Made It Here
By: Divine Joker
CATEGORY: Alternate Universe
SEASON/SPOILERS: Up to “Prometheus Unbound”…it kinda goes AU from there.
WARNINGS: None
AUTHOR’S NOTES: Written for the FicAThon, recipient misplaced_angst. Three things they’d like to see: a misunderstanding, kiss in the rain, jealousy. Three things they don’t want to see: pointless smut, pointless fluff, Sam/Teal’c (as a couple).
PART 1
It wasn’t until three days after the Prometheus had returned
to Earth that Daniel had the opportunity to discuss Vala with Jack. She’d been
on his mind.
As much as he didn’t want her to be.
A lot of what she’d been talking about while they were on the ship hadn’t
stopped ringing in his ears. Even though he was stubbornly trying to forget the
fact that she’d done nothing but lie to him, he couldn’t shake the idea that
some of what she was talking about had been truthful.
She seemed to be nothing but a contradiction.
Daniel didn’t like contradictions. He liked the straightforward things in life.
The Goa’uld were straightforward: bad, evil, enemy. The Asgard were
straightforward: friend, smart, good.
Vala?
Well, Vala was anything but black and white.
“Daniel?”
“Jack?”
Jack watched him for a long moment and then cocked an eyebrow. “Whatcha
thinkin’ ‘bout?”
Daniel couldn’t meet Jack’s gaze for a long moment and looked at the floor
before clearing his throat. “What’s going on with Vala?”
He appeared to have caught Jack off guard. Jack leaned back in his chair and
folded his hands in front of him. He pursed his lips for a short thought and
then sighed.
“Well, I don’t know, Daniel. Besides stealing Earth’s greatest asset,
kidnapping and,” he cleared his throat, “beating you up, she isn’t exactly what
I would call a trustworthy sort.” He leaned forward to him and eyed him
seriously. “Why, may I ask, are you curious?”
He ineffectually waved his hand for a moment and than, “Just wondering.”
Jack cocked his eyebrow again and nodded. “Sure you are.”
Daniel would have had to have been deaf to have missed the sarcasm in Jack’s
voice. He rolled his eyes.
“I just think that she might be a good addition to the SGC.” He shrugged,
tipped his head to the side and continued without looking at Jack. “I mean,
besides her obvious inclination towards, uh, the more objectionable activities,
she’s well traveled, intelligent and can think on her feet.”
“Not to mention, being able to beat you… uh, people up.”
“Jack, seriously…”
“No, Daniel, seriously. Our one and only experience with her shows us that she
can effectively break onto a highly secure battle cruiser, that she thinks only
for herself and, given the opportunity to do the *right* thing, will instead do
what she wants.”
Daniel fell silent for a long moment, watching his friend-turned-commander
across from him.
“On the other hand, she doesn’t have a whole lot of other options.”
* * * *
It was interesting talking with her over the next few days. She was defensive,
aggressive, passive and vulnerable at random moments, another thing that Daniel
decided put her in the contradictions category.
In turn, she proved insightful, blunt, open and intelligent.
She was a bundle of alien feistiness that could even give Jack a run for his
impassive moments.
And still, Daniel felt himself drawn into the need to help her, to get her
settled into Earth.
First of course, he had to get her to accept the deal to stay.
“Why, Daniel?” She leaned forward on his desk, her fingers laced before her.
She’d agreed to stay with him so that she could get out of her room without the
escort of the guards and now he could tell that she was re-thinking her
agreement.
Aside from Daniel’s own guilt complex that urged him to try and save any lost
soul that they came across, he knew that there was something in Vala that would
blossom into something amazing, given the right type of stimulus.
Of course, he’d never tell her that.
“Only if you want to.” Daniel watched her silently, a worried frown fighting to
settle on his lips. “Look, Vala, I can’t convince you to do anything. All I’m
offering is a home, a purpose.”
“I had purpose before, Daniel.” She said meanly, a defensive tone icing her
words.
“Yourself.” It’s petty and not a little mean, but he doesn’t know how to make
her see the larger picture. Almost immediately, he regretted it. “I’m sorry,”
he holds out a hand in supplication. “I don’t know what… Like I said, I’m
offering something bigger than yourself. It’s an opportunity.”
“Any trip through the ‘gate is an opportunity.” She shot back, narrowing her
eyes at him.
“So, you’re going to spend your whole existence fighting for yourself, never
having a home? Never having something you can work towards?”
Vala shrugged. “Why not? No one’s ever cared before.”
Daniel couldn’t stop himself from looking at her intensely, wondering what it
was about that statement that nearly made him want to cry in pain for her. He
couldn’t imagine not having anyone care *ever* what he was doing with his life.
He’d lived like that before the Stargate, but ever since, nearly every day has
had someone interested in how he was doing; in *what* he was doing.
Deep inside, he desperately wanted her to have that too.
He couldn’t find the words to sum it up – a rarity for him to be out of words.
But there was something in his gut that convinced him in that moment that if he
didn’t get her to stay, something bad would happen.
* * * *
He found her sitting in one of the rec rooms on base with Teal’c. The Jaffa
took up a large portion of the couch as he lounged sideways in it. Daniel had
to admit that seeing Teal’c ‘lounge’ was… odd the first time he saw it, but
he’d come to see that it was truly in moments were he was completely relaxed
and confident in his surroundings, that he would let his guard down.
That he was so relaxed in Vala’s presence – and so quickly – was a bit of a
shock to Daniel. Sitting in the dark, with a competent and wily space thief
meant nothing to Teal’c other than she proved to be someone as intrigued by
Earth culture as he was. It was something that Daniel knew that he’d never be
able to share with Vala; a level of understanding that surpassed him because it
wasn’t new to him like it was to her.
He heard her laugh, watched Teal’c point to something on the screen and then,
given the pitch of Vala’s whisper, asking a question got a response that set
her into a fit of laughter again.
Something in his muscles burned to enter the room, sit in between them and ask
what it was that was so entertaining. He had though that the longer Vala stayed
on Earth, the more comfortable she was with the idea of staying permanently…
And it burned deep in his gut that he wanted her to stay because of him, not
because of the future with the SGC that he had so blithely offered. He had
offered it than as a safe-guard to keeping her on Earth and not having her
killed on some fool-hardy expedition to find some long lost Goa’uld treasure.
There was more to her than simple thievery and selfishness. With a shock of
unease, he knew that Teal’c had found this out long before he had.
How had it come to be in the last five weeks that her daily stubbornness and
steady fighting words had broken through?
He couldn’t believe himself.
* * * *
He tried hard to push his discovery into a dirty, dusty corner of his head. He
didn’t have time to think of her as anything other than a valuable asset to
Earth and the SGC. She held priceless intel, numerous contacts – though
somewhat dodgy and aggressive – and a cleverness that left even Jack in
somewhat of a depressing revelation of his own prowess.
It didn’t matter that he tried to make her laugh, found plausible reasons to
have her in his office while he was ‘working’, and wanted to take her up top to
show her Earth culture first hand. She didn’t deserve baptism in Earth culture
to be some digital download of senseless images and meaningless allusions.
She needed to touch, feel, smell, hear and taste the valuable planet that was
playing her host… for the moment.
He didn’t let himself read into her willingness to reciprocate his offers with
questions of her own.
She was a sponge for new things and he loved playing teacher.
PART 2
It was while she was talking with one of her ‘old friends’
that he found himself watching her body language. Given that he was a master of
the spoken half of communication, he figured that there was no one better to
teach him of the unspoken half than Vala.
While he could never ask her to ‘teach’ him – he’d never live it down – he
could learn by observation.
After ten minutes, he’d learned more than he ever needed in the speak of Vala.
She was sexual, and while he’d always known it – had known that she’d used it
to keep her alive no less than a few months ago – he’d never quite imagined
that it was so… visceral.
She wasn’t subtle, keening or even suggestive, but the lack of all three made
her so stealthy that the man never knew what hit him. She invaded his space,
spoke only to him, but not in a whisper and casually touched him in such a way
that it was intimate, but not embarrassing. And she was merciless in her
attack. Vala dodged his negatives, attacked his positives and left his
passive-aggressive attitude make him feel like he was willingly offering up
what it was that she was looking for.
Daniel stared at her as they waited for the ‘gate to activate, looking at the
woman he’d come to know and trying to reconcile her with the woman that he’d
just seen conning that man out of his intelligence… in more ways than one.
He couldn’t do it in those few moments, but when she looked at him with a
question in her eyes, he knew that he had to.
* * * *
The IOA was a situation that he had hoped never to have to live through. Vala
couldn’t seem to reconcile the need for them to psychologically evaluate her
and the safety of Earth.
“What, I’m gonna whack out and nuke the planet?”
Daniel’s eyes widen in surprise and fear. “Whatever you do during that
interview, do *not* say that.”
She frowned at him then, flipping through one of her recently acquired
magazines and shaking her head. “I don’t understand you people. How you’ve
lasted this long with allies even with your paranoia.”
“We’re apparently worth the hassle.” He said idly, hoping that he could avoid
lifting his eyes to look at her, even as he was thinking the same thing in an
entirely different context.
“Take down a few System Lords and suddenly you’re eveyone’s best friend.”
Daniel smiled at her sarcasm, but could only agree with her on that point.
“Pretty much.”
She sighed in disgust, though Daniel wasn’t entirely sure if it was real or
feigned. He looked at her then, watched her eyes skim the words in front of her
as she sat waiting for him to finish. They sat in silence for long minutes,
Daniel finishing his translations and Vala researching the means of blending in
with Tau’ri culture.
“You’ll be fine in the interview, Vala.”
She hummed, taking his reassurance with aplomb. She was in her mode where
everything that she didn’t want to deal with would be dealt with later; in
private.
“Vala.” He needed her to get it.
She looked up at him, eyes questioning.
“You’ll be fine.” He reached across the space between them and touched her
hand, a look of surprise crossing her face as she finally seemed to absorb what
it was that he was saying. He wondered if she really knew that he was going to
support her whether or not the IOA gave her the go-ahead. “Even if the IOA
doesn’t support you staying on base, I will. Sam and Teal’c will; hell, even
Jack will.”
This was something that she wasn’t really sure of, but she couldn’t seem shake
the look of confidence in his eyes and she was stuck staring at him as he
willed her to get what it was that he was saying.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Not if he had anything to say about it.
* * * *
He couldn’t really pin-point the moment when the self-assured former-host had
disappeared leaving a somewhat insecure, approval-seeking woman. All he could
say was that in the long run, the two of them would meet up.
He wasn’t quite sure which one he wanted to win.
After hearing the IOA’s verdict, shoulder slumping in relief, he found himself
looking for her. Something in him was relieved that he wouldn’t have to fight
to keep her here, but his knight-in-shining-armour persona was a little sore at
having missed the opportunity. He liked rescuing people, making their lives
better, but there was something about being able to save Vala that would have
satisfied his nobility in a more personal way.
Except, now that he wanted to congratulate her, he couldn’t find her anywhere.
“I heard her say something about ‘top-side’, sir.” One of the airmen he asked
said.
Top-side? The top of the mountain?
He’d taken her there enough times to know that she knew where she was going,
but it seemed odd to him that she was going of her own accord.
Still, he made his way up the elevator and the last flight of stairs, opening
the door to a loud clap of thunder.
He hadn’t seen the sky in three days; what with Vala’s interview scheduled and
being behind in research, he’d stayed on base, in the dark. That it was
raining, and raining hard, made him step back into the shelter of the doorway.
But he could see her, standing in the lee of a tree, the clatter of raindrops
on leaves second only to the pounding of his heart.
“Come inside, Vala,” he called over the beat. “You shouldn’t be out here with
the lightning.”
She cast him a glance over her shoulder and disappeared into the downpour, a
sheet of wind making her form vanish with an ethereal quickness.
“Vala?” Shaking his head, he pushed into the curtain before him, one hand
sheltering his eyes so that he didn’t wander straight into a tree trunk. “Vala,
come on.” Some of his voice carried back to him in the loud staccato of drops
on trees and grass. “You’ll catch a cold,” he tried.
“What would it matter?”
“What would…” it caught him off guard. He couldn’t place her among the tree
trunks and spun in a circle to see if she’d disappeared behind him. “Vala,
let’s go inside.”
“Why, Daniel? If I die out here, what’s the difference between that and
stepping back through the ‘gate into the anonymity of the universe?”
He shook his head, wondering what it was that she was talking about. He moved
forward, checking behind bushes and stumps. The tree in front of him was
brought into harsh reality with burst of lightning, the roughness of its back
starkly lit and then dashed into the darkness. The clap of thunder snapped the
air from his lungs and he suppressed the urge to duck from the noise.
“Vala, you’re not going to go anywhere. Why would you? What did I say?”
His words must have been swallowed by the retreating thunder because her next
words answered him completely. “I don’t have anywhere else *to* go, Daniel. I
didn’t pass the interview with Mr. IOA; what with his stupid mental exam. Why
didn’t he try and give me a lobotomy, wouldn’t that have been just as
effective?”
“Vala, what are you talking about? I just talked with Dr. Hutchinson, he passed
you.”
There was silence around him for more than a few minutes and he was worried
that she *had* slipped passed him and back into base.
Then suddenly, she was right in front of him.
“Really?”
A relieved smile graced his lips as he looked at the hope in her eyes. “Yes,
really.”
She looked at him askance. “He’s not letting me stay because you talked him
into it, is he?” she took a breath and then before Daniel could answer her,
bustled on, fingers fidgeting. “’Cause I want to stay myself, Daniel. I want to
earn their respect, your respect. I don’t want you to have to fight my battles
for me all...”
“*You* did it.” he emphasized even while an amazing portion of his brain was
awed by her need for *his* respect. “I might have brought you here, Vala; but
you’re the one who stayed.” He took a deep breath and stepped forward again,
just a little bit closer to her. “And I’m proud of you,” he’d never said
anything of the like to her before, but it felt good.
Her head tilted to the side, slightly highlighting the shy, curious smile that
fell on her lips. The rain was tracing her cheekbone and Daniel couldn’t wrap
his mind around the coyness of her. He didn’t know if she knew she was doing
it, or if it was just some side-effect that only he was prone to feeling.
Either way, it only served to push him toward her with a different purpose.
“Daniel?” The end of his name lilted in a question, her anxiety over his
actions finally finding voice.
“Yes?”
His footing was slippery, given the slope of the hill, but he managed just
fine. He moved towards her without making too much a fool of himself, and that
was all that he needed. Unfortunately, he noticed that she was moving away from
him at the same time.
“What’re you…” she stopped as she backed into a tree, furtively glancing for
some way to step back from his increasingly close figure. She cleared her
throat. “What’re you doing?” Nervously, she pulled a lock of wet hair from her
face, and tucked it behind her ear. She shot a look up into the sky, the
greyness offering her no answers, if that was what she was looking for.
He stopped in front of her, standing only inches away and instinctively, Vala’s
hands came out to rest on his chest. If she tried to use that pose to stop him,
it would have been useless, as there was no force in her touch.
“I’m…” he stopped, leaning in to her and raising a palm to her cheek, forcing
her to look at him. He kissed her lightly, chastely; a small kiss that felt
like anything but the touch of cold lips in the pouring rain.
How often in the last weeks had he pictured this? He wished he could discount
any number of them, but given how often she talked and how he was in audience
most of the time, he had no excuse for thinking of her lips.
He didn’t care now. Past was past and here, raindrops mixing between their
lips, was now. He could only bring himself take a breath before moving to kiss
her again, but just as he did, another flash of lightning caught them. The
brilliant flash brought everything around them into stark relief, highlighting
her wide open eyes – a mixture of relief and fear – staring up at him.
He watched her for a second, the rain fogging his vision and forcing him to
blink rapidly to clear it. Glad he hadn’t worn his glasses, he kissed her
gently again before making his eyes meet hers.
“I would have convinced them, Vala, or I would have made you stay. But you made
it here by yourself.”
** The End **
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