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Casey hadn’t even made it to the gym before she was heading back to the elevator. She had to tell Daniel that she was sorry, and that from now on, she would try to be more sensitive to his feelings, to think before she said or did something. When she got to his office, she could hear voices. She stopped in the doorway, her green eyes widening at what she saw, her mind reeling from what she heard.

"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 reached up to put her arms around his neck.

With a strangled cry, Casey turned and ran back the way she had come. She took the elevator to ground level, and ran towards the warehouse where she and Duncan had practiced their sword work. Once there, she dropped to the floor. She pulled her legs up, and wrapped her arms around them. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Almost fifty years…they had never had a real argument. Until now. Her heart was breaking. How long had Daniel been unhappy? Had he felt this way before Oma had brought him back to her? How was she going to live without him, without the fire that burned when he touched her…when he made love to her?

A   A   A   A   A   A

"Hey, Teal'c," Daniel called as he walked into the gym. "Where’s Case?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "I do not know, Daniel Jackson. She has not yet arrived."

"We got here together about twenty minutes ago, she…" Daniel paused.  She must have decided to come to his office, and if she had, no doubt she had seen Betsy there, overheard the things that woman was saying about her… "Oh, hell."

"There is something wrong?" the Jaffa asked.

"Yeah, there is. If she comes in, keep her here and give me a call." Daniel ran back to his office. He picked up the phone and had Casey paged. Fifteen minutes later she still hadn’t replied.

When the phone rang, he dove across the desk to grab it. "Casey?"

"Sorry, love, it’s just me," Betsy purred. "I heard the page. Give her a few more minutes to finish up, then you’ll hear from her." The line went dead.

Daniel slammed the phone down. When he looked up, Tony Sabotti was standing in the doorway.

"Doctor Jackson, I…uh…" Tony looked down at the floor. "I know you were pissed off last night. Casey was worried that she hadn’t made sure you really understood what we were…uh … doing. I just want you to know that the only thing between your wife and me is a love for music and dancing. And trust me, there’s not a man on this base who would even try to make a move on her. It’s always ‘Daniel says this’ or ‘Daniel believes that’ or ‘Daniel hates this’ or ‘Daniel loves that’. I hope that someday, I can find a woman who will love me as much as Casey loves you."

A small smile crept across the archaeologist’s face. "Tony, you don’t know how much I needed to hear that right now. You wouldn’t know where she is, would you?"

The dark haired man shook his head. "I heard the page. She hasn’t answered?"

Daniel shook his head. "I’ll check with the gate guards. Maybe she decided to go home." If she had seen Betsy in his office, trying to put her arms around him, Casey would probably be packing her bags about now.

He was getting into the elevator when Betsy caught up with him. She smiled up at him. "Heard from your missing wife yet? Maybe she’s just moved to a different closet with a different man. Lord knows her type will fuck anything that crosses her path.’

Daniel grabbed the woman by her shoulders. "If you ever make another comment like that about my Wife, I won’t be responsible for what I do." His voice was as cold and hard as his eyes. "As it is, be advised that I’ll be talking to General O’Neill about this. With luck you’ll only be transferred to Area 51. If I have my way, you’ll be doing duty in the Antarctic." He shoved her against the wall, then pointed up at the camera. "Don’t go crying to Jack about this. I’ll make sure he watches the tape."

The color drained from her face. "We could be so good together, Daniel. We’re both scientists, we think alike, we know how to behave in public. I could make you so happy, not like her!"

The elevator doors opened and Daniel shoved his way past her. "Lady, you haven’t got a clue about how happy I am with Casey. There isn’t another woman anywhere who could fill my heart like she does." With that he stormed towards the guard station.

The young man on duty confirmed that Casey had signed out. He even knew that she had run to the warehouse, he had watched her go inside.

Daniel jogged down the path, praying that she was still there.

Casey lifted her head when she heard the door open. He was standing in the doorway, his hands in his pockets, his broad shoulders hunched forward slightly.

"Hi, there," he said softly.

She quickly wiped her cheeks with the back of one hand. ‘Hi, yourself."

He walked over, looking around the building as he did so. It was set up for simulations later in the week. "Babe, I’m really sorry. Forgive me?"

She nodded. "I’m sorry too. I’ll-" She broke off. She wanted to promise that she'd never embarrass him again. The problem with such promises was how easily they were broken, no matter the intent.

"What, babe?"

"Nothing. Never mind."

"I guess you must have seen Betsy in my office, huh?"

She nodded again, looking away, fresh tears falling down her cheeks.

"I take it you didn’t hear the part when I threw her out?"

She looked up at him. "You did?"

"Yep. I’m calling Jack to file a harassment complaint against her. He can use the surveillance video to get her off this base. I’m going to push for that, babe."

"You’re sure?"

Daniel frowned. "Sure about what? That I want her away from us? Yeah, damned sure!"

Another nod.

"Ready to get to work?" He asked, hoping to see her roll her eyes and hear her start to complain about all of the whining she endured as an aerobics instructor.

"Yeah, I guess so." She stood up, brushed the seat of her sweats off.

He reached out to take her hand. She hesitated, then slipped her fingers against his. He frowned. Something was still wrong. But he was confident that they would work it out.

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