Shattered
By: Pip
CATEGORY: Angst
SEASON/SPOILERS: Season 10 “Family Ties”
WARNINGS: None
AUTHOR’S NOTES: Written for mission_insane, table 08, prompt 06 – I wish.
AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:
http://brabbit-hole.livejournal.com/
Daniel had heard the banging from down the hall. He’d been quietly discussing SG-1’s most recent run in with Vala’s father, Jacek, with Sam and Mitchell. They’d left Vala in his office, with some golden box of hers. She had looked a little worse for wear and seemed to need to be alone.
Now he was regretting that decision as he sprinted back up the corridor to his office. He had seen that wildness in her eyes when she’d stepped into the room, asking for privacy a few minutes later. Vala just wasn’t stable enough to be left by herself.
He stopped short in the doorway, caught off guard by the scene before him. Wielding a hammer he kept in his office for emergencies, Vala was using all her energy to smash a small collection of tiny trinkets scattered across the surface of his workbench. With each slamming of the hammer, another pretty little nothing shattered or bent into ugliness.
Daniel watched in bewilderment as she thrust the tool down hard against the unsuspecting jewelry. The gold box was flung open, lying on its side. There was nothing left inside and soon there would be nothing left but shards and twisted metal on the surface where its contents had been scattered.
Suddenly, Vala’s rash swinging and smashing stuttered to a stop. The hammer hovered over the final trinket, a pretty amethyst crystal on a silver chain. She would make a move to smash it, and then pull up on the hammer before it even could get close to the necklace. Daniel could see the reluctance on her face, the regret already starting to show for what she’d just done.
The heavy silence left in the wake of her destruction was broken by her ragged sigh as she placed the hammer down on the workbench. Daniel hesitated a moment in the doorway as Vala rested her palms flat on the tabletop and dropped her head. Tousled hair fell limp around the too-pale face and she pulled in a useless deep breath.
He didn’t hold back a second longer, stepping into the room and up to her fluidly. His arms encircled her waist, pulling her back tightly against his chest.
Vala brought her head up and rested it back against him.
Looking down at her, Daniel could see the tremble in her lip and the despair desperate to break free. Weeks of battling the I.O.A. had taken its toll on her, and all because Jacek had returned. They’d given him the benefit of the doubt – even Vala had been the slightest bit hopeful for his change of heart. But he’d screwed them all, and Vala was taking the fall for it.
Interrogations, tests, evaluations – they were putting her through the wringer simply because Jacek was her father and had made the committee look like fools of a most egotistical kind. Vala had only just been returned to the team officially that morning, after weeks of unnecessary hassling.
“Why, Daniel?” Vala whispered, bringing her head back down. She reached her hand out and carefully took the amethyst in her palm. Betrayed grey eyes stared helplessly at the pretty thing. “Why did he do this?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart.” Daniel answered truthfully. He really had no idea how a father could do that to his daughter. How anyone could hurt Vala like that. Sure, she could be a pain in the ass, but she was a good person.
Vala ducked her head at the endearment, pulling in a very shaky breath. When she let the air out, it came on a broken sob. The rest of her pent up emotions followed, and Daniel quickly found his arms full of a heartbroken woman he was beginning to realize he loved deeply.
Taking the crystal from her hand, Daniel turned her in his embrace and allowed her tears to stain his black t-shirt. She buried her face tight against his chest, letting out years of bottled up hurt and pain caused by a man that should have protected and loved her.
“I wish things had been different, Daniel.” Vala whispered through her tears. “I wish he could’ve loved me…” She gripped his shirt tightly. “I wish…I could’ve had a…daddy.”
Daniel blinked at the sting in his eyes as he stared at the trinket dangling from his hand. “I wish that too, Vala.” He whispered to her, resting his chin in her hair.
She continued to cry against him, and he let his face form into a scowl. The light reflecting off the amethyst pissed him off. Wishing the best for Vala wasn’t the only thing he was wishing for right then.
His mind went back to the day on that planet all those weeks ago when they first reacquainted themselves with Jacek. The man had sauntered up to them in all his smugness, and Daniel’s first instinct had been to go for his gun. He’d refrained when he saw Vala’s eyes light up, despite her best effort not to let it happen, as her father had offered the pretty little necklace. It was some kind of tradition for them, or something.
Yeah, he wished things had been different…
Dropping the crystal on the floor, Daniel rammed his boot down on it with as much force as he could. Pulling his foot away, all the shattered pieces seemed to do was remind him that Vala’s heart had been broken in much the same way.
…He wished he’d shot him.
**
The End **
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