Summary: Just a regular mission sometime in Season 2. Daniel's injured, Teal'c is injured, Carter's captured, Jack is…Jack. Teamfic centered on Jack and Daniel as Jack tries to get them all home.

Just Another Routine Mission

The Jaffa appeared out of nowhere. Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson were immediately cut off from the Stargate, separated from their teammates the Jaffa rebel Teal'c and Captain Samantha Carter, who had only the DHD for cover. Colonel O'Neill ordered them to retreat through the 'Gate for reinforcements while he and Daniel provided cover fire.

Once their two teammates were safely through the shimmering blue event horizon of the wormhole connecting this planet, designated P4Z-924, to Earth, Jack and Daniel retreated into the forest, turning to fire behind them at the pursuing Jaffa.

"Jack, look out!" Daniel shouted a warning as two Jaffa appeared in front of them. Jack's M-16 was knocked out of his hands by a single strike from a staff weapon, but it swung behind him still attached by the strap. Before Daniel could help out Jack had unsheathed his knife and the first Jaffa was down on the ground unconscious or dead. Jack struggled with the second for a few seconds, but Daniel had to focus on keeping the rest of their attackers away, firing behind them at any movement.

"Daniel, let's go." Jack shouted at him as he struggled back up to his feet, and Daniel didn't bother looking at the fallen Jaffa as he and Jack took off further into the trees.

Moments later Daniel cried out and tumbled to the ground, clutching his leg. Jack fired his M-16 as he ran back to Daniel's side, grabbing him roughly by the vest to help him to his feet. He swept a cautious gaze across the woods, searching for another threat, but he had already taken out the Jaffa that had managed to hit Daniel with a staff blast in the lower thigh.

He swung Daniel's arm over his shoulder and together they stumbled through the underbrush, Daniel hop-skipping to keep up with Jack and breathing heavily through the pain.

"Hang in there, Daniel." Jack whispered encouragingly, his M-16 cradled ready for use in his left arm.

They didn't stop until they found some old ruins, sturdy though crumbling with age, they would provide enough shelter in a firefight if need be. Jack helped Daniel to the ground and removed Daniel's pack, yanking out the first aid kit and handing it over to Daniel. Then he left to secure the perimeter as quickly as he could, laying down charges in case of an ambush. Minutes later he hurried back to the ruins to check on Daniel.

Daniel held his Beretta clutched to his chest. His left leg was straight out in front of him, his back against the wall. Jack knelt down beside him.

"How's the leg?"

"I'll be fine. Clipped the side, no major damage. Bleeding's slowing down. Just hurts."

Jack nodded, searched through the med kit and handed Daniel some pills and his water canteen. "This should help the pain. Will you be able to run if we need to?"

Daniel nodded silently.

"Okay. I think we'll be making our stand here anyway. Carter and Teal'c will be back soon with reinforcements."

Jack started to remove his pack but stopped, a confused expression on his face. Daniel closed his eyes as a wave of pain hit and when he opened his eyes again Jack was muttering to himself too low for Daniel's exhausted brain to comprehend as he removed his T-shirt and started tearing it into long strips. Daniel looked down at his own leg and the clean bandage he had wrapped around his wound, and wondered what uses Jack had for his now shredded shirt. There were still enough bandages to last him another two dressings at least.

The next thing he knew Jack was wrapping one of his shirt strips around Daniel's already bandaged leg. He couldn't suppress the agonized whimper at the pain but it didn't last long before he passed out.

-----

"Daniel, you still with me?"

Daniel's eyes flew open in alarm. He hadn't realized he'd dozed off. "Sorry. Um, didn't mean to. Just tired."

"I know, Daniel. You're going to be all right. I'll get you out of here, but I really need you to be alert for the next couple of hours. Those Jaffa won't leave us out here alone, they'll be looking for us. Are you okay to be on the lookout?"

Daniel nodded unconvincingly. "How long was I out?"

"Three hours." Jack told him as he knelt at Daniel's side and checked his eyes and his pulse, then glanced at the leg and was satisfied that it wasn't bleeding through the bandages.

Daniel nodded, ignoring Jack's hands-on inquiry. "What now?"

"We wait."

And so they waited. And waited. And there was nothing. No Jaffa. No rescue. No nothing.

"Okay, something's wrong." Jack declared suddenly after 6 hours of silence. "Carter and Teal'c should have come back already. So either Hammond assumed we didn't make it, or they were sent through the 'Gate so hard they're unconscious, or they assumed we were captured and are maintaining radio silence. Or they were captured when they came back through the 'Gate." He rolled his eyes at his now extended list of possibilities.

"Or they're dead."

Jack glared at Daniel. "Leave the pessimism to the expert." He picked up his radio and held it to his mouth. "This is SG-1 niner, come in. Can anybody read this? This is SG-1 niner, please respond." He paused a moment then turned to Daniel. He was about to say something when a voice sounded over the radio.

"O'Neill."

"Teal'c! What's your situation?"

"SG-3, SG-7 and Captain Carter have been captured by the Jaffa. I have thus far evaded their forces."

"Any casualties?"

There was a slight hesitation then, "Colonel Makepeace received a staff wound to the arm. The others were taken by zats. I have received a staff blast to my shoulder, but the damage is minimal and my symbiote has already begun the healing."

"What's your position?" Jack wasn't worried about Teal'c's injury, he knew nothing would slow the big guy down if he was still conscious.

"I have been following their trail. We are currently approximately one kilometer northwest of the Stargate."

"Copy that. Is the 'Gate still guarded?"

"Indeed."

"We'll circle around and try to catch up with you. Stay on their six as long as you can, and let me know if they reach their final destination."

"I will do so."

"Be careful Teal'c. Stay out of trouble."

"That was my plan as well, O'Neill."

A small, wry smile came to Jack's lips at the subtle Jaffa humor. "Very wise, my friend. Radio check every half hour, let us know their progress. O'Neill out."

He removed his hand from the radio in his chest pocket and climbed to his feet. "Alright, Daniel. Looks like you and me are going on a little Nature hike. You up for it?"

Daniel nodded. Jack helped him to his feet and flinched a little as he pulled Daniel's arm over his own shoulders and put a helpful arm around Daniel's waist. "We have to be quick but if you need to rest tell me. It isn't worth the risk of you passing out, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Wouldn't want to put you at risk or anything. I mean, we're just rescuing the people who were supposed to be rescuing us. It's not like we shouldn't have seen this one coming."

Jack studied Daniel's face closely. "A bit snippy today?"

Daniel fought his own anger, knowing that Jack was doing everything he could to keep them safe, and he didn't want to seem ungrateful. So he went for sarcasm, which was what he had often seen Jack rely on when he was in pain. "Yeah, well, I've got a big hole in my leg where there shouldn't be one. I'd like to see how you handle it."

Jack was eerily silent.

They moved swiftly through the rugged terrain, Daniel struggling to keep his right leg moving didn't even notice Jack at his side urging him on, muttering heatedly to himself. After half an hour Teal'c checked in and Jack adjusted their trajectory, doing a mental calculation Daniel couldn't even begin to understand in his current state, but he had long ago learned that despite Jack's initial appearance as a proudly simple man, he sure knew his stuff about military tactics and survival. Training and years of experience had given him an edge that even Sam with her genius mind could never truly imitate.

Finally, Jack called for a short break, helping Daniel to the ground before checking the perimeter swiftly and efficiently. Daniel pulled out his canteen and took a drink of water before tossing it to Jack who took a healthy chug, wiping his face afterwards with his jacket sleeve. He tossed the canteen back to Daniel and sat down, close enough for Daniel to see the sweat on Jack's face and his rough breathing. Jack had been supporting most of Daniel's weight as they moved, and he hadn't let his guard down for a second for the whole nine hours they'd been waiting for a rescue. He had to be tired.

"How you doing, Daniel?"

"I'll be fine." Daniel replied stubbornly, and bit his tongue before commenting on Jack's current state.

"We should change that bandage now." He knelt down beside Daniel and pulled out the medical kit. They had left Daniel's bag behind, shoving only the essentials into Jack's, including explosives and the med kit.

Daniel protested mildly. "I'm fine Jack. We should worry about the others."

"You're no good to me if you collapse from blood loss, Daniel. So stop making my job so hard and let me take care of you."

"I can take care of myself, Colonel." Daniel replied bitterly, annoyed with his apparent helplessness.

Though Daniel had suspected Jack to be quite upset with his attempt at arrogance, Jack was surprisingly gentle. At least, at first he was. "I know you can, Daniel. But if you want to prove how brave and dumb you are by walking through fire and swimming with sharks you do it on your own time. Right now, you're under my command, it's my responsibility to get you home, so we're doing this my way. You don't see me trying to translate and understand your precious rocks. So shut up and let me do my job."

Properly chastised, Daniel sat quietly while Jack changed the bandage and tied it off with a strip of his shirt. He allowed his eyes to close for a few minutes when Jack was done, keeping his ears on alert for any signs of an approaching enemy. He could hear Jack moving around behind him, and a few muffled curses, after he checked in with Teal'c again.

"You ready to move out?" Jack asked, tapping Daniel's shoulder after a few minutes, and at Daniel's unenthusiastic nod, helped the younger man to his feet again.

Teal'c had checked in two more times before he finally reported that the others had reached their final destination and were taken within the walls of a small temple. Teal'c backtracked to await his teammates at a safer distance, and Daniel nearly fainted in Jack's arms when the hulking form of his teammate appeared suddenly in front of them. Without any indication of surprise, Jack nodded his head silently in greeting.

The two warriors discussed tactics while Daniel rested with his back against the trunk of a tree. He watched the two men with curiosity, only half aware of what they were saying.

Teal'c was a real mystery. His friendship with the Jaffa warrior didn't really have the strongest foundation to begin with but he couldn't deny the strength of their bond that had been forged over the last few months. Teal'c was loyal, protective, and devoted to the team in every way. He was a good man, despite the atrocities he had committed in his turbulent past, including the capture and damnation of Daniel's beloved wife, the Abydonian woman Sha're. Daniel had no idea where he had come up with the strength and sense to forgive the man, but it was a given that he had.

And then there was Jack. Colonel Jack O'Neill, the hardcore Air Force veteran, special ops trained, who'd seen his share of evil and hatred and injustice and was still fighting. The man had lost everything, his son, his wife, but somehow he found the will to live, and the love for life again. Daniel's role in that reversal had also kindled one heck of a friendship, despite their many dramatic differences.

But Jack, though normal and simple in most regards was nothing if not extraordinary. Jack was extreme. He could be a fun-loving, dog-chasing kid one moment and a wise-cracking irreverent hardline soldier the next, the type of soldier that could save lives where nobody else could. He wasn't fearless, Daniel had noted on several occasions, and he no longer had a death wish, and yet some of the many feats he had performed in the last year and a half as the leader of SG-1 and 2IC of Stargate Command would have most people wonder about the validity of that statement. Not many people could understand the enigma that was the Colonel, even Daniel only rarely worked out what made Jack tick, and why. And he figured he knew Jack about as well as anybody could.

Teal'c seemed to be watching Jack with wary concern, which made Daniel wonder. The two warriors had been like brothers from the beginning, forming such as immediate bond that Teal'c had turned from his God, his family, to rescue Jack and the lives of many innocent people, choosing to fight for the freedom of his people. Though it may be a losing battle, he was on the right side. Daniel had never been sure what Teal'c had seen in Jack, but he wasn't at all surprised by it. He had sensed it too, he just wasn't sure what it was. He could feel it in Sam and Teal'c now as well. Whatever it was, the four of them were closer than ever, more efficient than any other team.

"Daniel, you okay, Buddy?"

He shoved Jack's hand away from his shoulder. He could be such a mother hen. "I'm fine. You two come up with a plan?"

"Sure. Storm the castle, get the girl and her escort, slay the demons, and we all live happily ever after."

And sometimes he could be downright irritating. "Jack."

"Daniel, you can barely walk and Teal'c, well, Junior's taking care of him but he's not full strength. We can't risk taking you in there, but I need to know if we can leave you here alone. So give it to me straight. Can you watch our backs out here and keep yourself safe?"

Daniel thought about it carefully. He was fully alert, he was armed, and he would be nothing but a liability if he went in with them. "I'll be okay out here, Jack. Go do your hero thing, I'll sit out here. Bleeding. Hiding."

Jack took Daniel's Beretta and checked it carefully and handed it back with his extra clips. "You run into any trouble give a double click on the radio. We'll be doing recon but if the opportunity presents itself we'll get Carter and the others."

"Okay."

Jack ruffled Daniel's hair as he stood up. "Hang tight."

Daniel watched them disappear into the woods, silently cursing the pain in his leg and hoping his team made it out safely. He scanned the tree line for any movement but didn't find any. Now, how to pass the time? Lots of worrying. Oh, how he loved worrying while waiting.

TBC