It seemed Sam had barely set her head down before she was being shaken awake once more. She opened her eyes to see Colonel O'Neill kneeling over her, Teal'c and Daniel awake beside him. Instantly awake thanks to years of training and experience, she whispered as she reached for her P-90, "What is it?"

"We've got company," O'Neill whispered back.

Great. "Jaffa?" The Colonel nodded. Fantastic. Timing perfect as always.

Echoing her thoughts, he added, "Perfect timing, as always."

She nodded and smiled despite herself. "Yes, sir."

"Back to the 'gate, Carter." When she opened her mouth to protest, he quickly explained, "For a few days. We'll finish here once the Jaffa have left. Now…" He gestured towards the back of the tent.

After grabbing her pack, Sam took point as directed. She slid easily under the bottom edge of the canvas, the rest of the team following in file. She led them into the woods surrounding the village, angling around back towards the 'gate. After an hour or more of silent walking, they approached their destination. She halted their small column in sight of the 'gate, but still under concealment. From that vantage point, the 'gate looked unguarded, but they new better than to trust blindly.

The team knelt around O'Neill, waiting for orders. "Teal'c, Carter, you clear the area. Daniel, wait here with me."

Carter and Teal'c nodded, and Sam gestured for Teal'c to take the right hand side of the clearing. They each circled one edge, meeting up again on the far side from where O'Neill and Daniel waited on the other side of the Stargate itself. At Teal'c's quick nod, Sam spoke into her walkie, "All clear, sir."

Across from them, Daniel broke cover, running to the DHD to begin punching in the coordinates. As he was finishing the dialing sequence, a shot rang out from O'Neill's direction. A moment later, his voice screamed through Sam's earpiece, "Back-up would be good, NOW!"

More shots. Sam was already moving, having gestured for Teal'c to join Daniel while she raced back along the edge of the clearing to support O'Neill. As she ran, she could see Jack ahead of her, crouching behind a fallen log for cover, returning fire on a small squad of Jaffa who had snuck up on his six.

From her angle, she had a clear field of fire. Dropping quickly into the prone position, she got off several quick shots in succession. The squad dropped to the ground in front of her. Sam was pretty sure her shots had landed, but you know what they say about assumptions.

O'Neill spoke through her earpiece again, "Cover me, Carter."

"Yes, sir."

She kept her rifle trained on the fallen Jaffa as O'Neill stood up and, still crouching, moved forwards. He quickly checked the bodies before standing up fully.

"All clear," came his conclusion into her ear.

She nodded. As he moved to join her, she turned to look back over her shoulder at Daniel and Teal'c's progress. They had opened the 'gate and were crouched next to the DHD, ready to leave or assist as needed. She looked back at the Colonel. "Time to go, sir?"

He nodded, "Yeah, Carter. Let's get the he…" His gaze flew to something off to her right, away from the 'gate, in the direction of the village. "Carter!" O'Neill covered the final distance between them in a leap, pushing Sam to the ground beneath him. The sound of a staff blast echoed across the clearing. It was followed quickly by the report of several gunshots.

"Got 'em." Daniel's overly optimistic remarks came just as more staff blasts rang out from the other side of the clearing.

O'Neill rolled off her with a low groan, and Sam's uniform was wet and sticky where he had lain on her. He tried to struggle to his feet, but she pulled him back down. "Carter…"

"Sir… You've been shot."

He nodded through clenched teeth, "No shit."

She looked back out across the clearing, "And we're cut off from the 'gate."

He nodded again, wordlessly, and she could tell from a vagueness in his eyes that the pain was starting to get the better of him. Damn. "Daniel?"

"Yeah, Sam?"

"Can you still get to the 'Gate?"

"Yeah, why?" Then, realizing what she meant, "No, Sam. We can hold it, you and Jack—"

"He's been hit."

"Oh. God. Is he…?"

She tried to keep her rising panic out of her voice. "He's… alive. I don't know how badly he's been injured." She glanced over at Jack, lying next to her and clutching his side, uselessly trying to hide his pain. He was going nowhere fast. She made her decision. "Daniel, you and Teal'c get back through the 'gate. Let General Hammond know what's up and he can arrange a rescue. Hopefully, the Jaffa don't know we've split up and will assume we've all left."

"Sam—"

"Just do it, Daniel," she ordered, clearly imagining him nodding in resignation.

"Yeah. Take care of him, Sam. And take care of yourself."

Teal'c broke into the conversation, "We will return shortly, Major Carter."

"Thanks… Now go."

Across the clearing, she could see them break cover from the DHD and leap back through the 'gate, the blast of staff weapons following them even after the 'gate had been shut from the other side. She and Jack were alone on a planet filled with Jaffa, he was injured she didn't know how badly, and she had no idea what to do next: just another day on SG-1.

Rolling over to Jack, she began to check his vitals and the extent of his injuries.