Summary: Past actions you can accept the consequences of, not always gracefully but you can. At least on some level. Future ones? Now that's a whole different matter... Alternate ending for 'Unending'.
Spoilers: Unending!
Genre: Angst/Drama
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Daniel/Vala
Author's Notes: Now this… this was odd. Jess phoned me and we were discussing what the team got up to during those fifty years and Daniel and Vala having had a child that went back instead of Teal'c was the most mentioned of the few we came up with. She then challenged me to write something with it. I was dubious because originally we were looking at an adult that would be about fifty years old and… well that would have been odd. So I spent some time yesterday thinking about it - and in math today – hey what else is that class for? – and managed to alter it dramatically. So here it goes…
This was a nightmare to title! My sister ended up helping me :P
Prologue"'Night Kaylee," Daniel closed the children's book softly, getting to his feet Vala smiled as she watched him lean down and kiss the little girl's forehead gently.
"Goodnight Kaylee," Vala echoed as Daniel put the book on the nightstand and flicked off the lamp, following him from the room as the doors slid closed behind them.
The only sound in the room was of her own heavy breathing and the rustle of the sheets as she moved her feet. Freezing as the sound seemed deafening in the darkness she waited until she heard her parent's footsteps fade away down the hall.
Once she was certain she could hear no more than the general buzz that was the ship running, she pushed the comforter back and slipped out of bed, her bare feet hit the floor with a soft thud and she stood still for another second before ducking beneath her bed to pull out her sneakers.
Opening the Velcro slowly she slipped the tiny shoes on her feet and tugged on her dressing gown as she clambered on to the chair by the door that meant she could open it with little difficulty.
Peering into the empty corridor she looked both left and right before slipping out of the room and turning the opposite way to that which her parents had gone.
The ship was huge, she'd spent enough time staring out of the windows of the spacecraft to know that, and the pictures that Uncle Cam and Auntie Sam had drawn her gave her a good enough idea to draw herself to the conclusion that she hadn't even been in half of the rooms her home had. Uncle Teal'c and toured her through some of the rooms when she had begged him too but none of the interesting ones; crew and captain's quarters, the Brig briefly and Auntie Sam's lab. Grandpa Hank had let her sit in his chair in the Bridge once but there was so much more to see.
"Kaylee in bed?" Sam asked, turning off the Thor hologram and turning to her friends with a barely audible sigh of frustration.
Vala nodded and looked at the display Sam had been staring at when they had arrived "any luck?"
Sam shook her head defeatedly "not yet," she ran a hand through her hair, making it stand on end for a moment before she patted it down with a sigh.
She should be able to do this surely? It was complex sure, but she'd done things so much harder… hadn't she? As much as she loved Thor, his calm, yet completely unhelpful remarks were proving to be more irritating than she thought he could ever possibly be.
"You'll figure it out," Daniel said encouragingly, anything he might have continued with was cut off as the intercom clicked on and Cam's voice rattled through it.
"Sam! There's been an explosion in the engine room…!" followed by a rush of static as he breathed into it "Holy… I thought Kaylee was in bed! Get a med kit down here stat!" there was a click as he terminated the communication.
There wasn't even time for a clichéd shared expression of abject horror as the trio bolted from the room at break neck speed. Neither Daniel nor Vala looked back as Sam headed straight for the infirmary to get the medical supplies Mitchell had requested.
Kaylee was on the floor by the opposing wall to that where the explosion had taken place, the smoke was thin and spiralling away from it's source, a veil rising to the ceiling, as shards of debris littered the floor surrounding her.
Cam knelt immediately next to the unconscious little girl. Her arm twisted at an unnatural angle, her face covered by the blonde-brown curls that fell over it. He touched her neck and felt his own heart skip a beat when he felt the thready pulse there, brushing aside her hair he flinched when he felt the warmth of blood against his fingertips. The gash that ran down the side of face, marring perfect skin, was deep and ugly.
"Kaylee!" Vala cried out, falling to the floor by her daughter, closely followed by Daniel "Kaylee!"
Sam was a step behind Daniel and pushed Cam aside, gesturing to the flames in the corner. He scrambled to his feet and seized the fire extinguisher, Teal'c taking the other, although it was hardly necessary.
"She was in bed!" Vala exclaimed as Sam checked Kaylee's pulse.
"Kaylee," Sam said loudly "Kaylee can you hear me?"
She didn't respond.
Daniel took the hand of her 'good' arm in his "Kaylee, squeeze my hand if you can hear me,"
Sam checked her pulse again "we need to get her to the infirmary," she pulled a gauze pad from the first-aid kit she'd brought with her and pressed it to the side of Kaylee's face, Vala took it and held it in place as Sam slid her arms beneath her and got to her feet.
Within mere seconds of lifting her Sam felt a warm wetness seeping through her top, twitching her fingers she felt the sticky liquid slid between them and tickle the back of her hand as it ran across her palm.
Vala's vision started to blur and the walls were closing in. Blood… Kaylee… Kaylee had been in bed, she'd watched her fall asleep how could this… There was blood on the floor too, her own hands, all over Kaylee… Daniel caught her arm, she could feel his tremors vibrating through her body along with her own.
She didn't notice Cam take the gauze pad and him support the head of her daughter as Sam rushed from the room as fast as she dare, her precious burden clutched to her chest.
Sam eased Kaylee onto the bed, swallowing thickly as she ignored the slipping of her blood-slicked fingers as she picked up the scissors from the tray nearby, cutting Kaylee's pyjama top swiftly and without pause. She nearly choked as she saw the metal embedded in her side.
Kaylee's chest's rise and fall was irregular and her faint breath seemed to hitch as Sam moved as much fabric aside as possible.
Sam pressed the back of her hand to her head for a second to steady herself. Not wanting to look up as she could feel two pairs of eyes fixing her with a desperate gaze she was not prepared to face.
There should be music. Sad music that flitted down the corridors and echoed off the walls. Music always played.
Her little girl. Perfect little Kaylee. With Daddy's eyes and Mommy's smile. Daddy's endless thirst for knowledge and Mommy's thirst for life. Kaylee.
She upturned the table she'd been leaning on, sending a lamp shattering to the floor, papers flying everywhere. It helped for a half-second then that nauseating feel of helplessness hit her in giant waves big enough to drown in and yet too deep to swim.
She didn't jump when Daniel touched her hand, she simply turned and buried her face in his chest, his arms closing around her in an embrace that would never be tight enough and at the same time made her choke for a breath she could not take.
She tried to speak but couldn't find any words, besides sobs she did not know she was heaving prevented her from making any sound other than heartbreaking wails that made her throat burn and her head spin.
Daniel started rocking from side to side, whispering something into her hair that she did not try and hear.
Kaylee.
Sam was shaking so hard it was a wonder she was still standing, she did not call out as there was no one to hear her, but muttered to herself anyway "charging…" she waited a lifetime for the panels to be fully charged before she pressed them to the deathly still chest in front of her.
The line was flat.
She shook her head against the tears that ran down her cheeks and the ache that rose in her chest. No. "Charging," she snapped out, her voice cracked and her vision blurring to the point it was nigh on impossible to see.
Teal'c's hand caught her wrist and she looked up at him, she had not heard him enter, the expression on his face was devastating.
"I have to," she said firmly, "I have too,"
Teal'c's dark eyes were sad and sparkling brightly in the infirmary lights. He moved slowly with his free hand and turned the heart monitor off.
"I have too… I have… she… I've only been… oh!" a sob broke her off as she caught a look at the clock. Ten minutes. Ten minutes... for ten minutes Kaylee had been… no! "oh my God…" the panels clattered to the floor and she stumbled back against the wall, her still gloved hands flying to her face as she slid down it, her eyes fell closed and the sobs took a firm grasp on her chest, clawing at her lungs and squeezing her heart.
The line was flat.
Everything slowed, words held no meaning and expressions of sorrow were useless.
Vala could hear a roaring in her ears so loud it hurt, a scream burst from her throat but she could not hear it. Sam's mascara had created wet black streaks down her face. Even Cam's eyes seemed to be overly bright.
"I tried…" Sam spoke quietly, her voice raw, "but Teal'c… it was too late… he stopped me… I'm so sorry…" she burst into new tears and Landry stepped forwards, hugging her carefully.
Vala launched herself at Teal'c then, fists flying as rapidly as the tears "you!" she pounded his unmoving chest "you! She could have saved her! She could have saved her!"
Teal'c didn't even flinch against the barrage of blows bouncing off of his body. His eyes fixed straight ahead; he did not even try and stop her.
"Vala!" Cam hauled her back "Vala, it's not his fault! It's nobody's fault!" he struggled to keep her away from Teal'c as she writhed in his arms, still throwing wild punches.
"He stopped her! He stopped Sam from saving her! She could have… she could…" she stopped "Kaylee!" she keened, her eyes squeezed shut and slumping against her captor "Kaylee!" she wailed her daughter's name long and loud into her friend's chest as he crumpled to the floor when she did.
Teal'c looked to Daniel who was sat in the chair he had collapsed into upon hearing the news. He hadn't made a sound, hadn't moved, just stared ahead as if he could not hear nor see what was going on around him. Silent tears slid down the jaffa's face as Daniel turned his head slowly to look at him and blinked once, a haunted expression of desperate pleading in his eyes.
The room was quiet, the only sounds were of ragged breaths Vala wasn't aware of taking. Her head resting in the crook of her elbow as it rested on the pillow next to Kaylee's head, her free hand finger combing silky curls that framed her face like a halo.
Daniel's position much the same on Kaylee's other side, expect he was holding her hand. He was muttering something to her but Vala couldn't hear it and didn't strain too.
Vala started swaying her body in her seat humming under her breath, a simple tune she remembered but could not place, shifting her head forward slightly she briefly touched noses with her and kissed the chilled forehead "love you baby," she whispered, then after a moment she lifted her head as she heard Daniel's breath hitch "Daniel?"
He either didn't hear her or ignored her "I'm sorry Kaylee," Vala heard him breath hoarsely "I'm so sorry,"
She didn't try and talk to him again, just rested her head back on her arm and watched her daughter with unblinking eyes. It didn't matter if she stayed awake all night, didn't matter if she stayed awake all week. It didn't matter.
The line was flat.
Review if you want more – I swear it doesn't stay that sad. :)