A Mile a Minute

by Bekah See

Chapter 1

The curtain went down and lights came up as the thundering sound of tumultuous applause filled the theater. Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Dr. Janet Frasier contributed enthusiastically to the noise while Colonel Jack O’Neill copied them with slightly less gusto. He was not a big fan of the arts and plays were no exception. Especially plays that involved a lot of men in tight pants singing at the top of their lungs.  But he had not been about to pass up the chance for a government sectioned “date” with Sam, and so had accepted the invitation from the extremely grateful Kovans to attend a performance being put on in honor of SG-1’s most recent exploit—namely saving their butts from a plague that had threatened to wipe them out. Dr. Frasier had been invaluable during the entire mission, and so had also been invited. Teal’c had been called away to Chu’lak for a meeting with Bra’tac, so Janet had been Daniel’s date for the event. The four friends had had a lovely dinner at a local gourmet restaurant before the performance, and now Jack was wishing he’d snuck some of the biscuits into one of his coat pockets.

Sam glanced at her “date” and smiled to herself. She knew Jack would rather be anywhere else right now, but she also knew why he’d come, and she was grateful he had. She and Janet had been pulling some extraordinary second glances  from the male population of the planet all evening, and while it was nice to be noticed, it was also nice to be taken—if only for an evening.

The applause died down and everyone stood, stretching a bit after the long period of inactivity. Inactivity that didn’t take into account Jack’s constant fidgeting or Daniel’s almost as constant leaning over the girls to tell him to be still.

“Ready to go?” Jack asked them.

Sam hid another grin. “Uh, sir, that was only the first act.”

Jack looked a bit crestfallen. “First act? How many are there?”

“Only three.” Daniel answered reassuringly.

Jack rolled his eyes and groaned. “Really. Three ya say. Well that makes me feel much better, Daniel, thank you.”

Daniel caught the sarcasm and hurried to reassure his friend. “The others are much shorter, so there won’t be any break in between, and they shouldn’t take much more time than this one did.”

Jack just looked at him for a moment, then turned toward the aisle. “I need a drink. C’mon, Danny, you’re buyin’ for dragging me into this.”

Sam and Janet smiled at each other and reclined in their seats, talking amicably about nothing. Ten minutes passed and Sam looked around, wondering where the guys had gotten to. Janet saw her looking and offered, “There was probably a long line at the drinks table. I only saw a couple of them as we came in and—“

*BOOM*

A huge explosion ripped through the front of the venue, blowing through the stage and sending shrapnel and debris flying everywhere.

Being somewhat accustomed to large explosions happening unexpectedly, Sam ducked behind the chair in front of her and dropped to the floor, pulling Janet down with her and covering the doctor with her body. Another explosion rent the air and more wood was flying around them. Sam felt a sharp pain in her upper left arm, but ignored it.

“We’ve got to get out of here!” she shouted to Janet, who nodded her understanding.

Both women, staying low, made their way to the aisle and joined the panicked mob of people racing for the exits. They stayed to the side to avoid being trampled, and emerged into the lobby where they started to hunt for Jack and Daniel.

“Can you see them?” Janet yelled over the uproar sounding around them.

Sam turned and opened her mouth to answer, but another explosion, this one much closer then the first two, sent a shockwave into her chest and she knew no more.

Sam hurt. Ah hell, she hurt bad. She fought to return to the comforting oblivion that kept the pain at bay, but it retreated rebelliously, and left her feeling cold and – well, hurting. Sam took a deep breath, trying to get a feel for the extent of her injuries and trying to remember what had happened this time to make her hurt. Okay, breathing was painful, but not shockingly so, so probably no broken ribs, although nasty bruising was probably a given. Burning agony was shooting through her right thigh and her left arm was dripping something that felt like copious amounts of blood.

In an instant Sam remembered what had happened and rapidly tried to sit up. There had been an explosion. A big one right on top of her. And Janet had been with her. And Daniel and Col. O’Neill! She had to find them! She thought about calling out, but thought better of it after a second.

Something was off. Something was missing. It took a second for her shell shocked brain to figure it out, but once it clicked, Sam knew something was desperately wrong.  There were no sirens. No sign of rescue people.  This planet was roughly on par with Earth in its technology, and as such, should have had rescue people out within minutes, and Sam was pretty sure more time than that had passed.

She took stock of her surroundings, noting how the wall had been blasted away, exposing the entire area to the cool night air. She squinted into the darkness, trying to see if anyone else was stirring, and as she did so, she began to note the cries and moans of pain coming from everywhere around her. Why had she not heard them before? Then she realized that the blast had probably blown out her hearing for a bit and it was just now coming back. But she still couldn’t detect any sign of rescue. This more than anything made her decide she needed to be away from here. If the authorities were being held back from helping, the ones who were doing the holding back were probably not people she wanted to meet.

Gritting her teeth, Sam tried to stand, and got about halfway there before falling back with a cry.

“Sam?” she heard from somewhere near her.

“Janet?” she gasped, eyes still swimming from her attempt to stand.

“Where are you?” Janet’s voice was strained, as if she was having trouble talking.

“It sounds like I’m to your left.” Sam called back softly. “Are you alright?”

A grunt. “I’ve been better. You do this often?”

“What, get blown up? Yeah, fairly regularly.” Sam was pleased to hear her friend was up to a little humor, but was worried about the wheeze she could hear coming from that direction. “Janet, can you stand?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t gotten around to trying yet. You?” Janet’s voice was getting harder to understand.

“Not easily. My right leg doesn’t want to hold my weight. Hang on and I’ll try to get to you.”

Silence greeted this, but, using her hands to scoot herself toward the place that Janet’s voice had come from, Sam tried to tell herself Frasier was just saving her breath.  Glass, wood and metal bit into the major’s palms as she moved and she bit her lip to keep from crying out as her left triceps screamed in agony. Refusing to get up, determined to get to her friend, Sam pushed the pain away and kept moving. She reached Janet in a surprisingly short time, and was greeted by the sound of a groan and the feel of a lot of blood.

“Janet? You still with me?” she whispered, trying to feel where the blood was coming from.

“Chest hurts…” Janet mumbled, obviously struggling with the concept of breathing.

Sam started to reply when she heard voices in the background. She stopped, listening hard. Rough male voices floated over to her through the darkness, shouting and laughing. Laughing? Oh boy, this was not good.

“Janet, can you hear me?”

“Mmmmm…”

“We need to get out of here. Company’s coming and I don’t think it’s friendly.” Sam gritted her teeth and hauled herself to her feet, biting back a scream as her injured leg protested. But her adrenaline was pumping now, giving her temporary strength, and she knew it wouldn’t last long.

“Come on Doc, we need to go.”

“I can’t go. I have to help the wounded.” Janet said automatically, trying to sit up. She fell back with a soft cry, her hand on her injured ribs.

“Right now, neither of us are in any shape to help anyone, and I have a feeling those guys coming our way aren’t the cavalry. Not ours, anyway.

Sam bent down and took her friend under the arms, pulling her upright, where she stood swaying.

“Oh my lord, who’s spinning the floor?” Janet said, holding tight to her much taller friend, but she made no further comment about staying.

“Can you walk?” Sam asked, starting to turn them both away from the voices, which were coming steadily nearer. She was concerned by the amount of panting Frasier was doing, considering they were hardly moving.

“Walk, yes, breathe, no.” the doctor wheezed. “Let’s go.”

Holding tight to each other, the two women crunched their way out of the debris and into the darkness.

Chapter 2

Sam and Janet hurried as fast as they could away from the devastation wrought by the multiple explosions in the theater. Finally, though, Sam’s leg gave out and, there being no way for Janet to support her, they both collapsed in the street at the mouth of a little alley. Janet was coughing uncontrollably by this point, and Sam knew they had to find shelter. Thankfully, the night was mild, warm even, so they wouldn’t have to worry about freezing, but they also needed to be away from prying eyes, and that would not be so easy.

The fates of  Colonel O’Neill and Daniel weighed heavily on Sam’s mind. She hated leaving them behind, but she was in no shape to put up a fight, and Frasier was even worse. They would have to find the guys once they were patched up.

Keeping one hand on Janet’s arm to be sure she was following, Sam half crawled, half scooted them both into the dark alleyway where they collapsed. Janet’s cough seemed to have eased a bit, and she sat up, helping Sam arrange her long limbs into something resembling a comfortable position before sitting down beside the major and beginning to probe her leg with her hands.

“Where does it hurt, Sam? I can’t see a thing.” Frasier was still wheezing badly, but Sam knew she wouldn’t rest until she had done everything she could for her leg.

“Here.” Sam took the doctor’s hand and placed it on the spot where the fire that was burning her entire thigh was originating.  Then she gasped and stiffened as Janet’s able fingers began to probe the wound.

“This is pretty deep, Sam, and there’s a large piece of metal lodged inside. I can’t see a damned thing right now or I’d take it out, but I don’t dare without being able to tell if it’s hit an artery. It’s going to have to stay for tonight.” A coughing fit doubled her over and Sam caught her before her head could hit the concrete. She held the smaller woman, stroking her back until the fit passed, then helped her lie down, propping the doctor’s head on her, Sam’s, uninjured leg.

“Okay, Janet, your turn. Where are you hurt?” Sam asked sternly, holding the doctor down when she tried to rise.

Janet succumbed, weakened by the coughing fit. “My ribs, mostly. I think a couple are broken, and it feels like one of them may have nicked a lung.”

“Lovely.” Sam breathed, knowing how dangerous that was. “Anything else?”

Janet was silent for a moment, evidently taking inventory, and when she spoke again, her voice was clipped and clinical. “Possible sprained ankle, and a dislocated shoulder.”

“Nothing else broken, though?”

“I don’t think so.” Janet coughed again, and Sam heard her spitting out what could only have been blood.

“Try to get some sleep. Dawn should only be about three hours away, and then we can figure out what to do.”

“What about you? You’re injured and you’ve lost a lot of blood, Sam. You need to sleep.”

“I will, Doc. Don’t worry.” Sam said, knowing there was no way she was going to be able to stay conscious anyway. She put her head back against the wall, feeling blackness stealing over her, and welcoming it.

Janet awoke with a start several hours later, feeling softness under her instead of the hard concrete she had blacked out on. Opening her eyes slowly, she tried to take in her surroundings, to figure out what was going on. A face appeared in her line of vision, and it swam for a moment until her eyes could focus. Hmm, trouble focusing. she mused, I’ve probably got some kind of head injury on top of the ribs and everything else.

Finally the face grew clear, and Janet could see an older, matronly woman whose eyes looked vaguely familiar.

“Where am I?” the doctor asked, trying to sit up. Pain knifed through her head and ribs, and she fell back with a gasp, closing her eyes.

“Please, healer, you must be still. You are hurt badly, and moving will only make it worse.” the woman said, and abruptly, Janet knew her.

“Ella. You’re Ella, a nurse from the hospital.”

Ella smiled. “You remember me.”

“I remember your voice. You assisted me in several surgeries, but I never saw you without your surgical mask.” Then Janet remembered Sam, and panicked. “Sam! Where’s my friend?” she asked Ella anxiously. “Tall, blonde woman, wearing a blue gown? She had wounds in her leg.”

“And in her arm and head as well.” Ella answered. “She is resting in the next room. I cleaned and bandaged her wounds, but her head injury will take time to heal.”

“I need to see her.” Janet said, trying to sit up again.

Ella pushed her gently down, and the doctor fell back, panting. “Your wounds were perhaps even more serious than hers. You must remain still or your ribs will break again and you could begin to bleed internally.”

Frasier glared at her, but accepted this. “Tell me about Sam.”

“Severe lacerations in her left arm and right thigh. I’ve removed almost all the shrapnel and irrigated…”

“What do you mean ‘almost’ all the shrapnel?” Janet said sharply, hearing the evasiveness in Ella’s voice.

The older woman looked a little anxious. “There is a large chunk of metal still in her leg that I do not dare remove. It punctured the large artery, and…”

“…and if you remove it, she’ll bleed out.” Janet blew out a breath, then winced as the action hitched her injured ribs. “Alright, I might be able to do something about that with the right tools.” Janet stopped as a thought occurred to her. “Ella, where the hell are we? Why aren’t we in a hospital?”

The other woman opened her mouth to answer when they heard a weak voice coming from the next room. “Janet?” Sam was awake.

Janet grabbed the pillow from behind her head and splinted her ribs with her good arm before rolling off the couch and onto the floor, biting back a cry as she did so. “I’m coming Sam.”

Ignoring Ella’s splutterings, Janet maneuvered herself to her feet and almost fell again as her ankle gave way. She lurched unsteadily toward the door to the next room where Sam was lying on a couch much like the one Frasier had just vacated. Janet crossed the room and practically fell to her knees beside Carter, where she stayed, trembling and gasping at the agony racing through her head and ribs. “I’m here, Sam. How are you feeling?”

The major opened her eyes a crack and turned her head toward her friend. “Probably about as good as you look. Where the hell are we?”

“We’re in the home of one of the triage nurses from the hospital where I was working on the plague. Ella was just about to explain to me why we’re here and not at the hospital ourselves.”

Ella glared at her, but saw that the small woman was not about to move from her friends’ side, “I will tell you the story, but only if you lie down first.” She turned to look behind her at two young men who were carrying Janet’s couch into the room. They placed it parallel to Sam’s so they would be able to see each other, then nodded at Ella and left the room.

Ella watched them go. “My sons.” she said. “They can be trusted with what goes on here.”

“Trusted?” Sam asked as Janet crawled over to the couch and accepted Ella’s help to lower herself into it. “Why is trust an issue? Why are we here, and what happened at the theater?”

“I will tell you everything I know, if you will but let me.” Ella said, irritation snapping in her voice.

Sam looked at her calmly for a moment, then said, “Alright, tell us.”

Chapter 3

“The group call themselves the ‘Socar’, which translates into ‘Knowing all’ in our oldest language.” Ella began.  “Evidently they believe they are the only ones on our world who know what is true and right for our people. We thought they were a fairly small group of men who met once a month in secret to complain about how things are run. We thought they were harmless. We were wrong.” Ella bowed her head, obviously truly sorry for her people’s mistake.

Then she went on. “Now it looks as if they have been gaining in strength and numbers for the last few years, but because of the secrecy of the group—they all wear masks and do not even know each other, but are know by false names—we had no way of knowing just how influential they had become.”

“Let me guess.” Sam said wearily, “They don’t like us much.”

Ella nodded. “Evidently they believed the plague that ravaged our world and took so many of our people was a gift from the gods, a purging of those whose faith was weak.”

What?” Janet exclaimed, outraged. ”That plague would have wiped you out to the last man, woman and child if it hadn’t been stopped. It’s only thanks to the fact that your world is so sporadically populated that such a relative few were affected.”

Ella nodded her understanding. Kovans were very concerned about keeping their world clean, and so strictly limited building to specific areas around the planet. Thus there remained large amounts of untamed forests, deserts, beaches and every other kind of environment between each population center, which numbered twenty four in all.

“I agree with you, Healer,” Ella said addressing Frasier’s last statement, “but I’m afraid the Socar are not known for their open mindedness.”

“So they were the ones responsible for the bombings.” Sam said, her eyes hard. She had no patience or tolerance for terrorists.

“Yes,” Ella answered her. “And they stormed the local rescue stations to prevent help from coming before they could search through the rubble for you and your friends.” She smiled sadly. “They were quite angry when they couldn’t locate all of you and have been threatening the population with more violence unless you are handed over. That is why you are here and not in a hospital where you belong.”

Sam’s heart had dropped into her stomach, but she fought to keep her voice even, “Daniel and Colonel O’Neill?” she asked

Ella looked at her with compassion in her eyes. “I’m afraid they were found and taken.”

“Taken where?” Janet asked, horrified.

“Most likely to the organization’s compound, a large area northeast of here, fairly close to the Great Ring.”

“Which means they’ve probably got the stargate under heavy guard.” Sam said darkly. “Ella, do you have any idea how well equipped this group is? What kind of weapons and supplies they have?”

The older woman looked troubled. “I do not have any direct information, but it seems to me that in order to pull off an act like the bombing, they would have to be fairly well supplied and protected.”

“That’s just great.” Sam said, putting a hand over her eyes as she processed the information. “We have to get out of here.” She tried to sit up, but Ella quickly pushed her back down, holding her shoulders to keep her from moving..

“You are not going anywhere anytime soon.” the older woman said firmly. “You are both too injured and weak to be sitting up, let alone running for your lives.”

“You don’t understand.” Sam protested, “We’re putting you and your family at risk by staying here. We need to find the rest of our team and get home.”

Ella opened her mouth to retort, but Janet beat her to it. “Sam, hang on a sec. Ella, could you give me a rundown on our injuries?”

The older woman nodded, turning to Janet. “You, Healer, have a dislocated shoulder, which has been set, a severely sprained ankle, two broken ribs, one of which nicked a lung, and multiple lacerations to your face, neck and arms.” She turned to Sam, eyes fierce. “And you have deep lacerations in your arm and back from flying debris, another in your leg, which still has the fragment imbedded, four cracked ribs and a hairline fracture to your skull which may or may not have underlying damage. It is still too early to tell without the proper equipment.”

Janet nodded her understanding, “Thank you. Would you mind giving us a minute to talk all this over?”

“I will leave you alone if you both give me your words you will not move from your couches.” Then receiving their affirmations, she continued. “Very well. I have some errands to run and will be back soon. If you have need of anything, you may call for Eli. He is my eldest son and will get you whatever you require.” She turned and left.

As soon as they were alone, Sam turned to Janet. “How bad is all that? Can we travel?”

Janet thought this over, then said, “Some of the injuries are worse than others, but none of them are good. We both have some form of head trauma, which can be dangerous and tricky, but if there is going to be problems, they will show themselves pretty quickly. If I have a punctured lung, then it could be a major issue, but…” she took a deep, careful breath, “I don’t think it’s a big nick. I can take full breaths, it just hurts like hell.” She looked at Sam’s leg, currently hiding under a thick quilt. “That fragment in your leg has me worried, though. It needs to come out, and soon, before infection sets in, if it hasn’t already.”

“Why didn’t Ella take it out while I was unconscious?” Sam asked.

“She’s afraid an artery was hit and didn’t want you to bleed out. She’s not exactly set up to handle a serious bleed here.”

“Can you do it?” Sam asked, keeping the dread out of her voice.

“Yes, but it’s not going to be pleasant.”

“It never is, Janet. It never is.”

Both women were silent for a while, thinking their own thoughts, then Sam spoke again, “Janet, what the earliest that we can safely travel?”

“I’d love for us to stay down for a month, but safely we need at least 10 days, Sam. We have to heal before we go do anything.”

Chapter 4

True to her word, Ella returned a couple of hours later, laden with packages. She disappeared a moment later into the kitchen where Sam and Janet could hear her moving around. A few minutes later she emerged bearing two trays, each of which contained a hot bowl of soup, a sandwich and mugs of some kind of strong tea.

Sam suddenly realized how hungry she was and thanked Ella profusely before devouring the sandwich and soup, Janet following her example.

When both women had eaten their fill, Ella cleared up while they dozed off, exhausted by their injuries.

Janet awoke hours later and looked over at Sam to find her still fast asleep. She saw Ella sitting near them, rocking in a chair, reading something by the light of a roaring fire in the grate next to her.

“Ella, I need to talk to you.” Janet said softly. The nurse came out of her chair and knelt down next to her. “I need to get that fragment out of Sam’s leg, and it can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Ella sighed. “I had a feeling you were going to say that, so I picked up a few things I thought you would need. Will you be able to anesthetize her?”

Janet shook her head. “She’s lost too much blood. If I had access to IV anesthetic, or to gas, then I could do it, but all the layman’s methods are too risky considering the shock her body’s been through.”

“Do it.” Sam’s voice came from behind Ella, making her jump.

Janet looked at her friend for a moment, admiring her courage then spoke to the nurse again. “I’m going to need hot water, sterile tongs, lots of clean cloths and bandages…”

As the doctor listed off the things she would require, Sam let her mind drift, not wanting to think about what as coming. She thought of Jack instead, smiling a little as she recalled the way his face fell when he heard how long the play would be, remembering how he’d offered her his arm as they walked into dinner, his hand on her back as she sat down at the table… But Jack wasn’t here. He’d been taken by some bastard terrorists and was probably being tortured while she lay here in front of a warm fire. Resolve to get to him and Daniel filled her and she forced herself to pay attention to what was being said. Ella was rising from beside Janet and hurrying off to gather what was needed.

“Are you going to be able to do this? You’re not in any shape to be moving, let alone doing surgery.” Sam asked.

“I’ll manage.” Janet said. “This has to be done tonight, Sam, and I’m sorry, but it’s really going to hurt.”

“I’ll be alright.” Sam put on a brave smile. “I’ve had my entire genetic sequence rearranged and put back, remember? Not to mention the time I was captured and tortured by that minotaur goa’uld, or the time…”

“Sam! I get it!” Janet’s face was white and she looked a little nauseous. “I don’t need a rundown of all the times I’ve had to put you back together.”

“Sorry. My point was that I’ve had my share of pain and know how to handle it. Just do what needs to be done so we can go after the guys.”

“Sam, I really don’t think five days is going to be enough time for our bodies to heal…”

“It will have to be.” Sam interrupted firmly. “Five days and we go.”

Ella entered the room again, once again bearing a tray, but his time it was laden with things Sam didn’t really want to look at. She did look, however, as Ella helped Janet sit up. Hear her friend cry out as her ribs and shoulder shot agony through her nerves. Watched her bite her cheek to keep tears of pain at bay.

Janet sat for a moment, waves of agony washing over her, and just concentrated on breathing, waiting for the pain to recede. It did, but not by much, and she finally decided that focusing on her task was the only way she was going to be able to concentrate.

“I need more light.” she said through gritted teeth, and Ella called for Eli to bring in extra lamps.

The young man entered the room a couple of minutes later carrying a floor lamp and a directional desk lamp. Janet instructed him in where they should go, then took his proffered arm to help her stand up. She ended up using more than just his arm to get across the few feet to where Sam lay on her couch, then to sink into the low chair Ella had procured from somewhere. The chair had a padded brace built onto the front of it so Janet could lean forward without injuring her ribs further. It was rather like the old 1980’s computer chairs on earth, Janet thought randomly as she instructed Ella to elevate Sam’s leg to allow her easier access to the wound. Carter hissed as her leg was moved, but she said nothing, simply staring at the ceiling.

Then Janet got her first good look at the wound. It was deep, and sure enough, the strip of metal entered right where Janet knew the big femoral artery to be. Ella had been wise to leave it alone. She would have to be quick and careful when it came time to pull it out. She instructed Ella to hand her the sterilized and sharpened knife and got to work.

Fifteen minutes later, Sam was screaming, sweat pouring off her in sheets as she struggled to hold as still as she could. Finally, Janet was ready to pull the fragment out. She looked up at Sam. “We’ll take a break here. You need to rest for a few minutes.”

Sam shook her head violently. “Just do it.” She ground out. “Get it over with.”

Janet paused for a moment, trying to clear her head Her ribs were forcing her to  breathe shallowly and her mind was a little foggy from the lack of oxygen. She carefully sat up and took a few breaths as deep as she could manage. The fog lifted and she leaned forward again..

“Okay, Ella, give me the cauterizing blade.” she said softly. “I think the fragment is in the bone so you’re going to have to pull it out. I don’t have the strength right now. Ready? One, Two, Three..”

Sam’s wrenching cry  drowned out the sound of metal against bone as the fragment slid free, and Janet immediately cauterized the tear in the artery, sealing it and stopping the flow of bright red blood. Then she used a meat baster to siphon as much liquid as she could from the area and proceeded to sow up the layers of muscle and flesh. Thankfully, Sam has passed out right after Janet had cauterized the artery and so did not feel the sutures going in and could not see the tears of remorse spilling from her doctor’s eyes as she worked.

Chapter 5

Several hours later, Sam awoke to the feel of a warm wet cloth being moved over her head and neck. She groaned and opened her eyes. Ella was kneeling over her, a bowl in one hand and a cloth in the other, gently wiping away the sweat that had covered Sam so liberally during her surgery.

The nurse saw Sam ‘s eyes open and smiled down at her without ceasing her ministrations. “How do you feel?”

Sam licked her lips, noticing how dry her mouth was and how much her throat hurt from screaming. Ella produced a cup of water and held Sam’s head as she sipped it.

“Like crap.” Sam said, answering the other woman’s question. “How did it go?”

“Your friend is a very skilled healer. She was able to remove the fragment and seal the artery before you lost hardly any blood. She cleaned it out and sowed you up and so far there is no sign of infection. Your movements during the procedure caused the wounds in your arm and back to open again, but I re-bandaged them while you were sleeping and they look to be clean.”

“What about Janet?”

Ella’s eyes softened. “She wept for what she had to do to you. It was very difficult for her. But now she is resting, and I think it will do her good to see that you are awake and doing well.”

Over the next five days, Sam and Janet rested as much as they could, eating as much as possible, and getting up only to use the facilities. Janet firmly put off their departure for two more days after that when the area around Sam’s sutures started to look pink and hot, and for another three days after that when Sam spiked a nasty fever. Ella started smuggling antibiotics out of the hospital where she worked, and got Janet the small equipment items that she needed to get the infection under control.

By the afternoon of the third day, however, Sam’s fever had broken and the wound was clean and healing well, and Janet no longer had any dire reasons to keep them there. Her ribs were mending nicely…or at least she could breath without being in constant pain. Sam’s ribs were also healing, and the wounds in her back and arm were closing. Sam informed her that night that they would be leaving in twenty four hours, and Janet gave no objections.

Some of the reason for this was that she was as worried about Daniel and the Colonel as Sam and wanted to get to them and get home. She wasn’t as used to offworld missions as her more wandering friend, and she found herself daydreaming of Cassie, her bed, her food, and her infirmary. These things were familiar and brought her comfort.

Sam and Janet debated in whispers whether or not to tell Ella about their plans to leave on the eleventh night of their sojourn. But Ella put the discussion to rest by announcing she would be taking them as far as the edge of the city in her vehicle and handing them both knapsacks stuffed with food, lamps, bandages and rough shelter equipment for their five day hike to the compound. The officers were left speechless, which was doubtless Ella’s intention.

The doctor’s ankle was markedly better, owing mostly to the fact that Janet stayed off it as much as was possible, but it was still stiff and sore and between that and Sam’s still healing leg, the journey would be rough on both of them. Thankfully, there was a road of sorts leading to the compound, which would prevent the pair from having to trek over the dense foliage that covered this part of the planet.

When darkness fell the next day, the two air force officers clambered carefully into Ella’s vehicle, and they took off for the northern edge of the city, where the road to some of the other population centers began. The trip took about fifteen minutes, and Sam and Janet traveled in silence. Janet was running over in her head what needed to be done for both of their injuries once they stopped for a rest, and Sam was running scenarios through her mind regarding what she could do if they were ambushed. She had no weapon with her, and, with her leg still in the early stages of healing, she doubted she would be able to defend them for very long.

She was still thinking about this when Ella turned to her from the front seat. Her son Eli was driving.

“You have no means of protecting yourselves if the need should arise.” It was a simple statement, but the obviousness of it irritated Sam, reminding her of her infirmary. As if she needed reminding.

“It wouldn’t be a problem if we weren’t injured.” she retorted.

“And yet you are injured.” was the reply. The nurse tossed a bundle into Sam’s lap and then turned back around to face the road.

Sam stared at the bundle for a second before looking at Janet, who shrugged. She opened the flaps to reveal two of the Kovan style handguns with extra clips, and four throwing knives.

“Where the hell did these come from?” Sam asked in wonder.

Ella turned back to her. “They belong to my family. We keep them as protection against intruders.”

Sam rewrapped the weapons and looked at the nurse. “Thank you.” she said simply, and it was obvious that Ella knew she was not speaking only for the weapons.

“You are welcome. It is small repayment for the help you have given to my people.” then Ella turned once again to the front.

They passed the rest of the trip in silence, and in a very short time, they were stopping at the edge of a park, beyond whose borders was inky blackness. The road itself was lit for perhaps a hundred yards out from the city, and Janet could see it begin to curve to the right as it began its journey.

She and Sam climbed out of the vehicle, both clutching bruised and aching ribs. They raised their hands in farewell, and the vehicle pulled away. They were alone.

Janet was scared. She looked at Sam, who looked merely slightly apprehensive and took some comfort in the fact that her friend knew what she was doing.

They set off along the road, turning on their lamps and moving as fast as they could. They walked for several hours before Sam noticed Janet was turning white with pain, and called a rest. Truth was, her leg was throbbing fit to burst, but she knew that it wasn’t going to get any easier. Janet, however, while being in excellent shape, was still not used to marathon walks and her ribs and ankle were protesting sharply.

Janet sat down and took several long pulls of water while Sam dug in her pack for the ibuprofen-like pain relievers that Ella had given them. She gave a couple to Janet and took a couple for herself. They sat and rested for about twenty minutes until the meds kicked in, then got up to walk until dawn.

They didn’t talk much along the way, mostly concentrating on getting one foot in front of the other without falling down. Sam kept her sidearm handy, and continually checked Janet’s to make sure she knew where it was. The night was quiet and mild, with only a few sounds from the wildlife breaking the stillness. There were no carnivorous species living on this part of the planet, so they didn’t need to worry about being attacked by anything other than people. Which was plenty to worry about in itself.

When the sky began to lighten, Sam called a halt and they moved off the road to find a specific type of tree that had been mentioned to them which would both shelter them and keep them from prying eyes. She found one pretty quickly. It looked like a weeping willow, but with more branches than the average Earth willow. It looked plenty roomy to house both women.  Janet took one look and crawled inside, clutching her ribs and dragging her pack behind her. Once within the boughs, she pulled out her pallet and collapsed, falling asleep immediately.

Sam followed more slowly, taking the time to double back on their trail and hide their passage, then she followed Janet inside and was asleep in minutes.

Sam jerked awake to the sounds of harsh breathing and stifled sobs. Sitting up quickly, she turned to find Janet curled on her side, holding her injured ribs and trying very hard not to cry. Sam scooted carefully over to her friend and laid down beside her, stroking her hair and murmuring words of comfort.

Slowly Janet regained control over her emotions and looked at Sam. “I’m sorry. I know I’m acting like an idiot.”

“There’s nothing idiotic about it.” Sam said firmly. “You’ve been through a lot, you’re exhausted, and you know we’ve got a long way to go. There’s nothing to be ashamed about, Janet.”

The doctor nodded, and sat up carefully, holding her side and trying not to wince too badly. She wiped her face and tried to stretch a little, knowing that if she kept favoring those ribs, she would just end up with cramps. Sam broke out their food supply and they both ate quickly and hungrily, anxious to get going again.

Sam poked her head out of their tree while Janet cleared up, and saw that darkness was indeed falling. They had probably slept for at least ten hours, if not more. No wonder she had to pee. She stepped outside to take care of it, then went back in and loaded up their packs while Janet went out. They were back on the road within fifteen minutes, and made good time until midnight, when they took their rest and ate some more rations. They both ached abominably, but kept moving, knowing that stopping would only prolong the discomfort.

They went on this way for a couple of days, sleeping during daylight hours, traveling at night, stopping at midnight and, come dawn, finding a traveler’s tree and collapsing until evening when they would begin again.

This pattern held them in good stead for a while, until the third night. Janet awoke first, which was unusual in itself, and had to shake Sam hard to get her to wake up. Once she did, the major was groggy and disoriented, but brushed off Janet’s worry about her well-being.

“I’m just tired.” Sam said, getting up and starting to move around. “I’ll be okay in a minute.” She went outside to relieve herself, and it wasn’t until she was sure Janet couldn’t see her that she let out a slight moan of pain and rubbed her leg. She knew it was getting bad again, but didn’t want to deal with it right now. She returned to the tent and the two women ate their breakfast and moved out. Sam was hurting, but she walked slightly behind Janet so the doctor wouldn’t see her face or notice the increased limp that was hampering her speed.

In fact, Sam’s leg held out until the fourth night before giving out on her, spilling her to the dirt beside the road where they’d been walking. Janet was on her in a second, rolling her over and putting the lantern beside her.

“Sam, what is it?”

“My leg.” Sam said through gritted teeth. Pain was lancing white hot through her thigh, making her shiver and bite her lip to keep from screaming.

Janet felt the tremor run through the major’s body and went cold inside. She put a hand to Sam’s forehead. “You’re burning up. How long has this been going on?” she demanded, angry at Sam for not telling her sooner.

“Since yesterday.” Sam said.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Janet rolled up the leg of Sam’s pants and examined the long scar in her thigh. It was swollen an angry red, the skin pulled up, making it shiny and sickly looking.

“Damn damn damn!” Janet swore. “It’s infected again.  I’m going to have to open it and drain the pus or you could lose the leg before we can get help.”

“Do you have to open it all the way?” Sam asked, panting and sweating as the fever rolled over her. She really didn’t want to have to go through that all over again.

“In another day, yes, I would have, but as of now, no I don’t think so. Probably just a couple of inches will do the trick.”

“We need to get off the road first. It will be light soon.” the major said, struggling to maneuver herself up off the ground.

“Stay put.” Frasier growled. “I’ll look for our tree and come back for you.”

It didn’t take long to locate one of the trees that had been so helpful to them, and Janet was soon helping Sam limp under the protection of its boughs, feeling her ribs protesting brutally at the rough treatment. Then she put both lanterns on either side of  Sam’s leg, sterilized one of the throwing knives in the flame of one of the them, and proceeded to cut open the partially healed wound. Sam cried out as blood and pus oozed lethargically out of the small cut, seeping quickly into the ground. Janet let it bleed for a while, watching Sam for signs of undue distress, then cut a little deeper, studying the muscle for areas of white, black or any other color than red. Sam gritted her teeth and stuffed a wad of cloth from her shirt into her mouth to keep from screaming. Janet tried to ignore this as she found a tiny spot of black and cut it out quickly and carefully, then applied pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding. Once the blood had clotted, she liberally smeared the antibiotic cream from their bags into the wound, and applied three butterfly bandages over the cut with several strips of tape over the top to hold them in place.

Satisfied that she had done all she could, Janet gave Sam several of the painkillers, made her drink two cups of water, and ordered her to sleep. As Sam tried to obey, Janet wet a cloth pulled from her bag and placed it over the other woman’s forehead. This done, Janet laid down next to Sam and fell asleep.

She woke up several times that day to check on her patient, but Sam seemed to be resting easy, and the wound looked to be less inflamed.

 Relieved, Janet slept for several hours and awoke to find Sam sitting up and preparing their meal. She immediately felt Sam’s forehead and was pleased to find that the fever had lessened considerably. She gratefully accepted the MRE offered her and spooned it into her mouth while she considered how to tell Sam what she needed, but would not want, to hear.

“We’re not staying, Janet. We need to keep moving.” Sam said to her, reading the doctor’s mind.

“Sam, you need to rest at least another day or that infection could come back.” The muscle needs time to heal.” But she knew there was no way the major would acquiesce, and it just wasn’t in Janet to fight her.

“We’ll leave when we’re finished eating. If you like we can take a few more short breaks during the day so you can check it, but we’re not staying here. I’m sorry.”

Janet nodded and finished her meal in silence. She didn’t notice the increased pain in her ribs until she got up to follow Sam out of the shelter of the tree.

Chapter 6

That night around 2am local time, the two women began to see lights in the distance. The road forked, a sign bearing the word “Tokana” and an arrow pointing to the east heralding the route to the next nearest city. They kept to the left fork, knowing that the lights the were seeing were burning at the compound that was their destination.

“Any idea what we’re going to do once we get there?” Janet asked.

“None.” Sam smirked at her. “But I’m sure we’ll figure it out once we see what we’re dealing with.”

“Sounds like fun.” the doctor said, rolling her eyes and smiling a little. She would never understand the military tendency to enjoy danger.

They continued down the road, watching the lights grow brighter and more defined. Sam was limping heavily and Janet was bracing her side, her ribs burning, but they were both in good spirits. They were almost there.

At some point, indefinable to Janet, Sam called a halt and motioned the doctor into he trees beside the road. They had long since shuttered their lamps, but now Sam opened hers just a crack to find shelter where they could rest and plan.

The pair had to look for a while to find a suitable tree this time. The forest was thinning somewhat and the cover wasn’t as good as Sam would have liked, but after about a half hour of looking, they found one. It was an old, gnarled thing, the radius from the trunk to  where the boughs bushed the ground being easily fifteen feet, which provided plenty of room for the two women to spread out. 

Sam looked around and nodded. “This will do nicely.”

“Sam,” Janet said, “Don’t you think the Socar will search these trees for us? They’re not exactly an unknown haven.”

“They won’t if they don’t have any reason to.” Sam answered. We’re just going to have to be careful.”

“So what do we do now?”

Sam considered her options for a moment. “We’ll wait until it starts to get light and then use the trees as cover to scout the area. The guards’ alertness level will be at its lowest at daybreak. Once we have what the intel we need, we’ll come back here and wait for dark. Then we can sneak in, grab the guys and make a break for the stargate.”

“Won’t the gate be heavily guarded?”

Sam hefted one of the pistols that Ella had given them. “That’s what these are for.”

“Oh. Right. Of course. How silly of me.” The dryness of her tone made Sam smile at her.

“Try and get some rest. We’ll move out in three hours.”

Frasier turned away from the major and began to pull out her sleeping roll, trying not to cry out as her ribs ground together. Something was wrong, but since there was nothing Carter could do about it, Janet stayed silent. She slipped a couple of painkillers into her mouth, accepted her meal from Sam and ate as much as she could, then laid down and tried to rest.

But she couldn’t. Breathing was starting to hurt again, and Janet could feel the beginnings of a fever stealing over her. She kept still until Sam’s breaths evened out into a sleep pattern, then quietly pulled up her shirt and probed her ribs. The area was tender and hot, an it felt like one of the ribs had slipped out of place again. She had probably re-broken it when she’d been helping Sam into the their shelter the night before.

Janet knew she was in trouble. If that rib slipped anymore, it could puncture her lung and could easily kill her. But she didn’t see any way to get out of going on this rescue mission. She certainly wasn’t going to ask Sam to leave her behind, not when they were so close.

Finally, the doctor sat up and ripped one of her extra shirts into one long strip, then wound it around her torso, wrapping it tight to give her ribs some support and protection. It was all she could do for now. She would just have to try and not get too acrobatic the next night.

Sam’s internal clock went off three hours later and she sat up, fully alert and ready to get on with her mission. She looked over at Janet and didn’t like what she saw. The doctor had dark circles under her eyes, and her shirt looked strange, lumpy. Sam reached over and lifted it a bit to reveal the bandage underneath. Sam groaned internally. Couldn’t anything go right on this god forsaken planet?

She shook Janet gently, careful not to jostle her too hard, and was pleased when the doctor came awake easily. Her skin was hot, and fevers had a way of affecting the sleep/wake cycle.

“How are you feeling?” Sam asked her softly.

Janet tried to sit up, but then winced and laid back down. “I’ll be alright. I just need to get up and move around.”

“Listen, why don’t you stay here while I scout the area? It won’t take very long, and then I’ll be back and you can help me plan how we’re going to do this.”

“No. I’m going with you.”

“Janet, we’re not going to be doing anything until tonight. Why don’t you rest?” She paused for effect. “You’ve got a fever, you know.”

“Yeah.” the doctor said glumly. “I know.” she sighed. “How long will you be?”

“Just long enough to get an idea of where the guys are being held and how many people are around. If I’m going to be longer than three hours, I’ll come back and let you know, okay?”

Janet nodded weakly. “Okay.”

Sam handed her a loaded pistol. “Take this. I’ll signal you before I come in, so if anything else comes through those branches, shoot it.”

Janet nodded again, and Sam grabbed her own pistol, the extra clips, and two of the knives, and ducked out of the shelter.

Sam headed for the compound, staying within the tree line and being as quiet as her injured leg and pronounced limp would allow. She moved northwest, approaching a rise in the terrain that would allow her to scan the compound without being seen. She climbed the slight incline, grimacing as her leg protested, and made herself comfortable in the brush.

She had a good view from here. The compound was made up of one large square building with a small courtyard in the center, and a few smaller outbuildings surrounding it. She could see several guards milling around, maybe seven or eight of them, all moving to keep themselves awake, but she couldn’t see much else. She was too far to make out what, if anything was in the courtyard. She would have to get closer, and there was no time like the present. She studied the main building again, memorizing as much of the layout as she could see, then she spotted a narrow hallway that seemed to extend from the courtyard to the exterior of the structure. The entrance was facing away from her, but she was pretty sure it would be guarded. She would have given a lot for a pair of binoculars right about now, but if wishes were horses and all that. She got up slowly, pausing to sit for a minute and rub her leg before rising completely and moving down toward the building.

She knew from her initial survey that there were only two guards on the side of the building that she was approaching. There was no road leading away from this direction, so the protection here was less than perfect. She still had to be careful, however. Firing her pistol would bring everyone in the place down on her, and a dead guard, even if he died silently, would be almost as bad.

Sam reached the edge of the tree line and squinted through the ever lightening darkness, watching the guards moving around. She was looking at the western face of the building, and needed to get to the northern side, but there was no cover between here and there except for two of the outbuildings.

She stopped for a few minutes, watching the guards’ patterns. They moved together so that they could carry on a conversation, and did not seem to be too worried about intruders. So much the better.

Sam waited for the pair of them to pass her position, heading south, and then moved quickly and quietly to the western wall of the outbuilding closest to her. She was not far from the corner now, but forced herself to wait for the guards to pass her again before running to the edge of the wall. Here there was no cover at all, and she only had a few seconds before the men behind her turned around again. She peeked around the corner, and, not seeing any patrols in the immediate vicinity, she slipped around, flattening herself against the building.

She could hear the guards she had just evaded approaching her position, and she held her breath, praying they couldn’t hear the thudding of her heart in her chest. She looked toward the opening on the northern face that led to the courtyard and could make out two figures, one on either side of it.

These two seemed to be even less vigilant than their comrades. They were asleep. Sam crept up to them, walking lightly on the balls of her feet, took out her knife and clubbed them both on the side of the head before they had any idea she was there. Then she painfully hauled them both back into sleeping positions, slipped into the passageway, and knelt in the shadows, breathing deeply and suppressing a groan as her leg, and now her back and arm shot hot knives through her body. She was going to have to be more careful if she wanted to be able to move at all tonight.

Slowly, Sam got up and crept down the long passageway to the end where it opened into the large courtyard. Sam stuck her head out to get a good look, then hissed in fury as her eyes fell on two figures sitting on the ground facing her, both with their hands tied behind their backs to long stakes driven into the dirt.

Jack and Daniel were not very far from where Sam was hiding, and she was tempted to call out to them, but refrained.

She took a good look. They were both beaten bloody, bruises and lash marks crisscrossing their bare upper bodies, their pants torn to shreds, and their feet bare. She hoped they would be able to move quickly once she got them out of there, but it didn’t look good.

“I’ll be back, sir.” she whispered, then turned around and vanished back the way she had come.

Sam reentered the tree line using the same trick she had coming in, and headed straight back to the shelter where Janet was waiting for her. She’d only been gone about 90 minutes, but the sun was over the horizon now, and anyone looking for her would be able to see her easily in the bright sunlight.

She approached the tree carefully, not wanting to scare Janet, and called softly, “Janet, it’s me. Don’t shoot, okay?”

No answer. Either she was asleep, or something was wrong. Alarm bells went off in Sam’s head, and she pulled her pistol, ready to defend herself against attack.

Reaching out with the nose of the gun, she pushed the branches back and looked inside, keeping her body to the side of a direct line with the weapon. Janet’s sleeping pallet was empty. She was gone.

Chapter 7

Carter kept still for a moment, listening hard for any sounds that would alert her to intruders. Then, hearing nothing, she entered the shelter of the tree, taking care not to disturb the ground around where Janet had lain.

Sam was no tracker, but there were numerous scuff marks around the area, and she could see at least one boot print that was much too large to be the doctor’s. Fresh blood stained the blankets lying askew on the ground, but it was not a lot, so Sam assumed her friend wasn’t too badly injured. Of course, internal injuries didn’t bleed onto the ground, but Carter didn’t want to think about that just now. Instead, she thought about her course of action. She should probably still wait until dark, since it would provide her some cover when the time came to act. She would just have to be extra careful.

Her mind made up, Sam stood and reached out to part the branches. A fist came flying at her through the leaves, connecting with her jaw and sending her crashing back, where she sprawled onto the ground.

The fist resolved itself into a man who swaggered into the shelter, leering at her as she shook her head, trying to rid herself of the stars popping in front of her eyes.

“Well, well, what have we here?  You’re a pretty one, aren’t you? What say we have a little fun before I take you back to camp, eh?”

“Go to hell.” Sam glared daggers at him, and then, keeping her eyes on his ugly face, swept his feet out from under him, scrambled to her knees, pulled her knife and slammed it into his ribs.  He gave a single surprised grunt, and then was still.

Breathing hard, Carter got up and cleaned her knife on the cooling body. Then, after looking at it contemptuously for a moment, she collected his weapon and left the shelter, heading for the rise where she’d scoped the compound earlier.

She reached it in good tome, adrenaline helping her move more quickly than she otherwise would have, and settled in to wait for nightfall.

She waited. She tried hard not to think of Janet, of what she might be going through right now. Sam hoped with all her heart they had stashed her with Daniel and the Colonel. Then she would at least not be alone.

She waited. After a few hours, Sam was regretting not grabbing the pain killers before she left the tree. Her jaw ached where the idiot had hit her, adding its distinctive pain to the myriad of her other discomforts. She shifted, grimacing, trying to stretch the kinks without moving too much. Then movement at the compound caught her eye. Several figures were leaving the area, loping away in the direction Sam knew the stargate to be.

She was too far away to see much detail, but one of the figures seemed to be carrying a large black…something…over his shoulder. She squinted, trying to make out what it was, but gave up once the group rounded a bend and sped out of sight.

Probably a weapons case. Sam thought. We’re going to have to be very smart about this if they’re packing anything bigger than a rifle in that bag.

She waited. Tried not to think about Janet, but instead about how she was going to free her three friends once the sun went down.

She waited, watching the sun make its solitary journey across the sky, thinking of her father, wondering when she would see him again.

She waited. The shadows grew longer, her aches and pains continued to plague her, and she tried her best to ignore them.

Then, with a gunshot that blew apart the tree beside her head, her waiting was over. Rolling to her right, she pulled her pistol and fired in one smooth motion. Her adversary ducked behind a tree, but Sam saw his rear end show itself out the other side and she shot it.

She lurched to her feet and, leaving the man howling in agony behind her, scrambled down the hillside toward the compound. There was no help for it. Her cover had been blown with the noise of those shots, and she was going to have to do this now, before she was swarmed with too many to handle.

Sure enough, no few than four guards were running straight at her through the trees, ducking and dodging the branches as they came. Sam saw them first and dropped behind a log, her thigh screaming, and  proceeded to dispatch three of the men in quick succession before they knew what hit them. The fourth was quicker, and dodged behind a big rock before she could hit him. He fired without looking, forcing Sam to duck as bullets sprayed the dead wood that hid her. The man kept firing, and she started to worry about the punctures coming through the wood. Then abruptly, the bullets stopped, and Sam poked the top of her head over the log. The man was trying to reload and Sam lost no time taking advantage of the situation. Moving quickly, she closed the distance between them and pointed her pistol at the man’s chest.

“Drop it.” she said, panting and trying to keep her weakness from showing on her face.

He sneered at her, but lowered the gun to the ground, coming up much too quickly, his hand scrabbling at his boot for a knife hidden there.

Sam shot him point blank, in the chest. His blood sprayed over her, hot and sticky, making her grimace, but she immediately continued on toward her goal. She could hear shouting at the compound now, but not a lot of it, and hoped most of the remaining guards had gone with the group to the stargate.

The tree line was coming up fast and Sam slowed, looking for anyone who might notice an approach from the west, but seeing no one. She slipped up beside the outbuilding she’d used earlier and listened hard. People we re still shouting, but there was nothing nearer than that, so she slipped around to the north side of the building. No one was in sight, until she remembered to look up. A black boot was disappearing over the side of the roof from a ladder she had missed in her scouting earlier that morning. She cursed silently. Sniper. Well, she’d just have to take care of him first.

Grabbing the ladder, she pulled herself up, noting vaguely that her leg was not going to take this for long. No help for it, though.

Finally at the top of the ladder, Sam looked carefully over the high ledge that surrounded the roof  and saw a single guard sighting over the edge toward the courtyard., a mean looking rifle gripped with depressing confidence in his hands.  Sam stepped over the side and pulled a throwing knife from her belt before stalking toward him. She wasn’t nearly as good at throwing knives as she was at shooting guns, but she’d give it a go, although she’d much rather just bash him over the head with it.

As it turned out, she did both The guard hear her steps on the gravelly surface and turned, swinging his rifle with him. Sam threw her blade, catching him in the leg, and then jumped at him and clubbed him with the hilt of her pistol before he got off a shot.

Satisfied that she’d kept the noise level at a minimum, Sam glanced around tat the rest of the roof for any more snipers, and then at the floor of the courtyard, where she noted two armed guards and their positions. They were stationary. Good for her, bad for them. Unfortunately, she could also see only two figures tied to the ground. Where was Janet??

She half climbed, half fell down the ladder to the ground. Her leg gave out on her on the last rung and she crumpled to the ground, almost sobbing as white hot agony burned through her already jangling nerves. She looked down and saw a large patch of blood spreading out from the wound, staining her pants.

Sam rested for a minute, all the time she could spare, then got up and tested her weight on her leg. It held, but barely, and she knew this last push would do it in. But she was almost there! She hobbled along the passageway, keeping to the left side where the guards wouldn’t be able to see her, then, coming to the end, flattened her stomach against the wall, peered around the corner and fired twice, taking each guard in the chest. Moving as quickly as she could, she dropped behind the guys, severed their bonds and handed Daniel a knife and O’Neill a pistol. The Colonel took the weapon and opened his mouth to speak.

Another gunshot rang out and Sam was spun in a circle with the impact of the bullet hitting her shoulder. She dropped, stunned, and Jack raised his own weapon and fired back as Daniel grabbed Sam and dragged her back to the hallway. More shots were fired, ending with the man on the roof falling forward to land with a sickening crunch on the ground below.

Jack joined the other two in the passageway and blew out a breath at the look of the wound in Sam’s shoulder. “We heard shooting earlier. How many did you get?” he asked, pressing hard on the gunshot to stop the bleeding. She gasped, her back arching with pain, but she fought to think.

“Seven.”

O’Neill looked impressed, then nodded at Daniel, and, even in her hazy state, Sam saw the look that passed between them. “Seven, huh? Well, mine makes eight, and I think that ‘s all they left. Everyone else seems to have taken off.

“Where’s Janet?” Sam asked, her teeth clenched tight. She was going into shock, she knew, and frustration welled up in her as her body began to shake. Why, in the name of all thinks idiotic was she going into shock now? After all she’d been though??

“She’s not with you?” O’Neill asked

Sam shook her head a fraction. “No. We g-got separated. D-don’t know where they t-took her.”

“Hang on, Sam.” Daniel said as he pressed something to her neck. A hiss and a sting, and Sam’s head began to clear.

“What was that?” she asked.

“It’s a stimulant that these guys use to keep themselves awake and alert. There’s not a lot of them, so they have to take long shifts.” Daniel explained. “It’s addictive as hell, but I think you’ll be able to resist.” He grinned at her. “Thanks for the rescue.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Jack said, studying her as she studied him. “But we’re not home yet.”

“We still need to find Janet.” Sam’s voice was steady now, and she could feel the drug taking affect.”

“Right.” Jack nodded. “Any ideas?”

Chapter 8

“I saw a group of guards heading toward the gate earlier today.” Sam said as the haze that seemed to surround her vision continued to retreat. “One of them looked like he might have been holding something over his shoulder, but I was too far away to see it clearly.”

“You think it might have been Janet?” Daniel asked.

“It’s possible. She’s pretty small, so it wouldn’t have been too much trouble for them to carry her. Sir, if it was her, we need to get there as fast as possible. She’s got several broken ribs and I have no idea how much of that kind of manhandling she can take.”

“How far are we from the gate?” O’Neill asked, helping her to her feet, where she stood swaying for a moment.

“No more than a  couple of klicks, sir.”

“Then let’s get moving.”

“Yes sir.” Carter took a step and almost fell, Daniel catching her and supporting her weight.

“Sam, how much of this is yours?” Daniel was looking at her blood soaked clothes, concern etched in his bruised face.

“Enough to be a problem, evidently.” She was feeling giddy from the stimulant.

“What happened to you?” The archaeologist was now staring at her leg and the large red splotch on her thigh.

“Later.” O’Neill interrupted. “Carter, can you walk?”

“With a little help, maybe.” She suppressed an entirely inappropriate giggle, telling herself sternly that she was not going to go into a possible firefight high on a dead guard’s weed.

Jack maneuvered himself under her good shoulder, gave her wounded one a look, and they stared out toward the gate, and hopefully, Janet.

It was slow going. Sam’s head was swimming, and she was limping heavily. She was still losing blood from her shoulder, though it had tapered to a trickle by this point. Jack and Daniel weren’t in much better shape, having endured repeated beatings and almost no sustenance for the last fifteen days. They were weak, but they kept pushing, knowing that stopping was not an option.

The sky was beginning to darken by the time they recognized the last turn leading to the clearing where the gate was. They moved off the road and into the bushes, Daniel supporting and guiding a stumbling Sam. She managed to move fairly quietly to a position within the brush that allowed them a good view of the gate and put them only about 30 meters away from it. Which put the enemy about 10 meters from them. A tall thin man stood in the center, his red mask concealing his face and marking him as the leader of the ten or so men who flanked him, weapons ready, but looking cornered and nervous.

Jack caught sight of Janet crumpled on the ground at the tall man’s feet and growled under his breath.

“I don’t suppose you have any stun grenades hidden about your person, do you?” he asked Carter, who didn’t even bother to answer. “Right. Okay, Daniel, take Sam’s weapon and move out that way about a hundred paces.” He pointed to their right. “I’ll do the same over here, and we’ll see how many of these bozos we can take out with surprise on our side. When you reach your position, count to five, then open fire. Sam, you stay put.”

The major nodded and sank back against a tree to rest.

Jack and Daniel exchanged a worried glance and moved off to their respective positions. Jack counted to five, poked his upper body up over the rock he  was using as cover and fired into the group, careful to stay well away from Janet.

Predictably, the grunts panicked, and rather than trying to figure out where the shots were coming from, they simply sprayed bullets in every direction and then ran for their lives. The ones that were still standing, at least.

But one man did not flee. The leader of the group had lifted Janet to her feet and was holding his gun to her head, shouting threats at the top of his voice.

She was conscious, Jack saw, her eyes wide with controlled fear and pain. She coughed and Jack could see blood flecking her lips. He moved silently back to Sam, Daniel meeting him there.

“I’ll go make sure those runners have actually left the area.” Daniel said and loped off. O’Neill watched him go, then focused his attention on Sam, still ignoring the red masked man in the clearing.

“You okay?” he whispered.

She nodded, putting on her good soldier face for him, and Jack grunted.

“Listen, we need to take this guy out.” He put out a hand to help her up. “Come take a look.”

She took his hand and hauled herself into a sitting position so she could look through the brush to the scene in front of them. Her voice was slurred and laced heavily with pain.

“What do you want me to do, sir?” she asked, a little bewildered.

“C’mon, Carter, you’re one of the best shots at the SGC. You could take this guy out with your eyes closed.”

“I don’t know, sir.”

“Sam, you’ve got to try.” She looked up at him, surprised at the use of her name. “Janet looks pretty beat up. We need to get her home.” He handed her the pistol, then supported some of her weight as she shifted to a kneeling position, her leg once again screaming in agony. Sam bit her lip, tears forming in her eyes. She wiped them away angrily and braced her hand on the rock. It was shaking so badly she couldn’t even see thorough the sights, let alone aim.

“I can’t do this, sir. I’m going to hit Janet!”

Jack heard the panic in her voice and tried to reassure her.

“He’s a foot taller than her if he’s an inch, Carter. Just hit him anywhere above her head and I’ll rush him and take him out.”

Unfortunately, the man had evidently had the same thought, for now he wrapped an arm around Janet’s throat and hoisted her up so that her head was about level with his, and held on, ignoring her kicking feet and scrabbling nails as she raked his hand.

“Show yourselves, or she dies!” he bellowed.

“It’s now or never, Sam.” Jack said softly.

Sam was in turmoil. She knew that under ordinary circumstances she could take this guy, but the stimulant had worn off, and she could feel herself going into shock again.

Then strong hands were on her shoulders, and she felt a soothing warmth flow through her, quieting her hands, and calming her fears.

She heard his voice in her ear, no more than a breath “Take your shot, Sam.”

She sighted again, silently thanking Jack for the touch, and knew now that she could hit whatever she aimed at. She also knew that she couldn’t kill this man. He might still be needed for information.

“Shoulder.” she murmured, letting Jack know he’d need to move in once she’d taken her shot.

Taking a final deep breath, watching her vision narrow with the familiar telescoping effect that heralded a sniper shot, Sam squeezed the trigger.

Blood exploded out of the enemy’s shoulder, and his arm, still holding the gun, dropped uselessly to his side. He let go of Janet, who crumpled to the ground and tried valiantly to crawl away from him.

Jack lunged out of his hiding place and ran to where the man stood swaying, looking in disbelief at his useless appendage. Jack swung a vicious right hook and caught him in the temple. The man crashed to the ground where Jack unceremoniously kicked him in the head for good measure.

Daniel dashed into the clearing, then stopped when he saw Jack standing over the unconscious leader of the Socar.

“Well,” he said, staring around at them all. “I guess this means we can go home now?”

“Yes sir.” Sam said, slumping to the ground and watching with interest as her vision slowly faded to black.

Soft beeping sounds filled the air, pulling Janet from sleep, and making her moan as she regained consciousness. She laid still for a moment, listening to the sounds around her and trying to decide if she was still in any danger.

“Hey.” A soft familiar voice sounded from beside her. Janet turned her head and opened her eyes a crack. Samantha Carter swam into view, and the doctor blinked, attempting to clear her vision. She tried to speak, but nothing came out, and she realized her mouth was dry as a bone. Sam picked up a cup of water and held the straw to Janet’s lips. She sipped, then fell back, coughing and screwing up her face against the ensuing flare of pain in her side.

“Easy, Janet. Take it easy. We’re home and you’re safe.”

Sam’s words encouraged Janet to open her eyes all the way, and she slowly took in the sights and sounds of her infirmary. She felt tension begin to slide off of her in waves. She was home. They had made it.

“Sam.” she croaked out, licking her lips again. “Are you okay?”

“Nothing a little time and physical therapy won’t take care of.” the major’s tone was light, and Janet took this more than her words as a sign that everything was alright.  “How are you feeling?” Sam continued. “You took quite a beating out there.”

Janet closed her eyes and took stock. Yup, she still hurt. A lot. “I’m fine.” she lied, looking at her friend again.

Sam snorted, then grimaced as pain tinged her features. “Bull. But you will be, don’t worry. You’ve got an incredible staff here, Doc. You should have heard them talking while they worked on you. It’s a good thing we have security on the gate or I think they would have gone through and finished of our culprit.”

“You didn’t kill him?”

“Nah. I figured they’d want him for questioning later, so I just got him in the shoulder so he’d drop you, and Colonel O’Neill took care of the rest.”

“What’s my condition?” Janet was tiring, and was alarmed at how much pain still coursed through her.

Sam saw her friend’s grimace and signaled over her shoulder. One of Frasier’s nurses came up and injected something into the IV in Janet’s arm. She looked at her boss and touched her lightly on the shoulder.

“I gave you some more Morphine, Doctor. It should help.” She smiled and turned away, but not before Janet caught the angry flare in her eyes at the sight of her injuries.  She turned back to Sam.

“Tell me quick before I go under.”

“Let’s see.” Sam said ticking her fingers as she recited. “Four severely broken ribs, one collapsed lung, cracked cheekbone, sprained ankle (it was re-injured when that moron dropped you after I shot him), and too many lacerations and bruises to count.” her tone turned serious and she looked at the doctor with sudden gravity. “We almost lost you, Janet.”

Even in her hazy drug induced state, the smaller woman caught the tone. “I’ll be alright, Sam. Don’t worry.”

Sam smiled through wet eyes. “I know. But all the same, I’m glad you’re okay.” She leaned down and gave Janet a careful hug, then swiped at her face and turned away as Janet drifted off to sleep.

Six weeks later, they were back, Teal’c at their side and Prometheus in orbit, just in case. Sam’s arm was still in a sling, and she walked with a barely perceptible limp, but otherwise showed no sign of what she had gone through. Janet was similarly improved, only moving slightly more carefully than usual, and occasionally putting a hand to her ribs as if to make sure they were still there.

Jack and Daniel were good as new, not having sustained any lasting injuries either from the explosion—they had been looking for the men’s room, and so were much further away from it than the girls had been—or from their prolonged confinement.

As such, they were all able to enjoy a state dinner held in their honor, where they were informed that the red-masked leader they had incapacitated had been questioned with much success, leading to the arrest and imprisonment of most of the organization known as the Socar.

Apologies were given and received, trade ties were cemented and much shaking of hands endured before they were able to escape, begging fatigue.

“I’d like to make a stop before we go home, if that’s all right with you, sir.” Janet said, looking at O’Neill.

“Ella?” Sam asked..

“Yes. I’d like to thank her for everything she did for us. She risked her life by taking us in, and absolutely saved ours in the process.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Jack said. “Lead the way.”

And so they walked through the city toward the neighborhood where they knew the nurse and her sons to live. The house soon came into view and they walked up to the door, the girls in front. It burst open before they could knock, and they were both enveloped in hugs that took their breath away, healing ribs notwithstanding.

Ella released them with a flourish and held them both at arms length, examining them with a critical eye.

“Well, don’t you two just look like new! Come in, come in. And you’ve brought friends, have you? Well, all of you are welcome here, and I’ve just pulled a lalura pie out of the oven.” She ushered them into the sitting room where Sam and Janet had spent so much of their time, and then disappeared for a moment before returning with several plates of pie. She set them down, but before she could serve out the plates, Jack stood up and took her hand in his.

 “Ma’am, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the help and care you gave my team. We are forever in your debt.”

She held his hand in both of hers and smiled widely at him, then looked over at Sam, winking. “This must be the Jack you spoke so affectionately of.”

Sam’s eyes widened. “I, uh, I don’t remember speaking of him…” she spluttered.

Ella released Jack’s hand and patted Sam’s cheek. “You talk in your sleep, dear.” Then she was off, her eyes sparkling at Sam’s blush, serving them all steaming hot slices of lalaru pie, which tasted surprisingly like raspberry. They sat and ate and talked, well at ease with this matronly woman and her hospitality. But too soon, it was time to go, and she walked them to the door.

Before they left, however, Sam and Janet turned to her, wrapped bundles held in their hands.

“What’s this?” Ella asked, surprised.

“Sam and I wanted to give you something to thank you for all your help.” Janet said, her eyes filling as her gratitude overwhelmed her.

“These are gifts from our world.” Sam said, smiling. “We hope they’ll remind you of us.

“Oh, child, I don’t need a gift.” Ella said, her hands over her heart. “I was happy to help.”

“Nevertheless,” Sam said. “We want you to have these.” She and Janet handed over their packages, hugged their savior one last time, and then they all walked down the lawn and out into the night.

Ella watched them go until they were out of sight, then closed the door and moved into her sitting room to unwrap her gifts. The paper fell off the first one and she gasped. Purple crystals glistened in the light from inside a roughly hewn rock with a dark exterior. A note was wrapped around it. For you, Ella. May it always remind you of the beauty you hold inside your heart. Love, Sam.  She turned the amethyst geode over and over in her hands, admiring its earthly beauty, then carefully put it down and turned to the second package. She unwrapped it and her mouth fell open at the glint of purest red shining through the petals of the single rose. For a long time, she just sat, holding the treasure in her hands, tears spilling down her cheeks as she read the note inside. Ella, this rose was picked in its prime, and will never die. It is my fondest hope that our friendship will be the same. May  your memories of us be just as beautiful as our memories of you. Thank you for our lives. All my love, Janet Frasier.

Stepping back through the gate, Sam and Janet and the rest showered and changed and prepared to head home. The girls rode the elevator up to the surface together, talking of their plans to spend some time with Cassie that weekend, when suddenly Janet got very serious and put a hand on Sam’s arm, stopping her for a moment.

“Sam, I need to tell you something.”

The major looked down into her friend’s dark eyes, noting the determination that showed there. “Sure, what is it?”

Sure she had her friend’s attention, Janet plunged on. “You saved my life on that planet, more than once.” She held Sam’s gaze. “I want you to understand how much that means to me. Your courage and friendship are what got me through when I was being beaten. I will never forget that, Sam.”

Carter was momentarily taken aback by this, but she smiled and said. “Janet, we don’t leave our people behind. Even if we don’t know them, we don’t leave them. So how could I possibly do anything less for my best friend?” Then she wrapped her arms around the smaller woman, enveloping her in a hug that said everything she couldn’t verbally express. “Besides,” she said, pulling away and wiping her eyes. “You saved my life at least as many times as I did yours.”

“I did not!” Janet exclaimed as they started walking again. "You dragged me from the explosion site, let me rest while you did recon…”

“And then you get captured!” Sam said, her laughter echoing down the hall. “Besides, you got that hunk of metal out of my leg, stitched me up when…”

Their voices faded into the mountain as they left, soaking up the friendship that would only grow stronger with time.