A/N's: hey you guys! Ready for a next chapter? Thanks for all your reviews!

Janet updated Colonel Bayfield about the condition of the injured Colonel, just as Teal'c was ready to relieve him on guard. They both listened to her summary, their faces grim.

"Thank you, Doctor," Bayfield said. "When do you expect the fever to come down?"

"Well, Sir. I gave him the second shot of antibiotics and usually it takes three before they start to kick in. Along with keeping the infected areas draining, I'd say tomorrow at best."

"So he won't be able to walk by himself just yet?" Colonel Bayfield asked.

Fraiser shook her head. "I don't think so, Sir."

"Okay. I won't lie to you, Doctor. We're still in Tyberia, far away from the borders and still far from safe. When the need arises I want you to be ready to either sedate him so he won't give away our position or inject him with a stimulant to get him on his feet, you got that?"

Janet's lips tightened as she looked seriously at the Special Forces' man. She nodded in acknowledgement, without mentioning that she already had two syringes ready in her pockets for exactly that reason.

"Good." Bayfield turned away from the doctor. "Teal'c, give me one hour, then I want to get going. We should put some more distance between us and that camp before dark. We're damn lucky that we haven't run into the Elite troops yet."

The Jaffa silently nodded and took his place while Bayfield found a spot to lie down and rest. With Daniel unwilling to leave Jack's side, Janet decided it would be all right to join Sam on her post. She walked over and sat down next to the blond Major.

"How is he?" Sam's soft voice broke the silence.

"Alive, Sam," Janet whispered back. "That's all that matters right now."

They both sat; Sam watching the area and Janet concentrating on the area where she knew Daniel sat with the Colonel. "We're dealing with severe infections on his legs and arms. Without the proper equipment, I can't dig the shrapnel out of his flesh. All I can do is administer medication and keep the areas open to stop the infections from running rampant. He's been severely beaten on those areas, causing the shrapnel to dig even further into his muscle. I have no means of knowing how much damage is really done; we'll just have to wait and see when we get back home."

Sam stared at her friend for a brief second, biting on her lip then turned her attention back to the area she had to cover.

"They dislocated his shoulder twice and his elbow once. Somebody has kicked him hard and solidly on his back, and again, without the proper equipment, I can't tell what damage has been done. I didn't detect any signs of internal injuries, but I can't be sure. On top of that, he was badly dehydrated, exhausted, I'd say he has lost at least twelve pounds... "

Sam sighed deeply. "So it's going to be a long road."

"I'm afraid so," Janet agreed. "Not to mention him dealing with this, plus the death of Marc Crook... He's going to need us, Sam."

Carter nodded. "We'll be there."

Janet rose to her feet, and left to check up on her patient before it was time to get moving. Soon after, the small group silently hiked further up north through the Tyberian Mountains. They'd gently placed the injured man back on the stretcher and Janet had fastened the straps. O'Neill hadn't stirred at all, so she didn't think it was necessary to sedate him, although she had the syringe within reach.

Luckily, the group encountered nothing and managed to make good progress before dark.

Colonel Bayfield called for a halt when he figured he'd found a safe spot to set up a small camp. He quickly divided the night shifts and after a quick cold meal, he and Daniel turned in for the first round of sleep. Sam and Teal'c took their positions while Janet stayed with her patient.

With the evening falling, O'Neill's temperature rose higher and he twisted and turned on the makeshift bed. Janet first replaced another empty bag of IV-fluids with a full one and, after administering another shot of antibiotics along with some painkillers, she decided to add some medication to help him fight off the fever plus a mild sedative to keep him quiet. She reopened and cleaned his infected wounds again, then settled for wiping his forehead, face and neck. Next, she wet another piece of cloth with cold water and placed it in his groin to cool him down. There was nothing more she could do for him, except staying with him as he fought the fever that was racking his body.

Daniel came checking up on them when it was his time to switch guard, shaking his head slightly as he took in the situation.

Sam did the same and sat with Janet for a while. She took in the worried lines etching the doctor's face. "He's going to pull through, Janet," she said softly.

Janet looked at her. "I hope so, Sam. If only he would respond to the antibiotics... There's nothing else I can do for him."

"You're doing all you can, Janet. Do you want to sleep for a while? I can sit with him," the blonde Major offered.

Fraiser shook her head and sighed heavily. "No, I'm fine. You better catch some sleep."

Finally, when it was very early in the morning, the Colonel's fever seemed to break and Janet was relieved to see him relax as he fell into a more restful sleep.

Teal'c joined her after having partaken of Kel'no'reem long enough to be fit for the day. "How is O'Neill doing, Doctor Fraiser?" he asked.

"His fever seems to have come down, Teal'c, which is a good sign. Let's hope he can keep this up," she responded, while wiping the Colonel's face and neck.

Teal'c visually examined his quiet friend then looked back at the female doctor. "You should take some rest, Doctor Fraiser. I will stay with O'Neill."

Janet nodded, tired as she was from looking after her patient for seemingly a long time now. "I will," she said gratefully, and dug up some spare clothes. "First, we need to get him into some dry clothes. These are all soaked with sweat."

Teal'c assisted her and soon they had dressed the sleeping Colonel in some clean clothes. Janet finished immobilizing O'Neill's injured left arm, then turned to Teal'c. "Call me if there's any change," she said, then found a spot to lie down and closed her eyes.

O'Neill woke up slowly, not knowing where he was. He cracked his eyes open and looked up at the sky. The sun already stood high in the air, yet he was shivering from the cold. He was downright exhausted and wondered what had happened. He stirred, stifling a groan as pain shot through his body from the sudden movement.

"Easy, Jack."

"Daniel?" he mumbled as his brains recognized the voice, although his eyes only detected a vague silhouette.

"Yes, it's me. How are you feeling?" The archaeologist bent closer to wipe O'Neill's face even as Jack's eyesight cleared.

"I've been better," he admitted and struggled to sit up. Daniel rushed forward to help, lifting his friend to a sitting position, reclining against the rocks. He'd brought a canteen of water and handed it to his friend. Jack sipped gratefully from the canteen, letting his eyes dart from the left to the right, taking in their surroundings. "We're still in Tyberia?"

"Yes. We haven't run into the Elite troops, though, and have made some progress. Colonel Bayfield wants to leave in half an hour." Daniel looked up as the man in question approached them with a mug of steaming soup in one hand and a piece of bread in the other. Daniel rose to his feet, ready to leave. "I'd better wake Janet. She'll want to check up on you before we leave."

O'Neill watched him go, then briefly eyed his former CO from Black Ops before staring down.

"Jack. It's good to see you up. How are you doing?" Bayfield required, kneeling beside the injured man.

"I'll live," came the short reply. "I'm sorry..."

Bayfield placed one hand on O'Neill's right arm. "Not your fault," he said firmly. "You did all you could for Marc and you managed to rescue the others. Here, I think you should eat something." Bayfield placed the mug with soup next to O'Neill and handed him the bread.

"What's our status?" O'Neill asked, taking small bites from the bread despite having no appetite at all.

"We're about twenty miles north of Camp Ockeloen. We've got at least two days of hiking left to the borders."

O'Neill took in the worried lines etching Bayfield's face. "I can walk. We'll be faster," he reasoned.

Bayfield shook his head. "We'll let the Doc decide about that. You've had a rough night. Don't worry, though. We'll make it." He looked up, noticing the female doctor coming their way. "Morning, Doc. You've got twenty minutes. Then we'll be moving out."

"Yes, Sir," Fraiser answered, then knelt to take her patient's pulse and run a quick vitals check. "Morning, Colonel. Your fever is down quite a bit. That's good. I'll give you another dose of the antibiotics; you seem to be responding to it just fine." She pointed at the mug of soup. "I see someone has brought you something to eat. Perfect. Try to finish that. How's the pain?"

He said nothing, looking down.

"Colonel?" Fraiser demanded. "You have been hit hard on your lower back, probably in the stomach area, too. I don't have the proper equipment to check for internal damage. So I'm depending on you to tell me." She probed his abdomen carefully, locking her eyes on his.

"Ow.." he grimaced. "That feels bruised."

"It is bruised, Colonel. All right," she said, relieved his belly felt soft, and then she gathered an empty jar, placing it next to him on the rocks. "Before we get going, I want you to fill that. That will tell me more about the condition of your kidneys. Now," she peeked under the bandages around his arms and was satisfied to see the infected areas were still draining. She took his right hand and placed it flat on her hand. "Can you move your fingers?"

He stretched them, and then bent them, biting on his lips as the effort it cost him was etched on his face.

Fraiser carefully watched him and motioned for him to bend his wrist, then the elbow. He did, slowly, but kept his eyes closed. When he attempted to move his upper-arm he couldn't hold it back and groaned. Fraiser hurriedly placed one hand on his arm to stop him. "It's okay, Sir. I've seen enough. You better keep it from moving as much as you can."

"First she orders me to eat," he hissed, glaring at her through half- opened eyes. "Then she tells me to keep the arm still."

Fraiser smiled and held the mug in front of him. "Do you want me to help?"

"No," he snapped, grabbing the spoon.

Fraiser waited patiently for him to finish the soup, then put the mug aside. She gently touched his left hand. "Just the fingers, Sir. Can you move them?"

He tried. His fingers moved, only a bit as he hissed in pain, then he gave up. Fraiser mumbled an apology, patted his legs, and then removed his boots. "Okay, Sir. Wiggle your toes for me?"

"Don't you have anything better to do?" he snapped angrily, but tried anyway. His left toes moved better than the right ones. She didn't have to ask anymore, as he next flexed his left ankle, and then grimaced as he tried the right one. "Damn," he cursed through clenched teeth. Sighing deeply, he lifted his left leg up a little, bending his knee.

The right leg followed, although it seemed to cost him more effort. "Seen enough?" he hissed, visually relieved when she nodded. "Good. You're almost worse then those guards..." he closed his eyes again, his voice lowering as he concentrated on his breathing.

Although her heart leaped, Janet didn't respond, but administered another dose of pain medication and antibiotics instead. She put his boots back on and removed the now empty bag of IV fluids, stuffing the material away in her bag. Although it was the last bag she had with her Janet left the port in place for administering future medication. She then took O'Neill by the arm to help him up. Daniel, who'd been stuffing away equipment in preparation for leaving, rushed forward to help and working together they managed to get the weary Colonel onto his feet. O'Neill swayed unsteadily as the world rotated at dangerous speed, but he held on with their help until his eyesight cleared.

The female doctor showed him the empty jar. "I still need this. Then you can rest. I promise," she said. With Daniel's help, they hobbled to a more private place. Daniel left them alone and Fraiser turned her back to him to give him some privacy but ready to help in case he needed her. A couple of minutes and a few curses later, he handed her the half-filled jar. She sighed while he rearranged his clothes. There were small traces of blood in his urine.

With Daniel's help, she guided the now exhausted Colonel back. Teal'c already had the stretcher waiting.

"I can walk," O'Neill protested weakly, although he didn't sound convincing.

"I'm sure you can, Sir," Janet said firmly. "But I won't let you. Let's get you down."

He didn't resist her and soon he was strapped to the stretcher once more. Janet bent forward and covered his legs with a light blanket to protect him from getting sunburned. O'Neill grabbed her wrist and their eyes met briefly. Fraiser gave him a smile, knowing it was his way to thank her, then nodded at Colonel Bayfield. They were ready to leave.

A/N's: well, and they are on the move again... Jack not ready to walk, although he did try.. See you on Monday!