The Jaffa came at them from nowhere. Well, actually they must have been hiding behind some of the big boulders strewn about between the cliff wall and the tree line, but when it came to a surprise attack from behind there really wasn't much difference. Teal'c was the first to react. Must be those Jaffa superhuman abilities, Jack thought as he to dove to the side while bringing his weapon up. Like in slow-motion he saw Daniel react and turn to avoid the multiple staff blasts coming their way. The man was moving to slow. No!

"NO!" The word forced its way over his lips as the bolt of plasma hit and felled his friend to the ground, his chest a smoldering mess of burned fabric and blood. "Daniel! You sons of..." The end of the curse was drowned out by the sound of gunfire as he pressed the trigger and peppered the closest Jaffa with bullets.

Meanwhile, Teal'c had already taken out another of the enemies and Carter was just bringing down the fourth, leaving the last man to take the next salvo of Jack's rage. Adrenaline fueled fear and anger pounded in Jack's ears as he turned his gaze back to Daniel's still body.

"Carter..."

"On my way, sir."

She bent down beside the archaeologist – geek, civilian, my responsibility – and checked for a pulse. First on the wrist, then the neck. Jack knew it was bad when she had to check a second time, bending down to feel for a breath on her cheek.

"Is he...?" He couldn't finish the question.

"There's a pulse, sir, but it's very weak, and he's barely breathing."

Damn it!

"Makepeace!" There was no time for protocol now. "What's your status?"

"We're under fire, but holding the 'gate." Jack could hear the sounds of gunfire and staff blast punctuating the colonel's response.

"We've got ourselves a situation here. Jackson's down, bad. Get the SGC on line and let them know to have a med team standing by. We're gonna try to bring him down, but stand by to assist."

"Roger that. SG-3 niner out."

"Carter?"

"He's still holding on, sir."

"DanielJackson is strong, O'Neill," Teal'c proffered in assurance. His face was unemotional as always, but in his eyes was a softness that spoke to the care he had for his young teammate who once again lay wounded on an alien world.

Jack gave his teammates a weak smile, then jumped right into the task at hand.

"Okay, let's make sure we get him back to Janet's loving care before he stops that. Carter, stay with him. Teal'c, you and I need to make a gurney."

They both grabbed their knives and headed into the forest. A few minutes later they returned with a couple of slender poles made from lopped saplings. Next they proceeded to take off their jackets and attached them to the poles to form the bed. With the gurney completed they carefully lifted Daniel onto it while Carter kept a close eye on his vitals, and set off for the Stargate. From time to time the team stopped to have Carter check on Daniel and to radio the team at the 'gate for an update. Luckily Colonel Makepeace's response was the same each time,

"We're holding the 'gate. SG-3 niner out."

An agonizing half an hour later SG-1 finally arrived at the clearing. SG-3 already had the 'gate dialed up and held the Jaffa at bay as they snuck out of the forest and through the puddle. A moment later both the teams were walking down the ramp in the 'gate-room.

Dr Fraiser immediately took over the care of Daniel, placing him on a stretcher and rushing him off to surgery. The fact that she didn't take the time yell at Jack for getting the young geek hurt again only increased his worry for his friend's condition.

General Hammond approached the rest of SG-1 who were still standing on the ramp, looking almost as beat down as when they returned from P3X-866 with the news of Dr Jackson's death.

"What happened, colonel?"

"The Jaffa must have been watching us. They attacked SG-3 at the 'gate to draw us out of the cavern and then hit us in the back as we were coming down the hill. Got Daniel before we could take them out."

"Alright, SG-1, we'll hold off on the debriefing until we have news on Dr. Jackson's condition. Go get yourselves cleaned up."

Jack did as he was told and went to the dressing room, but only stayed in the shower long enough to rinse of the worst of the dust from PZX-760. Thebes. The word flitted through his mind on Daniel's voice. After throwing on a set of clean BDUs he headed straight for the infirmary where he was soon joined by Carter and Teal'c. I can't believe we're doing this for the second time in only two weeks.

It was almost nine hours later when Dr. Fraiser finally stepped out of the operating room, and even Jack's inpatient pacing had turned into exhausted sitting. None of the three healthy members of SG-1 had left their vigil outside the infirmary, not even when the General came up to urge them to get something to eat and some rest. Hammond understood though, and simply ordered some food to be brought up from the commissary. Sam and Teal'c had submitted themselves to a short post-mission medical check-up – after all it was procedure – but Jack had just waved off the nurses with a muttered,

"Later, later."

They all shot to their feet when Janet pushed the door open, every inch of her short body looking as tired as they all felt. Jacks inquiry about Daniel's condition died on his lips as he took in her dog-tired facial expression. He was afraid the answer would be one he couldn't take. For a moment no one said a word – or breathed for that matter. Then Janet re-lit the hope in their hearts with a small smile.

"He's stable now. He was very weak and we almost lost him a few times on the table, but he got through it. The next twenty-four hours will be critical, but it's looking good."

Oh crap, Daniel thought as he woke up to the florescent lights in the infirmary.

"Not again."

"You sure got that right."

Jack's voice came from the left side of the bed and Daniel couldn't help but smile. With more effort than he thought it should take, he turned his head to look at his CO, his friend. I'm lucky to have him. Then his eyes wandered to the chair next to Jack's. Sam was sleeping in an obviously uncomfortable position, her hair a mess from having skipped over styling it after her shower. Knowing he would be there, Daniel turned his gaze to his other side to find Teal'c. The Jaffa was sitting cross-legged on the neighboring bed, in the deep meditative state of Kelno'reem. Lucky to have all of them. He turned his face back to Jack, who was now regarding him with an unusually warm smile on his lips. The colonel reached out his hand and gently stroked Daniel's arm.

"Yup, we're all here."

Daniel simply smiled again. Yeah, all four of us.

The End