Buffy smiled to see her husband, her friend and Jacob headed towards her, all smiling with relief to see her. She moved toward a copse of trees and they met her there, Jacob trying to take the basket but Buffy shaking her head, "Too heavy, let me put it down." She bent down and let the basket rest gently on the grass.

Jay grabbed her close for a tight hug, just feeling her for a moment, then leaned back, "Ow, what's poking into my chest?" he grumbled, then blushed as his wife arched an expressive eyebrow, "You really want me to answer that? Here?"

Daniel chuckled and Jacob snorted from where he was kneeling, peering into the basket.

"It's my rings Jay." Buffy pulled the necklace out and Jay smiled, "Oh."

Buffy looked at Jacob, "Did I get the right thing?"

He looked up with a smile, then stood up, "You done good kid."

Jay made to take and tried to heft it, huffing in surprise, "Christ, you weren't kidding."

Jacob was puzzled and tried to lift it as well, then he watched in shock as Buffy knelt down and effortlessly lifted it back onto her shoulder with a quiet grunt.

"Ready?"

"How?" Jacob began but both Daniel and Jay shook their heads, "Can't tell you Jacob, sorry."

As they headed back to where the waiting teams were, Jacob and Selmak held a heated conversation:

"How is it possible, she is only human, and a female at that!" Selmak asked incredulously.

"I don't know, and it doesn't look like they want to tell us either." Jacob replied.

There was silence from Selmak.

"What?"

"Have we been so wrong in our dealings with the SGC that they feel the need to hide things from us?"

Jacob gave a mental shrug, "You know what I know Selmak."

The two teams heard Buffy's laugh before they saw her and visibly relaxed. Jack signaled the teams to stand down as Jay, Daniel, Buffy and surprise, surprise, Jacob Carter came through the trees. Sam jumped up and threw herself into Jacob's arms for hard hug.

"High Councilor Per'sus came through to tell us that you were missing."

"Really? I can tell you it was a real experience, being stuck here I mean. I'll tell you when we get back." He said quietly.

Jack grinned at Buffy, "Hey, who are the guys with the fuzzy knees Xena?" he asked jokingly, pointing towards Daniel and Jay who were still in their native dress, which happened to be quite short.

"Jaaa-ack." Buffy said, then she greeted the other people from the SG-teams, talking quietly with Sam and Hailey for a moment. Daniel and Jay took a quick minute to go into some brush and change back into their uniforms, leaving the borrowed clothes behind.

A few minutes later, "Jacob, I have a question." Buffy asked from where she was leaning against her husband, eating a chocolate bar that he'd fished out of his pack for her.

"What is it?"

"Apollo was goa'uld, I could sense it. But no one else was, and you said he had no symbiotes, so, how did you avoid him?"

Everyone looked at Buffy, "You can sense the goa'uld?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah. Can't everyone?" She asked puzzled at their reactions.

Jacob shook his head, "No, not everyone can."

"Oh. Well, Apollo didn't know that you were here did he?" there was a boom in the distance and they could see black plumes of smoke rising.

"No. Once I sensed that there were no other goa'uld I got myself hired by the guy in charge of housekeeping, trying to find this thing here." His eyes went to the smoke.

There was another boom and both Teal'c and Jack raised their eyebrows, "WHAT did you do?" Jack demanded.

"Um, his goody room had those metal ball thingys that Teal' talked about before." She watched the smoke plume up, "I used a lot of 'em."

"Ya think?" another boom sounded.

Teal'c smiled slightly, "You did very well Buffy Coburn."

Jack rousted them and they all hiked back to the gate, Lt. Hailey dialed the gate while Buffy watched the smoke in the sky.

"Babe?" Jay asked quietly.

A bright smile, "I'm good." The even horizon stabilized and Buffy hefted the basket on her shoulder, following Daniel through. Jack glanced at Jay after Jacob went through, "I think the cat's out of the bag."

Jay shrugged, "Can't be helped."

General Hammond smiled at his team, then grinned when he saw his old friend.

"Jacob, you need a haircut!"

Jack chuckled, "I kinda like it."

Jacob smoothed a self-conscious hand over his hair, making Sam snicker and she moved by her father to hand off her weapon.

"You just need a ponytail." Buffy said, gently setting the basket down on the concrete floor, waving off security.

"Welcome back Buffy." General Hammond said warmly.

"It's good to be home Sir." She looked over at her husband who smiled back.

Security was staring at Buffy in her toga until Jay sharply cleared his throat, making them jump and Jack laugh.

General Hammond rolled his eyes, "Debriefing in 15 minutes people."

Going immediately to a phone Buffy dialed out.

"Hello?" Came Dawn's voice, then the muffled voice of a man in the background.

"Hey Dawnie." Buffy said.

"You're home." This was said with relief and Buffy laughed softly, "You bet, all in one piece too."

Dawn sighed and leaned back against Jon. "I'm glad, when are you coming home?" she asked, referring to their house.

"I don't know. Why, going to get Jon to leave first?" Buffy teased.

Blushing slightly Dawn whined, "Buuuuffy." And all was right in the world.

Buffy was out of her toga and back into green fatigues, and SG-1, SG-2 and Jacob were around the table, looking at the device that Buffy had found. It had taken 3 bulky Marines to haul the thing onto the table, where Sam had promptly started waving scientific thingys at it.

Buffy sighed and rolled her shoulders.

"You ok babe?" Jay asked, momentarily forgetting any kind of military protocol.

"Just tired, Colonel." She grinned as he winced.

There were chuckles around the table and General Hammond indulged in a hearty laugh. When everyone settled down he looked at Jacob, "So, what is it?"

Jacob sighed, "We're not totally sure. It was rumored that it was a great weapon, but no one quite remembers what it does. All that we're sure of is that it was what made the System Lords banish Apollo in the first place."

Teal'c was looking at it with a pensive frown, then he looked up, "I believe that I know what it is General Hammond."

Everyone looked at him expectantly, "And? So?" Jack asked impatiently.

Teal'c smiled slightly at his friend, "Apophis told of a device that was so innocent in appearance, but could change the very fabric of time."

"Crap, a time machine?"

"A very specific time machine O'Neill. I believe it was called the 'Balancer of Fate.' You activate it and are able to relive the past 25 minutes again."

There was silence and Buffy spoke, "Why 25 minutes?"

Sam smiled, "It's related to Pythagorean Theorem."

Buffy sighed, "I graduated high school ok Sam, beyond that you're going to hafta use small words."

"The Pythagorean Theorem is a²+b²=c². If a equals 3, b equals 4 and c equals 5 then when you add them you get 25 and a right angle triangle." Sam explained patiently.

Daniel nodded, "It's a Greek thing. Which makes sense since the goa'uld was Apollo, one of the Greek Pantheon." He paused, "If this really sets time back then what was it used for?"

"Imagine if you lost a decisive battle Daniel Jackson. Would 25 minutes be enough time to change what was done incorrectly to win?" Teal'c said quietly.

Buffy looked over at Jack who looked haunted. "What if you could change the death of someone that you love." She said simply, her own eyes dark with pain.

Daniel also looked haunted, "I see what you mean." He said. He was remembering his parents and Shar'e.

The General cleared his throat, "What are the Tok'ra going to use it for?"

Jacob's face was troubled, "I don't know, we weren't quite sure of what it was. What I don't understand is how do you prevent it from looping over and over?"

Buffy had stood and was running her fingers down a seam in the metallic side. There was a loud click that made everyone jump and a small padd popped out. Sam immediately leaned forward for a closer look.

"Don't touch!" Jack snapped at Sam who pouted.

Jacob was peering at the letters but shook his head, "Daniel?"

Daniel stood and looked closely at the letters, before stealing Jack's yellow pad, ripping off the page with doodles and beginning to copy the script. A few minutes of listening to his pen scratch made Buffy restless and she stood and walked over to look at pictures that hung on the walls of the conference room.

"What are you thinking Buffy?" Jack asked.

She turned, "I don't know if you're supposed to change the past. If I hadn't sent Angel to hell I wouldn't be with Jay. If you hadn't lost Charlie, you wouldn't have been with the SGC and saved the world over and over." She looked over at Daniel, "If you hadn't thrown yourself through the glass and saved the Kelownan's, you wouldn't have ascended." She waved an hand, "Going back to fix what is perceived as a mistake, but in the scheme of things was the single defining point that made the future safer, more secure or whatever." She made an impatient sound, "I don't know what I'm trying to say."

Teal'c nodded, "If I hadn't decided to join O'Neill and fight for the Taur'e…" he trailed off and Buffy nodded, "Exactly. Messing with time is a dangerous business."

General Hammond nodded slowly, "I agree. I wish the Tok'ra luck with the conundrum that this will present."

Daniel shook his head, "I don't know what it means. It had some kind of code embedded in it."

"Never mind Danny, one of our scientists will figure it out." Jacob said.

Buffy had sat back down and was looking at the machine with a speculative look on her face.

Jacob looked at his friend, "So, tell me about Buffy."

There was silence and Buffy grinned, "Nothing to tell. Wife, bodyguard for Daniel, older sister, best friend, and all around pain in the ass."

Daniel snorted and Jack and Sam busted into laughter. Hailey was having a completely unscientific fit of giggles that made Ballard shake his head in amazement. Teal'c raised an eyebrow, "You forgot to mention that you teach advanced self defense Buffy Coburn."

"Oh yeah, that too." She amended with a smile.

Jacob's eyes flashed and Selmak spoke, "I give my word that I will not speak of this."

Buffy leaned forward to say something when klaxons sounded, "Unauthorized gate activation."

Everyone stood and began to leave, but Buffy stayed behind. Jay glanced back, "Buffy?"

"I'll be a minute."

Buffy looked at the door then at the time machine, and she had an idea.