The night had not gone well for either Cameron or Daniel. Sam and Vala had spent the majority of the night doing their best to keep the guys as comfortable as possible. Even though Cam had five blankets wrapped around him, they could not get him warm enough to stop shivering. During the early hours of the morning they had finally built a fire as close to him as they dared. That seemed to help somewhat. Mitchell was in and out of coherence throughout the night while Jackson managed to maintain a restless sleep.

Sam deeply regretted the fact that she couldn't give either man anything to help manage the pain. She knew Cameron had a head injury and she suspected that Daniel was harboring a minor concussion too. They couldn't risk one of them slipping into a coma which was a possibility with the sedative side effects of morphine.

Vala uncurled herself from beside the fire as Jackson began to stir. She had kept a close eye on him the entire night since Sam seemed to have her hands full with Mitchell. "how are you feeling?"

"Stiff," he admitted honestly. He experimentally tried to flex his right hip but stopped quickly when a bolt of pain shot down his leg. He decided not to test the shoulder just yet. "How's Mitchell?"

They both looked to where Carter sat with Cam a few feet away. Mitchell appeared to be completely unresponsive with his head resting against his raised arm. "Apparently not well."

Sam ran a hand over her face. "His fever is worse and I don't think he slept at all last night."

"Well, maybe Dr. Lam will have some advice when you brief General Landry."

"Hopefully. Your friend Daphne is going to take me back to the gate in a few minutes. I know General Landry will want to send more people, but I really don't think that's a good idea, yet."

Both Daniel and Vala nodded. "Yeah, that might construe that as a threatening gesture."

"But is this thing goes south for some reason, we're going to need some extra help getting back to the gate." They all looked at Cam in surprise. "What? I'm not totally out of it," he tried to defend himself. The attempt fell somewhat flat considering he hadn't even bothered to open his eyes.

"You think it's going to come to that?"

"Don't know, but it never hurts to be prepared. It might be a good idea to have the Odyssey head-" Mitchell's voice had gotten progressively weaker during his answer.

"Mitchell?" No response, "Cameron?!" Daniel said his first name with a bit more urgency but still received no response.

Sam moved to check her patient again. "He's still with us. Cam's right, if this thing does go south, having the Odyssey here as back up wouldn't be a bad idea. Assuming it could get here in time, it was save us from having to move you two." She fell silent as Daphne approached.

"Are you ready Col Carter?"

"Yes." She looked back at Vala, "take good care of them." Vala crossed her heart and held up the boy scout sign. Sam briefly wondered where she had picked up those Americanisms.

STAGATE: SG-1

The day passed uneventfully for the most part. General Landry had agreed that send the Odyssey was a good back up plan. Dr. Lam had not been able to offer much help, but she did suggest wrapping and splinting Mitchell's ankle to decrease the swelling. She agreed with Sam's assessment that morphine was not an option at this point.

The four members of SG-1 watched the sun cross the sky with trepidation. No one knew what the council's decision would be. After what seemed like a year, the sky darkened and the council convened. Both men were helped to a table in the center of the circle.

Every instinct Mitchell had was screaming at him to breath deeply to keep from passing out due to the pain in his ankle. He managed to curb that instinct to keep his ribs from adding their complaints to the list. He could tell from the look on Jackson's face that he wasn't fairing much better with the movement. "What ever you do, don't take a deep breath," Cam tried to keep his voice light.

Daniel managed a half smile, "I'll keep that in mind, thanks." He was slightly dismayed to see that the council was made of six women that looked to be in their sixties and seventies. Talk about being rooted in the old ways. He put those thoughts aside as the meeting was called to order.

"After hearing the story of your people, why you travel through the portal, and watching your interactions with each other, we have decided that you are not a threat to our tribe."

"That's what I'm talking about!" The four teammates shared relieved looks. "And you didn't even have to give a speech Jackson."

One of the council members from the far end of the table interrupted their mini celebration. "Is it true, on your planet men are used for the purpose of impregnating the women?"

Three pairs of eyes turned accusingly toward Vala.

"I didn't say a word, I swear!"

The council member continued. "I found this book among your things Dr. Jackson. It speaks of many things, but I found that one of particular interest."

Vala heaved a sigh of relief when the three accusing stares turned apologetic. For once, she couldn't be blamed.

Jackson, on the other hand, was suddenly lamenting his choice of reading material. "Well, yes. On our planet men and women mate for life," he caught Vala's eye, "usually. Once they mate, they often want children and the man is needed for the women to become pregnant." Daniel had to try very hard not to blush while delivering his statement.

The smiles that appeared on the council members' faces were anything but comforting. "Occasionally, a woman of the tribe does not become spontaneously pregnant during her twenty-fifth year. If this happens, she will never have a child. All women of our tribe want a daughter."

For the life of her, Carter could not figure out where this was going. One look at Vala's face told her that Vala had a good idea and that they weren't going to like it.

"Therefore, you will be kept here to impregnate the women who are not spontaneously fertile."

"What?!" Without thinking it through, both Mitchell and Jackson jumped to their feet and promptly crashed to the ground.