SG-1 and SG-3 made their way carefully and silently through the underbrush, resolutely making their way to the newest target – a group of buildings found by the latest scout UAV. It was two days' walk from the Gate, but at the slow rate they were moving, searching for any hints of Carter, they were already on day three. Over two weeks of searching had left both teams tired and frustrated, but SG-1 was determined enough for the both of them. General Hammond's decision to withdraw SGs-13 and -18 nearly a week earlier had only shored up their resolve.

They would find her. They had to.

At the head of the pack, Jack came to an abrupt halt, one hand signaling the others to do the same. He exchanged a glance with Teal'c and Colonel Reynolds before speaking softly. "Do you hear that?"

"Dogs," Reynolds answered. "They're tracking something."

"Or someone. Let's go." Renewed in purpose, Colonel O'Neill took off quickly in the direction of the barking, followed closely by the rest of the deployment team. Hurrying through the woods, they soon came to the end of the road – the ground dropped off over fifty feet to the water below. The barking was clearer and louder there, echoing through the creek bed.

"Jack!" Daniel whispered urgently. "Jack! Look!"

Following Daniel's line of sight, O'Neill quickly located the cause of Daniel's excitement: two hundred yards downstream, a small, thin figure was slowly moving toward them. It was Sam.

Grabbing his binoculars, Daniel tried to get a closer look. The creek came up almost to her knees, but she trudged along doggedly. She wore only an oversized man's shirt which dragged in the water; it had once been white but was now torn and streaked with brown and red.

"Why the hell's she walking? Doesn't she hear the dogs?" Bosco asked anxiously.

Daniel saw the knife clutched in Sam's hand and followed the line up, past her bloody arms and to her face, pale and bruised. Her eyes were open but unseeing as she stumbled slowly along. "I don't think she hears anything," he answered. "She's in shock. Jack, we've gotta help her."

Giving only a rough nod, Jack started along the riverbed in a crouched run, the others close at his heels. They reached the left bank just as the brush across from them started to move, the barking now constant and far too close for comfort.

"Carter!" O'Neill hissed as loudly as he dared. "Carter!"

Sam didn't seem to hear him; she took slow step after slow step upstream. She was fading fast, a pronounced limp in her left leg and her progress slowing against the current. Finally she stopped, her teammates left to watch from the bank as she wobbled slightly, unsteady, then collapsed face-down into the stream.

Daniel leapt into action, racing out into the water to his fallen friend. Wrapping an arm firmly around her waist, he hauled her up out of the water and toward the shore.

"Do not touch her!" a voice ordered from the other bank.

"Looks to me like you all didn't take your own advice." Jack's words were deathly cold as he stepped up to the edge of the stream, gun in hand. Daniel knew his friend would gladly blow the man away… and looking at what was left of his teammate, the archeologist wasn't sure he'd have any objections. Teal'c and SG-3 quickly closed the gap behind their leader, ready for a conflict as eight of the aliens lined the other shore. Jack noted with interest that Lewen wasn't among them.

"She has committed a capital offense. She will be punished."

"Hasn't she been punished enough?" Daniel demanded, his voice thick.

"We're taking her," Jack announced. "If you try and stop us, I will personally take out each and every one of you. So before it comes to that, I suggest you take your mongrels and run along home."

The alien glared at him coldly. They had been geared to hunt and capture a wounded woman, not face a well-armed squadron. "We will return," the man warned, "and when we do, we will be better prepared."

"I look forward to it. Daniel!"

The younger man quickly adjusted his grip on his teammate's limp frame and carried her out of the water, lying her gently on the shore as the aliens disappeared back into the woods. "She's breathing," he said softly. "She's bleeding pretty bad, but I think she's mostly just exhausted. Sam? Sam, can you hear me?"

The moment his hand made contact with her face, she snapped awake, shoving his arm back and struggling to get away. Instinctively, Daniel reached out to stop her thrashing – to comfort her – but was stopped by a fist to the nose. He reared away from her with a yelp, clutching his bleeding nose as she rolled to her knees and prepared to run.

"Carter! Carter, knock it off!"

Sam froze on hands and knees at the familiar voice. Tears springing to her eyes, she looked up and saw for the first time in weeks the concerned, surprised face of her CO. Teal'c stood behind him, his face stoic as usual, but SG-3 was an unknown. They turned their backs to her in an impenetrable perimeter, fingers clutching their weapons a bit tighter, but while the action was for her own good, to help her reclaim at least a little of her dignity, it didn't seem that way to Sam – all she saw was four men who couldn't even look at her. Daniel dabbing at his bloody nose with a handkerchief was the last straw. With a sob, she sat back to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest and burying her face in her arms.

Jack fought with himself. He wanted so badly to hold her, comfort her, carry her away from this hellhole... but what she had done to Daniel indicated a state of mind that would never allow such a thing. Gone was his confident second in command, replaced by a skittish creature that seemed to react only by instinct. And that creature did not want to be touched.

Staring down at her, fear clenched around his heart like a vise. What if Daniel had been right? What if she wasn't the Sam Carter they'd left behind? He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to forgive himself for that. He'd have a hard enough time even if she did recover.

"Colonel." A hand on his shoulder broke his tunnel vision, and he glanced up to see Reynolds holding out his jacket. He tipped his head toward Carter. "Take it."

"I, uh.... Thanks." Jack opened the coat and draped it carefully over her shoulders. He couldn't ignore the way she cringed away from his touch, and the vise in his chest screwed a little tighter.

"SG-3 is gonna take scout," the other colonel said softly. "You won't see us, but we'll be around."

Jack merely nodded, unable to tear his eyes from the pale, thin ball on the ground.

"We need to get moving," Reynolds pressed. "They will be back."

By the time Jack pulled himself together and turned around, SG-3 had disappeared into the trees. "Daniel?"

"I heard," he answered around the handkerchief. "It's just about stopped bleeding. I'm fine."

"Let's get moving, then." He started toward Carter to help her up, but stopped short when she scrambled to her bare feet on her own and headed toward the gate. She limped badly, one arm tight across her stomach, but moved resolutely forward. Jack turned to Teal'c with a sigh, then fell into step behind her.