Author's Note:

First of all, I do not own any of the Stargate franchise, least of all Stargate SG-1, though I heartily wish I did! This story is going to be less action-packed than the TV series episodes were, as my goal was to get to the heart of the characters and explore their personalities and emotions, which especially in the case of Vala, I felt was not achieved in the final seasons of the series. Her relationship with Daniel is an intricate and interesting one, which intrigued me in the episode "Dominion", though as the penultimate episode, nothing was made of it, but I am certain had there been an 11th season, something would have developed there.

That said, I hope you like this story, which I've already planned out and there should be 25 chapters of it, so it's going to be a long one, which I hope you'll stick around to read and do please review, as I'm always trying to improve my writing for my next stories and chapters! For any who do not understand Latin out there, the title of the story means "Together Forever", but I thought it sounded classier in Latin.

Chapter I – A Mother's Pain

Vala watched as the Tok'ra and Sam leaned over the unconscious body of Adria, performing the same surgery that the Tok'ra had performed on her many years ago, in what felt like a different lifetime. Now, having only the power to be a bystander as the girl that should have been her baby, her daughter, her family, endured the same pains was torture to Vala and her ability to withstand the tears that threatened to wash her face was withering and soon she would be a mess in front of the rest of her team.

She would not appear to be weak and emotional now, not in front of the others who would not let her be here if she proved herself to be compromised, so she gracefully set herself back on the floor and glided from the observation room where the video feed was being streamed from the operating room.

Once she was out of that place, Vala rubbed her hands over her fatigued face, wishing it all could just be over and Adria would be gone and she would no longer have to worry for her and feel culpable for all the evil she committed in this galaxy and the Ori galaxy.

Vala heard footsteps as a man entered the room behind her. There was no doubt which of her teammates would have felt sympathy or concern for her to make such a gesture and when the words of comfort fell from his lips, her suspicions were confirmed.

"Vala, are you all right?" he said, his voice rife with compassion.

She composed herself and regained her countenance, "Yes, Daniel, I'm fine," her subterfuge could only go so far with Daniel Jackson, so she looked away from the face that she normally never hesitated to look at.

He pulled her back, "I don't think so, Vala. Adria is your daughter and no matter what happened or what she has done, she is still your daughter."

"No, Daniel! She's not! The Ori used me to bring her into the world, I was an incubator, a machine at best and she's not my daughter. She's the creation of the Ori!" Vala screamed.

He sighed heavily at her denial of her feelings, but he was not prepared to let her get away with running from her true emotions, "Vala, you feel for her and whether you like it or not, I know you love her in your own way. She's your family and it hurts you to see her being treated in this way, but you know you can't stop it and it hurts, Vala! Don't try and deny it."

"I won't deny my feelings, but I do not love that girl, she is not my family. I don't think I've ever spent more than five minutes alone with the girl you claim is my own flesh and blood, so don't dare to preach to me how I've got to love her!"

The fear and shame that poured from every word of Vala's astounded Daniel to his very core. He drew her fragile, lovely hand into his own and pulled her closer to his body, where she was always trying so hard to be, he was inviting her to be nearer to him.

"Talk to me." He said, wiping the tears now flowing down her beautifully defined cheeks.

"I…I feel as if I have to help her, help her be herself, not the Orici or the leader of the Ori and bringer of Origin. She is Adria. I gave her that name, sure, she told me she liked it, but I, her mother, named her and then I left and did nothing to take her with me so that she might have been far from the reaches of the Ori. Her mother abandoned her to the forces that wished to manipulate and manoeuvre her into doing their bidding. Everything that she has done as the Orici, I should have prevented."

Daniel pulled her tightly into his embrace as he felt her pain and grief at being helpless to aid her daughter. She went willingly and enfolded him back in her own arms, clinging to her Daniel for the strength she currently required and which he was always there to give her without qualms.

"Vala, none of this is your fault and what you're feeling now is precisely what I felt when," he took a deep breath, "when Sha're was killed and I did not stop Teal'c. He had to kill her, as Amonet, to save my life but in doing so he murdered Sha're. It took him a long time to forgive himself, as it took me even more time to forgive both him and me for allowing her to die, yet it was the Goa'uld who were entirely responsible for her death and much like the Ori are responsible for Adria's existence, they too will bear the ultimate responsibility for her death."

Daniel laughed grimly, "And you know what? I've not ever talked about Sha're like that – honestly – to anyone else but you, right here, right now."

Vala pulled back after Daniel's long speech, "Why tell me? Why now? Why did you not talk to Jack or Sam or even Teal'c before now?"

He thought for a moment, but then spoke in a sincere voice, "Because I don't think any of them would truly comprehend what it's like to feel that kind of guilt and pain when someone you love dies and you feel you might have been able, even in the bleakest scenario, to save them. You do and I do, so we can be there for each other."

As Daniel spoke, Vala gazed into his eyes and felt for the first time, that she was being spoken to equally by Daniel, not as an immature girl or as a teammate newer on the SG-1 scene, but as a companion and an equal in feelings and experiences. It was an utterly novel experience for her, but she found it strangely pleasant. There was something, though, about the way Daniel made her feel safe and like she was not the worst mother in the world or the worst person, but entirely good and loved.

Daniel felt the electric pull between them both at that moment when he caught her eyes with his own stare and he very nearly brought his lips to hers, when true to form, Mitchell came rushing to pull them from the room and into the hall, announcing that there had been problems with Adria's surgery.

However, between the archaeologist and the treasure-hunter/thief, there was definitely something big brewing, and both had just become alertly aware of it…