A/N's: I am SOOOOO sorry! I was not really thinking last night and forgot it was Monday! So I left you guys hanging in there... and didn't hear anybody yelling... maybe it was the Gluhwein g.

Getting this out asap now, without replying to the last reviews, so accept my sincere thanks for all your comments, and again... sorry for the wait. Thanks for not yelling... although I think you might, after reading this chapter...

Keep on breathing, though, and start reading.

The small group, with Carter taking point, Daniel and Colonel Bayfield carrying the stretcher and Teal'c bringing up the rear, had almost reached the top of another mountain, when Carter called for a halt.

"I'm going to see what's behind here, Sir," she softly announced over her shoulder before squatting down, crawling forward to peek over the top at the scenery awaiting them.

The others patiently waited, watching as the Major took out her binoculars to examine the terrain. She crawled back, a concerned frown on her face.

"What's the situation, Major?" Bayfield demanded.

"Well, Sir. There are two mountains ahead with a small valley between them, which seems the only natural way to pass. It looks like a dried-out riverbed."

"A perfect spot for an ambush," Bayfield nodded, getting the picture.

"So, why don't we pass on the other side of one of those mountains?" Daniel wondered.

"There's a huge crevasse to the west. I can't see how far we have to go to get around it," Carter explained. "The east side of the other mountain is steep."

"Steep?" Daniel frowned.

"Steep. As in 'mountain climbing, using ropes, hooks and gear', kind of steep."

"Oh." Daniel wiped the sweat drops from his face with one sleeve.

Bayfield motioned for the only civilian of the team to slowly lower the stretcher. He crawled up to take a look for himself while Janet used the opportunity to fuss over her sleeping patient.

Returning, Bayfield was cursing as he took out his map and spread it out. "Why didn't we see this coming?" he said to no one in particular. "There's no ravine on the map. Figures," he muttered.

Carter knelt next to him, studying the map. "If we fan out east, we'll come pretty close to the Iraqi borders," she noticed. "My guess is," she pointed at the map, "that traveling up west to get past the canyon, we might even have to fall back south here, will take another day."

"Damn," cursed Colonel Bayfield. "We can't go climbing the mountain with one man injured."

"I can carry O'Neill," Teal'c opted, having taken in the situation.

Bayfield watched him silently for a while, and stared at the female doctor who was busy taking the sleeping man's vitals. "Yeah, I know. But if we're spotted there, we've got nowhere to retreat. We need more information. We could, however, send two of us making their way over one of the mountains to check out the other side of the valley. Maybe there are no forces to worry about and we can pass through without trouble," he thought out loud.

"If we stay on this side of the ravine, I think two of us can move around there pretty fast while staying out of sight, Sir," Carter nodded in agreement, pointing into the direction she had in mind. "If we detect any trouble, we can still decide to go all the way around."

Colonel Bayfield sighed. "It's risky, but we'll go for it. First, let's get O'Neill and Doc settled some place safe. Then Carter and myself are going for a hike," he looked at her briefly, and then turned to Teal'c. "Keep your eyes open, Teal'c. At any sign of trouble I want you to take them and guide them out of here, without looking back, understood?"

Teal'c slightly bowed. "I understand. I detected a safe place a couple of yards back. We can bring O'Neill and Doctor Fraiser there. Daniel Jackson can watch our back while I cover this side."

Bayfield slapped the Jaffa on his shoulder. "Perfect. Let's move, people." He picked up the stretcher with Teal'c and they both carried the injured man to the relatively safer spot hidden between some rocks. They lowered the stretcher again, leaving Doctor Fraiser to stay with O'Neill. Daniel took his position to watch out to the south and Teal'c followed Carter and Colonel Bayfield to settle down guarding their north flank.

Teal'c, resourceful and experienced as he was, kept his eyes on the progress Colonel Bayfield and Major Carter were making on the left side of the mountain. He also watched his surroundings; secure that no-one would be able to come close to the Jaffa, without him noticing it.

The Jaffa was worried, though. He didn't like being split up any more than Colonel Bayfield had, but also realized that there were not many alternatives. Traveling around the rim, as Major Carter had explained, would have delayed their escape and he had to agree with her that fanning back south would have been risky as well.

He hoped that Colonel Bayfield and Major Carter were able to clear the area, allowing them to pass through the valley safely. He had confidence in their abilities, but there was no way of knowing if there were Elite Forces waiting for them on the other side and, if so, in what numbers.

He had hidden Janet Fraiser and O'Neill well. It was the best spot he could find and he trusted on them to be safe. As long as no troops managed to approach them from behind they would be all right. Daniel Jackson was watching that area, and Teal'c knew the only civilian of the team was experienced enough to complete that task, and would alert him at the first sign of trouble.

Teal'c looked again at the mountain in front of him. His experienced eyes soon spotted Colonel Bayfield and Major Carter. They were already half way.

Good.

It wouldn't be long now.

Daniel Jackson sat on his spot, knowing where Jack and Janet were hiding, watching out to protect their backs. With one side covered by the mountains, he had three sides to guard and tried to keep an eye on all at the same time. The area was uneven, though, and pockmarked with many places to hide for anybody who wanted to.

Daniel was lost in his thoughts. He was having a hard time coping with the situation. He had seen his friend, had seen the injuries and could imagine pretty well what had happened. It was exactly that which worried him the most. He could imagine parts and pieces, but would probably never know the rest. Knowing his friend well, maybe the best of all of them, he knew Jack wouldn't tell him the details, ever. Daniel knew how well the older man was able to bury the pain, the emotions, stuffing them away so deep that they wouldn't bother him again.

Only that last part, Daniel knew, wouldn't last. He'd witnessed his friend having trouble sleeping on more than one occasion,, fighting off unknown demons, struggling with nightmares. No matter how deep Jack tried to bury it, it would come back to haunt him.

Daniel made a vow to stay close, watching his friend carefully, so he would be there in case Jack needed him. He'd helped his friend out before, and was determined to repeat the process. No way was he going to sit back and let his friend drown; he was going to stay by his side, whether Jack wanted it or not. He...

A soft sound from behind startled him.

Shocked, Daniel looked over his shoulder...

... into the wrong end of a machine-gun.

He slowly raised his hands, cursing silently in twenty-three languages. His mind raced; how had this
man managed to climb down behind him? Was he the only one captured? What would happen to Jack and Janet? How was he supposed to warn them and alert Teal'c?

The guard of the Elite Forces left him no time to come up with answers or a plan of action. He simply but quickly turned his machine-gun around and hit it hard on the archaeologist's head, sending him immediately into oblivion.

Janet Fraiser bent over her patient to check his vitals. The Colonel was sound asleep, unaware of her ministrations. She wasn't surprised about that, he had had a rough night and was still exhausted. The sleep would do him good, she thought confidently. She was relieved that his temperature remained steady; it was still a bit elevated but nothing to worry about. He was responding well to the antibiotics she was giving him.

With her patient re-hydrated and the threat of a rampant running infection gone, she was less concerned. The only thing she needed now was to get the Colonel into a decent hospital to truly patch him up. For now, she just had to keep those infected areas open and get as much fluid into him as possible.

Janet got up and turned to get her pack. She decided to check O'Neill's arms and legs and change bandages while she had the time. Reaching forward, she almost jumped up and stifled a scream when a man grabbed her from behind, pushing the sharp top of what she thought to be a knife in her back and placing a firm hand over her lips.

She was roughly turned around and could now see her attacker. Shocked, Janet gasped for breath. She suspected it to be one of the Elite guards and he glared at her with dark, angry, piercing eyes. Her suspicions had been right as he waved a big shining knife at her. A soft cry escaped her lips and the man angrily motioned her to shut up.

The man didn't really let her out of his sight, even while he quickly visually checked out the still form on the stretcher. He solidly grabbed the doctor's wrist and twisted her arm on her back, forcing her on her tip-toes, pressing the knife under her throat. "Not one sound," he whispered in her ear.

When the man pushed her forward, into the direction of the sleeping O'Neill, she slightly panicked. Her eyes were wide with fear as she inwardly screamed. 'No! Leave him alone!'

She tried to struggle in his grip but he shortly jerked at her arm, making her moan softly and she had to give up resisting. The Tyberian man pressed his foot against the still form and pushed. He got no response at all. Satisfied for now, the man whistled sharply, the sound acknowledged immediately, making Janet suspect that another guard had captured Daniel.

Shit.

Frantically wondering what to do, Janet realized she had no options. She wasn't trained for combat situations in the first place; she was unarmed, had a sick man to look after and therefore wouldn't stand a chance. Not to mention the fact that she was paralyzed with fear, her muscles stiffened and unresponsive, her increased breathing and her continuous trembling the obvious proof of how frightened she really was. Her only hope at the moment was directed at Teal'c, Colonel Bayfield and Sam. Hopefully they weren't captured and would find a way to get her out of this mess.

The man roughly threw her with her back against the mountain side. She groaned at the impact and her knees buckled as she slid to the ground. She looked up at her attacker, scared of what he would do, to her, or to the injured Colonel.

The man looked at her, taking in her features, and the way she was crumbled up against the wall. The expression in his eyes changed drastically as a glow of lust shone through. Janet instinctively drew her knees up closer to her chest, and wrapped her arms protectively around them. She attempted to shove herself backwards, but with her sore back already solidly against the rocks she had nowhere to go. She wanted to scream, but her voice disobeyed every order her brains gave it. She wanted to jump up and blindly run away, but knew her trembling legs wouldn't respond either.

The man stepped closer, enjoying the fear he caused in the woman in front of him. With the knife in one hand, he pressed a finger against his lips ordering her to stay quiet. Throwing one last look over his shoulder to reassure himself that the injured man remained still, he licked his lips and knelt on one knee in front of the American female doctor.

At that moment, Janet Fraiser regained some control over her voice, managing to whisper only. "No... no... no..."

tum tum tum...

okay, you can yell now!

one advantage of me forgetting to post last night... it is closer to Friday already g