Cameron knew that women like that were always trouble, This one was certainly no different. Not just a woman – a mercenary, thief, with a questionable history and a more questionable sense of right and wrong.
When he found out about the bracelets he'd been unable to speak, grinding his teeth until his jaw hurt. Yeah, he'd wanted Daniel to stay. But when the Daedalus left Cameron had felt a vicarious rage in sympathy for what Daniel was going to feel when he woke up. Not if he woke up. When. Teal'c was certain of that. So Cameron chose to be certain too.
He had woken up and they were waiting for permission from the British government to examine Glastonbury Tor; and he was begging Cameron for relief.
"I'm going to choke her," Daniel said, "Throttle her with my bare hands."
"You can't kill her," Cameron reminded him.
"I can choke her until she passes out."
"Really?" Cam was impressed.
"Jack taught me. I've never had to do it but right now…."
"Okay," Cameron said, because he'd never heard the Doctor sound like that before and hadn't realized he could.
"Thank you," Daniel exhaled, "Just… please."
"Okay!" Cam repeated. "I got this."
They made a plan of where Cam was taking Vala so that Daniel could be on the same floor and exchanged radios to stay in contact.
If the worst thing Dr. Jackson ever asked him to do was take a beautiful woman off his hands for a few hours, Cam would be a happy man.
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Vala sat at the table in the cafeteria and looked suspiciously at the plate of food Cameron put in front of her.
"What, pray tell, is that?" She asked.
"Spaghetti and meatballs," he drawled, dropping into the seat opposite her and taking the rest of the food off the tray. He set the tray aside and leaned his arms on the table, watching her.
"Spaghetti," she repeated the foreign word in her delightful accent; then wrinkled her nose. "It looks like worms."
"It's pasta," Cam said, "Perfectly edible."
She gave him a skeptical look and then brightened, sweeping him with her incredible gray eyes. "Meatballs sound intriguing though."
When she still didn't start eating, Cam picked up his own fork, reached over and twirled the heavy strands of pasta around it. He put the whole thing in his mouth and made a sound of intense satisfaction.
"Wow," he said, "Not as great as my grandmother's, of course, but not as bad as an MRE. Try it."
"Emery?" Vala repeated, looking utterly blank.
"M. R. E," Cam repeated slowly, "Meals Ready to Eat. It's what we take into the field with us."
"It sounds disgusting," Vala replied.
Cameron didn't reply to that. He just leaned back in his chair, rocking the front legs slightly off the floor and waited for her to start eating.
Now she was looking at the food as if the smell was making her mouth water. But she still hesitated. Shrewd little minx, he thought. Cam tilted forward again, banging the legs of the chair on the concrete and leaning nearly halfway across the table.
"Look," he said, in his flat, no nonsense voice, "If we were going to drug you we would have done it by now. You were unconscious for hours; and we can't poison you anymore – not without poisoning Dr. Jackson. You're stuck here and that was your choice. So I don't see any reason to deny yourself food and water."
He had the satisfaction of watching her look startled, if just for a moment. He'd caught her off guard. Good. He liked her a little off balance. It felt more like a level playing field. Then she appeared to give a mental shrug, picked up her fork and took an experimental bite. After a moment of chewing she said,
"Doesn't taste like worms."
"No, it doesn't," Cam said, wondering if she had ever actually eaten worms. It was an odd galaxy out there. That he knew from the reports.
She ate a little more, faster now. He had no idea when the last time she had eaten solid food might have been.
"It's good actually," Vala admitted, finally.
"You were hungry," he noted.
"I was ravenous," she said. She nodded towards the piece of chocolate cake in the middle of the table. "What's that?"
He explained it to her, realizing as he did that food didn't sound particularly good when the ingredients were described. She hesitated again and then took a forkful.
The look on her face was enough.
"Oh that's…." She ran out of words and took another bite. When half of it was gone she said, "I may have to marry you."
Cam choked suddenly and covered it by taking a long swallow of his iced tea. When he recovered he said, "Can we wait until you aren't connected to Jackson so he doesn't have to go on the honeymoon with us?"
She paused with another bite of cake almost to her mouth. Looking up at him with wide eyes she said,
"Honeymoon?"
"It's a trip that a newly married couple take to, ummmm…. Nevermind."
She continued to regard him a moment longer. Her gaze was cool and gray, like a winter landscape just before another snowstorm.
"Women on our planet have a relationship with chocolate that men don't quite understand," he told her.
She ate, and smiled like a cat.
"So you decided to exploit that and offer me some?" she asked.
"No," he said immediately. "I just figured you'd like it."
She tucked her chin and looked up at him through a heavy fringe of lashes. She was completely splendid in her femininity, despite the drab blue-gray jumpsuit. Her hair was a cascade of rich luster – colored like ravens, a heavy spill over her shoulders and down her back, vivid black against fair skin.
In her eyes he saw the natural wariness of being in a strange place among strangers. But he saw something else as well. She might not know what else her misty gray eyes betrayed. In them Mitchell saw curiosity, courage, confidence – and a hot awareness of him that equaled his own for her.
"You do like it?" He asked.
The look she swept him with was full of sensual mischief.
"There's very little I don't enjoy tasting," she said. "I've found I like a little of everything, from simple to exotic to borderline dangerous. I probably like things you've never even had a chance to sample."
Mitchell swallowed. Hard. He tried to look away but her gaze was like a magnet.
"What have you found that you like the most?" He asked too lightly.
"I like solid fare, something I can wrap my tongue around and sink my teeth into," she answered, toying with him.
Mitchell laughed and pushed a bowl of strawberries towards her. In spite of how she had his blood thundering and was causing a very unruly private reaction, her outrageousness was compelling. He leaned back in the chair again and decided to just enjoy her company.
She finished eating and left very little. But she declined when he offered her more. She seemed surprised by that.
"Is food so easy to come by on your planet?" She asked.
"It is here," he hedged and that seemed to satisfy her.
"So what now?" She asked.
He took her for a tour of the 'public' parts of the SGC. He was limited in his movements, knowing he couldn't get too far from Daniel (who was working in his office.) He kept an eye on her too, watching for any signs of weakness, dizziness or disorientation.
She paused at the door of the basketball court and lifted her eyebrows.
"What's this for?" She asked.
The ghost of a brilliant idea flittered across Cameron's mind.
"C'mon," he said, "I'll show you."
(0)
Vala was turning the ball in her hands, pressing it with long, elegant fingers. She was considering all the rules he had just laid out for her. Her expression said she had just as little regard for those rules as she had for any other.
"So you do all this and then get two-points?"
"Yes," he said.
"And you can trade these two points in for…? What exactly?"
"Nothing. They add up and you win the game."
"Then you trade that win in for….?"
"Nothing," Mitchell reiterated. "You just win the game."
Her forehead creased in a frown. Eyes narrowed. "Then this 'game' doesn't seem to serve any purpose."
"It's exercise. It's to have fun."
"Fun," she repeated. Her frown increased. Then here eyes brightened as if something had just occured to her that explained everything. "Well clearly this game was invented by men! That's why it's pointless. Wasn't it?"
Mitchell sighed and resisted a growl. She might be breathtaking, but it was wrapped in mystery and sarcasm. She was infuriating at times. But desire mocked his attempts to be angry.
He moved in to take the ball and she effortlessly put it behind her back, grinning. When he tried to reach to get it, their bodies collided. The collision was like the thunder that followed the flash of lightning.
He caught his breath as she staggered back a step from the impact. Instinctively he reached out and caught her around the waist with his arm. Her eyes and smile were sultry.
"Now this part of the game is a lot more fun," she said.
She was still holding the ball behind her back. He hit it with his fist and knocked it away. It rolled towards the door, went left and hit the wall. They both ignored it.
"It's not part of the game," Mitchell said. His voice was thick.
"It should be," she said.
"I was just thinking the same thing."
Her mouth was inches from his.
He could hear footsteps and voices in the corridor. They were coming closer and there hardly do for any of the Base personnel to find Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell – leader of SG1 – kissing the enigmatic female alien who had put Dr. Jackson's life in danger.
Mitchell let go of her and took a step back. He went to get the ball and tossed it to her. She caught it with a considerable amount of natural reflex and skill.
"Let's play," he said.
Her smile was still saucy. "Yes. Let's."
A group of men and women pass the door of the court. Finding it in use the military personnel gave Mitchell a respectful salute and moved on to the next court.
He was two points up when she started to collapse. He was close enough to drop the ball and grab her before her head hit the floor. A quick glance at his watch showed that she had been separated from Daniel by one floor and ninety minutes.
His radio crackled in the split second before he lifted Vala in his arms.
"Mitchell?"
"Jackson?"
"Getting nauseous, dizzy."
"She's out cold. Meet you in the infirmary."
"Roger that."
He carried her to the infirmary because it was faster than waiting for a gurney. Daniel was already there, lying down.
A few minutes in the same room together was all it took to clear Daniel's head and wake Vala up.
Carolyn Lam was making notes on a chart. She finished, passed it to a nurse and another one appeared in her hands instantly. She paused with the pen held over the paper.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Lost consciousness. No other signs or symptoms," Cam answered.
"I'm right here," Vala said.
Lam looked at her. "Other symptoms?" She asked.
"None," Vala admitted.
Mitchell made a low scoffing noise. "Is it exhausting? Being you?" He asked her.
"You have no idea," she sighed, theatrically.
Mitchell shook his head. Daniel lay back on the pillow and closed his eyes, arm up over them - the clearest body language for leave me alone.
"I'm going to go grab a shower," Mitchell said. "I'll catch up later."
Vala grinned at him like the Cheshire cat.
He left, wondering how cold he could get the water.
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