Janet was in the midst of reevaluating Jack when she heard something crashing through the woods. She was about to ask Sam if she'd heard it too, but saw the other woman had already brought her weapon up to bear. Although they were expecting company, experience had taught her it was prudent to be prepared, especially while traveling off world.
About thirty seconds later, Teal'c came charging into the alcove with a badly winded Daniel not far behind.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Janet exclaimed, spotting her gear strapped to the Jaffa's back.
"We came as quick…we lost your…but then Teal'c found…" Daniel's breathless explanation faded when he noticed the condition of his friends, his wide-eyed gaze coming to rest on Jack.
"I have brought the supplies you requested, Doctor Fraiser."
"Thank you, Teal'c," she replied, helping him remove the heavy pack and immediately tearing into it. "Sam, I'm going to need you to move over little. Daniel, can you give her a hand please?"
The archeologist helped his teammate to her unsteady feet and guided her off to one side, allowing the doctor sufficient room to work.
"May I be of assistance?" Teal'c inquired.
"You can." Janet pulled the electronics case from her pack and passed it to large man. "Open this. Take out the main unit and get it turned on - the power switch is on the back." She left Teal'c to his task and turned her attention to the colonel. Settling her stethoscope into her ears, she began to assess the unconscious man's heart and lungs. What she heard wasn't encouraging.
The lung sounds on his right side were diminished, increasing her suspicions of flail chest. He was already coughing up blood, and she could hear the bubbling gurgle of more free fluid with each shallow breath he drew. She desperately wished they were closer to home, or that she at least had her fully outfitted rescue team to back her up. If his injuries were as severe as she feared, the few supplies she had in her small backpack wouldn't be enough to keep the wounded man alive for long.
But you owe it to him and his team to try…
A mechanical chime told her Teal'c had succeeded in getting the vitals monitor going. "That's good, Teal'c. I'll need the other items from the case too. Did you bring blankets?"
"Yeah, they're right here," Daniel replied, stripping off his pack and pulling several thermal blankets from inside.
"Great. Give one to Sam and bring the rest over here."
Sam thanked him with a small smile as he wrapped one of the large blankets around her shoulders. He bundled the rest into his arms and carried them over to where Jack lay. Janet was adhering EKG electrodes to his chest as Teal'c worked to secure a pulse oxitmeter clip to his finger.
"Go ahead and get him covered over, Daniel," she instructed, connecting the leads to the monitor. The small unit began to emit a low beeping tone, assuring everybody that the colonel was indeed alive. She moved on to fasten the blood pressure cuff around his arm and allowed the machine to take a reading. It was low – too low, but all of his numbers were far below where they should be.
Janet returned to her gear bag to gather the items she needed to start an IV. She knew he'd benefit from supplemental oxygen as well, but the two small tanks she had with her wouldn't last for long. She decided to hold off and hope he continued to breathe adequately on his own.
She glanced up from her bag to find Daniel crouched down behind Jack's head wearing the same expression of complete shock she had seen on Sam's face earlier. She wanted to reassure her friend, tell him not to worry and that everything was going to be fine. She couldn't, though. Creating false hope in a grave situation could be just as damaging as telling the truth – sometimes it was worse.
She returned to Jack's side and began to prepare his left arm to accept the IV catheter. Shock had caused his veins to retract, and it took a few tries to locate one suitable enough to use. After a quick swipe with alcohol, she slid the needle into place and anchored it with tape. She connected a bag of saline, fully opened the drip valve, and passed it to Daniel to hold. Hopefully the extra fluids would help stabilize his struggling systems.
"Do you wish a stretcher to be assembled?"
"We can't move him, Teal'c," Janet replied. "Not like this."
Sam couldn't believe her friend's words. "But Janet…"
The doctor held up her hand. "He's too sick, Sam. If we tried to move him right now we'd kill him for sure. We have to wait until he stabilizes. Even then we shouldn't attempt a move without a rescue team present."
"I will return to Stargate Command and retrieve a medical team."
"It would take too long, Teal'c," Daniel muttered.
"I can make the journey in half the time. My symbiote will sustain me for great distances at an accelerated speed."
Sam shook her head. "But that's only one way. Once you gated back with the rescue team, it would take you the same amount of time it initially took us to get here. Then we'd still have to make the trip back. We're talking at least 24 hours, probably more. I don't think the colonel has that long." She looked to Janet. "Does he?"
"No," she replied quietly.
"Then we have to risk moving him," Daniel insisted.
Janet sighed and absently rubbed her sore shoulder, feeling the dull ache of the burns beneath. She looked at the numbers displayed on the vitals monitor, hoping for at least some sign of improvement. There wasn't. The thought of moving the colonel in his present state troubled her. Even if she did manage to get him stabilized, his condition could still deteriorate in an instant and the confinements of the trail would greatly hinder her ability to help.
But the others had a point. There was no chance Jack would survive the 24-hour or more wait for a medical team to come and shuttle him home. He was bleeding internally, and if the shock and blood loss didn't get him, then the arising complications from his chest injury would. Moving him now was the only option they had if they were to have any chance of saving his life.
"All right," the doctor conceded at last. "What's the plan?"
Sam was seated at her CO's side, doing what she could to help Janet get him ready for transport. The rigid stretcher Daniel and Teal'c had constructed from young trees and padded with sleeping bags sat near by, ready for use. The two men had returned to the trail and were clearing the first leg of their journey to make the trip as smooth and safe as possible. Their plan was to reach the game path before nightfall, and use the better footing to make good time despite the dark.
I should be out there helping them… She thought as she handed the doctor another square of gauze. With three of us working, we could have had a path cleared by now. We could be on our way home, closer to getting the colonel the help he needs. I've only got a broken wrist – I can still use my other…
"Sam?"
"Huh?" The sound of her name startled her from of her thoughts.
"I need the tape," Janet repeated, nodding at the roll of medical tape balancing on her knee.
"Oh, sure." Sam passed her the roll of adhesive, which she used to secure a thick dressing over the burn on Jack's side. She was padding him up the best she could, hoping to ease the stress of transport on his battered body.
"How's your wrist feeling?"
"All right as long as I don't try to move anything," she replied, grimacing when she gave her fingers an experimental wiggle.
"We'll treat your burn and then cast up your wrist when we get home. In a few weeks you'll be as good as new," Janet said with an encouraging smile.
Sam tried to return the gesture, but her smile fell short. At the moment, she felt her own well-being didn't amount to very much. Not when the colonel's life was on the line. She sighed and shifted the bag of saline she had resting on her shoulder, making sure the drip line connected to his IV wasn't twisted or crimped. He was already on his second bag, the fluids having helped to elevate his blood pressure to a more acceptable level.
"Could I possibly get you to eat something before we leave?" Janet asked.
"I'm really not hungry," Sam replied, the thought of food making her stomach turn.
"I figured as much, but you need to keep your strength up." The doctor passed her an open canteen and two Tylenol. "At least drink and get those into your system. It's not much, but it'll take the edge off."
Sam nodded her thanks and took the two caplets with a swig of water. She was attempting to screw the cap back on the canteen one handed when she felt something bump against her leg. She looked down to see Jack's hand move, his fingers curling into a fist. "Janet, I think he's waking up."
"Colonel O'Neill? Can you hear me, sir?" Janet felt his body tense and saw his expression morph from confusion to pained as his injuries made themselves known.
Jack groaned and instinctively tried to shift away from the pain. "Oh god…" he gasped, the slightest of movements causing an explosion of agony to shoot through his overloaded nerves.
"Colonel, you need to lie still, sir." Janet said, moving to gently restrain him. "You've been badly injured."
His eyes slowly opened, his gaze clouded and unfocused. "Doc?"
She positioned herself so he could see her better. "It's me, sir. Just stay still. You're going to be fine." So much for not breeding false hope…
Despite her orders, Jack couldn't help his restlessness, the pain making it impossible to remain still. He cried out when a sharp jolt went up his right arm and through his shoulder and neck. "God…" he uttered through gritted teeth. "What happened?"
"We're still trying to figure that part out, sir," Sam replied.
Jack shifted his gaze toward the new voice. "Carter?"
She smiled as best she could. "Hi, colonel."
His eyes abruptly slammed shut and he grimaced, pain flaring across his chest. "Crap, that hurts," he uttered breathlessly.
"What's bothering you the most, sir?"
"Che…" He began to cough, the vehement protest from his broken ribs making his eyes water and body shudder.
Janet used her hand to put gentle pressure on the collapsed portion of his rib cage. She knew such practice was controversial in the medical world, but it brought some immediate relief to the struggling man. "Easy, colonel. Take it easy."
Jack gradually brought his coughing under control. While no blood came up during the spell, the doctor could still hear the telltale rattle of its presence every time he exhaled. He was nearly panting; each breath he drew coming short and shallow.
"Easy, sir. You're all right." Janet turned on vitals monitor and pretended she didn't see the low battery warning. The pain response had caused all of Jack's numbers to skyrocket except for the amount of oxygen his blood was carrying. "Try to slow down your breathing, colonel."
"Hurts…"
"I know it hurts, but you have to try." She watched as he made an obvious effort to do as he was told, silently grateful for the pain control techniques he'd learned during his time spent in Special Ops. Little by little his breathing slowed and deepened, and his oxygen saturation level began to climb. "That's it. Breath as deep as you can."
Sam reached under the blankets and took his hand. He was shaking, but so was she; her own pain, stress, and fears compounded into one overwhelming emotion that she was fighting to control. She knew Jack was strong, their catastrophic trip to the Antarctic had shown her that. But the magnitude of his injuries and their distance from the gate was forcing her to consider the possibility that they might not make it home a complete team.
She felt Jack's hand close weakly around hers. She looked down to find him watching her, his right eye nearly swollen shut. He still wasn't breathing properly, but it was less spastic than before. "You okay?"
"Me?" Sam asked, startled by the question. The man lay dying in the middle of an alien forest and how he could spare the strength to be concerned with the well being of others was beyond her. "I'm fine, sir."
"What happened…to your arm?" he asked, his words hampered by the constant need for air.
She glanced down at the hand she held protectively against her chest. "It's a broken wrist," she replied. "No big deal. Janet said I'll be as good as new in no time. Just like you." If Sam had blinked, she would have missed the ironic lift of Jack's eyebrows.
"Yeah. Right. Just like…me." His face contorted and he coughed, blood appearing on his lips. "Oh god…"
His voice was so pained, so pitiful, Sam felt her eyes well up with tears. "Janet, isn't there anything you do?" she asked. "Something to help the pain at least?"
The doctor shook her head, her normally schooled expression nearly as grief-stricken as her friend's. "Not with a chest injury," she replied, cleaning the blood and sweat from the man's face. "It could suppress his ability to breath even more."
"But he's…" Sam couldn't finish her sentence. The colonel's chances of making it home alive were already slim; she didn't want to jinx them completely. "Nothing at all?"
Janet thought for a moment, weighing her options carefully. Mixing opiates with chest injuries presented definite risks, but prolonged exposure to severe pain could be just as bad. "I can give him a low dose of morphine," she said, turning to her gear. "But we'll have to watch him like a hawk."
She measured out the correct dose and plugged the hypodermic into the colonel's IV. "I'm giving you something to help with the pain, sir. It's only going to take the edge off, but it's the best I can do for right now."
With the medication given, Janet divided her attention between watching her patient and the numbers displayed on the vitals monitor. Even as the drug took hold she could tell he was still in pain, but it provided enough relief to bring his discomfort back into a tolerable range. He relaxed a bit, his body slowly working to regulate itself.
"Is that a little better, colonel?"
"Thanks," he uttered, grateful for the reprieve no matter how small.
"Yeah," Sam agreed, able to relax a little herself. "Thank you."
"I'll try to keep him at this level, but like I said: we have to watch him." Janet adjusted Jack's blankets, wanting to keep him as warm as possible. "Try to get some rest, sir. We'll be ready to move you as soon as Daniel and Teal'c are done clearing us a path."
Jack didn't respond. He had focused all his energy on isolating and suppressing his pain. The morphine helped, but he still had a lot of work to do himself. Completely trusting his friends to keep him and each other safe, Jack retreated even deeper into the pain free darkness of his own creation.
Exhausted, sweaty, and sore, Daniel rolled a large stone into the bushes and fell back against a tree, panting for breath. He and Teal'c had been working fervently to clear a path between the alcove and campsite, his level of endurance proving to be no match for that of the Jaffa's. He looked up ahead, their tents just visible through the maze of trees.
"Do you think we cleared enough?"
Teal'c surveyed their work with a critical eye. Despite the time constraints and lack of proper equipment, they had managed to clear a footpath approximately four feet wide. It wasn't perfect, but it would make carrying a stretcher safer and easier than trying to fight through the tangle of shrubs. "I believe our work will suffice."
"Good." The archeologist removed his glasses and wiped the sweat from his face with the front of his shirt. "We should probably get back to the others. Janet said she wanted to move out as soon as possible."
"I agree."
The two men double-backed along the newly created trail, touching up a few rough areas as they went. They heeded Sam's warning and remained vigilant, watching and listening for signs of danger lurking just out of sight in the bushes.
"Do you think Jack will make it?" Daniel asked, lengthening his stride to keep pace with his teammate.
"Doctor Fraiser is a formidable healer. I believe O'Neill's chances have been greatly improved by her presence."
Daniel started to point out that Teal'c hadn't answered his question, but decided against it. The other man made a valid point. Had Janet not accompanied them on their mission, Jack's chance of survival would have been severely limited. They could 'what if' and over-analyze the situation all day and still be no closer to knowing the truth.
As they went along, Teal'c gradually increased his speed. He knew their biggest adversary was time, and this was something he could not defeat with his strength and training. Jack was more than just a leader to him. He was a friend and brother, the one person that had shown him trust when all others had feared him. He felt indebted to the human warrior, and knew that if he were to die, a large part of himself would perish along with him.
The rest of the trip was made in silence, the men conserving their energy for long journey that lie ahead. There was also little of value to say.
They arrived back at the alcove to find Janet applying a rigid splint to Sam's broken wrist.
"Did you see anything?" Sam asked, flinching as the doctor tightened a strap on the splint.
"We did not," Teal'c replied. "We did however clear a path as you instructed, Doctor Fraiser."
"That's great, Teal'c. Thank you," the doctor approved. "We should be ready to head out shortly."
Daniel knelt down beside the colonel. "How's Jack been doing?" he asked, surprised when the other man opened his eyes.
"He's been better," he uttered, sounding oddly out of breath.
"Hey, Jack. It's good to see you awake."
"What's so…good about it?"
Daniel smiled; glad to see his friend's humor was still intact. "Don't worry, Jack. We'll get you home. You just have to hang in there, all right?"
The wounded man nodded and shut his eyes, the brief interaction tiring him.
Janet put the finishing touches on Sam's splint. "If you guys want to get the stretcher ready, I'll give the colonel another dose of pain meds and we can get him moved."
The two men went to fetch the stretcher they'd made when Daniel spotted something glinting in the grass. "Hey, what's this?"
Sam looked over to see what he'd discovered, her eyes widening when she saw the familiar object in his hand. "Don't!" she cried, startling him so much he pitched the small stone halfway across the alcove. "That's what I was holding right before everything went to hell."
"I thought it…I mean it just…it looked like an ordinary rock."
Having seen where the stone landed, Teal'c wandered over to investigate. He knelt down and parted the grass, recognizing the object immediately.
"Do you know what it is?"
"I do, Major Carter," he replied. "It is a ma'krell stone. The gem most commonly used in the center of Goa'uld ribbon devices."
"So it's the stone that has the conductive properties, not the housing?"
"Indeed. The housing merely helps to focus and control the release of energy." He sensed Daniel peering curiously over his shoulder. "You may handle it if you wish, Daniel Jackson. It will not harm you."
"But Sam…"
"Major Carter possesses Naquadah in her bloodstream. This is what caused the ma'krell stone to react so violently when she held it in her hand. It would behave similarly if I attempted to hold it."
Sam suddenly felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. "You mean I…oh my god."
Janet watched the other woman's expression shift from surprised to stunned to sickened as she realized what Teal'c had just said. "Sam?" She wanted badly to go comfort her friend, but couldn't leave Jack's side after having just given him more morphine.
"Sam? What is it? Sam?" Daniel abandoned the ma'krell stone and went over to his dazed teammate. "Sam?"
"Oh my god…I did this…I caused…this was my fault…oh my god…"
When she wouldn't look at him when he called her name, he resorted to grabbing her by the shoulders and giving them a firm shake. "Sam!"
She looked up at last; her blue eyes welled with tears. "Daniel?"
"What's wrong?"
"This…this was all my fault," she said, continuing when she saw the confusion on his face. "The Naquadah in my blood caused the stone to release an uncontrolled burst of energy. Janet and I got only minor injuries because we were thrown clear of the alcove, but the colonel was thrown into the mountainside. He could…he might die because of me…"
"You could not have known."
"Teal'c's right, Sam. There was no way you could have known what you were picking up."
"I should have known better," she argued. "I shouldn't have touched something when I didn't know what it was."
"You thought it was a rock, didn't you? Just like I did when I picked it up a minute ago. And you've been picking up rock samples all morning, so why would you have thought differently about this one?"
Sam shook her head, not willing to listen to reason. "Don't you get it, Daniel? The colonel could die because of my carelessness."
"A possibility that will become a reality if we continue to delay further."
All eyes turned to Teal'c. His words were blunt, but his tone was gentle. He wasn't trying to be cruel or bitter; he was merely stating the truth.
Sam was stunned, her teammate's candid words shocking her to the core. Anger flashed across her face. Her first instinct was to challenge him, to make him take back the horrible thing he'd just said, but she realized she couldn't. Not because she was afraid to confront Teal'c, but because he was right. By allowing herself to be overcome with guilt, she was wasting precious time and diminishing the colonel's chance of survival.
"Sam?" Daniel asked tentatively. "Are you…?"
"I'm okay," she uttered, slipping her soldier mask back on. "We should probably get moving, huh?"
Teal'c tipped his head in agreement. "Indeed."
Daniel patted Sam reassuringly on the arm and went to help Teal'c retrieve the stretcher. They placed it on the ground as close as they could to Jack and adjusted the sleeping bags covering the hard wooden frame.
Janet approved with a nod. "Looks good, guys. Now comes the hard part." She cleared away Jack's blankets and temporarily relocated the vitals monitor to the injured man's lap. It tolled quietly in the background, ready to alert her should her patient become too stressed by the move. "Teal'c, I want you on the colonel's right side. That's where his worst injuries are, so you'll need to be extra careful how you lift him. Daniel, you're on his left side. I've covered his burn with a thick dressing, but you'll still need to use care around it. I'll get his legs. Are there any questions so far?"
The two men shook their heads.
"All right. Once he's moved, we'll need to immobilize him as much as possible. A backboard would be ideal, but since we don't have one, rolled up blankets and coats will have to do. His right arm is going to be a little tricky because of the two breaks, but I think we can find a position that won't cause him too much discomfort."
"You do not wish to splint his arm prior to the transfer?" Teal'c inquired, already strategizing how to safely move his teammate.
"The bones aren't set. Where the breaks are so close together, trying to set one would likely cause further damage to the other. It'll have to be done surgically when we get back. Anything else? Daniel?"
"I'm good."
Janet knelt down beside Jack rested her hand on his cheek. "Colonel?"
"Hmm?" he replied, not opening his eyes.
"We're about to move you, sir. Try not to tense up – let us do all the work, okay?" She felt him nod. "We'll be as quick as we can, colonel." She positioned herself at his feet and looked up at the others. "He's got some pain medication onboard, but this is still going to hurt like hell. Keep him low to the ground and make things as smooth as possible. Are we ready?"
Daniel carefully slid an arm under Jack's lower back and the other beneath his shoulders. Teal'c did the same, supporting his friend's head and neck to avoid putting pressure on his injured arm.
"We lift on three," Janet said, wrapping her hands around his ankles. "One, two, three… lift!"
Although they were gentle, the movement caused an eruption of pain to flare through Jack's body. He cried out and cursed, the discomfort persisting even after he'd been placed on the well-padded stretcher. His right side was the worst, every gasp for air eliciting a fireball of pain from his broken ribs. He coughed, the coppery taste of blood filling his mouth.
"Oh crap…" Jack groaned, trying in vain to find a depth of breathing that would alleviate the pain in his chest. He felt the warmth of the blankets wrap around his shivering form and a cool hand brush across his forehead. He opened his eyes to find Janet smiling down at him. "Doc?"
"Try to slow your breathing down, colonel," she said, her voice sounding dreamlike and faraway. "Just like before: breathe slow and inhale as deep as you can."
Jack tried to do as he was told. As he worked to even out his breathing, he felt his panic subside and his body start to relax.
"You're doing good, sir. Keep it up," Janet praised, sounding much closer than she had a moment ago. "You handled the transfer perfectly. Daniel and Teal'c are going to help me get you tucked in a bit, and then we'll be ready to go home."
"Go home?" he echoed, the concept sounding both alluring and impossible to his clouded mind.
Janet nodded. "Mm-hmm. We'll just be a few minutes. Major Carter's going to sit here and keep you company, okay?"
"Carter?" He felt someone take his hand and looked over to see his second seated at his side. She was smiling at him, but there was something off about her expression – an emotion hidden just below surface that he couldn't quite identify.
"Hey, colonel. We're almost ready to get you out of here. What do you think of that?"
"Home."
"Yes, sir. We're going home."
"That's go…ah!" Jack cried as Janet gently manipulated his broken arm to allow Teal'c to place a rolled blanket against his side. "Ow…ow crap, that hurts."
Sam grimaced and tightened her grip on his hand. He squeezed back as his bad arm was moved again, his fingers shaking with effort. "They're almost done, sir." She shot a desperate look to Janet who took the hint and picked up the pace. "Just a little bit more."
"There, I think we're done," the doctor said a short time later. "How's that feel, colonel?"
Jack felt no difference until he tried to move. "Can't move."
Janet smiled. "That's kind of the whole idea behind immobilization, sir," she said, helping Daniel arrange his blankets. "It supports existing injuries while lessening the chance of causing new ones. Do any of the supports feel too tight?"
"No."
"That's good." She looked up to the waiting members of SG-1. "Are we ready to try this?"
"More than ready," Daniel answered for everyone.
"All right. I want you and Teal'c carrying the colonel. Sam, do you feel up to leading the way?"
The other woman nodded. "Sure."
"You and I can trade off whenever we get tired, but I'd like to have someone beside him as much as possible. I've had to change the battery pack on the vitals monitor once and it's already at less than half capacity. We're going to have to keep tabs on his condition the old fashion way for most of the trip."
"What of the ma'krell stone?" Teal'c asked.
"Leave it," Daniel replied without hesitation. "It'd be an interesting Goa'uld artifact to have for reference, but after seeing what it's capable of, I don't want it anymore."
Sam offered him a small smile. "Good choice."
Janet finished repacking her supplies and was about to heft the heavy backpack onto her shoulders when a large dark hand stopped her.
"I will carry your equipment, Dr. Fraiser."
"Teal'c, you don't have to do that," she said. "You already have enough to worry about helping Daniel with the colonel."
"I am capable of bearing much weight. Your equipment will not impede my ability to transport O'Neill," he explained. "Were you not injured in the explosion as well?"
The thought of her heavy pack rubbing against the burns on her shoulders for fifteen miles dawned on her for the first time. "Well, yes, but…"
"Then you must not risk damaging yourself further." The Jaffa effortlessly hoisted her backpack onto his shoulders. "Are you able to carry my staff weapon?"
The petite doctor nodded. "I think I can manage that. Thank you, Teal'c."
The large man tipped his head and took his position at the head of the stretcher. Daniel stood waiting at the opposite end, Jack's distressed P90 strapped across his chest.
Sam was hovering by the mouth of the trail, eager to get moving. "We ready?"
"Just about," Janet replied, securing Jack's bag of IV fluids to Teal'c's shoulder with a pin. She collected his staff weapon lying in the grass, and knelt beside her patient one final time. "Colonel? We're going to head out now. I'll be right beside you the whole way, so if you need something just let me know, okay?"
Jack simply nodded, lacking the energy needed to speak.
"All right, guys. Nice and easy." She kept her hand on Jack's arm as Daniel and Teal'c carefully lifted the stretcher off the ground, reassuring him when he groaned at the sudden motion. Only when she was certain that he had settled down again did she give the go ahead for them to move.
With Sam taking the lead, the team left behind the scene of a tragedy and took their first steps towards home.
"Damn it!" Sam hissed and clutched her broken wrist to her chest. She was becoming acutely aware of how difficult it was to function normally without the full use of both hands. Her current task of sorting through the team's gear was testing her dexterity as well as her patience, especially when it came to operating such simple devices like zippers or snaps. If the others saw her now – sitting on the floor with a backpack pinned between her knees and struggling to work a zipper with her left hand – they'd laugh for sure. In fact, she'd probably never hear the end of it; at least not from the colonel.
The team had traversed the first part of their journey with ease. The path Daniel and Teal'c had cleared was easy to walk on and they covered the two miles in less than an hour. The trail led them directly to their campsite, which she had swept for danger before allowing Jack to be brought in. The two men continued on alone, readying the next part of the trail as they had the first. Sam and Janet remained behind with the colonel, giving him a chance to rest in between trips.
I wish they'd let me come with them… Sam thought as she sorted through Daniel's backpack, careful not to bump her aching wrist. She'd volunteered to help speed up the trail clearing process, but the two men declined. Daniel had told her there was barely enough room out there even for him, especially when Teal'c really got going. So while Janet tended to Jack, she had busied herself with cleaning up the campsite, repacking only the essentials and leaving the rest behind for another team to retrieve at a later time.
Sam pulled a spare set of clothes from Daniel's pack and set them aside. She hated going through her teammate's gear, but they had to travel light. Food, water, and ammo were her primary concerns, along with any small personal effects. She added the archeologist's battered journal and camera to one of the bags of items she was keeping. A dog-eared reference book came next, followed by his food rations and a small stash of chocolate bars.
How long have you been keeping these from us, Daniel? She put them in her pocket and made a mental note to question him about it later.
Satisfied she'd collected all she could from the man's pack, she moved onto the final one belonging to the colonel. After wrestling with the zipper, she pulled the bag open and stopped. For some reason she felt even more uncomfortable going through Jack's things than she had the others. She assumed it had to do with him being her superior, but she knew there was more. Jack was a private man, preferring to keep his work and home lives separate. He didn't volunteer personal information about himself or unnecessarily elicit it from others. She felt going through his gear would somehow be a violation of that privacy.
You wouldn't be in this situation if you'd just followed protocol and examined that rock a little closer before picking it up, now would you? Sam's inner voice pointed out none too gently. The guilt she'd managed to curb suddenly came rushing back and she found herself on the verge of tears.
No! She scolded herself sharply. Not now, not here. You don't have the luxury of time to sort through your emotions right now. You've got to keep it together. Get the colonel – get everyone – home, and then you can face the consequences of your actions. Mistake. Accident. Oversight. Major screw-up.
Sam took a deep breath and began to pull things out of Jack's bag. He mostly had extra ammo and surveillance gear packed inside with a few other items mixed in. She took out the ammo, his favorite binoculars, and a set a night vision goggles and sorted them into the two communal packs. His MRE's and extra water purification tablets followed, along with a few battered personal notebooks bound together with an elastic band. She thought she'd found everything of value when her fingers struck something hard at the bottom of his bag. She pulled it out and smiled at her discovery.
Clutched in her hand was the wooden yo-yo Teal'c had given the colonel the previous Christmas. It was painted in a brilliant yellow with a smiley face drawn on each side. The face looking up at her was winking, its red tongue playfully stuck out from the corner of its mouth. Jack had immediately started playing with it, nearly taking off General Hammond's head when he tried to demonstrate an "around the world" in close quarters. Sam found herself chuckling at the memory. SG-1 had shared some special moments together over the years, and she was grateful for each and every one of them.
Sam tucked the yo-yo into her pocket, not wanting it to get damaged or lost. She zipped the two bags closed and carefully slung them over her shoulder. They were quite heavy, but they still weighed significantly less than their original packs without all the camping gear and extraneous supplies.
She stepped out of the men's tent and looked around the campsite to see if she'd missed anything. All that remained were the two large tents and a pile of soggy ashes left over from their morning fire. Finding nothing of interest, she left the packs by the fire pit and returned to where Janet sat with the colonel.
"Hey," the doctor greeted with a smile. "Find everything all right?"
"I think so," Sam replied, sitting down beside her. "Thankfully this wasn't a mission that Daniel felt compelled to bring his entire reference library along." She looked over at Jack who appeared to be sleeping. "How's he doing?"
"He's hanging in there," Janet said, fussing with his blankets. "He was showing signs of stress when we first arrived, but he's coming out of it okay."
"If he's showing signs of stress after only two miles, what's the rest of the trip going to do to him?"
"There was a chance it would happen. We'll just have to take frequent breaks to let him rest. He's in critical condition, Sam. We shouldn't be trying to move him at all, let alone fifteen miles cross country."
"We don't have a choice."
"I know we don't," Janet said with a sigh. "And I'm not second guessing our decision, it's just difficult to do one thing when all of your training and instincts are telling you to do another."
Sam nodded, familiar with such inner conflicts. And why is it that the most difficult situations demand the toughest decisions...?
She sighed and looked at her watch. The planet's first sun was due to set within the hour. "Do you think we'll make it to the game trail before dark?"
"We have to. There's no way we could safely navigate through the heavy brush in the dark, especially with the stretcher. I'm just concerned Teal'c and Daniel are going to jeopardize their own health if they keep moving at such a frantic pace. If we lose even one of them to exhaustion or injury…"
"They can handle it," Sam interrupted. "They know the risks and what's at stake. We all do."
Janet felt reassured by the confidence she heard in her friend's voice. Deep down she knew Sam was right. The strength of SG-1 came from the unique bond shared between each of its four members. Although they functioned as a military unit, they cared for each other like family and would risk it all to save one of their own. It was this fierce loyalty and trust in one another that allowed them to beat the odds and survive, even after most would have had given up all hope.
Sam's radio crackled to life.
"Major Carter."
"I'm here, Teal'c. Go ahead."
"We have cleared a path to the bone yard and will be turning back momentarily."
Sam allowed herself to relax a little. The men were right on time with the calculations she'd made earlier. If they could keep it up, they'd reach the game trail just before dark and the gate by early morning. It still seemed like a lifetime away, but at least an end to their ordeal was in sight. "All right, Teal'c. Thanks for the heads up. We'll be ready to go when you get here. Carter out."
"Sounds like they're making good time."
"Yeah, they are," Sam agreed. "It should only take them half hour or so to get back here at the pace they're moving."
"Well, then, that gives us plenty of time," Janet said as she got to her feet.
"Time for what?"
"To have something to eat," she replied, brushing bits of stray leaves and grass from her pants. "Any requests?"
Although food was the last thing on her mind, she knew Janet wouldn't leave her alone until she'd eaten. "No. Just as long as it's light."
"All right. I'll see what I can find. Are you okay sitting with the colonel for a few minutes while I heat something up?"
Sam nodded and the doctor left to seek out their meal. Left alone with the sleeping man, she reached out and rested her hand on Jack's good shoulder. A pang of guilt tore through her heart as she felt the awkward, inefficient motion of his breathing through the pile of blankets.
"I'm sorry, colonel," she uttered, unsure what else to say.
Jack shifted beneath her hand and groaned, a wet rattle coming from deep within his chest. Sam was about to call for Janet when he settled down and slipped back into his doze. It was so hard to see him like this, in pain and working just to breath, especially knowing that she was the cause.
Giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze, Sam said the only thing she could think of to give the man some solace. "It'll all be over soon, sir. We'll get you home. I promise."