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No Matter the Time, II...an Alternate Love Story

He was in the locker room, putting on his BDU when Jack came in.

"Welcome home, Daniel," the older man said with a smile.

Daniel nodded, pulled his polo shirt off and hung it in his locker.

"Whoa…looks like you’ve got a couple of battle scars," Jack teased.

"Huh?"

"Hickeys, Daniel. Four of them."

"Four?" The younger man frowned. He had only seen three in the mirror, all on his neck above his collarbones.

"Yeah, three on your neck, and one there on your shoulder. Must have been one hell of a battle."

"Wasn’t a battle at all," Daniel replied. He pulled on a brown tee shirt, tucked it into the desert fatigue pants he was already wearing. He sat down to pull on his boots. "It was incredible, though."

"Details, Space Monkey, details."

Daniel shook his head. "I don’t think so. But...she..."

Jack sat down beside his young friend. "She what, Daniel?"

"She was a virgin, Jack."

"Whoa."

"Yeah. She...she asked me to take her Around the World…she said she wanted all of her firsts to be with me on our first night together."

Jack stared at him. Coughed twice. Blinked at least a dozen times. How in the hell did Daniel manage to get so lucky? He thought about the woman who had come through the gate from an alternate universe, tried to imagine her naked, almost groaned out loud at the mental images that filled his mind. "Okay, I gotta ask, does she look like the Casey who visited here?"

"Exactly the same. Well, her eyes are different…what’s in them I mean. My Casey is more…innocent. Hasn’t seen as much. Hasn’t suffered as much. She’s…she’s a goddess, Jack. I’ve never seen a woman as beautiful. And she…she gives and gives-" he broke off and shook his head. "Before I went to Tacoma, I’d never done the ‘World trip’ thing. Now I’ve done it twice."

"Damn!" Jack hissed. Those images were dancing in his head now.

"Yeah. You know something else? She fits me…perfectly. It’s like…like my cock found home." His cheeks flushed brightly.

Jack nodded. He knew exactly what Daniel was talking about. He had felt that way about Sara. "I understand, Danny."

Daniel was still shaking his head. "As slender as she is…I mean her waist is like this," he said, holding his hands in exactly the place they had been around her slender body. "But she took it all."

"Damn!" Jack said. He knew that Daniel had been amply blessed in the 'size' department.

"I love her."

"I know, Daniel. I can see it in your eyes. I think it’s happening way too fast, but what do I know? Sha’re was given to you, and the two of you did okay. I figure you and Casey have a good shot at making it work."

"Thanks, Jack."

The older man slapped him on the back. "Let’s get going. The sooner we get this done, the sooner you’re on your way to go get her and bring her home."

A   A   A   A   A   A

The planet was desert. Sand in every direction. The team adjusted their sunglasses, looked around. According to the MALP information, there was a village just three klicks east of the gate. It meant a hike, but, all SG teams were accustomed to that.

Daniel adjusted the weight of his pack, moving it slightly. The result was that the collar of his shirt was pulled open just a bit.

"Wow, Daniel, you have a hickey," Sam teased.

"Four of ‘em," Jack supplied.

"How many does she have?" Sam asked, grinning.

Daniel frowned in thought, then grinned. "Five. I think. Maybe a couple more."

Sam’s eyes widened. "Wow! Daniel, did you manage to get out of bed at all while you were there?"

His grin broadened. "A couple of times. Long enough to get her a ring."

"Ring?" Jack asked.

"Yep."

"Engagement type?"

"Yep."

"What kind?" Sam asked. "Diamond? Gold or silver? How many carats?"

He chuckled. "Yep, a diamond. Platinum setting. Emerald cut. Two carats."

"Holy Hannah!" Sam exclaimed. "You really do love her!"

"With all my heart."

They were about a klick from the village when they stumbled across what appeared to be a temple. The structure was almost completely buried in the sand, and it was only because of Teal'c’s sharp eyes that they discovered it. As with most of the temples they had found on their journeys, this one was open in the front. There were tall columns that supported the roof. They cautiously went inside. Sand had drifted in, filling the front of the structure with small dunes. The shade and the coolness of the stone was a welcome relief from the heat of the desert outside. They were not amused, nor completely surprised, when the opening was suddenly covered by a thick stone wall, blocking the only escape.

"Now doesn’t that just ruin your day," Jack complained, switching on his flashlight. He and Teal'c examined the wall, found no hidden mechanisms to move it.

Daniel felt the little hairs on the back of his neck stand on end when he saw a table, almost like a podium, with a dozen or so crystals on it, all of varying size and color. He started walking around the room, camcorder in hand, taking as much footage as possible of the symbols that covered the walls. He tried to ignore the table, the crystals, and the feeling that was starting to gnaw at his gut as he put a new disc into the camera.

He handed the camera to Sam, held his pen light in his mouth, took a notebook from his pack, and began to scribble in it, translating what he could, as quickly as he could.

They had just moved to the front of the podium when a large man with black hair appeared in front of them, lit from somewhere above them.

"Choose now and choose wisely, or suffer the wrath of your Gods," the man intoned...in Goa'uld.

"Uh, we’re travelers, peaceful travelers from far away. We came through the Stargate…the uh…Chappa'ai. We seek to learn," Daniel replied.

The man pointed to the podium. "Choose now and choose wisely, or suffer the wrath of your Gods."

Daniel felt his blood run cold. Sam was already looking at the crystals. There was only one deep blue one, her fingers were reaching for it. "No! Don’t touch it!" he cried out. Sam paused.

"Daniel?" Jack asked. The young man had gone pale. "What’s going on?"

The young archaeologist shook his head. "Casey called me at about three this morning, completely hysterical. She’d been having the same nightmare over and over. She saw a man with gray hair and others with me, dressed in what she called ‘funky brown military clothes’, said there was a man with black hair that she didn’t think was real, and that when I touched the blue crystal, the room exploded. She wouldn’t calm down until I promised her I wouldn’t touch the blue crystal." He looked pointedly at each of them. They were in desert fatigue BDUs.

Sam jerked her hand away.

"You didn’t mention that she had any…special abilities," Jack said.

Daniel shook his head. "I didn’t know myself until just a few minutes ago. I’m not even sure she knows it."

Sam was studying the crystals. "So, which one?"

"I don’t know," Daniel said honestly. "All I know is it’s not the blue one." He stood next to Sam as they examined the crystals. "They’re all different colors," he said.

"No, look. They’re all blue, green or yellow. Just varying shades. There is this bright yellow one, it seems to be the only one like it." The two scientists exchanged glances.

"So, which one, Carter?" Jack asked.

"Well, sir, it seems that this yellow one and the blue one are the only…odd shaped ones in the group."

"Well, let’s just rule the blue out for now, shall we?" he replied.

"Okay, here goes nothing," Daniel said. He reached out and touched the yellow crystal. The wall behind them opened. As well as panels along the three remaining walls, which revealed extensive sections of text. His heart was jumping with excitement as he raced from one panel to the next, trying to read it all in one glance.

"Daniel! Yo! Danny! Take a breath before you give yourself a heart attack!" Jack said, amusement in his eyes and his voice.

"This is their history, Jack! Everything that has happened to these people since they were brought here! This panel, for example, tells that the great god Apophis-" Daniel said, his words rushed together in his enthusiasm,

"He wishes!" Jack muttered under his breath.

"-brought the people here from ‘the First World’ through the Chappa'ai. He left them, with a promise to return, but never has. This is everything that has happened to them, everything that they’ve learned is here!"

"Okay, so I take it that you’re going to want to stay here and…look…at all of this stuff," Jack said.

Daniel nodded, his smile wide. "Just a couple of days, Jack. I should be able to get it all recorded and copied in a couple of days."

"Well, as long as the locals don’t have any objections, then I guess it’s okay," the CO replied. "We’ll set up base camp here, and go into the village when Daniel is finished."

That night as he settled into his sleeping bag, he sighed contentedly. He was tired, but it was a good tired. He had actually accomplished quite a bit, mainly because Sam and Teal'c were helping him. There was a chance that he’d be done by mid-day tomorrow. He unbuttoned one of his pockets, took out the earring she had given him. She had been wearing them on Tuesday when she'd opened the door. She had taken them off before they made love…for the very first time. He held the dangly piece of jewelry to his lips. "Love you, babe," he whispered, before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

A   A   A   A   A   A

Saturday morning was sunny and warm, and the two women had chosen to leave the apartment door open. Kelley had managed to find a dozen boxes that were bound for recycling; she had brought them home and was helping Casey pack. Already her books were packed, and the bric-a-brac inherited from her Grandmother had been carefully wrapped and nestled down among extra newspapers.

They were taking a break, sitting on the steps that led to their door.

"I wish I knew if he was okay," she said softly.

"So, call that general guy and find out," Kelley said. She had been awakened by soft moaning, had heard the cries from the nightmare, the panicked call to Daniel. She had suspected for some time that her blonde friend had a ‘gift’.

"You think it would be okay?"

"Look, what’s the guy gonna do? What can he do? The most that will happen will be that he’ll tell you it’s classified and he can’t say."

Casey pulled her lip between her teeth. Just to know that he was all right would set her mind, and her heart, at ease. What could the general do? She took a deep breath and went to get the phone. She carefully dialed the number, and asked for General Hammond. She waited, her fingers trembling against the phone.

"Hammond, speaking."

"Uh…hello…uh…sir. I’m…my name is Casey Webster, and Daniel gave me your number…and…please, I just need to know if he’s all right?"

The general smiled. Colonel O’Neill had explained what had happened in his check-in report only a few hours earlier. Jack had said that Casey’s nightmare had kept them alive. He was thinking about another Casey, who had visited his base. That young woman had become a valuable member of her world’s SGC. He was already thinking that this young woman’s talents could be an asset to his SGC. "Hello, Ms. Webster. It’s a pleasure to speak with you. I’m pleased to be able to inform you that Doctor Jackson, and the other members of the team, are just fine. I spoke with them earlier today."

She let out a breath she didn’t even know she had been holding. "Thank you! I…thank you so much! I…uh…I don’t suppose you know when they’ll be back, do you?"

Again the general smiled. He was aware that Dr. Jackson had requested another six days of vacation as soon as he returned from this mission. "No, Ms. Webster, I don’t. I’m sorry. I’ll have Doctor Jackson call you as soon as he returns."

"Thank you, General Hammond. I appreciate it. And I apologize for bothering you and sounding like such a ninny."

"Not at all, Ms. Webster. Doctor Jackson has informed us that you’ll be joining him here in Silver Springs. I look forward to meeting you."

"Thank you, sir, same here."

"Good day, Ms. Webster."

"Bye, sir."

Casey hung up, and looked at Kelley. "He’s okay. The general doesn’t know when he’ll be back, but he’s okay."

The redhead hugged her best friend. "See. He listened to you, he’s okay, and before you know it he’ll be helping you haul all of these boxes out of here so I can walk through the place again!"

She smiled. It couldn’t happen soon enough for her.

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