Fractured
A/N: I hated writing this. This was NOT supposed to be my first D/V piece. I am a D/V shipper, and I prefer to think of them living happily ever after. I'm working on a series of one-shots where that is exactly how it plays out—the two of them happy and in love. Still, the muses struck, so here it is. The not-so-happy version of Daniel and Vala post-Odyssey. I have to admit, there's something poetic about Atlantis being the bookends of their relationship. Incidentally, this one is NOT going into my personal canon. It didn't happen like this; I swear it didn't! ;)
John Sheppard of Atlantis makes a guest appearance, since he's the only person other than Daniel I can possibly ship Vala with. :)
Warning: Character death.
Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate SG-1, and I make no profit.
In a way, Atlantis had defined their entire relationship.
They had met when he was on his way to the city for the first time, and although her attempt to steal the ship proved ultimately unsuccessful, it did render him unable to complete the trip. The she showed up with a promise of treasure and a couple of kor mak bracelets and prevented him from journeying to Atlantis yet again. When he finally did make it to the city for the first time, she was by his side as a teammate and friend.
So perhaps it was only fitting that Atlantis was also where their relationship self-destructed.
Cloaked and floating above San Francisco Bay, Atlantis was no longer a galaxy away. Having been unable to be stationed there permanently for so long, Daniel was thrilled. He immediately put in for a transfer. No longer denying his feelings for one former space pirate, he asked Vala to come along.
For awhile, it was perfect. Unfortunately, perfect rarely lasts.
They had always argued, and becoming a couple failed to change that. They sniped and snarled and sometimes shouted. But in the end, affection had always won out. In the end, they were there for each other when it really counted. In the end, love conquered all.
Until it didn't.
Ironically, the trouble started not when the fighting got worse but when they stopped fighting altogether. They stopped fighting because they didn't care enough to bother with it anymore. And when they stopped fighting, they stopped communicating with any sort of real honesty.
They continued on for awhile, becoming more and more distant, dragging their commitment to each other around like some sort of burden. But Vala had always needed Daniel more than she could ever express, and eventually the loneliness became more than she could bear. She fell into bed with John one night and awoke the next morning feeling physically ill. She knew this was the final death knell for them—the one thing Daniel could never forgive.
She was right. He didn't. And he, the one who had yearned for Atlantis for so long, ended up being the one who left to return to the SGC. The dream was over, and Atlantis had broken his heart. Vala stayed in the city, stayed with John.
Life moved on. Vala grew to care deeply for John and built a home with him on Atlantis. They were good together, and if she sometimes dreamed of Daniel at night, well, John didn't need to know that, did he?
She used many pet names for him, but she could never bring herself to call him darling.
Daniel met a nice young nurse at the SGC. Unlike Sha're, unlike Sarah, unlike Vala, Gina had never even seen a Goa'uld, never mind been host to one. She was sweet and uncomplicated and utterly devoted to him. If he sometimes dreamed of Vala at night, well, Gina didn't need to know that, did she?
He frequently touched her hand or shoulder, but he could never bring himself to touch her cheek.
Teal'c grieved the break-up of his friends more than anyone had expected, almost as much as they themselves did. He wondered how something that had worked so beautifully for fifty years on the Odyssey had fallen apart so horribly here on Earth.
Years later, General Landry's funeral brought them all together again, at least in a matter of speaking. The members of SG-1 and their spouses stood in something of huddle, apart from the other mourners. Yet even within their own cluster they were separate from each other. Jack and Sam were huddled together, Vala clung to John's arm, Daniel clutched Gina's hand, Cameron kept an arm around Carolyn.
The casket was lowered to the ground, and Carolyn broke down. Her relationship with her father had improved exponentially in the time since she had joined the Stargate program, but she still didn't feel like she'd had enough time to make up for all the years they had lost. It was too soon.
And Vala, who had seen the general as a sort of surrogate father, steady and dependable where her own father was not, also began to sob. John wrapped his arms tightly around her, trying to comfort her. She loved him for it...but it wasn't what she needed in that moment.
And the intimate knowledge of each other that years of bitterness and anger had forced them to ignore, to stomp down, to pretend never was, came back to Daniel full-force. He let go of Gina's hand and stepped over to Vala. He laid his hand on her shoulder, seeing the surprise flare in John's eyes. Vala looked up at Daniel through her tears. "It's okay," he said softly. "I promise it'll be okay." The words weren't any different than what the others might have said. But it was him saying them, in that tone of voice he knew always got through to her. And it did, even after all this time. Even after...everything, he got through.
She swallowed and nodded, her eyes locked with his. "Thanks," she whispered hoarsely. He nodded back, hearing all that she wasn't saying, could never say, and acknowledging the same. He returned to his wife. Vala leaned back against John.
They all went to dinner together after the funeral. It was the first time they had all been together as a group in years; Daniel and Vala's break-up had been too ugly. Now though they were able to joke and laugh, sharing memories of General Landry and memories of their time as a team.
And as they stood to leave, Vala touched Daniel's arm briefly. "Daniel...thank you again for earlier. And...I'm sorry. For everything."
He stared at her for a long moment, then briefly lifted a hand to her cheek. "You're welcome. And I'm sorry too. You don't know how sorry."
She nodded, hearing all that he couldn't say just as he had done with her earlier. And she returned to Atlantis with John, and he returned to his house with Gina. And once again, life went on.
END