In Deep by dvshipper

In Deep

By: dvshipper

CATEGORY: Drama

WARNINGS: None

AUTHOR’S NOTES: Thanks to taraleesg1 for being and awesome beta on this one and dannysgirlsg1 for turning me onto mission_insane. Un-themed Table #3, Prompt 06 Help.

AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:

http://dvshipper.livejournal.com/

There was an extensive cave system on P8X-325, like so many other planets in the Milky Way. Upon entering the caves (Daniel wanted to explore because there were markings outside) SG-1 split up into groups. Sam went with Teal’c and Cam to hunt for the source of some faint energy signatures while Vala followed Daniel to see if there was any Ancient treasure to be found. Daniel, of course being Daniel, wasn’t interested in treasure as much as the runes that were carved into the walls almost like direction markers.

The air smelled of old dirt and mushrooms, most definitely not pleasant. One good thing about this mission so far though was that Daniel didn’t seem so annoyed with Vala’s presence. No rude comments telling her to be quiet or go away; no quips about her stealing from or flirting with someone. Just a bit of the normal banter they usually shared. Nothing that stung too deep but also nothing awfully deep in the good sense.

Vala watched as Daniel finally discovered what he was looking for: a wall covered in roughly carved ancient (though maybe not Ancient ancient) runes. Taking out his notebook and camcorder, he completely forgot about her. Going into full archaeologist mode meant nothing could distract him. Knowing this from previous experience, Vala decided to do what she normally did: wander off.

Further into the cave system there wasn’t much more than rock and dirt. Vala kept wandering though, just in case something unexpected popped up. And pop up it did, or rather, opened up. Vala came across the opening to a large cavern with an opening to daylight at the far end. The ceiling was high above her head and as she made her way into the natural cathedral, it seemed a little warmer than the other parts of the cave. The ground was a bit squishy but Vala didn’t notice because she was keeping her eyes on the ceiling. The darkness seemed to be moving so Vala turned on her flashlight to check why.

As she got a good look at the commotion high above her head, she stopped. Bats. Vampire bats. Those were those creepy little flying creatures that would suck her blood, or so Cam had told her. Actually, seeing them in real life and them not sucking her blood convinced Vala that they were kind of cute. So cute in fact, that she didn’t realize she’d been standing still for far too long.

* * * *

Daniel was working hard, camera in hand, trying to figure out what the foreign symbols were trying to tell him. Sometimes, when he got in the zone, it was almost as if the writing spoke to him but today he just wasn’t in that zone of concentration. It probably had something to do with Vala wearing her hair twisted up, like pigtails but buns. She was always so cute like that, and he wouldn’t admit it, but he quite liked having her at his side on missions.

Not ten minutes later he heard a scream which immediately got his adrenaline going. “DANIEL!” Vala screamed, making Daniel’s emotions go crazy and his feet spring into action. “HELP!” Daniel tried to figure out which way the voice was coming from but failed. Following his gut, he took the tunnel that went straight back instead of the one to his left at a fork in the cave. Sure enough, the tunnel opened up into a large cavern where he could see Vala squirming in the faint light that reached inside from the opening.

“Vala? Are you okay? What happened?” Daniel was on guard for any foe that might be lurking in the shadows and prepared to get Vala on a stretcher if need be. There was some kind of cold noise coming from the ceiling but Daniel just ignored it.

“I’m stuck!” Vala shouted back at Daniel, who was making his way toward her.

“How’d you get stuck?” Daniel asked with confusion mixed with relief that she wasn’t attacked or bleeding. However, it was a little odd that she was about a foot shorter than normal.

“I was just looking up at the bats and now I can’t move. I think it’s some sort of quicksand,” Vala told the archaeologist who had finally gotten over to her.

“Bats? Uh, Vala, I don’t think this’ quicksand,” Daniel stepped from place to place, trying not to get stuck himself.

“Well, what else would it be, Daniel?” Vala put her hands on her hips and would have pointed her leg out in her bossy stance had she been able to move.

“Guano.” By the look on Vala’s face, she didn’t quite understand so Daniel elaborated. “Bat crap.”

A loud shriek scared some of the bats, causing more splats nearby followed by, “Daniel! Get me out of here!” Daniel did as he was told and tried his best to pull Vala up out of the floor. After a couple attempts, he was successful and freed Vala. She was quite the sight, pants and boots covered to the calf in crap. Though definitely not cute, it was kind of funny. What made it even better was that as they were making their way back to the carved wall where his stuff still was, Daniel remembered that his camera had been recording the whole time. This little adventure could be replayed.

* * * *

“Jackson, time to go!” Cam called into his radio. Sam and Teal’c stood with him at the entrance to the cave, P-90s in hand as always like they were extensions of their own bodies. Daniel’s voice came over the speaker in response, “Copy that. We’re on our way.”

By the time Daniel and Vala got to the front of the cave, the rest of the team was bored because they had no new alien tech to ponder. The energy readings turned out to be natural to the planet so there was nothing exciting there.

“What the-“ Cam started when he saw Vala as she came out into the daylight with Daniel.

“What happened to you?” Sam was curious as well. Teal’c was also, but he only showed it through one eyebrow.

“Bat guano,” Vala told her teammates in an irritated tone. She knew there would be a few jokes and that was fine but what she didn’t know was what Daniel had in his pack. Vala was in for a surprise at the next team movie night when she would be the star.

** The End **

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