SG-1 stood at the top of a ridge, fifteen minutes walk from the Stargate on P7S 259, taking in the awesome view.

"Great," Colonel Jack O'Neill carped. "We've gated into Jurassic Park."

"You know, that film was badly named," Doctor Daniel Jackson commented, drawing questioning looks from the rest of the team. Seeing their puzzlement, he explained, "Most of the dinosaurs featured in it were actually from the Cretaceous Period."

"Ah," O'Neill nodded as if he understood perfectly now. "So, Carter, why is it that the UAV never picked up any of them ?"

"I don't know, Sir." Major Samantha Carter replied, irritated. Why was it he always assumed she was responsible for the probe's functioning ? True, she had added some features to it, but it would be impossible to program a flight pattern that picked up every little thing. That was why they were here wasn't it ? If the machine could do the first contact stuff, it would be a lot safer all round…

"They're animals, Jack." Daniel saved her. "They move about. You can't expect the UAV to capture everything in the short recon flight it does."

O'Neill agreed with the validity of the argument, but he did so hate surprises.

The team watched the large, squat creatures plodding through a thick growth of rough reed like plant on the expanse of open marshland below them. They had rounded bodies that were covered with hard bumps, tortoise like heads, wide - almost webbed feet and a great bony lump at the end of their tails. It certainly looked like they could take care of themselves if faced with a predator.

"Heavily armoured, presumably plant eaters." Daniel began muttering to himself, taking out his video camera.

"Vegesaurus ?" O'Neill asked, with a grin.

Daniel tutted, he really had hated that movie. "No," he said firmly. "They're kinda like Ankylosaurus."

"So, just a wild guess here… but there're gonna be other creatures too, right ?"

As if in answer to O'Neill's question, a large bipedal lizard crashed out of some trees on the right hand side of the lush fen. It quickly closed ground on the slower moving four-legged creatures and tried to grab one of the stragglers with its enormous, powerful jaws.

"Gorgosaurus." Daniel informed the others excitedly. "Believed to be the predecessor of the Tyrannosaurus Rex."

"Sweet." O'Neill's typically acerbic response was duly ignored.

One swing of the clubbed tail knocked the hunter away. Obviously dazed, it tried once more, but gave up under an onslaught of blows. It skulked back to the trees, roaring at its lost meal.

"Oh, this is great !" Daniel exclaimed delightedly. "We have to stay here, Jack. There's so much we could learn about prehistoric animal patterns. The similarity between these creatures and the ones we've found evidence of on Earth are incredible. What if there're humans here too, with the 'gate being here ? How do they interact with the dinosaurs ? Even the vegetation…"

"Whoa, Danny, before you hyperventilate, could we get a bit of perspective here ?"

"What ?"

"They're dinosaurs."

Daniel stared at him blankly. "So ?"

"Enormous killing machines on legs. Not the top of the friendly alien list, I should imagine."

"But…"

O'Neill wagged his finger at him. "In a minute, Daniel. Carter, have you located the UAV yet ?"

She nodded, consulting the tracking device, just to make sure. "Yes, Sir, it's about two klicks in that direction." She pointed down the hill, to the left of the marshy plain.

"Okay, you and Teal'c go and retrieve it and get it back through the 'gate. Daniel and I will have a look around. We'll rendezvous back here in… three hours ?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

Looking at her watch, Carter gave an affirmative, satisfied that they would have enough time to carry out their task.

As half his team moved off, O'Neill called, "Watch your backs."

Carter saluted as she and Teal'c walked down the hill and into the tall reeds. Their heads were just visible above the strips of vegetation.

"So, where to ?" O'Neill asked, rubbing his hands together.

"When the UAV did its sweep, smoke appeared to be coming from east of the Stargate. If there were people here, that would be an obvious place to start looking."

"Okay, East it is." He held an arm out, letting Daniel lead the way.

As they walked, O'Neill viewed Daniel with amusement. The archaeologist kept tripping as his eyes were busily absorbing their surroundings, rather than looking where he was going. He'd studied plants, trees and insects with insatiable enthusiasm.

O'Neill knew better than to try to hold a conversation with him when he was like this. It would have been an entirely one-sided affair. Oh, there would likely have been a few single word replies to questions, the odd look in the his direction to acknowledge that he was still aware of his presence, but anything beyond that would have been nothing short of miraculous.

Only when O'Neill saw him heading toward a steaming pile of droppings did he reign him in. "Daniel, if you go within three feet of that, you'll be walking back to the 'gate on your own."

"I wasn't going to touch it."

"Good."

"I was just going to get a closer look, it doesn't come out that well on the video."

"Ya don't say."

Daniel took another step.

"Daniel !" O'Neill barked, making the younger man jump. "Just don't, okay ?"

"It won't…"

"Uh, uh."

"Okay." Daniel sulkily conceded. Getting back on course, he suddenly forgot his disgruntlement. "Oh, wow !"

"What now ?" O'Neill rolled his eyes and had to jog to catch up as Daniel's pace quickened.

"Footprints. Ssshhh…" his voice dropped to a whisper, "I think it's close."

"What is ? What's close ?"

"Ssshhh."

Daniel crept forward, then ducked behind a tree. O'Neill followed, his hands tightening around his MP5.

Ahead of them was a roughly circular area about 200yds in diameter, where the trees had been brutally felled. The splintered stumps poked jaggedly up from the moss-covered ground. Most of the foliage had been stripped, leaving the discarded trunks and thick branches in a tangled mess.

"Now this is interesting…" Daniel began. "This could have been done by people with only crude tools, but… no wait, over there." He moved out into the clearing, lifting himself onto his toes to see over the bare remnants of trees. On the far side, he could see leaves moving and there was a wrenching, ripping sound coming from across the divide. Who or what had been responsible for the destruction was still there.

"What are we looking at ?" O'Neill backed up to him, not liking the vulnerability of their position.

"Can't quite see, but I think it's a Stegosaurus."

"Really ?" O'Neill twisted to peer over Daniel's shoulder. The benefit of his extra couple of inches in height allowed him a slightly better view. "Looks kinda small," he said, disappointedly.

"It's a baby, Jack." Daniel began moving around the edge of the clearing to get closer.

O'Neill was more impressed given that knowledge and stood thinking for a moment. He then drawled in a hushed voice, "Daniel ?"

"What ?" he whispered back, while still straining to see the dinosaur.

"If that thing is a baby, do you suppose Mom is about somewhere ?"

There was a sound of heavy footsteps. The huge beast that entered the open area plodded its front legs up and down, bellowing furiously. The plates that lined its back began to flush red as the blood flow was directed into their veins.

"Kinda looks that way," Daniel replied. "Here." He grabbed a handful of moss from the ground and gave it to O'Neill, then stooped to get some for his self. "They can't see very well, but they'll be able to smell us." He began rubbing the moss over his clothes.

O'Neill copied him, then stopped to sniff at the moss. Grimacing at the pungent earthy odour, he gave Daniel an indulgent glare, before continuing to disguise his apparently too distinctive human aroma.

The ruse appeared to work. The huge creature calmed, the warning color drained from its plates and it moved to gently nuzzle the smaller one. The baby mewled contentedly.

"Come on let's get closer." Daniel nudged O'Neill.

"Are you nuts ?"

"She can't smell us now, Jack. We should be safe."

"Safe, rrrright." O'Neill droned, sounding supremely unconvinced.

As quietly as possible, they slowly maneuvered themselves nearer to the dinosaur family, keeping right to the edge of the clearing. With the extra light from the opening in the tree canopy, the ferns had grown taller and thicker here than those still in the cool half-light of the dense forest. They had only gone a few yards when the Stegosaurus started its defensive display again.

"Or not." O'Neill said sarcastically and shot Daniel a withering glare.

Movement on the other side of the felled trees took their attention. Another dinosaur appeared, similar to the predator they had seen earlier.

"Please don't tell me that that's a baby." O'Neill whispered.

"No, that's probably fully grown." Daniel whispered back.

"So, do these things hunt alone or are we gonna find ourselves in the middle of a pack or what ?" Keen to know what sort of threat they might be facing, O'Neill questioned Daniel.

"Alone, they're territorial… theoretically, so there should only be the one of them. Unless…"

"Let's hear it."

"If we're close to a boundary, another one might challenge it, if the prize were big enough."

"So, if we're lucky…"

"Only one, yes… theoretically."

"Theoretically…" O'Neill shook his head. How did he let himself get talked into this ?

"Keep still, Jack. It won't be able to see us." Daniel was confident that their clothing would be good enough camouflage against the verdant forest background even this close.

With the imminent threat to its offspring, the herbivore wildly thrashed its spine-laden tail. The second, wider arced backlash caught the two stationary men by surprise.

The tail thwacked into Daniel, knocking him against O'Neill and they were both swept off their feet to land heavily in the ferns some feet away.

O'Neill started to lift his head from the rock it had contacted and shook it, dazedly. He could feel the warm trickle of blood creeping down the side of his face from his hairline.

"Don't move." Daniel stilled him with a hand to his back.

As they lay still, the Gorgosaurus passed by, trying to find a way round the mother Stegosaurus, its hot breath puffing over them. Drips of saliva dropped noisily to the ground as its taste buds began to work overtime with the scent of a substantial meal. It gave a loud roar that made their ears ring, but they didn't dare move to cover them from the noise.

Under them, the ground was quaking from the Stegosaurus' heavy tramping, the baby now joining in with the defiant display. Their tails' vicious spears waved menacingly.

Realising that the potential meal was probably not worth the trouble, the Gorgosaurus wandered away, sniffing the air, already in search of another victim.

Letting out a huge sigh of relief, O'Neill sat up and fumbled for his weapon, wanting the comfort of having some means of protection to hand. Darkness bordered his vision. Clamping his eyes shut, he took in several deep lungfuls of air.

"You okay ?" Daniel asked him.

"Think so." Rolling his left shoulder, thankful that it wasn't dislocated, but wincing at the soreness, O'Neill continued, "Just a few new bruises to add to the collection." He pressed the heels of his hands into his eye sockets. "Maybe a mild concussion." Squinting, he gingerly reopened his eyes and was relieved to find that the blackness had retreated, but there was a mother of a headache lurking in the back of his head. "How 'bout you ?" he inquired, noting that Daniel was still lying down.

"Umm…" Daniel hesitated, looking toward his right leg.

O'Neill followed his gaze and gasped. "Christ, Daniel, why didn't you say something ?"

"Couldn't… let it… see us…" He hissed in sharply through clenched teeth, when O'Neill pulled the slashed, bloodied fatigues open wider.

"Keep your hand here and press hard." He placed Daniel's right hand over the top few inches of the deep laceration that ran almost the length of his thigh. Grabbing the med-kit out of his pack, he tore open a pressure bandage and slapped it over the lower part of the wound. He undid another, prised Daniel's fingers from his ripped flesh and wrapped that too.

Even with the two wide bandages, the injury wasn't completely covered and the material quickly soaked through. O'Neill huffed, exasperated he swiped his sleeve over the side of his face, clearing his own bloody stream away, then got three more dressings ready.

The activity and tension caused the headache to surge forward, fogging his sight momentarily and making him suddenly light-headed and nauseous. He forced the sensations back into the recesses again. He couldn't afford to pass out now.

"We've got to… get out of here, Jack." Breathless from trying to cope with the searing pain, Daniel banged his hand on the ground, frustrated at his injury.

"You up to walking back to the 'gate ?" O'Neill asked with more than a hint of sarcasm. He redressed the cut, swearing under his breath as he threw the sodden bandages to one side.

"I'll have to be. That thing can smell blood miles away."

O'Neill looked at him, solemnly. "I'll radio Teal'c, he can come and pick us up."

"There's no time." Daniel's bloody hand pulled at O'Neill's sleeve. "We were lucky before, it was distracted… by the others. It'll be back." He bit hard on his bottom lip to keep from crying out as he tried to get to his feet.

"I'd better let them know what's happened." After several attempts to raise his team-mates and getting nothing but a static crackle, O'Neill cursed loudly. "Damn it !" He fumbled, almost blindly, in the med-kit to pull out some painkillers, his headache was getting worse.

"Ow !"

Daniel's cry caused him to look up. "What the hell are you doing ?"

"Sorry, I…" Daniel started, trying to get back up again. He used a nearby tree trunk to inch his way up, keeping his injured leg out straight. "It's the rock, Jack." He said rolling around a piece of stone in his fingers. He had stooped to pick it up, when his leg had given way. "It's igneous, lots of metal compounds. I guess it interferes with the radio signal."

"This is turning out to be a really bad day." He held the pills out toward Daniel. "Want some ?"

"Yeah, thanks."

They both dry swallowed the tablets.

Hurriedly stashing the remains of the med-kit back into his pack and shouldering his rifle, O'Neill watched as Daniel steadied himself against the tree. He rose to join him and instantly regretted the action. A white-hot lance seemed to penetrate his skull and he doubled over holding his head. "Arrgh."

"Jack ?" Worried, Daniel considered whether he would be able to make the few steps over to him.

"I'll be okay, just a little head rush." Slowly, this time, O'Neill uncurled and blinked his eyes open. He moved across to the tree and took Daniel's right arm across the back of his shoulders, shifting a little to compensate for the weight at his side. He then wrapped his own left arm around Daniel's back, looping a hand in his belt for extra grip. "Ready ?"

Uncertainly, Daniel sighed, "As I'll ever be."

The two men headed falteringly back the way they had come.

Absorbed simply in remaining upright and on the move, the journey was a measured, laborious process and an unnaturally quiet one. O'Neill's head was throbbing mercilessly with every awkward step and Daniel was leaning on him more and more heavily as time went on.

Above the dense canopy of trees, the sky had darkened considerably. The thin shafts of sunlight that had illuminated their path on their way into the forest had disappeared. O'Neill consulted his watch. According to the MALP data gathered before the mission had begun, he was pretty sure that sunset should not be occurring just yet.

A bright flash lit up the forest, followed by a deafening crack of thunder. Then the rain started. Just occasional huge spots to begin with, but it rapidly turned into a deluge. Even the tree cover couldn't shelter them from the downpour. The large drops pounded their already battered bodies and hampered their vision. The one consolation was that after half an hour of struggling through the thick undergrowth they were both hot and sticky and the rain provided a welcome coolness on their skin.

Ahead, O'Neill spotted a particularly broad-leafed tree, under which the ground was still relatively dry. He guided Daniel over to it. "Let's take five." He shouted above the relentless racket of the rainfall.

Easing Daniel to the ground, O'Neill could see that the bandages were having little effect at slowing the loss of blood. The torn pant leg was dyed a deep reddish brown.

Despite the chill of their wet clothes, Daniel's face was flushed. O'Neill laid a hand on the back of his friend's neck and then his forehead, confirming his diagnosis of fever setting in.

He tried the radio again, but the same desolate noise greeted him.

"Jack… I hear something." Daniel whispered.

O'Neill strained to hear above the battering thuds of raindrops on the ground. There, a thump-crack; a footstep, a big one, snapping undergrowth and fallen branches… another and another.

"Crap."

He hoisted Daniel back to his feet, ignoring the groan elicited by the rough movement. "Come on, Danny," he urged, struggling to renew his hold, as the younger man started to sink back down. "Get up !"

Lightning brought another harsh white glare, momentarily banishing the dimness of the forest and with it their first piece of good luck. O'Neill spotted an outcropping of rock, less than a hundred yards away. He tightened his grip on Daniel, put his head down and ran, dragging him along.

The terrain sloped up to a cliff. Jutting out at irregular intervals were large flat stones that presumably had not eroded at the same rate as the rest of the cliff. One was near the ground, with less than four feet of clearance, but a stream of water came out from under it, babbling over scree. The water wouldn't bother them; they were already soaked.

O'Neill dropped heavily to his knees by the opening, instantly regretting the action. His body screamed in protest at the treatment. Flares igniting simultaneously in his head, his back and his knees. Daniel flopped beside him. They lay gasping for breath.

The rain had all but stopped, which allowed them to hear the approaching footsteps more clearly. Each thump now brought a small shuddering of the ground with it. It was close.

"Move it, Jackson, goddamn it !" O'Neill tugged furiously at Daniel. Slithering backward into the low cavern, he wrapped an arm around the archaeologist's chest and scrabbled into the hollow. Weakly, Daniel pushed with his feet to help. The water swirled around them, washing the blood from their wounds.

Just in time. A fierce bellow heralded the arrival of the Gorgosaurus. It tried to lower its bulk enough to get its jaws into the opening. It howled again when it realised that yet another meal was beyond its reach. However, it wasn't giving up this time. Driven by the overwhelming smell of fresh blood, it began scraping at the loose stones under the now red tinged stream, with its huge clawed feet.

Collapsing against Daniel, O'Neill could feel the heat emanating from the shuddering body. Exhausted, his own muscles trembling, he laid his head down and let the blackness take him.

"Geez, Jack, how the hell are we gonna make it back ?" Daniel wheezed. "Jack ?" he repeated, when there was no reply from the older man. No sarcastic comeback, nothing…

He turned over to face O'Neill. Sucking in great gulps of air to counter the pain of moving his leg. He tried not to think about the scratching and grunting sounds coming from too close to his boots and reached up to shake O'Neill's shoulder. "Jack ?"

It was dark in the hollow. The shadows from what little light penetrated the gloom flicked about as the creature by the entrance carried on its toil to get to the food inside. Daniel concentrated hard to adjust his eyes to the dimness and checked his friend over as best he could in the cramped space. A black-purple bruise stood out on O'Neill's left temple. The bleeding from the small cut had stopped and a crusty maroon line, half cleaned away by the stream, wove along the contours of his face. He was out cold.

Daniel dropped his head wearily, trying to think of a way out of the situation. Suddenly, it felt as if his leg was on fire. The creature had kicked his foot. Fighting the raging pain, he tried to draw his legs up from their newly exposed position. He managed to move the left one, but the right was numb, from the cold, the wet, blood loss and, he suspected, very probably muscle damage. He grabbed his knee and pulled the treacherous limb to where the creature couldn't reach, for now… However, with his leg bent, the pressure on the laceration increased, pulling the edges of the wound further apart. Scrabbling his upper body further back into the cavern, he could straighten it safely again. He sighed deeply when the agony subsided to a more tolerable level and allowed himself a few minutes rest.

He lay back in the stream, which, now that the rain had stopped, had diminished to a trickle. Opening his eyes, he realised that they had gone as far back as they could. He barely had room to turn onto his side when he tried to rouse O'Neill again. "Jack !"

O'Neill did not respond. Daniel summoned all the strength he could to haul the older man up level with him. "Come on, Jack, you have to wake up !"

At the entrance, the scraping intensified as the dinosaur sensed that it was getting nearer to its prey.

With the storm over, the sun reappeared and a shaft of light shone through the low opening, wavering as the creature swayed this way and that.

A glint of metal caught Daniel's eye and he reached for it in desperation, O'Neill's MP5. Tentatively, he released the safety catch, aimed for the light and pulled the trigger. Initially thrown by the recoil of the powerful rifle, his shots went high, carving chunks out of the rock above the entrance. Quickly locking out his arms, to keep the kick back under control, he sprayed bullets from left to right and back again. The sound was deafening.

The Gorgosaurus screeched as the shots hit its legs, but its thick scaly skin protected it from serious injury. However, it retreated from the onslaught and the scratching noise stopped.

Grateful for the momentary reprieve, Daniel lay the gun down at his side and looked at his shaking hands. It wouldn't be long before it came at them again, but he hoped for a few minutes of quiet.

A low groan from beside him drew his attention. "Jack ?"

"Aaarggh." Intelligible words failed to break through the hammering in his head.

"Jack, can you hear me ?"

"Don't shout." O'Neill ground out.

"I'm not."

"How long have I been out ?"

"Long enough…"

"Thought I heard shots."

"Yeah, that was me. Seems he's not too happy about us avoiding his dinner plans."

"Who ?"

The scraping started again.

"Him." Daniel nodded toward the legs and feet at the entrance of the hollow.

O'Neill squinted at the light. "Oh, him." He looked around at their cramped surroundings. Exasperated at their predicament, he let his head fall forward onto his arm .

"You okay ?" Daniel asked with concern.

"Yeah. Monster headache, but at least I'm only seeing one of you now…" He lifted his head again as if remembering something. He stretched a hand out to Daniel's forehead. "You've got a fever." He said, matter of factly.

"Ya think ?" Daniel snorted.

"Daniel…" O'Neill's tone remained serious and he got more worried when Daniel ducked his head to avoid his glare. "How bad is it ?" He asked softly, gesturing toward the injured leg.

"Dunno… can't actually feel it at the moment." Daniel decided to change the subject. "Have you got the flare gun ?"

"Yes, why ?"

"Well, the radio's no use so…"

"Good thinking. We'll make a soldier of you yet." O'Neill struggled to undo the catches of his pack and bring it around to rummage through it. He found the wide-bore gun and loaded it with a flare. The exertion was too much. He rapidly found his vision darkening and although he rallied briefly, as he twisted his shoulder to try to turn round, pain fingered its way up the back of his neck and unconsciousness claimed him once more. The flare gun slipped from his grasp.

"Jack !" Battling with his own weakened body, Daniel picked up the fallen gun. He shook his head against the rising dizziness. He had to get help here, fast. Slowly, he worked his way around until he was lying on his stomach facing the huge clawed feet still digging away at the ground.

Daniel slithered forward, wincing as the bandaged wound bumped across the loose stones. He got as close to the entrance as he dared and fired the flare into the sky.

One of the incisor-like toes sliced through the air, narrowly missing his shoulder. The flare gun clattered to the ground. Stretching for it, a fierce streak of agony tore through his leg and up his side. Breathlessly, he clambered back inside as far as he could. Feeling the cool, saturated, cloth of O'Neill's clothes, he sagged against him, leaning his hot face against O'Neill's jacket to soothe the heat away.

A chill convulsed through Daniel's weary form and he joined O'Neill in oblivion.

"Colonel ? Daniel ? Do you read me ? Over." Carter had been wandering along the top of the ridge for the best part of half an hour, trying to get a decent signal on the radio. She looked across at Teal'c in despair. "This ridge probably formed the crater of an old volcano. The rock contains many elements that could interfere with the transmissions. If they're in trouble they won't be able to let us know."

"They are only an hour overdue, Major Carter. Perhaps they made a discovery of significance and have been delayed. As you say they would not be able to inform us of any change to the plans to rendezvous here."

"Yes, you're right, Teal'c. They're probably on their way back now. I bet Daniel got engrossed in something and the Colonel will be mad at him."

Teal'c made a knowing expression that softened his usual stern appearance.

Having assured themselves that all would be well, the sight of the flare going up shocked them both.

"Oh, no." Carter was dismayed. "I knew it."

The two ran toward the distress beacon.

O'Neill blearily opened his eyes and looked down at his chest. A weight was pressing uncomfortably on his ribs. Gradually, the dishevelled hair and grimy face came into focus and he reached a hand toward them. "Daniel ?" The skin under his touch was scorching and he could feel the febrile tremors racing through the younger man's body.

Daniel could feel a cosy warmth at his side. He was hot, but he shivered, everything hurt. The hand was trying to coax him out of his slumber, but all he wanted to do was sleep. "Naneh. Ma neoweh." Daniel shrugged the hand off. "Shim shuk ni-ta," he said quietly.

Gruff snorting and frenzied scraping, turned O'Neill's attention to the entrance. The dinosaur bent low, his enormous jaws snapped furiously just inside the hollow.

O'Neill made a frantic lunge for the MP5, knocking Daniel aside as he did so. He shot wildly at the beast, not bothering to aim at all. Bits of the creature's tough flesh flew about, and blood spattered the rocks, as the hail of bullets ripped into it. The Gorgosaurus staggered backward, howling.

The shuddering of the weapon as he fired aggravated his head injury and made him aware of a multitude of aches in what had become the wretchedness of his body. Completely enervated, he succumbed once again to the welcomed painless pit.

By the time Carter and Teal'c reached the line of the cliff, the smoke from the flare had almost dissipated, but the sound of automatic gunfire helped draw them closer to the location of the rest of their team. From the top of a tree-covered knoll, they scanned the vicinity.

"There !" Carter yelled, pointing to the wounded dinosaur lurching crazily. She readied her rifle.

Teal'c hefted his staff weapon and let off a volley at it, yet the Gorgosaurus did not drop. He loosed another shot, which hit almost the same spot as before. It made a deep, smoking hole in its back. The huge creature roared a final defiant cry as it fell, landing with a tremendous crash. Its limbs twitched briefly and then it was still.

Beyond the carcass, Carter could now see the opening in the cliff face. There, lying in the scattered shingle and rocks, was the flare gun.

Slinging the strap of the MP5 over her shoulder, she searched for a safe route down. Seeing no obvious path, she slid and stumbled her way down the muddy, root-ridden slope, clinging onto low hanging branches for support as she went.

At the bottom, she ran through the tall ferns, over to the outcropping of rock that was sheltering the two men. Ducking low, she clambered beneath the overhang. "Colonel, Sir ? Daniel ?"

There was no response to her calls.

She removed the glove of her right hand and felt for a pulse, first under O'Neill's jaw line, faint but steady, okay; then Daniel's, very weak and erratic, not so good; but at least they were alive…

It was dark in the hollow, so she took out her flashlight and gasped when she saw all the blood.

Teal'c bobbed his head to see inside. "Major Carter, what is their condition."

"I don't think the Colonel's too bad, he's unconscious, but his pulse is okay. Daniel's worse," she said simply. "It's too cramped and dark under here to examine them properly. Help me get them out."

Carefully, Carter and Teal'c brought O'Neill and Daniel out of the hollow. The Major set to work on assessing the condition of the two men, while Teal'c kept guard over them all. A variety of smaller dinosaurs had gathered to feed on the fallen gargantuan and he held his staff weapon ready in case any got more venturesome in their quest for food.

"Colonel ?" Carter thought she saw a flickering of eyes beneath the lids. She tapped his cheek and called to him again.

"Carter ?" Groaning when the bright light invaded his vision, O'Neill allowed her to support him until he was sitting up. "Daniel ?" His gaze fell on the deathly pale face, peeking out from the warm cocoon of a sleeping bag, beside him.

"He's not so good, Sir. His leg is badly infected and he's lost a lot of blood."

O'Neill nodded. He knew that.

She continued, "I've given him a shot of morphine, so he'll be out of it for quite a while."

"How did you find us ?"

"If you hadn't sent up that flare, we wouldn't have."

"Not me, Carter." He said sadly, looking to Daniel again. "We'd better get outta here." He called across to the Jaffa. "Teal'c, you carry Daniel. Carter, you take the staff."

"What about you, Sir ?"

"I'll make it." He said, shakily getting up.

Teal'c gripped his burden tightly and steadily moved off, flanked by a damp, frazzled O'Neill. Carter backed up to them, staff warily pointing toward the group of feasting dinosaurs. Slowly they headed for the Stargate.

"SG-1's signal received, Sir. They're early."

Knowing full well that it probably meant trouble, General Hammond sighed and ordered the iris to be opened.

First through was Teal'c, shouting for a medic before he'd even fully reintegrated from the wormhole. He laid the bundled archaeologist gently on the ramp and looked back for the remainder of his team.

The other two stumbled through together. Sinking immediately to the cold metal slope, O'Neill dragged Carter down with him. He stared blankly, as Daniel was loaded onto a gurney and wheeled away.

"Colonel ?" Fraiser's voice registered.

"Colonel ?" Hammond's voice registered.

"Colonel ?"

"O'Neill ?" Carter and Teal'c's voices joined the chorus of concern.

He had no answer for any of them. Closing his eyes, his consciousness gave way to fatigue.

"Colonel ?" There was that voice again.

Cracking open sticky eyelids, O'Neill was greeted with the smiling face of Janet Fraiser. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Colonel O'Neill," she said warmly.

"How long ?" he asked grittily.

"Almost three days."

"Daniel ?"

"Had us worried for a while, but he's doing fine. Although, any more of my needlework and I'll be entering him at the next quilting bee."

O'Neill appreciated her humour with a wry laugh.

"Are you up to having some visitors ?"

"Yeah."

Before going back to her office, she opened the curtain separating him from the next bed. There, IV drip stuck in the back of one hand; lay a tired looking archaeologist. A tired looking Major sat in a chair between them and a Jaffa stood to attention on the far side of the bed, if he was tired, he wasn't showing it. O'Neill envied him briefly; then he remembered 'Junior' and decided that he'd rather look and feel tired than have a snake in his belly.

"Hi," Daniel said feebly. "How's the head ?"

"Better. How's the leg ?"

"Not… better, but it will be." A small smile illuminated the still pale, boyish face.

The effect was contagious and everyone else smiled with him.

O'Neill was quiet for a long time and then he piped up with a question. "Daniel, what does 'ma neoweh shim shuk ni-ta' mean ?"

Daniel blushed. "Where did you hear that ?"

"When I was trying to wake you up in that hole. I got the 'no' bit, then you said that."

"Oh."

"Well ?"

"It's Abydonian. It means…" The red tinge to his cheeks deepened a little. "Er, roughly translated..." He blinked and took a deep breath before answering. "It means, 'Not now, I'm tired."

O'Neill regarded the lost puppy expression in front of him, but couldn't help the grin that spread wider and wider across his face, until it erupted into a loud guffaw.

Carter turned away, her shoulders shaking.

Teal'c raised his eyebrows in amusement.

Nurse Clark emerged from Doctor Fraiser's office. Holding a hand over her mouth, she barely managed to stifle the snigger and when Fraiser herself came out to check on Daniel, her mascara was decidedly smudged.

Even Daniel, once the initial embarrassment had worn off, saw the joke and began to laugh. It felt good. They'd survived, again…

The End

© May 16, 2001 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.