Jack checked his watch as the full moon crested the tall treeline. He had seen the glow approaching for some time, paralleling the shoreline, but it was fully overhead now and he figured that meant the night was half over. Six more hours until dawn, if that was true.
He yawned noisily and noticed Daniel did not move at all. They had managed to fashion a decent splint for his wrist with several sturdy reeds and the straps from Teal'c's tactical vest, so he no longer cradled his injury so carefully. He curled up to sleep close to the fire, his good arm bent up under his head as a pillow. A dose of morphine had knocked the scientist out for several hours so far.
Jack stood up to stretch his legs and swung his arms wide to loosen his cramping muscles. He groaned as he leaned down to add another set of branches to the fire, just adding voice to his abused joints. The long swim in frigid water followed by half a night sitting on the hard ground sapped his strength more than he cared to admit. In another ten minutes he would take a walk to the shoreline to check his markers to see if the water really was receding. It was making decent progress rolling away from shore by the hour, but it was too soon to know if it was caused by tidal effects or directional movement. Teal'c never said how far out from shore the Stargate was located, but Jack kept checking the markers anyway.
At least they had resources nearby. He and Teal'c had stocked up on plenty of fuel for the fire after moving the camp to higher ground. The heavy rainstorm had filled the headwaters of the creek which rose several feet within its banks. The water was murkier now, with silt carried from upstream, but a natural eddy in the sandy delta allowed the water to settle enough to clear up for drinking. A small shelter completed the camp, constructed like a lean-to covered with reeds layered thickly on two sides. It provided enough space for sleeping out of the sun, wind or rain, as long as the weather stayed fairly mild. It was not much, but it made the prospect of spending the next two days on the planet more manageable.
Carter had remained feverish and woke only briefly as they prepared the campsite. It surprised no one when she sat up at one point and insisted Daniel take the first trip with Teal'c. No one even argued with her as she was wracked with coughing, but Daniel wrapped his arm around her. She sagged weakly into his shoulder and stared miserably into the firelight.
Daniel suggested that she might have developed pneumonia after taking so much seawater into her lungs. He said it softly and could not meet Jack's gaze, feeling guilty for his own role in her infirmity. But she had taken his hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly.
In a standard field medical kit, like the ones in their packs left behind on the Ha'tak, they had some potent antibiotics, given the many worlds and alien biomes they visited. But in their two surviving tac vests they had only morphine and Tylenol, and the morphine was already half gone.
During a flurry of discussions, Daniel and Sam each insisted the other needed the medication more. Jack settled it by counting out just enough Tylenol to keep her comfortable during the flight to the system's second Stargate and saving the rest to manage Daniel's pain until it was his turn to evacuate.
Teal'c had departed three hours ago after they bundled Carter into the second seat of the death glider for the long trip. He would not be able to aid her until he reached the moon which had a suitable atmosphere. He could only talk to her and do his best to get them home quickly.
Jack checked his watch again and did the math. With any luck Carter would be safely back at the infirmary and under the care of Doctor Frasier before dawn on this planet. Teal'c would then need to convince General Hammond to let him return for Daniel immediately. The death glider was their only spacefaring option and Teal'c their only pilot, so the General would agree eventually. Teal'c could be back here by dinner. Jack pushed another log into the fire and watched the flurry of sparks flare briefly. He should have told him to bring back a nice steak.