Not to Plan
Written for The Review Lounge, Too 2015 Green Room Challenge. Challenge Nine: The Passion Potion Challenge
Vala tried to hide her smirk as she slipped the lust potion to Daniel. She'd been trying to get him alone for weeks. The other members of her team knew she was up to something and hadn't let her alone with the man she'd been interested in for months. She thought her interest in Daniel would pass, but so far it hadn't. He had to be interested in her. She'd never known a man not to be interested in her. She'd see Cameron sending her the occasional look and would turn the heads of the men who belonged to the SGC. But not Daniel or Teal'c neither or them showed any interested. Though Teal'c never really showed interested in anyone. Daniel on the other hand had shown his interest in other woman, but not her.
The lust potion she'd slipped him was ground up queen gou'ld larva. It was very difficult to get a hold of since the queens were in such demand and queen gou'ld even less so. Those larva were held by the most trusted non combat Jaffa. Not as powerful as the aphrodisiacs from a mature queen held by a host. But ground up could be used on a select few people. Vala had made sure that she was the only woman around Daniel.
"Cameron," Daniel called out to the Cornel. "Does this taste strange to you?"
She tried not to show any reaction as Cameron drunk the lust drink meant for only Daniel. They'd know she'd done something to the drink if she reacted.
"Tastes fine to me." Cameron replied. Handing the drink back to Daniel. "Why, what's wrong with it?"
"It tastes familiar. I can't place where I've had it before." Daniel replied.
"Isn't it just orange juice?" Cameron asked.
"That's exactly what it is." Vala told them taking a sip herself. The gou'ld lust potion didn't affect females. "Tastes normal to me."
She glanced at Daniel for signs of the lust potion working. He didn't need to consume much of his drink for it to take effect. He'd gone back to his reading. Not at all showing any affects by her potion. She glanced at Cameron who'd also consumed the potion. He was defiantly effected. Vala sighed. Nothing ever worked out when it came to her pursues of Daniel.
"Vala, I never noticed before, but your beautiful." Cameron said to her.
"Yes, yes. I know." She replied brushing him off. He gazed at her with a look of loving and longing.
Daniel's head snapped up from his book. "Vala, what did you do?" he accused her.
"Me, whatever do you mean?" She asked trying to play innocent, knowing very well that she wasn't fooling him.
"It's the drink isn't it." Daniel looked at the glass that still had orange juice left. He picked it up and out of her reach before she could drink the rest.
"Of course not. I drunk some as did you and we're both fine." Vala replied.
"So if I give this to Sam to test, she won't find it laced with anything?" Daniel asked in a disbelieving tone.
"Not at all." She replied, still trying to get the orange juice back.
Daniel was faster. He was already heading towards Carters lab with the orange juice. She chased after him, hoping she still had a chance to spill or drink the orange juice. Cameron following behind like a lost puppy.
"Sam, can you do me a favour and test this orange juice? For whatever would do this to Cameron." Daniel asked.
"You're really pretty Sam but not as beautiful as Vala. Isn't she just perfect." The dazed Cameron mentioned.
"What did you do?" Sam accused Vala.
"Why does everyone think it was me?" Vala asked.
Sam and Daniel both gave her the same look. "It's nothing dangerous, I swear." She told them after several moments. They both kept staring at her, not saying a thing. "It's a lust potion, made from queen gou'ld larva. It's not harmful. He'll be back to himself in no time."
Sam looked between Cameron and Daniel. "It was meant for Daniel wasn't it?"
"Cameron got your drink instead?" Sam asked.
"I've had some, I drunk more than he did." Daniel replied.
"And you feel find?" Sam questioned. "No effects at all."
"I'd say I'm very mildly affected." Daniel admitted. "It's heightened my awareness to the woman I find attractive."
"Who do you find attractive?" Vala asked him, hoping that it was her.
"Certainly not you. Who I find attractive is none of your business, Vala." Daniel snapped at her.
Vala pouted and sighed.
"It doesn't matter that Daniel doesn't find you attractive Vala. You're the most beautiful woman in the world." Cameron spoke up.
Sam couldn't help but laughing at her team mate. "He's going to regret what he's said when the effects wear off. I'll get to examining this right away." Sam held up the drink.
"I'll inform the General of what Vala has done." Daniel told them.
"I'll keep an eye on Vala." Cameron announced.
"You do that Cameron." Sam encouraged him. "Teach Vala a lesson."
"Will do ma'am." Cameron saluted Sam and kept watching Cameron.
SG-1
"Are you not well Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.
Daniel was sitting in his room at the base, looking at a photo of his long dead wife. He'd left his door open.
"Vala slipped me a lust potion made out of gou'ld larva. I've informed the General and he's taken SG-1 off of the mission schedule until the effects were off. Sam's analysing the drink now."
"You do not look affected." Teal'c observed.
"Only mildly affected. Cameron on the other hand is following Vala around like a lost puppy." Daniel told him.
"Maybe you are not fully affected since you've been under Hathor's influence once before." Teal'c suggested.
"I don't like thinking about the Hathor incident. Imagine if she'd succeeded." Daniel shuddered.
He and Teal'c sat in silence for a few moments. When Daniel started speaking again. "I miss Sha're. More than usual. It feels like I've just lost her again." He hugged the photo to his chest. "I love her more than anything else in the universe. I was attracted to her before I found out she'd been given to me. I enjoyed talking to her and learning from her. I wish that I was still on Abydos with her, Kasuf and Skaara. My family, the only true family I have had since my parents died when I was a child. The first time I felt I belonged somewhere. I don't think I can ever love anyone again the way I loved Sha're."
"Do you want to be alone Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.
"No, I don't want to be alone." Daniel told the jaffa.
"Then I will listen." Teal'c told his teammate and friend. Taking a seat instead of standing just inside the door.
SG-1
Vala sighed as Cameron followed her around the base. She couldn't get away from him. She'd wandered towards the room that belonged to SG-1. Daniel's door was open. He must have finished his meeting with the General already. She was about to barge in when she heard him talking about his wife. She stopped and eves dropped, hoping to learn something new so she could become the type of woman that Daniel was interested in.
"We shouldn't be listening in." Cameron told her just above a whisper.
"I want to learn more about SG-1. They won't tell us anything. We are a part of their team." Vala whispered back.
Cameron didn't argue with that point. He'd been kept out of the loop to certain things just as much as she had. Sam, Daniel and Teal'c are a close group and she and Cameron were the outsiders of the group despite all three insisting that they weren't.
"Maybe you are not fully affected since you've been under Hathor's influence once before." Vala heard Teal'c suggest.
That was it! The reason that Daniel wasn't really affected by the potion. He'd been under the full effects of a gou'ld Queen. A potion made up of gou'ld Queen larva was not as effective on those who'd survived being under a Queens influence. If she had known she would not have bothered with the potion.
She was about to leave when Teal'c had stopped talking, not wanting to be caught loitering outside Daniels room when Daniel started talking again. About his wife. A dead wife he still loved. She sighed. She'd never have a chance with him. She could never become like Daniel's wife because he'd never accept a replacement. He still hadn't moved on despite the number of years. If anyone won his heart, they would be a very lucky woman.
She walked off while Daniel was still talking with Teal'c
"I didn't know Daniel miss her so much. He never talks about her." Cameron said to her.
"I never had a chance with him." Vala sighed. "Never will have a chance with him. If I keep pursuing him it will end up in the creepy stalker category."
"I thought you'd crossed that line already when you gave him a lust potion." Cameron laughed. "But now that you've realised, you need to step back and look around you. There are plenty of other men in the sea that find you attractive."
Vala looked at Cameron, a blush plastered on his face.
"Potions worn off?" She asked.
"Potions worn off." Cameron replied. "While we were eavesdropping on Dr. Jackson. Sorry about anything stupid I may have said or done."
"Just inflated my ego by constantly telling me I was the most beautiful woman and telling the other woman I was prettier than they are." Vala smiled.
"I'm never going to live that down." Cameron groaned.
Vala smiled. Maybe she didn't need to look to far at all to find another fish. The potion didn't have its desired effect, but at least now she'd make an attempt to move on and build a proper friendship with Daniel, instead of attempting pursue a nonexistent relationship.