Continued....
Continued....
*****
"Oh damn!....I'd almost managed to forget about this." Daniel, struggling to get his breathing under control, groaned as the three sank to the ground at the beginning of the rockslide. The allergy medication had done little to counteract the stuffiness in his head but he already taken four tablets and it was too soon for another dose.
"It doesn't matter, we're not going to tackle this tonight." The sun had begun it's downward descent and Jack hadn't been unaware of the sheen of sweat covering Daniel's face, the fatigue in his eyes.
"Jack-"
"Daniel," Using Daniel's chivalry against him, the colonel barely nodded to where Norita sat. Too many times Jack had watched the archaeologist push himself to the point of collapse, afraid of letting his team down, of slowing them down, refusing to prove everyone right who told O'Neill and Hammond civilians didn't belong on the offworld explorations teams. Daniel put everyone's welfare before his own and Jack now used that to his advantage. They were all tired, pushing themselves steadily since leaving the city. "Besides, I don't wanna be half way across that mess when it gets dark."
Scouting around, he quickly picked a secluded spot off the main trail, and built a small fire with the wood Daniel had gathered. Jack finished setting up camp, starting dinner, as he covertly watched the linguist, who was intent on the book in his hand, his eyes following his fingers across the pages as he read. Norita had moved futher into the woods, wanting to be alone to communicate with her mother.
'For cryin out loud Danny, some alien poisons you and you sit there reading like you're in a library.'
"Jack!" The colonel started at the sound of his name. Damn had he said that out loud? "Jack it's a Goa'uld!"
"What?!" Automatically reaching for the assault weapon resting nearby, Jack's eyes scanned their surroundings.
Daniel shook his head at his friend's actions. "In the prophecy, Jack. The Chosen One is a Goa'uld."
"Don't do that!....Damn Daniel, you scared the hell outta me!"
"According to this, the Chosen One will arrive in the middle of the year, through the Gateway to the Stars. He'll be accompanied by several protectors, one with a golden emblem on his forehead."
"A first prime.....Teal'c." Damn, more guilt for the big guy to bear.
"He will have the wisdom of the ages......everlasting life........It says something about his eyes.....words are faded really bad.....something about shining eyes....." Daniel was mumbling to himself, squinting as the last of the daylight faded.
"Enough, Daniel. You're gonna go blind trying to read with just the firelight."
"Lincoln did it." Daniel mumbled under his breath.
"And what makes you think his eyes were so great?" Jack grinned, passing him a cup of coffee as the MRE's began to heat.
"I'll take first watch." Daniel calmly sipped the coffee, clenching his fist in an attempt to stop the spasms racing up his left arm.. Hopefully, if he didn't panic, or better yet could get him in an argument, Jack wouldn't notice. Fat chance! The man was trained to notice everything.
"The hell you will! You're gonna eat and get some rest!"
"I'm fine Jack." The scientist protested.
"So what's wrong with your hand then?"
"Cramp.....Nothing more." Thankful the spasms had passed, Daniel wiggled his fingers. "Look, neither of us knows what's going to happen so don't start treating me like I'm made of crystal or something.....We all need rest....including you....Let me do my part.....Please."
How the hell, could anyone ignore the pleading in those eyes? "Two hours."
"Four." Daniel countered.
"Three and no arguments or you can go to bed after right after dinner."
"Yes mother." He ducked as Jack tossed an MRE pack at him.
*****
Curled in the sleeping bag, Jack lay, willing his body to relax, his mind to go blank. Neither happened. Through slit eyelids, he glanced at the anthropologist seated near the fire, scribbling furiously in his notebook, every two minutes or so raising his head to scan for intruders. SG-1, especially Daniel, was probably the closest thing to family O'Neill had left. The idea of losing any of them was something the colonel didn't even want to consider. He was a career soldier. He'd lost friends in battle. He knew there was always the chance one or all of them would never return each time they stepped through the stargate. He also knew if he dwelled on that consideration he wouldn't be able to do his job properly, yet the thought of never again seeing his young friend's smile or the excitement light up his blue eyes at a new discovery twisted Jack's stomach into painful knots. The very thought of that amazing heart overflowing with love, forgivness and compassion, no longer beating, that vibrant life ending so needlessly was beyond comprehension.
O'Neill considered each of the people in his life special but Daniel was different than the others. The archaeologist had boundless energy and enthusiasm for life that, whether Jack wanted to admit it or not, was contagious. If alive, it was impossible not to be touched by the man. Daniel was a bundle of complicated contradictions! In many ways too trusting and innocent for his own good and in other ways too old for his thirty odd years, with a wisdom born of too much pain and sorrow.
*****
Were Carter and Teal'c home now? Were they waiting while Janet analyzed Daniel's blood, searching for an answer? Jack knew his team well enough to know they would have pushed themselves to the limit of their endurance. By Jack's estimation, they should have been on the other side of the rock slide by dark and made camp, but no matter how quickly Jack wanted them to reach their destination he knew there was too great a risk of one of them being injured traveling in the dark and that wouldn't help Daniel.
A almost inaudible groan from Daniel, snapped Jack's attention back to the man in front of him, as Daniel went to his knees, one arm pressed tightly against his stomach, his other hand, grabbed hold of a nearby boulder, his knuckles white. Norita was several yards ahead of them, crossing the rocks as easily as if strolling through a garden, her steps light and sure footed.
"Daniel!....Daniel?" Dirt and rocks dislodged, sliding down the steep incline as Jack moved closer to the scientist, alarmed at the sweat covered pale complexion, as Daniel dragged deep breaths of air into his lungs. "Danny?'
"It's....okay...It's okay Jack." Daniel gasped, struggling back to his feet.
"Bullshit, you're trembling like a virgin on her wedding night!"
"Panic attack......shouldn't....have looked.....down."
'Liar.' O'Neill placed a steady hand on his arm as the scholar swayed, closing his eyes for a second before giving Jack a weak smile and moving on. 'I know the difference between panic and pain.' Besides, contrary to what some people thought Daniel rarely panicked.
"Shit!" The colonel's shout of surprise was mixed with pain as the ground suddenly gave way, his hip and shoulder slamming against what he was sure had to be the two hardest rocks on the planet. Jack was vaguely aware of Daniel screaming his name as his fingers dug frantically at the soil in a effort to stop his uncontrolled slide, the dirt showering him with loose stones, gaining momentum on it's downward journey. He cried out as his body impacted with a large object, and a portion of flesh was ripped from his thigh. With a hard jerk, his arm feeling as if it were being pulled from the socket, the slide slowed and stopped.
"I...got.....ya Jack!....I..g-got....ya....."
Coughing the dust from his lungs, his breathing rapid, O'Neill, slowly, carefully raised his head to find Daniel, above him, lying on his stomach, one arm wrapped around a sturdy boulder, the other in a death grip around Jack's wrist. His senses heightened by adrenaline, Jack could hear each beat of his heart pounding in his ears, feel the blood rushing through his veins. As if in slow motion, he could see the dirt and rocks still tumbling past them seeking the bottom of the ravine. He could plainly see the strain on each of his young friend's taut muscles and Jack's own fear reflected back at him in wide terror stricken blue eyes. Digging the toe of his boots into the loose soil, the soldier stretched upward, reaching for a sturdy looking stone, just to the left of his head.
Daniel kept his eyes locked on the prone figure of his friend, knowing if he let his gaze wander away down the sharp incline, if he allowed himself to think about the distance to the bottom.....He hadn't thought, just reacted when the terrain gave way under Jack, making a wild dive for his friend, his fingers grasping desperately as the uniform material passed through his hand. Momentarily aware of the feel of flesh against his palm, the linguist locked his hand closed, as Jack continued to fall, dragging Daniel along with him. Seeing a large boulder in their path, the archaeologist attempted to roll on his side, his arm snaking around the rock as he was pulled past.
"Oh God No!......Not....now....." Daniel prayed feeling the muscles in the arm anchoring them in place begin to spasm. 'Please God.....not now!!!.....Don't let Jack fall.....PLEASE!!!!!!' From his best estimate, they had slid approximately twenty to twenty five feet from the path they've been on but if he lost his hold, Jack's progression the last hundred feet to the bottom would be like a snowball in an avalanche. If the soldier managed to survive, his injuries would be too severe to let him proceed to the Stargate and the medical help he would need.
Gritting his teeth, Daniel closed his eyes, ignoring the dirt and pebbles bouncing off his body, and the pain as it felt as if every muscle in his body being torn apart.
Jack's weight suddenly lessened slightly and he opened his eyes to see the soldier had found a foothold and was making an effort to cautiously wiggle his way upward. Hearing movement beside him and fearing another slide, he turned his head slightly to see Norita, reaching out her hand to grab O'Neill's other wrist even as he grasped the boulder to anchor herself.
"That's...a-a...ride.....I....w-wouldn't pay for...." Jack grinned, settling himself between Norita and Daniel, ruffling the latter's short hair a grin of relief on his dust covered face.
