"I'll be back, Carter. Just hold on."

"I'm scared Sir," she said softly.

"I know Sam," he said gently, squatting beside her and then reaching out to put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm gonna get help and I'll be back as fast as I can." He looked at his 2nd in command and hated the thought that he was going to have to leave her. She was pale and sweaty, her face covered in grime and scratches. He was growing increasingly worried about her – and about her leg.

This last mission had gone completely FUBAR and he and Carter had only managed to escape by the skin of their teeth and by commandeering a Death Glider and getting the hell off of P2 – whatever. The worst part was that they'd had to leave Teal'c and Daniel behind. He just hoped they'd managed to make it through the Gate and back to Earth.

"Alright," he said, pushing himself to his feet. "I've left you both canteens – uh uh", he said as she went to argue. "I'll be fine, but you need to stay still and you'll need water. There's also some food and extra ammunition. I've also left the First Aid kit – don't forget to take more of the antibiotics, and there are still some more pain killers in there." He took a deep breath, again hating the fact that he had to leave her. "You're hidden away here, so you should be safe. I will be back!"

"I know you will, Sir," she said. If there was anyone she could trust to keep his word, it was Jack O'Neill. She tried to smile at him, although it was clear from the frown between her eyes that she was in pain. "You be careful too!"

"I will Major, don't worry. I'll see you soon." With a nod, and one last check to make sure she had everything she needed, at least for now, he headed out to find help. He really, really hated to leave her.

As he trudged through the alien landscape he thought back to the day they'd just had. They'd gated to a new planet that had not been visited – by them. According to all reports there were no signs of habitation, or anything particularly interesting. They all figured it would be a quick trip there and back – for once an easy mission.

Famous last words!

The fact was that the first day had been easy – and boring. Even Daniel had agreed that there was little of interest on the planet. It wasn't even a particularly pretty planet, so they were all looking forward to their return to Earth the next day.

Then, day 2 had come and it had been completely, and horribly different. Out of nowhere they'd first heard, and then seen, an entire troupe of Jaffa. Before the Jaffa had seen them they'd grabbed their packs and had to hotfoot it out of there. Sadly it didn't take long for the Jaffa to discover them and the chase had begun. After a few minutes Jack had split his team up, telling Daniel and Teal'c to try and circle back to the Gate while he and Sam led the Jaffa away. He hoped this would increase the chance that at least some of them would make it back to the Gate and bring help, if need be.

Carter and he had run through the woods as fast as they could go, Jaffa hot on their heels. Eventually, just when they began to run out of steam, they saw what seemed to be a deserted camp. Over to one side were two Death Gliders.

Jack had never thought he'd be glad to see one of the damn things again – not after his little trip with Teal'c. Now, however, they were a god-send. "Over there," Jack pointed. "Let's get out of here."

"They'll follow us, Sir," Sam had panted, motioning to the second Glider.

"Not if we take the second one out. You get in the that one," he pointed to the one farthest from them.

"What -?" she started to ask, but then saw the Colonel remove a package of C-4 from his pocket and run towards the second Glider. With a nod she continued to the other one. Fortunately, there was a ladder which enabled her to climp quickly into the cockpit.

A few minutes later Jack followed but just as he started to ascend, the Jaffa appeared from the tree line.

"Carter – start the damn thing up!"

"I am, Sir," she shouted back.

As Jack jumped into the 2nd seat Sam immediately closed the hatch. Staff weapons blasted away at the glider, but fortunately the bolts just seemed to jump off the exterior. They'd obviously built them to resist their own weapons.

"Let's go!"

The words had barely left his mouth when the glider took off. Jack was pushed back into his seat as a result of the acceleration. Sam took them almost straight up – a magnificent but rather terrifying and thrilling example of expert flying.

Staff weapon fire followed them but soon they were out of range. Jack was finally able to glance back, to see the 2nd glider lift off. He worried for a second but then it exploded in a ball of fire.

"Yes!" he said, pumping his fist. "That'll show you!"

"Sir!"

"What is it Carter?"

"Uh – up ahead, Sir!"

Jack looked up and swore. Just what they needed – more Goa'uld. "Get us out of here Carter. As far away as possible." He swore again as he saw dozens of death gliders swarming out of the Ha'tak above the planet. "Can we go to hyperdrive?"

"I think so," she answered, her concentration on the ship's controls. "Here we go."

Everything around them melted into a rainbow of moving colors. It was beautiful and eerie and always made him feel slightly dizzy. It wasn't long before everything righted itself and they were back in normal space.

Jack blinked. "Whoa – that's always a ride!"

"Yes Sir," Sam grinned, although her attention was still on the Glider. She frowned as she looked at the instruments. Fortunately, Teal'c had taught her and the Colonel everything he knew about Death Gliders so she had a pretty good idea of what to look for.

"Uh, everything okay there, Carter?"

"I'm – not sure Sir. We came out of hyperdrive a bit too soon."

"Are we in danger?" he asked quickly, praying the Goa'uld wouldn't be able to follow them.

"Not from the Goa'uld – at least I don't think so, but it looks as if the hyperdrive may be down."

"But the ship itself is okay?"

"I think so – at least everything else looks normal."

"Well, that's okay then," he nodded. He couldn't see Sam's face, which still looked worried.

"Know where we are?" he asked after the silence dragged on.

"Not really," she replied, looking once more at the ship's controls. "I'm still trying to figure it out," she murmured, her tongue sticking out slightly as she concentrated.

Jack had to grin. He knew they could still be in trouble, but for now they were safe and Carter, in her present mode, was always cute. Of course, he would never, ever say that – but there was no harm in thinking it.

"Uh – we're in an area of the galaxy we've never been in before," she muttered. "I'm just checking out the nearest habitable planet – hopefully with a Gate."

"We can't make it back to Earth in this ship?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not unless I can get the hyperdrive to work," she told him.

"And can you?"

"I don't know. I don't know what's wrong with it. And I could only attempt to fix it if we land. I can't do it from space."

He grimaced slightly. "So – not a great idea to have taken the Death Glider?"

"It was better than being shot by a staff weapon, Sir," she reminded him.

"There is that. Okay Carter, let's find someplace to land and fix this thing. I wanna get home to watch the game!"

"What game is that, Sir?" she asked with a small smile as she began to look for a nearby planet on the Jaffa version of their ship's computer.

"I have no idea. Any game will do," he grinned. "Yup – lyin' back on my couch, drinkin' a beer and watchin' the game. That's the life for me."

"Sounds good," she told him.

"How about you Carter? What's in your plans for this evening?"

"Hmm. I think a long, hot bath, a glass of wine and a good book."

"That sounds great – all except for the bath."

"You don't like baths, Sir?" she grinned.

"Nope – not me. A quick shower and I'm good."

She chuckled softly, her imagination thinking about the Colonel in the bathtub – or the shower. The thought of picturing him without cl- stop Sam, she told herself. Do NOT go there.

"Any luck?" the Colonel asked suddenly. He had absolutely no desire to hang out in space in a Death Glider again. His last experience was enough.

"I've found one planet that looks like it's safe," she replied.

"Any towns, cities – people?" he asked.

"Uh – it's hard to tell, although I think maybe there's at least one large town."

"Gate?"

"I can't tell, Colonel – we'll have to check it out when we land."

"Okay – take us in Major. I'm ready to get home."

She nodded, knowing that he was being optimistic. Even if there was a gate on this planet, there was no way of knowing where it would be.

The planet itself was smaller than Earth, but from what she could see it looked relatively verdant – with the greens of plant life and the blue of water visible to the eye.

As they approached the planet the ship began to shake slightly. She frowned, checking the instruments.

"This doesn't feel right, Major," Jack said, also looking down at his secondary controls. Things did not look good, especially as the ship began to shake even harder.

"What's going on?" Jack called.

"I don't know Sir," she yelled back. "The instruments look fine but we -" she stopped talking as things got worse.

The two Airforce officer worked together to try and keep the ship under control. As soon as it hit the planet's atmosphere, the movement of the ship became more violent. It was all Sam could do to steer it towards a large-ish clearing in order not to slam into trees.

"Brace yourself Sir," she cried. "We're going in hot!"

Jack was sure this was it – that he and Sam were going to die on some alien planet somewhere in space. He felt a real sense of regret, especially over the fact that no one would ever know what happened to them.

On that thought, the Death Glider hit the ground – hard!

"Aargh!" he grabbed his head, completely disoriented and wondering if he'd been on an all-night bender. His head certainly felt like it.

It took a couple of minutes of trying to get his head – and stomach – to settle down and then to try and remember what the hell was going on.

It wasn't until he opened his eyes that it began to come back. "Goa'uld – death glider – SHIT!" he sat up quickly – only to have the nausea well up – along with his breakfast and lunch, which were soon deposited on the wall of the Glider.

"God," he moaned, spitting out the foul taste in his mouth. Just what he needed on top of everything else. The next time he moved he was much more careful. He slowly lifted his head and looked around. It was at that moment that things started to come back to him more clearly and he remembered he wasn't alone.

"Carter! Sam!," he called. He could see the top of her head, but it appeared as if she was unconscious – at least he hoped that she was unconscious and not – nope, don't go there, he told himself.

"Major," he called again. This time, much to his relief, he saw her head move. He also heard a small groan. "Are you okay?"

"Hmm?" she replied, clearly as muddled as he had been. "Sir?" she asked.

"Major Carter – are you okay?" He pulled out his commander's voice, knowing she would respond instinctively.

"Uh – I'm not – I don't think so Sir," she replied, her voice tight with something.

"What's wrong?" He was extremely worried and began to remove his harness and then his pack. He'd barely realized he'd kept it on during their escape. No wonder he'd been so squished and uncomfortable. At the same time, he was glad he had it.

As he began to move, he felt something drip into his eye and, when he wiped it away, realized he was bleeding. Hopefully it was just a scratch, although he figured he might also have a small concussion.

"I think – it's my leg, Sir," she finally answered. He was worried about how long it had taken her to reply as well as the distress he could hear in her voice.

"I'm coming, Major. Just hold on."

Climbing from the rear seat of a Glider to the front was no easy feat but he finally managed to make it, although the space was tight and he had to be careful not to hurt her more. He left his pack where he could reach it if he needed it.

"You leg?" he asked. He winced when he saw that the Glider had hit something and the front had collapsed in, right on Sam's legs. "I'm just gonna take a look, Major. Sit tight."

"Yes Sir," she answered.

It took Jack a few minutes to be able to push some of the wreckage out of the way so that he could see her legs. Fortunately, it appeared as if she wasn't trapped, but as he looked down -

"Shit," he muttered.

"What is it Sir?"

"Huh? Oh – just thinking about how much I hate Death Gliders."

"You haven't had much luck with them," she agreed, starting to sound breathless. "How's my leg?"

He winced, but not so she could see. "I'm gonna just move some of this metal out of the way and then get my First Aid kit. I'm afraid your leg was – uh – hurt during the landing."

"How bad is it, Sir? Please, the truth."

He sighed, knowing there was no point in lying. "It's not great, Sam. Unfortunately, you have a compound fracture on your left leg. Your right leg has a cut, but I can't tell if it's broken or not. Hold on. I'm going to get you bandaged up and then we're getting out of this tin can."

Sam had grown silent and was even more pale now. Jack was pretty sure the pain was probably getting worse. The shock of the crash had probably kept her from feeling things right away but now, it had to be extremely painful.

So – the first thing he did was fish out some pain pills. Once they were on flat ground, he would give her a shot of morphine. Now, the first thing he needed to do was get her bandaged and out of the Glider.

"Here, take these," he handed her two extra-strength pain pills along with his canteen. She took it, although her hand was shaking badly. He cursed to himself. She needed help, and soon.

"Sam, I don't think I can do much until we get you out of here. There just isn't room. Are we sure the air is okay here?"

"It – should be fine – Sir," she said, her voice sounding weak.

"Okay – then here goes nothing!" He hit the panel for the release of the hatch. Fortunately, it slid back with no trouble. He'd been worried that it would fail too.

He found that he was holding his breath – which was ridiculous. If the air was poisoned there was nothing they could do. With that he took a deep breath.

"Looks like the air is fine," he said. For the next few moments he contemplated how to get out and, more importantly, how to get Sam down. He finally decided the only way was to make a harness.

"I'm gonna have to lower you down, Carter," he told her. "It's gonna be hard, but I don't see any other way."

"That's fine Sir," she told him.

"First I'll try and bandage your leg, although it's tough without any room in here."

For the next 45 minutes Jack put together their two harnesses and attached the nylon cord he carried with him. It wasn't the most sophisticated he'd ever managed, but hopefully it would work.

The worst part was getting Carter into the damn thing and then out of her seat. He just about killed his back trying to leverage her out and over the side of the Glider – but knew there was nothing else he could do.

"I don't think my other leg is broken" she told him suddenly. "It's sore, but I think I can put weight on it."

He sighed slightly, grateful for small mercies. This way he could lower her to the ground and she could stand, even for a few seconds, on her "better" leg. "You sure?"

"Yes, pretty sure," she replied.

Her left leg was a gory site. He'd managed to cover it lightly in some gauze to try and keep it moist and from getting more dirt in it, but at this point there was little else he could do. He knew compound fractures could be bad and she needed help as soon as possible.

"Okay Major – here goes. Hang on and I'm gonna lower you down slowly. If you can, just push off gently from the Glider."

She nodded and he slowly began to lower her. He could see the grimace of pain on her face but had no choice but to continue. "Hold on Sam – we're almost there."

"I'm good, Sir," she called back. He didn't want to call her a liar, but he knew she was far from good.

He heard her give a cross between a grunt and a whimper – which tore him in two – when she landed on her one leg on solid ground. He gently lowered the rope some more and she collapsed to the ground, her bad leg out in front of her.

"You okay?" he shouted down.

"Fine Sir," she said. "Thank you."

"We aim to please," he said under his breath, although he was busy bringing the harness back up as soon as she'd removed it. He then tied both of their packs and lowered them down to the ground where Sam grabbed them and released them from the rope.

"All right," he said, "here goes."

Climbing down a nylon cord, from the top of a Death Glider, while he felt like shit, was not his most favorite thing. Soon, however, he was on the ground – and he immediately scurried over to his 2IC.

"How ya doin'?" he asked gently, as he squatted down beside her.

"I've been better Sir."

"Yeah, I know Carter. I'm quickly gonna find a more secure place for us and then I'll look after that leg. Just hold on."

It took him less than 5 minutes to find a small clearing in the woods that felt dry and more secure than the open area by the Glider. He kept an eye out for any people, but so far all he could hear were the sounds of the forest around them.

He set up a small camp, including laying out a bedroll for Sam. He quickly returned to where she was lying. Her eyes were closed, but he knew she wasn't asleep as her lips were caught in her teeth. He knew she must be in pain.

Without another thought he grabbed the First Aid kit and took out the morphine and an alcohol wipe and sat down beside his Major.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Carter," he said as he began to loosen her belt. "I'm gonna give you something for the pain."

"I took some," she murmured, not even opening her eyes. She didn't seem to mind, or to notice, that he had undone the belt on her pants and was pulling them down slightly. Once he had a spot on her upper hip he swabbed it with the alcohol and quickly injected her.

"What - ?" She opened her eyes and looked at him blurrily. "What was that?"

"Morphine," he told her. When she just nodded and closed her eyes, he grew worried. This was not like her, and he worried she was going into shock.

After carrying her to their camp Jack spent the next hour carefully cleaning and bandaging her leg. Fortunately, she wasn't bleeding, but the wound didn't look great. They'd all had to study first aid, and he knew the emergency steps for a compound fracture he knew that she needed expert attention or she could end up with a severe infection and lose her leg – or her life.

Things were not looking good.