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By the time Duncan had arrived, the teams had debriefed, and the incident with Dr. Rayner discussed, it was nearly nine-thirty in the morning. Casey had called her mother, and Nicholas would spend the day with his grandmother at her house, and Erin would also see to it that Emily arrived there from school. She and Daniel would have the house to themselves until they picked up their children. Exhausted, they fell into bed, both of them asleep before their heads hit the pillows.

He jerked awake, sat up, ran his hand over his face, his breath coming as hard as if he had been running. What the hell had that been about? He looked over to make sure that he hadn't awakened Casey. Only to find that she was looking up at him, tears on her face. "Oh, god, you didn't…"

She rolled away from him, grabbed her robe and left the room.

Daniel tossed the blankets back and went after her. "Casey! Wait a minute!"

She whirled to face him. "Hit me! Go ahead, hit me! You want to! You blame me for what happened! So let's get it over with! Beat the crap out me too!"

His eyes went wide, his jaw dropped. "What?"

"I'm sorry I called for you! I should have just handled it myself!" she ranted, her arms tight around her waist, her robe billowing out behind her as she paced furiously across the living room. She stopped in front of him. "Hit me!"

"No!"

"You want to!"

"I do not!"

"Obviously you do!"

"I do not want to hit you. Calm down, Case," he said softly. He tried to reach for her, put his arms around her, only to have her back away from him. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"You were laughing," she said, her voice soft…sad. "I…I thought…I thought maybe you were dreaming about the kids…I saw you on the terrace with…her…and then…" She lowered her head, shook it sadly. "I swear to god, Daniel, I didn’t want him to touch me. I had no idea …I never should have let him bring me coffee."

"Angel, he tried to rape you."

"Yes, I know. I was there," she spat, her voice filling with anger once more. "He put his hands on me! He was touching me! I hated it! I wanted him to stop! I belong to you, only to you! I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!" She dropped to the sofa, put her hands over her face and began to weep.

"Shh, babe…" he sat down beside her, tried once again to take her into his arms. She pulled away from him, went to stand beside the French door. She was blocking him mentally as well. His heart was breaking as he watched her, her slender shoulders shaking with her silent sobs. "I don't want to hit you. I never want to hurt you like that. Ever."

"I know it was just a dream…but…your eyes! You were so angry! So…so goddamned full of yourself!"

He leaned back on the sofa, covered face with his hands, wiped them wearily over his jaws. "Casey, I don't know what that was all about. I guess…I guess maybe what happened in that cavern had something to do with it."

"Which one, the one you beat me in, or the one you were trapped in with Steven?"

He looked up at her. Felt his heart drop to his feet. "You remember, don't you?"

She shrugged. "Bits and pieces. They're nothing more than…images…feelings…I can remember how badly it hurt."

"Oh, god," he breathed, his eyes mirroring his horror…his guilt. "Casey, I am so sorry! I don't even remember doing it, I only remember seeing your sweet, beautiful face with bruises on it."

"You must be getting tired of saving me all the time. I think…I think you believe that what happens to me is my fault," she said softly.

"No! That is not true! Goddamn it! We've already been through this!" Now he was on his feet, pacing the length of the living room and back again, his own temper flaring. "It was a dream, Casey, a goddamned dream!"

"Yeah, I know. I've had a few of them myself. Been held responsible for them, too! Why should you get off easy? You're angry, and you want to strike out. And, it seems, you want to strike out at me. So do it. Beat me. Get it out of your system."

"Casey Renee Jackson, I do not want to hit you," he said between clenched teeth.

"All of them Daniel! They were all there, all of 'your women'! Every damned one of them! Sha're, Ishtar, Sarah, Neferteri! They were there and…" she turned away from him as the tears began to fall once again.

"I don't know what to say, Angel. I don't know where all of that came from, or why. I love you, I will always love you. You're the only woman I want in my life. Only you, always you, forever. I would never, could never raise my hand to you, not as long as I'm in control of my faculties. It tears me up to know I hit you on that planet. I don't know how I'm going to be able to deal with the fact that you can remember it," he said softly.

She took a deep breath, hiccupping a quiet sob. "Every time you save me, this happens. You dream about beating me, and…and…and having them. I've watched you make love to them in so many ways, so many times. It's…it's like I'm not enough…not…good enough…can't please you."

"Say what?"

Casey turned her tear-stained face to look at him. "You…you don't remember having this dream before?"

"No, I don't!"

"Well, you do. Every time you save me, from whatever mess I've gotten myself into."

"If you would just think before you do some of the things you do-" he said slowly.

"I knew it! You do blame me!" she shrieked triumphantly. "I'll make it easy on you, Daniel. I'll leave. Then you won't ever have to save me from anything, or anybody again."

"That is not what I want!" He shouted back.

"Well too goddamned bad! It's what I want!" She stormed toward the bedroom. The door slammed closed behind her.

"Casey…Casey! Casey!" No…he couldn't lose her! No…

"Daniel? Daniel…wake up, it's okay, I'm right here."

He opened his eyes, looked around him. He was lying in the bed, she was leaning over him, her long hair covering his chest, her soft hand moving over his jaw, her eyes filled with love… concern. "Case?"

"I'm right here, Sweetheart. It was a dream," she said softly. "Pretty bad from what I saw. Just so you know, I do not remember one thing from that planet. And you do not always have that other dream, at least, not that I know of."

He wiped a hand over his face. "I don't blame you, Angel," he said softly. "For anything."

"I know." Even though, in her mind, he had every right to be angry, to blame her for many of the things that had happened to her, to them, things that he had been forced to rescue her from.

Daniel ran his fingers over her arm, to her shoulder, back down again. "I wanted to kill him. I wanted to just pull the Fire up and kill him. I couldn't stop Framone from hurting you. I couldn't stop Ba'al from hurting you. I couldn't stop Nergal from hurting you, torturing you, killing you. But…he was there, I could stop him."

"But you didn't," she whispered. "You didn't kill him."

"Didn't you hear what Doctor Montigue said? I came damned close."

"Daniel, what did you see when you walked into the Conference room?"

"I saw you, kneeling on the table, your shirt in shreds, your bra unfastened, your eyes full of fear…I could see that you were shaking. I saw him standing there, looking at you, his cock hard and his hands reaching for you, the lust in his eyes…I had to save you. I had to. I've failed you every other time you've needed me. I haven't protected you like I should have," he replied, his voice low.

"You haven't…what are you…oh, my poor Daniel!" She straddled his hips, wreathed his face with her hands, made him look up at her. "You have never failed my, My Heart, never! You have always, always been there for me, always fought and defeated the demons that haunt me, you have always saved me. Always."

"I don't know why I dream about…them," he whispered, not looking at her face, instead, focusing on his fingers as he twirled her hair around them.

She giggled. "Oh, Sweetheart, every man dreams about having his own harem. It's a man thing! As long as you don't do anything like that while you're awake, I'll be happy! It was just a dream!"

"Yeah, how can you be so forgiving, when I've held you responsible for what you've dreamed?" he asked, a small sad smile on his face.

She smiled. "I'd say you're beating yourself up about that, too. Let it go, Daniel. It was a dream."

He pulled her down and held her close. "I love you, Casey. I love you so damned much!"

"I know. I love you too, Daniel. More than you'll ever know."

"Let me feel it, Angel, please," he pleaded in a soft whisper. He closed his eyes as her sweet love flooded his mind, wrapped around him like a warm blanket, filled every nook and cranny of his heart and soothed his soul. He reached out to her, sent his love to her, hoping that she could feel the depth of it, the breadth of it, the intensity of his deep, unyielding love for her.

She raised up, kissed his chin. "I'm going to go take a shower. Then, I'm going to make some coffee."

"Want some company?"

"Only if you promise to wash my back."

"Is that I all I get to wash?" he asked, his eyes flashing with love…and Fire.

She wiggled her hips, grinned when she felt him rising beneath her. "I dunno. What else could you possibly want to wash?"

"Oh, I can think of a couple of things," he replied, grinning back at her, his hands cupping her breasts.

"You know, we could take a quick shower, and then come back in here," she whispered suggestively, just before she leaned over and began to lick at his collarbones.

"Now that sounds interesting," he replied. He raised his chin, letting her taste more of him as her mouth moved up to his throat. "You do realize we showered at the base a few hours ago."

"Mmmhmm," she replied, her mouth still working on his neck. "You taste good," she whispered. She slid down, her tongue moving over his chest, teasing his flat, brown nipples, delighting in the way they hardened. She blew gently against them, watched them pebble against his skin. She licked her way from one to the other, warming them with her tongue, saluting every inch of his well-defined pecs before moving down to those hard abs and his bellybutton. She thrust her tongue in and out of his navel, while her hand continued to travel down. She ran her fingers through his pubic hair, smiled against his skin when he shivered.

His eyes were closed, every nerve ending in his body on Fire. She was teasing him, tormenting him with her touch, her kisses; he was rejoicing in every second of it, every sensation she gave him. Images from the dream faded, the angry shouts disappearing from his mind as his beautiful Wife made love to him. God, she knew exactly how to touch him, where to touch him to make him feel as if he were on the verge of a complete meltdown. When she took his aching cock into her mouth, he couldn't have held back the moan that filled his throat if his life had depended on it. His hands were full of her silky hair, his hips rising up to meet her every time she moved down toward them.

She couldn't help but smile victoriously when his moan echoed around them. Yes! She loved knowing that she was pleasing him, making him feel so good that he couldn't hold back. She licked around and around the swollen shaft of his erection, teased the head, then moved down to say a quick hello to his heavy balls, her fingers caressing them gently as she sucked one, then the other. Her other hand was still moving slowly up and down that magnificent anaconda, his hips moving with it, trying to speed up the rhythm. She moved back up, took him into her mouth, pressed her tongue against him and began to make love to him, sucking him with long, steady strokes.

No other woman had ever pleased him in this way. Of all the women he had ever been with, only Casey could drive him insane with her mouth. Only Casey had ever tried. All of the others did nothing more than give him a cursory lick, maybe a quick suck on nothing more than the head. Until his sweet, beautiful Angel had come into his life, he hadn't known what a blowjob, a real blowjob, could feel like. She worked that swollen flesh as if she couldn't get enough. He felt her shift on the bed, felt her hair cover him from his belly to the middle of his thighs as she positioned herself over him. She relaxed that beautiful throat, his cock slid to the back of it, and she swallowed. Oh, god, it feels so damned good! Her hands were working now, stroking hard and fast on that part of him that she could never take into her mouth.

She loved doing this to him…for him. Loved tasting him, pleasing him. Loved the fact that his hands betrayed his pleasure as they tightened into fists, loved the way his hips thrust up toward her. He was throbbing so fast now, any minute he would explode. She took him as deep as she could, ready to send him sailing among the stars. His shoulders came off the bed, he cried out her name, and he began shooting his load of precious white love down her throat. She continued to swallow, licked him gently as he pulsed, her hands still softly caressing him. He was panting, his hand skimming up and down her back as she licked him clean before finally releasing him. She looked up at him. "Feel better?"

"Oh, yeah," he grinned. "But I'd better get my fix, Angel. Don't want to take the chance of having withdrawal symptoms."

She giggled. "That would be terrible."

"Yeah, it would. C'mere, you," he said softly. He pulled her close, rolled them so that she was on her back beneath him. "I love you."

Her fingers caressed his jaw. "I love you."

He kissed her, gently at first, then with more passion as she began to respond, her tongue dancing with his. He moved his mouth from hers, trailed kisses over her jaw, to her throat, kissing and licking and sucking his way from one ear to the other, nibbling each tender earlobe, then marking her, again and again. As he did so often, he wished that the marks would stay, so that everyone could see his brand on her. He licked her prominent collarbones, nipped gently at them, grinned against her skin when she shivered beneath him. As much as she enjoyed pleasing him, he loved pleasing her. Loved knowing that his touch was the only touch she accepted, welcomed, took pleasure from.

Her back began to arch as soon as his lips closed around a hard, aching nipple. His hands held, caressed, massaged, squeezed her breasts until she thought she would scream from the sensations of pleasure that filled her mind, her body. Every inch of those firm orbs received his attention, was gently licked. When he began to tug on her nipples, flames danced up and down her spine, filled her belly, and moved into that warm, needy place between her thighs. Her hands were in his hair, answering each tug on her nipples. She wrapped her legs around his, one foot moving up and down his calf. She felt his leg tremble beneath her toes.

The heat from her sweet womanhood pressing up against his belly was enough to warm his entire body. He paid homage to her navel before moving down, settling between those soft, slender thighs. He took a deep breath, her scent filling his senses; his brain recognized her, alerted his body. When he ran the flat of his tongue around those soft, wet folds, she hissed a breath, her hips jerking slightly, then moving toward his mouth. He had spent so much time on her breasts that when he pushed his tongue into her warm well, she moaned softly and favored him with a rush of her sweet nectar. He drank his fill, begged for more, then ran his tongue around her folds once again. She was making those sweet little noises, the ones that always let him know that she was on the edge, the soft sounds that never failed to turn him on. He pulled away from her just far enough to blow against her swollen nub. Again she jerked slightly, moaned softly. Every response to his ministrations pleased him, aroused him. He watched her eyes flutter shut when he took that hard, swollen button into his mouth. He teased it with his tongue until he had her hips in constant motion. He slid his fingers inside her, stroked her gently. "Ready, Angel?"

"Yes, oh god, yes!"

He put his mouth back against her, sucked hard and fast on that bundle of nerves, his fingers pushing deep and hard with each thrust. Her thighs quivered against his shoulders, and the whimper that he so adored filled the air. He felt the convulsions begin just as a low moan filled her throat. He continued to stimulate her until she cried out his name, her hips bucking against him. He moved down to catch that flood of honey, lapped it up, left not one drop on her soft skin. He kissed his way back to her breasts, then rolled to his side. "I think you liked that," he grinned.

"I think you were trying to see how loud you could make me scream!" she smiled.

He chuckled. "If I was doing that, the neighbors two blocks over would know what we're doing."

She reached up and caressed his face. "Only you, Daniel. Only you can please me. My body belongs to you, responds only to you. My heart, my soul, are yours."

He looked into green eyes full of love. Understood what she was telling him…and why. "What you do to me, woman," he whispered, just before claiming her lips with a kiss. He brushed her hair back from her face. "I love you."

"I love you," she whispered. "Let me show you how much."

With a smile he rolled to his back, watched her climb on top of him, settle herself over his engorged shaft. He gave a sigh of pleasure when she lowered her body, taking him in slowly, until her hips were against his. "You feel good," he whispered.

"Mmm…so do you," she replied. Her smile grew wider, brighter when he offered his hands. She laced her fingers with his, and began to ride him. Gently, slowly, taking her time sliding up and down on his cock.

He watched her as she rode him, his eyes locked with hers, every emotion, every bit of pleasure she felt reflected in those green depths. He let himself get lost there, floated in those pools of emerald green, mesmerized by the love that surrounded him. She was the enchantress, he the enchanted man who had by some miracle won her favor.

His blue eyes held hers, she could see her entire world in them. His love was reflected there, amazed her with its depth. Such beautiful, incredible blue eyes. He was capable of hiding what he thought, what he was feeling, so that no one could see what was going on behind them. Yet with her, when they were alone, those amazing blue eyes were the window to his soul. They told her of his love as much as his words and body did.

"Do something for me?"

"What?"

"Turn around. Don't get up, just turn around," he said softly.

She nodded, maneuvered her body, spinning on his cock, and turned her back to him. "Oh, god," she whispered.

"Oh, yeah," he moaned. He put his hands on her hips, moved her back and forth. Oh, hell yeah! Hot, tight, he could feel himself go deeper into that sweet well. "Are you okay, Angel?"

"Yes!" she hissed, her hips moving faster. Her hands were on her breasts, tugging at nipples so hard they hurt.

He could feel the heat building up. She had stretched her legs out on top of his, had dropped her hands onto his hips, helping give her the leverage she needed to move. He gripped her hips harder, was thrusting up into her as she slid back and forth. "Make it good, babe," he panted, watching with satisfaction as one hand slid between her thighs.

It was an incredible feeling, and the Fire was engulfing her. Her entire body was tingling with pleasure, and it would only be seconds before she was streaking heavenward. Daniel shifted his legs, curling them on top of hers. She let her head drop back as the sensations continued to build toward that beautiful crescendo.

Her hair tickled his belly, teased his nipples as her body continued to move. He kept her in place with his legs, his hands held her hips tighter, shoving that sweet, warm well back and forth on his aching cock harder and faster. He could feel her thighs quiver. Smiled when she whimpered. Rushed to join her when she cried out and began to pulse around him.

Her body was shaking as she flew over the edge of the cliff and began to spin among the stars. "Fill me, Daniel, let me feel you throb," she begged softly.

With a moan he obeyed, his shaft throbbing against the still vibrating walls of her warm well. He cried out when she began to hold him, massage him with those muscles, making his already amazing orgasm even more so. The pleasure was so intense it was almost painful. He ran his hand over her back as high as he could reach when she slumped forward, breathing hard. "Lay back, Angel," he whispered softly.

She stretched out, his chest warm and strong behind her. His arms closed around her, holding her against his body. She was still breathing hard. "That was…interesting," she said.

He grinned. "That's one word for it. I was thinking more like incredible."

"Yeah, that too."

He tightened his arms around her slender frame. "So, what were you saying about a shower and some coffee?"

"I think I was suggesting a shower and coffee…before I was so delightfully side-tracked."

He kissed her ear. "Let's get up, Angel. We need to-" The ringing of the phone interrupted him. He groaned, reached for the annoying device. "Yeah?…Oh, hey, Jack…What?…Yeah, sure. We can be there in about an hour…okay. Yeah, I appreciate that. Okay, see you there."

Casey was sitting up again, twisted so that she could see him. "What?"

"Steven is conscious. He's pressing charges against me. Jack and Duncan want you to come in and file criminal charges against him. The DA is going to meet us in Duncan's office to discuss both."

"Shit!" She pulled away from him, crawled off the bed and headed for the bathroom. "Rat bastard! I should have let you kill his sorry ass!"

"Good thing I said an hour. I'll have time to get some coffee into you," he teased.

She poked her head into the bedroom. "Yeah, and in about five minutes you're going to need your caffeine injection, too!"

He pulled himself to his feet and followed her into the bathroom. "Yep."

A  A  A  A  A  A

An hour later they walked into Duncan's office. John Carlisle was sitting beside Jack in front of the Highlander's desk. Greetings were exchanged.

"This happened on base, and to be perfectly honest, I'd rather it be handled here," John said. "I understand that Doctor Rayner is an employee of the Gamma Archaeological Research Center, which is funded and operated by the SGC, is this correct?"

Daniel nodded. "He only arrived about two weeks ago. I’m not even sure he's been off the base, other than for the Museum fundraiser the first weekend he was here."

John nodded, jotting down notes in the notebook balanced on his knee. "Mrs. Jackson, you say that he put GHB into your coffee?"

"Yes. He said…let me see if I can remember," she said, closing her eyes. "Um, he said, ' I don't understand. The GHB should have made you feel good, willing to play with me.'"

Again the DA nodded. Like the others in the room, he was Immortal, and because of that fact, understood that drugs didn't always work on them, especially a very low dose. "I take it that he didn't know you were Immortal?"

"He knows, I just don’t think he understands what it really means, other than the fact that we can't die…at least not the way most people think of dying," Casey replied.

"All right. Now, I need for you to tell me exactly what happened. If you like, we can have one of your lady friends come in here, and the gentlemen can leave," he said kindly.

She shook her head. "If this makes it to court, it will all come out anyway. I might as well get used to it." What had happened in that Conference room was much less…bothersome…than some of the other things she had endured.

"Whenever you're ready," John said. He turned on a small cassette recorder.

Casey told the DA what had happened, how Steven Rayner had entered the Center, brought her coffee, tried to kiss her, twisted her arm behind her back and roughly pushed her to the Conference room. She told of his attempt to rape her, Daniel's arrival, and what had happened.

John finished up the notes he was taking, then looked up at Daniel. "I can tell you right now that any man I put on a jury is going to feel sympathy for you. They're going to believe that you acted in the defense of your wife. Which is just as good as self-defense. What could hurt the case is the fact that he was high on cocaine. Doctor Montigue's report states that the level of the drug in his system was significant. Now, again, I would prefer that this remain on the base. If Doctor Rayner insists on pushing, I'll have to file the charges."

Daniel nodded.

John and Duncan exchanged a look. Both men looked at Jack. "We think if you talk to him, you might be able to reason with him," Jack said slowly.

"Are you crazy? I just beat the man, nearly to death. I doubt that he's going to want to hear a damn word I have to say!" Daniel exclaimed.

"You beat him because he was attempting to rape your wife. After using an illegal drug to alter her ability to refuse him," Duncan pointed out.

Daniel sucked on his lower lip. "I'll see what I can do," he said quietly.

John looked at Casey. "I know that Daniel isn't going to want you anywhere near Doctor Rayner. What I'd like for you to do is go into Doctor Montigue's office. He's already been contacted about this. You won't even have to look out into the ward where Doctor Rayner is. But I want him to see you."

Casey nodded. "Okay. Just…just on the off chance he does push, what will happen?"

"Daniel will have to turn himself into the police. He'll be charged, fingerprinted, then arraigned. I'll try to see to it that he doesn't have to spend any time in jail. He'll be released on his own recognizance, and then a trial date will be set."

"Rat bastard," she muttered under her breath.

John smiled. "I agree. From what I've heard, this guy is an ass. Right now, I have a friend of mine doing some checking in Chicago, and his last noted place of employment in Philadelphia. The curator at the Glencairn Museum there said the man has talent, if he'd just use it, and he didn't seem surprised that Rayner is in trouble with the law. I have the feeling that you're not the first woman he's done this to. What I'd like to do is fill the courtroom with as many women that he's victimized as I can."

Casey shook her head. "Won't happen. There's a reason those 'date-rape' drugs are so popular. No memory. The victim has absolutely no memory of what happened. And even if she did suspect, a man like Steven Rayner would see to it that she was too frightened to ever mention it."

"We'll wait and see. It's possible he didn't feel the need to use GHB on every woman he assaulted," John replied. He looked over at Daniel. "Let's see if we can't just avoid the entire thing."

Daniel stood to his feet. This wasn't going to be easy. He held Casey's hand as they all walked to the infirmary. Duncan, Jack and John went into the monitoring room.

Dr. Montigue met them, made sure that Steven saw that Casey had arrived, then took her into his office. As he had predicted, being even this close to the man had caused her cheeks to pale, her eyes to go wide, and her body to begin trembling visibly. He made sure that her back was to the window that looked out over the ward, but within Steven's field of vision. The doctor offered her coffee, spoke quietly with her, letting her talk about whatever came to her mind.

"Steven," Daniel said softly as he approached the bed. The man looked horrible. His face was a mass of bruises, tape covered his nose, and three pieces of strand tape covered his jaw.

"I'm suing you. I'm taking you down for this," Steven hissed.

"Yeah, well, you can try. Maybe your court date will fall before Casey's. You'll have a better chance if that happens," Daniel replied coldly.

Steven's eyes flickered toward Dr. Montigue's office. "What court date?"

"She's already filed assault and attempted rape charges against you."

"What rape? She was just as interested in playing as I was!" Steven spat.

"No, I don't think so. The drug, that GHB you gave her…didn't work. It was already out of her system before you took her down to the conference room. You didn't give her very much, I'm guessing you like them conscious when you're raping them," Daniel said. "Casey is Immortal. Her Quickening dealt with the drug. She was totally coherent, and screaming her head off. Three people going into the barracks across the street heard her." He had just learned that detail when he glanced at the witness report that Jack had handed him.

Again Steven's eyes flickered in her direction. "It's her word against mine," he said. His brain reminded him that Casey wasn't a waitress or stripper. She was someone who compelled the respect of those around her.

"Yeah, and around here, your word means squat. It will be worth even less when I bring in the curators of the museum's who have been left to clean up the messes you made by stealing artifacts. Then it will take another nose-dive when all of the other women you've done this to testify against you," Daniel retorted.

He tried to smile, grimaced with pain. "It will never happen. You'll never be able to prove that I've ever done anything like that before. You see, Danny-boy, GHB conveniently wipes their memory. We both have a nice night, and she goes home guilt free."

"You're a bastard," Daniel hissed. "I should have killed you on P3R 899! I could have written it off as an accident, and no one would have been the wiser!"

Fear reflected in Steven's brown eyes, what could be seen of them. "You'd never do it. Hell, I'm surprised you had the balls to do this much! You were always such a fucking pacifist. What happened? Turn into a war-monger like your military buddies?"

"I still believe that fundamentally, war is wrong. I still believe that violence should be avoided whenever and wherever possible," Daniel replied. "I've learned that sometimes you have to fight to stay free, and keep peace. And I've learned that there are things worth fighting, and dying, for. What I did to you was nothing more than protect her when you tried to rape my wife. My Chosen."

Again that look of fear flashed. "You want me to drop the charges."

"It won't be pleasant for you around here if you don't," Daniel replied.

"I can handle it. We'll see how well the scientific community accepts you once you've been convicted of attempted murder!"

"If I wanted you dead, Steven, you'd be dead," Daniel said, his voice eerily calm, so cold the temperature in the room seemed to drop. "I could have taken you out without breaking a sweat or bloodying my knuckles. I could have left you nothing more than a heap of ashes on the carpet!"

Steven swallowed. Fear filled his eyes, stayed there.

"The only thing that saved your sorry ass was Casey. The woman you were trying to rape. She only did it to save me! What she doesn't understand is the fact that it wouldn't bother me a bit to take you out. I can do it anytime, anywhere. All I have to do is…" he raised his hand.

"Okay! I'll…I'll think about dropping the charges. If she drops hers against me."

"I'm not so sure that's going to happen. You see, rape is taken very seriously around here. Once a report has been filed, it's damned hard to get the charges dropped. But I'll see what I can do."

"I…uh…I take it I don't have a job?"

Daniel looked at Steven as if he'd just grown another head. "You're kidding, right?"

Steven looked toward Dr. Montigue's office again. His first instinct had been right. Crossing Daniel was suicide.

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