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They were busy cataloging their finds, Casey had already written out her reports, when the other members of SG-1 arrived later that afternoon. She was engrossed in labeling all of the tapes when strong, familiar arms embraced her from behind.

"Hi, babe," a husky voice whispered in her ear.

She let out a squeal and turned to kiss her Husband. "Hi, yourself," she whispered in reply. "How was DC?" she asked, smiling at Teal'c and Sam in turn.

Sam grinned at her. "Daniel succeeded in pissing off every Senator in the room."

Casey looked up at him. "Oh, Daniel, you didn’t!"

He grinned sheepishly. She waited for him to say something. When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to tell her what happened, she turned to Sam.

"When they all started making noises that they were not only going to reduce the funding, but that they might be ‘forced’ to ‘scale back’ the SGC, Daniel stood up and told them that they were all idiots. Then he asked them if they had read any of the mission reports from the SGC. Then he told them that if they were stupid enough to cut back on the one thing that was keeping the Goa’uld at bay, he was taking his wife and relocating to a different planet, and they could all become Goa’uld slaves for all he cared," Sam reported, grinning broadly.

"You called them idiots?" Casey asked, her eyes wide.

"Well, that’s the way they were behaving," Daniel said defensively.

Casey smiled. "What happened then?"

Sam started laughing. "Well, Teal'c began to tell them just exactly what being a Goa’uld slave meant, and that he would also leave Earth to its fate if the members of the committee were unconcerned about what happened to the citizens of this country, and the planet at large. General Hammond started listing all of the times the Goa’uld had attacked Earth, included the story about your enslavement, and told them he would be happy to have you testify and tell them firsthand what it was like being a Goa’uld slave. He read the report of your debrief to them, and then repeated that he’d be glad to have you flown in. By the time he was finished, they were all white as ghosts."

"I take we got the funding," Casey replied.

"And then some," Sam confirmed. "Seems that the president has called on the Russians to help fund this as well. The countries that know about the Stargate program are going to contribute funds as well as troops for the SGC. It will remain under US control, because we have the ‘gate and the experience using it, but they’ll be a part of the program. Because the committee agreed to up the funding, the Russians will meet it."

Casey wrapped her arms around Daniel’s neck and kissed him. "My hero," she giggled.

Daniel's cheeks turned ruddy, but held her tighter. When he finally released her, he looked around. "So, tell me what you’ve found," he said, his eyes already taking on the glaze of excitement that ruins such as these always brought.

"It’s party central," she replied.

"What?" Daniel blinked, looking surprised.

She began to explain what they had found, leading him toward the large temple. Sam, Teal'c, and the SG-6 members were right behind them. She hesitated at the entrance, not having told him yet of the events of the night before. She felt a tingle on her skin when she entered.

Daniel was looking from wall to wall, then examined the raised area at the end of the room. "It looks as if this is a place where people worshipped, probably to thank whatever god or goddess for his or her blessings. This platform probably had statues of their gods on it."

Casey groaned, and pointed her flashlight at the four men to the right of the dais. "Tell me that isn’t depicting sex, drugs and rock-n-roll," she said.

He carefully examined the painting. "Okay, it could be taken that way, I suppose. It does look like they’re celebrating, but-" Whatever he was about to say was interrupted as the temple trembled around them. Fearing that the building was about to collapse, they ran out, meeting at the foot of the steps that led into the building. All except Casey.

She stood, looking up at the dais. Standing there was an incredibly handsome man. His black hair curled around his neck, his blue eyes danced as they met hers. He had a black moustache that grew down into a goatee, and a black leather vest covered his broad shoulders. It did little to conceal the muscles of his chest. His long legs were encased in tight, black leather pants, and his feet were covered with black boots. "Atemone," she whispered.

"Yes," he replied, smiling at her. He crooked his index finger and motioned her to join him. In a daze she climbed the steps. "It’s been a long time since anyone brought music here," he told her softly. "I didn’t recognize it, but it was pleasing."

She was standing so close now she could feel his breath in her face as he spoke, could smell the leather of his clothes, the male scent of his body.

"Bring me music, Beautiful One," he instructed her.

Casey nodded, moving away from him in a trance.

"Where’s Casey?" Daniel asked, as the group paused on the steps.

"Still inside, sir," Texas replied, looking around.

Before they could move to re-enter the temple, Casey came out, and walked past them, moving toward the camp.

"Casey?" Daniel asked, a frown on his face.

"She had that same look in her eyes last night when she went in there," Major Parker said. "This morning she didn’t remember a thing about it."

Daniel’s frown deepened. He looked back at the temple, tightened his grip on the P-90 he carried, and went back inside. He looked around, but saw nothing.

Casey was returning, her CD player and the speakers in her hands. Once again she walked past the group that stood on the steps, as if she didn't even see them. Back inside she hooked the speakers up to the player, and put on a CD. Tommy James and the Shondell’s began playing. ‘Crimson and Clover’ echoed in the large room. She returned to the dais where Atemone waited for her.

The man pulled her against his body, swaying to the beat of the music. Her head fell back, exposing her neck. He lowered his mouth and began to plant kisses on the soft, fragrant skin.

SG-1 and SG-6 stood just inside the temple. At first they saw only Casey, her body moving seductively to the music. They were shocked to see a man suddenly standing there, his arms around her, his face buried against her neck.

"Get away from my Wife," Daniel growled, his weapon pointed at the man.

Atemone barely acknowledged their presence. He lifted a hand and Daniel was tossed back against the wall. Casey’s eyes never left the being’s face.

"Holy Hannah," Sam whispered, her heart pounding at the sight of the gorgeous man. When Atemone looked down at her, she felt herself drawn to him. Eyes wide and shining almost feverishly, she lowered her weapon, dropped it to the floor, then slowly started walking toward the platform.

"Colonel Carter," Teal'c said, a frown on his face. He grabbed her arm, but she shook him off and ran towards the platform.

"Sir, what do we do?" Tony asked, on the verge of panic.

By now Sam was on the dais as well, her body pressed against the tall man’s back, her arms around his waist.

"We don’t dare shoot at him, we could hit Casey or the colonel," Parker replied. He glanced over his shoulder; Daniel was back on his feet, anger and fear etched on his features.

Atemone looked down at the men who waited, weapons pointed at him, and smiled. The men looked at back at him. "Dance with us," he said, holding out a hand.

Tony was the first to move, his eyes glassy, heading toward the platform. He stood against Casey, her back against his chest. Young Texas was the next to move, although Teal'c caught his arm and held him firmly in place. Parker had grabbed Morris and Wilson, holding their arms in a vise-like grip. "Why aren’t you and I and Teal'c affected?" he asked in a loud whisper.

Daniel shrugged. "I don’t know."

"Perhaps we are stronger of mind than the others," Teal'c offered. He was now helping to hold Wilson in place.

"Who are you?" Daniel demanded, his eyes on his wife, her eyes on the man who held her closely.

"I am Atemone. I am the keeper of this place. I bring laughter and happiness…and great love," he grinned, pulling Casey’s body closer to his.

"Let them go," Parker demanded. The two men beside him were shaking their heads, trying to rid themselves of the fog that clouded their thoughts.

"Why should I do that?" Atemone asked, his smile lazy. The music had stopped, but the humans on the platform continued to sway. He dipped his head and captured Casey’s lips in a kiss, one hand reaching back and caressing Sam’s hip as she pushed closer to him.

Daniel took another step forward. "Casey!"

From somewhere, Casey heard a voice call her name. She concentrated, frowning slightly. She knew that voice…

"Casey! Look at me!" Daniel demanded.

Through the fog that enveloped her brain, she heard the voice again. It was demanding that she look. When she tried to turn her head, Atemone began to kiss her again.

"Look at me, My Star," Daniel begged.

‘My Star’. The words echoed in her ears. They reverberated in her mind. She tore her gaze from the blue eyes above her, and looked down at the men who stood in the middle of the temple. Her heart jumped in her chest. Daniel! She met his blue eyes, saw the fear in them. What's wrong? Why does he look like that?

"Look at me, Casey," Daniel said, moving slowly, closing the gap between himself and the platform. "I love you, babe. I need you, My Star," he said softly.

Casey continued to watch him. She wanted to go to him, to hold him, to wipe the worry from his face, but her body refused to obey. She was warm, she could feel bodies pressed against her, she was…good lord she was aroused, she realized with a start. That realization helped clear her mind. She pushed away from the handsome man in front of her.

As she did so, she pushed abruptly against Tony, who was behind her, and caused him to fall from the platform. He landed on the stone floor, laid there shaking his head, trying to clear the haze that seemed to envelop his mind.

"Daniel?" Casey whispered, still fighting the embrace of the man who held her.

"That’s right, babe. I’m right here. Come here, babe. Come to me, My Star," Daniel said softly.

With a final shove, Casey broke away, jumped from the dais and ran into Daniel’s open arms.

Teal'c had moved to the platform during Casey’s struggle with the alien. Before Atemone could turn and take Sam into his embrace, the Jaffa had grabbed her and pulled her away, carrying her back to where the rest of the team waited.

"Daniel, what’s going on?" Casey asked, her voice trembling, her body shaking.

"It’s okay, babe," he whispered in her ear, holding her close.

Atemone stood alone on the platform. "Why do you resist me? Why do you not enjoy what I offer?"

Daniel looked up at the being. "We don’t want what you have to offer," he said bluntly.

The being laughed. "How do you know? You haven’t yet partaken of my blessings."

"No, you tried to force them on us," Daniel replied.

"Force? I? No. I do not need to force anyone." He looked at Casey, then at Sam. "They joined me willingly. I would have given them ecstasy beyond their dreams," he said.

"It would have been rape," Daniel said. "They weren’t there willingly. You did something to them."

"I merely helped them move beyond their inhibitions."

Casey looked up at the dark haired man. She could hear him calling her, images of his body moving against hers filled her mind. She struggled in Daniel’s arms, her body yearning to return to the arms of the man who looked down at her.

"Casey, look at me, babe," Daniel said, grabbing her chin and forcing her face towards his. "Look at me," he whispered.

She was being pulled in two directions. She dragged her eyes from the man on the platform, her heart responding to Daniel’s words. She looked into the eyes of her husband, saw his love, saw the safety there. She put her arms around his neck, turned her face away from Atemone. "Hold me," she begged. "Don’t let him have me."

Daniel held her tightly. "Never, babe. He’ll never get you."

Atemone watched the couple. Never before had he seen such love. Never before had a woman he desired been kept from him. He turned his attention to Sam. Teal'c was already moving to carry her outside. "You have great power," he said at last, looking down at Daniel. "She should be here, in my arms."

"Her fire burns only for me," Daniel replied.

The being smiled down at him. "So I see." He sighed. "I do not understand why she would call me, and then refuse me."

"Call you?" Daniel asked, curious.

"She brought music. She brought laughter. She danced for me," he replied.

Tony, having recuperated from his encounter, grimaced. "We were listening to some tunes in here while we worked. We did a little dancing, a little lip-syncing too."

Daniel nodded. He couldn’t help but grin. That was Casey, a party waiting to happen. He turned his attention back to Atemone. "She didn’t realize that she was calling you," he said.

The being raised an eyebrow. "How could she come here, and not know?"

"We’re travelers, explorers from another world. There is nothing to tell us what this place is, we didn’t know what it was," Daniel explained.

"Party central," Parker muttered under his breath. Daniel looked sharply at the man. "That’s what Casey called it," he said, shrugging.

Daniel turned back to Atemone. "This is a place to celebrate, isn’t it?"

Atemone nodded. "It is a place to let go of the cares of life, to let go of all constraints, to partake of all that brings pleasure."

"Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll," Casey whispered, her head still against Daniel’s shoulder, her eyes averted from the alien.

The dark haired man laughed. "Although your words are different, the meaning is the same," he replied. "I offer one last time the ecstasy that can be had here."

Daniel shook his head. "No thanks. We’ll leave here now."

"Pity. It’s been a long time since anyone has called me," the man sighed. He turned and began walking away, vanishing as he neared the wall.

Casey sagged against Daniel as the last of the alien’s influence disappeared. When she could stand again, she looked up at her husband. "Daniel?"

"It’s okay, babe, it’s all over."

"Wh…what happened?"

He grinned. "Do you remember anything?"

She shook her head.

"Then nothing happened."

Parker snorted. He looked at Daniel and grinned. "It almost did, though."

"Almost?" Casey looked from the major back to Daniel. "What almost happened?"

"Sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll," Tony said sheepishly. "Party of the century."

"And I missed it?" She shook her head. "That figures."

"Let’s get out of here," Parker said, already moving toward the steps that led down to the orange sand below.

Casey took one last look around the temple, shivering as she did so. A face danced in her memory. The blue eyes, so different from Daniel’s, smiled at her. She shook her head, walking beside him, his arm tight around her shoulders. "So, you ever going to tell me what really happened here?"

He grinned. "You can read it in my report."

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