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It was almost two a.m. when Daniel quietly opened the front door and slipped inside. The small lamp in the living room was on. He went in, and saw Casey rocking, and feeding Emily. She looked up at him and smiled. The love in her eyes took his breath away.

"Welcome home, my love," she whispered.

Daniel bent down to kiss her, ran a finger over his daughter’s cheek. "Thanks, babe."

"Missed you," she said softly.

"Missed you, too."

"The news reported that you managed to get a treaty signed with the new Earth Defense Alliance."

He dropped down onto the sofa, rubbed his hands wearily over his face. "Yeah. I doubt they’ll honor one friggin’ word of it, but it’s a start."

"Let me put Emmie in bed, then I’ll fix you something to eat," Casey said.

"Here, let me take her. But just come to bed, Angel. I’m not hungry." He stood up and took his daughter into his arms. He kissed her, held her close to his chest. The sweet baby smell of her filled his heart, his mind. He would do whatever was required in order to protect this precious bundle that he held. The same went for the woman who sat smiling up at him.

Casey rose to her feet, slipped her arm around his waist and walked with him toward the bedroom. She watched him put the baby into her cradle, then dropped her robe and crawled into bed. Watching him undress made her heart race, and her blood began to burn in her veins. "Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you tired? I’d really like to hold you," she said softly.

"I’m not tired, babe. I need to hold you," he replied. She could see the fire flash in his eyes.

She took off the sleep shirt she'd been wearing, sighed when Daniel climbed naked into the bed beside her. "Love you, my heart," she said, running her fingers over his chest, down to his swelling manhood. She ran her fingertips lightly over him, felt his body shudder in response.

"Love you too, my star." His lips sought, found hers. He slid his tongue between her lips…tasted her, took the comfort he needed. She gave to him, her tongue dancing against his, moving into his mouth to taste him, caress him.

She laid back against the pillows, sighed as he moved his mouth to her breasts. She arched toward him, the fire beginning to rage in her as he made love to her body. His fingers were already between her legs, arousing her, teasing her. Her hand wrapped around the hot skin of his erection, and she gently stroked him.

"Need you, babe," he whispered. His need was intense, the flames roaring out of control. His skin was on fire everywhere their bodies touched.

"I’m here, my heart, take me," she whispered in reply, opening her legs, welcoming his body as he moved over her. 

He shivered at her words, settled himself over her, resting on his forearms. She wrapped her lovely legs around his waist. He entered slowly, savoring every inch as he slid deep inside her. When he was buried in her warm body, he began to move…slowly, steadily…pulling nearly all the way out before plunging to the depths of her sweet well.

"Oh, Daniel," she whispered, her body arching, her hips meeting his with every thrust.

He slipped a hand between them, his fingers searched, found, began to caress that swollen nub at the top of her wet folds. He heard her gasp as he found the rhythm she needed. Within minutes she was panting, he could feel her thighs beginning to quiver. "Give it to me, babe. Come for me, Angel," he whispered in her ear.

She began to whimper, and then softly cried out. Her arms held him close to her body. He was moving faster now, thrusting harder. "Love me, Daniel," she whispered, her mouth next to his ear. "Fill me with your love."

With a groan Daniel began to pound deeper…harder…faster. With his own cry of ecstasy, he emptied into her, his body shuddering with the force of his release. "Love you, Angel," he whispered.

"Love you, my heart."

He rolled to his back and held her close. Just having her in his arms made everything right, made what they had to do easier to face. Holding her in his arms gave his entire life meaning and direction. He drifted to sleep, her head on his shoulder, his arms around her, his body still one with hers.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Six weeks later...

Erin was sitting in the rocking chair, feeding Emily. Her face reflected her love as she looked down at her granddaughter.

Casey looked over and smiled. "The bottles are ready, all you have to do is heat them up. Just be sure to take the nipples off before you put them in the microwave. There should be enough diapers in the holder in our room, and extra boxes are in the nursery. Her little tub is in the bathtub in the back bathroom, and all the stuff you’ll need is in it. If she gets too fussy…"

"Casey, you have all that written down," Daniel said softly. "Your mom will be just fine. Sam and Tessa are just a phone call away."

"Actually, I think Tessa planned to stop by later today," Casey replied. She looked hastily at her mother. "She just thought she’d drop by and see Emmie."

Erin smiled. "Darling, I understand. I haven’t had any experience with babies. But I think Emily and I will be just fine, won’t we, my Precious?"

Daniel put his hand on Casey’s back. "We need to get going, babe. We have a briefing in fifteen minutes."

Casey walked over to where her mother sat and dropped down on her knees. She kissed her daughter’s downy blonde hair. "Love you, Baby. Be good for Gran’ma. Daddy and I will be back as soon as we can."

Erin put her hand on Casey’s cheek. "You must do your job, my darling daughter. Your father and I will keep your child safe."

She forced a smile, kissed her baby once again, and got to her feet. "Thanks Mom. And remember, tell Dad it’s perfectly fine for him to stay here too. That’s why we have a guest bedroom." Casey had fixed up the extra bedroom within days of moving in, knowing that it would be needed when she returned to work. She had already discussed with her mother that she wanted Emily to stay in her own home as much as possible while she was away with Daniel and SG-1 on missions.

"I will. Now go. You don’t want to be late on your first day back."

She trailed her finger over Emily’s cheek, then reached for Daniel’s hand. He smiled at her, wrapped his fingers around hers, and led her to the jeep. By the time they reached the mountain that housed the main annex of the base, she was asking questions about the upcoming mission.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Sam was doing as Casey had during her pregnancy, sitting in on all the briefings and debriefings. She was rubbing her rounded belly, and Casey couldn’t resist reaching over and feeling the O’Neill baby moving. Sam grinned up at her.

Duncan and Jack came into the room together, Teal'c was already lowering himself into the chair beside Sam.

The three men looked at Daniel and grinned. "You’re looking…uh…relaxed," Jack teased.

Daniel felt his cheeks burn. Tessa and Duncan had taken Emily overnight on the previous Friday, giving Casey and him some desperately needed time alone. "Yep," was all he said. He looked over at his wife. She was blushing as well, although her eyes twinkled when she looked at him.

"Okay, we have representatives from three major corporations who want to meet with us about the new ore we’ve found here," Duncan said, starting the briefing.

"Have we decided what we’re going to call that stuff yet?" Daniel asked.

"It’s been suggested that we call it Orrinite, after the man…Tim Orrin…who discovered it," Duncan replied.

Daniel nodded and wrote the name down. "Okay. And we know that it can be treated like iron ore, but is much stronger, right?"

Duncan nodded. "So far, the metal that has been refined from the ore is nearly as strong as titanium. The ore seems to be very similar to titanium, but it does have a couple of properties not found in titanium ore. Our scientists are still working on it."

"Any limit to how much we’re willing to sell?"

"We’re not going to sell more than five hundred pounds a year. At least for now. Limit Earth to two hundred per year."

Daniel shook his head. "That’s not going to make them happy."

"Remember, we have it…they want it. We get what we want, or no deal. The Terrans and the Tollans are already more than willing to trade what we want for just small amounts of the stuff," Duncan responded. "You’ll go through the gate to the Alpha site, then ring up to the Phoenix," he said, referring to the Goa’uld mothership that SG-1 and four other teams, including SG-6, had managed to capture. Casey had missed that particular mission - she had been seven months pregnant at the time. He grinned when he looked at her, the look in her eyes told him that she was still angry about not being on that mission. "All negotiations will take place on the Phoenix. If they refuse, you come home. We’re not about to play games with them."

Jack nodded. "Daniel, we’re going to let you do all the talking. But we’re all going to be sitting there with you. Armed."

"I’m not sure that’s the best way to earn their trust," Daniel objected.

"We’re not trying to earn their trust, Daniel. They’re trying to earn ours," Jack replied softly. "Besides, we all know that given the chance, we’d all wind up like lab mice, and these guys would be holding the keys to the cages."

Casey shuddered visibly. "Been there, done that," she said softly.

Daniel reached over and took her hand. "Never again, babe. It won’t happen to any of us."

A few more suggestions were made and discussed, then Duncan gave SG-1 a mission-go. They headed to the armory, then to the ‘gate. Sam and Jack said a quiet goodbye. Casey couldn’t help but smile when the general leaned over to talk to his pregnant wife’s belly.

General Hammond was waiting for them in the ‘gate room at the Alpha site. "SG-1, nice to see you again. Hello, Casey. Congratulations on that new daughter," He said with a smile.

She smiled in return. "It’s great to see you, sir. And thank you."

"The Phoenix is waiting for you. Good luck in the negotiations, Doctor Jackson."

"Thank you, sir," Daniel replied.

The team ringed up to the waiting ship. Casey sighed as she watched out the window. It had been a long time since she had been on a mission. The adrenaline was already starting to flow. And that feeling she got when things went bad was starting to stir.

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