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Camulus sat on his throne, chin in hand, staring at the far wall, but seeing instead a woman with long, auburn hair and warm brown eyes. Cara. Every time her name moved across his mind his heart clenched in pain. Never had he loved a woman like he had loved her! Never had a woman filled every nook and cranny of his being.

"My Lord," a voice said softly from somewhere beside him.

He roused himself, frowned at the older woman, the woman in charge of his harem. "What?"

"You look…unhappy. Should I send one of your women to you? Perhaps two, or three?"

"No! Do not ask me that again! There is only one woman I want in my bed, and she is dead!" Camulus roared. He jumped to his feet, stalked from the room. Nearly collided with a small woman…barely a woman, he noticed. A girl not long into her womanhood, he thought.

Kepi backed up slowly, kept her eyes on the floor. She was still unaccustomed to being a part of the harem. The women and girls there received much better treatment than the rest of the slaves. "Forgive me, My Lord," she said softly, her voice trembling the slightest bit.

"You are forgiven," he murmured, watched her as she fled down the corridor in the direction of the women's rooms. He smiled. He didn't remember her, wondered when she had been added to his harem. He shook his head. That had been one thing that he and Cara had fought most often about. She had claimed that if he loved her, he needed no other woman in his bed. And if he had no need, then the women of his harem should be freed. For the first year they were… together, when Cara was unavailable to him because of her monthly bleeding, he would go to the harem to seek relief. He could clearly remember the night that one of his women, a beautiful blonde woman named Ceela, worked his aching flesh as she knelt in front of him. But the touch was not Cara's. And suddenly he wanted no other woman, needed no other woman. From that night forward, he waited until she was ready for him once again. He hadn't set foot in the harem rooms after that. Stubborn pride, however, kept the women there, and ready for him.

He frowned. He remembered seeing the little dark haired one now, the same day he returned and took back what was his from Ptah. She must have been taken on the raid he led against one of Morganna's planets, just days after Cara's death. He had been furious with grief. The need to kill, to destroy burned inside him. There had been a small village. Cara had not been there to temper his anger. He had taken slaves from among the able-bodied, and killed the rest, then had the humble dwellings burned to the ground.

He shook his head. The destruction had done nothing to alleviate his pain and suffering. Morganna, in the meantime, had destroyed one of his outposts. The message had been clear. Tit for tat. And she held far greater numbers of ships and Jaffa than he.

Cara had been dead a month when Ptah had shown up. Still wracked with grief, already away from his palace dealing with other business, Calumus had simply turned his ship around and headed for a trading port. He had sent the ship on to one of his other planets, with orders to remain there until they received word from him. And then he had set about to find out where SG-1 was located. Which had been easy enough to do. A bag of gold and a few minutes of agony from his ribbon device had been enough to get the necessary codes from a trader who dealt with the Gamma colony on a regular basis. He snorted. By now that code had been changed, and no doubt that trader would find it difficult to do business with the Tau'ri again. He didn't care. He had found what he needed.

Green eyes danced in front of him. How unexpected she had been! How delightful she had been! He frowned as he thought that her life could be in danger if he did anything that those sometimes useful, oftentimes meddlesome Tau'ri considered 'double crossing'. He shook his head. He would not be the reason for her death. No matter how he longed to use the Tau'ri as a means to attack Morganna, he would refrain…for now.

He wandered the garden that Cara had loved so much. Everywhere he looked, memories of her were hiding, waiting to attack him with their bittersweet images. The only place that she had rarely visited was the throne room. She had never felt comfortable there. In that room he was a Goa'uld, and that was something she tried hard to forget. His feet led him back there before his mind realized that was where he was going. He stopped short when he saw Methos sitting in his throne. "Comfortable?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact," Methos replied, a lazy smile on his face. Hidden in his pocket, his fingers keyed the signaling device.

Before Camulus could respond, transporter rings dropped down around him. "No!" He was outraged. He had just been kidnapped from his own palace! When the glow of the rings subsided, he glared at the people gathered in front of him.

"Hey, Cammy, long time no see," Jack said, grinning from ear to ear. He looked over at the two guards who had accompanied the Goa'uld to his home planet. "Take him to the holding cell. Make sure he's nice and comfy and secure."

With a growl, Camulus allowed the ribbon device to be taken from his hand, and followed one guard, the other holding his weapon just inches from the Goa'uld's back.

Daniel was pacing the corridor, as had been arranged. He looked up when the SF's led the Goa'uld toward him. "They managed to get you. Good."

"Revenge, Doctor Jackson?" Camulus asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

The young archaeologist shook his head. "Insurance," he replied.

"I do not understand," Camulus said.

"As long as you're under lock and key in our facility, you can't betray us. As long as you can't betray us, Casey is safe," Daniel explained quietly.

Comprehension flooded the Goa'uld's hazel eyes. "Ah, yes. I understand. I believe I would have done the same if I were in your position. Is she here?"

"Yes."

"Good. Perhaps she will visit me. I find I quite enjoy her company." Without another word Camulus entered the cell. The door closed behind him, the lock clanged into position.

With a hidden grin, Daniel hurried to the ready room to join the rest of the team.

A pair of eyes watched from a darkened corner. The transfer from the Persephone had gone smoother than he had hoped. He no longer had to deal with that asinine colonel who ran that ship. He had only hoped to find a place where his talents would be better appreciated. He hadn't thought that such a golden opportunity would present itself!

A  A  A  A  A  A

Methos called the Jaffa together. "Camulus is my prisoner. He will remain my prisoner until he has served his purpose. Then I will kill him. You will serve me, or you will die."

The Jaffa had witnessed this young man kill Ptah without so much as blinking an eye. He had kidnapped Camulus from his own throne room. Surely this was a god with whom it would be suicide to fight. The First Prime bowed his head, knelt down on one knee. "We will serve you faithfully, My Lord."

"Good." Methos sat back down on the throne. "You will give a full report to my First Prime. I want to know the placement of all outposts, the number of Jaffa at each one. You will assume your role as his second-in-command."

The man nodded. It would not be easy to step down, to see his authority usurped by another. But it was much better than the alternative.

Wade moved to stand just behind Methos, taking up his position as lo'taur. He watched carefully as the Jaffa left the room. "He's worried about one thing…staying alive," he said quietly, watching Camulus' First Prime.

Methos nodded. "Let's hope he stays that way. We'll wait a bit, and then we'll go find out what Ester, Cassandra, and Kepi have learned. In the meantime, you'd better take Prius and a couple of the Jaffa and let the help know that the place has changed hands…again. Then have Prius…spread the word…to the outposts. If they won't join the Shakka, kill them."

With a nod, Wade hurried to gather the slaves. They were about to see their lot improve greatly, and soon, with luck, they would be returning to their homes. And the ranks of the Free Jaffa were about to swell even farther, as well.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Casey was staring into her coffee cup. That feeling washed over her, left her shaking. "I think we're about to have big, big problems," she said softly.

Jack looked at her. "Details?"

She shook her head. "None yet. But it doesn't feel good," she replied.

"Well, that's par for the course," the general complained. "Let us know as soon as you have something."

The young blonde Immortal nodded. "I will. Guess I should go visit Cam, huh?"

"Probably," Jack agreed.

With a sigh, she stood to her feet. "Come on, Stud Muffin. I'm not going near him without you."

Daniel grinned. It was just as well she felt that way. There was no way he'd let her near that Goa'uld alone.

"You told him why we…uh…kidnapped him?" Casey asked softly as they made their way to the brig.

"Yep," Daniel replied. "He seemed to understand. Told me he'd do the same thing, if he were in my place."

She pulled her lip between her teeth. "I don't know how much longer he'll believe that I'll be executed if he screws us over. As soon as he doesn't, it's going to be hard to control him."

"Remember, Angel, anything we get from him at this point is just extra. We already have what we want," he said.

She nodded. The guard smiled at her, unlocked the cell door. 'Hold me?'

'Always, Angel.'

She waited until Daniel was holding her tightly in that meadow, then putting a bright smile on her face, she stepped into the room. "Hi, Cam."

Camulus stood to his feet, couldn't help but smile in return. "Hello, Casey."

"Sorry you didn't get to stay…home," she said, dropping down onto the bunk beside him.

"I understand your husband's reason for taking me," Camulus said, watching her carefully.

"Yeah, I can't say that I'm unhappy that he convinced Jack to take you back to Gamma. I'd like to see my babies grow up," she said softly. Sitting next to the Goa'uld was making her nervous, and she couldn't control the tiny shudder that moved over her body.

He noticed the slight flinch, the way her slender body seemed to shiver slightly. She was afraid of being beheaded! Any doubts he'd had about the situation were silenced in that moment. "I will do whatever I must to protect you," he said quietly.

She looked up at him, her head cocked sideways. "Thank you. I kind of like my head where it is."

Camulus laughed. "As do I."

"I talked to Jack. As soon as we have what we want from Kinsey, he's agreed to let you have him…Nefrim. So far I haven't been able to find much of the host. He was a yellow-bellied coward to begin with," she said, every word the truth. She had made a foray into Kinsey/Nerfrim's mind, found nothing of use. She had urged Jack to let Camulus kill Nefrim, after all, the bastard had killed the Goa'uld's lover, his Consort.

His eyes glowed for just a few seconds. "That pleases me," he said softly. "To avenge her death will ease my suffering."

I'll just bet it will, cupcake, she thought irritably. She shrugged. "It's the least I could do. For her as much as for you." She yawned suddenly, her cheeks flushing pink as a result. "Excuse me!"

Camulus smiled. "You are weary. Go. Rest. We will speak again later."

She wasn't surprised that he could sit there in a holding cell and behave as if he were in complete control. "You should rest as well."

The smile widened at her show of concern. "I believe I will. Sweet dreams."

She jerked slightly, managed to hide her surprise. "You, too," she said softly. She tapped on the cell door, gave a wiggle of her fingers, then stepped into the corridor.

Daniel was waiting for her. Moved slowly away from her in the meadow. Noted her pale cheeks. "What's wrong?"

Casey shook her head slightly. "Nothing. He made a simple comment, it just shook me a little."

"What did he say?"

She looked up at her husband, then dropped her eyes. "Sweet dreams," she said softly.

With a quiet moan, Daniel pulled her into his embrace. "I'm right here, Angel. Nothing…no one can hurt you, I promise."

She nodded against his shoulder. "I'm kind of tired."

"Let's get some sleep." He led her back to their quarters. Held her tightly against his chest when they were settled into bed. Hoped…prayed…that she would be able to sleep dream free…or have sweet dreams. He kissed the side of her head, drifted off to sleep himself.

 A  A  A  A  A  A

By four a.m. Camulus was in the holding cell in SGC Gamma, and the team members were home in their own beds. On the Phoenix, a short, rotund man was researching everything he could find about the Goa'uld. And SG-1. Yes, it seemed that a golden opportunity had dropped into his lap. A cold smile curled his lips.

THE END

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