The pyramid loomed up out of the dark.

Cassie barely took in the immense size; the luminous white stones towering into the sky. She was exhausted. Her focus was on putting one foot in front of the other; her gaze pinned to the ground to try and avoid falling over a stray root or branch. She was barely aware of the dragon keeping pace by her side, of Mitchell behind her carrying one pack, of Teal'c and Rya'c ahead of her leading the way.

She was regretting the decision not to camp out again overnight but they'd all wanted to try and make their way back to the pyramid. After Mitchell's cryptic comments, she had wanted nothing more than to see Sam for herself.

Cassie shivered as she realised that they left the undergrowth of the forest and were walking across a large square of clear land in front of the pyramid. The rough ground had given way to paved stones. There were weeds breaking through the cracks and a slick layer of moss in places but she could imagine it in her minds' eye; a forum where the Goa'uld would have held court.

Two stone dragons guarded the staircase up to the pyramid's entrance. The baby dragon bounded over to sniff inquiringly at them before smartly running back to her side. Cassie looked at the steps with trepidation. There were so many and she was so tired. The dragon sent her a wave of sympathy. It was tired too. She took a deep breath and began the ascent.

One step at a time.

Jack, Sam and Daniel were in the pyramid, Cassie reminded herself as she felt the climb up the stairs begin to bite at the muscles in her calves. She was almost there. Almost there. She stumbled on the last step but Mitchell caught hold of her elbow steadying her. She smiled at him gratefully before they moved into the cool passageway. It opened out into a large hall. Huge statues of dragons lined the room and what remained of a throne marked the back wall, but Cassie's attention immediately went to the three people sat around a brazier in the centre.

She hurried over despite her tiredness as Daniel and Jack rose to their feet to greet her. She hugged Jack first, careful of the bruised ribs that Mitchell had told her about. The General gave a soft, muffled humpf and she quickly stepped back.

Jack kept hold of her though, his brown eyes running over her, taking in her appearance. She flushed. She knew she looked terrible although Jack looked the same. His BDU was rumpled. His face was etched with pain; the lines that gave him such character were deep and there were dark circles under his eyes. His short white hair had grown a little and stuck up everywhere. She repressed the urge to tousle it, aware that he wasn't in the mood for humour. She waited for him to say something.

'Just what the hell are you doing here?' Jack asked bluntly. He cast an accusing look in the direction of Rya'c.

Teal'c bristled on behalf of his son, and Daniel sighed. Cassie saw him adjust his glasses from the corner of her eye.

'Don't blame Rya'c.' Cassie said quickly. 'This was my idea.'

'Of course it was.' Jack retorted. He glared at her instead. 'Have you gone nuts?'

'Jack.' Daniel gently nudged him away from her and stepped in to hug her.

Cassie hugged him back. He felt thinner as though he had lost weight but he looked OK otherwise. Tired, maybe.

'It's good to see you.' Daniel said firmly. He glanced at Jack pointedly as he moved back.

Jack ignored him and gestured at the dragon. 'Who's your friend?'

Cassie was suddenly grateful Mitchell had contacted Daniel and warned him as soon as they were in radio range of their impending arrival and guest. She got the distinct feeling Jack would have shot first and asked questions later.

'It's a dragon.' Cassie said absently as her eyes fell on Sam.

The other woman hadn't moved from her position by the fire. She sat, scribbling into a book, muttering to herself. It was as though she hadn't even noticed their presence.

A sense of grim foreboding made Cassie's stomach quiver. 'Sam?' She crouched down beside her.

Jack's expression softened. He lowered himself to sit beside Sam, grimacing with pain. He rested a hand on her arm, stilling the writing. 'Carter,' he said gently, 'Cassie's here.'

Sam looked at him blankly before she turned back to the notebook.

Cassie pressed her lips together as she took in Sam's disinterest; a sharp arrow of worry lodging in her chest. 'What's wrong with her?'

'We don't know exactly.' Daniel answered carefully. He folded his arms around his torso.

Jack shot him a meaningful look. 'She was attacked.'

'We don't know that.' Daniel said with the air of a man who had said the same thing many times.

'The dragons showed up; Carter collapsed.' Jack snapped. 'It sure as hell looked like they attacked her to me.'

'They might have been trying to communicate.' Daniel replied firmly.

They glared at each other.

Teal'c swiftly moved to stand in between the two men. 'Perhaps we should organise the supplies and allow Cassandra Fraiser and my son an opportunity to rest and eat.'

'Good idea, big guy.' Mitchell agreed quickly.

Jack darted a look to Daniel but nodded jerkily. Jack's attention returned to Sam. He handed her another pencil.

'You go ahead and rest up.' Mitchell said, nudging Cassie's elbow.

Cassie waited until everybody was busy before she simply sat down beside Sam and Jack at the brazier. She watched as the dragon scampered away to investigate the pyramid, and she made sure it was occupied and wasn't getting in the way of the others. She looked over Sam's shoulder and tried to read the scrawl across the page in the firelight. 'What's she writing?'

'Numbers.' Jack said quietly. 'Equations.'

Cassie reached out and gently stroked a strand of Sam's blonde hair away back from her forehead.

'She's in there.' Jack said forcefully. 'Somewhere.'

Sam suddenly stopped and stared at Cassie. She dropped the pencil and reached up with a hand to cup Cassie's cheek; the calluses that marked her fingers were rough against Cassie's skin.

'Sam?' Cassie covered Sam's hand with her own as she searched the blue gaze for a sign that Sam recognised her.

'Pretty.' Sam declared. She moved away from Cassie and picked up her pencil again.

Cassie swallowed her disappointment. The urge to cry was strong and she dropped her gaze to the ground feeling tired and drained, and wanting nothing more than to be somewhere, anywhere else. Home, maybe, wrapped up in her cosy towelling robe with a large, very large mug of coffee in her hands after taking a marathon shower.

'Hey.' Jack murmured.

Cassie looked across at him inquiringly.

'She's going to be OK.' Jack said confidently.

Cassie nodded but she felt too like crying to speak. She focused on the walls of the room; on the pictures that filled every space but were too faded to see what they were at a distance. She let the activity around her wash over her; watched as Teal'c and Rya'c set about making a meal; as Daniel and Mitchell arranged the blankets and set up another couple of beds in the far corner of the room which had been designated for sleeping. She made a half-hearted offer to help when they started stowing the rest of the supplies but Daniel declined and she didn't protest.

Half an hour later they were all sat round the fire with some kind of vegetable and meat stew. Cassie pushed it into her mouth and tried not to gag. It didn't taste bad but she had no idea what the meat was and she was afraid to ask. The dragon wolfed down his portion and curled up behind her.

'Tastes just like chicken, huh?' Jack teased her.

Daniel shot her a sympathetic look from the other side of the fire. 'It's a bird creature of some sort.'

'One tried to attack Cassandra Fraiser earlier.' Rya'c said. He sat beside Cassie; his father to his other side.

'Really?' Jack looked at her concerned.

'The dragon protected me.' Cassie explained.

Jack grimaced and turned his attention to his food.

She tried not to take his disbelief personally; maybe a change in subject was in order. 'So what happened to you guys?'

'Well, you worked it out, right?' Mitchell replied, apparently confused by her question.

'We think we know.' Cassie said. 'But...it would be good to hear what exactly went down.'

Jack motioned at Daniel with his spoon. 'Why don't you tell the story?'

There was a long look between the two men and Cassie heard the silent apologies and acceptance that were exchanged for their earlier spat – she had known them too long not to be aware of the communication.

'Well,' Daniel began, 'you know we went to Cartegia for a renewal of our treaty.'

Cassie nodded.

'Sam went on a hike into the mountains with Teal'c and Cam on the first day while Jack and I handled the new treaty signing.' Daniel continued.

'Sam had some device tracking an energy signature.' Mitchell chipped in. 'Teal'c found footprints going in the same direction.'

Teal'c inclined his head.

'Then we found the temple which kind of shocked the bejesus out of us.' Mitchell added.

'I can see why.' Cassie said, remembering how ostentacious it had appeared from the cargo ship.

'When they came back we realised that the Cartegians hadn't been seeded by Merlin and were just another race of humans left behind by the Goa'uld.' Daniel sighed. 'Sam and I went to the library the next day to do some more research.'

'And found the scrolls.' Cassie inserted.

Daniel wrinkled his nose. 'Well, more accurately, Kitana gave us the scrolls when she realised we were looking into pre-Council history.'

'Kitana was very interested in Daniel.' Jack commented slyly, licking his spoon.

Even with the firelight, Cassie could see him flush.

'Which is how we really should have known she was a bad guy.' Mitchell quipped.

'Indeed.' Teal'c intoned, a hint of a smile playing about his lips.

Daniel glowered at all of them. 'She must have heard Sam and I talking about the Goa'uld lock on the DHD.'

'And she knew Sam could activate it.' Cassie nodded. 'We worked that out.'

'We went back to the Council and tried to talk them into giving us access to the naquadah; tried to reassure them the Goa'uld are pretty much gone but...' Daniel shrugged.

'They didn't go for it.' Jack threw his spoon into his tin and turned to help Sam who had simply been stirring hers listlessly. 'We'd already signed the treaty; had a party.'

Daniel rolled his eyes. 'When we got back to the inn, there were two notes waiting for Sam. One was a warning...'

The one they had found, Cassie mused tiredly, as she set aside her own dish. She watched as Jack coaxed Sam into eating.

'And one that said Saki, the maid from the inn, was in danger and that if Sam wanted to help her, she had to go to the temple alone.' Daniel finished.

'You did not let her go alone.' Rya'c noted.

Teal'c held his son's gaze. 'We did not.'

'We followed at a safe distance.' Mitchell said. 'Sam was going to stall while we got the lay of the land. We figured they wanted Sam to unlock the Stargate so we thought we would go along with that; activate the wormhole, we'd grab Saki and escape; dial home from the other side. That's why we had our stuff with us.'

'Obviously Saki didn't need saving; she was in on the whole thing.' Daniel sighed heavily. 'Kitana had Sam surrounded. She threatened her and Sam believed the best route out of there for all of us was through the Stargate like we had planned.'

'Only things didn't go to plan.' Cassie surmised, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her chin on top of them.

'Sam activated the lock; the dial started automatically. Kitana and the others hadn't seen a wormhole engage before, and Sam didn't warn them about the backwash. It took out the three closest to the Stargate; the rest moved away in fear.' Daniel explained. 'We used the moment to attack and...'

'We escaped through the Stargate.' Mitchell concluded.

'The Cult did not follow you?' Rya'c asked, his brow creasing with confusion.

'Sam was the first through on this side,' Daniel shrugged, 'as soon as we were through, she touched the lock on the DHD this side and...'

'The wormhole disappeared.' Mitchell shook his head.

'Carter said if someone was mid-transit they were lost.' Jack said bluntly.

Daniel grimaced. 'Although I think it was unlikely. The Cult were a little apprehensive about the wormhole after it took out their people. I'm not sure they would have followed us immediately.'

'You did not encounter the dragon as we did on your arrival?' Rya'c questioned, sitting forward, his face lit up with the flames from the brazier.

The dragon behind Cassie, snorted.

'Not when we came through.' Daniel said. 'No. We were alone for a while; long enough for Sam to work out that the DHD was locked back to Cartegia.' His hands weaved in the air as he explained. 'Sam had started trying to figure out a way to detach the lock device from the DHD and that was when the dragons showed up.'

'You mean when they attacked.' Jack snapped.

'Showed up.' Daniel said tightly.

Cassie frowned at the angry edge to their voices and shot an anxious look over her shoulder at the baby dragon.

'Three of them just descended right in front of us.' Mitchell jumped in, evidently hoping to ease the tension. 'We had weapons raised but we hadn't fired; they just kept looking at us and then...'

'Sam collapsed.' Daniel allowed soberly. 'She screamed and fell to the ground holding her head...'

'I got off a couple of shots.' Jack added gruffly.

'Which is when one of them lashed out and hit you with its tail.' Daniel retorted.

'They took off, didn't they?' Jack glared at him.

'Guys.' Cassie gave them both her best admonishing look. Given she'd perfected the look from watching her Mom and Sam with the two men, it had the desired effect.

Sam patted Cassie's knee and she turned to her quickly. Sam passed her a half-filled food tin. Cassie took it, bemused. Jack reached over and snagged it from her hand; he began to coax Sam into eating again.

'With Colonel Carter unconscious and O'Neill injured,' Teal'c continued the tale, 'we determined that taking cover in the pyramid would be wise.'

'Been here ever since.' Mitchell put his tin down and picked up a tin mug filled with warmed water and the instant coffee Cassie had packed.

'Sam woke up the day after the attack.' Daniel said quietly. 'It was clear her mind had suffered some kind of psychic shock.'

'So no playing with the Stargate to get us home.' Mitchell said brusquely. 'Not that it would have been possible; the dragons have posted a sentry since we left. That's the one that greeted you.'

'We figured it would take the Odyssey five days to reach us from Cartegia.' Daniel added. 'When they didn't show up, we realised that it was probable that Kitana and her friends had managed to intercept the message we left for Goy with the inn-keeper, and that the other clues we had left hadn't been found.'

'We found them.' Cassie murmured.

'And here you are.' Jack said lightly.

'We had no idea if anyone was still looking for us.' Mitchell admitted. 'We kind of hunkered down for the long haul.'

The room fell into silence.

Cassie glanced at Sam. The older woman had finished her meal with Jack's help and had returned to her scribbling. Cassie bit her lip. 'I could try healing her.'

'Healing her?' Jack questioned.

'I have the healing device and Vala taught me how to use it. It's how I healed the dragon.' Cassie explained. 'I can try healing you and Sam.'

Jack glanced around the group as though getting their opinion before he met her gaze again and nodded. 'Tomorrow. You need some rest.'

'We all need some rest.' Mitchell agreed.

There was a beat between the two men, and Cassie took a moment to wonder at who had command. It had to be awkward for Mitchell suddenly having his predecessor back on the team. Cassie slid a look to Sam. Well, both his predecessors; Sam had led SG1 too although in the circumstances it was clear Sam wasn't up to sparring with the two men over who was leading. Not that Cassie could see Sam being aggressive about it - Sam was too gracious for that. Cassie could imagine that Sam had left it to Mitchell and Jack to tussle over the leadership while just smoothly stepping in to offer the best decision when they reached an impasse.

Jack sighed and pushed himself to his feet. She could see his wince of pain and the way he gingerly fingered his side. He patted Sam on the shoulder.

'Come on, Carter.' Jack ordered briskly.

Sam set her note book aside and got to her feet. She followed Jack out of the room.

'We found a bathroom down the hall.' Daniel explained. 'It has stream water running through it. Jack will help Sam clean-up before we all turn in.'

Cassie flushed and gave a nod of understanding. She could hear her Mom's voice nagging her to offer to take over, and Cassie knew on one level that Sam would hate having the guys see her so vulnerable. But Cassie didn't have the first clue what Sam needed from a care perspective and it was evident that SG1 had it well in hand.

Mitchell got to his feet. 'I'm going to check the perimeter.'

Cassie wasn't surprised when Teal'c and Rya'c went with him. Cassie wondered at Rya'c's energy; she knew she was going to struggle to go to the bathroom, wash-up and change before bed.

Daniel moved to sit beside her. He picked up Sam's note book and flipped through it before setting it aside with a heavy sigh.

She nudged him. 'You OK?'

Daniel nodded. He nudged her back. 'You know we're really pleased you're here, right?'

Cassie cuddled into him like she'd done when she was a child. She rested her head on his chest as her arms went around his waist. She felt him shift to hold her; the feel of his chin on top of her head.

'I'm really pleased you're here too.' Cassie murmured. 'I thought...' She left the rest of it unsaid knowing he would understand, and when his arms tightened around her briefly, she knew he had.

Daniel was quiet and Cassie absorbed the solid feel of him, soaking in the movement of his chest beneath her head as he breathed; the brush of air across her hair; the solid, regular thump of his heart-beat. She felt her eyes closing of their own accord; the firelight blurring in front of her.

Just a moment, she thought muzzily. She just needed a moment...