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Training With SG-1 

Chapter 1

"Final boarding call for United Flight 3568 from Denver to Kansas City."

Casey glanced upwards, toward the speaker where the announcement came from. "Told you we’d make it," she said, a wide smile on her face.

Daniel couldn’t help but smile back. He’d been convinced that they would miss their flight. He'd awakened to find his wife taking a leisurely trip across his chest and down his abdomen, her mouth warm and wet against his skin. Before he could protest…not that he’d had any intention of doing so…she had taken his quickly swelling manhood into her mouth and driven him completely over the edge into oblivion. Never one to receive without giving in return, he’d made her the subject of his very careful reciprocation. Her first cry of delight had had the anaconda as hard as steel. When he had buried himself in the welcoming warmth of her body, any thoughts of the flight they were to take within just a matter of hours was the last thing on his mind. Only when they climbed into the shower did he fully comprehend the time.

"Of course, we’re lucky that the Colorado State Patrol seemed to be elsewhere," Casey continued. "I don’t think you did the speed limit once."

"Ha ha," he retorted. "If I had done the speed limit, we wouldn’t be here."

Rather than reply, Casey stepped up to the flight attendant, handed over her pass, and smiled. She waited until Daniel’s ticket had been accepted, then walked beside him up the narrow jetway. "Grandma sounded so excited last night."

Daniel smiled again. "Yes, she did. I rather imagine we’ll be paraded around to her friends this afternoon."

"No doubt. But, that’s all right. I want them to see her gorgeous grandson. I like showing you off, too."

The flutter in his chest was something he’d become accustomed to. His wife had a way of looking at him, or making a comment, that went straight to his heart. The warmth of her love wrapped around him like a soft, snug, safe blanket. He took a moment to appreciate the feeling, then reached for her hand. "I’ll get a chance to show you off, as well."

It took a few minutes to settle into their seats. Daniel had to search for a space to put their duffel bags. After pushing aside two rather large suitcases…why the hell weren’t these checked through? I’ll eat the damned things if they’re actually acceptable size!…he was able to fit them into the overhead compartment. Once he was seated beside his wife, he reached out to take her hand. She was already in a conversation with the woman seated beside the window. He bit back a chuckle as he listened to Casey excitedly tell her seatmate about the small county fair they were about to attend.

General Hammond had been reluctant to give the team a full week off…there were at least a dozen MALP reports that, waiting for preliminary investigations that could result in a dozen missions. Janet, however, had deemed a break ‘necessary’. In fact, it seemed that none of the missions would be undertaken for at least a week, as the CMO had cited the stresses that had been building up since the mission that had seen Cam Balinsky killed. There were still residual feelings of resentment that the NID had investigated the entire SGC as a result. A simple ‘training day’ wasn’t going to be enough, the doctor had argued, to help the personnel de-stress.

As a result, most of the SG teams were taking time off. Jack and Sam were going to his cabin in Minnesota, although Sam denied that she was going to fish. She was, Sam insisted, going to read. Teal’c and Janet were going to visit Master Bra’tac. Rya’c was in the camp as well. Kar’yn was pregnant with the couple’s first child, and Teal’c was eager for Janet to make certain that all was well.

"So," Casey said softly, turning toward her husband. "What’s going to be the first thing you do when we get to the fair?"

"I dunno. I’ve never been to a fair before," Daniel admitted.

"Me, either. But I want to eat as much ‘fair food’ as I can."

He couldn’t help but chuckle. No doubt she’d want to sample everything. He would, as a matter of course, have to finish anything she didn’t eat. Years of doing without, of not having enough to eat, made it impossible for her to throw ‘good food’ away. He did chuckle out loud when he thought about how many of the small Dairy Queen blizzards she would start, then stick into the freezer, with the intention to finish it later, only for him to find them weeks after the fact. He’d toss them outside, so that she never saw the ‘waste’. "I should probably buy some Tums, then."

She looked up at him. "Why?"

"What you don’t finish, you’ll want me to eat."

"Oh. Well, I promise not to get too much. Just a corn dog. And a funnel cake. And maybe some cotton candy. And Grandma said they have bacon wrapped corn on the cob…I really want try that."

"I suppose I could survive that," he teased.

Casey shifted slightly in her seat. "Do you suppose they’ll have a Ferris Wheel?"

"Most fairs do," Daniel replied.

"I had so much fun on the Ferris Wheel at the 4^th of July carnival," she said, focusing on their entwined hands.

"So did I. So we’ll ride if they have one. Maybe more than once." The smile she bestowed upon him almost blinded him.

"I’ve seen some of the other rides-" she paused, frowned slightly.

"Do you want to try them?"

"Are you kidding? With going through-" She broke off and glanced around. She leaned closer to whisper into his ear. "I go through a friggin’ wormhole on a regular basis. That’s as wild a ride as it gets. I’m not about to risk tossing my cookies on some contraption older than me!"

It was absolutely impossible not to laugh out loud. "Got it. No other rides."

"Grandma wants me to make a bow to put on her pie. Well, on the plastic wrap that will cover it."

"I don’t know if that’s fair," Daniel said.

"Why not?"

"Grandma makes incredible pies." That was a fact he’d learned during her last visit, when she’d baked an apple pie for him. "Then, your bows are works of art. Together, the judges won’t even notice the other entries."

"I agree about Grandma’s pies," Casey said. "But the bows? A bit of twisted ribbon. Big deal."

"Angel, the way you ‘twist’ that ribbon is an art form."

"In your eyes."

"In the eyes of everyone who has seen them."

She didn’t reply. Instead, she cuddled as close as the seats would allow. She stayed that way for the majority of the short flight. When they landed in Kansas City, they were delighted to see that the car rental booth was empty of waiting customers. Fifteen minutes later they were on the highway, heading for Butler.

Map in hand, Casey made herself more comfortable in the passenger seat of the small rental car. She glanced at the back seat. "I’ll sit back there when Grandma is with us. I don’t want her to be uncomfortable."

"Okay," Daniel said amiably, agreeing with her sentiment. He’d procrastinated in making arrangements for the visit until he was certain that the general would agree to the few days off. As a result, a larger car hadn’t been available.

She glanced at her watch. "Think I should call Grandma and let her know we’re on our way?"

"Probably a good idea. I told her we were taking the nine-ten flight from Denver this morning, and the flight was only about an hour and a half. She said it’s another hour or so to Butler."

"We’ll be there right around lunch time, then." Casey pulled her phone from her purse. Then began to giggle. "Wanna bet that at least Grandma’s best friend will be there for lunch?"

Daniel laughed. "No doubt. Susan, that’s her name, right?"

"Mmm-hmm." She consulted the map again. "Take the next exit. Then take a left."

"Got it." He tried to quell the butterflies in his stomach. He was thirty-four years old. And taking a trip to his grandmother’s house for the first time in his life. Was he supposed to be this excited?

A A A A A A

It was just before one in the afternoon when the rental car pulled into the driveway of the neat, modest rambler. Muriel, who had been pacing the living room for nearly fifteen minutes, certain that her grandson would arrive at any moment, (basing her assumption on the time Casey had called to let her know they were on their way) pushed open the door and hurried down the steps of the porch.

"Hi, Grandma!" Casey said, crawling out of the car almost before Daniel had stopped. She was enveloped in Muriel’s hug.

"Hello, sweetie," Muriel replied. She turned to hug Daniel, who had just cleared the front of the car and was standing beside her. "Hello, honey."

"Hi, Grandma."

"I hope you don’t mind, I thought we’d have lunch at the diner…" Muriel blushed slightly.

"We’re anxious to meet your friends, too," Daniel said softly.

"Is this the diner where the country-fried steak is as big as the plate?" Casey asked, a smile on her face.

"The very same," Muriel declared. Her eyes shone with excitement.

"Then I know what I’m having…even if I can’t eat for the rest of the day!" the young seer declared.

Daniel chuckled. "I’m betting you can bring home what you don’t eat, and warm it up for dinner."

Casey shrugged. "Works for me."

"Let me show you where you’ll be sleeping. You can put your bags there," Muriel said.

Not just a little curious, the couple followed the older woman into the house. Casey looked around eagerly. The house was small, comfortable. Warm. Inviting. The bedroom that Muriel led them to was charming.

"This was your father’s room," Muriel said quietly. "I use the room Ralph had as my craft room. Your grandfather…your grandfather stayed in this room the last few years of his life. He passed away in this room. If you’d rather sleep in my room-"

Daniel shook his head. "No, I…" he glanced at Casey, and smiled when she nodded. "We’d like to stay here. In Dad’s old room." His words indicated just whom he would be thinking of as he lay in bed.

The older woman nodded, and smiled as well. "Your father had posters all over the walls. Rock bands, a few popular models…there was one, a girl with long black hair – she was a singer. Melburn had several of her albums…she sang with a short man, his hair was so long you couldn't see his eyes…" Muriel frowned in concentration. "What was her name?"

From the description, Daniel was certain he knew the identity of the singer. "Cher? She sang with Sonny Bono," he replied.

Muriel smiled. "That’s the name! He had travel posters as well. Melburn used to drive up to Kansas City, go around to the travel agencies, and take any posters they were getting rid of. He especially loved posters of Egypt and Turkey. He had one of Israel, too, I believe."

Daniel could visualize the room as it must have looked. Two of the foster homes he’d been in had actually had room for all of the kids to have their own bedroom. His foster siblings had decorated their rooms. He’d never bothered, knowing that he could be ripped away from that room, and that home, with less than a moment’s notice. He looked around the room, wondered if the unbroken wall adjacent to the door was where the travel posters had hung.

Running her hand over the top of the desk, Muriel continued her description of her son’s room. "This was his desk. He used to pore over the history books he’d borrow from the library."

Before Daniel could reply, the ringing of a telephone filled the air.

Muriel began to chuckle. "That will be Susan, wondering if you’re here yet. By the time we get to Cecil’s…the diner," she explained, "no doubt all of my friends will be there."

Daniel laughed. "That’s okay, Grandma. We want to meet your friends."

Muriel hurried to the kitchen, her guests right behind her. She picked up the receiver of the old, rotary-dial wall phone. "Yes, they’re here."

Casey stifled a giggle when Muriel rolled her eyes.

"Yes, we’ll be there in a few minutes. Yes, dear, it’s perfectly fine if you call Betty Zylstra-" Muriel put her hand over the mouthpiece. "If Susan calls Betty, everyone in town will know you’re here before fifteen minutes have passed!"

Daniel chuckled. He began to laugh when his grandmother once again rolled her eyes. He waited until she hung up to ask his question. "I thought Susan was your best friend?"

"Why, she is!" When the older woman realized that her grandson had been witness to her usual responses to Susan’s chatter, she blushed slightly. "That woman could sunburn her tongue if she went to the beach. And she could say what she needs to say in half the time if she’d just stay on the same subject for longer than three seconds."

With a glance at his wife, Daniel began to laugh again. "She and Casey should get along fine."

"Hey! I don’t talk that much!" Casey protested.

Muriel patted her arm. "No, dear, you don’t." Muriel pulled on the sweater that had been laying over the back of one of the kitchen chairs. Her purse was waiting on the table. "We should probably go before those old biddies drink all the coffee!"

Grinning from ear to ear, Daniel led the way to the front door. Frowned slightly when he realized that his grandmother hadn’t locked the door. "Grandma, do you have your keys?"

"Whatever for? We’re only going to be at the diner. I know everyone around here. They know me. No one is stupid enough to risk my rolling pin."

Knowing his grandmother was set in her ways, and acknowledging the fact that the town was so small one could practically throw a stone from one end of the main street to the other, Daniel conceded. No doubt Muriel was out and about often, and her doors remained unlocked.

Casey settled into the back seat, listening as Muriel described her friends to them. And decided Daniel’s grandmother was nearly beside herself with excitement. Coming here had been the best idea they’d had yet. The invitation to visit had been offered with a hint of the excitement she was witnessing. Daniel’s grandmother was as eager to be a part of his life as he was to have her in his. Real family! Who ever would have thought that plain, abandoned Casey Renee would ever have real family? Oh, she was glad they were here!

Cecil’s Diner was like every diner in every movie she’d ever seen. The brick front building, with a large, plate glass window that took up most of the front wall, was nestled between a mercantile and a hardware store. The name was painted in white lettering in an arch at the top of the window. Inside the narrow space, the walls were a soft, spring green. The vinyl on the chairs and booths was deep red. The tops of the six tables and eight booths were white vinyl with gold specks, and a two-inch metal band surrounded each table top. The aroma of fresh coffee and homemade bread lingered in the air.

Two of the four tables sitting in the middle of the room had been pushed together; three elderly ladies and two middle-aged women were sitting there, watching the door expectantly. "We’re here, Muriel," one of the women called, as if the new arrivals couldn’t see them.

Daniel and Casey followed Muriel as she led the way toward her friends.

One of the women stood up and immediately offered her hand. "I’m Susan, and I’m just thrilled to meet you, Daniel!"

Daniel smiled, shaking the offered hand. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Susan."

Casey bit back a smile. All of the women had sighed softly when Daniel had flashed that shy, warm smile…the smile that always reduced her to mush.

"And you must be Casey," Susan said, turning her attention to the slender blonde. "Muriel wasn’t joking when she said you could be a model or a movie star!"

Blushing brightly, Casey shook hands with the older woman. "I don’t know about that," she mumbled.

"Not a vain bone in her body," Susan announced, nodding solemnly. She patted Casey’s hand. "And that makes you all the more attractive, dear," she said in a stage whisper.

It took considerable effort on his part not to laugh out loud. As it was, the look of consternation on his wife’s face had Daniel grinning broadly.

"He’s certainly easy on the eyes," one of the women said to another, the ‘whisper’ that of a woman hard of hearing.

Now it was Daniel’s turn to blush.

Muriel barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. The old biddies were embarrassing her grandson and his wife. "If you’re finished making fools of yourselves, I’ll introduce you," she snipped.

Susan didn’t bother to hide the roll of her eyes. "We’re just taking note of what a handsome couple they are."

With a small sniff, Muriel turned to Daniel. "Susan introduced herself. The lady beside her is Betty Zylstra. Next to her is Donna Pierce. Then Donna’s daughter Gwen, and then Susan’s daughter, Helen."

Daniel smiled and shook each woman’s hand. He held out the chair beside him, made certain that Muriel was seated comfortably, then turned to find his wife was making her way to the end of the table. With a slight shake of his head, he settled beside his grandmother.

Casey noted that both Helen and Gwen seemed a bit flustered by the comments from the older women. Donna was blushing slightly, her mother had been the one to make the comment about Daniel. She smiled warmly at both, and sat down in the empty chair beside Gwen. Held out her hand. "Hi. I’m Casey."

"Hi, Casey. It’s nice to meet you," Gwen smiled.

Helen offered her hand and a welcoming smile as well. "Muriel has been walking on air since she found out the two of you would be here for the weekend."

"We were thrilled when Grandma invited us to come stay with her and go to the fair," Casey replied. "Neither Daniel or I have ever been to a county fair, we’re so looking forward to it."

Gwen and Helen exchanged glances. Helen had heard, from Susan, who had been told by Muriel, that Daniel and Casey had both had ‘troubled’ childhoods.

Betty took a deep breath.

"Oh, lordy," Susan whispered. "The interrogation is about to begin!"

Casey did her best not to giggle out loud. Couldn’t help but do so when the older woman tossed a frowning glance at Susan.

"I was just going to ask what Daniel does for the Air Force, if he’s an ark-…what’s he do again?" Betty asked Muriel.

"Archaeologist," Muriel replied.

"Yeah, that. What does the Air Force need with one of those?" Betty demanded to know.

"Not much," Daniel responded. "I also have a degree in Philology. That’s the study of languages. I do…translations…for the Air Force."

"And I told you that, Betty," Muriel sniffed.

"Huh. Don’t remember hearing that," Betty argued.

"Don’t mind her," Susan said, nodding in Betty’s direction. "She’s about as subtle as a bull in a china shop, but she’s mostly harmless."

"I am not," Betty retorted.

"You’re not what, dear - rude or harmless?" Donna asked.

"Well!’ Betty declared, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, Betty, you know we love you," Susan said, just before she took a sip of coffee.

At that moment a waitress, complete in a pink dress and frilly white apron, approached the table. "Hello, Muriel. Coffee?"

"Absolutely."

"What about you folks?" the waitress asked, looking from Daniel to Casey and back again.

"Yes, please," Daniel said.

"Me, too," Casey added.

"Dina, this is my grandson, Daniel, and his wife Casey," Muriel said, making introductions. "Dina and her husband Cecil own the diner. They’ve been here for, what, almost thirty years now?"

"Twenty-eight in June," Dina said. "Came here right out of high school. "Cecil had worked at a Denny’s while he was in high school, and figured he could make a go of a diner in a place like Butler. He was right, we’ve made good here. Folks here have kept this place going."

"Well, Grandma says you have the best chicken fried steak this side of heaven," Casey smiled. "I happen to be fond of chicken fried steak."

Dina chuckled. "You got it. Extra gravy?"

"Definitely!"

Daniel held his hand up. "Make that two."

The waitress offered a wide smile and a nod as she scribbled on her ticket pad. "Are the rest of you ladies ready to order?"

Once everyone had decided what they wanted, Muriel’s friends began to question Daniel and Casey about their work and their home in Colorado. Their curiosity satisfied, the ladies began to tell couple about the upcoming fair.

Casey fell asleep with a smile on her face…the day had been lovely. Susan and Helen had stopped by after dinner, which for her had consisted of the remainder of her chicken fried steak, while Muriel had made roast beef and gravy sandwiches for Daniel and herself. Peach pie had been devoured, amid more excited talk about the fair. She couldn’t wait to get there…

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