For those of you who haven't seen the photos from Fedcon 22, Claudia Black is now a blonde. That is my only excuse for writing this piece.

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own it.

Spoiler Warning: None

A/N: This is connected to my Holiday series. It takes place some time after Christmas with the Mitchells but before A Place Called Home. It's not necessary to have read those, though.

The Blonde Theory

"Hello, Daniel." Vala said as she sauntered into the archaeologist's office and closed the door.

"Hey, honey." he replied, not bothering to look up from the text he was translating. "Back from your girl's-day-out so early?"

"Yes, darling." Vala came to stand behind the oblivious man and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his ear. "I got something for you."

"Oh?" he asked warily but still not looking up.

"Do you want to see it?"

"Uh, sure." Daniel stopped pretending to translate and turned to see what his girlfriend had for him this time. His eyes grew wide at what he saw. "Wow, you're...You're blonde!"

"Very astute, darling." Vala grinned. "What do you think?"

"It's, um, different." Daniel knew from experience that saying the wrong thing here would get him into a lot of trouble, but what was the right thing to say?

"Yes, Daniel, that's usually what happens when one dyes one's hair. But do you like it?"

"I...uh...it's...Wow, it's different."

"We've already established that, Daniel. Is it a good different or a bad different?"

"Uh...good different. It looks nice, you look nice." Daniel stood and kissed her forehead. "But you always look beautiful."

"Well, that's just obvious, darling." Vala preened.

"So, uh, why the drastic change?"

"Just something Jack said that got me thinking."

"Uh oh. What did he say this time?"

"Do you remember at Christmas when he said that blondes have more fun?"

"Uh, yeah..." Daniel trailed off, having a feeling he knew where this was going.

"Good, I was hoping you'd help me test the theory." Vala smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"And how am I to do that?" he asked, matching her actions.

"I was thinking we could go back to your place and spend a few hours...researching."

"Researching, huh?"

"Yes, darling, research of the best kind." She kissed his chin and batted her lashes seductively. "It would mean relinquishing your body to the pursuit of knowledge, though."

"The things I do for science." Daniel sighed dramatically but grinned and pulled her in tighter. "But, if I must, I must."

"Oh, you must." Vala said, laughing. Before she could say another word, Daniel was dragging her out of the mountain at top speed.

()()()()

Much, much later, Daniel and Vala lay wrapped in each other's arms, completely sated.

"So, what do you think?" Daniel asked as he traced Ancient writing on Vala's back. "Do blondes have more fun?"

"I'm not sure." Vala answered, her breath whispering across his chest. "I may need more data. A lot more. How long are you willing to lend your body to science, darling?"

"As long as you need it."

"Be very certain of that, Daniel. This experiment could take days, weeks, months. Maybe even years."

"That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make." he said and rolled Vala over. "We want to be thorough, don't we?"

"Oh, yes, darling. No point in doing a sloppy job of it."

Daniel only grinned as he leant in to kiss her, showing her just how thorough he planned to be.