Paul woke in his quarters with a strange feeling that he was being watched. He flipped on the light switch and rubbed his eyes, tiredly. After checking the clock he switched the light back off and lay down on the bed. As he drifted off to sleep he was vaguely aware of a bright white light surrounding him. When he opened his eyes to find out what it was, he found he was no longer in his quarters, but standing on a hill, in brilliant sunshine.

He blinked and looked around. There were flowers everywhere and the scent of them filled the air. As he looked around he realized he was not alone on the hill. There was a woman, sitting on a large swing, hanging from the tree at the top of the hill. He frowned slightly and made his way over to her. Once closer, he recognized her.

"Aiva."

She looked up and smiled at him. "You wanted the truth."

He sat down beside her and looked at her in amazement. Her long hair was loose and she wore a simple white dress. He skin seemed to glow and her eyes sparkled in the sun. "Who are you? And where am I?"

"You are dreaming. This place..." Kalima looked around her. "...this is somewhere I come when I need to think things over."

"You can enter my dreams?"

"Not quite. I can manipulate them. Make you see what I see. I could not speak to you before. Your world is very strange to me. People are not always who they seem."

"Like you."

Kalima laughed softly. "Yes. Like me." She felt his hesitation. "I knew you mistrusted me because I felt it. I can feel the emotions of people I am close to. But you also wanted to trust me. You wanted me to be on your side. Now...you feel hesitation. You feel because I have powers, I am a threat."

Paul looked around the surrounding countryside. "And are you?"

"Do I look like a threat?"

Paul returned his gaze to her. "Beautiful things can be threatening. They can even be killers."

Kalima could feel so many conflicting emotions in the man sat beside her. She knew she had to confide in him, or he could cause too many problems. Problems that would stand in her way. Problems that could get people killed. "My real name is Kalima. I was sent to the Tau'ri by the council delegation to assess a potential threat. I was asked to gain your trust and find out if there was a need for interference."

Paul frowned. "You're an Ancient?"

Kalima chuckled. "Hardly. The Ancients are allies of ours. Our races once lived together in harmony, but they tried to enforce their rules onto my people. We went our separate ways after that. Although we still work closely together, our goals are much different now."

Paul thought carefully about her words. "You said you were here to assess a potential threat."

"Anubis." She saw him flinch at the words and felt his deep anger and hatred. "The parchment Daniel is working on, contains information on how to kill him. I was sent to assess whether or not you were ready for that information and if I considered your people intelligent enough to use it wisely."

"Use it wisely!" Paul got up of the swing. "Are you kidding? Do you know how much damage Anubis has done in the universe? The thousands of lives that have been lost. Countless numbers of entire civilizations destroyed by him. And you are telling me that parchment tells us how to kill him."

"Not just how to kill him. It contains the power to erase him from existence. If Daniel translates that parchment, he will able to manipulate the timeline. It will be as if Anubis never existed."

"So? What's the difference."

"The difference is that Anubis has interfered with too many civilizations on too many planets. To alter the timeline and erase his effect on those people he has come into contact with, be it good or bad, would alter the past, present and future."

Paul looked at her in confusion. "I don't understand."

"You are not used to looking at the big picture." She sighed softly. "Imagine if we erased Daniel from existence. There would be no Stargate Program. Your people would still be on Earth, blissfully unaware of the surrounding solar systems. Unaware of the potential threat heading your way, because believe me, the Goa'uld would have returned to Earth sooner or later. You'd be unaware of the Asguard, who have been keeping an eye on the planet for centuries now. The Asguard would not have been able to prevent the Goa'uld invading your planet. Your civilization would have eventually been enslaved."

Paul nodded. "The Grandfather paradox. If you change the timeline, you can change things so that you were never born."

"Yes."

"So what is your recommendation?"

"I really don't know. Anubis must be dealt with, but I don't think this is the way." Kalima looked out over the hill as he sat back down beside him. "I didn't realize this would get so complicated. When I was offered the mission I assumed it would be a standard search and recommendation. But it's not."

Paul looked at her. "You think you've become too involved?"

"I know I've become too involved. The very fact that you are sitting here goes against everything I should be doing." She frowned softly. "The others accepted me but you didn't. You challenged me and if you had succeeded in exposing me, the council would not have hesitated to send someone else in to destroy the parchment. I had to tell you but the choice was mine. You have to promise me you won't do or say anything that will make the others suspect you know something." She gently reached out and touched his cheek softly. "I'm your best shot at taking out Anubis. You have to trust me Major. You *have* to trust me."

Paul felt himself falling and when he opened his eyes he was back in his quarters. Feeling bewildered and disorientated, he wasn't sure if he'd been dreaming or if Aiva/Kalima had actually spoken to him. He got out of bed and hastily pulled on some clothes, and made his way down to her quarters.

Kalima looked up at the knock on her door. "Come in Major."

Paul slowly entered the room and closed the door behind him. "How did you know it was me?" He watched her raise an eyebrow. "Oh. It was real wasn't it?"

Kalima watched him walk towards her. "It was as real as you want it to be." She watched him sit down beside her and felt another shift in his emotions. "Don't get your emotions confused Major. You can't afford to let your feelings cloud your judgement."

Paul nodded slowly and spoke softly. "Tell me what I can do to help."