Double Jeopardy
spacegypsy1
On Christmas Eve two crates arrive at the SGC. One concerns Daniel. One Vala. Are the contents some dark sinister cloud come to overshadow their new found love, and the wonderful night they had shared?
~0~~0~~0~~0~~0~
The morning sun glistening off of snow found its way between the drawn curtains and nearly blinded Daniel as his eyes slowly opened. Quickly he rolled over, pulling Vala's warmth close, spooning her into him. His hand cupped one of her breast as he nuzzled her neck. "Love you," he murmured half asleep as he began to drift off again.
She mumbled "love you," and stretched, her body squirming to get as close to him as possible. When she accomplished her goal, Vala asked in a rough, sleepy, sultry voice. "Coffee?"
"I don't think so, not after that!" Daniel had her on her back and squealing in delight in seconds. Covers and pillows were strewn over the side of the bed, victims of their rambunctious lovemaking.
Hours later they made their way back to Cheyenne Mountain and work.
"Darling, how did I end up in your bed, last night?" Her hand, high on his leg as he drove, began a slow descent towards his inner thigh.
Daniel picked up the invading hand, brought it to his lips, planted a wet sloppy kiss on her palm and placed it on her leg. "I took you to dinner. Now, please let me concentrate on driving, the snow's getting thicker."
"Oh, right, dinner to celebrate my promotion and because we drew the on-call for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day duty." Laughing lightly, happily, she scooted closer.
"Vala. Buckle your seat belt. And, as you well know you got your annual cost of living raise, and Landry gave you some extra work... heading up the Alien Technology Training for the new recruits, and I think he scheduled you in particular to make up for those kids being stuck in the Mountain on the skeleton holiday crew."
"Yes, of course, and I can't wait to meet all those young men and women. It's always fun when they see their first alien – particularly the blank stares that clearly state their disappointment that I look just like they do. But, darling, that doesn't explain the sex - lovemaking - kinky activities last night."
The windshield wipers thumped back and forth as Daniel tired to stifle a groan and think of some way to stop her from turning the conversation into foreplay. Knowing it was lame, he blurted out anyway, "It started snowing when we left the restaurant."
"And?" She'd moved closer, clicking the middle lap belt in place, resting her head on his arm, and a hand on his chest.
An electric charge of pure sexual energy shot through him. "And I suggested we stay at my place, since it was late and I'd had wine."
"One glass." She noted with an air of incredulity.
"So?" He took a quick glance at her catching that fabulous toothy smile of hers. "Well, anyway, when we got to my place you threw your arms around my neck and kissed me, hard."
"I had mistletoe in my hand and you didn't, and you kissed me back."
"That I did." Daniel parked his car and the couple entered the base hand in hand.
Vala would head to the locker room to change for her meet and greet with the recruits.
"Can we...'go to dinner' again tonight?"
Daniel would check out whatever it was Reynolds had left him a message about. Some artifact found.
"We'll see, I'll try to get finished early. But we have a mission tomorrow, Christmas Day, and I have no idea what they found that has Reynolds anxious for me to take a look at. However, we need to get them cataloged and boxed up so SG-3 can get out of here in time to celebrate the holidays."
"I'll work in Sam's lab, so as not to tempt you from your work."
"That'd probably be a good idea."
They stood at a T in the corridor staring at each other.
"Daniel, I don't even mind being on a mission on Christmas Day, of course I did pack some Christmas cookies and hot cocoa mix and some decorations for whatever kind of tree we camp near. I put them in your stuff, because they wouldn't fit in mine. I feel so...so happy."
"Me too, sweetheart."
~0~~0~~0~~0~~0~
Daniel hadn't felt this happy in too many years to count. That was until two boxes arrived, smelling of old earth and decay and bringing sadness they'd both worked so hard to overcome. Why did this crap have to show up now?
He must have stared at the two crates for an hour before once again closely examining the top of the one marked 'To: Melburn and Claire Jackson c/o New York Metropolitan Museum of Art'. It had come to New York from Cairo, Egypt, (he couldn't make out the shipper's name and address – but it was evident it had been shipped in 1973 – the year his parents died.).
Where had it been all these years and how had they tracked it to him? And why on Earth did they send it on Christmas Eve? Daniel had every tool he possibly needed to open that crate. However, he turned his attention to the other box. Reynolds had delivered it mere minutes before this one showed up.
"Hey, Jackson." Reynolds had called out as he'd carried the crate easily, setting it on Daniel's desk. "Found this on P2X-987. Recognized the markings. The gold box inside is covered with it. Qetesh's, right?"
Lifting the loosened lid, Daniel had peeked into the small crate. "Right. Thanks."
"Yeah, figured you should get to it before...well...you know. She's up in Sam's lab piddling around with those stones you guys found. I checked first. Anyway, you should hear the scuttlebutt from the new recruits. She showed up in THE leather outfit with a Santa hat on!"
Shocked, Daniel's head snapped up. "She did not!"
"Yep. She told Landry she wanted to appear alien. Anyway, she did good, so Landry wasn't too sore about it. Gotta go."
After Reynolds left, Daniel had not been able to take his eyes from the golden box. That was until the larger crate had shown up.
So here he sat, unable to force himself to examine two seemingly ordinary artifacts.
At last, he was able to make a move. He would check out Qetesh's first. Leave the personal one for later. Maybe much later. Daniel removed Qetesh's storage container from the crate and placed it on the desk. He picked the lock on the beautiful golden box that stood no more than a foot high on its ornately carved legs.
The hinges squeaked as he slowly opened the lid. Lush dark velvet-like material partially lined the box, the remainder of the interior was jewel encrusted. Only a few objects sat on the crushed velvet. One by one he took them out and set them on the desk. A delicately crafted, lacy handkerchief, bright blue, with tiny embroidered red and orange flowers – wrinkled as though it had been crushed in a fist. A jeweled hair clip with a few strands of silken black hairs that clung defiantly to it that made his heart ache just looking at it. A magnificent broach of onyx and pearl with a tatter of fabric still attached where it had been ripped off of a garment, something plain and homemade, something of soft cornflower blue.
With trembling fingers, Daniel reached in to pick up the last object. A ring. A woman's ring. Dainty, with tiny diamond like jewels. It was obviously an engagement ring. A simple but beautiful ring, something a young working man could afford for the young woman he loved. Vala.
Overwhelming emotions surged up. Old hatred of the Goa'uld resurfaced. He wanted to scream, to cry, to once again pull his Beretta out and kill Goa'uld.
"That's all? The flower's missing? The one I wore in my hair that day?"
Startled, Daniel looked up. "Vala," he whispered the name painfully. He could see she trembled and the devastation was nearly overwhelming. "Oh, Vala, God, I didn't want you to see this...not yet."
"Then when?" Slowly she entered, coming closer, her gaze intent on the items lined up on his desk. Stepping between him and the desk, Vala ran a finger across the top of the embellished chest. "I recognized it immediately. I mean after all, I was Qetesh and the box would have been mine." Her fingers brushed across the objects on his desk. "And, of course, as Vala, these would have been mine."
Closing his eyes, Daniel moved closer, resting a hand on her hip. "Sweetheart," he murmured, eyes opening and his sight landing on the objects as he peered over her shoulder.
"My mother's broach. Ripped from my dress by my own hand. I remember thinking it odd Adria had just given it to me that morning." She fingered the broach briefly. "The hair clip, a gift from my father. They're real jewels by the way, and Adria had taken it for a while. That morning she'd handed it over. She knew what was to transpire. She wanted me to look better than all the other...candidates. And this." Vala picked up the crumbled handkerchief. "My grandmother made this when I was born. It's balled up because...because as soon as I knew what was happening, I clenched it tight in my fist, praying that I would not be chosen."
"Vala. Stop." Daniel took the cloth from her hand and placed it back on the desk. "Let's go home, let's..."
"No." She didn't pick up the ring, but he knew she stared at it. "He was kind. Gentle. Funny. A bit shy, but handsome in his own way. And he loved me. The tall, clumsy girl, daughter of the thief and con artist, disappearing father. And step-daughter of the spawn of the devil."
Before Daniel knew what was happening, she'd raked the four objects onto the floor with one swipe of her arm. "Vala!"
Her fist pummeled the box, skin broke and blood stained. He grabbed her wrist, but she was strong, resisting. He crossed her arms over her chest bringing his arms atop her, using his own strength to contain her.
She began to wail like some horrific animal, kicking the desk, kicking backwards at him. Daniel held firm, whispering endearments, letting her have as much rein as possible but keeping her from hurting herself further.
It stopped as suddenly as it began and she crumbled in his arms. Taking them both to the floor, he held her tight, arms still crossed over her chest as she wept silently. He blinked his own tears away as he rocked her gently.
Head ducked and buried in her hair it took him a moment to realize someone was standing over them. He blinked to clear his vision and knew. Teal'c had come – either he'd heard the commotion or he'd intuitively known something was wrong.
Teal'c squatted down in front of them. "DanielJackson, she is bleeding."
"I know." Still in shock, Daniel could barely articulate the words.
"Should we not take her to the infirmary?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"May I take her, now? May I carry her for you?"
Daniel had to bite his lip to keep it from trembling. "Sure. Okay. That'd be good. Thanks." Reluctantly, he let go of her.
Gently, Teal'c scooped Vala into his arms and stood. Daniel rising with him, one hand going to Vala's face where his thumb caressed her cheek.
Vala reached out cupping Daniel's face, leaving blood smeared there. She tried to smile, but failed. "I'm fine." She whispered, turning her face from his to hide the lie.
Watching Teal'c take her out the door, Daniel waited, deep in thought, realizing as difficult as it had been, he'd just witnessed her catharsis. Vala had felt enough love for him and safe enough with him to release all that pent up rage at what had happened to her. He recognized it for what it was. A new beginning. Vala truly loved him as much as he loved her.
~0~~0~~0~~0~~0~
Dr. Lam studied the nicks and scratches on Vala's hands. "How did this happen, again? I'm not sure I understood you the first time." She looked from Vala, to Daniel, and finally Teal'c. Both Teal'c and Daniel tried to come up with some innocuous explanation, but Vala intervened.
"ValaMalDoran was..."
"She was..."
"I got upset. I suppose you could say I beat up a solid gold fancy box that belonged to Qetesh."
Cleaning the wounds, Carolyn glanced up at Daniel as if it were his fault.
"He had nothing to do with it. In fact, Carolyn, he was trying to hide it from me, but I'm glad he didn't. Because suddenly..." Vala looked directly in Daniel's intense blue eyes, "suddenly, I feel better. Free. As if it's all officially over."
"Alright. But you're grounded for at least three days. I'm going to get some more gauze and wrap both hands." Once more she eyed the three before leaving. "Stay out of trouble." Carolyn nearly ran into Cam as he dashed into the infirmary. "She's fine."
Cam nodded at the doctor then approached the bed. "What the hell happened?"
~0~~0~~0~~0~~0~
Daniel, standing close to Vala in the embarkation room, spoke quietly as he cupped her face and his thumb caressed her check. "Do you want me to have...your things returned to the..."
"No, darling. I have a box under my bed. I think I'd like to keep them there."
Giving her a confused, curious look, Daniel asked, "What box?"
"It's things my father gave me. I brought it with me the first time I came through the Stargate and I stashed it here, I thought it would be safer here if I ever wanted it. So, when I returned, I retrieved it."
He smiled with understanding. "I had the...my crate sent to Sam's lab. I'd like it if you...you'd kinda scope out what's in it, if you can get it open with those paws you're sporting there." He laughed, eyeing her bandaged wrapped hands.
She nodded repeatedly, then whispered back, "I...I'm thinking of giving Sam a quick call."
"Good. We won't be long."
"Why don't you want to … 'scope it out' yourself?"
"In case of monsters." Daniel admitted, dropping his gaze to the floor and letting go of her face.
"Oh. Yes, I'm very good at monster hunting." Vala twirled a finger between the buttons of his shirt.
"Jackson! The Gate's only gonna stay open so long!" Cam laughed out.
"So...anyway...I better go." Backing up slowly, Daniel grinned, his gaze still on Vala.
"Okay." Swallowing, Vala ducked her chin and lifted her eyes to him. "I really love you, Daniel."
"I know." Daniel turned and walked up the ramp to where Teal'c and Cam waited. He turned to look at Vala, and then suddenly walked back down the ramp, buzzed her with a sweet kiss on the lips, told her, "I love you, too. See you soon, Merry Christmas," and back up he went.
Mitchell's eyes rose to Landry in the control room, saw the general's curious scowl and trotted down the ramp, passing Daniel as he came up.
Daniel shot his CO a quick quirk of a brow, and watched as Mitchell placed a sloppy kiss just off to one side of Vala's surprised lips. "See ya soon, love ya, princess, Merry Christmas."
Teal'c, as usual following the unusual antics of his team, made his way down the ramp, kissed Vala's cheek, advising her, "I too have affectionate feelings for you and I will also see you soon, ValaMalDoran, Happy Holidays," and off he went up the ramp in time to follow his teammates through the Stargate.
Smiling, Vala glanced up at General Landry and then shrugged one shoulder, waited for him to turn and leave and then headed up to the control room to convince Walter that she needed to contact Samantha. Now.
~0~~0~~0~~0~~0~
"Hullo, Sam." Vala leaned close to the monitor, speaking quietly. "I know you weren't planning on coming home until after SG-1 gets back and we have our belated Christmas. But, Sam...are you busy?"
Sam did appear quite busy on the bridge of the George Hammond. She handed off a computer pad to Marks. "Yep, busy. Can we..."
"Too busy?" Vala's tone got Sam's full attention.
"No, what's up? And why are you still at the SGC instead of P34-901?"
"I suppose you haven't heard about my...er...breakdown."
Sam leaned forward, "What!"
"Oh, um, I'm much better. I had a fist fight with a box." Vala held up her gauze covered hands. "You see, someone brought back one of Qetesh's prized memento boxes and, ah, in there was...were...a few of my personal..."
"I have some leave. Besides, the crew would be happy to take Christmas day off. I'll..."
"It's not for me, Sam. Really. I'm fine. But sort of for me, like in support, I have to...well, not HAVE to, but have to...well, Daniel got one too."
Sitting back, same looked confused. "A box of Qetesh's?"
"Nope. A box of his parent's. Stuff, not the actual parents. It was sent from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It's been there since 1973. It was addressed to Daniel's parents via the museum. And it's from Egypt."
"Oh, boy. Okay, I'm on my way."
~0~~0~~0~~0~~0~
It took the two women at least thirty minutes to pry the top off the old wooden crate. When it did pop loose they both jumped back as if it contained a snake. A poisonous snake.
After a long moment, Sam looked over at Vala. "Okay. It's open. Go ahead."
Vala tiptoed forward, while remaining as far as possible as she peeked over the edge of the box.
"What do you see?"
"Paper. Old newspaper written in a weird language."
"Ah, I think that's a good sign. Go ahead. Find something in there and take it out to see what it..."
"Oooo." Vala crooned softly moving closer as her hand disappeared under the contents wrapped in the Egyptian newsprint and her eyes locked on something specific.
Sam took a step forward. "What?"
"Oh, Sam. It's...it's..." Vala pulled a ragged looking, well loved, teddy bear from the bottom of the crate.
Hands tenting over her nose and mouth, Sam whispered reverently. "Oh my God, I think I'm going to cry."
Big fat tears sat unreleased in Vala's large eyes, as she crushed the teddy bear to her chest. "Can't you just see him? Little round glasses and his teddy bear dangling by one arm?"
"He must have been adorable!" Sam agreed, wiping tears from her check.
"It's so sad. He didn't have this with him. I mean after...after..." Vala folded her legs and sat down on the floor by the crate, the bear still hugged tight to her.
"That." Daniel said from the doorway, "was packed away long before my parents died. I'd long outgrown Bes, there. But I'm pretty sure I was adorable."
"Daniel! What are you doing here!" Vala swiped the back of her hand across her face to dry her tears.
"Bess?" Sam asked for clarity.
"B. E. S. Bes, Egyptian god of protection. My mother named him. The bear, that is. And I'm here because I told Mitchell I had some monsters to chase." He stepped deeper into the room, followed by Cam and Teal'c.
"I decided that since I'm more the expert on monster chasin' I'd best follow Jackson back and help."
"And I, being the strongest, am best equipped to fight monsters. Though apparently, it is not a monster after all." Teal'c bowed.
Daniel took a seat on the floor next to Vala. "Well, it appears we've just begun our quest. So we need to keep looking for any possible monsters in here." He reached into the crate, grabbed a wrapped item and brought it back out. "Who's willing to open this one? After all it is time to unwrap presents, isn't it?"
"I'm sorry, darling, but my hands are full." Vala still clung to the teddy bear.
"Okay. Who's next?"
The others took a seat around the crate.
Cam took the object from Daniel and carefully unwrapped it. "It's a wristwatch. Man's, kinda big and cool lookin'. But kinda nerdy."
Everyone heard the deep breath Daniel took. "My dad's. He hated it, and I think if I remember correctly, it was a Christmas present from Nick the previous year."
Teal'c took the watch from Mitchell. "Is it then not a monster?"
Reaching up, Daniel accepted the wristwatch from Teal'c and tried it on. "Undecided." He blinked back the stinging in his eyes. "Next?"
"Alright." Sam reached into the box. "Okay, this is..." she pulled the paper from the small object. "Oh. Pair of hair combs. They look old. I mean antique, maybe Mid Eastern?"
She handed them to Daniel. "Moms. Also disliked and also from Nick. They were actually Russian, mom always thought Nick should have left them with the country of origin." Daniel handed the combs to Vala. "They'd look pretty in your hair. I'd like you to have them."
Vala cried openly, hugging the bear tighter with one hand and taking the combs with the other. She couldn't speak and Daniel only smiled and nodded.
"I believe it is my turn." Teal'c pulled out a large stack of books loosely bound in protective paper. "This one is L'Art Egyptien, by Jean Capart, written, I believe in French and dated 1909."
"Wow, that's a first edition." Daniel took the book and perused it closely.
"You mean the only things left are a bunch of old books?" Vala frowned.
"It appears so, ValaMalDoran."
"Not just old books," Daniel began to inspect the other ones. "Rare books. This is all three volumes, Ancient Egyptian Paintings, Nina Davies, 1936, and this one is Henry Corringe, 1882, Egyptian Obelisks. All well preserved. These are great!"
"And worth a fortune no doubt." Sam added.
"Fortune?" Vala looked up, interested.
Kissing her nose, Daniel insisted, "Not selling them," he looked up at Cam who was leaning into the box. "Anything else?"
Cam popped up, looking guilty.
"Ah. Found the monster did you?"
"I think so. Not sure, Jackson."
Everyone moved closer.
Vala grabbed Daniel's hand and squeezed it gently. "What is it, Cameron?" she insisted.
"Looks to be a small ring box. And somethin' else." Cam handed over the ring box, and waited.
First, Daniel looked at Vala.
"Can't darling, Bes in one hand and you in the other."
He turned to Sam.
She could only shake her head.
Turning, he eyed Teal'c. "I believe it is ColonelMitchell's turn, again."
"Nope. Not me. I can't. I hunt them down. My jobs done."
"Oh, for crying out loud, give it here!" Jack's outburst made them all jump.
"It couldn't be more then thirty minutes, hour at tops since we got back. How'd you know?"
"Does it matter, Mitchell? I brought cake. Christmas cake." Jack placed the cake box on the counter, "Sorry, guys, but I can't sit on the floor and the chairs are all taken." He reached for the box in Daniel's hand as he propped his six on the edge of the desk.
Easily, trustingly, Daniel let go of it.
"What do we have here? A ring. Woman's. Big honkin' ruby in a gold setting. The setting is ornate, carved. The Ruby sits up real high. Any ideas?" Jack looked at Daniel, the ring held between two fingers.
"My mother's engagement ring. She didn't wear it often, just when she dressed up. It was Nick's great grandmother's, who was supposedly some dutch royalty. Mom was afraid she'd lose it on a dig. Wow. Yep, that's a great big monster there." Daniel stared at the ring in Jack's hand for a moment, until the silence became uncomfortable. He looked around, no one was looking at him, or the ring, or Jack. They'd all respectfully dropped their gazes at Daniel's 'monster' declaration.
Quirking a brow, Daniel raised his eyes to Jack. The General was grinning foolishly and kept jerking his head towards Vala. Daniel narrowed his eyes, and shrugged as if to say, what!
Lifting the ring, once again Jack indicated Vala with a tilt of his head, and gave Daniel a well known look, as he verbalized the words he mouthed, 'her, dumb ass.'
"Oh!" Daniel jumped up and grabbed the ring, startling everyone. "Ah, okay. Not a problem." He stuffed the ring in his pocket. "Really, guys. Thanks for being here for me. It certainly lessened the blow. I say we have some Christmas cake."
They all stood except for Cam.
"Jackson. Wait. There's still the somethin' else down here. And man, it's a doozie."
They all turned and stared at the colonel as he rose from the floor.
"What is it?" Daniel asked quietly.
Cam pointed into the crate. "For you. You have to get this one. You have to open it."
Hearts began to beat faster as Daniel approached the crate and looked inside. He gasped, and leaned in to reverently pull the gaily wrapped present from the bottom of the box. The present, wrapped in some jazzy, colorful seventy's Christmas paper had a large gift tag that read, To: Danny. From: Mom and Dad.
Hands shaking, Daniel carried the gift to his desk, sat and stared at it.
"We should go." Sam offered.
"No. Don't."
They each heard the paper crinkle as Daniel meticulously began to unwrap it.
"Oh, thank goodness, just another old book." Vala let out her held breath.
Daniel smiled, nodding in agreement. "Apparently." He opened the flap to read and something slipped out. "Hm." He mumbled as he read the book information, still holding the fallen object in the other hand. "Mayan and Mexican Origins, first addition 1926, Leo Wiener."
Setting the book aside, he opened the envelope that had slipped out. "Merry Christmas, Danny." He read. "Here's our next adventure. Love, Mom, Dad and Grandfather Nick." Daniel held up four plane tickets to Belize, departing from New York on Christmas day, 1973, as he read off the name on each ticket. "Nicholas Ballard. Melburn Jackson. Claire Jackson. Daniel Jackson."
Vala rushed forward and threw her arms around his neck. Daniel pulled her into his lap, and wrapped his arms around her back, his face burrowing into her shoulder.
"Okay, that's it for now, campers. Let's move along. Carter, you bring the cake, and we'll meet up with these two later." Jack stood aside as the others left one by one. He took a quick look back. "Merry Christmas, Danny." he whispered, then whistling a Christmas tune, Jack took out after the cake.
~0~~0~~0~~0~~0~
"Any cake left?" Daniel asked, entering the commissary with Vala in tow nearly an hour later.
"Just a bit, Daniel. Vala's recruits showed up, but we did save you two some." Sam indicated a covered plate and gasped when Vala reached across her. "Oh my God! Oh...My...God!" Snatching Vala's hand Sam inspected the large ruby ring on her friend's left ring finger.
Teal'c smiled, bowing. "It arrived just in time, did it not?"
"Yeah, Teal'c it did." Daniel put his arm around Vala's waist and hugged her to him.
"What?" Mitchell asked, confused.
"The monster. Mitchell." Jack informed the colonel. "The monsters showed up just in time. Hey, you two?" Jack looked across to Vala, "Where's Bes?"
"In my room sleeping with my giraffe."
"Well, that's apropos. Christmas cake? It's red velvet with green icing."
~END