You know you can’t fool me
I’ve been lovin’ you too long

Lost in Love
Air Supply

In the small hours of a late October day, everything was still and quiet on Mockingbird Lane. Daniel Jackson slipped his key into the lock and entered the dark house. Punching in the code to disarm and then rearm the alarm system, he began creeping around the first floor like a mouse, stopping to remove his boots and lay his pack on the couch. Making his way up the stairs to the bedroom he shared with Calla, Daniel Jackson found his wife firmly in the arms of another man.

"Hey," Daniel whispered as he knelt by the bed.

Nicholas' eyes rolled open and his thumb popped out of his mouth, his widened with recognition. "Daddy!" He cried.

"Shhh," Daniel held his finger to his lips, "don't wake mommy."

Nicholas wrapped his arms around his father's neck and gave him a big squeeze. "Mommy will be happy when she wakes up." His little boy's voice whispered. The boy felt himself being lifted from the bed by the strong loving arms of his daddy.

"I'll take you back to bed," Daniel whispered, "did you have a bad dream? Is that why you're sleeping with mommy?"

Nicholas rubbed his sleepy happy eyes. "Nah, mommy did." His heavy head lay down on Daniel's shoulder.

With one hand, Daniel opened the door to the twins' room; the light from the hallway woke Colleen. "Nicky, shut that off." She complained as she rubbed her eyes and tossed the covers back. "Oh, Daddy!" The little girl cried, climbing out of the bed and running over to him.

"Hey," Daniel hugged her tight. "We have...."

"Gotta be quiet", Nicholas said in a hushed voice with a stern face, "mommy's s'eeping." Wiggling down under the covers he gave his dad another hug. “Did ya bring us anything?”

“Maybe,” Daniel teased. He always brought something home for them when he’d been gone an extent time. This mission he’d been gone just over two weeks. It was always nice to come home to their happy faces. “You’ll have to wait until morning. Go back to sleep, both of you.” He turned around and tucked his daughter back into her bed.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, my little princess?” Daniel asked as he brought the covers up to her chin, it was chilly tonight.

“When can I have my own room?”

The Age Old Question, he remembered asking it to his parents on several occasions. Unlike him and David, these two were brother and sister and the older they got the more important separate rooms became. While they were three, according to human years, they looked and acted much older. Mentally and physically, the doctors put them at five. “I don’t know, pumpkin. I’ll talk to mommy about it.”

Leaving the room, he closed the door and shut out the hallway light as he made his way down the bathroom. Daniel stripped off the uniform and tossed the dirty clothes into the hamper, then jumped in for a quick shower. He didn’t want to crawl into bed next to Calla smelling like this, he hadn’t had a good washing since he left. The water hot, he reached up and turned the dial on the shower head to massage and stood under the blessedly warm jets letting them pound away on his aching muscles. A few moments later, the soil and sweat washed from him, Daniel wrapped a towel around his waist and made his way the rest of the way down the hall to where his wife was sleeping.

Locking the door behind him, Daniel dropped the towel, slid the covers back and eased into bed next to her. In her sleep, Calla sensed his weight and his warmth she moved toward it. At first it seemed part of her dream, the soft hands sliding up and down her back. Soft kisses at the top of her head. The smooth warm skin beneath her cheek.

“Oh,” Realizing it was no dream and someone was in the bed with her, Calla was startled to wakefulness.

“It’s all right, it’s me.” Daniel whispered in the dark, his arms flexing instantly with her anticipated jolt and keeping her next to him. “I’m home.”

“Daniel. You’re early.” She cooed and laid her head back down to listen to his heart beat. “I missed you.” Calla’s body curled around him and then melted into his side.

“I missed you too.” His fingers continued to roam the back of the shirt she was wearing. If he didn't miss his guess, she had one of his old flannel shirts and little else. A slender and bare leg found its way over his.

"You're naked," she remarked in the dark.

"I am. That means you're overdressed." Daniel began to tug lightly at the shirt.

"Daniel," she said light, "Nicky's...."

"In bed." His voice was soft as he rolled her over onto her back... "I kissed my kids," one button came undone. “Took a shower," another button out of the way. "I even locked the bedroom door." One more button gone. She hated the thought of the kids walking in on them and always insisted that the door be locked.

"You did all of that?" There was tantalizing warmth to her voice.

"I did." The last button slid free of its hole and the shirt parted.

"You're a very good Daddy." Around him the dozen or so scented candles Calla kept in the bedroom sprang to life. "Hello, beautiful." She whispered to her husband as his face came into view, Calla reached out to touch his bare skin.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Daniel stared down at her with want in his eyes. "I love it when you do that." He looked around at the softly burning candles. "It means you want me."

"Always." She sighed.

To his ears that sigh sounded just a little tired, a little sad and perhaps a little frustrated. "What's wrong? Too tired? Nicky said you had a bad dream."

Calla let out a huff of air as she looked down at him. "They're horrible." She said with a frown and wrinkled nose. "They never listen to me."

"Oh, poor Kitty,” Daniel eased himself toward her. Kitty, it was a term of endearment that she both loved and hated. After their trip to find Ares’ crown and scepter, she had told him that she thought it ridiculous that her Father was a ferocious and wild wolf, her mother a grand and beautiful owl, and she was domesticated house cat. Daniel thought she felt let down by that but, still, he thought it was a perfect fit—not only because of the way she loved to be stroked, but she was a bit sneaky, a little aloof and very good at keeping secrets. Because of all that he often called her ‘Kitty’ when they were alone here in their bedroom, but didn’t dare try to get away with it in public. "My kitty’s fur is all ruffled." He soothed. "What did they do this time?" When he was away, his children had the habit of running their mother ragged.

Wrapping her arms around his back, Calla pulled herself upward to nuzzle her head against his chest. "They're always bickering, arguing, fighting." Her hair tussled against his skin as she shook her head. She pulled away from him to look up at him with a stern eye. "They steal things from each other!" Now she flopped backward out of despair. "Always pushing, shoving, marking on the walls..." Calla's hands reached up to the sides of her own head and she began to tugging at her hair. "They gang up on me!"

"Stop, stop, breathe, Kitty." Daniel said in a soft voice as he took her hands away. "We've been over this."

"It doesn't make any sense!" She cried out and beat her fists against the mattress, Daniel laughed. "I must be a terrible mother to have my children behave this way."

"You're a great mother; you just don't have any experience with kids." Daniel reached out and traced her cheek with his fingers. "Your only brother," her eyes flashed anger, "we won't say his name," he added quickly. Long ago, Calla had banished Eros’ name from her presence. She believed that, even dead, if you said someone's name enough times it gave them power, she was afraid he would come back again one day. "He was four thousand years older than you. You didn't have any friends your age when you were growing up. You didn't have any other children to raise."

"I know all of that. I've read all of the books." Calla sat up in the bed and tossed her hair over her shoulder. Daniel reached out and caught her hand.

"You cut it." He stammered with disbelief in his eyes. Here it was, plain as day, the hair which once slid down her waist to wisp about that area between her legs which was so completely smooth, was now barely covering her breasts. He did so love to play with it when his face was buried between those thighs of hers. "Why? Did you really cut it?" His fingers played with the ends of her shortened tresses. "Can you put it back?"

"If you want me to," she sighed, "yes, I really cut it. Nicholas is always reaching up behind me and pulling on it to get my attention." Calla huffed and drew her hair into her hand. "It's annoying. I thought that if it was out of his reach, then at least, perhaps, my neck wouldn't hurt so much from him yanking on it."

"You let them get away with too much." Daniel chided while his brow wrinkled while he held on to that handful of soft auburn hair. "You're the mom that means that you don't let your son get away with pulling your hair, you make him stop. You're in charge here, Kitty, not the other way around." Her hair wasn't too bad; by anyone else's standards it was still long and beautiful. To him she might as well have cut it into a 'Dorothy Hamill'. "I know they fight, but they don't mean it, they're not going to really hurt each other. If they did, they would be very upset. They’re siblings, Kitty, that's how siblings behave especially twins."

"It scares me." She admitted and curled up on his side. "When they argue, they seem so serious and so angry and....." her voice trailed off.

And it reminded her of less happier times when someone else was seriously angry and yelling. Being In Charge was not a concept with which she was very comfortable. She could be In Charge; he knew that as well as he knew his own name. However, like her lovely little daughter, Calla preferred to allow others to make the big decisions and do whatever work may be involved that she found distasteful. As a result, just about every time he was away for an extended period, the twins rode rough-shot over her.

"It's normal." His arms wrapped around her in the dark, her body sank against him. "It's just gonna get worse as they get older."

"So you keep telling me." Calla sighed and began to dance her fingertips across the bare skin of his chest. "I know you're right, the books all say you're right. You told me that one day I would regret this but I didn't believe you."

Yes, he had told her that there would be days when she was pulling her hair out (like now) wondering how she'd ever gotten herself into this (like now) and trying to find a way out (like now). Calla didn't really want 'out', she just wanted some peace and quiet. Daniel found himself wondering how many nights his father laid like this with his mother after him and David had done some thing particularly nasty.

Surely his mother had felt like giving up on more than one occasion. Although they hadn't had her (or him) long, Daniel and David had not made life easy on their mother. Nope, not any easier than Nicholas and Colleen were making life for their own mother. "My poor pretty Kitty," he said in a low voice, "let's see what I can about unruffling that fur and relieving some of that....tension." Daniel's lips closed down over hers. They were not met by tired frustration, but warm desire. "That's more like it, Kitty." Daniel cooed with soft eyes, "you just lay there and let Daddy take care of everything."

"No, come." She held her arms out to her husband as he began to play with the moist folds of skin between her legs.

Daniel shook his head, he'd been without the taste of her for two weeks and she was going to deny it to him. That was nothing new. Calla always wanted to just 'get down to business' when he first came home. Tomorrow night their love making would last until dawn but tonight she just wanted him inside of her with no frills. A soft scent arose from those dampening folds. Cocoa butter oil. "Been thinkin' about me?" He asked as his body covered hers. That was her code; 'I've been thinking about you'.

"Yes," she sighed as he weight settled on her.

"Nicky interrupted you?" His smile was undeniable as it broke over his face. "No wonder you're so worked up, Kitty. Where is it?"

"Um, Daniel...." she began to protest.

"Where?" He asked again and watched as she slipped a hand beneath the pillow. "I see." Daniel commented as she pulled the big blue dildo out from under the pillow. It was the only toy she kept after David. Everything else went straight into the trash bin when she came home from the infirmary; which was only a few hours after her surgery. Calla wanted no part of staying in Dr. O'Gara's infirmary for the night. "I think I can do better than that."

"I know you can." She cooed with expectation. "Come and show me." His eyes did not leave the toy. "You can play with it tomorrow." Calla told him.

"You played with it tonight." Daniel countered. "I want my turn."

"Tomorrow." Calla said again and kissed him. "I love you."

Another code. Always he had to say the secret code before she let him in. "I love you." Under him her legs spread wide to give him entry. Daniel slid into home for the first time in two weeks. Never one for complaining about his sex life, Daniel Jackson realized what a lucky man he was in that respect, still he would like to play with her first. It had been a long time after all. Even though he'd test fired that thing before coming home, their lovemaking didn't last long enough for his liking.

**********************************

Morning came and Calla awoke in her husband's arms for the first time in weeks, she looked up at him with lazy sleep eyes. "Hello…"

"…Beautiful." Daniel finished for her. Reaching down he picked up her arm and let it fall back to the bed. "I see my Kitty's a bit more relaxed today." Daniel smiled and kissed her sweetly.

"Hum," she cooed and snuggled against the warmth of his skin in a move that just cried out; pet me! Stroke me! "Much."

"Glad to be of service." Daniel said with a smile.

"You can do that anytime."

"You know," he pushed her a little bit away from him so that he could see her face, "I always hate leaving you but you do always make coming home such a divine experience."

"Oh, why thank you." She replied with a nod of her head and happy grin.

"Daddy! Daddy! Wake up!" Nicholas and Colleen called from the other side of the bedroom door while they banged their little fists upon it. "We want our something!"

Inside the warmth of the bed they both began to laugh. "Ready?" Daniel asked as he rose from the bed and slipped into his robe. "I'm gonna let them in." He warned with a serious face but happy voice.

Calla pulled the covers up around her. "Ready." She agreed with a sigh. Their peace and quiet was over for now.

End of Chapter One
Daughter of the Gods: Little Victories
Continue to
Chapter Two