Scars on the Inside

by Rachel500

When visitors from Vala's past arrive, she has to confront her time as Quetesh to save those who once abandoned her.

Stargate SG1 is somebody else's, probably MGM/Gekko Corp/Sci-fi, and I freely admit that whoever's it is, I'm borrowing their show and they retain all rights, etc

Author's Note: Written for the Women of the Gate ficathon. Prompt was "Aliens have landed and they're asking for you." Must have Vala as central character otherwise anything goes.

Set post Continuum around the time of SGA's S5 finale although the events of 'Enemy at the Gate' really play no part here. Mention of torture. Friendship/Gen but if someone wants to ship, I'm not going to stop them ;) Thanks to sky for the beta.

Scars on the Inside

'Aliens have landed and they're asking for you.'

Nothing good ever transpired after those words were spoken in Vala Mal Doran's experience. She pulled the spoon from her mouth with a faint plop, swallowed the sweet chocolate flavoured ice-cream and looked up at the guileless face of Chief Sergeant Harriman with a brilliant smile. 'Perhaps you can tell them I'm not here?'

Walter sneaked a look toward her lunch companions; Daniel Jackson and Cameron Mitchell. Her team-mates were already abandoning their food.

Daniel sighed in a heartfelt way as though aliens landing on Earth and asking for Vala was a regular occurrence. Which it wasn't, Vala thought, determinedly ignoring the incident two months before when an old acquaintance had turned up to ask for some money she may have owed him, and another incident, four months before that when another old associate had shown up. It really hadn't been her fault that he had stolen Daniel's car and taken off for parts unknown.

Mitchell patted Daniel's shoulder consolingly. 'Come on. Let's go see who's turned up this time.' He gestured at Walter. 'Briefing room, Walter?'

'Yes, sir.' Walter nodded.

Vala stayed where she was as the others followed the Sergeant from the mess. Personally, she had no intention of moving. She hadn't finished her ice-cream nor did she see why she had to meet with...

Daniel and Mitchell marched back into the mess. Daniel walked to one side of her; Mitchell to the other. They both grasped an arm and pulled her to her feet. She let go of the ice-cream reluctantly as they frog-marched her into the elevator where she finally shook herself free.

'I don't see why I have to be there.' Vala complained huffily, straightening her blue BDU shirt and fussing with her hair. She'd pinned it back in a ponytail similar to the one Samantha Carter sported but Vala had added a sparkly silver clip. She had never gotten used to the shapeless uniforms of the SGC and their rather dull colours.

'They asked for you.' Mitchell pointed out, folding his arms.

'And I declined to meet with them.' Vala shot back. 'Doesn't my opinion count for anything?'

Mitchell's look clearly told Daniel 'you take this one.'

'It's not that your opinion doesn't count,' Daniel began diplomatically, 'but...aren't you the least bit interested who they are and why they're here?'

'No.' Vala lied forcefully. OK, so she may be just the tiniest bit curious. Who wouldn't be? But that was hardly the point and...

The elevator slid to a halt and Daniel gestured for her to get out. She breathed in sharply, drew herself up and walked out with her head held high as though she hadn't been shanghaied into attending.

She entered the briefing room unsurprised to see her former team-mate Samantha Carter already there with General O'Neill and Teal'c. Sam was temporarily in charge of the SGC while Landry was away in Washington, and the General – Jack – was often in and out of the base in his role as Head of Homeworld Security. They were obscuring Vala's sight of the visitors but as though they had sensed her, they shifted and Vala came to a startled halt.

The man and woman rose from the table to greet her. They both had the same dark hair as Vala; the same shape to their faces; same slim build. A jagged scar bisected the woman's left cheek and the man had no right arm but the familial resemblance was astonishingly clear despite their staid grey clothing.

'Abrose. Lienne.' Vala stated their names tentatively.

'Cousin.' Abrose said deeply. He looked older, she mused absently. He'd put on weight and there was a marriage insignia adorning the upper right of his chest in the fashion of their home planet Callista. He also wore the medal of honour and the pin of a High Councillor. Clearly Abrose was considered a hero and a leader.

Lienne hadn't changed much in comparison. Vala's eyes skipped over the scar to focus on her cousin's otherwise flawless skin and neat appearance. She looked as sombre as Abrose, wore the same High Councillor pin, and Vala found herself missing the messy, fiery child prone to lose her temper she remembered.

'Cousin?' Mitchell repeated, his Kansas drawl more pronounced, as he side-stepped Vala to get a better look. 'You folks related to Vala?'

'We are.' Lienne's tartness indicated that she considered their relationship a bad thing.

Vala felt the stab of hurt as Lienne had no doubt intended. She almost jumped as a hand settled on her arm. She looked up at Daniel who offered her a small smile; his blue eyes kind with understanding.

'Maybe we should sit.' Daniel suggested.

Val a nodded jerkily. She really didn't know what her cousins would want with her. The three of them had been as thick as...well, thieves, when they had been children but Quetesh had taken her as a host and made the others her slaves. She hadn't seen them since the Tok'ra had left her to the mercy of her people and she'd discovered they'd had none to give her.

'Perhaps if this is nothing more than a family reunion we should leave you to it.' Sam said softly, looking from Vala to her cousins and back again.

'No!' All three of them spoke in unison.

Vala sent Sam a tight smile. 'That won't be necessary, Samantha.' She looked coolly back at her cousins. 'I'm sure we have nothing to say to one another.'

'We're here on behalf of the governing body of Callista to request the help of the Tau'ri and our cousin.' Abrose said firmly to Sam. He turned to Vala. 'We're here to offer you the throne.'

She didn't need to look at her team-mates to know they were wearing matching looks of shock and surprise.

'I don't want it. I've never wanted it.' Vala said clearly. Her stomach churned at the thought, at the memories the offer evoked. 'Now if that's all...'

'This isn't just about you.' Lienne's dark eyes flashed. 'Do you really think we would be here if it was?'

There was a taut silence.

Sam cleared her throat. 'Why don't we sit down?'

They all took seats.

Vala avoided looking at her cousins, pinning her gaze instead on the surface of the polished briefing room table. SG1 aligned itself on her side of the table: Daniel sat next to her, Teal'c on her other side and Mitchell beside him. Sam and Jack both sat towards the top, sharing the space. It left Abrose and Lienne on the opposite side of the table alone.

'So,' Sam said with false brightness, 'perhaps Abrose, Lienne, you could explain from the beginning.'

Abrose sighed. 'Our planet, Castilla, is in need of a leader.'

'And Vala is next in line to inherit the throne?' Daniel clarified.

'Yes.' Lienne replied. 'Our mothers were princesses in the royal line before Quetesh assumed dominion.'

'Vala is the rightful Queen.' Abrose added. 'The people of Castilla wish her to return and lead us.'

'Well, they'll be waiting a very long time!' Vala retorted.

'You don't know how it has been!' Lienne responded angrily. 'We had only just healed from Quetesh's reign when the Ori arrived. We have spent the past two years trying to put all the years of turmoil behind us. With the new threat...'

'Excuse me.' Jack O'Neill cut in ruthlessly. He waved a hand at them. 'What new threat?'

Abrose shifted his attention to the General. 'Callista is situated in the Jarkora system. There are three other inhabitable planets apart from Callista and all three have recently fallen under the rule of Gallas.'

Vala's eyes widened. She hadn't heard that name in a while.

'And by fallen?' Daniel probed.

'They have been conquered; their governments executed and their people turned into slaves.' Abrose said. 'It is only a matter of time before Gallas turns his attention to Callista.'

'And we should be worried about this...why?' Jack asked bluntly.

'Jack.' Daniel protested.

'Daniel.' Jack raised an eyebrow. 'I'm just saying...'

'Is Gallas part of the Lucien Alliance?' Mitchell inquired. 'I can't remember seeing his name on any of the intelligence.'

'He isn't.' Vala answered before she could stop herself. She pressed her lips together as though to prevent herself from saying anything further.

'You know him.' Daniel said quietly.

'Gallas was Quetesh's consort for a time.' Lienne explained when Vala stayed quiet. Her eyes flickered accusingly to Vala again.

'He's Goa'uld?' Sam asked sharply.

Vala sighed. 'He's Jaffa.' She squirmed on the hard chair. 'He was her First Prime.'

Everyone's eyes went to Teal'c.

'I have not heard his name before. The Jaffa society continues to rebuild slowly in the wake of the Ori's destruction of Dakara.' Teal'c said. 'However, many served under the Goa'uld and know the strategies for conquering worlds.'

'We thought if Vala was to return and, perhaps with the help of the Tau'ri, Callista might be able to avoid the fate of our sister planets.' Abrose sighed tiredly. 'Please. We have little time.'

Vala opened her mouth to refuse again and stopped as Sam shot her a look.

'If we can ask you to leave us while we discuss this.' Sam said, rising. She motioned a SF forward. 'Please show Abrose and Lienne to a VIP room and arrange refreshments.'

Lienne looked as though she wanted to argue but Abrose nudged her and they left.

Sam sat down again. 'Vala,' she looked at her sympathetically, 'it would help if you could provide some background.'

She could do that. Keep to the facts. Plain and simple. Vala wet her lips. 'Callista is my home planet. '

'And you were a princess.' Mitchell's comment was devoid of his usual teasing tone.

'Until Quetesh.' Daniel supplied as sober as Mitchell.

Vala smiled coldly. 'And then I was a Goddess.' She couldn't do it. Couldn't sit and explain even to the people she'd gotten closest to in the whole universe just what had happened to her. She pushed away from the table. 'I...uh...'

Sam lurched to her feet. 'Gentlemen, excuse us.' She was suddenly beside Vala, taking her arm and corralling her into the adjoining office before Vala could protest. She shoved Vala into one of the leather visitor chairs. Vala watched wide-eyed as Sam pulled out a hairpin from her blonde locks and used it to break into a side-cabinet. A bottle of bourbon appeared along with a glass.

Vala's eyes widened. She had never been able to find the General's stash and she had looked. Several times.

Sam poured a large measure and handed it to her. 'Here.'

Vala found her hands were trembling as they wrapped around the glass. She took a sip and the fiery liquid burned a path down her throat.

Sam sat in the chair beside her. 'Let me summarise this: Quetesh attacked Callista and took you as her host.' She began. 'She did a lot of terrible things to the people there. The Tok'ra turned up and extracted Quetesh but the people there didn't understand that you had no part in Quetesh's actions.' She paused. 'How am I doing so far?'

'Fine.' Vala said shakily.

'You were forced to leave Callista.' Sam continued. 'You've never gone back and have no intention of doing so.'

Vala nodded. 'Only replace 'forced to leave' with almost stoned to death, crawled to the nearest space ship and fled in fear of my life and there you have it.' She didn't look at Sam; didn't want to see the pity on the other woman's face. She hid her own in the crystal glass and swallowed some more bourbon.

'Were all the planets in the Jarkora system under Quetesh's rule?' Sam asked.

'Hmm-hmm.' Her words muffled by the glass.

'What's Gallas like?' Sam asked.

Vala finally looked at her friend.

Sam looked back at her expectantly without any of the pity Vala had expected. She frowned. A little pity would have been nice; she had been stoned after all.

'Vala?' Sam prompted.

'Gallas is exceptionally bright.' Vala admitted, unwillingly casting her mind back. 'Focused. Ruthless. He was a very good First Prime.' She smiled bitterly and set the empty glass down carefully on the table. 'He was also incredibly loyal to Quetesh.'

Sam tapped her fingers on the chair. 'Vala, it sounds as though Gallas is reforming Quetesh's empire.'

Vala nodded. 'It's possible.' She sighed and sat back, folding her arms over her chest. 'It would certainly explain why Abrose and Lienne might want me back. They probably think Gallas wouldn't attack with 'Quetesh'', she mimed the quotation marks around the name, 'in place as leader.'

'Did the Tok'ra kill Quetesh?' Sam asked bluntly.

Vala gave a humourless laugh. 'I was slightly occupied at the time, Samantha, I didn't notice.' And in truth hadn't cared what had happened to the Goa'uld. She froze as she realised what Sam was inferring. 'You think Quetesh is still alive?' Her heart was pounding was fast; there was a buzzing in her ears.

Sam reached out and grasped her hands firmly, anchoring her back to reality. 'I'm sure the Tok'ra would have executed her, Vala, but...as much as I would like to tell your cousins to go screw themselves, this situation warrants investigation whether Gallas is making a power play on his own behalf or in the name of Quetesh.'

Vala's heart sank. Investigation. That meant going back to Callista.

'You don't have to go.' Sam said immediately. 'Nobody will blame you for not wanting to go back there.'

'But?' She prompted lightly.

'But, maybe this is an opportunity to face what happened and put it all behind you.' Sam suggested.

Vala grimaced. She didn't want to face it. She had put it behind her years ago. She had.

'Just a thought.' Sam said mildly as though reading Vala's mind. 'We should brief the guys.' She looked at Vala keenly. 'Are you ready?'

'Lead on.' Vala muttered. She followed Sam out of the office reluctantly and retook her place, avoiding her team-mates' eyes.

Sam sat down and clasped her hands on the table. 'It's possible Vala's people want her back because they think Vala equals Quetesh to Gallas, and they think it will deter him from conquering them.'

Vala blushed as she felt Daniel's eyes on her. She'd told Daniel some of it once in a fit of pique and hurt but when he'd questioned whether it was true, it had been easier to brush it off as her usual game-playing than to seem pathetic.

'It is unlikely Gallas would be unaware of the difference.' Teal'c pointed out. 'As First Prime he would know Quetesh was a Goa'uld in possession of a host.'

'So the leadership wouldn't gain them an advantage.' Mitchell concluded.

'We agree.' Sam indicated Vala and herself. 'However Gallas was devoted to Quetesh. He seems to be reforming her empire. Now it's possible he's doing this all in the name of his long lost Queen or...'

'Or Gallas believes Quetesh is alive.' Daniel replied, getting where Sam was headed immediately. Vala wasn't surprised. Daniel was too intelligent for his own good. He'd probably worked it out for himself while she had been drinking bourbon and feeling sorry for herself.

'Either way we should go and investigate.' Mitchell said. 'If Quetesh is alive and trying to regain power or whether this is just a rogue Jaffa deciding conquering human worlds is the way to go...'

'He must be stopped.' Teal'c concluded.

'Which is why I'm inclined to authorise a mission to gather intel, understand the threat, and to render Callista help in the shape of advice and support.' Sam said. She glanced toward Jack as though for a second opinion.

He gestured at her. 'It's your call.' He said. 'I'm just here to...' he stopped as he struggled for an explanation about why he was there.

'Be a pain in the ass?' Daniel looked up from his scribbling to dart a sly glance at Jack.

'Provide the benefit of my wisdom.' Jack shot back but with a smirk.

'Yes, because...'

'Daniel.' Sam shut him up with a stern look which she then levelled at the General who was taking delight in Daniel being reprimanded. Jack gave her a 'he started it' look but subsided.

'It'll probably help for us to gather intel on one of the planets he's already conquered.' Mitchell noted. 'Understand the spiel he's giving the populace; his method of invasion.'

Vala grimaced. She really, really, really didn't want to go.

'Sounds like a plan.' Jack said. 'You'll need the Odyssey and the cloaking technology. I can authorise that.'

Mitchell looked at Vala. 'Maybe you should sit this one out.'

Her chin went up. 'You'll need information.' She argued before wondering why on Earth she was arguing: she didn't want to go.

'Which your cousins could provide.' Daniel shrugged and pointed his pen at her.

'I am a still member of SG1, aren't I?' Vala demanded, annoyed at their attempts to protect her. She may not want to go but it should be her decision whether she went or not.

'Of course.' Sam assured her.

'If SG1 is going; I'm going.' Vala said determinedly. Hopefully, Sam would assign someone else...

Sam nodded with finality and tapped the table. 'Then SG1, you have a go.'

Vala felt her stomach drop. It seemed she was going home, after all.

o-O-o

The Odyssey appeared in hyperspace above Callista with little ceremony and Vala absently heard Mitchell order the cloak to be engaged.

Most of the journey to Callista had been unremarkable. They had stashed the small ship Abrose and Lienne had used in the 302 hold and Vala knew her cousins were somewhere on board but she had given them a wide berth. She believed they had done the same with her. She knew Daniel and Mitchell had spoken with them to get information on the current political situation on Callista (stable), and Gallas (they only knew he was intent on conquering planets and Callista was next). Abrose and Lienne hadn't been pleased by the general consensus that Vala resuming her place as leader wouldn't be an option.

Vala inwardly acknowledged that Callista must be desperate to consider it. With the exception of a few, nobody had been able to distinguish between host and ruthless Goa'uld in the immediate aftermath of the extraction, and given the continued tension between her and her cousins, Vala believed they still had difficulty. For them to want her back and risk Quetesh's rule to avoid Gallas...she supposed it was a case of better the devil they knew.

Vala looked down at the planet below from the bridge and placed a hand on her belly. It had changed so little. The same green land masses peeked through the swirling clouds; the same ring of naquadah meteor debris that had caused their Stargate to fail so many centuries before –something to do with magnetisation in the atmosphere disrupting the wormhole – surrounded the planet.

She wondered if the same city square was used for the weekly market. If the house she had grown up in still stood with its large rambling garden that her mother had tended. She remembered how the large purple tarma flowers her mother had favoured had perfumed the air with lemon and jasmine.

Or did they still make sweet sticky gihka? The breakfast bread she had loved. She placed a hand on her lips almost tasting the sugary dough. She missed the scent of hallow stew and fire-roasted cranack bird.

Vala took a deep breath. She wasn't going down to the planet. They had established in the briefing that morning that there was no need. She was surprised at the want to go that rose up as homesickness swamped her. Maybe there would be time after the mission for a small visit; perhaps to pay her respects at her mother's grave...she hadn't been able to do that in a very long time.

'How long ago since you left?' Daniel asked quietly as he moved to stand beside her.

'Years.' Vala replied succinctly. She'd run to her father of all people. That was how desperate she'd been. It had enabled her to survive. She'd learned enough in the time she had spent with him and her step-mother about conning people – or how not to con people – to stay alive.

'You know you don't have to do this.' Daniel said. 'We'll all understand if you want to sit this one out.'

She looked at him surprised. For the three days of the interminable journey, he'd done nothing but talk to her about closure and finding peace with the past whenever he'd managed to pin her down. It seemed a remarkable turnabout.

Daniel shifted uncomfortable under her pointed gaze. 'This has to be hard on you.'

'Thank you for noticing, Daniel.' Vala said with false sweetness. She wasn't certain she could survive him being kind to her.

'Vala,' he said with a touch of his usual exasperation with her, 'I just meant...'

'I know what you meant, Daniel.' Vala interrupted him. 'But I'm fine.' She turned to make her exit only to stop as Abrose and Lienne entered the bridge.

They all looked at each other warily.

Mitchell cleared his throat from the command chair. 'We're the only ship in orbit and we're cloaked. Long range sensors are picking up a mothership and a variety of alkesh in the vicinity. They shouldn't be able to detect us.'

Abrose gestured with his only hand. 'We should take our ship and report to the Council.' His green eyes flickered to Vala's. 'We need to inform them of the change in plan as you have refused the throne.'

Vala stiffened at the implied criticism.

'As we told you before, Gallas will know Vala Mal Doran is not Quetesh. There is no strategic advantage to your people in her assuming a place as leader.' Teal'c pointed out, moving to flank Vala on her right.

'So you have said.' Lienne's chin lifted; the scar tissue on her face mottled with the artificial lights. Her eyes flickered angrily towards Vala. 'I might have known you would never make amends and do the right thing.'

'Look,' Daniel began heatedly.

'Leave it, Daniel.' Vala insisted, cutting in before he could defend her.

Lienne laughed harshly. 'Are you scared they might learn the truth of what you did?'

'I think you should leave now.' Mitchell said with a snap of cold authority that Vala had rarely heard him use. 'We'll see what we can find out and contact you.'

Abrose touched Lienne's arm and they left.

Vala waited a heartbeat before she went after them.

'Abrose. Lienne.' Her call had them halting further down the corridor and she hurried to catch them up. She stopped a foot away from them. Abrose's one hand clasped Lienne's upper arm as though he was holding his sister back. It was entirely possible he was, Vala determined. Abrose had always been the more level headed of the two.

She wet her lips suddenly unsure why she had given into the impulse to follow them and uncertain what to say. There was only one thing and it was never enough. 'I'm sorry.' She said it again. 'I don't know how many times I can say it or how many times I can tell you that it wasn't me.'

'If you were really sorry you would do your duty and return.' Lienne bit out.

'And if I thought that my assuming the throne would help in any way, that it would make up for all the depravity Quetesh inflicted on Callista, I would.' Vala rushed out in defence, her words ringing with a truth she hadn't even acknowledged to herself. 'But it won't.' And she feared it would only open up old wounds; for her, for Callista. She pushed the thought away. 'Gallas isn't stupid. He knows the Tok'ra removed Quetesh from my body.'

Abrose squeezed Lienne's arm to prevent her speaking. 'But you were Quetesh.'

'It wasn't me.' Vala said strongly. 'I was possessed by the Goa'uld.'

'It was by your hand Abrose lost his arm! Your hand that did this!' Lienne pointed at her scar. 'You held the sword! Even if what you say is true you could have stopped it!'

'No.' Daniel walked up to stand next to her. 'No, she couldn't.'

'The host is controlled completely by the Goa'uld.' Teal'c added as he came to stand behind her. 'Vala Mal Doran could do nothing but watch, trapped within her own mind.'

Abrose looked at the two men. 'Is this really true?'

Lienne wrenched her arm free of Abrose's grip. 'They lie for her.'

'What possible reason could they have to lie to you?' Vala demanded almost stamping her foot in frustration. Anger surfaced and she sighed dramatically. 'Fine. Believe what you want. You always have. I don't know why I thought this time would be any different.' She gestured at them. 'At least I know I was possessed when Quetesh,' she emphasised the Goa'uld's name, 'harmed you. You can't say the same about when you threw the first stone at me!'

She whirled around, pushed past her team-mates and strode away. Tears burned the back of her eyes. Tears of anger, thought Vala defiantly. She would not waste any more tears of actual sorrow on them. She had a life now; a good life with people who believed in her, who cared for her. She didn't need Abrose or Lienne; didn't care if they thought she was Quetesh...

She stumbled into her quarters and crumpled. She collapsed on the small bed. Her hands over her face; sobs shaking her frame with every breath. She was too upset to be startled when Daniel entered. She didn't murmur when he simply sat on the bed and pulled her onto his lap; as he held her while she cried.

Eventually, the tears subsided and awareness of where she was seeped through. Vala didn't move; content to stay where she was. She didn't snuggle closer for fear he'd leave, just lay still enjoying the clean masculine scent of his aftershave underpinned by soap and the unique scent that was Daniel. He'd held her the same way when the Ori had burned her and brought her back to life. She felt as safe as she had then, and more importantly, cared for.

Someone cared for her; it mattered to him whether she lived or died. That was the gift Daniel had given her along with his belief that she could be more than a thief and a con-artist. He had been the first person after everything with Quetesh who had looked at her and seen her. And in the wake of her argument with her cousins, the reaffirmation of that was a balm to her soul.

She shifted from his grip and he let her go. Vala swiped at her damp cheeks as she walked over to the small window and looked out at the vista of stars. He was probably waiting for the light-hearted quip or the ribald come-on that she would normally roll out, Vala realised. She couldn't muster the energy to do either.

'Will you tell me?' Daniel asked as the silence stretched.

'You know.' Vala said without pretending to misunderstand him.

'Not all of it.' Daniel said.

'What's the point?' Vala replied wearily.

Daniel moved and she felt him standing behind her. 'It might make you feel better.'

'Please.' Vala said dryly. 'If you mention closure one more time...'

'Vala.' Daniel sighed. 'Haven't we been through enough together by now for you to, I don't know, trust me?'

Was that why she hadn't told him, Vala wondered? Had she thought Daniel would turn on her if he knew the whole truth? And didn't she know him better than that? If there was one person she could trust with the truth, it was Daniel.

It was hard to begin. She kept her gaze on the stars. 'It was night when Quetesh attacked. My Aunt Bella was Queen. We were all staying with her in the palace for the mourning period for my mother who had just died. I remember the building shaking; the shouts as the Jaffa landed.' She raised a hand and touched the hard wall of the ship as though she needed the physical reminder to keep herself in the present.

'Our forces were quickly subdued; many were slaughtered in such a small amount of time.' She remembered the bloodied bodies of the soldiers and the palace staff littering the corridors as they had been marched to meet Quetesh. 'We were all taken to the throne room.' She stared out at the stars. 'Quetesh was old. She had all the women stripped naked and examined us one by one as though we were nothing more than merchandise. She chose me.' Her voice shook and she took a breath.

'Gallas and the other Jaffa held me down while Quetesh...' Vala trembled. 'I don't remember anything hurting as much and then, I wasn't me anymore.' She straightened abruptly.

'Quetesh killed Bella then.' Vala continued simply. 'Just picked up a sword and beheaded her.' She sighed. 'I fought her but it was useless. She killed Bella's son and then Abrose's and Lienne's mother, Ella.' She rubbed her arms as though she could reach through time and remove the blood that had covered her. 'Abrose and Lienne were begging me to stop and Gallas told them that I was dead; that nothing of the host remained.' She swallowed the lump in her throat. 'Quetesh maimed them; sent them away to die. I don't know what happened to them.'

'When was the next time you saw them?' Daniel asked quietly.

'Just after the extraction ceremony.' Vala grimaced. 'The Tok'ra told them Quetesh was gone and I was restored. He left and I tried to go to them; I tried to explain but...' she shrugged, 'I think they just couldn't believe that I couldn't have had any influence on Quetesh; that if I was still inside my body that it must mean that I was in collusion with what had happened.' She grimaced. 'All in all I think they would have preferred that I had died.'

'They had you stoned.' Daniel said.

'Yes.' She finally turned around and almost took a step away at the anger shining in his blue eyes. Not at her, she realised; at Abrose and Lienne, for every one of her people who had thrown a stone. She resisted the urge to reach out to him. 'My old nurse, Mina, she stopped it. She had her sons take me into the palace; she bandaged my wounds and told me I had to leave. So I did.' She stuck her hands in the back pockets of her pants. 'So there you have it. My sad little story.'

She made to move past him and Daniel blocked her way.

'Don't.' Vala looked down at the floor. 'I'll just start crying on you again,' she tried a light-hearted tone, 'and I'm not sure...'

He gently tugged her into a hug and Vala let him, resting her forehead on his shoulder.

'I want to visit my mother's grave, Daniel.' The words tumbled out of her as she fiddled with the zipper on his jacket.

'We'll go.' Daniel promised, his breath stirring her dark hair. 'When this is over.'

She nodded. When it was over.

o-O-o

The mess on the Odyssey seemed unusually quiet but that could have been because most people were sleeping, Vala mused. She was relieved about that. She spooned more sugar into the dark brew of her coffee and stirred it precisely, letting her thoughts drift away as she watched the liquid swirl in the metal cup. She blew on the hot liquid and took a scalding sip.

'Couldn't sleep?' Mitchell hovered by the table, a cup in one hand and a plate with a slice of pie in the other.

Vala sighed and gestured at him to join her. She ignored him and looked out onto the stars. They were travelling to the nearest occupied planet, Jargo. It was only guarded by a single alkesh and as the closest planet to Callista seemed convenient.

'You straight on the plan for tomorrow?' Mitchell asked, digging into his pie.

Vala nodded. The plan was a simple one: Daniel and Mitchell would beam down to the surface and mingle with the general population on the planet, gather intel. Vala would remain aboard the Odyssey along with Teal'c. They couldn't take the risk of either of them being recognised.

'Anything else we need to know about Jargo?' Mitchell pressed.

Vala shook her head.

Mitchell put his fork down. 'You OK?'

Vala frowned at his suddenly compassionate expression. 'Daniel told you.' She stated with a sigh.

'No.' Mitchell shook his head. 'You know Jackson. He wouldn't betray a confidence.'

'Then...' She began confused.

'It doesn't take a genius to work out this has to be stirring up some stuff for you.' Mitchell remarked bluntly.

Vala shifted on the chair and folded her arms. She really didn't want to discuss it anymore.

'You know my Grandma used to say that some people wear their scars on the outside and others wear them on the inside.' Mitchell continued. 'Either way, they're still scars.'

Vala couldn't look at him. She stared out of the window.

'Look,' Mitchell sighed as she remained silent, 'I just want you to know that, well, we're all here for you. You're part of this team now; you don't have to go through this alone.'

She turned and looked at his earnest expression. It was that simple for Mitchell. She felt tears rising again and blinked them away furiously. She gestured at him with a wide smile instead. 'Does this mean I can have some of your pie?'

She wondered if Mitchell would call her on it for a long moment but he just pushed the half-eaten dessert into the centre of the table and handed her his fork.

She'd barely finished it when Teal'c entered the mess and made his way to the table. She watched as Mitchell exchanged places with him without saying a word. She debated briefly whether to be touched or irked that they evidently felt she needed support and wanted to give her it.

Teal'c inclined his head toward her in silent greeting, placing his own cup on the plastic table top. She waited for him to begin what was no doubt another pep talk. She wasn't quite certain she was up to it. Teal'c remained silent though, seemingly content to simply keep her company.

Vala found her muscles slowly relaxing and she pulled her feet up onto the seat of the chair, drawing her knees close to her chest. She looked out onto the stars.

Not that the boys weren't great but she wished Sam could have come with them, Vala thought absently, as she placed her chin on her knees. Sam knew what it was like to be a host – an unwilling one regardless of the fact that her symbiote had been Tok'ra and Vala's Goa'uld. It might have made the trip easier. Or harder, Vala reflected. Sam knew whereas the others could only guess.

But not even Sam knew everything. She'd had a taste of a symbiote threatening loved ones but she hadn't actually witnessed herself inflict violence on them; she hadn't had to endure the symbiote using her to torture people; hadn't had to see her burn houses to the ground, kill for sport and amusement; hadn't had the symbiote use her body for sex that was only another form of physical gratification to the Goa'uld.

Quetesh had been coldly brutal. She'd killed indiscriminately; inflicting as much pain as possible. She'd had a clever, quick, agile mind, and her methods had been imaginative; horrific. Rape, physical assault, mental terror; Quetesh employed them all. Ba'al had even admired her methods.

She shivered and hunched her body closer to her knees.

What if Quetesh was still alive? Could she even face that? She wasn't sure what would be worse: meeting Quetesh in another host and knowing what the Goa'uld could do to her or becoming Quetesh again.

And even if Quetesh wasn't alive, if it was only Gallas, wasn't that bad enough? The First Prime had learned at Quetesh's hand. He had carried out some of her worst punishments. He knew how to terrify and inflict pain. How could she face him? She didn't have to, Vala reminded herself. The plan didn't call for her to be anywhere near to Gallas. Of course it wouldn't be the first time one of their plans had gone wrong.

'I will allow no harm to come to you, Vala Mal Doran.' Teal'c's gentle voice broke into her reverie. She turned to look at him, resting her cheek on knees. His dark gaze held hers with a quiet promise.

Vala slowly slid a hand across the plastic table and Teal'c's hand moved to cover hers.

o-O-o

Vala settled into the command chair of the Odyssey, squirming into the solid leather.

'Hey.' Mitchell shot her a teasing look. 'Don't get too comfortable. I'm going to want that back.'

Vala simply smiled sweetly at him. She looked over the boys. They were decked out in the clothing indigenous to Jargo; tight grey pants, blousy open-fronted white shirts and billowing grey capes. They looked yummy if self-conscious.

'Ready?' Mitchell asked.

'Whenever you are.' Vala replied brightly. She hid her smile at his pointed look. 'Oh! You meant was Daniel...'

Daniel sighed at her antics and turned to the Jaffa behind her. 'We'll check in once we have something.'

Teal'c inclined his head.

'All you need to do is sit tight here.' Mitchell said. 'Just keep a lock on us in case we need an emergency beam out.' His eyes slid to Major Marks who nodded briskly.

'Got it.' Vala said.

Mitchell sketched a salute and gave a nod. There was a flash of white light as they beamed them down to the planet below.

'Successful transport.' The Captain at the transporter controls informed them.

Vala glanced across at Marks who carried on his work. She sighed heavily and glanced at the young Captain on her other side, who also ignored her in favour of work. She looked around and caught Teal'c's chiding stare.

This was going to be very boring, Vala realised with a sinking heart.

Her view didn't change as the hours passed. She ended up sprawled across the command chair, legs hanging over one side, head smushed into the back cushions as she dozed.

'Uh-oh.' Marks said.

Vala started and swung her legs down to sit up straight, pulling her jacket down. 'I'm awake.' She said loudly. 'I'm awake.'

Teal'c raised an eyebrow from his position at a monitor to the left and turned to Marks. 'What concerns you, Major Marks?'

'Gallas's mothership is on the move.' Marks informed them.

'Destination?' Teal'c asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

Marks made a face. 'He's heading for Callista, sir.'

Every muscle in Vala's body tensed. She couldn't let Gallas have Callista. The thought crystallised in her head. Whatever had happened, it was still the planet of her birth. 'How fast is he going?'

'At his present speed, he'll be there in a day.' Marks informed her.

'That's OK.' Vala said out loud. 'Daniel and Mitchell are due back in two hours. We can break orbit and follow him.'

'To do what, Vala Mal Doran?' Teal'c asked bluntly. 'Were not our orders to advise and support only?'

'Well, support is such a wide term of reference don't you think?' Vala smiled beguilingly.

Teal'c looked back at her evenly.

'Odyssey, come in!' Mitchell's voice sounded through the communications system.

'Odyssey here.' Marks responded.

'Beam us up!' Mitchell sounded breathless as if he was running.

Marks nodded across at the Captain who frowned.

'We have a problem, sir.' She looked at Marks with a faintly panicked expression. 'We can't get a lock.'

'Colonel, we're having some trouble with our transporters.' Mark radioed back.

'Well, fix the damn....hell!'

There was a burst of static or perhaps gunfire. Vala shot an alarmed look at Teal'c.

'This is Teal'c, Colonel Mitchell.' The Jaffa said urgently. 'What is your status?'

'Pretty much fu...' Mitchell was cut off.

There was a terrible silence in the Odyssey.

'You know I think he was about to say a rude word.' Vala said trying to lighten the moment.

'Indeed.' Teal'c said with meaning.

'Sir,' the Captain spoke urgently, 'something was just transported to the alkesh from the surface. I got a brief signal from Doctor Jackson's and Colonel Mitchell's transponders on the alkesh before they raised shields.'

'It's breaking orbit.' Marks noted, already keying in the instructions for the Odyssey to follow. 'It's heading for Callista.'

'They will rendezvous with Gallas and hand over the prisoners.' Teal'c murmured. He looked at Vala. 'It appears we will need to affect a rescue on Callista.'

'And if we happen to get rid of Gallas while affecting said rescue?' Vala enquired archly.

'That would be highly probable.' Teal'c's eyes glinted giving away his amusement. He raised an eyebrow. 'We will require a plan.'

Vala frowned as the items she had thrown into her luggage on the spur of the moment popped into her head with a vengeance. 'I think I may have one.' She admitted. 'But I'm not going to like it very much.'

'You mean he's not going to like it very much.' Marks corrected.

'No,' Vala shook her head sadly as Marks and Teal'c exchanged a bemused look, 'I mean I'm not going to like it very much.'

o-O-o

The babble in the ring room came to an abrupt halt as Vala walked in.

She froze as they all stared at her and took in her outfit.

It was one of the few she had saved. The filmy gold satin skirt rode low on her hips, its panels opening with every stride to reveal her shapely legs; her midriff was bare except for the thick gold chain that linked the skirt to the gold satin brassiere halter-neck top that made the most of her modest bust and which ended with a high stiff gold brocade collar. She wore strappy gold high-heeled sandals and had styled her hair in an intricate coil affair Quetesh had favoured. She wore a Goa'uld hand device on her left hand; the gold bracelet extending over her wrist and arm. She had strapped a zat to her right thigh and the healing device was secreted in a velvet gold pouch that was strapped to her left.

'So,' Vala said brightly to cover the nerves that fluttered badly in her belly, 'what do you think? Is it too much?'

'On the contrary, Vala Mal Doran,' Teal'c replied sagely, 'there is very little to your outfit.'

Vala flashed him a smile. 'Thank you, Muscles.'

'You certainly look the part.' Marks added.

Vala pulled a face as she took her place alongside Teal'c and the six Marines that had been drafted as the rescue party. 'Well, that is the plan.'

Or part of the plan. Vala would pretend to be Quetesh to distract Gallas while Teal'c and the Marines rescued Daniel and Mitchell. As soon as the boys were safe, they would rescue her and dispatch Gallas. Callista and the other planets would be returned to the former governments and all would be right with the universe.

At least, that was plan or as much of one as they had been able to cobble together on the journey to Callista.

Gallas had arrived before them and had sent an advance party down to the palace. He'd erected some kind of dampening field around the palace which made their Asgard transporter technology ineffective but which still allowed ring transportation. They had observed something being ringed down from the alkesh to the planet and they all hoped it was Daniel and Mitchell.

'Ready?' Marks asked.

'Not really.' Vala blurted out. She pressed a hand to her stomach. She really wanted to throw up.

Teal'c's dark gaze took in her outfit again. He looked forward and nodded their agreement to be transported to the surface.

'I believe Major Marks was correct in his original assessment.' Teal'c murmured.

'What was that?' Vala hissed.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. 'I do not like this plan.'

The buzz of the rings took effect before she could reply. They reappeared in the ring room of the palace Vala had once known so well. The two Jaffa guarding the rings were taken by surprise but before the Marines could zat them, they fell to their knees in deference.

'Quetesh.'

Vala's stomach turned over in protest and she nodded at the Marines. One of them zatted the prostrating Jaffa.

Teal'c nodded in approval. 'You must find Gallas. We will find Daniel Jackson and Colonel Mitchell.'

'You remember the prisoner cells are on the basement level by the kitchens.' Vala checked.

'I do.' Teal'c held her anxious gaze. 'Good luck, Vala Mal Doran.'

'You too.' Vala took a deep breath and walked out. Gallas would have gone to the throne room, Vala mused. She couldn't see where else he would have gathered everyone. She walked unimpeded through the familiar corridors.

Memories her own and Quetesh's bombarded her: of playing hide and seek with Abrose, of blood on her hands from killing an innocent child, of holding her mother's hand tightly in her own; of Quetesh and Gallas entwined, his mouth on her skin...

Vala stopped and placed a hand on the wall. Pull yourself together, she berated herself. She had done this before. She had pretended to be Quetesh on a small world in the back of beyond; one far enough away not to hear of Quetesh's demise. She had exploited their service to the Goa'uld for her own survival. But she had never truly acted as Quetesh would; she had been benevolent. She had praised and cajoled, and occasionally scolded but she had never killed or maimed them.

She took one deep breath after another. She could do this. It was only until Teal'c showed up with the cavalry. All she had to do was to keep Gallas confused. She removed her hand from the wall and straightened. She tossed her head back defiantly and pushed out her chest.

'Well, here goes nothing.' Vala strode purposefully down the corridor. She refused to let the memories swamp her; pushed them ruthlessly away. She had to focus on the mission; that was all that was important. She swept into the throne room and paused dramatically in the entrance.

Gallas stood on the dais, his knife to Lienne's throat.

'Who dares to challenge my rule here?' Vala stated loudly. Her voice carried in the hushed silence. The furious anger gave her a ring of authenticity.

The assembled crowd of Callistans and Gallas's Jaffa warriors turned as one.

Vala walked forward, letting her body assume Quetesh's rhythm; her arrogant swagger. She kept her eyes on Gallas. He had aged well. His body was still slim and muscular; the tattoos Quetesh had branded into his skin painted his arms and chest. His dark hair was braided closely to his head and his dark eyes glowered at her with suspicion. She heard whispers break out around her.

'Quetesh!'

'She has returned.'

Gallas pushed Lienne away unharmed as Vala mounted the dais. Vala didn't spare her a glance or Abrose, who lay unmoving in a heap by the throne.

'Gallas.' Vala smiled coldly at Quetesh's former First Prime. 'You have returned to receive your punishment at last in failing to protect your God.'

'You defile the glory of Quetesh!' Gallas pointed his knife at her; the metal was millimetres from her belly.

Vala didn't flinch. She let him point the knife and stared him down. 'You challenge your God, Gallas?'

'You are not Quetesh!' Gallas snarled at her. 'You were only ever a shell for her eminence! A vessel! One that she controlled.'

'You speak of the host.' Vala let her finger run down the blade. It drew a thin line of blood which she licked dramatically. She smiled at Gallas, blood on her lip. 'Nothing of the host remains.' She saw a flicker of uncertainty enter his gaze. 'Did you believe the Tok'ra Gallas?' She taunted. 'Did you believe his lies?' She pushed the knife away and spun away from him. 'I am a God! I cannot die!'

Her words cracked like thunder across the assembled masses.

She spun back, raising the hand device toward Gallas. 'And you will bow before your God!'

He attacked.

She pushed the force of her will through the weapon and it caught him fully in the forehead. He bowed backwards and dropped to the floor. She walked forward, still with the device on full measure. Gallas struggled in its beam before he slumped unconscious to the ground.

He wasn't dead, Vala thought, her heart pounding, but he was unconscious.

'My Queen.' A Jaffa bowed in front of her. 'Forgive us! We believed the sholva when he spoke of your death. We should have known a God cannot die.'

'Leave me!' Vala instructed. She looked around the Jaffa. 'You have all dishonoured your God and I am most displeased.' She took a breath to try and hide the rising hysteria. 'Return to the ship in orbit and ready it for my arrival.'

The Jaffa looked around at the Callistans. 'You will need protection here.'

Vala let her lips curve. 'I am their God. They serve me. Now do as I bid unless you wish to die.'

The Jaffa bowed and one by one they filed out. The throne doors banged closed.

Vala dropped the act and whirled around to check on Abrose. 'How is he?'

Lienne stared at her.

'It's me, Vala.' Vala said hurriedly. 'That,' she gestured behind her, 'that was all an act.' She knelt by Abrose.

Lienne looked at Vala shocked as though she still couldn't quite reconcile what she had seen. 'Gallas has killed him.'

Vala gently turned her cousin over. Bruises covered his neck where Gallas had choked him; there was the jagged edge of a cut that ran the length of his neck and she could see the pooled blood beneath him. Her hand slid to check his pulse. It was weak but there.

'He's still alive.' She reached down and removed the healing device from its pouch.

'What are you doing?' Lienne asked harshly. 'Hasn't your Jaffa done enough?'

Vala shot her a look. 'I told you it was an act and I can save him.' She slipped the healing device onto her free hand and held it over Abrose's body. The warming amber light flooded over his body.

Abrose stirred and coughed. Vala stopped the device and pushed herself to her feet using the throne as leverage. Using the hand device was draining at the best of times given she had no Goa'uld symbiote to help replenish her energy.

Lienne hurried over to her brother, helping him into a sitting position.

A side door was flung open and her team charged through, slowing to a halt when they caught sight of her. Her heart lifted as she saw Daniel and Mitchell, no worse for their brief captivity, and still in the outfits they had worn. Teal'c brought up the rear.

'Well,' Mitchell said, taking in the tableau, 'you seem to have everything under control here.'

'I don't know about that.' Vala said tremulously. 'It's good to see you all.' She took a stumbling step forward.

Her eye caught on Gallas, rising...

The knife glimmered in his hand...

Vala lifted the hand device but she knew it was going to be too late.

'Vala!' Daniel's yell echoed dimly in her head.

And then, Teal'c was just there.

He took the blow meant for her and fell to the floor.

Vala channelled her full fury, her worry, her pain; everything, every emotion into the hand device. It flung Gallas off the dais and high into the opposite wall. He crashed against the panelling and fell fifteen feet. There was an ominous crack as his body dropped like a stone to the floor.

Mitchell went over to him. 'Oh yeah. He's dead.'

Vala crouched beside Teal'c. 'That was a stupid move, Muscles.' She berated him as she examined the knife stuck in his arm.

'I made you a promise, Vala Mal Doran.' Teal'c said stoically.

Vala sniffed to keep the tears at bay. She braced a hand on his arm and the other on the knife. 'Ready?'

Teal'c nodded. She pulled it out swiftly and cast it aside.

'Can you heal him?' Daniel asked as he climbed onto the dais.

'I think so.' Vala reached for the healing device again. She centred herself and focused. The light leapt out and covered Teal'c's arm. The Jaffa grimaced. She stopped a moment later.

'It is healed.' Teal'c inclined his head. 'You have my thanks, Vala Mal Doran.'

Daniel made to help him to his feet. Vala got to hers and swayed, the adrenaline draining away and tiredness catching up on her. Mitchell was suddenly beside her.

'Easy there, pigtails.' Mitchell said.

A cheer went up from the watching crowd and suddenly the room erupted into noise.

Lienne and Abrose approached Vala cautiously as she smiled self-consciously.

'You really came back.' Lienne said. There was a note of disbelief in her face. 'You have saved us.'

'As much as I hate to point this out, it's not over yet.' Daniel said.

Teal'c smiled in agreement. 'We have a mothership and three more worlds to liberate.'

'So,' Mitchell quipped, 'just another day at the office.'

Vala sighed contentedly. 'Indeed.'

o-O-o

The Royal cemetery was located in the palace gardens. Vala felt unaccountably nervous as she entered the grounds and made her way to her mother's grave. Her team-mates followed a respectful distance behind. The past few days had been spent away from Callista as they tied up loose ends; convinced Gallas's Jaffa to submit to the authority of the Jaffa Nation and desist in Gallas's attempts to conquer, while returning power to the rightful governments.

It had been good to see it happen; to play a role in making it happen, Vala admitted. It felt like redemption; that her slate was finally wiped clean. She would always carry Quetesh inside of her; the memories of what the Goa'uld had done, the atrocities that she had committed both when Vala had been her host and before. But that was OK. She now had memories of helping to save Callista and the other worlds to provide balance.

She reached her mother's memorial plaque and stooped to wipe it free of the leaves and grass that covered it before sitting down beside it. She was aware the three men had stopped a few feet away, providing her with privacy.

'Amorelia. Beloved of her people.'

The inscription had been simple. It didn't speak of Amorelia's love for her daughter or her tempestuous and much disapproved of relationship with Jacek. Vala remembered both anyway. Her father might be a rogue but there was no doubt Amorelia had loved him beyond measure.

She placed a bunch of purple tarma flowers on the ground. The scent was strong and drifted up on the breeze to fill Vala's head. She brushed off the front of her BDU jacket. After the brevity of Quetesh's outfit she was pleased to be back in the uniform.

'I'm sorry I haven't been to visit, Mama.' Vala began haltingly. 'So much has happened I barely know where to begin.' She fingered the lettering on the plaque as she focused on the one event in her life that always brought her mother to mind.

'I've been a mother myself. I had a daughter; Adria. She was so beautiful.' She bit her lip. 'When I carried her I wanted you there, Mama. I was so scared and so hopeful. I planned so many things; the things we used to do. Remember? The way you used to brush my hair at night before you tucked me into bed? Or sang me to sleep with a lullaby?'

She smiled sadly. 'I never got the chance to do that with Adria. In the end, she wasn't really mine.' Nothing had ever really been hers after Quetesh. Not until SG1.

She sat for a long time letting the hushed reverence of the place fill her. She let herself remember her life on Callista before Quetesh and the outcasting. Vala felt a sting of tears. A mourning she had never quite finished. 'I miss you, Mama.' She swiped at her eyes.

A handkerchief appeared over her shoulder. 'Thank you.' She mumbled to Daniel as she got to her feet.

He offered her an arm and she took it, wrapping her own arm around his. Mitchell and Teal'c approached.

'It's a beautiful spot.' Mitchell commented.

'Yes.' Vala murmured. 'It is.'

Teal'c clasped her free hand in his. Vala leaned into his strength and rested her head on his shoulder.

Mitchell cleared his throat suddenly. 'Vala.'

Vala looked up and swivelled her head in the direction Mitchell indicated. Abrose and Lienne were at the cemetery gate. Lienne paused by the entrance way but Abrose continued, walking over and finally coming to hover nearby.

Vala turned to her team-mates and opened her mouth to ask for a moment only to find them nodding already in response.

Mitchell's eyes flickered to her cousin and back to her. 'Holler if you need us.'

The three men moved away. Vala took a step toward Abrose and he took a step toward her.

Abrose spoke first. 'The guards informed us of your arrival.'

Vala stiffened. 'I just wanted to visit Mother's grave.'

'I didn't mean...' Abrose sighed. 'You are more than welcome, Vala.' He smiled at the disbelief that rippled across her face. 'After what you did...word of how you rid of us Gallas has spread. You are a hero to our people. Surely you realise that?'

Vala shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise and a little thrown at the notion that the very people who had once lined up to throw stones at her suddenly believed her a hero. 'Anyone would have done the same.'

Abrose shook his head. 'It could not have been easy to return given how we treated you and what you must have gone through yourself with Quetesh.' He threw a glance at Lienne in the distance. 'We know that now.'

There was a hint of an apology in his words and Vala knew she wouldn't get anything more. Part of her resented that; part of her understood it. She let it go.

'You know you are the rightful leader of Callista.' Abrose said softly. 'You could reclaim your throne.'

Vala shook her head. 'You should take the throne, Abrose.' She tried to smile at him. 'You would make a good king and I would make a terrible queen.' Her eyes strayed to Lienne. 'And I don't believe some will ever want me here regardless of whether they know the truth or not.'

'Forgive her,' Abrose said quietly, 'she wears the scars of what happened.'

'We all carry scars,' Vala replied dryly, remembering Mitchell's words to her, 'some of us just wear them on the inside.'

Abrose nodded awkwardly. 'Then, where will you go?' His eyes flickered to SG1.

Vala glanced back and sent them a reassuring wave. She turned back to Abrose. 'My place is with them.' There was no doubt in her mind; no question.

Abrose reached out and took her hand. He pressed a kiss to her knuckles. 'Farewell, cousin.'

Vala leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. 'Farewell, Abrose.'

Abrose relinquished her hand and she watched him walk away. Lienne took his arm at the gate and they disappeared from view.

Vala gave a large sigh. She doubted whether she would see them again. She looked around the cemetery; the tombstones of her ancestors; her mother's modest gold plaque. She blew a goodbye kiss towards it.

She spun on her heel and half-walked, half-skipped over to her team-mates, grabbing one of Daniel's arms and one of Teal'c's as she met Mitchell's questioning gaze with a nod; she was OK. More than OK. She had her team; people who cared about her, who had seen her scars and accepted them, accepted her anyway. She smiled widely as happiness filled her up to the brim and overflowed. 'Let's go home.'

The End.