Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are not my property. No copyright infringement is intended.

Flashbacks are in italics.

To the medical staff at the SGC that came in and out of the infirmary, Jack looked calm as he sat outside the doors. To the two men who knew him so well, Daniel and Teal'c knew he was anything but calm. The still form of Jack O'Neill staring blankly at the wall, was a cover-up for what he was really feeling and there could only be one thing that could silence Jack like this.

Daniel sat to Jack's left and Teal'c stood to his right.

"She'll be okay" Daniel tried to tell his friend but he got no response. He started to place his hand on Jack's shoulder to reassure him that he wasn't alone in this vigil, but he withdrew it at the last moment and put his hand back in his lap.

Jacob silently approached the men and sat down beside Daniel as Jack's mind wandered back to the event that had caused them to be waiting here.

After the MALP indicated that there didn't seem to be any kind of threat on the planet, SG-1 had gated through to find the usual trees, grass and a cool breeze. The planet looked like so many others they had visited.

This was the first mission the team had been on since returning from a week of downtime. As they walked, they talked about how they had spent their time away from the Mountain.

Daniel had flown to New York to attend the wedding of a friend he had known in graduate school.

Teal'c had returned to Chulac to visit Rya'c and Bra'tac.

Sam had spent a few days with Janet and Cassie in Denver. They had shopped, went sightseeing and tried some new restaurants. When they returned, Sam spent the rest of her time off tuning up her Indian.

Jack had gone to his cabin, came back with a tan and looked rested. He had spent time fishing on his dock but also doing repairs to the cabin and cutting away some overgrown weeds and bushes around his property.

The four friends took their time as they laughed and teased each other but stayed alert to what was going on around them.

As nighttime approached, they came to the top of a hill and stopped as Jack and Sam got their binoculars from their vests. Far off in the distance they could see a village.

Jack put his binoculars away. "We'll camp here for the night since we won't be able to reach the town before it gets dark."

They went down the other side of the hill and found a level section of ground to make camp.

The team worked together as they set up two tents, gathered wood to build a fire and heated their MRE's.

As they sat down to eat Jack looked at Sam. "How's that cold, Carter?"

"I'm okay, sir. I think the medicine Janet gave me is helping."

After eating, Teal'c took first watch, Daniel second and Jack third.

As his teammates slept, Jack sat staring into the fire and thought he heard a noise in the nearby bushes. His P-90 was lying across his lap so he quickly picked it up and aimed it into the darkness, feeling that he was being watched. He turned his head to see if he could hear the noise again and all was quiet, but he kept his hand on his weapon in case he needed to shoot quickly.

Jack was supposed to wake up Sam to take last watch until daylight but since she was fighting a cold, he thought he would let her get as much sleep as she could.

Just as the sun started to rise and Jack was making coffee, he turned to see Sam looking out of the tent.

"Sir, you didn't wake me for my watch."

"Thought I'd let you get some rest since you've got a cold."

"That really wasn't necessary, sir, I'm not that sick."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Major. I'll let you do double duty next time."

"Okay, sir. I need to go . . ." she said with a wave of her hand.

Jack nodded, understanding what she meant. She came out of the tent with her personal kit and he watched her disappear into the trees. A smile came to his face as he thought how cute she looked with her hair uncombed and eyes not yet fully awake.

Daniel and Teal'c came out of their tent as Jack was searching for the breakfast MRE's.

Daniel poured himself a cup of coffee and as Teal'c helped Jack warm their food over the fire, he said quietly to Teal'c "this morning before dawn, I thought I heard something and felt I was being watched."

Teal'c raised his eyebrow but didn't say anything.

Sam returned and the team sat down to eat.

After breakfast they put out the fire and packed up the tents and other belongings.

Jack quickly put on his backpack and held his P-90 in his hand, still getting an uneasy feeling, but was trying not to alarm his team unnecessarily.

Teal'c picked up his staff weapon and came to stand beside Jack. He slowly turned around, looking in every direction, then turned to face him.

"O'Neill, I feel a presence" he said softly.

"Yeah, me too" Jack whispered.

Daniel walked up to them as he put on his glasses. "Okay guys, I'm ready."

Sam had just started to bend over to pick up her backpack when suddenly out from behind some thick bushes stepped six men, aiming weapons at them.

Jack quickly raised his P-90 and Teal'c held his staff weapon with both hands, ready to fire if needed.

Daniel slowly put his hand down to grasp the gun on his side.

Sam stood very still and glanced at her P-90 lying on the ground.

No one said a word for a few moments as the standoff began.

"Okay, guys" Jack said to the men in a calm voice "let's not do anything we'll regret."

The biggest of the men came closer to Jack. "Who are you?"

Daniel took a step forward. "We're explorers from another planet, we came through the stargate. We mean you no harm."

The burly man stared at Daniel, then his eyes wandered to Sam as he handed his weapon to the man next to him.

'It really is getting a little old' Jack thought to himself 'almost every time we run into these barbarians, one of them is always taken with Carter's beauty.'

Sam stared defiantly at the man. He walked up to her, put his hands on his hips and stared into her face but Sam didn't bat an eye.

"What is your price for this female?" the man asked as he glanced at Jack, then back at Sam.

Teal'c slowly took a step closer to Sam as she raised her voice. "I am NOT for sale."

A look of anger crossed the man's face.

Jack held up his hand. "Okay fellas, we don't want any trouble. We'll just leave peacefully now and go back to where we came from."

The man looked at Jack. "You may go but the female stays with me." He suddenly reached out and grabbed Sam's arm and twisted it behind her. Just as he did, the other men stepped closer to Jack, Teal'c and Daniel. Jack fired his P-90 at the man closest to him, killing him instantly. Teal'c aimed at another, killing him also.

Another man aimed his weapon at Daniel and fired, hitting him on his side.

Daniel fell backwards and the three remaining men surrounded the one holding Sam. He twisted Sam's arm even tighter and put his other arm around her neck, using her as a shield. She tried to break free but the man was three times her size. Sam turned her head to try and bite his arm but he held her tighter. She then tried to stomp his foot but it didn't faze him.

The men began to walk backwards.

Teal'c quickly knelt beside Daniel as Jack kept his eyes on Sam.

Jack started after the men but one of them fired his weapon, hitting him on his upper arm and he stumbled backward and winced as he felt the sharp pain. He watched in horror as the man dragged Sam along with him and the men disappeared into the woods.

"O'Neill! We must get Daniel Jackson back to Earth!"

Jack could feel blood soaking through his sleeve. "I have to go after Carter!"

"You cannot. You are injured and must have medical attention. We will return to rescue Major Carter."

Jack looked in the direction that Sam had been taken, feeling as though his heart was being ripped from his chest.

Jack took off his backpack to be rid of the extra weight and watched as Teal'c picked up Daniel. They hurried back the way they had come.

The bleeding and pain were getting worse in Jack's arm and he was beginning to feel faint.

After stopping once so Teal'c could rest for a moment, they finally reached the stargate and Jack dialed Earth.

General Hammond watched as Teal'c came through carrying Daniel and he could see that Jack's arm was bleeding.

"What happened?"

"We have to go back for Carter!" Jack demanded.

"You're not going anywhere, Colonel, until you've had that arm checked."

General Hammond followed them to the infirmary. Teal'c laid Daniel down as Janet and her team took charge.

Jack sat down on a bed and a nurse helped him remove his jacket and t-shirt so they could get a look at his wound.

Dr. Warner came rushing in, asked Janet how he could help and she pointed to Jack. "Check the Colonel."

As Teal'c and General Hammond watched the medical team rush around, Teal'c explained to General Hammond what had happened.

********

The next thing Jack was aware of, he was waking up. His upper arm was bandaged and Dr. Warner stood over him. "How are you feeling, Colonel?"

Jack blinked his eyes a few times and remembered what had happened. "I need to see Hammond . . . now!"

"You need to rest."

Jack tried to get out of bed but the Doctor put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "You have to stay in bed."

"Okay, I'll stay in bed but get Hammond down here right now!"

The Doctor walked to a phone on the wall and called the General. A few minutes later, he came through the doors of the infirmary.

"Colonel, Teal'c told me what happened on the planet. I've sent SG-3 and SG-9 to search for Major Carter. Teal'c has gone with them so all we can do now is wait."

Jack turned his head to see Daniel in the bed next to him.

"How's Daniel?"

"According to Dr. Frasier, he'll be okay. The bullet didn't hit any major organs."

The next day, Teal'c, SG-3 and SG-9 returned. Teal'c informed Jack and Daniel that they could find no sign of Sam or the men who had taken her.

Jack ran his hand through his hair, feeling helpless and sick to his stomach.

General Hammond got in touch with the Tok'ra to inform Jacob that Sam had been kidnapped and Jacob arrived a few hours later to join in the search for his daughter.

TBC