Evan had turned his face away from her for one second before the sound of weapons fire and Laura's startled cry whipped his head back around.
She was already disappearing over the side of the ravine as he leapt forward to catch her.
"Laura! No!"
Sheppard and Ronon had their guns out and were scanning the area for the shooter, while Lorne dropped to his stomach and bellied up to the ledge to see if he could see Laura.
He breathed out a tiny sigh of relief when he spotted her, although his stomach knotted up when he noted her position. She had rolled down the slope to the very edge before the drop into the river. The only thing that had stopped her descent was a crumbling rock that jutted up above the rest.
It didn't look very stable, and he knew it wouldn't hold against her weight for long. She wasn't conscious, but he couldn't tell from his vantage point what her injuries were.
"Sir," he said, looking behind him at his CO.
"Cadman?" Sheppard questioned, his eyes still searching for the unknown threat.
"She's snagged on the drop-off, Sir," he started before the mysterious shooter decided that enough time had gone by since his initial shot and began unloading a barrage of bullets in their direction.
Sheppard and Ronon ducked down beside Lorne, and Sheppard glanced down over the edge at Laura's prone form before looking back at the others.
"Looks like the only way to go is down," he said.
Lorne and Ronon nodded, and the three of them slipped carefully over the edge. Digging in their heels, they cautiously controlled their movements until they reached Laura.
Ronon pulled out his blaster and kept it trained above them, in case their assailant followed, while Lorne and Sheppard eased over to Laura to check her condition.
She was on her right side, her back wedged against the rock holding her up. From what they could see, she had a large scrape on her right temple that was oozing blood.
Her right arm was sprawled up under her head while her left lay straight out in front of her. From the odd angle her left shoulder was jutting out, Lorne could tell she had dislocated it.
He shared a grim look with Sheppard. They couldn't fix it here. It would have to wait until they got to stable ground.
"Sheppard," Ronon hissed suddenly, his eyes raised.
Above them, they could hear the sound of grass crunching beneath someone's feet and knew they had to hurry. Evan quickly turned back to Laura, patting her face and whispering urgently.
"Laura! Laura, wake up!"
Her eyes blinked open slowly and she groaned. Sheppard leaned forward and covered her mouth to muffle the sound.
She was instantly alert, though Evan could see that her eyes were clouded with pain. She attempted to move her left arm and ended up biting Sheppard's hand when fire bloomed from her shoulder down to her fingertips.
Her eyes fluttered, but Evan tapped her face again to get her attention.
"We have to jump," he whispered to her.
He could see the Marine determination filter into her eyes before she nodded sharply.
Sheppard removed his hand from her mouth and they carefully maneuvered her into sitting position.
Once she was up, she rested her head on Evan's shoulder, breathing raggedly. He placed a hand on her head, his thumb rubbing absently, and looked up again.
The sounds from above were growing closer. Sheppard looked over the drop-off, down into the river and then back at them.
"Remember, feet first," he cautioned, then jumped.
Ronon motioned for Evan to take Laura over next. Lorne turned himself to face her fully and wrapped her good arm around his neck. She clutched the edges of his TAC vest as he wrapped his arms securely around her middle.
"Don't let go," he whispered in her ear before kissing her temple and hurling them over the edge.