in the balance. If these native couldn't even understand English, they obviously didn't want them for anything information related. He couldn't bring himself to believe that whatever it was ended in anything but death, and he wouldn't allow that. There were only a few men left in the clearing with them, stayed behind to bring the captives along. He could take them.

He waited until the native seemed confident that they weren't going to get any resistance, and then made his move. Shouting, Daniel surged forward, breaking the grip the men on either side of him had on him and snatching his zat from it's holster. When the two natives holding onto Vala let go of her to go for him, he shot them both once. Then his injured leg started to give out again, but he spun, planning to go down shooting. If they could render them all unconscious, then the others would be here soon, and they could get back to earth before the native awoke. He'd seen Vala going for her zat at well.

Before Daniel could get of another shot, a rough hand grabbed his arm, holding him up, and blinding pain seared across his back. Then the hand was gone, and he dropped face-first to the ground, gasping in agony.

"Daniel!" Vala shouted. It was only then that he realized one of the natives had retaliated by slashing across his backside with one of their long knives, and left a long, deep gash from his left shoulder almost to his right hip. This his mind analyzed in sudden objectivity, signaling that he was probably going to into shock.

But he didn't have time to worry about that. Glancing up through blurring vision, he saw Vala hopping backwards on her uninjured leg, swinging the zat around and trying to keep the other natives at bay. It was almost working, but all of them were advancing on her now, and she couldn't shoot all of them quickly enough. And then he saw the two more men coming back toward the clearing, coming up quietly behind her.

"Vala look out!"

Daniel had meant for it to be a yelled warning, but it came out barely a gasp, and seconds later it was too late. The two natives behind Vala overtook her. One of them grabbed her, while the other knocked the zat out of her hands and pulled out a knife. Daniel tried to scream, but nothing came out, and in the same fluid movement he had done the first two things, the same man rammed the dagger-like weapon into Vala's midsection. Her eyes went wide, and she gasped went he pulled it out just as quickly. She didn't cry out until they pushed her down and she hit the ground.

Then the natives were gone, and both of them were left where they lay, gasping in pain. Vala curled on her side, one hand clamped over the her wound and cried. Daniel, determined not to leave her alone, used his uninjured legs and his arms as much as he could and pulled himself to her side.

"I'm…here," he told her, finally having enough air to speak again, at least some.

Vala rolled on her back and looked up at him as he looked down at her from his position on his stomach, levered up on his elbows.

"Daniel…" she gasped, tears in her eyes. "Daniel, the baby…"

Trying not to show the searing pain from his back on his face, or the tugging agony in his heart, Daniel shushed her and weakly pulled the open flap of her jacket over the wound and helped her press on it. If this one small wound was trying to bleed so much, he didn't even want to think about how much blood he was losing from his back. Her eyes closed and she grimaced in pain, whimpering, a few tears escaping and slipping down her cheeks.

"Shh…just…hold on. Friends…will be back soon," he said shortly. But his eyes were brimming with tears as well. Silently he joined their free hands and squeezed tightly as, his energy flagging, his head lowered to her shoulder and rested there. Daniel wanted to lie to himself…but there couldn't be much hope that the growing life inside her could survive such an attack.

This can't be happening…this isn't happening…was his only other thought before darkness took over.

Cameron urged Sam and teal'c to move faster when they heard the shouting, but he could see that they didn't need to be told. As quickly as possible, the three advanced to the campsite, but the scene that greeted when they burst through the trees was anything but encouraging.

"Oh no…" Sam groaned. Teal'c frowned deeply. Cameron just stared in shock for a moment.

The camp was in ruins, almost everything gone, and both Daniel and Vala were on the ground, both bleeding badly, and both unconscious…or worse. Sam knelt immediately next to Daniel, who was closest, to check his pulse, and Cameron checked Vala, almost dreading what he would find. The colonel sighed in relief when he found a pulse. It was weak, but it was there, and it was steady. Sam confirmed she had the same results, but he could tell that her face was white even in the moonlight.

"We must return them to the SGC immediately," Teal'c observed, urgently but unnecessarily. They weren't getting any help in transport from either party that needed help, but since there were only three of them using two stretchers wouldn't work. But Vala's wound was in the front, so Teal'c was able to carry her cradled in his arms, while Sam helped Cameron carry Daniel on an emergency stretcher.

There was no time to question what had happened, especially since the only two who would know for sure weren't conscious. Once they had the patients situated, Sam, Cam, and Teal'c hurried back to the stargate as quickly as was safe.