Lemon Drops
spacegypsy1
D/V fluff.
~o0o~ ~o0o~ ~o0o~
Not much could surprise Teal'c, but the scene before him did. "Mal lo onak!"
Daniel and Vala jumped apart.
"Muscles!" Vala tried to straighten her twisted blouse. "We were … I... well...actually... Daniel thought I was having a heart attack and he was doing CPR!"
Daniel's mouth fell open in awe at her absurd excuse, and as soon as Teal'c covered an escaping laugh with a deep cough, Daniel couldn't stop himself from laughing.
Hands slamming on her hips, Vala looked back and forth between the two men. "What's so funny? I was in need of medical attention and you think it's funny!"
"Come on, Vala!" Daniel said with a grin. "Even you should know how lame that was."
"I meant to say, mouth to mouth resuscitation, Daniel!" Vala turned her head away from Teal'c and whispered in Daniel's ear, "You said we shouldn't tell anyone."
"ValaMalDoran, I assure you I will not tell."
Quirking her mouth to one side, she studied the Jaffa. "Hmph! You came in shouting 'Oh my god!' Everyone on the base probably heard. And how did you hear what I just said? Do you have ears like a … a... a..."
"Rabbit?" Daniel offered.
"Perhaps an elephant?" Teal'c conjectured.
Shrugging, Vala looked at Daniel with a sheepish smile.
Realizing they were still standing too close, Daniel took Vala by her shoulders and set her back away from him. "Few people on the base even know what he said, and Teal'c doesn't shout...often. Why don't you go pick up those artifacts we need from storage? Remember? The ones you were on your way to get before..."
"Oh! Heehee, I forgot." Vala dashed out.
"I am sorry DanielJackson. I did not mean to intrude."
"No need to apologize. It was...an accident. I mean, that it happened. Here. In my office. On base."
Teal'c raised a brow. "Accident? I see."
Daniel returned to his desk and sat. "I know we can trust you to keep this to yourself. It won't happen again. I was near the door, she was going out. We sort of collided. It just got out of hand."
"So, DanielJackson, if I may ask. This is the first..."
"Oh, no. No, no, no. Hardly. I mean. Here? On base? Definitely! Never on base. Never on missions. What you saw, well, it was a little unexpected, but with Vala, I guess I should have been more on guard. She can sneak up on me when I least..." Daniel blushed, took off his glasses and sighed.
A rare smile slowly spread across the Jaffa's face, and he laughed. "I am sorry, but it is good to see you two together again..." Teal'c paused for a mere second before rushing on. "I of course am referring to not being argumentative." Wrestling the laugh into another cough, Teal'c bowed.
"Right."
"I shall keep your secret as long as you like. I am unclear as to why you are worried that this needs to be hidden from others," Standing over the desk, Teal'c locked his hands behind his back, cocked his head to one side, and waited.
"We work together. We like working together. Right now we don't want to start anything." Daniel looked up at his friend. "Who knows how the brass will react."
"May I speak further on this issue?"
"Ah, sure, Teal'c." Daniel was completely surprised when Teal'c took the seat next to the desk.
"You should weigh your options. There is no law against civilians fraternizing. You may consider speaking with ColonelMitchell. Both you and she have performed well on missions and here in the mountain – without appearing to show preference to each other. And if, as you say, this has been going on for some time, does that not prove that your relationship does not interfere with your work? You and ValaMalDoran..."
"Jackson." Daniel corrected, his voice low and his tone reluctant.
The Jaffa's brows rose suddenly. "Am I to understand..."
"Yep." Nodding, Daniel dropped his chin to his chest, and lifted his eyes to Teal'c
"That you have..."
"Yep." Still nodding Daniel followed with a sigh.
"Wed?" Teal'c's voice rose ever so slightly.
"Yep."
"I am very happy to hear this."
"You are?" Daniel's face lifted as he stared in wonder at his Jaffa friend . "Why?"
"I have thought for some time that you two were meant to be together. You are two opposites, but like the Earth's Poles, you balance your worlds. Together."
Daniel grinned. "She definitely balances my world. Odd as that is. But she still drives me nuts most of the time."
"You do know, DanielJackson, that there is speculation as to why you frequently allow ValaJackson, to accompany you home when we have free time."
Grin widening at Teal'c's easy use of Vala Jackson, Daniel nodded, his full attention on the Jaffa.
"ColonelMitchell when confronted with questions, insists you have taken responsibility for keeping her out of trouble. Most, I have heard, think you are the only teammate who can 'handle' her and therefore, believe as ColonelMitchell does. But some think differently."
"Yeah, I know, I've heard the rumors."
Teal'c rose. "I came to inform you that ColonelMitchell, ColonelReynolds and myself will be playing basketball this evening after dinner, if you would care to join us."
"Sure. I'd like that since we're on the schedule and can't leave the base. I could use it...since I...well, sounds good."
With a slight bow, the Jaffa smiled, and left.
"Damn!" Daniel muttered.
When Vala brought their dinner tray to his office later that evening, Daniel looked up with a smile. "Vala. We need to talk."
Setting the tray on his desk, Vala divvied up the food, gave him a curious pout and sat. "Well," she said, examining her mystery meat, "this doesn't sound like fun."
"I need your help."
Her head jerked up, "Oh, that's all? I thought it was some lecture on..."
"It is, in a way."
"And which way would that be, Daniel? Scolding me because I got to close to you and you were forced to kiss me, fondle me, in your office and we got caught...which of course is also my fault."
"No," he said simply, and couldn't stop the grin on his face.
"No?" She sent him a sultry eyed, inviting smile.
"Nope, I just want you to stop me next time. And it'd help me a lot if you didn't look at me like that. I don't think we're ready to have everyone know."
Brows furrowed, she leaned forward and whispered. "Muscles won't tell."
"I know, but we need to make sure we don't send the wrong signals to people. At least not right now. So, when we get back from our mission tomorrow to P2X-564, let's try to find more time to be off base. In the meantime, let's...be careful." He reached across the desk and took her hand.
She smiled sweetly, nodding. "Well, alright, if we must."
~o0o~ ~o0o~ ~o0o~
A pale moon, barely visible through the gathering clouds, still hung in the sky over P2X-564 as the sun rose, and the kawoosh settled.
Mitchell studied the clouds. "Let's move out and see if we can beat this storm brewin'."
SG-1 traversed an open field of waist high grass that separated the Stargate from the deserted city some four clicks from the 'Gate.
"Teal'c, don't you think somethin's odd about those two? Wrong? Kinda not right?" Mitchell pointed across the field towards Daniel and Vala. "I mean, look at them. They haven't bickered once since we got here. They barely speak at all. They've barely looked at each other."
"No."
"No, what?"
"No, I do not."
"Not what!"
"ColonelMitchell, did you not ask me a question?"
"Sure."
"The answer is no."
"Damn, what was the question?"
"Teal'c, don't you think somethin's odd about those two? Wrong? Kinda not right?" Teal'c's face was textbook Jaffa stoic.
Mitchell shook his head, eyes closing tightly a moment. "Okay. Got it."
Up ahead of Mitchell and Teal'c, Vala followed behind Daniel towards the city. "I hope this goes fast." She whispered.
"Why?" He whispered back as he took a quick look over his shoulder.
"Because, darling, we have five whole days off after this one! Muscles has to go to Chulak when we get back and he asked if we wanted to go. I..." Vala turned and smiled with a window washer wave at Cam and Teal'c, checking to be sure they were still far behind her and Daniel. "I think we should. We can have some time to be out in public as a couple there. Can we go?" She took another look behind her.
"No." Daniel whispered and immediately tried to explain, "I mean I can't go or shouldn't, I don't think I can, there's a backlog of..."
"Sometimes you are so irritating! Take the damned things with...shh! Here they come." Vala glared at Daniel, shot a sour face towards her approaching/encroaching friends, then turned and marched ahead.
"Hey, Jackson, what's up with the princess?"
"Dunno. Could be anything, something I said, or did, or didn't say or didn't do."
Grinning, Cam watched Vala as she continued ahead. "Go figure! She can pout about a double rainbow."
"Yeah, she's like that." With a sigh, one that was more wistful then annoyed, Daniel followed Cam's gaze.
The colonel grinned turning to Daniel in time to catch a glimpse of the archeologist's expression. "I've said it before and I'm sayin' it again, I don't know why you don't just marry that chick."
A deep, telling sigh escaped with thoughtful, mumbled, "I did." It was out of his mouth before he even knew he said it! Daniel turned abruptly and started stammering in short rapid-fired bursts. "Er...I mean...ah...not... well ah, no...I...she...we...I don't...I don't...I don't know why I said that... it's not like we..."
"Son of a bitch, Jackson! You did! I can tell 'cause your doin' the crab crawl - suddenly going sideways and then backwards. God love a duck, man! This is awesome. Why the hell didn't you..."
"Whaaa what!" Daniel blinked furiously.
"Why didn't you tell us? What the hell's the big secret?" Resting his P-90 across his arms, Mitchell shook his head. "When'd you guys hook up? Son of a bitch! Thank God! I was beginnin' to worry about you two. Sneakin' off to your place like ya'll were thinkin' nobody knew what you two were doin'. That's just wrong. Married. Wow." Cam grasped Daniel's hand. "Congratulations, man."
Mouth open, Daniel stood there while Mitchell pumped his hand and Teal'c slapped him on the back.
Vala, who'd come back towards where the men gathered, was a few steps away. "Cameron?"
The colonel turned slowly in reaction to the tone of her voice. "Huh?"
"No congratulations for me?" With a grin, Cam started for her but the lift of a brow and narrowing of her eyes stopped him in his tracks as she continued. "Cameron, why isn't Daniel in trouble for fraternizing? Because I've had to endure many hours of non-fraternizing because he didn't want anyone to know...that we were fraternizing. And, Cameron, I'm quite fond of fraternizing with Daniel." Vala crossed her arms over her chest and struck a threatening pose.
Thankfully, Mitchell was saved from responding by a loud roar of thunder as lightning crashed in the distance. "Whoa! Let's step up the..." a bolt of lightning struck close enough to raise the hair on his arms. "Find cover!" Mitchell yelled.
"That way!" Vala, using her P-90 as a pointer, indicated a small ridge just ahead.
"Why?" Daniel scowled, looking at the dark clouds gathering in that direction.
"Well... don't troubles melt like lemon drops over them?" Again, the P-90 went out this time pointing to a huge rainbow that seemingly ended over a group of chimney tops peeking over the ridge.
"Indeed." Teal'c dashed off with Vala close on his heels.
"Well, come on Mr. Mal Doran," Cam nudged Daniel, shot the archeologist a grin, and then ran after his team.
As the rain began, Daniel looked up at the sky, "What was I thinking?" And off he went, running so fast he passed his CO and caught up with his wife.
Vala kissed his wet cheek. "Dreams really do come true, darling."
~END