<< Previous | Story Intro | Return to Stories | Next >>

It had been years since she and Daniel had cooked in this kitchen together, or at least, it had been for her. She diced vegetables for a salad while Daniel washed the lettuce. The water hadn’t yet come to a boil for the spaghetti, but the sauce was simmering nicely.

"Daniel?"

"Mmm?"

"I love you."

Daniel turned to look at her, a smile on his face. "I love you, too."

Casey scraped the vegetables off the cutting board into a large bowl, then deftly cut the lettuce that Daniel gave her. "I missed this so much! Duncan and I-" she broke off, glancing up worriedly at Daniel, who was stirring the sauce. She had told Daniel about her time with the Immortal, but had been vague on most of the details.

He came over and stood behind her, his arms around her waist. "It’s okay, babe. You were with him for two years. Go on with what you were going to say."

"Well, when we cooked together, it just wasn’t the same." Casey wiped her hands and sighed. "To be fair to the man, I don’t think I tried hard enough. He was always so gentle, so sweet, so kind…I knew he loved me very much. But…" She put the towel on the counter, her brows knit in a frown.

"But what?"

She turned in his arms and wrapped her own around his neck. "Everything he did I compared to you. So often we would go somewhere that you and I had been to, or I’d hear a song, or smell something familiar, and I ached for you. I would get up at night to go to the bathroom so I could cry."

"He knew that," Daniel said softly.

Casey looked up at him. "How?"

Daniel looked at her face, then gazed into her eyes. "Everything you feel, everything you think, it’s reflected in your beautiful green eyes. He would have had to have been blind and stupid to have not seen your pain. Why do you think he was willing to wait so long for you to come to his bed? He didn’t want to look down into your eyes while he was making love to you, knowing you were thinking about me."

"I always closed my eyes. I couldn’t look at him. Sometimes…sometimes, I could pretend it was you touching me, instead of him. He’s a good man, Daniel, he really is. I just…I just…love you."

Daniel pulled her close. Would he ever know the depth of the love this woman had for him? "I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m so glad you’re in my life," he whispered.

A   A   A   A   A   A

He dried his face with the towel and tossed it into the hamper. Watched Casey as she brushed her hair. "Let me," he said softly, taking the brush from her hand. He caught her hair up, and gently guided the brush through the golden strands. He loved to feel the silky texture in his hands. "Do you want it braided?"

Casey nodded. She closed her eyes as Daniel worked with her hair. She had forgotten how he loved to do that. His hands had developed arthritis, and he had been unable to braid it for years. "So long," she whispered.

"What?"

"It’s been so long since you braided my hair," she replied.

"I did it last week," he shrugged. He caught her glance in the mirror, and realized that for her, it had been considerably longer. He frowned. "I don’t understand why Oma left your memories intact, but took ours."

"I don’t know. But I don’t mind. It makes me appreciate everything much more."

The ringing of the telephone interrupted any further discussion on the subject. Casey went to the kitchen and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Is this Casey?" a feminine voice demanded.

"Yes it is, who’s calling please?"

"I’m…I’m Tessa Noel."

"Hello, Tessa. Duncan told me all about you," she said after a slight pause.

"And he won’t tell me a damned thing about you. Not even after he calls out your name when we make love!" the French woman snapped, tears in her voice.

Casey closed her eyes. "I’m so sorry, Tessa." There was an uncomfortable silence. "What is it that you want from me?" she asked a last.

Now the other woman paused. "I’m not sure. I guess I was just hoping…He has tried to explain things to me…but I know that he is not telling me all of it…the only thing I know about you is that you are…were…that you and he were to be together…I…how do I…what do I…how do I win him back?"

Casey ached for the woman. "Be patient with him. As patient as he was with me. Tessa, I loved Duncan, but I was never in love with him. There is only one man who owns me heart, mind, body and soul."

"Daniel?"

"Yes."

"He was having a nightmare last night. He said…he said…" Casey could hear the woman’s voice break. "He said that Daniel had stolen his heart and soul."

Casey deliberately ignored the obvious meaning of what Duncan had said. "No, Tessa. Daniel didn’t steal me from Duncan. Duncan never had me. I met Daniel first, fell in love with him. When I met Duncan…We didn’t know about prophecy or the… uh … programming, in our subconscious. It made things very…difficult. If not for that, Duncan and I never would have been any more than good friends."

"He loves you, Casey."

"He also loved you, remember? Forty-three years is a long time, and Duncan waited so patiently. Now…now everything is changed, and what he thought would happen…didn’t, and he’s just…lost. Just keep loving him, Tessa. The memories of your love are there. He just needs to find them. You have to help him remember." Casey hesitated. "He has to stop the Game, Tessa. Make sure he does that. Call Methos if you have to, I know that he’ll help."

There was another long pause. "Thank you, Casey. I think that…someday, I would like very much to meet you."

"I’d like that too, Tessa."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Casey gently replaced the receiver.

Daniel was leaning against the doorframe. "Tessa?"

Casey nodded her head. "It seems that Duncan is having a hard time…adjusting. Apparently Oma left all of his memories intact as well."

Daniel frowned. The news had an ominous sound.

Casey took his hand and led him to the bedroom. "Daniel," she said softly, "I…could we…please?" She had never had a problem seducing him before. But so much time had passed, so many things had happened, she felt as if it was the first time. She felt very nervous.

Daniel smiled at the suddenly shy look on her face, the naked desire in her eyes. "You don’t have to ask, My Star. All you have to do is touch me, and I’m yours."

Casey lifted her head to kiss him. She wreathed his face with her hands, touched his lips with her tongue, accepted the invitation to know his mouth. Her tongue caressed his, until he could take no more, and he took control of the kiss, tasting her mouth, running his tongue over hers.

She stepped away, watching him as she stripped off the tee shirt that she was wearing. She watched the blue of his eyes darken as her nipples hardened under his hungry stare. She pushed her panties from her hips, bending over to take them off. She sank to her knees, pulled his boxers from his body, taking his erection into her mouth. So long, she thought, since she had tasted him - his skin, the saltiness of his pre-cum. She took him as deep as she could, her hands working in concert with her mouth, delighting in the sighs that she was eliciting from him.

Daniel reveled in the sensations that Casey was giving him. He could hear the clock on the bedside table ticking, the sound echoed in the pulse in his swollen manhood. He pulled her away from his body before he lost all control, picked her up and carried her to the bed. He laid her on it, stood just looking at her for a moment, so beautiful…so ready for him, so willing. It sent a shiver of excitement down his spine. He lay down beside her, and gently caressed her hip, the curve of her waist, his hand finding and massaging her breast. He leaned forward to suckle, moving from one taut nipple to the other. He moved down, kissed her flat belly, her hip, the narrow vee of dark blonde curls. He pushed her thighs apart and settled himself between her legs. His tongue searched for and found that button that held the secrets of her pleasure. He flicked his tongue over it several times, then he sucked it into his mouth, her hips coming up off of the bed as he did so. She cried out, tossing her head from side to side. He slid his fingers inside her, moving her ever closer to her sweet release, watching with satisfaction as he worshiped her.

"Oh, Daniel," she moaned, reaching for him. "In me…please," she begged.

He lifted himself up, and kissed his way back to her lips. Her hands fluttered on his arms, his back, her fingertips brushing against the sweat-dampened skin on his chest. He looked into her eyes as he entered her, watched how they widened as he sank deep into her body. He pulled her legs up, holding them against her shoulders. She was gasping as he moved in her, grinding his hips against her body.

"Ohh…" she whimpered. "I’m gonna…oh, Daniel, I’m gonna come!"

"That’s it, babe," he whispered in her ear. "Come for me Casey. Come on babe, do it for me," he urged.

She cried out, her body shuddering around him. He could feel the muscles of her sweet well caressing him, squeezing him. He began to move faster, their bodies slapping together. "Come for me, Daniel," she whispered. "Fill me with your love."

Her words spurred him on, exciting him. "Get ready, babe…I’m giving it to you…" he whispered. Two, three, four more thrusts and he moaned, emptying himself into her body. It was several minutes before either of them had the energy to move.

Daniel lay down beside her, pulled her into his embrace. They settled with her head on his shoulder. He felt something warm and wet on his skin, and looked down to find her crying. "What’s wrong, babe?" he asked, brushing the tears away with his fingertips.

"I missed you so much," she whispered.

"Shh…babe, don’t cry. We’re together now, and we will be forever." His words wrapped around her heart like a warm blanket.

They drifted to sleep, content in one another’s arms.

A  A  A  A  A  A

There was no need to go to the base the following day, SG-1 was on downtime for twenty-four hours. Daniel was working in the den, catching up on some of the paper work that the military seemed to thrive on. Casey was doing a bit of cleaning and laundry, the menial tasks once more bearable because Daniel was in the house.

She had the stereo on, loudly, he noticed. He could hear her singing with most of the songs, and knew that she was probably dancing as well. Daniel loved to watch her dance; she enjoyed it, and it showed. He frowned at the military requisition forms in front of him, and decided that they could wait one more day. He stood in the hallway, arms folded in front of him, watching as Casey dusted the living room, bouncing and shaking her hips to Poison’s "Unskinny Bop". The moves she made were downright titillating, he thought, grinning. The song ended, and she turned around to find him watching her.

"Oh, sorry. I have the stereo too loud, don’t I?"

"I’m just not in the mood for paper work."

"You’ll have to do it eventually," she smiled.

"I know. Let’s go for a walk. It’s been awhile since we’ve been to the park."

Her face lit up. "Let me find my shoes."

They were walking, their fingers laced together, the sun shining down on them. Casey closed her eyes, and lifted her face to the sun. It seemed to have been an eternity since she had felt the sunshine. All had seemed so dark after she had lost Daniel. Having him again, knowing that they had all of eternity together made the day even brighter. She heard laughter, and the sound of a music box. She recognized the tune, but couldn't name it. A cloud passed over the sun, and she shivered. A sudden feeling of impending doom wrapped itself around her. She looked up into Daniel’s eyes, felt the warmth and love that came to her through them. He lifted her hand to his lips, and the feeling was gone as suddenly as it had come.

<< Previous | Story Intro | Return to Stories | Next >>