It was another long day. Something wasn't right at Stargate command. The controls and computers had all shut down and everyone was trying to get them to work again. The Stargate still worked, it could still be dialed. Daniel had been working for thirty-four hours straight, and he was yelling at everyone who so much as looked in his direction. "My, my. Aren't we in a bit of a temper today?" asked Vala, sitting on the edge of his desk.

Daniel gave her an angry glare and returned to writing down some kind of formula. There was silence except for the sound of his pen writing on the paper. "Maybe you should go and get some sleep," Vala suggested. Daniel looked up once more, still writing.

"Just because you sit around and do nothing doesn't mean that I don't have important things to do, Vala," he said in a low, steady tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Why do I have to explain everything to you? It means, Vala, that you don't do anything around here."

"Really? I had thought that going on all those missions with you guys and risking my life was doing something. My mistake."

"Do you take anything I say seriously? My point is that you don't fit in here, because you don't know how to do any of the work around here."

Vala looked hurt for a second. "Yes, I really think you should go and get some sleep. You are really sounding like this one man I once knew. He went crazy when he was tired. He, much, like you are doing right now, made these random accusations."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I'm also tired of hearing all about those people that you once knew. Did you like to hang out with everyone who puts the life of SG-1 in jeopardy?"

"Of course not! And may I remind you that not everyone out there is going to endanger us?"

"No, only most of them. Now that I think about it, I can't believe that you were aloud to join SG-1 after all the things you did."

Vala cleared her throat. "I'd like to remind you, Daniel, that it was you who made the suggestion," she said. He pierced her with such a look that Vala blinked and faltered. "So what, are you telling me to just pack up and leave?"

"Well, your worthless now that your daughter is well…"

"Don't you talk about Adria!" Vala said. It still hurt her to think that her daughter was so wrong in her ideas.

"As I was saying. Maybe you could leave. No one really wants you here anymore," he said calmly.

Vala's head moved a fraction of an inch to the side, and immediately her eyes filled with tears. Her eyes met his, they pleaded with him to take back what he had just said. They asked him to explain why he had said that, why he would even think that. But he said nothing, he made no move as to apolagize. "Hey, Jackson, did you get anything…" it was Mitchell. He was leaning up against the door jam.

Daniel looked up once more, angrily. Mitchell saw Vala. She stood up and turned towards him. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, she was shaking slightly, and her face showed hurt. It was more than hurt, it was betrayal, it was heartbreak. She rushed past him as soon as she realized that he had seen her.

"What did you do?" Mitchell asked. It had to have been because of something that Daniel had said.

"I told her the truth. C'mon, you don't think there's anyone here that still feels that she's a value to the team? Pass me that book over there. The one with the red cover," Jackson said calmly. Mitchell didn't pass it to him, he threw it at him.

"What the…" asked Jackson, standing up. "What was that for?"

"What's wrong with you?" asked Mitchell angrily. He turned and walked quickly from the room. He had to find Vala, to let her know that Jackson hadn't meant it, that there was something wrong… "Vala," he called at her door. "Vala, open the door!" There was no response from inside and he opened it himself. The room was quiet and still. Nothing had been moved, no one was there.

There was a commotion coming from the gate room. Mitchell expected to find Vala there. But instead he found Carter. She was typing on a keyboard. "What's wrong?" Mitchell asked, expecting the worst. It was the worst.

"Vala just left. She dialed some code, and for some reason we can't trace it," Carter said.

"What? When? Why didn't you stop her?"

"Sorry, but if you've ever tried to stop that woman, you'll find it's about impossible. Especially when she has a laser gun in her hands. She made us move away, dialed the gate, and left. By the time Carter got here, it was too late to stop her."

This was probably the worst thing that could happen, Mitchell thought. Why had she believed Daniel? Why? She should have known that he hadn't meant it? Was there something else he had said to her, something far worse? He would kill Jackson as soon as the chance came.

The chance never presented itself. The door of Jackson's office opened and Daniel came stumbling out. Blood was spurting from his eyes, his nose, and his ears. It was everywhere. Everyone instantly ran for him. Mitchell watched horrified. Yes, things could definitely had gotten worse. And it had.