Summary – Since you made it till here, I believe you already know all you need to know. :) Have fun.

Sandra – cauki. no koonecne! ver mi, ja som dokonca OVELA stastnejsia ako ty, ze som to konecne napisala. inak, prajem krasne statnice!!!;)

sorry,nemohla som si odpustit….sak mna o caka tiez…:(

LEENIE – You are mi angel! Love you girl!

ALL others – Firstly, my apologies to all, I know its been a while…well, ok, I GREAT while, but i really tried. Now the bad news, it might take another while to write the next one. nevertheles, i hope you will stay tuned and stick with me. :)

HAZMOT and others as well– Thank you so much for being so patient. Your mail really made me happy that there are ppl still waiting for my story to continue, yeti t made me sad at the same time, since I had let you guys wating so long. Hope it was worth to wait :)

ps – and sorry it took longer than the weekend. But still withing march! ;) However, a biiig SORRY for you.

Secondly, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE GREAT REVIEWS!!! They all made my day and kept me going! we are over 60 now, so pls, keep them going. they are a great motivation. :)

And thirdly… Man! You people are soooo mean! You all wish so badly to finally see Daniel suffer..Am I the only one to defend the little guy?

Nah, youre all right! He deserves punishment!!!:))))

So now, you are free to read my new chapter. As usual - RER – read – enjoy – review. Cos I LOOOOVE FEEDBACK! But you already know, don't you? ;)

Where the truth lies

by- liz parker

Chapter 7 – „Plan A" and „Plan B"

Vala had never experienced such excruciating pain before. And she was used to pain. Yet, this pain was different. It couldn't be compared to any pain she had ever experienced. It made her wish she could just disappear, fizzle out into a speck of dust. She felt as though thousands of tiny sharp needles were digging into her body, down into her bones, into her very core. At the same time, the freezing water was pressing against her chest, preventing her from breathing. Her lungs suddenly found themselves without any air to support them. She fought hard to stay above the water, but she could feel with every second her limbs growing stiff. Her legs were heavy and lifeless and they started to pull her down. The more she fought, the more helpless she was and she sunk even deeper. After a short while, her head had definitely submersed beneath the surface and she could feel her lugs starting to fill with the unbearably cold water. Her mind was once again clear and alert, all the haze gone after first contact with the freezing water. But although her brain was screaming for help, her body wouldn't listen.

For a moment there, she thought this was the end.

Although all of her strength had dwindled, she was still trying to fight till the bitter end. But her body was failing her, refusing to listen to the simple commands of her mind. She could feel it slowly sinking deeper and deeper into the lake.

But just as she was about to accept the inevitable, Vala felt a strong grasp closing around her arm and somebody or something started to pull her up. She finally relaxed her exhausted muscles, praying for the grip not to let go.

Suddenly her head was above the water, causing her to do the only reasonable instinctive thing - gasp for breath. Yet she started to cough violently, spitting out all the water blocking her airways instead of getting fresh air into them. During this process, she could feel someone finally pulling her body out of the water and setting her down on an unbroken part of the ice.

Vala finally found a way to breathe, yet it was painful to do so. Her lungs were burning and she knew heat had little to do with it. She was still struggling to catch her breath while lying across the ice, not able to move, paralyzed with pain, cold, numbness and exhaustion.

She saw a dark figure lean over her, a person with a golden oval tattooed onto his forehead. She recognized the figure at once: it was Teal'c. That could mean only one thing: they had somehow managed to rescue her. She gave a great sigh of relief, finally allowing herself to fall into darkness.

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"I am afraid Vala Mal Doran has lost consciousness," Announced Teal'c.

"What? She blacked out?" A concerned voice said, bending over Vala's form. It belonged to Mitchell, who was clearly distressed yet relieved that they had managed to successfully retrieve her from the bloody lake. Yet without Teal'c…well, it was always great to have someone like Teal'c around.

"Ok, we have to act quickly now. Let's get her inside of one of those caves where she'll be sheltered from the wind. C'mon! Let's move it, people!"

Teal'c didn't need to be told twice. He scooped Vala's limp body into his arms and quickly made his way towards the nearest entrance to a cave that was in sight. The others followed him without a word, all of them obviously shaken by the sudden and unexpected twist of events.

Teal'c put Vala gently to the ground and stepped aside for Mitchell to take over. Cam knelt beside Vala's limp body and bent over to examine her. Then he pressed his fingers against her neck to check for a pulse. He found one alright, slow, but thankfully strong enough. He sighed with relief just as Vala started to stir, giving a soft groan.

"Vala?" Nothing.

"Vala… Hey!" He raised his voice a bit.

She started to open her eyes, but, her gaze was obviously confused and unfocused. She bent her head a bit so she could see the person calling her name.

"Hey sleeping beauty! Welcome back! You got us really scared." He said with a smile, trying to keep his voice casual so she wouldn't notice how worried he really was. However, the look she gave him made Cam quickly realize, that he had failed miserably. So instead, he turned around to face the others.

"Guys, she's come around!"

They all gathered closer hastily, Sam trying to give her friend a reassuring smile. Vala, however, didn't seem to catch it. She gazed confusedly at Mitchell.

"We have to take her clothes off, as quickly as possible," said Sam.

Cam gave her a nod, then turned back to Vala and slowly but articulately started to talk to her again.

"Don't worry; everything is going to be ok. We… I mean T, got you out on time. Now we gotta get you out of these clothes as fast as we can, ok?"

Again, Vala didn't seem to understand a word he was saying. On the contrary, her eyes were closing again, and her mind starting to sink into unconsciousness. Mitchell saw her lapse and no matter how sorry he felt for waking her up, he knew he had to keep her awake as long as possible. He reached out to cup her cheek into his hand.

"Vala? Vala! Do you understand? We are going to take your clothes off now, ok? Just try to stay with us, alright?"

Up till that point, Daniel hadn't interrupted. He felt terrible for what had happened and he of course blamed himself for the whole incident. It was his guilt that forced him to hold back untill now. But he had already started to grow impatient and more distraught and he didn't have the nerves to remain quiet anymore.

"We don't have time for this Cam; we need to get her dry!" He said in an irritated voice.

He brushed past Sam and knelt down next to Vala's other side, opposite Mitchell. Then, he started to undress her himself. He knew the water must have been freezing, yet when his fingers touched the zipper of her anorak, the intense cold made his hand flinch away instinctively. He couldn't dare to imagine how Vala was feeling with all those freezing clothes on.

The anorak was already so frozen in crunched under his fingers. He quickly unzipped it and took it off, yet during the whole process, he didn't have the courage to look at her directly. Then he continued with her pullover and boots. While undressing her, Daniel couldn't help but notice how violently she was shivering, her teeth chattering noisily. God, she was so pale.

He finally managed to get to the lesser layers, his fingers meeting the bare skin of her stomach. At that moment, he could feel her stiffen and flinch away from his touch. To everybody's surprise, her hands flung up in an instant, and with startling strength, she pushed Daniel's hands violently away.

Daniel supposed she was just scared and so confused that she didn't know what she was doing. So, he tried to explain to her what needed to be done in a relatively calm voice. As calm as he could muster, that is.

"Vala, we really don't have time for this, now let me…"

Yet Daniel was wrong. Vala knew exactly what she was doing. If she were confused about something, this was definitely not it.

"NO Daniel, you're SO not doing that!" She said half angrily, half pleadingly.

Daniel decided not to pay attention to her pleas. This was not the time or place for delicate handling. He continued despite her feeble protests. Finally, she seemed to gather the last bit of strength left in her in order to protest heavily.

"Stop it Daniel! Go away… I said GO AWAY!"

Still, Daniel didn't care. Or better said, it looked like he didn't care. He hated to do this as much as she did, but he simply saw no other choice, especially when his mind was clouded by something not founded on sheer rationality.

The others looked at each other in discomfort. Sam came up with another solution. She closed in on Daniel, touching his shoulder.

"Daniel, maybe I should do it, she may be more comfortable with that." She tried quietly.

He shrugged her hand off and merely continued to fight Vala in order to get her undressed. However, when she didn't stop fighting, Daniel was pushed to the edge.

"Vala, stop fighting! This is ridiculous, I've seen you half-naked on many occasions, none of which I had chosen freely by the way, so stop acting like the Virgin mother and let me get you out of these ice-cold clothes, dammit!"

His words sounded harsher than he had intended. He sighed with regret and despair. Couldn't she see how worried sick he was? Why did she always have to be so bloody stubborn? And weren't the others as scared as he regarding what might happen if they didn't help her on time?

Mitchell used this little moment of hesitation to step in, grabbing Daniel by the arm. Gosh, this day was a nightmare.

"Hey Jackson, I suppose you know what it means when a lady says NO. Sam's right, leave her do it. You're ok with that, Vala?"

She gave a faint nod, all her strength suddenly gone. All that was left was a weak, sick stranger slumped up against the ground, not the Vala they were all used to – strong and independent. This made the others even more worried.

"Ok guys, she needs dry clothes, so let's see what we all can put together. I am donating the thermal blanket which the very kind and thoughtful Doc Lam insisted we take along, despite my continuous bitching and calling it an unnecessary burden. Now I'm gonna have to apologize to her million times. Where was I?... Oh yeah, I'm also donating two pairs of nice, wooly, warm socks. Sam?"

All of them donated some dry and warm clothes, and then the guys left the cave allowing Vala some privacy to get changed.

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While outside, the guys discussed their possibilities. They could see dark clouds on the horizon coming from the east. Mitchell took out a weather scanner and scrutinized the readings. Yep, definitely a storm approaching.

They had only a few possibilities. Two, actually.

Plan A: they could remain where they were and wait for the storm to pass. They could then try to reach the gate on foot, all five of them together. If they waited though, they would risk allowing Vala's condition to worsen. Frostbite was nothing pleasant, but with the thermal blanket, the other dry clothing as well as remaining sheltered within the cave, she could make it just fine. If they made it home, she could heal the frostbite herself with the go'auld healing device herself. Yet, Cam knew that was risky business.

Plan B involved Mitchell taking one member of the team along with him and heading to the gate immediately. They would try to get help before the storm caught up with them. But the risks surrounding this plan were severe: the storm might catch them on their way to the gate, causing them to face brutal weather conditions and possibly get lost on their right way to the gate. Even if they could reach the gate in time, they would still have to wait for a rescue team to assemble, costing them more priceless hours.

"Some choice," thought Mitchell.

The more Cam though about it, the more he considered plan A a better one. Not because it was more comfortable to just sit back and wait. He hated feeling like a sitting duck: it was always very risky. Yet, the risk would increase exponentially if he and somebody else got lost in the storm. If they didn't find their way back to the gate, they would be stranding the rest of the team with a seriously injured teammate, who's only hope at that point would be the SGC dialing out when they didn't check in within approximately 9 hours.

"Ok guys. Whatcha think? I personally think we should wait and see," said Mitchell, not liking the words that came out of his mouth at all. Yet, his brain knew that it was the most reasonable thing to do.

"I agree with Col. Mitchell," said Teal'c. "If we wait for the storm to pass by, we may have a better chance to get to the stargate, saving valuable time for Vala Mal Doran."

"I think we should go right away," said Daniel resolutely. Then his nerves loosened, as already so many times before that day.

"You just can't leave her like this in this god-forsaken wasteland to freeze to death! She is getting serious frostbite, probably pneumonia and who knows what else! How do you even want her to get to the gate? You don't expect her to walk on her own, do you Cam? So what? Are you prepared to carry her the entire way, Teal'c?" His voice was full of anger.

"I believe you are underestimating Vala Mal Doran, Daniel Jackson," said Teal'c in a calm voice.

Daniel wanted to shoot back some acerbic reply but Cam cut through.

"Sorry Jackson, but we outvoted you, 2 to 1. We stay and wait for the storm to pass."

"Crap!" Cursed Daniel.

He was irritated, yes, but he refused to utter one more word. Mitchell clearly didn't know what he was doing. If Jack had been there… Yet, when he thought about it, Daniel hated to admit that Jack would have probably done the same thing.

"You still haven't asked Sam. She is a team member too. You see, you can't set up a vote without letting all members to be present." Murmured Daniel loud enough for Mitchell to hear.

Cam sighed in despair.

"Ok, fair enough. Let's get back to the girls then and ask Sam."

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Daniel concluded there was something wrong the instant he saw the expression on Sam's face. The lame joke that Cam cracked at Vala's expense was immediately overshadowed by Sam's worried look. Instead of a greeting, she gave them the bad news.

"We've got a problem here guys…"

"What is it?" Daniel shot back instantly. He knew right away that whatever it was, he was not gonna like it.

Instead of replying, Sam reached into Vala's hair to show the rest of her team the big nasty cut on Vala's temple.

"She has a massive headache and probably a strong concussion - she doesn't remember what happened to her. Guys, this is worse than we thought…" She didn't need to finish her sentence, they all knew what it meant. If they didn't get her home as soon as possible, she would die here. She was in no condition to walk to the gate on her own. Plus, the injury might cause her some serious head trauma; therefore she needed a doctor right away. The stakes were high, but Cam knew this was changing their previous arrangements totally. They had to go straight from plan A to plan B.

"Damn…" Cursed Mitchell with a heavy sigh.

While Vala was shifting uncomfortably in her corner, the rest of the team was busily thinking through all of the options, everyone lost in his or her own thoughts.

"Ok, so-so you a-all had a lo-look, now gi-gimme five bucks for-for the ss-show. E-each." Vala tried to ease up the situation with another lame joke, yet nobody laughed. The situation was much too serious.

"Ok," said Mitchell resolutely. "We monitored the weather, and the readings on the scanner show that a heavy storm is approaching. The gate is approximately one mile to the West, but the storm is coming from the East. In the deep snow and these conditions, it should take us about 15 to 20 minutes to get to the gate. By the time we reach the gate, it may be possible for the storm to have broken out already. So, question one – How do we find you again, 'cause when the storm breaks out, our comms will most likely be out and the footprints in the snow will have disappear-"

"We can bring a portable tracking device to locate our signal implants," interrupted Daniel without hesitation.

"…which brings us to my second question Jackson, who will go with me and who will stay?" Somehow, Mitchell already knew the answer.

"I will go with you," said Daniel at once.

Cam sighed inwardly. Yep, this was exactly what he was afraid of. He could feel Daniel's stare intently fixed upon him. Mitchell knew why Daniel wanted to go so badly, he just wasn't sure if this was the best idea. He tried to talk Daniel out.

"Jackson, it's pretty chilly out there, besides, we don't know whether we'll be able to reach the gate in time. The storm may catch us on the way and we don't know what to expect, we may get lost or unable to continue…"

"Still, I'll go."

Mitchell scratched his head. "Well, I don't want to hurt your feelings Daniel, but I was thinking more about taking Teal'c or Carter… "

"NO! For the last time Cam, I'll go. Sam can help Vala with the wound and everything and Teal'c has no anorak, and I can't give him mine, or I would freeze. Besides…" Daniel sighed heavily, "…I'm not completely innocent regarding the reasons why we ended up in this mess…"

He gave Cam a pleading look. He wanted to do something, somehow make things up, or at least try to. He couldn't just sit here doing nothing while Vala's condition continued to worsen with every minute.

After all, he had been the one to get them into this, and he had caused all the trouble. He managed to endanger one of his teammates' lives, knowing he purposely pushed Vala over the edge.

'Jeez just let me go with you!' Daniel's eyes pleaded, a look of despair written all over his face.

Cam and Sam exchanged glances. Sam gave him an at-least-you-tried look and shrugged as in a sign she doesn't mind Daniel going. Cam understood the message and gave a resignated nod.

"Ok. Jackson and I are going to the gate, while Sam and T will stay here with Vala. Hopefully, we'll be back in two hours. It may take some time to put together a rescue team, especially under these circumstances. Ok, see ya soon."

With that, he left the cave. He hated farewells of any sort, especially when embarking on a dangerous mission. Saying a quick 'see you later' was somehow more reassuring. It gave him the feeling the mission would go well and that he would meet the person he just left again soon.

Yet, for Daniel, it wasn't that easy. He didn't want to go without saying goodbye. He crossed the cave and knelt beside Vala once more.

"We'll be back in no time. You take care of yourself and do whatever Sam tells you, ok?" He said in the most serious, yet gentle tone.

"We-well, sure Da-Daniel..I didn't for-forget that you-you al-always know best..." It was not the remark itself, but her sarcastic tone that that caught him off guard. Yet, he knew he should have expected it.

"Vala, not now please." He didn't want to leave in dispute.

"I-I…didn't do-do it Da-Daniel." She said resolutely. God she could be so persistent sometimes…

"Vala, not now please. We don't have time. We will talk about this when we get you home, alright?" He said, still trying to settle things down.

"I want you to tell me you believe me Daniel!"

Exasperation but also distress was clear in her voice. He didn't answer. It was not the question itself, or the answer he would give her for that matter. No, something else bothered him. Right now, some stupid mace did not matter at all. To Daniel, it didn't even exist at this moment. The only thing that mattered to him now was to get Vala home as soon as possible and get her all the help she needed to be happy and cheerful again.

Nevertheless, he was too afraid to answer her. At that moment, Daniel got the same sort of feeling Cam did whenever he said farewell. Daniel believed that when he left things open, he would get a chance to fix them later. If he left this question open, they would get the chance to sort everything out later. So instead of replying, Daniel chose another gesture to let Vala know how he felt. Before she could object again, he pulled her into a tight hug and gave her a light yet very gentle kiss on the cheek.

"You take care, hold on, and wait for us, promise?" Said Daniel, his voice insistent.

Vala could see that his question was not only a demand from his part. It was also a promise. If she held on, Daniel would return for her. She gave him a small nod. For anything else she was too exhausted and tired. He gave her an encouraging smile and quickly disappeared through the exit hole to catch up with Mitchell's quick pace. Time was short.

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General Landry was sitting in his office going through some official mail when the alarms went off.

"Unscheduled off-world activation!"

He made his way quickly towards the gate room only to be greeted by Walter sitting by the computer.

"It's SG-1, Sir." Walter quickly looked over the data on the computer screen.

"They are not scheduled to check in for another 8 hours." He said worriedly.

"Open the Iris!" commanded General Landry in a firm tone.

The iris opened, but for a couple of moments, nobody stepped through. Then suddenly, two muffled up figures covered from head to toe in snow fell through the gate and collapsed on the ramp. The gate shut down, leaving everyone to watch in astonishment as the two figures fought hard to find their breath again, the snow they dragged with them through the wormhole quietly dispersing all around them. At last, Daniel Jackson found his voice and shouted as loud as his vocal chords could possibly muster:

"We need help!!!"

TBC

AN – ok, so this were the events that happened in the prologue, yet written from a different perspective. Please don't take this as cheating, since I used a lot of dialogue from the prologue, but more as a different angle story-telling. I really planned to write this chapter to fill in some gaps. I hope I succeeded.

Ok. So now, you don't have any more plot to hang to you poor guys, since I finally reached the beginning. I am afraid you gotta stick with me from now on of ya wanna know how this all ends:)

Ok, now more practical and serious matters.

I honestly don't know when I will be able to write another chapter. I really hope it to be soon, but again, I cant tell for sure, the finals are getting closer and closer…:(So maybe you will have to wait for another few weeks, maybe even a months again. But don't be sad. I have great plans for the next chapter. :)))))

It wont be a filler as was this chapter, of sorts, but it should be a really cool one. Well, at least I hope it wil be, lol:). Anyway, that will be up to you.

And, for all of you who wanna see Daniel suffer, you bad BAD people ;), including me, watch out for the next chapter, the poor guy is gonna have some very grim and gruesome moments. Hehe, I can be sooo mean!:D

Ok, gonna end now. Have a nice day, all of you. AND REVIEW!!!

Kiss, liz.

dismissed