"You have two Gates on Earth?" Xander asked, after O'Neill had explained the situation with the stolen Touchstone device.
"Carter and I discovered it accidentally when a power surge caused our wormhole to jump." O'Neill answered. "We thought we were on another planet, took awhile for everyone to figure things out. We think the Antarctica Gate was part of the original network by the race that originally created them. By the time the Goa'uld discovered Earth it was buried under the ice sheet, they planted one here themselves and used it to move humans onto other planets."
"Where they enslaved them and forced them to worship them." Buffy muttered. O'Neill made a 'got it one! gesture.
"Anyway, the second one was secured in case we ever needed a backup, always a good idea to have one of those."
"Only someone may have got it into their pointy little head to use it for grand larceny?" Cordelia snarked.
"And we kind of have an idea who." O'Neill responded. "The idiot who was responsible for the mess with the Tollans."
"The people Dr. Jackson mentioned? The ones they wanted to keep in intellectual slavery." Xander finished.
"Maybourne." O'Neill confirmed. "Colonel Maybourne of the Air Force who also works for the NID, National Intelligence Directive."
"And like most Intelligence agents lacks actual intelligence?" Cordelia again with the snark. O'Neill grinned, he really liked these kids.
"Daniel, Teal'c and I are going to go check out the facility where it was being housed, try to get evidence. We want you to come with us." He indicated Xander.
"Me?" Xander narrowed his eyes at the Colonel. "Why me?"
"Three reasons. One, I want to see for myself what you can do with your Magic, two, my gut says I can trust you. Three, it's possible Maybourne may have spies in this Command and is aware of your presence." He let that sink in for a minute as the three teenagers looked at each other and wordlessly communicated with each other the way only a team or a family could.
"If he is, he may see me off alone without the girls as an opportunity to try to grab me and see what he can shake loose." Xander murmured. "Or he might think the girls are vulnerable without me to look after them. Boy, would he be in for a rude shock in either case."
"Mom is the only one of us without powers." Buffy muttered. "But Xander made sure she has a way to protect herself. I don't like the idea of one of us being used as potential bait, but Xander's right, if they try, they're in for a rude shock."
"Daniel was thinking of it more as a buzzsaw/bloody stump situation." O'Neill smirked and the kids snorted in agreement.
"Ass stays in one piece, Doofus." Cordelia glared at Xander. "I don't do nursemaid very well and Mrs. Summers would deny you brownies if she thinks you did something stupid."
"Same back attacha." Xander gently kissed her and Cordelia sighed. "If they don't try this time, they may try when we come back to test the things Major Carter comes up with to help Dawn. We need to show them we won't tolerate them going after us. I can buy you a nursemaid outfit if you wanted to practice being a nursemaid." He offered with a grin and got a laugh and a dope slap.
"You have your answer, Colonel." Xander stated. "When do we leave?"
"And when do the guards show up?" Cordelia asked as O'Neill's eyebrows climbed. "Please, you need to show you're not in on any plot against us and don't want to look like idiots if someone does try something. Having guards keep an eye on us covers both bases."
"The guards are being hand chosen and briefed right now." O'Neill answered with a grin, he definitely liked these kids, they were smart, snarky and looked out for each other. "And we can leave now, Daniel and Teal'c are gearing up. We pulled some fatigues in your size, we're going to let people assume you're a new recruit." He told Xander.
"Which would be easier for the soldier versions of me to pull off, but unless I need to say anything, I'll mostly just keep my mouth shut."
"Good plan." Cordelia snarked. "Your mouth tends to runaway from you anyway."
"No plan survives contact with the enemy." Xander muttered. "Which is the military version of Murphy's Law and I should have just kept my mouth shut and not said that."
"Yeah and when it does go to Hell, I'll say 'I told you so!' while smacking you upside the back of the head, Doofus!"
"Interesting you should mention soldier versions of you." O'Neill commented as he and Xander headed out to get geared up themselves. "The local version of you that exists in this reality, his father is a Marine. The feelers we've put out to see if he'd be a good fit for this program show he's ROTC. He's planning on following in his father's footsteps."
"Does his father have a police record of any sort?" A blank faced Xander asked.
"No, he doesn't." O'Neill shook his head. "But he is career military, why?"
"I'm legally emancipated and my version of Tony Harris never served in the military and does have a record."
"Oh." O'Neill grimaced as he understood what Xander wasn't saying. "There had to be a version out there in the multiverse that isn't a waste as a father, right?"
"Yeah and I hope local me appreciates that fact. I haven't met many versions myself, but I got the impression they, like me, would be better off without him in their lives. And Colonel, my gut says you can be trusted too."
"Good to be on the same page."