Five Valentine's Days of Vala Mal Doran

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate SG-1 or its characters, and I make no profit.

A/N: Just a silly little thing. As always, many thanks to the lovely AerynB for her beta work.

1. Vala first learned about the Tau'ri holiday Valentine's Day poking around on Daniel's computer. A holiday involving expensive gifts like jewelry and gourmet chocolate? Sign her up! She was sure she could have Daniel under her spell by then.

But then she found herself in the Ori galaxy. And even if she could figure out exactly what the equivalent date would be here, she didn't think it was worth mentioning to Tomin. He wouldn't approve of the extravagance anyway.

2. Samantha was an amazing friend. Really, who knew that Vala had been missing so much over the years by not having female friends? And when the first Valentine's Day where Vala was actually present on Earth rolled around, Sam came over with a friendly card and fancy chocolates and a nice bottle of wine.

The box of chocolates and the bottle of wine were both empty by the evening's end. It was one of the best nights of Vala's life.

3. The Ori and Goa'uld were gone. Vala was sure that Daniel would come around now. Surely he could see that they were perfect for each other, couldn't he? She certainly could!

But for all his genius, Daniel was a slow learner. He still rebuffed all her advances, and Valentine's Day was right around the corner. She would really love it if he could wake up before then. Sure, she wanted him madly in love with her for all time-but a diamond bracelet and another box of those expensive chocolates would be pretty sweet too.

But Daniel didn't cooperate with her wishes. And with Samantha now off on the Hammond, Vala ended up spending Valentine's Day alone.

It was fine, really. It was a stupid holiday anyway.

4. Vala had given up. She'd just enjoy Daniel's friendship and be grateful for all he'd done for her. Oh, she'd still flirt of course, but it was never going to lead to anything more. She knew that now.

Life was strange sometimes. Because the minute she'd given up her dogged pursuit of the man, Daniel seemed to decide he wanted her. Figure that one out.

They went to dinner (and Daniel actually called it a date!). They saw a performance of Driving Miss Daisy at the theater. They listened to jazz at the local coffeehouse. Vala was in heaven.

Then Valentine's Day rolled around. Vala tried hard to keep her expectations low. This "thing" with Daniel was still too new. She didn't even mention the upcoming holiday for fear of pushing him too hard and driving him away.

So when she walked into Daniel's office to see a dozen roses waiting for her, she was thrilled. She opened the card and found an invitation to dinner that evening.

After dinner, Daniel actually took her to a karaoke bar. And then he took her home to his apartment. And maybe it was a cheesy cliche, but Vala didn't care. Having Valentine's Day be the first time one of their dates culminated in a night together seemed perfect to her.

5. Vala didn't think any other Valentine's Day would ever compare to that first one with Daniel. Three years later, she learned she was wrong. Sure, her two-month old daughter wasn't old enough to appreciate the holiday. But Vala thought the tiny red teddy bear proclaiming "Daddy's girl" that Daniel bought was the sweetest thing she'd ever seen. And when he presented it with a flourish to the tiny baby who shared his beautiful blue eyes, Vala fell in love all over again.

It was definitely the best Valentine's Day ever.