<< Previous | Story Intro | Return to Stories | Next >>

Jack found Sam in the corridor, looking into the holding cell where Betsy Harris was sitting. "Sam? What are you doing here?

The tall blonde started, looked up at him, guilt flashing across her face just before she could mask her emotions. "Nothing."

The gray haired man studied his wife for a moment. "Whatever it is you're up to, I hope the bitch is suffering."

Sam relaxed and smiled. "She is. Trust me."

He looked at her, knowing that he might never know exactly what she had done…or was doing. He nodded. "I was wondering if you'd like to get something to eat?"

"Sounds good," she replied. She gave a final glance into the cell. Betsy was sitting on the cot, her hands in her lap, rocking back and forth, staring at the monitor. The brown eyes had a vacant look to them.

A  A  A  A  A  A

"Danny! You're looking good," Jack said happily, when they walked into the officer's mess and saw the young couple sitting there. He was surprised to see the two Jacksons so soon. He and Sam filled a tray and joined them.

"Thanks. I'm feeling better," Daniel replied with a grin. He glanced at his wife and winked. Casey giggled beside him.

"What?" Sam asked, looking from face to face.

"Jack, explain to Sam later, okay?" Casey said.

Jack started, then grinned. "Doc told you?"

"He thought that…under the circumstances…I should be made aware," was the reply.

"Aware of what?" Sam demanded to know.

"Daniel is addicted to me," Casey said, giggling again.

The blonde colonel looked at her husband. "I want the full story…nothing left out," she said.

"I promise," Jack said.

Teal'c joined them, also happy to see that both Daniel and Casey looked well. The team shared a quick meal, all of them encouraging Daniel to eat as much as he could. Casey explained what was going to happen while he finished eating.

"Jack, could you help Case? I outweigh her by at least eighty-five pounds, it's gonna get hard for her to…handle me," Daniel said softly.

"I'll be there, Daniel," Jack promised.

"Teal'c, I'd like for you to be there as well…you know meditation techniques…" Daniel looked down at his empty plate. "She might need them…to help her get through this."

The large Jaffa inclined his head. "I will indeed be present if my assistance is required."

"It is, T," Daniel replied softly.

"Sam, I might call…sound a little…weird," Casey told her best friend.

"I'll be there, Casey. You can sound as weird as you want," Sam said gently. She took comfort in the fact that she had exacted a bit of vengeance on bitch who had caused all of this. Someday, she might tell them.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Two hours later SG-1 was back on Gamma. Duncan had greeted them both, happy to have SG-1 back together, even if one of the team members wasn't completely 'well'. He would be, the entire team would see to that.

Betsy was taken with no fanfare at all to a holding cell. The guards who escorted her were just as angry as everyone else on the base. This redheaded bitch had dared to attack members of SG-1…Daniel and Casey Jackson no less! While they were careful not to be overly rough, so that she could never claim that she had been mistreated, they made it obvious that they didn't care if she lived or died. She could sense that they probably preferred the latter.

Jack had seen to it that the jeep had been repaired, and carefully cleaned. It was waiting for them in the parking lot. Casey stopped and stared at the vehicle.

"Case?" Daniel asked, unlocking the door.

"I can't…" she whispered.

He walked around the front of the jeep and pulled her close. "As soon as I'm…well...again, we'll get a new jeep. Maybe a bigger one."

She nodded.

"Do you want to call a cab?"

She shook her head. "No…just…let me hold your hand," she said softly.

"Anything you want, anything you need, Angel," he replied, his voice full of love. He held the door open for her, leaned in and fastened the seat belt, noted that the buckle was new. He kissed her gently before pulling away, closing the door and walking around to get in behind the wheel. He wrapped his fingers around hers and drove one handed all the way to the gray brick and clapboard house that was home for his family.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Emily was still limping slightly as she raced toward her parents when they walked into the kitchen. "Mommy! Daddy!"

Tears filled Daniel's eyes. He picked his daughter up, careful to avoid putting pressure on her leg. "Hey, Princess. How's my girl?"

"I'm okay, Daddy," Emily replied, hugging his neck tightly. She had been terrified when those bad people had taken her Daddy away, and had hurt her Mommy. But Daddy was here now, and Mommy's eyes were all happy again. "Love you, Daddy."

"Love you, too, Princess." He accepted the Zerbert kiss, held her tightly against his chest. Nicholas was in his mother's arms, giggling loudly as she kissed his cheeks. He winked at Casey, and they 'traded' children. "Hey, Nicholas, how's my boy?"

Nicholas looked at him, then threw his arms around his Daddy's neck and squeezed hard. "Daddy home!"

"Yeah, Little Man, Daddy's home," Daniel said softly.

Casey had sat Emily on the island, was checking the wound beneath the gauze covering. "It's looking better, Baby." She looked over at her mother. "Is it time for more ointment?"

Erin nodded. "Doctor Montigue says to apply it as often as possible. He thinks that will help lessen the scarring."

Daniel bit back the bile that burned in his stomach as he inspected the angry red gash on Emily's leg. "Does it hurt, Princess?"

"Don't hurt, Daddy," Emily replied.

"Doctor Montigue prescribed a pain killer. It's mild, and it seems to help," Erin told him. "He prescribed a stronger one for nighttime. It helps her sleep." She looked over at her daughter. "They both seem to be having nightmares."

Casey nodded. "I'm not surprised. Has Nicholas had any more seizures?"

"What? Seizures?" Daniel's eyes widened. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Casey's eyes went wide. "Oh, god, Daniel, I'm sorry! I thought I…I'm sorry!"

He shook his head. He hadn't meant to snap at her. He reached out with one hand and caressed her cheek. "I'm sorry, Angel. What happened?"

"Well, I was out for awhile, and…Nicholas screamed and cried so hard he went into a seizure. As soon as they got me to the infirmary they…dunked me," she said, glancing at Emily. She could see that Daniel understood what she was talking about, he was nodding slightly. "Sam said he had another one in the hospital that night…he woke up crying for me and it took awhile to calm him back down. Doctor Montigue says we'll have to keep an eye on him for awhile. He said that it's not unusual for children under the age of two to have fever-induced seizures, and Nicholas was crying so hard both times that the doctor thinks he had raised his body temperature quite a bit. There aren't usually any long term affects," Casey explained gently.

Daniel closed his eyes for a minute, letting the information sink into his already aching heart. "I'll kill her, Case," he whispered.

Casey wrapped her arms around him, put her head on his shoulder. "Don't let her take any more from us than she already has," she said softly.

"Daddy, we go to the lake tomorrow?" Emily asked hopefully.

"Baby, you can't go to the lake until your leg is better," Casey reminded her daughter.

Daniel pulled Emily into his arms, and holding both of his children, he walked into the conversation room and sat down in one of the oversized chairs. "Emmie, Nicholas, I need for you to help me out. I have to go away for a few days. Mommy is going with me. We have to…work something out. I'm going to miss you very much, but when I get home, I promise that we'll go to the lake, if Doctor Montigue says it's okay. Can you be good for Meemaw and Peepaw while Mommy and I are away?"

Emily hugged his neck. "You do a mission job, Daddy?"

"Not exactly, Princess."

"Then what, Daddy?"

Daniel looked up at Casey, seeking her assistance. Smiled when she sat down on the ottoman in front of them.

"Emily, I don't know how much of this you'll understand, but I'm going to tell you as much as I can. Do you remember the woman that took Daddy away?"

Emily nodded. "Unka Duncan said she was a bad lady. He showed me pictures, and I saw the bad lady in the pictures." Duncan had shown Emily the pictures in order to ascertain that Betsy Harris was the woman who had wreaked such havoc, and taken Daniel.

"Well, that woman…hurt…your Daddy."

Emily's eyes went wide, and filled with tears as she looked up at her father. "Hurt Daddy?"

"Yes, Baby. She hurt Daddy by putting…drugs…um…bad medicine…into him. She put lots of the bad medicine into him. We have to get it out. And it's going to take a few days to do that," Casey replied.

"I can help, Mommy! I can help get the bad medicine out!" Emily declared, tears on her little cheeks.

"No, Princess, this is something that you can't help me with. It makes me happy that you want to help. But Mommy will be there for me," Daniel said softly. His heart was so full of love for his daughter that it ached.

"Will it hurt, Daddy?" she asked, looking into his blue eyes.

"Yeah, Princess, it will," he confessed.

"Ask Dok'tor Monty for medicine that makes it better. He give'd me some," she suggested sagely.

Daniel chuckled. "Thanks for the advice, Princess. I think I'll do that." He kissed her cheek, tasting the salt of her tears. One more thing to add to the list of Betsy Harris's crimes.

"Daddy, where's the bad lady?"

"Uncle Duncan and Uncle Jack have her in a special room where she can't get away," Daniel replied.

Emily turned to Casey. "Mommy, I want to see the bad lady."

Casey was shocked, looked at Daniel, who was just as surprised, then back at Emily. "Why, Baby?"

"I want to tell her she's mean for hurting you and Daddy!" was the simple reply.

She smiled. "Baby, I understand why you want to do that. But I'm not letting you anywhere near that woman. I don't trust her, Emily. She would hurt you if she could, to make Daddy and me sad. So, you and Nicholas will stay here with Meemaw and Peepaw."

Emily considered this, then nodded slowly. "Why is she so mean, Mommy?"

"I don't know, Emmie," Casey admitted.

"Daddy, when you get all the bad medicine out of you, will that bad lady be sad?"

Daniel bit back a smile. "I don't know, Emily. Why do you ask?"

"If she put the bad medicine in you, maybe it will make her sad if you get it out."

He couldn't help it, he laughed out loud. "Princess, I hope it makes her very sad."

"Let's get the ointment on your leg," Casey said, holding her arms out for her daughter.

"Daddy do it! Please Daddy?" Emily begged.

He wasn't sure he could handle this. He looked into her little blue eyes, saw the love, the trust…the faith there. He couldn't let her down. "Okay, Princess."

Casey took Nicholas, who was busy sucking on three fingers, watching and listening with wide eyes, and followed Daniel and Emily into the kitchen.

Daniel put Emily on the counter. Erin had the tube of ointment, clean gauze and the medical tape waiting. "If this hurts, let me know, Emmie," he said softly. He washed his hands, then squeezed a generous amount of the ointment onto his fingertips, and began to gently apply it to the wound. It wasn't quite half an inch wide, but went from just above her ankle to just below her knee on the outside of her right leg. In three places it was at least an eighth of an inch deep. "You're my brave girl, Princess," he said as he carefully covered the graze mark with ointment. He wrapped it with the gauze, and then taped it to her leg. "All done."

"Thank you, Daddy," she said, throwing her arms around his strong neck.

"You're welcome, Princess." He looked over at Nicholas. "Hey, Little Man!"

Nicholas giggled, and held his arms out. "Daddy!"

Daniel took him, hugged him tightly.

"Swishy!" Nicholas crowed, laughing out loud. "Swishy, Daddy!"

"Squish you, huh? What did you have for lunch?"

"P'ean budder!"

"I get to squish peanut butter out of you!" Daniel declared, his voice full of love and laughter. He held the child tighter, shook him slightly. "Where's that peanut butter?"

By now Nicholas was howling with delight. "No p'ean budder out!"

Daniel laughed. "Not gonna come out, huh?" He hugged and kissed his son, leaned over and kissed Emily, who was still sitting on the counter. They were all right. They had suffered, but they were all right. His children would survive, would be healthy and happy and hopefully this would be the last, the only horrible thing in their lives. Holding them, feeling them breathe, listening to their laughter helped to soothe him.

Casey put her hand on his arm. "Daniel, we should probably go. It will be time for…well, soon it will be time," she said softly.

He nodded. Soon it would be time for a fix. And instead of taking the drug, he would begin suffering withdrawal symptoms. He hugged and kissed his children again. "When I get back, we'll get some new coloring books," he promised. This announcement was met with loud approval.

"Don't forget Daddy, if Dok'tor Monty says it's 'kay, we go to the lake," Emily reminded him.

"I promise, Princess. If Doctor Monty says you can go to the lake, we'll go," Daniel replied.

He put Nicholas on the floor, did the same for Emily. He followed Casey into their bedroom, where they both packed a duffel. He kissed her lightly before they went back to the kitchen.

Both of the kids ran to wrap themselves around his legs. He knelt down, and hugged them tightly, kissed the tops of their blonde heads. Then stood up and turned to his mother-in-law. "Thanks for taking good care of them," he said softly.

Erin hugged the young man tightly. "It's my pleasure, Daniel. I'm so glad you're back safely."

"Thanks. I'm sure glad to be back," he said. "We'll see you in a few days."

The older version of Casey smiled. "We'll be here waiting for you, won't we, my precious ones?"

He took Casey's hand, led her back to the garage. "I’m going to kill her," he whispered fiercely.

"I know," she replied softly. They were almost to the guardhouse that protected the only entrance to the housing development when she started giggling.

"What?"

"Well, knowing that she wanted you, and wanted you to love her, and wanted you in bed, we should put a show on for her. You and me, right there in front of her." Her giggles turned into laughter. "I know, that's just mean. But it would so serve her right!'

Daniel grinned. "Probably drive the bitch out of her skull."

"Oh, Stud Muffin, she's already out of her freaking skull. I want to hit her where it hurts!" Casey declared vindictively.

He laughed now as well. "You know, maybe we'll do just that. Let her see what real love looks like." He glanced over at her. She hadn't asked, although he knew that she was aware of what had happened. "Case, do we…uh…need to talk about anything?"

She looked over at him and smiled. She reached for his hand, lifted it to her lips. "Nope. Daniel, you were so out of it…" she started giggling again.

He grinned again as well. "What?"

"Well, I was just…no…I can't say it," she said. She was laughing now.

"Come on, Casey, tell me," he begged, already starting to chuckle. Whatever it was, if she was laughing, it was worth hearing.

"Well, as doped up as you were…I figure that you would have fucked a donut if that's what had been in front of you."

He stared at her for a second, then burst into laughter. "You know, I'm not sure, but you're probably right!" Images of the first night…or at least the first time he had been in bed with Betsy flashed through his mind. He couldn't even remember the other times, not clearly…not even enough to know if the images were true memories, or something planted by that sick, twisted bitch.

"Daniel, we're just fine. You're here, you're safe, in a few days you'll be perfectly healthy again…and you love me. All is right in my world," she assured him.

A  A  A  A  A  A

He pulled into the hospital parking lot, found a place to park, shut off the engine. He turned sideways in the seat, leaned on the console, reached out and took a fistful of blonde hair to play with. "I told you that no matter what, you're always in my heart, in my mind," he said softly, twisting that soft silk around his fingers.

She smiled, reached over and ran her finger over his jaw. "Yes, you did. But we both know that given the time, she could have convinced you that either I was dead, or cheating on you. She would have turned you against me."

He shook his head stubbornly. "She's not Immortal, and it would have taken her a hell of a long time and a lot of freaking drugs to do it. I still don't think it's possible."

Her smile widened. "Well, as long as you're addicted to me, I don't have to worry about you going too far, for too long."

He laughed. "Nope, not going anywhere with out you, my sweet Little Slave." He took her hand, laced his fingers with hers. "Case…I have no idea what I might say, or do…I just want you to know that I love you. Always have, always will. Anything that goes on in there," he said, nodding toward the hospital, "will be nothing more than the damned drugs…or lack thereof, talking. Chemicals, babe. Chemical imbalances. Not my emotions. Never my heart."

Her heart soared that he would be so thoughtful, to want to assure her of his love. "I know."

"I know that you know. But Angel, it's going to get…ugly. And it's going to hurt. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Let's get in there before…" he let the sentence trail off. She nodded, and he lifted her fingers to his lips.

They walked into the hospital arm in arm. The admitting staff was expecting them. Paperwork was filled out, and then they were led to a room toward the back of the hospital, separated from the other rooms by several storage closets and a nurse's station. One of the nurses came in and drew blood, telling them that it was by order of Dr. Montigue. The doctor wanted toxicology work done on a regular schedule, to monitor the amount of drugs left in his system.

Daniel looked around. There was the prerequisite hospital bed. There was also a narrow cot, and three reclining chairs. All of the chairs had plastic covering them. He sat down on the bed and watched as Casey hung their clothes in the wardrobe, filled the shallow drawer with their underclothes and sweats, put their toiletries in the bathroom. He rubbed his fingers over his eyes.

"Daniel?"

"Just a bit of a headache," he said.

"Why don't you lay down, try to relax a little bit," she suggested.

"I don't want to lay down," he snapped. He looked at her. "Oh, god babe…"

She crossed the room, hugged him tightly. "It's okay, Beloved."

He held her close. It was starting.

<< Previous | Story Intro | Return to Stories | Next >>