Rya'c stared at her as though she had lost her mind.

'It's my friend.' Cassie explained. She felt her heart beating wildly in panic that he wouldn't listen. 'Please.'

The dragon bristled behind her as it registered Rya'c's hostile pose.

'You are certain it will not attack?' Rya'c asked. He eyed the dragon apprehensively.

'Just...just wait a moment.' Cassie turned to the dragon and tried to smile confidently. She could feel its waves of anxiety; the little dragon felt threatened. 'It's OK.' She assured it. 'Rya'c is...is my brother. Do you understand?'

The dragon waited a long moment before it bumped her leg with its head and the emotions she was bombarded with changed to acceptance.

Cassie let out a slow breath of relief. She nodded at Rya'c. 'It's OK.'

Rya'c lowered his weapon slowly. He and the dragon regarded each other warily across the short expanse of grass.

For a long moment nobody moved.

Cassie cleared her throat noisily and gestured at Rya'c. 'We should take care of your injuries.' The graze on his head looked bad and she was assailed by the fleeting memory of her Mom cleaning Cassie's skinned knee and warning of infection.

Rya'c shrugged as though he anticipated her concern. He motioned towards the stream and they made their way down to the grassy bank. He sank into a cross-legged sitting position and Cassie followed his lead. She took out the healing device and slipped it on her hand. The dragon rested a short distance away; its eyes never left Rya'c. It was evidently withholding judgement.

Rya'c glanced at it before sighing in resignation. Cassie focused on the healing. She closed her eyes and allowed her emotions to trigger the device. She felt it complete its work and opened them again. The skin was mended and smooth; the bruise on his cheek gone completely.

Rya'c thanked her as she repacked the healing device and motioned for him to wash the dried blood from his face.

'Do you have something to eat?' Cassie asked eagerly. The berries had been great but they hadn' t been filling and her stomach was gurgling at her reprovingly.

'In my bag. There is water too.' Rya'c said as he cleaned up.

They ended up sitting by the stream eating protein bars and exchanging stories. Rya'c had landed mid-way down the hill, bruised, scratched and winded. He had seen the dragon flying away with her but he had been too far away to shoot at it. He had secured their packs and followed in the direction he had seen the dragon flying only stopping when it became too dark to see.

'We should reach the packs by nightfall. We can camp for the night before setting out in search of my father and the others.' Rya'c informed her as she finished devouring her second protein bar.

Cassie nodded in agreement. The nights were very dark and Rya'c couldn't track them without light. 'I agree.'

'I believe I may know where they have taken shelter.' Rya'c continued, a note of excitement creeping into his voice.

'You do?' Cassie licked her fingers and handed Rya'c the wrapper to place in his small bag. He exchanged it for a water canteen. She drank down the purified water quickly, almost gagging at the chemical taste after the freshness of the stream water.

Rya'c gestured at her. 'There was a pyramid not far from the Stargate.'

'There was?' Cassie couldn't remember seeing it but then again, her attention had been somewhat taken up with the massive dragon.

'I estimate it was a few hours from the Stargate.'

'That would make sense,' Cassie said, 'I can't imagine the Goa'uld wanting the Stargate too far away from their pyramid.'

'It is unusual that the Stargate was not inside.' Rya'c took back the water canteen and drank deeply.

'That would have been better.' Cassie agreed. 'We might have missed the whole dragon experience.'

Rya'c gave a nod and glanced over at the dragon again. 'It has been aptly named this Land of Dragons.' He brushed off his tunic and got to his feet. 'We must begin walking if we are to retrieve the packs in daylight.'

Cassie fell into step beside him and the baby dragon fell into step beside her.

A few hours later, her enthusiasm for their mission was waning thin. Cassie was tired, hungry and dirty. She grimaced as she pulled her vest top away from her slick skin. She had taken the outer layers of clothing off as the day had become hotter. Between the walk, her overnight stay by the bank of a stream and fall through the trees, her clothes were dirt-streaked and rumpled.

Her stomach ached again. She had started fantasising about macaroni cheese MREs. She had no idea how people went without food for days because she had barely survived one, and she'd had two protein bars and some fruit. At least she wasn't craving alcohol...

Cassie swiped at her brow and wondered how Rya'c managed to look so cool. She unscrewed the water flask he had given her and took another sip of water. The mouthful of liquid was warm but it eased her dry throat. She screwed the cap back on. They were being careful only to drink a little every so often. They had stayed walking by the stream for a long while but eventually Rya'c had determined they would need to head away from it in order to go in the right direction for the packs. The trees provided better shade from the sun but the air was stuffy under their leafy canvass.

The dragon walked beside Cassie on the narrow jungle path. It hadn't quite decided to trust Rya'c and she could sometimes feel its anxiousness at the young Jaffa's presence. She looked over and gave it a reassuring smile. It flexed its wings in response.

Rya'c shot the dragon a look. 'I am not certain that it is a good idea to keep the dragon with us.' He had tried the same argument earlier and Cassie had continued to argue that the dragon was coming with them.

'I know but it did save me from that bird thing.' Cassie repeated. She sighed. 'I keep thinking what happens when its Mom shows up but...'

Rya'c looked at her when she fell silent.

Cassie gave an awkward shrug. 'What if it doesn't have a Mom? What if it's all alone?'

'You have a soft heart.' Rya'c commented dryly.

'Thank you.' Cassie beamed at him.

Rya'c looked at her, amusement lighting up his face. 'It was not a compliment.'

The dragon froze suddenly as it had done when it had spotted the birdlike creature.

Cassie held up her hand and Rya'c stopped. They both stared into the undergrowth as though they could peel back the layers to reveal what was lurking behind the green canopy.

'Maybe...' Cassie began to whisper.

'Shhh!' Rya'c's head tilted as though he was listening for something. He suddenly whirled around to his right, and raised his staff weapon...

Teal'c stepped out of the forest, his own weapon raised.

For a moment, father and son stared in disbelief, weapons pointed towards one another. Cassie placed a hand over her heart; it was racing with so much relief and hope and...it was Teal'c! And he was alive and...tears pricked the back of her eyes and she blinked rapidly.

'Rya'c!'

'Father!'

Teal'c lowered his weapon and moved forward at the same time as his son. Teal'c clutched his son close to him; Rya'c's arms held his father strongly.

Cassie swiped at her cheeks, unable to prevent the tears from falling as she watched the two Jaffa hug. A nudge beside her and a wash of confusion that wasn't her own made her realise she had forgotten the presence of the dragon. She quickly bent to the dragon and whispered to him that it was OK; that Teal'c was a friend.

'Now that is a beautiful sight.' The drawl had Cassie turning to her right to see Colonel Mitchell grinning away at the reunited Jaffa.

He hadn't seen her, Cassie realised. 'Colonel Mitchell.' She straightened and greeted him with a wave.

Mitchell made to move toward her and the dragon sprang forward, growling. Teal'c made to push Rya'c behind him but Rya'c moved instead to grasp his father's arm and shake his head.

'It's with us!' Cassie declared, holding both her hands up. 'Don't shoot!'

'Cassandra Fraiser, you must move.' Teal'c said firmly. His weapon was aimed directly at her. Cassie held her ground; unaware of her lips firming into a stubborn line that Teal'c recognised all too well from her teenage years.

Mitchell craned his head to look around her at the dragon suspiciously. 'It's a dragon.' He pointed out as though they hadn't noticed that fact for themselves.

'I found it last night.' Cassie explained quickly. 'It's a baby; it was hurt; I healed it. It won't harm you.'

Teal'c lowered his weapon. 'I see.'

'I see?' Mitchell hadn't lowered his weapon and his tone was one of disbelief.

'If Cassandra Fraiser believes the dragon will not harm us,' Teal'c's dark eyes bore into her for a moment before he returned his gaze to Mitchell, 'then it will not harm us.'

Mitchell half-lowered his gun, sighed and lowered it all the way.

Teal'c regarded Cassie solemnly. 'It is good to see you, Cassandra Fraiser.'

Cassie half-ran, half-skipped the distance between them and threw her arms around the Jaffa. His arms moved to hold her. She felt her tears well up again. Suddenly, it was as though she was a child again and scared to death, and he was there and everything was going to be OK...

Teal'c's hold on Cassie tightened when she trembled, but he didn't say anything and she was grateful for that. She struggled to get her whirling emotions under control.

She stepped back, swiping at her face and the tears that had spilled out onto her cheeks. 'Sorry. I'm just really, really glad we found you.'

'Technically,' Mitchell pointed out with an easy smile, 'we found you.' He looked at them both. 'You were not who we were expecting.'

'Long story.' Cassie said. She looked at them both critically. Mitchell seemed OK all things considered; bedraggled and his hair was probably longer than he liked it under the cap but he looked fit and well. Teal'c looked good on the surface but she could see the tired circles under his eyes; the pain that lingered in the lines of his face. She nudged Rya'c. 'You have the tretonin?'

'Yes.' Rya'c took some from his small bag immediately.

Teal'c took it with a small nod of thanks. He injected it immediately.

'We have more in the packs we have stowed.' Rya'c said confidently.

'That's good news.' Mitchell said mildly. 'We were getting a little low.'

Teal'c must have been rationing it, Cassie realised; no wonder he looked tired. She frowned and folded her arms around her torso. 'The others?'

'Back at the pyramid.' Mitchell said quickly. He gestured at her. 'Teal'c and I caught sight of your arrival from a distance. We radioed Jackson and let him know we were heading out after you.'

'Jack and Sam?' Cassie questioned urgently. She didn't miss the look Mitchell shot Teal'c which clearly asked how much he should say. 'What?'

'Sam's injured.' Mitchell admitted. 'She's fine, kind of, but...' he grimaced, 'she's not completely OK either.'

Cassie frowned heavily. She was fine but not completely OK? What the hell kind of answer was that?

Mitchell waved at her. 'You'll see for yourself. The General got knocked off his feet by a dragon when we first arrived. He has some bruises, but he's OK.'

'We should continue our journey if we are to make it back to the pyramid before dark.' Teal'c said.

'We need to find our packs. We brought supplies.' Rya'c added before Cassie could make the same point.

'So lead on.' Mitchell indicated for Rya'c to take point. 'I'd rather not spend another night out in the open.'

Teal'c gave Cassie a warm look before falling into step beside his son. Mitchell fell into step on one side of Cassie, the dragon on the other. They listened as Rya'c told his father about their mission; how they had found them.

'We think, well, hope that Vala made it back to the cargo ship.' Cassie added when Rya'c finished with their arrival on the planet. 'She and Jonas should be on their way.'

'I am pleased to hear news of her.' Teal'c said calmly. 'And of Jonas Quinn.'

'Yeah.' Mitchell sighed. 'Although, don't take this the wrong way,' he said, 'but I was hoping our rescue team would be Marines or, you know, the Odyssey.'

Cassie punched his upper arm lightly. 'You'll just have to make do with us.'

'Well, you did find us.' Mitchell conceded, smiling widely. 'So, I'll guess you do.'

Teal'c looked back at them both with a twinkle in his eyes. 'Indeed.'