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Whispers From the Past 

Chapter 4

That damned poking just would not go away! With smiles for the people who were very good friends, and had just proven that fact, Casey excused herself, and hurried from the now nearly empty commissary. She had a basic idea where to look. Very basic.

Whether it was by the design of the true gods, or just sheer good luck, Casey missed seeing Sha’re leaving Daniel’s office. The seer hurried into storage room ‘D’, stood for a moment with her hands on her hips.

Boxes were stacked everywhere, heavier crates pushed into the corners of the room, several large artifacts leaned against the walls. Okay, this could take a while, she thought. Think! Were those things in this room before the mad scramble to make space for all of the stuff SG-13 brought back? Or were they among the items moved?

It had to have been in this room before the other boxes were brought in, or she wouldn’t remember it being here. Made sense. So that meant she needed to find all of the artifacts tagged ‘18-D’. She sighed. It was a start. She shifted several smaller boxes, pushing them to sit on top of a stack of boxes from ‘18-C’. She could ignore that corner...for now.

There were two devices. One was a controller. It almost looked like a joystick used for a video game. If one didn’t pay attention to the fact that the base looked and felt like stone. But the device she was seeking...she had only seen it once. Daniel had told her that no one had a clue what it was for. It was flat, yet the top had been hooked. As if...as if it were meant to hang on something else. Then there were the small ‘boxes’ at the bottom...indented on both sides. But the stone had been dark...

Her hands went back to her hips. The stones had been dark because the damned thing hadn’t been activated. Now that she knew how to use it...She glanced at her hand, frowned slightly. Two of the symbols were slightly smudged. Not willing to risk having any of the marks less than perfectly clear when she needed them, she looked around for a marker to ‘fix’ the smudged symbols. Of course not, she thought, frustration in her sigh.  No marker in sight when I need one!

She dashed down the corridor to Jonas’ office; she knew her Sharpie was there. She quickly went over each symbol, making certain that she could tell at a glance exactly what each one was. There. She tossed the marker back onto the desk. First thing she needed to do was find that device. And if there were true gods who cared, they’d let her be the one to kick Sha’re’s annoying butt through the mirror.

Back to the storage room. She stood at the doorway for a moment. Heaved a sigh. Someone really should inventory the room. And she sure has hell wasn’t going to mention it, she didn’t want to be the one stuck doing it!

She squeezed past two stacks of crates, climbed over three more large wood-slat boxes, so that she could stand beside the first shelving unit. She checked several tags at random. All were marked ‘18-D’. So far, so good, she thought.

"Hi."

She whirled around at the sound of his voice, nearly tripped over the boxes on the floor beside her. "Hello," she said softly, noncommittally.

"Looking for something?"

"A device. For the mirror."

Daniel frowned. "Device? The controller?"

She shook her head. "No. This goes onto the mirror itself."

"We don’t have anything like that. As far as I know, there isn’t a device like that."

"Yes, there is."

He understood that she wanted to see Sha’re leave. Hell, he wanted the same thing. But it wasn’t like her to go poking around, looking for something that didn’t exist. Unless she had been looking for the controller, and simply hadn’t wanted to admit that to him. There was always the chance that she had ‘seen’ something, he supposed; that particular thought getting lost in the jumble of others whirling through his head. "Oh, really?"

"Yes...I-" she broke off at the look on his face, the slight frown, the way his lips were slightly pursed. Her heart clenched. He’d never doubted her before...never! Instead of giving her that sexy half-shy smile, and asking her exactly where and when she had seen the device, he was looking at her as if she had made the whole thing up! "Never mind. I’m assuming you’re here to look for the controller. I’ll leave you to it." She climbed back over the boxes and crates, cursing silently when he refused to move, making it necessary to brush up against him to get to the door.

His breath caught in his throat as the warmth of her body came into contact with his. If he'd ever needed proof of which woman was his Destiny...which he didn’t, he thought firmly...he had it now. Sha’re’s touch left him feeling...nothing. Or aggravated, when she refused to let go...to accept that he wasn’t ‘her’ Daniel. The slightest touch, the tiniest contact between his body and Casey’s, and he felt the love, the electricity that seemed to crackle in the air around them. Felt his pulse race with need...with desire. "Casey-"

She marched past him, head held high. There was one thought on her mind. Save what little dignity she had left. She wasn’t about to fall apart in front of him. Not now. When she'd had the time to...prepare herself, for whatever he might want...or need...to tell her, then and only then would she listen. But not now. Not when she knew that she’d throw herself at his feet, beg him to choose her over his true love.

He stood staring after her. He’d seen Casey hurt. And he’d seen her angry. He had never seen her so...detached. As if there wasn’t an emotion left in her entire body. That couldn’t be a good thing...certainly couldn’t be good for him!

A  A  A  A  A  A

Casey took the stairs to the officer’s lounge...mostly because she needed the physical activity to focus her thoughts on. Step...step...step...It wasn’t working. Her thoughts continued to swirl around in her head, the emotions continued to pull and tug at her heart.

Step...step...step...

It had been two years since she had been this upset. This frightened. This...angry. Funny, a man had been the cause of that situation, and those feelings, as well. Although she hadn’t loved that man. He’d been a friend, who'd suddenly turned into something that had scared the bejeezus out of her.

Step...step...step...

She couldn’t continue to push down her feelings...to try to bury them. She couldn’t continue to pretend that everything was all right, when in reality everything was all wrong. The more she pushed down her feelings, the greater the risk of exploding into a blubbering mass of hysterical grief.

She needed her old ‘standby’ for dealing with churning emotions, like those that roiled within her at the moment. She also had an option now that had been never been available to her before. She had every intention of availing herself to that as well.

The lounge was dark and silent. Once again she thanked her lucky stars that she didn’t have to face anyone, didn’t have to try to behave as if nothing was bothering her. She flipped on the light, crossed the room and threw open the door of the refrigerator. Crouched down and opened the crisper drawer. What she wanted was in a paper bag marked ‘Mushrooms’; Sam’s idea for keeping hidden the ‘treat’ that she, Sam and Janet indulged in from time to time.

She slammed the drawer closed, kicked the refrigerator door shut. Jerked open the cutlery drawer in the cabinet beside the fridge, dug around until she found a spoon.

A glance at the clock put a grim smile on her face. She’d apologize to Janet later. But this was an emergency. She needed cookie dough. And she needed to talk to her father. She clutched the bag that held her prize, headed straight for the elevator. She was going to have both.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Gary put the two lattes and the sugar cookies on the table. Glanced at the clock. Janet should be along at any moment. Their afternoon ‘break’ together had become a very pleasant habit. He looked up and smiled when he heard the sound of footfalls. The smile faded when he came face to face with his daughter. "Casey?"

"Sha’re," she said simply. Trying her best not to cry.

"What?"

Casey opened the bag, tossed it aside impatiently. Broke the seal on the roll of Nestlé's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Dug the spoon into the creamy mixture. "Sha’re showed up. Came through the mirror."

"Ah. And Sha’re would be?" Came through a mirror? Okay, either his daughter was drunk, high as a kite...or this was more of that weird SGC stuff. Since she wasn’t swaying or staggering, and her eyes – while full of anger...and sadness...and tears – weren’t dilated, yep...more weird stuff.

"Daniel’s first wife."

Gary frowned. "Okay, honey, I’m totally lost here."

She dropped down onto the sofa. Put a spoonful of dough into her mouth, savored it for a moment before speaking. "Daniel’s first wife, Sha’re. She died two years before we met."

"Now I’m really lost. If she died, how can she be here?"

"I suppose that’s because she’s not from this reality. There’s a device, the Quantum Mirror. It...links...different realities. Daniel barely escaped alive the first time he encountered it."

"Right. Device." Sure, why not. There's a huge ring twenty-six levels below us that hurls people to other planets. "So this woman, Daniel’s first wife, came through this...mirror?"

"Dad, by now you should know that if it’s weird or bizarre, it’s going to happen here," she said, rolling her eyes.

"That may be. Doesn’t make it any easier to wrap my brain around," Gary pointed out.

"True."

"Start at the beginning. Tell me what happened."

Another spoonful of cookie dough. "Well, first thing this morning, Daniel had a major freak-out about my tattoos."

"Your what?"

"Last night Sam, and Janet and I got tattoos."

Gary’s eyes went wide. "You did what?"

Green eyes flashed with the temper she was well known for. "Don’t even start with me! None of them are real. They’re just temporary, until we know for certain we really want them. I mean, we thought we really wanted them, but then there’s the whole needle thing..." she waved the spoon in a circle. "But that’s not the point. He completely freaked out. I wanted...I wanted..."

Gary sat down beside her. "You wanted what, Casey?"

"I wanted it to be special...something just for him," she said softly. "They’re where only he’ll see them. Well, Janet will, during my physical exams. But it...they were for him."

"And he didn’t see it that way."

"He never let me tell him that. So we were fighting when we got here this morning...and I haven’t had lunch with him all week, not even a coffee break...I mean I know he’s been busy, but usually he has time for a cup of coffee."  She scooped out more cookie dough, licked it from the spoon.

He smiled, put his arm around her shoulders. Pulled her close. She needed to talk, and she had sought him out. His heart fluttered at the acknowledgement of those two facts. "Okay, so you miss him, you wanted to do something special for him, and he didn’t react the way you had hoped."

"And then Sha’re showed up, and she’s been clinging so tightly to him all day he can’t even take a breath unless she does!"

Well, that explained the anger. "Tell me about Sha’re."

"I really don’t know much about her. She was the daughter of the tribal leader. The Abydonians are the first real ‘aliens’ that anyone from the SGC ever met. Except, they’re really the progeny of ancient Egyptians. They thought that Daniel and Jack were gods, so they offered Sha’re to Daniel. He stayed there with her after Ra was defeated. At the time, they didn’t know that there was more than just the one Goa’uld. Or that there were other Stargates."

"Okay, I remember that mission report," Gary nodded.

"When Apophis showed up here, Jack led a team back to Abydos, to find out what was going on. That snake showed up there as well, and took Sha’re, and her brother Skaara, and a dozen other people. Daniel returned to Earth so that he could join the search for Apophis, to search for Sha’re. He found her once...pregnant with Apophis’ baby. He delivered her child, was set to bring her back here...but the snake took over again, and she left with Apophis. Daniel managed to hide the baby, then accepted help from...well, from some very powerful people. That’s where Shifu, Sha’re’s son, is now." She frowned slightly. There was something about the boy that poked at her mind. She pushed it away as unimportant, at least for the moment. Continued with her narrative. "Skaara managed to seek help from the Tollan, who called Jack and Daniel to their planet...they actually helped to save him, the snake was yanked out of him, and he returned to Abydos. When Daniel found Sha’re the second time, Amaunet, the Goa’uld she’d been infested with, tried to kill him. Teal’c was forced to kill her to save Daniel’s life."

"That had to have been heart breaking."

"I’m sure it was," she said softly. She toyed with the cookie dough, took another bite. "That was two years before he came to Tacoma to find me. He told me that Sha’re...well, her spirit...showed up in his office right after he brought me here. She told him..."

Gary waited. Then gently jostled her shoulder when she seemed determined to remain quiet. "What did she tell him?"

"That we’ve been Destined to be together since our births. That our hearts were created for one another," she said softly.

"So did Sha’re ever come to Earth?"

Casey shook her head. "Not Daniel’s Sha’re. From what this Kasuf, that’s her father, and Skaara said, they’d been living on Earth, well, their Earth, with their Daniel for not quite a year."

"Kasuf and Skaara are here as well?"

"And they’re going to die if we can’t find a safe reality for them. They’ve been to a dozen or so realities, and each time they suffer entropic cascade failure, it weakens them."

"What’s this entropic cascade failure?"

"Has something to do with two of the same thing existing in the same reality. You’d have to ask Sam if you want a detailed explanation."

"Got it. So Sha’re has been on Earth for awhile."

"Been there. But not...not a part of it," she said. She stared into the corner of the room, getting glimpses of the life that the young Abydonian woman had had. Not all of it was pleasant. The only thing that had made her happy was being with Daniel. She didn’t understand this ‘new world’. No matter how often Daniel tried to explain, no matter where he took her, what he showed her, what he tried to get her to experience, all she wanted was to return to Abydos, to be his wife in that quiet little village. She was stubborn, and homesick. Unwilling to even give his strange world a chance. And determined to have her way...

Gary watched her eyes. Knew that she was seeing something visible only to her. Waited until she took a deep breath, seemed to shake herself a bit. "Case?"

"I understand that she’s terrified. That all she wants is Daniel. But damn it to hell, she cannot have mine!"

He smiled. Pressed his cheek against the side of her head. "Somehow, baby, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem."

"Then why in the hell do I feel this way? I feel like..." She closed her eyes. "I feel like I’m standing in line waiting to be chosen for...something...and I have nothing to offer! Do you realize that he just questioned me about something I’ve seen? He’s never done that before! Never!"

"Did you explain that to him?"

"Explain what? That he should trust me?"

"Like you’re trusting him at the moment?"

Casey stabbed the spoon into the cookie dough. This conversation was not going as she had envisioned it. He was her father! He was supposed to be on her side! Give her all of the love and understanding and sympathy she needed. Not try to force her to examine the situation calmly...objectively. She wanted her Daddy to go beat the man who had hurt her to a pulp. Okay, maybe not really...but she wanted him upset enough to threaten to do it for her! Damn it, she wanted to throw a hissy fit, and she needed her father to let her!

"Casey, if I thought for a moment that Daniel didn’t love you, or that you didn’t love him, I’d be the first one to tell you to get a divorce and move on. But you do love him. And he loves you. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. This Sha’re isn’t his first wife. I’m certain that Daniel is more than aware of that fact. I’m not saying that this hasn’t brought up memories, good and bad, for him to deal with. I’d bet those memories are going to leave him feeling pretty raw emotionally. But none of that is going to affect his love for you," Gary said carefully. "Honey, his love is wrapped around you all the time, whether you can see it...or feel it."

"That’s what Annika said," she frowned.

"Annika?"

She launched into a description of her encounter with the feisty redhead from yet another reality. Showed him the markings on her hand, told him about the device she had seen...well, had seen the bottom of, anyway. And the fact that she knew that she had seen it among the artifacts in one of the storage rooms.

Janet smiled, moved away from the door. She couldn’t...she wouldn’t intrude. Casey needed this time with her father, and Gary needed to be there for his daughter. She’d have dinner with him, and tell him how many of Casey’s mannerisms were like his own. The way they tilted their heads. The way they smiled. Even the way they frowned was nearly identical. That anyone seeing the two of them together would know in an instant that they were father and daughter. That she was thrilled that Casey had him...another person in her life to whom she could turn, a person with a true link to her.

When her name echoed in the corridors, calling her back to the infirmary, she ran to the elevator and jabbed her pass through the reader. She knew without being told that Kasuf was suffering another seizure. Most probably a full-blown ECF episode...even though the three had only been in this reality for less than five hours. It seemed that he was more sensitive to the effects of ECF, which narrowed the time he could spend in the ‘wrong’ reality exponentially. The man was so weakened that his body wouldn't survive much more.

She hit the floor of level twenty-one running, shoved open the door, raced into the room. Kasuf’s body was jerking like a wooden puppet, his arms and legs under the control of an unseen, barbaric puppeteer known as ECF. Until the seizure ended and his body stabilized, it would be impossible to do anything for him. Watching as he seemed to fade from existence before returning, still ghostly in appearance, Janet understood that there was very little time before he died. At the current rate of his deterioration, the man had two, maybe three hours before there would be no return from the seizures. "I want as much fluid as you can get into him," she ordered. "As soon as he’s solid, start another IV. We need to keep him sedated. I want a monitor on all body functions. Bring in the portable MRI machine to do that."

"Yes, ma’am," Jill replied, already gathering supplies, sending one of the techs for the machine that would be needed.

"Stand by, be sure to keep all needles and tubes clear of his body during the ECF seizures," Janet continued. "We’ll just have to reinsert the catheters."

"Yes, ma’am," one of the techs said, grabbing at the paraphernalia that lay beside the man who continued to fade in and out of existence, putting it all on a nearby tray.

Janet grabbed the phone. "General Hammond, we have a problem..."

A  A  A  A  A  A

Daniel had stood for a moment, stunned when Casey had brushed past him, as if she couldn’t stand being in the same room with him. By the time he'd shaken himself from his reverie, dealing with the fears that were racing through his mind, sending his heart to reside in his stomach, she was nowhere to be seen.

She hadn’t been in the office with Jonas. Nor his office. Not in the lab. Teal’c was in the gym instructing cadets in mastaba. His Wife, however, wasn’t there, and the Jaffa informed him that he had seen Casey in the commissary earlier, but hadn't had a chance to speak with her.

Lieutenant Reinholdt had seen her heading toward the officer’s lounge, but when he had arrived, she wasn’t there. Daniel leaned back against the wall of the elevator. He’d already called the check points. She was still signed in.

He had totally screwed up today. From the moment he had discovered those tattoos, right up to questioning Casey about what she had been looking for. He wasn’t sure what it was he'd said wrong then, but apparently he'd put his foot in his mouth again, judging by her reaction. Or maybe she was just so angry with him that it didn’t matter what he said, she was going to take it the wrong way.

The page for Janet had him running toward the infirmary. If Kasuf was worse, or Skaara was now ill, it could only mean that time was running out. He knew that he needed to find that device. He had an idea or two where to look. But nothing, and no one, was going to stop him from finding, and apologizing to his Wife.

As soon as he checked on Sha’re, he thought with a resigned sigh. There was no way any of the SF’s would be able to handle her if she flew into one of her tantrums. And Janet sure as hell wasn’t going to have time to deal with her!

Janet looked up when Daniel walked into the room. He looked tired, worried...as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. She had sent Jill to get Sha’re...just in case. The young woman stood beside her brother, both clasping the hand of their father. It appeared that Sha’re was under control for the moment. As soon as Daniel had made an assessment of the situation, he totally ignored both of the Abydonians; something that neither of them missed.

When Sha’re would have spoken, Skaara had kept his grip on her, and had shaken his head, warning her not to cause a scene. The look in Dan’yel’s eyes indicated to the young man that the archaeologist would not tolerate another of Sha’re’s outbursts.

"It’s getting worse, isn’t it?" Daniel said quietly.

"I’m afraid so," Janet replied. "We have just a few hours...not more than four. Less if the ECF seizures continue to intensify."

"I’ll find that controller. But I have to speak with Casey. If I can ever find her."

The petite doctor smiled. "Visitor’s lounge. She’s with her dad."

The smile that lit Daniel’s face made Janet feel much better about what she had witnessed earlier. "Thanks."

"Daniel, she’s eating chocolate-chip cookie dough."

The way Janet said it, Daniel knew that the tidbit of information meant something...probably something important. "Okay, other than giving her a stomachache, what does it mean?"

"That she’s very upset."

"Yeah. That would be my fault," he admitted, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. "I screwed up this morning, and I’ve just managed to make it worse all day."

"I think right now, talking to her is the best thing you can do. Go. Send someone else to look for that controller."

Daniel hugged his friend, hurried to the phone. Dialed Cam Balinsky’s office. Left word that Cam, and anyone who might be on level eighteen at that moment, were to get into storage room D and find that controller.

He ran his badge through the reader, but waiting for the elevator was more than he could stand. He took the stairs for three levels before trying again. Raced past the checkpoint, flashing his ID, then up again on the ‘main’ elevator until he was on the second level of the SGC.

Gary had heard the opening of the elevator doors. Thinking that it was Janet, intent on meeting her and explaining that Casey needed him, he was standing in the doorway when Daniel arrived.

"Excuse me," Daniel said, trying to move past his father-in-law.

He shifted, blocking the doorway completely. He might have tried to get Casey to view the situation objectively...for her own good. It didn't mean he wasn’t upset about what had happened. "I’m not so sure she wants to talk to you right now."

"She’s my Wife. If I want to talk to her, I will," Daniel said gruffly.

"I’m glad you remember that. And as long as you’re pissed off, there isn’t anything you need to say to her."

Daniel went back on his heels. "Pissed off? I’m not pissed off. Scared as hell that I’ve managed to totally screw up the most precious thing in my life. Sorry that I reacted the way I did this morning about-" He broke off, tried to see past Gary’s shoulder.

"The tattoos."

"She told you?"

"Yeah, she did. Seems that she got them for you. Something about being a gift for you."

Daniel dropped his chin to his chest, closed his eyes. "Yeah. A beautiful gift. And I acted like a total jerk over it."

Gary’s cheek twitched. He shouldn’t take such delight in the other man’s misery. But damn it, his little girl was hurting. And this man was the cause. Served him right...Daniel should feel guilty about his reaction! "So I heard. I take it that it was a bit of a surprise?"

Daniel looked up at his father-in-law. "Just a bit. Not nearly as surprising as having the counterpart of my first wife show up a couple of hours later."

"Yeah, heard about that, too."

"It seems I’m not so good with surprises. Or at least, not good with them today," Daniel sighed.

"Sounds like it’s just one of those days."

"She’s really pissed off, isn’t she?"

"She’s hurting more than she’s pissed. Let me ask you something. Why did you doubt her when she told you about that device?"

"Doubt her?" He frowned. Oh, god! He had doubted her, hadn’t he? Never once had she ever doubted him, or his abilities. The one time that she needed to know that he believed her, trusted her, and he was chalking it up to her desire to get rid of Sha’re. Danny, you have fucked up so badly today, there may be no way out of it, he told himself sharply. The pain that raced through him was physical, and deep.

"That hurt her most of all," Gary said softly.

"She saw something, didn’t she? And I wasn’t there. Damn it!"

"Seems she had a visit with another of Daniel Jackson’s wives today."

"What?"

The look on the young man’s face was priceless, and if the situation hadn’t been so serious, Gary would have laughed out loud. Instead, he stepped back. Allowed Daniel into the room. "I’ll let her explain."

"Daniel Jackson to the infirmary, stat!"

"Well, hell!" he muttered. He glanced over at the worn sofa where Casey was sitting, trying hard not to look at him. "We will talk...soon."

"Yeah, I imagine so," she murmured, watching him run from the room.

Gary said nothing as he watched the young man yank his badge through the scanner beside the elevator. Something told him that Daniel was hurting just as much as Casey was. And that circumstances seemed determined to keep them apart, keep them from working through that hurt.

A  A  A  A  A  A

"I want Dan’yel! I want him here now!" Sha’re shrieked. "I wish to be with my Husband!"

Skaara had one arm around her shoulders, his face defiant as he stood mutely, allowing his sister to make her demands.

"He’s not your husband," Janet snapped. "I did, however, page Doctor Jackson. He’ll be here shortly."

"He is Dan’yel!" Sha’re hissed, her eyes wild with fright and anger. "It does not matter what world we are on, he is Dan’yel!"

"If you don’t calm down, I’m going to sedate you," Janet threatened.

"You will not!" Skaara growled. "Do as my sister requests! Bring Dan’yel here!"

"Requests? She’s demanding!" Janet said. "Daniel will be here when he gets here. He’s with his wife."

"No! I will not allow it!" Sha’re screamed, launching herself at Janet.

Janet put her hands up to defend herself, managed to grab Sha’re’s wrists. The force of the impact of Sha’re’s body caused the petite woman to lose her footing, however, and both women went down, Sha’re landing on top of the doctor. "Get off me!"

"I will kill her! I will kill that slut! She is but a whore! She has put a curse on my Dan’yel!" Sha’re sputtered, trying to pull her wrists free.

"Oh, you so did not just say that!" Janet let go of one of the flailing wrists, curled her fist, pulled her arm back, and then hit Sha’re with all that she had. The Abydonian woman fell backwards, landed hard on her ass, her hand going to her jaw.

Skaara stepped forward, was about to yank Janet to her feet, his arm raised in preparation of administering a slap when Daniel slid into the room.

"Get away from her," Daniel said, his voice low...calm.

"She hit Sha’re," Skaara said accusingly.

"Sha’re probably deserved it." Everyone in the room turned to stare at the archaeologist. He ignored the looks of surprise, held his hand out to Janet, helped her to her feet.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kasuf asked weakly from his bed.

"Your daughter is throwing one of her temper tantrums. My Sha’re learned that I wouldn’t deal with her when she was in those moods. She learned to control them. Apparently my counterpart wasn’t as successful," Daniel replied, knowing that Kasuf would understand him. He looked at Sha’re. "Get up. Then get over to that chair and sit down."

Skaara stepped forward, his hands curled into fists. He swayed slightly, his cheeks paling drastically.

"Take a swing at me, or get your butt into the bed beside your father's," Daniel demanded.

The young man stared at the man who shared the face of his brother-in-law. But who did not behave the same. He dropped his fist. Took two steps backwards, before turning around, and settling himself on the bed.

Daniel returned his attention to Sha’re. "I understand why Doctor Fraiser has you here. We’re going to find a place for you to go, where the three of you will be safe from entropic cascade failure. In the meantime, I expect you to sit here and behave as the guest that you are, and be thankful for the help that you’re receiving. Unless it’s an actual emergency, I do not want to be paged again, do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Sha’re had never seen such anger in those blue eyes. Nor had her Dan’yel ever spoken to her in such a way. He would simply disappear into his study if she were in one of her ‘moods’, as he called them. Would sleep on the sofa, if he bothered to come home at all for a day or two, until she had stopped screaming at everyone. His words echoed in her head...

He did not believe that she could be his Sha’re, and he could be her Dan’yel. He was too enraptured by that blonde witch. She had no way to counter the spell that had been woven around him. A single tear made its way down her cheek when she watched the man she loved turn on his heel and walk away.

As much as he wanted to speak with Casey, beg her forgiveness, he had to locate the controller for the mirror, and start a search for a suitable reality. He’d stop by Sam’s office, he knew that she had notes from Dr. Samantha Carter-O'Neill about the controller. He needed a bit of a refresher course on the finer points of operating it.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Casey had pulled herself to her feet. "I have to find that device, Dad. It’s the answer, I know it is."

"Need some help?"

She shook her head. "You’ve helped me enough today. And thanks for...for standing up for me."

Gary pulled her into his embrace. "You’re my daughter, honey. Comes with the territory."

"Dad...I..." She wanted so badly to say the words. Was terrified of having them rejected.

He pulled away just far enough to be able to look down into her face. Saw in her eyes what she wanted to say. Felt his heart race. "Me, too, baby," he whispered. He kissed her forehead.

She stepped out of his embrace, stuck what was left of the cookie dough back into the brown paper bag. "Wish me luck!"

"Lots of luck," Gary grinned. "And Casey?"

She turned to look at him.

"He loves you. He wouldn’t be so damned determined to talk to you if he didn’t. He wouldn’t be hurting as badly as you are, if he didn’t."

She hadn’t even considered that Daniel’s confusion, his feelings of surprise, and probably being overwhelmed, might lead to him being hurt by the circumstances as much as she had been. "I have to hear him say that," she said softly.

"I know. Just give him a chance."

"I will."

Gary nodded. "If you see Janet, tell her I’ll call her later."

"I promise," Casey replied. She fluttered her fingers, then dashed for the elevator. She needed to find that device. She had an idea. Could only hope it would work. After all, if you needed to find a reality with specific criteria, who better to talk to about it than someone who’d already been ‘channel-surfing’ realities, right?

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