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Casey was packing for a three-day stay on the Phoenix. She was holding up two dresses, looking first at one, then the other. She had to look her best, not only was Daniel giving his lecture in person, they were attending a reception that was being held in his honor. The Chancellor of the UCLA had agreed to the extra security provided by SG-6, and the other members of SG-1.

"Daniel, are you wearing your black suit, or the navy blue one?"

"Black one, why?" he asked, coming out of his closet.

She nodded. "Then I'll wear my black dress." It wasn't the same black dress that she had worn the night he had proposed to her. But it was identical. She had found a dressmaker in Hope who had been more than willing to make the dress for her. Like the dress it replaced, it was short, backless, long sleeved, and hugged every curve.

"Good. I like that one. It will be fun watching some of those guys when they see you on my arm," he grinned.

"A little payback, Doctor Jackson?"

"Yep."

She giggled. "I'll be sure to look at you with the proper amount of awe and respect and love."

He laughed. "You do that anyway, babe. Sometimes, the way you look at me nearly knocks me off my feet," he added softly.

"You do the same to me, Daniel. I love you so much it hurts," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Right back 'atcha, babe." He glanced at his watch. "I have to go. I have a meeting in ten minutes."

She looked at him. "Meeting? With whom?"

He pulled away from her, turned around and grabbed his jacket. "Duncan. I shouldn't be long. Love you, Angel."

She smiled as he walked toward the front door. "Be sure to listen to everything Carly tells you," she called after him.

"Smartass," she heard him mutter.

She giggled. And mentally counted the days until her birthday. She already had tickets for her and her mother and Amanda Seeney to attend the "All Male Revue" that Carly was sponsoring. That night was a week before her actual birthday, although the Spanish woman had told her that she intended to see to it that the dancers were aware that there was a 'birthday girl' in the audience. Casey didn't care so much about that, oh, she wanted to see the Chippendale's. Yes indeed! Was looking forward to seeing those men on stage performing, and stripping! But what she really wanted was to see Daniel strut his stuff. That was a package that she could touch…and feel…and play with. That thought sent her into another fit of giggles. Oh, yeah, she would definitely be playing with that birthday package!

A  A  A  A  A  A

Daniel watched the tape, then looked at Carly, a bit wild-eyed with disbelief. "You have got to be kidding! You expect me to learn to do that in less than two weeks? We leave tomorrow for Earth, we won't be back until Monday - and that leaves me exactly twelve days!"

The dark haired Spanish woman smiled. "It looks more difficult than it is. Illusion is the key, Daniel. Remember, lighting will help set the mood. I will make certain that you have what you need. Now. Come here, and let me show you the movements."

With a sigh, Daniel stood to his feet, and carefully followed every movement that Carly made. After an hour, he was actually beginning to think that maybe, just maybe he could do this. The woman beside him laughed and joked with him, praising him at every turn. It wasn't until she mentioned the stripping part that he started to feel a little unnerved.

"Daniel, when the Chippendale dancers are here, I want you to come in and meet with them. They can give you some tips and ideas. Remember, you're doing this for Casey."

"Yeah, and she learned two dances for me, I know," he said with a sigh.

"Yes, she did. But that is not what I meant. What you are doing is giving her a gift. You. And you're presenting that gift in a new way. One that will please her very much. Did it not please you when she stripped for you?"

"It pleased me very much," he admitted.

"Is she not worth learning this for?"

Daniel grinned. "Yeah, she is."

Carly smiled. "You will find, my young friend, that you will enjoy pleasing her as much as she enjoys being pleased. Now, you are tired, I am tired, and it's getting late. Go take a shower, then go home. When you return, we will practice every day."

He nodded. "Thanks, Carly."

"You're welcome, Daniel."

A  A  A  A  A  A

Casey had just finished giving Emily her bath when Daniel came through the door. Nicholas scooted across the floor is his walker, jabbering happily at his father. Now in her pajamas, Emily ran to greet him as well.

It doesn’t get any better than this, he thought, picking up his son, then his daughter, holding both tightly against his chest. When she came out of the bathroom, Casey gave him a bright smile.

"So did your…um…meeting go well?"

She knew, the little minx. Oh well, she didn't know exactly what he was doing. "It went just fine, thanks."

"So, will you be having…um…meetings…every night when we get back?"

"Probably."

She giggled. "Good." She turned around and went into Emily's room, singing 'Happy birthday to me,' under her breath.

Daniel grinned. Oh, he was going to get her good. She knew he was going to strip for her. She just didn't know how intense it was going to be. And turn about was fair play. She was going to be cuffed to the chair. Yep, he was going to blow her sweet mind.

They settled on Emily's bed, and he read from Peter Rabbit. As was their habit, Daniel sat with his back against the wall, and Casey with hers against his chest. She was holding Nicholas, he was getting his last bottle of the day. Emily was sitting at Daniel's side, looking at the pictures in the book. When the story ended for the night, she would cuddle against her mother while Casey sang to them.

He looked down to see his daughter was already asleep. "Babe, hand Nicholas to me. Emmie is asleep," he said softly.

She turned as best she could, put her son into his arms. She crawled from the bed, then took Nicholas back into her arms, into his room and put him into the crib. When she came back, Daniel had managed to get Emily under her blankets. She kissed her daughter, then went into the kitchen. Daniel went into the baby's room to kiss his son goodnight, then he joined her.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" she asked, watching his face carefully.

"Yeah, I think so," he said. He leaned against the counter. "I haven't given a lecture in years. The last one I gave was a total disaster."

"Honey, you'll have them eating out of your hand. I'll bet you twenty dollars right here and now that the ones who were the loudest about criticizing you will be the loudest to claim that they knew you were right all along."

He smiled. "No bet. You're probably right."

"I promise not to tell any of them off. But I won't promise not to think it!"

He laughed, and pulled her into his arms. "I love you, Tiger."

"Love you, too, sweetheart. Guess we should think about getting to bed, huh?"

He hugged her. "Yep. Are you completely packed?"

"Yep. I put my dress in the suit bag with your suit, that will help keep it from getting all wrinkled, is that okay?"

"That's fine, Angel." He grinned when he thought about her dress. He loved her in that dress! She looked so damned sexy, and he knew that many of the scientists whom they would be meeting weren't accustomed to being around women like her. Yep, his wife in that dress was going to give them heart failure!

She led him to the bedroom. "I wish we could take the kids."

"I know, babe. But I don't want to risk them in case we have trouble with the NID."

She nodded. "I understand. But I was thinking…You had wanted to go to P7X 411, where SGI-7 found those old Hopi-like ruins. Maybe we could take them there? I think Emily would love to go on a dig."

"As soon as we get back, I'll talk to Duncan. We can take SG-6, and let Jack, Sam and Teal'c keep working this side of the Nergal problem." He didn't miss the shiver that went over her body at the mention of the Goa'uld.

"I like that idea." She didn't mention that anything to keep from having to think about Nergal was just fine with her. She suspected that he already knew that. She settled into bed, her head on his shoulder, his arm holding her tightly against his side. "I love you, Daniel."

"I love you, Casey. Sleep now, Angel. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

She snuggled closer to him, closed her eyes, and let sleep take her gently away.

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