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He was angry with her. She could tell by the set of his jaw. He pushed his glasses up, looked out the side window as they drove home.

"I told you it was Dirty Dancing, Daniel," she said softly.

"You didn’t tell me that it would be…like that!" he replied, his voice tight.

"Yes, I did. You just weren’t listening…as usual! If you remember correctly, I tried to get you to do this with me, but you refused!" Casey snapped. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"The whole damned thing was your idea!" he spat back at her.

Casey flinched at the words. "I’m sorry, it sounded like fun."

"Yeah, can’t let a chance for fun slip by, can you?"

She looked at him, her eyes wide. "Excuse the hell out of me for wanting to enjoy life!" Now she was angry. Angry enough that right now she didn’t want to be with him. For the first time in almost fifty years, she wanted to be away from the man who held her heart, the man she burned for. Angry enough that she wasn’t thinking clearly. When he stopped for the red light at Baker and Main, she yanked open the car door and climbed out, slamming it behind her.

He sighed, and pulled the car over to the sidewalk. He opened his door and stood up. "Get back in the car, Casey."

"I don’t think so."

"Now."

"Daniel, you will not tell me what to do. I’m your wife, not your…slave!" She stalked away, her three-inch heels clicking against the concrete of the sidewalk.

"Casey, get in the damned car. Please."

She hesitated. If she turned around, and he was looking at her with that wounded puppy dog look of his, she was going to scream. She looked. He was. She did.

"What the hell was that about?" he asked, blinking in surprise.

"Frustration!" She leaned against the brick building that housed one of the local banks.

Daniel sighed again, turned off the engine, and locked the car. When he reached her, he held out his hand. "Let’s take a walk," he said softly.

She took his hand, feeling the spark of fire that happened every time they touched.

"I just didn’t think it would be so…like that," he said again.

She smiled. "Dirty Dancing, Daniel. That’s what it’s called. I showed you the moves. You practiced with me a couple of times."

"I know. I guess with the lights, and the way you’re dressed…it just didn’t seem the same as when we were dancing in the living room."  He loved seeing her in that little black dress.  Just not when she was doing…what she had been doing on that dance floor!

They walked in silence for a few minutes. He had let go of her hand and draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, smiling when her arm went around his waist, causing tiny flames to flicker up his spine. He could still see her and Tony Sabotti, their bodies melded together on the dance floor, looking as if they were making love, Shalamar’s ‘Dancing in the Sheets’ pounding through the speakers, and blue and white lights hiding and enhancing every movement. The dance had started out simply enough, nothing…stimulating. And then suddenly Tony was pulling Casey…my Wife! Daniel thought grumpily…against his body, and she was wrapping herself around him, and they were moving to the beat of the music. He had nearly choked on the beer he had just swallowed when the lights went down and their dance became…suggestive. He knew that Casey loved to dance. He knew she enjoyed it, and she was good at it. He also knew that she was full of life and that fun followed her wherever she went. That was one of the things he loved about her. Put Casey into a room of people, and it wouldn’t take long until a party broke out. But seeing his Wife on the dance floor, looking so damned sexy, her eyes locked with Tony’s, her body gyrating against his…it wasn’t something he wanted to experience again. How the hell had the guy kept from popping a hard-on, he wondered.

"Too nervous," Casey said softly.

"Damn, did I say that out loud?" he asked sheepishly.

She smiled. "We had to much to think about, too many moves to concentrate on.  There wasn't time to think about...that.  Besides, he knows where he stands."

Daniel thought about that.  He knew that Gracie, one of the techs in the control room, had helped Casey choreograph the dance.  He hadn't stopped to consider that while he had been watching them dance, they had been competing in a competition.

They had made it around the block and were returning to the car.

"Daniel, I’m sorry if this bothered you. I promise, no more dance contests. No more dancing unless it’s with you." She sighed inwardly. She loved him too much, needed him too much, to risk losing him. If this was what it took, then so be it.

He frowned, not sure at all that that was what he wanted. Casey’s gregarious nature and hot temper had caused him embarrassment more than once. Probably would again. If she wasn’t so damn sexy, and if she wasn’t quite so…open about everything…if she wasn’t, then what? He didn’t reply, only nodded.

The rest of the drive home was done in silence. He was holding her hand, but the tension was still in the air.

Another first occurred that night. Casey slept on her side of the bed, her back to her husband, tears falling silently into her pillow. Daniel reached out to her, but his own stubborn pride made him drop his hand and roll away.

A   A   A   A   A   A

Breakfast the following morning was strained at best. By the time they had reached the base, Daniel wasn’t sure how much more of her silence he could take. It wasn’t that she was giving him the silent treatment. She wasn’t. She just wasn’t her usual…chatty…self. He had never realized how much he loved her chatter, her laughter.

"So, Mrs. J, what today’s joke?" the young Marine guards asked her as she and Daniel signed in.

She shook her blonde head. "Sorry guys, I didn’t have time to find one this morning."

The two young men shared a look.  The rumor mill for the SGC had been in high gear as soon as the Jacksons had left the Pit…the few who had witnessed their departure had insisted that Doctor Jackson had looked absolutely furious. "That’s okay Mrs. Jackson, tomorrow, right?"

Casey smiled, but Daniel noticed that it didn’t fill her green eyes the way it normally did. "We’ll see," she said softly, then turned toward the elevator, not waiting for him as she usually did. When they reached level twenty-one, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and stepped out. She didn’t blow him a kiss and wink. She didn’t even turn around.

Daniel was feeling more than a bit shaken by the time he reached his office. God, what had he done? It was as if the very light had been turned off inside her. He tossed a folder from his desk to the worktable, swearing as it missed and papers fluttered to the floor.

Jealous. He had been jealous as hell last night. And he, better than anyone else, knew that there was no reason for him to feel this way. How many times had he overheard SFs talking about Casey - her beauty, her smile, her laughter, and then bemoan the fact that the only man that her eyes saw was him? How many times had male members of the SG teams that she worked with come up to him to tell him that he was a lucky man, that she lived and breathed him? A dance. All of this over a dance. One that she had begged him to do with her. He had told her that she could do what she wanted, but that he just wasn’t comfortable dancing like 'that'. She'd tried to hide the hurt that had flashed in her eyes, but he had seen it. He'd chosen to ignore it.

He dropped down into his chair, put his elbows on the desk and buried his face in his hands. He was an ass. A total ass.

"Oh, Daniel, I just heard! You poor thing!"

Daniel looked up to see Betsy Harris walk into the room, her face arranged in a look of pity. "Heard about what?"

"That scene your wife created at the Pit last night! I heard that she was practically fucking that SF right there on the dance floor. How do you put up with it? How do you deal with her pathetic need for constant attention?" Betsy had crossed the room and was kneading the muscles in his shoulders. "I mean, she has to be the center of attention, and I know how shy and quiet you are. It must be very difficult to live like that!"

Daniel pushed the woman’s hands away. "She wasn’t ‘fucking’ him, as you so delicately put it. They were dancing."

"From what I heard, you’d better hope he wore a condom!" Betsy followed him as he moved around the room. "I know that she’s embarrassed you several times. It doesn’t seem to bother her a bit to tell the most secret things about your life together. Doesn’t that ever bother you?"

"Sometimes," he admitted softly.

"You need someone in your life who is more…mature…more settled…someone quiet."

"Someone like you, maybe?"

Betsy smiled. "Yes, like me." She tried to put her arms around his neck.

Daniel pushed her away. "Let me tell you something about my Wife. She is the most beautiful, vibrant woman I’ve ever known. She fills any room she enters with sunshine, just by walking in. Her smile can light up the darkest corners. People like to be around her because she makes them laugh, makes them happy. She doesn’t try to be the center of attention. She just exudes such energy that people flock to be around her. And I love her more than life itself. Now, get the hell out of my office, and leave me, and Casey, alone." He turned on his heel and left. He had to find the woman who brought him such happiness, gave him her fire. He had an apology to make.

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