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In the Arms of Love

Chapter 7

She was feeling more relaxed than she'd felt in ages. Two days of practically non-stop lovemaking probably had a great deal to do with that, she thought with a smile. The only time they had left the bed was to eat whatever they ordered up from room service. They hadn’t even allowed housekeeping to come in, although the maid had dropped off clean towels for them.

She closed her locker door, and finished tying her boots. SG-1 was meeting up with Duncan in Glenncairn. She couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he met up with more MacLeods. SG-1 was going to finalize the treaty between Angus and the humans of Earth.

It was her first mission back on the team, and from the smiles she received when she walked into the 'gate room, she wasn’t the only one happy about it.

"Glad to have you back with us, Case," Sam said, a wide smile on her face.

"Glad to be back," she replied. "Where’s Daniel?"

"He said something about extra discs for the camcorder," Sam answered.

Just before the sixth chevron was locked and encoded, he came running into the room. "Now this is what SG-1 is supposed to look like," he said, standing between Sam and Casey.

"I concur, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said, with a smile.

The gate opened, Jack called down his customary send-off, and they walked up the ramp, side by side.

Angus was waiting to meet them, having received word of their visit on the radio Sam had left with him on their last visit. "Welcome back, my friends!"

The gate opened again, and Duncan stepped through, the excitement he felt visible in his brown eyes.

Casey made the introductions, and stood back as the two clansmen greeted one another like long lost family. Which, technically, they were. Miram was already clinging to her leg. This was a place they would visit often, she thought. And it was a thought that pleased her.

 

A  A  A  A  A  A

 

Kenny slammed the phone down. He had been his most charming, but after three days, he was no closer to knowing where Casey lived, or her phone number, than when he'd first began searching for them. No one on the base would do more than offer to pass along a message. Every person he had talked to told him that personal information of any kind could not be given out, regardless of the circumstances. He'd thought that telling them that her mother was dying and that it was an emergency would get him what he wanted. It hadn’t happened. The young woman had been sympathetic, and had told him that Casey would receive the message immediately. He'd had to leave a contact number, otherwise the woman would have become suspicious, so he had given the number to her parent’s home in Tacoma. He thought about calling Helen to tell her what was going on, and to ask her to let him know if Casey called there. But the conversation at the restaurant had let him know that there were no feelings at all for her family. He couldn’t understand her. Helen and Frank had taken her in, given her the best of everything. True, Sheryl was the obvious favorite. But to just cut them off…he shook his head. He took another pull from his beer. Casey had changed. But he still loved her. Still wanted her back. In spite of the doctor she was now married to.

He threw himself onto the sofa. Doctor Daniel Jackson. That had been another dead end. He could only find a few references to some papers he had written several years ago, something about archaeology. He found one reference that listed all of his degrees. Doctor Daniel Jackson, Ph.D. So what the hell was he doing working for the military? Why was Casey working for the military? He tossed his empty bottle onto the cluttered coffee table. He was too drunk to be able to come up with any answers. He looked at the clock. Not quite four. He grabbed the car keys and a six pack. Time to see if the jeep left the parking lot today.

 

A  A  A  A  A  A

 

He'd waited every afternoon for two days. It was nearly seven on the third day when he saw them. Finally! With a grin, he pulled away from the side of the road, and followed them.

 

 

 

Daniel’s cell phone rang just minutes after he turned onto the highway. "You’re sure? Okay…thanks." He looked in his rearview mirror. Yep, there he was, four cars back. "Babe, Kenny’s back there."

"I’m not going to hide from him, Daniel. Let’s stop by the store, just like we planned, then go home. If he wants a confrontation, then he’ll get one. Let’s just get it over with," Casey replied firmly.

He reached out and caressed her cheek. "Love you," he said softly. His heart skipped a beat when she turned and smiled at him, her green eyes so full of love it took his breath away.

"Love you, too," she smiled. The love in his blue eyes made her heart flutter against her ribs.

They walked through the store arm in arm, Daniel carried a small hand basket which Casey filled with items for their dinner.

 

 

 

It was three hours later when the doorbell rang. They exchanged a look. "I’ll get it," Daniel said, and made his way down the hallway.

"I wanna talk to Casey," Kenny said, as soon as the door was open.

"She doesn’t want to talk to you," Daniel said calmly.

"Get the fuck out of my way and let me talk to my wife!"

"Ex-wife," Daniel growled. "She happens to be Mrs. Jackson, now."

Casey stepped up behind Daniel. "What does he want?"

Daniel looked at the man. "What do you want?"

Kenny tried to push his way past the man, but was unable to get a firm grip on the doorframe. "I just want to talk to you, babydoll," he said, looking at Casey.

"Tell him that he has nothing to say that I want to hear, and I don’t have anything to say to him," Casey said, her hands wrapped around Daniel’s arm.

"Like I said, she doesn’t want to talk to you," Daniel told the dark haired man in front of him. His fears about what the confrontation might do to her eased considerably...her hands were steady against his skin as she clutched his arm.

"Casey, damn it! Talk to me! I can change! We can work things out! We’ll go back to Tacoma, I’ll find a good job, we’ll be happy, really, we will!" Kenny pleaded.

Casey looked up at Daniel. "Honey, I’m going to get a bowl of ice cream, would you like one?"

Daniel grinned down at her. "That would be great, babe. Chocolate syrup?"

"Absolutely."

"Whipped cream?"

She shivered at the look he gave her, letting her know that he was remembering another use for the topping. "I think we have a can in there," she said softly, her smile telling him what she was thinking.

He chuckled, then turned back to the man who was still standing at the door. "She really doesn’t want to talk to you." He closed the door firmly and locked it. He waited, expecting to hear Kenny pounding on it. After a minute of silence, he walked into the kitchen and ate ice cream with his wife.

Kenny watched the house. Watched as all the lights went out except the one in what he assumed was the bedroom. Watched when that one went out. He folded his arms over his chest and made himself comfortable. He was a patient man. He had plenty of time. He closed his eyes.

 

 

 

When the morning sun woke him up, he decided to park his car on the next block. There was a nice hedge near the corner where he could see the house, but not be seen. He waited until they drove past, then made his way up the street. He walked around to the back, found the two single French doors. He grinned, and took off his jacket. He wrapped it around his hand and tried to break the glass. It wouldn’t break. Must be some kind of safety glass, he thought. He looked at the handle. He figured with enough pressure he should be able to break it. He wiggled it back and forth roughly several times, then lifted up on it. He continued until he heard the wood near the latch give way. With a grin he opened the door and stepped in.

He looked around. It was a nice place. He noted all the books and the…stuff…like what could be found in a museum. He looked through the CDs, knowing that the majority of the collection was hers. Nice stereo system, he thought. He didn’t think about taking anything; Kenny Vincent was a lot of things, but an outright thief wasn’t one of them. He glanced through the collection of videotapes and DVDs. Two tapes in particular caught his eye. He pulled them out, turned on the TV, figured out the VCR, and put the first one, marked ‘Engagement party’, into the machine. Tears filled his eyes as he watched, the look of love on her face almost more than he could stand. The wedding tape was equally as hard to watch. They had been married on a beach somewhere, looked tropical. Caribbean, maybe? She was breathtaking in it. He turned the machine off, leaving the tapes where they were.

He stood up, wandered through the rest of the house. He stopped in the bedroom. The big brass bed made him gasp in pain. He could picture them on it. Picture her naked and writhing. He opened the first closet door, found men’s clothes. The second was hers. A thin, silky robe hung on the inside of the door. He held it to his face, breathing in the sweet scent that clung to it. He opened the top drawer in the tall dresser that stood against the back wall, ran his hands through the silk and satin of her under garments. He held up a couple of the lacy bras. She had never worn things like this when they were married. He looked at the tags. They hadn’t been able to afford name brands like these. He stuffed them back in the drawer and closed it. He came back out, looked around, then went back to the living room.

For the first time he noticed the sketch above the fireplace. It was her and the doctor, sitting on steps. Kenny stared at it. The love on her face for him, on his face for her…the love they felt for one another was tangible in that picture. He sucked in a breath from the pain that shot through him.

He looked at all the pictures on the mantel. Who the hell was the big black guy with the weird tattoo in the middle of his forehead? Must be a close friend. In one picture Casey was on his back, piggyback style, and they were both laughing into the camera.

Kenny ran a hand through his dirty black hair. The tapes and the pictures haunted him. She had never smiled like that for him, he'd never seen her face so full of love, so full of life. He reached out to touch her face in the photograph of her alone.

"Keep your hands where I can see them."

He lifted his hands to shoulder height, and turned slowly around. He was shocked to see Daniel standing there, a gray-haired man on one side of him, and a black giant with the weird tattoo on the other. He recognized both men from the pictures on the mantel. All three of them had guns pointed at him. "I just want to talk to her," he said softly.

Daniel shook his head. "Casey told me you weren’t too bright. How many times does she have to tell you she’s not interested?"

Kenny shrugged. He was sober this morning, for the first time since he'd seen her at Red Lobster. Without the alcohol urging him on, it was difficult to focus on his intent to win her back.

"Well, Daniel, I’d say you have legal recourse now. Breaking and entering. With him following Case the way he has, I think you can get him for stalking, too," the gray haired man said.

"I suggest we return to the base with him," the large black man said. "Casey Jackson has indicated that this man has no employment, and no family who will claim him."

"What would you do with him there, T?" Daniel asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Convince him to leave you and Casey Jackson alone."

Kenny noted the odd way the man spoke. Obviously not a homeboy. But he knew exactly what this man wanted to do to him. He tried not to shudder visibly. "Look, I’ll just be on my way. Out of town in an hour," he said.

Daniel shook his head as he walked toward the phone in the kitchen. "I don’t think so." He dialed, then waited. "Hey babe, what’s up? Did Sam give you the message?…Yep, standing here right now…Doesn’t look like it…Okay, I’ll check…T wants to bring him back to the base. We can have him arrested for B&E, and Jack thinks that we could even press charges for stalking…it’s up to you, babe…are you sure? Okay…yeah, okay, I will. Love you, too, Angel." He put the receiver back on the cradle. "She wants me to take a look around and see if he’s messed with anything. Then she says to bring him to the base."

Jack looked at Kenny and shook his head. "Man, I would not want to be you right now. When Case gets ticked off-" he broke off, shook his head again. "Maybe you can talk her into letting T here…uh 'talk' to you. You’ll get off easier that way."

Kenny grinned. "She weighs what, a hundred fifteen? What can she do to me?"

"You don’t know Casey," Daniel said softly. He picked up the two tapes. "Enjoy them?" he asked. The look of pain on the Kenny’s face made him smile. He put them away, then walked through the other rooms. When he came back, he looked hard at the man who had broken into his house. "I imagine she’ll wash everything in her closet tonight. Unless you want to save us the trouble and just tell us what you went through. I can throw it away now, cause she damned sure won’t wear it again."

Kenny glared at them. When ‘T’ took a step closer, he swallowed. "Just the top drawer, man, honest."

Daniel nodded, and disappeared again. When he returned, he had the drawer in his hands. He took a trash bag and dumped the contents into it, then sat the drawer on the counter. He reached behind his back, then held his gun on Kenny once again. "Let’s go."

Kenny was shoved into the backseat of a dark green F-250 club cab truck, with Daniel on one side, and ‘T’ on the other. Both still held their guns on him.


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