Title: Solace

Author: spacegypsy1

Rating: PG

Category: Romance/hurt/comfort

Pairings: Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran

Characters: Daniel and Vala

Spoilers/Timeline: No spoilers. Immediately After Continuum

Word Count: 485 – COMPLETE

Synopsis: A short oneshot. Daniel and Vala. Where they are and how they got there. How they deal with life and love. Daniel's POV

-o0o-

The incessant knock woke me. No use in ignoring it, she'd never stop. That is, until she pulled out some tool or card or magic wand and opened the door herself.

Odd, she didn't call out my name, shrilly. Or pound with a tight manicure protecting fist.

Something was wrong.

I shot out of bed and snatched the door open.

Instantly, she flew into my arms.

I shut the door, held her and let her quietly weep. My hands went to her back. One to hold her close and one to rub through the soft material of one of my better T-shirts that she wore. Stolen of course. Not to worry I buy extra now.

More than likely she'd had one of her nightmares. One of the deep dark evil eerie ones.

It's best to remain silent and supportive and wait.

I've come to care deeply for her. We've shared many secrets, Vala and I. That is once we realized how our past's had been so painfully in sync. Both of us individually and then collectively came to accept that in the early days what made us so edgy around each other was seeing our demon reflected in the other's eyes.

Eventually it all blew up and the screaming match in front of our friends and teammates ended in a searing, heart stopping, bone melting kiss.

And our lives changed.

Of course I still have occasional panic moments. And she has the occasional nightmare, but now...we have each other.

She stirs, sniffing, using the T-shirt to wipe her nose as a small delicate, but nervous, laugh escapes her. A signal that she's no longer in the depth of her hell, only shaken and profoundly effected.

I have learned that once she is coherent she wants to be teased out of her dark place. "Please tell me you have on some panties - preferably the ones you call boy shorts."

Her head shakes vigorously against my chest. I groan as my body reacts. The trembling in her body tells me it's too soon to let go of her.

It's times like these that are the most difficult. We made a promise to Mitchell to remain steadfastly teammates and friends while we are on base, on schedule, or off world. So...staying with her all night is not an option, I wouldn't be able to resist making love to her, but she still feels a bit shaky and I doubt she'll be able to sleep alone.

I take a deep breath and tell her gently, "I'll wake Mitchell. Have him come and sit with you for a while, 'kay?"

She moves closer if that's possible, and digs her nails into my bare back. I hear her raspy words. "Wait. Please. Just for a little while."

My mind switches gears immediately. "Sure." I become her pillar. Lead her to the bed, crawl in after her, snuggle close and hold her tight. She sighs and falls asleep right away.

Whispering her name, I kiss the top of her head and start to drift off.

~END