Written for the "Month of Love" Challenge on LJ!
Sorry if it seemed a little rushed, I barely met the deadline. It's a long story. xP
Uhm...I might follow it up later, but I'm not sure.
And....oh! Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate or the characters. (:
Okie dokie!
--
As Vala sauntered through one of the many near-identical hallways of the SGC, she couldn't help but squeal with excitement every once in a while. She was so excited! Sam had just informed her that tomorrow was…what these people here on Earth called "Valentines Day." She hadn't known what it was all about, which obviously surprised Sam. But, being Sam, she composed herself rather quickly. The scientist had gone on to explain the traditions of such a day, the man would give the woman of his liking flowers, chocolates , amongst other things. It was a day reserved for romance. That's all that Vala cared about. Sure, Daniel was the sweetest guy she'd ever known, when he wanted to be. But today was one of those days where she'd barely seen him, because SG-5 had brought back some ancient tablet from PX5-whatever. Knowing him, he'd be in there for hours on end, not eating, sleeping, or doing anything…fun. He could be so boring sometimes. Everyone on the base knew he was like that. But, at least tomorrow would be different…
Vala's train of thought was cut off as she approached Daniel's office. She nodded and smiled sweetly at a few airmen who were walking past, then bounded into Daniel's office. She scanned the room, till her eyes found what…or who she was looking for. Vala skipped on over to him and hugged him from behind, wrapping her arms around his neck, and kissing the back of his head.
"Daniel!" She squealed.
No response. He just…sat there, ignoring her.
"Daaaaaniel." She dragged his name out, her voice nowhere near as chirpy as it had been. She moved to crouch next to him, and poked his cheek.
Daniel fought hard to suppress his grin. He schooled his face to look like he was concentrating very hard, which was no longer the case. His concentration level had dropped considerably from the moment she walked in.
"Hmm?"
"Do you know what day it is tomorrow?"
"Actually, I'm pretty sure it's Friday."
Vala sighed, exasperated. She pushed off him and flung herself into his new desk chair, causing it to slide backwards .Again, Daniel had to hide his smile.
"Don't be silly Darling. It's Valentine's Day!"
Her tone has lightened at the very mention of the holiday. She sat up further in the chair. Daniel laid his hand over his mouth, squinting at the tablet, concentrating more on the way he was acting than what the tablet actually said. He didn't want to give himself away. She ignored his lack of attention to her.
"Aren't you excited? I can't wait to see what you're going to get me! Are you going to take me to that pretty sparkly restaurant where I got kidnapped? Actually, that wouldn't be very smart. But I don't mind! I can't wait for Valentine's Day! I hope you aren't gonna work through the whoooole day. That'd be just plain mean. I mean…who does that? It's a day reserved for romance, Daniel. Romance! It's going to be so much fun!" She ended her little rant with a grin.
Daniel put the tablet down and picked up a random book off his desk, flicking through it, acting as if he'd ignored everything she'd just said.
"Vala, honey, to be honest, I really don't do Valentines Day…"
That wiped the smile off her face, a pout sliding into its place.
"Daniel, you can't be serious. This is my first Valentine's ever! The first time I was stranded in the Ori Galaxy, prostrating for 6 hours straight, almost everyday, pretending to actually agree with everything my religious zealot husband believes in. The second time, I was on Chulak with Teal'c. The third time, I have no idea where I was, but I must've been somewhere extremely isolated to have never heard of such a popular part of your culture! And… Daniel! At least look at me! You haven't ignored me like this for more than a couple of years now! Something must be up."
Damn. He'd been so caught up in planning her first Valentine's Day surprise that he'd very nearly forgotten to plan how to cover it up. She'd asked about it way earlier than he thought she would. Yes, it was only a day away, but…it was Vala. He'd thought she'd last at least half the day, without knowing anything about the holiday, because she'd be doing other things. Then, when she asked him, he'd have his day all planned out. But noooooo. Sam just had to ruin everything! Girl talk really got to him sometimes. He and Vala had been together for almost a year, and he was more happy than he'd ever been, so this was kind of his way of…celebrating that. Even the years before that, they'd become such close friends, putting their differences aside…in a way. They still bickered, but that was just something that would never change…"
"You know what? FINE. Forget I even said anything. "
Vala's hands slammed on the surface of the table as she stood up. Daniel looked up, his eyes meeting hers for just a moment. He tried so hard not to react to the immense hurt and anger clouding her glare. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and tell her everything. But before he could say anything, Vala stormed out.
Daniel slumped in his chair and sighed, taking his glasses off and rubbing his arm over his eyes, praying to whoever would listen that this would all be worth it.
--
Coffee…he needed coffee.
Daniel grabbed his now cold mug sitting diligently beside his arm and headed for the commissary. As he walked, he wondered where Vala was. It had been… hours since their confrontation, and he hadn't seen her at all. He checked his watch. 2146 hours. Huh… he'd been in there longer than he'd thought.
He turned a corner and saw the elevator doors closing.
"Hold it please!"
The doors re-opened, revealing Sam and Mitchell.
Daniel jogged in, smiling at them, as he moved to press the button that would take him to his coffee.
A hand stopped him.
"Woah woah woah woah. Jackson. Aren't ya coming with us to go see 'em off?"
Danel stopped short, confused. Then his face lit up in recognition. "Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Teal'c is going to see Ish'ta, like he does every year….wait. Who's he going with?"
Sam and Mitchell eyed each other, then looked back at him. "Well we kinda assumed you were goin' too since Princess is all packed up cute and ready to head off…"
"Vala!?"
"Wait…you tellin' me you didn't know?"
"Daniel, what's going on?"
Daniel looked at Sam, who looked concerned. Mitchell just looked plain stunned.
"Well… you guys know about the whole evening I had planned for tomorrow, right?" Sam nodded, eager for the explanation to follow, while Mitchell just tilted his head a bit. "Well I wanted it to be a surprise, so when Vala came bounding into my office, all excited, asking about Valentine's Day…by the way, thanks for that Sam…"
Sam shrugged her shoulders apologetically. "I really didn't expect her to not know anything about it Daniel, I'm really sorry… I didn't mean to cause anything between you two…"
Daniel sighed, "I understand. It's ok Sam. You're right. She probably would've figured it out anyway…"
Mitchell stomped his foot, frustrated. "Ok ok! Jackson's sorry, Carter's sorry. We get it. Now get on with the story Jackson! If you don't hurry up, Vala will be gone. Your Valentine's Day will be ruined. And Sam! You're still holding the elevator door open!"
Sam's hand immediately snapped back and she flexed it, not exactly sure what to say.
Daniel rocked on his heels and scratched his head.
"Right, so as I was saying, Vala came in, asking all these questions, and I just…ignored her. Sort of like I used to. At the time I thought it was the best way…"
Sam and Mitchell both gaped at him.
"What?"
"Jackson you son of a…"
"Ok! Well she stormed out, and…that's about it. I worked on the tablet for the rest of the day and, then I needed coffee, and met up with you guys."
Silence.
The elevator dinged.
--
"Chevron five encoded"
Teal'c turned to look at the rather sad looking woman next to him.
"ValaMalDoran, are you certain you wish to join me for the next 3 days?"
Vala's sadness immediately dissolved, faux enthusiasm taking its place.
"Of couse Muscles! The second year I was here, I went back to Chulak with you to see Ish'ta and Ka'ryn and Ry'ac on Valentine's Day, so I'm fine. Really." She tried to smile convincingly at him.
He didn't buy it.
Not for one second.
"Chevron six encoded."
Vala dropped her head, staring at the floor. "Come on Muscles! I'd just rather not talk about it, ok? I miss Ish'ta! We've gotten pretty close you know. Almost as close as me and Sam! It'll be fun. Can we talk about something else?"
"As you wish."
"I'll tell you a secret. Ish'ta loves the gifts you give her every Valentine's Day, and she loves that you introduced her to the festival. She likes it more than Christmas…"
"ValaMalDoran, how could you possibly know that? You did not know that such a festival existed until earlier today…"
"She called in about an hour ago. We had a little chat. You were…I'm not sure where you were. But you were somewhere else."
Teal'c nodded, and they both looked expectantly at the gate, awaiting the big "Kawooosh."
"Chevron seven...sir?"
The gate stopped spinning.
Vala stopped short, stunned.
Teal'c turned a death glare on Walter.
Walter looked petrified.
"No No! I'll uhh…explain. Don't kill me. Please." He pleaded with his life, turning to glare at one Dr. Jackson, unseen by anyone in the gateroom..
Vala looked really worried, but there was a tinge of relief in her eyes.
"Can you fix it?"
Walter sat straighter in his chair, clearing his throat. "Uhm…I'm sure I can…" Daniel coughed. Walter looked at him again and rolled his eyes."BUT…it may take a while though…"
Daniel cheered internally.
Teal'c wasn't nearly as happy. He took a threatening step forward, and opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off when Sam and Cam rushed into the room. Cam sprinted right over to Teal'c, skidding to a halt as he reached the Jaffa. He grabbed the warrior's muscled shoulders.
"Woah there big guy! It's not lil' ol' Harriman's fault! Just a little technical difficulty! I'll …uhh…" Cam looked at Vala, who was watching on, intrigued.
"Uhh…''
Sam stepped in.
"Teal'c! You look like you need some Jello. Blue? Great. I'll take you right now!" She tried to make herself look and sound convincing, but the Jaffa just frowned at her, and bowed his head slightly. He stared at Sam, then Cam, then Vala, then he tilted his head up, to shoot a death glare at Walter. He then exited the room. Alone.
The three stood there, stunned, and a little frightened.
--
Back in the control room, Daniel sighed in relief as he saw Vala exit the room with Sam and Mitchell. He'd seen Teal'c leave before. He'd also seen the look that had crossed the Sergeant's face.
He wanted to hug Walter, for all he'd done. It had been a life-threatening experience for him. He now sat, staring at his blank screen, with a petrified look on his face. Instead, Daniel opted to just walk quietly over to the him, and pat his head.
"Thanks buddy!"
Daniel left the room.
Walter stayed. He blinked once, then twice, then he moaned.
He was so dead.
--
The next day…
--
Daniel was depressed. He hadn't seen, or spoken to Vala for almost 12 hours. They had made contact once, at about 6 this morning, but all he got was a glare.
He was beginning to think she wouldn't forgive him, even when he revealed her surprise. He could be such an idiot.
There was 21 minutes until 7:00. He was planning to go get her at 7, but he just couldn't wait any longer. He chucked the book over his shoulder and walked out the door, straightening his tie along the way.
--
Knock.
Vala pulled the earphones out of her ears. The music she had been listening to had done nothing to ease her depression, despite what Cam had said. But she had nothing better to do., since Daniel decided he wouldn't celebrate it, no matter how important it was to her. He was so unbelievable sometimes.
Anyway, she thought she had heard something.
She waited a while, then moved to put her earphones back in her ears.
Knock.
She groaned, rolling off the bed reluctantly, sloppily grabbing the knob and turning.
It was Daniel.
She groaned internally, and the tiredness on her face morphed into agitation. And anger.
"What do YOU want? Haven't you done enough? Honestly, you should just…go back to that damn tablet of yours! Who cares about Valentine's Day anyway. I'm over it! And…why are you dressed like that?"
Daniel smiled softly at the baffled look on her face. "Well, I'll tell you along the way. You just get changed into a dress and …yeah."
Vala eyed him suspiciously, but decided to comply anyhow. She was surprised though, when he slipped past her to sit on their bed in their quarters.
"You were planning to watch?"
Daniel blushed. "No no! I was just…ahh…I thought it would be awkward to wait outside. So…ahh… you could just change in the bathroom…if you wanted to…."
She managed to suppress her laughter at the slight stutter in his voice.
"Ok then. I'm still not happy with you though."
"I understand, now get dressed."
--
He had tied the blindfold on too tight.
Seriously, it was squeezing her eyes. She couldn't do this for much longer.
"Daniel! Can I open them now?"
"Just a little further…"
Vala grunted. Blindfolding? That was a bit over the top. She wondered what Daniel had planned. She very much doubted it was a surprise from him though. He seemed so against Valentine's Day. Maybe it had something to do with that…Sarah person he had told her about. He had told her that on that day, they had gotten very close to breaking up. It was their anniversary that had done it though. Vala shivered. She didn't like thinking about Daniel's ex-girlfriend much. She dismissed the whole idea of Daniel planning something for Valentine's.
It was probably something team-planned. Cam was really into Valentine's. Teal'c was too, but he was probably still sulking – in a very un-Jaffa like way. She was beginning to think she had rubbed off on the Jaffa.
Sam…well, either Jack had come here, or Sam had gone there. But Sam would've told her…right? Vala had planned to ask, but she'd isolated herself in her…their quarters for quite sometime. The whole day in fact. Daniel had fallen asleep in his office…or somewhere that wasn't his quarters…
She felt him guide her into…a car? Where were they going? Oh, must just be O'Malley's. She loved it there. It was like, their little team hangout. Even though Sam, Daniel and Jack had gotten kicked out once, they were allowed in again, since the President had made a special appearance to the manager, asking for a favour. The look on the manager's face had been priceless. She giggled. Ahh…good times. Almost every birthday, every occasion, every promotion party had either been held there, or at someone's apartment…
But…that aside...this whole thing was stupid. She was getting rather impatient with this whole ordeal. Who'd come up with the stupid blindfold idea anyway? It was so clichéd. Everyone knew how she felt about clichés… she loved them. But this was NOT one of the ones that she remotely even liked! It was hurting her eyes, well, no it wasn't, but she was just about ready to act as if they were.
She stopped her pondering as the car jerked to a stop, the sounds of the handbreak being pulled snapping her back to attention.
"Daniel?"
"Yes, we're here."
She let him guide her the rest of the way. It obviously wasn't O'Malley's, there was no stairs there. Well, at least not this many.
Maybe this was some completely new place.
The stairs seemed to go on forever.
"Daniel! How many more? Honestly?"
"Come on! Just…be a little patient."
After a long period of whining and complaining, they finally got there.
Daniel opened the door to his apartment, shivering in excitement. The only reason they had taken the stairs was because every time she had been here, they used the elevator.
This way, she wouldn't recognize where they were.
He walked in, positioning Vala at the entrance of the door, looking in. He'd gotten a new apartment since his second time back, a more spacious one, with a lot less artifacts lying around. This one was very simple, a doorway looking into the living room, with two couches, a recliner,and a flat screen. Further back, you could see a glass slide door leading out to the balcony, where you could look down to see the city. There was also a kitchen, only barely seen from this angle to the left. If you walked to the right, and looked to your right, you could see a hallway , with a couple of doors scattered along the walls.
He liked this apartment much better.
"Daniel. Really. You're killing me here!"
"Oh, oh, right."
He moved to stand behind her, one arm sliding around her waist, the other one moving up to untie the blindfold. He nuzzled into her neck as she let out a gasp.
She had never seen anything so beautiful! His apartment was bathed in soft orange light. The mini coffee table had a red table cloth over it, with a candle in the middle, and two plates with food…(that she couldn't identify from here)…on them. He had planned this. Him. Daniel. For her. Suddenly, a soft melody filled her ears. Tears came to her eyes at the beauty of the scene.
Daniel kissed her cheek, as she turned to smile at him. He moved to kiss her softly, bringing a had to her cheek. He smiled against her lips and whispered:
"Happy Valentine's baby."
--
AN: Please review! I have the laziest muses in the whole world,lmao, and they need inspiration! Again, sorry if it seems rushed, or too short.
Happy V-Day everyone~