"Okay, everyone ready?" Mackenzie asked.

No one replied, they just gathered up their gear, packed it away and hefted the packs onto their backs. Out of the corner of her eye, Rhea saw Start struggling slightly under the weight of her own pack, not surprising given that the strap would sit right over her wound. She was sorely tempted to offer her assistance, but realised that the astrophysicist would probably bite her head off in a major way. Better to save it for when she was too exhausted to put up much of a fight.

"Let's go," Mac said, and those that had their packs already on their backs set off down the path – Diens sticking within arm's reach of Start.

"I'll catch up," she said to the major when it looked like he was going to wait for her to finish packing up. He nodded reluctantly and moved to bring up the rear of the little contingent of hikers. Rhea continued to pretend to make a fuss over her pack until the others had gone a short distance away from her. Hefting it up onto a convenient log, she pulled out a rolled up shirt and slowly unwrapped it from around the ribbon device. It was probably the wrong thing to do - an extreme over-reaction some would probably say - but she'd had enough of being caught by surprise. She'd had more than enough of fighting tooth and nail to get out of any given situation in more or less one piece. Slipping the device over her right hand, she finally hefted her pack up onto her back and set out after the others.

It didn't take her many moments to catch up to them, given that they weren't exactly setting a land speed record. She drew level with Mackenzie, walking silently beside him for a considerable length of time before finally working up the guts to say something.

"You know," she said in a tone that approached conversational, "with this sort of heat I should really be sitting beside a pool in the skimpiest of swimsuits, with a cold Fourex in one hand, a Mills & Boon in the other and the Broncos on the television."

He looked at her quizzically, obviously not understanding a word of her statement, but not willing enough to appear ignorant by asking her to clarify. "You think?" he finally said. "I'll just settle for a cold storage room right now."

She chuckled. "Hell, I'd just settle for some air-conditioning. The heavy-duty industrial type of course."

"Of course."

The trip remained more or less silent for the next few hours, each person too caught up in their own thoughts to say more than a few words to each other. Aside from that, the slope of the path was growing progressively steeper, so all air was going towards breathing rather than talking. It was working it's way towards lunch when Rhea finally had had enough of watching Start struggle to keep her pack on her back and approached her.

"How're you feeling?" she asked mildly from beside her.

"Fine," the astrophysicist replied gruffly, albeit through clenched teeth.

"You sure about that? Any other person would just about be ready to drop about now, especially after having to carry a great, big pack on an injured shoulder," she said, ignoring the mutinous look Start threw at her.

"I said I'm fine." The shorter woman put her head down and attempted to out pace her, but Rhea was able to keep up easily.

"How 'bout instead of trying to kill yourself you give me your pack?"

"Look, how many times do I have to tell you-"

"Tirion Start, you are not fine and any idiot can see that," she hissed. "Don't think that because you're injured and you're hurting that I won't give you a good bit of 'what for'. If I have to I'll pull that blasted thing off your shoulders and to hell with your stitches. You're not the only person with a stubborn streak a mile wide, and I can guarantee that you don't want to be on the wrong end of my nagging."

"Look, would you just fuck off," she said wearily.

"How long's off's dick?" she shot back immediately, resorting one of her more juvenile puns.

"What?!" Start asked in confusion.

"You just told me to fuck 'off'. I just wanted to know if it's going to be worth my while." Rhea shrugged without looking at the other woman.

"You're insane."

"Thank you for noticing. Now hand over the pack before I kick you into the middle of next week." Her voice dropped to its most dangerous tone. "Don't think that I won't try either. I've been looking for an excuse to knock some bloody sense into you."

Rhea didn't know if it was simply because that she'd kept up with the nagging, or if it was because that Start was finally going to concede that she couldn't handle walking and the pack at the same time, but the woman stopped and slowly lowered the item off her back. With a slight grunt, she hefted it up onto her other shoulder and set out again, although at a slightly slower pace now that her objective had been accomplished.

"How on Earth did you manage that?" Mac asked as he drew alongside her puffing form.

"I threatened to beat her up," Rhea replied simply.

~*~*~

The morning saw the group resume their hike to the three mountains and Mackenzie looked long and hard at Start. He knew for a fact she was hiding something. Though *why* was the current mystery. Did she think he'd find amusement in her pain? Or would ridicule her for getting hurt. He took a quick look at himself.

//Yeah, like I have a right to do that,// he told himself.

But he knew better than to press her. Her look earlier had told him to drop it or regret it. He'd dropped it. That time. But... he glanced to his left and down... to see Rhea O'Shea at his side. Not sure what to say after their last little conversation, he kept quiet, content to let her make the first move. He'd felt bad about how he'd spoken to her, knowing he'd come across as angry. Maybe she thought he'd even been angry with her? Not true, he knew that.

Eventually she spoke, "You know, with this sort of heat I should really be sitting beside a pool in the skimpiest of swimsuits, with a cold Fourex in one hand, a Mills & Boon in the other and the Broncos on the television."

//What the hell...?// Rhea's past conversations always seemed to verge on the... obscure, but *this* one? He hadn't a clue what the woman was talking about. A Fourex? What the hell was one of those? He didn't even try to take in the other strange names, instead he looked back at her with a furrowed brow, deciding to hide his sad lack of knowledge with an all-encompassing statement.

"You think?" he said, throwing caution to the wind and hoping it was an appropriate response. They chatted together amicably, passing the time as they hiked through the jungle, until they dropped back into their own thoughts. After a while, Rhea wandered ahead to Start's side. Mac watched as the two women engaged in an animated conversation... one that he could see was becoming slightly heated. His amusement grew as he saw the doc scowl at O'Shea and haul her pack off her back, before handing it reluctantly to the other woman. He caught up with her once more.

"How on Earth did you manage that?" he asked, seeing her struggle with the extra weight.

"I threatened to beat her up," he heard her reply.

"Yeah, well now you can hand it over," he said, frowning at her.

"No way. I got away with it. You won't," she threw at him as she forged onwards, staggering slightly. Mac looked at his watch seeing the time. At least they would soon be stopping for a lunch break. He'd use that time to 'relocate' some of the heavier items in Start's pack.

~*~*~

Lunch over, and covert task completed, Mackenzie called the team together once more. "We should reach the foothills by this evening," he told them. "Then we can start searching in earnest tomorrow. MacDonald, you and Hunter take point. Diens centre. I'll bring up the rear. Somehow I have a feeling that the closer we get to the Codex, the greater the risk of ambush, so stay alert," he ordered, watching Rhea as she picked up Start's pack. He ignored the suspicious scowl she threw at him as she felt is weight - or lack of it - and picked up his own, trying to appear nonchalant and as if it didn't weight almost twice as much as it had that morning.

He caught hold of Diens' arm as she started to head off. "Lieutenant. Whatever happens, make sure you stay with the civilians. No matter what. They've had some training, I know, but not to the same extent as you. Understood?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir. Understood," she replied, jogging to catch up with O'Shea, Start and McNamara.

Mac held back, allowing them to move ahead slightly, before hitting the trail himself, making sure he kept his radio open at all times. The small space between his shoulder blades itched for some reason... more crawled, as he worried about an attack from behind. He glanced round all too often, glad no one was there to witness his nervous activity.

~*~*~

Lunch done with, Rhea went over to pick up her two packs, scowling at Mackenzie when she noticed that Start's had dropped a bit of weight since she'd put it down.

//If only it was that easy for humans,// she commented wryly to Asreal as she swung the item up onto her shoulder.

As they set off once again, she moved to trudge between Start and McNamara, a position that more or less placed her in the centre of the group. Even though she'd promised Mac that she wasn't going to put herself in danger should there be a need for it, the ribbon device was still curled around her hand and if push came to shove she was prepared to use it. Ignoring the fact that Diens was following the other two civilians and herself, she fell into a brown study of MacDonald's back.

By mid-afternoon, all of them were sweaty messes thanks to the oppressive humidity of the jungle surrounding them. When they stopped for a quick rest, something they all needed regardless of injuries or whatever, she rummaged through *her* pack just on the off-chance that another strange piece of clothing had managed to wangle it's way into it.

//Oh Chayse, I love you,// she thought with an extreme sense of relief when she came across a pair of khaki cargo shorts.

She excused herself and changed them for the longs that she was wearing, feeling immediately better without the heavy material clinging to her legs. Her change garnered envious looks from the rest of the team, and she made a show of applying mosquito repellent to her newly exposed flesh.

"C'mon, let's get going," Mac said gruffly, levering himself upright and swinging his pack up onto his back. Rhea suppressed a slight grin at the grunt of exertion that movement bought about - it was his own fault for acting the sly fox and transferring some of the stuff out of Start's pack to his own.

//Sucker,// she thought and began to walk between her fellow civvies again. Asreal laughed at her slightly malicious comment.

They'd only been walking for half an hour or so when Rhea felt a tingle at the back of her neck. She stopped in her tracks and turned to look behind her, almost causing a collision between herself and Diens (who'd just about been on her heels).

"Hey," the medic protested, just managing to pull herself up before she walked all over the Tok'ra.

She ignored the other woman, instead scanning the surrounding area, her ears straining to hear the noises that usually accompanied movement through the undergrowth. Hearing and seeing nothing that could be considered out of the ordinary, she raised an eyebrow to Mac, who shook his head to indicate that he couldn't find anything either.

"I don't like this," she told him matter-of-factly.

"You think I do?" he replied. "We'd better keep moving before we do become sitting ducks."

With one last glance at him, she turned and continued on her not so merry way.

~*~*~

Start noticed a slight increase in the pace and couldn't help grunting in pain as she kicked into a higher gear to keep up with it. Without a pack on her back, she had a bit more freedom to hold her arm in a more comfortable position for her shoulder - straight across her chest - which also helped protect some of her rib issues. As much as she hated the idea of being incapacitated, there was no rationalisation she could manage that would account for her need to carry her pack.

If she had done so, she would have probably dropped into a hole by now and never come out.

The look of concern on Rhea's face didn't help matters. As the incline increased, so did her body's need for oxygen and she was forced to completely compromise comfort in the place of taking deeper breaths. Of course, this also meant she could barely hide the blatant agony that was threatening to write itself all over her face.. but she was near the front. Nobody would exactly see it.

As time wore on, Tirion could concentrate on nothing but putting one foot in front of the other, and holding her composure. She heard the jumbled mess of light conversation between several people, but could no longer distinguish the voices. Her vision was totally blinkered. Luckily the path was obstruction-free, because she was so busy staring at the ground that anything beyond waist height would have been totally invisible and open for collision. Her breathing was loud to her ears, and she was beginning to detect a wheeze that would have concerned her, had she any thought processed beyond walking and keeping a straight face.

Left... Right... Left... Right...

The sky darkened in the later hours of the day and the tone of conversation became more agitated. Everybody was obviously nervous about the night ahead.. so close to the codex and anything out there to keep trespassers away. Tirion's main problem, on the other hand, was how to navigate herself around that pile of pebbles.

Left... Right... Left... Right...

~*~*~

//Ok,// Mac thought to himself as he followed an increasingly erratic Tirion Start. //This stops now.// He radioed ahead to halt MacDonald and pulled off to the side of the trail, shouting ahead alert the others that they were stopping for the night. He saw Start frown slightly.

"Something wrong, doc?" he asked.

"Yes, something's wrong, Major," she said as she drew close. "Why the hell are we stopping so early?" Her voice was filled with suspicion. Mac wasn't in the mood for one of their arguments. He hadn't the energy or the inclination.

"We're stopping now because I say so," he told her, softening slightly when he saw her eyes flash a little. "To be honest, I could do with a break. Just don't tell the others, ok?" He could tell she didn't believe a word of it, but her anger died down and she walked away. But not before throwing a couple more dark looks in his direction. O'Shea was next to ask the same question.

"Dammit. Why do you all see fit to question my orders?" he asked a startled Rhea.

"Hell. Mac, I was only asking," she said in a hurt voice.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry Rhea. I just think it's a good time to set up camp for the night. I guess I didn't expect the third degree."

"You saw too, huh?" Rhea looked up at him.

"Saw what?"

"Start struggling."

"You tell her that's why we stopped and I'll turn your ribbon device on you myself," he scowled at her in good humour.

"What, and let everyone know the miserable CO has a heart after all? Yeah... as *if*," she threw at him as she wandered off to help Diens. Mac stood watching her and caught a look from Start once more. Somehow he felt she knew exactly the reason he'd called an early halt and he also knew he'd probably end up paying somehow. Mackenzie sighed softly. He knew he'd be hard pushed to get it right in Start's eyes.

//And I thought *I* was stubborn?// he said to himself.

~*~*~

Dinner was more or less edible, but conversation was sparse amongst the teammates. Start stayed quietly in her own little corner of the group, Mac stayed quietly in his. The others said little too each other, but it was more out of mutual exhaustion than anything.

Laying down on her bedroll a grand total of half an hour after finishing eating, Rhea stared up at what sky she could see through the canopy and considered the team. Most of them seemed more or less satisfied with Mackenzie's leadership skills, herself included. It was only Start that seemed to have a problem with the major, although she could see where that stemmed from - the astrophysicist saw herself as the only link left between SG-15 and the immortal Colonel Ryan.

//Fair enough, but you'd think she'd be over it after this long,// she commented to Asreal, who was avidly following the line of thought.

/*Not always. When you find that one figurehead that pretty much satisfies all your needs, it can be hard to let go of them when they move on. Everyone else seems...*/

//Inadequate? I see what you mean. It's going to take a miracle for her opinion to sway then?//

/*Given her stubborn disposition, I'd say it'll have to be a particularly spectacular miracle at that.*/

//Oh geez, Mac'll just love that.//

/*Speaking of which...*/

//Yes?//

/*What is going on with you and him?*/

Rhea smothered an audible chuckle. //You should know!! Absolutely nothing!//

/*You sure?*/

//C'mon, you're the one that clinched the idea of me and Chayse. Are you saying that you're having second thoughts?//

Asreal snorted. /*Of course I'm not. It's just that after all you've been through, it can change things.*/

//I like him, it's that simple. And, yes, if Chayse wasn't here and if I didn't love her dearly then I'd probably be in Mac's pants faster than any ferret.//

/*Ferret?*/

//Never mind. Let's get some sleep okay?//

~*~*~

When Rhea next open her eyes, she was shackled to a wall - ala Ocecotl's method of treating intruders.

"What the hell?" she said, struggling against the bonds.

"You have awoken my love," a voice purred, immediately pulling her attention away from her bondage predicament.

"Heru'er?" she breathed, her eyes widening.

"You did not think that I would find you beloved," the Goa'uld system lord said softly. Dangerously. "You made me seem the fool, and now you will pay."

Her heart clenched in her chest as he stepped towards her. "You can't. You should be dead. That fucking ship blew up!" she yelled at him, unable to disguise the thread of fear in her voice.

"So it did, but you do not think that I would have a plan of escape. Do you really forget me so easily? I, who could have bought you power?" He reached out and caressed her cheek, almost causing her to attempt to bite off his finger. The only reason she restrained herself was because he'd only flip his lid as a result and then she'd be really doomed.

"Such control in one so angry. You have learnt much while we were separated," he purred.

"Why don't you go outside and play hide and go fuck yourself," she replied through gritted teeth, unable to help herself.

Heru'er threw his head back and laughed, a throaty chuckle that was more than familiar to Asreal. "My love, you are an amusement that I once thought that I couldn't live without. But, as you will soon discover, I have found other ways to fill my time." He made an odd gesture, presumably to someone that was out of her line of sight.

She bit her lip to keep silent, praying that whatever it was he had in mind it would be swift and painless. In fact, she was so convinced that she was going to meet her maker that she almost missed the fact that someone else was being dragged bodily into the room.

"My God, Chayse!" Rhea yelped, struggling against her shackles. "Don't hurt her you sonofabitch!"

"Rhea!" her lover cried back desperately, her beautiful face mottled with bruises.

Hot tears flowed freely down the Tok'ra's face as she struggled in vain to free herself. "For God's sake, leave her alone. She didn't do anything! Please, do what you want with me. I- I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt her!"

"Begging my love?" Heru'er enquired mildly. "I never thought that I would see such an eventuality."

"Please," she sobbed. "Please."

"You know I can't do that." The Goa'uld's eyes flashed brightly.

Rhea screamed as the knife that'd appeared out of nowhere moved towards Chayse's exposed throat...

~*~*~

Dinner over and everything tidied away, Mac settled down for a few hours sleep before being woken for his watch. Hunter was to take the first. Followed by MacDonald. Then himself, with Diens taking the last. He knew he had at least four hours uninterrupted rest. Rest he knew he desperately needed. He'd caught Diens looking at his left hand in irritation during the evening. Probably having noticed his slight adjustment to her handiwork. But she'd opted to stay silent. Thankfully.

Mackenzie made sure everyone had settled, his gaze staying on Tirion Start for longer than he'd intended. He frowned as he looked at the doc, watching her curl up under her blanket. He knew damn well she was hiding something and decided to speak with Diens about it in the morning. *Before* they moved onwards. He shrugged slightly and lay down, unaware of her returned glance.

~*~*~

Mac jerked upright as the first scream reverberated around the clearing. Half asleep, he lunged for his gun that he'd placed at his side earlier, forgetting he couldn't use it right-handed. He winced as he threw it into his left hand and knelt swiftly, spinning around in an attempt to locate the threat. Then came the second scream - one that snapped him fully awake.

Rhea!

He stumbled to her side to see her in the midst of a nightmare. Thrashing, sweating, whimpering... the whole hog. He dropped his gun and tried to grab her - before she hurt herself. The flailing arms were hard to catch hold of, particularly as Mac's hands were pretty useless. He snared one and held tight as her right fist hooked upwards. Sharply. It caught Mackenzie on the side of his chin and he fell back, both startled and stunned, as the others grouped around O'Shea. He blinked a couple of times in an attempt to dissipate the stars that had gathered in front of his eyes. He vaguely heard softly spoken voices trying to soothe the distraught woman as a figure - albeit a fuzzy, blurry one - knelt at his side.

"There's the thanks you get for trying to help," he heard a voice say. One that sounded a few miles away too. A hand helped him sit up and supported him while he waited for the clearing to stop gyrating. "You ok?"

He glanced to his right. Tirion. "Yeah... I think so. She packs a punch, though," he muttered gingerly. He felt Start pull his face towards her and frown sympathetically. At least, he assumed it was an act of sympathy. He looked hard at her waiting for the cutting comment. The humour at his expense. But nothing was forthcoming.

"Just another bruise to add to your colourful collection," she said softly.

By this time, Rhea had woken from her nightmare and was looking around wildly. Her eyes settled on Mac as he struggled back to his feet, before glancing down at her scraped knuckles.

"Oh fuck... did I...?" Rhea knew the answer to her question before she even asked it. "Jeez... Mac... I'm sorry. What can I say?"

He smiled down at her, hiding the sharp pain that movement brought to his chin. "Hey...its ok. Now what was *that* all about?"

"It was so real... Heru'er. He'd captured me, but it wasn't me he wanted to kill... It was..." Mac held her as she started to sob, memories of her nightmare returning.

"It was only a dream, Rhea. Its all right," he murmured as her sobbing grew in intensity. She clung to him tightly until her tears dried and Mac called Diens over to check her over. He stood and walked away slightly, giving them some privacy, and leant against a nearby tree. He rubbed gently at his chin, wondering what could happen next to disrupt the mission. He was beginning to think this one had been fated before it'd started.

He turned to see Rhea settling back down again as he glanced at his Casio. Still another two hours until his watch. Even though he was exhausted, Mac knew he wouldn't sleep again. Not after all that had just happened. He strode across to MacDonald as he was about to take over from Hunter.

"I'll take it Lieutenant. Get some rest," he told the other man. Mackenzie stationed himself at the edge of the clearing. Far enough away from the fire so as not to feel its relaxing effect, but close enough to be able to watch over all of the team. His sleep was disrupted to the extent that he fully intended letting Diens sleep too, but it wasn't to be. He was deep in thought when a hand descended on his shoulder, making him jump.

"Forgot to wake me, I'm guessing," he heard her say almost sternly. He sighed and headed for his bedroll, certain he'd lie awake for the next couple of hours. He was asleep the second his head hit the ground.

~*~*~

"Forgot to wake me, I'm guessing," Tatyana said, almost angry, putting a hand on her CO's shoulder.

"Sorry," he replied quietly.

"Sleep. Now," she ordered as any medic would. She'd be lying if she said that having that kind of edge didn't give her a kick.

The sounds made by the native insects were almost soothing. The entire area seemed peaceful despite the underlying dangers out there.

She was almost pissed off with this team. Almost all of them were too proud to let her help them. She was a medic, that was her job. She had managed to get a glimpse of Mac's hand during their meal. It was messed up. Again. Start, from what she could tell had worse injuries then she let on. But being able to fully examine her would be a new challenge. Rhea seemed to be healing nicely. You'd hardly think she'd been through the things she had. //Probably because she's a Token. No, a Tak'rae? Tottra? Tok'ra. That's it.//

Tatyana waited until her CO was in a state of REM sleep and sleep paralysis had kicked in before she walked over to him. She took her dressing kit with her, and untucked the worst hand out from under the sleeping bag of the snuggled Major.

His stitches were... nowhere in sight. "You people are hard work." She muttered under her breath, and began to try and patch him up as best as a field medic could. She'd attempt to approach Start in the morning.

~*~*~

From her sleeping bag, Angel McNamara watched Diens attend to Mackenzie’s hand. It was interesting watching the team at this time of night. With no sarcastic barbs or arguments flying around, not to mention bodies, it was a time where the anthropologist was able to look at the team and see beyond the façade. She really didn’t know why she did it, as Angel was most certainly not a people person. However, these people seemed different. The conflict between the military side and the civilian side was interesting to watch.

Mackenzie was certainly the rock of the team – he held them together. That was obvious. Angel was certain that there was something going on between he and Rhea. Or was it he and Start? That one was interesting to observe as they had trekked up the mountain yesterday. The thing with O’Shea was obvious, but McNamara thought it must have had something to do with their experiences with the cat-people-things. But with Start, there was something extremely subtle, but definitely present. It must have carried over from before she herself had arrived. She made a mental note to ask Hunter about that.

As most half-conscious thoughts do, her thoughts drifted away from the O’Shea-Mackenzie-Start triangle and towards tomorrow. They would reach the designated search area by then and at least then she would have something to do. She was used to walking and hiking long distances – that was obvious through her lack of level of discomfort compared to the others. The heat was a bit stifling, though. As they had increased altitude, it had dropped considerably and for that, but it was still relatively too warm for comfort. It would be interesting to see what had brought them all this way. Angel hoped that it was something worthwhile or, of course, it would be her fault as team anthropologist.

Turning over onto her side, McNamara frowned slightly at the heat again and pulled some papers out of her bag. Her term paper was still due in far too soon for comfort, so with the assistance of her flashlight and the inspiration of the past few days, she started to scrawl down some words.

~*~*~

Rhea tried to resist the insistent shaking of her shoulder, but it finally became too much for her and she opened her eyes.

"Ungh- Mmmm?" she murmured, lifting up her heavy head and looking around. Finally she managed to fix a very bleary stare on Mac, who grinned at her.

"Morning," he murmured. She just blinked at him sleepily a few times before letting her head fall back onto his shoulder.

"More sleep," she murmured, tightening her arm around his ribcage.

"No, no more sleep. We've gotta look for that codex," he said gently, stroking her hair.

"Do we have to?" Without actually lifting her head from his shoulder, she shifted her head to look up at him. "I'm comfy."

His chest shook gently as he chuckled. "Yes we do, comfort regardless."

"Oh poop," she finally said, and sat up.

He joined her. "What, that's all?"

"It's too early to think of a suitable expletive," she replied with a yawn and a stretch.

"Maybe I should get you up early more often."

Rhea snorted. "Not bloody likely."

~*~*~

The next morning Hunter rose and surveyed her team. Frankly, they looked like shit. And maybe it was the bug or maybe it was the oppressive heat, but Adrienne was feeling a bit irked. She spied MacDonald off on the edges of camp and she slipped down next to him. "I'm taking bets as to how far we actually get through this mission."

Noting the tone in her voice, MacDonald raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you implying?"

Hunter sighed. This wasn't going to look good for her... "I don't mean to pull anything, I just don't know how intelligent it is to keep going like this."

MacDonald laughed a bit, "You're doubt that all wise and powerful Major?"

Adrienne opened and closed her mouth a couple times, "Maybe. I mean, I'm just a lowly sergeant with no real say in the matter, but why doesn't he just send you, me, and McNamara. Then he could take the rest back and heal...or something. He won't be any good to us if he ends up dead. None of them... not to mention that this damn mission will be a bust. I don't know... Forget it."

She stood and went to go situate her gear. "No really. Forget I said anything, alright?"

~*~*~

To say Jake Mackenzie had woken to a surprise or two that morning would be a slight understatement. Not only had *someone* - and he glared at Diens in great suspicion - rebandaged his left hand, but...He glanced to his right to see a body huddled against him.

"What the...?" he muttered softly, seeing a mass of dark curls strewn across his chest. Mac frowned. //When did Rhea plant herself there?// he asked himself, totally confused in his half awake/half asleep state. He assumed she'd crawled over sometime during the night. Maybe something else scared her? Perhaps she was still frightened after that nightmare. Whatever, Rhea O'Shea now lay fast asleep more or less on top of him. Somehow his arm had also ended up around her shoulders, and hers was currently lying across his chest.

He blinked a couple of times and glanced around. No movement from the others... only from Diens as she sat on watch. She looked back at him and grinned when she saw his predicament. He brought up his left hand and shook her shoulder gently and she opened her eyes reluctantly.

"Morning," he said as she raised her head slightly before dropping it back onto his shoulder. He heard her mumble slightly as he felt her arm tighten around his chest.

"We've got to look for the Codex," he said, trying once more to wake an obviously exhausted woman. After a few more mumbled complaints she raised her head again and finally sat up, as did Mac. He stretched, yawned and rubbed a hand across his face, feeling strangely unembarrassed by his proximity to O'Shea. He glanced at her as she mumbled some more and tried to untangle herself from her cover.

//A strange woman indeed,// he said to himself.

He saw one tough lady, one who gave out more bullshit that she'd ever take back. One he knew first hand could take care of herself. And yet... When he'd woken and he'd seen her lying across his chest, she'd looked almost like a child. Vulnerable.

//Get a grip, Mackenzie,// he angrily told himself. He knew one of his main faults was this ridiculous urge to protect everyone around him. Especially those close to him. And he knew Rhea could do that for herself. So could Tirion. He glanced at her to see her starting to stir. Slowly and so clearly painfully. He jerked his head at Diens who nodded and walked over to Start's side.

He witnessed a slightly heated discussion before the pair headed off into the trees. Mac took the opportunity to examine the medic's nocturnal handiwork and scowled darkly when he saw the thick bandage back in place. He knew it meant he'd have a hard time handling his gun again and moved to undo it.

"Hold it right there," he heard O'Shea snap at him. He looked up almost guiltily. "Leave it, major, or I'll tell Diens." He knew she would too. Mac's eyes narrowed slightly as Rhea glared back at him.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, getting to his feet, not seeing the smug look on her face. He looked over in the direction last taken by Start and Diens, wondering whether he should order a small group on ahead. He knew for sure the injured - himself included - were hindering the others, but to split the team now they were in what was probably the most dangerous part of the jungle didn't seem the best solution. Maybe he should just... He glanced up as the two women returned and he called the team together.

"We're almost there," he told them, looking from face to face. "But the last part will include an uphill section." He glanced automatically at Start. "Because the pace and...ability of the team is varied, we will divide into two sections, leaving the majority of our gear here. One going on ahead, the other following at a more leisurely pace." He saw a protest emerging from a certain doc, and ploughed on quickly. "MacDonald, Hunter, McNamara and Diens will go on ahead. I will follow with the rest of the team. Questions?" He didn't give anyone the time to comment as he continued straight away. "No? Good. Then we move out after breakfast." Mac carefully avoided making eye contact with Tirion Start. He knew his decision was going to go down like a lead balloon. But it was his decision to make. No arguments.

//Hell, yeah...like I believe *that*?// he inwardly said.

No, Jake Mackenzie was sure he would hear more about this and he sighed. He suddenly felt very tired.

The alpha team was ready to move out. "We'll regroup as soon as we can. Stay in radio contact at all times, Lieutenant. And don't deviate from the trail."

"Yes, sir," came MacDonald's reply. "Let’s go," he called to the other three.

As they left, Mac looked at his two companions. Both looked slightly less than happy and the majority of their displeasure seemed to be directed his way. They stood close together - an ominous sign. Also ominous was the overhead amassing of heavy skies. Mac could feel a storm brewing... and in more ways than one!!

~*~*~

The sounds of movement around the group woke Tirion from her irritatingly light sleep and immediately she felt the blood rush from her face. Her cheeks burned and there was a familiar pressure in her side that told her, that no matter how hard she tried, this time, she was *really* going to be sick. In a short, ungraceful movement she tried to pull herself to her feet, but found her legs about as structurally useful as a pile of jelly. Instead, she half-crawled, half stumbled to the nearest outcropping of trees, falling forward and bracing her body with her good arm before vomiting repeatedly into the dirt. The only thing that stopped the heaves was a sudden sharp pain exploding through her chest, at which point her body decided that coughing would be a more important priority.

Covering her face with her hands, the astrophysicist bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from doing more damage than she already had, but she had a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to be getting any better any time soon.

"Let me guess…" Came a gruff voice from behind her. "It was only you choking on a blade of grass."

Tirion froze as footsteps made their way towards her, materialising into the form of Diens.

"A twig actually..." Start joked weakly, looking up while still in her kneeling position. "Nasty things..."

Diens' stern expression didn't change and she crossed her arms.

"Lift up your t-shirt."

"Why?"

Anger flashed in the medic's eyes. "What do you think I'm here for, doctor? To fix scratches? To put band-aids on grazes? I am *here* to do my *job*. As a *medic* my job is to find out what's wrong with you. " She paused, then clarified. "*Physically*… wrong with you.. the other side probably involves a list as long as the Nile."

Tirion glared at the woman and pulled herself to her feet. "I'm *fine*." She retorted coolly. "*Both* sides of me."

Turning to walk away, she was hardly expecting a hand to dart out and apply a small pressure to her side. Therefore, it was hardly surprising she let out a sharp yelp when it did. Spinning around, she fixed another glare on the doctor.

"What the hell was that for?"

Without saying a word, Diens strode around her, challenge written all over her face. Grasping the bottom of the doctor's black t-shirt with both hands, she raised an eyebrow and lifted it up.

"Jesus Christ..." The medic muttered when she looked back down. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Tirion followed Diens' eyes down to her own chest, and was wholly surprised at exactly how colourful it looked. All down her left side was a dark purple bruise, with a few splotches of black. In two places were prominent lumps. Tirion didn't even need to ask what they were, so stayed silent.

"Dr. Start, you are one stubborn pain in the ass." Her expression indicated a clear lack of humour. "Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

"And just what was I supposed to say??" Tirion hissed back as Diens prodded the area. "By the way I think I've cracked a few ribs? And what would Mackenzie have done? Scrubbed the mission? Sent half of us back? How much of a chance do you think half of this team would have had against the things out there? And if we scrubbed... what about the people here? Are we supposed to just let them be easy pickings?" Diens shook her head, obviously still angry. "Look, there's nothing anyone can do now... I've made it this far... I'll fix it when we get back."

"I'll need to have a look at these, out *there*." She pointed out at her pack. Tirion immediately opened her mouth to protest but the Diens cut her off. "Or nobody is going anywhere."

"Fine... but if anyone asks... it was a *twig*."

~*~*~

"Yes, sir," came MacDonald's reply. "Lets go," he called to the other three.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not happy about this, sir. Those people are in no condition to carry on without some kind of medical supervision." Diens protested, getting angry and protective all over again. In the least she was pissed off.

"You have your orders Lieutenant." Mackenzie told her.

"Yes, sir." She replied through gritted teeth. She was sick to her stomach that the 'strong' were being separated from the 'weak'. It felt *very* wrong. It was an ethical dilemma - go against everything she believed and knew as a medic or everything she believed and knew as a soldier.

Her thorough examination of Start had left her worried. Two ribs were definitely broken, and if she carried on the way she was she'd be lucky if she didn't cause some internal damage, especially if she had another hard fall. She felt possibly a further two breaks - they were clean by the feel of them. She had forced Start to have her chest strapped. It would probably effect her breathing as she got to a higher altitude but that was the lesser of two evils.

She was surprised that the major hadn't yet destroyed her nocturnal handiwork. Give it time.

~*~*~

Rhea couldn’t help but feel a little narked at Mackenzie’s decision to not only split the team into two, but also to hold her back. She really wouldn’t have minded some time away from her CO, especially after the incident that morning.

//God, I haven’t sleepwalked since I was six!// she grouched, trying to keep the glare off her face.

/*I think in this case you sleep crawled,*/ Asreal teased her.

//Can it worm,// she retorted and mentally turned her back on her symbiont.

She glanced over at Start, who was standing only a few feet away. From the look on her face, it was obvious that she was slightly more peeved at being held back. Actually, peeved probably didn’t cover it – murderous would have been more accurate. Her scrutiny of her partner in grouchiness was somewhat distracted by the threatening rumble coming from the skies. All eyes immediately went up to the gathering clouds, just in time for them all to cop a face full of rain.

"Shit a brick," Rhea growled, almost in perfect unison with similar curses coming from the lips of Start and Mac.

Each dived for the equipment that had been left behind by the other half of their team and quickly stashed it under a tree until such time as they were able to erect one of the tiny waterproof tents that'd been bought along for just such an occurrence. That dealt with, Rhea rummaged through her damp pack for a raincoat or poncho... or something that was hopefully going to stop her from getting completely saturated. Unfortunately, by the time she actually came across something suitable at the bottom of the bag, she was already soaked to the skin. She pulled at her clinging shorts as she slipped the waterproof poncho over her head.

"Okay, this isn't working," she muttered as she peeled the wet material of her shirt of her goose pimply skin. At this rate she was going to catch her death, which would be a perfect ending to the whole mission. Coming down with a head cold without her medicine cabinet in the immediate vicinity.

/*Ahem, aren't you forgetting something?*/ Asreal said.

Rhea grinned. //Of course I'm not, but what can you do besides speed up my immune system? That still leaves me with one day of sheer hell to look forward to!//

/*Hey, nobody's perfect!*/

~*~*~

Mackenzie glanced skywards as the rumbling sounds drew closer. He'd felt certain a storm was imminent - just not *this* imminent! He'd been warily looking at the two women as they threw daggered looks his way and was beginning to wonder if he had time to jog after MacDonald for support and protection. The weather ended all thoughts of flight.

He heard three muttered curses - all different he noted with interest - as the rain began to fall. A flurry of activity saw the equipment stashed beneath a tree while they erected a waterproof covering to keep the rest of the rain off it. He watched in amusement as Rhea tried to find something dry to wear in her pack, only succeeding in saturating her entire possessions. Start, in contrast, stood silently. Glowering at anything. Everything. Her soaking wet hair hung in strings around her face. Not a happy camper on the least.

"We can't stay here," Mac stated, earning himself two more scowls. //Hell, its not *my* fault its raining,// he muttered inwardly. As he looked back at them he realized with a sinking heart that they probably thought otherwise.

Overhead rumblings grew in intensity as the storm built. "I mean it," he said, looking worried. "We can't stay under the trees." With that he grabbed an arm apiece and hauled both women out of their meagre shelter and into the full force of the storm. Ahead, around the mountains, he could clearly see forked lightning strike earth and hoped the others had left the trees too. He tried his radio, but the heavily static-laden atmosphere made for too much interference.

By this time all three of them were pretty drenched - Rhea less than Start and Mackenzie, thanks to her poncho.

"Now what?" he heard a disgruntled Tirion Start mutter.

//Now what indeed,// he mulled. "We move on," he decided. The trail ahead wound away from the trees for as far as he could see ahead and Mac felt there would be no danger from lightning strikes there. Drowning was another matter!

Wearily, he led his reluctant companions onwards, the pace slow and the going heavy. Mac glared angrily ahead as he slipped in the mud for the third time in as many minutes.

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