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Breakfast trays were brought up to the room where Janet insisted Casey remain, the team having their first meal together in two weeks. The slender blonde had taken more Vicodin, and the pain medication had eased the hammering in her head to a tolerable level.

"What's the last thing you remember, Case?" Daniel asked softly, as soon as it was apparent that they were all finished.

She closed her eyes, frowned slightly. The team had gone into that village...and Daniel'd tried to talk to that old man...and then there were Jaffa on the way...they could hear the clanking of their armor...and...that little girl! The child had just appeared from nowhere, and she could remember thinking that she had to give the little one a candy bar...and then the Jaffa were there..."Oh, god," she whispered, as the memories of her captivity before Ba'al began using the drug on her flooded her mind. "What did he do to me?"

"He uh..." Daniel put his coffee cup down. His hands had begun shaking, and he didn't want to spill it. "He drugged you, Angel."

"He was training you as a slave; conditioning you to behave, to obey, as he commanded," Teal'c said bluntly.

"That does not sound good," she whispered. Worried green eyes turned to her husband. "I need to know."

"It doesn't matter," he replied.

"Yes, it does."

"Casey, it doesn't."

"If...if it did happen...and he...then you..." tears filled her eyes. He didn't have to tell her. The answer was in those beautiful blue eyes. Something poked at the back of her mind. Something that Miss Eloise had told her...

Daniel sat down beside her. "Casey, nothing that happened to you can hurt us. Nothing."

"Nothing?" she whispered.

"Nothing," he whispered in reply.

Jack shifted uncomfortably. "If you'd like for us to leave..."

She glanced over at her friends. "You don't mind?"

Sam smiled. "Not at all. General Hammond has called a debrief with SG-3 at sixteen-hundred," she reminded Daniel.

"I'll be there, too," the young blonde replied.

"Casey, you don't have attend," Jack objected.

"Yes, I do. They have photos."

He couldn't stop the grin that spread over his face. "Well, kids, looks like Radar's back!"

She smiled in return. "Give us a few minutes. Maybe you could bring up more coffee?"

"I'll bring a pot," Jack replied. As her CO he needed to know what she remembered of her captivity. He knew that Casey was well aware of the fact that he, Sam, Teal'c, and Janet would monitor what was going on, being said. But it would be easier for her to discuss what had happened to her if it was just her and her husband. And he would return with that pot of coffee.

When Teal'c started to follow, Casey called out to him. "You...you know more than anyone about what happened, don't you?"

Black eyes clouded with pain. The Jaffa merely bowed his head slightly.

"Please, I have to know."

"Casey, please, let it go," Daniel begged. He knew exactly what would happen. She would learn she'd been raped...oh hell, she already knew she had been, or she wouldn't be doing this. She'd blame herself, probably already was, and god only knew when she'd be able to let him hold her, touch her, and he needed her so damned badly! Not for the sex. Okay, not only for the sex. He just wanted to hold her, feel her hold him. He needed to feel her arms around him, to know that she remembered him...loved him.

Her mouth hardened. "I want to know exactly what that bastard did to me. So I can carve it on his freaking tombstone!"

The two men exchanged a surprised look. Daniel couldn't help but smile. Which faded quickly. "To be honest, we don't know exactly what happened."

"Teal'c does."

The Jaffa looked uncomfortable.

Casey held out her hand. Patted the bed with the other. "Sit down, Teal'c. Let's talk."

It was a simple gesture. She didn't remember looking at the Jaffa through the eyes of a terrified slave, seeing the man as her new Master. But he remembered. And it hurt just as much now as it did the first time he'd watched those green eyes seek guidance from his friend. He moved away from the bed, ready to lean against the wall.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked softly. She tried to keep her voice light. If she'd been raped, and he was having trouble dealing with it...he might not want to touch her...ever. And that thought sent a surge of panic through her being.

Hope flared in his chest. As stupid as it sounded, he felt like a schoolboy, learning that the girl he had a crush on liked him in return. Teal'c was sitting by her feet. He took her hand, sat down beside her. He could feel the tremors that went through her body as he settled close to her side. He wrapped his fingers around hers, lifted them to his lips. Smiled when her hand cupped his cheek.

"Now please, tell me what happened."

"What do you remember, Casey Jackson?" Teal'c asked.

She frowned. "I remember being carried into that castle..." she shivered violently. "That place is...it's evil! They took me to Ba'al. He did the 'I-am-your-god-forget-everything-you-knew' routine. I pointed out that all of the snakes must have the same speech writer. I don't recall him being amused," she said, frowning slightly. The two men exchanged smiling glances.

In the observation room, Jack rolled his eyes. "Snake baiting. She does it too damned well!"

"Sort of like you and Daniel, huh?" Sam asked, not taking her eyes off of the young blonde in the room below them.

Jack rolled his eyes again.

"He had this...thing...it looked like a giant metal spider's web. He...he had knives...and he just held them up, and let go...oh, god, it hurt so much!" Casey was saying.

Daniel grimaced. Put his arm around her, pulled her close.

"He wanted to know where you guys were. I remember telling him to do some very creative things to himself. I thought telling him to take flying fuck at a rolling donut was the most...inventive, though," she grinned.

Daniel snorted. Teal'c coughed. In the observation room Jack, Sam, and Janet were laughing out loud.

"Hey, even in as much pain as I was in, the mental image was funnier than hell. Sort of helped me to focus on something other than the knives in my legs and arms. I remember..." she glanced up at Daniel, quickly dropped her eyes. "They...at some point I passed out... and they...they took me out of my BDU...put this little gauzy thing on me, except, with my hands up in the manacles, it didn't...it didn't..." she shook her head, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"It did not completely cover your body," Teal'c said gently.

She nodded. Again green eyes flickered up at blue ones. "He was really pissy...wanted to know about Hathor-"

Daniel started. "Hathor?"

"Yeah, something about her perfume," Casey replied.

"Go on," he said gently. Apparently that intoxicating scent of hers was indeed like the drug that Hathor used, and Ba'al had recognized it. Hopefully he hadn't had time to discover that it was natural in Casey.

"I remember him injecting me with something...and then...then there's just this kaleidoscope of blurry faces and these...well, more like impressions than actual feelings of terror...and shame," she whispered.

Daniel pressed his lips to the side of her face. "Nothing can hurt us," he whispered.

"You remember nothing else?" Teal'c asked.

She shook her head, although the movement made her wince. "Blue eyes! I remember that it felt like I was...haunted...by blue eyes! They made me feel...safe. No matter what happened, I could look into those blue eyes, and I was...okay." She turned to Daniel. "Beautiful blue eyes," she whispered.

He smiled, lifted her hand to his lips again.

"The drug Ba'al used was intended to wipe your memory clear of anything from your past."

"I remember being...poked...a lot...with something sharp...it must have been the injections."

Teal'c frowned. "It is unusual for the drug to be administered more than twice a day."

"That might have been all that it was. It just seemed like...a lot. I mean, I think it did." She frowned again.

Daniel was frowning as well. "Apparently the drug wore off...maybe faster than he anticipated. That's why she can remember the injections."

"When the drug is no longer in your body, it cannot hold your true memories back. All of the lies that you were told cannot be remembered without the drug; what happened to you during the time the drug was controlling you will not be remembered," Teal'c said.

"So if I'm injected with that stuff again, my memory goes 'poof', and I'm back to being a Goa'uld slave?" That was not a pleasant thought to contemplate!

Teal'c smiled. "No. Quite the opposite. If you were to be captured again, it would take much more of the drug to even begin to affect you."

"Well, that's good news," she sighed. She looked sideways at her husband. "You can...you can handle this? You can forgive me?"

"Forgive you? For what? Being raped? Being tortured? Casey, you were brutalized! You did nothing wrong!" Daniel declared.

She gave a small smile. "Well, now I know."

He stopped. Stared at her. "That was sneaky!"

"I needed to know."

He shook his head. "No, you didn't. And don't you dare think it makes one bit of difference in how much I love you, or need you!"

"Daniel Jackson was most distressed during your imprisonment," Teal'c told her.

"I'm sure he was," she murmured. Knowing that his Wife was being fucked by numerous, nameless Jaffa, and possibly even Ba'al himself, couldn't have been easy for him to deal with. She frowned. As soon as she could, she'd have Janet test her for any sexually transmitted diseases that might be lurking. Jaffa were damned healthy...but she needed to be certain. Until she was given a clean bill of health...

He watched her eyes. "I said don't do it," he growled.

"Casey Jackson, do you recall being raped?" Teal'c asked. He would never forget, never be able to rid himself of the memory of what he'd witnessed. He could only hope that she'd never remember.

She pulled her lip between her teeth, shook her head.

"Daniel Jackson, did you witness your Wife being raped?"

Daniel frowned. He hadn't been able to get close enough to her during her imprisonment to know what was happening to her! "No."

"Then, if she does not remember, and you did not witness any such event, how could it have taken place?"

In the observation room, Jack sat back in his chair. That Jaffa could be damned sneaky when he wanted to be. Must have been taking sneaky lessons from Casey. "Nice move, T-man," he said softly.

Casey couldn't help but smile. "That is so twisted."

"It is not. They are two facts. You do not remember. Daniel Jackson did not witness you being raped. Thus, it must not have happened." Teal'c crossed his arms over his massive chest. Dared either of them to argue with him.

"You're good," she giggled.

Daniel smiled as well. "Very good," he agreed.

"I believe we have discussed the matter completely. Let us speak of it no more."

That comment alone told Casey that Daniel might not have witnessed her being abused, or raped. But Teal'c had. And he was beating himself up over it. "Deal," she said softly. She glanced up at the darkened windows of the observation room. "I'm ready for that coffee now."

Jack grinned. Grabbed the microphone. "You're a smartass. It's on its way."

A  A  A  A  A  A

After a shower, during which she used her own shampoo and soap, she slathered her body with lotion and pulled on a clean BDU. The rest of the team was showering was well, so she took the opportunity to slip back into the infirmary. She had to get an appointment set up with Janet as soon as possible.

"Hey, there! I was certain I wouldn't see you in here for awhile," Janet teased when the young blonde walked into her office. The smile on her face faded when Casey closed the door.

"I need you to run a few tests," she said, having determined to just cut straight to the heart of the matter. She could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment, with shame; slender arms went around her narrow waist.

"I see," Janet replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "And what kind of tests do you want me to run?"

Her green eyes moved around the room. Looked everywhere but into the brown eyes that were boring holes through her. "STD tests," she said, her voice barely audible.

Janet shook her head, even as she began to chuckle. "Not necessary. For one thing, Jaffa are perfectly healthy. Their symbiotes would prevent them from having any such diseases. Then there's your Immortality. It seems to keep you perfectly healthy as well. I did a visual exam, Casey, while you were unconscious. There weren't even any tears or bruising that are common in rape victims. You're perfectly fine."

Her heart was hammering against her ribs. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure," Janet grinned. "So get that man home and take care of him, will you?"

She smiled. "Well, we have a briefing first."

"Poor Daniel. He'll never make it."

Casey giggled. It died in her throat. "How can he still want me after what's happened?"

Janet moved around her desk, put her arms around the young woman. "He loves you, Casey. What happened to you was rape. If you'd been having an affair, well, he might feel differently. But you had no choice, Casey. You weren't even aware of what was happening to you."

It was difficult to accept that he'd be able to hold her, make love to her, knowing that Jaffa...goddess, how many Jaffa had been between her legs, fucking her? Taking from her what belonged only to Daniel?

"Talk to him, Casey," Janet urged. "Tell him how you feel, what worries you, or frightens you. Let him love you, let his love help you through this."

She nodded. "I will."

"Now, I believe you have a briefing to go to," Janet said.

"Yeah, I do." She turned to leave, stopped and looked over at her friend. "You're certain I don't need any tests?"

"I'm certain."

She nodded again. "Thanks."

"Casey?"

"Yes?"

"Remember what Teal'c said...if you don't remember, and Daniel didn't witness it, it didn't really happen. It was just a bad dream."

She smiled. "I'll try to remember that."

Janet frowned when Casey disappeared into the corridor. She had no doubt that once the couple made love, there would be no lingering problems. What worried her was the fact that Casey might not be able to do so...at least...not until she'd dealt with the misplaced guilt she was feeling. Daniel was a patient man. And he loved Casey with all of his heart. But could he handle having to take injections every day, until his Wife was ready to let him back into her bed; could his heart handle that...rejection?

A  A  A  A  A  A

Daniel was in his office, gathering notes on Tem, or what little he'd been able to find. This was the first briefing in which they'd take historical references and tie them together with recent intel. He looked up and smiled when Casey walked into the room. "Hey, babe." He wanted to grab her, hold her, kiss her. But he worried that even though she was 'back', she wasn't ready just yet. Rushing her, smothering her...that was the last thing she needed.

"Hey." She watched him for a few minutes. Her fingers worried one another. Since she'd 'awakened', he had yet to hug her, or kiss her. Did the fact that she'd been raped bother him? No matter how hard she tried, she could find no memories of her time as a prisoner, at least, not after that first injection. She could remember the injections, but nothing else. But she knew that horrible things had been done to her...to her body.

He watched her from the corner of his eye. She was nervous about something. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know, you tell me," she said softly.

"What?"

She began to toy with one of the clay tablets on the worktable. "I think...something...is bothering you. And I understand, really I do. I can sleep on the sofa for awhile, if that helps...and maybe we should think about counseling or something-"

"What?"

"Daniel, I was raped!"

He frowned. "Yeah, that's been established."

"Well, it can't be easy knowing I was fucked by who knows how many Jaffa, doing who knows what to me! I can understand if you don't want...can't...touch me-"

"Casey Renee Jackson, how dare you!" he hissed. His temper was at a full boil instantly. He'd thought that this particular issue had been 'talked out'. How could she believe that he'd think things like that about her? Didn't she know him better than that? "How dare you think I'd blame you, or hold something like that against you!"

She shrugged.

"Answer me, damn it!" His raised voice echoed off of the walls.

"Because it's the human thing to do!" she shouted in return. "I came to your bed untouched...but now I'm not!"

"So, because you decide that I shouldn't be able to handle what happened to you, we're going to have to tip-toe around each other for god knows how long?"

"I wasn't tip-toeing! I was trying to be understanding!"

"Spare me your altruism! I don't need it!"

Her eyes went wide. "I just...you...if you aren't repulsed by me, by what happened to me, then explain why you've barely touched me since I woke up! You haven't held me, or kissed me...what the hell am I supposed to think, under the circumstances?"

"SG-1 to the briefing room."

She glanced at the intercom. "I think you need to be honest with yourself, Daniel. Or our marriage doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of surviving!"

His jaw dropped, he gaped at her. "I haven't touched you because I'm terrified of pushing you to do something you might not be ready for!" he shouted.

Her temper, and her need, propelled her across the floor. She grabbed the front of his shirt, rose up on her toes, and pressed her lips to his. Waited for him to kiss her back. When he didn't respond straightaway, she stepped back. "I rest my case," she said softly. She turned and fled from the room before he could say anything.

"Damn it to hell," he muttered. She'd taken him off guard, he'd been so surprised that he hadn't known what to think for a few seconds. The few seconds it took for her to pull away from him. He shoved the last of his notes into a folder. Had to wait for the elevator. He wanted her so damned badly he could taste it. If she thought for one minute... He grinned. This meeting wouldn't last forever. And if he remembered correctly, there was a blanket in the back of the jeep. He'd show her just how damned much he loved her! He wouldn't stop until she couldn't move! Or he couldn't move. Or he keeled over from a heart attack. Whichever came first.

A  A  A  A  A  A

When he dropped into the chair beside her, the first thing he did was to grab her fingers, hold them to his lips. No one in the room could hide their smiles, or the looks of approval that flashed over their faces.

She glanced at him. Allowed him to lace his fingers with hers. She'd finally 'heard' what he'd said. And admitted to herself that she hadn't actually allowed him much time to respond to her, especially when she'd surprised him the way she had. Well, she could only try to make up for it when they got home.

General Hammond looked at the faces of the two teams. He was aware of the fact that the members of SG-1 had finally eaten, and gotten some sleep. They looked better than they had since their arrival back on the base. The men of SG-3 were rested now, but they were still troubled. "In front of you are folders with the photographs that SG-3 took during their 'fishing trip'."

Casey opened the folder, flipped through several of the images. Gasped at three of the close ups. "Oh, that's just wrong!" she muttered.

Willy nodded in agreement. "I hear that."

"Doctor Jackson, is there a reason for this type of...mutilation?" the general asked the young man.

For a few moments Daniel wondered just exactly what made the military man think he'd know anything about genital piercing. Then his anthropological training kicked in. There were isolated, primitive tribes...several in the Amazon, a few in Africa, and a few more in Indonesia...who looked upon tattoos and piercing as a form of status. Including genital piercing. He shook his head mentally. This wasn't about a tribe of indigenous, primitive people. This was about a freaking snake. "Considering that we're dealing with a Goa'uld, I'd say that it's a sign of domination."

"We're certain he didn't have these...um...piercings before?" Casey asked.

Hammond, Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c exchanged glances. "Yeah, we're sure," Jack replied.

The young blonde looked up at her CO. "Okay, I'll bite. When in the hell did you see Kinsey au-naturel?"

"Let's just say there were some very interesting photos circling around," Jack said, his cheek twitching slightly at the memory of those photos. Sick, twisted bastard!

"Depending on the source, they could be fakes," Sam said.

The four men chuckled, bringing looks of surprise from the two women and the members of SG-3. "Oh, they were real, all right," Jack grinned.

"I believe Kinsey went all ways," Teal'c said solemnly.

"Excuse me, 'all ways'?" General Hammond frowned.

Casey began giggling hysterically. "I think he means 'both ways'. As in a switch hitter. He takes as well as he gives..."

Ferretti spit a mouthful of coffee across the table. Grabbed a sheet of paper from the folder to try and soak it up. "He what?"

Daniel stared at her. "And you know all of this...how?"

The slender blonde was nearly falling out of her chair. "Jerry taught me."

"Jerry?"

"The doorman at the apartment building. Don't tell me you didn't know!"

"Know what?" Jack asked, a frown on his face.

Sam was giggling now as well. "Oh, please, you had to have known that Jerry is gay!"

"He is?" Daniel asked. That certainly explained a few things! Like several of the comments the doorman had made to him right after he'd moved into the building! He'd wondered a time or two if the man had been trying to pick him up or something. Seems he'd been right! Apparently his lack of response, or more accurately, lack of proper response was enough to let the man know that he was straight.

"They didn't know!" Casey squeaked.

General Hammond cleared his throat. Hoped like hell he wasn't smiling. He would not encourage this group! SG-1 was always walking the line of insubordination on a good day!

Casey looked over at the general. "I'm sorry sir. It's just that, well, from what I heard on the news about Kinsey, he could have been...um...pierced, before Tem took him."

"He wasn't," the general said firmly. Holding tightly to the stern demeanor that kept cadets in fear of him.

"Then I'd have to agree with Daniel," Sam said, regaining her composure as well. "The piercings are Tem's way of showing dominance."

"Yeah, that and the dog collar and leash," Jack muttered.

"We couldn't hear what was said, but the snake said something, and Kinsey immediately rose up to his knees, head down, hands behind his back," Ferretti said. He tossed a glance at Casey. That little gal wasn't as innocent as she seemed. Which sparked other...interesting...thoughts. Doc was one hell of a lucky man!

"Are these measurements for real?" Daniel asked, examining a photograph with height marks.

"Yes, sir," Willy replied. "Those guys are huge!"

"Not very bright, though," Ferretti offered. "I can't put my finger on why, but something tells me these Jaffa were...created."

"They were," Casey said softly. "Not in a laboratory, exactly. Tem manipulated cells he took from...whoever he wanted to take them from. Impregnated women for cash, and as soon as the baby was born, she was paid off, sent on her merry way, and the baby was taken to the...nursery. It's been...dismantled," she said, her eyes staring off past Jack's shoulder as she sorted through the 'information dump' that she'd just received. "They didn't turn out exactly like he planned...there's something wrong with them...but I can't pick up what it is," she admitted.

"Wrong as in physically, or mentally?" Jack asked.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure." She stared at one of the photographs of three of the giant men. "They aren't long lived. I don't think they live much past thirty...because-" she closed her eyes...  

"Miss Eloise?"

"Just a minute, young lady!" Miss Eloise said, before Casey could open her mouth. "I want you to listen to me, and you listen well! Don't you dare tell that man he doesn't love you, because he does! He's crazy in love with you!. He nearly went insane with need to get to you, to save you! And don't you think for one minute that Daniel is the kind of man who looks at a woman who has been brutalized as 'ruined'. He doesn't. Never has. Never will. Now, you get back to that meeting, and tell them what they need to know. And then you take your husband home, and you treat him with the love and respect he deserves!"

She opened her eyes. "He can't make them stop growing. Their body weight crushes them to death. They don't live past their mid-twenties. And those that he has...they have one, maybe two years left."

"That could be why he hasn't tried attacking here," Jack mused. "They might not be able to take the stress of a battle."

Daniel nodded. "If those he does have are...dying, and he's dismantled the nursery, he's not going to create any more."

"Which means he really needs those ships," General Hammond drawled. "If Ba'al has them-"

"He doesn't." Casey frowned. How did she know that? She sorted through the hazy images, the sounds, that still filled her mind. "I heard...I think I heard him saying that the other System Lords would be too interested in what he was doing, that they had to leave..." That was why he'd been so angry...why he'd punished her! At least...she thought that was what had happened. She could vaguely remember running down a corridor. Hiding in the shadows...terrified...She shook her head. She'd been injected just before the 'punishment' began. She could remember that...why did it seem that the fog had ebbed and flowed over her, weakening enough for her to think, and then enveloping her mind once again? Was there something wrong with the drug itself, or was there something in her that had been able to fight it?

Daniel watched her face. If she remembered anything, it would destroy her! She frowned, until her eyes met his. The smile she gave him set his mind at ease, his heart racing with love...and desire, and his soul soaring.

"That could be why you didn't encounter any Jaffa," Jack said quietly to Teal'c. "He was pulling out." The Jaffa nodded in agreement.

"Then it's safe to say that Ba'al didn't find those ships," General Hammond sighed.

"I think so," Jack nodded.

"We'll have the satellites looking farther out, just in case," the general said. "We should have warning before those ships pass Neptune."

"That won't be much warning, sir." Jack said. Goa'uld ships had hyper-drive capabilities. Which meant it was just a short jump from the edge of the galaxy to Earth, a few seconds of time. Minutes if they were extremely lucky...for all the good that extra time would do!

"Enough to get fighters launched," was the reply.

"Fighters? Against a fleet of Goa'uld spaceships?" Daniel asked, surprise in his voice.

"If those fighters are armed with the new Scorpion missiles, there's a chance they could take those ships out," Sam replied quietly.

"How good of a chance?" Jack asked.

"Fifty-fifty."

"Better than nothing at all, I guess," the gray haired man sighed. "Of course the success of the missiles depends on the fighters being able to stay aloft long enough to launch them."

"I'll contact Jacob. Perhaps he can send a Tok'ra ship to help us out," Hammond said. He knew what Jack was thinking. Goa'uld gliders could take out the fighter jets with little effort, especially if sheer numbers were on their side. With as many motherships as Tem had, the number of gliders that would fill the skies was frightening. Their best hope was that the fleet could be stopped before it arrived on Earth's doorstep.

"Yeah, we just helped them with a move. They owe us," Jack said adamantly. The other team could never know, no one on the base could know that he, Sam, and Daniel had died helping them save the information gathered over the years by Tok'ra agents. It was enough that Sam had given Teal'c five crystals that contained all that she could pull from two of those computers before the room had to be destroyed. And that even as they sat there, a team of her computer geeks was working to download the information and get it translated.

"Yes, they do," the general agreed. "I want as many strategies as you can come up with to deal with this threat. I'll have the other teams working on the same thing. Let's hope we can find a way to protect ourselves, and that we won't have to."

"Amen," Ferretti said quietly.

The rest of the briefing was spent examining the routines of the island. It was clear that the villa was well protected. Half a dozen bunkers could be seen, although there were no close-ups that would've given them a clue what might be inside. The three hundred and sixty degree openings were enough to alert them to the fact that some sort of weapon, or weapons, were kept inside. Getting to the island was easy. Getting onto the island might be damned impossible.

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