The Games People Play
By: Lionchilde
CATEGORY: Alternate Universe, Angst, General, Humor, Romance
SEASON/SPOILERS: Season 10 up to “Company of Theives”.
WARNINGS: None
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This story is canon to the end of 10x09, Company of Thieves, goes AU by the end.
AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:
http://so-out-of-ideas.livejournal.com/
PART 1: Hidden
There were tears in her eyes, and he knew he put them there.
He hadn't expected it, couldn't quite believe it, but he'd seen it before she
turned away. He hated himself for it, but she didn't cry, and he didn't offer
the apology that, truthfully, he knew she deserved..
He followed the rest of the team silently to the infirmary, where the usual
post-mission chatter was hollow to his ears. Mitchell ribbed him about his
short-lived stint in the captain's chair, but he couldn't bring himself to say
anything about the CO's unplanned impersonation of Lutan.
Afterward, he escaped back to his office, breathing a sigh of relief when, for
once, she didn't follow. Then he grabbed the first book he could lay his hand
on--it doesn't mater what it is, he thought--and tried to bury himself in
it. A few minutes later, he dropped it, jumping slightly in his seat as Sam
came barreling through the door. Daniel didn't bother picking it up again. He
hadn't understood a word of it anyway.
"What were you doing?" she demanded.
"Um…reading…?"
"No, Daniel. What were you doing on
the ship? You know, you really hurt her," Sam said. "And you're
acting like a scared little boy."
He didn't have to ask what she meant, but he wondered vaguely why she was
taking Vala's part. Her own emotions were still
running high over Emmerson. Maybe that's what had
sparked the newfound empathy. He knew he should have been glad. Vala needed real friendship more than anything else--and
right now, he thought, Sam could use a friend as well. His hackles were up,
though.
"What about all the stuff she's
done--" he broke off. Sam was right. He knew it, and he knew he should
quit hiding in here and find Vala. Part of him wanted
to, but another, bigger part, was still reeling inside. Reeling from the memory
of his revelation to Vala about Sha're.
Reeling from Vala's recent
disappearance and his own panic. The need
to find her--find her alive--still made his mouth go dry and his palms sweaty
when he thought of it. It was terrifying, in its own way. As terrifying as the
realization that his wife had been taken--kidnapped and violated, made host to Ammaunet.
"Vala's part of the team. You owe her an apology,
Daniel," Sam expectantly.
Daniel bit his lip, but said nothing. Everything she'd said was true--Vala had spent years learning to depend on no one and
nothing but herself. She was finally starting to understand what it meant to be
part of a team. Now thanks to him, even the members of that team weren't safe.
Sam stood waiting another minute, her arms folded across her chest. He let his
eyes flick down to the book he'd dropped and tried to speak again. No sound
came out. Swallowing hard, he looked up at her, but Sam only shook her head and
stalked back out the door.
* * * *
She was wiping the tears away when she heard Sam come in. She jumped off the
bench and made a show of straightening her pigtails in the locker room mirror. Vala didn't cry in public, and she certainly didn't cry
around other women. She wondered again what had gotten into her. She wondered
how and why Daniel Jackson has the power to bring tears to her eyes--wondered
why she wasn't over it already.
"Hey," Sam said quietly. Vala heard the
Tau'ri woman slip onto the bench behind her and slowly turned to face her.
"Are you okay?" Sam asked, and Vala
resisted the urge to bite her lip as she realized that the Lt. Colonel's sharp
eyes must have caught some lingering trace of tears on her cheeks.
She nodded automatically, but Sam raised an eyebrow, and Vala
inexplicably felt her eyes beginning to burn again. She forced her gaze away as
Sam rose from the bench, but when she felt a hand close on her shoulder, the
last of her defenses finally crumbled.
"I’m sorry--" she started to say. Her voice cracked on the words, and
Sam shook her head dismissively. She pulled Vala into
a hug, which the dark haired woman resisted for a moment; then she gave a
hesitant squeeze in return. As they drew apart again, Vala
sniffed vehemently, "Men suck!"
"Yes they do," Sam smiled. "Where'd you learn that
expression?"
"Television," Vala responded, walking over
to slam her locker door in frustration.
"If it helps any, I just gave him a nasty chewing out," Sam offered.
"Oh?" Vala's ears perked up.
"Yeah, see what he was doing was essentially pulling on your
pigtails."
"I wasn't wearing pigtails," Vala said with
a blank expression. "I had my hair up in that bun thingy."
"No, it's an Earth expression. It means to tease someone mercilessly
because you are afraid of showing your feelings for them. Grade school boys are
famous for doing it to the girls they like. In return, girls punch the
boys."
Vala scrunched up her nose. "I think I see what
you mean. You Tau'ri have some very odd expressions. You know…what bothers me
is that lately he really has seemed to treat me differently. And everyone said
was quite worried after the kidnapping. Now suddenly it's as if nothing's
changed from when I first came here. Granted, I was a bit of thorn in his side then,
but I've changed a lot. I thought he'd realized that…he did seem to…"
She trailed off, slumping back against the lockers. Her eyes hopefully sought
Sam's, and she felt her throat tighten as she found confirmation in the other
woman's gaze. Her vision blurred, and she let out a long breath, trying to
force back the unwelcome emotion.
"You have changed a lot," Sam nodded, coming over to slide her arm
back around Vala's shoulders. I didn't know you back
then, but from what I was told and read in reports, you're very different from
how you were last year. A lot has happened to you. And I think Daniel's-- just
scared of losing you. He's lost a lot of people he cared about. He even lost
himself for a while. He's not really sure how to cope when he's in love with
someone."
"In love?" Vala's eyes widened. "You
really think he's in love with me?"
"Hey," Sam grinned. "Pulling pigtails, remember?"
PART 2: What to Do When Pulling Pigtails Backfires
Daniel really didn't expect her to open the door. She had every
reason not to. If she did open it, he wouldn't be surprised if she only stood
there long enough to punch him in the face. Pacing in front of Vala's door, he admitted he wouldn't blame her. As the door
moved back, he drew in a breath, bracing himself for the familiar crunch of her
knuckles against his nose. She stood there, though, eyes wide with surprise,
and only moved awkwardly aside, gesturing for him to come in.
He swallowed reflexively, feeling suddenly cold. All the determination he'd
worked up on the trek from his office to her quarters suddenly deserted him,
and he stood bewildered, unsure of anything but the racing of his pulse. Vala's forehead creased into a frown, and she uncomfortably
cleared her throat.
"Did you want to come in?" she asked.
He half nodded, barreling into the room before he could talk himself out of it.
Coming to a halt with his hands against the back of the secondhand loveseat
that Sam had given her, he dug his fingers into the soft fabric and struggled
in vain to even form a sentence. He could feel her eyes on his back, heard the
door slide softly shut, and then heard her footsteps approach.
Whirling around, Daniel took a step toward her, and Vala
froze. Their eyes met for a long moment, but finally he forced his gaze away.
Drawing a quick breath, he said finally, "Vala,
I--I wanna apologize. For how I
treated you--on the ship. And--and before that, the things I said to you
in the briefing room--about your past. I--don't know where that was coming
from."
"There's no need, Daniel," she said, and his head jerked back up in
time to see her give a stiff shrug.
"Yes, there is," he said hurriedly, determined to finish what he'd
come here to say. "You're a member of the team. And that means we back
each other up, not--not pick fights and tear each other down."
"Oh," she said, forcing her tone to remain casual, though he clearly
read the disappointment she was trying not to show.
"And--" he began, but felt his breath catch and the sudden damp chill
of perspiration on his palms and the back of his neck. He clenched his fists
without thinking, then quickly released them and took another breath.
Her brow furrowed again, this time with a mix of concern and trepidation.
Daniel took another step and saw her tense. He wondered for half a second if
she was going to back away, but instead she took a cautious step in his
direction.
"And?" she prompted, arching an eyebrow.
"Vala, I'm in love you," he said, forcing
the words out before his brain could get in the way again. "I've--I've been
in love with you--I don't know how long---but then you were gone--and then you
came back, and you were married to Tomin and I--"
"Daniel, I know," she cut him off.
"What do you mean, you know?!" he cried. "How
do you know?!"
"A girl knows when someone's in love with her," she shrugged.
"And, honestly, you don't hide your feelings very well."
"Wha--you--you mean you've known all this time,
and--and you let me just keep--" he broke off, slapping his arms against
his sides in frustration.
"Well, Daniel, what was I supposed
to do?" she shot back.
He opened his mouth to reply, but shook his head and shut it again. "Kiss
me," he heard himself say finally, then gulped at the realization that the
words had actually come out of his mouth.
"Daniel, if I had kissed you, you would have been furious," Vala said sharply.
"Huh? No!" he exclaimed. "I mean--kiss me now."
Vala's mouth dropped open in surprise, and she stared
for a moment. "Oh," she said slowly, stepping forward to close the
remaining distance between them. Her hands slid over his taut shoulders, and he
lowered his head to meet her lips.
She tasted of candy-apple lip gloss now, but her lips were as warm and full as
he remembered. One arm wound around her, pulling her tighter against his chest,
while the other reached up to cup the back of her head. He felt heat and cold
race along his nerves, felt her heart pounding and her breath coming every bit
as fast as his. Then there was only her mouth, slick and firm against his--
"You're an ass, you know that don't you?" Vala
declared, ripping her mouth away.
"What…?" Daniel asked thickly.
Vala pushed him back against the loveseat and turned
away, stalking to the other side of it, where she flung herself down and
crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "You know, what you were doing
was, essentially, pulling my pigtails."
Daniel opened his mouth to reply and paused, frowning. "What? Wait. Where
did you pick up that metaphor?"
"Sam taught it to me," Vala replied coolly.
"While assuring me that you didn't mean any harm; you were just being a
typical male. In love."
"Oh," Daniel bit his lip.
"So. You treat me as if I have no feelings at
all. Then you come in here and think you can just apologize, tell me you love
me and that makes it all right?"
"No," Daniel shook his head, hurrying around to the other side of the
loveseat. "Vala, that's--that's not what I meant
to do."
"Well, what then?" she demanded.
"I--" he began, then broke off, raking his
fingers through his hair. "I dunno. I don't know
what I'm doing! You--you just make me so crazy!"
Before she could say anything, he had flopped down on the cushion beside her.
He felt his cheeks redden, and stared sullenly at the wall, keeping his eyes
firmly away from her. Then he heard a soft but unmistakable snort of laughter.
An answering chuckle started to form, and he bit the inside of his cheek to
resist it. Finally, though, he turned to look at her, the corners of his mouth
turning up in a wry grin.
"This is pretty ridiculous, isn't it?" he asked.
"Mmm-hmm," she agreed, edging closer and
coiling an arm around him.
Daniel frowned and started to speak again, his tone shifting to become serious.
"It's just that--when you disappeared--everything shut down. I guess I--" he broke off, wetting his lips with his tongue.
Warm tears began to well in his eyes, but he let them come. "I lost Sha're. I don't know if I can do that again. Forgive
me?" he finished, his voice cracking on the phrase.
Vala nodded, leaning forward to brush his damp cheek
with her lips. "I won't disappear, Daniel," she promised.
PART 3: Devil’s Due
"How do I look?" Vala's
voice sounded from the doorway.
Daniel jerked his head up from the notes he was scribbling and turned toward the
office door. She stood with her arms out to either side and spun around to
display the new winter coat, hat, scarf, and mittens that Sam had taken her
shopping for. He fought his smile for a second, then
remembered that he didn't have to anymore, and grinned as she held up her foot
to show off the boots.
"It's great," he told her.
Vala bounded inside with a grin of her own and slid
onto his lap. Her arms coiled around his neck, and Daniel closed his eyes as
their lips met. "Did you miss me?" she asked teasingly.
He responded with a noncommittal noise and gave a shrug, glancing back at his
half-written notes. Vala scowled, raising a hand to
snatch the notebook away, but he quickly caught it and guided her palm to his
lips. "Yes," he nodded.
"Good. Now, darling. There are two brand new,
gorgeous feet of pristine snow on the ground outside, and you are going to come out and play with me," Vala announced.
"What?" Daniel's eyes widened.
Vala gave him a determined glare. "Daniel, you
have been working since yesterday. You promised that when I got back from
shopping, we could go and do something fun."
"Yeah, but I didn't say anything about playing in the snow, Vala!" he protested. "We--we can go watch a movie
in your quarters or something--"
"I'm tired of watching movies in
my quarters," Vala said, hopping off his lap in
annoyance.
"Okay…" Daniel blinked in surprise.
"The only time I'm ever not shut
in down here is when we're offworld. And then there's
always the disturbing tendency for our lives to be in jeopardy. Just once I'd
like to do something a little less hazardous to my health."
"You just went out shopping with Sam," he pointed out.
"With you?" she rolled her eyes, planting her hands on her hips.
"All right," Daniel scrubbed his face with his hand. "What
if--what if we go to a movie
tonight?"
"Uh-uh," Vala shook her head, walking over
to the closet. She reached inside to pull out his coat and then turned, holding
it open. "Come on, put this on. "
Daniel hung his head. After a long sigh, he trooped over to the closet and took
the coat. "Okay. But absolutely no snowball fights. Do you understand
me?"
* * * *
They drove to a nearby park, where Vala contented
herself with building a snowman for the first hour. When the body and head were
complete, she plucked Daniel's glasses off his face and fixed them on the
snowman.
"Hey!" he protested.
"You can have them back later, darling," she promised smoothly. Then,
she took a step back and frowned, examining the results critically. Daniel
shook his head, squinting for a better look at it, and tried to restrain a
laugh.
"Something's missing," she decided.
"What?" frowned Daniel.
"I don't…" Vala started, then
spun suddenly toward him.
Daniel took a wary step back. "What now?"
She grinned impishly and reached out, snatching his scarf before he could raise
his hand to stop her. He sighed heavily as she wrapped it around the snowman's
neck, but finally decided that it wouldn't do any good to suggest that they use
her scarf anyway.
"Stop being so stuffy, darling. We're supposed to
be having fun." she told him.
"Whaddaya mean, stuffy?" he demanded.
"I mean stuffy, Daniel Jackson," she replied, bending to scoop up a
double handful of snow and pack it into a circle between her hands.
His eyes bulged. "Vala--we had a deal--"
"Did we?" she asked as she stepped closer.
She pulled her arm back threateningly and grinned.
"No snowball fights!" Daniel cried, diving out of the way. He landed
face first in the powdery white snow, but grabbed a double handful and rolled
quickly to his feet again. His shot went wide, and Vala
shrieked with pretended outrage. She scooped up more ammunition, but by the
time she was ready to throw, Daniel had hurled a second snowball. It smacked
her square in the face, and she stood there stunned for a moment, then raced toward him.
He took off running, but she leapt at his back, bowling him over into the snow
again. They wrestled around in it until both were soaked to the skin and numb.
Then Vala scrambled to her feet and the real pelting
began. Daniel found it only slightly less intense than their fight aboard the
Prometheus, but with the entire park to encompass this conflict, by the time
they were through chasing and ducking, climbing the jungle gym, and crawling
though the snow, he was ready to drop. Vala gave him
the perfect opportunity to do so, ending the battle by swinging down out of a
tree and landing on top of him.
He tumbled backward and lay there for a moment, then slowly raised his hands to
brush her hair back from her face. Her cheeks were bright red with cold, and
damp from the snow. She grinned down at him, blue eyes shining playful
excitement. She'd lost her mittens by then, and one finger came up to trace
along his lips.
"Are we done?" she asked teasingly.
"You're still a fruitcake," Daniel replied with a breathless laugh.
She responded by lowering her head to meet his lips, and this time he didn't
pull away. His arms tightened reflexively around her, and for a while, he was
aware of nothing but the heat of her body and the fullness of her mouth on his.
Then the wind picked up, and he felt her shiver. Reluctantly breaking the kiss,
he smiled again.
"How 'bout we pick this up at my apartment?" he suggested.
"Only if you promise we can pick up right
where we left off," Vala winked.
"Deal," Daniel agreed.
As they climbed out of the snow, he realized that the sky had taken on the deep
red of sunset, and his eyes widened. "I didn't realize it was so
late," he murmured as he slid an arm around Vala
and drew her against him.
"Time flies when you're having a good time?" she asked.
"Fun," Daniel corrected lightly as they walked.
"What?" she frowned.
"Time flies when you're having fun,"
he said.
"Isn't that what I said?" Vala asked.
He closed his eyes, giving his head a fond shake, and didn't reply. When they
reached the snowman, he paused to retrieve his scarf and glasses. The scarf was
stiff in places and soaked in others, completely beyond being able to offer him
protection from the cold. He stuffed it absently into a pocket and focused on
cleaning the snow from his glasses. Vala wandered on
ahead of him, but he was too preoccupied to notice where she was going until he
reached the park entrance and looked up to realize that she had veered off and
was watching a group of children who were gathered around one of the few
remaining patches of unbroken snow.
Daniel smiled slightly and turned to join her, reaching the group just as the
kids began to drop backwards into the powder. Vala
frowned curiously, and he resisted the urge to grin at her puzzlement. Then the
kids began to scissor their arms and legs, and she turned to him with wide
eyes.
"What are they doing?" she whispered.
"Watch," Daniel said mysteriously,
A few of the group who'd remained standing helped the angel-makers up and Vala's face transformed with delight. Then, slowly, that
innocence turned markedly devilish, and she grabbed Daniel's arm.
"Hey! What--no--!"
"Our turn!" she declared gleefully.
PART 4: Expectations
Author’s Note: Literary works mentioned are: The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot; A Man’s Requirements and Bianca Among the Nightingales by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Daniel paused in the doorway, his eyes widening with
surprise. He rested the side of his head on the doorframe, wet hair still
dripping from the shower. A smile twitched over his lips, and hoped that she
wouldn't see him. Vala sat cross-legged on his living
room floor, one hand raised to absently pat her hair down with a towel, but the
motion was entirely automatic. Her attention was riveted on the beat-up
paperback in her other hand, but he couldn't make out the title in the
firelight. She bit her lip in thought as she turned the page, and the towel
finally slid out of her grasp. She still didn't notice, and Daniel couldn't
quite stifle a laugh.
She jumped, then let out a breath at the sight of him.
Glancing back at the book, she dog-eared her page, then closed it and held out
a hand. "Darling, come get warm. You'll end up with one of those cold
things that Mitchell had last week."
"You don't get a cold by being cold," he said fondly, but he pushed
himself away from the door and walked inside, taking the hand she offered.
"You don't?" she frowned.
"It's a virus," he explained as he sank down across from her,
brushing a finger lightly against her cheek.
"Oh. Well, why is it called a cold, then?" she wanted to know.
"Well, because that's what people used to think. No one really knew about
things like germs that caused disease," he explained.
"Are you sure it wasn't just a convenient excuse for people to cuddle by a
fire?" Vala smiled, tilting her head in
invitation.
"I doubt it," Daniel laughed, leaning forward to brush her cheek with
his lips. Her hand slid up against the back of his head, and he closed his
eyes. He traced his mouth over the contour of her cheek and down her jaw, then
left a trail of long, languorous kisses along her neck, then paused and finally
drew back.
"What's wrong?" Vala whispered.
Daniel smiled and shook his head, reaching for her hands. Her brow creased in
confusion, but she allowed him to take them, and he gently pulled her into his
lap. She went without resistance, snuggling deep into his arms. Her cheek
settled firmly against his heart, and Daniel gave a contented sigh, resting his
lips in her hair. Neither spoke for a while, simply enjoying the closeness of
one another's bodies and the warmth of the fire.
"What were you reading?" he asked after a few minutes.
"Hmm?" Vala tilted
her head back to give him a surprised look.
"When I came in," he said. "What book is that?"
"Oh. Sam loaned it to me. It's called The
Mill on the Floss," she replied.
Daniel's eyes widened. "Eliot?" he asked.
"Mmm," Vala
nodded enthusiastically. "It's about a girl named Maggie Tulliver. Have you read it?"
"Uh…yeah…" Daniel said slowly.
"You don't like it," her face fell.
"No, I do. It--it's just, I--" he broke off, clearing his throat.
"What?" she raised an eyebrow.
"It's just…not exactly the kind of book I'd expect you to like," he
said.
"Why not?" Vala
frowned.
"Well," Daniel shrugged. "The--the classics are pretty heavy
reading…"
"Oh. Too smart for me, is that it?" she demanded.
"No!" he shook his head.
"Really? Then what would you expect me to be
reading?"
Daniel opened his mouth to reply and then bit his lip, quickly deciding that it
would be a very bad idea to point out that last week Vala
had been reading a trashy romance that someone had left in the commissary. His
gaze flicked nervously off toward one of the nearby shelves, though he had no
real hope of finding an answer there.
"Here!" he exclaimed, suddenly seizing on an idea. He gently shifted
her off his lap and scrambled up, hurrying to grab an old leatherbound
volume. The shelves were tightly packed, and a few others spilled out as well.
He quickly stuffed them back in and turned to face Vala,
who was watching with her arms folded across her chest.
He smiled a little nervously and stepped back toward her, opening the book and
flipping pages as he went. "Elizabeth Barrett Browning," he said by
way of introduction.
"Love me Sweet, with all thou art,
Feeling, thinking, seeing;
Love me in the lightest part,
Love me in full being.
Love me with thine open youth
In its frank surrender;
With the vowing of thy mouth,
With its silence tender…"
Slowly, Vala let her arms fall, and he smiled again.
Kneeling on the floor in front of her, he handed her the book and cupped her
face in his hands.
"Love me with thine
azure eyes,
Made for earnest grantings;
Taking colour from the skies,
Can Heaven's truth be wanting?
"You're trying to ply me with poetry and make me forget that I'm annoyed
with you," she smiled, bringing a finger to his lips.
"Is it working?" Daniel asked.
Vala laughed softly and let her finger slide away.
She held his gaze for a long moment and then nodded, replacing the finger with
her lips. Without breaking the kiss, Daniel gently guided her down until they
were both stretched out on their sides.
"Tell me the rest of it," she murmured, finally sliding her mouth
away.
"Hmm?" he asked bemusedly.
"The poem, Daniel," she chuckled, resting a hand on his cheek.
"Oh! Oh, right," he nodded. "Um…"
"You don't remember anymore, do you?" she laughed.
"Sure I do," he nodded. "Uh--gimme a second."
After a few false starts, he did manage to remember and recite the rest of A Man's Requirements. Vala rewarded him with another kiss, and then shifted and
stretched her arm to pull the book over from where she'd laid it. She handed it
to him with a winning grin, but he shook his head.
"You read me one now," he said.
"But I don't know them," she objected.
"It's okay, just…read through the beginnings. Find one you like and read
it to me," he replied.
"All right," Vala bit her lip nervously.
She sat up to give herself more of the firelight to see by and began scanning
the pages. Daniel pushed himself up as well and repositioned himself behind
her. He wound his arms around her, pulling her snugly against his chest, and
settled his chin on her shoulder. She turned her head to look at him, leaving a
light kiss on his lips before returning her attention to the book and
beginning,
"The cypress stood up like a church
That night we felt our love would hold…
PART 5: Just Lucky
The first sound he heard was a sneeze. Daniel groaned and
rolled over in bed, reaching automatically for Vala.
He found only tangled covers and his eyes sprang open. He looked around the
still-dark bedroom in confusion until a second sneeze came and his
sleep-muddled brain registered that she had only gone into the bathroom.
"You okay?" he called.
She didn't reply, but he heard the bathroom door open, and her footsteps
trudged back down the hall. He sat up, stretching an arm to snap on the lamp
beside the bed, and waited. She appeared in the doorway flush-faced and with
dark, pronounced circles under her eyes. Her usual morning bounce had
evaporated, and she plodded across the room to drop down beside him.
"Are we allowed to call out sick?" she asked, burying her face in her
hands.
"What's the matter?" Daniel asked, boosting himself up to slip his
arms around her.
"I told you that we'd catch cold," she replied with a cough.
"Must've been those kids," Daniel chuckled. "A couple of them
were sniffling."
"Well, you played with them too. And we spent the night together. Why
aren't you sneezing and coughing?" she wanted to know.
"Just lucky, I guess," he shrugged, hiding a grin as he kissed her
neck.
PART 6: Evasive Action
He didn't know Sam was behind him until her hand brushed his
shoulder. He jumped, his elbow striking the coffee cup on the table beside him.
They both moved to catch it, but the cup tottered onto its side, spilling the
brown liquid all over the notebook he'd been scribbling in.
Daniel shoved his chair back to avoid a coffee bath while Sam dove for the
napkins. She sopped up the mess and they both carried napkins and notes over to
the nearest trash can. She dumped the napkins into it while he tried in vain to
salvage the last hour's work.
Vala's cold had postponed the day's offworld mission, since SG-1 had been scheduled to
rendezvous with some of her old smuggling contacts. SG-3 and SG-12 had both
brought back artifacts that appeared Mayan in origin, though they'd been
visiting two separate worlds this week. Daniel had been itching to start a
comparative analysis of their finds, and had decided to take the unexpected
opportunity and get started. He'd been occupied with it for most of the
morning, but fresh coffee had seemed like an appropriate reason for a break.
He'd told himself that at least he could bring his notes with him.
"Sorry," Sam murmured apologetically.
"Oh…s'okay," Daniel shrugged.
"So," she smirked. "Since when do you read Elizabeth Barrett Browning?"
Daniel pursed his lips, raising his eyebrows as if in surprise at the question.
"I read lots of things," he said vaguely.
"We borrow books from each other all the time. I've never seen that one in
your collection," she pointed out.
"Oh. Well--you must have missed it," he smiled, heading quickly back
toward the table.
"Right," Sam snickered, moving to sit on the other side.
"Sam, I'm a scholar. I keep lots of books around for research
purposes," he said.
"You've done research on 19th century British poets?" Sam raised a
disbelieving eyebrow.
"I…think understanding the literature of any period is important to having
an accurate view of the culture it comes from," he coughed.
"Sure, Daniel," she looked down at the table to hide a grin.
"What?" he demanded.
"Nothing. That was really smooth, by the way.
Reading her love poetry to get yourself out of
trouble," Sam said mischievously.
"Good thing I just happened to
have Elizabeth Barrett Browning handy," he shrugged again.
"I'll say. So, where'd you get it?" she persisted.
"Get what?" he asked, feigning confusion.
"The poetry book, Daniel," Sam rolled her eyes.
"Oh. I dunno," he said absently, turning
his attention back to his notebook.
"Daniel, I've been your friend for ten years. In all that time you've
never not known where you got any
book you own," Sam said, reaching to snatch the pencil from his hand.
He let out an exaggerated sigh and looked up again. "Well, if you must know, I got it--"
"UNSCHEDULED OFFWORLD ACTIVATION!"
PART 7: When She Lets Her Hair Down
The coughing fit started before she even reached the door.
Waiting in the hallway, Daniel winced and wondered if Robitussin might have
been a better choice than the Tupperware container of chicken soup he was
holding. Vala's hacking finally tapered off, and she
opened the door.
Her hair was tousled and she was dressed in some bright blue frog pajamas that
he recognized as Sam's. The color was a stark contrast to the vivid red of her
nose, but he firmly resisted the smile that tugged at his lips.
"Nice PJs," he offered.
"Sam said they'd be more comfortable than anything I had," she
explained as she moved aside to let him in.
He nodded and bent to kiss her, but she quickly turned her face away. "Bad
idea, darling," she said.
"Right," he sighed, making his way into her quarters. "Well…I
brought you some chicken soup."
Vala sighed, gesturing toward the table, where
several similar containers were already stacked. "You're the third person
to bring me chicken soup, Daniel. Would you care to explain the
significance?"
"It's…um…an old wives' tale," Daniel began as he carried the soup
over to the table. "Or a folk remedy, I guess. Or…maybe
more of a tradition. I think essentially it's the idea that it's warm and
comforting."
"Like the pajamas?" Vala frowned.
"Oh--hold on--"
Daniel turned in time to see her rush toward the loveseat, where she grabbed a
handful of tissues from the box on the cushion where she'd been sitting. She
sneezed violently several times, then let out a groan and flopped down amid the
pile of blankets and pillows.
"Oh, this is just awful," she moaned. "I'm sure Carolyn's wrong.
It's much more serious than a cold. I'm all stuffed up, I ache from head to
toe, my throat feels like sandpaper, and every time I cough or sneeze it makes
my head pound."
"Sounds like a cold to me," Daniel smiled as he walked over to her.
He nudged the blankets carefully out of the way and lowered himself onto the
cushion, then slid his arm around her. Drawing her gently against his chest, he
pressed his lips into her hair and ran a hand over the tense muscles of her
back.
"Thank you for that observation, darling," Vala
said testily. She rolled her eyes and shoved him away with a whine.
"Daniel, I'm sick! Will you get off of me!"
Daniel frowned, his mouth popping open. "Well, I was just trying to make
you feel better!" he huffed.
"I'd feel better if I didn't have someone smothering me while I don't feel
well," she grumbled.
Daniel rolled his eyes but said nothing, reaching for the remote control. He
supposed that at least it was a positive sign that she would let herself be
grouchy and childish with him. Flipping absently through the channels, he hoped
that if he appeared to have his attention focused elsewhere, she would be less
apt to pick a fight. Before he could settle on something to watch, though, she
edged closer and started snuggling into his side.
Letting out a long sigh, he slid his arm around her again. He almost expected
to be pushed away, but her arm wound around him, and she rested her head
against his shoulder. Another spasm of coughing shook her, and he turned with a
worried frown.
"Did Carolyn give you anything for that?" he asked.
"Mmm, but it just tastes so awful," she
replied, pouting. "Why does medicine always taste terrible?"
"I don't know," he admitted.
"My throat's so tight and raw, Daniel," she complained.
"Might help if you stop talking for a while," he pointed out.
"Oh, very funny," she rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious," he protested.
"I'm sure you are," Vala sighed.
"Look, the more you talk, the more you irritate your throat…"
"What I really need is a popsicle," she interrupted.
"A popsicle?" he repeated,
running a hand over his face in exasperation.
"To make my throat stop hurting!" she nodded, then
turned a pleading look on him.
"You've got all this soup," he reminded her.
"But it's hot. I can't eat anything hot, Daniel, it hurts when I
swallow!" she insisted.
Daniel raised his eyes to the ceiling and sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll go
down to the commissary and get you a popsicle,"
he said, getting up again.
"Thank you, darling," she coughed as he left.
The sound of it melted his irritation, and he nodded, hurrying out. Maybe a popsicle would be
good for her; if not it would at least keep her from talking for a while, he
thought as he went. That idea, however, went out the window as soon as he
returned and presented her with the frozen treat she'd asked for.
Vala's brow puckered. "I wanted a red one,"
she told him.
"All they had was grape," he said apologetically. "It'll still
help your throat."
"But I don't like those. It's
Mitchell who likes the grape ones. I like cherry," she reminded him,
pouting.
Daniel closed his eyes. "Vala, I love you, but I
am not going out to the store to get you a cherry popsicle."
"Why not?" she demanded.
"Because!" he snapped.
Vala opened her mouth to retort, but twisted her head
instead, diving for another handful of Kleenex. The sneeze seemed to trigger
more coughing, which ended in her flopping sideways on the couch. "Never
mind," she wheezed. "Of course you love me, darling."
Daniel hung his head. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
* * * *
She didn't answer when he knocked the second time, so Daniel carefully eased
the door open and slid inside. He heard the snoring before he saw her and
stifled a laugh. Quietly setting the brown paper bag on the table, he unpacked
the tissues and cough drops, fished out the book of crossword puzzles he'd
picked up at the check-out counter, and then stowed the soup and popsicles in
her mini-fridge.
When she hadn't woken up by the time he finished, he made his way back to her
and stood watching for a minute. She had fallen asleep in the same position
she'd been in when he left. Her slippered feet were
still on the floor, and her upper body was draped across the cushions with the
top of her head crammed uncomfortably up against the arm of the loveseat.
A fond smile spread across Daniel's lips, and he shook his head, bending to
pick her up. She stirred in his arms, giving him a sleepily confused look. He
freed a hand to brush her cheek and gave her forehead a reassuring kiss.
"You're gonna get a stiff neck," he mumured, but she had already settled her head on his chest
and drifted back to sleep.
Grinning to himself, Daniel carried her to the bed and pulled back the covers.
Her brow creased fretfully as he set her down, but she only coughed a few times
and didn't wake. He froze, holding himself completely still until she seemed to
relax again, then carefully pulled the blankets back up around her. Before he
left, he brought one of the Kleenex boxes and set it on the bed where she'd
find it if she woke and needed it.
"'Night, Vala," he whispered finally,
pressing his lips to her forehead.
PART 8: I Am Not Lucy
"You are so Lucy!" Daniel laughed as he and Vala left the lunch line in the orange-and-black decorated
commissary.
"I am not! I'm nothing like her!" huffed Vala, folding her arms across her chest. Her cold had
finally gone away, but she'd still been sick enough the night before to be able
to wheedle him into watching It's the Great
Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Peanuts had become a regular fixture in Vala's life since she'd discovered the Sunday comics, and
she'd been thrilled to discover that the strip had been adapted for television.
"C'mon. Holding the football and pulling it away? Tell me you
wouldn't!" he challenged.
"I wouldn't," she insisted as they paused in front of the freezers to
pick the desserts Daniel had paid for with the rest of their meals. "Ooh,
look, darling. Red ones!"
Daniel smiled and shook his head, gesturing for her to take the popsicles out.
She grinned mischievously and grabbed them, then bounced over to the table
where the rest of SG-1 was having lunch. Once there, she doled out popsicles to
each of them and then stood beside an empty chair, giving Daniel an expectant
look.
Cameron gave a small snort of amusement and Sam hid a smirk behind her hand.
Teal'c commendably showed no reaction, but as Daniel set the lunch trays down
and moved to pull out Vala's chair, he had the
distinct feeling that the
"Thank you, Daniel," Vala smiled, giving
his cheek a peck before sliding into her seat. Then, turning to
"Oookay," he replied, looking warily from
her to Daniel and back.
"I don't know,
"Indeed," agreed Teal'c.
Vala ignored them, smoothly explaining, "Daniel
keeps saying that I am Lucy. I told him that's ridiculous, but he
insists."
"What?" Vala's mouth dropped open. She
quickly recovered, though, and stabbed a finger at him, replying, "Fine,
then. If I'm Lucy, then you are
Snoopy!"
"Snoopy!"
"Hey," laughed Sam. "Does that make Teal'c Woodstock?"
The
PART 9: Meant to Be
"Okay," Daniel laughed when they were back in her
quarters later. "If you're not Lucy, who are you then?"
Vala spun to face him, folding her arms over her
chest. She opened her mouth, then paused, and snapped it shut with a clack. His
smile widened.
"I know. Peppermint Patty," he taunted.
"What?!" Vala
gasped. "Daniel, her fashion sense is horrid. Those
open-toed sandals? Not to mention the fact that she's so stupid she
doesn't even realize that Snoopy is a beagle! How about the Little Red-haired
girl? I wouldn't blame Charlie Brown for being infatuated with me."
"Nope, doesn't work. Your hair's not red. Besides, nobody ever sees the
Little Red-haired Girl," Daniel pointed out.
"So?" Vala raised an eyebrow.
"You wanna be a character who never even gets a
line in the strip?" he asked.
"All right, you have a point," she admitted. "But I'm still not
going along with this Lucy business."
"Violet?" Daniel asked.
"Violet's an imbecile!" Vala
scoffed. "She's goes to school and Saturdays and can't figure out why no
one else is there. I may be a lot of things, Daniel, but I'm far from
stupid."
"Sally?"
"Charlie Brown's sickeningly cute, blonde
little sister?" Vala rolled her eyes.
"Okay, then who's left? What's her name--Marcie?" he asked.
"The geek with glasses!" Vala
exclaimed, her mouth dropping open in shock.
Daniel narrowed his eyes, giving her a hard look. After a moment's pause, she
bit her lip, turning a bright smile on him. "Um.
Not, of course, that there's anything wrong with geeks. Or
glasses. But you have to admit--Sam is much more suited to being Marcie than
I am."
"Uh-huh," Daniel folded his arms, eyeing her with a distinctly
unimpressed expression. "So that brings us back to Lucy."
Vala sighed and let her arms drop, walking over to
place a hand on his arm. "Okay. But if I have to be Lucy, will you at least
be my Schroeder?"
He smiled a little and slid his arms around her waist. "Y'know, I've always kinda thought
that if Charlie Brown ever stopped chasing after the Little Red-haired girl,
he'd see that Lucy's been waiting the whole time."
"Charlie Brown and Lucy?" Vala's eyes widened as her arms slid around his neck. "But what about Schroeder?"
"Schroeder's a challenge," Daniel shrugged.
Vala bit her lip thoughtfully. "Oh, I see. So,
if she ever got his attention, she wouldn't want it anymore."
"Same thing with Charlie Brown and the Little Red-haired Girl,"
Daniel nodded.
"I don't know, darling. If Lucy likes Charlie Brown, why doesn't she let
him kick the football?" Vala pointed out.
"Well, she can't let him know that she likes him," Daniel replied.
"Ohhh," Vala
nodded in understanding. "Sort of like pulling on
pigtails?"
"Sort of," Daniel agreed with a chuckle. She leaned forward to
kiss him, but he suddenly frowned and pulled back. "Wait a minute. Where'd
you pick up the word geek
anyway?"
"Uh--Mitchell," Vala replied, her gaze
flicking uncomfortably away.
"Do I want to know who you were talking about?" Daniel inquired.
"Not really…"
PART 10: A New Look
Vala wiggled her hips and turned
to either side, examining the cut of the shimmering gold dress again. She
wrinkled her nose distastefully and sighed, stepping away from the mirrored
wall of the store. "Daniel, as much I like the idea of you in the Mark
Anthony costume, I'm just not feeling
Cleopatra."
Behind her, Daniel's eyebrows shot up. "You mean you made me drive an hour
and a half for these costumes and now you don't like them?"
"Sorry, darling," Vala shrugged, bouncing
back off to the dressing rooms. "Let me change and we'll look for
something else."
Daniel sighed, running a hand over his face. She happily disappeared into the
back of the shop, and he shook his head, turning to peruse the costume racks
behind him. As soon as she'd heard about the costume contest at the annual SGC
Halloween party, Vala had been determined to win the prize
for Best Couple. He'd known better than to try to dissuade her and let himself
be dragged along on her hunt for the perfect outfits.
The Charlie Brown and Lucy costumes were hidden so well between Darth Vader and
Big Bird that he almost missed them. The familiar brown zig-zag
pattern on the bright yellow fabric caught his eye, though, and he pushed his
way through. Grinning, he carefully took them off the rack and headed for the
dressing rooms.
* * * *
Mitchell made his entrance about a half an hour into the party. Vala was busy dancing with Bluebeard the Pirate and almost
didn't see him. Suddenly though, she glanced over the pirate's shoulder and let
out a squeal of delight.
"SNOOPY!" she shrieked happily.
The pirate spun around to see what she was looking at and lifted his eye-patch
to reveal General Landry. His jaw dropped at the sight of Mitchell, then he shook his head at Vala,
who was racing off the dance floor to throw her arms around Daniel's neck.
"What's that for?" Daniel laughed.
"You got him to dress as Snoopy!" she cried.
Still in the doorway,
"Oh. Right," Vala said apologetically. She
started toward him, but
* * * *
"So you're happy with second place?" Daniel asked with a tired smile.
Vala finished arranging the trophy and turned,
nodding. "I really did want to win," she admitted.
"It's hard to beat Snoopy and
"The looks on their faces were priceless," she grinned as she slid
onto the loveseat beside him.
He nodded agreement and pulled her head onto his chest. Resting his chin on her
hair, he remarked, "You know, they're gonna
fight over who gets to keep the trophy all year."
PART 11: Boot Scoot
Teal'c's eyebrow rose at the loud,
unmistakable blare of Mitchell's boom box coming from the commissary. He
clasped his hands behind his back and continued up the hall, pausing when he
reached the doorway. The portable stereo was on the table in front of the CO,
predictably playing a country music CD, but this wasn't one that Teal'c
recognized. The rhythm was catchy, but the
…Yeah, heel, toe, dosie doe come on, baby, let's go boot scootin
Cadillac black jack, baby meet me outback we're gonna
boogie
Oh get down, turn around go to town boot scootin'
boogie…
"ColonelMitchell," Teal'c inquired blandly.
"What is a boot scoot?"
Teal'c raised a questioning eyebrow.
* * * *
Daniel's jaw dropped as he and Vala reached the
commissary door. Inside, Mitchell, Teal'c, several off duty airmen, and Dr. Lam
were doing what he thought was a country line-dance to the music of a boom box
that someone had brought onto the base.
"Oh, the Boot Scoot!" Vala squealed.
"You know how to do that?!?" Daniel exclaimed.
"Well, no, I've never done it. I've only seen it on television. Come on,
darling!" she urged, grabbing his arm.
"Vala, I don't know how," he protested.
"Neither do I, Daniel. Mitchell will show us.
Come on!" she insisted, hopping
off to join the line.
* * * *
"Are you people all crazy?" General Landry
bellowed over the racket. The rapidly growing line of dancers broke off,
looking nervously from
"Mitchell, was this your idea?" Landry demanded.
"Yessir,"
Landry gestured toward the boom box. "Your
stereo?"
"Yessir," came the
response.
"And what is it doing here?"
Landry asked, bushy eyebrows shooting up.
"Well, sir, uh…my Discman was broken…"
Landry sighed heavily. Turning to Woolsey, he shook his head. "Mr.
Woolsey, I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on around here."
"Looks like the Boot Scoot to me, General," Woolsey smiled, crossing
the room to turn the CD on again.
* * * *
"Maybe it's some kind of alien contaminant," Sam speculated, turning
a wide eyed expression on Jack.
"Nah," he grinned. "Just a typical day at the
SGC. I miss this place, Carter."
"Ho, all right, hold up!"
"Where can we go to find more room?" Vala
frowned. "All the labs are full of equipment. Offices and personal quarters
are smaller than this room. Not to mention the fact that they all have
furniture that it would take half the day to move. And anyway, some of it's
nailed to the floor.
"How do you know that…?" Daniel asked, taking her arm with a glare.
"Um…"
"I know where we can go," Landry grinned, forestalling the couple's
argument.
* * * *
Beside her, John grinned widely and started down the ramp.
Then he paused, turning back to her with a frown. “
PART 12: Thin Ice
Vala was perched on Sam's desk,
leaning on her elbow as the two women perused what had to be more ski resort brochures. Daniel froze in the doorway,
turned and walked out again, but Vala caught sight of
him and sprang to the floor. She chased him out into the hall, making a grab
for his arm.
He unconsciously started to pull his arm away, but caught himself as she
declared, "Oh, no you don't!"
"What?" he sighed, turning to face her.
"Daniel, now General Landry's given us a whole week off for Thanksgiving.
Sam and I want to go skiing, and you boys are coming along," she declared.
"Vala, I don't like skiing," he shook his
head. "You spend more time standing in line than you actually do on the
slopes, and it's cold. All I want to
do next week is stay home and relax."
"Come on, darling, all you ever want to do is stay home with your nose in
a book!" Vala sighed in disgust.
"Yeah, well, that's--that's who I am. That's what I like," Daniel
replied testily, though his own anger startled him.
"Well, what about what I want?" she planted her hands on her hips.
"Vala, we always do what you want!" he
snapped.
"What?" she huffed angrily.
"Since we've been dating, all you do is drag me around doing whatever you
want," he said.
"Do you mean that?" Vala's eyes widened.
Daniel's mouth opened and closed, and he ran a hand through his hair, taking a
moment to think. "Yeah, you know what, I think I do," he replied in
surprise.
Vala narrowed her eyes. "Well. If that's how you
feel, fine. Sam and I will go by ourselves. I hope you enjoy your holiday
alone, Daniel."
PART 13: A Conspiracy of Friends
Vala stomped back into Sam's
office and gave the desk a swift kick. Her friend looked up from the brochures
with a start. "Ooooooh, he makes me so angry!" Vala
declared, balling her hands into fists in frustration.
"What happened?" Sam asked.
"He doesn't want to go," Vala replied.
"We already knew that," frowned Sam.
"No, I mean, he really doesn't
want to go. He says that I spend all our time together dragging him around to
do what I want. I told him if he
feels that way, then fine. We'll just go by ourselves," Vala related with a determined nod.
"Are you sure that's what you want?" Sam asked, her forehead
crinkling in disbelief.
Vala paused, then nodded
again. "Maybe it's a good idea that we spend some time apart. We're always together--offworld,
here in the mountain, even during our downtime now. A week apart will do us
both good."
Sam bit her lip thoughtfully. "The trip won't be much fun without the
guys.
"Of course it will," insisted Vala,
casually leaning her hip against the desk. "We don't need them to have
fun, do we?"
"No," Sam shook her head in agreement. "But I really think you
should talk to Daniel, Vala. Don't use the trip as an
escape for a relationship problem."
"Oh, I'll talk to him. After he apologizes," Vala
said flatly.
* * * *
Daniel stormed into the locker room and brushed past
"Uh oh,"
"What has ValaMalDoran done?" Teal'c asked.
"They're still looking pamphlets for that ski trip," he said with a
shake of his head.
"Personally, I don't think a week at a ski lodge is such a bad idea,"
"I don't like skiing. And--and I guess I'm tired of spending all my
downtime doing what she wants. Look
at everything we've done in the last month." Daniel sighed.
"You raised no objections at the time," Teal'c reminded him.
"Well, I did this time. I told her I didn't want to go, and she--she says,
'All you ever want to do is stay home with your nose in a book!' Well, if all
she wants me to be is--is--is some toy to play with then--then--"
"
"Whaddaya mean nothing?" demanded Daniel.
"She don't mean it that way. She's just used to makin' her own rules,"
"Yeah, well, maybe I'm tired of making exceptions for her," Daniel
replied, shaking his head in disgust.
Daniel's eyes bulged. "What?
Who--who said anything about leaving her?"
"I told you I smelled a wedding,"
"Indeed," the
"Aw, c'mon!" Daniel shoved his hands through
his hair. "Will you guys just cut it out!"
* * * *
They were coolly civil all week. Even offworld,
Daniel and Vala treated each other with professional
politeness and kept their distance. The girls picked a resort and made
reservations.
Friday morning,
"That is, in fact, our reason for coming," Teal'c replied.
"Oh yeah?" Sam asked.
"ColonelMitchell has a plan which he believes
will convince both DanielJackson and ValaMalDoran to apologize," he explained.
* * * *
She was sitting in the dim commissary alone. Most of the base personnel had
left already and the room was almost empty. Her chin was propped on her fist
and, and she was flipping a page in her book as he walked in. She jerked her
head up at the sound of his approach and forced a smile.
"Can--can I sit down?" Daniel asked hopefully.
Vala nodded.
"Thanks for seeing me," he said as he slid into the chair opposite
her.
"Sam said you wanted to apologize…" Vala
trailed off, biting her lip.
His mouth popped open. "She what?"
"I've been thinking, darling, and maybe I--what?" she frowned.
"Mitchell said you wanted to
apologize!" Daniel exclaimed.
"He what?" Vala
stared in disbelief. Quickly shoving back her chair, she snatched the book off
the table and jumped to her feet. "Well, I'm not apologizing until you
apologize!"
"Come on, Vala, this is exactly what I'm talking
about," Daniel scrambled up as well. "Everything's gotta be your
way!"
"What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded hotly.
"What difference does it make who apologizes first?" he sighed.
"Why should I apologize when you're the one who's wrong?" she
retorted.
Daniel opened his mouth and shut it again, shaking his head. "You know,
forget it. Just forget the whole thing," he said, turning to leave.
"Fine," she snapped, spinning in the opposite direction.
Daniel took two strides and halted, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "Vala."
"What?" she froze as well.
"I'm sorry," he said softly as he turned around again.
Vala whirled around again with a huff. "You're sorry?"
"Yes!" Daniel grit his teeth, stomping
toward her.
"Well," she smiled. "I'm sorry, too."
Daniel's eyes widened in surprise. "Wh--you are?"
"Mmm-hmm," she nodded.
"Well then, why did you--?" he broke off in confusion.
"Because you always look so cute when you're flustered,
darling. I simply couldn't resist," she replied.
Daniel raised his eyes to the ceiling and sighed, but Vala
laid a hand on his cheek, and her tone became serious. "Daniel, do you
really feel as if you have no say in what we do?" she frowned.
"Sometimes," he admitted with a nod. "But I shouldn't have
talked to you the way I did."
"I didn't mean to make you feel that way," she shook her head.
"I know. Vala, I enjoy spending time with
you--and--and maybe there are times when I need someone to remind me that there
are other things besides work and my books. But sometimes--sometimes I just
really do want to stay home," he said.
"I understand, darling. I'll tell Sam the trip's off," Vala decided.
Daniel gave a grateful smile. "You don't have to."
She shook her head. "It's all right. I really didn't want to go if you
weren't."
"Vala, I'll go with you," he told her.
"Are you sure?" she asked hopefully.
"Mmm-hmm," Daniel nodded, then dipped his head to brush her lips with his.
Vala's arms curled around his neck as he drew away,
and she pulled him back, returning the kiss ardently. Then, she murmured,
"Thank you, darling. And I promise, the next time we have some downtime,
we'll do whatever you like."
"Thank you," Daniel smiled.
"Even if I'm bored out of my mind…"
PART 14: Lost and Found
The cabins adjacent to the main lodge were all occupied, and
switching rooms would have resulted in Sam having to room with
They were more than an hour late leaving town on Friday night, since Daniel had
to go back home and pack, but the rest of SG-1 took the delay in stride. While
the archaeologist rooted around in three different closets searching for
various pieces of luggage and winter clothes, the team lounged in his living
room.
"Aw, come on, Daniel!" Sam complained, reaching behind her to pull a
pillow off of the couch and fling it at his disappearing back.
"Just because you know
everything doesn't mean the don't want to play,
darling," Vala called after him.
The only response was the loud clatter of falling objects, followed by an even
bigger thud. Vala sprang off the arm of the couch and
ran into the bedroom, followed only seconds later by the rest of the team. They
found Daniel on the floor outside the closet, half buried under a pile of
books, clothes, and suitcases. Hanging over his shoulder was a pair of long
underwear.
"Hey,
PART 15: Dance with Me
Jack was waiting to meet them at the lodge, but he didn't
see them when they arrived. Several other guests were gathered on couches
drinking hot chocolate or leaning casually against the wall. Everyone's gaze
was focused on a small group in front of the fireplace, which seemed to be led
by an obese white haired tourist and his teenaged granddaughters. A boom box
sat on the floor in front of them, issuing what, to everyone but Vala, was
a horribly familiar Latin dance beat.
"Is it just me or does that guy look exactly like Nerus?"
"What are they doing?" Vala wanted to know.
"It's…called the Macarena," Daniel explained, running a hand over his
face.
"It looks like…"
"No," Daniel said flatly.
"So knew that was comin',"
"Indeed," smirked Teal'c, who was loaded down with the team's bags.
He walked calmly off after Sam, and Daniel let out a sigh.
"What?" Vala asked, looking from one
teammate to the next with wide eyes.
Shaking his head, Daniel took her elbow, guiding her over to the couch where
Jack was watching the performance. The general looked up as they approached, his
face breaking into a wide grin.
"Daniel!"
"Jack…?" came the response.
"Changed his mind for him, huh, Vala?" Jack
asked, half standing to offer her his hand.
"Not this time, General," she smiled.
"Enough with the General stuff. It's Jack,"
he told her.
"Jack," she nodded.
Daniel smiled a little and lowered himself onto the couch. Vala
immediately appropriated his lap, and Jack shook his head. The two men fell to
small talk about their respective trips to the resort, and Vala's
attention drifted off to the giggling girls and their grandfather.
Everyone else joined them soon after, and Teal'c finally set down the luggage
while Sam and Cameron handed out room keys. He was about to pick the stuff up
again when the music came to a halt and two of the dancers pled exhaustion and
retired to an empty loveseat.
"Anyone else want to dance with us?" one of the girls asked, looking
around hopefully.
"We will!" Vala grinned, grabbing Daniel's
hand and hopping off his lap. He tensed, and she released his fingers,
remembering a moment too late what had caused their recent argument. Biting her
lip, she awkwardly amended. "I will."
Teal'c hesitated for a moment, but as she stepped away from the couch alone, he
shucked off his coat. "I will accompany you, ValaMalDoran,"
he said.
Vala half turned in surprise, then smiled brightly.
Teal'c inclined his head and gestured for her to lead the way. She scampered
off to shake hands with the family of tourists, while Teal'c placidly followed
with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Hi, I'm Vala," she said. "This
is…"
"
"Larry," replied the grandfather. "These are my granddaughters,
Jennifer and Jessica."
"Nice to meet you," Vala nodded.
"Have you guys done the Macarena before?" Jennifer asked.
"We have not," Teal'c admitted.
"But we learn fast," Vala winked.
The team slid out of coats and hats and watched in open-mouthed astonishment as
Teal'c and Vala began to follow the Nerus-lookalike through the steps of the Macarena. Teal'c
caught on suspiciously fast for someone who'd never done the dance before, and Vala took to it with predictable ease. By the third time
through the steps, both of them looked as if they had been doing the Macarena
for years.
"Come on, all of you," Vala laughed after a
few minutes. "Are you going to let us have all the fun?"
"I believe they are afraid that they cannot successfully perform the
steps," Teal'c told her with a conspiratorial look.
"Whoa!"
"Let's see," challenged Vala.
"All right then, you got it," he nodded sharply, walking up to join
them.
"Sam, you too," Vala encouraged.
The other woman started to shake her head, then bit her lip thoughtfully and
finally got up. "Okay, one time."
"Sam, you gotta be kidding me," Daniel
gaped.
"Hey, where's your team spirit?" she asked him with a teasing grin.
"I think I left it in the car…"
Sam shook her head, turning speculatively toward Jack. His laughter suddenly
broke off and he stared at her open-mouthed for several seconds. She folded her
arms, but he shook his head vehemently.
"I don't think so, Carter. There is no
way you're getting me up there," he insisted.
"We don't need them anyway," Vala spoke up,
grabbing her friend's arm with a wink.
"Wha…?" Jack turned questioningly to
Daniel.
The archaeologist raised his eyes to the ceiling and sighed. "Here we
go."
"What?" repeated Jack.
In response, Daniel gestured toward Vala, who was
walking Sam slowly through the motions of the dance while Teal'c demonstrated
for Cameron. Both women quickly broke out laughing, and
"Right,"
"Are you certain that you have not performed the Macarena before, ColonelMitchell?" Teal'c asked.
"No! I mean yes!"
It took several more run-throughs before Sam could keep the beat without
messing up a step, but once she could, Vala glanced
toward Daniel and Jack again and grabbed her hands. Sam frowned questioningly, then gasped with shock as Vala
started to gyrate her hips.
"Yep, didn't see that coming either," Daniel muttered sardonically.
"Go ahead," Vala whispered encouragingly.
Sam shook her head, glancing nervously toward the couch, but Vala reached quickly to turn her face back. She bit her
lip, but Vala finally coaxed her into a few
halfhearted hip motions, and Jack's jaw dropped.
Curious, he stepped toward the women, lifting an eyebrow as he caught Vala's eye. She grinned and pivoted to stand in front of
him. Sam stood back with obvious relief, and both she and Cameron trying
valiantly not to crack up as Vala guided the
Now don't you worry
about my boyfriend
The boy whose name is Vitorino
I don't want him, couldn't stand him
Then, Teal'c began to catch on. Daniel's smile flickered and became a frown.
He was no good, so I…
Daniel's mouth popped open, and Jack clasped a
restraining hand on his arm.
"That's exactly what they want," the general reminded him.
Now, come on. What was
I supposed to do?
He was out of town, and his two friends were sooo
fine--
"That's it!" Daniel exclaimed, shoving himself off the couch. The
dancers halted and
"No, darling. You don't get to do that until you
can do this," she winked, beginning the Macarena again.
Daniel scowled, and Sam grinned as he awkwardly began to mimic Vala's movements. She walked back to the couch and leaned
casually against the arm, giving Jack a long look.
"So. You're not really gonna
let the new guy show you up, are you, sir?"
PART 16: Plans Within Plans
True to Daniel's prediction, they spent the entire morning
standing in line. Vala didn't mind the cold since her
Macarena-dancing tourist friends happened to be directly behind them. Teal'c found
Cameron's snowboard intriguing and raised a perplexed eyebrow.
"I do not understand the concept of snowboarding, ColonelMitchell,"
he said. "Skis I comprehend. There are two. But how does one employ one of
these boards?"
"It's like surfing on the snow, T," Jack spoke up behind them.
"Surfing?" Vala
asked.
Daniel covered his face with his hand. "Thanks, Jack."
"Welcome," the general grinned.
"I'll show ya when we get there, Teal'c,"
"Wait," Vala frowned. "Is someone
going to explain this surfing?"
* * * *
By the time they reached the lift, the trip to
He even hoped that he might be able to avoid making a fool of himself on the
slopes when everyone became more interested in watching Teal'c's
first snowboarding lesson than actually skiing. Finally, though, Teal'c
surrendered the board to Cameron, who impressed even the
* * * *
They found him flat on his back under the tree. Jack had come across the first
ski somewhere back on the trail. The second one could now be seen dangling from
a low-hanging branch, and he hurriedly went to get it before it could fall on
Daniel's unconscious body. Vala fumbled to remove her
own skis and knelt beside him while
"Daniel?" she asked tentatively, reaching to slide a hand under his
head.
"Vala, don't move him," Sam warned,
kneeling quickly beside her friends. "We don't know if there's been any
spinal damage."
"Oh--" Vala quickly pulled her hand away
and bit her lip, then tried again hopefully. "Daniel? Oh, darling, I'm
sorry. This is my fault. We should've stayed home the way you wanted…"
"Yes it is," Daniel cracked open an eye. "And I hope you've
learned your lesson."
Vala let out a shriek of outrage, and Daniel
scrambled to his feet. Sam raised her eyes to the sky as the couple began to
race through the snow. Vala grabbed a ski pole and
took a swipe as Daniel ducked behind Teal'c. He stood implacably while they ran
in circles around him, remarking only, "Perhaps it is I who should have
remained at home."
PART 17: Reality Bites
"Why do you Tau'ri have trees along your ski trails anyway?" Vala
asked later that afternoon. She'd finally caught Daniel, and her anger over the
feigned unconsciousness ploy had been appeased by the pleasure of sitting atop
his back and rubbing his face repeatedly in the snow while he sputtered for
help. Sam had eventually convinced her to let him go, and the group went back
to the Lodge to grab hot drinks and warm up by the fire.
"What do you mean?" Sam frowned.
"Well, hasn't it occurred to anyone that trees can be dangerous?" Vala pointed out. "Daniel could have been hurt."
"The trees help give the place atmosphere. Make it more
friendly," shrugged Jack.
"Yeah…friendly," Daniel muttered. He'd actually landed in the tree
that the team had discovered him underneath, although how exactly that had
happened was still unclear to him. One minute he'd been sailing down a
mountain, then he lost a ski and turned his head to
see where it went. He'd tried to slow down while balancing on one ski, and everything after that was a blur of motion and cold
wetness until he found himself in the branches. He'd fallen out while trying to
remove the second ski, only moments before they found him.
Vala smirked and ran a hand teasingly through his
still damp hair, and the room exploded with laughter. Daniel scowled, but
before he could do more than open his mouth, Jack's cell phone began playing
The Simpsons' theme song. He pulled it from his
pocket and glanced at the number with a loud sigh. He stood up and slipped out
into the hall, returning a few minutes later wearing an irritated expression.
"That was the President," he said as he stomped over to snatch his
coat from the chair where he'd left it.
"You'll be back for Thanksgiving, won't you, sir?" Sam asked, not
quite managing to keep the disappointment out of her tone.
"Do my best, Carter," he shrugged, pulling the coat on and heading
for the door.
PART 18: Dreams and Schemes
Daniel and Vala paused outside the
door to his hotel room, and he leaned his back against it. He pulled her along
with him, holding her loosely with his arms around her waist. Her hands slid up
the sides of his face into his hair, and she grinned. He frowned at the
expression and regarded her with a worried look that wasn't quite feigned.
"So. The next time we come here? We definitely
need one of those cabins," she told him mischievously.
"Why?" he asked, pushing his bottom lip outward in thought.
"As if you don't know, Daniel," she shook her head.
"We could always borrow Jack's cabin," he suggested.
"Now there's an idea," Vala agreed as she
tilted her mouth up to meet his.
He kissed her for a long moment, then pulled back and rested his lips against
her forehead. "Maybe we could go for a drive or something," he said
with a soft, rueful sigh at the presence of their teammates inside the room.
"I'd love to, darling, but I really should go and check on Sam. She hasn't
seemed herself since Jack left," Vala replied.
Daniel sighed again, but nodded agreement. "Okay. I love you."
"I love you too," Vala smiled before she
broke away.
He watched her go, wondering at how easily they'd fallen into this pleasantly
comfortable couplehood. They fought intensely--probably
always would--and he didn't think that any relationship with Vala would ever be lacking in passion. No matter how
furious he could be with her, how well or how often she could push his buttons,
Daniel had never questioned his feelings--or hers. Despite how they'd met and
everything that had happened to them before the Ori
Beachhead, loving her came as naturally and without reservation for him as it
ever had with Sha're. He asked himself, not for the
first time, how that had happened, but could arrive at no answer.
Finally, he pushed himself off of the door and went inside. Mitchell and Teal'c
were playing poker and didn't hear him come in. From the size of the two piles
of chips on the table, it seemed as though Teal'c was winning, but that didn't
dampen Mitchell's cheerful mood.
"So, this whole
"Indeed," agreed Teal'c.
"Oh, are you two getting married?" Daniel smirked. Both of them
swiveled around to face him, and the
"I was talkin' 'bout you and Vala!"
Mitchell declared.
Daniel's smirk widened. "Well, listen. If I ever do take Vala on a honeymoon, it'll be about as far away from you
two as I can get. No offense, Teal'c."
* * * *
Vala found Sam staring out the window in their room.
She walked up and laid a hand lightly on the other woman's arm. "Are you
okay?"
Sam nodded, forcing a smile. "Yeah, fine."
Vala tilted her head, giving her friend a knowing
look. "You didn't buy that response when I tried it on you. You don't look
very happy for someone who's on her first real vacation in years."
Sam smiled a little and dipped her head to rest on Vala's
shoulder. "I guess I was just hoping that we'd all get to spend
Thanksgiving here."
"Is that it?" Vala asked quietly. Sam had
never talked much about her relationship with SG-1's former leader, but she had
heard plenty of rumors around the SGC.
"No, I guess not. Not totally anyway," admitted Sam, moving away to
sit on the edge of one of the beds.
Vala turned, frowning in concern. "Do you…want
to talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about. Nothing's ever happened," Sam
shrugged.
"But you love him," Vala said, walking
slowly toward the bed.
Sam nodded silently.
Vala slid down onto the comforter beside her and took
her hand. "Does he love you?"
"Yeah," Sam bit her lip, forcing back the tears that suddenly blurred
her vision.
"I'm guessing that there's something a bit more serious in the way than
someone pulling on pigtails," Vala ventured.
"There are regulations about military officers being involved," Sam
explained.
Vala nodded. Her brow creased in thought, and she
said carefully, "Daniel told me that Jack was retired before the mission
to
"Things are different now," Sam shook her head. "The Goa'uld and
the Ori weren't around back then."
"There must be some way," Vala said.
Sam gave a fond laugh. "Thanks, Vala, but I
think one of us would have to be dying
before General O'Neill retires again."
"Well, darling," Vala smiled reassuringly.
"Let's hope we can find a better idea than that."
PART 19: The Rules and the Rulebreaker
A sudden storm kept them in the lodge for the next two days.
Vala spent that time alternatively plotting a way to
help Sam and huffing in annoyance at the weather channel, anxious to get back
to the slopes. None of her ideas in regard to the reluctant couple seemed
feasible, and on the second night, she found herself restless. Sam had fallen
asleep, and after an hour of tossing and turning, Vala
made her way downstairs. Daniel found her leaning against a window in the dark.
His eyes widened in surprise and he crossed the lobby to rest a hand on her
elbow. She jumped, whirling around, and then sighed. Her eyes slid closed at
the sight of him.
"Couldn't you sleep?" he asked softly.
She shook her head, then glanced questioningly at the
book in his hand. "You either?"
"Guess I just wanted a little peace and quiet," he shrugged.
"Are Mitchell and Teal'c still at it?" she asked in surprise.
"Mitchell's calling it 'the poker grudge match of the century',"
replied Daniel, raising his eyes to the ceiling.
Vala chuckled and turned back to the window. Daniel
gazed over her shoulder at the gleaming snow and wound his arms around her
waist. Pulling her back against his chest, he rested his chin on her shoulder.
"You're not going to say you want to go play in it, are you?" he
asked half seriously.
"No," she allowed. "But I do love looking at it when it's like
this. All clean and pretty when no one's awake to go outside and ruin it with
footprints. It almost makes up for the fact that there's so little green in the
winter."
"Sometimes I like winter better," Daniel admitted.
"Do you?" she tilted her head up to give him a curious look.
"Well, I wish it wasn't so cold. But at least I sneeze less," he
replied.
"I think your allergies are adorable, darling," she teased.
"Thanks," he rolled his eyes.
Vala grinned and pecked his cheek. Both fell silent
for a while, and he started to give a contented sigh, but she frowned.
"Daniel, do you think Jack will be here for Thanksgiving?"
"I doubt it," he shook his head.
"Well, what's going on?" she wanted to know. "I'd think that if
there was some national crisis we would have heard on the news by now."
"I'm not sure. All he said when I talked to him on the phone tonight
was…something about 'I go on vacation and the whole damn Pentagon falls
apart,'" he told her.
Vala sighed. She didn't speak for a moment, then
abruptly made up her mind and began, "I've been thinking."
"Okay…" Daniel ventured, not entirely sure he wanted to know any
more.
"We need to do something about Jack and Sam," she informed him.
"We--what?" he spluttered.
"Come on, darling. Ten years is entirely too long for--"
"Vala," Daniel cut her off.
She broke free of his embrace and spun to face him again, folding her arms
across her chest. "Are you honestly telling me that you think it's right?"
"No, I don't," Daniel shook his head.
"Well then, let's do
something!" she exclaimed.
"There's nothing that we can do.
And--and besides, it's--it's none of our business," he insisted.
"Why not?" she demanded. "Sam helped
us, didn't she?"
"Yes, but that--that was different," Daniel shook his head.
"How?" she fired back.
Daniel closed his eyes, drawing in a long breath. "Because
Sam and Jack have both made their choice. You and I were--were--fighting
what we felt--or I was, I guess. I needed someone to make me realize that there
was a choice that had to be made. Vala, look. I know you care about Sam, and I appreciate that you
want to help her. But the best thing you can do for her is to stay out of her
relationship with Jack. Okay?"
"But it's not fair, Daniel!" she shook her head, feeling her eyes
begin to burn with tears.
"No, it isn't," he agreed, bringing his hands up to rest on her
shoulders. He drew her gently into his arms and planted a soft kiss on her
brow. "It's not fair at all."
PART 20: A Little White Lie
"Well, I don’t' believe it!"
"Me neither," Sam smirked, her gaze flicking significantly to Daniel,
who smiled as if to say that he had no idea what she meant. They had finally
gotten back to the slopes that morning, but it would have been better if they'd
remained stuck in the lodge. By
Daniel turned to glance at the door and frowned. "Y'know,
Vala's taking way too long getting those
sandwiches."
"You want me to go find her?"
"No, I'll go," Daniel shook his head. He walked out into the hall and
disappeared in the direction of the cafeteria.
"Y'know, guys, I am kinda
tired," Sam confessed as he left.
Teal'c inclined his head respectfully. "Perhaps we should accompany DanielJackson to the cafeteria and then return to the
lodge."
"Hey, at least this'll give us time to finish the grudge match,"
agreed
"You still haven't given
up?" Sam asked incredulously.
"I ain't givin' up
'till I beat him,"
"This is going to be a long grudge match," Sam sighed.
"Indeed," the
* * * *
"General O'Neill?" his secretary's voice came over the intercom.
Jack turned, stabbing the button in annoyance. "Yeah, Nancie,
what's up?"
"Vala Mal Doran's on the phone, sir. She says
it's important," came the reply.
"Okay, put her through," he said. A moment later, the phone rang and
he snatched the handset. "O'Neill."
"Jack, it's--its Vala," she began
tearfully. He raised a hand to his brow and fought a sigh, wondering what it
was that she and Daniel were arguing about now and how exactly he'd been dragged into it. Then he felt
himself go cold as she continued, "There's been an accident."
"Carter?" he asked hoarsely.
"She fell skiing, Jack. The doctor isn't sure she'll make it…" Vala sniffled, trailing off.
"Where is she?" he forced out as he pushed back his chair and grabbed
his uniform jacket.
"The hospital here in town," Vala said. "Room 207. We're all here."
"Okay. I'm on the way," he said, letting the phone drop from his
hand. He rushed out of his office, sliding into the jacket as he moved.
"General?" Nancie looked up from her desk
in surprise.
"Cancel all my appointments," he told her without looking back.
"What? General, the only appointment you have is with the Presi…"
Slam!
"…dent," she finished as the door banged shut behind him.
* * * *
The team found Vala coming back from the phones.
Daniel halted, crossing his arms over his chest, but she hurried over to them,
ignoring his suspicious glare. "You're supposed to be in the cafeteria
getting lunch," he reminded her.
"I know, darling, I just thought someone should call Jack," she
smiled, giving him a light kiss on the cheek. "Come on, I'm hungry."
She slid between him and
"Um…?" he called.
She glanced innocently over her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"Why exactly did someone have to call Jack?" he wanted to know.
"Oh. Well, I thought he might want to send flowers or something," she
grinned.
* * * *
Jack halted in the doorway of the hospital room. Having expected to find all of
SG-1 gathered around the bed, he frowned at the sight of Carter alone. He took
a tentative step in, slowly registering the lack of life support equipment. If
she'd been taken off of life support already, there couldn't be much time.
Swallowing hard, he stepped inside and pressed his eyes closed.
Where the hell is everyone? he thought irrationally. She'd
be here for them!
She didn't move as he approached, and he found himself forcing back tears as he
knelt by the bed. "Damn it, Carter," he muttered, raising his hand to
brush back the hair from her forehead.
She stirred at the touch, and her eyes popped open, going wide with surprise. "Sir?"
"Carter!" Jack exclaimed.
"Sir, what are you--" Sam began.
Jack's arms slid around her before she could finish the question, and he pulled
her into an ardent kiss. She gave a sharp gasp, but her
moved instinctively around his neck. Jack forced his mouth away, frowning down
at her. "You okay?"
"Um…" Sam blinked. "Are you?"
"I am now," he nodded firmly. Then he took a breath and started to
speak again, unsure what he planned to say until the words came out.
"Carter, marry me."
"Marry you?" she swallowed. "Isn't this a little sudden,
sir?"
Jack's eyebrows rose. "Ten years is sudden?"
PART 21: Intentions
"How could you--why would you--what were you--"
Daniel sputtered as he paced the floor of her hotel room, almost incoherent
with anger and disbelief. His hands rose and fell with each abortive
exclamation, and finally he froze, spinning to face her.
"I was trying to help!" Vala shouted back,
her chin rising in defiance.
"I told you to stay out of it!" he cried, slapping his arms against
his sides.
Vala's eyes narrowed. "You told me?" she repeated.
"Don't change the subject," Daniel shook his head. "This--this
isn't about us right now. What did you think you were doing?"
"Sam is the first real friend I've had in a very long time. She said that
one of them would have to be dying in order for Jack to come around, so I made
him think she was. I wanted to see her happy, Daniel. That's all. What's wrong
with that?" she challenged.
"What's wrong with it?" he
repeated. "Vala, you--you can't just manipulate
people to get what you want! You scared Jack to death. You owe them both an
apology!"
"Oh, really," she scowled darkly, stomping toward the door. She
pulled it open and turned to glare at him again. "Well, if I do, Daniel,
it's not up to you to tell me.
Goodnight."
"What?" his mouth popped open in surprise.
Vala gestured toward the hallway. "Your room's
that way. Go find it."
"Fine!" he snapped back, stalking past her. He halted, whirling
around again, but before he could actually take a step, the door slammed shut
in his face. He blinked and clenched his teeth. "Fine."
* * * *
"Sir--Jack--she didn't mean--" Sam began, biting her lip.
"What?" Jack stopped pacing and spun around. "She didn't mean
what? She told me you were dying!"
His voice broke on the word and Sam held out her hand to him, her brow creasing
sympathetically. "I know. But in a way it was my fault."
He sighed and crossed the room to take the hand she offered. "You wanna run that by me again?"
"We were talking about--us," Sam explained with a sigh of her own.
"I said that one of us would have to by dying before…"
She trailed off, and Jack raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Y'know, Carter, that's--Sam--"
She covered her mouth with her free hand to stifle a laugh. "That's a
little hard to get used to, isn't it?"
"Yeah," he agreed, sliding onto the edge of the bed. His fingers
moved to comb a stray lock of hair back behind her ear, and he smiled,
regarding her thoughtfully for a moment. Her gaze flicked uncomfortably to her
lap, and he frowned, tilting her chin back up to face him. "What?"
"We don't have to, you know," she said, biting her lip again.
"Don't have to?" he repeated.
"Get used to it," she went on painfully.
Jack tensed. "Are you--saying no?"
"No," she said quickly. "But--you thought I was dying.
You weren't thinking clearly."
He glanced away as well. On the way to the hospital, his head had been full of
nothing but the painful realization of ten wasted years and a chance he might
never have again. He'd told himself that the galaxy could damned
well get along without him; that if she recovered all he cared about was being
with her. He'd sworn, too, that this time
he meant it.
Slowly, he met her gaze again, and the muscle in his lower jaw quivered as he
forced out the words, "I love you."
"I know," she replied, her eyes filling with tears as she brought her
hand to his cheek. "I love you too."
* * * *
The door burst open and
"How'd it go,
"How do you think it went?" Daniel snapped, then paused and let out a
sigh. "Sorry."
"S'ok,"
Daniel's hand dropped onto the arm of the chair and his head shot up.
"Well maybe she should stop trying to help. She can't just play with
people's lives like that! It's like she has no respect for people's privacy or
feelings or... Just-- gah! She makes me so
crazy!"
"Although her methods were questionable, DanielJackson,
her intentions were honorable,"
Teal'c spoke up.
"That--that--that's not the point!" sputtered Daniel. "She just
had no right! No right!"
"You yourself have acted similarly on numerous occasions," Teal'c
replied calmly.
Daniel's jaw dropped. "I--what?"
"Your actions in bringing Lotan to meet
the people of the Enkaren village were ill-advised
and in violation of O'Neill's orders," the
"Yeah," nodded
"What?" Daniel's eyes widened. "How do you know anything
about that? You--you weren't even there! Oh, never mind, you've--"
"Memorized every mission report,"
"Okay, okay, Mitchell," the archaeologist sighed in defeat.
"I'll go talk to her.
He walked off into the hall again and
"It is unlikely," Teal'c replied.
"Looks like it's gonna be a long night
then,"
"I believe it is your deal, ColonelMitchell,"
Teal'c said.
PART 22: The Mistakes We Make
"Sweetheart…?" Daniel called with a few light,
tentative taps on the door. There was no answer at first, and he tried again.
"Vala, please, I--I want to apologize."
Finally, he heard her footsteps, and a moment later the door opened. He started
to speak, but she flung the door shut in his face again. "Come
on, Vala!"
"I think you've said enough, Daniel!" she told him sharply.
"Look, I'm sorry. Please let me in so we can talk about it," he
attempted, sighing.
"Go away!" she yelled back.
Daniel leaned forward, letting his head hit the door in frustration, but didn't
reply. He stood there silently for several minutes, but finally pulled himself
erect as the door across the hall opened and a trio of teenagers spilled out.
They paused at the sight of him and he smiled, leaning an elbow casually on the
door.
"Just…waiting for my girlfriend…" he explained.
"You'll have a long wait!" Vala called from
behind the door.
"She's…taking a bath," Daniel coughed.
Their only response was to look at one another and laugh. They walked off
toward the stairs, and Daniel covered his face with his hand. After a few
moments, he looked up again with an expression of sudden inspiration and
hurried off in the direction of the elevator.
On the other side of the door, Vala heard him leave
and bit her lip. She spun, her hand moving to the doorknob, but froze again,
stilling the momentary impulse to go after him. Letting her hand fall away, she
whirled around and stalked back to the bed, flinging herself down with crossed
arms.
"You really wanted to apologize, didn't you, Daniel?" she muttered.
"Fine, then. Be that way. See if I open the door the next time,
either."
Blinking back sudden, traitorous tears, she glanced around the room for
something else to focus on. Sam had left the remote control atop the
television, and she got up quickly to turn on the TV Guide channel. Most of
what was playing seemed to be sentimental holiday drivel, and although she
might have enjoyed it at another time, she was definitely not in the mood
tonight.
She gave an annoyed huff and started flipping though the channels anyway, in
the end arriving at the same conclusion she'd reached a few minutes before.
There was nothing to watch. Throwing herself back on the pillows, she ran a
hand through her hair, then closed her fingers to give
it a hard tug in frustration.
"Sam would know what to do," she told herself, her gaze turning
hopefully toward the phone on the bedside table. Then she drew in a heavy
breath, realizing that Sam was more than likely to be angry with her as well.
If she was honest about it, Vala had to admit that
Daniel had been right to say that she owed their friends an apology.
Taking a reluctant breath, she sat up again and reached for the handset. She'd
scrawled the number to Sam's room on the back of a napkin earlier and fished it
out of her pocket, then slowly dialed and closed her eyes, waiting for the
other woman's familiar voice.
"Hello?" it came on the third ring, a good indication that Jack was
still in the room.
"Sam, it's Vala," she began hesitantly.
"Hey, Vala. Everything
all right?" her friend asked in concern.
Vala's eyes widened. "Aren't I the one who ought
to be asking you that? I mean, you're in the hospital with a broken leg, and
I--I really screwed up, Sam. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I know you were just trying to help…" Sam assured her,
then her friend's voice faded, but Vala clearly heard
her whisper, "Wait--no, just a
second, she's upset."
Vala pressed her lips together and glanced at her
lap, feeling her cheeks redden at her friend's unexpected empathy. A second
later, Sam came back on the line, asking, "Now, what's going on with you
and Daniel?"
"What…? How did you know?" Vala asked.
"I can tell something's wrong. It wasn't all that hard to figure
out," explained Sam in an amused tone.
Vala nodded. "Oh. Well, um, he's been a bit
angry since Jack called. I don't think we're speaking at the moment."
"Wow," Sam began. "Y'know, that really doesn't sound like Daniel. As mad as I've ever
seen him get, I don't think he's ever not been willing to talk."
"Well, I sort of stopped talking first," replied Vala.
Sam snorted in amusement. "What did he say?"
"I admit that he had a point, Sam--but he was just so condescending!"
she exclaimed. "He yelled at me because he'd 'told' me not to get involved
with your relationship with Jack, and he demanded
that I apologize! He didn't ask or suggest, he ordered!"
"Ouch. Vala, I'm sure he didn't mean to do that.
Daniel and Gen…Jack have been through a lot together.
They tend to be very protective of each other, and--" she broke off, her
voice fading again as she asked, "--what? Well, you do. Okay, just…Vala, Jack wants to talk to you," she finished with a
sigh.
"Okay," Vala winced, waiting apprehensively
for him to take the phone.
"So, Daniel let ya have it, huh?" he began.
"Yes, he did," she replied with emphatic nod. "I've been duly
chastised, and I really am very sorry."
"Well, good. You should be. Y'know, that was way over the line. But I think since Daniel's
already told you that, we can move on to the part where we all kiss and make
up," Jack said.
"I like the kissing part," Vala grinned.
"I bet you do. You kiss Daniel. I'll kiss Carter," the general
retorted.
"Sam?" Vala corrected with a slight laugh.
"Huh?" asked Jack.
"You meant to say Sam, I think," Vala
reminded him.
"Yeah. That's what I said. Carter," Jack
deadpanned.
Vala started to laugh again when a knock at the door
drew her attention. She turned toward it, her stomach tightening in
apprehension, but she squared her shoulders and didn't move. "Right."
"That Daniel?" Jack asked, having heard the sound.
"I assume," Vala nodded.
"C'mon, why don'tcha go talk to 'im," Jack suggested.
Vala drew in a breath and slowly let it out again. "All right. Tell Sam I'll give her a call later."
she agreed.
"Will do," Jack promised, hanging up.
Vala sat with the phone in her hand for a moment,
then set it down and pushed herself to her feet. Daniel knocked again as she
reached it, and she stopped with her hand on the doorknob. "Yes?"
"Vala, there's a half gallon of chocolate ice
cream out here," Daniel cajoled.
"What?" Vala felt her face redden. Another
time the ice cream ploy might have worked, but she was already smarting under
his paternalistic manner. Even if she could understand his instinct to protect
his friend, he should have confronted her as an equal. Instead he'd given
orders, as if she were a little girl to be punished. She'd been inclined to
take Sam's word that he didn't think of her that way, but this seemed to
indicate that he did, and it only served to revive her irritation.
"I'd hate to have to eat it myself…"
She yanked open the door furiously, and he blinked in surprise, taking a half
step back. She glared dangerously, but said nothing, reaching forward to snatch
the container from his hands. Before he could move, she hurled the door shut
again, nodding firmly as it echoed with the impact.
"Aw, c'mon, Vala, that's--that's--that's just
childish!" he complained. "At least talk to me!"
"I'll be glad to talk to you, darling, as soon as you learn to start
treating me like an adult. Until then, I'm going to act exactly the way you
seem to think of me," she told him.
"What?" he asked in a tone so full of genuine surprise that she
almost opened the door again.
"You've been scolding and treating me like a child all night, Daniel. Now
you think you're going to bribe me to open the door with sweets?" she
shot.
"Whaddaya mean, 'treating you like a child'?"
he asked, shocked.
"If I have to explain it to you, it doesn't matter much, does it?"
she sighed in disgust.
Stalking away from the door, she dropped the ice cream on the table, then went in search of a plastic spoon. They'd brought some
for the yogurt that Sam had kept in the room's mini-fridge, and she took the
last one back to the bed and sat down. Daniel continued to knock, and after a
few bites of ice cream, she set the carton back down. She stared at the door
for a few seconds, fighting the urge to get up and let him in, then grabbed the
remote control and focused her attention on the TV.
After scanning the channels twice, she was about to decide that there was still
nothing on, when she caught sight of something animated and heard a familiar-sounding
voice. She almost didn't believe it when she recognized the bald-headed boy in
the yellow and brown striped t-shirt. Charlie Brown raced determinedly toward
the football, which of course wasn't there when he reached it, and as he
flipped onto his back, Vala finally caved.
Daniel had stopped knocking by then, and she leaned against the door, holding
her breath while she listened. She didn't hear anything, but she moved back
anyway and pulled it open. Then, she barely jumped back in time to avoid being
landed on as Daniel, who had apparently been sitting on the floor with his back
against the door, tumbled inside and landed with a thump.
She started to laugh at his stunned expression, then
felt her eyes fill with tears again. "You are so Charlie Brown," she
sniffled.
He blinked up at her, then slowly got to his feet.
"Hi, Lucy," he said with a shaky laugh, reaching to lay a hand on her
cheek.
"Hi," she replied, raising her own hand to cover his.
He smiled, then his gaze flicked away uncomfortably. "Vala, I overreacted. I didn't realize how I sounded. And
ice cream was meant as a peace offering, nothing else. I don't--think of you as
anything less than an equal partner. I'm sorry. But you scared Jack--I mean
really scared him."
"I know," she admitted with a heavy sigh. She turned away and took a
few steps, then halted and stared down at the floor. "I've never had a
real girlfriend before. A girl who was my friend, you know?"
"Yeah," he nodded, walking up behind her.
"And I thought--Mitchell and Sam lied to us to get us to apologize. Isn't
that the same thing?" she asked.
Daniel bit his lip in consideration. "I think…the difference is that what
Sam and Mitchell lied about wasn't something that could hurt or frighten
anyone. What if Mitchell had said something like that? Told you I was dying so
you'd agree to see me, hoping we'd apologize and work things out?"
"Oh, I'd kill him!" she declared, then paused. "Oh. I see what
you mean."
"Your heart was in the right place. And…as Mitchell and Teal'c pointed out
to me, I have a long history of pairing good intentions with…really crappy
methods," Daniel told her.
"You, Daniel?" she laughed ironically. "Oh, I never would have
guessed."
"Yeah, big shock there, huh?" he chuckled, slipping a hand onto her
shoulder.
Vala turned, slipping her arms around his neck.
"So, I guess we really make a pair, darling," she observed, resting
her head on his shoulder.
"I guess we do," he agreed as his arms encircled her waist.
Vala closed her eyes and neither spoke for a while,
then she frowned with sudden realization. "Daniel?"
"Hmm?" he asked.
"The ice cream's going to melt," she reminded him.
* * * *
The team celebrated Thanksgiving in Sam's hospital room.
"Well, you Tau'ri certainly have interesting holiday traditions," Vala observed as the Peanuts gang gathered around a ping
pong table in Charlie Brown's backyard to eat toast and popcorn.
"It's not usually like that, Vala," Sam
laughed.
"Yeah, usually you got a big ol' turkey, ham,
all the fixin's. Piles of pie for
dessert. A Jell-O mold…"
"What's a Jell-O mold?" Vala wanted to
know.
"It's Jell-O," replied Jack. "In a mold."
"Well, that explains it," Vala
retorted.
Daniel shook his head. "You take Jell-O while it's still liquefied and add
fruit and stuff, then you pour the whole thing into a shaped mold and let it
set."
"Oh," nodded Vala. "Why?"
"I…have no idea," admitted Daniel.
"As I said. Strange holiday traditions," Vala repeated.
"Thanksgiving's not just about the food," Daniel laughed. "Despite what Mitchell will tell you."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean,
"Nothing," Daniel shook his head.
"No, what? C'mon, you think I don't know there's
more to Thanksgiving than…"
"Mitchell," Daniel cut him off with a laugh.
"What?"
"Pass the extra pie."
PART 23: Two Steps Back
Sam's first night home from the hospital had been so hectic
that neither she nor Vala had felt much like talking.
By the time Vala had helped her into bed and crawled
under the covers on the other side, both of them wanted nothing more than a
night's sleep. The drive home had been long and uncomfortable, and once they
arrived, there had been luggage to unpack, laundry to do, and untold misadventures
as Sam attempted to negotiate the furniture and appliances on a pair of
crutches.
The following morning though, Vala carried the two
mugs of coffee back to the table and slid into the chair across from Sam with
an eager grin. The Lieutenant Colonel smiled a little as she accepted one of
the mugs, well able to guess what her friend had in mind. She didn't say
anything, though, and after a moment's silence, Vala
prodded.
"So…? You haven't told me when!" she said, almost bouncing.
"Vala, we're not getting married," Sam
replied softly.
Vala blinked, her eyes widening. "What do you
mean you're not getting married?"
"Well, when Jack proposed, he thought I was dying. In a crisis situation
like that, people…do and say things they otherwise wouldn't. Their priorities
become different--" Sam began.
"Maybe his priorities need to be different!" interrupted Vala. "The fact that you're not dying doesn't change
how either of you feel, or change the reality that you might not have as much
time as you think. Why should he only be willing to retire if he thinks of it
as some sort of noble sacrifice?"
"I don't know," admitted Sam. "But it was my decision too."
"You mean you--oh," Vala broke off.
"Jack's not the only one who could quit. But I guess neither of us really
want to, deep down. If we did, one of us would have already," Sam said,
shifting her gaze away as tears began to form in her eyes.
"Sam," Vala reached across the table to
squeeze her fingers. "It's up to you. Whatever you really want, I'll be here."
* * * *
"Is that what you really want?" Daniel frowned later the same
afternoon.
"I dunno," Jack admitted, leaning forward
to pick up the beer from the coffee table in front of him.
"Well," Daniel licked his lips thoughtfully. "That--that doesn't
seem good."
"What am I supposed to do, Daniel? Quit? She wouldn't want me to anyway,
and how long do you think it's gonna last with a
set-up like that?" Jack asked.
"Are you sure that's your only option?" Daniel wanted to know.
"Aw, c'mon, Daniel. You've always gotta be Mr. Fix it. Can't we just have a beer and forget
about it?" sighed Jack.
"No, Jack, just listen for a minute. I don't pretend to know much about
the frat regs, but you're not Sam's commanding
officer anymore--"
"She's still in my line of command, Daniel," Jack sighed.
"Are you sure? And if you are, does that matter?" Daniel persisted.
"What?" demanded Jack.
"Well, in the first place, your position at Homeworld
Security makes you a liason between the Pentagon and
the SGC. You don't have direct oversight. Furthermore, I know that regulations
say you can't be with Sam while you're her direct superior, but are you sure
you can't now? Have you talked to a JAG?"
"Never thought about it," Jack shook his head.
"Why not?" Daniel wanted to know.
"I dunno, I just…haven't," Jack shrugged.
"Are you done now, Daniel?"
"Yes, Jack," Daniel sighed. "I'm done. Just…think about
it."
PART 24: Socks and Promises
Vala slid into the bathroom and
snuggled up behind him, her arms snaking around his neck. She was dressed in
the t-shirt that he'd been wearing the night before and holding a paperback in
one hand, her thumb in the binding to hold her place. Daniel grinned, turning
away from the sink to dab a bit of shaving cream on her nose. She returned the
smile and kissed him, then wiped her nose off and perched on the edge of the
tub to read.
For a few minutes, the only sounds were running water in the sink and the
occasional tapping of Daniel's Bic on the porcelain.
Then, Vala let out a squeal of outrage, and slapped
the book down on her thigh. "Ooooooooh!
Maggie's family is so infuriating!"
"You really like that book, don't you?" he observed.
"Mmm-hmm," she nodded. "Once I
understood that the Floss wasn't an oral hygiene product…"
"Right," Daniel laughed, returning his attention to his shaving.
"I do wish I had more time to read it," she told him candidly.
"I had hoped that with Sam's broken leg, we might not have to go off world
for a while."
"Now that's a switch," he remarked.
"I do like Earth, Daniel. All I wanted when I first came here was a chance
to see more of it than the inside of
"Guess I can't blame you," he admitted.
"As it is, I've been reading The
Mill On the Floss since October and I'm still not
finished. I don't know how you finish a book as quickly as I've seen you do it.
You have as little free time as I do," she said a tad enviously.
"Practice, I guess. And you'll have plenty of time to read this
weekend," he reminded her.
"Oh."
Daniel hid a smile. Sam had been put on restricted duty due to her leg, but the
rest of the team had been hit with a series of off world missions over the past
two weeks. This weekend would be their first opportunity for real downtime
since the ski trip. Mitchell and Teal'c were planning to spend Saturday
afternoon Christmas shopping and had been filling Vala's
head with talk of nothing but holiday sales and Santa Claus all week.
"If you want to go with them, I don't mind," he assured her.
"Really?" she started to smile, but quickly shook her head. "No.
No, darling. I promised we'd do whatever you wanted, and I meant it."
"Okay," he shrugged.
She nodded firmly and went back to her book. A moment later,
though her head shot up again. "Daniel?"
"Hmm?"
"Don't you have Christmas shopping to do?" she asked
hopefully.
"Nope," he replied, shaking his head.
"You don't?" she frowned.
"All my shopping was done in April. I hate the rush," he explained.
"Oh," her face fell.
Finished shaving, Daniel flicked off the tap and turned to grab a towel. As he
did, she sprang off the tub and wrapped her arms around his neck again, giving
a distinctly feline purr. "Darling?"
He closed his eyes, shaking his head fondly. "Mmm-hmm?"
"What did you get me?" she wanted to know.
"Socks," he smirked.
Vala's arms fell away and she gasped. "Socks?!"
"Yep," Daniel replied, walking out of the room without looking
back.
"You did not!" Vala insisted, racing out
after him. "Daniel! Tell me the truth! Daniel…?"
PART 25: Altruism
"Daniel…?" Vala purred,
somehow managing to wriggle her head past his book to settle her cheek against
his chest.
"Mmm?" he grunted, flipping a page.
"I have an idea," she announced.
"Vala, aren't you reading?" he reminded
her, half expecting some new attempt to get him to tell her what her Christmas
present was and where he'd hidden it.
"Well, yes, darling, that's where I got the idea," she nodded
earnestly.
Daniel tilted his chin to look at her. His eyebrows rose in surprise as he
realized that she was serious, and he laid the book
aside, curling an arm around her. "Okay. Tell me the idea."
"I think books should be free!" she declared.
Daniel blinked. "Huh?"
She grinned and gave an enthusiastic nod. "Isn't that a marvelous idea?
Then we could have all the books we wanted and you wouldn't have to complain
about the credit card bill or the fact that I forgot to pay you back the last
time."
"Right," he smirked.
"Really. I'm not joking!" she insisted.
"I can see that," he nodded.
"So, what do you think?" she asked.
"You'd put all the publishing houses out of business. There's a lot of
money in publishing, you know," he said, holding back a smile.
"Oh. Hadn't thought of that," Vala frowned.
"They wouldn't like me very much, would they?"
"Probably not," agreed Daniel.
"Well, that's never stopped me before," she shrugged.
"No, I wouldn't say it has," he commented with another smirk.
She glanced at him and let her eyes widen in a profession of innocence.
"What?"
"Nothing," Daniel shook his head. "So, would you mind telling me
what's brought on this sudden attack of altruism?"
"Well, books are such wonderful things. You can open a book and go to a
whole other world, or another time, or meet someone who died hundreds of years
before you were born. And there are so many that I don't think I could ever buy
all the ones I want--and of course stealing them isn't an option…" she
smiled.
"So, the solution is to make them all free," he felt his lips
beginning to twitch upward in amusement.
"It makes perfect sense," Vala nodded.
"Doesn't it?"
"Well, how would you give the books away?" Daniel frowned.
Vala thought for a moment. Then her eyes lit up as
she arrived at what she thought had to be a viable method. "What if there
was a marketplace? A huge book market where people could go and find the ones
they wanted--only instead of paying with money, all you had to do was bring
your old books back when you were finished with them. You know, sort of like
you and Sam when you borrow books from one another."
"Okay, but then how do you pay for the buildings, or the salaries of the
people who have to run the place?" Daniel asked, trying very hard to keep
a straight face.
"Well…" Vala bit her lip in consideration.
"I know! What about something like those…fund drive things on public
television. They're annoying, but they must be effective if
"That’s not a bad idea," he admitted.
"What about some sort of a membership fee? It wouldn't have to be very
much; just a nominal amount so that anyone could afford it," Vala mused. "With enough people it would start to add
up, wouldn't it?"
"Then you'd have to have a membership card," Daniel remarked,
shifting slightly to reach for his wallet on the nightstand beside the bed.
"Ooh, it could be like a credit card!" exclaimed Vala
excitedly. "I like that idea. The card could be linked to a personal
account, and when you borrow books, there's a record kept so that they don't
get lost or stolen. You're a genius, darling! What are you doing?"
"Maybe it could look something like this," Daniel suggested as he
rifled through his wallet and finally extracted his library card.
"What's that?" Vala's brow puckered.
He handed her the card, and she stared at it for a long moment. "It's a
library card. Pretty much exactly what you just thought up.
There's a lending library in just about every major city or town in the
country."
Vala looked up at him in surprise, then suddenly
boosted herself up on her elbow and grabbed the pillow beside him. Daniel
started to raise his hands, but she moved too fast and managed to get in a hard
swat to his face before he could stop her.
"You were teasing me!" she cried as he grabbed the pillow away.
"It was a good idea," he laughed.
Part 26: What’s Worth Waiting For
Vala looked around wide-eyed with
astonishment as they walked into through the double set of doors that led into
the library. Just inside, there was a large, open tiled area. The walls on
either side of the doorway were lined with display shelves. The one to the left
read "Just In" and was filled with pristine, gleaming hardcover
volumes. On the right side, a faintly yellowed sign read "Book Sale",
and the shelves there contained books of every description, from battered
paperbacks to old textbooks and reference materials to worn novels and
biographical works.
"They let you buy them?" Vala frowned.
"Old ones, things they either have better copies of or don't need anymore.
Outdated reference books and stuff," explained Daniel.
"Oh, you mean the things you like," Vala
nodded.
"Yeah," Daniel chuckled.
"And this?" asked Vala, turning toward the
shelving on the left.
"The library board buys a certain number of new books every month. Usually
things people request, or books that the staff knows are popular," he
said. "They all go here as soon as they come in."
"I see," she said, then looked again from one side to the other and
bit her lip, scrunching up her face in an expression of eager indecision. "Where to first?"
"Come on," Daniel curved his right arm gently around her back,
guiding her toward the circulation desk.
"What are we doing?" she asked, startled. "The books are that
way!"
"We're going to get you a library card," he smiled.
* * * *
Daniel spent thirty minutes explaining the library's circulation policies after
the librarian at the circulation desk had gone over everything with Vala twice. She pressed a hand to her forehead, sighing as
she listened to him repeat the list of rules and regulations. He reached across
the table and gripped her arm, lightly but firmly.
"Vala. Are you sure you understand?" he asked.
She let her hand fall, and her palm smacked down on the smooth surface.
"Yes. I can borrow as many books as I like, but they must be returned by the date printed on the slip they give me. If I can't get here, I may renew the materials twice by phone, but
I must either return or renew by the date due or a fine will be levied at a
rate of…ten cents per day."
"Which…?" Daniel prompted.
"Which you are not going to pay for me, nor am I
to ask Sam or Mitchell or Teal'c to loan me the money," she repeated
dutifully.
"Good. Now what about the rest of it?" he asked.
"Oh, come on, Daniel," she sighed.
"No, no, no. No 'come on'. Gimme the rest,"
he insisted.
Vala drew in a breath and heaved another sigh.
"CDs and audiocassettes may be checked out with a limit of five each, and
must be returned within two weeks. They may be renewed twice. DVDs may be
borrowed three at a time and must be returned within one week. They may be renewed only once and must
be returned in their proper cases with all enclosed leaflets and accompanying
materials intact or a fine will be attached equaling the cost of a new copy.
Now can we go? Please?" her
voice rose with the last word, making it an eager squeal, and she waved toward
the waiting bookshelves.
"Just a sec--"
"You know, Daniel," she rolled her eyes, pushing herself suddenly to
her feet. "If you didn't think I could handle this, I don't know why you
brought me here in the first place."
He gave her a stunned look. "Huh…?"
"The library card was your idea. I was quite happy just to come here with
you," she reminded him, turning away. "Now I'm going to find
something to read."
She walked off, and he sprinted after her, catching her arm. "Vala, wait."
She turned, raising both eyebrows at him with a pointed look
and said softly, "I've run smuggling operations and conducted black market
trades all over this galaxy, Daniel. The circulation policies at the local
public library really aren't that much to absorb."
He closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry. What I was going to say was
that I'm--I was proud of you. It…seemed like a lot to me."
Vala tilted her head, and her expression softened.
She raised a hand to his cheek. "I'm sorry, Daniel."
He nodded, then smiled hesitantly. "The books are
waiting."
"I think they can wait a while longer," Vala
said as her arms slid around his neck.
Daniel's smile widened. "I love you," he said as he leaned into her
kiss.
Part 27: Knowing Who Your Friends Are
Daniel carefully slid the faded leather volume off of the
shelf and turned it over in his hands. He pursed his lips, blowing a gentle
stream of air to loosen the thick coat of dust. His head involuntarily jerked
back, and he sneezed as a white cloud billowed around him. Sniffling, he opened
the cover as the dust settled and ran gentle fingertips over the cracked
interior, then peered at the faint inscription on the thin yellow title page.
It was handwritten, in a neat, precise script, and the ink had gone brown with
age. Squinting, he thought he could make out the beginning…
"There you are!" Vala bounced up beside
him, laden with an armload of paperbacks.
"Here I am," he agreed.
"Honestly, Daniel. You have an entire library at your fingertips and you
find the darkest, dustiest, most moldy little corner and hole yourself up
with--what are you reading, anyway?" she asked, ducking her head and
turning to peer at the cover. "Daniel. That book has no title. You don't even
know what it is, do you?"
"Yeah…yeah…" he murmured absently.
Vala gave a huff and shook her head. "All right. I'm going to look over there. Try not to
get lost, darling."
"Mmm…" he responded automatically.
Vala wandered back up the aisle and turned the corner,
running a finger lightly over the spines of some heavy looking old history
books as she walked. Most of what was in this row appeared to be about the
American Civil War, and she paused, pushing out her bottom lip thoughtfully.
She and Sam had watched part of a very interesting movie a set in this time
period, and she wondered if she might find out more about the lead character, a
charming scoundrel by the name of Rhett Butler.
A young librarian appeared at the other end of the aisle and threaded her way through
pulling a squeaky cart behind her. The two women exchanged nods and Vala went back to perusing the shelves while the librarian
began to put returned materials back in their proper places. Vala reached upward, straining for a book over her head,
and one of the paperbacks she was holding slid off the stack, narrowly missing
her toe.
"Oooh!" she exclaimed softly.
The other woman glanced at her curiously.
"Sorry," she whispered.
"Would you like a basket for those?" the librarian smiled.
"Oh, yes, thank you," she nodded. "I'm Vala."
"Corrine. Nice to meet you," the other woman replied amiably. She
gestured for Vala to follow, then
led the way back to the entrance, where there were two stacks of plastic
baskets. They were similar to the ones that Vala had
seen in grocery and convenience stores, but blue and purple where those were
usually either red or green.
"I suppose I got a bit carried away," Vala
smiled as she dropped her books into one of the empty baskets and picked it up.
"It happens more than you might think," Corrine grinned.
"Actually, it doesn't surprise me. There's so much here, it's a wonder
people don't spend entire days browsing. I have no idea how long it would take
me to actually find something if I was looking for it," Vala said.
"Well, that's what the catalog system's for," replied Corrine.
"Oh," Vala glanced questioningly over her
shoulder. "Those…computer terminals we passed over there?"
"Mmm-hmm.
I can show you if you'd like," the librarian offered.
"Well, I wouldn't want to keep you from your work," Vala said uncertainly.
"This is part of my job," Corrine shrugged.
Vala nodded a thank you and the two women walked
companionably over to the row of search terminals, about halfway between the
circulation department and the wide, carpeted area where clusters of tables and
chairs were arranged for patrons to sit and read. Corrine pulled over a tall
wooden stool and slid onto it while Vala stood beside
her. She leaned casually on the counter, nodding every so often as Corrine showed
her how to access the digital card catalogue and explained the different types
of search keywords that he system used, then explained
the call numbers that were used to arrange the books.
"Now, while we're here, was there anything you'd like to search for?"
she asked.
Vala frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then gave the librarian a speculative look. "I don't
suppose that you would have anything here about Air Force regulations…?"
Corrine raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Air Force
regulations?"
"Mmm-hmm," nodded Vala. "Research."
"Oh, are you writing a book or something?" Corrine smiled.
"Well, I might--someday," Vala replied.
"What's it about?" the librarian wanted to know.
"Oh--um. Well, there's this Air Force officer
named Samatha. She's the protagonist. She's very
smart, and beautiful but also sort of inhibited. Completely
committed to her career. A war breaks out and she spends a long time on
the front lines with…these three men, all of whom love her in their own ways.
Daniel sort of sees her as a kindred spirit--a fellow geek, I guess.
"He's in love with her?" Corrine asked eagerly.
Vala nodded. "He's the CO."
"What happens?" Corrine wanted to know.
"Well, see, that's where I'm stuck," explained Vala
with a frustrated sigh. "I know that eventually Jack gets pulled off the
front lines, and I think that should
allow Sam to be with him, but I have to make sure."
"Well, let's see what we can find out," Corrine grinned.
* * * *
Daniel shuffled out of the stacks, wandering toward the tables where he and Vala had been sitting earlier. His attention was still on
the old book in his hand, but he slowly looked up, glancing from side to side
in search of her. When he didn't see her, he peered at his watch and shrugged.
He meandered off again, certain that she would find him when she wanted him.
Eventually, he remembered an old Chinese folktale that he'd wanted to reference
at work but hadn't been able to find in his collection. He knew it must be
there, and he'd planned on finding it Monday afternoon, but he decided that
since he was here, he might as well take a look. Still reading, he drifted into
the Social Sciences section when he heard a familiar squeal.
Frowning, he trudged a few rows up and peered around a corner to find Vala standing with a blonde librarian, both of them
grinning and pointing at something in the book that Vala
was holding. He cleared his throat, and she jerked her head up.
"Oh, Daniel, there you are!" she exclaimed, slipping the book into
the basket that she was carrying.
"Here I am," he replied.
She turned to look at her companion. "Corrine, this is my boyfriend,
Daniel."
The other woman smiled in return, offering her hand. "Corrine LeClerc. Nice to meet you."
"Daniel Jackson," he replied as he stepped up to them. He
clasped her hand, then asked, "Are you, um, new
here? I know most of the library staff."
"My daughter and I just moved to
"Well, I hope you enjoy it," he smiled.
"Thanks," she said, then glanced ruefully at her watch. "I hate
to say it, Vala, but I'd better get back to work.
Think you've got enough?"
Vala nodded and smiled, but Daniel caught the slight
hesitation as she said, "I…think so, Corrine, thanks."
"No problem," she said, sidling past them. At the end of the aisle,
she turned and looked back. "Oh! Y'know, there's
a writer's group that meets here on Thursday nights if you're interested."
"I'll definitely think about it!" Vala
smiled again--too eagerly.
Daniel waited until the librarian had disappeared back in the direction of the
circulation desk and then tilted his head meaningfully and gave Vala a long look. "Writer's
group?"
"Um. Long story…?" she offered, pressing her hand to the back
of her neck.
"Yeah," he folded his arms. "I've got time."
He knew before she opened her mouth that he was about to hear one of her famous
stories that were so full of tidbits of half-truth and bloated with
embellishments that it could make a novel in its own right. His eyes slid
closed, and he inhaled deeply, trying to decide whether or not he really wanted
to try to figure out the truth this time.
When she didn't say anything, he opened his eyes to find her biting her lip.
Her expression was both repentant and determined, and his eyebrows rose. Maybe
she wasn't going to lie to him after all.
"I asked her to help me research Air Force regs,"
she confessed.
"What?" his mouth popped open.
"Told her I was writing a book about an Air Force Colonel in love with her
CO," she explained.
Daniel didn't know whether to laugh or yell at her. He ran a hand over his
face. "Vala--"
"Look," she interrupted. "From what we were reading, it seems as though the frat regs may not apply to Sam and Jack because he isn't her
direct superior anymore. The fact that he's still a part of her chain of command
may not mean they can't date. I'm not sure, of course--all this legal mumbo
jumbo isn't my thing--but maybe if you--"
"I don't--"
"Daniel, please," she cut him off again, reaching out to close her
fingers around his wrist in silent entreaty. "I've never asked
you--well--okay, I ask you for things all the time. But this is different. It's
just that, being with you these past few months, I've been happy--and I know
you have too. Sam and Jack deserve to be happy as well."
"Yes, they do," he said with a smile.
"Look, you've known them longer than I have. If either one of us should be
willing to help, shouldn't it--what did you say?" she blinked.
"I said Sam and Jack deserve the chance to be happy too. You're right.
That's why I talked to Jack right after we got home from the ski trip," he
said.
"Oh."
"He was going to talk to a JAG," Daniel explained.
"Well, you could've said something!" she exclaimed.
"I thought Sam might wanna tell you
herself," he said.
"Well, I guess I can forgive you, then," Vala
smiled.
"So are you ready to go?" he asked, shaking his head fondly.
"It's up to you. I told you we'd do whatever you wanted," she
reminded him.
"Vala, I could stay in a library for a
week," he chuckled.
"What is that about how long it would take you to read everything?"
she asked teasingly.
"No," he laughed. "Although I did read every
book on Egyptian history and mythology that my local library had in a month
when I was twelve."
"A month!" she stared at him.
Daniel shrugged. "I didn't have friends to distract me then. Books were my
friends."
The hand on his wrist slipped up to his cheek and Vala
smiled softly. "Well, darling, I'm glad you know who your friends are
now."
"So am I," Daniel agreed.
Part 28: Rush
The rush had begun. In many ways, it was the same insane
frenzy that took hold of the SGC every holiday season. Daniel thought that it
probably had to do with the kind of work they did and the pressures of the
secrets that the men and women of Stargate Command had to keep even from their closest
friends and family. The winter holidays were an excuse--a viable reason for
everyone to go a little crazy.
So, when he stepped off the elevator that morning, he was not surprised to see
Airmen in elf hats toting sacks of gifts through the halls of
"You an' Vala shoulda
come shopping with us on Saturday,
"Yep," Daniel nodded. "I know."
"DanielJackson typically completes his Christmas
shopping in early March," explained Teal'c.
"March?"
Mitchell's jaw dropped.
"He dislikes the holiday rush," Teal'c told him.
"Yeah, but March?" Mitchell continued to
stare in disbelief.
"Well, actually, I didn't get it done until April this year," said
Daniel with a shrug.
"
They were reaching his office door, and Daniel stepped up to it, pushing it
casually open with his shoulder. "I know," he said.
They followed him inside.
"
Daniel frowned ponderously and scratched the back of his neck. "Huh?"
"Somethin' maybe a little more romantic than
whatever you got her in April?" prompted Mitchell.
Daniel shrugged again. "Well, I dunno. She
really does need new socks."
His teammates exchanged a shocked look. Then both turned and stared at him,
obviously trying to determine if he was serious. Daniel walked over to his desk
and sat down, picking up a heavy old volume that he'd been working with the
previous Friday. Flipping open his notes, he grabbed a pencil and squinted in
concentration.
"Did you guys, uh, want something…?" he asked.
"This is gonna be a helluva
Christmas," remarked Mitchell, leaning back to pull open the door.
"Indeed," agreed Teal'c, following the CO out of the room.
* * * *
Vala paused in the doorway of Sam's lab and gave the
metal door a light rap with her knuckles. The Lt. Colonel was sitting on a
stool beside the counter with her cast out in front of her. She had to sit
sideways in order to work and so was bent awkwardly over some object that was
festooned with multicolored blinking lights. Vala wasn't
sure if it was an alien artifact or a Christmas decoration.
At the sound of Vala's knock, Sam jerked her head up.
She turned quickly toward the open door and smiled at the sight of her friend. Vala moved inside with a smile of her own, carrying a Styrofoam
cup in each hand. She set one down on the counter beside Sam and leaned her hip
there as she opened the lid of the second one.
"Can I ask you something?" Vala asked,
carefully sipping the steaming coffee.
"Sure," nodded Sam.
"Is it true that Daniel finishes all his Christmas shopping in
April?" she asked.
"It's usually March," frowned Sam.
"Oh," Vala sighed.
"Why?" Sam asked.
"Well…" Vala bit her lip. "Never mind. It's silly."
"No, what?" prompted Sam.
Vala shrugged lightly. "We weren't dating in
April. He keeps telling that he's giving me socks…"
Sam rolled her eyes. "Vala, I promise. Even
Daniel couldn't be that clueless."
* * * *
Daniel left work early that afternoon. To cover himself, he actually had
scheduled an appointment with his optometrist. Missing that appointment without
giving a day's notice was going to cost him a $35.00 out of pocket fee, but he
was willing to put up with the expense if it meant throwing Vala
off his trail. He still had to drive in circles for more than half an hour to
find a parking space at the mall, and once he spotted one, he nearly smashed
his bumper when a kindly looking gray-haired old lady came screeching in from
the other side of the parking lot and almost stole it from him.
"See--see, now this is why I hate the Christmas rush," he sighed to
himself.
He pulled on his coat, hat, and gloves, checked his pocket for a final time and
pushed open the car door. He ducked his head to shield himself from a frigid
wind and trudged through the icy lot toward the mall entrance. Jack was nowhere
to be found. Of course.
He gave another sigh and plodded down to the
Once he had the pretzel, he made his way to an empty table and slid into the
closest chair to wait. It didn't take long. No sooner had he raised the pretzel
to his lips and opened his mouth than did a familiar figure come jogging up out
of the crowd. Jack halted in front of the table and grinned.
"Didja get it?" he asked, holding out his
hand.
"Yes, Jack. I got it," replied Daniel, setting his snack down untasted. He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a
ring that Sam had let Vala borrow during the ski
trip. "And, if she finds out that I paid an Airman to unlock her
door…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Daniel," Jack wiggled his fingers. "C'mon,
the jeweler's gonna close soon."
Daniel smiled and laid the ring in his friend's hand, then pushed back his
chair and stood up. The two men left the
"Hey, Daniel," Jack asked suddenly. "You're not…getting Vala a ring, are you?"
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Jack, we've only been dating since October.
It's--it's a little soon for that, don't you think?"
Jack shrugged. "Yeah. Guess it is."
Daniel smirked. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna
steal your thunder."
"So, what are you getting her?" Jack wanted to know.
"Socks," replied Daniel flatly.
"Are you serious?" Jack demanded.
"Yep. I bought them in April," he replied.
Jack covered his face with his hand. "Daniel. I love you like a brother.
But if you hand Vala a pair of socks on Christmas
morning, I swear I'll punch you myself."
Daniel smiled. In some ways, this year's Christmas rush was no different from
any of the past ten. In other ways--two very important ways--it was unlike
anything that he or Jack had ever experienced. It was going to be Vala's first Christmas ever--and he was sure that watching
Sam get engaged would almost be her
favorite gift.
Part 29: The Best Laid Plans
The team had decided to spend Christmas at Jack's cabin. Vala was still disappointed over the fact that they had
been unable to book a trip to
Now he, Jack, and
He straightened from the power outlet in front of which he'd been kneeling and
shoved his head out into the frigid wind. He quickly spotted Mitchell on the
lawn, craning his neck to peer up at the roof. "Okay, how's that?" he
yelled.
Mitchell gave him a thumbs-down. Daniel grit his teeth
and resisted the urge to smack the window sill with the heel of his hand. He
bent down again and inspected the various cords in the power-strip, then stood
up again.
"You sure…?" he called. "Everything looks good in here."
"Says V-Mas
now," Mitchell shook his head.
"V-Mas," Daniel sighed. "Great."
"Oh, wait--there it goes…I think."
"You think?"
"Dang! Lit up for a second, now it says line-Mas," explained Mitchell.
"How can it say line-Mas?" Jack barked,
peering over Daniel's shoulder at
"Well, you know, sir. Like a diagonal line," he said, gesturing with
a finger to demonstrate.
"Half of the the X, from one of the top corners
down," Daniel said, turning to look at his friend.
"I know, Daniel," Jack
sighed. "Mitchell, get back up on the ladder. There's gotta be a dead bulb or something
up there!"
"Yessir,"
"Jack…? Do you smell that?" Daniel asked, frowning toward the
kitchen.
Jack turned, sniffing the air. "Smell what? Oh no--"
"The cookies!" Daniel exclaimed.
* * * *
Vala wriggled uncomfortably in the
back seat of Sam's car, trying to find a comfortable position despite being
wedged between two very large shopping bags. She leaned over the one on the
left, peering slowly into it, and a smile spread across her face. She hadn't
been quite sure what to give Teal'c for Christmas until the moment she'd
spotted the new Star Wars box-set in the mall. Fortunately, the
She, Sam, and Teal'c had conspired to volunteer for tree duty in order to
provide a cover for last-minute shopping. Teal'c needed a gift for Mitchell,
who had been with him on his previous two shopping excursions. Sam was still
searching for the perfect gift for Jack; the sweater and cologne she'd already
gotten him apparently weren't enough, and Vala had
honestly wanted to find a less beat-up copy of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's The Complete Poetical Works for Daniel,
but her real goal had been to find something
for Teal'c. She had discovered over the last several weeks that
"Oooooooooh!" she exclaimed, suddenly
shoving herself forward to reach for the volume control on the radio.
Teal'c's hand swooped down to cover hers before she
reached it, and he turned to level a long, silent glare on her. She smiled
brightly. His brow creased in a glower, and she sighed, reluctantly falling
back against the seat again.
"You have already subjected ColonelCarter and myself to the CD version six times," Teal'c grumbled.
"Well, I have no control over what the radio stations air, do I?" Vala pointed out.
"I am no longer certain," Teal'c replied.
"Come on, Teal'c," Sam laughed. From the driver's
seat. "It's Christmas time."
"I am aware of the season, ColonelCarter,"
said the
"Just think. In a few days you won't have to hear Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer for a whole year," Sam
reminded him.
"It will not be long enough," he said.
"Scrooge!" Vala
declared.
Teal'c turned to her again and raised an eyebrow. "I am not a
Scrooge."
"Oh?" challenged Vala. "Tell me
something then."
Teal'c stared stoically.
Vala leaned forward again, giving him a
conspiratorial wink. "You know what Daniel is really giving me for
Christmas, don't you?"
"Indeed," rumbled the
"Well?" Vala prompted eagerly.
"I have answered your question," Teal'c said.
"Well!" huffed Vala. "You're not
really going to sit there and not
tell me, are you?"
"Indeed," Teal'c repeated.
Before Vala could respond, the banter was interrupted
by a loud buzz, and she glanced over Teal'c's
shoulder to see Sam's cell phone vibrate its way across the dashboard. The
Lieutenant Colonel reached out to snatch it before it skittered onto the floor.
"Carter," she said, and Vala briefly saw a
smile reflected in the mirror. Seconds later, it became a concerned frown.
"We're on the way back now. We had to stop at the mall. Teal'c needed
something. What's the matter…"
She listened for a few moments, and the frown faded. She rolled her eyes in
exasperation. "Okay, sir. I can handle the lights, but I think you're on
your own with the cookies."
Vala shared a smirk with Teal'c over the fact that
their friends were still referring to
one another as Sir and Carter, then
asked, "What's going on now?"
"The cookies look like coal, and the sign on the roof says Merry line-Mas,"
she sighed.
Part 30: Of Men and Mutts
Sneaking the dog into cabin on Christmas Eve almost worked. Sam kept Vala in one of the bedrooms, where they were wrapping last
minute gifts and watching Gone With The Wind. The movie seemed to be Vala's latest obsession. Daniel complained with complete
honesty that he didn't feel like sitting through that on Christmas Eve. The
boys were given leave to stay downstairs watching A Christmas Story, which Mitchell apparently thought was the
greatest movie ever made. For the first hour or so, Vala
crept back out to the living room every five minutes, convinced that Daniel was
up to something. She became steadily more irritated by the fact that, no matter
how often she appeared, he hadn't so much as moved off the couch.
Finally, she gave him a long, nasty glare and huffed off, stomping back to the
bedroom. He almost broke into a grin when he caught the running string of
commentary on how even Rhett would never have been this sneaky and underhanded.
They waited another hour to be sure that, if she hadn't given up, she had at
least become so absorbed in the movie that she wouldn't hear them leave.
As soon as they had started dating, Daniel had known that the socks he'd
planned to give Vala for Christmas--as rather pointed
and obvious reminder that they were not, in fact, a couple, were going to be
problematic. He hadn't been quite sure what to do about that until Carolyn
mentioned that her neighbor's beagle was about to have puppies. Had it been a
simple whim--give a girl a cute, furry companion--he wouldn't have even
entertained the notion. He knew that his chances of being able to convince
Landry to let Vala keep a dog on the base were slim
to none--but it was a beagle.
Despite his reputation for being both sensitive and intelligent, Daniel's track
record with women had never been much to brag about. Although women found him
attractive, he tended to be oblivious when it came to romantic involvement, and
he knew it. He'd made more than his share of blunders in his relationship with Vala already. That said, though, he honestly would have had
to be blind and deaf in order to miss an opportunity like this. Given the odd
significance that Snoopy had come to have in their lives, he immediately
realized that there couldn't have been a better present.
"I gotta give you props, Jackson,"
"I haven't pulled it off yet," Daniel said, biting his lip worriedly.
"You ain't told Landry, have you?" Mitchell
asked with a sigh.
"I thought it might be easier to convince him if there was a cute little
beagle in the room," replied Daniel.
"You might be right," admitted Mitchell, pushing himself to his feet.
"Okay, I'm gonna go get Doc an' the doggy."
Carolyn had picked up the dog from her neighbor a few days ago, and they had
arranged for
"Okay. Just--just wait outside or something until I come out and tell you
the coast is clear," Daniel said.
"Got it," agreed Mitchell.
Daniel spent the entire time he was gone looking nervously over his shoulder
toward the window. After admonishing him once that all was going according to
plan, Teal'c didn't comment. Normally, Jack would have made some wisecrack, but
he was too busy pacing back and forth between the couch and the tree.
"C'mon, Teal'c," he urged finally. "I gotta
practice it. You be Carter."
Daniel turned away from the window, gaping at his friends in surprise. Teal'c's eyebrow shot up in astonishment. Jack stared back
at them, looking blankly from one to the other.
"What?"
"I don't think Teal'c is going to make a good Sam substitute," Daniel
said thoughtfully.
"Okay, then you do it," Jack said.
"Me," Daniel replied skeptically.
Jack looked around slowly. "I don't see anyone else in the room…"
"Jack, I am not going to let you propose to me," Daniel told him.
"C'mon, Daniel! I'd do it for you!" Jack
said.
"You would not," Daniel replied.
"Okay, maybe I wouldn't. But you're nicer than I am," Jack attempted.
"I'm not that nice," countered Daniel.
"Sure y'are," Jack said.
"No, Jack. I'm really not," Daniel insisted.
Fortunately for Daniel, they were still debating the matter when
Grabbing his coat from the closet, Daniel flung it hurriedly over his shoulders
and hurried outside. Sam, Jack, and Teal'c followed him out a few seconds
later, and the group met
It was too dark to see more than a squirming shadow as Carolyn shifted the
puppy into Daniel's arms, but a frenzy of excited nuzzling and licking
followed, assuring him that the dog at least felt that he was in the right
place. He gave a small, half involuntary laugh and pulled back to avoid having
a wet tongue in his nostril, then scratched the pup's floppy ears
affectionately.
"Hey, little guy…" he started to say, breaking off at the sudden
sound of a window being shoved open behind them. He turned in time to see Vala shove her head out and jab a finger at him in triumph.
"Aha!"
Part 31: A New Tradition
Since Vala couldn't be induced to
sleep once she actually had the puppy, the whole team took part in setting up
food and water dishes in the kitchen, then Jack rather pointedly introduced the
dog to the copious amounts of newspaper that he had spread by the door. Once
this was accomplished, the entire group made its way into the living room, with
the puppy instantly attaching himself to Vala and
scampering after her. When she slid onto the couch beside Daniel, her new
friend jumped up on her leg, letting out a plaintive whine.
"Well, you know who your Mommy is already, don't you?" she grinned as
she scooped him into her lap.
"Hey,
"I…don't think so," Daniel said slowly.
Vala, who
was in the process of having her face washed by the over-excited puppy, turned
to him with a delighted laugh. "Oh, Daniel, you're not jealous of
this adorable little thing, are you?"
"No," he replied. "But I don't exactly think I'm ready for joint
custody of a dog, either."
"Well, what are you planning to do with him if my father doesn't let Vala keep him on base?" Carolyn arched an eyebrow.
"That's…a very good question," Daniel bit his lip.
"What?" Vala's eyes widened. "Oh,
Daniel, how could you give him to me without clearing it with General
Landry?"
"Vala, if worse came to worst, I did plan on
keeping him at my apartment," Daniel promised, then his brow furrowed as
he watched the two of them. "I was just hoping that we wouldn't have to go
that route."
"Well, me too," she said with a pout, hugging the puppy against her
chest.
"DoggyDaddy," declared
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.
"Oh, come on you guys, cut it out," Sam laughed. "Hey, Vala, what are you going to name him?"
Vala looked up at her friend in surprise. Then she
gave the puppy a long, speculative look. "That is a very good question.
What do you think, boy?"
His response was a playful yip and another round of licking. Vala laughed and pulled her face back, holding him in front
of her. He stretched his head forward, touching his wet little nose against
hers, and she grinned again.
"Yes, you and I are going to get along famously, aren't we? But we do have
to name you," she said mock-sternly.
"Snoopy seems apt," Jack spoke up with a cynical half-smile.
"Snoopy is entirely too obvious for a beagle," Vala
shook her head.
"I believe he should be called Spike," remarked Teal'c gravely.
"That's it! Snoopy's brother! Muscles, you're
brilliant!" Vala nodded eagerly. The
"He's gonna need team badges,"
"Oh, and a cute little vest," Vala added.
"I think you can find something like that at PETCO," Sam spoke up.
"C'mon, Carter," Jack sighed. "Don't encourage 'em."
"Why not?" Sam arched her eyebrow.
"'Cause next they'll wanna take the dog through
the 'Gate," Jack replied.
"Now there's an idea," Vala laughed,
bending to set the dog on the floor again. She gave him a little pat. "Go
and play."
"Just don't let him eat the tinsel," advised Carolyn.
"Eat it?" Vala's eyes widened.
"When I was a kid, we had a St. Bernard who used to eat tinsel off of the
tree. Actually, he would have eaten the tree
if he had the chance," the doctor explained.
"Oh," Vala frowned softly. "Well, you
listen to Doctor Lam, Spike. No eating tinsel."
Spike spent the next hour or so exploring the cabin and its occupants. He did
snuffle his way over to the tree once or twice but was willing to leave it
alone after only the second reprimand. Once he'd satisfied himself that he had
smelled every reachable corner and exhausted his interest in playing tug-of war
with Teal'c--or more accurately, being dragged across the floor by Teal'c while
holding one end of a green, squeaky rubber newspaper--he returned to Vala, this time managing to scramble onto the couch by
himself.
He curled up in her lap, and she looked down at him with a smile, then returned
her attention to the anecdotes that her teammates were sharing. It seemed that
while there were many shared elements involved in the celebration of Christmas,
individual households developed their own unique traditions. Some of them were
endearing, some intriguing, and some were simply odd.
"The whole family used to go to my grandma's,"
"Kinda like this?" Jack remarked.
"Yeah, 'cept if we got caught, we'd get yelled
at," he smirked. "Anyway, 'bout
"What did you get in them?" asked Sam.
"Candy, mostly. Few little things. Oh, and we
always had $3.41,"
"Three dollars and forty-one cents?" Sam
repeated, raising her eyebrows. "Why?"
"I got a great-aunt who lived in
"Wait a minute," Jack frowned. "
"Loonie, Jack," Daniel corrected.
"That's what I said," the general replied.
"L-o-o-n-i-e," explained Daniel. "It's
a one-dollar coin. A toonie is two dollars."
"Daniel, why do you know that?" Jack asked.
"He speaks how many languages?" Sam pointed out. "Somehow, I
don't think it's too much of a stretch for him to have at least some knowledge
of currencies."
"Well, I always said he was a storehouse of useless information,"
Jack shrugged.
Daniel rubbed his eyes. "Okay, c'mon, somebody else, let's hear a
Christmas tradition. Sam! Vala's never heard
yours."
"Well, my mother's family was Swedish, so we celebrated
"Martyr?" Vala's
eyes widened.
"Christianity has a lot of those," Jack said.
"Early Christians tended to either persecute or be persecuted for their
beliefs, depending on the particular era and region," explained Daniel.
"Oh, I see," Vala frowned.
"Anyway,
"Candles on your head?"
repeated Vala.
"The light was supposed to represent the fire that refused to take Lucia's
life," Sam related.
"But wasn't it dangerous?" Vala asked.
"They weren't real candles, just plastic with tiny light bulbs. The whole
wreath was battery operated. I always wanted real candles, but I guess I was
lucky to even have the fakes. My mom would get up early and help me get dressed
and get everything ready. Then she'd go back to bed so I could bring breakfast
in to them," Sam related. "Then, as far as Christmas itself, we had a
tradition about the stockings and the tree. The house was decorated, of course,
and all the rest of the ornaments went onto the tree as soon as we bought them,
but the angel didn't go onto the top of the tree until Christmas Eve night.
Then, just before bed, Mark and I would hang our stockings."
"Well, that's lovely," Vala grinned. Then
she looked hopefully around at the rest of the group. "Who
next?"
"Doc, how 'bout you?"
"Well, when I was little, whether my dad was home or not, we used to spend
Christmas Eve with his family. My grandma would always make boulabaise--a
tomato based broth with fish, clams, and scallops in it. If Dad was home, he
and I used to have this sort of mad shopping frenzy that night. He was usually
behind on his shopping, and I'd say I was "taking him". I don't even
remember how it got started."
"Well, somebody had to make sure there was a present under the tree for
your mom, right?"
"That's what I thought anyway," Carolyn agreed. "So, then, Christmas
morning, before we opened the presents, the youngest kid there who could read
always got to read the Christmas story from Luke 2 in the Bible."
"About the baby king?" Vala
asked.
"Yeah," nodded Carolyn. "There are actually other versions of
the story in the Bible, written by different authors, but that's the one people
think of."
"It's the one Linus read in the Christmas
special too, Vala," Daniel spoke up.
"Oh, we should watch that!"
she exclaimed. "Spike will love it!"
"I don't think Spike's gonna care too much about
Charlie Brown," Daniel said.
"Of course he will. You just watch. You brought the DVD, didn't you?"
she asked.
"Yeah," he smiled indulgently. "It's in the car."
"Well, go and get it, darling!" Vala urged.
"We can make it part of our new Christmas tradition. Every year, the team
has to spend Christmas Eve here, and after Daniel gives me a present, we all
have to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas."
Daniel buried his face in his hands, and the room erupted with laugher.
"After I give you a present," he sighed.
"Well, you're the one who gave me Spike," Vala
pointed out. "It wouldn't be the same otherwise."
"Right," he shook his head. As he pushed himself to his feet, the
puppy suddenly raised his head from Vala's lap.
Daniel grabbed his coat from where he'd left it on the arm of the couch, and by
the time he'd taken two steps toward the doorway, Spike had sprung to the
ground. The dog trotted eagerly after him as he walked to the door, remaining
firmly at his heel all the way out to the car.
Watching from the window, the rest of SG-1 turned to one another and shared a
grin.
"Indeed," the rest of the team laughed.
Part 32: All That Glitters
Spike ran off to play in the snow as Daniel started back
toward the cabin. He heaved a sigh and tromped up to the deck to wait, figuring
he might as well allow the puppy the opportunity to do his duty before the
chaos of gift-opening began. Leaning his elbows on the railing, he gave a
little smile and watched the team's furry little
friend come close to burying himself in a snow-drift. After a few minutes, he
heard the door creak open behind him and turned to see Vala
carrying a steaming mug in each hand.
"We're out of eggnog. I thought you might like some hot chocolate,"
she smiled.
"Thanks," he said, reaching to accept one of the mugs. He sipped it
gratefully, then slipped his free arm around her
waist, pulling her gently against his chest.
"You're welcome," she said, tilting her head to let her cheek rest on
his shoulder. "Daniel, I'm sorry I tried to ruin your surprise."
"No you're not," he smirked.
"All right, no I'm not," she admitted. "But I do love him. He's
wonderful. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Vala," he said. "I
just hope that General Landry likes Spike as much as we all do."
"How could anyone not like Spike!" Vala laughed. At the sound of his name, the puppy's head
popped out of the snow-drift and he waded his way as
fast as his little legs could carry him back to the deck.
"Hey, he knows his name already!" Daniel laughed.
"Well, he's very smart. Takes after his Daddy," Vala
grinned wickedly.
"C'mon, don't start that," Daniel sighed.
"You'd better get used to it, darling," Vala
said as the dog hopped his way up one step at a time. "There's a very real
possibility that this little fellow is going to be your new roommate."
"That doesn't mean I own him, Vala," Daniel
shook his head
"Well, all right, but you're still going to have to convince him of
that," said Vala as Spike reached the top of the
deck and scurried over to them, his toenails clicking on the wooden surface. He
pressed himself against Vala's leg, visibly shivering
now, and she hurriedly bent to pick him up. "Oh, are you cold?"
His fur was wet with half-melted snow, and the couple quickly brushed him off,
then Vala unzipped her coat and slipped him inside
it. Once there, he squirmed and wriggled until his head was resting on her
shoulder. She laughed softly and turned to give his still damp muzzle a kiss
while Daniel glanced up at the sky, which was beginning to turn pink with the
first hint of sunrise.
"Maybe we should head inside anyway," he suggested. "It's morning, and Jack's gonna
want to get to the presents."
"What's he planning?" Vala frowned.
Daniel grinned. "You'll see."
She narrowed her eyes, giving him a long, dire look of warning, which she
slowly allowed to melt into an answering smile. "You're becoming entirely
too good at keeping secrets from me."
"Thank you," he laughed. Then his expression became serious as he
leaned toward her mouth and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Vala."
"Merry Christmas, Daniel," she replied, tilting her head toward him
in return.
Just before their lips met, Spike gave a plaintive yip and wriggled back off of
Vala's shoulder. He gave her face a quick lap with
his tongue and then twisted to bestow the same on Daniel. Both of them froze
for a second, startled at the intrusion, then laughed, and bent together to
give either side of the puppy's head a kiss.
* * * *
Inside, Vala made everyone promise that they would
watch A Charlie Brown Christmas as soon as the presents were opened. Then
Teal'c took his customary place beside the tree and Jack produced a Santa hat
from the fireplace mantle. Once he had donned the hat, Teal'c marshaled
everyone into a loose semicircle around the room, with Daniel and Vala back on the couch, Spike stretched out between them
with his body in Daniel's lap and his head on Vala's
knee. Jack took the armchair, pulling Sam onto his lap as he lowered himself
into it, while
The handing out of presents took longer than Vala
would have expected, first because Teal'c was careful to make sure that he
doled out the gifts in order, so that no one received two presents before the
next person had been given one. Spike's curiosity was peaked, and he kept
springing off the couch to sniff at things or play with boxes and wrapping
paper until Daniel or Vala called him back. The
opening of each present also had to be accompanied by picture taking and a
running commentary over the gift itself, especially when it came to Teal'c's Star Wars box-set. It was a new release, featuring
extended versions of all six of the movies, plus a whole variety of special
features and deleted scenes. Apparently, both Jack and
Soon enough, however, Jack prodded them all back to the still wrapped presents.
Sam raised a questioning eyebrow at him, but he only shrugged in reply. Her
suspicions had been roused, though, and she shot a glance at Vala. Her friend could only shake her head apologetically,
and both women waited eagerly for him to spring his surprise. They were still
waiting twenty minutes later when the last of the gifts had been opened and
Teal'c took off the Santa hat, replacing it on the mantle.
Seemingly oblivious, Jack, Daniel, and
"Hey, are you two gonna sit there all morning or
what?" he asked pointedly.
"What--oh--sorry, sir. Jack," Sam corrected
herself, then planted her hands on the arms of the chair and pushed herself to
her feet. "I'll go get the broom."
"All right, what is it?" she whispered fiercely.
"Where is it?" added Carolyn, glancing around the room.
"You gals are just gonna have to wait,"
smirked
Sam returned a few minutes later, and Jack was leaning over in an attempt at
reaching a piece of blue wrapping paper which had somehow migrated halfway
behind the tree. He finally grabbed it, straightened again, and took a few
steps back. Suddenly he cocked his head and looked up at the tree, glanced
toward Teal'c with a frown.
"Hey, T, you forgot one," he remarked.
"I did not," replied the
"Ya did so!" insisted Jack, pointing up at
the ornaments on the branch he was looking at. "It's right there."
Teal'c walked over to stand behind him, peering in the direction that his
friend indicated. He clasped his hands behind his back and studied the tree for
a long moment, then said calmly, "I do not see anything, O'Neill."
"It's right--" Jack took a step toward the
tree and snatched something off of it. "--here."
Teal'c frowned in surprise and took the object from his friend's hand, holding
it up for examination. As he did, Vala saw a small
red velvet pouch with white trim and a gold drawstring from which it had been
dangling on the tree. She had noticed it before but had always mistaken it for
an ornament. So, apparently, had Sam, whose face suddenly flushed as red as the
pouch itself. Guessing what was in it as well, Vala began to grin and unconsciously reached for Daniel's
hand.
"It appears to belong to ColonelCarter,"
Teal'c rumbled.
"Oh…?" Jack feigned surprise.
Teal'c carefully opened the pouch and peered inside, then extended his hand
toward Jack, who repeated the display. Both of them then looked at each other
with a deep frown. "Perhaps it is better that you give this to her
yourself, O'Neill."
"Yeah," Jack said slowly. "I think you're right."
Teal'c handed it to him with a bow, then slipped back
a few steps. Jack looked down at the pouch in his hand, took a breath. He stood
there for a few seconds, then shrugged, turning toward
Sam. Watching him, she bit her lip, but tears had already begun to slip down
her cheeks. He slowly walked over to her, offered a half smile and looked into
her eyes for a long moment. Then he sank down on one knee, shook the ring into
the palm of his other hand, and held it up to her.
"Marry me, Carter."
Sam nodded, trying vainly to wipe the tears from her face. Jack took her hand,
silently slipping the ring onto her finger, and then pushed himself back to his
feet. Sam's hands slid over his shoulders, and he pulled her into a kiss that
was the culmination of ten years of silent devotion.
"Yes!" Vala whispered.
Daniel smiled, leaning toward her ear to whisper, "
PART 33: When Cute and Cuddly Doesn’t Cut It
A few days after Christmas, the five members of SG-1 stood
in front of General Landry's desk. Their would-be mascot rested comfortably in Vala's arms, his small white and brown paws draped over her
forearm. The general glared at them in disbelief and slowly shook his head. Vala pouted. Teal'c glowered in disappointment, Sam bit her
lip, and a frown of consternation creased Daniel's forehead. Mitchell took a
step forward, resting a hand on the general's desk.
"Now, come on, sir. I know it ain't exactly
regulation, but…"
"But what?" Landry prompted, raising his
bushy eyebrows expectantly.
"Vala's really attached to him," Mitchell
said.
Both Daniel and Sam shot him looks that were clearly unimpressed. Daniel saw
him wince and guessed that he had, already realized that Vala's
attachment to Spike was probably the last thing that was going to sway Landry. Vala, however, pasted on her trademark grin and bobbed her
head eagerly. For emphasis, she cuddled the puppy and rested her cheek against
the top of his head, then peered hopefully at Landry again.
"See?"
"SG Teams don't have mascots," Landry told them firmly.
"But, sir--" Sam began.
"General--" Daniel started at the same time.
"General Landry--" Teal'c spoke up as well.
Landry quickly held up a hand. "I won't say this again."
SG-1 heaved a collective sigh. Mitchell slowly nodded and stepped back.
Following his lead, Sam and Daniel ducked their heads, and Teal'c gave a half
bow of acknowledgement. Vala looked from one to the
other of them and finally nodded.
"Yes, sir," she said, turning to slip through his office door.
The rest of the team followed her out a few seconds later. Daniel slid his arm
comfortingly around her shoulders, while Sam and Mitchell leaned dejectedly
against the opposite wall. Teal'c clasped his hands behind his back and waited
placidly, but Daniel could detect a slight sag in the
"Hold up," Mitchell said suddenly, eyes widening.
"What?" Vala asked.
"I got an idea," he said. "Y'all go wait for me in Vala's quarters."
"Where are you going?" Sam asked.
Mitchell pushed himself off the wall, and took off down the hall at a fast
clip, throwing over his shoulder, "I'll be back in a few minutes."
PART 34: Because I Asked You To
Carolyn looked up from her clipboard, smiling at the sight
of
"Bad news?" she asked.
He nodded. "SG Teams don't have mascots."
Carolyn sighed softly. "What are you going to do?"
"Well, replied
"Huh?" she asked. "Oh, no,
"Why not? You're his daughter,"
"Yeah, but you know we're not like that," she shook her head. "I
can't go asking him for favors."
"Wouldn't have to be that way,"
Carolyn bit her lip reluctantly. "Well, I don't know…"
"S'ok,"
"Well, this way might be a little more pleasant for the rest of us,"
Carolyn admitted.
"That's what I'm thinkin'," nodded
"Okay," she agreed, pushing back her chair. "I'll give it a shot,
but I'm not making any promises."
"Fair enough,"
She felt herself flush slightly and turned back to face him. "You know I
hate being called Doc."
"Sorry," he grinned unrepentantly.
"You look it," she shook her head fondly.
"So, you wanna catch a movie this weekend?"
he asked.
"Yeah," she smiled, then pulled her arm free and headed out the door.
She strode briskly through the main infirmary and into the hall. Once there,
she took a moment to catch her breath, hoping he hadn't actually seen her
blush, and then hurried toward her father's office. The base was still
festooned with Christmas decorations, and she nodded to several Airmen at work
removing garland and strings of lights.
She found her father sitting at his desk with his eyes closed, pinching the
bridge of his nose with two fingers. He quickly pulled his hand away from his
face as she came in, and his eyes popped open. He smiled a greeting, but she
crossed her arms.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he shook his head. "Tension
headache. SG-1 was just in here."
"Uh, yeah. I heard," she said, slowly
letting her arms fall to her sides.
"Come on, Carolyn! Don't tell me you're in on this too!" he sighed.
"I just think it would be good for morale," she attempted.
"Right," he closed his eyes.
"Especially for Vala," Carolyn continued.
"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Think about it. When she's not offworld with
SG-1, she's stuck here. How would you like it?" she asked.
"I wouldn't," he admitted. "But how exactly is a puppy supposed
to fix that?"
"Well, it won't, I guess. But it would give her something else to focus
on. Something positive," Carolyn replied. "Besides, if Teal'c wanted
a dog, you'd let him have it."
"I would not," he shook his head.
"Oh, come on! You would too!" she insisted.
"Even if I would, Carolyn, Teal'c has earned it. He's been here more than
ten years."
"Vala's paid her dues this year," Carolyn
crossed her arms again. "Don't say she hasn't."
"Look, if I let one team have a mascot, they're all gonna
want one," he argued. "I can't have twenty-six beagles running
around. This is a military base!" he insisted.
"So, make him the SGC's mascot and assign him to
SG-1," she said.
"What?" his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Why not?" she challenged.
"You want me to assign a dog to
an SG Team?" he asked.
"Yes. It's not like he'd ever really go through the 'Gate," she said.
"Carolyn, she can get a plant--or
a hobby. Give me one good reason--"
"Because I asked you to!"
the words were out of her mouth before she realized she'd spoken them.
Her father stared back at her for a long minute. Then he slowly nodded. "All right. But if the IOA finds out, I'm sending them
to you, Doctor."
"Understood, sir," she agreed.
* * * *
Vala flopped onto the couch in her quarters, still
holding the puppy. Daniel sank down on her right side, slipping his arm around
her again. Teal'c took the other side, while Sam perched on the edge of the
coffee table. Vala looked down at Spike with a drawn
out sigh.
"Well, boy. It looks like you'll have to stay with your Daddy after
all," she said.
He smiled wanly, this time offering no objection to the title. He knew, of
course, that he would also have to accept Teal'c and Mitchell's moniker of
"DoggyDaddy", but he couldn't complain
about it now. He really had hoped that they would be able to convince Landry,
though, and not only because the alternative was for him to acquire a canine
roommate.
"Perhaps ColonelMitchell's plan will be
successful," Teal'c spoke up.
"We don't even know what his plan is," Vala
pointed out.
"It would not be the first time," said Teal'c.
"I suppose you have a point," Vala
admitted.
Spike wriggled out of her grasp, springing onto the floor, and the team watched
him wander around Vala's quarters for a few minutes,
exploring the various pieces of furniture and interesting corners and crevices
to crawl into. Then, Vala leaned forward and picked
up the remote control from the table beside Sam. She flipped the channels for a
while, finding nothing of interest, and finally settled on the TV Guide
channel.
After a few moments of idly watching the listings roll up the screen, Daniel
suggested, "D'you wanna
watch Charlie Brown?"
"No, it's too depressing," Vala replied.
"Vala, you can see him at Daniel's whenever you
want," Sam said, resting a hand on her friend's knee.
"I know, but it's not the same," said Vala.
"I'm sorry, honey, I guess I shouldn't have--" Daniel broke off at
the sound of a knock at the door. Spike turned toward the door as well, barking
a warning.
"Spike, hush. It's all right, Daniel," Vala told him, getting to her feet.
She crossed the room and opened the door to reveal a grinning
"Well," Mitchell said, still grinning. "Looks like Vala won't have to say goodbye to Spike."
"Really?" Vala
asked excitedly.
"The SGC has a new mascot," Carolyn explained.
"Landry's gonna officially assign Spike to SG-1 next
week," added Mitchell.
"Mitchell, you're genius!" cried Vala.
"Don't thank me," he shook his head. "Carolyn did all the
work."
Impulsively, Vala sprang forward, throwing an arm
around both of their necks. The couple froze for a second, startled by the show
of affection, then each wrapped an arm around her in
return. Spike took the opportunity to dart for the open door, apparently bored
with exploring Vala's quarters, but Daniel dove off
the couch to catch the puppy before he could make his escape.
"Oh, no, you don't, little guy!" he said. Sam snickered softly, and
he turned to face her. "What…?"
"DoggyDaddy," she laughed.
"Oh, come on, Sa--"
"Indeed," Teal'c interrupted.
"Teal'c!" Daniel cried.
"Face it, darling," Vala said as she,
PART 35: Assignment: SG-1
Carolyn joined General O'Neill and the members of SG-1 in
her father's office the morning that Spike received his assignment. She hung
back by the door, reluctant to intrude on the team moment, but
A trip to PETCO earlier in the week had afforded him a military-style vest and
several bandannas, one of which he was wearing now. There was only one thing
missing. Her father reached inside his desk to remove a little box from the top
drawer. He handed it ceremoniously to
"Now, this is a big responsibility, Spike," Vala
said as she affixed a badge to the back of the puppy's vest. "But, I know
you won't let us down."
Spike looked curiously back at her and tilted his head, seeming wonder if his
human friends had all lost their minds. Vala finished
with the badge and stood back, allowing everyone a moment to applaud. Then she
frowned, pursing her lips thoughtfully. She glanced from the dog to the general
and then to the rest of her team.
"I don't suppose we could make him an honorary member of the Air Force as
well?" she asked.
"What?" Carolyn's father asked, eyes widening.
"Well, then he could have one of those nifty little code names.
Like…" she turned questioningly toward
"Shaft," he said slowly. "But I don't think…"
"No," the general said flatly.
"But--"
"No."
"Oh, all right," she huffed, scooping the dog back into her arms. She
gave him a little hug, then grinned, "Come on,
everyone. Pizza in my quarters."
"You're springing for pizza?" Sam asked in surprise.
"Of course not. DoggyDaddy
is," Vala winked, slipping past Daniel, who
swatted her backside lightly as she exited the room. "Hey!"
"You asked for that!" he called after her, then
followed her out of the room. General O'Neil rolled his eyes at their antics,
but a smile flickered over his lips as he and Sam exited the room together.
Teal'c filed out after them, leaving
"Everyone means you too,"
"What, you think I'd turn down free pizza?" she laughed, shaking her
head fondly.
"Just makin' sure," he replied. He swept
out into the hall with her, the fingers of his left hand lightly brushing her
arm as they fell in step.
"I still think he needs a code name," Vala
was saying conversationally. Everyone should. Why don't you have one,
Sam?"
"It's called a call sign,"
Sam explained with a laugh. "Pilots use them to communicate over the
radio. The idea is that it's quicker to use a call sign than name and rank.
Personally, I think it just makes them feel special."
"Yep. Exactly," General O'Neill agreed.
"Good for you, Mitchell," Vala called over
her shoulder. Then she paused and frowned lightly. "Wait, where's General
Landry?"
"I'll get him," Carolyn volunteered. She spun around, hurrying back
toward her father's office. Shoving her head through the open door, she called,
"Hey, you're supposed to be having pizza too--"
She broke off as soon as she caught sight of him, still standing in front of
the desk. His right hand covered his forehead, fingers pressed against his
temples in an obvious gesture of suppressed pain. Carolyn straightened,
crossing her arms as she stepped through the door again.
"You got another headache?" she asked.
He hurriedly looked up, shaking his head in dismissal, and smiled. "Well,
can you blame me? I work in a circus."
"Yeah, well, it's never caused headaches before," she said, stepping
closer.
"Sure it has," he told her, waving a hand. "Carolyn, you gotta learn to stop being a doctor once in a while."
She tilted her head skeptically. "Why haven't you been to see me?"
"Because I knew we'd end up having a conversation just like this," he
replied lightly. "People get headaches."
"Yes, and sometimes those headaches are symptoms of a serious medical
condition," she said.
"And sometimes they're just headaches," he said over his shoulder. "Now, c'mon. Let's get some pizza."
"Wait a minute--"
"Carolyn, Mitchell's waiting."
"What!" she exclaimed at
his disappearing back.
"What do you think I am, blind?" he yelled back.
"What…? Dad…!"
PART 36: Disappointments
"I liked Freedom Writers, but I
don't think I'd see it again," she said.
"Yeah, I'm not too hot on seein' it at
all," he agreed.
"What about Charlotte's Web?"
she asked.
"You gotta be kidding me," he replied.
"What?" she looked up with a frown.
"It's a kids' movie," he sighed.
"The book is a classic," she argued. "I read it a million times
when I as a kid. I had this beat up old copy of it that I used to take
everywhere."
"You're kidding me," he blinked.
"Nope," she shook her head with an ironic smile.
He rubbed his eyes. "Well, all right. Ain't
nothing better playing anyway."
"Good," she grinned. "Looks like showtimes
are
He glanced at his watch. "If we leave now, we can catch the
"Okay," she agreed, pushing back her chair to get to her feet. As she
walked around to the other side of the desk, a familiar figure appeared in her
office door.
"At ease, loverboy," he chuckled.
Carolyn ran a hand over her face and rubbed her forehead. "Was there
something you wanted, sir?"
"That Tylenol you gave me last week doesn't seem to be working," he
replied.
"All right," said Carolyn with a brisk nod. "Tomorrow morning,
I'm booking you for a full physical with Dr. Alvarez. For now, I'm driving you
home."
"Carolyn, I'm fine," he said with a sigh.
"Yeah, and you're going to stay that way. Go get your coat," she told
him.
He rolled his eyes and gave his head an exasperated shake, but turned around
without argument and walked back through the main infirmary.
"Sorry, I guess the movie's off," she said.
"It's okay,"
"I'm worried about him," she confessed. "He's had a
headache for three days."
"Listen,"
"Yeah," she nodded uncertainly, shifting her gaze to the floor
between them.
"I know," he said quietly, tilting her chin back up with the tip of
his index finger. "He's your Dad."
She gave another nod and swallowed hard.
"Look, go on, take him home. I'll hang out here--watch TV with Jackson and
Vala or something. Maybe we can still catch the
* * * *
Vala slipped into Daniel's office, followed
closely by Spike. She had planned to sneak up on the archaeologist, who
predictably enough was bent over the worktable, leaning on his elbow with one
end of his glasses held between his teeth. The sound of scrabbling puppy
toenails, which seemed to follow her everywhere these days, made stealth rather
impossible.
Daniel turned to look over his shoulder as they came in, and he pulled the
glasses out of his mouth to offer her a smile before returning his attention to
the mess on the table. "Hey, you two."
"Hello," Vala planted her chin on
his shoulder, threading her arms around his waist. She blew a slow stream of
air along the side of his neck, and he shivered at the contact, then tried to wave her away.
"C'mon, Vala, I gotta
finish these translations," he reminded her.
"Daniel, that's what you said an hour ago. It's after hours. I thought we
were going to watch Star Wars tonight."
"I know," he sighed. "But SG-15 really needs this done."
"Well, why can't their archaeologist do it?" she pouted.
"He's got the chicken pox," Daniel explained.
"The what?" she asked.
"Chicken pox," he explained. "It's a virus that gives you small,
red, very itchy bumps. And they spread if you scratch them. "
"Is it contagious?" she asked, eyes widening.
"Yes, but you can only get it once, and I've had it," Daniel
explained. "Most people get it in childhood."
"Oh, you must have looked adorable!" she grinned.
"What!" he turned his head in surprise.
Vala pointed at his face, still smiling, "With
little red bumps all over your face."
"I was miserable!" Daniel sighed. "It was one of the worst
experiences of my life!"
"Which would have made you even more adorable," she told him.
"Right," he turned back to the table again.
"How close are you?" Vala asked.
"Not very," he said absently.
"Oh. So, I should leave you alone, shouldn't I?" she asked.
"Mmm-hmm."
"All right," she said, letting her hands drop to her sides.
She started for the door again, gesturing for the puppy to follow. "Come,
Spike. I guess I'll just have to cuddle with you again."
"Very funny…" Daniel called after them.
She closed the door softly behind her, then frowned as
she caught sight of Mitchell coming from direction of the infirmary. The team
was well aware that their CO had a movie date scheduled for this evening, and
the slump-shouldered posture didn't bode well. Vala
quickly assumed a bright smile and bounded into his path.
"Hi there!"
"Hi," he replied, lips twitching slightly.
"No movie tonight?" she asked.
"Maybe later," he said, crouching to pet Spike. "Carolyn had to
take her dad home."
"Is he all right?" Vala asked.
"Yeah, just a headache,"
"Well, in that case, Daniel is still busy with those translations for
SG-15, Sam is trying to prod Jack into helping her choose flower arrangements,
and Teal'c is offworld someplace with Bra'tac. Which means that I have no one
to watch Star Wars with me tonight. How about
you?"
"All right,"
PART 37: The Duel
Since Vala had given Teal'c a new
Star Wars box set for Christmas, the
"I still think you only like the prequel movies 'cause you think Obi-Wan's hot,"
"I do not," she replied, giving his crossed feet a swat as she walked
around the table and flopped onto the couch beside him. "Well. Yes, I do.
But that's not why I like the prequels. Alec Guinness isn't the least bit
attractive in A New Hope, and I still like Obi-Wan."
"He intrigues me," said Vala as she picked
up the remote to turn on the previews. "Besides, the fight scenes are much
better in the prequels."
"The fight scenes?"
"Mmm," she nodded. "Look at all that
spinning and cartwheeling Darth Maul does."
"I thought you said he was creepy,"
"He is creepy, but that doesn't make his sword fighting less impressive.
And that scene in the second movie where Obi-Wan absorbs Dooku's
Force lightning with his lightsaber!" Vala went on.
"Yeah, but I mean, the Luke/Vader duels are classic!" argued
"Well, my dear Colonel, I don't have your cultural bias," Vala pointed out.
"Right,"
Vala nodded agreement, reaching for a handful of
popcorn. They managed to get through the rest of the previews and into the
opening crawl before she said anything else, which was about what he'd
expected. Vala then started a running commentary,
which didn't let up until Obi-Wan showed up in the Jundland
Wastes to rescue Luke from the Sandpeople. Once he
was on screen, she finally fell silent, and
She didn't say much until the Vader duel started, and then she became more
interested in talking about how little sense it made that Obi-Wan lost than in
actually watching the duel. This led to another debate about whether the
Original Trilogy was better than the prequels, which wasn't settled until Vala sprang off the couch and disappeared into the closet
beside her bathroom.
"I know how to settle this!" her voice drifted out to him.
"What?"
She reappeared a few seconds later, toting a broom in one hand and a mop in the
other, and bounded back over to him. Spike, who had
been dozing on the couch, now cocked his hears and sat up, puzzled by the
strange antics of his owner. Vala tossed the mop to
"What are you doing?"
"You did mention duels, didn't you?" she arched an eyebrow.
"Uh…?"
"Come on, Mitchell," she urged. "You don't mean to tell me that
after all the practice you've had with swords and krantu
staffs since I've known you , you're afraid you'd lose to me with a
broom?"
"Lose!"
Vala gave a slow smile and spun the broom handle in a
blatant challenge. "I think that's what I said."
"All right,"
The pair quickly grabbed either end of the coffee table and pushed it back
against the couch. Then they walked into the center of the room, eyed each
other for a few seconds, and hefted their weapons, tossing them from hand to
hand experimentally. Spike sprang off the couch and scampered excitedly between
them, but scurried off again as soon as Vala's
broomstick made a swift cut toward
His advantage didn't last long. Vala leapt backwards,
landing catlike on the arm of her easy char, then vaulted off again,
somersaulting over his head. As she landed, she jabbed the broom handle
backwards, and he barely managed to pivot and angle to mop in order to avoid a
blow to the stomach. Then he lunged, slashing toward her wrist in an effort to
knock the weapon from her hand.
Vala sidestepped, moving back toward the door as she
whirled the broomstick out of his reach. He followed, and the battle spilled
out into the hall. Spike ran after them, barking in agitation as the laughing
combatants fought their way through the corridor past stunned Air Force officers
and civilian personnel.
"Vala! Mitchell! Are
you both crazy?"
Before either of them could muster an answer, the elevator door at the end of
the hall slid open. Teal'c and Bra'tac strode out
into the chaos, and the Master shot a questioning glance at his former pupil.
Spike ran over to them, pressing himself against Teal'c's
leg, and the
"I believe they are attempting to reenact a well known duel between
legendary warriors Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi," he explained calmly to
Bra'tac, hugging the worried dog against his chest.
"Ah," nodded Bra'tac. "It would appear
that ValaMalDoran has taken on the role of Darth
Vader."
"What?"
Vala took advantage of his momentary distraction to
wrest the mop handle from his grip. It flew out of his hand, spinning away to
clatter against the wall, and she held her broom against his neck with a bright
grin. "See?"
"Listen, Vala, don't kill him,"
Carolyn spoke up. "We've still got a movie date tonight."
PART 38: Speculation
Carolyn was still smiling to herself as she and
"Let's see…Charlie Brown…Star Wars…what's next on the agenda?" she
asked as the elevator door slid closed.
"I'm thinking maybe Giligan's
"I hate Giligan's
"Well, there's The Simpsons, but we figured we oughta leave that to General O'Neill," said
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Carolyn admitted.
"Well, what about baseball in the spring?" he asked.
"She'd probably think it was boring," Carolyn shook her head.
"Bond?"
"Oh, what about
"Carolyn, she's got a fixation with archaeologists already,"
"Exactly," her grin widened.
"You're devious, ain'tcha?" he laughed.
"I can be. Let's see…there's Lord of the Rings. Bet she'd actually read it,
too, now that she's discovered the library. Oh, has Teal'c shown her tabloids
yet?"
"I don't think so,"
"She does like Wal-Mart," Carolyn reminded him.
"True enough. So okay. Teal'c will show her
tabloids. Maybe we can start doing team movie night or something. Or, wait. Not
just team," he corrected himself.
"I don't have to come," she shook her head dismissively.
"Course you do,"
"Okay," she laughed. "Well, we've got Lord of the Rings. The
Princess Bride--oh, what about Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves?"
"How bout Lethal Weapon instead?"
"Lethal Weapon!"
Carolyn exclaimed.
"What's wrong with Lethal Weapon…?"
The discussion continued all the way to the surface, then faded into
companionable silence as they stepped off the elevator and went through the
last security checkpoint.
He followed her out, then quickly caught up with her
as they made their way through the rows of vehicles toward his truck. Neither
spoke at first, walking in the same easy silence that had begun in the hallway
a few minutes before. Small white plumes of frost hung in the air with every
breath, and she had to force herself not to laugh at the way the snow clung to
his eyebrows.
"Hey, how's your dad?" he asked.
"He seems fine," she replied with a shrug.
"Told ya, didn't I?" he grinned as they
reached the truck. He held open the door for her again, offering her a hand
into the cab.
"Yeah," she smiled as she accepted. "You did."
* * * *
After
"Well, I guess it's just you and me again, boy," she told him.
Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay."
"Okay what, darling?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder.
"Okay, I'll come watch Star Wars with you," he sighed.
"Well, Daniel, you're under no obligation to watch a movie with us,"
she reminded him, turning to look at him.
"I know that," he said.
"You don't sound very enthusiastic," she pointed out.
"Sorry," he said, walking over to slip his arm around her. "I'm
just wondering how I'm going to explain to General Landry that I didn't get
those translations finished."
"Tell him Darth Vader kidnapped you," she suggested, her arms coiling
about his waist.
"I don't think that's going to work," he laughed, hugging her
affectionately.
"Well, he may have something else on his mind anyway," Vala told him.
"What do you mean?" he frowned.
"I think our fearless leader is about to make a conquest of the general's
daughter," she winked.
"Vala!" Daniel
glared half-heartedly.
"Well," she shrugged. "At the very least, he'll kiss her
goodnight."
PART 39: The Stage Is Set
The light snow which had begun when
“We gotta be the only two people here,” he said
speculatively.
“If it gets much worse, they might close early anyway,” she nodded.
“Do you wanna go in?”
She pursed her lips a bit crookedly and wrinkled her nose as she considered the
question. Neither of them was particularly enthused about the cold, howling
wind, and heavy wet snow. On the other hand, she had a thing about
“Well, I wouldn’t want you drive all the way here for nothing. And SG-1’s due
to go offworld again in a few days. Who knows when
we’ll get to see another movie,” she said.
He gave her a knowing grin. “And by then
“There’s nothing wrong with a little low brow entertainment once in a while,”
she teased back.
“Oh, very funny,” he said as he pulled his key from the ignition and pushed
open the driver’s side door.
“I thought so,” she called over her shoulder, hopping out of the shotgun seat.
The wind stung the exposed skin of his face and bit sharply even through the
heavy, fleece-lined jacket he wore. He jogged around the front of the truck,
skirting the bumper with unconscious grace. She was leaning against the shotgun
side, trying to shield her back from the wind, with her hands stuffed deep in
her pockets as she waited for him. They fell into step together, not really
talking since their main mutual interest at this point was to reach the doors. Without
thinking about it, he moved closer to her, slipping his arm around her
shoulders. She leaned into him, and he could feel her shiver slightly as the
warmth of his body offset the cold and made her aware of her own half-frozen
state.
Finally, they made it inside and both gave a loud sigh of relief as the heat of
the lobby wrapped itself around them and surrounded them with the familiar,
welcome aroma of movie theater popcorn. The bright red carpet was soiled with
dirty, wet shoe tracks, bits of unmelted snow ground
in to them, but that was the only sign of other patrons. A single teenage girl
manned the ticket counter, her blonde hair held up in a high pony-tail. As they
walked up, she was busy filing her nails, obviously not expecting any
customers.
“Oh!” her mouth popped open as she looked up at them, and she hurriedly stuffed
the emery board under the counter. “Can I help you?”
He bore the slave-duty with good grace. After all, it had been his idea.
Hopefully it would at least score him a few points. She didn’t seem overly
impressed with this show of gallantry, but that didn’t mean much. If she actually
made a big deal about being impressed with anything like that on a first date,
it probably meant she couldn’t think of anything else to say, which wouldn’t be
a good sign.
It turned out that they were, indeed, the only two people in the theater. Previews
had started as they slipped inside, making their way into the oddly empty room.
Making his way down the aisle,
When he was about ten years old, he and three of his friends had snuck into the
movie house after hours. The first time, it was mainly for the thrill of
getting away with something that they knew they shouldn’t be doing. Then they
needed a place go to look at the magazines that Billy Malone had swiped from a
box in his older brother’s closet, and it became a regular habit until someone
finally boarded up the broken basement window that they’d wormed their way in
through. Since then, every time he walked into a theater that was either empty
or so close it could have been, he experienced the same dry mouth and sweaty
palms. This time, it was General Landry that he kept imagining storming in on
them.
“What’s wrong?” Carolyn whispered as she edged her way into a row of empty
seats.
“Nothin,” he replied, whispering himself.
Then she laughed, “
“Good question.”
* * * *
Vala spent the first half of The Empire Strikes Back
huffing and complaining about how small Obi-Wan’s
role was. Then, somehow, she latched back onto her pet peeves, which were the
lack of realism in the duel scene between old Ben and Darth Vader in A New Hope
and the fact that, in her opinion, Obi-Wan shouldn’t have died during that duel
anyway. Teal’c apparently agreed with her on both points, and she proceeded to
tell Daniel every detail of their last lengthy discussion of the film. They had
picked apart the duel so entirely that Daniel almost wondered why they enjoyed
Star Wars so much in the first place.
“Well, why don’t the two of you re-write it?” he suggested finally.
She stopped short and tilted her head at him. “Re-write it?”
“Sure. If you both hate it that much, just re-write the duel. Make Obi-Wan
live, and then figure out how the rest of the Original Trilogy would be
different,” he said.
“Wouldn’t we get sued?” she asked.
“Well, yeah, if you tried to publish it for money. But Teal’c has written a few
Star Wars stories. He posts them on fanfiction.net,” explained Daniel.
“He does what?” she frowned.
“Fanfiction.net. It’s a website where fans of different fictional universes
share their own writing about the characters from those realities,” he told
her. “He showed it to me a few years ago. A lot of what’s there is just
stupid—or so badly written I don’t know why anybody would bother posting it.
But his stories are actually really good, and he showed me a few of the authors
he likes.”
“So, it’s just for fun?”
He nodded. “Sometimes I guess fans have ideas that just don’t fit in with
what’s happening in the show, or movie or whatever it
is. So, they write it themselves. Or, in some cases, when the official story is
over they just want to keep going, so they do.”
“Hmm,” she nodded slowly. “I think I like this idea.”
PART 40: Sideswiped
He slowly walked to the table, pulled back an empty chair across from Jackson
and Vala, then lowered himself
into it, all without looking up. Vala tapped her
nails impatiently on the table. He peered over the top of the folder at her.
Then he pretended to go back to reading.
“Well, come on, Mitchell!” she huffed.
Slowly and deliberately, he placed the file-folder on the table in front of
him, laid the tips of his fingers on it, and pushed it away. Then he looked
around and scratched his earlobe.
“Anyone seen Landry?”
“No, as a matter of fact I haven’t,”
“I’m sure he’ll be along any moment,” Vala prompted,
leaning
“Hmm,” he planted his chin in his fist and frowned as if in thought.
“My dear Colonel, you are not fooling me one bit,” Vala
said icily.
He tilted his head in feigned confusion, “Bout what?”
“You know we’re waiting to hear about last night!” she exclaimed.
“Last…night?” he tilted his head the other way.
“You’d better tell her something,
“I very well might!” Vala wrapped her knuckles on the
table in annoyance.
“Nothing happened,” he said flatly.
“Oh, come on!” complained Vala.
“What?” he raised his eyebrows at her.
“Something must have happened! You were late this morning. You are never late!”
she exclaimed.
“I got sideswiped on the way to work,” he said honestly. “I knew y’all were gonna be sittin’ here waitin’ to hear some big secret, too, but that’s what
happened.”
“You’re kidding me,”
“You must be joking!”
“I’m not,” insisted
“Hugged?” Vala stared at him
with a distinct air of betrayal. “Hugged?”
“Some of us know how to be gentlemen on the first date,”
“Yes, well, my first date with Daniel involved a multimillion dollar theft,
weapons’ grade naquadah and some very angry
mercenaries. I can’t really blame him for getting over-excited,” Vala shrugged.
“Vala!” he exclaimed as the rest of the team began to
laugh.
“What…?”
“It wasn’t a date!”
“Come now, darling, don’t start this again,” she sighed.
Before
“Hey, doc, what’s up?” he asked, frowning.
“I was hoping that my father would be here,” she replied, setting off another
set of alarm-bells in his mind. On base, she very rarely called the general
anything but “sir”; she didn’t want their personal relationship influencing her
rapport with her potential patients. Not to mention the fact that their
personal relationship wasn’t always so hot.
“Oh—he had that physical this morning, didn’t he?”
“He didn’t show up,” she said worriedly.
Jackson and Vala both shook their heads. Sam murmured
a negative, and Teal’c frowned.
“I have not,” he replied.
“All right, let’s give him a call,”
He pushed himself to his feet, his eyes locked with Carolyn’s dark ones as he
gave a soft order to the members of SG-1. “Let’s go.”
PART 41: Scramble
Heart pounding, Carolyn whirled and hurried into the hall,
not waiting for the rest of
“My car’s closest,” Sam said.
“Me and Carolyn’ll follow in my truck,”
Carolyn said nothing, feeling her throat tighten with fear and guilt. She
should have realized something was wrong when he’d started complaining about
the headaches; she should have done something. It didn’t matter that she’d done
exactly what her professional instincts told her to do—he was her father.
The elevator had never moved so slowly. The journey to the surface never seemed
so endless. No one really said anything; they didn’t need to, and she simply
couldn’t.
“It’ll be all right,” he promised, not in the tender and reassuring voice of a
lover but with the authority of Colonel Mitchell, calm and confident in the
midst of crisis. If had been any other crisis, she would have done the same
thing with her own professional persona. She closed her eyes against tears and
breathed him, drawing comfort from the strength of his arm.
As they reached the surface level, Sam pulled her cell phone from her pocket.
She flipped it open and thumbed a number on speed dial, holding it to her ear.
The elevator door opened and the whole group moved in a tight, rushed knot
through the hall.
“Sir, we think there’s something wrong at General Landry’s,” Sam was saying
into the phone, automatically reverting into the habit of using military
address even though General O’Neill was her fiancé. “The team’s
on the way; can you meet us?”
Tears stung Carolyn’s eyes as
Needing distraction, she switched on the radio as he started the engine. He’d
been listening to a country station on the way to work, and what she heard now
was a clear-voiced female artist singing earnestly about love and destiny. She
wasn’t sure why, but the tears that she had felt before suddenly began
streaming down her cheeks. She twisted the radio knob back off and sighed
impatiently at herself, then swiped at her face with
the back of her hand.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” she lied.
His hand moved off the steering wheel to cover hers. “Carolyn. We’re all gonna feel really silly if he’s taking a shower.”
“I know,” she sniffled, forcing a smile she didn’t feel. He knew it wasn’t
real, but he didn’t push. Both of them knew that her father didn’t oversleep;
both of them knew that he wasn’t an alarmist. He wouldn’t have taken SG-1 off
base on a cross-town jaunt through traffic without good reason, and her father
wouldn’t have been late for work for any reason. Except one…
PART 42: Dust
Carolyn didn’t have a key, so Vala
picked the lock to get them inside. They walked through the back door into the
general’s kitchen, where a gallon of chocolate ice cream, now caved in at the
sides, sat dripping goop down the counter. Hand signals deployed the rest of
SG-1 through the house, while
“Dad?” she called.
The bed was a mess, but not in such a way as to indicate that it had been slept
in. The sheets and blankets had all been pulled to one side, as if—Carolyn
caught sight of something at the same moment and rushed around the bed, falling
onto her knees on the far side of it.
“He’s breathing,” she said. “Pulse and respiration are steady but
escalated—Dad, can you hear me?”
The next few minutes passed in a blur for him. Carolyn worked to stabilize her
father while he stayed on the phone with the emergency dispatcher. The team
clattered up the stairs but waited in the hall to stay out of the way of the
emergency crew, which arrived shortly after. Carolyn backed off, though
reluctantly, to allow the paramedics to do their jobs. Most of what she said to
them--aside from the discussion about the recent headaches and the general’s
known medical history—went over his head.
They loaded him onto a stretcher and carried him downstairs with Carolyn
sticking as close as she could to him.
“Mitchell, what’s the situation?” General O’Neill asked, sprinting up from the
truck at the same time.
“Dr. Lam and I found him unconscious, sir,” he replied. “Don’t know much more’n that yet.”
The general nodded.
Sam moved away from Vala and stepped toward him, and
he automatically leaned forward to hug her.
“I don’t want Carolyn to be alone at the hospital,”
“We’ll stay,” Sam said, slipping her hand into her pocket to give Daniel her
keys. “We can take Jack’s truck and follow you.”
PART 43: The Waiting Game
Carolyn was pacing like a caged animal in the waiting room
when he arrived. He strode up to her, laying his hand on her shoulder from
behind. She turned, mouth open to snap something he
imagined wouldn’t be flattering, until she realized who he was. Then she flung
her arms around his neck.
“Do we know anything?” he asked as he returned the hug.
“Not yet,” she shook her head against his shoulder. Breaking the hug, she
walked over to one of the empty couches, but instead of sitting down, she began
to pace again.
“They pushed him through triage and got him stabilized. He’s still unconscious,
and they’re running tests. That’s all I’ve heard,” she said.
He nodded. That was about what he’d expected. “How are you doing?” he asked.
“What?” she looked up, startled by the question.
“How are you doing?” he repeated.
She opened her mouth and started to say something—probably an automatic
dismissal—then she closed it again with a clack. Crossing her arms, she frowned
and looked at him carefully, actually considering the question.
“I think I’m going to go crazy,” she said.
His only reply was to hold out his hand to her. She stared at it without
comprehension for a moment, then slowly moved toward the couch and slipped her
own hand into it. He covered it with his other one and nodded again, this time
in understanding.
“Been there.”
“I feel like this is my fault,” she confessed. “And if someone doesn’t come out
here soon and tell me what’s happening, I’m going to rip a wall down.”
“It ain’t your fault,” he shook his head. “And don’t worry, the urge to rip walls down is normal.”
The faintest trace of a smile flickered over her lips. “So where is everybody?”
“Jackson and Vala are downstairs getting coffee and
stale chips from the snack machine. We figured it was gonna
be a long haul. Sam and General O’Neill were gonna
grab some clothes for your dad and lock up the house,” he explained.
From the way she blinked at him, he guessed that none of those things had even
crossed her mind. He smiled a little, having once again expected as much.
“Figured nobody’d really think it was so damn
hilarious if it turned out to be the base commander saying ‘I forgot my pants’
this time.”
Her gaze flicked away, and she stared at the beige carpet, blinking back tears
again. “If we’re that lucky.”
“Carolyn, he’s gonna be fine. Whatever’s
wrong, we’ll fix it,” he said.
She looked up again, her eyes narrowing and flashing with a hint of real anger.
“You don’t know that,
“Yes I do,” he promised. “Your dad is too ornery to die—and he sure as hell ain’t gonna die in a bathrobe.”
PART 44: Vigil
Inoperable.
The word echoed through the SGC, bouncing silently off walls and reflected in
the stunned faces of the Air Force officers, enlisted men and women, and
civilian team members alike. Out of respect, no one spoke the word in the
infirmary, where General Landry now lay. In the week following SG-1’s panicked
trip to his house, the CO had slipped from unconsciousness to the complete
unresponsiveness of a coma. An inoperable brain tumor had been discovered, and
it had apparently been there for months or even years, too small to be picked
up on a CT scan until now. Now, for reasons that no one could quite explain, it
had nearly tripled in size. He wasn’t expected to live. In fact, he wasn’t
expected to regain consciousness at all. Somehow, that seemed to be the worst
affront of the entire untenable situation. Landry was a vibrant, vigorous man,
full of life and energy. He had won the respect of everyone involved in the
Stargate Program—well, IOA idiots aside—when he led them through the war with
the Ori. It was insulting
for a man like that to die in his sleep.
After three days, he had been air lifted from the hospital where he had
initially been brought to
Now he was lying in a hospital bed with tubes up his nose, with only the weak
ping of a heart monitor to tell them that he was still alive. The infirmary was
dark; no one was left here at this late hour but those who were keeping vigil
around the general. Coffee, antiseptics, and other hospital smells mingled to
create a nauseating aroma which had become so familiar now that, except for the
occasional stomach-lurch, Daniel didn’t notice it.
“There has to be something. Some way to get it out of his head,” muttered
Mitchell, who was chewing pensively on his knuckle as he spoke.
“I don’t know how,” Carolyn said with a touch of defensiveness. “I’ve been over
and over it! I can’t remove that tumor without doing so much damage that he—”
“I know,” Mitchell held up his hand apologetically. “I didn’t mean it that way.
It’s just—”
“Let it go, Mitchell,” Jack spoke up, quietly but with a subtle authority that
made it more an order than a suggestion.
“Yes, sir.”
Daniel rubbed his eyes. Jack had had to do this before. He’d sat in this very
room watching over members of his team who weren’t expected to recover. In
fact, he’d actually watched them die. He hated it—hated it more than anything.
He despised the helplessness, the sitting and doing nothing when every instinct
he had was screaming that he should be out somewhere fixing the situation. The
only thing he could do would be what they were all doing
now—staying as close as possible to the infirmary until the end came, whatever
the end turned out to be. As much as he hated that, Jack had learned to live
with it. Mitchell’s instincts and experience still told him that every problem
had a solution. What couldn’t be conquered or subdued could be circumvented;
what couldn’t be circumvented could be tricked. They had rooms full of alien
technology. Most of it was only partially understood, but they had Sam Carter,
and she now had the Asgard knowledge base aboard the
Odyssey.
Daniel straightened. “Sam…?”
She turned toward him precisely at the same moment. “It’s risky.”
“What?” Carolyn’s head snapped toward them.
“I don’t think there’s a choice,” Daniel said.
“What?!” now Mitchell sat up straighter as well.
“To what are you and DanielJackson
referring, ColonelCarter?”
“Oh, come on, Sam, this is not the time to keep secrets,” urged Vala.
“The Asgard beam,” Sam explained, handing her coffee
to Jack and pushing herself to her feet. “Carolyn, I’ll need all of his
“Right,” Carolyn released her father’s hand and snapped to her feet as well,
beginning to bustle around the infirmary collecting charts and folders.
Jack’s eyes widened. “You’re gonna beam it out of his head?”
“We know it can be used to remove Goa’uld symbiotes,”
said Sam as she headed for the door. “They’re a lot bigger, but the principle
is the same. If I can recalibrate the device to operate on a scale that small,
it should work.”
“Anything we can do?”
Carolyn and Sam both stopped and turned to look at one another. The exchange of
glances was brief but laden with fears that neither woman needed to voice. Then
Carolyn looked at him.
“Pray.”
“I can do that,”
PART 45: Horizon Events
Hank Landry slowly opened his eyes to take in a vaguely
familiar white blur which was occasionally interrupted by other, blob shaped
blurs that appeared to be mostly blue, with shades of black, brown, yellow, and
skin tones. He blinked, wrinkled his nose, and squinted
his eyes shut again. When he opened them the next time, the SGC’s
infirmary wavered into view, and he discovered that the biggest of those blurs
was, in fact, his daughter. The other ones were Mitchell, Jackson, Carter, Vala, Teal’c, and Jack O’Neill.
“Why does my head feel like somebody drilled a hole in it?” he demanded of
Carolyn, then he winced at the strained and gravelly
tone of his own voice.
“Well, that would have been our next option, sir,” quipped
Mitchell.
“What?” Landry asked sharply.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” smiled Carolyn, laying her hand on his
wrist. Her fingers tightened, and he frowned, attempting to lift his head from
the pillow.
His head protested violently, and he let himself fall back again. “Bad idea.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Carolyn’s smile widened.
“Well. Last thing I remember—taking a shower last night—oh, damn! I forgot to
put away the ice cream, didn’t I?” he sighed heavily.
“Don’t worry, sir, we took care of it,” Mitchell chuckled.
“We?” Jack arched an eyebrow.
“Okay, General O’Neill cleaned up the ice cream. But that was after the rest of
us found you on your bedroom floor,” Mitchell said.
“What?” Landry’s eyes widened.
“In your bathrobe,” nodded Vala with a grin, her hand
moving absently to scratch the ears of the beagle puppy whose paws were draped
over her arm.
Landry raised his free hand to his eyes. “Great.”
“That was nine days ago, Dad,” explained Carolyn. “You’ve been a coma
for most of that time.”
“Huh…?”
“Those headaches you were having? Turns out that they were
caused by a brain tumor. Colonel Carter used the Asgard
beam to remove it yesterday…”
Landry held up his hand. “Carolyn. Would you do me a favor and explain this all
to me again when the hole in my head goes away?”
* * * *
Sam and Jack’s wedding was held that spring in General Hammond’s backyard.
Cassie Fraiser was Sam’s maid of honor, with Carolyn and Vala
as bridesmaids. Daniel stood up for Jack, while
Daniel had never seen Sam so radiant or Jack so nervous. He fumbled with the
ring and almost dropped it, but Daniel made sure he didn’t. He fought the urge
to laugh, and at the same time found himself having to surreptitiously remove
his glasses and wipe his eyes. Everyone there knew, to one degree or another,
how long this day had been in coming, but of the guests, only Daniel and Teal’c
had truly seen the pain of sacrifice that that their teammates had silently
endured. None of them had ever spoken of iti—there
was no need to among the members of SG-1—but now, with the day finally here,
even Teal’c’s mouth widened in a satisfied smile.
Then, as the happy couple shared a kiss, Vala’s grin
was decidedly smug, but Daniel decided to let her have her moment of triumph
without a reprimand from him.
The bridesmaids and other female guests vied hotly for the bouquet, but in the
end, the coveted prize was won by Spike the beagle. The girls all let loose
with a chorus of shrieking protests and took off to chase the dog—except Sam,
who only covered her face with her hand and shook her head, and Vala, who calmly walked away from the group, whistled, and
then beamed at Daniel when the dog scampered up to her and dropped the flowers
at her feet.
“I did not plan this,” she said firmly, but no one particularly believed her.
The wedding party had seen to it that Jack’s pick-up truck was appropriately
decorated, and as the newly married O’Neills drove
off into the conveniently setting sun, Mitchell turned and took Carolyn in his
arms while her father looked on with a grin of approval. Their lips met, and
Daniel slid his arm around Vala’s shoulders.
“Well, honey, what are you going to do now? Looks like
there’s no more matchmaking for you to do.”
Vala lifted her shoulder in a half shrug and smirked.
“Well, darling. I can always work on making sure we have some more weddings.”
** The End **
Feedback to: lionchilde@msn.com
Stories by Rating and Category
Copyright©2004-2011
Midnightstorms.net
All Rights
Reserved.