Sorry - a short one tonight (I'm really tired!). I had hoped to finish this story today, but I guess it will be one more chapter. I'm also hoping to finish The Zagat soon, and then I'll return to Skid Row. Sorry for the delay. That's what happens when you start too many stories at once!

"How is he Janet?" The three members of Sg1 all stood as the tired looking doctor entered the room. They'd been back just over an hour and had been waiting impatiently while Frasier examined a very ill Jack O'Neill. He hadn't regained consciousness once after he'd been pulled from the hole.

"He's alive", she answered, "and I've done what I can. I've called for an orthopedic surgeon to come and look at his legs. They're beyond what I can fix."

"But he'll be okay?" Sam looked directly at the doctor, willing her to give her the answer she needed.

"I don't know", Janet sighed. "He's in rough shape. He was in that shaft for days and he's suffering from multiple breaks, contusions, a serious concussion and internal bleeding. Besides that, he's got a lovely case of exposure and pneumonia. He's strong, and he's a fighter, but this is going to be a tough battle, even for the Colonel."

"Can we see him Janet?" Daniel felt as helpless as the others and wanted to do something – anything to help, even if it meant simply sitting by his bed.

"I'm sorry guys, not right now. I've got too many nurses and too much equipment around him and hopefully the specialist will be here soon. I'll make sure someone comes out and give you updates and I'll let you know if anything changes. In the meantime, you all need to get cleaned up and get something to eat."

Eating was the last thing they wanted to do, but they did make their way down to the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. Sam felt like she wanted to rush back to the Infirmary, but trusted that Janet would contact them immediately if anything happened.

"I can't believe he did that", Daniel muttered as he took a sip of scalding coffee.

"Did what Daniel?"

"Went off on a mission after telling us he was going to his cabin for the holidays."

"Did he?"

"Did he what?" Daniel looked at her in confusion.

"Did he actually say he was going to Minnesota? I can't remember him telling us that. I think we just assumed it."

"Major Carter is correct", Teal'c added. "I too took it for granted he was visiting his cabin. It was only as I was leaving that I began to wonder. O'Neill did not want to speak with us before we left. I felt he was hiding something from us."

"But why?" Daniel asked. "Why wouldn't he just tell us the truth?"

"And what would have been the result, Daniel Jackson?"

"Result? Well – I would have offered to stay with him so he wasn't alone", he offered.

"Precisely. That is why I believe he said nothing."

"Why? Because he didn't want me to stay with him? I mean, I know Jack can be crabby sometimes, but I think we're still friends."

"It's because he is your friend that he didn't tell you. In fact, it's because he's a friend of all of us. Don't you see – he knows us well enough that he knew if he told us what he was doing, we would all have insisted on staying, He didn't want us to miss out on our holidays so he kept quiet about his plans – or lack of plans."

"Indeed, I believe you are correct Major Carter. O'Neill would not want to spoil our time with friends and family."

"Great! So you mean Jack was being self-sacrificing again? The idiot!" Daniel fumed. "When will he learn that we like spending time with him? It wouldn't have been a burden at all."

"I don't think it was just that Daniel", Sam replied softly. He looked at her with a frown. "I think it's also because he has a hard time during the holidays. I don't think he wanted to even think about them – that's why he asked to go on this mission."

Daniel froze, suddenly aware that he'd been atypically clueless. He, of any of them, should have realized. He'd known Jack back when the Colonel had been suicidal over the death of his son – or at least when he hadn't cared about living. He knew the Jack still felt the loss and the guilt deeply. Of course he wouldn't have wanted to celebrate the holidays – he never did.

"Damn!" he said softly. "What was I thinking?"

"The same as all of us Daniel – and that was how much we were looking forward to being off and seeing our loved ones. I don't think any of us really thought about the Colonel when we figured he had something planned."

"Do not feel guilty Samantha Carter. O'Neill would be very upset if he found out you were feeling that way. He was pleased that you were visiting your brother. He told me you needed to 'relax' and stop thinking for a while."

She laughed, although it almost sounded like a sob. Yes, that sounded like the Colonel!

"And as for you Daniel Jackson, he was also happy that you were to visit Catherine Langford and 'play with more rocks'. He cares for you both deeply and worried about you. It gave him comfort to know that all of us were enjoying ourselves while he did not have to pretend to enjoy the season."

The both recognized that what Teal'c had said was the truth. They also realized that, as much as they cared for the Colonel, there were times that he needed his space and that he didn't always need them there, hovering over him. Still – Daniel was a bit mad. He somehow felt like none of this should have happened.

"Well, at least he was with another team", he finally said. "I hope they treated him right!"

The crease between Sam's brows made Daniel and Teal'c turn to her, seeing that something was up.

"What?" Daniel wanted to know. "Why are you looking like that?"

"Huh? Oh, just something that Major Fredericks said. He more or less told me they hadn't treated the Colonel well. I was just wondering what that was about."

"Probably resented him coming with them. It would be hard having a senior officer tag along when you were used to your own command."

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe we'll find out more when the Colonel is conscious." With those words the three friends instantly returned to their worry about the man they all cared for.

It was hours before they heard anything specific, although Janet had been as good as her word and had sent her nurses out with regular reports. Not that there was really much for them to say. Other than the fact that the Colonel was still with them, and that they were waiting for the specialist, there wasn't much to tell.

Finally, as they all sat outside the Infirmary, exhausted but refusing to move, Janet came out. She plunked herself down beside Teal'c, almost too exhausted to even speak.

"So? How is he? What did the specialist say?" Carter was impatient and ready to burst.

"It doesn't look good", she replied wearily. "His one leg is okay – it was a simple fracture and should heal with no problem. It's the other leg and his pelvis."

"His pelvis? I didn't know anything was wrong there."

"I didn't either, until I got a good look at the X-Rays. It's been cracked, badly. That's not the worst of it however. His right leg is practically shattered. It's broken in numerous places and in some cases the bone simply splintered. Dr. Rampon figures he probably landed on it first, with most of his body weight."

"So, what does that mean?" Daniel wanted to know. "Can it be fixed?"

"Maybe, if we can save it it's going to mean many surgeries and the entire leg will have to be pinned."

"What do you mean 'if we can save it'?" Daniel was looking upset, which wasn't surprising.

"It may be too badly damaged", she answered bluntly. "There's a lot of soft tissue damage as well as nerve damage. With all that the doctor things he may end up losing it."

"Losing it?" said Sam softly. "You mean amputate?"

Janet sighed and rubbed her eyes. Finally pulling her hands down she looked at Sam. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"No way! No way in hell!" Daniel stood up, looking furious. "You are not giving up on him. You know as well as I do that Jack is strong and that he comes back from almost anything. Tell the doctor that you're not giving up!"

"Daniel, there are some things he may not be able to come back from", Frasier answered wearily.

"Well this isn't one of them! You tell him to operate. Jack will be just fine – it may take a while, but he's going to make it."

"Even if he does, he won't be eligible for active duty. He'll be relegated to a desk job or he'll be forced to retire."

Sam had sat quietly through Daniel's rant. She knew that losing his leg would kill the Colonel. He was an extremely active man and being forced to retire, on medical grounds, would infuriate him. Why wasn't there something they could do? Why hadn't they found him sooner? God – this was all her fault. If only she'd been able to figure it out!

"Stop it Sam", Janet touched her friend on the arm, well aware of how Samantha Carter's mind worked. "This is no one's fault, except perhaps the aliens who built the damn temple. None of you did anything wrong, nor was there anything you could have done differently. You're not mind readers nor are you miracle workers. You're just normal people and you have to stop beating yourselves up – all of you!"

Sam tried to listen to her friend, tried to believe what she was saying, but it was hard. She wanted to help him. Hell, she had found him – why wasn't there something -"

"What about the hand-device?" Teal'c said quietly. "Would it not help heal O'Neill's injuries?"

Three people turned and stared at him, their faces blank. It was Sam who finally broke, as a grin appeared on her face. "Of course – why didn't I think of that? The Healing Device can help."

"Uh Sam – there's just one problem – we don't have one. The only one we had was sent to Area 51 where they tried to 'back engineer' it. The last I heard it was in pieces and they couldn't figure out how to get it together again."

"I know. I thought of the same thing Sam", Janet added. "But Daniel's right, we don't have one so I'm afraid we have to use conventional medicine."

"So, we don't have one. But that doesn't mean we can't get one!" Sam exclaimed. She was now a woman on a mission. "We'll just have to find a Tokra and have him or her bring one to us."

"That's easier said than done", Daniel looked skeptical. "We haven't exactly heard from the Tokra in quite a while. Not since we broke off formal communications. How do you propose to contact them?"

"We'll send out an SOS. Eventually they'll hear it and come to see us."

"Uh – are you sure? Knowing them they're just as likely to ignore it. Besides which, I don't think Hammond is authorized to send out SOS's to the Tokra through the gate."

"He'll make an exception for the Colonel, I'm sure of it. And all we have to do is get word to my Dad. He'll come through for us."

"If he isn't on some secret undercover mission!" Daniel wanted to have hope, but he was frightened it wouldn't work.

"I will ask to return to Chulak", Teal'c offered, "and will spread the word through Master Bratac and the free Jaffa. They too might know of a hand device we could borrow."

"Good idea Teal'c. Well Janet, we have work to do!" Sam stood up, re-energized now that there was something on which to focus.

Janet watched the three teammates head off to General Hammond's office and couldn't help but shake her head. She hoped they weren't going to be disappointed.

Jack knew he was in the Infirmary. He'd been here too many times not to know the smell and the feel of the place. Of course, he had no idea, at least at first, why he was here. He tried to move but quickly realized that was a mistake. Although clearly doped up on painkillers, the movement had still hurt like the devil. Best to stay still.

He slowly attempted to take an inventory of himself, but was still so groggy it was hard. He could feel that his shoulder and arm were strapped up and he had the damn tube down his throat. He was pretty sure there was another tube, much lower, stuck into him. He hated that but figured it was probably better than him peeing the bed. He suddenly frowned, realizing that he couldn't feel anything down there. God – he started to panic. He was paralyzed! Either that or they'd taken his legs. He could hear the heart beat monitor speed up as his panic grew. Soon the alarms were going off.

God no! He couldn't live like this! Where was his team? Where was Sam? Why wasn't someone helping him? Why didn't someone come?

By the time Janet arrived, running from her office in response to the alarms, Jack was unconscious once more. She could see the nurse checking his vital signs and the monitors. After a moment the young Captain looked up and smiled, indicating everything was now fine. Janet stood by the bed and frowned down at her patient. "What was that Jack O'Neill?" She continued to study her friend, and prayed Sam would find the Tokra.