"Was that O'Neill on the radio?" Fredericks asked as he came out of the bushes, zipping up his pants. He reached his hand out for his radio and Smith gave it to him with a grin.
"Yeah, that was him."
"What did he say? Did he find anything?"
"Uh, I don't know Major. I – we couldn't – he didn't hear us."
"What?" Fredericks turned a puzzled eye on the Captain.
"I don't think he heard us when we answered him." Smith's eyes shifted to the left as he spoke which immediately let the Major know his subordinate was lying.
"What the hell?" he said. "What did you do?"
Smith looked worried but finally confessed. "We didn't answer him. We thought we'd make him sweat a bit. We were just going to call him now."
"You idiots! Just because I think O'Neill is an arrogant SOB that doesn't give you permission to ignore standard procedures. What the hell did you think you were doing?" He quickly clicked the radio and called for the Colonel. After 3 or 4 tries he grimaced and gave up. "Let's go. We'd better find him quickly or all of us are gonna end up busted down to Airmen!"
The three men took off quickly, following the route that O'Neill had taken. He'd made no attempt to hide his trail – if anything he'd made it plain so the others could follow. Soon they came on the temple and all came to a stop, as he had done, and stared in amazement.
"Holy Crap!" whispered Beaton. "Would ya look at that."
"Wow, that's amazing. I wonder who built it?" added Smith.
"We'll worry about that later. For now, we've got to find O'Neill."
The men searched all morning but could find no sign of the Colonel. By early afternoon Fredericks was ready to give up, although the thought of returning without O'Neill made him break out in a sweat. His men were unusually silent, all of them worried about what would happen if they didn't find him.
"Let's head back", the Major finally spoke. "We'll have to tell Hammond and they'll send another team to help look."
"But where could he be Sir?" Smith asked. "He wasn't that far ahead of us."
"I don't know. Maybe someone took him." Fredericks answered.
"I didn't see any sign of anyone", Beaton was also looking subdued. "Maybe he's gone back to the gate. He might have wanted to teach us a lesson."
"You mean after you ignored his radio call?" Fredericks said angrily.
"Yeah – maybe – I guess."
"What the hell did he say when he radioed in?"
"Nothing. Just said he was checking in. It didn't sound like he was in trouble or anything. He just sounded normal."
"Damn! Look, I don't think we should say anything about the radio. We'll simply say that we didn't hear anything."
The two men looked at the Major, surprised that he was willing to hide the truth but they both nodded. They knew this could hit the fan real quick. Without another word they turned and headed back to the gate.
Returning to consciousness was a painful and slow process. He had no idea what had happened or where he was. He opened his eyes but he could see nothing – he prayed that that meant he was in the dark and not that he was blind.
Pain suddenly shot through his skull like a hot knife and he couldn't help but groan. He reached – or tried to reach his head– and instead let out a soft scream. God, what was wrong with him? His shoulder and arm hurt worse than his head, if that was possible. Waiting for the nausea and dizziness – and shooting agony – to die down, he tried again to move, this time using his other arm.
He couldn't figure out why nothing happened. He knew his brain was telling his arm to move – so why wasn't it? It took him awhile to realize that he was lying on it and it had gone numb. Okay Jack – move!
He didn't even remember passing out. All he knew was that when he came to again he knew he had to be very, very careful about moving any part of his body. Something was terribly wrong and he knew he was in serious trouble. This time he moved very slowly until he was able to pull his left arm out from under his body. It still hurt like hell, but at least he was able to stay conscious.
Okay, where was he – and why was he – wherever he was? He tried to think but the pounding in his head made it almost impossible. He could feel something dripping down his face and wondered if there was water coming from somewhere. It was only when a drop made its way to the corner of his mouth that he realized it was blood, not water.
Crap! He really was in trouble. He again tried shifting his body but just the slight movement sent shafts of pain up his legs, through his groin and into his back. Well, the good news was he had feeling down there – the bad news was HE HAD FEELING DOWN THERE!
"God", he groaned. He could feel the nausea building from the intense pain. He did everything he could to try and stop himself from throwing up but after a few seconds lost the battle. He threw up everything he'd had for – whatever meal he'd had last – he couldn't remember. Soon he was dry heaving, the sound interspersed with wheezing sobs from the pain they caused.
The third time he returned to consciousness it was the smell he noticed first, then the pain. Damn – someone had thrown up. It didn't take long – especially with the taste in his mouth – to realize who that someone had been. Now, on top of everything else, he was dying for a drink.
Okay O'Neill, get yourself together and figure out where you are. Stop with all this passing out! First things first, he decided. He needed to figure out where he was. It only dawned on him at that moment that his pack was still attached to his back. He was lying on his stomach, which was rather unpleasant, especially considering his recent bout of vomiting, but hopefully that would make it possible to get the pack off and get to some of the supplies.
His radio! God, where was his head. He tried to reach it with his one working arm but couldn't seem to find it – the radio not his arm. He laughed, slightly hysterically – he so knew where his arm was since even the good one hurt. Now, he'd better get a flash light and then look for the damn radio.
He lost all track of time as he tried to work off his pack without killing himself in the process. He was pretty sure he kept falling in and out of consciousness, but he'd lost track of time, and couldn't be sure of anything anymore. All he knew was he really wanted a drink – desperately – and some painkillers, not necessarily in that order. What he wouldn't give for one of Janet's little, no he took that back – one of Janet's big needles full of sweet, sweet morphine!
There, it was off! He laid down, resting his head on the cold ground, as he tried to re-gather his strength. He knew the next part was going to be bad. He had to try and turn over and then sit up to get to his supplies. He just hoped he'd be able to do it.
"Gaaah", he grunted as he forced himself over. He'd thought the pain was bad before – this time he could barely keep from crying as the burning agony spread through his shoulder and arm. He refused to think about his legs, pretty sure that at least one, if not both, were broken.
Okay, so he was on his back, staring straight up. Not that he could see anything, but at least he felt a bit less vulnerable. The next step was to try and sit up. The problem with that was that it was going to hurt even more, and he was very tired of hurting.
Hammond looked down at the men returning through the gate and frowned when all but O'Neill stepped through the iris. When the event horizon eventually disappeared, he turned and hurried down to the gate room. What the hell had happened now?
"Major Fredericks, where is Colonel O'Neill", he asked as soon as he arrived. The Major swung quickly around to face the General.
"We don't know Sir", he replied. "He was ahead of us, checking out the trail. We tried calling him on the radio a short while later but there was no answer. We found a ruin – a temple – and we think he got that far but there was no sign of him anywhere. We searched for hours and finally decided to come back for help."
"Was there any sign of anyone else there?"
"No Sir, none that we could see. As far as we could tell there hasn't been anyone there for years – centuries at least."
"What about signs of animals, technology, anything that could have gotten a hold of the Colonel?"
"No Sir, again nothing. All we saw were small creatures and birds. As for technology, no, nothing. Whatever society had been there didn't appear to be particularly advanced."
"So, do you have any ideas at all?" The General looked at the three men, hoping one of them would have something useful.
"I'm sorry General, but we couldn't find anything. That's why we finally came back, although we didn't want to leave him. I thought with more people and the right equipment we'd have better luck."
"You made the right decision Major", Hammond told him. "Okay, quickly get cleaned up and then meet in the Briefing room. I'll get SG3 and 4 and tell them to get ready to move out."
Hammond had Walter contact the team leaders and then made his way slowly back to his office. Where the hell was O'Neill?
"Sir, did you want me to get in touch with Sg1 as well", Walter asked quietly.
Hammond looked up sharply. "No, they're –" He stopped for a moment. On the one hand they could find the Colonel quickly and he would hate to have dragged his team back for no reason. One the other, if he didn't tell them and something happened to O'Neill, they'd be terribly upset. "Let's give SG3 and 4 a few hours. If they don't find him I'll contact his team."
There! He found his canteen and grabbed it almost frantically. He struggled to get it opened single handedly, almost sobbing and then cursing as he was at first unable to do so. Eventually, however, he managed to unscrew the top and tipped it up.
God – it was so good! He drank deeply for a few seconds before forcing himself to stop. He knew he mustn't drink it all but oh, how we wanted to. For a second he rested, feeling slightly better.
Now that he'd had a drink he knew he had to look for his radio and call his team. Hopefully they'd come quickly. In the meantime he'd try and treat his wounds.
He found his radio a short time later, once he'd managed to pull his flashlight from his pack. Unfortunately, it was smashed beyond repair. He must have fallen right on top of it. Well, that made things difficult, although he wasn't too worried. He knew his team would come for him. If there was one thing he knew he could count on was the fact that they wouldn't leave him, no matter what.
He just wished he could remember what mission they'd been on. His mind was so mixed up, so fuzzy, he couldn't remember anything at all. He knew he had a concussion but hoped that once he was back, under Janet's care, everything would come back and he'd remember.
"Come on guys", he whispered, "anytime would be good."
"No sign Sir." Colonel Reynolds said as he came through the gate. "The men are still looking but Fredericks was right – there's no sign of him. We found the temple though and there's a bunch of writing on it. We figure we could really use Dr. Jackson. It might tell us something."
Damn, Hammond castigated himself. He should have gotten in touch with them immediately! Well, there was no point in second guessing, he'd just have to –
"Do you want me to contact Sg1 now Sir?" Walter read his mind as usual.
"Yes Sergeant. Arrange for transport for them as well. I want them here as quickly as possible."
Sam was sitting outside with her sister-in law watching the kids as they swam in the pool and chatting about a number of things. It felt so good to be relaxing in the warm sunlight and to not worry about anything. She'd really needed this break, needed to get away from the mountain and from the war with the Goa'uld - although she admitted to herself that she missed her team. She laughed softly to herself. She almost felt like a mother whose kids were away on their own for the first time. She actually worried that her guys were all okay and weren't getting into trouble.
Her sister-in-law went in to the house to grab some drinks and she continued to think about her team. She realized there was no need to worry about Teal'c. He was able to look after himself and didn't tend to get into trouble. Now Daniel and the Colonel, they were a different matter altogether! If anyone could get into trouble it was those two! At least this year Daniel was staying with Catherine and she'd look after him.
The Colonel – well, she assumed he'd be fine although she did continue to worry about him. She'd wondered how he'd handle the holidays this year. She knew they were difficult for him but usually they kept busy working at this time of year and he was able to avoid too much of the celebrations. He had certainly seemed to be okay but you never knew with Jack O'Neill. He was a master at hiding things – especially his emotions.
She suddenly frowned when she thought back to their conversations last week. It dawned on her that he'd never actually said he was going to his cabin. They'd all just assumed that's where he was going but now that she thought about it he hadn't mentioned what exactly he was doing. From feeling relaxed she suddenly began to have a strange sense of foreboding.
"Sam, there's a call for you", her sister-in-law walked out holding the phone. "Said his name was Walter from work."
Oh God, she knew it! "Sergeant hi, it's Major Carter here. What is it?"
"I'm sorry Mark, Teri" she looked at her brother and his wife. "I hate to leave like this but it's an emergency. They're picking me up and I'm flying out of Mirimar. I'll call as soon as I can."
By the time she'd arrived in Colorado Springs she was really worried. She kept expecting to receive a message that the Colonel had been found. In this case, no news was bad news!
"Sir, any word", she asked as she walked into the Control Room. He was standing speaking with Teal'c, who had clearly just returned from Chulak, if his clothes were anything to go by.
"No, nothing Major. SG4 just returned and they've found nothing. Dr. Jackson should be here in a few minutes – he's on his way from Petersen – and then we'll go over what we know."
There was really very little, if any, information at all. Fredericks and his men repeated what they knew and the other teams had almost nothing to add. Major Jimenez did show them some pictures of the writing they'd found, but it was too indistinct for Daniel to make much sense of it.
Soon Sg1 was ready to head out to the planet accompanied by Fredericks, Smith and Beaton. They'd had a chance to rest and it would be easier for them to show the others the way. They were very careful to be on their best behavior.
"I hope he's okay", Daniel spoke quietly as they followed Sg8 through the dense jungle. "I can't understand where he could be, unless someone grabbed him."
"I know", Sam replied. "I just hope he's locked in a room or something, but I keep having this feeling that something bad has happened."
"I too feel as if something ominous has occurred", Teal'c interjected. "I do not believe O'Neill would have disappeared without someone or something taking him."
They arrived shortly at the temple and, at any other time Daniel would have been over the moon to find such a building. Now, all he could think about was finding the Colonel. He immediately set to work to try and decipher the strange writings on the wall.
He'd managed to bandage his head and to tie up his arm and shoulder to keep them from constantly moving or being jarred. He'd cleaned and bandaged numerous other cuts and scrapes although fortunately none seemed too bad, although he'd need stitches on a few. The worst ended up being his legs. He'd been right in that both of them were broken. It must have happened when he fell – no surprise there - and he just thanked the God of Colonels and idiots that he couldn't remember landing. He was sure it would have hurt, badly!
There really wasn't much he could do for them, lying as he was at the bottom of a dark well or tunnel. He couldn't even straighten them completely as there wasn't enough room. It meant that they continued to be bent unnaturally and caused them to hurt like hell!
He was pretty sure that the left leg had a simple fracture just above the ankle. He figured it probably needed a cast and would be okay after a few weeks. It was the other leg that really worried him. It was certainly broken in more than one place and it was starting to go numb. He was concerned that there was nerve damage or that his circulation was compromised. He knew that that could be dangerous if he was stuck here for too long.
He had managed to pull himself, slowly and carefully, over to the side of the shaft which enabled him to lean against the wall. He was also fortunate that he had his sleeping bag with him as it was growing extremely cold and damp where he was. He wondered if, in fact, he'd fallen down and old, misused well. It was certainly damp enough. He'd tried to peer up, using his flashlight, but the light had only managed to penetrate so far and he couldn't see the top of the shaft. He really wondered how far he'd fallen.
'Kay guys", he whispered again. "I'm ready for you to come and get me. I'm kinda tired of this place!"
He had no idea how much time had elapsed since he'd fallen – he assumed that he'd fallen, although he could have been pushed. Suddenly he began to worry. What if his team had been captured or killed? Maybe he'd been left for dead and no one knew he was here? He could die down here and no one would ever find him.
The more he thought about it the more panicked he became. He could tell he was starting to hyperventilate and forced himself to stop and calm down. There was no point in starting to imagine things. He knew his team – they'd never give up, no matter what.
"God – we can't give up, but I don't know what else to do", Daniel wiped the sweat from his eyes. "I've been working on this for hours and it hasn't told me a thing. It simply looks like a series of poems to Lakapati, the Goddess of Fertility, food and prosperity. Lakapati was worshipped by the ancient Tagalog people of the Phillipines and she was dearly loved by the people. But it doesn't help us find him." He stopped and looked around. "Where the hell are you Jack?"
"He's got to be here somewhere Daniel", Sam said. "I don't know about you, but I'm not giving up until we find him."
"Me either Sam", he sighed. "I just wish I knew where to look."
"We will not leave until we have found him", Teal'c said with his strong voice. "O'Neill knows that we are coming for him."