Just like the probe had shown them, the first thing they saw was a lot of trees. And grass. And bushes. And pretty much anything else that you could think of that was plantlife and was green. It was lush and warm, and Jack was unimpressed.

"Great."

Ian looked over at him, wondering what there was not to like. It could have been worse, after all, it could have been raining or something. He looked up, remembering what Sam had said about asking what the worst that could happen, but the sky was a brilliant blue. It wasn't going to rain.

"All right," Jack said, drawing Ian's attention back to him. "Teal'c, go left. Daniel, you're going right flank. Ian, you stay close to me."

Daniel couldn't help but smile. Usually, he was the one that Jack told to stay close to him. It was nice to not be the new guy, anymore.

"Daniel?"

He looked over at Jack.

"Yeah?"

"Don't wander off. Stay close."

Bah.

Jack (the dog) headed right with Teal'c, his nose alternating between in the air and sniffing the ground, smelling everything around him, his body tense and his tail wagging idly as he was assaulted with odors that were a lot different from the SGC.

Jaffer, too, was tense, but he hadn't gone anywhere. He was still right beside Jack, watching him and waiting to see what was wanted from him.

"You go with Daniel, little man," Jack said. If he was going to be with Ian, then Jaffer could keep an eye on Daniel for him.

The lab headed left, moving up to walk beside Daniel, watching for anything that might pose a danger to his charge – or to his Jack – and sniffing the air around him, while Jack and Ian stepped away from the now inactive gate.

The ground ahead of them wasn't a path, but it wasn't as overgrown as the other areas around them, so it kind of gave the impression of a small trail or something. Jack unslung his P-90, and looked over at Ian.

"Stay nearby, okay? And watch for anything out of the ordinary."

Ian nodded, and moved just a little to Jack's right; one hand on the butt of his Glock as he and Jack started off into what could only be called the jungle.

"How do you know what direction to go?" He asked after a few minutes of walking.

Jack shrugged.

"We just head away from the gate in the direction we're facing when we emerge from it. I've rarely seen anyone actually have their Stargate in the middle of their village or town, and usually it's a fair walk away."

He looked around, listening for any call from Daniel or Teal'c, or barking that would indicate something was up. He didn't hear either.

"With a place so overgrown, though, chances are it's like Daniel said; either no one ever lived here or the people are long gone. He's just hoping to find a trace of them – in case it was the Ancients, or someone equally interesting."

Ian nodded, and the two of them noticed that what little cleared area they'd had on their 'path' was now gone, and they, too, were walking through undergrowth that was as wild as anything else around them. Overhead, birds called to each other, or down at the intruders, warning them to stay away from their nests or warning the others of their kind to stay away from the intruders. Trees loomed over them, blocking out the more intense rays of the sun. Which would have been nice if not for the fact that Ian pretty much expected a bird to crap on him any minute.

It was kind of like he expected it would be in some South American jungle. And he'd never wanted to visit South America.

"Watch where you're stepping, City Boy." Jack warned him, pointing to a pile of something on the ground that was crawling with insects. They looked a little like ants, but had brightly colored wings – although none of them were flying. Ian had been about to step into the pile – and who knew what that would have done?

"Thanks."

He moved around it, and Jack watched because like a puppy who was starting to get the nerve to stray away from his mother, Ian was getting just a little further away from Jack with each step.

The problem with watching Ian, however, was that Jack wasn't watching where he was going. He probably would have seen the trap if he'd been looking for one – it wasn't in plain sight, but it was a simple snare, and those were fairly easy to see if you knew what you were looking for. He wasn't watching, though, and he didn't see it. He tripped the snare, and an instant later a rope was tightening around his ankle and a tree was snapping upwards off to the right – snapping right against Ian, who was knocked to the side as a branch slapped him away on its way up. He tumbled to the ground, just barely missing yet another pile of the ant-like insects, even as Jack was jerked up off the ground, the rope around his ankle holding fast and tight, dangling him upside down.

"Fucking Sonofabitch..."

Jack looked over at Ian's curse, all the blood rushing to his head, and he saw Ian getting to his feet, his hand clutching his side.

"You okay?"

The cadet nodded, walking over and looking up at Jack, who was dangling about 8 feet above him.

"Are you?"

"Yeah. Soon as I figure out how to get dow-"

The rope snapped, and Jack suddenly dropped, landing with a thud in the soft grass.

"Well, that was pleasant…" Jack muttered. At least he hadn't landed on his head.

Ian came over and knelt down at Jack's feet.

"Are you all right?"

Jack nodded, but his sharp eyes didn't miss the tear in Ian's uniform.

"You?"

"Aside from being clobbered by the tree, I'm fine." He examined the rope that was still snugly wrapped around Jack's booted ankle, and gave it an experimental tug. "It won't come off."

"Cut it off." Jack told him, reaching for his knife – which he'd landed on (and that hadn't been a pleasant feeling).

Ian nodded and pulled his knife before Jack could get to his, slicing easily through the rope and freeing it from Jack's leg just as Jaffer and Daniel came crashing through the undergrowth near by.

"You okay?" Daniel asked, coming over to stand over Jack, while Jaffer whuffled him, urgently, checking him to make sure he hadn't taken any injury.

"Yeah. Help me up."

Daniel reached down and pulled Jack to his feet.

"What happened?"

"It was a snare," Jack said, making sure everything was still in one piece, although he ached from the drop, nothing was injured.

"This rope looks pretty old," Ian said, standing up as well, still holding the rope in his hand. It was covered in mold or something, and from the frayed end it didn't take Davy Crockett to figure out that the rope had broken – which was why Jack had been dropped.

He handed it to Daniel, while Jack stepped up to him and moved his arm away from his side, looking at the tear in his shirt. He'd thought he'd seen a trace of blood when he'd looked the first time, and a second look proved him right.

Ian scowled, but he didn't move while Jack pulled his shirt out of his pants and raised it, revealing a nasty welt where the tree branch had hit him that was dribbling blood. It wasn't serious, but it was definitely bleeding.

"Ouch. Where did you get that?" Daniel asked, looking at it.

"Jack's tree."

"Ah." Daniel reached for his pack, intending to pull out the first aid kit. It wasn't serious, but in the wooded area like this, it would need to be covered to avoid getting it dirty.

"O'Neill."

They all four looked over as Teal'c came out of the trees to their left with Jack jumping over a fallen log to come over and join them.

"I found something you should see."