The Rumor Mill
By: Amara M
CATEGORY: Gen
PROMPT: Table 2. #096 Writer’s Choice
WARNINGS: None
AUTHOR’S NOTES: My twentieth ficlet for 100_Situations Table.
AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:
“Are you going to tell me you never thought about it?”
Vala raised an eyebrow as she watched Sam, who was pointedly not looking at
Vala.
“No. Never.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Sam sighed and toyed with the controls in front of her, despite the fact that
they were, as they had been for the last two hours, dead. “Come on, you can
trust me.”
Sam gave Vala a look that very clearly said that she couldn’t…and wouldn’t.
“Vala, Teal’c will be here in another hour. Can we just…not talk about this?”
She got up and moved to the back of the cargo ship to have another look at the
burned out hyperdrive. It had dropped them out of hyperspace two hours before,
short circuiting and taking most of the systems with it. Fortunately, their
mission was completed and they were able to send for help before their
communications system went down.
“I don’t understand.” Vala said, leaning up against the door while Sam pulled
burned crystals out of a drawer. “It’s harmless, really. He’s a good looking
man.”
Sam looked up and shook her head. “I really have never thought about it, Vala.”
“I have.”
“I know. The whole base knows…except maybe Daniel.”
“Oh, he knows.” Vala said, that eyebrow going up again, and somehow Sam’s mind
was filled with images of Daniel and Vala in various stages of undress. “He just
chooses to ignore it.” Vala finished with a sigh.
Sam looked away. “I am not having this conversation with you.”
“Come on, I’ve heard the rumors.”
“Rumors?” Sam stood. “What rumors?”
Vala moved into the room, pulling off her jacket and tossing it into a corner.
“What…you don’t know?”
“What rumors, Vala?”
“Daniel isn’t the only one who’s a little thick headed, I see.” Vala leaned up
against the wall and regarded Sam carefully. “You can tell a lot about a person
from the rumors.”
Sam took a few steps closer, starting to feel her frustration burn a little
closer to anger. “What rumors, Vala?” she asked again and Vala held up her
hands.
“Fascinating really. They’ve paired you up with so many people, one might
assume you haven’t had a date in the entire time you’ve been at the SGC.”
“I date.” Sam said, affronted before she realized the trap. “And who they?”
“They, them.” Vala said, enunciating the words carefully. “The rumor mill.”
Sam closed her eyes, trying to tamp down the sudden desire to know. “I don’t
want to know.”
“Well, its why I asked.”
“Daniel? They think me and Daniel?”
“Well, that’s one of the variations, yeah.” Vala grinned. “I was just checking,
cause I like to know what the competition is.”
Sam turned and walked away, back toward the hopelessly burned out crystals,
wishing Teal’c could get there just a little faster. The truth was she had
thought about it…fantasized, but not for a while…not that she’d admit that to
Vala. “Daniel and I are good friends. Nothing more.”
“What about…Mitchell?”
“What?”
“Just following the trend, Daniel, Mitchell…”
“Who else?”
Vala tried her best to look innocent as she shrugged, but Sam wasn’t buying it.
“Spill. Who else?”
“Well, there was this juicy story about you and General O’Neill.”
Sam turned so quickly that the she almost lost her balance. “Juicy?”
Vala nodded, her smile a clear indication that she was happy to elaborate. “The
story goes that you two are secretly married.”
“Married?”
“Yes. His being in
“Vala!”
“What? Long distance relationships are…hard.” She smirked with the last word
and Sam shook her head before smiling at it too.
“I assure you, General O’Neill and I aren’t married.”
“Okay, if you say so.”
Vala paced around the room while Sam tried to turn her attention back to making
something…anything work. Her mind however wandered over the various rumors
she’d heard over the years, and discarded out of hand. She’d never considered
that there might be rumors about her too. Her and Jack…she could see where that
could have started. They were so close, and she could have…if he’d ever…but he
hadn’t and that was that.
She felt eyes watching her and looked up. “There are more, aren’t there?”
Vala nodded eagerly. “There’s the one about you and Daniel AND Mitchell. That
one’s really good…supposedly, Mitchell found the two of you in your lab, naked
and –“
Sam held up her hand. “Stop. No. I don’t want to know.” She swallowed, but her
body wasn’t as willing to let go of the idea. She could feel herself flushing
as she imagined Daniel on her lab table and…”This is a bad idea,” she muttered.
“My favorite one has you and Daniel and Mitchell in leather...” Vala said,
suddenly very close to Sam, almost blocking her in against the wall. “…and
chains…” Sam swallowed hard and closed her eyes. Vala’s words felt like fingers
stroking her in places she hadn’t been stroked in a long time. “…then there’s
the one with you and a certain doctor…” Vala’s face was almost touching hers,
and Janet’s face flashed through Sam’s mind. How many late nights had they
spent together? How many times had they touched, and pulled away…
Sam was hardly breathing as Vala’s lips touched hers, her tongue sliding into
her mouth without invitation. Their bodies hovered inches apart, Vala’s hands
against the wall behind her. The heat in her body rushed straight to her groin
and Sam tried to pull back, her head hitting the wall. Vala’s eyes were on
hers, watching her reaction. “I always know which ones are more true than
others.”
“No, not true…” Sam protested, but she couldn’t move. “I never—“
“No,” Vala leaned in close, whispering in her ear, “but you wanted to.”
Sam blushed as Vala’s hands came down to her shoulders, her lips sliding over
her jaw…her kiss was deep, commanding…her hands pushed the jacket off Sam’s
shoulders, caressed her arms. Her body was up against her now, pressing against
the wall, one knee maneuvering between Sam’s legs to press up against the heat
gathering in her.
Neither of them heard the whirring of the rings right away and by the time they
had looked up, Teal’c stood there, one eyebrow raised. Sam cleared her throat
and pushed Vala off of her. “It’s about time,” she said, pushing past Vala to
grab her jacket and pack. “Can we go?”
Teal’c didn’t say a word as Vala grinned at him, and retrieved her own jacket
and pack and joined he and Sam in the center of the rings. “Not a word.” Sam
said, not looking at either of them.
“Indeed.” Teal’c said, reaching to activate the rings.
“I think that’s a word.” Vala said.
Sam didn’t get a chance to respond as the rings activated, and when they had
cleared, she stalked away before either of them could say a word. Vala smiled
at her back, then at Teal’c. “How long before we get back to Earth?”
“A few hours.”
“Good.” Vala smiled as she wandered off, content to wait a little while before
finding Lt. Mareson to see what new rumors were circulating the SGC.
** The End **
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