Five Things Vala Has Stolen On Earth by Cleo the Muse
All Ages
Het (Daniel/Vala), Friendship (Daniel/Vala), Smarm, Romance
Warnings: My inner sap came out to play!
Synopsis: My very first entry for LJ's SG-1 Five Things community.
Status: Completed as of November 2, 2007
Five Things Vala Has Stolen On Earth
1. The first thing Vala stole on Earth was the SGC's premiere archaeologist. Actually, neither she nor the archaeologist were on Earth at the time, so technically he was stolen from Earth... or rather, from the Prometheus, which was what she'd really been out to steal in the first place. As far as prizes went, the double bonus of Tau'ri ship and Tau'ri captive was the best jackpot she'd ever landed.
Somewhere along the way, she forgot that beauty wasn't exclusive of brains, and made the mistake of underestimating Doctor Jackson's resourcefulness. Before long, she was forced to escape with a slightly-worse-for-the-wear al'kesh, but no one to keep her company.
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2. When Vala next stole something from Earth, she actually was on Earth to do it. There had been accusations that she'd come to steal the SGC's archaeologist again, but if that had really been her intent, she'd have lured him off-world, then kidnapped him. As it was, she came to Daniel's planet bearing the key to a fabulous treasure, hoping the handsome linguist would be able to translate the tablet and locate the prize. After gifting the Tau'ri with a generous share of the loot, she'd go back to her worlds and ways, and leave Daniel behind with his dusty artifacts.
Despite the copious wealth uncovered beneath the surface of their planet, the Tau'ri were entirely unwilling to let her have her rightful belongings. Even after the disaster with the Ancient communication device and the Ori village of Ver Eger, the SGC refused to compensate her for her contributions. Determined to not leave the wretched planet without at least something to show for her efforts, Vala waited until Daniel's back was turned, then collected a small gem-encrusted lump that looked like it might fetch a fair price off-world.
It wasn't meant to be. The guards found it in her pack, and Daniel caught her picking it out of his pocket after he confiscated it. Technically, she stole it twice, but the strange jewelry stayed on Earth, and Vala didn't.
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3. The third thing Vala stole on Earth was shoplifted from a mall in Colorado Springs in a demonstration intended to prove to Daniel how pathetic Tau'ri security measures were. It was a little girl's long white scarf, knitted from some incredibly soft fabric blend that just begged to be touched. Not knowing the item's origins, Daniel's friends largely ignored the accessory, though Vala was sure the woman, Sam, had given it an appreciative eye.
Everyone ignored what Vala had to say, too, so when it came time to prevent the Ori from finishing their Super Gate, Vala and her stolen scarf stalked off the Prometheus and went to save the galaxy themselves.
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4. It was a long time before she stole anything else on Earth. Daniel had given her his trust, and Vala found herself strangely unwilling to fail his expectations. That meant not stealing valuable items from anyone, anywhere--though she was sorely tempted every time she visited his office. The man hoarded treasure like a pharaoh, but seemed completely uninterested in the material worth of his possessions.
The day before he left for Merlin's Library at Camelot, the team plus Vala enjoyed a cheerful get-together at Daniel's apartment, which she had never before visited. Like his office on-base, the archaeologist's apartment was crammed with valuables from ceiling to floor, but at the same time, managed to avoid feeling cluttered. It was an even more eclectic collection than the one which graced his office, contrasting intricate designs with simple, antique with modern, and alien with mundane.
In the spare bedroom-slash-study, one corner bookshelf looked like some sort of bizarre shrine, and as Vala stared at it and tried to convince herself that Daniel hadn't taken up a strange religious observance, the man in question appeared.
"What is that?" she blurted less-than-tactfully.
"A giraffe," Daniel answered matter-of-factly. "A stuffed one."
She rolled her eyes. "I could guess that," she snorted, having occasionally watched Animal Planet. "I meant, what's it doing here amongst all your precious keepsakes?"
Daniel pushed up his glasses. "Well, actually Freckles there is a keepsake."
"Freckles?"
"Yeah. My parents died when I was a kid, and when I was staying in one of the better foster homes, I got the chicken pox from one of the younger children." He paused. "Er, chicken pox is--"
"A common childhood illness," Vala interrupted. "So, Freckles...?"
"Was given to me as a joke, since we were both covered in spots."
"Ah!" And now she understood the purpose behind this particular shrine: it wasn't the product of an unusual rite, it was an altar dedicated to Daniel's long-lost childhood, much like the box of cheap trinkets Vala kept beneath her bed. "So that's it?"
"Well, Freckles and I became good friends over the years," he confessed. "I could talk to him when there was no one else around who would listen, let alone understand me."
When Daniel got back from Camelot and was re-packing to head to England, he found he needed a reference he'd left in the study in his apartment. Stepping into the room, his eye was immediately drawn to the place where Freckles had once stood. In place of the giraffe was a note, written carefully in Vala's childish print.
It read: "You were gone, so I needed someone who'd listen."
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5. The last thing Vala stole from Earth was Daniel's heart, and after she carelessly broke it, there wasn't a hole-in-the-wall in the galaxy shadowy enough to hide from the wrath of Jack O'Neill. He and Teal'c cornered her in a tiny bedroom at the back of a crummy saloon, but were startled by her appearance. Her normally sleek hair was disheveled and frayed, her face streaked with dirt and stained by tear tracks. Even her usual close attention to her attire had suffered, as she lay huddled on her bed in an over-sized sweater that looked suspiciously like it belonged to Daniel.
The lecture Jack had mentally prepared died on his lips, slain by the obvious proof Vala really did have a conscience, and it was giving her hell over what she'd done to Daniel. No words were exchanged between Jack and Teal'c, either, as both men immediately knew what to do and did it. Dragging the sobbing, protesting wreck between them, the general and the Jaffa returned to Earth.
Daniel was waiting at the bottom of the ramp, stiff upper lip in place even though Jack could tell he was still ready to fall apart at a moment's notice. When Vala saw him, her knees nearly gave out, then just as abruptly, strengthened enough to let her leap free of the grip on her biceps and lunge for Daniel. Murmuring apologies again and again, she flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.
Daniel, it seemed, had stolen her heart, too.
Author's Notes:
//sells excess sap to Vermont for syrup-making//
#4 is my personal favorite, though.
...And for anyone who is following my LD story, I promise I have not forgotten it! Major English paper plus broken laptop equals one very annoyed Cleo.