"You don't have to be embarrassed, Ian," Jack said. "You're supposed to get something sappy for your mom for Mother's Day. It's the rule."

"I'm not embarrassed, Jack."

"So what did you get her?"

Ian smiled and shook his head.

"If you must know…"

"I must."

"I got her a-"

Just then a shadow fell over them as something above them blocked out the already fading sun for a moment. All three of the humans – and the two dogs – looked up. Just in time to see a Goa'uld Death Glider disappearing behind the tops of some of the nearby trees and vanishing into a growing cloudbank.

"Holy shit!"

Immediately they all ran back the way they'd come. Not only because Daniel was back there – alone – but also because it was the most cover they'd be able to find, and who knew how many more there were?

"Think he saw us?" Jack asked rhetorically as they ran through the brush.

"If he was looking down he probably did," Ian answered. "It wasn't like we were hiding."

"Indeed."

The three of them hadn't been all that far from Daniel, and were now at the far end of the wall the archeologist had been crouched by. Daniel looked up at the noise they made pelting in, his eyes suddenly wary.

"I'm not done, yet, Jack."

"You're done," O'Neill answered. "Get your stuff."

Jack reached down and picked up the P90 that was leaning against the wall where Daniel had set it earlier.

"What's going on?" Daniel asked, standing up and shouldering his pack, and then taking the weapon from Jack.

"We're not alone," Ian said, looking up again. There was a canopy of trees overhead, now, though and he couldn't see anything. "Do we break for the gate?"

Jack scowled.

"They probably have the gate covered…" he said, looking at Teal'c for confirmation.

The Jaffa nodded.

"If it is a simple patrol, they will have left a couple of Jaffa to guard the Stargate in case they come upon something or someone that is too dangerous for them to handle alone. Those at the Stargate can dial out and call for assistance – or can dial out in the event the others need to retreat without delay."

"And if they somehow know we're here…?" Jack asked.

"Then they will have the Stargate heavily guarded against the possibility of us escaping."

"That's a comforting thought," Daniel said, realizing what they were discussing, even though know one had actually answered him. He looked up as well, even though he already knew they wouldn't be able to see anything. "What did you see?"

"A Death Glider."

"Where there's one, there are probably more…"

"Yeah." Jack looked at the others. "We don't know for sure they know we're here," he said. "So we're going to head for the gate nice and easy. Listen for anything out of the ordinary, be as quiet as you can, and stay under the trees – just in case they do another flyby. Jaffer and I have point; Teal'c, you take rear with Jack."

That would leave Daniel and Ian in the safest possible spot, and would utilize the dogs' much better senses to warn them in the event of a foot patrol trying to sneak up behind them or coming at them from the front.

They formed up quickly and headed out, moving as quietly as they could in the heavy brush and undergrowth along the trees. The Stargate was a little over two miles from their position – something that hadn't bothered any of them until just then – and it suddenly felt like twenty, but none of them were panicked. Just cautious. While it was pretty certain they'd been seen – none of them had even thought to expect trouble from above after two days of seeing no one on the planet – they weren't in the same place they'd been when the glider had done the flyby and with the dogs, they wouldn't be easy to sneak up on in any event. Besides, there was always the chance they hadn't been seen, and the patrol would be there and gone by the time they reached the gate.

Small chance, of course.

By the time they'd gone the first mile, the rain that Jack had noticed coming before had started to fall. Lightly at first and then with a lot more vigor, it was more than simply annoying to the small group, it was definitely a disadvantage. Although it would cut down on the visibility for those who might be flying above them, it would also cut down on their own visibility, the noise of the rainwater hitting the trees above them was almost deafening and left them unable to listen for the sound of approaching patrols. They would have to rely more heavily on the dogs, now, and because of that, Jack lagged back just a bit to keep Ian and Daniel closer – and to give Teal'c and Jack (the dog) a chance to get closer as well.

He gestured for them to slow down a little, and their already slow progress turned into a crawl. Even though no one liked getting rained on – and even under the heavy cover of the trees it didn't take them long to become soaked – they liked the idea of becoming separated even less. They were far enough apart that they couldn't all be caught in the same ambush – if one were coming – and close enough that they could come to each other's aid if it were needed.

It took them another hour to make the second mile – an incredibly long time for all of them – and by now the sky was truly starting to darken around them, even though it was mid-morning. Which took away yet another advantage they'd had, since the undergrowth was now different shades of gray and tossing out shadows that were definitely making it hard to tell one thing from the other.

Because of that, it was no surprise that the dogs were the first to realize something was up. Jack had been watching Jaffer more than he'd been watching where he was going, and when the black lab's head came up, and then jerked around behind them with a sudden snarl, the Colonel reacted immediately.

"Down!"

Without asking, everyone dropped to the wet ground instantly, and a staff blast struck a tree only a foot above Ian's head, wounding the large trunk and sending a tremor through the tree that left leaves falling even harder than the rain.

"Shit!"

Ian rolled to his right, aware that there was more cover that direction, and as he did so, Jack (the dog) leaped over him, a flash of blonde that was snarling a warning to those trying to sneak up on them.

"Ian!"

"I'm okay."

He turned toward the direction the staff blast had come from, and jerked his P90 around. Unsure exactly which direction Daniel had gone, he didn't dare fire, but he was ready if a target presented itself. And a moment later, one did.

The Jaffa rose up out of nowhere it seemed, but although Ian's reflexes were quick, Jack's were even better, and the lab had the better position to attack from. The hand that held the staff weapon was suddenly ripped open, and a muffled cry of pain accompanied the snarl the yellow dog gave, and the staff weapon fell to the ground with a soft plop. An instant later, a P90 was fired in a short burst from Jack's general direction, and the Jaffa dropped.

"Watch out!"

Several more Jaffa came into the small area, staff weapons firing so quickly that they almost seemed to be firing automatic – although Ian knew that was impossible. It was a sign of just how many were there, though, and suddenly what had been a simple attempt to get back to the Stargate was a melee of the worst magnitude.