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They located a small planet only a few light years away. Teal'c explained to Bra’tac what was about to happen. Daniel was touched to learn that to a man the free Jaffa insisted on being at the side of The Chosen. None of them were pleased to learn that this would not be allowed.

Like so many that they had seen, the planet was desert. The three Ancients watched as SG-1 and SG-6 started up a game of touch football; laughing at the antics, the joy in the faces of the players.

Casey was playing with 6, Teal'c’s size more than making up for the lack of an extra person for SG-1. Tony had thrown the ball, actually two towels wrapped and tied tightly together. Trenton grabbed Casey by the waist and lifted her up. She caught the ball, and as soon as her feet touched the ground she was on the move. Jack was coming up in front of her, Sam from her left. She saw Teal'c heading for her, but didn’t see Daniel, who was already down thanks to Texas. She charged to her right, letting Major Parker and Trenton take out Sam and Jack. Teal'c was directly in front of her now. With a smile, she dove straight between his legs, and slid to the marked end zone.

"Yes!" Tony shouted, pumping his fist into the air.

Casey stood up, brushed herself off, and ‘moon walked’ to the other side of the ‘field’. "And SG-6 takes first blood," she laughed, holding both arms in the air and gyrating her hips. "Oh, yeah! That’s right!"

The two teams met again in the middle of the ‘field’. Casey leaned over in the scrimmage line in front of Daniel, shrugged her shoulders to move her tank top up slightly. The material draped below her, giving him a clear shot of her naked breasts. The sight of rosy nipples and soft curves distracted him enough that she easily pushed him aside. She was running toward the end zone once again when two strong arms reached out and grabbed her.

"Not this time, lady," he grunted, bringing her down to the sandy ground. He positioned himself on top of her, grinned down at her. "Think you’re smart, don’t you?"

"Yep. It worked, didn’t it? Better let me up or my team will call a penalty on you," she giggled.

"Let ‘em call one," he said. He lowered his head and kissed her. Her hands went automatically to his hair.

"Not fair!" Texas moaned.

"Yeah!" Tony echoed. "No fair kissing her into submission, Doc!"

Daniel broke the kiss and laughed. "Kissing you into submission. Kinda like that idea," he said softly, grinning at her.

Her eyes flashed with love and laughter. "Could take you awhile."

"Probably."

"Could cause other…problems."

"Undoubtedly."

"Might be fun to try."

"Most definitely."

She arched her back, pushed her hands against him. "Let me up! You just made a penalty play. We get twenty yards."

"Ten."

"Twenty."

"Ten."

"Jack, how many yards do we get for the penalty Doctor Jackson just made?" Casey asked loudly.

"None."

"Bullshit! Sir," Major Parker argued. "Ten yards."

Daniel laughed at the look of irritation on her face.

"Let me up, darn you!"

He rose to his feet, pulled her up beside him.

"Oh, shit," she said softly. She swayed slightly in his arms. "I think he’s here."

The three Ancients hurried to her side. "This will be difficult, my child. You must concentrate," Aaron said quietly.

Casey nodded.

The Ancient turned to his son-in-law. "You, also, must focus. This will be the most difficult for you. Remember that she is Immortal."

Daniel nodded, not liking the ominous warning.

Everyone turned to watch as a tall man approached. He was wearing dark trousers and a dark vest. He was slim, but his well-developed arms hinted at hidden strength.

"So you are The Chosen. A sad specimen at best," the man said, his handsome face pulled into a sneer. "And three outcasts of the Ancients. Three of the least powerful among that lofty group. I certainly hope you weren’t expecting help from these pathetic Immortals!"

Daniel studied the man, but remained silent.

"What have we here?" Simmons said, turning his attention to Casey. "She’s quite beautiful, Aaron. I believe that after I’ve defeated this…Immortal, I’ll take her as my own." He glanced at the blonde man who stood beside her. He could see anger burning in the blue eyes. But still the man said nothing. Perhaps The Chosen was afraid! Of course! He could communicate with his little wife, but that was all he could do. Oh, together they had somehow managed to start the ship of that Asgard, but even that was probably not a controlled action. He smirked. This would be all too easy.

"Walk away, Simmons. This does not have to be," Aaron said coldly.

The man turned to face the Ancient. "I think not." He wanted nothing more than to strike them down, but to do so would weaken him. Plenty of time for that later. Right now he needed his strength to take The Chosen to a place more…suitable…for battle. But first things first. With a feral grin, Simmons turned once again to face Casey. "You really are quite beautiful." He lifted his hand, and sent her slender body flying into the face of a cliff, her body impacting nearly thirty feet high. Everyone standing nearby could hear the sound of her bones breaking as she hit the rocky ground. Her neck was broken.

Daniel felt his heart lurch inside him. "Remember that she is Immortal," Aaron had said. He let his anger become white and hot, and pulled it up. Before he could strike out, he found himself standing on a rocky beach. He could smell sulfur, nearly choked from the smoke in the air. He looked around and watched as lava from a recently erupted volcano made its way toward him.

"Now, let’s see just what you can do," Simmons hissed. He raised his hand and sent Daniel flying back into a large boulder.

He winced in pain as his body hit and tumbled. He rose to his knees, and sent a white hot bolt of fire into Simmons.

The Ancient gave a surprised yelp as he felt himself flung backwards into the pounding surf. Well, well, the Tau’ri has a bit of power after all! He pulled himself to his feet, raised his hand, and tossed Daniel into the rocks.

Again Daniel hit the ground with force. It knocked the wind out of him. Before he was all the way to his feet, he was hit again, his body flung backwards against a huge boulder. His head hit the stone, he could feel blood begin to seep down the side of his face. He turned and raised his hand, sent the approaching Ancient into the rocks as well. He managed to get to his feet, raised his hand and stopped the stream of energy that Simmons was throwing at him.

Suddenly the battle was the same as the one he had fought with Anubis, both of the men trying desperately to move past one another’s defenses in order to deliver the final, fatal blow. Daniel struggled to keep the Fire flowing. His head was pounding, his back ached, it felt like he had at least one broken rib. He needed Casey’s Fire if he was going to win this battle.

Casey opened her eyes, cried out softly as the Quickening began to heal her broken body. "Daniel? Where is Daniel? Daniel!"

"Easy, child," Aaron said. "When you have healed-"

"Now, Dad, there isn’t time to wait! I have to get there now!"

Aaron nodded. "Find him, Casey."

She closed her eyes, searched for him. There! He was hurt! He was in pain! She sent her love to him, tried to comfort him.

Aaron sensed the connection. "Now my friends," he said softly. The three Ancients closed their eyes, and Casey was transported to the beach where her husband and the renegade Ancient were locked in battle.

Daniel felt her, the love she sent, the comfort like a soft caress across his mind. He saw her before Simmons did. Casey took one look at the situation and raised her hand, sending her Fire to Daniel as quickly as she could.

Simmons gasped when he felt the change in the white-hot energy that was focused against him. He took a second to glance around, saw the wife of the Chosen standing on the beach, her hand raised toward him. He smiled grimly. He was not as weak as the others believed him to be. He concentrated, and forced Daniel to take a step backwards. He lifted his other hand and sent Casey flying into the rocks.

She landed hard, cried out, as wounds not yet healed became worse. She watched as Simmons took another step towards Daniel. She sent could sense that he was weakening, his wounds painful and distracting. He needed to concentrate. ‘Send me your pain, Daniel,’ she said softly.

‘What? No way, babe, you’re hurt bad enough as it is!’

‘Daniel, I’m Immortal. Send me your pain, now! You have to, or he’ll destroy you, and me!’

He hesitated, felt himself weakening. "I’m sorry, babe. Love you, Angel," he said softly, then began to send the pain that wracked his body to his slender wife.

She cried out again as agony washed over her body. She continued to hold her hand up, kept the flow of her Fire moving toward Daniel.

As the pain left his body, Daniel felt his strength returning. He stood straight, took a step toward Simmons. He heard Casey scream as her suffering increased. He could feel her pulling from him, taking what he was trying to hold back from her. In return he felt her Fire flowing through his veins.

Simmons took a step backward. Something had happened, something that had shifted the tide of the battle in which he was now engaged. He growled, pushed his hand further in front of him, sending his energy against that white-hot stream.

"He did this to me, Daniel," Casey gasped, the pain almost more than she could stand. She struggled to remain conscious. "He hurt me, My Heart," she whispered.

Her words set fire to his brain, made his rage burn hotter. He took another step toward the man who had dared to touch his Chosen, dared to hurt her. Her scream of pain further fanned the furor. He had both hands raised now, twin streams of energy flowing toward the Ancient.

Simmons gasped, began to struggle. He had to get rid of her! If he could just get rid of her, then he would win. He raised one hand toward her. Behind her the molten lava was moving closer. With a malicious grin, he reached out a hand and tossed her toward that flowing river of death.

Daniel saw what he was doing. "NO!" With one hand he reached toward his falling wife, managed to push her back toward the rocks. She landed with a heart-wrenching thud.

Simmons grinned as once again he controlled the battle.

Casey cried out, her body near the end of its tolerance. She managed to raise her hand, and sent the Fire to Daniel once again. ‘End it, my love. End it now, I can’t hold on much longer. I’m going to die, My Heart,’ she whispered.

With a roar of anger, Daniel held both arms straight out in front of him. He pulled the Fire from deep within, pulled Fire from his dying wife. "Die, you sorry son-of-a-bitch!" he hissed.

The unexpected surge of anger and hate that filtered through the energy that made its way ever closer to him had Simmons backing up.

Daniel saw the lava flow. It wouldn’t be much longer before the rocks where they stood would be covered. He took a deep breath, and with all the force he could convoke, he sent the Ancient flying toward that wall of molten rock.

Simmons was Immortal, but even an Immortal body could not withstand the heat of a lava flow. With a scream the man fell into the river of fire, his body exploding into a ball of flames on impact.

Daniel dropped to his knees, totally exhausted. It was several long minutes before he caught his breath, and had the strength to stand. He stumbled to where Casey lay. She was dead by the time he reached her. He pulled her into his arms. "Love you, Angel," he said softly, cradling her lifeless body to his chest. What he needed was to get her to the Phoenix he thought wearily. Which wouldn’t be easy, considering he had no clue where he was, or where the ship was.

The lava flow forced him to move into the water. How in the hell was he supposed to get them out of this? He tried to focus his mind on the Phoenix. Damn! If only he knew where it was! If he could just concentrate hard enough! But he was so damned tired!

"He has defeated the renegade," the Third said, smiling.

"Yes, he has," the First replied.

"But he lacks the strength to save himself and His Chosen," the Second pointed out. "When the lava enters the water, it will quickly make it too hot for them to survive."

"I know," the First said. She closed her eyes. "But we cannot interfere."

The Third and Second exchanged worried looks.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Aaron paced the length of the bridge, then back again. If only he dared to reach out, to see what was happening.

"Aaron," Amanda said softly, her hand on his arm. "There has been time enough for the battle to be decided. They might need your help coming home."

He nodded. Perhaps he had only needed to hear spoken what his heart was already telling him. Closing his eyes, he reached out, searched for them. There! He felt only one. His heart began to pound. He could sense the power, the quiet strength. It was Daniel. "I have found them. Once again I need your help, my friends."

Amanda and Liam hurried toward him, grasping his hands with theirs.

Daniel watched as the lava moved ever closer. "Come on, babe, wake up," he whispered. "I could use some help here. I need you, Angel," he said. He kissed her forehead.

In a flash of light he was standing on the bridge of the Phoenix. He dropped to his knees in relief.

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