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It was several hours later when the three team members were taken before Neferteri. Daniel was beside her, dressed in a silk shirt and silk trousers, his arm around her waist, his face pressed against her jet-black hair.

"You will live, only because my Beloved has asked it of me. He has told me of your plans, and I can defeat you easily," she said, her beautiful face covered with a smug smile. She ran her finger over his jaw. 

Daniel smiled down at her, pulled her into his arms.

Casey watched…wide eyed…as her husband kissed the Goa’uld System Lord. She felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. The pain in her heart was nearly unbearable. "Daniel?"

"Go, Casey. Just go. I’m where I want to be…where I was destined to be," he said coldly, his gaze never leaving the dark eyes of the Goa’uld.

Tears formed and ran down her cheeks. "My Heart-"

He turned to look at her, his eyes full of anger. "Go. Leave! Before my beloved Queen changes her mind."

Her knees buckled, and she would have fallen to the floor had not Teal'c and Jack caught her. They were escorted to the ‘gate; she walked in a stupor, her mind numb, her heart breaking. As soon as they were in the gate room, Casey sank to her knees, the wail of pain that was wrenched from her chest nearly undoing all the men who watched as she sobbed.

Duncan came into the room and pulled her into his embrace. "I’m sorry, Casey, I’m so sorry. We didn’t know that Neferteri…uh…had…uh…the drug," he said softly.

"What drug?" she asked between sobs.

"The drug that…uh…counters…uh…the Fire," he said. He looked up at Jack and shrugged helplessly.

Casey looked into the face of the man she had once loved. "What?"

"The Goa’uld have come up with a drug that counters the Fire, from the Ceremony of Fire," he said softly. He couldn’t look into her eyes, couldn’t bear to see the pain he knew was there.

She stared at him for a minute, and then fresh tears began to fall. He was lost to her, she thought. Daniel no longer loved her. It seemed that only the Fire had held him bound to her. She wasn’t even aware when Dr. Montigue came into the room and sedated her, or that she was taken to the infirmary, while the remaining members of the team met with Duncan and Methos in the conference room.

"I hate this," Duncan spat, his eyes throwing daggers at Methos.

"It has to be this way. Her eyes would have given everything away. She has to…think…that it’s over, that he has really chosen to leave her, chosen to work with the Goa’uld."

"She’ll never believe the part about him switching sides," Jack snapped.

"She will, however, believe that Daniel Jackson no longer loves her," Teal'c said, the scowl on his face deeper than ever. His large hands were clenched tightly on the table.

"I can’t believe she could think that he’d walk away from her, and from his daughter, not deep inside," Jack said softly.

"He’ll explain to her as soon as he contacts her," Duncan said.

"If he can contact her," Methos interjected. "We don’t know just how far their link can go. I have to get back, we’ll be getting reports from the spy as often as possible. I’ll let you know what we find out." He left the room, unnoticed.

The men sat stoically, their hearts heavy. The next few days, possibly weeks - if they were very unlucky - were going to be hell on everyone.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Daniel looked at Neferteri, smiling down at her as she wrapped her arms around him. He pulled her into his embrace, held her tightly against his body. He pushed her dark hair away from her heart-shaped face, nuzzled her neck. "It went as planned, my Queen?"

"Yes. You have done well, my Beloved," she said, smiling up at him. "The information you gave us enabled us to destroy two rebel Jaffa outposts. Later, you will tell me the codes to your Chappa'ai, and we shall rule the galaxy together." She pressed her lips to his. She would never know that those outposts had been deserted for weeks, that the few 'Jaffa' who were there were actually Immortals.

She didn’t taste right. Didn’t feel right. Sure as hell didn’t look right. He closed his eyes, and kissed her back.

Neferteri pulled away from him. "You are still haunted by memories of that useless Tau’ri." She poured a glass of wine, opened her ring and emptied the contents into the goblet. "Drink, my Beloved, and soon you shall think only of me, love only me."

He took the goblet, put it to his lips, and then drank it down. He was Immortal. The effects of the drug didn’t last long in his body. But it lasted long enough. He would be eternally grateful for that small blessing.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Casey was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, her cheeks stained from her tears. She had asked her mother to take Emily home with her. Her eyes moved around the room. He was everywhere she looked. He had built this house for her. She couldn’t stay here. She couldn’t be here. She ran to the bedroom, the unmade bed and the images of what they had done that morning…almost a week earlier…bringing new waves of tears, more sobs to wrack her slender frame. She hadn’t entered the bedroom since that day…hadn’t been alone since that god-awful day. Today she was alone. Today she had to face the truth.

"Love you, Angel. Don’t you ever forget that, ever. I will always love you, forever and ever," he had told her. Obviously that had only been the Fire talking, not him…not his heart. She dropped to the floor and sobbed, hoping that her shattered heart would continue to splinter until it exploded in her chest and left her forever dead.

Casey finally stood, packed a bag, and went to take a shower, she couldn’t remember when she had last taken one. When she showed up in the gate room, Duncan was shocked at her appearance. She was wearing jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, her long hair was barely brushed, and her eyes - her beautiful emerald eyes - were dead. There was no light, no laughter, nothing in the green depths. Not even Daniel’s death on Beta had left such emptiness. Dark bruises had formed beneath them, testament to her inability to sleep. The hollows of her cheeks let him know that she hadn't been eating. She had a full pack on, and was carrying a duffel bag as well.

Dear god, what have we done? he asked himself. "Going somewhere specific, Case?" he asked out loud.

"Yep," she replied, tears rolling down her pale cheeks, just before she pulled her hand from behind her back and shot him and Kyle. She fired at the two guards who came running at the sound of the gunfire, then locked the door to keep out anyone who would try to interfere.

She sat down at the computer, found the address she was looking for, and dialed. She typed in two more commands, then left the room. She was through the 'gate just as Duncan was taking a deep breath.

The planet looked much as she remembered. The beach was beautiful and white. She stepped away from the Stargate, remembered the day she had walked down these steps beside Jack. She looked around, could still see the chairs, full of family and friends, the canopy that covered the tables of food, the tent where they had slept, made love. They had vowed themselves to one another here. They had spent their honeymoon here. She only planned to stay here for a few days, just to…get him out of her system. Exorcise him from her heart. It had started here. It would end here. But now, remembering what Da…he…what she had learned about this planet, and its lack of land masses, a dark thought started echoing in the back of her head. Release from the pain that wracked her soul, her body, her heart. She dropped the pack and the duffel, and walked into the water. She swam out until she was exhausted. Then, tears falling down her face, she let the exhaustion take her. It was three days before her body was washed up on the shore.

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