Every Me, Every You
By: sorrel_rowan
CATEGORY: General
SEASON/SPOILERS: Season 10 “The Shroud”
WARNINGS: None
AUTHOR’S NOTES: I watched the episode Heroes, Pt. 2, and this came into my head. Random, I know. The Shroud spoilers – you have been warned. Daniel/Vala implied. Title from Placebo, yet again. This phase can’t be healthy.
Meh this is another one I didn’t feel was quite up to scratch, see what you think. I think it may be a syndrome I get when writing with other characters than Daniel and Vala lol.
AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:
http://www.fanfiction.net/~sorrelrowan
“Need med teams in the gate room, stat. Bringing through two injured and coming in under fire,” Sam shouted over the radio, accompanied by the SG-1 IDC and the sounds of P90 fire.
Sharing a significant look with Hank Landry, Jack gave the order and Harriman opened the iris.
“Jack, if that team’s for-” Landry began as Jack made to leave for the gate room.
“Don’t want to hear it,” Jack replied shortly, leaving.
Landry sighed and watched as the lieutenant general ran into the gate room.
Waiting at the foot of the ramp with the requested med team, Jack watched anxiously and could only stare when they arrived.
* * * *
In the corridor outside the operating theatre in the infirmary, Jack looked at Carter, noting the lack of colour in her face. He sat down beside her.
“Carter, what happened out there?” He asked quietly.
She jumped as if her attention had been elsewhere. Jack noticed the others giving them a little distance, faces equally drawn.
“It got FUBAR,” Carter answered slowly, eyes haunted. “That’s what happened.”
* * * *
The tension was
palpable as they made their way through the market place. Vala walked quietly
between Mitchell and Teal’c, Sam walking by her side. Walking closely together
in silence, it was as if they were trying to vanish into a larger unit in which
their personal feelings didn’t count.
Vala kept silent until
they reached the temporary lodgings in the village inn, finally snapping when
the innkeeper left.
“We can’t seriously be
considering carrying out these orders,” Vala said vehemently. “We can’t,” She
said quietly, looking away and swallowing. Sam knelt by a small case and took
out the device that inhibited a prior’s mental abilities.
Mitchell looked at
her, all traces of his normal good humour vanishing as he sat a large case on
the floor. “We’re soldiers, Vala. We have our orders. We have to follow them.”
He took out a sniper rifle and began to assemble it.
“I’ve read your
files,” Vala snapped, eyes appealing to Sam, who could only look away. “Don’t
give me that. He’s-”
“We know,” Sam said
softly. “Don’t make this harder than it is.”
* * * *
“Your team is on
look-out, Sadler,” Mitchell said sharply to the marine commander. “After you
bury the anti-prior device, keep an eye on the gate and the sky for
reinforcements and local agitation from any converts.”
“Wilkes is the best
sniper at the SGC,” he argued. “He should-”
“I’m in charge of this
operation,” Mitchell almost hissed. “So until I say otherwise, Major, your team
is on look out.”
When Major Sadler
saluted and turned to leave, Mitchell said, “Wait…”
The major turned.
“He’s one of ours,”
Mitchell tried to explain. “If this has to … He deserves better than an
anonymous bullet.”
* * * *
“Botched from beginning to end,” Jack seethed.
Woolsey looked at him, swallowing. “The IOC believed -”
“Then the IOC should have damn well said so,” Jack shouted, unable to keep his temper under control. “They compromised an operation and put the lives of eight of our people at risk with idiotic orders they had no damn right to give!”
“What happened to-”
“One of ours probably won’t live out the week,” Jack broke in, furious. “Two members of SG-6 are dead and two are injured because the IOC gave our people conflicting orders that put them in the crossfire.”
“About Dr. Jackson-” Woolsey attempted to begin, voice heavy.
“The IOC don’t have a say in what happens to Daniel after this,” Jack interrupted. “They overstepped and now they’re going to sit quietly and shut the hell up. We don’t leave our people behind. It’s why we’re still here.”
With that, he walked out of Landry’s office and slammed the door.
* * * *
Mitchell set up the sniper
rifle on the balcony, leaning it on his shoulder with a sigh as he looked
through the long-sight lens. He sat it down and lifted one of the tranquiliser
guns sat next to it, handing it to Vala. She left at a jog for her position,
P90 at her waist, tranquiliser gun in hand, zat at her hip and if all else
failed, a knife with a solid hilt in her boot. They were all armed similarly.
Mitchell heard Vala’s
voice in his ear on the comm. “You could have told me,” She said softly.
“It’s not that we
didn’t trust you,” Sam replied quietly on the private channel. “Everyone at the
SGC knew we weren’t happy about the orders. If we’d seemed too calm about it,
they’d have known we were planning something and sent someone else.”
“As it was it was all
I could do to limit it to one marine squad and keep command,” Mitchell added.
“Someone had to be noisy about this being wrong even in front of the marines.”
“And noisy is my
specialty,” Vala replied, accepting her role. If all went to plan, she wouldn’t
grudge it. Not with all that was at stake.
“Indeed,” Teal’c
answered and Vala couldn’t help but grin. They turned, hearing an increase in
noise from the square below.
“Here we go,” Mitchell
said on the private channel. “Your ears only: tranq him or use P90 on single
shot if that doesn’t work. Go for the good wound. Everyone with it?”
He waited for his
team’s affirmative before continuing.
“Okay, opening the
channel now,” He said, widening the channel to the one used by the marines as
well. “We all know what to do. Any sign of more hostiles?”
“Just the target,
sir,” a marine replied and the other look-out positions confirmed.
Target, Vala thought,
fighting the cold feeling in her stomach. Daniel saved your planet and possibly
your life how many times? And he’s a target
* * * *
“Is that…?” Mitchell
said, looking up at the Ori mid-range cruiser, a new variety they had never
seen. He snapped back to the situation at hand. “Ori ship closing in, we have
incoming. Everyone meet at the RV point, ASAP.”
“Sam, what’s your
position?” Mitchell said hurriedly, standing and running for the stairs off the
balcony.
“Just before the
square,” She replied quickly.
“Teal’c?” Mitchell
said.
“I am within sight of your
position, Colonel Mitchell,” He answered. Mitchell looked around, slinging the
tranquiliser gun over his back by the long rifle strap.
“Vala?” He asked,
expecting the same prompt answer. “Vala?” He asked again, more insistent this
time. Silence. “Does anyone have a visual on Vala?”
“Negative,” Sam shot
back as Teal’c agreed, coming to stand beside him. They looked around as chaos
erupted in the square, people running from the mere sight of the ship.
* * * *
“Well?” Mitchell said as Dr. Lam came out into the corridor, taking off her gown and mask to hand them to a waiting nurse. Sam and Teal’c stood as Landry walked into the corridor.
Nodding to her father, she looked at them, “I wish I had better news.”
“What injuries?” Landry asked quietly.
“Severe concussion, staff blast to the lower back, one bullet wound to the thigh, bullet wound to the side, severe blood loss and major internal injuries,” Lam listed. “We’re not entirely sure how the surgery went. It’s hard to tell with internal injuries, but we’ve done what we can. The next few days will tell us.”
When they continued to look at her, she explained, “If we’re still here after tomorrow, we’re out of the woods.” She didn’t have to explain the alternative.
* * * *
“What was the fallout, sir?” Carter asked, sitting beside him in the observation room.
“The IOC won’t have a say in Daniel’s case,” He replied, answering her real question. She let out a sigh of relief. “How’s Vala holding up?”
Carter’s features clouded over. “Not well.”
* * * *
Mitchell tapped his
radio again, “SG-6, meet at the RV point, ASAP. Confirm.”
“Negative sir,” Sadler’s
voice replied. “We have the target in sight and are in pursuit.”
Mitchell, Sam and
Teal’c exchanged panicked glances. “Major, what the hell do you think you’re
doing?” He asked, fighting to keep his voice calm.
“Following my orders,
sir,” The man gasped back, clearly running and talking. “Eliminate target at
all costs.”
“Mitchell, this is
Vala,” A voice overlapped. “I saw the marines attempt a shot and followed
Daniel when he ran off. We’re playing hide and seek in the east quadrant. I’m
going to need help to bring him in, I lost my tranq. gun in the square.”
Nodding to Sam and
Teal’c and making their way to the east side of the square at a run, Mitchell
was conscious of being on an open channel. “Whose orders, major, because they damn
sure aren’t mine.”
“IOC direct, sir,”
Sadler replied, cutting off the transmission. “I follow my orders, even when I
don’t like them.”
Mitchell swore and
sped up.
* * * *
Vala took a sharp breath
and leapt, grabbing a hand hold and dragging herself over the wall. It was like
a nightmare – stuck in a labyrinth of a city, Daniel always only one turn
ahead, always just within sight but out of reach.
And what’re you going
to do when you reach him? A voice in her mind argued.
She ignored the voice
and ran on.
Mitchell’s voice
crackled in her ear, “The Ori ground troops are advancing on the town.”
“Oh, that’s great,”
Vala gasped into the radio. “Let me just grab Daniel and we can all head home
for dinner and drinks.”
She heard him swear in
reply.
Turning a corner into
a square in the derelict area of the town, she saw Daniel standing in the
centre. He turned to look at her as she raised the P90.
“Daniel,” Vala said
slowly, “You need to come home.”
She didn’t think when
she saw the glint of silver on the ruined balcony, grabbing Daniel’s hand and
dragging him behind a block that had once been part of a pillar. He resisted
for a moment, meeting her eyes coldly. In that moment, Vala felt a pin prick of
fire as a bullet bit into her side and wave of agony as an Ori staff blast
slammed into her lower back.
* * * *
The Ori soldiers had
engaged SG-6 and lost half of their own when Mitchell, Teal’c and Sam arrived,
eliminating the remaining Ori forces from their elevated position with their
P90s.
Daniel looked at Sam,
who approached slowly. He didn’t see Teal’c approach him from behind and slam
the base of the P90 into the back of his head.
“Sam! Need a med kit!”
Mitchell shouted from behind a bullet and staff blast ridden block.
* * * *
They lost Wilkes while
constructing stretchers to attempt an escape. He didn’t regain consciousness, simply
stopped breathing. Jamieson had been dead by the time they’d arrived.
Major Sadler regained
consciousness and asked for a bandage, no stretcher, saying he could walk if
someone could help him. Sergeant Aitken slung his CO’s arm around his shoulders.
Teal’c and Mitchell carried the makeshift stretcher they were using to carry
Vala, now sedated and with makeshift bandages on her wounds.
Daniel had regained
consciousness, bound at the wrists. Reactivating the recovered anti-prior
device and putting it in her backpack, Sam took point and pushed him on in
front of them. He didn’t fight or even speak, simply walking or stopping as
instructed.
The battle between the
town’s forces and the Ori’s ground forces had emptied the town, allowing them
to slip through unoccupied areas and reach the stargate within half an hour of
leaving the square. Teal’c, Sam, Aitken and Mitchell used P90 fire to decimate
the contingent guarding the gate.
“They’ll send more,”
Sam said, quickly dialling the gate. “And soon.”
Mitchell nodded and
looked at Teal’c. “Let’s get the wounded up here.”
More Ori troops
arrived within minutes, Aitken taking a staff blast to the thigh as he helped
Sadler to the gate.
Mitchell took shelter
behind the DHD and tried to cover the retreat, hearing Sam talk into her radio.
“Need med teams in the
gate room, stat,” She shouted. “Bringing through two injured and coming in
under fire.”
* * * *
The next evening, after a day of frustrating talks with Daniel, a call over the base intercom brought Jack, Sam, Mitchell and Landry to the infirmary to meet Dr. Lam.
“Vala crashed again,” Lam said bluntly. “She came around for few minutes and then all her vitals crashed. We almost lost her this time. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to stop it next time.”
They looked at each other, not knowing entirely what to say.
“You’re sure?” Mitchell asked, looking beyond the doctor’s shoulder to the bed where Vala lay, unconscious.
Lam nodded. “It’s the internal injuries. We can’t do anything about them, either, because her body isn’t strong enough to handle the stress and the drugs it would take. We’re keeping her comfortable.”
“Did she say anything?” Landry asked after a moment.
Lam nodded. “She asked for Daniel. Or at least, she said his name.”
Sam sat down and looked away, swallowing.
* * * *
Ten minutes later, Jack walked into the isolation room and looked at Daniel.
“You can heal,” he said flatly.
Daniel turned his head slowly. “It is within my power, yes.”
“The woman who jumped in front of a bullet for you,” Jack said, meeting his eyes. “Remember her?”
He inclined his head.
“Well she’s dying,” Jack said sharply. “Feel like showing off those healing powers?”
“She is an unbeliever,” Daniel said, looking away.
“And you wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for her,” Jack insisted. “The Daniel I knew – and he’s in there somewhere – wouldn’t let that stop him.”
“She is an unbeliever,” He repeated, voice softer.
“You told me once that you would give anything to make a difference,” Jack said, pacing in front of him. “You gave up ascension because you couldn’t. You chose to be human because then you could do something.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Now you’ve got all these fancy powers and you won’t even use them? That’s not you,” Jack finished.
“The Ori are the path to enlightenment,” Daniel intoned. “I have found the path.”
“Bull,” He retorted. “They’re ascended humans who like people kissing their feet.”
“Your words are false,” Daniel replied calmly.
“Your words, actually,” Jack shot back. “You’re a prior, right?”
“That is correct,” Daniel said.
“Your purpose is to convert and display the power of the Ori?”
He inclined his head again.
“Then prove it.”
* * * *
Lam pushed the tray and chair away from the bed as the alarms sounded from the monitors, shouting for an epi and stat.
About to charge the paddles, she heard an order to stand down.
Alarms still flooding her ears, she turned to find Gen. O’Neill and the prior who had been Dr. Jackson in the doorway.
* * * *
Wherever Vala was, it felt cold and dark. Opening her eyes slowly and painfully, she saw Daniel hovering above her. Except it wasn’t quite Daniel… too pale.
* * * *
“Whatever you’re going to do, do it now,” Lam couldn’t stop herself saying. “Her BP’s crashing.”
Daniel’s face was strange as he looked at Vala. Shaking his head violently as if fighting memories, he slowly reached out a hand and placed it on Vala’s forehead, a bright light flooding the room and fading.
Lam watched the monitors intently and freezing when they all stopped, only to start again with normal rhythms. She let out a sigh of relief.
Vala woke to see Daniel’s too pale eyes very close to her own and feeling his hand on forehead. His other hand found her wrist, pinning it to the hospital bed.
She felt his hand grow warm, then hot and then painfully hot as his eyes grew darker to their normal blue, almost screaming from the pain that burnt and yet didn’t as fire engulfed them.
The last thing she felt was the weight of his body collapsing on top of her own before everything went black.
* * * *
When Vala woke again, she looked around the infirmary slowly and collapsed back into the pillow in relief.
Daniel – a non-burnt, non-Prior, very awake and reading Daniel – sat on the empty bed next to hers.
“How did-?” She started but had a small coughing fit instead. Daniel got out of his bed and handed her a glass of water.
“Apparently killing me for turning on them constitutes ‘interference.’ The Ori stopped me before I could completely fix you, but I managed enough. The Ancients took the opportunity to fix me, too,” Daniel explained quietly as he sat on the stool next to her bed. “So we might not be totally alone in this after all.”
Vala smiled. “See? Told you so.”
“No you didn’t,” Daniel replied quickly. “You said you wouldn’t like their company either.”
“But I said they might help,” Vala retorted. “You said they wouldn’t. I’m closer to being right.”
“You-” Daniel broke off, grinning. “You realise you’ve been awake for two minutes and we’re arguing?”
“Well, yes,” Vala replied. “It’s about time things got back to normal around here.”
“On that note,” Daniel said quietly, narrowing his eyes at her. “We should talk about this worrying habit of yours.”
“Which one? I have many,” Vala quipped with a grin. “Stealing, lying, talking. Some you don’t even know about yet.”
Daniel rolled his eyes and looked at her. “The one where you throw yourself in front of bullets for me.”
“Oh,” Vala said slowly. “That one. Do we really need to?”
“Probably,” Daniel replied with a nod, “Can you tell I’m trying to say ‘thank you’?”
“Not really,” Vala said with a smile. “But I appreciate the thought. I’d be dead if you hadn’t healed me, anyway.”
“Since I’m the one who got you-”
“And you got captured in the first place for pushing me out of Adria’s way, who happens to be my daughter,” Vala broke in. “We could keep going back like that forever, you know, through our whole sordid history. Call it even?”
“Sordid?” Daniel protested but nodded, not quite quickly enough to stop an expression of relief.
“You thought I was going to hold this against you, didn’t you?” Vala said quietly, meeting his eyes.
“I was a prior, Vala,” Daniel said slowly, wondering for the umpteenth time if he’d ever get used to Vala’s whirlwind personality and which was real, the one who made innuendos and annoyed the hell out of him or the one with insightful eyes. “I wouldn’t blame you.”
“And when Teal’c was brainwashed by Apophis? Did you blame him for that?” Vala replied quickly. When he looked at her in surprise, she smirked. “What did you think I wanted a laptop for? Ebay?”
He looked at her.
“Okay, mostly Ebay,” She admitted. “But I read some of the old mission files too. Not as many as Mitchell, but some.”
Daniel ducked his head with a grin. “You’re right, it’s just …”
“Of course I’m right. I’m always right,” She said confidently, then paused. “It’s harder when it’s you,” Vala finished quietly, hesitantly putting her hand on his. “The same way it’s easier to throw your own body in front of a blast than watch it hit someone you care about.”
Their eyes met for a long moment as Daniel smiled slowly and nodded, thinking that they were both Vala and that that was a good thing. The moment was broken when they heard footsteps and a voice drawled, “Well, would you look at that. Sleeping beauty finally decided to wake up.”
“Well, at least you didn’t bring her macaroons,” Sam replied, “She’d be back here in a sugar coma.”
“Macaroons? There’s macaroons?” Jack asked. “Mitchell, you dog, you didn’t tell me you cooked.”
“I do not think that is an accurate term, O’Neill,” Teal’c remarked.
Vala laughed and sat up as Mitchell defended his cooking, feeling Daniel squeeze her hand before letting go and bringing his stool closer to make room for the others.
** The End **
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