Author's Notes: All medical mistakes in this, and any other section, are mine alone. Apologies in advance. -- Pho
DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
Daniel choked, sputtered and rubbed his bruised throat. Okay, that was a bad idea. He really should have known better than to approach Jack silently. This wasn't the first time the older man had reacted ... badly ... to a surprise awakening, but with his injuries Daniel had really expected him to be incapacitated. He really should have known better.
"Let's try this one more time." Daniel spoke softly as he eased his way back to Jack's side. "Jack? It's Daniel. You're not in Iraq. We're together on PRS905. You had a bad fall. Let me help you, please?" Slowly, he put a gentle hand on the injured man's good shoulder.
Jack's low, anguished groan pierced Daniel's heart. "D...Daniel? What? I thought... Oh, God!"
"We're on PRS905, Jack. Please, let me give you some morphine. It'll take the edge off the pain." His only response was a weak nod of the injured man's head. Daniel slowly slid his hand down Jack's arm, never eliminating the physical contact with the man as he pushed the T-shirt sleeve up again. With the other hand, he awkwardly fumbled for one of the syringes. Pulling it out of the Med-kit, he stared at the amount in the vile for a moment before reluctantly eliminating all but what he needed, half a milliliter. No sense taking chances on an accidental overdose, besides Janet had been unusually firm in her 'do not even consider using the same syringe for a second time' lecture.
He managed to aspirate the syringe, grateful that the needle was intravenous, not the larger one used for injections into the muscle. While it was probably a little safer for a novice to administer the drug into a muscle, Jack need relief now, and Daniel had been the 'lucky' recipient of morphine enough to know how fast that relief would come. Now for a vein. Great. He really wasn't good at this, but well, okay, rub the upper arm, and look for a vein. Oh. That was easy enough. Gulping, he forced the needle through the skin, and was relieved not to see blood immediately. Good. He was in the vein, not through it. Pushing the plunger very slowly, he watched as the precious liquid left the syringe, stopping only when he'd emptied the vial.
"It's in, Jack. You should start to feel ... better real soon." Daniel eased the needle out of the vein, and dropping the syringe to the ground, tore open a small gauze pad, and pressed it tightly to his friend's arm, releasing it only when he was certain the bleeding had stopped. Unconsciously, Daniel repositioned his free hand on Jack's good shoulder, keeping the physical contact present until he felt the injured man begin to relax.
Keeping a close eye on his friend, Daniel quickly removed his own jacket and shirt. Then practically ripped off his black T-shirt. He quickly started tearing the T-shirt into strips. Soon a pile of strips lay on the ground beside Jack. He retrieved the table legs that he'd broken off upstairs, and laid them beside Jack's good leg. He counted his blessings as the length turned out to be okay, not perfect, but acceptable. A true piece of luck since he had no way to shorten them.
Leaning back on his heels, Daniel wiped his sweaty palms on his pants leg, took a deep breath and forced himself to look at Jack's face. What he saw did not reassure him. His color was ashen, even his lips had no hue. His eyes were open, but Daniel was uncertain if they were really 'seeing' anything. Reaching out, he gently cupped his friend's chin in his palm, trying to ignore the cold, clammy feel to his skin. "Jack, I don't know if you can understand me, but I have to set your leg. It's gonna hurt, but I'm hoping the morphine will help."
A slow, pain-filled drawl responded. "Just do it, Daniel."
"Right." Gulping, Daniel closed his eyes, and focused on his previous experiences with this sort of injury. He'd done this twice before, once in Egypt almost too many years ago to count, and once on Abydos. Great. This kind of 'on the job training' he'd hoped never to have to use again.
The band of Euloeans was already fifty yards ahead of Sam and Teal'c by the time the pair decided on their course of action. Teal'c fell easily in beside Sam, discretely shortening his stride to stay beside the smaller woman.
"Major Carter?"
"What, Teal'c?"
"I have come across the term 'Redcaps' before, but I do not believe the name here and on your home world could possibly have the same meaning."
Much to her annoyance, Sam had no breath to respond with more than "W..why?"
"I read in one of Daniel Jackson's books that redcaps are a subset of evil creatures known as 'goblins'."
"G...goblins?"
"Yes, Major Carter. Does this term have any significance for you?"
"Yes!" she gasped. "Not good. OH!" A series of loud shrieks close behind them startled the woman, and her headlong plunge to the ground was prevented only by Teal'c's quick reaction. "Thanks, Teal'c."
The Jaffa tilted his head in silent acknowledgment of her thanks even as he pushed her into another, even faster jog. "The creatures grow close. I fear we do not have much time."
Jack was trembling uncontrollably by the time Daniel had finished securing his arm to his chest. The young archaeologist then settled both his shirt and jacket over the older man, regretting that the 'retrieval only' aspect of this mission had sent the team out without camping gear. He really hoped the additional warmth would bring the chills under control. "Jack, I'll be right back. I'm gonna try to start a fire."
The lack of actual response worried Daniel greatly, but he sensed that Jack had understood him. The trek to the upper floor was taken at a much faster pace than before, a pace set by the desperation of the moment. As he worriedly broke the table into manageable pieces, his thoughts turned to his friends. There was no doubt in his mind that help was on the way, and that Sam would take the time to go through the Stargate to fetch Janet Fraiser. After all, the Stargate was positioned somewhere between their two destinations.
The evening shadows were teasing the edges of the cellar opening by the time Daniel managed to get the fire going. The wood of the table served as the 'logs' for his fire, and he'd been fortunate to find a large, decrepit chair whose exposure to the weather rendered it perfect for kindling. The strange silence of the night unnerved the young man, causing him to be grateful for the protection, however slight, of the building they were in ... uh, under.
As the fire crackled into life, Daniel began to grow really concerned. He'd already had to give Jack another dose of morphine. Granted, he'd done it after only four hours to hold down the pain, but he'd thought Sam and Teal'c would be here by now. He only had two more doses left, and while he could stretch them for ten, maybe twelve hours, the increased strain on Jack's already injured system worried him greatly. He settled down next to Jack's uninjured side, gently drawing the older man closer to him. Shared body heat combined with human contact might do no good, but they would certainly do no harm.
'Where are they?' Surely Sam and Teal'c had had enough time to find them. It had been hours since he'd first called them. What if... 'Don't be stupid, Daniel. This is Sam and Teal'c you're talking about. They can take care of themselves. But what if something has happened to them?'
General Hammond would order a search and rescue mission as soon as they were overdue, but the mission had been to go north. No one, except Sam and Teal'c, would know the direction he and Jack had taken. Once again, he cursed himself for forcing Jack to split the team up. His reflection was interrupted by a horrible noise in the distance. Simultaneously, Jack began to stir. The Colonel's low groan caused Daniel's attention to focus solely on his friend. "Jack?"
"D..Daniel?"
"Yes, Jack?"
"Did you hear something ... scream?"