What Darkness Brings to Light
By: spacegypsy1
CATEGORY: Humor, Romance
WARNINGS: None
AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:
http://www.fanfiction.net/~spacegypsy1
For almost a full minute it was pitch black. Vala squeaked a little fearfully and Daniel felt her grab a hold of his arm. The emergency lights came on, dim and eerie.
“What the hell?” It was Jack’s voice, disembodied from somewhere in the hall outside of Daniel’s office. There was a thud followed by Jack’s voice again. “Crap! What kind of outfit are you guys running here? I leave and it all goes to... Crap” another thud sounded before Jack’s outline appeared in the doorway. “Carter, are you in there?”
“Here, sir.”
“What the hell’s going on?” Jack limped into the semi darkness of the room, “I hit my frickin’ knee! Again!”
Jack squinted looking around at the five people gathered in Daniel’s office. It was team night and they had invited Jack since he was in town. He could smell pizza and he followed the scent to the center of the room. “No beer?”
“Not on base sir.” Mitchell answered.
“Since when did that matter?”
“Since you left O’Neill,” Teal’c was standing right beside
him, and Jack jumped in surprise when he realized the
“I repeat… what the hell is going on?” Jack found a piece of pizza and took a big bite.
Before anyone could answer, Landry’s voice came over the intercom instructing everyone to stay put while Siler worked to figure out the problem.
“At least we have food.” Jack took a seat on Daniel’s desk, shoving his books and papers aside.
“Hey! Be careful!” Daniel gathered the papers and books that dangled precariously on the edge of the desk. Then he yelped. “Vala! Stop that!”
“What? It wasn’t me.” She lied, laughter in her voice.
“Go over there by Sam so I can keep an eye on you.” He shoved her playfully.
“You can’t see me that far away. Where are your glasses?” She held them behind her back.
“Damn, I have no idea. Jack are you sitting on my glasses?”
“Nope.”
“Daniel, there’s wine in your cupboard.” Vala told him. “I know, because that’s where you put it when I gave it to you. Five bottles of really expensive wine I bought just for you. Well, actually I bought six, but Sam and I had to try it to be sure it was good.”
“Bought with my credit card no doubt.” Daniel scoffed.
“I will have you know, that I have my own credit card.” Vala pouted, charmingly.
“Yes, but when is the last time you used it?”
“Why don’t you two just get married, She spends all your money anyway!” Jack pulled another piece of pizza from the box and wolfed it down.
“Yes, Daniel, why don’t we?”
Daniel ignored her and continued to search for his glasses in the faint light. “I found the plates, but no glasses.” He complained.
“I found the wine.” Sam called from across the room. “Got a corkscrew?”
“DanielJackson has one in his desk drawer, top right in the back.” Teal’c offered.
“How’d you know that?” Mitchell managed to make his way to the desk in search of the corkscrew.
“I have searched his drawers on many occasions helping him look for his glasses.”
“You searched his drawers? T, I didn’t know you had a thing for…”
“Jack, don’t be an ass.” With an exasperated sigh, Daniel got out of Mitchell’s way.
“Found it.” Mitchell picked up one of the bottles Sam had set on the desk and deftly opened it.
“Glasses?” Sam asked.
“No. I can’t find them.” Again Daniel sighed.
“For the wine, Daniel.” Sam replied with a little giggle.
“Oh. I have coffee cups. Lots of coffee cups - on the counter by the coffee pot.”
Vala retrieved the cups, clanking them together as she approached the desk.
Mitchell poured the wine into five cups and hesitated over the sixth, “Teal’c?”
“Perhaps I will have one cupful.”
“You’re just full of surprises tonight aren’t you big guy?” Jack reached for a cup and handed it to Teal’c and took one for himself.
Once everyone had gotten a cup of wine, Jack held his out, “Here’s to good friends in dark places.”
“Indeed.”
The cups clicked and clacked together in salute.
“Truth or dare?” Vala asked Jack.
“Huh?”
“Truth or dare, it’s a game. We can play a game. I’ll ask you a question and you have to tell the truth or I get to dare you to do something.”
“It sounds like a stupid game.” Jack sipped his wine from a coffee cup that glowed in the dark. “Daniel, is this thing radio active?”
“It’s the symbol for radioactive and it glows in the dark. Siler gave it to me for Christmas about six years ago. It’s still glowing.” Daniel was still rooting around for his glasses.
“Are you afraid?” Vala’s head was tilted completely over to one side and Jack stared at her amazed at her agility. “Of the cup?”
“Sam, you want to play don’t you?” Vala spun on her heels towards Sam and pouted again.
“Vala, I played that game when I was about thirteen.”
“Oh, goody! You know the rules. Teal’c?”
“Vala,” Sam interjected quickly, “I’m not good at games. I’ll sit this one out.”
“I would be glad to participate in your game ValaMalDoran. It sounds quite intriguing. I believe ColonelCarter and O’Neill fear the outcome.”
“I do not!” Both of the accused replied in unison.
“Then why would you not want to play a simple child’s game with ValaMalDoran?”
“Ill play.” Mitchell stated like a brave soldier marching towards the firing squad.
Daniel didn’t even bother to look up from his search. He would play. Vala would make him. There wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it.
The six of them took seats, chairs, desks and crates and formed a circle. Two wine bottles were being passed in opposite directions, crossing over and kept moving around and around.
It was cutthroat from the instant she opened her mouth! Vala took a deep breath and let it out with a contented sigh. “Daniel...truth or dare?”
His heart beat wildly – she may as well have said ‘death or torture?’ “Truth.” In the dim light they all saw his head drop despondently to his chest.
“Did you really close your eyes the whole time you undressed me on the Prometheus?” Vala’s hands cupped at her chest and she waited - expression as bland as dry toast.
“Absolutely not.” Daniel looked at Mitchell beside him. “Mitchell, truth or dare?”
“THAT was NOT in the report!” Mitchell was still staring open mouthed and terrified at Vala.
Everyone else was staring bewildered at the archeologist’s apparent disregard for the truth he’d just admitted, as though it were an everyday occurrence for him to undress Vala Mal Doran.
“Mitchell?” Daniel prompted.
“Truth!”
“Do you really have a grandmother who says all that stuff?”
“My grandmother died ten years before I was born…oh wait - that was the other one. Of course I have a gran’maw who says all that stuff. Not even I could make all that up.” Mitchell’s tone of voice clearly stated: Stupid question.
Mitchell turned to Jack. “Truth or dare?”
“What’s the question?”
“Come on, general, play by the rules.” Mitchell challenged. “Truth or dare?”
“I repeat…what’s the question? There are no rules.”
“I believe there are rules O’Neill.” Jack eyed Teal’c distastefully.
“Actually, you can play it either way, but usually you have to declare before the game begins.” Sam explained.
“Oh for cryin’ out loud, Mitchell, ask the stupid question! I’m the general.”
Mitchell scowled at Jack, “Okay, fine. Are you and Sam an item?”
Jack came right up off the crate he was sitting on. “I got
two words for you…Court.
Mitchell stood up facing him, arms tight across his chest. “And I got two words for you…no, three…Truth or Dare? Sir!”
“That’s four,” Jack settled back on his crate, then Mitchell sank to his chair. Finally Jack answered. “Dare.”
Classic young male fighting for dominance against the older Alpha Male; Mitchell lounged indolently back into his chair for a moment before coming to his conclusion. “I dare you to kiss Vala, open mouthed or…drink this entire bottle of wine down in one long swig.”
“Tsk!” Jack grabbed the bottle and chugga-lugged it like a class of cool water on the hottest day in July. Jack Alpha Maled Mitchell right back to kindergarten.
Daniel grinned smugly at Vala who appeared to be insulted. Or was it disappointed? That wiped the grin off his face in a hurry.
Jack turned to Sam, “truth or dare?”
“What’s the question?”
“God damn it Carter!”
“That’s not a question…sir.”
How come Carter was all fuzzy Jack wondered staring at her cockeyed? “Oh, alright…question is…why are you wobbling around?”
“Truth!”
“That wasn’t the question.”
“What is the question?”
“I don’t know, I forgot.” Jack grinned foolishly.
Sam nodded, “Then we’ll move on, Teal’c, truth or…”
“Hold on – hold on, it’s still my turn, I just gotta remember the question. Carter would you marry me… I mean if I asked you? Not that I am asking you. I was just curious.”
Sam’s eyes went round as saucers and the remaining eyes in the room all zoomed into her. “Is that the question?” She barely got it out as a whisper.
“What question?”
“The truth or dare question.”
“Oh, that…yeah, I guess so.”
“Dare.” Sam ducked her head still reeling from his question right as the emergency lighting failed. “Oh, boy…who turned the emergency lights out?”
“Truth!” Teal’c answered, the humor in his voice more evident in the darkness.
“Son of a bitch! I just spilled half the wine down my shirt!” Jack stood and tried to wipe at the wetness on his shirtfront. “What the hell is going on? Carter!?”
“I’m right here you don’t have to yell.”
Jack reached out and grabbed something soft and Sam squealed! “Jack!”
“Oops, sorry. I can’t see a damn thing.”
“Vala?” Daniel warned in question.
“What?” Her innocent reply came from too close.
“Where are you?” He sounded a bit panicked.
“Right here darling.”
He could feel her breath on his neck and her body heat on his back. “Let’s play blind man’s bluff! It’s another one of your earth games.” She grabbed Daniel’s butt.
“Stop it!”
A flashlight appeared, its strong beam circling the room. “Vala?” Where the hell did she go? Daniel swung the light around the group.
“Hey, get that damned light out of my eyes,
Thump! Daniel stepped back too soon and fell, tripping over Vala. The flashlight skittered across the room and went out. “Damn it, Vala.”
The room was in total darkness and it was unnaturally quiet.
“Daniel?”
“Jack?”
“Whatcha doin’?”
“Mmmm, I’m…nothing.”
“Vala?”
“Yes Jack?”
“What’s Daniel doin’?”
“Wouldn’t you just love to know?”
The intercom blared into the darkness. The base was secure, the problem being addressed. Counting off the levels still without power Walter continued to explain that anyone on the three remaining levels without power were to stay put until further notice.
“Everybody ok?” Mitchell asked.
“I’m fine.” Sam answered a little giddy.
“Me too.” Jack took a swig of wine and got a hold of the bottle without knocking it over to refill his cup.
“As am I.” Teal’c offered, his voice obviously coming from somewhere far across the room.
“Whatcha doin’, T?”
“I am attempting to locate DanielJackson’s flashlight.”
“
“Hmmmm?”
“You okay?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Vala?”
“Hmmmm?”
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Looking for Daniel’s glasses.”
“In his drawers?” Jack laughed at his own joke. Then Mitchell and Sam both laughed.
“Funny Jack.” Daniel sounded as though he was trying to get up off the floor. A sudden dull thud came from his general direction. “Ouch! Damn it Vala, stop it!”
“Danny-boy? You okay?”
“Wh…” the rest was muffled.
“Need a little help there,
From the darkness behind his desk came Daniel’s reply. “I’m fine. I don’t need your help.” Daniel muttered a few curse words then lowered his voice, “Vala!” he whispered not realizing everyone could hear his every whispered word, “What are you an octopus!? Stop it,” he was trying desperately to quell his laughter. “Shhhh, stop, no tickling, be still. Mmmm, hmmm, wait…oh…move your knee, it’s like a lethal weapon. Stop that… Jez! Could you hold still for just a minute?”
A little soft Vala whimper lifted up from the dark pit the instant before the overhead lights blinked then lit the room like a football stadium, illuminating the couple. Vala’s arms were flung out and Daniel had her head completely immobile in his hands. He was kissing her. Not the other way around as one would expect. They were oblivious to the light and the audience that stood, cups in hand, all leaning over the desk enjoying the show.
“Oh boy,” Sam drank the last of the wine in her cup.
“I’ll say!” Mitchell grabbed the wine bottle from Jack, filled his cup and shook his head.
Jack held his cup out to Mitchell, “Who woulda thunk it…and all this time I thought it was her.”
“Indeed.”
**
The End **
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