Disclaimer: If I owned Stargate, Jack and Vala would have their own spin-off.

Jack, Vala, and a Rubik's Cube

Letting out a frustrated growl, Jack slammed the Rubik's Cube onto the side table and glared at it. No normal person on this planet, or many others, could figure out this damn toy. Hell, it wasn't even a toy; it was a torture device. Throwing his head back on the pillow, he groaned. He'd been laid up in the infirmary for nearly three weeks and he was seriously considering making a break for it. A quick glance over at Lam told him that was a stupid idea, though, and he stayed put. But he was bored! Sam was off on her space ship, Teal'c and Mitchell were dealing with some Jaffa diplomacy stuff. Even Daniel had abandoned him for a stuffy library in Egypt. That left him with this damn toy or...

"Good morning, Jack."

"D'oh!" Jack uttered as he watched Vala Mal Doran enter the infirmary.

"Oh, don't be like that or I won't give you what I brought." The alien smiled wickedly and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Jack snorted in amusement and shook his head. For all of her idiosyncrasies, and they were numerous, Vala was always fun to be around. And she had visited him every day since he'd been there. Every. Single. Day.

"And what have you brought this time?" he asked cautiously. Hell, she'd been the one to give him that damn Rubik's Cube.

"Shh," she told him, looking around the room to be certain no one was paying them any mind before pulling the curtain around the bed. Taking a seat, she pulled something out of the bag she held and handed it to him with a flourish.

"Cake!" he grinned and took the offering, ripping off the plastic wrap and diving in.

"Quiet, you'll get me into trouble." She smacked his arm in mock anger.

"Your middle name is Trouble," he retorted, grinning around the chocolate confection in his mouth.

"It is not, it's-"

"It's just a saying, Vala," he told her before she could go off on some random tangent...again.

"I will never get used to all of your Earthisms." She sighed and picked up the Rubik's Cube, absent-mindedly moving it around as she continued talking. "Why can't you Tau'ri just say what you mean? Why does there always have to be a code to it?"

"Ach! That's a question for Daniel."

'Don't you mention that man's name to me. He purposely went off to Egypt, leaving me here to babysit you. No offence."

"None taken." He rolled his eyes. "And you know he's working over there. You would have been nothing but a distraction to the poor guy."

"Most men would kill for this kind of distraction." Vala smirked.

"Yeah, well, Danny's not most men." Jack mirrored her smirk while scanning her body appreciatively.

"You're telling me," she said morosely then suddenly grinned again. "Well, enough of that. How's the cake?"

"Great, which means you did not get it from the commissary."

"Of course not." Vala waved her hand in dismissal. "You've been through enough trauma. I made this myself.:

"You made it?" he asked, shocked.

"Well, I had a little help from Betty Cracker."

Jack snorted again, not even bothering to correct her this time. He shovelled the last piece of cake into his mouth and handed Vala the plate. She tucked it into her bag, obviously hoping no one would discover the contraband.

"Well, I have work to do. Not all of us are lazy generals who get to sit around in bed all day eating cake." She stood and leant over to kiss his cheek, smiling warmly as she set the Cube down on his table. "I'll see you later, Jack."

"See ya, Vala." He smiled in spite of himself. When she was gone, his eyes focussed on the toy and bugged out at what he saw. She'd finished it. As they were sitting and talking, she'd finished the thing! Jack let out another frustrated growl and threw his head back into the pillow. Damn alien!

The End