Chapter Six- Safe or Not

Opening the pocket, Daniel withdrew out the emergency whistle. He let himself fall back onto the tree, placing the whistle to his cold lips. The glow was almost gone though the dogs were still barking. He inhaled deeply and blew hard.

A shrill whistle rang through the air, causing everyone to stop. The rescuers stared at each other, not believing what they heard. The whistle came again, louder and more insistent.

"Do you think?" Mendez said, her grip loosening on Sparky's collar.

The whistle blew for a third time. "Yeah I told you, Daniel wouldn't give up." Without another word, Ferretti and his team shot back to the tributary. Sweeping his flashlight in a wide arc, Ferretti attempted to try and find Daniel. He swung the light back when he noticed something moving on the other side of the river at the base of a tree.

"Doc?" No reply but the white pile moved again and he heard a moan of pain. "He's on the other side of the river!" Ferretti yelled as the others came up.

"Where?" Sanchez asked.

"Right, there at the base of the tree. It seems he can't move for some reason."

"That isn't a good sign." Guzman said, looking around them for some kind of way to get across. "The ice covering the river is too thin to hold our weight even without our equipment."

Colonel Sanchez. Teal'c's voice came over the radio, crackled but understandable.

"Teal'c, you have got perfect timing." Ferretti answered into his radio.

Shaking his head, Sanchez said. "Teal'c, see if you can get a ladder from the SGC. We found Dr. Jackson but he's on the other side of a tributary."

"But that might take to long." Ferretti called out. "It took us four hours to get here. Four hours to get back if we get him right now. If we wait for the ladder, it will take us a total of eight hours to get him back to the SGC. He may not have that time."

"He's right. We don't know the injuries sustained by Dr. Jackson. For all we know, he could be dying."

"Teal'c, hold on for a moment." Sanchez told the Jaffa. "So what do you propose?" Sanchez asked the major.

"I don't know. The only thing I'm saying is that Dr. Jackson may not have the time while we wait for the ladder."

Guzman pointed at a pine. "Think that's sturdy enough to carry the weight of three people?"

Sanchez stared at him. "You want us to walk that thing over to the other side?"

"It's either that or we wait for Teal'c to bring the ladder." The colonel stated simply.

"As I have said before, let's do it." Ferretti said.

"Sir, we have some C-4. That pine will come down on your orders." Torres spoke up. The others waited.

"Sir, we need a decision now. The storm is coming back." Rivera called out. He was right; the slow drift was beginning to pick up.

"Okay, blow it down. I want the three biggest of all of us to walk it once we lying across the river to see if it can hold our weight. Teal'c, we're going to use a tree to get over to Dr. Jackson."

Understood, colonel. The line went dead as Teal'c waited for the news.

Coffey and Torres went over the pine, kneeling at the foot of the tree. "Okay, angles and power come into play. We mess it up; we waste a perfectly good block of C-4 and destroy a little bit of a tree." Coffey muttered.

"Good thing I had A's in math." Torres said as he stuck a block on the bark.

"You're sure about that?" Sanchez said as they took cover.

"Yeah." Torres clicked the button. The earth-shattering boom and the cracking of the tree echoed throughout the area. The team stood up as bits and pieces of wood flittered through the air.

"Damn, that's good calculating." Sanchez whistled. The trunk of the tree was lying at an angle with river, just barely making it to the other side. "Good work, Torres. Now get your butt on that trunk along with Thomas and Rivera."

With their pack on, the three soldiers walked onto the trunk. It moved slightly but held. "It's good, colonel." The three moved slowly over to the other bank. Dropping next to Dr. Jackson, Torres shook the man's shoulder.

Whatever he thought, Torres didn't expect that response. He flew back, clutching his jaw where the doctor's arm had come into contact.

"Whoa, Dr. Jackson. It's us. Rivera, Thomas, and Torres." Rivera said as he wrapped his arms around the struggling doctor. The man went limp. "He's unconscious." Wary of retaliation, Rivera kept his arms around him.

"Irrational behavior, lack of response. Those aren't good signs." Thomas said, checking the doctor's leg. Pulling the trousers out of the boot, the three men saw cuts all over the swollen ankle. "Dang, what happened to him?"

Torres lifted a hand up and the hood fell back. "That isn't good either." Dr. Jackson's face was slightly blue. "I think we hit stage three."

"He's beyond that point." Thomas said as he wrapped up the doctor's leg as best as he could. "His ankle's broken. I thing he's arm is too by the way he's holding it." Gently probing, Thomas checked. Dr. Jackson hissed his face scrunched in pain. "Yup. He's arm is busted too."

"Hey, what's going on?" They heard Sanchez yell.

Letting go of the man, Rivera went to the bank. "He's got a broken arm and leg along with hypothermia. Thomas thinks he's in stage three." They heard the rest of the team cursing.

"Want the stretcher?"

"Yeah. Thomas is still checking over him."

Feeling the ECWCS, Thomas muttered "Shit. He's still slightly wet."

"I think he took a little swim." Rivera said his flashlight focused on the spot on the bank. "There are chopped pieces of root here along with some blood."

"Could explain why we found his pack on the other side." Torres said.

"Yeah, well let's think about that later. Come on, Rivera. Help us get the doc on the stretcher." Soon, the three had the doctor nestled tightly to the stretcher and on the other side of the bank with three water-proof blankets covering him.

Teal'c this is Sanchez, we got Dr. Jackson, we're heading back to the gate.

Would you like for me to meet you?

It's okay Teal'c. Go back to the SGC and wait for us there.

Alright, colonel Sanchez. The team could hear Teal'c was not happy with that.

"Got everything?" Everyone nodded. "Coffey, Madrid I want you picking up the flags as we head back." Happily, the team started back, the dogs quiet beside their handlers and Dr. Jackson carried by Thomas and Torres.

He was bouncing. But at the same not. Weird. Daniel opened his eyes. He could see the dark shapes. Something warm was on top of him. Moving his fingers, he felt the scratchy wool. Like a slow dripping leak, Daniel knew he was rescued. Content and safe he slid back into the darkness.

FOUR HOURS LATER

Ferretti watched as Coffey punched in SG-2's IDC. Grinning with happiness, he looked at Dr. Jackson. Something seemed off. Not quite right. He stared closer. Then it hit him. No puff of mist. "He's not breathing!"

Thomas checked for a pulse. "I have no heartbeat, either!"

The light on the GDO turned green. "Iris is open." Coffey yelled. Torres and Thomas grabbed the stretcher and ran full pelt into the cold horizon.