Title: The Life of Vala Mal Doran
Summary: An autobiography of sorts ranging from Vala's childhood to Unending and beyond. DV eventually.
Rating: T (for the most part)
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate.
A/N: I will be attempting to keep this story as canon as possible. I apologize in advance for any mistakes concerning Vala and her past. Also, this is my first time writing in the first person point of view. Hopefully it turns out okay!
Chapter 1: Mother Knows Best
My mother and I were very close. She was basically my only family until I was three years old. I mean technically I had a father, but for those first years of my life he was practically non-existent. I found out later that he was too busy trying to run scams on people in the Nylus sector to care about his wife or daughter.
Of course my mother made up stories about how my father was a great adventurer who only wanted to provide for us.
One of my very first memories is of my mother tucking me into bed at night, telling me about my father. Her long ebony hair cascaded like a waterfall down her shoulders and her blue-gray eyes, so much like my own, sparkled in the moonlight as she knelt down to pull my blanket up for me.
"My beautiful daughter, would you like a story before you go to sleep?" The corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled at me.
I always loved my mother's stories, so I readily agreed. "Yes!" I sat up in my bed further.
She smiled again and began to tell me about my father's adventures.
I listened in earnest, gasping at the scary parts and laughing at the humorous ones. She told me that my father would be coming home from his latest journey soon, and that I would finally get to meet him.
I imagined him to be a tall and handsome man, strong but caring with a gentle smile. I was a little more than surprised to find him to be almost none of those things.
I can still recall the first day that I saw him. It was late at night and I thought I heard my mother yelling in the other room. I swiftly got out of bed, wiping my bleary eyes and rushing into the next room.
I stopped short. There was a strange man standing by my mother. They both looked angry and I knew then that I had interrupted an argument.
"Mommy?"
They both jumped and turned to look at me. The man grinned widely.
"Bala!"
My mother frowned at him. "Her name is Vala."
He scrunched up his face. "Right. Vala! Daddy's here!"
I was confused. This odd looking man, who didn't even know my name, was my father?
He came over, arms out, to hug me. I backed away in fear. I did not know this man, he couldn't possibly be the man that my mother had told me so much about.
"Take it slow Jacek. You are a stranger to her." My mother came over and took a hold of my hand, leading me over to him.
"Hello," he said, smiling at me.
I buried my face in my mother's leg.
"Didn't you tell her about me Mera?"
She sighed and extracted me from her legs. "Vala, this is your father."
I looked from him to her. "Are you sure Mommy?"
She stifled a laugh. "Yes, he has finally come home to be with us."
I eyed him warily. He grinned at me and pulled something shiny out of his pocket.
"I brought you something." He handed me a silver colored bracelet with tiny red gems dangling from it.
I looked at the piece of jewelry in awe. It was beautiful, and at my young age, I did not understand that it was a bribe of sorts.
I smiled at my father. "Thank you!"
That night I went to sleep, happy that I finally had a father.
Over the years, my father was in and out of my life. He would go away for months at a time, leaving my mother and me to fend for ourselves, only to show up with an excuse for his extended absence time after time.
He always came back with a piece of jewelry or a trinket for me. I used to look forward to the mornings when I would wake up with him sleeping at the foot of my bed, gifts in hand. I stored my presents in a trinket box that we had gotten together on Meronat, a little planet with twin suns that my father had taken me to a few times.
That was before. Before I understood who and what my father really was. Before I knew that his 'adventures' were actually scams or worse, stealing. When I was still young enough and naive enough to believe that my father was a good person, to believe that he genuinely loved my mother and me.
One night, after a particularly bad fight between my parents, my mother came to talk and comfort me.
She sat on the edge of my bed and tucked a stray lock of my hair behind my ear. "I'm so sorry my darling daughter. I know that hearing your mommy and daddy fight upsets you."
I sniffled back a few tears. "I wish you two wouldn't argue so much."
She put her arm around me and gently kissed my forehead. "I know sweetheart, I know."
We sat in silence for a few minutes before she pulled back a bit.
"What is it mommy?" She seemed very pensive.
"I need you to listen to me Vala."
I nodded.
She sighed before continuing. "When you grow up, never let a man hold power over you. Be independent, fight for what you believe in, don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something."
I was only about nine at the time that she told me this, so I was a bit confused. "I'm not sure I understand."
My mother smiled meekly at me. "Just promise me that you will never be dependent on a man, don't ever let one charm you into a bad situation."
I still wasn't sure what she was talking about. "Are you telling me never to get married? Or fall in love?"
She laughed lightly. "No, nothing like that. I just want you to make sure that any man that you fall in love with is worthy of you, that he will treat you right and respect you."
I nodded. "Okay mommy."
I never forgot her words of wisdom. Of course I didn't truly understand them at the time, but I would, soon enough.
End of chapter one. Let me know what you think so far. Oh, and in case you were curious, I got some of my information from the transcript from the Family Ties episode.
-J
