He flopped gracelessly to the ground at Daniel's side, ignoring the howl of protest from his twisted knee and the angry stab of cracked ribs. Daniel's eyes opened a little too slowly for comfort, but at least they were focused this time.
"Hey," he slurred.
"Hey yourself," Jack returned.
"What...?"
"Just relax. I'm going to start a fire."
They'd been stripped of all their equipment, including their vests and jackets; they had nothing but their T-shirts and BDU trousers. Surprisingly, Daniel's glasses hadn't been confiscated, but since he couldn't see straight at the moment, that wasn't much help.
They hadn't been left barefoot, though, which meant there was still a chance. Jack leaned over carefully and started to untie the laces of his left boot.
"I can do it," Daniel mumbled. He reached out with his left hand, the skin around his eyes tightening just a little, and began to tug.
Jack slumped back, grateful not to have to hunch over his ribs. They sat for a few moments in silence as Daniel awkwardly fumbled with the laces. Neither one looked at Daniel's right hand, with the makeshift splint that held his two broken fingers in place.
"There," Daniel finally grunted. He was breathing hard, in short, rapid pants that suggested another bout of vomiting was just around the corner.
"I can take it from here. Just... lie back and breathe, okay?"
Daniel flapped his left hand in assent and rolled away, closing his eyes.
Vigorous scraping against the packed earth of their little clearing soon had the boot off his foot completely. Jack ran a finger down the inner seam and carefully teased out the two slivers of metal that had saved SG-1 on more than one occasion. They'd served as lock picks to break out of prison. Daniel had used them to activate a panel that reacted badly to organic matter. Carter had once jammed them inside a doohickey's housing to complete a broken circuit.
And now, hopefully, he could use them to create sparks to start a fire.
For long, patient minutes, Jack rasped one piece of metal against the other, ignoring the screeching whine that made his teeth ache. Sparks drifted downwards, and many did alight on the kindling, but the wood remained stubborn. He licked dry lips and kept at it. If they couldn't get the fire started, there was no hope of survival until Carter and Teal'c could find them.
"Jack."
It was little more than a breath of sound, but Jack whipped his head around.
"Try this."
Daniel was holding out his glasses, his hand shaking from the effort.
Jack stared at the smeared lenses, then frowned up at the sky. Despite the bitter cold, the slightly reddish sun was only just past its zenith. There was plenty of sunlight. It might work at that.
He gave the glasses a quick polish on the ragged hem of his T-shirt before positioning them to catch the sun's rays. He tilted them by degrees, trying to find the best angle.
"S-sam... would've figured... the perfect vector... in ten seconds flat."
Jack shot Daniel a glance and snorted, secretly relieved to hear even a faint glimmer of humor in that pained whisper. "Yeah, well," he said dismissively. "Carter's a pool shark for a reason."
"She could beat you... hands down."
"She's welcome to come join us, and then we can have a contest."
"Staff weapon... fastest."
"Especially with Teal'c along," Jack agreed. Aha. A slow curl of smoke plumed upwards now.
A long silence, then, "They'll come."
"Yes." Jack carefully fed twigs to the tiny flame. "They will."
He kept the fire small - no point in wasting more fuel than necessary. When he was satisfied, he shuffled back to Daniel's side. Daniel's breathing had eased, but he was still curled in a ball, eyes closed.
"All done." Jack gently fitted the glasses back onto Daniel's face. "I knew it would be useful to have a geek with glasses around."
Daniel smiled a little, although he didn't open his eyes. "Happy to help," he whispered.
"Always wondered why you never went for laser surgery," Jack added. "Just as well under the circumstances, I guess."
Daniel did open his eyes at that, and his smile grew. "Looked into it," he said, his voice nearly drowned by the steady crackle of the fire. "After Shyla."
Jack suppressed a wince at the memory of the shattered glasses and broken body, half-buried under the rock fall in the naquadah mines. "Oh, yeah?" He kept his voice calmly neutral. "So what stopped you? SGC's insurance wasn't good enough?"
"Contra-indicated." Daniel started a shrug, then stopped, pain washing over his face to replace the smile. He took a slow breath, then continued. "LASIK... not advised for people... in contact sports."
"Contact sports?" Jack repeated blankly.
Daniel raised his brows, and the smile slowly crept back. "Blows to the face - and eyes. Contra-indicated."
Jack stared at his concussed friend and gave a reluctant laugh. "That could be a problem, yes."
"So stick... to glasses."
"Stick to glasses," Jack agreed equably. "They do have their uses."
They settled back to wait.