It Makes You Happy

By: Nicole aka Me

CATEGORY: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance

SEASON/SPOILERS: Season 10. Up to “Momento Mori”.

WARNINGS: None

AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:

http://nicolescreativemusings.com

CHAPTER 1

“Daniel!”

Daniel Jackson slowed at the sound of a voice, that once would have sent him running, and turned. Now it just brought a smile to his face.

“Hey Vala. What can I do for you?”

She was beaming like a kid in a candy store, and bounced almost as much.

“What are you doing?”

“I was just heading to my office to research our newest mission.” She flashed him a hopeful grin. He sighed and tried to appear indifferent. “Would you like to join me?”

“Love too,” she said while sliding her arm through his, she kept it there until they reached his door. Daniel shook his head, but didn’t attempt remove her, Vala being this close wasn’t exactly unfamiliar or unpleasant for that matter. Not that he’d ever admit that to anyone...ever.

Daniel didn’t think he’d ever understand her completely. He watched as she immediately went over and grabbed the spare chair, dragging it next to his desk. She proceeded to plop down into it and rummage through the pile of papers he had set there earlier that morning.

“I’m really excited about this mission,” she blurted.

“You are?” He couldn’t keep the skepticism out of his voice as he took his seat next to her.

“Of course, aren’t you?”

“Well,” he grabbed the nearest report, “yes actually.” He opened up the file and began reviewing SG-5’s report on the planet they had nicknamed “geek central”. That was off the record of course. But in many way it was, the world was chock full of temples, ancient villages, artifacts, and libraries. The odd thing was that it was uninhabited. No sign of any sentient life and no sign that the Ori had ever visited it. It was as if one day, everyone had simply vanished. It was one of the many mysteries of this new culture Daniel intended to unravel. He found it fascinating, what he couldn’t figure out is why Vala would. For her this would be...well...boring. Nothing to shoot, no deals to make, no intelligence to gather. He had to admit, he was curious what Vala was all giddy about.

“I would think this kind of a mission would be rather dull for you?”

She ripped her gaze off the photo of one of the temples she had been studying. “Not at all. I think it‘ll be fascinating. Exploring these,” she held up a photo of a small structure, probably a house. “Learning about these people.”

Daniel blinked several times and gaped at her. “Okay I’ll bite Vala. What’s the game here?”

“Game?” She looked positively innocent, which for her was quite an accomplishment.

“Do you want something from me...a favor perhaps?”

“No Daniel, I just want to be able to,“ she paused a second and began to play with strand of hair that had escaped from her ponytail. “I want to be helpful to you on this mission. So I thought going over all these pictures and reports from Colonel Rath’s team might make it easier for me to do that.”

After all he’d seen and done, not much could surprise Daniel anymore. How was it this woman succeeded in doing it at least once every day. And the most amazing thing of all was she honestly seemed to be telling the truth.

She smiled somewhat nervously. “Besides it’ll be a nice break from trying to constantly save the galaxy from the Ori.”

Daniel found himself smiling again. “Yes, it certainly will be.”

“Well, shall we get to work then?"

“Let's.” He handed her about a fourth of the stack. “Would you mind going through each of these and marking any of the photos that look similar to this,” he held up a picture of a giant structure similar to the pyramids of Earth. “We think these are where most of the written documents will be stored. I want to try to go into as many of them as possible in the week we are there.”

She beamed. “I can do that.”

“Thanks.”

Twenty cups of coffee and a few days later, with Vala’s help, he had managed to create an itinerary of sorts. It would make things much easier when they got there, that was for sure.

Vala had really amazed him over the past days. This side of her was new to him. She was full of questions about what he thought of the culture, what he thought the people did, and what he thought happened to them. When he answered she actually listened, didn’t just zone out like most people did when he started talking about civilizations or ancient languages. It had made him feel...nice.

“Well we are pretty much done here, why don’t you go ahead and call it a night Vala. I’m just going to clean up and then I’ll be heading home to get a few hours sleep before we leave tomorrow.”

“Oh. I could help.”

He opened his mouth to say no, but something stopped him. “That would be nice.”

Without complaint she spent the next hour helping him get everything he needed organized and ready to go for the mission.

Daniel had just about finished putting the last of his books in place when Vala caught him off guard for the tenth time that day.

“She was so beautiful Daniel.”

“I’m sorr..” his voice trailed as he turned and saw Vala holding the only photo he had of Sha're. He rarely talked about his long lost wife to anyone. It was a deep, private, pain that he only discussed with those closest to him. Somewhere along the way, Vala had become one of those few individuals.

Daniel swallowed and stepped forward until he was standing next to her. “Yes, she was.”

“Thank you,” she breathed and leaned back against him. His hands found their way to her shoulders and rested there.

“For what?”

Vala was quiet for a few moments. “Trusting me enough to tell me about...what happened to her.”

Daniel released his grip on her and stepped back a few steps. She turned and met his gentle gaze. He shrugged and felt his cheeks begin to burn. “It was no big deal.”

She closed the gap between them again. “It was to me.”

With a tenderness in which a mother would set down a child, she placed the picture back on his desk. “So now that we are all done here, I guess I should be going. We both need our sleep don’t we?” She winked at him and headed for the door.

“Vala.”

She stopped and turned.

“By the way, thank you for all your help.”

It was her turn to shrug. “It was no big deal.”

“It was to me.”

The smile vanished and just for a second Daniel thought he saw tears in her warm eyes. Then it was gone, and she was smiling and bouncing out of his office.

Daniel shook his head and felt a smile touching his lips. Nope never going to figure her out.

“Goodnight Vala,” he whispered as he turned out the lights and headed for home. As he walked away he couldn’t shake the feeling that the next few days were going to prove to be very interesting.

CHAPTER 2

The first thing Daniel noticed when he stepped through the horizon and set foot on an alien world was the weather.

That might seem strange to someone in his area of expertise. Most people assumed it would be the architecture or a sign of civilization. Nope. Once you’d spent a few days digging and exploring in the sweltering heat, you started paying real close attention to the climate. And this planet wasn’t bad at all.

Quite comfortable, a nice breeze, and very little humidity. Excellent working conditions.

He turned to his right and gave Vala a quick smile as she leaned into a cool breeze that rippled through her long black tresses. She looked lovely. Then she noticed him staring.

Daniel felt his cheeks burn and he began to study his watch like it was the Mona Lisa. He took a deep breath, and couldn’t help but notice the smell. Besides he needed the distraction.

It wasn’t pleasant. The air itself tasted bitter, stale...dead. He knew it was probably just
his imagination getting the best of him. After all this place was a ghost town. All life gone and no sign of what caused it, it was bound to give anyone the creeps.

Then there was the grass, or rather the lack of it. He noted that the ground was void of anything green as they stepped forward. With no hills to obstruct his view, the horizon seemed to stretch on into eternity. It was flat, barren and -

“Well this is boring.”

Leave it to Vala. Daniel half turned and raised his eyebrows.

“Oh come on Daniel, like you weren’t all thinking the same thing!”

Daniel quickly turned back before she could catch the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He could hear the smirk in Mitchell’s voice as he ordered them forward towards the nearest, and largest settlement.

“So Daniel,” she slinked up beside him. “How long of a jaunt do we have before we reach your playground?” Vala bumped him with her shoulder playfully, he surprised himself by returning the gesture. Her gray eyes widened slightly, then she flashed him a smile that made his knees feel weak.

It was a nice feeling, but it also scared him on so many levels. There were still a lot of old wounds that had resurfaced recently. Fears and insecurities he had ignored by shoving them into the background...until recently. It wasn’t easy to admit to yourself that the idea of falling in love, letting someone get that close again...scared the hell out of him.

Love made you vulnerable in ways people who’d never experienced it could never imagine.

Vala’s arm kept brushing against him as they walked, it was distracting, but he didn’t move away.

“At least a few hours,” he replied.

Things got quiet after that. They all walked in comfortable silence. Daniel took the time to run through his mental checklist a few dozen times.

Vala was surprisingly silent as well, he watched her from time to time out of the corner of his eye and she appeared to be deep in thought. He was about to ask her what was on her mind when Sam’s voice got his attention.

“I think I see the settlement.”

Daniel pulled out his binoculars and took a look for himself. Dirty, small, huts came into view as he adjusted the focus on the lenses. In the center of the thirty or so small houses sat one of the very tall temples. It appeared that’s where he’d be starting.

“We should reach it within the hour.” Mitchell said with more than a touch of relief in his voice. “My feet are killing me. Is it just me or is this ground harder than most?”

Daniel took a swig of water and couldn’t help but share the Colonel’s sentiment. His feet had been protesting for the better part of an hour. “I wonder if it has something to do with the lack of grass?”

Vala gave him a curious look.

“Did that sound as stupid as I think it did?”

She pretended to think about it for a moment. “I’ve heard stranger things in my life. Not many mind you...but a few.”

“Actually,” Sam interjected. “You might be onto something. I don’t think there’s any moisture in the ground. So, not having any grass does actually have something to do with the gro...” her voice trailed off at their teasing expressions.

“Sorry.”

“So basically it doesn’t rain here, so the ground really is harder here?”

“Yes Cam. You were right.”

“Cool.”

“It’s a lot like walking in a desert...only without the sand,” Sam continued to explain the science behind it. Daniel tuned it out, his mind was elsewhere. He shook his head and picked up his pace slightly, he couldn’t help but notice Vala do the same.

“In a hurry?”

“Maybe.”

“Getting that tingly feeling down there aren’t you.”

“What are you...I mean...no.” He flung his hands in the air. “What are you talking about?”

She laughed, not the mocking, annoying kind of laugh either. It was more a sweet, bubbly, contagious kind of laugh that made you want to join in. Not that he would.

“Why are you-”

“Laughing? Honestly Daniel, you must think a little more highly of me than that. I was talking about your stomach. Butterflies I believe I’ve heard Colonel Carter refer to them as.”

Understanding smacked Daniel in the face and then he was laughing.

“In that case then,” he ran his fingers through his hair, “Yeah I guess I am getting all tingly.”

She nodded. “I thought so, you always get that look on your face when you are excited.”

“What look?”

“That one.” She reached up and ran her fingers down his cheek, before he could react she’d already pulled her hand away and went for her own binoculars.

“Getting closer,” she said from behind the device.

“Yes we are. I don’t think you need those anymore Vala.”

He placed his hand on the small of her back and pointed ahead of them.

“Oh. I suppose you’re right. “

Ten minutes later they were standing in the middle of a rather large town. Vala was straining her neck trying to see the top of the mock pyramid structure. He told himself that the strong desire he had to tell her how cute she looked, was just because of the adrenaline surge he always got right before delving into a new culture. It was his story and he was sticking to it.

Back to the task at hand. There was no visible writing on the outside, he’d been hoping the pictures just hadn’t been able to pick it up. But alas, no written word.

Other than it’s impressive size, the outside didn’t offer Daniel any information on how these people had lived or died.

He bit down the urge to head straight inside and instead decided to do a quick walk through some of the homes. Couldn’t hurt.

“I’m going to explore some of the houses for a bit guys.”

“That’s fine Jackson, we’ll get camp set up here,” Mitchell replied.

Daniel nodded and started to walk off, “Hey Vala care to join me?”

Her eyes widened, “I would.”

Mitchell waves his hand aimlessly, “Go ahead, we’ve got this.”

She smiled and came to his side.

“Let’s start over there,” he gestured to his left. He glanced back as they headed off and noticed Sam bending over, collecting some dirt samples from the ground. He made a mental note to ask her about what she found later. It was curious, for a world that supposedly had no water, still had trees standing. Not a lot mind you, and they had no leaves growing on them, but still standing nonetheless. To him that implied that there had been water here recently.

He shrugged it off, it probably wasn’t important, besides he had better things to worry about.

“Vala wait up.”

She had already entered one of the dirty, dust covered, houses.

He was almost to the door when he heard a noise that sent chills down his spine and made his heart do a most unpleasant dance in his chest.

He heard Vala scream. Forcing himself to try and at least appear calm he remembered to breath as he dashed towards the sound.

“Vala,” he had his gun drawn as he burst into the hut in front of him. Please be okay.

CHAPTER 3

It took several agonizing seconds for his eyes to adjust to the much dimmer light in the room. He blinked rapidly and sighed in relief as things came into focus. Vala was standing in the middle of what must have been someone’s living room.

She appeared uninjured. A little afraid...and embarrassed more than anything.

“Vala.” His voice wasn’t as steady as he would have liked. “Are you okay?”

“I’m so sorry Daniel. I...,” she shifted her feet uncomfortably. It was odd seeing her so at a loss. She wasn’t normally like this...so vulnerable. He’d seen it a few times before, but he hadn’t been expecting it now.

“I thought I saw a snake. I have this irrational fear of them every since. Well, you know.”

Daniel let her words sink in, he didn’t know whether to scream at her or hug her. He lowered his weapon. “Yes I do.” Any annoyance faded away and he choose option two. He stepped forward and gathered her still slightly trembling body up in his arms. He wasn’t sure if it was for her comfort or his. Probably a little of both.

She tensed at first, probably from surprise. Daniel knew he wasn’t the most tactile person most of the time. After his parents deaths he hadn’t been touched much by anyone during his youth. Hell, not even during his college years. No one ever really got that close, and when they did they just had ended up hurting him anyway. But with his surrogate family’s help, things had begun to change. Reaching out wasn’t nearly as hard anymore.

He felt her relax against him.

“Thanks for not being angry.”

He winced inwardly. “I guess I can be a real ass sometimes huh?”

She chuckled, her breath tickling his neck. “Yeah well, I’m not exactly Mrs. Innocent myself.”

“You’re not so bad.”

“Yeah right.”

“Well you kinda grow on a person. Just don’t scare me like that again.”

She pulled away and stared up at him. It was like he was a puzzle and she was trying to figure out where the pieces went. “You are a very complicated man you know that?”

He snorted. “I’ve been told worse.”

“Yeah I know the feeling.”

He lost himself in her eyes, and a moment of understanding passed between them. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before, and he’d seen and done a lot. She understood it all. Loneliness, desperation, pain, and struggling to survive alone in the world. They had both had their share of it. Maybe we aren’t so different after all.

He saw the same thoughts and emotions passing over Vala’s face. And all he could think about was how much he wanted to kiss her. He wasn’t sure who started to move in first, but their lips were inching closer and closer together. Her eyes started to close as he leaned in to meet her parting lips.

Sam choose that moment to call out for them. The mood was broken as quickly as it had occurred.

Daniel opened his eyes and pulled back. What the hell was I doing?

He swallowed and focused on the sounds of his teammates walking somewhere near them outside. “Well,” his voice sounded hoarse.

She stared at him, probably expecting him to say something else. He didn’t. Claustrophobia decided to set in and he took off without another word and practically ran up to meet Sam. He knew it was wrong and rude, but he couldn’t help it. Daniel had needed to get out of there. He’d screwed up by almost kissing her and now things were going to get awkward. He wasn’t ready for this. Relationships and him didn’t go well. Then why did you just almost kiss her?

He tried to keep his face blank as he stopped a few feet from his teammates. ‘What’s going on?”

“The strangest thing just happened Daniel.” Sam was pacing and running one of her devices over the ground as she did.

He looked to Teal’c. “Colonel Carter believes she felt the ground tremble beneath her.”

“Really?”

“Indeed.”

Daniel shrugged. “Did anybody else feel anything?”

“Nope.” Mitchell offered. “We were wondering if you had?”

“Earthquakes don’t normally happen in just one spot do they?” Vala had arrived.

Daniel couldn’t bring himself to look at her, but he could feel her stare boring a hole in his head.

“No, they don’t. But I know what I felt. The ground was shifting right beneath my feet. I can’t explain it yet, but I have this feeling that this is all connected. The lack of moisture, grass, and these quakes. I think if I can figure it out we might have a better idea of what happened here.”

“Sounds like a good theory. Why don’t you get started on that. Me and Teal’c will offer our assistance. Jackson you and Vala continue exploring.”

“I think we are all done exploring.” Vala’s icy voice cut right through him

She’s pissed. Daniel couldn’t blame her, but he didn’t know how to explain his reaction. Hell, he didn’t understand it himself. He’d panicked plain and simple. And he’d hurt her feelings, and that was bothering him more than anything.

The sad reality was that it was becoming harder and harder to deny how much he cared for her. Even though, at the moment he knew to her it seemed he could care less. He wanted to turn to her and apologize but the words seemed to be stuck in his throat, besides he couldn’t do it right in front of everyone.

The rest of team exchanged glances. “You’re done already?” Cameron fixed his gaze on Daniel.

“Ummm no, she just means we were done in there...I mean in that house.”

“You can say that again,” Vala mumbled.

He risked sending her a half apologetic, half please shut up look. Amazingly she complied.

“Okay then. You two get going.” Cam gave Daniel one last glance before asking Sam what he could do to help. They were all deeply involved with uncovering the mystery of Carter’s mysterious quakes as he and Vala walked off towards another house. The silence was deafening.

He tried pretending everything was normal. She didn’t make anymore snide remarks. She didn’t say much at all. Vala just wrote down what he asked, marked any items that he felt might be of importance and helped him take photos. She simply did her job. In fact she was quite helpful, they had investigated the majority of the smaller homes in the central area that surrounded the temple in half a day. Even though they were uncomfortable around each other, it seemed they made a good team.

For the hundredth time in an hour he internally scolded himself for being such an asshole.

“Well it’s time to start on the fun stuff.” He gestured toward the large, temple in the center of the city. “What do ya say Dorothy.” Teal’c had been letting her borrow all of his dvd’s. She’d been going on and on about the Wizard of Oz for days. “Wanna go find the Wizard?”

Not even the hint of a smile. She just nodded and took the lead. He followed silently behind her up the path leading to the temple’s large entrance. No doors. Just a long, dark tunnel leading deeper inside.

“Flashlights.”

She pulled hers out in response. They flicked them on simultaneously, the corridor was instantly illuminated in the white light.

“After you.” He gestured.

He eyes narrowed. “No please, after you.”

He sighed and headed inside. “Look Vala I’m really sor-

“Don’t you dare.”

The tone of her voice shocked him. It was almost vicious.

“I don’t want an apology from you. I don’t want to hear that you’re sorry you almost kissed me. It’s horrible enough without you saying it.”

“Vala please it’s not like that.”

“Yes it is. You are sorry you almost kissed me. That’s the end of it.”

No I’m sorry I didn’t kiss you. I’m sorry I ran off like a bubbling, nervous teenager. That’s what he wanted to say. Instead he panicked again.

“Fine. Sounds good to me.”

He saw a flicker of hurt cross her face before it vanished in another surge of anger. “You’re right it was a big mistake.”

It felt like he‘d been punched in the gut. “Damn right it was,” he whispered.

“Of course what would a man like you want with a woman like me?”

Her voice was raw and exposed in a tone that he’d never heard her use before. Or maybe he’d just never been paid this much attention before. Either way...it hit him hard. He didn’t even know where the tears came from, but he had to look away from her. How the hell had things gotten so bad so quickly? They got this bad because you can’t be honest with yourself.

Daniel looked around, he hadn’t even realized how deep in they had gone. He moved his light back and forth, they were standing in the middle of a giant chamber, the walls were covered in a writing that looked very familiar. Something he should have been ecstatic about, but he realized he didn’t even give a shit. These things weren’t going anywhere, he had to fix this now. It was all his fault, he’d let it spiral out of control. She was too important to him. Funny how you had to almost destroy something before you realized that the thought of not having someone in your life was even scarier than having them in it.

He took a deep breath and prepared to bare his soul. “Vala this isn’t about you or your past. It’s about me and my pathetic fears about..”

Daniel saw something moving out of the corner of his eye but when he moved his flashlight there wasn’t anything there. Then the ground started trembling under his feet.

“Daniel what..”

“Do you feel that?”

She nodded, he went to take a step closer to her when the trembling turned into an all out earthquake.

He heard her cry out for him. Then something hit him in the head, hard. His legs buckled and he felt himself falling, but couldn’t find the strength to do anything about it. His head was swimming and felt himself slipping into darkness.

He vaguely realized he’d hit the ground as the faint taste of dirt touched his mouth. The words “I’m so sorry” were on his lips as the darkness consumed him.

CHAPTER 4

Waking up after being hit in the head had to be one of the most unpleasant feelings in the world. It wasn’t just the hung over feeling, it was the disorientation, the cold hard ground and the struggle to remember what the hell you had done this time, to get yourself in this predicament. Daniel had been in this type of situation more times than he could count. It never seemed to get any easier.

However this time it was slightly different. Instead of the usual rock or random dirt mound jabbing him in the back, there was something warm and comforting surrounding him. He winced as his eyes opened a crack, wherever he was there was light.

“Daniel, are you awake?” Her voice was filled with fear and worry.

Vala. The sound of her voice triggered a flood of pleasant and unpleasant memories. The almost kiss, the fight, and finally the cave in.

“I think so,” his voice sounded like a frog with a severe case of heartburn.

“Thank god.” He felt her forehead press against his.

His mind was still moving rather slowly as he realized Vala was cradling him in her lap. Her legs were sprawled out his sides and he was propped up against her, his head leaning on her chest. It was a nice way to wake up, considering the circumstances.

He went to sit up but her hand on his chest stopped him. “Don’t try to move yet. You were injured in the quake Daniel, I had to splint your right leg, it was broken.” Her voice was steady, but he could hear a slight hint of concern lacing her words.

“Bad?”

“Let’s just say I was very glad you were unconscious at the time. It made things easier on both of us believe me.” Her arms reflexively tightening around his waist. “Fortunately for you I’ve had experience setting broken bones.”

“On one of your not so legal adventures I imagine.”

Her chest vibrated as he was rewarded with a gentle laugh. “Are you complaining?”

Daniel was studying the job she had done on his leg. It was good, looked sturdy and it certainly appeared that the leg was straight. So no he really couldn’t complain. “Nope just making an observation. So,” he suppressed a groan as his headache made itself known again. Then he accidentally made direct visual contact with a torch Vala must have set up. “Exactly how long was I out so that you had time to do all this.”

“About an hour. I pulled you over here, it seemed the most stable area. Found those torches with my flashlight , the villagers must have used them for whatever it was they did in here. Then I fixed you up and I’ve been trying to establish radio contact with the others but no luck so far. Probably due to the tons of rocks between us and the exit.”

“You did good Vala,” he whispered. “Thanks.”

She seemed to let out a breath she’d been holding. “Anytime darling. But really did you have to go through all this trouble to get me alone. I mean you could’ve just tied me up or something.”

Now it was his turn to laugh a little. “You know me, I can’t do anything the easy way.”

“I noticed.”

“So you’re still mad at me?”

“’Let’s worry about that later. Right now I just want to figure out how the hell we are going to get out of this mess,” she sighed.

Daniel silently agreed. His broken leg was going to make things slow, not to mention unpleasant. “Vala you’re okay right? I mean you didn’t get hurt in the cav-”

She tightened her grip around his waist. “I’m fine Daniel. I got lucky. All the falling rocks apparently had it in for you.”

He smiled. “Figures. I’m glad you’re okay though,” he blurted.

“I know.”

They sat in comfortable silence for few moments.

“So what do you think is causing these quakes?”

Daniel shrugged against her. “I don’t know...I feel like I’m forgetting something but...it’s probably nothing important.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think I saw something before the shaking started but I can’t seem to remember.”

“Probably has something to do with your head meeting up with a nasty rock.”

“Probably.”

“It’ll come to you when you aren’t thinking about it.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he sighed. “Okay. Do we have a plan for getting out of here?”

“Nope. But I’m working on it.”

“Yep me too.”

Vala tried her radio again, but all they got in reply was static. “Okay I think it’s safe to say we are on our own with this one.”

“Yep.”

“Oh here.” He felt her rummaging in her pockets, then she produced two tablets. “For the pain,” she placed both the pills in his open hand. “You’ll need them once we start moving.”

He swallowed them with a nice swig of water from his canteen and thanked her.

“Okay I’ve got a plan,” she said in a tone that could have been saying “Let’s go shopping” for how nonchalant she sounded.

He couldn’t fight off the grin as he replied,” Let’s hear it.”

“You stay here while I search the rest of this room. There has to be another tunnel somewhere. When I find it, I’ll come back for you and we need to get the hell out of dodge.”

He angled his head up and met her stare with raised eyebrows. “Watching old westerns again I see?”

She just smiled.

Daniel really didn’t like the idea of her wandering off alone, but he was in no position to object and there wasn’t an alternative. “Be careful, keep your light on at all times, and-”

“Daniel please. I know how to take care of myself. Besides I’m not going far. Don’t be such a mother hen.”

He felt his cheeks burning. “Look I’m just...never mind,” he rubbed his tired eyes with his palms.

Her hands gently enveloped his and pulled them away from his face. “No I’m sorry. I’d be the same. I won’t be gone long and I’ll be careful. Promise.”

“Thanks.”

She slid out from behind him and Daniel found himself missing her presence and warmth immediately. Vala placed her pack behind him and helped him lean back against it. “I’ll be right back.”

“You better, or I’m coming after you, and with a broken leg. I’ll be grumpy.”

She smirked, the fire light danced across her face, adding to her natural beauty. “Then I’ll be Superman fast.” She winked and was off heading behind him deeper into the massive room. Away from the circle of light the two torches formed around him. The darkness seemed to swallow her up, the tiny beam of light from her flashlight was all Daniel could see, even that seemed dim.

Waiting sucked. Especially when you were the one doing the waiting. He used the time to think and test his injured leg. He learned real fast that moving it hurt like hell. Walking was going to be fun. The pills had diminished his headache immensely. That was plus. About the only one he could think of at the moment. He sighed and scanned the room, not much to see considering it was dark. He rolled his eyes at his own impatience and went back to waiting.

In reality she wasn’t gone long, it just seemed like it. But within in ten minutes she was back with a huge, satisfied, smile lighting up her now somewhat dirty face.

“Good news I take it ?”

“I think so. I’ve found another way out of this room. The bad of course is we have no idea where it leads or how far it goes.”

“There is that. But we don’t have a choice, we can’t stay here.”

“No, we can’t.” He saw her eyes drift towards his bound leg.

“I’ll be fine.” He tried not to flinch as he attempted to move. He gave her a lopsided grin. “I may need a little help though.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll carry you out of here if I have to.”

Daniel met her stare and tried to swallow the emotions that simple sentence had started in him. It was rare to find a friend like that, he knew better than most how rare. “I’d carry you to, you know that right,” he managed to keep his voice neutral.

“Yes.” She met his stare.

“Good.”

Then she began the fun task of transferring everything they really needed to one pack and emptying what they didn’t. Daniel helped her decide. There were a few tough choices but they were ready to go in less than five minutes. She slipped it over her shoulders and then reached for him. “I’ll carry one of the torches, batteries won’t last forever.”

She nodded. “Good idea. We’ll use the torch first then the flashlights as a backup.”

“I was thinking the same. Torchlight is better suited for exploring temples like this anyway.”

Vala cocked her head.

“I’m serious. I’ve always loved working by firelight.”

“I like that. One more Danielism to add to my list,” she patted him on the back.

“Daniel...What?”

“I’ll tell you if we get out of this alive,” her voice was filled with amusement.

“Funny.” But he let it go...for now and grabbed her offered hand. He made it to his feet on the first try with her help, but almost ended up back on the ground. Daniel saw stars literally, and came close to passing out even as he gritted his teeth though the pain lancing up and down his leg.

“You’ve got to stay with me Daniel.”

He focused on her voice instead of the pain, and felt himself gaining control. After several deep breaths he was able to talk. “I’m okay now. Thanks.”

She had a death grip on him, one arm around his waist, the other holding his hand. And she didn’t look like she’d be letting him go anytime soon. Which was fine with Daniel.

The gut wrenching pain had died down to a more tolerable level, or maybe he was just getting used to it. Either way they couldn’t stand here all day and he knew it. Time to suck it up, he knew once he started moving it would probably get easier, but he still felt his forgotten breakfast threatening to come up.

“Vala, the next time I get excited about going into a dark, dreary temple on a planet that has random earthquakes, do me a favor and slap me.”

Her face relaxed at his joke. “You have my word.”

“Now before I pass out let’s get the hell out of here.”

“For once we are in complete agreement.”

They started forward on what was sure to be a very long, painful slow journey. Funny Daniel didn’t feel scared. There was no one else he’d rather have at his side, they’d get out of this somehow.

He looked at her face set with determination and knew he was probably wearing the same expression. They were survivors and they’d survive this. Besides he still had a second “not a date” to take her on.

He held onto that thought as they slowly shuffled forward, neither knowing what the hell this place was going to throw at them next.

CHAPTER 5

“Daniel, I’m having second thoughts about this...maybe we should have-”

“No.”

“But you are-”

“I said no. Listen, I’ve worked in temples and pyramids all my life. We made the right choice,” he said through gritted teeth. “The severity of that cave in...just trust me, it’ll take them a week to dig us out, and they might bring the ceiling down on our heads in the process. I’m guessing they know that as well. Plus we only have enough rations for a few days. Help isn’t coming anytime soon Vala.”

“I know, and it was my idea to leave in the first place. I just...I’m worried about you, is all.”

Daniel gave her his standard bullshit. “Thanks. But I’m fine.”

Not that it fooled her for a second. “Sure, you just look pale, shaky, and keep clenching your teeth because you feel fine.”

“Vala.”

“Daniel.”

He shot her a look that could freeze water.

“I know. You’re right. It still doesn’t make me happy to have you suffering like this.”

Daniel took a calming breath and forced the pain to the back of his mind. He was right, but so was she. He shouldn’t be walking, and certainly not this much. But everything inside of him screamed to press onward. It was a gut feeling he couldn’t shake, and over the years he’d learned to trust in them. No, they had made the right call. Now if only he could keep moving.

Ten minutes later Daniel bit back another curse word that was on his lips as he mentally scolded himself for not paying closer attention. For the twentieth time he’d almost tripped over a rock or something else that littered the ground. Not that it was easy to see what was at your feet. The deeper they journeyed into the structure the more consuming the darkness seemed. Vala squeezed his waist as she held them steady. He hated being such a burden. She had to be exhausted, but she hadn’t complained, not once. Daniel had tried to support most of his weight, but with only one leg, he had found himself relying more and more on Vala.

Daniel had one arm draped around her neck, the other holding a torch that was almost their only source of light in this dark abyss. The flashlight was on reserve for emergencies. You couldn’t see more than two feet around you in either direction. Thank god neither one of them was claustrophobic. Vala‘s free hand was ready to grab her weapon at a moments notice.

Daniel closed his gritty eyes tightly for several seconds, trying unsuccessfully rid himself of that annoying burning sensation. Only a few days sleep would cure that. His leg was throbbing, his head felt like it was going to explode, and he really had to pee.

Apparently Vala had developed psychic powers. “Why don’t we rest for a bit. Besides nature is calling.”

He smirked. “I know the feeling.”

She leaned him against a cool wall while she set their supplies on the ground and found a place to prop up the torch.

“So.” Vala studied him for a moment.

“So.”

“Lets not make this awkward. That looks like a good place for you to relieve yourself.”

He sighed, and nodded. She helped him hobble over to a small corner, where the rocks formed a urinal of sorts. More like a bucket, but it would do the job.

As he was getting a good grip on the wall, the true nature of his problem dawned on him. Dammit. There was no way he could hold himself up, unzip his pants, and aim without falling flat on his ass. God this was going to be awful.

“Daniel, I’ll hold you up from behind. So you can do your thing.”

He didn’t say or do anything.

“I promise I won’t peek.” Her voice didn’t have the slightest trace of sarcasm in it.

He felt some of his tension slip away. “That makes me feel so much better.”

But it did. He unzipped his fly and did his business with only minimal embarrassment. Vala didn’t tease him, and she kept her word, he could feel her face pressed firmly into his back.

When he was done she guided him to the ground near the still burning torch and then it was her turn. He, of course, didn’t peek either.

Then she slid down next to him and snuggled against him, her head came to rest on Daniel’s shoulder.

It felt more than a little wonderful to not be moving. He sighed in contentment and found himself lifting his arm and wrapping it around Vala, pulling her closer to him. He knew it was a very intimate gesture, but he still didn’t let go.

She didn’t seem to mind. “This is nice,” she murmured into his shoulder.

“Yeah. It is.”

“So Daniel. Are you going to be sorry for this as well?”

He smiled and shook his head. “You just couldn’t resist could you?”

“You know me?”

“I like to think so.” He shifted slightly so he could see her face peering up at him from his shoulder. “Well enough to know you aren’t going to let this go without weeks of groveling from me.”

She snorted, and brought her hand up to his face. Vala began tentatively playing with the stubble that had grown on his chin. She seemed unsure of herself somehow. That was completely his fault. He’d done this, made her feel unwanted. Confused her, hell he’d confused himself.

“Vala. I’m so screwed up,” he found himself whispering.

She moved her hand up to rest on his cheek. “Like I’m not?”

He gave her a lopsided grin. “Not like I am.”

“Maybe not. But you’re my kind of screwed up Daniel Jackson. I think I just might keep you for myself.”

He blinked, then laughed, then realized how stupid he really was when it came to love. “You know, a few months ago what you just said would have really...annoyed me.”

“You mean you would have given me one of your “There she goes again” looks and walked away from me muttering some choice curse words in a language no one but you can understand.”

He laughed again. “Damn. Was I really -”

“Walking around with a stick stuck up your pompous ass. Only a teeny bit,” she smiled and it seemed to light up the dark tomb they were buried in.

The smile faded from Daniel’s tired face. “I’m sorry Vala. I really am. I am such a mess, you should be the one running.”

“I’m done running Daniel. You made sure of that,” her fingers were tracing paths up and down his arm now.

“Yeah well. I couldn’t have you disappearing on me.” Daniel swallowed and decided he needed to stop running as well. “Vala. I’m scared,” his voice wasn’t quite as steady as he’d like it but he pressed on anyway. Her face was pinched with confusion. “I’m scared of getting involved with someone I care about again. Everyone that’s important in my life...in that way...seems to get hurt or killed. I don’t know if I can do it again. Like I said,” he touched her cheek, “I’m so screwed up.”

Understanding lit up her face like a beacon. “I see. Well,” she scooted even closer it that were possible, “I can’t promise you that nothing will ever happen to me, but then again you can’t promise me that either.”

He nodded in agreement. Their jobs where dangerous. Daniel had lost count of how many times he’d either died or almost died in the line of duty.

“But I can tell you I’m not going anywhere without a fight.” She placed her hand on his chest and pressed gently. “And since we are both screwed up in our own unique and sexy ways,” she winked. “I think it only proves my point.”

“And what is that?” He could feel his heart beginning to speed up, his breath was coming more quickly.

“That we are perfect for each other. Two screwed up, confused, and scared peas in a pod.”

“You know when you put it that way,” he grinned and found himself not feeling so afraid anymore. In fact things were finally beginning to make sense. Denying his feelings for her had only made things worse. This was so much nicer, and it felt right. “I think we’d started something we didn’t get to finish,” he tried his luck.

She cocked her head. “I think you’re right.”

He brought his hands to her face and began to lean in so he could finally feel her lips on his again. Apparently fate wasn’t on his side. A very eerie, very familiar sound, echoed through the cavern.

She jumped back and went for her sidearm. “What the hell was that?”

CHAPTER 6

“Daniel, tell me you just heard that?” Vala’s voice had an edge to it that worried him. She wasn’t the type to get freaked out easily.

He placed a calming hand on her tense shoulder. “Yes. The problem is I’ve heard it before.”

“You have?” Her eyes locked onto his.

He nodded. Daniel felt like a veil had been lifted from his eyes and connections started falling into place in his mind. “I think we both have.”

She seemed to relax a little, her curiosity overrode her fear. “So are you going to enlighten me?” She quipped.

Daniel suppressed a grin and managed to looking offended.

“Sorry. That noise just creeps me out.”

“It’s okay. I think my theory explains that as well.” Daniel closed his eyes to collect his thoughts.

“What, me being a smart ass?”

He chuckled. “No dear.” He smirked at her surprised expression. “What? You can call me darling, but get shocked when I call you dear?”

She opened her mouth then seemed to decide against whatever she had planned to say and settled for just crossing her arms over her chest. “Did I say I didn’t like it?”

“Okay, we are getting way off track here.”

“Well, then tell me what that brilliant little mind of yours has come up with. Because I am at a loss,” she paused for a moment, “darling.” She winked.

“This is just a guess Vala and it‘s probably going to sound crazy. This is all based on one little thing I saw right before I was knocked out in that cave in.”

“When we heard the same noise.” He could see her starting to think as well.

“Exactly. Now I need you to just listen-”

“Shutting up now.” Vala made a motion of zipping up her lips.

“Cute. Now here goes nothing,” he said while rubbing his hands together. “First off let’s review what we know. There is no vegetation growing on this planet and that was recent. Sam believes it’s due to lack of water in the ground. But it seemed to me that this was a recent development. There where still trees alive and kicking, which means there had to have been water recently. Plus it doesn’t seem like a desert planet to me. I personally believe it does rain here.”

“Daniel but-”

He held up a hand. “Just let me get all this out then you can tell me how crazy I am.” She pursed her lips but fell silent. “Okay, now if it’s raining. Where is all the water going? Keep that in mind. Next this planet is apparently prone to having earthquakes that affect only a small area at a time. In fact, Sam was positive that the ground was moving only right under her feet. A normal quake wouldn’t behave like that...so maybe something besides the normal is causing it. Finally we come to what ties this all together for me. You,” he pointed at Vala, “believed you saw a snake back in one of the huts.”

“But I only saw it out of the corner of my eye Daniel. It was just my imagination.”

“I would tend to agree with you except I saw what resembled a snake right before a rock decided to use my skull for target practice.”

“What?”

“That’s what’s been making that damn noise Vala. It’s that creature, whatever it is...I think it’s the key to everything we’ve been experiencing somehow.”

“You’re right...you have lost your mind.”

“I’m not going to dispute that at the moment, but I’m not done yet.”

She seemed to be mulling what he had said so far over in her mind. “Okay, finish spilling your guts to me.”

He shook his head but plowed onward. “Think about it. No moisture, no other plant or animal life, and the quakes that seem to occur right under peoples feet.”

“Daniel...you think these animals...snakes...things are responsible for all that?”

“I told you it was crazy.”

“You know what scares me the most...this is starting to make some weird kind of sense.”

“Yeah...I know,” he smiled.

“There are a few problems with this theory.”

“Only a few,” he teased. “Here let me list them for you. One. Why did the creatures just appear one day and start draining the life out of this planet? Two. That still doesn’t explain the missing population. And last but not least...we still have to get the hell out of this temple.”

“I can see you’ve thought this through.”

“Yes.”

“Well someone could have brought them here. Maybe they weren’t native to this world.”

“Good. That’s just what I was thinking.”

She beamed. “As for the second maybe they had to leave. The creepy things were destroying their world ya know?”

“Another excellent theory. I’ll make a scientist out of you yet.”

If Daniel had thought her smile couldn’t get any bigger, he’d been wrong. She was practically glowing.

Vala leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Now let’s get the hell out of here so we can run your theory by Sam. Maybe she can help figure out the answer to it’s problems.”

“Touché.”

He resisted the urge to scream like a little girl as he got used to the feel of walking with a broken leg again. Vala kept the pace slow, but it was still excruciating. It was like having a thousand, tiny needles being jabbed into his leg at once. Only the pain didn’t end, it was constant.

She gave him a few more Tylenol, probably wouldn’t help much, but Daniel downed them gratefully.

They didn’t hear anymore strange noises as they pressed forward, the torch was quite resilient, the flame was still burning brightly...perhaps a little too well.

“Umm Vala. Is it my imagination or did it just get lighter in here?”

They paused. “What the...? Daniel you’re right. I can see much better, I didn’t even notice it.”

“I think it’s coming from up ahead,” he squinted his eyes and could make out a white light ahead of them.

“Only one way to find out.”

He grimaced and started moving again, her hand began to rub circles against his back. It was comforting. “Thanks for carrying my weight,” he whispered.

“Not a problem. You aren’t that heavy.”

“Thanks...I think,” he replied.

It took them about ten minutes to reach the quite well lit hallway. Daniel swallowed as they peered inside. He had a feeling that all the holes in his theory were about to be answered. He wasn’t disappointed.

“Damn!” Vala blurted beside him.

“Yep.”

CHAPTER 7

“Daniel, what is this place?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but if I was a betting man....a lab maybe.”

“A lab. In the middle of a primitive societies temple. That still uses firelight by the way...there’s no way this was theirs.”

“This room is kinda out of place isn’t it?” Daniel replied as his heavy eyes struggled to take it what they were seeing.

It was like they had walked out the dark ages right into the middle of a culture with technology that would put theirs to shame. It was more than a little disorientating. As his eyes fully adjusted to the well lit room he tried to figure out what everything was...and what it would be used for, as in experiments.

The room was all white, with light blue trimming along the walls. There were three long tables located in the center of the room, each one in front of the other forming a class room type setup. Stools still sat in front of each one. Three per table. They were covered in what Daniel had to assume were computers- similar to some of the monitors at the SGC, but not. The designs were smaller, sleeker, more impressive to look at. The walls were lined with shelves full of test tubes, gadgets that he hadn’t even the slightest inkling as to what they might be used for, probably some type of medical gear in one corner, and a one shelf that interested him the most was covered with data pads. At least forty were all stacked on top of each other rather haphazardly, it looked like someone had left this room in a hurry. A few pads were scattered on the three desks, and a small beaker was broken on the floor. Yep, someone had left in a hurry.

Sadly, his awe of what he was seeing couldn’t distract him from his condition for long. Daniel bit his lip to hide the fact that his leg was on fire. A cool hand brushed against his sweaty forehead.

“Time to get you off your feet Daniel.”

For once he didn’t offer any argument. The room seemed to be moving back and forth, the monitors flashing lights bringing his headache back in full force.

He was only vaguely aware of Vala guiding him into a stool, and leaning him back against the wall...which felt cool against his feverish skin.

“Water,” she whispered, concern was written all over her face. He drank and gave her a half smile. It was the best he could muster.

“I think your injuries are finally catching up with you Daniel.” She cupped his face in her soft, tender hands.

“Your hands feel nice,” he whispered.

“Daniel.” Her voice was slightly raised. She sounded afraid...but he wasn’t sure why.

“Vala,” his own voice sounded hollow, and why was the damn room moving so much. Then the nausea hit.

“Yes.” Her eyes were wide and boring a hole into his head.

“I think I’m going to be-”

She must’ve gotten the idea because the next thing he knew she’d moved to the side and he was on the floor. Vala rubbed his back in a circular motion while he began to vomit up what little he had in his system. Which wasn’t much. She murmured soothing things until finally, the now dry heaves stopped wracking his body.

“That was fun,” he managed in between deep breaths.

“Are you kidding this is the best date I’ve had in years.”

More water was pressed to his lips. “Use it to rinse out your mouth Daniel.”

He did. “Thanks.”

“How are you feeling?”

He thought about it for a second. “The room isn’t spinning anymore. I think that’s an improvement.”

Vala’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sure.“

Daniel suddenly had the overpowering urge to just close his eyes and sleep for days. He felt his eyelids begin to droop.

“You need to stay awake Daniel.” Her voice was deadly serious.

“I know. It’s hard.”

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to keep you entertained with my amazing conversational skills.”

He pried his eyes open and smiled at her, she really was one hell of woman.

“So going back what we found in this little hiddy-hole here,” she said while looping her fingers through his. Vala looked as though she expected him to yank his hand away. But he only smiled again and squeezed her fingers. She then snuggled up against him.

“I’m thinking you were dead on Daniel.”

“I’m sorry?” His brain was still moving a little sluggish.

“Your theory.”

“Really? How do you figure?” Daniel agreed with her to a point, but he found himself wanting to hear what she had come up with on her own.

“Well, okay. It answers one of your questions. Why did these creatures just show up one day? Whoever built this room obviously brought them here, probably performing some weird, take over the world type experiment.”

“That’s a bit of an assumption don’t you think?” He pressed her.

“Maybe,” she shrugged. “What do you think? Alien invasion? A scheme to have a better crop production?” Her eyes were lit up like a fireworks display. She really did seem to enjoy solving this mystery as much as he was. Despite his headache, throbbing leg, and rolling stomach...Daniel loved what he did. And this was what he did.

“I think we need more information before we decide that. Can you bring me some of those pads? I’ll look through them while we...rest.”

She smiled. “Wow, that must’ve been hard for you to admit that you need a break.”

“Maybe.”

“It’s okay”, she leaned in so close he could smell her perfume, somehow still lingering despite all they had been through. Honey mixed with strawberries. Or maybe that was just how her skin smelled naturally, whatever it was, it always drove him nuts. In a good way. “I could use a long break as well.”

Before he knew what he was saying, something that had been on the tip of his tongue for a few weeks slipped out. “How about when we get out of here, we can discuss your ideas over dinner....at my place.”

She laughed. Now I know you have a concussion.”

“No,” he leaned in closer. “I mean it.” As he said it, Daniel realized how much he meant it. He wanted this more than anything. “I’ll cook,” his eyes were pleading...begging for that second chance they had discussed earlier. Another shot at this whole dating thing. “I know I really suck at this but-”

Then she was kissing him. Not a friendly kiss, or a one night stand type of deal. A real, I wanna have your babies kinda kiss. And he returned it with just as much passion. Tongues teased and danced, teeth nipped, and moans of pleasure echoed throughout the room. She tasted just like she smelled...perfect. He wished he could stay in this moment forever...hell he didn’t even notice his aching leg anymore. But sadly, the need for air, and reality of their situation forced them to pull apart.

“Wow.” He panted.

“Yeah.” She gasped.

He couldn’t seem to pull his eyes away from her.

“What?” Vala’s voice was warm and full of emotion.

“I was just wondering why the hell I fought this for so long?”

She pretended to think about it. “Because you can be an idiot.”

He rolled his eyes then leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “I like to think of myself as ....cautious.”

She shook her head. “Dammit. I just can’t seem to argue with you at the moment.”

“Really? You mean all I had to do was kiss you senseless to shut you up. I wish I’d know that sooner.”

“So do I.” She purred and brushed her lips against his ever so slightly.

Daniel suppressed another moan. “Vala as much as I hate to be the buzz kill here...”

“I know. We need to get back to work.”

“Unfortunately. On the plus side, I really am feeling much better,” he grinned. “I’m wide awake now.”

She smirked. “I noticed. But eat this anyway and take two more of these.” She shoved an energy bar and two more pain pills at him.

“Yes dear.” He teased as he went to work on both of them.

Vala got up and grabbed an armful of data pads and laid them next to him. Then she began exploring the room. “Sam’s gonna have a field day in here Daniel.”

Daniel forced down another bite of the dry and chewy food bar. “Yes. Assuming we can find another way out of here, and back so she can take a look.”

“Always the pessimist Daniel.”

“No. Just a realist.”

“I think they are pretty much the same thing,” she flashed him a smile that turned him to a puddle of goo and he couldn’t think of single witty comeback. He just grinned back at her like a lovesick teenager, and the funny thing was he didn’t even mind.

The moment passed and they both got to work. Daniel was able to figure out the writing on the pads fairly easily. It was a combinations of three different alien languages he’d learned over the past ten years. A unique dialect of course, but translating was what he did best. When it came down to it, most languages had something in common, a basic format. Once you figured out what that was, the rest came easily...to him anyway. So he started plowing through the data. A lot he didn’t understand, it was too technical, and not his area of expertise. That’ where Sam would come in, but since she wasn’t here, he just did his best to piece together what he could.

By the time Vala had finished trying to figure out how to operate some of the “computers” he had sifted through at least half of the information scattered around him. And she had been right...halfway. It had been an experiment, but the snakes were not created or brought here by the Createic as Daniel had discovered they called themselves. The Slupi, which was the actual name of the species that had caused an entire world’s population so much grief, were native to this planet.

But the Createic had done something to them. They had been experimenting with the genetic makeup of this snake-like animal. Apparently, they had been intending to help the people of this world, but things had backfired-as they so often did when you tried to play god. The changes they had made hadn’t helped the people, instead they had given them an increased breeding rate and metabolism. So the population had begun to grow exponentially until they had virtually overrun the planet. They’d eaten everything, causing massive quakes that had killed thousands when they’d neared the surface. Basically, your average “this is what happens when you screw with nature” life lesson. Daniel sighed and called Vala over.

He told her all of this and more.

She looked horrified. “But what happened to the inhabitants of this world?”

“I still haven’t found that out yet.”

“So the Createic wanted to make the Slupi more efficient at helping to fertilize the soil.”

“Yes. This culture was built around farming a certain substance that could be converted into fuel for trading. A plant that could only be grown in dirt that had been fertilized by the Slupi's excrements.”

“But it all went to hell and instead of allowing more of this fuel to be harvested...it was all destroyed.”

“Basically yes. There were too many of them, the balance was broken. Increased numbers meant more mouths to feed. So the creatures ate these people out of their livelihood.”

“And the quakes were caused by this increase in population as well?”

“Apparently, there were always quakes. But they became more frequent, and more severe. I know a lot of people lost their lives to them.”

“That’s just ...awful.”

“Yes it is. There’s a lot more here, but I can’t make heads or tails of it. It’s above my knowledge level.”

“I think you did great Daniel. I can’t believe you could read all that.”

“It’s what I do.”

“It’s still impressive.”

“Thank you.” He felt himself blushing slightly. He’d always had problems accepting compliments.

“So I think we should take those pads with us, they aren’t heavy and that way if we can’t get back here for some reason Sam can take a look. There’s no way I can crack the security codes on these computers. Whoever encoded them was damn good. Besides, I don’t think we really have the time.”

“I agree. Let’s get the hell moving. Suddenly I just really want to get the hell off this planet.”

“A shower.”

“What?”

“I want a hot shower.”

Daniel helped her haul him to his feet. “Yeah me too.” He replied after the initial wave of pain subsided.

“Cool,” she slipped her arm around his waist. “We can make it a joint effort”

“Good idea.”

She looked at him and didn’t even try to hide her shock. “Why Daniel...I do think I am a bad influence on you still.”

“Yeah. But I like it.”

They walked in comfortable silence, as they got further from the lab, they were forced to go by torch light again. The damn thing was amazingly still burning.

He didn’t know how long they had walked, it pretty much all looked the same.

Then he saw it. They both spoke at the same moment.

“Daniel.”

“Vala.”

Her soft laugh, sent a tingle of happiness that went all the way from the back of his neck to his toes. The things this woman made him feel.

“I guess you see it to huh?” She said.

“God yes.”

“Do you think it’s the way out?”

“Let’s find out.” Daniel said a silent prayer as they made their way towards the new light source ahead of them.

CHAPTER 8

“Vala, let me ask you something.”

She sighed, “Go ahead.”

“Did I piss off someone recently, some higher power? Is the universe out to get me?”

Vala smirked and then looked back toward the source of his disdain. “You know, you very well may have. I think between the Ori and the Ancients you’ve single handedly pissed off more false gods than any other human in the history of the world.”

Daniel shook his head. “You know when you put it that way...”

“I meant that as a compliment by the way,” she winked.

He smiled and pushed a stray piece of her long black hair away from her eyes. “I know.”

They both took a deep breath and stared upward. This was the way out all right. The only thing between them and fresh air was about two hundred steep, narrow steps. Normally this wouldn’t pose a problem. But then again a broken leg wasn’t normal. He was tired, hurting, and had already pushed himself to the brink of exhaustion. Daniel honestly didn’t think he could make it, not without help. Vala would try of course, but she was just as tired and he didn’t want to fall and drag her down with him. Her getting hurt, because of him, was unacceptable.

“You’re going to have to go on without me, you know that right?”

She turned her head towards him and her eyes were on fire. “Absolutely not!”

“Vala just list-”

“I said no! If you think I’m going to just leave you be-”

Daniel grabbed her tense shoulders and pulled her in for a chaste, but forceful kiss. “I need you to just hear me out...please.”

She chewed her bottom lip and gave a quick nod.

“But first, I need to sit down.”

Any trace of anger left her face. “Of course.”

She plopped down next to him, her warm body pressed against his side. It felt nice, because he was suddenly feeling very cold and very sick. He ignored it and hoped she wouldn’t notice.

“I know this isn’t what you want to hear and I don’t like it any more than you do. But this is the only way. I’m tired, weak, and I have a broken leg Vala. There is no way you can carry me up those stairs alone. You get the hell out of here and find the others. Then all of you can come back for me and we can get off this deathtrap together. “

He could see her trying to formulate an argument against his logic. And he also knew she was coming up blank. He was right, it was as simple as that. But he also knew, if she were telling him to leave her behind, he’d be just as unhappy about it as Vala was...actually he’d probably be worse. Stubborn was a word most people would use to describe him.

Vala swallowed and looked away from him.

“Vala. You should get going,” he whispered.

When she turned back towards him she didn’t bother to try and hide her tears. “Daniel.”

He leaned in and kissed each of her moist eyelids. She buried her face in his chest for a few seconds before pulling away. Her game face was back on before she finished standing up. She swiped at her cheeks quickly, grabbed most of the supplies, including the bag containing the data pads. She pulled out several bars, and the bottle of Tylenol, and gave it to him. As well of what was left of the water after she took one last drink from the canteen.

“I’ll leave you the torch. I’ve got my flashlight.” She stated in a tone that said “don’t argue with me on this one.” He didn’t.

Vala did one last supply check and then turned to stare at him. “I’ll be back for you.”

“I know.”

She took a deep breath and headed towards the stairs. Her body language was screaming frustration and fear.

“Vala,” he called out right before she took the first step.

She stopped and looked back at him.

“If it isn’t too much trouble could you bring back a cup of coffee. I’m going through some serious caffeine withdrawal here.”

Then she smiled and he saw some of the tension melt from her face. “Sure, you want cream or sugar?”

He laughed. “Now if this relationship is going to work, you have to know me better than that.”

“I do. Black it is darling.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Then she blew him a kiss and started heading upwards. Daniel sighed and settled in for the long wait. It was going to take her awhile to get up those steps. He watched her for a bit, but soon all he could make out was the faint beam of light reflecting off the tunnels walls. Then he began to feel drowsy. Between his fatigue, injuries, and the firelight his eyes were feeling heavier by the second.

Sleep really wasn’t advisable, but it was beckoning. He managed to wake himself up a bit by forcing down another ration bar. But finally fever, exhaustion, and injuries took their toll. He took one last glance towards the stairs, but he could see no sign of Vala. Maybe she’d reached the top.

His last thought before he succumbed to the siren called sleep, was that at least she was safe. Then there was nothing.

* * * *
“Daniel.”

A voice, familiar and comforting invaded his slumber. It was far away and small at first, but it was persistent and he was drawn to it. The angel was repeating his name over and over again, he knew he needed to answer.

Waking up from a coma may have been easier. It was like trying to swim out of quicksand... but he did it. The moment he opened his eyes he regretted it. There had been no pain or nausea where he had been. A part of him wanted to float away again, but then he saw her. His raven haired beauty hovering inches from his face.

“Thank god. I thought...don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

She smiled. “You’re forgiven...this time.”

“He’s burning a fever,” another voice that came from his right startled him momentarily. That’s when he noticed Sam sitting next to him as well.

“We need to get him back to the base. He needs medical attention.”

That was Mitchell.

“You found them,” Daniel said. “I knew you would.”

Vala touched his face, her hands felt like ice. That’s when he knew he was in trouble. Sam’s words sunk in...fever...burning. Oh yeah he felt like death.

“We’re going to get you back home Daniel. You’re going to be fine.” That was Sam again, but she was starting to sound far away again.

He managed a nod.

Now Sam was inspecting his broken leg, and she didn’t look happy. She turned to Mitchell. “There’s infection starting. We have to leave now. The rest of the data pads will have to wait.”

“She’s right.” Vala said, more to him than anyone else. Her fingers ran through his hair. “She’s right,” she repeated again with more emotion nagging at her words. “You are more important at the moment. We have over half of them with us, we can always come back. I know how important knowledge is to you Daniel, but what good is it if you aren’t there to see it. Besides you still owe me that shower.”

He nodded and found her hand. He wasn’t in the mood to argue, and she was right. It was his turn to do the right, but hard thing.

He nodded in and out as they jury-rigged a stretcher. Daniel was vaguely aware of being placed onto it; he couldn’t stop from crying out when his leg accidentally bumped against something hard.

“I am sorry Daniel Jackson.” Teal’c placed a hand on his shoulder.

“No problem. I think it’s good it still hurts anyway,” he grimaced.

“Actually, you’re right.” Sam blurted “It’s when it stops hurting you need to worry.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Sorry Daniel.”

He smiled at her. “Nothing to be sorry for Sam. I’m just glad to see all you guys, now can we leave please?”

Laughter from all of his friends momentarily lit up the dark room. “Almost there Jackson,” Mitchell squeezed his arm.

They began moving, Teal’c held up the front of the stretcher, Mitchell the back. Sam took point, while Vala kept a firm, yet gentle grip on his left hand.

As they moved it began to get brighter and brighter in the long, narrow tunnel. They were so close to the top he could actually feel a breeze, the air didn’t taste so stale anymore and he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the cool air. He felt better almost immediately. Not great, but more alive.

“Almost there Daniel.” Vala squeezed his hand tighter.

“Good.”

“I bet I know what you’re thinking about,” her voice had taken on that teasing tone that he had grown to adore.

“Enlighten me.”

She leaned down close and whispered. “Showers.”

He laughed. It felt good and hurt at the same time. Daniel noticed the curious glances he was getting from the rest of his team. He didn’t even care.

Mitchell was smiling down at him as they reached the top. Daniel wanted to get up out of the stretcher and kiss the dirt...but he thought about his aching leg and decided it just wouldn’t be worth it.

“Home free now Jackson.”

“We’ll see,” he muttered.

They made good time, there was still quite a bit of daylight left and they were closing in on the gate. The flat landscape made carrying him an easier task.

Sam had been glancing over the data while they walked. The only threat to them seemed to be the creatures swimming in the dirt beneath them as far as they could tell. As long as the quakes stayed under control they’d be back home in no time.

Then Daniel felt the first tremor. It was slight, but it was there. Everyone stopped and looked around at the same moment. The only sound was the wind blowing.

They waited for the next quake...and waited. Nothing.

“Let’s get the hell off this planet.” Mitchell’s voice mirrored Daniel’s thoughts.

They slowly and carefully started headed forward again.

“I can see the gate.” Teal’c stated.

“Ummm I don’t want to spoil everyone’s good mood...but did anyone else feel that?” Vala asked while she began to caress his sweaty hand with hers.

Daniel closed his eyes and opened up his senses. At first nothing again...then he felt it...or maybe heard it, it was hard to tell. “I feel it,” he blurted.

“We need to move now, “Vala bellowed. “It’s coming from over there she pointed to the east. “Those things are heading straight for us.”

Apparently she’d filled the rest of the team in on what he’d discovered because they knew exactly what she meant. For the first time in over an hour Vala let go of his hand. Then they were running towards the gate. Daniel managed to lift his once again aching head and peered off into the horizon. What he saw awakened the butterflies in his stomach once again...but not in a good way. He wouldn’t have believed if not for the fact that he was seeing it for himself.

The ground was literally undulating. The once hard, seemingly immovable earth seemed to be made of water. Daniel gaped as he saw several trees topple over. It reminded of him a recent game of dominos he’d played with Vala, the effect was devastating. No wonder the people of this world had vanished. No one could survive for long on a planet where the planet itself was out to get you. Wave after wave of dirt, one bigger than the next was ripping across the surface. And it was heading straight for them.

CHAPTER 9

“Keep moving! We’re almost there.” Daniel could just barely hear Mitchell over the earth shattering roar that was closing in on them. All four of his teammates were holding onto his stretcher now. Vala and Sam had each grabbed a side and they were running at breakneck speed towards the gate.

Now I know what a sack of potatoes feels like.

All the movement was making him want to vomit, but the fire inside his leg helped to distract him from the nausea. He could feel warmth oozing near where the break had occurred. He was bleeding through the bandage Vala had applied earlier. Not a good sign. He back into his lower lip in a valiant attempt to remain silent. His team didn’t need that on top of everything else they had to deal with at the moment.

Then they were falling, he felt that sinking feeling in his gut before he crashed into the hard, unyielding ground. Then he lost all ability to remain quiet. Daniel was only vaguely aware of the tremors beneath him through his pain filled haze.

Then hands were all over him, lifting him, then they were moving again.

The roaring had gotten so unbearable Daniel couldn’t hear anything his friends were shouting down at him. But they looked worried, especially Vala. She kept glancing down at him, he noticed beads of sweat coating her pale skin. Her hair had worked itself free of her usual ponytail and was being blown around like a flag caught in the middle of a hurricane. It made her seem so vulnerable...or maybe he was just losing his mind. Blood loss and a concussion could do that to you.

Then they were stopping, it reminding Daniel of someone slamming the breaks in a car when you weren’t expecting it...only worse because every movement was becoming pure torture.

Then he thought he heard the gate being dialed. The ground was vibrating with such force Daniel thought the planet itself was being ripped in half.

“Go. Go. Go.” Mitchell must have been screaming at them, to be able to hear him. Then he felt that familiar sensation of gate travel. The moment they crossed over the horizon and he heard the sound of boots against the metal walkway he knew he was home. Daniel allowed himself to relax. With the danger gone, he found himself unable to remain conscious. So despite his surrogate family’s protests, he fell asleep.


Two days later

“So you are feeling better I take it?” It was more an accusation than a question and Daniel knew it. But he chose to ignore it and instead smiled.

“It’s a wonder what a little bit of Doctor Lam’s cocktail can do for you.”

Vala stomped over to stand next to him. She pushed away the data pad he’d been going through and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Vala-”

“You almost died from infection Daniel. You should be back in the infirmary. This,” she picked up the pad, “Can wait a few more damn days!”

He blinked in surprise. She was seriously pissed at him.

He’d been rushed into emergency surgery the moment the doctor had examined him. The bone was now healing perfectly, he was pumped full of antibiotics and pain killers, and had full use of a set of crutches. True, the doctor hadn’t exactly been happy about him leaving, but given the nature of the situation he had been given permission to return to his office as long as he was sitting and had some one to watch him at all times. Apparently the president and other powers that be were pressuring the general for answers about this planet. Why exactly Daniel wasn’t sure. He had a feeling he might not like the answer. But for whatever reason he was to be using all of his time to deciphering every bit of knowledge he could about that planet.

Sam was doing the same. Only from a more mathematical point of view.

“Vala I promise if I feel sick at all I’ll go back to the infirmary. Look,” he pointed at the man standing next to his office door, “I’ve even got my own personal body guard. I’m fine...really.”

She pursed her lips. “Really.”

“Yes.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

She sighed and turned to leave.

“Dammit. Vala come back here...please.”

She stopped but didn’t come back over to him.

“Why don’t you sit down. I could use some help.” He gave her a weary smile.

She exhaled and grabbed the extra chair and pulled it next to his.

“Thank you,” he whispered, and was surprised by how much he meant it. He wasn’t fine. He was sore, tired, and felt like curling up into a ball and sleeping for two days. That wasn’t going to happen until he had gone through everything at least three times to make sure he hadn’t missed something. Even the slightest detail could be important he had been told. The pressure was high, he could almost feel the extra weight on his shoulders. Their government had developed a major interest in this culture and that worried him.

“I’m sorry Daniel.”

He took her hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “I missed you last night.”

She seemed surprised. “Really?”

He laughed. “Of course.”

“I wasn’t there because I had to finish my report. The general was getting quite annoyed at me.”

“I know. He’s putting a lot of pressure on all of us I think. But only because people are putting it on him.”

“What is that all about?” Vala seemed miffed.

“Honestly, I have no idea. But I have a feeling it won’t be good.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” she touched her palm to his forehead.

He pretended to glare.

“I’m only checking.”

He smiled before turning back to his notes. She stayed by his side all night, making sure he remembered to stop and eat, take his meds, and acted as his assistant. Bringing him any books he needed from his shelf, or highlight certain parts of his translations. She was a godsend.

Then when it was time to turn in, Daniel decided there was no point in going home. He’d have to be back early anyway. That’s what he told himself as he followed her to her quarters. Vala had dismissed the guard, informing him Dr. Jackson would not be leaving her sight for a second all night. After checking with the doctor on duty the young Lt had left them alone.

She helped him get changed, and she was on her best behavior. No sex jokes, or even a wink in his general direction. He hugged her without thinking after pulling his shirt on. They clung to each other for several minutes before she helped him lay down and pulled the covers up to his neck.

“Goodnight my Daniel.”

“Night Vala.”

She slid in bed next to him, her warm body pressed up against him. Daniel took her hand as her arm draped across his stomach. He felt safe, sleep came easily that night.

* * * *
Then had a briefing scheduled for zero eight hundred that morning, so he was glad when she’d dragged him to bed by midnight last night.

“Have a mentioned how much I hate using crutches?”

“Not in the last five minutes,” she quipped.

“Sorry, I just hate feeling so...”

“Dependent.”
He shrugged. There was no point in denying it, besides he didn’t feel the need. Things had shifted between him and Vala. He didn’t mind that she knew certain things about him, he trusted her with it.

“Don’t worry Daniel. You could still kick the Ori’s ass even with a broken leg.”

He didn’t have a chance to comment before they walked into the briefing room. So he just suppressed the childlike urge to giggle and took a seat, Vala took hers...right next to him much to Daniel’s delight. God I am getting all clingy aren’t I. Is it a bad thing that I don’t mind?

Landrey’s booming voice took his thoughts to less pleasant places. He was followed in by a wormy looking gentleman, in a black suit. Never a good sign. And the man didn’t introduce himself as he took a seat at the foot of the table. The general simply told them he was guest here to observe the debrief.

“Okay everyone. I know you’re all tired and overworked. But I need an update from everyone on the..” he let he sentence hand and stared right at Daniel.

Oh right. The “Suie.” That’s what the Createic called them anyway.”

“Right. Doctor Jackson let’s start with you.”

He nodded and told the General pretty much what he had told Vala a few days ago in the temple. About the Createic trying to help a society by increasing the snake like creatures breeding cycle. In the end, caused it’s destruction. Including the additional details he’d discovered such as the name of the planet “Iut” and the location of their farms where they had mined their fuel. Their “guest” seemed particularly interested in that part. Daniel got even more worried.

That’s when Sam launched into and explanation that Daniel understood most of anyway. “I was able to corroborate most of what Daniel just told us. But I don’t think the people were all killed. I found equations and schematics for large vessels on one of the pads. When I took a closer look, it seems to me that they were working on a plan to evacuate the planet. They very well may have taken any survivors off the planet with them when they left.”

“Trying to make amends for what they did.” Vala interjected.

“Yes. I would say that’s a fair assessment.” Sam replied.

“That’s all very interesting.” The still nameless man said. “But want I really need to know about is the potential uses for this fuel the “Suie” farmed on this planet.”

Mitchell met his gaze and mouthed “not good.” Daniel nodded his agreement.

Sam looked like she wanted to rip his eyes out, but her voice was calm as she spoke.

“Of course. This fuel source was apparently very popular in this area of the galaxy. It was used for a variety of things.”

“For example.” Worm man probed.

“Heat, power, the Createic were interested in using it to power their ships. It burns clean, and a little bit goes a long way. But, “ her voice rose a notch. “It is very rare and takes years to cultivate. Not to mention that the planet is a walking minefield.”

“Could it be used to power our ships...our weapons even?”

Sam was glaring now. “It is possible but as I said-”

“That’s all I need to know Colonel,” he barked. “General you’ll be hearing from me soon.”

With that the mystery man stood and left without every introducing himself.

They all turned to stare at Landry.

He looked beat. “I don’t know much more than you all do.”

“Anything you can tell us would be appreciated.” Mitchell spoke first.

The general nodded. “That man was from the pentagon. He was here under orders from the President of the United States.”

“This is all about the fuel source isn’t it?” Daniel blurted. “That’s why they’ve been pushing this so hard. They want it. They want to send a team back to that planet to get a sample of the soil that plant that we don’t even know exists there anymore by the way.”

“Doctor I’m not anymore happy about this than you are but-”

“No! We can’t send anyone else there on the small chance that we might be able to find something that most likely ceased to exist years ago. You weren’t there, you didn’t see what we did. If you send another team there you’ll be sentencing them to death.”

“He’s right sir.” Sam interrupted. “The nearest major farming area, where this plant grew in abundance is at least ten miles from the gate. They’d never make it with the quakes. They can’t be predicted-”

“Listen all of you!” Landry boomed. “If the President orders this mission there is nothing I can do about it. I’ll present all of your objections, I already have presented mine. But this fuel, if we could get some and grow it ourselves. The President is thinking about unlimited, inexpensive power for our ships and weapons. It’s like dangling candy in front of baby, it’s too good for them to pass up. Nothing any of us say is going to stop this from happening. I’m sorry. I really am, this is the part of being a leader I always hate.”

The General stood and left, looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

They all fell silent. Daniel’s stomach was doing back flips. He had to find a way to stop this. He could see the same steadfast resolve on everyone’s face in the room with him. They had all seen it, it was a suicide mission, but no one wanted to hear about it. Well he would make them, he had to at least try. He couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t.

“I think we all have a lot of work to do still.” Daniel said to whoever was listening.

He got unanimous nods of agreement from everyone around him.

“Where do we start?” Vala looked right at him.

That was a good question.

Author’s Note: Hope you liked it, i wasn't planning on taking this twist, I was actually going to wrap the story up but this kinda came to me. Comments are loved, if you have a moment I'd love to hear what you thought about this :)))

CHAPTER 10

“So you’re telling me that the entire time we where stuck down in that tomb, the rest of you found nothing useful!”

“No Daniel. For the tenth time we didn’t. We took a few more samples, but when you didn’t check in, we immediately came looking for you. We didn’t get to cover much of the terrain. Other things took precedence.” Sam sighed.

“The mission is a go in two days and we aren’t any closer to stopping it than we were a week ago. SG-16 is going through that gate Friday morning unless we find a way to stop this.”

“Daniel, we all know this and we’re doing everything we can. But we might have to face the fact that-”

“Sam, I don’t want to even think about that.” Daniel knew he was getting snippy but he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

“Well I’m sorry Daniel but you need to be more realistic. These people have a lot more-”

“Okay stop right now!” Vala surprised him by shouting over them.

She put a hand on his tense shoulder and leaned in so he was forced to meet her stare. “Daniel you’ve been at this for three days straight, with only a few hours sleep, if you don’t take a break soon and get more than 2 hours sleep a night you are going to drop.”

“I’m fine.”

“No you are not! You are snappy and quite frankly have been an ass for the past day,” Vala planted her hands on her hips and gave him the look.

“Vala I’m sorry-”

“Nope. Not good enough.” She faced Sam, Tealc, and Mitchell. ”He needs some rest. We will be leaving now...whether he likes it or not,” she finished while turning to face him. Her eyes dared him to object.

He didn’t. Not because he was scared. It was that she was right. He had been snapping at his friends like crazy and for no reason. They were all doing their best, but when the entire world seemed to be against you it got frustrating.

Daniel swallowed all of his pride and fear. “Okay.”

They all turned to gape at him in astonishment. All of them except Vala, whom was already gathering his crutches for him.

“Okay.” He repeated. “I’ll go.”

“Jackson, no ones sayin-”

“I know that,” he smiled at Cameron. “Vala’s right. I’m not helping anyway.” He took the offered crutches from her with a quiet. “Thank you.”

“See how persuasive I can be.” Vala grinned as she followed him out of his office.

“We’ll get all of this ready Daniel. Then tomorrow once we’ve all rested we’ll go over it again.” Sam called out.

Daniel turned and smiled. “Thank you Sam.”

Daniel made the mistake of starting to head towards his quarters.

“Uh uh Doctor. We don’t have what we need in your room.”

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s a surprise.” Vala winked.

“Vala, I’m not going to be the best company.” he warned.

“Nonsense. Besides I’m not looking for someone to keep me company.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“I’m looking to keep you company.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then began guiding them back to her room.

Daniel ignored the knowing glances he kept getting from people they passed in the hallways. When they went inside her quarters she insisted he change into a t-shirt and red boxer shorts she had apparently purchased for him. He was way to tired too form any sort of objection so he did it. She was still in her bathroom when he had finished, considering he had a broken leg that was saying something.

“Vala.” He called from the edge of her bed. “What are you doing?”

“Just a sec.”

Then she came out. He had to remind himself not to drool. She was wearing a short red, silk robe. And most likely nothing else from what he could tell. She held a tray that was covered with a white terry cloth, and had 3 bottles of various sizes sitting on top of it. Vala walked over to the bed and placed it on her nightstand.

“What’s that?”

“It’s your surprise.” She smiled and her gaze traveled down to his boxers. “You look good in red.”

He surprised himself by not blushing. “So do you.” He managed.

“Oh this old thing,” she spun around several times showing off all of her curves. Not that he minded. Then she sat slowly down next to Daniel on the bed and crossed her legs toward him.

“Thank you.” Vala purred.

“Your welcome.” Daniel still didn’t always know how to respond to her at times. She was more aggressive than any woman he’d ever met, but also the most gentle. One thing was for sure, he was already feeling more relaxed. Being around her like this would have sent him into a panic not long ago. But things had changed, now it just felt natural. Weird, but natural all the same. He didn’t even understand it himself.

“So are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“No.” She beamed. “I’m going to show you.”

“Just promise me it doesn’t involve using my higher brain function.”

She laughed. It was like a flashlight in an otherwise dark room. It filled him with hope. “Not unless you consider being consumed by pleasure a higher brain function.” She scooted even closer and her still crossed legs brushed against his uninjured one. Then she slid her hands around his waist and yanked his shirt up over his head, then tossed it to the floor.

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her, but then she pulled away and stood up onto of the bed. She grinned down at him, her eyes glowed with life.

“You need to be down on your stomach for this too work Doctor.”

He blinked. “Why?”

“Just do it.”

Why not. She jumped off the bed and helped him get situated. His leg wasn’t causing him any more pain, the meds combined with the thick cast helped considerably. But it was still bulky and annoying.

Once he was lying flat on his stomach he received his next order. “Now don’t peek. Keep your face down.”

He smiled into the mattress. “Yes mom.” But he did as she asked.

From his position Daniel could hear her rustling and then the sound of her hands rubbing together. Then he felt the bed shift and the next thing he knew she was carefully straddling him. Her knees were planted on both sides of his lower back and she was sitting on his buttocks. He was pretty sure she wasn’t wearing any undergarments and that thought combined with her body pressed against his caused a familiar tightening in certain areas. It was taking him to places he wasn’t sure he was able to go at the moment. Daniel was about to ask her what she was doing again when she started. It was quite clear that this was going to be the best gift he’d ever received in his life.

Vala was apparently a master masseuse. It was heaven on his sore, tense muscles. Her hands were like magic against his back. They were slick with some kind of oil that left his skin feeling warm and tingly wherever she touched him. He couldn’t help but moan with pleasure.

“Enjoying yourself darling?”

“I think you know that’s a big yes. Have I told you how amazing and wonderful you are yet?”

“Not today.” He could hear the affection in her voice.

“Well, you are.”

She moved up to his shoulders. Hard then soft. Vala was amazing. Daniel felt the tension from the stress and pressure of the past days oozing from his pores. Her hands and fingers traveled up and down his neck, arms, spine and finally down to his lower back again. By the time she had finished he was a puddle of goo on the bed.

“Feeling better,” she whispered into his ear.

“Yes. Much.”

“Good. I know how hard all of this has been on you Daniel.” She slid off him onto the bed. “Daniel something has been on your mind, and it’s not just about this idiotic mission either.”

“You don’t need to listen to me bitch about it.” He replied while turning his head toward her.

“Oh please. I invented the art of bitching...skillfully.”

Daniel gave her a small smile, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. “It’s just my entire life, every time I tried to save someone...I failed.”

“Daniel.”

“No...my parents...my wife...Janet. They all died right in front of me Vala. I feel like I’m cursed sometimes. Doomed to fail. I wonder if I can actually save anyone?” He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and released a weary breath.

“Daniel, I know for a fact that’s not true.”

“How?”

“Because you saved me.”

Without speaking he rolled over onto his back and turned to stare at her. Daniel reached over and began exploring her face with his fingers. Memorizing everything. Cheekbones, lips, eyes, even her ears.

“What are you doing?” She whispered as his fingers caressed her earlobe.

“Studying you.”

“Really. Am I that interesting.”

“You are priceless.”

“How is it you aren’t taken again. Because honestly, the women of Earth must all be blind.”

He shook his head. “I work too much.”

“Nah. You just need someone to remind you when to stop and have a little fun.”

“Yeah. You know anyone who wants that job. It’s full time.”

He saw a million emotions flicker across her face in a millisecond. The only one that stood out was where the roller coaster stopped.

Love.

“I do.” She swallowed and leaned towards him.

He met her halfway and melted into her mouth. She was his drug and he needed a hit. His fingers did the exploring this time and he discovered he was right. It was just the robe.

She smiled into his mouth. Their tongues were doing the tango as his hands did some more memorizing.

“Daniel.” she panted.

“Yes.” He said in between kissing a path down her neck.

Her nails dug into his back. “Should we stop?”

He stopped kissing her and cupped her face in his hands. “Are you okay? I mean am I moving to fast?”

She laughed, confusing him temporarily. “I can honestly say I’ve never been asked that before.”

He kissed her nose. “I’m just checking.”

“No Daniel, believe me I don’t want to stop. But your leg...I mean I won’t hurt you?”

The tenderness in her voice and love brought tears to his eyes. “I don’t think that‘s possible. Just try not to kick me or anything.” He teased. Then his face turned more serious. “It might be easier if you were on top though for now.”

“You read my mind Daniel. I have the perfect position in mind for this occasion.”

Then there was no more talking, the need for words was gone. Daniel had never felt more whole in his life.

Afterwards, she laid in his arms sleeping, her head on his chest. He watched her for almost an hour before he allowed himself to realize that she was really his, and that she wasn’t going to disappear. Then he fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * * *
The next few days went by in a blur of typing, research, reports and frustration. They tried everything and spoke to anyone they thought might be able to help. Daniel didn’t think there was a person left on Earth, who knew about the program, they hadn’t approached. They even tried talking to the team selected for this mission. SG-16. But in the end their only response had been if they didn’t go, it would just be someone else. And they were right.

The only thing they hadn’t tried was sabotage. As appealing as that was, it would only do more harm than good. Even if they did succeed, it would only delay the mission, and they’d be locked up afterwards with no means to take advantage of the extra time. If the past days had taught him anything it was that when someone had the President on their side, no one could stop them without a shock wave of some kind. And unfortunately they couldn’t make a big enough splash to get anyone to listen. The prospect of “super fuel” was just too tantalizing.

So in the end all they could do was stand and watch as their fellow comrades walked through the event horizon. Vala took his hand as they stood side by side in the control room.

“I failed again,” he whispered.

“No,” Vala said.

“We failed.” Mitchell added. “We succeed and fail as a team Jackson.”

Daniel nodded and squeezed Vala’s hand tighter. It helped to keep him steady both inside and out.

Now they would have to deal with what followed together. He had a feeling the next few days were going to be a nightmare. Daniel looked at the people that had become family around him. They could handle it. They had each other.

“What do we do now?” Vala asked as the gate shut down.

“Now we wait and pray.” Mitchell said quietly.

Maybe they would get lucky and the mission would go well. Then again when did they ever get that lucky.

CHAPTER 11

“Have we heard anything yet from SG-16?”

“Not since the last time we checked five minutes ago Daniel.” Vala pursed her lips as she ran her fingers through her long black tresses.

“Sorry. I’m just nervous. I have a bad feeling.”

“Really? And you seemed so relaxed to me.” Vala leaned in, pinched his cheek, then moved back before he could retaliate. “Daniel, seriously you need to stop thinking about this for ten seconds.”

“I know but-”

She pressed her fingers over his lips. After several heartbeats she slid her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.

He smiled into her hair and breathed in her scent. Today it was laced with a hint of strawberry. Vala had dozens of fragrant filled shampoos lining her bathroom sink. He looked forward to the smell of each and every one on her.

“Just relax my Daniel.” Vala whispered.

“You know you sounded just like Sha're there for a second.”

She pulled back and stared at him warily.

“I meant it as a compliment. She used to do that.” He felt himself blushing. Perhaps mentioning his deceased wife hadn’t been the best idea at the moment.

“Hug you?”

“No.” He let out a nervous laugh and shook his head. “Well yes she did. But what I meant was she used to say “my Daniel.” It was a stupid thing to say...sorry.”

Then she was hugging him again. “No it wasn’t Daniel. It was sweet. And it’s obvious she had good taste in phrases.” Vala pulled back grinning.

“So do you.” He felt some of his nervous energy floating away along with the loneliness he’d been feeling for so long. It surprised him how easy it was to talk about Sha're now. For the first time in a long time, despite the dire situation, he was happy.”

“I know.” She indulged him with a very warm and wet kiss. Daniel didn’t think he’d ever get sick of the way she tasted. Like fire and sugar. It ignited him like nothing else. They parted breathless.

“You know that kind of kiss is dangerous.” He growled.

“It is.” She tried to look innocent.

“Very.”

“Hey guys we just got word!”

Sam’s voice had the same effect as a cold shower on the moment. They both turned and faced her.

“How bad is it?” Daniel didn’t waste time mincing words.

“Bad. They didn’t make two of their scheduled check in times. Landry wants to send the UAV through to see what’s going on.”

“When?”

“In about twenty minutes.”

“I’ll be there.” Daniel said his mind was racing with thoughts and ideas. But he knew one thing for sure, there was going to be a rescue mission and he was going to be on it.

Sam nodded and ran off.

“Vala I need to you to do something for me.”

“I don’t like that look.”

He ignored her comment. “I want to go on the mission to rescue them.”

“That’s assuming there’s even going to be one Daniel.”

“I think you know the answer to that.”

“That may be true. But you have a broken leg, there is no way you’ll be able...”

He raised his eyebrows.

She clicked her tongue and sighed. “I see...and would this favor involve a certain Goa’uld healing device we have on base.”

“It might.”

“Daniel don’t you have to get permission to use it? It’s not like we can just walk in there and steal it.”

“I was thinking more like borrowing it.”

“Dr. Jackson. You better be careful. You sound a lot like me.”

“Look I have clearance. The only reason we don’t use it more often is because we didn’t have anyone with the skills or the genes to use it. We do now.”

“Fine you convinced me.” Vala bounced up off the chair. “I wasn’t looking forward to the months of healing anyway. It’s more fun for me when I don’t have to be gentle.” She grinned.

* * * *
“You know, you guys really need better security. I’ve broken into churches with more difficulty.”

Daniel laid down flat on her bed as she readied the device.

“Vala, I don’t know if I say this enough but thank you.”

She tossed her hair playfully. “For what? Helping you borrow this.” She waved the object dramatically in front of her. “No big. I’d steal for you anytime darling.”

He crinkled his forehead. “I’m not sure how to take that.”

“As a compliment of course.”

“Of course.”

“Now just relax and this will just take a moment or two. You’ll feel warm, some minor discomfort, then if all goes well...good.”

“Vala, do me a favor. Don’t use the word if when you are about to use any Goa’uld device on me.”

“Sorry. Don’t worry it’ll be fine. You‘ll be jogging up to the control room before you know it.”

“That’s better.”

Then she set to work. The steady hum of the device was soothing and scary at the same time. Daniel could feel the heat moving steadily up and down his leg. Then there was an annoying itching, and some burning but nothing unbearable,...it was like he could feel his bones mending themselves. It was nothing like the last time someone had used one of these things on him. Thoughts of Jacob and his slow, painful death from radiation sickness momentarily overwhelmed him. Vala must have sensed his tension because she chose that moment to speak up.

“I’m almost done Daniel. You’re doing just fine.“

He felt all those awful memories return to the back of his mind. Then nothing.

He opened his eyes and saw Vala watching him expectantly.

“Well...did it work?”

Daniel had never been one to wait around. He figured there was only one way to tell. He moved it, and waited for the pain...it didn’t come. Daniel shrugged. “So far so good.” He sat up on the edge of the bed and pushed down as hard as he could with his foot.

“I’m good.” He smiled up at her.

“Then let’s get this cast off of you shall we?”

“Please.”

It turns out getting a cast off wasn’t as easy as they thought. They ended up in the infirmary, giving Dr. Lam puppy dog eyes. She wasn’t pleased to say the least. But 20 minutes later Daniel was free of it and walking side by side with Vala to meet the others in the control room.
They had just launched the UAV and all eyes were glued to the monitors.

“We miss anything?” Vala blurted.

His surrogate family and the General all turned and he was pretty sure one looked more shocked than the other. For several breaths there was silence.

“You might want to ask first next time Doctor.” Landry deadpanned and then turned his attention back to the video feed. Daniel had a feeling the only reason he was getting off so easy was because they all knew it wasn’t in anyone’s best interest for him to be on the injured list at the moment.

To his teams credit all he got was a raised eyebrow from Teal’c, a knowing smile from Sam, and a thumbs up from Cam. Then it was all back to business.

Vala squeezed his hand and they both took a couple of steps forward to get a better look at the images. What Daniel saw made him sick. There had obviously been another quake. A big one. The village they had been in was gone. It had literally sunk into the ground. All that was left was a giant crater...it was like something out of a disaster film. The mini-plane continued to fly until it reached SG-16’s last known location. Two men were down, they couldn’t tell if they were alive or dead. There was no sign of the rest of the team.

* * * *
“General they may still be alive.” Mitchell protested.

“Colonel you’re right, but I’ve already possibly lost one team for something I didn’t believe in...I’m not going to lose another. “

“This is a rescue. You can’t tell me you don’t believe in saving those men’s lives.”

“You’re right I can’t. But I also can’t ask-”

“You wouldn’t be asking sir.” Vala stepped forward. “We are volunteering...aren’t we?”

“Yes we are.” Daniel smiled at her.

Sam whom had been studying the sensor data from the UAV spoke up. “And this time I think I can give us an advantage.”

All eyes turned toward her.

“Look at these readings. Anywhere where there was recent quake activity there is an elevated level of radiation. Nothing life threatening unless you bathed in it for weeks..but enough that I could rig a device to pick it up. I think it would give up advanced warnings on when another earthquake was about to occur.”

“And how long would this take Colonel.” Landry sounded more optimistic.

“A day at the most. It wouldn’t be hard.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Cam exclaimed.

“Nice work Sam.” Daniel felt better already.

If only the powers that be had given them more time before sending their friends out on this suicidal mission things might have turned out differently. Knowledge was quite an ally if you had it. But they had to play the hand they were dealt. All they could do now was find their friends, and if Sam was right their chances had just gotten a lot better.

CHAPTER 12

“So we’re leaving tomorrow?” Vala said in a tone that made Daniel smile. She sounded like a child who had just woken from a long nap.

“Yes. Bright and early. Her “quake detector” will be ready to go.” He felt Vala’s hot breath against his chest as she laughed. “I still think we should have called it the “Sonic Snake Stopper.”

Daniel suppressed a snort as he brushed a strand of hair away from her lips and caressed them. She looked up at him with heavy eyelids and smiled. “You know.” Vala’s voice took on a mischievous undertone.

He narrowed his eyes and stared down at her. “Yes.”

She shifted positions slightly and rested her chin on his stomach and began to play a game of stroke and pull with his chest hairs. “We never did get to take that shower.”

Daniel cocked his head to the side and blinked several times. She just patiently waited for him to take the bait. “You know. You’re right.”

That was apparently all the invitation Vala needed. She wriggled her body on top of him until she was completely straddling him. Her bare skin rubbing against his. He felt himself waking up...everywhere.

“You know...not wearing underwear is so unfair.”

Her hands ran down his arms until they reached his and she laced her fingers with his. “Funny.” Her eyes drifted downwards. “You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

He freed his hands, grabbed her shoulders, and flipped them over so he was on top. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it, but we do need our sleep...honeybun.” Daniel captured her mouth with his before she could retaliate. He then moved to her neck. All the protest she managed when he pulled away was a soft moan.

“I’ll make you a deal.” He whispered while continuing to coat her warm body with kisses.

“Mm...mmm.” Was her reply.

His tongue traced a path around her belly button. She shuddered against him. “After we get back from this mission.” He smiled before continuing even lower, “ We can have that shower.”

She agreed...several times.

* * * *
“You nervous?” Vala asked while lacing her boots.

“Always.” Daniel admitted without hesitation. He didn’t feel the need to hide his feelings from her. It was nice to be able to trust someone with his fears and doubts. Daniel had forgotten how that felt.

She smiled and pulled her hair back into her usual ponytail. “Me too.”

“I’ve got your back.” He winked.

“And I’ve got yours. And what a nice backside it is Daniel.” Vala added much more quietly as she passed by him.

“Everybody ready to head out.” Cam said from the hallway.

“Ready as ever.” Sam replied from her locker.

Daniel saw the same worry on all their faces. They knew the risks. They also knew they had no choice. No man got left behind. It was a lesson that had become more and more clear to him as the years past. Everyone on this base was a sort of family. It was time to go rescue some of their missing brothers.

Standing at the gate seemed surreal. Daniel took a moment to study the people on each side of him. Sam, Teal’c, and Mitchell were each checking their pockets and ammo clips. Vala on the other hand was staring at the ramp but somehow Daniel didn‘t think she was really seeing it. She seemed tense, like an animal being stalked by it’s prey. He’s seen that look many times before. Several times in a mirror.

“We’ve seen worse you know.”

She pulled her eyes away from whatever she’d really been staring at and replied, “And that’s supposed to be comforting. Really Daniel you need to work on your people skills.”

“Pot,” he quipped.

He heard Cameron snicker.

“I don’t know what that means Daniel. What does a cooking object have to do with anything?”

Daniel sighed. Squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

Whatever she said next was lost as the gate fired up. It was a sight he never tired of seeing. You couldn’t really explain it to someone who’d never seen it. A blue ball of fury coming out at you then shooting backwards before you could blink. It sometimes made him think of a tidal wave that behaved more like a slingshot. All he knew was it was the most amazing and beautiful thing he’d ever looked at.

Until he’d met Vala. He smiled down at his....girlfriend. The term didn’t seem to fit their relationship. Significant other sounded better, more serious. And there was something he needed to say before they went through that gate...just in case.

“Oh now you want to flirt with me,” she pursed her lips.

And he needed to do it now so that he didn‘t let fear of rejection hold him back. Daniel leaned in quickly before starting up the ramp and whispered, “I love you.”

She stared at him speechless. He hoped in a good way. Much to his dismay she said nothing just continued to stare at him in shock. Daniel felt a lump forming in his throat and his mind started racing. I’m moving too fast. She doesn’t feel the same way...what if I was wrong?

“Come on guys let’s move out.“ Cameron’s voice brought him back to reality. Now wasn’t the time. What in the world possessed me to bring that up now? They were two steps from entering the event horizon when she grabbed his arm bringing him to a sudden stop.

The other three members of SG-1 had already stepped through. “I love you too.” She said quietly. There were traces of moisture in her eyes.

Daniel released a breath that apparently he’d been holding.

“Sorry it took me a minute I just had to make sure I wasn‘t dreaming.”

“I know the feeling.”

“Ready?” She asked while waving at Landry who was watching them with worried eyes.

“I am now.” He flashed a thumbs up to the General indicating there wasn’t a problem and they stepped through.

* * * *
“It doesn’t seem so friendly now does it?”

Daniel’s gaze went from the fallen trees and dirt piles to Sam. “No it doesn’t.”

“We have that heading?” Mitchell said from behind Daniel’s shoulder.

“Yes. According to the UAV if we keep heading that way.” She pointed. “We should reach them in less than two days.”

“Well let’s get going then. I don’t know about all of you but I want to make our stay here in Amityville short and sweet.”

They all nodded in agreement.

“Sam, your sonic snak...I mean quake detector is working right?”

She gave Vala a quick smile. “Good to go.”

“Well that is comforting. This way we’ll have advanced knowledge on when our world is about to go to hell.”

“Now who’s not using their people skills?” Daniel chided.

“I know. I’m just-”

“I know, believe me. But at least this gives us a chance to change directions, maybe avoid them altogether.”

“That’s the plan Jackson.”

He and Vala exchanged a look. “Best laid plans.” He said while making sure his P-90 was primed and ready to fire.

“Indeed.” Teal’c agreed.

CHAPTER 13

Whoever said humidity sucks was an idiot. Daniel wiped another layer of sweat off his forehead. Humidity didn’t suck, it killed. He usually didn’t have a problem with heat, but his patience was much thinner than usual, almost nonexistent. And he couldn’t shake the feeling of doom that had been haunting him since they had set foot back on this sauna. He knew it had not been this hot the last time they were here. According to Sam, the planet had entered into it’s version of summer. Of course. Perfect timing.

“Am I wrong or did we pass that tree before?”

Daniel glared at Vala from behind his sunglasses. More sweat coated his hairline and was threatening to fall. He grabbed a black bandana from his pocket. Vala was watching him a little too closely as he tied it over his head.

“What?”

“Someone’s getting twitchy.”

“Twitchy?” He repeated then took a long drink of water.

“Yes.”

“Meaning?”

“That you are losing your sense of humor. You’re irritated and ready to take someone’s head off. Correct me if I’m wrong.” She quipped.

Daniel shrugged, and didn’t make any attempt to argue with her. “Well, that may be, but at least I learned a new word today.”

“That’s better Daniel.”

“I try. You know I live to make you happy.”

She turned ready to lay into him until she saw a tired smile directed at her. “Oh, you weren’t being an ass.”

He laughed. It felt good. “Not any more so than usual.”

“Good.” She bumped him affectionately before taking a sip from her canteen.

Daniel studied the rest of his team walking a few feet in front of them. Sam with her high tech gadget that looked like an FM radio held in front of her, Teal’c as always weapon at the ready, and Cam taking point, his eyes constantly moving while still managing to look nonchalant. They all looked a little “twitchy” to Daniel. And they were all eager to find McGee’s team alive and get back to the gate without any contact with the resident snakes of this world. Not to mention their radios were proving to be useless. They couldn’t raise SG-16, most likely due to the radiation levels causing interference. Sam was sure once they got closer they might work since they had been able to communicate during their time in the village during their first visit to this planet.

“About how far off are we Sam.” Mitchell asked.

“We should reach them in a few hours.”

“Did you not say that a few hours ago?” Vala couldn’t resist interjecting.

But it was a valid point.

“Yes. But in order to avoid any seismic activity we’ve had to take a few detours.”

“So barring any more detours a few hours then?” Vala stated.

Sam nodded.

“Well then let’s hope our little buddies decide to keep still for a bit then.” Mitchell tried to sound optimistic but failed.

They pressed onward in the sweltering heat.

Daniel didn’t want to say anything but it felt wrong. All of this. It was almost as if the animals were trying to keep them from reaching their missing team. It sounded crazy...but every time they started to get close, the radiation levels would start to climb and they’d have to veer off course. It was odd to say the least. Daniel had stopped believing in coincidences long ago. This job tended to do that to you. Paranoia was a prerequisite for gate travel. He smirked as he realized Vala had said that a few weeks ago over lunch.

“Whatever you’re thinking about I want in on it. I need something to make me smile.” Vala said from her position next to him. Her P-90 was also ready to fire. Not that he thought it would do them much good. These things were under the ground for the most part but it still made him feel proud to see how far she’d come. How much you could rely on her to do her job and watch your back.

“You actually.” He surprised himself by admitting.

“Good things only.”

“Naturally.”

“Am I naked?”

He just shook his head. “You know that should have shocked me. It scares me that it didn’t.”

“Oh no you mean my shock factor is wearing off. I’ll have to up the stakes.” She winked.

“Thanks for the warning.”

They continued in silence for a while. The only sound was their footsteps on the hard ground. They stepped over the occasional branches and debris. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. He could see it on their faces. Wondering if they would be carrying them back in body bags. They were prepared to treat injuries, and they had several portable stretchers to use if they were needed. But that would greatly slow them down, and with the “Suie “ breathing down their necks it would make for an interesting journey back to the gate.

All they could do was hope, for once that something would go their way.

“I think I’ve got something.” Sam said with a hint of excitement in her voice.

“What.” They all said in unison.

“Okay that was weird.”

“You’re telling me,” Vala replied. “It’s weird enough when two people talk at the same time let alon-”

“Not that.” Sam was pushing some buttons on her quake detector. “I think the snakes are heading away from us. The radiation levels have plummeted.” She looked up and smiled. “We have a clear path to SG-16.”

“Awesome. That’s what I want to hear.” Mitchell said while signaling them forward. “Now maybe we can be off this planet and home in time for supper.”

Somehow Daniel seriously doubted that. He tried to share in the others happiness but he still had reservations. It was just...wrong still. Okay Dr. Jackson I think you’ve been watching too many horror films with Vala lately.

Vala’s animated chatter about this great restaurant she wanted to try and a new film that was coming out in four months kept his mind from acknowledging those nagging fears for the rest of their journey. Teal’c who was also an enthusiast of earth television was apparently intrigued by the film as well. Before he knew it they were almost at the team’s last know coordinates.

Cameron knelt down on his knees and whipped out his binoculars. “I think I see them.” You could hear the relief in his voice.

“I do as well Colonel Mitchell.” Teal’c agreed.

“Try the radios again Jackson.”

He did. “Still no answer.”

“I’m guessing it’s not interference. The radiation isn’t close enough and at this distance they should be able to pick up or signal. Most likely they lost or damaged their equipment.” Sam offered.

“Well there’s only one way to find out.”

In silent agreement they started down the incline to meet up with Major McGee and company. The team had taken refuge in a cave, or the outside of one that rested in the bottom of a ravine. It appeared to Daniel that a large river had probably run through here at one point judging by the erosion on the ground and rocks. But he wasn’t a geologist.

As soon as they were within visual range a tired, bruised, and limping but very alive Major came to meet them .”Boy are we glad to see you guys.”

“Not as glad as we are to see you.” Cam grasped the man’s hand and then offered him his water. McGee took it gratefully.

“I really wish those boys at the pentagon had listened to your protests.” His eyes were on Daniel’s.

“So do I.” Daniel squeezed the man’s shoulder.

“How’s the rest of your team.” Cam asked as they walked over to their camp site.

“Hurt but breathing.”

“Anything serious?” Sam asked.

“Not life threatening. A broken arm, sprained ankle and lots of bruises. We got lucky.”

“So you can all walk on your own?” Vala inquired.

“ Yes maam. I wouldn’t want Johnson trying to run though.”

“Understood.” Mitchell replied.

When they reached the base of the cave they all shook hands, exchanged smiles and thanks, then they got down to business.

After taking an inventory of the condition of the men things were looking up. They were sore, tired, and hurting, but could definitely walk. It would be a slow pace but no one needed a stretcher.

Vala helped him as he packed up all usable equipment. The radios had all been lost during their sprint to escape the massive quake that had taken them by surprise, and the one that hadn’t was broken. “So Daniel what’s bothering you?”

He looked up in surprise. “I’m sorry?”

“You’re walking around like there is dragon flying about your head and you’re waiting for him to bite it off.”

“Oh.” He shoved some leftover rations into his pack. “I just...have a bad feeling.” It felt good just saying it out loud to someone.

“Weren’t you the one who’d said we’ve seen worse.” She smiled at him knowingly.

“Yes, but you were the one who pointed out that wasn’t very comforting.”

“As Teal’c would say...indeed.” She grabbed a ration bar and stuck it in her pocket. “What? I love these things.”

Daniel put his hand on her forehead.

“What are you doing.”

“Checking for a fever. No rational human being likes those things.”

She snorted. “Come now Daniel. We both know I’m not rational.”

The banter was familiar and more than a little needed. It was almost like she could sense that, and he wished he could tell her how much it was appreciated. But this wasn’t the time or place for romance. They had a job to do. He stood and pulled her to her feet. His hand lingered on hers a little longer than necessary. She just smiled.

“It depends on the day. Some days you can be semi-rational.”

“I’ll give you semi.” Her expression hardened. “Daniel, I feel the same. This place gives off bad vibes.”

“Yeah it does.”

“But we’re getting ready to leave. So I say screw this planet and it’s little aliens. I’m getting my damn shower.” With that she tossed her ponytail and headed over towards Sam.

Daniel stood dumbfounded for a moment. Then released a much needed laugh and followed. I am a lucky man.

“We ready to head out?” He asked when he came up behind Vala.

“Almost.” Mitchell joined them. “It’ going to be slow going guys. They can make it, but we’ll have to stop frequently.”

“As long as we are heading towards the gate I’m happy.” Vala said.

“I don’t think anyone’s going to argue with you there.”

“It would be pointless anyway. You’d never win.” Daniel teased.

“True.” Cam said.

“Hey.” Vala said while giving them both her best “I can kill you with my mind” stare.

“Kidding.” They both held up their hands in mock defeat.

“That’s better.”

Sam snickered. Then her face fell.

“I know that look. That’s a bad look.” Vala groaned.

“I have bad news. If I’m reading this right...and I think I am. The radiation levels are off the charts and it’s all around us...approaching fast.”

“Sam out with it.” You could feel the tension in Mitchell’s words.

“The Suie are surrounding us. And they are moving fast. We’ll never get out off this canyon before they get here. Not unless we sprint and even then it’s pushing it.”

“Leaving behind McGee’s team is out of the question so where does that leave us?”

“Screwed.” Vala blurted.

“No she’s right. Even if we ran we wouldn’t make it. I’ve never seen them move this fast Cam. I didn’t even know they could. One minute they weren’t there...now they are. And they’ve stopped.

“Stopped?” Daniel managed to keep his voice calm. That bad feeling had just multiplied exponentially.

She showed them the monitor. “They are just sitting there.”

“No they aren’t.” Vala gritted her teeth. “They have surrounded us. Bastards.”

“She’s right.” Daniel suppressed a bitter laugh. They let us enter this canyon. Think about it. We walked in circles for almost a day and then wham.” He slapped his fist into his palm. “The path clears. They let us reach this spot for a reason. Now we’re stuck.”

Cam shook his head in disbelief. “Unbelievable. So apparently they are more intelligent than we thought. So whey don’t they attack us? Why are they just sitting there?”

“Maybe it’s the rocks. They can’t dig through it.” Sam offered.

“Why lead us here if they are unable to reach us?” Teal’c asked.

“I have no idea.” Sam sighed. “None of this makes any sense.”

McGee was staring at them in worry. “I’m going to go fill them in, you guys come up with a plan B while I’m doing that.” Mitchell said before walking away.

They all just stared at each other.

Vala broke the silence. “You know. This reminds me of a movie I saw recently. Tremors.”

All eyes turned towards her.

“What.” She held her hands up. “I get bored on base so I watch a lot of movies.”

Daniel pinched his nose and closed his eyes. “What we need is one of those puddle jumpers the Atlantis base is full off. It would make this so much easier.”

“I might have an idea.” Sam sounded hesitant.

“We’re all ears.”

“I may be able to modify this device to emit a sound that might repel them. I was experimenting with it on the base, but only slightly. I rigged it with an amplifier. It only makes sense that an animal that lives underground is very sensitive to sounds.

“Just like in tremors.“ Vala chimed in.

“I wouldn’t know. Now as I was saying this is only a theory I have no idea if it will actually work. Then there‘s another problem. Power. This device will run out of juice before we reached the gate.”

“How much time would that give us?” Daniel tried to sound hopeful.

“Anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour. I can’t be more specific.”

Cam showed back up at their little huddle at that moment. “Fill me in.”

They did.

“That’s better than the nothing we have now. Get started.”

“And if that doesn’t work we can try pole vaulting.” Daniel quipped without thinking.

“I knew it.” Vala said. “You have seen that movie.”

CHAPTER 14

Daniel wasn’t sure how long he’d been staring at the rocks edge, waiting for a stream of worms to come exploding out of the canyons walls. He’d taken guard duty since his expertise wouldn’t be extremely valuable in this situation. Daniel could feel Vala watching him off and on, probably wondering what he was thinking about.

If she had asked he would have told her how much he hated being right sometimes. The archeologist - turned - battle - scarred- soldier wished like hell his gut had been wrong. Standing here waiting to face certain death again, he couldn’t help but long for a simpler life. One without snakes and the constant threat of earth’s destruction. Sometimes he thought those who were walking around in ignorant bliss had it made.

Then he felt her watching him again and he turned his head to meet Vala’s steady gaze. She was standing ten feet to his right smiling. As he returned the gesture he thought, “Yeah, but then you’d never have met Vala Mal Doran, space pirate turned loyal ally, turned-” Daniel silenced his train of thought right there. That was a distracting and dangerous topic when one was supposed to be paying attention to rocks.

Why did he always seem to be the last to know these things. Everyone else had known the way he felt about Vala. The looks he’d been getting from his friends told him that. Mitchell had even whispered “it’s about time Jackson,” to him in the hallway before this mission. Daniel remembered one of his professors saying “For someone so smart, sometimes you can really be clueless about the things that really matter.”

He had been right.

Now Daniel knew. And he still couldn’t believe it. She was his. He was hers. And it had only taken a few punches, a ton of verbal sparring, and her months of persistence for him to accept it. Now Daniel felt happy. Well except for the thousands of killer creatures chopping at their heels. Oh well, you couldn’t have everything. He waved Vala silently over.

“Yes darling.”

“How are we doing?”

“Well, I think we do quite well in the missionary position and-”

“Don’t make me call you honeybun in front of our teammates.”

She saluted him sloppily while sticking her tongue out. It turned him on much to his annoyance. That should have really pissed him off instead he was thinking about that tongue in places he shouldn’t have been.

“Sam’s almost done.” Vala said while removing two small pieces of twigs from his hair. Then while he was distracted she swiped his binoculars.

“Do you mind?” Daniel forced himself to sound bothered.

“Not at all,” she smirked while scanning the horizon. Within in moments she was biting her lower lip, a habit that meant she was concentrating. “Did you notice that?”

“Notice what?”

“That.”

Vala since you have my binoculars and my glasses aren’t-”

“Oops. Sorry.” She handed them back to him and placed her hand on his chin moving his head back and forth until she was satisfied.

“Look there.”

He did. And his heart plummeted to his stomach. “Shit.”

“Yeah I know.”

“That must have just started a few minutes ago,” Daniel blurted.

“You sure?”

This time he didn’t have to fake annoyance. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing....it’s just I know you have a lot on your mind, bad vibes and all.”

“Yes, I’m sure.” He snapped and walked off, before she could reply, to inform Mitchell.

Daniel had a softball sized lump in his throat and he wished he could scream. He’d just been a major ass. Reverting to his old habits of pushing Vala away, to protect himself and he knew it. The worst part was that she had been closer to the truth than he liked. It was possible he had overlooked it, his mind had been wandering all over the place. He couldn’t know for sure when it had started. Now everyone he cared about might pay for his mistake.

“Mitchell.”

“Jackson. What’s up?”

“There’s something you need to see.”

Cam’s eyes tightened around the corners. “Sam keep working.” Then he grabbed another pair of binoculars and they jogged over to where Vala was still standing. Her expression was unreadable.

“What do you got guys?” Mitchell’s voice was tense.

“A problem,” Vala replied. She pointed Cam in the right direction. “You see it.”

“Yes I do. And I don’t like it. How long till they get through?”

“Solid rock. I have no idea.” Vala shrugged. “How’s Sam doing?”

“Yeah, I asked her that same question. You know what she said?”

“She’s doing her best.”

“Yep.” Cam said.

“Well I’m thinking that if they get through that wall, soon it won’t matter one way or another. That dirt and debris falling over the rock face is a result of them trying to dig through from the other side. And from what I can see they are succeeding. Slowly but surely. If there are as many of them as I think, they’ll overwhelm us in minutes.” Vala voiced what no one wanted to hear.

“That what you think they are doing?” Mitchell asked.

“What else could it be? That entire wall is starting to vibrate. My guess is from them tunneling through solid rock.”

“Can they do it?” Cam was checking his weapon.

“Since when did I become the snake expert? Wait don’t answer that.” She faltered.

“Jackson what do you think?” Mitchell turned to him, his eyes deadly serious.

“I was actually wondering why they would do it. Why they are doing any of this. I mean couldn’t they just cause a major earthquake around the canyon to result in an avalanche.”

They both stared at him like he was glowing....again. “What?”

“You’re right. And now I’m even more worried.” Cam took another look at the now not- so - stable wall and sighed. “I’m gonna go check on Sam’s progress. You two keep watching them and tell me the second anything changes.”

“You mean like the wall collapsing and thousands of....right will do.” Vala nodded when Mitchell gave her one of his looks. She grabbed his binoculars and stared at the canyon.

Mitchell just shook his head and leaned into Daniel as he passed. “Keep an eye on that one.”

“Always.”

“Hey!” Vala blurted but Mitchell was already gone.

She then proceeded to ignore him for the next ten minutes. But Daniel knew she couldn’t be silent for long, he just had to wait for her to say what she was thinking.

But she didn’t. Maybe he was starting to rub off on her. She’d learned the art of deadly silence.

“I’m sorry I was an asshole.” Daniel finally managed to say over the lump in his throat.

“Mmm,” was the only response he got. She didn’t even look away from the wall for a second.

“So you aren’t going to speak to me now?” He was surprised by how much this bothered him. Her silence hurt like hell. Is this how she had felt all those times he had ignored her.

“Fine.” He focused on the rocks that continued to break away from the canyon.

That only lasted for a few minutes. He didn’t want to die and have her pissed at him. So he said as much.

She finally turned toward him. “Do you hate me now?”

Her blank expression melted away. “No of course not you idiot. I’m just tired of being your whipping boy-er...girl. You always yell at me when things don‘t go you‘re way. I thought we were past that but apparently I was mistaken. ”

“I am an idiot and you’re right. And I’m trying. Sometimes I just react without thinking. And when that happens I usually end up hurting the people that mean the most to me.” The truth in his words surprised even Daniel.

“I know Daniel. It’s okay. Just don’t do it again or I might have to punch you.”

“If I do you have my permission. I’ll deserve it.”

“Oh to hell with protocol. Mission or not I have to do this.” She had closed the gap between them in moments and planted a wet kiss on his lips.

“I love you, you crazy woman.”

“That’s better.”

“Vala. I really am sorry. I didn’t mean...and you were right. I was distracted.”

“Let’s now worry about that. We have a wall to watch.”

He nodded. And watch they did.

“This is so boring. Do we really think they are going to dig through rock?”

“It was you’re theory.” Daniel smiled and nudged her.

“Yeah I know. How long has it been?”

“An hour.”

“That’s all? It feels like at least three.”

“Nope.”

“Daniel. Tell me a story.”

“What?”

“I need something to entertain me.”

“So go check on Sam.”

“I‘ll just bother her.”

“Who knows maybe you could annoy her into finishing faster.” He grinned.

“You are so naughty Dr. Jackson. You know I only use my best talents on you.”

“Yeah. I know.“ He allowed his eyes to leave the wall for a few moments so he could look at something much more interesting for a few seconds. Even in their gear she looked sexy as hell.

“Keep your eyes on the prize Daniel.”

“I am.” He quipped.

“I noticed. Don’t tempt me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Are you saying you never have sexy dreams about me?”

Daniel smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Their radio crackled to life. “Saved by the bell.” Vala winked.

“This is Daniel. Go ahead.”

“Jackson. Sam thinks she has it working. You two get back here, if this works I want everyone together and ready to haul ass.”

“Got ya. We’ll be right-” A loud groaning sound echoed down the rocky sanctuary.

His heart sank and he met Vala’s anxious stare as she pulled her binoculars away from her face.

“I think Sam might have finished just in time.”

“Isn’t that always the case?” He took a deep breath and prepared himself to give Mitchell the good news.

CHAPTER 15

Something that vaguely resembled apples and dirt flooded Daniel’s nose as he struggled to remember what was happening. What the hell is that smell? He pried his heavy eyelids open and blinked away the spots dancing around the edges of his vision. The ground beneath him was cold, hard, and somehow familiar. Bringing his hands slowly to his face, he wiggled his fingers. Yep. All there. He felt odd and disjointed. Daniel kept waiting for the black ceiling above him to come crashing down. This just wasn’t right. None of this made any sense.

Then he remembered why this felt so wrong; Vala, the wall collapsing. I shouldn’t be here. Now to figure out where here was. He sat up, apparently a little too quickly. The room began to swim around him. Daniel focused on deep breathing, like Teal’c had taught him during their meditations, and fixated on a point in front of him. Things settled in moments.

Now for the body check. No visible injuries. Nothing broken, all in all not bad. Now to the next most important question.

Daniel turned his attention to his surroundings. “I know this place.” Daniel winced at how hollow and loud he sounded in the otherwise silent room. It was the same place he and Vala had discovered while being trapped in the cave weeks ago. The one, according to Sam’s calculations, should have been buried in a quake that occurred after they’d left the planet the first time. Which was also why the thought of returning for the rest of the data pad’s hadn’t even been considered. Besides, with the possibility of a new fuel source dangling in front of the powers that be, the history of the Suie and the Createic had been of no interest. What good is knowledge when you can have a way to power war ships? Daniel thought bitterly. But that wasn’t really the issue at the moment. What he needed to know was why he was lying in a room, miles away from his last known position.

Daniel took in the site of the computers, the desks...it looked the same but different. They were spotless, untouched...way too clean. Brand new, so much better than before. “Am I dead?” he asked to no one in particular. “No answer. Now that’s a surprise.”

Then there was the tiny detail of there being no doors this time. No way in or out. He was trapped. Daniel sighed and stood cautiously to his feet. He found he was steadier than he thought. He strode directly to the wall in front of him. “Any aliens watching me from behind these walls?” Daniel was not in the mood to be toyed with. “Can you just show yourself and we can save a lot of time and energy. I’m sick of games so why not just tell me what you want!” He probably should have felt silly, standing in a room alone, talking to a wall, but his gut told him that things were not as they appeared. So he pressed on, hoping for some kind of a response.

After more unanswered questions, and minutes of maddening silence he kicked the wall, hard, half expecting his foot to pass through it. Instead he hit...a wall. A loud bang echoed throughout his prison and then nothing.

“Thank god for steel toed boots.”

Daniel shook off his anger and decided to get to work doing what he did best.

His job.

Archeology 101. Examine your surroundings. He began a careful exploration, starting with the computers. They didn’t respond at all. It was almost as if they were just props. This wasn’t where he needed to be looking. If all the furniture and computers were just for show he’d go back to the basics. He returned to the area his foot had collided with, got down on his knees and began running his sensitive fingers over its surface. It only took a few minutes for Daniel to discover what could only be words carved into the wall. It was possible he had overlooked them during his last visit here. He hadn’t exactly been at peak performance. But somehow Daniel didn’t think that was the case. This was new. It was the only thing not just for show. This is what he needed to figure out. Daniel had learned to trust his gut. He just wished he could shake the feeling of being watched. This entire thing was giving him the creeps. Maybe that had something to do with the hairs dancing on the back of his neck.

“What the hell is going on?” His fingers continued to follow the mysterious letters all around the room. It ended where it had begun. Forming a perfect rectangle around him.

“Wonderful.”

Daniel was pretty sure this was the language of the Createic. One he hadn’t quite mastered, but that was the least of his worries. He was going to be reading like a blind man. The letters blended in perfectly with the wall. It reminded him of a chameleon. All he could feel were the indentations. This was going to be tricky.

A gust of hot air passed over the back of his neck. Daniel spun, but there was nothing. Heart racing, he rubbed the area to find it still warm. The feeling of being watched tripled. He shook it off and leaned into the closest letters and went to work. About two... Or maybe it was six hours, he was getting nowhere fast. Eyes burning, he rested his forehead against the white wall and tried to relax. None of this was making sense. More memories were slowly creeping back. The last thing he remembered was himself and Vala running towards Sam and Mitchell. And then he had woken up here. Transporter maybe? And where were his teammates? Where was Vala?

As his thoughts drifted to her, Daniel could have sworn he smelled strawberries and honey, just like the shampoo she’d been using.

His eyes burned again, but his time for different reasons. He’d avoided thinking about his missing family until now. Simply because he couldn’t afford to spend his time worrying. He had to find a way out of here and so far his only clue was this damn almost invisible writing. Daniel slammed his fist against the wall and suppressed a scream. This was all just so senseless. He leapt to his feet and paced the room several times. His footsteps sounded hollow in his ears and his breathing way to loud. He was starting to panic and he knew it.

Then he heard it. A soft whisper surrounded him. It was soothing and somehow familiar. It was like listening to a conversation just out of ear shot. You could hear the voice but didn’t understand what they were saying. He focused on it and felt his chest relaxing, his gut slowly uncoiling. The more he listened the more he got the feeling the voice was concerned about him. How odd was that? But it was so warm and inviting, he basked in its light.

Then as suddenly as it had come, it faded away. And he felt alone again. But rejuvenated.

So he pushed aside all thoughts and went back to translating. Time seemed to move in slow motion. Days could have passed for all he knew. But one good thing happened, the words on the wall were starting to make sense. His fingers had become his eyes. Learning the curves of every letter, and he was beginning to see them in his head. And this was all starting to fit, in a scary, yet typical SG-1 sort of way.

The damn things were some how trying to communicate with him. Whether this was telepathy or some thing else entirely he had no clue. Hell, Daniel wasn’t even one-hundred percent sure he had translated this correctly. But if he had, then they were all in more trouble than they had thought, and that was saying something.

It repeated the same, short, chilling message over and over again. Those words had him clenching his teeth so hard that his jaw still ached long after he forced himself to stop. It was a constant reminder of the danger facing his friends, as he tried to find a way out of his prison.

There was nothing else of any use around him. That writing was it, and all it did was haunt him while he searched.

Then Daniel felt that warmth again, and a few seconds later the whispers started. This time they were clearer. So he focused on them and suddenly he understood. There was no denying it, that was Vala. But where was she? And she sounded so worried.

“Ouch!” The back of his neck started getting warm again. This time it was much worse. This time it was burning. Then the walls around him started going into a state of flux. It was like watching someone switch back and forth between two TV stations in rapid fire succession. He saw his prison but then something else. Faces maybe.

The pain increased, his vision blackened, and somehow he knew he was lying on his side. Even though he had no memory of falling.

“Daniel, hold on, we’ve almost got it off.”

Vala’s voice, so loud in his ears, both shocked and calmed him.

“Stay very still.” Sam spoke next.

Then abruptly the blinding pain stopped and he felt like a curtain had been lifted from his mind.

“Daniel are you okay?”

Vala. He could feel her breath and smell that shampoo.

“I smelled you,” he said, while slowly opening his eyes to see her dark, worried eyes inches from his face.

Vala laughed and then he thought she was going to cry. Instead she kissed him on the forehead. He felt hands from the rest of his family patting his back and squeezing his shoulder.

Daniel’s hands instinctively went to the back of his neck. It felt sore and wet. When he looked at his fingers they were red.

“Let’s get that bandaged up.” Sam helped him sit up and then went to work on his wounded neck.

“Guys what’s going on?”

“Well,” Vala seemed uncertain. “We aren’t really sure. You and I were running and then you just fell. When I bent down to help you up I saw one of those things had attached itself to the base of your neck.” She squirmed while telling him, “It was awful. You didn’t respond. I thought you were...dead.”

Daniel squeezed her hand. “I’m not.”

“I know.”

“Then it got worse.” Cam interrupted. “The rest of them just stopped. They broke through, but then retreated. Now they’ve gone back to sitting outside the canyon.”

Daniel shook his head.

“Yeah. Good thing we were able to get it off you,” Cam said.

“How long?”

“Ten minutes maybe.” Cam shrugged.

“Ten minutes? It felt like days.” Daniel sighed.

“It?” Cam’s eyebrows almost met his hairline.

“Yeah. I think it was trying to communicate with me.”

“What? This?” Cam held up a now unmoving Suie.

“Yes.” Daniel explained about the room and the writing.

“Did you translate it?” Vala looked anxious.

“I think so.” He admitted reluctantly.

“So what did it say?” Cam blurted.

Daniel swallowed back the bile in this throat. “Feed us.”

CHAPTER 16

“Well, isn’t that cliche?” Vala quipped.

Daniel couldn’t help but smile. Besides she was right.

Cam took a more serious approach, “Anyone but me notice some scary similarities to one of our other snake-like friends?”

“Yeah. I did.” Daniel sighed.

Sam was quick to reassure them. “It’s true there are some. But the Goa’uld actually go inside of your body and completely take control. These things just seemed to cling to their host and there was no real control involved. I think it might have been a form of telepathy. Maybe it just needed physical contact. My point is, they aren‘t able to take over our bodies and make us do things.”

“No, they just invade your mind and force you into a coma. That’s so much better.” Vala snapped.

“Vala.” Daniel gave her one of the looks he’d noticed always seemed to soften her.

“Sorry Sam. I’m just-”

“It’s okay. We all are.”

The two women exchanged soft smiles.

“Well, now that that’s cleared up.“ Cam slapped him gently on the back and stood up. Sam I think it’s time you got back to work. If I wasn’t worried about getting off this planet ASAP before I certainly am now.”

“I’m pretty much done. I just have to calibrate a few things and we should be good to go. I do want to run a test first.“

“I thought there wasn’t going to be enough power for that?“ Vala asked.

“I’ll only fire it up for a few seconds, just to make sure they are going to be affected by it.“

“Oh okay.“ Vala sounded distracted.

Sam gave Daniel one last look over and then set off to finish her work.

Daniel watched Sam and Cam walk away and suppressed a sigh. Vala began examining his neck again and she kept making these cute little noises while she did it that made him want to turn around and give her a reason to make even more noise.

“It’s kind of a like a really nasty hickey.”

“What?”

“I’m serious Daniel. I think our snake friend really, really liked you.”

“Well, there goes my sexual fantasy,” he blurted. Then covered up his slip with, “ Very funny, but seriously Vala, are you okay?”

“Me? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you seem to have a problem with certain reptiles. And we happen to be more than a little surrounded by them.”

She tensed. “I’m fine.”

“Vala stop with the brave front for my benefit. You know it doesn’t fool me for a second. I know you better than that.”

“Maybe not as well as you think.” Her tone was more than a little cutting.

He just glared at her.

“Fine,” she relented. “It’s a little unnerving having thousands of them all around us. But I’ll tell you this, it’s not nearly as bad as the few minutes I thought I might lose you to one of those bastards.”

Daniel forgot he was supposed to be offended, and that it wasn’t appropriate to make-out with your teammate on an away mission. He leaned in and kissed her. Soft, hard, then soft again. He tasted something salty as he pulled away. She was wiping at her eyes.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“For what?” His voice was equally quiet.

“Turning your amazing kiss all soggy.”

Daniel brushed away a stray tear. “You didn’t ruin anything.”

“I just don’t want to lose you, I only just got you.”

“I’m right here.”

“And you better stay here. I put many months of work into obtaining you, I want my money’s worth.” She placed her hand on his chest, directly over his now pounding heart.

“I’ll do my best.”

She pulled her hand away and said, “It was really creepy, Daniel. If you could have seen that thing on you...” her voice trailed off and she was shivering slightly.

“I can only imagine.” He didn’t even want to think about seeing Vala like that. It sickened him.

His radio came to life. Sam’s voice was confidant as she informed them that she would be activating the device in about five minutes to test its effects on their little snake army. Considering from her position she could have just shouted this information to them, Daniel assumed she didn’t want to get the SG-16’s hopes up, so she was being discreet about it. He answered via radio, despite Vala’s amused expression. When Sam finishes speaking Vala moved behind him and began cleaning his wound again. He let her do it, besides her fingers on the back of his neck was relaxing. The only problem was he couldn’t really relax. His mind was racing. Something kept nagging at him. And since Sam’s radio transmission he couldn’t seem to calm the storm in his mind.

“I don’t think...something’s bugging me.”

She chuckled, “Bugging.”

“I’m serious.”

“Well darling, does it have something to do with the army of hungry snakes looking for food?”

“Yes and no,” he replied automatically.

“Okay.”

“Exactly”

“Daniel, you’ve lost me.”

“It doesn’t makes sense,” Daniel said.

“I know...what?”

“Any of it.”

Her hands had stopped moving over his neck. “Have you been drinking that special coffee again? The one with an extra caffeine jolt.”

“No, well yes. But that has nothing to do with this.”

“This what?” Really Daniel, Sam is almost ready to activate that doo-hickey, then we can leave.”

“Can we?”

“I sure hope so.”

“I think I missed something. If they want to eat us why haven’t they? It’s like they are waiting for something.

“Yeah,” Vala snorted. “For us to marinate in the sun a little longer.”

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt a headache coming on fast. “I feel like I’m for...”

“What?”

“OH MY GOD! That’s it.” And then he was moving towards his pack without realizing it. He ripped out his current journal and tore into his notes. His eyes moving back and forth, like a typewriter over the text. Notes he’d taken himself weeks ago. He felt Vala at his side but didn’t look up. Then he saw it. Translation was a tricky thing. One slip and you could get the message completely wrong. How had he not realized it sooner?

“Vala, I was wrong.”

“About what?” Her eyes were more than a little confused.

“The writing on the wall. It didn’t say “Feed us.” He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. “It said “Free us.” Vala, they don’t want to attack us. They want our help.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s good news, isn’t it?”

“I think so, but Sam is about to fire up that device. If she does they might take that as a sign of refusal…or worse.”

“Then we’d better stop her.”

He grabbed his radio, before remembering how close they were, and decided to just shout instead. “Sam, don’t activate that device!”

He could see Sam’s hand stopping mid air. Teal’c and Cam had turned and were now staring at them, probably with annoyed expressions.

“Mitchell,” Daniel was already almost halfway to their postion. “Don’t test that device, I was wrong about my translation.”

As he got closer he could now see the surprised looks on all his teammates faces. “Care to explain?” Cam asked.

He explained his mistake carefully and made sure they understood what the snakes were really after.

“This just keeps getting better and better. You sure this time Jackson?”

“Yes.” And he was, as sure as one could be in this situation.

“Daniel Jackson. If this is true why have they repeatedly tried to attack us?”

Daniel turned to Teal’c. “I’ve been wondering about that myself. I don’t think they were actually trying to attack us.”

All heads turned towards him.

“I think they were trying to initiate contact. First with Vala when she was alone in that hut, then when we were down in that temple, and again when we tried to leave the planet.”

“But the quakes?” Mitchell pointed out.

“The quakes were a side effect of too many of them congregating together.” Sam’s eyes were lighting up as she spoke. “They weren’t trying to cause them, they just happened. It’s like a hive mentality. They wanted to communicate but they didn’t understand that by gathering together like that, it looked like an attack.”

“Exactly. They might not understand things like that. They always co-existed on this planet with its people until the experiments messed up the balance. I think we should try and find out what they need,” Daniel suggested.

“It scares me that this is making a weird sense again.”

“Me too.” Vala was studying the horizoin.

“Alright then.” Cam said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we have wounded men and we need to get out of this valley and through the gate.”

“But it does mean that may not want to eat us.” Vala was smiling now.

“Indeed.” Teal’c said with a nod.

Daniel bent down next to Sam who still had her modified “quake detector” in her hands. “We can’t use that. If we do, it could be taken as an act of agression. If they aren’t our enemy, there’s no reason to piss them off. Besides they kinda outnumber us.”

“Point taken. I’m up for suggestions.” Mitchell sighed.

“Free them.” Vala piped up.

“From what?” Cam looked flustered.

“Maybe we should ask them.” Daniel ventured.

“NO.” All four of his friends shouted in unison.

He blinked.

“You are not letting on of those things attach itself to you again!” Vala almost shrieked.

Daniel tried to appear reassuring. “I don’t see how we have much choice. I am the only one who can translate their language. No one else can do it.”

“Not very well apparently.” Vala was fuming. “No. We are not letting you do it!”

“Vala-” he started.

“NO! Tell him he can’t do this.” She looked around, her eyes pleading with each of their teammates.

Cam had that resigned look on his face “I don’t like this, but we don’t have any other way of communicating with them. Jackson’s right.”

“It is unwise.” Teal’c offered. “But I believe it to be our only option as well.”

“I agree.” Sam sounded worried, but adamant.

“You’re all nuts.” Vala looked away.

“No.” Cam smiled sadly. “We’re SG-1 remember Vala.”

“Vala, you know it’s out best shot.” Daniel said.

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“Nobody likes it.” Cam blurted.

“Fine. But I’m going to be there, ready to rip that thing off at any sign of trouble.”

“I know you will.” Daniel gazed at her, his eyes full of admiration and love.

“Good.”

“So what now.” Cam asked.

“I guess I walk over there.” He pointed to the hole they had created in the rock wall. “And offer myself up to them.” Daniel shrugged and tried to appear okay with the plan he had suggested.

They had made it halfway to the wall when a single, solitary Suie exited the opening and made it’s way over to them. It stopped a foot from Daniel’s boots, waiting.

“I guess that means it wants to talk.”

Vala shot him a “Are you sure about this” look.

There really wasn’t an alternative if they wanted to know what was going on. So with one last glance at his team’s worried faces he turned his back on the creature, and sat on the ground. Immediately it began crawling up his back, Daniel had a few seconds to think to himself that this was really a stupid plan before his world shifted. And he found himself back in that same damn room.

And this time there was more writing on the wall. Much more of it.

CHAPTER 17

Daniel didn’t waste any time, he practically ran to the wall in front of him. The writing was much more visible this time around. Probably because he was more open to this line of communication. Then again, his fellow teammates weren’t trying frantically to rip the creature from his neck either.

It was much easier to translate when you could actually see what you were translating.

“Too bad I couldn’t bring my notes in with me,” he muttered while his eyes found a good starting point. Two words seemed to pop off the wall. “Free us.” Daniel went from there.

As he worked, time was lost to him again. Days could have passed for all he knew. Finally he was pretty sure he had the message correct. Now it was time to test that theory.

“I don’t know if you can understand me, or even hear me, but I’m going to give this a shot anyway.” Daniel chanced a look around the room. No sign was given that his alien friend had heard him. He pressed on, “You are asking for us to free you from the sky travelers monster.”

At first nothing happened. Then the writing seemed to melt away and was replaced by a single word.

“Yes.”

“Okay, now we are getting somewhere. I need more. I don’t understand. Are the sky travelers also known as the Createic?”

“We do not understand.”

Figures. How did he ask if they were the same race that had experimented on the Suie. Daniel choose his next words carefully, speaking as he would to a child. “Are the sky travelers the ones who hurt you?”

“Hurt. Yes.” The words formed very quickly now.

Daniel had to assume they were talking about the same race.

Then abruptly more words followed. “They took away friends.”

Daniel blinked. “Friends? You mean the people who lived here originally?”

“Yes. We lived in peace. Sky travelers took them away.”

It made sense with what he had translated. The Createic had evacuated the planet after their experiment had gone hay wire. “They had to be taken away. This planet wasn’t able to take care of both of your species anymore.” It was taxing communicating this way. Remembering to answer and ask every question in the simplest way possible was more difficult than it sounded. And he felt like he wasn’t really getting the whole story across.

“No.” Was their odd reply.

“No what?” He fought to keep his voice calm. Daniel once again felt like he was missing something.

“There was balance. Sky travelers ruined it. They left us unable to control our cycle. The noise. They left the noise behind.”

Daniel shook his head. This was getting more confusing. They might as well have been speaking a made up language for all he was able to understand.

“What is the noise?” He started with.

“The sky travelers monster. It hurts us still. Disrupts our cycle. Please free us.”

“Free you from this...noise device?” Daniel tried to make sure he was following.

“Yes.”

“Then you’ll let us leave.” He asked.

“You are free to leave now.”

“So you weren’t trying to stop us from leaving before?”

“No. Only to talk. We offer what you seek in return.”

Here we go again. And just when I was starting to make some sense of this conversation. “What are we seeking?”

“We know you seek the fuel source. This we understand. We offer this in exchange.”

“Oh...okay.” His government would love that. “We will try to help you, but we need to know where this device is, do you understand?”

“Yes. We will lead you there.”

“No. If you do that you will harm us. There are too many of you. When you move as one...” Daniel struggled to choose the right words. “You make the ground shake and that hurts us. Like the noise monster hurts you.”

The wall remained blank for a few moments. Then it bubbled back to life. “We understand. We will only have a few lead.”

“That should work. There is one thing. We have friends of our own. They are hurt. Are they free to leave this place while we help you?”

“Yes.”

Daniel started to reply but found himself falling away from the room. Then he felt the ground under his knees. Something tickled his back, the Suie had released him and was making its way down his back. He turned to look at his snake buddy when it had reached the ground. It seemed to stare back at him from behind tiny black eyes, then it slithered away to rejoin its race.

“So,” his teammates asked in unison.

“It worked.”

“What did? The damn thing was only on you for seconds.” Vala replied.

“Well it was plenty of time I assure you. For me it seemed like...well a long time. It’s weird but...” Daniel paused and shook his head.

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Vala was looking at him with worried eyes. “I’m okay. It’s just tiring.“ Ten minutes later Daniel had managed to fill them in on all he had learned.

“Wow. Jackson that’s...wow.” Mitchell blurted.

“Very articulate Cam.” Sam teased.

“What?”

“We really misunderstood them didn’t we?” Vala mused.

“Yep.” Daniel agreed.

“And we get our fuel on top of it all. Nice.” Cam smiled.

Daniel nodded.

“I’m guessing this is some kind of a machine left behind by our little meddling aliens who thought they knew better than god right?” Cam surmised.

“That would be my guess.” Daniel sighed.

“So all we have to do is turn it off?” Cam was looking skeptical.

“Apparently.” Daniel shrugged.

“Damn. It all seems kind of...anticlimactic..” Vala brushed a strand of black hair from her eyes.

“I wouldn’t mind that for a change.” Sam smiled.

“Me either.” Daniel admitted.

“Daniel, how will we know when to follow them?” Sam tilted her head towards the wall.

“I think we should send McGee’s team back to the gate first.”

“And you’re sure they’ll let them pass?” Cam raised his eyebrows.

“Yes. They gave their word. I think we can trust them.”

His fellow teammates looked surprised and skeptical, except Vala to his amazement. “He’s right. What they’ve said makes sense. I’m the master of misunderstandings. Hell, I’m just one big one.” She snorted. Daniel gave her a “no you aren’t” look. She smiled. “I think they’ll keep their word.”

“Besides,” Daniel smiled, his appreciation at Vala’s words beyond evident on his face, “They don’t need them, just us.”

“Okay, but Teal’c you should go with McGee and his men. Make sure they get back to the base safe and sound.” Cam said.

Teal’c opened his mouth as if to protest then stopped. He nodded. “I will inform Major McGee of our plan.”

“Get going ASAP. If we don’t make it back ourselves...Jackson...how far away is this monster of theirs?”

Crap. “I have no idea.”

“Okay, keep a candle burning for us at the base then. We only have enough supplies for a few days, so if we aren’t back by then, send a rescue party with plenty of beer and chips.”

“I will indeed Colonel Mitchell.”

“The general might not be happy about this.” Sam voiced what they’d all been ignoring.

They all looked at each other. “It’ll take too long to hike back to the gate, get permission, then come back here. They wanted the damn fuel in the first place. We just have to hope he agrees with our decision,” Cam said.

“It’s better to beg forgiveness, than to ask for permission,” Vala grinned.

“You know it’s wrong how much sense she makes sometimes.” Daniel grinned back. “At least it’s gotten a little cooler.” Daniel added almost to himself.

“That’s probably because it’s going to get dark soon,” Vala reminded him. “We have been here for quite awhile.”

“Oh goodie. That’ll make this search even more fun,” Cam exclaimed.

“Maybe we should wait until the morning. Judging by the sun I’d guess we only have two hours of daylight left,” Sam suggested.

“No. We’ll use less water if we travel at night. If visibility gets too bad then we’ll stop. But I want to get this done as quickly as possible. Any objections?”

No one did.

“Maybe it’s not even that far from here.” Vala wondered.

“Actually McGee did say that they seemed to chase them in this direction.“ Sam said. “And that would make sense as to why they wanted us here, even though it’s solid rock and they couldn’t reach us.”

They all nodded. Daniel said a silent prayer. He really wanted off this planet. He really wanted...his eyes traveled up and down Vala’s lovely figure,... a shower. He pulled his mind out of the gutter, it was sad how often he had to do that now. “What about Teal’c? Can they make it back to the gate in time?”

Sam nodded. “As long as the Suie don’t interfere they will.”

“Okay then. Everyone got their overnight bags packed?” Cam joked.

Daniel rolled his eyes. Judging by the silence that ensued, he wasn’t the only one.

“Party poopers.“ He grabbed his radio. “Teal’c we’re heading out.“

“As are we Colonel Mitchell.“

“See you soon. Mitchell out.” He started toward the wall with the gentlest slope. “Well gang, let’s get going,” He waved them forward.

They followed. Daniel stayed close to Vala’s side and caught her eye while they started up the incline. When she looked over at him he mouthed “shower” and winked at her.

She covered a burst of laughter, by pretending to cough. “You naughty boy,” she whispered.

“You have no idea,” he dared.

Her eyebrows crawled up her forehead. “Really. Then maybe I will be able to make good use of those handcuffs I bought.”

Daniel just smiled. No matter how much he told himself he’d never allow that, somehow he couldn’t bring himself to say no. He just smiled. At that moment the heat, the snakes, the monsters...didn’t really bother him that much. Being near her, flirting with her, all seemed to put things in perspective. They were going to get through this. For the first time, he felt good about this mission.

CHAPTER 18

They reached the top of the canyon and found a small group of about twenty Suie waiting for them.

“Umm...Hi guys.” Cam blurted. The snakes didn’t move. Mitchell shot Daniel a look that said “a little help here.”

Daniel stepped forward a few paces. “Our friends have started their journey off this planet. We are ready to help you destroy the monster. Please take us there.” He finished and waited for their reaction. He prayed they weren’t about to be double crossed.

The Suie slowly turned and headed towards the tree line to the west. They followed. It would have been amusing to see them from afar Daniel thought. Four people, trailing behind a line of worms. He snorted drawing his friends curious stares.

“Nothing. I just thought how funny we must look.”

Vala smiled. “Like baby hens being followed by a chick.”

Daniel smiled even bigger. “Yeah. Something like that.”

He could hear Sam and Cam chuckling behind them.

“What did I say?” Vala sounded perplexed.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” He grinned at her his eyes filled with warmth.

She started to blush and changed the subject. “So when we get off this planet who’s up for a cook out? I’ve read all about them. They sound quite fun. Men bonding over grilling meat. Although personally I’m interested to try these deviled eggs. They sound wicked.” She seemed to have more bounce in her step as they walked.

“Ya know that sounds like a plan.” Cam sounded truly excited.

Daniel felt his own mouth watering at the thought of a nice juicy steak, and a beautiful long haired goddess on his lap while he ate. “Yes it does.”

The Suie stopped abruptly, they’d only been traveling for about forty minutes. They seemed to be communicating amongst themselves. Their bodies were vibrating and their tiny beady eyes were wider than ever.

They all looked at Daniel and then he felt a strange warmth trickle down his body and he heard the word “monster” echoing in his head.

“I think we’re here.” He said.

“I don’t see anything.” Vala said while looking around.

“Me either.” Sam was scanning the ground.

They were standing in the middle of a barren forest. All animal life, with the exception of their snake buddies, had died out long ago. All Daniel could see were trees and dirt.

“Where is it?” Daniel asked them. The Suie formed a circle with their bodies on the ground where they had stopped.

“I think it’s probably under our feet...there,” Daniel pointed to the middle of the circle.

“Ya think.” Cam quipped.

“It’s the detective in me.” Daniel smirked. “I can just tell.”

“See!” Vala piped up. “Male bonding rituals have begun already and we haven’t even started the cook out yet.”

Daniel and Cameron just shared knowing looks and shook their heads.

“I guess we’re digging troops.”

“Ya think.” Daniel couldn’t resist.

Cam grinned. “You’re not the only detective here Jackson.”

“Apparently not.”

“The grounds soft.” Sam said while she probed the dirt with her fingers after the Suie had moved away.

“That’s good since we aren’t prepared to dig. It’s gonna be dirt under the fingernails for everyone today.” Cam sighed and got down on his knees next to the rest of them.

Thirty minutes later, with darkness closing in, they unearthed the device that had caused so much trouble for the Suie and the inhabitants of this planet. A tiny black box. It was humming, and emitting a soft blue light.

“That’s it.” Vala said while wiping sweat from her brow. “That little thing.”

“I know. But look how the Suie are reacting to it.” The closer they had gotten to the device the more agitated the snakes had become. Now they were practically seizing.

“Sam get that thing turned off so we can blow this Popsicle stand.” Mitchell took a drink of water and offered his canteen to Daniel. He took it gratefully.

“You think you should just push that button.” Vala was pointing at what appeared to be the on off switch on the top of the device.

“I think so.“ Sam pushed the button. They all jumped, waiting for an explosion or disaster that never came. “What?“ Sam looked perplexed. I checked it out first.“

“A little warning next time.“

“Sorry. But it was actually a pretty simple device. I think it was all about the frequency of the vibrations. But I’ll know more when we get it back to the base. It wasn’t meant to be complicated in that sense. Remember the Creatiec thought they were helping these people. When things went wrong they just wanted to save them.”

Daniel felt a surge of anger. “So they left, evacuated the planet, and didn’t bother to clean up after themselves and didn’t think these creatures where important enough to be saved as well.”

He felt Vala’s hand on his shoulder. “They were wrong to leave the Suie in this state. But now, because of you, they will be okay. I mean this device won’t mess with their breeding rate any more, so things should eventually level out.”

“That’ll take years though. But yes eventually life should return to normal on this world. But the damage is done. The Suie are alone here.”

“They have each other and who knows what might happen in the future.“ Sam offered.

“And since there really aren’t any other animals here that we have seen it’s a good thing they eat plants.” Vala stated.

“How do you....Oh.” Daniel allowed himself a soft smile. The Suie were happily nibbling away at some of the fallen tree branches. They had stopped shaking.

“They look happy don’t you think?” Vala whispered.

“Yeah I think they do.”

* * * *
Since it was dark they camped out in the woods for the night. Sam tinkering over the alien technology. Cameron keeping watch, while still staying close enough to the fire they had started to stay warm. The planet got much cooler at night. Daniel and Vala huddled close together, talking.

“We get to go home tomorrow.”

Daniel smiled at Vala. “Thank god.”

“You’re telling me. You know what’s funny?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t think I’m afraid of snakes anymore. I mean I don’t love them or anything. But the Suie have kinda made me appreciate them more. They didn’t turn out to be so bad.”

“No they didn’t.” Daniel caressed her soft cheek. “Sometimes when we first meet someone we think we know who they are, but we turn out to be dead wrong.”

“Really.” She placed her hand over his that was still cupping her cheek. “You’ve had experience with this?”

“Yeah. I’ve been wrong before.”

“Being wrong must be awful.” She whispered leaning in so their faces were only inches apart.”

“No actually. I’ve never been more glad to be wrong about someone in my life than the day I met you Vala. You were the itch on my back that I couldn’t quite reach. And that‘s a good thing.”

“Does it still itch?” She kissed him on the chin.

“You have no idea.”

“Well I better scratch it for you then.”

“Behave. I love you. I want you. But we are at work.”

She pouted. “Life is so unfair.”

“Yes it is.” Daniel agreed.

* * * *
Daniel awoke to the sound of Sam calling out their names. “What? Is everything okay?” He said while he forced himself awake.

“Look.”

The Suie had been busy keeping their promise during the night. Now that the sun’s had risen again, you could see piles of a dark, black, substance that was obviously not dirt around their campsite.

“The fuel. They must have still had some from when it was being harvested. Then brought it all here somehow during the night.”

“Pretty impressive little worms.” Cam said.

Daniel met the happy faces of everyone around him. No this mission hadn’t turned out so bad after all.

* * * *
The next 12 hours went by in a blur. They hiked back to the gate, got yelled at briefly by the General for not following orders before being told off the record he was proud as hell of them.

After hours of debate it was decided SG-3 would go back to the planet and retrieve the material while SG-1 got to finally go off duty. It seemed fast, but Daniel knew there was an immense pressure to get this fuel back to Stargate Command and certain powers that be. Daniel stayed a little longer than the rest of his team in the briefing room to assure SG-3 it should be no problem. The Suie were not hostile and would not harm them. The snakes were also aware now of the dangers their quakes caused, and would do their best to avoid any contact with any “further human visitors“. That was pretty much what the Suie had told them before they had made their way back to the gate. Telepathic communication was still odd to Daniel, he'd never gotten used to it.

When Daniel finally made his way down to the locker room, he saw that everyone else had showered and changed. There was a note on his locker that said to meet them in the cafeteria when he was done. He felt his heart sink. It was silly, but he’d hoped Vala would have waited for him. He shrugged off his disappointment and peeled off his uniform that was very much in need of a wash and hopped in the shower, letting the hot water beat against his body.

He almost screamed when he felt hands on his back, he spun and was greeted by a marvelous site. His raven haired angel standing behind him. Naked.

“I thought you might need some help.”

CHAPTER 19

“Wow.”

“I was hoping for more than that darling.” Vala stepped closer so that their bodies were only inches from touching.

“I thought you’d left.” He grinned and made a move to step closer to her, but she put her hand on his chest keeping him where he was. His already hard, throbbing penis protested. But he kept his face calm.

“Daniel, don’t you get it?”

He stared at her not sure how to reply or even if he should.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Then she closed the gap, her mouth devouring his, her tongue doing a dance that almost brought him to his knees.

He slid his hands up her back, and let them drift up to her firm breast, teasing the nipples that hardened immediately at his touch. She groaned, but never stopped kissing him.

“Mine,” she whispered against his lips.

“Mine.” he agreed and found his hands wandering down to her perfect, firm ass. He pulled her even closer to him, his hard member pressed against her, just above where he really wanted it. He shuddered as she began rubbing against him in a provocative manner that was beyond inappropriate for work. He grinned at the thought.

“What are you smiling about?” She panted as she pushed him against the wall.

“Is it wrong how much hotter this is, knowing we could be caught?”

She laughed softly. “Yes, but that’s what makes it hotter.”

“Is that how it works,” he gasped as her fingers grasped his dick.

“Yes.” Her lust filled eyes met his. “It is.”

“I want you.” He moaned as her hand worked its magic.

“I know.” She laughed.

Two could play this game. He grabbed her hand and pushed her against the other wall. He slid his fingers inside her, her wetness and warmth mingled with the hot water beating against his back which was enough to make him cum. But he kept in under control and worked his own magic, bringing her so close and then stopping, then starting again until she was shuddering, gasping, and begging him to stop teasing her.

“You know what I want to hear.” He said in between kissed.

“I want you, you bastard.” She grinned.

“Such language.”

“Well that’s what happens when you fall in love with a linguist. You get a good vocabulary.”

He grinned and stopped teasing. She gasped as he lifted her slightly and slid inside. Their bodies moved in a rhythm as old as the universe itself.

When they climaxed together Daniel felt something so right it brought tears to his eyes.

“Too bad no one caught us.” Vala whispered her head resting on his shoulder.

“Why?”

“It would have made you a legend Dr. Jackson. That was amazing.”

He laughed. “I’ll remember you said that when we’re old and our idea of a good night of sex is if we actually got into the same bed together.”

“Afraid your snoring will scare me away?”

“Maybe.”

“Didn’t you hear me earlier, Daniel.”

“Refresh my memory.”

“I‘m not going anywhere.”

“I just wanted to hear you say it again.”

* * * *
Daniel laughed as Vala attempted to flip a now burned hamburger. She only succeeded in flinging it onto the grass of Cam’s yard which was littered with them. Vala was most certainly not domestic. But it was so damn cute to watch her attempt it.


“Okay that’s it. You are dangerous. Look at all this meat you’ve wasted.” Cam tried to sound annoyed. It wasn’t convincing. They all had a few beers and were beyond relaxed. It was the first off day they’d all had in a long time. Daniel didn’t realize how much they’d all needed this. But now, sitting in a lawn chair watching the woman he loved learn to cook out, he couldn’t stop smiling. Hell, he hadn’t even thought of death or the constant threat of total annihilation
by a hostile alien species all day. It was nice.

“Daniel. Am I really doing that bad?”

He just smiled. “Well, let’s just say I think you should stick with shooting bad guys instead of flipping burgers. And believe me when I say that’s not a bad thing.”

She beamed. “I think you might just be right. Here I’ll leave things such as burger flipping to experts like yourself, “ she smirked and handed Cam back the spatula.

“Thanks Jackson.”

“Hey,” he held up his hands in mock defense. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Yeah, don’t be surprised if your meal tastes a little funny.”

He snorted, and opened his arms when Vala sauntered over and slid onto his lap.

The team spent the day relaxing, joking, teasing, and best of all laughing. The food was good despite Vala’s mishaps. Sam had surprised them with steaks, which had earned her a hug from Cam who apparently had now forgotten the discarded hamburgers. He ate two by himself.

When it was time to leave, Daniel and Vala bid everyone goodnight and didn’t bother to hide the fact that she was going home with him.

He opened her car door and then got in as well. He’d been wanting to ask her something all day, but hadn’t found the right moment. “Vala,” he said while letting the engine run.

She turned his way after buckling her seatbelt. “Hmm.”

“I was just wondering something. You’ve been asking me a lot about my translations I’ve been working on lately. As well as my boring artifacts,” he smiled, “I was curious why the sudden interest?”

“Oh.” She looked out her window.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to be mea-

“I know that Daniel. It’s just kinda silly.”

Now he was really curious. “Tell me. I promise I won’t laugh.”

She took a deep breath. “It’s just that I know how much you love all that stuff. I see how much it means to you, how happy it makes you, and I guess I want to be a part of that. I want to understand it, at least a little. “

She must have taken his stunned silence for annoyance because she blurted, “That was beyond stupid wasn’t it?”

“No, god no. That was...one of the most wonderful things anyone has ever said to me.”

“Really? Well I meant it.”

“Yeah, I know. Thank you, Vala. But I want you to know something as well. Yes I do love my work, perhaps a little too much at times. I thought it made me happy. It was all I had at times. But being with you has changed things. You are what makes me happy, Vala. I hope you know that.”

She was positively glowing. She kissed him, bathing him in her light. “Thank you, Daniel.”

He rubbed her nose with his, “So if you want to stop helping me with my work so much I’d understand.”

“Nah. It’s not nearly as boring as I thought it would be.”

He laughed and pulled away. “That’s my girl.” Daniel put the car in gear and they headed off, he didn’t know exactly where they were headed, but he did know that they were going to get there together. And that was perfect.

** The End **

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