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Daniel pushed the young woman away. "No!" he growled. "Leave me alone, damn it!"  Her gray eyes filled with tears, but he never noticed as he ran after his wife. "Casey! Wait a minute!"

"Oh, hell," Jack breathed. "They weren’t here this morning when we got the MALP telemetry. They just got here."

Sam gave him a hard look. "Is she here?"

He looked around, nodded. "Yeah. Over there," he motioned with his chin.

Sam studied the young woman who stared at them. She couldn’t be more than twenty-one or twenty-two. Like Casey, pain and anger filled her eyes. "Sometimes I just want to shoot you, Jack O’Neill!" she hissed. She followed Teal'c toward the center of the camp.

"Shit!" the general swore. He was gonna kill Duncan for this!

A  A  A  A  A  A

Casey found a large tree, put her back to it, and sank to the ground. She gulped back the sobs that began to force their way from her mouth, the hot tears on her cheeks dropping off of her jaw to leave wet spots on her BDU’s. She pulled her legs up, put her arms around them tightly, lowered her face to her knees and cried. It was hard enough to think about what had happened, no matter how hard she tried not to. But to see that woman, to see her wrap herself around Daniel like that…

Two strong hands reached for her.

"Don’t touch me!" she hissed, slapping his hands away. "Leave me alone! Go play with your little tramp!"

Daniel stared at her for a minute. She had every right to be hurt…to be angry. He dropped down to the ground in front of her. "I’m sorry, babe."

She glared at him. Saw the pain in his eyes. Remembered the despair she had felt in his mind when he cried out her name; the hurt - the fear - that had washed over her in waves. With a hiccupped sob she crawled toward him. Wrapped her arms around his neck when he reached for her. Gave into another bout of tears when he pulled her against him and held her tightly.

"I’m sorry, babe, so sorry I hurt you," he repeated softly. "I love you, Casey. You’re the only woman my heart sees, the only woman my soul hears. The only woman my body responds to, aches for. You’re the only one, Angel. Only you, Casey," he whispered. One hand caressed the nape of her neck, the other moved up and down her back. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I never meant for it to happen, Casey, you have to believe me. I’m so sorry. I love you, Angel. Only you. Always you."

Tears continued to fall, even as she remembered what Texas, Trenton and even Major Parker had told her. None of the men had clear memories of what had happened, only that there was such need in their bodies that they couldn’t fight it, and the women were so very willing. She closed her eyes, tried to shut out imagined images of Daniel and that woman.

A twig snapped, and they both looked up. Ishtar stood watching them, her eyes full of confusion. She moved toward them, walking slowly.

"No!" he said, shaking his head. He turned slightly, so that his back was toward the approaching woman.

Casey tightened her hold around his neck. "You belong to me!" she cried softly. "Only to me!"

"I know, babe, I know. Only you, Angel," he whispered. He closed his eyes, sent her the love that he felt. She resisted at first, then allowed him to touch her, caress her. He could feel her pain, feel how deeply she was hurt. He tried to soothe her. "Would you do something for me?"

"What?" she asked softly.

"I want to try something," he said. "I want to-" he broke off when Ishtar settled onto the ground beside them. When the young woman reached for him, he pulled away. "Come on, babe. Let’s try to find somewhere else to do this." He stood to his feet, picked his wife up and carried her further into the forest. He glanced back. Just as he feared, Ishtar was following. He lowered Casey to her feet, then turned to the young woman. "No. Stay away from me. I love this woman, and only this woman. I don’t want you near me."

Ishtar blanched, tears filled her gray eyes.

Daniel shook his head. If he'd only been smart enough to try speaking to her in Goa’uld before! "You nearly ruined my marriage. As it is, you’ve hurt my Beloved greatly with your actions. Please…just…go away!" He regretted hurting the young woman. Hated himself for ever allowing the situation to get to where it was necessary to do so. Obviously she'd had no choice at all in what had happened. But as cold as it sounded to his own mind…his marriage, his life with Casey and his children, was more important to him than the feelings of a slave at the moment. He watched as Ishtar stared at him for a moment, then turned and walked away. He thought he saw a flash of anger, of hatred, in her eyes. He would rather have the slave hate him than lose the only woman he loved. He turned to look at Casey. Her eyes were still full of tears. He reached out and caressed her cheek, let his fingers run over her sweet face. Without another word he picked her up and carried her, found a fallen log and sat down on it. He cuddled her in his lap.

Casey wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She had been surprised - shocked, actually - when Daniel had been so brusque with the young woman. Deep inside she understood that Ishtar was as much a victim of this mess as Daniel was. "What did you want to do?" she asked softly.

"I want you to see what happened."

"No! Oh, goddess, no! Daniel, please don’t do that to me!" she cried. Her heart pounded, her mind raced with terror, her body shook.

"Babe, please, please trust me?" he begged. He felt the tremors in her body, pulled her closer, held her tighter.

She looked into his eyes. So much love, she thought. They were filled with such love, and hurt. He was desperate for her to understand what had happened. Needed for her to understand. She shivered. She finally nodded.

Daniel took her hand, and closed his eyes. He went back to the moment when Ishtar first walked into his ‘room’ in the tent. He let the memories, and the feelings, flow.

Casey watched, felt his frustration, his anger at what was happening. His shock and anger at waking up to find Ishtar kneeling between his legs. Watched through the haze of the drugged wine as he tried desperately to find release in a body that was…wrong. Reeled from the utter desolation that gripped him when he realized what he had done.

He buried his face against her neck and let his own tears fall. "I’m so sorry, Angel, so very sorry!"

She locked her arms around his neck. "It’s all right, Daniel, it’s okay," she whispered.

"I love you, Casey," he said softly.

"I know, My Heart. I love you, too."

He held her tightly. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "It still hurts, but I’ll be okay. I…thank you. I…understand, now. I don’t like it. I hate it. But…I’ll be okay. As long as you love me," she added in a whisper.

Daniel moaned softly. "Oh, Angel, I love you more than words can express." He sent his love to her, felt it rock her body.

She smiled. "I guess you do," she said. She gently brushed the tears from his face. She raised her face for a kiss, one that he most gladly bestowed upon her. They used the physical contact, the intimate touch to comfort…console…reassure one another.

"Doctor Jackson! …Doctor Jackson!"

Daniel stood up, shifted Casey in his arms, and headed to where Texas stood calling for him.

"What’s up, Texas?" he asked, when they were close enough.

The young SF looked at Casey, noted the tear-stained cheeks. "Case, it really wasn’t his fault," the young man said softly. "We were all…set up…drugged. Doctor Jackson about went crazy worrying about you, and how bad all this…crap…would hurt you."

Casey looked up at Daniel, then back at her young friend. "Thanks, Texas. I appreciate that."

Daniel gave a weak smile. "Somehow I don’t believe that you came out here looking for me just to plead my case with my Wife."

Texas cleared his throat. "Uh…no, sir. General O’Neill says to haul your ass back to that camp and try to find out what’s going on."

"Lead on," Daniel said. He smiled when Casey buried her face against his neck. Grinned when he felt her kiss him.

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