Daniel was pulling on his boots. "Get a move on, babe, or we’re gonna be late," he said, watching Casey put lotion on her beautiful body.

She smiled over at him. "Whose fault is that? Hmm?"

He grinned over at her. "I can’t help that I can’t control myself around you."

"All I was doing was laying there," she teased.

"That’s all it takes, babe. But you were doing your fair share of fanning the flames."

She giggled. "You’re just so darned cute when you’re burning for me, I have to fan them."

He laughed. "I’ll meet you out in the jeep."

She nodded. "I won’t be but a couple of minutes, promise."

He leaned over to kiss the top of her head before leaving the bedroom.

She could hear him greet her mother - who had arrived just minutes after they had finished making love - and telling Emily goodbye. She grabbed her clothes and pulled them on, ran into the kitchen long enough to kiss the baby and hug her mother, then raced out to the driveway. Daniel already had the engine running.

They made a stop at the espresso stand near the edge of town, since he hadn’t had time for a second cup of coffee, and she hadn’t had time for a first.

They were sipping the caffeinated beverages as they rode the elevator down to the conference room level. Duncan had called a meeting; three of the teams, including SG-1, were getting their assignments for the next few days.

They were the last ones to slip into the room. Being members of SG-1, there were two seats waiting at the table for them. They sat down quietly, ignoring the grins and chuckles around them. Sam looked at Casey, grinned and winked. Casey winked back, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Now that we’re all here," Duncan said, his eyes on the paper in front of him, his cheek twitching slightly, "we’ll get started." He looked up at Jack. "First thing; Jack, you and Sam…out. Now. As of right now you’re on vacation. Don’t show up here until next Monday."

Jack grinned, looked over at his wife. "We just got kicked out."

She grinned back at him. "If they say leave, we should leave."

They stood up, and with a wave to everyone in the room, they left, laughter and calls for having a good time following them into the corridor.

Duncan was still grinning when he looked over at Daniel. "I’d like to send you and Casey on a vacation, too. Lord knows you deserve it. But we have five crates of new artifacts. I’d like for you to set up that new system for getting this stuff checked in, and set up teams to work on whatever you think is important. I realize this could take some time, so I’m pulling you off the active duty roster until you’re finished."

Daniel nodded. Duncan was taking his advice to heart. They weren’t even halfway through the artifacts that already cluttered the Archaeological Center. A new system was going to have to be devised, or they would spend too much time cataloging and not enough time researching and translating.

"Now, about you," Duncan said, looking at Casey. "As much as I’d like to have you stay here, we have some MALP images that show some interesting ruins on a planet designated RZ4 329. I’m sending you with SG-6 to check them out."

"Why does she need to go?" Daniel asked, unconsciously reaching for his wife’s hand, holding it tightly. "Tony knows how to do a dig, he can take the pictures and film and bring them back."

Duncan shook his head. "Daniel, she can read the glyphs…well enough to know if this is something we need to check out further. She’s got the skills, and we need them on this mission."

Daniel sat back in his chair, clearly unhappy that Casey was being sent off world without him.

"SGI-3, and SG-5, I’m sending you to Alteria. Ishmael says that Darr is having difficulty with the resort owners. I want you to back him up. Becca, you’ve handled negotiations before. Let them know that we intend to back the villagers all the way on this."

The young Immortal nodded, already reading the report in her hand.

"I expect all of you back no later than 1700 tomorrow. Check in every four hours, SOP," Duncan said. He closed the folder in front of him. "All teams embark in one hour." He stood and left the room, the others following him.

Daniel sat for a few moments, his displeasure written on his handsome features. "I don’t want you going anywhere without me. I’m going with you. Those artifacts can wait a couple more days."

Casey slid onto his lap. "Daniel, look at me." She took his chin in her hand, forced him to look up at her. "I’m going to be just fine. The second I get a bad feeling I’ll be back through that ‘gate and into your arms so fast I’ll create my own wormhole."

He had to smile at the visual image her words created.

"This is a routine mission, sweetheart. Just like the dozens of others I’ve been on with 6. We’ll check out these ruins, take a few pictures, a few minutes of film, and be home. Probably tonight for dinner!"

He tightened his arms around her. "If anything happens to you, babe, I’ll lose my mind. I’ve come so close to losing you so many times in this past year and whatever, I can’t take anymore."

She kissed his forehead. "I know, Daniel. I feel the same way. After this mission, I’m going to tell Duncan I want pulled from the roster until you’re back on it."

"Tell him now."

She shook her head. "The guys need me on this one, my love. I promise, as soon as I get back, I’ll talk to him."

He took her chin in his hand, pulled her down for a kiss. "Love you, Angel."

"Love you too, sweetheart."

"Be damn careful."

"Always."

She stood up, waited for him to get to his feet, then led him to the armory. He could at least help her get outfitted and see her off before he had to start in on those artifacts.