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Daniel heard the voices before he walked into the bay. He listened, felt his heart drop into his stomach. Again, his conscious mind filtered what he heard.

"Whatever it was, it…hurt him. And in my…confusion…embarrassment…I lashed out at him. I…I…might have really blown it this time."

"I doubt it. He loves you too much."

"Sometimes the love just can’t overcome the pain."

He closed his eyes. …Sometimes the love just can’t overcome the pain…can't overcome the pain…can't overcome…pain… Oh, god, no! He reached out again. ‘Please, babe, I’m so sorry! I love you, Casey. I can’t breathe without you!’ He watched her eyes, knew that she had heard him. Watched as Wade slid closer to her, put his arm around her shoulders. He felt as if someone had just punched him in the gut, his heart clenched so hard it hurt physically. He turned and walked away.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Daniel’s words reverberated in her head. She still didn’t answer him…couldn’t answer him. Casey gently moved away from the man beside her. "I know you’re only trying to offer comfort…kindness. But there is only one man that I want touching me. He…he’s all I’ve ever wanted, all I’ll ever need."

"I understand," Wade said. He slid back to where he had been, remained sitting near her.

"So how did you manage to get out of the infirmary?" she asked, hoping that a change of subject would ease the tension that had fallen between them.

"I walked out," he grinned.

She giggled.

He thought he’d never heard a more beautiful sound. "I just needed to move around. I don’t like being…closed in," he said.

"No doubt," she replied. She pulled herself to her feet. "I think I’d better be going. I love him, and I wouldn’t want someone to come in here and get the wrong idea," she said.

He nodded. "I understand that, too."

She smiled, then turned and walked away. ‘Daniel?’

‘I’ll stay out of your head. You stay out of mine.’ She was shoved from his mind with such force that it made her stumble.

She shivered, still holding to the wall she had fallen against. His ‘voice’ was cold. She could feel his anger, his hurt. Her heart ached. For the first time in all of their years together, she could see the end. She wasn’t sure they would avoid it this time. Wasn’t sure that he wanted to. There was only one place she could think of where she would be safe. One person she could talk to…

Teal'c opened the door to his quarters to find a sobbing Casey Jackson standing in the corridor.

He never said a word, he simply pulled her into his arms and let her cry. Two hours later, having heard the entire story, he made her lie down on his bed to rest, her exhaustion apparent, and as physical as it was emotional. He went in search of Daniel.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Daniel at that moment was sitting in the mess hall, staring into a cup of coffee. He had been so hurt…so angry by what he had seen, and heard, that he'd lashed out at her. He didn’t dare try to reach out to her now…not after what he'd said to her, done to her. Words that he had ‘missed’ before danced in his head. ‘I have you. You’re my Adonis, my hero, my…god. No other man could come close to you. Why would I want…that?’… ‘Whatever it was, it…hurt him. And in my…confusion… embarrassment…I lashed out at him. I…I…might have really blown it this time…’ He rubbed his hand over his face, pushed his glasses up to rub his eyes. If anyone had ‘blown it’, he thought miserably, it was him.

"Daniel Jackson, I wish to speak to you," Teal'c said quietly, sliding into the chair opposite of him.

He shook his head. "Teal'c, I’d be really lousy company right now. I don’t even want to be around me." He went back to staring into his coffee.

"Casey Jackson does."

His head flew up.

"She came to me two hours ago. She was crying. She told me what happened, that the two of you argued over a nightmare she had. She told me that she went to the cargo bay to be alone, to think. The man from the pleasure house came in. She said that the man tried to put his arm around her. Just to offer comfort. She refused him, and left the cargo bay. She did not wish a crewmember to see her with him and make incorrect assumptions, because she does not wish to see you hurt further. I believe she wishes to see you, to speak to you," the Jaffa said.

"Where is she?"

"She was exhausted. And afraid to go back to your quarters. I made her lie down and sleep on my bed."

"Afraid to go back to our quarters? Why?" Daniel asked, a frown on his face. There was only one time in their life together that she had ever been afraid of him. An alien device had been the cause of that. There were no alien devices to blame this time. If she was afraid of him, it was his own damned fault!

"She said she was concerned that you would be there, and that in anger more would be said that would only worsen the situation."

She had an excellent point, Daniel thought. She had a hot temper, and she knew how to push his buttons to piss him off. He knew which of her buttons to push to make her angry as well. He'd just finished pushing them. He took a deep breath, and reached out with his mind. He could feel her. He sighed with relief. "I’ll come get her and take her back to our bed," he said softly.

Teal'c inclined his head, and stood to his feet.

She stirred slightly when he picked her up. He soothed her mind, caressed her gently. He carried her back to their quarters, her head cradled safely against his shoulder.

A  A  A  A  A  A

When she woke up, she was in his arms. He was asleep as well. She tried to move away from him, his arms tightened around her and pulled her close. She didn’t remember coming back here. That meant…that meant that he must have come to Teal'c’s quarters and brought her…carried her...here! Her heart began to hammer against her ribs. She snuggled up to him, felt his arms tighten more. She hesitantly reached out with her mind, touched him, sent her love to him. He didn’t push her away. Of course, he was asleep! She withdrew quickly, if he suddenly awoke and found her…poking…around in his mind, he’d no doubt become angry… again. She had been the one to tell him to stay out of her head to begin with.

He was half-awake, smiled at her gentle caress, the touch soothing his heart. He frowned when he felt her sudden, almost frightened withdrawal. "Angel?" he asked softly.

She stiffened in his arms. "I’m sorry," she whispered. "I…I won’t do it again. I promise."

He rose up on one arm, gently rolled her to her back, looked down into troubled green eyes. "Won’t do what, Angel?"

"Touch you like…that. I…I…I was so…angry! Okay," she sighed, lowering her eyes from his gaze, "more embarrassed than angry. To have you see…and hear…that…" she shrugged.

Daniel traced her cheek with one unsteady finger. Tread lightly, bucko, he warned himself. One false move right now, and you lose her forever. He could feel it. "You were crying out in your sleep. I…" He hesitated. He had known before he went into her dream what it was about. Confession might be good for the soul, but what could it do to a love teetering on the brink? He closed his eyes. They had been through so much together, survived so much. This seemed…insignificant…compared to other obstacles and hurts that they had suffered. "I was wrong, Casey. I only wanted to help you, calm you. I never should have stayed…I sure as hell never should have held you accountable for a freaking dream! I…I’m so damned jealous of this guy-"

She reached up and put her fingers against his lips. "Jealous? Of Wade? Oh, Daniel, why? Don’t you know that you’re the only man my eyes see? The only man I could ever love? I burn with Fire for you, Daniel, and only you! No other man can touch me, heart or soul or body. I admit I don’t know what that nightmare was all about. Maybe…" She thought about what Wade had said. "Maybe it was a nightmare because what…happened…what was said… are things that I don’t want!"

He kissed her fingertips. "I love you, Angel. I’ve just never felt this…scared, before. At least not since Duncan and the Fire that affected the two of you," he admitted softly.

"Can I…" her eyes dropped again, studied the tiny mole on his cheek. She smiled when she felt a rush of love so warm, so…overwhelming…that it made her body shake.

"Please," he said softly. "Let me feel your love."

She raised her eyes to his, caressed his cheek, and sent all the love that filled her heart. She watched his eyes widen, felt the shiver that went through his body.

"Let me love you, Angel," he whispered.

She moved her hand to the nape of his neck and pulled him gently toward her. Their lips met tentatively, almost as shyly as the first time they kissed. She felt his tongue against her lips - seeking, begging for permission to enter her mouth. She opened to him, let him taste her, touch her, before moving her tongue to his mouth, tasting him, knowing him. His hand was against her throat, his fingers caressing the soft skin.

He slanted his mouth over hers, deepened the kiss, taking the comfort he needed from her, giving the love he felt. Her fingers were still on his face, the skin on fire where she touched him. The desire for her, the need for her sent the flames shooting up and down his spine, white-hot and all consuming. He moved his hand from her throat to her breasts, reaching under the tee shirt she was wearing, delighted to find bare skin. "Let’s get this off," he whispered. He pushed against the material, she raised up so that he could pull it away from her body. He tossed it carelessly to the floor. Every time he looked at her beautiful breasts it took his breath away. His body hardened more, he was aching with need. He lowered his head, began to make love to her, softly, gently…taking his time as his hand and mouth moved from one perfect orb to the other…teasing, sucking, licking each nipple until it stood hard and puckered against her skin.

She pushed her fingers through his hair as he suckled, holding him close to her body, arching toward his hungry mouth. The pleasure she derived from his attention set fire to her blood, to her body. Flames were licking around her, burning her until she couldn’t hold back the moan of pleasure that filled her throat.

He smiled against her skin when she moaned softly. "Love you, Angel," he whispered.

"Oh, Daniel, I love you so!" she whispered in return, each word a gentle sigh.

His heart racing, his body burning, his cock aching, he pushed her sweat pants off her legs, took enough time to toss his boxers to the floor. He moved his mouth down her body, leaving a trail of moist kisses that sent the flames ever higher in both of them. Her skin was so soft, so sweet, so…pleasing. He teased her belly until it rippled beneath his mouth, then settled himself in his favorite place, between her slender thighs. The thought that Wade had never tasted her like this flashed through his mind. He examined it, took comfort from it, then pushed it aside.

Every gentle caress of his tongue had her hips rising to meet his mouth. She was breathing hard, getting ever closer to that sweet release he always orchestrated in her body. "Let me taste you, Daniel, let me worship you," she whispered.

He kissed his way back up her body to her lips. "I’d like that, Angel," he whispered. He rolled to his back, watched as she lowered her head and took his throbbing shaft into her mouth. He held her hair back, watched as her mouth worked around his aching flesh. His hips were moving toward her on their own accord, his body flying from the sensations her sweet attention was giving him. "Now, babe," he said after several blissful moments. "In you now!"

Before he could roll on top of her, she straddled his hips, took him deep inside her warm, wet well. She sighed contentedly as she settled down against his body, completely filled with his swollen erection. She began to move against him.

His hands went to her hips, his eyes closed as he thrust up into her. Perfect, his mind told him. She’s the perfect fit. She’s the only one. "The only one," he whispered out loud. He was close, he could feel it. Not much longer until he exploded.

She whimpered softly, her thighs quivered against his hips. "Oh, yes!" she whispered.

"That’s it, Angel," he whispered in reply. "Give it to me."

She cried out, her head falling back.

Her hair brushed against his thighs, the light touch sensual, and it aroused him more. He grabbed her hips and thrust harder, felt her massaging him with those muscles. He cried out, pulled her down and hugged her tightly as his climax rocked him. "Love you, Angel," he said softly.

"Love you, Sweetheart." She smiled against his skin when she felt his gentle caress in her mind. She reached out and touched him in return.

"I’m really sorry, babe," he said. He shook his head. "Seems I’ve been saying that a lot the past couple of days."

"No more than I have," she replied. "I never meant to hurt you."

"I know. Case, you can’t help what your unconscious mind does. What I did…wasn’t fair…wasn’t right. What I said wasn’t right. I’m sorry."

"It’s all right," she said softly. She raised her head, looked into his eyes. "I forgive you, my heart," she whispered.

He smiled.

"Now, can you forgive me?"

"For what?"

"For hurting you."

"You’ve never intentionally hurt me, Casey," he said softly.

She shook her head. "Unintentional hurts just as much," she whispered.

He winced. He had hurt her…unintentionally…more than once. More than she had ever hurt him. He understood what she wanted, what she needed. "I forgive you, Casey," he whispered in return.

She smiled, lowered her head to his shoulder. His arms tightened around her, and they both fell into exhausted sleep.

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