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The Halloween Party That Almost Wasn't
Vala was moping...again. Daniel watched her from across the field as she sighed heavily once more and kicked at an invisible clump of dirt next to the fountain where she sat. She'd been like this for two days, ever since they'd discovered that the Stargate on this planet does not dial out. He, Teal'c, and Mitchell had all tried to tell her that Sam would reach them via the George Hammond in only a few days but nothing seemed to console the woman. He knew he should be annoyed by her puerile behaviour but, the truth, was he really couldn't fault her this time. He was feeling rather down himself. Today was Halloween on Earth, the first one since she'd joined the team where they weren't supposed to be off-world and she'd been looking forward to celebrating the holiday. She'd spent weeks choosing the perfect costume for the party Jack was throwing and Daniel couldn't shake his disappointment at not seeing it. Even if Sam did show up right now, it would take couple of days to reach Earth by ship and by then the holiday would be over. He felt so helpless in the face of her misery and wished he could do something to cheer her up.
"Hey, Jackson." Cam said as he and Teal'c joined him. "The Princess is still moping, I see."
"Indeed." Teal'c bowed his head in sympathy for their female teammate.
Without a word, Daniel's gaze returned to her only to have is attention diverted by a group of children playing some game a short distance from Vala. It looked to be a form of tag but what really caught his eye were the mask one of the kids was wearing as he chased his friends. It reminded him of one worn at an old fashioned ball and it gave him an idea.
"Uh oh, the wheel's are turnin' in Dr. Jackson's head."
"I think I how we can cheer up Vala." Daniel said slowly, ignoring the colonel's remark. "I'm going to need your help, though."
"Anything you wish, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c replied readily.
"Good, you go sit with Vala while Cam and I have a chat with the magistrate. We'll radio when we're ready."
"I guess we're off to see the wizard." Cam smirked and followed Daniel toward the town hall without question.
()()()()
"Teal'c, what's going on?" Vala whined an hour later as she followed the Jaffa. "Why are you dragging me to the town hall? I thought the naquadah deal was complete."
"Colonel Mitchell has just contacted me on the radio. He said that there is urgent business which we must attend to."
"No one's hurt, are they?" Vala asked in a worried tone, knowing Daniel had a tendency to get himself into trouble when she wasn't around to save his arse.
"I do not believe that to be the case but our presence is required."
"Fine." Vala crossed her arms and followed at a slow pace. At least it was something to do. She was so caught up in her melancholy, she didn't even notice that the streets were deserted until they reached the town hall. She glanced around with a crease to her brow. "Where is everyone?"
"I do not know, Vala Mal Doran. Perhaps Daniel Jackson will have the answers you seek."
Vala stared suspiciously at her companion but shrugged it off after a moment. Whatever he was up to, she was certain to discover it soon.
"After you, Vala Mal Doran." Teal'c said with a slight bow as he opened the door to the town hall. She gave him a wary glance but decided her only option was to go along. He sure was acting strangely, though, so she took it slowly. Goodness only knew what awaited her beyond this door.
"Surprise!"
Vala stood wide-eyed and slack-jawed for a moment as she took in the scene before her. All of the villagers plus Daniel and Cameron were gathered around the large room, many wearing masks and all grinning at her. She was speechless.
"If I'd known a surprise party was all it took to shut the princess up, I'd have thrown one years ago." Cam said loudly.
"What is all of this?" she finally managed to ask, mentally reminding herself to make the colonel pay for the comment when they got back to Earth.
"Well, we all know how upset you were over missing Halloween so we brought the holiday to you." Daniel told her with a soft smile as he walked toward her. "I know it's not quite the same, but-"
"It's perfect, Daniel. Thank you." She reached up and kissed his cheek, not missing the slight blush that tinged his face.
"Yeah, well...uh..."
"Hey, what about me?" Cam whined a bit. "I helped, too."
"Thank you, Cameron." Vala smiled and pecked him on the cheek, much as she had Daniel, before giving Teal'c the same treatment. "You, too, Muscles."
"It was my pleasure, Vala Mal Doran. Now, as the Tau'ri say, it is time to party."
"That's "it's party time", big guy." Mitchell corrected with a shake of his head.
Teal'c didn't say anything but Vala saw a slight quirk of his lips and she couldn't help laughing at their antics. She watched them walk off then turned her attention back to Daniel. "Thank you again, darling. You didn't have to go to all of this trouble for me. I would have gotten over it soon enough."
"I know but I wanted to do it." They stared at one another for a moment too long and Daniel cleared his throat nervously. "Besides, the magistrate was more than happy to accommodate us. He seemed rather interested in this Earth custom."
"Who wouldn't be?" she asked with a grin. "Now, where do I get one of those masks?"
Daniel returned her grin as he pulled one from behind his back and presented it to her before donning his own. "Apparently there's a game played by the children of this planet where one child wears the mask and is the "monster" while he chases the other children around. It's kind of like tag, a common children's game on Earth."
"We had a similar game on my own planet." Vala told him.
"I guess tag is pretty universal."
"It would appear so, but so is alcohol. Let's go find some."
Daniel rolled his eyes and followed along, not able to keep the grin from his face. He was happy to see Vala finally coming out of her depression and enjoying herself but he decided not to analyse the emotions he was feeling as he watched the light return to her eyes.
()()()()
"SG-1, this is the George Hammond. Do you read?" Samantha's voice crackled over the radio.
"Sammy, is that you?" Cam slurred into it. "I was wonderin' when you were gonna join the party."
"Colonel Mitchell, is everything all right down there?"
"Just peachy. C'mon down and join us."
"Join you in what?"
"Samantha, this is Vala." the amused brunette said into her own radio, rolling her eyes at the drunk colonel. "Everything is fine...mostly. The boys just seem to have taken a particular liking to this planet's rather robust intoxicant."
"They're drunk?" the blonde asked, sounding shocked. "All three of them?"
"Oh, yes. You just heard Cameron and if you listen carefully, you might be able to pick up the less than melodic voices of Daniel and Teal'c teaching some locals a tune called "Monster Mash". Apparently it's a very popular song on your planet this time of year." Vala grinned as she imagined Samantha leaning back in her command chair, trying her best not to laugh.
"How did this happen?" she asked after a moment.
"Well, I was quite upset over missing Halloween so the boys thought it would be nice to throw a party here. It was a lovely gesture and I'm grateful. The locals seem to like it as well. Or perhaps they just enjoy watching the Tau'ri visitors trip over themselves. No matter, but a nicely timed beam-out would not go amiss. Just allow me ten minutes to say our goodbyes before you do so."
"You got it. Carter out."
"All right, boys." Vala said with a clap of her hands to get their attention. Once she had it, she continued. "Samantha is here, it's time to go home."
"Aw man, do we hafta?" Cam pouted dejectedly when she nodded. "Okay, but can I keep the mask?"
"Yes, darling." Vala smiled softly helped him to stand up straight. "Just don't move and be ready for Samantha to beam us aboard."
Cam grinned stupidly as she perched him against a wall before moving off to collect her other two teammates. They were still singing and Vala could only shake her head, wondering if the magistrate would give her a case of this wonderful alcoholic beverage. Pushing the thought aside for the moment, she shoved them toward Cameron, still singing, then went to bid their hosts farewell. Once everything was taken care of, she stood with the boys and radioed Samantha. They were quickly beamed aboard and the first thing Vala saw was the crew trying valiantly not to laugh. Then she heard bodies falling to the floor with groans and she cringed when she found all three men sitting cross-legged, holding their stomachs. Apparently beaming and drunkenness did not mix well.
"I think we should send them to the infirmary to...sleep it off." Vala suggested to Samantha who merely nodded, biting her lip and motioning for someone to "escort" the boys away. Once they were gone, Samantha turned to her.
"Vala, I think a debriefing is in order. Major Marks, you have command."
"Yes, ma'am." he replied with a nod.
"I hope you have plenty of wine for this one." Vala said as she followed the blonde down the corridor to her office. "I have pictures!"
The End