A Perfectly Lovely Disaster

From: Spacegypsy1

Chapter One: What a Mess

~0i0~

Silhouetted against the backdrop of stars and swirling universes with the wisp of a certain solar system far off she stood at the precipitous edge of the mountaintop.

A meteor shot across the skyscape at the same time a thought shot through her mind. Love had almost shrunk her heart to stone and almost sucked the soul right out of her... almost.

Stark quiet reigned until the crunch of footsteps along the path behind her broke the silence.

Vala took a deep calming breath. Steeled her resolve. Straightened her spine. She wasn't ready to talk about it.

"Do you imagine he is mirroring you? Looking up and...?"

"No."

The quick and firm response surprised Phena. "Well, my friend, you certainly know how to pick them."

"My picker is broken."

"Sorry? What?"

"It's a Tau'ri expression. Meaning I can't pick a mate who is good for me."

"I see. Well, you are very good at many things, Vala. I've known you for many years and I have to wonder why you haven't fixed that little problem. But you haven't so you can't blame him. Whoever him is."

"I'm not blaming him!"

"Just missing him?"

Vala let out a disgruntled sigh. "Yes."

"I'm sorry you are hurting." Phena tossed her mane of curly, fiery red hair, sending out a soft tinkle from the bells dangling from her ears before turning and walking away, "Tea is steeping, Vala," the woman called out, "come along, it's very late. It's Molesh tea. Your favorite."

"Chamomile," Vala said catching up with her friend.

"What?"

"The tea, it's also called Chamomile tea. The plant the tea is made from on Earth. It's a Tau'ri word."

Pulling the multicolored wisp of a shawl tighter to ward off the chill, Phe smiled, "You are turning into quite the Tau'ri. Interesting."

The two women walked side by side through the menagerie of junk and treasures in the small warehouse and on through to a bricked patio plush with plants and a menagerie of colored seating. Each picked a few flowers then continued onward into the cocoon of Phe's kitchen - which she referred to as the 'comfort room'.

"It's a bit chilly to sit outside tonight. Let's sit here. I'll fetch the tea."

Vala sat at the small rough wood table admiring the rainbow colored cloth haphazardly laying across the middle. Now she remembered why she always was attracted to those Bohemian decorated rooms in the magazines on Earth.

"There are cookies too. I baked them for you. I have missed you all these years. And, I haven't baked since See'arie moved out."

"The one with the eye patch? Long, long hair? Lots of scars. Still a striking beauty?" Vala asked as Phe made her way back to the table with the teapot and a plate of cookies.

"Yes."

"What happened to her?"

"Lucian Alliance. She was quite reckless. Let us talk about other things. I'll pour. It is very nice to have you back, Vala." Sitting down across from Vala Phe handed her a cup of tea in a delicate china cup. "I suppose that this last fellow was different from all the others. You really fell in love with him. Such a pity. I confess, I have never seen you so much in love that it shows through every pore of your being. You are sure there is no hope?"

Vala eyed Phe over the rim of her cup sipping slowly to keep the need for tears locked inside.

"Alright. So be it. I have plenty of work for you. That is when you shake off this mooning about and get back to expert treasure liberation." With a nod, Phe popped a cookie into her mouth.

"I'm pregnant."

Crumbs spewed forth as Phe nearly choked. "Oh blessed comet tails! This IS a mess!"

With a grin and a one shoulder shrug Vala insisted, "Doesn't mean I can't do some specialized liberating. I'll need to earn my keep, Phe."

Looking away for a moment Phe groaned. "Too dangerous," she said turning back to Vala. "You can manage the warehouse, it could use a bit of organizing, cataloging."

"How about inside sales?"

"What?"

"Buyer handling."

"Hot exploding meteorites! No! Also dangerous! Gods, Mal Doran. You can earn your keep without putting yourself and the... the... the... thingie in danger. Don't you think you should tell him?"

"No. And it's not a thingie. It's a baby. I am absolutely not going to tell him! I'm not having him insist on marriage! Make his life more miserable with an unwanted wife and child. I know him. He'd be determined to 'do the right thing' as he sees it. And Phe, the man has had enough bad turns, I'm not adding me into that mix! Never!"

"What about your past... bad turns? Don't you deserve..."

"Actually, Phe, I'm quite okay with this. I love him beyond reason. Miss him so very much. Crave his touch. Ache to hear his voice. I long to look into his lovely blue eyes, but," Vala laid a hand on her belly, "I have enough of him to love right here."

Phe sipped her tea, her black eyes studying Vala. "You certainly have changed."

"As have you." Vala picked up a cookie then set it back down without a bite. "You didn't seem to know I was coming. Odd. You always have the strongest intuition."

"I'm getting old. Anyway, yes we have had some times together."

"What happened to that old two-seater?"

"Every piece of it is scatted in the warehouse."

Vala took a cookie and nibbled on it. "That first time we met I thought for sure I was going to die. Really. Running, literally out of that village, beat-up, starving and you just pull up in that silly runabout like nothing was amiss, popped the little door open and yelled, 'Hey you! Hop in!' and I did without a second thought."

Laughing Phe nodded. "And the damned thing stalled with the Alliance bearing down on us."

"And you just smiled and said, 'Hi I'm Phena Tam'."

"Yes, I remember your face as you said in total awe, 'The Phena Tam?'"

Now Vala was laughing. "Oh right, and I only said I'm Vala, and then you looked surprised, 'Not THE Vala Mal Doran?' I felt so proud that THE Phena Tam knew who I was."

"And we both laughed, you crawled into the back, rearranged whatever wires you could and off we went."

"Fun times." Both women said at once.

"Yes, fun pirating and escaping sudden death. Rolling around under the covers." Vala smiled at her friend.

"Until I introduced you to Keto."

"Right. Sorry about that. Leaving."

"You mean sneaking out in the middle of the night?"

"He was a charmer."

"That didn't turn out so well either, did it?"

"We're still friends. I think."

"Well, you are here and you will always have a place and work. So worry not. I'm just not sure how this thingie... er... baby thing is going to work out. I had a pet Calapo once and it was a mess."

"I remember that little monkey. And do not compare that miniature monster to my baby."

Phe grinned. "Hmm. And what about you? How long have you been in love with 'him'?"

"Let's not talk about that now. Maybe another day." With a deep, sad sigh Vala lowered her eyes and stared unseeing at her hands.

"Oh, Vala. Whenever are you going to find long-lasting happiness?"

"Whenever this baby joins me in this physical world." Vala reached and squeezed Phe's hand. "Thank you for always taking me in. This should be the last time."

"Hmm. We can grow old together. Or he'll come and steal you away."

"Never. Phe. Never. He won't come. Besides, no one knows where I am. I purposely never mentioned you or this planet!"

Nodding in agreement Phe decided not to mention that while she may have been a bit surprised by Vala's visit she now had a strong feeling, a knowing. That man was coming for Vala.

~0i0~TBC -

NOTE: Just so you know... If I write a multi-chapter story (noted as TBC - To Be Continued) it is complete when I post the first chapter, it may be in beta and I might be tweaking areas but it is not going to be abandoned! Besides, when have I ever written more than 10 chapters? And rarely do I write more than one chapter. It's my 'thang'.