Sorry if everyone is getting frustrated at how long it's taking Jack and Sam to figure things out. Right now I want to deal with the adventure. I believe the relationship will have to wait until later! And for all of you wanting them to simply get on with it and Mai'thun (or should I say 'simply get it on and Mai'thun') - naughty, naughty! Just remember, good things come to those who wait!

"No way Daniel. It's not going to happen. I won't let it happen." She was angry, furious. Not just at what had been done to the Colonel but at the fact that he hadn't told her. Not that she could have done anything but still, she was sick of him trying to protect her all the time. She was not some child that needed to be coddled. She was a United States Air Force officer and she could handle the truth! Yes, she could … couldn't she? She looked at her friend, who stood silently watching her. With a sob she leaned forward. He reached out and put his arms around her and held her as she cried.

"He can't die Daniel. I can't lose him."

"I know. We'll do everything we can Sam. Janet can help, I'm sure of it. We'll just get him home and everything will be all right." He spoke confidently although if she had been looking at him she would have seen the fear and doubt in his eyes. If the Goa'uld didn't have a cure for their own poison, how could Janet come up with anything? He continued to hold Sam, knowing how much she had been through and how much she needed the comfort. And the truth was, so did he.

He glanced up and saw that Teal'c was watching them, his eyes black with some emotion Daniel couldn't read. He just knew it looked cold and frightening. His friend had said little since Jack's revelation. Daniel worried that somehow he would now accuse Sam of having some part in this as well. He knew he had to keep an eye on her and on Teal'c.

Jack was sleeping, finally. He had taken more of the medicine and it had seemed to help even though he was also in a lot of pain from the staff wound. The wound itself wasn't too bad and on it's own probably wouldn't have slowed him down too much (or he wouldn't have let it) but it now just added to his weakness. Daniel knew they had to get him home quickly.

Sam pulled away from him, wiping her eyes and face with her sleeve. Giving Daniel a small smile she turned and walked towards Jack. As soon as she moved Teal'c started and began to walk towards her, his intent unclear.

"Teal'c!" Daniel called. "Leave her be."

"But what if –"

"What if nothing! She's not going to hurt him Teal'c. She l-cares for him. Surely you can see that?"

The big man looked towards Sam, who was now sitting beside Jack and running her hands gently through his hair. For some reason, this seemed to calm the Colonel who turned his head into her caress.

With a sharp nod Teal'c backed away and went to the pilot's seat where he sat down. Daniel walked over and sat beside him.

"So, what are we going to do? We're definitely MIA now – they're going to be pretty upset."

"Yes, although they may believe we have been captured or killed. If they do not find this vessel it will not matter."

"Yeah, but that's what I'm afraid of. We can't take off until Ba'al's ship is gone and in the meantime we're sitting ducks."

"Yes, that is true." Daniel marveled at how well Teal'c had learned Earth expressions. A few year's ago he would have asked why Daniel was comparing them to 'seated waterfowl' or some such thing. "I believe I should return."

"What! No, you can't do that. They'd kill you."

"It is possible, but it is also possible that they will believe me if I tell them I was attacked by natives. I will say that you were killed and I will then lead them on a wild chicken chase." Okay, maybe his grasp of earth expressions wasn't perfect!

"I don't think that's such a good idea Teal'c. I think some of them are already suspicious of you. No, I think the best thing we can do is stay here until Ba'al leaves, hoping that they haven't found us, then we hot-foot it out of here."

"What about the prisoners?" a soft voice interjected. Both men turned and looked at Sam who was gazing back at them.

"We can't leave them here. There are innocent women and children – and probably men – here. I promised Martia we'd save her and her children."

"We do not know where they are. Do you know?" For the first time Teal'c said something to her that wasn't an accusation. Daniel looked over in surprise and could see that his Jaffa friend was uncomfortable, but was trying; probably in respect of Jack's words to him.

"No, I don't know either. J – ur the Colonel and I escaped on our own. Our plan was to head out and contact either Earth or the Tokra and see if we could come back and help those captured. Jack wasn't strong enough to do anything else right now."

"Speak for yourself Carter." A weak voice drifted up into their conversation. The three members of SG1 looked down at the sick man who had woken up. "Help me up", he instructed.

"No Sir, you need to rest."

"Why?"

"Because you're sick, Jack." Daniel scolded.

"Yeah and it's not like resting is going to help. Come on, help me – that's an order Carter!"

With a frustrated look at her commander she reached down and helped him get into a seated position. Groaning, he pushed himself back until he could lean against the bulkhead. He continued to shiver but at the same time there was a sheen of sweat on his face. She reached over and felt his forehead before he had the chance to stop her.

"Hey, stop that!" he muttered.

"Just checking Sir. You have a fever."

"Yeah? Go figure. I was hoping it would warm me up but it didn't work!" he answered, sounding like a petulant child. She knew that his 'whining' was often his way of dealing with pain and weakness and part of her wanted to grin, until she remembered that he was dying.

"Okay, status report!" Daniel stood up and walked over, then sat down facing Jack. He looked at Teal'c who waited and then followed suit. Now that they were sitting in a circle around Jack he asked again, "so, what's going on?"

Daniel and Teal'c explained the situation briefly. Jack's teammates could see him trying to concentrate, to come up with some solution, or at least a plan of action.

"Okay, so we need to get out of here and take the other captives with us, except we don't know where they are. This ship doesn't seem to have any shields so we can't leave until Ba'al does but he'll probably find us before then. Do I have it right?"

"Indeed O'Neill. That is the situation."

"Good. No, actually Crap – not good." He sat there trying to think but could come up with only one scenario which he knew his team would not like at all. He lifted his head and looked, with deep affection, at his three closest friends. This was going to be hard but he'd have to convince them.

As Daniel, Teal'c and Sam peered back at their friend and commander they could see the naked emotion in his eyes. If anything, this frightened them more than everything that had gone before. For O'Neill to be that open he must truly believe he was dying.

"Okay folks, here's the plan. And before I start I want to say that this is non-negotiable. It's the only way." His teammates looked at him suspiciously. They didn't like the sound of this.

"Teal'c, you and Daniel will take me back to the compound."

"What! No way Jack. There's no-"

"Daniel, shut up and let me speak. You and Teal'c will take me back to the compound. You'll tell Ba'al's Jaffa that you discovered my trail and followed me. Eventually you caught me, although you had to fire your staff weapon Teal'c, hence the wound. You'll then take me back as your trophy. You'll be seen as heroes so they won't kill you. Ba'al will have what he wants and Sam will still be safe."

"Like Daniel said Sir, no way!"

"Major!"

"No Sir. You can put me up on charges for disobeying a direct order. I don't care. I will not give you up to Ba'al."

"Nor will I, O'Neill."

He had known that this would be hard and he really didn't have the energy to argue, but he had to get his point across.

"Look guys, there's no other way. You know Ba'al is going to have his soldiers search until they find something – which is gonna be us. This way we have a chance."

"You're kidding right? Why would we have a chance if you've been captured and we're back with the Jaffa?"

"Because we'll have our ace in the hole." As his friends looked at him blankly he sighed. God, he was supposed to be the one who was out of it here. "Sam!"

"What?"

"Look guys, I'm history anyway right? I'm getting weaker all the time. I don't think it will be long before this medicine stops working. With Ba'al I might have a chance. He isn't going to want me to die so he'll put me in the sarcophagus which might just save my life." Sam looked up in shock. She knew how much Jack abhorred the idea of the sarcophagus after what he'd been through. And, to put himself back in Ba'al's hands – that was true courage talking.

"I do not believe it will O'Neill. Goa'uld poisons often work in such a way that as soon as you're out of the sarcophagus they will begin to take affect again."

Jack sighed. Somehow he figured that. He was sure that if it worked they would have used it on him at Matsya's – or at least Martia wouldn't have worried about him dying.

"Yeah, maybe. But it should help for a while, right?"

Teal'c nodded. "Yes, each time you go in it will be as if you had just taken the poison. I do not know how long it takes to start to work."

"Neither do I but I should have some time anyway. All I was going to say was that Sam can then work out a way to get all our butts out of here. By that time maybe she'll figure out the shields or she can move in and blow up Ba'al's ship or something."

"Or something! Sir, I don't think I have the ammunition or the resources to do that on my own."

"No, but you'll think of something Carter. I know you. And remember, you'll have Daniel and Teal'c to help. They'll be three of you."

"Possibly five."

"Five?"

"Yes, we think the Tokra made contact with us."

"You think?"

"Well, we had to be careful Jack and so do they. There's one Jaffa – or at least he's pretending to be a Jaffa – who seemed to know we were from earth."

"How did he know? Did he recognize you?"

"Uh, I think it may have been Teal'c's reference to Shayan."

"Cheyenne? You talked about Cheyenne?" Jack looked upset at this and Teal'c looked slightly uncomfortable - which was pretty unusual in itself.

"Yeah, and Yosemite Sam and Disney. Even told them about Wile E Coyote." Dead silence greeted this as both Jack and Sam tried to digest this news.

"You told them about Wile E Coyote? What the heck were you thinking Teal'c?"

"They do not know of the references O'Neill, and it did serve to let the Tokra know we were there."

"Yeah, there's that." Jack was again silent. Suddenly, a small grin began to appear on his face. That was quickly followed by a chuckle, which moved directly into laughter. Soon, Jack was bent over in fits of laughter.

"Ow! That hurts!" but he couldn't stop laughing. The next thing you knew, Sam was grinning, then snorting, then laughing. In a minute all three of the humans were practically rolling on the ground with only Teal'c, the instigator, looking serious. If one were to look closely, however, one could see a small crinkling of Teal'c's eyes and the tiny upward curl of his lips.

"Ooooh, that really hurts!" Jack laughed again. As painful as it was, it had been a long time since he'd enjoyed anything so much. As they all began to calm down he looked around and realized that this was just what they had needed.

Looking over at his large and usually somber friend, he smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. Teal'c nodded gravely in return.

"Okay, so we may have five. That's great. So see, this is gonna work. We'll refine it a bit but by tomorrow we should be able to go home."

"That's kind of optimistic Jack."

"Hey", he leaned back and closed his eyes, exhausted now and ready to sleep, "I'm an optimistic kind of guy."

As everyone sat there contemplating the Colonel's plan, and trying to think of an alternative, Jack began to doze. He was woken suddenly when Sam cried,

"But it won't work!"

"Why not?" Jack asked annoyed at his 2IC.

"Because Ba'al is going to want to see the Jaffa who found you Sir. He'll know Teal'c right away and know it's a trick."

Damn, he hadn't thought of that. That really screwed his plans up royally.

"I think I may have a solution O'Neill." Teal'c spoke quietly. "I spoke with a Goa'uld before leaving. He is one of Ba'al's commanders. He is clearly looking for advancement in Ba'al's service. I could offer to let him be the one to take O'Neill to Ba'al."

"Why would you do that though? Won't this Goa'uld be suspicious?"

"It is possible but I think he will be too happy to take credit. I will simply say that my religious beliefs do not allow me to receive a reward for my duty. I will tell him that I would prefer for him to have the glory since he was the one with the wisdom to have allowed us to leave."

"He'd buy that crap?"

"Yes, in order to be rewarded by Ba'al. He would also understand that I was doing him a favor for which I would expect special treatment and honor in the future. Many soldiers know it is more important to please those directly above them in command rather than the gods who are known to be fickle. Many would, in fact, prefer not to come in contact directly with a god. It can be …. unhealthy."

"So this minor Goa'uld would trust this scenario then?" asked Daniel.

"I believe he would."

"Good. That's a wrap folks. We have a plan." O'Neill coughed and started to sag. He needed to lie down before he fell down.

"Here Sir, let me." Sam reached over and gently helped him lie down, this time with his head in her lap. Oh yeah, he remembered how much he liked this position. In the matter of a few seconds he was sound asleep, soothed by her warm presence.

"He's in a bad way." Daniel looked at the pale man. "Maybe this is the best solution."

"How can you say that Daniel? You know what Ba'al will do to him."

"Yeah, I know. So does Jack." They all looked at their oh so brave, oh so foolish commander. If there were any other way they wouldn't do this.

"We have to locate the other prisoners." Teal'c looked down at his sleeping friend, bothered by the fact that Major Carter was so close, but knowing there was nothing he could do. The bigger problem was that they were relying on her to help them escape. He was still too sure of her traitorous nature to believe she would help them.

"I've been thinking about that Teal'c. I'm sure there must be something in the compound, some escape route. There was no other way they could get away that quickly. We weren't gone that long before Ba'al's ship showed up. And I can't see any place, other than the forest, where you could hide that many people."

"Don't you think that Ba'al's soldiers will search the area?" asked Daniel.

"Oh yes, I'm sure they will, but they won't be certain there's anything there. They're more likely to think that the people all escaped in a ship or into the surrounding area. They don't know how long the people were gone before they arrived."

"Except they have the priests and some of Matsya's Jaffa."

"Yes, but he wouldn't have left them if he hadn't been sure they wouldn't give him away. I expect the Jaffa probably don't even know where the others are."

"Sam, you know what Goa'uld torture is like. They'll have to give up the information."

"Okay, maybe, maybe not. But if we get there sooner we can possibly divert them – or locate and free the prisoners."

"Do you know what you're going to do Sam?" Daniel looked at her. Like Jack, he always figured she'd figure out something. For one brief second Sam felt angry – angry that everyone always assumed she'd save the day. Closing her eyes she knew that this time, her very life and in fact, her soul depended on her doing that very thing!

"I'm going to see what I can use and modify from the ship. Teal'c, any information you can give me would be useful." She gently squirmed out from under Jack and, grabbing the blanket he'd been using as a pillow, she put it under his head. He didn't wake or even move.

Standing up she began to walk towards the ships controls. Before she had a chance to get there Teal'c reached out and grabbed her and began to swing her around.

"No, Major Carter, you will not harm him."

She'd reached her limit. She had officially had ENOUGH! Without a pause she allowed her body to move into the direction in which he was pulling her. Continuing into the movement, she raised her knee with all the strength and fury that was surging through her body. She gave a soft grunt of satisfaction when her knee connected very solidly with a tender part of male Jaffa anatomy.

The grunt Teal'c gave was neither soft nor satisfied. With a howl he dropped her arms and fell to the ground hands held protectively over his groin. Sam and Daniel both looked on in astonishment. They'd never seen Teal'c react quite like this before.

Wow, thought Sam, that must have been more powerful than I thought. It was when she heard Teal'c begin to retch that she began to feel a small bit of guilt. She just hoped she hadn't damaged him permanently.

When Teal'c at last raised his head and looked at her, tears streaming from his eyes, she stepped back and held up the zat. No way was she going to allow him to hurt her.

"It is all right Major", he said, still quite breathlessly. "I deserved that."

She looked at him suspiciously. She was not going to trust him, not now. "Get up Teal'c but don't come any closer." She watched as he got to his feet. He seemed to be feeling better. Must be junior, she thought. For some reason this made her giggle. Teal'c had 'two juniors', one of which had just been kneed to hell and back!

Daniel looked at her in astonishment. She was laughing? On the one hand, he couldn't blame her for what she'd done – on the other, the Sam he knew would have felt bad for having to hurt Teal'c like that. Daniel himself was feeling a little queasy. As a fellow male he felt incredible empathy for his friend.

It was then that he noticed that Sam's laughter had turned to tears. She had been dealing with too much for too long. He slowly walked over and, for the second time that day, took her in his arms. How could he have ever thought she was dangerous or evil? This was Sam, his friend and one of the kindest, most compassionate women he'd ever met. Looking up he saw Teal'c watching them. This time there was no anger and no hatred in his friend's eyes, there was only sadness and regret.

Thanks Saissa for the suggestion! I needed some way to bring Teal'c out of it and what better way than a good swift 'knee to the Jaffa jewels!'