AN: Thank you for the great reviews on Small Measure of Value - it's a big project, but I love working on it.
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E. Nagrom - No the stone(s) by themselves (in SMOV) just have merging properties. What they merge into when together is - oops, almost gave that away!
Country Pixie - Yes, all the threads (in SMOV) will eventually intertwine with Daniel, but you probably won't see it any sooner than he will. Or maybe you will.
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Summary: Before Vala appeared at the SGC, Daniel use to love his coffee.
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SG-1- WHAT'S THAT SMELL?
"Are you sure you want to tamper with that?" Sam looked askance from the pouch of dark powdery substance Vala held above the innocently brewing coffee machine on the table as if the other woman was about to somehow desecrate sacred ground.
"No, I'm going to improve it," Vala declared, smiling confidently. "Have you tasted that truly awful stuff Daniel drinks?"
Sam shook her head in mild disgust. "No, I don't drink it, but I know Daniel prefers his coffee the way it is and you better tell him before you do anything… different to it."
Vala's dark brows rose thoughtfully, then she grinned in her where's-the-fun-in-that way that Sam never trusted. "I think I'll just surprise him."
Knowing it pointless for Carter to remind the dark-haired woman of how much Daniel did not appreciate surprises, she decided it more prudent to wave a neutral flag, raising her hands in surrender. "I'm staying out of it," she determined, swiping her glass of tea as she hurried for the exit.
Vala frowned in her wake. "If she doesn't drink the vile, muddy brown liquid, how would she know how really bad it is?"
Daniel's office
"Ah, there you are," Vala greeted the sandy-haired archeologist hunched low over his computer, deep in concentration. "What are you doing, Daniel?"
Daniel closed his eyes briefly. "Composing a concerto in A minus," he glibly tossed at her, narrowed eyes not leaving the screen. "I thought you were off somewhere looking for vending machines - which I don't think we use down here anymore."
"Con - cherrie -o what?" Vala pursed her lips. "Is that part of the dull, boring cataloging you were doing when you sent me out for a soda?" She came further into the room still ignored by the desk's occupant. "You know, Daniel, you could have told me there was a nice refrigerator full of them in Sam's lab. But I brought you something else."
"Vala," Daniel started, pausing to wearily rub his eyes beneath his glasses. Steam from the cup she held out wafted past his nose and he sniffed. "What's that smell?"
Sam's Lab
"Vala, be careful with those thermal bio-culars," Sam cautioned, glancing up from her computer. "We're still testing those for symbiotic detection."
"Ew! Oh, how disgusting!" Vala shoved the oblong-shaped glasses to the top of her head. "You don't seriously eat those horrible wiggly little things in there, do you?" She turned the red apple over in her palm and set it gingerly back in the basket with the others before briskly wiping her hands on her BDU shirt. "Uck, uck, uck!"
Sam bit her lip. "They're worms. And don't worry, in the SGC they're not considered an alternate food source, but do make great symbiote substitutes."
"Oh, that's a-- " Vala began when Daniel strode into the lab carrying his prized coffee-maker. Without a word, he promptly dropped it in the trash bin, and kept moving until he reached the refrigerator. Oblivious to both woman watching him, he snagged a cold bottle of soda, spun around and headed for the door again.
"Man, when coffee machines go that bad on you," he muttered passing through the open doorway into the hall. "They don't even deserve a decent burial!"
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