Title: Hope Springs Eternal
Author: KellethMetheus
Spoilers: Unending 1020
Category: Het, Hurt/Comfort
Summary: An extension of the short scene where Vala is weeping and Daniel comforts her.
Disclaimer: Not mine and I'll put them back when the Muse runs out, maybe.

Warnings: none

Beta: Thanks to Spacegypsy1 for looking at this one after I added a bunch of stuff to it, but the errors are still all mine.

Challenge: StargateDrabbles on Yahoogroups. Alphabet Challenge #112 - H is for....Hope

Daniel entered his and Vala's quarters on the Odyssey expecting as always to be bowled over by Vala and dragged off to bed, but tonight was different, in fact the whole cabin was different.

Every drawer was open and the contents spilled all over the floor. All the work that he'd left piled on the desk was scattered around the room.

Vala sat in the middle of the chaos, leaning against the end of the bed, sobbing. Without a word, he crossed the room, dropping to the floor Daniel gathered Vala into his arms. Seeking his warmth, she melted into his embrace still crying.

He said nothing as Vala grasped his shirt in a death grip; knowing she'd tell him when she was ready.

After a long time she sobbed. "I don't want to loose this, loose us. I finally found you and we are trapped here on this ship of death." Drawing a shuddering breath she continued, "I'm doomed to be a prisoner. First, Qetesh took so much from me, then I was an emotionally constipated and now...." She tried to pull away shaking her head, but he held fast, not letting her go.

Daniel understood, he didn't want their relationship to end either. "Vala, no matter what happens, we still have yesterday and today. We can't live wondering about tomorrow, we have now and each other. That has to be enough or we'll go insane."

Shaking her head Vala began to speak, "But Daniel, I miss our baby, the one I want to have, but can't. How can I condemn a child to this life, this half life? But I ache for him or her, I see a child with your blue eyes and smile. I can feel the little body in my arms, but then I wake up. I want the life denied me, I want the pickle fence and all that other stuff."

Daniel was about to correct her when her mood switched again. She grabbed his shirt; her knuckles so tense they turned white. "Daniel, I need to get out of here. I can feel myself descending into madness. The problem is the price of freedom is losing you--"

Her voice broke and she buried her face in his shoulder, slamming her fists into his chest. Daniel waited, allowing her time to vent her emotions. Each blow hurt, but he welcomed the pain, it told him he was still alive and able to love Vala.

Finally, she exhausted herself, her arms falling limply to her sides as her breath came in harsh gasps and she looked down at the floor. Lifting his hand, Daniel cradled her cheek, loving the feeling of her silky hair spilling over his hand. "Vala, look at me."

She tried to turn away as though ashamed of her emotional collapse. "Vala. I'm not going anywhere until you look at me."

There was a long suffering sigh before she lifted her gaze met his. Tears trickled down her cheeks; he wiped them away with his thumb.

"No matter what happens, I will find you again. I lost Sha're but I will not lose you too. Vala, the way I felt about you before we stepped on this ship hasn't changed. All that is different is, you. Finally you let me close enough to see you vulnerable. You stopped playing the sex kitten and you were just Vala. I know how I feel about that person. Nothing can change that, nothing. If this--" Daniel kissed her. "Happened once, it can happen again."

For the first time Vala smiled. "Now I know why I love you Daniel." Her fingers gently trace his face. "But if it does happen again, I hope it's not the same way. I still remember those words you said to me that day. They hurt me, Daniel. They cut me to the bone."

Vala pouted, putting some distance between Daniel and herself, but he didn't let her retreat. They had never talked about that day and maybe now was the time.

His fingers traveled up into her hair, pulling her forehead to meet his. His voice quiet as he spoke. "I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you, but you made me so angry. I never knew how you felt. I loved you, but I felt like a toy that you'd eventually tire of. I'm regret I hurt you that day, but I'm not sorry it happened. It allowed me to see the real you. There she was, the woman I was seeking and never thought I would find. She would peek out at me, and then vanish under the over powering vamp. I questioned whether or not I really saw her. I was hurting, so I tried to hurt you. I wanted to force you to realize what you were doing to me, and stop torturing me."

Her voice shook.. "After Qetesh, I had no one and I protected myself. I thought I was being strong but I wasn't. I can see now that I was hiding, from myself and from you, but most of all from being hurt. When we met on the Prometheus, I wanted to stay and that frightened me the most and so I ran. No matter how far I went, I couldn't get you out of my mind. So I had to find a reason to come back to you, to exorcise you from my mind. I had to prove to myself that you weren't the man I remembered. No one could be as good as you are, but I was wrong. I'm sorry that I hurt you and I promise to be better." She held up her right hand and drew a cross over her heart with the left.

Grinning slightly, he kissed her nose. "I hope that I will never hurt you again but I'm human and so are you. I'm sure we'll cause each other pain, but always know, you fill a part of me that was missing, so you will never lose me, no matter what happens."

Vala tried to speak, "Daniel, you can't make-"

He shook her gently. "Never, Goa'ulds or Ori, or evil Lucien Alliance, they can't come between us. I will always be here for you. We found each other once and we will again. Life can't be that cruel."

Wiping away the last of her tears, Vala leaned closer, her lips just brushing Daniel's. "We've had our share of sorrow and we deserve some joy. I will find you Darling, no matter where you try to hide, I will track you down and make you mine!"

Half laughing, half kissing, Daniel murmured. "Oh, I don't doubt you will, my liar and thief. I know you will."

The kiss deepened, Daniel poured all his emotions into the kiss, trying to show in action as well as in words. From Vala's response, Daniel knew that she understood. As long as they were alive there would be hope.

I'm posting this one separately because I have an idea to continue it. So if you're interested add an alert and I'll see what I can do. I have three fics almost done and I need to complete those before starting anything new. If you want to know what the three I'm almost done check out my profile and if you feel like it give me a nudge.

This fic will have a chapter or two in Unending but continue on until sometime after the Ark of Truth and Continuum. I hope to be able to update this one some time in June and post the whole fic.