They were down to her last cough drop, but Jack wasn't sure it mattered. If they were helping, it wasn't by much. He'd soaked a clean shirt in water and had her tie it as a mask, but that didn't seem to be doing much, either. And combining the two had been a disaster – the mask had sent her extra-mentholated exhale straight into her eyes. She was down to her elbows this time, desperate for air but trapped in the cycle where her gasps irritated her throat and made her cough again.
Their progress had been far too slow, and she was going downhill fast. The second the spasms calmed enough to allow it, Jack told Teal'c, "Pick her up."
"Sorry," she mumbled as he tenderly pulled her into his arms and against his chest.
Daniel put a warm arm on her shoulder and promised, concerned, "We're gonna get you home."
Jack set a brisk pace toward the Gate.
~/~
The good news was that Carter wasn't coughing much.
The bad news was that she wasn't breathing much, either.
Jack was pretty sure she was conscious, but she was limp in Teal'c's arms, her eyes closed. The damp cloth over her face was leaching into his shirt and leaving a wet spot, but that was the least of their problems.
Setting his jaw, he turned his eyes back to the path and concentrated on keeping up the pace, though his lungs screamed to slow down.
"Uh, Jack?"
That was Daniel, but he didn't look over. "Yeah."
"I'm not, uh, so sure it's just Sam. I feel kinda, uh…."
That really wasn't what he wanted to hear. They were still half an hour from the Gate – if they could keep their current pace. "Me, too," he admitted. He was far more out of breath than he should have been on level ground at that speed, but he wasn't about to slow down. They needed to get off that planet pronto. "Teal'c?"
The brown eyes that swept over them were sharp with concern. "I am fine, O'Neill."
"Well," Jack muttered, "that makes one of us."