Hello all! I hope your holiday has been wonderful! It feels like it's been forever since I posted, and that's probably because it's the longest I've ever gone between posts while in the middle of a story. This first class really kicked my butt with deadlines. Then I hit sbz with the chapter at her busy time of the semester. I have to say a huge thank you to her for continuing to take the time to work with me. Also, a huge thank you to those of you who continued to send me love and messages during my absence. I heard you. I appreciate you. I hope you enjoy what I've written. This next class doesn't appear to be as grueling as the last one (at least the syllabus doesn't look as scary). I know, I know. Now that I've said it...

Those of you who have been waiting for some whump will get it in this chapter. Yay!

Again, Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! And may each of you have a wonderful New Year!

Warning! Too much turkey and stuffing will result in a non-productive night on the couch watching a horrible and hopeless chick flick and lots of tummy rumbling... that is, until it's time for the peach pie. :0)

Once the Twilight

Chapter Ten

Jack shook his head at Daniel, wishing they hadn't been forced to reconnect the radio jammer. Outside, rain pelted the metal walls and roof, drowning out the whir of the computer next to him. He wished it could make his dark thoughts disappear, too.

"She said she was fine," Daniel said beside him.

How did he do that? "Yeah, I know she did," Jack said. He busied his hands by digging through his pack for something to eat. He wasn't really hungry, but he needed to do something. All the while, he pictured his second officer lying mangled near some cliff out there.

"She wouldn't lie to you."

Jack raised his eyebrows, fighting the urge to say something nasty. Finally, his fingers wrapped around an energy bar. "Of course she would." He said, tearing at the wrapper. "That's exactly what she'd do." He tried to forget the sound of pain in her voice… the slur in her words. There was nothing he could do about it.

Daniel seemed to know he needed a minute. His friend turned back to the control board and made sure everything was back the way they found it.

Jack jumped down off the counter and zipped up his pack. He shrugged it on while he crammed the energy bar into his mouth in three big bites. The wrapper, he crinkled into a little ball and threw it over his shoulder.

He turned to find Daniel eyeing him sternly, then he looked to the litter Jack had deposited on the floor.

Jack shrugged. "So sue me," he said. "We have a mine to get to."

Daniel nodded, grabbed his own pack, and headed for the door. His limp was still obvious.

They exited the building into the pouring rain. It wasn't the first time Jack wished there'd been enough time to put rain gear in their packs before they'd been forced to jump ship. They had probably another four hours of sunlight left. They needed to make the most of it. He put his hat on and looked down the mountain. The terrain dropped into a steep decline not far away. They'd probably be rappelling soon. He didn't think Daniel would be able to do it with that leg of his.

Well, they'd fight that battle when they came to it.

Daniel pulled the door tightly shut and turned back to Jack with a nod.

Jack returned it. "Let's get going."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Sam leaned back against the rock face and closed her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so tired. Pain could do that to you. She shivered slightly and pulled her jacket closed as more clouds rolled in. Thunder crashed in the grey sky. The loud cracks echoed around her and added to her sense of urgency to get off this horrible cliff. Once the storm dumped its load higher in the mountains, the waterfall was going to get bigger… it could possibly grow strong enough to push them off their little shelf. She had to get them down. She opened her eyes and tried to sit up a bit straighter.

"Galek," she said. He didn't budge. She kicked out with her left foot and her boot connected with his shoulder. "Galek!" She rolled her eyes. "And he thought I was going to be a burden?" She shifted again and winced when the movement sent daggers into her shoulder. She didn't check the whimper that escaped her lips or the small bit of moisture that rolled from the corner of her eye. She'd never allow that to happen if Galek were awake, but since he was sleeping…

Sam examined her shoulder. She needed to see what was wrong, but it was going to be hard to do up here. There was hardly any room to move around and she really needed to strip her BDU jacket to get a good look. Shrugging out of it would be next to impossible in the amount of space she had. Instead, she reached up with her other hand and gingerly felt around the area. It screamed in protest at her touch and she closed her eyes against the pain.

Oh, but it hurt.

She sucked in air through her teeth. She didn't feel any bones sticking out, but there was a definite baseball sized lump where it shouldn't be. "Out of its socket," she said to herself. "Great." With a heavy sigh, she let her hand fall to her lap. That arm would be useless on the climb down. She'd have to put it back in place once she got there. If Galek were awake, she could have him do it, but alone, she'd need space and some kind of anchor.

So. Down.

Sam leaned forward and scooted on her bottom until she could see all the way down to the ground. They'd fallen pretty far already, but this last drop, the one that led to solid ground, was a doozy. Far below, the tops of trees bent with the force of the wind. From up here, she could see a few hundred meters wide indentation in the ground. The water pooled in the basin. She never would have noticed it from below. The trees were too thick and its edges weren't as defined as the arroyo up top. When it was full, it would be a large body of water, though not too deep.

"It's a good thing we planned to go spelunking," Sam told the unconscious Galek. She reached out and grabbed his shoulder strap with her good hand. It was an awkward reach, but she was able to pull him farther onto the shelf. Once she was sure his body was secure, she began the arduous task of removing his pack from his shoulders. It was not the easiest of jobs as she had to do it one-handed while making sure she didn't shift him enough to knock him off the ledge. Finally, she wiped the sweat from her brow and pulled the pack into her lap. She removed the rope and a few clamps from the pack, followed by an anchor. A shiver took hold. The wind threatened to freeze the sweat on her skin. It whistled through the cracks in the rock behind her and blew the water across her exposed cheeks.

"Once we're down," she mumbled to herself, "we'll need to find shelter."

She zipped the pack back up, set it beside her, and shot another glance at Galek. Not a twitch. She grimaced. "You really are going to make me do this alone, aren't you?" In frustration, she grabbed a handful of loose pebbles on the shelf and tossed them at him. A couple bounced up off his forehead and she heard the soft ting as others landed against the metal buckle on his belt.

She watched the steady rise and fall of his chest and was almost jealous. It would be nice to be able to take a nap while he lowered her down the rest of the way. Nah. If their roles were reversed, he'd probably leave her on the ledge and head off alone.

Tempting.

Sam shook her head and unwound the nylon rope, ignoring the pain in her shoulder as she was forced to use that arm. Her fingers had begun to go numb so she knew she had to work fast on her knots. She took the end and built a crude harness, then shifted closer to Galek. She had to practically lie across his face to reach his waist and legs.

Once the harness was in place, she fought with the buttons on his BDU jacket. Getting it off him was the hardest part. Her breathing came in short pants and she let go with all the curses she knew as her shoulder screamed in protest. She took the freed jacket and wrapped it around his head for protection in case she wasn't able to lower him gently enough. She didn't know how bad his injury was even now. If he managed to take a blow on the way down, he could be in really bad shape.

When she was satisfied, she leaned back against the wall and squeezed her eyes tight. She threw her arm over them and concentrated on breathing in and out against the fire in her shoulder.

Just then the sky opened up. A torrent of rain and wind pelted her.

Great. Just great.

With shaking fingers, she tied Galek's pack into the harness and grabbed the line closest to his head with both hands. Saying a little prayer that her shoulder would hold up, she gave him a sharp kick that sent him over the edge. The rope instantly went taut and she felt his weight pull against her hands. She leaned away from the pull until her back met the rock wall, feet braced against the floor. Slowly, she let the rope slip through her hands, lowering him toward the ground below.

Her teeth clenched. The rope grew slick with rain. It slipped repeatedly in her grip, rubbing blisters into her palms. Her shoulder threatened to give out. Time passed. And then the weight was gone. She relaxed against the wall and let the rope go. It slithered toward the edge and then disappeared. After allowing herself a minute to catch her breath, she inched to the edge and peered down. Galek lay on his back half in the growing pool below. Water covered his legs but had yet to rise above his hips or chest. It looked like the pool had a bit farther to grow out before it would rise any more. She had a little time.

With the extra room Galek's absence gave her, Sam was able to shift her hips farther from the wall. She reached up to remove her pack and couldn't stop the sharp cry that slipped from her lips when she had to shrug out of the straps. Every movement was pure agony.

She pulled the pack around to her lap and unzipped it. Her rope sat right on top of the other supplies. She took another moment to pull out a packet of ibuprofen and ripped it open with her teeth. She popped them in her mouth and chewed, ignoring the nasty taste. It probably wouldn't do much to help, but it was something.

Zipping the bag back up, she dropped it beside her and grabbed the anchor. She reached down with her fingers and felt along the hard ledge until she found what she was looking for… a crack just big enough to jam the contraption into. She used all the strength she had to force the metal into the crack as far as it would go. Then she released the spring, solidifying its grip on the mountain. She tugged at it until she was fairly sure it would hold, then attached a clamp to its ring. The rope slipped easily through the loop of the clamp and she tied one end to her waist. Since her hands were now completely numb there was no way to be sure how tight the knot was. Relying on her eyes to tell her it would hold, she scooted to the edge and reached back to grab her pack. She slipped it on, being as careful of her shoulder as she could, and looked down. If her shoulder gave out once she started, she was going to be a pancake. There wasn't nearly enough water down there to break her fall.

Her hands wrapped tightly around the loose end of the rope just on the other side of the clamp. The rain didn't matter now that she felt the full brunt of the waterfall. Soaked to the bone, her teeth began to chatter. Below, the water rose quickly. It seemed to have finally reached the edge of the basin. Galek was covered to his chest.

Knowing she'd run out of time, Sam shifted her hips and slid off the ledge, praying the knots and anchor would hold. She hung there for a moment, bracing herself against the fire in her shoulder. Then, she began to let the rope slide through her raw hands, slowly lowering herself toward the ground. She focused on this single task, pushing aside all thoughts of the cold or the water, of her shoulder or hands. The rope slid inside her grasp; it rubbed against her blisters. She set her eyes on the rock wall in front of her and kept going.

About eight feet from the bottom, the rope came to an end. "Great," she muttered, casting her eyes downward. The pool of water was deeper now. It would cushion her fall somewhat. It really wasn't that far, anyway.

"Right."

It wasn't as if she had a choice. There was only one way down, pleasant or not. Deciding that there was no use delaying the inevitable, she let go of the rope. Her stomach flew to her throat the instant she started falling. Then she hit the water and the rocky ground beneath it with her backside. Instinctively, she threw her hands back to catch herself and instantly regretted it. Fire shot from her shoulder and traveled in waves down her back. She cried out and swallowed some water.

Sputtering, she rolled to her side and used her good arm to push up to a sitting position. The water continued to fall on her from above. She hunched her shoulders and tilted her face downward so she could draw in a few deep breaths. Several feet away, out of the water's spray, Galek still lay unconscious. His head floated above the water, the level not yet deep enough to bring the rest of him up off the ground.

Sam frowned. If anything was going to wake him, the water should have. "How hard did you hit your head, anyway?" she asked. Of course, he didn't answer.

Dragging herself up to her feet, she swayed under the pressure of the falling water. Her hair was plastered to the side of her face. She shoved it out of her eyes. A sharp twinge rose up her leg from her knee as she trudged through the rising water toward Galek. She must have hurt it in the initial tumble that had stranded them on the shelf. The injury didn't seem to be too bad, though. Her leg held her weight and already some of the immediate pain seemed to be lessening.

Her teeth chattered as she made it to Galek and grabbed the portion of sleeve that puffed out in the water near his shoulder. She fought the stiffness in her cold fingers to grip the material and pulled. They weren't far from the edge of the reservoir, but it still took all the strength she could muster to drag him to it and up onto the muddy bank.

The rain poured down on them in earnest. They needed to find shelter. Looking around, she figured her best bet was the rock wall itself. Maybe if she followed it for a while, she'd find a cave or nook to crawl into.

Sam looked down at her shoulder. It throbbed and shot pain down her back and up into her neck. She really didn't want to wait to put it back in place, but if she broke it in the process or tore something, she may find herself worse off. She should get them to shelter first. She shook her head and looked up into the dark sky. A peel of thunder shook the ground.

Misery. That's what this planet was.

She bent down and grabbed Galek's jacket again. She pulled his limp body farther from the water's edge and into the shelter of a thick bush. He showed no signs of waking up. Her eyes flitted to her watch. Really, he'd only been out about thirty minutes longer than she had. Depending on how long that had been, it really wasn't long enough to get truly worried. If he woke up while she was gone, she had no way of predicting what he'd do. But she didn't have the strength or the desire to lug him around while she scouted.

Once she was sure Galek was sufficiently shielded from the weather, she turned and hung a left. If she remembered right, he'd told her that was the way they'd needed to head if they decided not to scale the rock wall.

"The long way around," she muttered. A small animal resembling a rabbit dashed away from a bush nearby. "Slow and steady wins the race, right?" she asked it. Without an answer, the creature scampered away from the threat of her presence and into the distance.

"Right."

She shifted her pack and kept walking.

OoOoOoOoO

Teal'c was sitting up, trying to pull a damaged t-shirt over his head when she walked into his tent. Jennifer took in the sweat beaded on his forehead and the shadows in his eyes and stepped forward quickly. Just a hand to his uninjured shoulder was enough to push him back down into the bed.

"You," she said with a courage she didn't quite feel. His presence still intimidated her. "Stay." He'd managed to get the shirt around his neck. She pulled it off and let it fall to the ground at her feet.

"I must accompany you to the mine," he said, once again trying to sit up.

She held her hand firmly against his shoulder, effectively stilling him. "Right now you couldn't accompany me to the doorway."

In obvious frustration, he gave up and closed his eyes. "My symbiote will heal me."

"I know it will." Jennifer took his canteen from beside the bed and unscrewed the lid. "Just not today." She poured some of the lukewarm liquid between his parted lips and watched his throat work as he swallowed.

"I do not like sending you alone with Kailan to the mines."

"You said we could trust him." Even as she spoke, she pushed aside the feelings of anxiety she harbored when it came to the Garund leader.

"I said we would be safe here while I heal. These are good people." Teal'c drew his gaze to her face. "Kailan is a dangerous man."

Jennifer nodded. "You have history."

"It is a history that nearly meant the end of Major Carter's life." Though his speech was slightly slurred, there was no mistaking the intensity in Teal'c's expression.

"I thought Galek…"

"Galek wielded the weapon, yes," he said, "but Kailan allowed it to happen. None of us has forgotten, though circumstance has brought us together as allies." His hands shook as he took the canteen from her and sipped from it again.

There was a chair in the corner. Jennifer dragged it over so she could sit near Teal'c's head. "I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry."

"Do not underestimate him, Lieutenant Hailey. Kailan has helped us in the past, but he has also shown that he is willing to do anything he feels will help his people."

A bit of unease rose up the back of her neck. "Including the betrayal of an ally?"

Teal'c gave a slight nod and took another sip from his canteen. "As long as we remain with his people, he will not turn on us. It could endanger those he protects here. But the moment you leave with him—"

"All bets are off." Her fingers itched for the gun they had yet to return to her.

Another nod.

"Then I'll just have to keep an eye out." She met his gaze, hoping he could see enough strength in her expression to instill in him a little more confidence in her.

"It appears as if you have no choice."

I look forward to hearing from you. I hope you liked the chapter! :0) I hope to have chapter eleven finished by the end of Winter Break. Thanks for reading, guys!