TITLE: Dance With Me.
RATING: K+
WARNING: Some language.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything of the Stargate universe, but I would love to.
SUMMARY: Vala asks for more than just a dance from Daniel.
AUTHORS NOTE: I have been a fan of Stargate since the movie. I originally fell for the Egyptian lore and sci-fi adventure, but continued to watch the TV show due to its characters. Presently, I enjoy the interaction between Vala and Daniel a great deal. Watching Daniel realize over time how much Vala means to him, seeing him grudgingly lower his barriers for her has made my shipper imagination spark. And I love the way Vala drives him absolutely nuts. I hope I bring that across in Dance With Me, my first entry to FanFiction. The song is "So Far Away" by the group Staind. Listen to the music and the lyrics and you can see them dancing to it and also fitting them both lyrically.
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DANCE WITH ME
Daniels beer was turning warm in his grasp. Not once had Vala seen him raise it to his lips. She often wondered why Daniel came on these outings with the other SGC. Once in a while she saw him smile at a retold joke by Mitchell or tap his foot to a song that Samantha just had to hear, but he was never really "there". He was lost in his thoughts inventorying artifacts they found the day before or mentally going through the next gate they were to explore. Maybe it was his memories he dwelled in, she often thought that's where his attentions went when his shoulders sagged and the weight of the world seemed to sit upon his back. She dare hoped it wasn't the future that furrowed his brow so harshly. Vala prayed that Daniels once Herculean optimism hadn't slipped away that far.
The alien took a gulp of her own drink and let her gaze slide to the jukebox already in use, before turning her attention back to Daniel.
"Well then, the future has not happened yet and the past can't be done a thing for sooo…" Vala drained the last of her beer. "Let's get ourselves living in the today."
A couple quarters later Vala slid up to Daniels side taking him completely unaware.
'Damn woman should wear a bell'. He mumbled under his breath.
"Daniel." She purred.
"Vala." She heard the annoyance in his voice and for a moment felt ill that this was the emotion they shared the most between them.
"Daniel" she forged ahead. "I do believe you owe me a favor from a planet or so back. At least you nodded when I said you owed me after I saved you from that Ori deciple.
"Yes I did" he spoke grudgingly. "And no I will not massage your feet or 'do it' till we are blue in the face." Now Daniel did take a drink, but sputtered on the room temperature suds. Vala's mouth twitched as she waited for his coughing fit to abate.
"I want a dance, I heard you may be rather good." Her accent stressing the last of her sentence, her smile played wickedly across her features. "And I promise not to grope your ass or do anything not fitting on a public dance floor." She added already reading his mind and beating him to it.
Daniel eyed her suspiciously and this time she hoped his internal lie detector sensed her telling the truth.
"Why?"
"Why what Daniel? You owe me a favor and I have not danced in a very long time, at least not while sober." Vala crossed her arms over her chest matching Daniels stance. Daniel remained hesitant.
"I'm not asking the world of you Daniel, only a debt paid and a few moments of your time. Just give me a good spin; you at least owe me that."
Before Daniel could think of a refusal he watched Vala's studied act of trickery falter for a moment and saw a glimpse of something he did not recognize. Whatever it was he saw or felt, he found his feet begin their journey to the dance floor and felt Vala's lithe fingers grab onto his own with out hesitation.
Vala's smile became broad as her chosen song began to flow melodically from the jukebox.
"You chose the song already, didn't you?"
"I counted on you being a man of your word."
Daniel couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his lips as their steps settled into a rudimentary waltz.
This is my life it's not what it was before.
All these feelings I've shared.
Daniel didn't linger on how smoothly they fell in step with one another or the involuntary shiver that chased through him when he realized Vala's eyes on him fully. These thoughts could lead to no where he felt comfortable going. Daniel let his mind go to what was safe, the solving of riddles more precisely Vala.
"Why are you dancing with me tonight?" He watched her brows rise before the initial delivery of her lie. He knew her well enough.
"I told you…" she innocently defended.
"The truth Vala… the truth. What are you up to?"
Vala opened her mouth then closed it choosing momentary silence.
And these are my dreams that I've never lived before.
Somebody shake me cause I-I must be sleeping.
"I'm worried about you Daniel." Vala felt his body tense against hers but continued their dance. "I see you standing in a room packed with people and you may as well be alone, but you're not Daniel. At least you don't have to be. And don't say 'I'm fine' because I bloody well know better."
Now that were here, it's so far away.
All the struggle we thought was in vain.
All the mistakes, one life contained.
They all finally start to go away.
Now that were here, it's so far away.
And I feel like I can face the day.
I can forgive, and I'm not ashamed to be the person that I am today.
Daniels mind warred with its self as the dance continued in uncomfortable silence. This woman in his arms pulled out of him more than he wished to give and then asked for extra. She angered him and challenged him and then with the sound of her voice or the smallest mundane action she could calm him. Holding her while they danced, taking in her words, Daniel bounced between both sides of the spectrum.
"Smiling and dancing and putting down another beer doesn't solve what ever it is you think needs fixed in me." Daniels eyes now turned to hers, the intensity in them betrayed his quietly and logically spoken words.
Vala turned away from his stare and placed her gaze on the jukebox behind them. Daniel let himself study her briefly then began to loosen his grip on her hand and waist to take his leave.
"I'm not so stupid to think I could fix you Daniel, I only wish to stand by your side." Vala felt his hands once again tighten their grip. "And this smile and dance isn't just meant for you, it's for me as well." Hurt could be heard in her tone. Daniel remained silent.
These are my words that I've never said before,
I think I'm doing okay.
And this is the smile that I've never shown before
Somebody shake me 'cause I-I must be sleeping.
"To have you dance with me, to make you smile, even when fleeting, gives me the strength to continue standing by your side." Vala felt her throat begin to tighten; the honesty of her words scared her. "Standing by you fixes the things in me."
Daniel had no response, he didn't trust himself to, so after a tense moment of silence and stilled feet he brought her closer and then spun her out across the dance floor only to draw her back into their modified waltz. Vala let out a startled laugh during the move and curled close in his embrace as the dance continued. They exchanged no more words while their faces hovered inches from touching cheek to cheek. Their uneven breath and pounding chests communicated what was needed for that moment.
"Thank you."
Vala smiled in return.
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By this time Vala and Daniels dance had attracted the attention of their team. If it had been more than a month ago, Cam would have cracked a teasing joke while Sam pretended not to laugh and Teal'c would have stood and warmly grinned. Teal'c still grinned, but they all remained silent and rooted in their spot. They all had acknowledged Daniel and Vala's connection even when said pair did not. But now they knew it was more. The day they found an amnesiac Vala in the warehouse and Daniel asked her to "come home" they saw it.
The small group continued to watch their friends dance in fluid unity. Daniel had once again twirled Vala, her dress and her laughter floating free. When the Doctor drew her back into his arms their bodies met harder than they had intended, the pair momentarily stopped their dance to catch their breath and the team nearly looked away from the intimacy of the moment.
Life was fleeting and so was happiness, any one of them could attest. Life was difficult, to say the least, when your job was stepping through an intergalactic gate into untold discoveries and dangers. And for Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran life had been crushingly unfair. If the couple could get past each others barriers and survive the worlds outside the event horizon, no one at the SGC was going to stop the outcome.
"So, what are you kids watching?"
"God Jesus!" Cam jumped in surprise when a hand came down upon his shoulder.
"Jack." Sam scolded.
"O'Neil."
Yes, all in the same. Now, what are we…oh…yeah…well way to go Danny boy". Jacks brows rose while he watched the couple before them continue to dance through the next song which strangely enough seemed to be a repeat of the track before it.
"Sir?"
"Damn it Mitchell, its O'Neil or Jack and stop looking at me like I'm the principle who just walked in on the school counselor and gym coach 'doing it' on my desk." Although Cam missed the sideways grin shared between Jack and Sam, it did not go unnoticed by Teal'c.
"Old Doc Jackson deserves to be happy for once, even if it means being driven crazy by Vala. The mans died…well hell, how many times for Earth and country, the least said country can do for him is to bend the rules a bit. Just wished I had been in charge sooner." This time Cam could not help but notice the knowing glances being shared.
"Let's see if the lovebirds can figure it out before the next lifetime." Jack exhaled deeply. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have a very important debriefing." Sam's eyes widened at Jacks choice of words as he drew her to the dance floor.
Cameron let out a deep chuckle and turned to Teal'c with mischief in his eyes. "Care to dance?" Cameron was lucky to only be met by a raised brow.
The End.