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

What Daniel had feared the most had happened. He and Jack had been called into Duncan’s office. Teal'c was on his way from The Land of Light, where the Rebel Jaffa were amassing. Ba’al was on the move. And he was heading to Gamma. No one doubted that he was intent on revenge. Everyone knew who he wanted revenge on.

The Goa’uld had managed to take over two previously free planets, and it was up to SG-1, SG-6, and SGI-3 to deal with him. The Phoenix was waiting for them, and the Prometheus was moving to orbit Gamma.

He held Casey tightly at the foot of the ramp. "It’ll only be few days, babe. I’ll be back before you can miss me," he said softly.

She held just as tightly to him. "Please be careful, my heart."

"I will be, Angel. Love you," he said.

"Love you too."

He caressed her tummy. "Go easy on Mommy, son," he said. He kissed her - once…twice…three times - before following Teal'c and an equally reluctant Jack into the event horizon.

She watched the ‘gate, even after the glowing circle was empty. She pulled her lip between her teeth. She had a bad feeling about this mission. She crossed her arms over her round tummy. "Please, be careful," she whispered again. ‘Daniel?’

‘What, babe?’

‘Please, keep talking to me,’ she begged silently.

‘I will, Angel, I promise.’

She turned around and headed back to his office. There was still paperwork to be done. Duncan watched her, worried about the warning signs he had seen. He made a decision, and hurried into his office. Gamma was owed some favors. It was time to collect on a few of them.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Daniel watched the scanners. According to the intel they had received, Ba’al was in this sector. They needed to find him before he spotted them. It was a race against time. The longer they were in the area, the greater the chance that Ba’al would discover their presence first. The longer it took to take the Goa’uld out, the longer he would be away from his wife. She was already seven and a-half months along. The baby could arrive at any time after the next week. There was no way he was going to miss the birth of his son.

He had a personal reason to want to find Ba’al…that bastard had raped his wife. He didn’t care what Casey said, it had been rape…she had not been a willing participant, regardless of what the Goa’uld’s ‘intentions’ may have been. He grinned. "Gotcha, you snake-headed bastard!"

Jack grinned as well. "Okay, we have the Tok’ra armbands that will get us over there undetected. Let’s go take that sorry bastard out."

‘Case?’ He was pulling on his body armor.

‘Daniel?’

‘Babe, we found him. We’re going in.’ He and Jack were double checking their weapons. He allowed the anger that he had managed to restrain all this time to seep into his being, filling him with cold rage and determination

‘Daniel, please be careful. He is so angry, and he won’t hesitate to torture you. He knows that you’re Immortal. He’ll keep hurting you as long as it entertains him. Then he’ll…please, my heart, be careful!’ He could hear the fear in her voice.

‘I know, Angel. I’ll be careful. I’ll let you know when he’s dead.’ He wasn’t aware of it, but his blue eyes were icy cold.

‘I want you back safe and sound more than I want him dead.’

He smiled. ‘I’ll be back before you know it.’

‘Love you, Daniel.’ He could feel her love, felt it wrap around his heart.

‘Love you, too, Casey. I’ll talk to you in awhile.’

‘I’ll be waiting.’

A  A  A  A  A  A

She was sitting at the counter, feeding Emily her dinner when she felt him. It was like a warm caress. She couldn’t help but smile.

‘Case?’

‘Daniel?’ Her heart was beating hard, her pulse began to race. He was getting ready to face Ba’al.

‘Babe, we found him. We’re going in.’ He sounded…angry. Not at her. She knew that his rage was focused on the Goa’uld who had…raped…her. Daniel considered it rape. She didn’t really consider it rape, even though she hadn’t wanted to be touched by him. No, Ba’al had been making love to his Beloved, not raping a Tau'ri prisoner. But she didn't argue with her Husband.

‘Daniel, please be careful. He is so angry, and he won’t hesitate to torture you. He knows that you’re Immortal. He’ll keep hurting you as long as it entertains him. Then he’ll…’  She shuddered as images of Ba'al holding a sword to Daniel's neck shimmered in front of her eyes, making her heart pound her fear against her ribs. 'Please, my heart, be careful!’

‘I know, Angel. I’ll be careful. I’ll let you know when he’s dead.’ She shivered. Never had she heard his voice so cold. Even so, she could feel the warmth of his love wrapping around her.

‘I want you back safe and sound more than I want him dead,’ she replied.

‘I’ll be back before you know it.’ She could feel the smile in his words. She closed her eyes, imagined his face, imagined him smiling at her.

‘Love you, Daniel.’ She tried to send him all her love, to wrap him in its protective embrace.

‘Love you, too, Casey. I’ll talk to you in awhile.’ She smiled, could feel his love. It calmed her, caressed her worried heart.

‘I’ll be waiting.’ She shivered slightly. Please don’t take too long, she begged silently.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Daniel, Jack and Teal'c ringed over to the ship first. There were no guards at the ring port. They signaled the other SG teams, and waited for their arrival. SG-1 took the shortest route to the control room, hoping to catch Ba’al there. They were not to be so lucky. The Rebel Jaffa who were to have helped them had been replaced by reprogrammed Kull warriors, and their arrival had not gone unnoticed, as planned. Although they didn't show up on the ship’s internal scanners, they were easy enough to see as they moved through the corridors.

A group of black armored warriors was heading directly toward them. They were forced to backtrack. Luck led them to a deserted corridor, where they began to contemplate their options. Jack decided that it was a good plan to try and take the control room. If SG-6 could take the engineering section, and SGI-3 could take the actual engine room, they would be in command of the ship.

After moving carefully to the next level, they were hiding from one group of Kull warriors, not aware that another had caught sight of them and were closing in on their position. They were falling to the floor before they realized what had happened.

It felt as if her heart had stopped beating. Something was wrong, horribly wrong. She tried for an hour to reach him. Somehow she knew he was dead. What she didn’t know was whether or not he would revive, or whether Ba’al had already beheaded him. She picked up the phone and called Duncan. He assured her that help was already on the way. She paced the floor, the fear growing stronger every minute.

Three Tok’ra and two Asgard ships were within communication range of the Phoenix. That ship radioed the position of Ba’al’s ha'tak. They also radioed that SG-1 had not reported in at the specified time. Thor was already moving into position to beam them out.

His back arched, and he took a breath…opened his eyes. He was standing…sort of. Chained to a wall. He hissed a breath as his Quickening healed the wounds that he had suffered at the hands of two of Ba’al’s ‘interrogators’. They had taken their time in killing him after he revived from being shot by the Kull warriors.

Ba’al entered the room, several daggers clutched in his hand. "So, Tau’ri, you think to challenge me?"

Daniel tried to calm the fear that was beginning to rise like bile in his stomach. He was not looking forward to more torture, which he was sure was to be his fate. He raised his chin defiantly. "I took out Anubis. You’re nothing," he replied.

The Goa’uld looked at him, then smiled arrogantly. "I think not. Anubis was killed by an Ascended Being, for whatever reason. I don’t care what that reason was. He is gone, I am here, and I am in control."

"Yeah, whatever."

Ba’al stopped just inches from him. "I had your wife, Tau’ri. I took her like the whore that she is. When I take Gamma, I will let my men have her. She is worth nothing. She will be worth less when they are finished with her. Then I will send her to the training grounds, where she will be used until I see fit to kill her."

Daniel struggled against his restraints. "You took her once, only because she couldn’t get the Sectonin injected into you. She said you’re a lousy kisser and a piss-poor lover," he taunted.

Ba’al’s eyes began to glow. "So you say. I know what transpired in that bed!"

"So do I. You couldn’t please her. She laughed when she told me about you. Some god you are!" That wasn’t exactly true. She had said that the Goa’uld wasn’t…pleasing. She certainly hadn’t laughed about him. But the bastard didn’t know that.

In a fit of rage, Ba’al raised his hand, sending the power of the ribbon device toward Daniel. He had intended to kill this one slowly, taunting him every minute with the ultimate fate that his wife would suffer. But the insolence of this Tau’ri demanded punishment, immediate and painful punishment. He would have to wait until the Immortal revived again to begin his torture, and gain the information he wanted, and was sure he would get.

Daniel called the Fire up. He could feel it in his hands. He only hoped that being restrained as he was wouldn’t make a difference. As soon as the yellow glow of the ribbon device neared him, he sent out the blue fire from his fingers. It held back the energy from the device.

Ba’al dropped his hand, his eyes wide. "I will kill you, Tau’ri!"

"But not today," a voice said from the doorway. Major Parker fired his P90 at Ba’al. The Goa’uld fell to the floor. The dark skinned man entered the room, made sure that the downed enemy was not moving. "How do I get you down?"

"That control panel, I’m not sure which one," Daniel replied, nodding in the direction of a console near the other side of the room, relieved to know that SG-6 hadn’t been captured.

The major raced to the panel. He said a prayer, and began to touch the symbols. A loud clank behind him made him smile.

Daniel was free. "Let’s go. I don’t know where he has Jack and Teal'c."

"Regular holding cell. Tony and Texas are already getting them out."

Daniel led the major to the room where the sarcophagus was kept. "Tell me you have some C-4."

"Happy to, Doctor Jackson," Parker responded, pulling a package from his pack.

With a satisfied smile, Daniel placed the charges. Fifteen minutes later, with all of their equipment accounted for, charges set throughout the ship, all three of the SG teams were ringing back to the Phoenix.

When it was reported that all the Tau’ri were safely off of the Goa’uld ship, and that it had been rigged to blow, those who had answered the call for help went on their way. No one noticed the escape pod that managed to clear the huge ship just before it began to explode into pieces.

A  A  A  A  A  A

‘Case?’

‘Oh, Daniel! Please tell me you’re all right!’

He smiled. ‘I’m fine babe. On my way home. That bastard is dead, Angel. He’s gone.’

She wrapped her arms around her belly, hugged herself and her unborn child. ‘Oh, my heart, I don’t care about him, only that you’re safe.’

‘I’m safe and sound. I should be home before you get up for breakfast.’

‘Love you.’

‘Love you, too, Angel.’

She lay back down in the bed, hugged his pillow close, and smiled. He would be home in a matter of hours.

It wasn’t quite four a.m. when he opened the front door. He sat down in a dining room chair and took off his boots. A quick check on Emily found her sound asleep. He pulled her blankets over her, tucked her little arm back under their warmth, and kissed her cheek.

He stripped in the bathroom, then climbed into bed beside his wife. She gave a sigh, and cuddled up to him, her body warm against his. He kissed her temple, and pulled her close, ran his hand over her belly. He closed his eyes and fell into contented sleep.

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