Knowing Home by dvshipper

Knowing Home

By: dvshipper

CATEGORY: General

WARNINGS: None

AUTHOR’S NOTES: Thanks to taraleesg1 for being an awesome beta on this one and all her words of encouragement! This is a follow-up story to “Home”, but it’s still a stand alone. Also, the restaurant here was inspired by (not based on, mind you) a place in Austin, Texas called “Ironworks” that has amazing food.

AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:

http://dvshipper.livejournal.com/

The large open restaurant was sweetly buzzing with conversation from other tables, some voices louder than others. Smells of barbecue and fresh bread filled the space above all the tables and it was certainly hard to ignore. Apparently, the world had the inclination to stop when the team entered the down-home, old fashioned barbecue joint. Passing through the beat up screen door onto the wood plank flooring, SG-1 breathed a collective sigh of comfort, some feeling it more than their other companions.

Vala gazed at her surroundings. This place had that wonderful relaxed atmosphere that she’d only observed in Travel Channel programs about Texas. Vintage tins hung on the walls beside Remington and Winchester signs. The beat up floor creaked beneath her feet as they were led to a wooden table with a red-checkered tablecloth on it. Smoke trailed in through the back door that was visible from her spot. A Garth Brooks song reached her ears from a speaker somewhere near the register, a radio perhaps. This was all very nice, but one thing was missing: Daniel. He was late and Vala did not like that at all. She never did like when she couldn’t know he was safe.

As Vala was spacing out, staring blankly at the walls around them, Cam took upon himself the duty of ordering for everyone. According to him, he knew everything that was good on the menu, just “trust me.” Vala didn’t mind because she honestly wasn’t that picky. That was a trait you picked up when you’d spent years not knowing where or what your next meal would be. Vala could be picky now, though. The SGC offered that security, but it just wasn’t the comfort she needed. The base just wasn’t a home.

Conversation moving around her, Vala didn’t really pay much attention to her teammates. Too deep in her own mind, the outside world just wasn’t clicking. That was, until Daniel finally showed up. At the sight of his face, Vala’s lips curved into that shining smile of hers. When he got close enough to the table, the raven-haired alien jumped up to greet him with a hug. Curiously, he wasn’t shocked or resistant to the caring embrace.

After explaining that he had gotten stuck behind a four car pile-up, Daniel sat himself down beside Vala. When he took his jacket off, Vala couldn’t resist inhaling that familiar scent of his: military soap, fabric softener, and something like old books that’d been in a back room for a while. That aroma as her guide, Vala relaxed into her chair, now fully aware of the conversation and goings on around her in the present. She found it amazing how one man’s presence could ground her so.

Dinner continued fluidly, as did Vala’s train of thought. Between sarcasm, jokes, and “tales of the good ol’ days,” Vala found her mind, and her eyes, wandering back to Daniel. Was it not he who fought for her to stay around and join SG-1? Were those not the eyes that brought her memory back? Was that not the same sweet voice that she heard screaming to save her as she died a painful death? Daniel seemed to be the one who was always there to bring her back to where she needed to be. In times of struggle and helplessness, Daniel brought this broken woman to a place where she could put herself back together again. And Vala wasn’t talking about the SGC.

When a dessert of strawberry shortcake in paper bowls was served, Vala came to a conclusion. Throughout her entire life, she never had a place where she could absolutely relax. When Qetesh controlled her, when she was a ‘free agent,’ even in her own village, she never could be off her game. For years, too many, her guard had to remain up, letting no one past that iron gate of silence and lies. But one day, out of the deep blue, comes this man who inadvertently found his way into her heart.

Daniel offered everything, whether he knew it or not: warmth, kindness, security, comfort, rest, hope, protection. Vala had never truly known what those things felt like before Daniel. Above all else though, Daniel gave her a place where time collapsed and nothing could touch her; where she could be at complete ease. Was that not the very essence of home? Vala now knew for absolute certain she had this ‘home’ in Daniel. Vala also knew that what Daniel gave her as ‘home,’ was his form of a great and powerful love.

** The End **

Feedback to: dvshipper@livejournal.com

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