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Casey looked around. Though the rooms were narrow, they were elegantly furnished. A woman dressed in a simple black robe led her into a room just behind the parlor. It was obviously a dining room, with a long, narrow table, tapestry covered chairs, and an intricately carved sideboard. Paintings in gilded frames covered the walls. Most of them were colorful landscapes, full of trees and flowers and mountain lakes. The table was set for two; several tall candlesticks with equally tall candles lit the room. That uncomfortable feeling was starting to get worse. She was going to kill Daniel when she returned to the 'Resting Place' later tonight! Even if he'd had no intention of going through with it, he never should have agreed to this…exchange!

The woman poured wine into a beautifully decorated glass, and offered it to the guest. Realizing that this woman was only doing her job, and had nothing to do with the situation she now found herself in, Casey smiled, and accepted it. She took a sip. Tried not to spit it out. It was horrible! It tasted like gasoline smelled. She managed to swallow, and then carefully put the glass down on the sideboard. Where she intended to leave it.

Brim Yardley waddled into the room. "Ah, the beautiful wife of Daniel Jackson. I seem to have forgotten your name, my dear."

"Casey Jackson," she replied through gritted teeth. Yep. Daniel is gonna die. Slowly. Painfully.

"Yes, Casey. Lovely name," he said. He reached out and took her hand, pulled her toward his round belly. "Well, Casey, you shall tell me all about your world. And then we shall get to know one another…better."

That had an ominous sound to it! From now on, Sectonin rings were going to be in every first aid kit she carried! She tried to pull away from his sweaty grasp. "I'll be happy to tell you about Gamma, and our home planet."

She managed to steal a glance at her watch while he was checking beneath the lids of several large serving bowls. She'd give him an hour, explain the difference in time, and then request to be returned to the blue building, where her soon-to-be-murdered husband was. She forced a smile when the man looked up at her.

"Please, sit! We shall dine, and speak of your world."

She sat down in the chair that he held for her, tried not to flinch when his hand rested on her shoulder for a moment before he moved to his own chair.

"Now, tell me, does your Gamma have food such as ours?" he asked, piling his plate with all manner of…gray…morsels.

"We have a wide variety of food. Different colors, textures, tastes," she said. She looked at the gray that filled her plate as he served her. Somehow her glass of 'wine' had been placed in front of her. The black robed woman stood silently in the corner. She must have seen to it that the guest was not without her libation.

"That sounds wonderful, my dear. Tell me, what is your favorite?"

She relaxed a bit, allowed herself to at least try to enjoy the conversation. "My favorite fruit is a peach," she replied.

"Describe this…peach…to me."

Maybe the man was just desperate to hear that there was food that wasn't gray, and didn't taste like…gray mush. "Well, it's round, about this size," she said, demonstrating with her hands. "It's a lovely color, in fact the color peach was taken from the fruit." She looked around the room. "It's sort of the same color as that chair over there, only lighter. It's sweet, and juicy."

The man licked his lips. "It sounds delicious!"

Casey gave him a genuine smile. "It is!"

"What other wonders does your world have?"

She frowned in concentration. "Well, we have music."

"Music?"

"Sounds made with instruments, we sing too. Songs…" she thought for a minute, then began to softly sing a few bars of Nazareth's 'Love Hurts'.

Brim watched her, listened to the beautiful…song…that she sang. Wondered if she had chosen it especially for him, curious as to what the words meant. "That is very nice indeed."

"Tell me about your world," she said, pushing the food around on her plate. She was an expert at making it appear that she was actually eating.

He waved a hand. "You have seen all there is to see of my world. Ice. This cavern."

She thought that he just might be tired of living here, yearned to leave, but had nowhere to go. "There are a lot of beautiful worlds, all you have to do is go through the Stargate."

"Stargate?"

"Uh, yeah…Chappa'ai?"

"The Great Eye?"

"Yes! The Great Eye. I'm sure that Duncan, he's the leader of Gamma, would be happy to help you and your people find a suitable planet to live on."

Brim considered this. He already had a plan for leaving this frozen wasteland, this cavern of mediocrity. This hole of mundanity. And this beautiful woman was a part of that plan. "That would be very…generous," he replied. Yes indeed. Most generous. And guaranteed if Daniel Jackson ever wanted to see his wife again. Of course, he would keep her until he was…finished...with her. He would return her before she was completely…used up. His mistresses never seemed to last very long. Perhaps because his…'appetites'…were so…demanding.

"So, when the people who gave you those weapons came here, what did they want?" she asked. Might as well see what intelligence she could gather.

"Just as your husband, they wished to mine. We told them that they were free to do so. If they could survive the tunnels. They obviously did not, for we've not heard from them in many cycles," he replied casually.

"How long is a cycle?"

"The time it takes the planet to rotate. From the time the sun comes up until it comes up again," he explained.

She nodded her understanding. "Just how many cycles?"

He pursed his lips, frowned slightly. "Nearly four hundred I would say."

Around a year, depending on how long a year was on this planet. That meant that either the Russians were controlling the 'gate on Earth…or they had found another one!

"You are not drinking, my dear," Brim said, nodding at her glass.

"I apologize, I find your…wine…much stronger than what I am accustomed to," she stammered.

He smiled, although it held no warmth. "Drink, my dear. You will soon become accustomed to it."

She took a sip, barely able to keep her face from showing her distaste. She was getting a bad feeling. A really bad feeling. She looked at the man, saw the raw lust in his eyes. Oh, great. Yep, she was never leaving Gamma without a Sectonin ring again! When she looked at him again, the lust was gone, replaced by cautious friendliness.

"Do you have literature…books?"

"Oh, yes! We have a wonderful library in Hope, that's the name of the town where we live," she replied.

"Library?"

"It's a building where books are stored, where people can go and borrow them for a few days. It has an amazing selection. Daniel loves books, so does our daughter. She's very much like her father," she said with a smile.

"So you and Daniel have children?"

"Yes. Emily Rose, she's three, almost four years old, and Daniel Nicholas, he's eighteen months old."

He could see her pride reflected in her beautiful green eyes. Two children! How fortunate! She was capable of breeding! Perhaps he would take the other woman to use for trade, and keep this one for himself! He had always wanted children. Lots of little girls. "Daniel must be very proud."

Casey giggled and nodded.

Brim decided instantly that he liked the sound, wondered what other sounds she made, would make when they were upstairs in his room. That thought made his heart hammer against his ribs.

"He's extremely proud. Emily has him wrapped around her finger, and Nicholas thinks his father is just the greatest toy that ever was. Daniel dotes on his children."

Brim pushed his now empty plate away from his ample belly. He frowned at hers. "You have barely touched your food."

"I'm sorry, I'm just…nervous…I can't eat when I'm nervous," she replied. It was the truth. Mostly. She'd be eating an MRE and would be thankful for it as soon as she was back in the room she was sharing with Daniel. After she shot him.

He smiled. "Of course. Forgive me. It must be difficult to sit at dinner with a man you don't know, on a strange planet no less."

And how, she thought silently. "It can be," she replied diplomatically.

"If you will excuse me, I have some papers I must sign. I will rejoin you shortly." He stood and left the room.

Don't think so, big boy, she thought, already heading for the door she had entered through. Only to find that two brown-clad men were standing on either side of it. They gave her cold stares. Shit!

The woman with the black robe came for her, and led her upstairs, to the third floor. She was taken into a small room where two young girls, also clad in black robes, were pouring water into a brass tub.

"Here is the gown the Master wishes for you to wear," the woman said, handing a silky bit of material to her.

Oh no. Not only that, oh hell no! 'Daniel!'

'What?' He sounded…frustrated.

'I am not taking a bath and putting on this…thing…and playing run around the bed with fat boy!'

'Say what?' Now he sounded angry. 'Just a second, babe.'

The woman was starting to unbutton her shirt. Casey backed away. 'Daniel, I can't get out of here! There are guards everywhere!'

'Hang on, Angel!' He sounded frustrated…impatient…angry…

She batted away the woman's hands, Daniel's voice still echoing in her head. What the hell is going on?

A  A  A  A  A  A

Daniel led the young woman to the tiny room behind Jack and Sam's room. "You can sleep here," he said, smiling down at her.

Elana looked at the small bed, and then at Daniel. She had to make him love her, and the only chance she had of doing that was pleasing him in bed. She shook her head, took his hand, slipped it beneath her gown, put it on her naked breast.

Wide-eyed, Daniel yanked his hand free. "Uh…no way. I love my Wife, I see no other woman, want no other woman," he said firmly.

"She is your wife! Have you not a mistress to…please you?"

"My Wife pleases me…very much."

The young woman's green eyes went wide. "You seek…pleasure…with your wife?"

"Yes. That's the way things are done on my world. Casey is the most important thing in my life. I love her. Adore her. She's the mother of my two children."

Elana frowned. "But still, you have no mistress…" she put her hand against him, felt the outline of his manhood. She caressed him gently, but did not feel any stirring. She could feel panic beginning to build up. Her only chance of escape was with these people. That would only happen if Daniel loved her, took her as his mistress!

Daniel stepped back, grabbed both of her hands and held them away from his body. "No."

'Daniel!'  

She sounded pissy. He didn't have time for pissy right now. 'What?'

'I am not taking a bath and putting on this…thing…and playing run around the bed with fat boy!'

'Say what?' Oh, hell! That fat bastard! He should have known that something like this was going to happen the minute the Prime Minister mentioned this wife-swapping shit! Elana had managed to pull her hands free, and had wrapped her arms around his neck. 'Just a second, babe.' He pulled her arms from his neck, pushed her away. "No, Elana. It's not going to happen. I'm not letting you touch me, and I'm not touching you!"

'Daniel, I can't get out of here! There are guards everywhere!' She was frightened, he could feel it.

'Hang on, Angel!' He had to get to her! And he had no clue where she was. He stared at Elana. "Take me to your home…Brim Yardley's home."

She shook her auburn head stubbornly. "No! I will not! Let your wife please that terrible old man! I will please you!"

It was the second time in his life that Daniel could remember wanting to hit a woman. Well, one that wasn't a Goa'uld, anyway. The first time had been from the need to protect Casey as well. "You will take me there right now! My Wife is in danger, and I will not allow your husband to hurt her! Do you understand me?" He was practically yelling.

Jack poked his head into the narrow hallway. "Danny?"

"Casey's in trouble. Big trouble. Brim wants to…he wants her. She's terrified, Jack, and she can't get out…seems there are guards everywhere! This woman knows where she is!"

The door closed for a few seconds, then opened again. Sam and Jack were both pulling on their shirts. "Let's go, lady," Jack said, grabbing Elana by the arm.

The four of them made their way downstairs. Teal'c had heard their voices, and was waiting for them. They grabbed their weapons, checked to make sure they were loaded and ready to use if necessary.

"Is Casey Jackson in danger?" the large man asked.

Daniel nodded. "Big time, T."

Teal'c turned the handle on the door, only to find it locked. None of them had noticed when the shutters had been closed again. Probably when the same two women who had brought in the food had come in to light the candles, just before Elana arrived. The Jaffa looked at his friends, then gave the door a hard shove. It splintered, and he tossed the pieces aside as he ran into the street. Sam and Jack followed.

Elana had begun to struggle as soon as she had seen what was happening. "No! I won't go back to him! Never!" she cried.

"Elana, listen to me," Daniel said, holding her firmly by the arms. "We'll take you back to Gamma with us. We'll help you find a life of your own. But first we're going to get my Wife."

She stopped struggling. "You promise to take me with you?"

"I promise. We'll find you somewhere to live."

"I want to live with you. I can please you," she begged, trying to press her body against his.

Daniel kept her at arm's length from him. "No, Elana. Casey pleases me. Casey lives with me. There is no room in my house, in my life…in my heart…for you. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is. Now please tell me where she is!"

Tears welled up in her eyes. She pointed to the building at the end of the street. "She is there," she said, her voice not more than a whisper.

"Go back inside, we'll come for you as soon as we have Casey," Daniel instructed her. He didn't take time to look and see if she was obeying. He was already running up the street, his friends right behind him. 'Casey, I'm coming!'

'Hurry! Please!'

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