Vala packed quickly, her heart pounding wildly against her ribs.
Fury and terror raged inside her at what Daniel wanted her to do.
He was angry, had every right to be. She moved even faster, grabbing an armload of things from the closet and dumping them into the open suitcase on the bed. Her mind raced with the places she could hide. When Landry heard the news he might suspend her from gate travel indefinitely, take her off the team, anything.
And Daniel. He wanted her to…
Pushing the distasteful thought from her mind with a broken sob she caught before it could erupt into a full blown cry of pain, Vala closed the suitcase and grabbed the handle, giving a sharp upward tug that was instantly caught by a grip of steel.
"Whoa there Princess. Take it easy. I got this." Cam gently pried her cold fingers free and pulled the suitcase off the bed effortlessly. "Is there anything else you need before we go? Walter just called me with the twenty minute warning, I think we'd better make tracks before Jackson gets back." He suggested. Vala hesitated, her mind whirling.
Three days ago, she was carefree, happy, then a stray staff blast to the hip and she was discovered to be five weeks pregnant.
Daniel wanted her to have the fetus removed.
For her own safety.
Vala had told Carolyn that she didn't want the same thing Daniel did, and Carolyn had moved quickly. Contacting Cam, she told him everything, and his sense of right and wrong rebelled at the actions of his friend.
He had asked Vala to stay at his most recently purchased home, help him with the decorating and painting. She agreed, only to get away from Daniel.
And now, here they were, spiriting her away in the middle of the night, under the cover of darkness, to protect her baby.
"Tell you what, I'll get your stuff down into my car while you take a last quick look around. You see anything you want, go ahead and grab it. If it's heavy, leave it for me to carry." Cam ordered. Vala nodded and disappeared into the darkened hallway while he wrestled her luggage down the stairs.
The photos were all she wanted.
Hurrying after Cam, she met him in the entryway of the home she had previously shared with Daniel. "Let's go." she murmured. He nodded once and began switching off the lights as Vala picked her way to his car.
Only when they were safely away did Vala breathe easier.
"You okay?" Mitchell asked after several moments.
"I need you to tell me that thing again." she replied softly.
"You have a divine animal right to protect your life and the life of your child. Unborn and all. Jackson can't force you to do anything to your body you don't want him to." Cam told her gently.
"Thank you." Vala whispered.
The rest of the drive to Cam's home was silent.
Pulling into the driveway, Cam cut the engine and looked to the passenger of the vehicle. "Vala?" he called softly, gently shaking her shoulder when she didn't respond. Jerking awake, she stared at him in fear until he cracked the door to bring on the overhead light. "Come on, let's get you settled." He smiled. Vala followed him up to the house as he searched through the keys to find the one that opened the door. "What if Daniel finds me?" she asked suddenly.
"He won't. I wanted somewhere to live out in country, no one knows about this place but you and me. Just closed the deal last week. Since I own three other places and you won't be showing up there, I figure you're safe. Just to be sure, though, I'm going to be staying with you. You still coming to the SGC?" Cam asked. Vala nodded slightly as he finally opened the door and headed inside, turning on lights as he went.
"You sure this is what you want?" He asked over his shoulder. Vala nodded again, feeling emotionally drained, spent and unsure of anything.
"Right this way." Cam led the way to the master bedroom on the first floor and helped her get settled in before retiring to his own rooms on the second floor. Finally safe, Vala climbed onto the large bed in the center of the room and curled up in the middle of it. Almost of their own volition, her hands sought out the flat expanse of her stomach, skimming the skin gently.
"This is only temporary. Nothing is going to keep us from your daddy, nothing. You and me, we're going to be fine. I promise." She murmured to the unborn baby.
When Daniel had found out about the pregnancy, he was adamant that it be disposed of. Vala's life meant the world to him, and nothing would change that.
He had even promised that he would support her in trying for an adoption if she aborted the baby.
Adoption!
The life of their child was in her hands now, safe. No one would ever hurt her baby.
Not even Daniel.
Vala felt tears prick her eyelids as she curled around her stomach, willing the life inside her to keep growing.
How could he be so cruel as to order her to kill her baby?
When her cell phone vibrated, she reached to the bedside table to pick it up, reading the name before she answered.
Daniel.
Biting her lip, Vala answered.
"I'm not doing it. Not coming back. I don't care if I die giving birth to this baby. I'm not letting you hurt it, ever." She spoke firmly, her tone belying the tears rolling down her face. She kept the anguish out of her voice, using her sleeve to swipe at the tears.
"Honey, I'm only thinking of you. Carolyn said you'd die along with the baby if you try to carry to term. Giving birth will kill you, and I'd rather lose the baby, something that wasn't even supposed to exist in the first place, than lose you. I love you, sweetheart. You need to come home, let me take you to Carolyn and we can have this over with by tomorrow. Nothing is worth your life. Not a baby, not this thing growing inside you. If you want, I'll even marry you by the weekend. Just come home, please." He pleaded.
Vala looked up to see Cam in the doorway, holding up a bottle of medication. She nodded once, and he brought them to her, silently.
"I'm not killing my baby, Daniel. I don't care if it kills me. At least once in my life, I'll have done something to be proud of, something I can look back at and know that I'm not a horrible person." She accepted the glass of water Cam set beside her, then stopped him as he turned to leave.
"Where are you? A hotel?" Daniel finally asked, his voice harsh.
"I'm safe, Daniel. That's all you need to know. Right now, I don't want anything to do with you. When I feel it's time, I'll come back, no other way. Understand?" she snapped, then slapped the phone shut before giving vent to her hurt in a long weary yell that she buried in a pillow.
"Can't believe you stood up to him like that. Didn't think you had it in you, Princess." Cam mused after a moment of silence had passed between them.
"He wants me to kill it. I can't hurt my baby, it's alive. I can't do that. I won't kill my baby. I need it alive, it's the one good thing I've ever done in my entire life, and if I get it removed like Daniel wants, then I probably won't ever do anything good again, and I can't bear the thought of that." Vala murmured.
"Anything you need, just let me know." Cam patted her uninjured leg and stood, heading for his own set of rooms on the second story.
When he was gone, Vala changed into a pair of shorts and one of Daniel's t-shirts, the scent of his aftershave reaching her nose faintly and reminding her once again of why she was doing this.
Her baby.
Taking a deep breath, she nestled down into the fluffy bed and closed her eyes, a hand stealing down to gently rub her stomach where her baby was growing.
"Don't be frightened, my darling. I won't let anyone, not even your daddy, hurt you. I swear it. You are a gift to me, someone I can't wait to see soon. So, hurry up and get bigger. Hear me? I want to see you. You need to keep getting bigger, so that we can finally meet." She whispered into the darkness. Kissing her fingertips, she touched them to her stomach tenderly before giving her stomach a gentle pat. "Be good." She whispered.