Late
By: Thalion pip
CATEGORY: Vingette
WARNINGS: None
AUTHOR’S WEBITES:
http://thalion-pip.livejournal.com
CHAPTER 1: 2 Minutes
She wasn’t waiting for Daniel to come home…she wasn’t. The
briefing room table just happened to be a very comfortable place to sit. The
fact that it offered a clear view of the Stargate and Dr. Daniel Jackson was
two minutes overdue just happened to be happy coincidences.
She had found her way to the briefing room about five minutes before Daniel and
SG-12 were meant to return from the library at Camelot, obviously excited for
him to come home but refusing to play the part of his extremely loyal and
excited puppy by waiting for him in the gateroom. So she spread his books over
the table and forced herself to be studious, fully intending to translate some
Ancient, or at least pretend like she had.
Mitchell waltzed into the room and planted himself squarely in front of the
window overlooking the gateroom below. Vala continued to study, and
“Be waiting for them at the gate every time,” was one of the first rules Jack
had laid out, and it had proven to be a good one. There was something unifying
about having your leader waiting for you when you got home, and he believed it
gave them a reason to come back. Though he was entirely willing to admit they
all really came back for reasons separate from him, he liked to think that they
still expected him to be there. The first few times Teal’c came in from there
was a slight hint of uncertainty at Mitchell’s presence, as if on some level he
was still expecting O’Neill.
As the check-in time came and went Mitchell moved to the table and sat across
from Vala, making no attempt to disguise that his focus on the Stargate. He was
careful not to make any sudden movements, because Vala was watching the
Stargate through him. If he fidgeted she would take it to be a sign that a
chevron had engaged, or that something terrible was going on in the gateroom.
It was a routine that they had perfected in the few times
They both knew she would’ve been fine on her own, but Mitchell felt like it was
something that only he got to share with a member of SG-1, rather than
something filtered through O’Neill’s back channels and mission reports. They
waited for
They never spoke during these little interludes, actually they were the longest
time he ever heard her in full silence mode. For a few minutes of tardiness
they were simply the new kids having a moment that was their won. They weren’t
replacing someone in those moments, or being compared to a cherished routine
that had been held with some beloved long since dead.
They fit in during those moments. Perfectly and uniquely accepted. If ever
questioned Mitchell would say he was making sure Vala didn’t spill something on
New memories were made as the greenies took comfort from one another in their
vigil for the first person to make them feel like this was home. They wanted
him to still feel like this was home when they got there.
CHAPTER 2: 36 Minutes
Rather than grab
Teal’c could vanish for days in a war zone, and she could venture off for dirty
bomb nuclear testing, and Jack wouldn’t bat an eye. But the moment Daniel
Jackson couldn’t pull himself away from a book and to his radio, Jack had a
team assembled and through the gate ready to haul him back from the jaws of
death. And now
She knew why the overprotection had started. After all, in the beginning Daniel
had been idealistic and stupid, not quite grasping the concept that he could
talk out differences with his P-90 at the ready just as well as unarmed. And
she had to admit, ‘the kid’ had a habit of getting himself killed.
But Daniel had changed. He still got that gleam in his eye when they happened
across an Ancient text, or for just a moment he forgot about their desperate
need to save the galaxy when he was learning about a new culture. But along
with the higher functions of his brain, the baser instincts had been given a
chance to grow, and now Daniel could handle himself just as well as the rest of
them. In fact, she wasn’t quite sure anymore who would win if Jack and Daniel
actually came to blows. Jack had the training, but he was busy depreciating
behind a desk while Daniel filled in the part of ruthless soldier more and more
with every passing day.
The gate to PX4-687 had always been tempermental, and Landry had known there
was the possibility that they’d need to wait a while and dial the gate again
and hope for a better connection. For all intents and purposes the gate was on
the fringes of a dead zone, and occasionally the signal was too weak to dial
home. They had all known that when Daniel walked through the gate.
And yet there he was, pacing back and forth through the control room, taking it
as a sign that Daniel was half-Ascended somewhere all because
But of course it’s never that easy. Her other scientists enjoyed cracking jokes
about the insensitivity of the marines, (not like the scientists had devoted
any of their excess brain power to doing something selfless, aka: McKay.) They
assumed that all marines were one dimensional, and Sam was more scientist than
military. What they’d never notice was that
The only problem with the plan was that Vala believed Daniel was fine, wherever
he was. She’d seen him at his point of full wrath, known the power that coursed
through him when he was called to arms, and like most of the SGC, believed that
deep down inside he could still call down lightning if he really wanted to.
However,
Vala had kicked
Thus proceeded step two of the routine. Vala would take
As usual Vala had progressed to the other side of the table, still contentedly
‘translating’ something, but now with a clear view of the stargate. Sam sat
next to her and Vala slid over a spare cup of coffee, one out of the pot just
long enough to be hot, but still capable of being gulped down with minimum
scorch marks to hamper one’s tasting capacity for the rest of the day. Vala had
mastered the art of coffee service, and Sam wasn’t sure if it was left over
from her time as a waitress, or maintaining Daniel’s addiction.
They’d sip for a minute, and since Vala was the one cloistered in waiting, it
was Sam’s turn to start. She’d always ask something about the translations and
Vala would share a tidbit that held absolutely no value, other than functioning
as proof she wasn’t just staring at the page. Then she’d ask Sam about whatever
device was currently taking up her spare time, and Sam would respond with as
much technical jargon as she wanted, knowing that with Vala’s Goa’uld inherited
adeptness with technology she could comprehend it, and occasionally offer
assistance.
Thus the conversation would continue, with both women tap dancing on the line
they drew while in hearing range of any SGC personnel. Neither had had many
girlfriends to chat with, especially one so close to their own age. There had
been Janet, Denya…and they were pretty much it. Virtually all of their other
friends had been male, making this situation slightly strange. They also had
begun to notice they were quite similar, though neither would admit that to fact
out loud.
They would concede that the other was brilliant, excessively stubborn, and
rather beautiful in her own way. But on all other points they considered
themselves perfect foils. (Sam disavowed any knowledge of her complete control
over a certain General, and Vala denied any willingness to act contrary to her
self interest, seeing as how that business with the healing device didn’t
count, they were going to kill her otherwise.)
In truth they were a little frightened at how well they fit together. At first
Sam was sure that Daniel was complaining in actual displeasure at Vala’s
presence, but after she vanished to the Ori galaxy Sam saw the situation for
what it really was. Daniel had simply spent too long dishing his emotions out
in generous helpings to dying worlds and saving the galaxy that he’d forgotten
how to handle a feeling that simply his own. His thoughts, his past, his
friends, and his fire were all spent at the behest of the SGC.
When Vala stepped through that gate Sam’s best friend just didn’t know how to
cope. He could give his life to save the Milky Way, and use his passion to
Ascend, or stop an army before a single soul had to die.
But to feel the rumblings that could change the fate of the universe expended
on behalf of one lowly little thief scared him. And so Daniel reacted in the
manner he’d been so carefully taught, with sarcasm. Sam should’ve known. After
all, Jack was the same way, and unfortunately Daniel had picked up the habit.
So Sam had helped Daniel search for her, and strove to think the best of Vala
as she narrated her time in the Ori galaxy (though goodness knows the woman
made it hard.) And when she beamed back into their lives in the arms of Daniel,
Sam was bound and determined to believe every word that came out of her mouth.
Little did she know Vala intended to do the same.
They’d been sickeningly sweet to each other for the first few days (with Daniel
hauling them both to the infirmary on more than one occasion, thinking they’d
been infected by something.) Then the change came.
After the incident on Vagonbrei Sam and Vala were on their way to the
debriefing when they stumbled across a few of the newer marines and overheard
their gossip in the hallway. They were muttering about Ackerman’s demise, and
how “that’s just what happens to any redshirt stupid enough to tag along with
SG-1.” Vala had spent enough time with Teal’c to translate for herself, and in
the time it took Sam to blanch at the callousness of the marine, Vala was
around the corner with the special ops soldier pinned to the ground.
She whispered a few things in the marine’s ear that drained the color from his
shocked visage, and made adopt a hue of verdigris. Then she hoisted him to his
feet by the scruff of his neck, and he padded along behind them to the briefing
room. He stared at his feet as he apologized to SG-1 and scampered off with his
tail between his legs without offering an explanation. Landry asked, but Sam
and Vala just replied with sweet smiles, and he decided it probably wasn’t in
his best interest to know.
After that day the walls had come down. Vala knew more of the little details
about the Sam/Jack dynamic than any person alive, and every time Daniel smiled
at Vala Sam would get the rather giggly play-by-play. They’d never been so
girly in their lives, and the opportunity just fueled the fire. The sisterhood
of not really knowing how this was supposed to work was liberating. They got to
make up their own rules as they went along, which had always worked better for
the two of them anyway.
Now their banter was as friendly as ever, but utterly pointless. The words held
no meaning, but the moment did. Sam knew of all those times she’d sat in that
very chair waiting for Jack to venture home. She had always known that he was
on the way to the gate at that very moment, held up by Daniel falling into
something, and that he would be fine. But the fear was still there, it was
always there.
The longer he was gone the worse her mind would behave. She’d start with all
the various ways he could’ve landed himself in a prison, or bleeding to death
in a ditch somewhere. She’d then progress to all the mechanical things that
could be going wrong, that she could fix if only he’d taken her along. Then, of
course, there was the ever present wondering if he’d just gone and gotten
himself drunk and wasn’t late for any reason other than the girl was pretty and
he was buzzed.
Everything you should’ve said ran through you head as you stared at the
inactive gate. The times you could’ve said something kind, or smiled the way
you know made him happy. The worst was every moment when the electricity was
high but you weren’t brave enough to see it through. Every chance you missed,
and what you’d give to have one more go of it.
Sam couldn’t imagine what would go through Vala’s mind. Her imagination far
exceeded Sam’s, and while Jack would just be captured and tortured, there was
always the potential that Daniel could die and come back with no memory of
those he’d left behind.
She had never wanted to beat Daniel before, but she was starting to think it
was good idea. One good smack upside the head to remind him of what it felt
like to be the one left behind to wait as the agonizing ‘overdue’ minutes
ticked by.
So they sat there, drinking coffee and staring at the gate, not knowing when
Daniel would roam through. But this much Sam did know, Daniel better need the
infirmary when he walked through, otherwise she’d be sending him there.
CHAPTER 3: 84 Minutes
They’d held the gate open for two minutes and sixteen
seconds before the wormhole collapsed from the other end. Landry had waited for
the hour mark before dialing in to check on Dr. Jackson, and ordered SG-1 to
suit up when there was no response. They had to wait another twenty minutes to
establish a stable wormhole back to the planet, and Vala didn’t waste a moment.
She had suited up with the rest of SG-1 and followed Landry around to convince
him she didn’t have a cold and wasn’t going to infect the local population.
Landry felt his agitation rise and had flashbacks to how Carolyn would attempt
to manipulate him as a teenager, and he had to admit, Vala was doing a
remarkable job. There were several times he was tempted to give in, but the
General side of him kept beating out the protective father side. Vala knew that
under no circumstances would Carolyn Lam yield to her request, so she chose to
focus on him.
She started out with the rational approach. “But just think about it Sir. It’s
a reconnaissance mission, and the more eyes you have on the ground the better
our chances of finding him.” He humored her for a few minutes as she followed
him around, trying to sound as rational as possible.
When he shot down that approach she moved onto the pleading child routine. That
one was thwarted before it even got a chance to begin (Landry had never held
with whiners.) Then came the temper tantrum. Yeah, that one didn’t work either.
There was almost a poetic beauty to how perfectly she filled out every role.
Her speech was articulate and rational, and she even stuck her hands into her
pockets and hunched her shoulders ever so slightly as she extolled the reasons
for letting her go. (Landry almost called her Dr. Jackson in his refusal.) When
she pled her eyes grew huge, and her voice became fuller and just a breath
higher, making her seem more innocent. And she twirled her hair between her
fingertips and, though he wasn’t sure how, made herself seem smaller, and for
lack of a better adjective…fluffier.
She stood next to Landry in the control room as most of SG-1 prepared to
disembark and refused to speak with any of them. Her sigh was deep and
frustrated, just enough to remind Landry she was still there, and still
objecting. He opted to ignore her complaint and simply gave SG-1 instructions
to find Dr. Jackson and SGs 5, 6, and 8.
He turned to face a barrage of sarcasm from the spurned Vala, but she just kept
her eyes on the gate. She stared at it long after the wormhole had closed down,
the muscles in her jaw working, trying to find something playful to say. She
smiled at Landry, forcing every trace of her visage to crinkle in mirth, but he
could see it in her eyes. She was a brilliant actress, and would’ve gotten away
with it if she’d avoided his gaze for just a moment more, but he caught her.
The regular glimmer and smirk were fixed in perfect position as she bounded
back up the stairs to her ‘translations.” Landry’s eyes followed her the whole
way up the stairs, and his heart ached for her. This must be the first family
she’d had since her own, and probably the only people who had treated her with
any semblance of respect since she was first taken by the Goa’uld. The first
time in goodness knows how long that her clear grey eyes were clouded over with
care.
He trailed behind her up the circular stairs, once again wishing he’d spent
more time doing actual fathering the first time around so he’d know what to
say. She was as far away from the glass as she could get in the control room,
where she could keep an eye on the Stargate, but where no one could keep one on
her.
She was chewing on her thumbnail when he entered, and with a jump dropped the
hand to her side, forcefully shoving it into her pocket. He leaned against the
wall next to her, debating with himself what to say. He was more of an action
fellow than a words fellow, which is why and Jack got along so well in the
first place. He stared at his hands for a moment, then just cleared his throat
and summoned up the will to speak.
“Carolyn’s mother and I met while I was at The Hill.” He smirked to himself and
clarified, finding that the story was coming easier. “The Air Force Academy,
where people go to be trained to be a part of our military. Well, at the time
she was a few years younger than I was, which didn’t bother either one of us,
but her father, who happened to be my CO at the time, wasn’t so happy about
it.”
“She was engaged to a fellow that he’d chosen for her, and roaming around with
a boy like me wasn’t exactly what he had in mind for his daughter.” Vala
grinned at the thought of a young Landry defying his CO, and all for a girl.
“The night we got married, she was supposed to sneak out of her house and meet
me, but her father was up and in the kitchen by the back door. So she snuck out
a window, which took her longer than I expected. I was sitting in my car down
the street from her house, just waiting. I sat there, forcing myself to stay in
the car, to not go barreling into that house after her.
“I kept wishing I could just be with her. That I could be there for the fight,
rather than stuck outside wondering what I could be doing if I was there.” Vala
laid her head on Landry’s shoulder and breathed deep. He put his arm around her
shoulder and they sat in silence, staring at the stargate.
“Thanks sir…for everything.”
“That’s what you do for your family Vala.”
She popped her head up, with grey eyes smiling at the General. “I’m beginning
to understand that Sir. Abusive sarcasm, threatening annoying non-boyfriends
with lemons, what could be interpreted as suicide attempts to bring everyone
home, and a worldwide obsession with coffee, these seem to be the traits of
your Earth families. I rather enjoy it.”
The sparkle in her eyes grew to all out grin as she bounded for the door. “Care
to join me in a few bowls of your earth delicacy, jell-o? We can pretend we’re
not fretting together.”
Landry chuckled in return and accompanied her out the door. As they proceeded
down the hall, with the SGC amazed at how Landry had gotten Vala back into a
good mood, he paused for a brief moment and questioned, “Lemons?”
CHAPTER 4: 127 Minutes
“May I join you ValaMalDoran?”
She was seated underneath the windowpane that overlooked the gateroom, her bent
legs stretching before her, and forearms resting upon her knees. It was a position
of resignation that he knew from observing her time in a prison cell. She
nodded her acquiescence without breaking her fervent gaze upon the empty
conference table in front of her.
He tipped his head in thanks and sat beside her, preferring an ‘indian
style’position (as ColonelMitchell referred to it) suitable for kelnorim rather
than her dejected stance.
“I wish to apologize to you ValaMalDoran, for my part in our inability to find
DanielJackson. Know that DanielJackson is a formidable warrior and that we will
not cease until he is returned to us.” He saw some of the tension drip from her
shoulders, supremely comforted by his words and the knowledge that lying simply
wasn’t part of his vocabulary.
Most of the SGC was amused by their relationship, particularly their standing
date for Tuesday night kelnorim sessions. They thought that a woman like
ValaMalDoran wouldn’t possess the self-control to meditate like a
Teal’c had done the same. By speaking rarely many thought him slow, but those
who understood knew he was ravenous for every new piece of knowledge, and they
who grasped this method were those who deserved Teal’c’s attention.
It was a pattern ValaMalDoran knew well, but in reverse. She spoke loud and
often, and in a manner that most of the SGC pretended to find most aggravating.
However, when she told jokes they laughed, when she teased DanielJackson they
were thrilled to see him banter like he had with O’Neill, and when she spoke
whatever innuendo flittered into her thought they looked at her wishing they
possessed the courage to speak their minds as she did.
His interest in ValaMalDoran had developed out of profound concern for
DanielJackson. Teal’c did not wish to see any harm befall his friend, which
seemed to be all the woman brought upon him. Teal’c’s first care had been the
consistent rise in DanielJackson’s blood pressure, but with greater observation
his occupation had transferred to a more plausible option.
DanielJackson was attracted to ValaMalDoran. The situation presented a new and
nerve-wracking possibility. DanielJackson was known throughout the galaxy for
his impervious morality, and yet was stricken tongue-tied by a thief.
Teal’c had long been entertained by her mannerisms, but for DanielJackson it
ran deeper than simple fascination. DanielJackson still seemed surprised when
he compelled people to change their lives, but never seemed shocked when ValaMalDoran
agreed to do something for a noble cause. DanielJackson saw more good in her
than even she believed, but she was willing to show it for what DanielJackson
offered in exchange; personal changes of his own. For all DanielJackson’s
protests that ValaMalDoran was having no effect upon him, DanielJackson had
finally found someone willing to fight back and it had inspired him. The
To see her in this state of discontent was most unusual, given the rarity of
the occurance he had yet to determine the most viable course of action. O’Neill
would require beer, ColonelCarter would require a long motorcycle ride,
DanielJackson would require someone to listen to, and ColonelMitchell would
require someone to listen to him, but he was unsure as to ValaMalDoran.
He had hypothesized with ColonelCarter, and they both presumed that
ValaMalDoran was past the stage of speaking. When DanielJackson ran late she
would converse amiably with ColonelMitchell, then less with ColonelCarter, but
never before had they been unable to retrieve DanielJackson completely.
Teal’c reached into the pocket of his BDUs and drew forth a deck of cards.
Knowing her fondness for various Tau’ri games of chance he assumed the
enjoyment would extend to other card games. He reached out his hand with the
deck and tilted his head to request her superior shuffling skills.
She held her hand to her side, shuffling the deck where she had taken the cards
so nothing could break her gaze on the legs of the conference table. Her thumb
ran slowly across the side of the dog-earred deck and she stopped shuffling.
Her breath seized, and she contracted as if in pain. The following breaths in
and out were slow and ragged.
She brought the cards to center, wrapping her palms around them and cradling
them to her chest. She slowly slid her trembling hands to her face, resting the
deck end on the tip of her nose. For the first time her gaze broke and she
closed her eyes, and breathed deep.
“You took these from Daniel’s office.”
“It is my understanding that DanielJackson has possessed these cards since his
return from
“He doesn’t like it when I play with them.”
“And yet you seem to know these cards well ValaMalDoran.”
Her eyes remained closed, and her hands enveloped the cards. “I couldn’t sleep
the night after I got my memories back. We stayed up in his office playing
Speed, and Go Fish, and everything else he could think of. He said that when he
woke up on Vis Uban he had nothing, not even a memory to his name. The
villagers clothed him, fed him, gave him a name, and new life. But none of it
was his, and he knew it.
“He went to bed a few nights into his new life, and there was a deck of cards
on his pillow. He didn’t know what to do with them, but he kept them. He said
he’s always been grateful to Oma for cheating that tiny bit more. She took them
from his desk and put them in his new home. He still doesn’t know why, but they
were something he got to keep in every life.”
She reopened her eyes, pulling herself back from the blissful memory and
reached her hand back to Teal’c, resting the cards on her palm, loath to wrap
them in her fingers again. “You should put these back.”
“How did you know these were DanielJackson’s cards ValaMalDoran?”
She bit her bottom lip and whispered, “Every deck feels different, and these
cards felt the same.” He waited. He would not tolerate falsehood.
The whisper grew dimmer, as if she was almost too embarrassed to admit it.
“They smell like him. Like sand, and sweat, and study, and honor.” With
Teal’c’s hand not forthcoming she slammed them on the ground in frustration for
admitting such a thing.
“I knew the smell Teal’c.”
He pulled his back away from the wall and dealt out the cards for Speed. “We
will play a game ValaMalDoran. You have often shared with DanielJackson that
too much life cannot be spent behind a desk, perhaps it is time you share the
same message with his cards. And perhaps they may teach him the same principle
when he returns.”
She lolled her head to the side and finally focused on the living. “And perhaps
ValaMalDoran, when he returns, his cards will smell like you.”
CHAPTER 5: 265 Minutes
She crisscrossed her knight over his pawns, leaping to the
other side of the board where she exclaimed, “Chess!”
“Vala.”
“What’s wrong General? Didn’t I do it right?” She batted her doe eyes in
youthful innocence and Jack snorted in reply.
“Vala, I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but I’m not Daniel.”
“Really Jack? I’m afraid I missed that tiny detail. But how can you blame me,
all the males of your planet look so similar. I mistake Colonel Mitchell for
Daniel all the time, which has led to several very interesting ‘morning after’
conversations.”
Jack refused to flinch at the implied smear to the rather impeccable honor of
Daniel and Mitchell and waited for her to fix the move.
Whatever crap the snake left in her head made her a quick study, and a better
chess player than any nerd on the base (a realization that came only after she
had cost them all significant amounts of their hazard pay.) She’d agreed to
play thinking that the last of Daniel’s best friends would be just as trusting
as the rest of SG-1, but apparently she was wrong.
Trusting probably wasn’t the best way to term it, but for their own reasons,
the relationship worked. Teal’c respected her for surviving the Goa’uld, and
for that whole affair on P8X-412 with the healing device. Sam and Daniel were generally
referred to by the other offworld teams as ‘the twins’ (something else she
picked up along with her poker winnings) and their similarities happened to
extend to their belief in Vala. She wanted to help, and though she was still
wary of their honorable approach to everything, she would do her best. Colonel
Mitchell’s regard seemed to stem from the fact that she always brought a little
extra excitement to their lives.
But Jack O’Neill knew every trick before she pulled it and refused to let he
win. Vala never tried to mess with Sam (Vala was daring, not stupid), only
rarely with Teal’c (just to watch the marines’ faces as he said something
scandalous in return), and constantly with Mitchell (he got so frazzled and, on
occasion, it would compel Daniel to jealousy.) Jack would fight with enough
dripping sarcasm that Vala caught herself laughing at O’Neill remarks when she
should’ve been firing back. He was insulting, demeaning, insinuated more things
than her imagination could keep up with, and made Daniel blush in faster time
than she ever could.
She loved him immediately.
And now they were seated on crates at a card table in the gateroom playing
chess. The marines who had been on duty when Jack and Vala sat themselves down
had started laughing, which led O’Neill to send them off to help clean up the
commissary. This new development compelled the marines stationed there to
rotate far more often than they usually did, and to dive out the gateroom doors
whenever they couldn’t control themselves anymore. (Between the two of them
they’d taken out 17 marines).
She moved the knight back from the other side of the board into check and Jack
muttered to himself, “And I thought Danny-boy was just full of crap.”
“What?”
Jack slid his king back a pace to take it out of harm’s way. “When he said you
were good at chess.”
“Ahh...”
They exchanged moves for a moment, with Vala mulling as she took a sip of the
contraband beer that Jack had given her. “The other scientists must have
complained to Daniel.”
“Hmm?” He savored the rim of his bottle and slid the back of his hand across
his mouth, giving him just long enough to release the grin he couldn’t keep
pent up anymore.
“About my taking all their money in chess games. They must have complained
about me to him since they all operate under the dillusion that he can control
me.” She swung forth her Queen in aggression, taking out one of Jack’s rooks.
“What would make you think that?”
“They haul him in to talk me down whenever I do anything remotely independent!”
“Vala...”
“Two days ago I couldn’t sleep and so I decided to try your Tau’ri sleeping aid
and get some warm milk. But silly me, every marine on your base followed me to
the commissary and jumped every time I moved. When I sat down at one of the
tables to drink it Daniel came flying through the door because they called him
down because they thought I was going to burn the place down!”
“Vala...”
“Really, if I wanted to destroy your base I would choose something better than
arson.”
“Vala!”
“Yes Jack?”
He righted the pieces she’d rattled to the board when she slammed down the
Queen she’d been aggressively playing for the last few moves. “How’s life?”
“Fine, why?”
He picked up the Queen he’d just taken out in one of Vala’s less brilliant
moves. “Because I was actually going for why you think the scientists would
complain about you to Daniel.”
She blushed, considerably, but tried to glide past her rather public lapse in
well-honed denial. “Because Daniel’s never actually paid enough attention to
see me play.”
“Sure he has.”
“Oh yeah, when?” The disbelief in her voice was perfectly toned to suit an
insulted teenager, but there was a giddy anticipation in her eyes that made
Jack retreat behind his bottle to smirk again. He knew he was getting far too
much enjoyment out of this, but he couldn’t help it. He’d caught the same
hapless grin on Daniel’s face more than once when they stopped by for lunch in
DC, and it gave Jack a rush to see his best friend so happy.
Hank had gone off to reminisce with some of his old unit buddies that he never
got to see anymore, leaving just Jack, Daniel, Teal’c, and Vala for lunch at
Jack’s place outside the city. When there wasn’t a crowd around her, forcing
her to live up to her scandalous reputation (or Daniel to his immaculate one)
they were happy. She played catch with Teal’c on the back lawn while she
attentively listened to Jack give a dramatic narration of his favorite Simpsons
moments. All the while Daniel treated her like a friend, not the vixen he was
tied to against his will.
He’d glance over Vala’s shoulder at Daniel, and just smile at how entranced she
had the boy, even when she wasn’t trying. Daniel had come across his fair share
of smitten maidens over the course of their friendship, but none of them would
ever last. The one thing Sha’re had brought to Daniel, that none of the others
had brought, was a challenge.
One who forced him to see the world differently, to make him be better than he
was before. The other girls thought he was a saint, which was a hard image to
deny, but the two that counted, they saw the human Daniel. The one who spent
too much time in his office and bore the weight of humanity on his shoulders.
“Just because he tries not to pay attention doesn’t mean he isn’t...paying
it...attention.”
She suppressed her smile and the thought that Jack apparently couldn’t hold his
beer very well while in the SGC. Or maybe he just wasn’t allowed to be saying
this.
“Has Carter made you read ‘Pride and Prejudice’ yet?”
“Teal’c did actually. He said it was a staple of your Earth culture.”
Jack just stared at her for a moment and shook his head. “I shoulda figured. I
guess that’s one of the perks to being big and scary, no one mocks you for
chick books.”
“What?”
“Chick books. Same genre as chick flicks.” She raised her eyebrows. “Stuff that
only women understand. Movies and such that doesn’t really have much of a plot,
but they end happy, and Daniel’s already had to explain this to you and you’re
getting me back for earlier.” She grinner wickedly as another marine fell out
the door.
“Remember that time near the beginning of the book where
“Not really Jack. I think you should re-tell the story of this ‘chick book’ for
me.”
He just glared at her, and then at the remaining marine who made the fool
mistake of snorting at O’Neill’s knowledge on the subject. “You know, I was
going to say something nice, but now I’m just going to drink my beer and kick
you around at chess.”
“Oh come on Jack. I thought Daniel was the one who was supposed to pout.”
Jack opened his mouth, but the retort was cut off by Walter. “General O’Neill,
sir, you’ve got a call from
Vala waited until she got the sympathetic smile from Walter, and then cleaned
up the board and helped herself to the last of Jack’s beer before heading back
to her quarters. SG-1 was offworld seeing to the location of Daniel, but before
their departure someone had summoned Jack to play babysitter. Or maybe for Vala
to babysit Jack, she never was sure.
She ate some pudding, annoyed some scientists, flirted with the newer marines,
some of which were green enough to flirt back (which Teal’c would inevitably
find out about and make them pay for on behalf of him friend), and then turned
in.
Laying on her bed was a rather loved copy of Pride & Prejudice and a sticky
note that read, “It’s Carter’s, I swear,” and a page number.
She flipped it open, still enjoying the feel of parchment between her fingers,
and the crack of much turned pages and battered binding. Though not the most
efficient way, there was a romance to the Tau’ri form of record keeping, and
she understood why Daniel loved it so.
Upon that page there was one line highlighted so much it glowed, and with a
rather masculine arrow pointed to the text should she mistake it.
“He began to feel the danger of paying
She read it, and though she would never admit to such a thing should Jack ever
ask, she giggled, sighed, and tumbled onto her bed, waiting for Darcy to come
home.
CHAPTER 6: Home
Of course he couldn’t see fit to drop by her quarters on a
night when she wasn’t in fluffy bunny pajama bottoms and an oversized jacket.
That would mean karma had finally forgiven her and that wasn’t likely to happen
anytime soon. Even worse, the jacket was his
She paced in front of the door as it shook again from his pounding. “Vala, open
up, I have to talk to you ” She drummed her fingers on the end of her bed
before bolding stepping towards the door. She made it halfway there before
turning back and plopping back down on her comforter.
She was tied up in knots, and avoiding him for most of the afternoon hadn’t
done much to improve her situation. He was just a boy like any other. A boy, a
boy, a boy, a boy Ugh, she sounded like a lovestruck teenager. Normally she
would throw open the door and tease him about being a genius who couldn’t work
a stargate, but today she couldn’t, she knew too much.
Daniel and the offworld teams had successfully made contact with the SGC at the
four hour mark, but SG-1 still went through the gate to haul Daniel back home.
On the last loner mission he was just over 24 hours late, and a few missions
before that he went three whole days without contact. Cam referred to their
retrieval mission as ‘grounding’ him, so that next time he would remember to be
a good boy and check in.
She’d believed Cam’s intent was solely to force Daniel out of future
intellectual reveries so Cam would be able to distinguish when Daniel was or
wasn’t about to get killed, and get Colonel Mitchell killed in retribution.
Then Jack sauntered into conference room with beer in tow and that theory went
out the window.
Jack had been brought in to get though to Daniel when no one else could, and
Vala wasn’t sure if that would swing in her favor or not. There was hope, and
then Jack gave her the beer.
Daniel had told her that he’d only seen Jack drink a few times while on base,
and each and every time preceded or followed profound amounts of emotional
trauma. (Usually involving women, because getting shot at just didn’t qualify
as trauma anymore.)
Jack giving her the beer was a sign this conversation wasn’t meant to be good.
She would avoid him, that was the only solution. Under no circumstances would
she see Daniel Jackson until she knew exactly what had been planned for his
imminent return that Jack felt she needed to be buzzed to deal with.
That resolution fell flat on it’s face the moment Daniel stepped through the
gate. She hadn’t meant to spy on him, she really hadn’t, she just happened to
be around every time SG-1 had their precursors to the Jack conversation.
After restlessly puttering around the base she eventually settled in to her
quarters to wait out her overly romantic spell in a place where no one could
see it. She waited until the sirens sounded in the hall announcing offworld
activation and then walked over to the infirmary to meet up with him.
To be fair it wasn’t so much a walk as a sprint interspersed with sauntering
sections whenever she happened past observers.
Any time she caught herself meandering just a little too quickly she forced
herself to stop and remind herself it had only been five hours. When she
finally made it to the infirmary hallway saunter didn’t do the lackadaisical
pace justice.
She kneaded her hands and forced the butterflies to shut up and leave her be.
The last few steps to the infirmary door were painfully slow, and she kept
reciting to herself the bountiful reasons to turn back. She’d convince herself
of the absolute stupidity in immediately dropping by to check on him, and how
pathetically over-attached it would make her seem, and would turn around.
Then she’d feel his smile. It rippled through her and all reason went out the
window. She stepped into the infirmary and stopped again at the sound of Sam’s
restraint. “It’s not right Daniel, and you know it.
“Sam, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
The frustration crept out the more he faked dumb. “Daniel, remember how we
always tell one another the truth?”
“Always Sam? Tell me, how’s Jack doing?”
“Cheap shot, and he’s here by the way, waiting to have this conversation with
you if you don’t listen to me.”
“Sam...”
“Daniel, you can’t keep vanishing for days at a time. Given your track record
for dying it’s not exactly fair to those left behind on your little
excursions.” (Vala reminded herself to have to cooks make Sam something pretty
for being on her side in this matter, not that she would admit to having a
side.)
“Sam I’ve been vanishing for years and we’ve never had this conversation
before. Are you telling me you didn’t care every other time I died?”
“That’s not what I’m saying and you know it. Things are different now.”
“Sam, I have no idea what you’re talking about, and unfortunately it seems that
Dr. Lam would like to interrupt you for a few blood tests.”
Sam and Carolyn shared a glare before she jammed the needle rather violently
into his arm and Daniel jumped. He turned to complain, but stopped when he
caught the look in Carolyn’s eye and decided silence was the most favorable
option.
After sneaking out of the infirmary she was bound and determined that she was
going to hold out for him to visit her, and not the other way around. So she
resorted to her old standby for emotional pacification, chocolate. (Namely the
triple layer cake the cooks had baked her when they heard Daniel was missing,
again.) Unfortunately she stumbled across stage two of the interrogation being
done by
“Stop talking now Mitchell.”
“Come on
She choked on her fourth piece of cake for the day and shrunk behind the corner
where they couldn’t see her. Teal’c had followed her out of the commissary,
stopping to ask, “ValaMalDoran, are you well?” She gestured at him to be quiet
and pointed around the corner all the while trying not to spill her cake and
give away their position.
Teal’c nodded in understanding as the conversation continued with Daniel’s
stress level shooting up several points. “Mitchell, remember how I told you to
stop talking ”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed this Jackson, but this base is populated by
brilliant scientists and the best the US military has to offer. I can guarantee
you they’ve noticed that you’re not particularly friendly when she’s late
comin’ back from offworld.”
They were only a few paces away from her corner, and she had a feeling that if
she got caught evesdropping on this particular conversation he’d be too
embarassed to speak to her for the next month. She gave Teal’c the doe eyes and
mouthed “please.” To sweeten the deal she extended her hands forth with the
plate of chocolate cake, and after giving her as much a smile as she ever got
from the
“ColonelMitchell, GeneralLandry is looking for you.”
“Not you too Teal’c.”
“I have nothing more to say on the matter DanielJackson.” He stepped around
Daniel and followed Colonel Mitchell down the hall, showing his displeasure by
declining to give his customary nod in goodbye.
“Teal’c,” he called down the hall at the retreating frame, “I have a job to do.
I brought them into this galaxy, and intend to get them out.”
She heard Teal’c’s footsteps cease, apparently close enough for Daniel to drop
his voice to a volume more appropriate for holding this conversation in public.
“You lied to the SGC about your family when you came here, and we all
understood why. Teal’c, you didn’t want them to die for you. I understood it
then, and all the more now.”
The cooks didn’t ask when she walked back into the kitchen and left with the
tray and a slice that consisted of the remaining half the cake. She ate too
much, threw things at the happy sitcom endings on her tv, and when the singing
girl on their educational channel suggested that Tau’ri soap could dissolve her
attachment (something about washing him out of her hair)
She took an excessively long shower and then, in a complete lapse in judgement,
donned his sweatshirt before she even realized she’d done it. She’d snuggled up
to cake and the closest she would ever get to Daniel and his galaxy saving
tendencies again, and then he started pounding on the door.
Now she found herself pacing and in complete disbelief that she just couldn’t
open the door. It didn’t matter if he wanted her or not, he’d made that
perfectly clear. He wanted to keep her and everyone else in the universe alive,
even if it meant denying himself the chance to live.
“Vala, come on, open up ”
“No ”
The pounding intensified, she knew she shouldn’t have answered. “We have to
talk ” She heard the plod of exceptionally uncomfortable marines go past
shouting Daniel in the hall, and his voice didn’t drop. He was making a fool of
himself in front of the best gossipers in the world and he didn’t care.
Infernal boy. Everything about him was charming, even when he wasn’t trying to
he got points for sheer stubbornness.
She swung open the door and tried not to giggle at the look of shock on his
face. Apparently he’d prepared his oration to be delivered through the door and
never actually expected to be invited in. He went as far into the room as he
could get, leaning against the far wall with the assumption that space would
make this conversation easier.
“H-how are you?”
“I’m fine Daniel, how are you?” Calm, think calm and collected. You didn’t hear
him in the hall, he has nothing of importance to say, he’s asking about a
translation, not dropping by to proclaim his undying love.
“Good...good.”
This wasn’t going to be awkward at all was it? Such was the trouble with a
person who made you feel so off kilter. They both thought they knew how the
other felt, but there was still the question. Intuition and overheard
conversations could only guarantee so much.
Until the tension between them was given a name, was spoken aloud, there would
always be the plaguing sickness of doubt that would stop either from pressing
forward.
“So Jack was talking to me today about the whole affair with the Tok’ra and the
Zatarc,” she nodded (Mitchell wasn’t the only one who could read).
“And about what Jack said when he had to tell the absolute truth,” (also helped
that she and Sam had had a late night conversation concerning that
confessional.) She almost smiled at the path he’d chosen to take. Of course
brilliant Daniel would pick the traditional method of going roundabout. He
would talk about it without talking about it.
“Sam mentioned something once.”
“Yeah, I assumed so.”
He clenched and unclenched his fists multiple times, all his methodical
preparation for this flying out the window. “Was there any reason you brought
it up Daniel?”
“Yes. You know that the
“Jack actually beamed over to tell me that was a load of crap.”
“What?”
“The military still has their regs, but he said that wasn’t why he’s gone along
with it.” He smiled comfortably at the memories, something he was much better
at discussing than, well...stuff.
“Jack’s never been one for following the rules, and I’ve always held to the
notion that being banned from liking Sam was part of the reason he found her
attractive in the first place.
“Anyway, a few missions before the Zatarcs, Sam was trapped on a Goa’uld
vessel, and Jack stayed behind to get her out. That decision almost got the
both of them killed.”
He’d slipped into storytelling mode, the tone he used in briefings that held
undulating excitement for dead civilizations, the tone that still intrigued
her. No, it was a deeper voice than that. There was the passion that only came
from stories he’d lived himself, from the events that changed his world.
“We hold to the practice of ‘never leave a man behind,’ but sometimes, no
matter how much we don’t want it to, the mission has to come first. According to
the military debriefing Jack should’ve realized that when his armband failed,
so did mine, and he should’ve come after me to help with the naquadah.” The was
a growing twinge of anger now, directed towards the fool bureaucrats who deemed
an ore more valuable than his much beloved sister.
He was circling in on himself, rambling as he debated whether this was actually
the way he wanted to do this, but Vala refused to give him enough time to
doubt. “What does that have to do with why Jack did it?” She stepped forward,
cocking her head to the side, concerned for his mental well being. (And that
was all, she wasn’t thinking about how sad he looked for the pain of his
friends, or how the light made his eyes shine when he summoned the will to look
at her.)
“Jack never told me this before, at least not in words anyway. He thought that
someday the stargate was going to get one of us killed. After all, it’s gotten
all of us almost there more than a few times.
“You’ve probably been told this, but Jack lost his son right before he joined
the stargate program, and lost some good friends in the early days.
“He knew other friends would fall, and he would fight that fact tooth and nail,
but he was prepared for that. He said he just didn’t have it in him to lose
someone he cared about more than his own life all over again.”
Those azure eyes finally held hers, and he couldn’t stop himself from stepping
to meet her in the middle of the room. He brushed a lock of her intractable
black hair out of her eyes as she understood him.
Just a ghost of his fingertips traced across her face. It was his favorite
motion, and hers too. The weight of every word that roamed through his brain
contained in one smooth touch. She never quite understood how he could convey
more passion through restraint than any release Questesh had ever seen.
“He will trade his life to make peace Vala. He’ll fight to whatever end and
give all of himself to make it. All with the hope that someday the world won’t
be in peril and he’ll get to retire back to
He rested his hands on her shoulders to make sure she understood, and
desperately tried to ignore the fact that she jumped at his touch. He opened
his mouth and tried to speak, but words failed him. He was besotted with her,
they both knew that, but for all this fire he didn’t love her yet, he couldn’t.
They were a match, she stirred him up as he settled her down, but it wasn’t
enough. They’d seen too much, lost too much to fall in love like the young
could. Logic and duty now made themselves heard in the pantheon of passions that
roamed about their heads.
She rested her palms on his chest, feeling his heartbeat weave through hers and
summed the will to speak for them both. “She would kill you if it happened. Use
you to turn me to Origin.”
He played with that strand of loose hair, weaving it around his fingers.
“They’d use you to get at what’s inside my head. To find whatever Ancient
battle plan is locked in there.”
They sat for a moment, knowing any other path they wanted would ruin what they
were meant to do. But they couldn’t break quite yet, tempted for just a breath
in time to do the selfish thing, to simply be happy.
Life wouldn’t stay that way, and they knew it. There would be bliss for a
night, and then the next Prior would come. They’d hunt for the weapon, and be
used as a weapon far more powerful against the other.
Quetesh said once that she chose Vala because only that which was strongest
grew among the dogs of war, and Vala was proof of that. At the end of it all
what she buried would be the strongest love she would ever know, but resting in
his arms at the end of this journey seemed painfully far away.
She felt him shift. If they stayed suspended, ready to fall into each other’s
arms any longer they would never let go, and that couldn’t happen. They weren’t
ready to be in love yet. The fire and passion that would go to the other was
needed for the galaxy, and couldn’t be split. He brushed his fingers past her
cheek again, soaking the feel of her skin on his before he slid out the door to
bury himself in his work.
She leaned her forehead against the cold metal of the door, forcing her
temperature down, and ran her fingertips across her cheekbone. If they were the
sacrifice peace demanded, so be it.
She tugged down the sleeves of the sweatshirt and held them to her lips,
drinking in the smell of Daniel’s sweatshirt. It would come. Sure, there was
galaxy to save and evil ascended being to stop, but the night when she would
have more than his hoodie to keep her warm would come.
And it was worth the wait.
* *
* * * *
AUTHOR’S NOTES: Per the request of several individuals I've written part one of two for a more feathery (yes, I said feathery, I refuse to use fluffy as a word to describe any of my works) ending.
PART 1: Alternate Ending
Of course he couldn’t see fit to drop by her quarters on a
night when she wasn’t in fluffy bunny pajama bottoms and an oversized jacket.
That would mean karma had finally forgiven her and that wasn’t likely to happen
anytime soon. Even worse, the jacket was his
She paced in front of the door as it shook again from his pounding. “Vala, open
up, I have to talk to you!” She drummed her fingers on the end of her bed before
boldly stepping towards the door. She made it halfway there before turning back
and plopping back down on her comforter.
She was tied up in knots, and avoiding him for most of the afternoon hadn’t
done much to improve her situation. He was just a boy like any other. A boy, a
boy, a boy, a boy! Ugh, she sounded like a lovestruck teenager. Normally she
would throw open the door and tease him about being a genius who couldn’t work
a stargate, but today she couldn’t, she knew too much.
Daniel and the offworld teams had successfully made contact with the SGC at the
four hour mark, but SG-1 still went through the gate to haul Daniel back home.
On the last loner mission he was just over 24 hours late, and a few missions
before that he went three whole days without contact.
She’d believed Cam’s intent was solely to force Daniel out of future
intellectual reveries so Cam would be able to distinguish when Daniel was or
wasn’t about to get killed, and get Colonel Mitchell killed in retribution.
Then Jack sauntered into conference room, when he knew Daniel was coming home,
and with beer in tow, that threw the punishment theory right out the window.
Jack had been brought in to get though to Daniel when no one else could, and
Vala wasn’t sure if that would swing in her favor or not. There was hope, and
then Jack gave her the beer.
Daniel had told her that he’d only seen Jack drink a few times while on base,
and each and every time preceded or followed profound amounts of emotional
trauma. (Usually involving women, because getting shot at just didn’t qualify
as trauma anymore.)
Jack giving her the beer was a sign this conversation wasn’t meant to be good.
She would avoid him, that was the only solution. Under no circumstances would
she see Daniel Jackson until she knew exactly what had been planned for his
imminent return that Jack felt she needed to be buzzed to deal with.
That resolution fell flat on it’s face the moment Daniel stepped through the
gate. She hadn’t meant to spy on him, she really hadn’t, she just happened to
be around every time SG-1 had their precursors to the Jack conversation.
After restlessly puttering around the base she eventually settled in to her
quarters to wait out her overly romantic spell in a place where no one could
see it. She waited until the sirens sounded in the hall announcing offworld
activation and then walked over to the infirmary to meet up with him.
To be fair it wasn’t so much a walk as a sprint interspersed with sauntering
sections whenever she happened past observers.
Any time she caught herself meandering just a little too quickly she forced
herself to stop and remind herself it had only been five hours. When she
finally made it to the infirmary hallway saunter didn’t do the lackadaisical
pace justice.
She kneaded her hands and forced the butterflies to shut up and leave her be.
The last few steps to the infirmary door were painfully slow, and she kept
reciting to herself the bountiful reasons to turn back. She’d convince herself
of the absolute stupidity in immediately dropping by to check on him, and how
pathetically over-attached it would make her seem, and would turn around.
Then she’d feel his smile. It rippled through her and all reason went out the
window. She stepped into the infirmary and stopped again at the sound of Sam’s
restraint. “It’s not right Daniel, and you know it.
“Sam, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
The frustration crept out the more he faked dumb. “Daniel, remember how we
always tell one another the truth?”
“Always Sam? Tell me, how’s Jack doing?”
“Cheap shot, and he’s here by the way, waiting to have this conversation with
you if you don’t listen to me.”
“Sam...”
“Daniel, you can’t keep vanishing for days at a time. Given your track record
for dying it’s not exactly fair to those left behind on your little
excursions.” (Vala reminded herself to have to cooks make Sam something pretty
for being on her side in this matter, not that she would admit to having a
side.)
“Sam I’ve been vanishing for years and we’ve never had this conversation
before. Are you telling me you didn’t care every other time I died?”
“That’s not what I’m saying and you know it. Things are different now.”
“Sam, I have no idea what you’re talking about, and unfortunately it seems that
Dr. Lam would like to interrupt you for a few blood tests.”
Sam and Carolyn shared a glare before she jammed the needle rather violently
into his arm and Daniel jumped. He turned to complain, but stopped when he
caught the look in Carolyn’s eye and decided silence was the most favorable
option.
After sneaking out of the infirmary she was bound and determined that she was
going to hold out for him to visit her, and not the other way around. So she
resorted to her old standby for emotional pacification, chocolate. (Namely the
triple layer cake the cooks had baked her when they heard Daniel was missing,
again.) Unfortunately she stumbled across stage two of the interrogation being
done by
“Stop talking now Mitchell.”
“Come on
She choked on her fourth piece of cake for the day and shrunk behind the corner
where they couldn’t see her. Teal’c had followed her out of the commissary,
stopping to ask, “ValaMalDoran, are you well?” She gestured at him to be quiet
and pointed around the corner all the while trying not to spill her cake and
give away their position.
Teal’c nodded in understanding as the conversation continued with Daniel’s
stress level shooting up several points. “Mitchell, remember how I told you to
stop talking!”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed this
They were only a few paces away from her corner, and she had a feeling that if
she got caught evesdropping on this particular conversation he’d be too
embarrassed to speak to her for the next month. She gave Teal’c the doe eyes
and mouthed “please.” To sweeten the deal she extended her hands forth with the
plate of chocolate cake, and after giving her as much a smile as she ever got
from the
“ColonelMitchell, GeneralLandry is looking for you.”
“Not you too Teal’c.”
“I have nothing more to say on the matter DanielJackson. It has been many years
since I joined your people DanielJackson, but despite the time I have spent
studying your culture, I still do not entirely understand the limitations on
your relations.”
“There are rules Teal’c, you know that.”
“I am aware of the rules for your military DanielJackson. But such rules do not
apply to your behavior.”
She heard Daniel sigh and start past Teal’c toward her corner. “You are a
brother DanielJackson, and I wish to see no harm come to you, from any source.”
“I’ll be fine Teal’c.”
“She is my friend also DanielJackson, and I will see that no harm is done to
her, even if you insist upon harming yourself.”
Daniel stopped, and she could hear his slowly turn and stutter, “Wh-what?”
“You have feelings for ValaMalDoran.”
“I-I don’t know what...”
“I have seen many a young
“What behavior!”
An airman passing Vala turned the corner, and stopped for a moment as he
observed the scene in front of him. Judging from the saucer size his eyes
swelled to and his terrified grimace as he turned tail and almost sprinted past
Vala, to the outside observer it would appear that Teal’c and Daniel were
finally ready to come to blows.
“You are behaving in a manner which I am unaccustomed to seeing DanielJackson.”
“I’m behaving the same way I always have.”
“You are currently angry at me while in a main hallway of the SGC. Does that
not suggest something abnormal DanielJackson? I believe your desire to avoid
discussing your feelings for ValaMalDoran cause you to react this way.”
Daniel sputtered and blew past Teal’c and froze as he turned to face Vala on
the other side of the corner, listening to their conversation.
The color drained out of his face as he realized what he’d been caught denying.
Rather than waiting to deal with his rejection by refusal, or for the anger to
blossom when he realized she’d been spying, she gave him the shiniest version
of her guilty smile she could muster, handed him her half-eaten plate of
chocolate cake, and sprinted down the hall.
* * * *
It was all Jack’s fault.
He’d sworn to Carolyn on everything holy, (namely cake, fishing, and ever being
allowed to fly an F-302 again) that Daniel had left the base. That was how he
tricked Carolyn into opening her office door and letting him in to see Vala.
He’d found her sitting on the ground behind Carolyn’s desk playing solitaire
with a deck of cards that Jack knew. Vala knew that her friendship with Carolyn
Lam was though to be quite impossible, so no one would look for her seeking
solitude with the not over-compassionate Dr. Lam. Little did most of the SGC
know that Carolyn, Carter, and Vala had formed their own little triumvirate
that knew everything and managed to tip the scales in favor of every woman on
base.
Jack was never a fan of rational arguments, so rather than attempt to make one
he simply picked up the cards and left Teal’c to pick her up. She didn’t even
bother wriggling in Teal’c’s grasp, but chose to sigh and grumble at Jack.
“This isn’t fair you know. I thought kidnapping women for your own dastardly
purposes, as much as I would enjoy those purposes, was against your Tau’ri code
of conduct.”
“He’s off base Vala.”
“Oh, well then, there’s no point in carrying me around, I’ve got no reason to
misbehave.” Teal’c still didn’t put her down. That was her first sign that
something was afoot.
Her concerns grew when the fellow didn’t chit-chat on the way. It wasn’t just
their normal taciturn nature when Sam forced them into meddling in someone’s
personal life (Which they rarely wanted to do) It was fully fledged military
mode. Jack even took point with Teal’c assuming the six. It was as if she was
some piece of precious cargo they were charged with getting safely back to her
quarters.
Teal’c set her gently down outside her door as Jack started talking. “Carter
said you should put on, the…black, something or other.” He did his little
finger roll, expecting his explanation to coalesce into a perfect plan in her
head.
“I believe ColonelCarter specified that you are to wear the green wrap dress
that you purchased while shopping two weeks ago. We were also instructed to
inform you that you are to wear you hair down and…”
Jack snapped his fingers and shouted, “The strappy black sandals! Carter wants
you to wear the strappy black sandals.” He smacked Teal’c in the arm as he
said, “See, told ya I’d remember.” Teal’c tipped his head in agreement and gave
a small smile at Jack’s enthusiasm.
“Alright. You get dressed, and then Teal’c will make sure you get to the
elevator.”
Her amusement at their odd behavior suddenly vanished. She assumed a stance
more accustomed to Teal’c (given the fact Jack found his requests harder to
deny than anyone, she assumed it was her safest response.)
“General, I respectfully decline your generous offer to leave the base. I have
a lot of…paperwork, very important paperwork, that I need to do.”
Jack assumed a matching stance in mocking return and said, “Refusal denied Miss
Mal Doran. You will throw on your civie gear and head off base with us.” He
patted Vala on the shoulder and confided, “Don’t worry, we’re not going to see
Daniel.”
Jack headed down the corridor with a spring in his step, obviously off to don
his ‘civies’ before they went out. This wasn’t just something with SG-1, she
got to wear jeans for that sort of thing. Jack had a plan, and she wasn’t sure
if it was good sign or a bad one that Sam and Teal’c were in on it. “Jack,
where are we going?”
He simply shouted over his shoulder with a tone of suppressed mirth, “Out to
dinner with one Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Black.”
She looked at Teal’c as she processed the name, then it hit her. She turned to
double-check with Teal’c to be sure Jack was just as crazy as he sounded. “He’s
Area 51’s version of Daniel isn’t he? Every time the Marines get jumpy about
having civilians around they bring up Black’s name as Daniel’s replacement for
SG-1. He was the one Mitchell was supposed to pick rather than bring you all
back together.”
Teal’c cocked an eyebrow in response to her knowledge on the matter. “Earlier
in the week He pointed out something that Daniel mistranslated. Daniel
got…huffy, that he’d missed it. He stayed up for a whole day longer than he
should have because he wanted to finish some translation that Black thought he
couldn’t do. I’ve never seen Daniel quite so competitive before. Why would
Jack…” Then it dawned on her as a grin that matched Jack’s malevolent smile
spread across Teal’c’s face.
She turned to Jack’s retreating frame and hollered down the corridor, “You’re
an evil, evil, man Jack O’Neill!”
Jack turned long enough to give a
She looked to Teal’c, almost disbelieving that they would set her up on a date
with the man who the
“Indeed.”
PART 2: Alternate Ending
Daniel was pissed. No, that didn’t really do it justice. For
about ten seconds Jack stared at the shell-shocked Daniel standing in the bar
doorway and wondered if they had crossed a line.
SG-1 had hauled Jack out from the green of the ninth hole
Black was a bastard, which was something Daniel seemed to miss for those first
few years. Jack knew it after the memorial they gave the first time Daniel
“died” (back when they still pretended Daniel was held to the laws of nature
like other regular human beings.) Black had shown up at the SGC with
recommendations from Area 51, the Pentagon, and every bigwig in the Department
of Defense. All designed to paint him as the best candidate to take Daniel
Jackson’s position as the head of the archaeology department and his place on
SG-1.
Jack could understand why folks liked Black, he was a smart fella, (mind you,
one who couldn’t hold a candle to Danny,) and he did his job well. The marines
liked him because he was a perfect shot who never whined. Teal’c took a shine
to him when Black stopped by for kelnorim sessions whenever he was in
Somehow cough cough Doc Frasier found out that Black was just waiting for
Daniel to mess up or die so he could assume his rightful place on SG-1. (And
until his dying day Jack would maintain that the morphine and a gunshot wound,
not Black hitting on Carter, made him do it.)
After that, SGC relations with Lt. Black became a little less…friendly.
In fact, cruel and unusual punishment probably didn’t do it justice. The idea
that he could go after Daniel Jackson, the beloved little brother to the SGC,
made him one of the most hated men in the galaxy, just behind Kinsey and
Apophis on the base’s “10 Most Wanted List.”
Every time Black made his way to the base after that he was immediately
escorted out by Ferretti and the very trigger happy marines of SG-2. They gave
their apologies and offered the excuse the Tok’ra were on their way in, and
they didn’t like it when they ran into folks they didn’t know. Eventually
Ferretti just got a call from the front entrance that Black was on his way down
and headed him off at the pass with a P-90 in hand. (
Now Daniel stood in the bar doorway, just staring at their table as he festered
with rage. Daniel wasn’t supposed to know they were here, that wasn’t the plan.
He would find out tomorrow from some well meaning scientist who still lived
under the delusion that Daniel despised Vala and Daniel would betray himself.
They probably wouldn’t fall into one another’s arms and live happily ever after,
but he’d react just enough for Vala to know where they stood without Daniel
actually having to say where they stood. His was not supposed to catch his best
friends at a table with the man they’d risked court martial to keep away from
Daniel.
Jack was at the head of the table, with Teal’c to his right, Mitchell across,
and Carter tucked safely in between. However, they weren’t what Daniel was
staring at. Vala was to Jack’s left, and next to her was Black, with his chair
pulled too close and his hand suspiciously close to touching her back.
Daniel straightened his shoulders and purposefully strode over to the table,
smiling at the group. Black didn’t even have the decency to flinch while the
rest of SG-1 braced for impact. “Hey guys!” Daniel had been spending too much
time around Vala, he actually looked chipper about his team being out to dinner
with the man who wanted to replace him. “I guess this restaurant is in a dead
zone or something, because Landry can’t get a hold of any of you. Apparently
SG-3 came in with news about the Priors and he wants us in to check it out.”
Black stood to square off against Daniel, expecting a squabble over the woman
sitting between them. Daniel’s smile stayed on, perfectly natural, as he stuck
out his hand. “Greg, it’s been a long time.”
“That it has Daniel. I hope my notes on the translation from last week proved
useful.” Vala grimaced. Those would be the translations he’d corrected Daniel
on that had thrown him into a fit of self doubt for several hours.
Black told the team to head back to the base while he picked up the check,
obviously thinking it would impress Vala. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and
said he’d meet with her at the SGC later when they were done with their
meeting. Daniel’s smile didn’t flinch.
Yeah, they were in trouble.
She’d taken the longest shower ever and used the harshest soap she could find
in the SGC storeroom to get his smell off her. She was almost tempted to simply
burn her new dress since she found the smell so repugnant. It was just cologne,
she knew that, but she couldn’t stand it. When she dried off she wrapped
herself in Daniel’s sweatshirt, wanting the aroma of dirt, sweat, and coffee to
never leave her again.
She’d gotten used to honesty, to the truth behind every smile, every gesture of
Daniel Jackson. The fool man had raised the bar, and no man like Greg Black
could ever meet it. The boys she had known before tried to impress her with
flattery and money, but that didn’t mean quite as much when compared to the man
you wanted, one who would ring onto an Ori ship to save you.
This was the first time she could ever remember not wanting to play. Jack
didn’t know that Daniel had confessed (not on purpose, but it was something).
She thought it was brilliant plan until she saw Black. He was suave and
handsome, but there was something festering underneath, something foul. He had
rotted away his soul, and she felt infected when he touched her.
She wanted to erase the night, wipe away her guilt and shame over hurting a man
such as Daniel. His spirit was fired with truth and purity, and she swore to
never hurt him again. She wanted to apologize, to go to him and make it right,
but she wasn’t brave enough for that.
Then he started pounding on her door.
Now she stood facing the metal plank that blocked her from him and couldn’t
face him, couldn’t face his disappointment. “Go away Daniel!”
“Vala, open the door!”
“…No.”
“No?” He sputtered, the disbelief seeping through. “Vala, you have to.”
“No Daniel, actually I don’t have to do anything!”
“Alright then, I just thought you’d like to know that Greg has been called back
to Area 51. His flight won’t be ready for over an hour and he asked me to drop
by and tell you that he and the rest of SG-1 are having dinner in the
commissary.”
She opened the door a crack, sure that something had infested Daniel’s brain.
He was being submissive. Daniel Jackson was a warrior for his people, their
speaker, and in no legend she’d been told or mission report she’d stolen had he
been referred to as meek.
“Black asked you to come and get me?”
“Of course he did, why wouldn’t he?” She furrowed her brow, utterly baffled.
Not only did Black have the audacity to send Daniel, Daniel went like a good
little boy. This wasn’t happening. Daniel did not do what he was told. If
possible he got even more defiant when someone from the military tried to tell
him what to do.
“I actually thought it was rather respectful of him. He thought that since I’m
the closest thing you have to a brother it appropriate to ask my permission
before actually pursuing a relationship with you.”
Her eyes narrowed in rage. She knew full well that Black’s competitive streak
against Daniel had reached a new and disgusting height. He had heard the rumors
floating around the SGC about the budding romance between her and Daniel, and
decided to exploit it. He was far too aggressive at dinner, just assuming from
the stories about her unscrupulous character that she’d be an easy mark. The
predatory gleam in Black’s eyes told that he was looking to get laid and tell
Daniel about it in the morning.
Apparently the boys hadn’t narrated to Daniel how Black had behaved at the
restaurant, if they had he would be more willing to fight, just like they had.
(Teal’c had to forcibly restrain Jack and Mitchell several times, and once when
Black slapped her on the butt while on the way to the bathroom it took both of
them to pin Teal’c to his chair and not rip Black’s head from his body.)
As she was freaking out Daniel looked content with himself. They said
confession was good for the soul, and apparently it did Daniel Jackson wonders.
His hair was slightly tousled from the shower and he’d left his glasses
somewhere. He looked every inch the dashing rogue as he leaned against her
doorframe. He still had that healthy glow from his
She slammed the door shut, closing off the few inches of Daniel that she’d been
staring at. He started banging again and wanted to know what was going on now.
It took her a whole of thirty seconds to whip the door wide open, and it was
Daniel’s turn to be confused.
She spread her hands to both sides of the frame and struck a pose. She was in
her blue BDU pants, the ones that hugged just a pinch too tight, and her black
tank top. She had pulled her wavy hair out of her ponytail and let it
gracefully frame her face.
Daniel’s jaw dropped and rather than ask a pertinent question he muttered, “How
did you do that so fast?”
She smirked and sauntered down the hall towards the commissary. Daniel watched
Vala walk away for a few moments until she turned back to smile at him. “Are
you coming darling?”
“Actually, I had some work to do, so I won’t be…”
She put her finger over his lips and shushed him. “But darling, you need to eat
something. You can’t live on coffee alone.” Vala stammered as Daniel gently
kissed the fingertip that stopped his speech. She caught herself staring at
Daniel’s lips as she ran he fingertip along his succulent bottom lip.
“C-Carolyn says you need to take better care of yourself.”
She wrapped her fingers around the scruff of his shirt front and pulled him
close enough to feel the heat seeping from his chest, and to make him blush.
“Come on Daniel.” She hovered close to his lips, just breathing him in. She
bounded back, dragging him with her as she teased, “And I promise, dinner and a
show.”
PART 3: Alternate Ending
There was a plan, there was a plan, she wasn’t just being
mean, there was a plan. And maybe if he just kept saying that it would true.
And maybe the Ori would vanish, no doctor would ever try to wean him off
caffeine again, and he’d spend the rest of his life in a Lantean library.
However, all he got to do now was debate physics. Specifically, if it was
actually possible for Vala’s top to burst into flames if Black spent any more
time staring at it.
Daniel had run out of languages to count to ten in about five minutes ago, and
was simply shooting murderous looks at Sam every time Vala reclaimed Black’s
attention from gloating. Apparently she grasped the plan while the men were
left to fend for themselves. Every time Black did something to earn himself
some time in the brig and the first place in line at the next Tok’ra host
auction Sam would place a rather firm kick in their shins and glare them back
into their polite hats.
Daniel’s reverie ended with a rather overzealous kick from a combat boot that
didn’t belong to Sam. He followed the eyes (and stifled laughter) of everyone
else at the table and joined in the staring at Black. It took a moment before
the reality processed. Black was drooling. Vala literally had a member of the
US military drooling over her. And she was enjoying it. This man deserved to be
shot.
Landry’s voice crackled over the radio and interrupted the luncheon with joyous
news. “As much as I hate to break up this little get together, the Lieutenant’s
chopper is here, and SG-1 is due for a briefing.” Bless that man and his
penchant for directness. Mitchell and Jack sprang from the table, offering to
escort Black to the helipad, and even Teal’c barely restrained his enthusiasm
at the prospect of having this man off base.
Black’s hand lingered on Vala’s cheek for a moment as she smiled giddily back.
He promised to call her and only grinned at Daniel for a heartbeat before going
in to kiss her goodbye and strut out the commissary door. Jack stopped Mitchell
for just long enough to pull the gun that the Colonel was so tenderly caressing
out of the holster before sending him off as an escort.
“Well, I need a beer and a shower, and the base will have to be sanitized. But
other than that I think today went rather well.” Daniel didn’t bother
responding, Teal’c’s quirked eyebrow was doing enough talking for the both of
them.
“Don’t worry Jack, your day is about to get a whole lot better.” Vala tossed
her black jacket into Jack’s lap as she headed to Daniel’s side of the table.
She kicked her leg over Daniel’s lap and bumped the table back to give herself
sitting room. She tugged at the tank top to pull it even lower, and mussed her
hair while Daniel blushed and held his hands as if at gunpoint, struggling not
to stare.
“I thought my day was going to get better Vala?” She just grinned and started
tugging Daniel’s t-shirt out of its tidily arranged format and wrapped her
fingers in his hair as she leaned in for a kiss.
“Vala, stop! What are you doing?”
She cocked her head in confusion for a moment before snapping her fingers in
realization. “Of course darling, I completely forgot, and that’s going to be
half the fun.” She grinned maliciously before saying, “Jack, left-hand pocket
please, leave them on the table.” Jack stuck his hand into Vala’s jacket pocket
and wriggled around for a moment before muttering, “Vala, there’s nothing in
there.”
“No Jack, your pocket.” Jack pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and dropped
them on the table while barely suppressing a smile at his favorite resident
pick-pocket. She wrapped one of Daniel’s hands around the small of her back and
placed the other a little too far up her thigh for his comfort (which she
promptly moved back when he tried to withdraw.) She laced her fingers through
his hair and went in for another kiss before Daniel even had the foresight to
stop her.
It was only several seconds later when he heard Sam’s giggle that Daniel had
the presence of mind to pull out, and saw Greg Black frozen in the doorway of
the commissary.
Jack, with barely contained mirth was the one to speak. “Hiya Greg. I thought
you were heading back to Area 51.”
“I, I…forgot my keys.” Stunned didn’t do it justice. Even Teal’c was smirking
as Jack guarded his mouth with a coffee much to hide face choked with laughter.
Vala went back to kissing Daniel, and only through considerable effort did he
hear the astonished conversation between Black and SG-1.
“Aren’t they sweet Greg?”
“They’re…great Sam, just great. When exactly did they get together?” Black was
hanging on to his sanity by a mere thread, shock overcoming whatever jealousy
or rage he might feel in a moment.
Mitchell smacked Black on the back in a brotherly fashion and laughed, “They’ve
been together for months Greg. There was even a bet goin’ ‘round the SGC about
where the Ori got the other half of Adria’s genetics.”
Black’s eyes groaned from the stress at widening that far (due to the purr from
Vala at Daniel’s kiss or the suggestion of paternity, Daniel wasn’t sure.) Sam
just smiled while Cam faked a coughing fit and she continued on his behalf.
“You’ve read the mission reports Greg, once the SG teams heard her preach the
rumors started to fly.”
“But, but she’s not…right?”
This time Vala had to pipe up, even Sam couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “I
certainly hope not Colonel. I would be immensely disturbed if our firstborn
child had a crush on her father.” She turned back to Daniel and started to
trace the line of his bottom lip with her thumb as she continued. “Besides, I
was hoping for a boy.”
Sam snorted. The classiest woman Daniel had ever known snorted while was trying
not to laugh. Mitchell turned his back to Greg, but that didn’t change the fact
his shoulders were shaking so hard from scarcely contained laughter Daniel was
surprised Black didn’t notice immediately.
Black stumbled towards the table muttering “pregnant.” Vala just smiled,
apparently thrilled with the thought that while her plan was to make Black wish
he’d never been born, she got to ignite a whole new fanfare of rumors.
Black gingerly picked up his keys and couldn’t rip his eyes away from the sight
of Vala sitting very comfortably on Daniel Jackson’s lap. He would brush her
bangs out of her eyes, and she’d tip her head so the bangs would spill into her
sightline again, and Daniel’s hand would brush along her forehead once more.
“She was flirting with me!” Black didn’t know where that came from. He was
infuriated. This alien thing had been all over him, flirting with him in front
of Jackson, and now she was plastered to Jackson’s shirt and ignoring his
presence!
“Flirt? Daniel, what does that mean?”
“Vala, remember how last night I told you that some men might interpret your
behavior as something more?”
“But darling, that’s how my people are polite.” The angst in her voice was
flawless. The innocent lamb wounded by such an accusation. She turned to Black
with eyes dripping pity and apologized, all while staying firmly planted in
Daniel’s lap. “I’m so sorry if I confused you Colonel. That’s simply how my
people behave around friends. I didn’t ever mean to ‘flirt’ with you.”
Somehow she said the words and painted the perfect picture of purity, but there
was still the smallest bite of sarcasm to it. A little river of condescension
slipping through the words, and Black knew in an instant he’d been hosed.
“Your people consider suggestive behavior as friendly? I suppose I’d have to as
well if my god, the person I’d been host to, was the deity of sex and sluts.
Would that make you a whore as well?”
Vala didn’t have time to recoil at the shot. She didn’t have time to blink. In
a heartbeat Daniel seized her by the hips and gently raised her from his lap to
the tabletop and laid Black out in one punch.
The Colonel didn’t get the chance to rise. Vala froze for a moment at the sight
of Black sprawled at Daniel’s feet, but in that instant Teal’c and Mitchell
seized the offender and hauled him towards the door while Jack radioed for the
chopper to be ready to leave the moment they reached topside, and gave Sam
orders to forge the papers making it legal to shoot Black the next moment he
stepped on base.
Daniel watched them exit in a rage, and was completely unaware of Vala
appearing by his side. He started when she raised his right hand and stared at
his knuckles. She didn’t know what she was expecting to see there. It felt as
if they should be bleeding, refusing to stay intact now that their purpose had
been violated.
He had used his hands for violence. These hands that had delivered children,
saved his civilization, bound life back within bleeding bodies, and traded his
life for that of a world not his own. Blessed hands that had just been moved to
violence for her.
She met his eyes. Those azure eyes that drank her soul in a little deeper each
time, and this time she didn’t fight.
She barely sounded the words, just enough of her strength left to form them,
which was all the force she needed. “Thank you.” He just smiled and gestured
towards the door, thinking that General Landry would want an explanation.
He made it a step before her fingertips ghosted across his arm and stopped him
cold. She stepped in close, and went onto her toes to breathe him in.
She touched her lips to his, the first chaste kiss she’d given in her life, the
purity of the maiden he’d fought for today, honor she didn’t think still dwelt
in the host of Qetesh. And something only his lips would know.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she reached up to take the hand as
they walked down the hall. She’d never let a man fight for her before. She was
innocent to the ways of dependency; even Tomin had needed her more than she’d
needed him. But this, she’d never stood here before.
No joining of bodies here, restraint had been in both their kisses while
surrounded by onlookers. But that’s what made it right. She’d never joined with
another soul before, never had one who clasped her hand so tight. No words
would do the feeling justice, no sweet nothings whispered by a lover who would
never be granted the sight of her soul.
He’d made her clean again, found that small piece that horror couldn’t touch,
that he would never rip from her like others had. He’d given her back her life.
She rotated his hand to gaze at those knuckles again, and gently pressed her
kiss to the hand of saint that thought her worthy of redemption. He squeezed
her tighter to his side, and they kept walking, keeping the other’s stride.
** The End **
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