Margarita Madness
By: spacegypsy1
CATEGORY: General, Romance
WARNINGS: None
AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:
http://www.fanfiction.net/~spacegypsy1
Samantha Carter had just finished setting up the blender when the door bell rang. She checked the time. Must be Vala. She said she’d stop by early to help. Sam opened the door and burst out laughing.
“What? Not appropriate attire for a Margarita party?” Vala had a blender wrapped in her arms like a baby, and a large shopping bag hanging over one wrist. Her dark hair sported a large orange flower over the left ear that matched the enormous earrings she wore.
“Perfect!” Sam commented stepping aside.
Vala’s short 70’s flounced skirt was an explosion of tropical flowers in neon colors. The bandeau top, in bright neon orange matched one of the colors on the skirt.
“You look great, come on in. And thanks for bringing an extra blender. I didn’t know you even had one.”
“I didn’t, I got it at Mr. William Sonoma’s store with Daniel’s credit card.” She set the top of the line blender on the counter. “Like my new shoes?”
Sam looked at the sky high heels Vala wore. “Holly Hannah! Where did you find those?”
“Well, there was this adorable little shop in the mall right across from that wonderful kitchen store belonging to that William Sonoma guy and these were in the window. So I figured since I had the credit card anyway I’d just pick me up a pair.”
Sam blinked in amazement. “Oh. Ahmm. Great.”
“Yes. I have a plan! I’m going to be pretending to be a bit tipsy when Daniel shows up so he will take me home! Don’t you think that’s a great idea?”
Vala’s plan had disaster written all over it, but Sam knew better than to try to talk her out of it. “Ah, yup! That should work. Come on, let’s get ready - folks should be showing up soon.”
“Sam?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re not wearing THAT are you?”
Looking down at her new tailored slacks and her favorite wispy blouse, Sam frowned. “What’s wrong with this?”
“Well it’s nice for meeting the President, but I don’t think he was on your guest list.”
“Too bland, huh?”
“Much too bland. I brought you something. Here,” Vala handed the shopping bag over.
“It’s black.”
“Yes, well, we all know you wouldn’t wear bright colors, so I picked this out. Go ahead, try it on.”
“Let me guess, Daniel’s credit card?”
“Heavens no, he’d kill me. My credit card. It’s the first time I used it…kind of fun. I just use Daniel’s for me.”
“Ah, I see.”
Sam pulled the black gossamer spaghetti strap sundress from the bag. “Oh boy. That’s kind of nice.”
“I thought you’d like it. Go ahead, try it on.”
* * * *
Even though the dress fit perfectly and she knew it look fabulous on her, Sam was scowling when she returned to the kitchen.
“My, my, my, don’t you just look wonderful!” Vala smiled, licking the spoon of chocolate icing. “What’s wrong? Really Sam, you look perfect.”
Holding out the price tag, Sam shoved it towards Vala. “Please tell me you didn’t pay three hundred dollars for this dress.
“Heavens no!” Vala turned away and started icing the cake.
“Oh. It was on sale?”
Swirling icing on the cake, Vala ignored her friend.
“Vala?”
“Samantha. I have not bought one piece of clothing, food, drink, shoes, bags, hair clips… ah, food, since I first walked through that Stargate.”
“But…it wasn’t on sale and it didn’t cost three hundred dollars?”
“No, they added something called sales tracts to it. I don’t get it, but they insisted! I never looked at Daniels receipts so I didn’t know. You have to wear it. Please. I’ve barely spent a penny of my money in two years! And you’ve been so great to me. I wanted to get you something. It’s a present. A Margarita party gift. You can’t give it back.”
* * * *
The party was in full swing by the time Daniel showed up…late as usual. Vala mussed her hair grabbed a full Margarita and swayed her way towards her target. “Ah, Dr. Jackson, the linguist…and what is it you do?” She grinned lopsidedly and wobbled back and forth in front of him. “Where have you been?”
“Working.”
“NO! How odd.” Handing the Margarita to him she stepped back. Daniel tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear laughing. Shrugging her shoulders clear up to her ears, Vala grinned and fell into him again. His arm went around her waist to steady her.
“Drink up darling, it’s a party.” She winked seductively.
Self consciously he let her go and sipped the frozen drink. One eye shut tight and his mouth puckered up. “Here, you finish it.”
“You don’t … oh, there’s Reynolds! He promised to bring me some of his wonderful home made tamales.” She dashed off, remarkably steady on her high heels.
Daniel wandered around the crowded house stopping
intermittently to chat with his friends. Surprised to see his former CO
studying pictures on the fireplace mantel Daniel moseyed over. “Didn’t I just
talk to you about two hours ago…in
“So?” Jack put the picture of Sam and Kowalski back on the mantel.
“So how’d you get here?”
Jack grinned lopsided. “A little light, a little zip, a little zap...”
“Ah, job perk?”
“Yeah, that’s one of ‘em.”
“Nice.”
“Hey, what’s up with Mitchell’s date?” Jack took the last swallow of his beer.
Daniel looked across the room where Mitchell stood close to SG-8’s Lt. Lori Lowe. “What do you mean?”
“I thought he had a thing for the good doc over there.”
They both glanced towards Carolyn who seemed to be in a heated discussion with her father.
“Playing cupid now Jack? The job getting a bit too boring?”
“Naw, love the paperwork. Just wondering, trying to stay in the SGC dating loop…ya know, just in case Walter’s taking bets later on.”
“Who knows what Mitchell’s up to, I don’t think he functions well in down time.”
“And you do?”
Daniel responded with a surly look.
“Can I get ‘cha a beer?” Jack was already moving towards the kitchen.
“Sure,” Daniel followed him, hands in his pockets, walking right past Vala who stood in a glut of single SG team members. She was grinning, eyes sparkling, obviously delighted by all the attention. Without being aware he even did it, Daniel glowered at her.
“Worried about losing your girlfriend?” Jack asked handing Daniel a cold beer.
“She is NOT my girlfriend!”
“Well she should be. Ya know, mirror image and all that.”
Daniel stopped the beer before it reached his lips, “What!?”
“What?” Jack took a swig of beer and eyed Daniel at the same time.
“Vala’s turned out to be a good friend. And I stress the word…FRIEND…nothing more.”
“Decided on monkdom have you?”
“Hell no!”
“Then what’s the frickin’ problem? She’s Oh So Perfect for you. And Danny-boy, you’ve got it bad for her even if your too stupid to see it.”
“I do not have it ‘bad’ for Vala!”
“Oh, sure, yabetcha, okay.”
“You think she’s so perfect, you date her.”
“See that blonde over there. The one whirling all the drinks, the smiling. giggly one, the one in that incredible dress. The one…”
“Jack! Enough! Talk about monks…you’re dreaming. You’ve been dreaming for over ten years.”
Jack’s look sent an undeniable message that shocked Daniel and he cut his gaze to Sam. Her doe eyes lifted as if she could feel Jack’s stare. Daniel read that look loud and clear. They’d moved past their longing. Well I’ll be damned! Unable to control his wayward eyes they shifted over to Vala. She smiled dreamily at him. He turned and looked back to Jack, then to Sam and back to Vala, confusion plainly written on his face.
* * * *
The Mambo line snaked around Sam’s living-dining room. Vala, of course in the lead, Daniel standing alone the middle of the room, the line meandering around him, his second beer in two hours half full in his hand. Sam and Jack were in the kitchen in quiet conversation. General Landry Mamboed with the other guests and Carolyn and Mitchell were in some heated discussion in the corner of the living room.
A sudden, unexpected clap of thunder boomed and lightning crashed. All went dark and quiet.
“Whoa! I didn’t see that comin’” Mitchell’s voice called out.
Laughter and shuffling around followed. If anyone had been looking in Mitchell’s direction, as Daniel had, they would have witnessed the rather heated kiss between Mitchell and Dr. Lam with the next flash of lightning. A second later, Daniel frowned in the darkness. He definitely needed to get on board the SGC dating train. But with Vala?
Both Jack and Sam appeared - flashlights in hand. Sam’s was sweeping the room; Jack’s was shone up onto his face.
When the light passed across Vala she was scanning the crowd…for him. He knew it. Before the light continued he saw her toothy grin and the half empty Margarita raised in salute. An unexpected thrill washed over him and he grinned into the darkness.
The lights flickered, illuminating a few more indiscretions before returning to reveal the crowd of, once more, well behaved, SG personnel.
Every time Daniel found the courage to approach Vala for an opportunity to test his new theory of the possibility of ‘dating’ she was involved in flirtation with yet another SG team member.
Back to the drawing board! Vala was a free spirit. He wanted something more. He went to talk to Lori, Mitchell’s date that turned out to not be his date. He found her to be quiet, very smart and pretty and possibly the most boring woman he’d ever met. Damn Vala anyway! Why was he attracted to such a nut case? Because she was exciting? Vibrant? Beautiful? Funny? And not for him.
* * * *
“If he doesn’t stop staring at Vala like that people are going to talk.” Sam laughed as she spoke.
Standing behind the bar like counter separating the kitchen form the crowd, Jack’s hand rested low on her waist.
“Listen. That bet has been going on for more than a year. It’s up over a thousand dollars for the person who picks the day he falls to her charms. I’m in for tonight. Hey, when is this shindig over?”
“When ever they all leave.”
“What say you - we take a little ride on the light beam and get outta here?”
“Can’t. It’s my party.”
“Bad idea.”
“You have to leave soon?”
“No.”
“Then quit your bitching.”
Vala, bored with the effort to make Daniel jealous snuck up behind him as he chatted with Cameron and Carolyn. She put her arms around his waist and he jumped in surprise. “Darling,” she practiced her best slurred speech pattern, “I’ve missed you. Where have you been?”
Daniel disengaged her arms and pulled her around to his side. She weaved on her ridiculously high heels and fell into him.
“Oops!”
Daniel’s arm went around her waist again. “You’re drunk.” He was frowning accusingly and missed the glint of mischief in her eyes.
Vala leaned into him. “No, just a bit tipsy.”
“I think I better take you home.” He sat his glass of water on the table.
“Oh goody!”
Shaking his head he let her go and went to say bye to Sam.
In the car Vala let Daniel buckle her in and with a sigh of contentment settled into her seat. She sat up suddenly alert when he turned the wrong way. “Oh, this is not the way! You made a wrong turn, Daniel.”
“No I didn’t.”
“Yes. Yes you did. Your house is that way.” She pointed in the opposite direction.
“The Mountain is this way.” He pointed straight ahead.
“But...but I wanted to go to your house.”
“We’re not going to my house; I’m taking you back to the base. I can finish what I was working on.”
“NO YOU ARE NOT!”
“Yes I am.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Daniel. I may have had one too many of Rita’s drinks but I am not drunk. And I do NOT want to go back to that dreary base. I want to go to your house; to your bed.”
“Vala, we work together.”
Same song - three hundredth verse. She blew out a spitting pfft. “I don’t care! And do not say you do, because Daniel, I love you. You love me. Tonight I am sleeping…well not much sleeping…in your bed. With you. And there is nothing you can do about it. It is not Tequila talking. It is Vala Mal Doran loves Daniel Jackson talking – turn the car around. Right now!” She folded her arms across her chest.
He pulled the car over to the side of the road. “Vala?”
“Yes Daniel?” She was smiling sweetly at him.
He couldn’t help but smile back. “Don’t you think we should at least…date or something?
“No. We dated enough on the Prometheus, on missions, in the commissary, in your office…”
He checked the empty street and turned the car around so fast she slammed into the car door and grinned happily.
* * * *
Jack dialed a number and put the cell phone on speaker. The party quieted and moved into a tight circle around Jack.
“Sgt. Marshall.” The disembodied voice answered.
“
“Yes, sir?”
“Track Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran and tell me where they are.”
“Yes sir.” A short silence followed as the party goers waited in anticipation. “They are at Dr. Jackson’s house, sir.”
“Thank you.” Jack shut the phone off. “Walter pay up.”
** The End **
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