WOULD YOU?
Daniel's office door stood wide open, the occupants within busy working on the latest translations and histories that had been dug up and dragged back to the SGC by erstwhile team members. The old fish tank belonging to Jonas mumbled quietly to itself as it's occupants swam lazily around inside. Occasionally one would slide up to the glass and peer short-sightedly at the outside world. The coffee percolator had just switched itself off, it's contents freshly boiled and the smell of the hot, delicious liquid permeated the office and wafted out into the hall.
Vala sniffed appreciatively, wrinkling her nose. "Is it break time yet?" she inquired, smiling engagingly at her team mate.
"I guess." Daniel turned another page of the book he was studying, barely even glancing at her. "Can you pour me a cup please?"
"Of course." Hopping off of her stool, Vala headed for the cabinet on which the percolator stood. She grabbed a couple of mugs and began to make up the two portions of coffee. "Sugar for me – one, two – oh go on then, three for me. None for you. Milk for me…" she bent and opened the small refrigerator, taking out a carton from within and shaking it firmly. Milk splattered across the floor and desk. "Whoops!" Vala grinned to herself and cast a surreptitious look over at Daniel.
His eyes hadn't even lifted from the page in front of himself.
"Ahem!" She cleared her throat and carried on as if nothing had happened, pouring the liquid into her coffee before attempting to casually mop up the spilt milk. Then she sidled over to the desk and placed Daniel's mug down in front of him.
"Thanks." He glanced up. "Did you clean up the milk that you just threw across the office?"
Vala narrowed her eyes, glaring. "How did you even see that? You were staring at that dusty old book! Mr x-rated eyes!"
"I think you mean 'x-ray eyes'," he told her.
"Hmmmph!" Vala firmly grasped her mug and, lifting it up to her lips, slurped noisily. "Ow..ow…hot…" she placed the drink back down again.
Shaking his head, Daniel sipped carefully at his own coffee. Strong and hot, just how he loved it. "Mmm. I'll say one thing – you do make good coffee, Vala."
"Thank you!" Beaming now, she hopped back onto her stool and began to spin it slowly from one side to the other, hanging on to Daniel's desk as she did so. The expression on her face changed subtly, becoming more sober and guarded.
"What?" Having worked with her for several years now the good doctor was closely attuned to her sudden mood swings and not-of-this-earth personality. He took another slow sip of coffee, watching her as he did so. "Something is going on in that head of yours, I can tell. Come on, what is it?"
Vala leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands. A tiny frown pulled at her dark brows, her eyes were large and thoughtful. She paused.
"Well – Muscles and I were watching that show last night on the TV. You know – that one we like, the one Teal'c own's in it's box."
"Boxset?" Daniel suggested, before adding, "which show do you mean? The one about lifeguards, or the one set in England? Or the guys breaking open storage boxes?"
"No – none of those!" she retorted crossly. "The one set in space, with the chap who looks a bit like Cameron. On the huge ship. That talks. To the turtle person."
"I know the one." The crusty archaeologist of recent times was rapidly becoming fluent in his knowledge of all manner of TV shows, thanks to Vala. "With the woman who looks like you."
"She looks nothing like me!" Vala looked suitably affronted. "Her clothes are appalling – I mean does she even own more than one outfit? And her hair is terrible! Have you seen it lately, since she came back? Have you seen how long she let it grow? And the ends are so straggly and messy. Can she not find someone to give her a decent cut and style out there? It's not asking much is it? Surely they'd be able to find a hairdresser on at least one of the planets they visit!"
Daniel chuckled. "She's just a character, Vala. The writers' wanted the actress to play her like that."
"Well. Whatever. Anyway," Vala rapped her knuckles on the desk to bring Daniel's attention back. "In that show – the episodes Muscles and I have been watching – just lately, I mean…..what I want to say…I mean, to know, obviously…ahem.." blushing faintly, Vala grinned lopsidedly at Daniel. "Well….if I was ever kidnapped by hideously ugly lizard people with shocking taste in fashion would you traverse huge realms of unknown space, searching over and over until you found me?"
"Would I – what?" Blinking bemusedly, Daniel scratched his chin. "Lizard people?"
"Yes." Vala nodded firmly. "Tall, ugly – no doubt smelly too. And like I said, they wear the most appalling costumes. Not an ounce of pink or sparkle anywhere on them either. And they would kidnap me and take me far, far away and stick giant needles inside me, and tie me to couches….well, would you?"
"Uh – would I tie you to a giant couch? A – a pink one?" Having only recently congratulated himself on how well he had come to know his alien team mate at last, Daniel now began to think that she'd lost the plot completely.
"No!" Vala rocked agitatedly back and forth in her seat. "The couch isn't giant! The needles are! And nothing is pink – more's the pity. But that's irrelevant. Would you, or would you not, come all the way across the galaxy – or more than one galaxy, to save me? If lizard people – or, or any people stole me away?"
Silence fell. Vala's stormy gray eyes watched Daniel apprehensively. Her hands now clung tightly to the edge of the desk and her generous mouth was set firmly.
"Well….," Daniel, hit suddenly by the realization of Vala's very real need to know that she was wanted and cared for, took a deep breath. "When you flew that ship into the Ori supergate I never gave up hope that you were still alive, somewhere. Neither did Mitchell, or Sam, or Teal'c. We all hoped that somehow…you know." Blushing faintly, he carried on. "I mean, we didn't exactly look for you, but we – we – I – hoped. That you were okay."
Vala smiled a little and ducked her head. Her hands unclenched slightly.
"Then, when Athena stole you away – well, you know that we spent all of our waking hours looking for you. Well, most of them. I mean, Mitchell he had to do some other stuff and – and Sam, she had to go and do some of her science, science.." Daniel paused, embarrassed. "I mean, SG-1 we all searched for you. A lot. Especially me."
Vala's expression had softened, her eyes glimmered with a hint of tears even as she grinned her gentle, lop-sided grin. "Muscles said that you didn't go home at all. He told me that you fell asleep at your desk all the time. And Mitchell said that you were a 'right royal pain in the ass!' because you wouldn't do any SGC work for the whole time that I was gone. He said all that you did was call people and watch CCTV and chase up contacts." She paused.
"If you knew all of that already, then why did you need to ask your question in the first place?" Daniel asked, quietly.
Vala shrugged, and ducked her head again. "I just wanted to – to make sure."
Silence fell for a while between the two of them. Eventually Daniel took hold of one of Vala's hands and squeezed gently. "And now you know," he told her, quietly. His sparkling blue eyes were clear, no hint of embarrassment in them now. He felt, undoubtedly, that now had been the right time to tell her how he felt. Kind of. "How about if it was the other way around?" he asked. "Would you come for me?"
Vala looked up, surprised. Her sweet, rosy mouth trembled before she nodded furiously, and scrubbed at her face with the cuff of her shirt.
Daniel handed her his handkerchief. "Well then."
Vala blew her nose violently, sounding like a foghorn, before wiping her eyes and handing the scrap of linen back. She cleared her throat. "Well then." Jumping off of her perch, and before she could change her mind, she kissed Daniel firmly but quickly on his cheek. "I'm going for my break now," and expertly slipping his wallet from his jacket pocket she skipped off towards the hallway. Pausing at the door, Vala looked back. "Of course, I'd undoubtedly have escaped from the lizard people on my own, without anyone's help. I mean, I have done that sort of thing before, you know. Without lizards, obviously. But I'm sure that it wouldn't have been too difficult." She grinned widely and raised her eyebrows. "In fact, if you had come after me I would probably have ended up saving you. Everyone knows how easily you get taken prisoner all the time!" Then she was gone, bouncing away down the corridor.
Daniel heard her talking and laughing with someone in the distance followed by the gentle squeal of the elevator doors opening. The chattering voices grew muffled and then vanished as the car doors swooshed shut and the elevator moved away upwards.
A blissful quietness pervaded the office.
Daniel lay down his pen before reaching across the desk and carefully lifting Vala's abandoned coffee mug. He cradled it in his hands momentarily, smiling absently at the decoration of the cute puppy in a Santa hat before lifting it slowly to his lips and kissing softly the place where his team mate's lips had touched the edge of the cup.
He knew – without a doubt – that Vala was both his absolute nemesis and destiny, his ultimate and long-awaited downfall. She was the woman for whom he would traverse entire galaxies, not resting until he found her and brought her home.
Running his thumb across the edge of her mug he smiled wryly. Probably time to tell her, he thought, then glanced at the large photo of Sha're that stood on one of the book shelves. She would be pleased, he realized at last. She would never have wanted me to go through the rest of life alone. Although I don't know what you would have made of Vala, sweetheart! He cleared his throat thickly, blinking away the gentle prickle behind his eyes.
Crossing the room quickly he lifted the photograph and laid his cheek against it briefly. "Miss you always," he told the smiling woman, quietly. A thought hit him as he stood the photograph back in his place. He crossed back to the desk and scrabbled around amongst the historical detritus for a few moments, before finding what he was looking for – a photograph of Vala at a recent bowling night. She was grinning widely and holding an iridescent pink ball – her skimpy denim shorts were barely on the side of decent and her tiny halter top flashed an enticing glimpse of bare midriff. Daniel chuckled to himself before taking the photo and tucking it into the frame next to Sha're. There. Love you both, he told them. And blushed a fiery rose, even though he was alone in the office.
"Daniel!" The peace was shattered. Vala's aggrieved yell reached him from where she had clearly just exited the elevator. "This wallet's empty! Not a cent inside! And where have you hidden your credit card?"
The archaeologist patted the chest pocket of his BDU shirt and laughed out loud.
"I can hear you!" Judging by the sound of her rapidly approaching footsteps Vala had clearly begun to run up the hallway. "Daniel! I'm starving! Get your extremely gorgeous butt out here right this minute and take me for snacks! With your wallet!"
"Coming!" And Daniel stepped out into the hall, closing his office door behind him.
Vala stood a few feet away, hands on hips and glowering. She perked up considerably once Daniel spun her around and tugged her back the way she'd just come, re-entering the lift car.
Part way upwards on it's journey, the elevator ground inexplicably to a halt. By the time it eventually resumed it's ascent, shuddering open on level 3, both Daniel and Vala looked considerably more dishevelled than when they had entered. The ex-space pirate had lost one of her shirt buttons and several hair pins. The eminent archaeologist looked suspiciously as if he were wearing lipstick.
"Mitchell," Daniel acknowledged his CO who was waiting to enter the cubicle.
Vala grinned widely, before giving the Colonel a huge and obvious wink.
Mitchell watched them shrewdly as they moved on down the hallway and entered the mess hall. Then he spun on his heel and jogged off towards the stairwell. Riding the elevator was too time consuming and stationary. I need to find Walter asap! He thought. Time to up that bet on Jackson and the Princess!
THE END