Does He Like Me?
Though he tried to be covert, Vala noticed Daniel's gaze. She pretended not to see1. It had been two days since SG-1 had found her and brought her back to the SGC; almost all of her memories had returned2. She definitely remembered her feelings for Daniel. She continued to eat her ham and cheese sandwich with extra pickles, all the while contemplating Daniel's possible feelings for her. She was almost confident that he had some sort of feelings for her, yet at every opportunity he pushed her away3. Occasionally however, there were brief moments where his fondness for her was betrayed. Finishing her sandwich, she bounced out of her seat, and like a kangaroo hopped all the way over to where Daniel was sitting4. "Hi!" she said with a bright smile as she plopped down in the chair next to him.
"Hello," replied Daniel unusually cheerfully.
"I'm dying for some double fudge brownie ice cream," said Vala, straight to the point, "Take me to get some?" It may have sounded like a question, but Daniel knew better.
"They have chocolate ice cream in the cafeteria," he tried to barter his way out.
"That's just plain chocolate. Not double fudge brownie…" Daniel was swayed by the adorable pout crossing her lips, although he would never admit it.
"Fine," he said rather bitterly, "If it will get you off my back." He instantly regretted his harsh tone, but it was his way of covering up his feelings for Vala. There was a grocery store just a couple of miles down the road, so they got in Daniel's car and headed for the double fudge brownie ice cream. Instantly upon entering the vehicle, Vala cranked up the radio, singing very loudly to Britney Spears' Womanizer. Simultaneously annoyed and greatly amused, Daniel expertly kept the smile off his face.
"Oooo, this sounds good," Vala said, looking over the frozen desserts, "Maybe I could try this too…" She turned to look at Daniel who had a look of mild displeasure and boredom on his face. He said nothing, just continued to look at her with a no-nonsense gaze. She moved on down the aisle, quickly finding something else of interest. "Hey, Daniel, look at this."
"No." She pouted and moved on. Even after she grabbed her enormous tub of Double Fudge Brownie she continued to move down the aisle in search of more yummy earth desserts5. Her eyes landed on a 'chocolate chip cookie dough and fudge taco'. Looking at Daniel she opened her mouth. Before any words could come out he just shook his head.
"Fine," And giving up, she headed for the checkout, Daniel following close behind. Once they were in the car with their seatbelts on, Vala ripped the lid off of the ice cream tub.
"What do you plan on eating that with, your fingers?"
"A girl always has to be prepared," and with a smirk Vala pulled out a plastic spoon from her jacket pocket and began to dig in. After a few bites she offered a spoonful of chocolate brownie goodness to Daniel. When he didn't acknowledge the spoon in front of his mouth Vala tried a different approach. "Please, try some Daniel. It's really, really yummy!" When he opened his mouth to protest she shoved the spoon in, forcing him to eat it.
All the way back to the SGC (which thankfully wasn't a long trip), Daniel listened to Vala list all the desserts she had tried so far and how much she liked them on a scale of 1 to 106. They went in the SGC with Vala's arm wrapped around Daniel's, and her head resting on his shoulder. "I've been thinking about our date, Daniel."
"For the last time, Vala, it was not a date." Unfazed, Vala continued.
"When are we going to go back? I never did get to try my drink…"
"How about this weekend?" Daniel mentally checked his calendar, "We don't have any missions scheduled until Tuesday. Are you sure you're ok with going back to the same place? It won't bring up bad memories?"
"What memories?" she shrugged, "I'll be fine, Daniel, it was a lovely place, very fancy." At Vala's insistence, they made plans to return that weekend, and then Vala returned to the cafeteria in search of Sam while Daniel went home to work on paperwork. She found Carter deep in conversation with Teal'c about the intricacies of the Star Wars mythology. First grabbing some blue jello, she slid in beside her friends. "Hello," she said with a broad smile, "sorry to interrupt…"
"I must leave, regardless," said Teal'c with a half-nod.
"Basketball with Cam?"asked Carter.
"Indeed." Teal'c sauntered off, leaving Vala and Sam to girl talk. In a moment of silence Vala looked down at her blue jello, it glared up at her, daring her to eat it7.
"Samantha, do you think Daniel likes me?"
"Well, of course," Carter smiled, "We're all friends, aren't we?"
"That's not what I mean. I want to know if he 'likes' likes me."
Carter's mouth formed a perfect tiny circle and her eyes looked away. "Well, with Daniel, I mean, who can tell really… I think…" And just then Gen. Landry appeared, requiring Cl. Carter's assistance. Relieved at the interruption, Carter quickly slipped away, giving her apologies to Vala. After finishing her jello Vala skipped down the halls on her way back to her quarters. She was a graceful antelope prancing through the forest, blissfully unaware of any other animals8.
Reaching her quarters she plopped down across her bed and opened her brand-new pink laptop purchased with Daniel's credit card. Trying to think of something other than Daniel, she spent several hours surfing the internet. She managed to come across some rather interesting looking movies that were just coming out. She reached for the phone and dialed Daniel's cell number.
"Vala?" he answered.
"How'd you know it was me!"
"Caller ID." He said simply then waited for her to speak.
"Well, Daniel, I was thinking about our date this weekend," at this point he didn't even bother to correct her, "And I was wondering if we could see a movie afterwards. There's this new movie coming out that I really want to see. Something about a time traveler. Pleeeeease, Daniel!" And even though he couldn't see her, she still put on her best pouty face.
"I suppose so," Daniel seceded. "It has been quite a while since I've been to the movie theatre. However, having time traveled on several occasions myself, I'm sure it will be full of inaccuracies, and…"
"Yes, Yes, Daniel, you're very brilliant. Can't you just enjoy a movie for what it is?" In a rare moment, Daniel let his feelings slip.
"For you, I'll try."
"So, we can see it?"
"Yes."
"Oh, Daniel, you're simply wonderful!"
"I know." She giggled at this.
"I can't wait!"
"Listen," Daniel interrupted, "I really have to go, I've got a huge mound of paperwork that's been adding up for ages, so…"
"Alright, alright, I'll see you tomorrow." They exchanged their goodbyes and as Vala hung up the phone a huge grin spread across her face. 'Oh, he likes me' she thought as she lay back against her pillows, imagining her date with Daniel. 'I'll get him yet…'