Quest for Control

Chapter 1

***I do not own anything here, all characters belong to MGM, I just play with them now and again.*****

Daniel Jackson stretched his neck tiredly. It had been a long day hunched over his dusty books and manuscripts. Sometimes the translations did not come easily. He heard a noise behind him and glanced around. Vala was reclining on his sofa, with a book open beside her, snoring. He gave a half-smile as he contemplated his space pirate. She had managed to find a place at the SGC. Vala had a real aptitude for languages and alien technology which had made her invaluable to several members of the SGC. Though she had always been eager to help and share her knowledge, learning to accept help from the sometimes flighty-seeming woman had taken some of the SGC personnel awhile.

Strangely enough, it was Dr. Lee that had accepted Vala's help from the start. Daniel realized that at first, neither he nor Sam saw her as other than the fruitcake she appeared to be. Bill Lee, on the other hand, had accepted her superior knowledge of alien technologies from his first meeting with her. He had stumbled into an SG1 meeting with Landry, holding a Goa'uld device that was refusing to release his hand. Vala had rushed to Bill's side and flicked a previously unseen switch and shut it off. At that moment, she had become Dr. Lee's favorite coworker. Daniel had to admit that Dr. Lee's complete acceptance of Vala had nothing to do with her astounding good looks but with her astonishing intellect. At any given moment there would be a call for Vala to assist Dr. Lee with some new piece of technology he couldn't figure out. Bill had gotten into the habit of consulting Vala before he talked to Sam. Daniel had to admit that Vala's knowledge of several uncommon Goa'uld dialects was unexpected and very welcome.

Vala snorted a bit and slumped further down into the sofa. She turned slightly onto her side and cuddled into the pillows. Standing over her on the sofa, he realized how important Vala had become to him. With all the demands on her time from the scientists; she still stopped by his office to make sure he had eaten and was going to get some sleep. Initially, he had thought it was boredom that drove her to "bother" him but lately he had noticed the genuine concern in her eyes. There was "something" between them, he knew that. He was just not quite sure what it was. He worried about her too, he cared for her, and he knew she had made remarkable changes in her life here at the SGC. Somehow his days weren't complete unless he saw her several times. He admitted to himself that there had been days when he had gone looking for her. He had become protective of her, watching that she ate and got sleep and relaxed. Daniel had recently admitted to himself that he was willing to take a chance with his heart again, then he had realized that he already gave it away…to Vala. He needed to figure out how this was going to work.

Daniel walked to his closet and pulled out a blanket. He felt tired and was going to his quarters. He carefully covered Vala, moved her book, and turned out the light as he left, closing the door softly behind him.

"Jackson!" at the bellow Daniel turned, Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell came jogging up to him in the hallway. "where's your girl?"

"You mean Vala?" Daniel responded to Cam, ignoring the eye-rolling.

"yeah Jackson, Vala, you know your girl? Your shadow? The woman who is always at your side?" Cam couldn't keep the sarcasm from his voice. "Sam needs to ask her some stuff"

Daniel ignored Cam's attitude, "Vala is sleeping right now, Dr. Lee has been working her non-stop with the cache from P3X-987. She stopped by my office to talk and fell asleep."

"Well Sam needs her now! " Cam headed for Daniel's office door. Daniel reflexively grabbed Cam's arm.

"She needs her rest, Sam can wait until tomorrow" Daniel stared into Cam's eyes. "Let her sleep ok?"

Cam stared into Daniel's eyes, seeing the other man's worry for Vala in them. "okie-dokie Jackson, but I'm telling Sam that you made the call." Cam winked at Daniel and jogged away.

Daniel heard the door open and turned to see a very sleepy Vala staring at him. "Did I fall asleep again Daniel? Was someone asking for me?"

"Nothing earth-shaking, get some sleep, you look beat." Daniel tried to hide his smile.

"Is that an offer, Dr. Jackson?" Vala practically purred as she ran a finger down the front of his shirt. "Are you going to take advantage of me?"

Daniel looked into Vala's gray eyes and found himself falling, it would be so easy to kiss her. He mentally shook himself and smiled gently at Vala, "you couldn't stay awake long enough to enjoy it. You are beat and need rest." He took her by the elbow and began to steer her towards her quarters. "you need to learn to say no to Bill, Sam, and the other scientists who are wearing you out."

"Daniel, they need my help. I need to prove to Landry and ….everyone else…" Vala glanced under her lashes at Daniel's face. "that I can be an asset to the SGC. "

Daniel stopped outside Vala's quarters, "you don't need to prove yourself anymore, you have a home here." He took her ID out of her hand and swiped her door entry with it. He nudged the door open, and gently urged her forward. Following her in, he realized it was the first time he had been in her quarters. He covertly glanced around, not sure of what to expect. It held the usual Air Force standard furniture, but there was a decided Vala twist. The bedding, curtains (there were no windows, just curtains hiding a gray wall), and even the rugs were obviously not standard issue. The room looked lacey and very floral. There were soft rugs underfoot and a pair of fuzzy slippers peeking from under the bed. The floral curtains softened the room, and was that flowers he saw on her bureau?

Vala was standing very still warily watching Daniel as he looked over her room. She wondered if he was going to take her up on her half-joking offer. Daniel turned and smiled at her. "Very homey Vala, very you." Vala visibly relaxed and smiled "you know darling, a girl has to have her own space" she smiled flirtatiously at Daniel as she sauntered across the room.

Daniel kept smiling at her as he realized that she was still very insecure her place in his life and at the SGC. He met her in the middle of the room and leaned in to give her a quick kiss. Daniel smiled at the shocked look on her face as he said goodnight. He quickly left the room, leaving Vala standing in the middle of the room staring at him speechless. Daniel paused outside the door and smiled. He had finally gotten in the last word with his space pirate and all it had taken was a kiss.

Once inside his own quarters, Daniel continued thinking about what happened in Vala's room as he got ready for bed. He had finally gotten the upper hand with Vala and it had only taken a kiss. He had been very careful to not do anything to encourage her advances, but she wouldn't stop teasing him. With one quick kiss, he had reset the balance in their relationship. He wasn't sure how she was going to react, but he had decided it was time to see where things led. Daniel knew he felt vulnerable and that Vala could really hurt him, but he was tired of fighting his attraction for her. Slow and easy, with him in charge was the way to go. By making the first move tonight, Daniel hoped to set the pace of the relationship. With that happy thought Daniel drifted off to sleep.