The four members of SG-1 who had come to P4M-328 were all gathering around the false DHD. Vala was replacing the various fake keys that Mitchell had sent crashing to the floor minutes earlier. As she restored the last few, the Colonel spoke, "If they found a gate, they most likely found a DHD, no?"

Jackson answered briskly, "We didn't." In the few minutes since Cam and Teal'c had returned, the archaeologist had been thinking about the kiss he shared with Vala and the way they'd been discovered by their friends. While he was still reeling from the shock learning the DHD was a phony, he was also wrestling with the embarrasment of being discovered as they had been, and trying to understand why he kissed her in the first place.

In hindsight, Daniel wasn't sure why he had kissed Vala, and he was feeling very frustrated and confused about the whole affair. His whole gut was knotted up in aggravation.

Undaunted by the archaeologist's answer, Cam asked further, "Well they knew enough to build a pretty convincing replica, so they must have one lying around here somewhere, no?"

"No," Daniel replied with an irritated voice, "they could have just fabricated it from drawings," looking over at Mitchell with a flat stare.

The mood was becoming increasingly bleak, and Teal'c's next comment did nothing to help. "If indeed they did possess an authentic DHD, would they not display it near the authentic gate?"

The three men looked dour at the point, and Mitchell answered defeatedly, "Good point. Good point."

With a grim expression, Daniel said definitively, "We're stuck."

"No we're not," Vala said casually in a matter-of-fact voice as she replaced her last piece. She seemed completely oblivious to the mood of the three. Daniel looked over at her with an irritated expression.

Looking up from the DHD, she blinked in surprise as she saw his reaction and shrugged, elaborating,"Well, when we fail to make the scheduled check-in, General Landry will dial in, at which point we'll ask him to send a naquadah generator and a laptop with a dialing program and that's that!" She looked at him with an expression that clearly showed her surprise that she was the only one to realize such a blindingly apparent fact.

Looking surprised and flustered, Daniel started to answer, "We knew that!" Teal'c and Cam looked around uncomfortably as the archaeologist sputtered, feeling equally foolish for missing the obvious. Jackson added weakly, "I-I-I thought that when I said that we're stuck, that you would know that I meant 'until then'..."

Blinking at his words, Vala tilted her head as she looked at him with a disbelieving stare and said, "Well, then you should say what you mean."

Raising an eyebrow at her, he peered across the DHD at her. "I don't think you want me to start doing that," he said warningly.

Narrowing her eyes at him, Vala sensed the underlying tension in his words. Looking into his eyes, she guessed that their kiss was the ultimate cause, and suddenly felt very annoyed. She answered dangerously, "I don't think you want to start thinking what I think.

The archaeologist paused at her answer, the two staring tensely at each other for several seconds. "Anywho!" he finally said to break the silence, "FYI, we don't need the dialing computer. Worst case scenario, we can always dial the gate manually." Vala smirked at his desperate attempt to recover some of his authority as one of the most seasoned members of SG1.

Oblivious to her reaction, Mitchell responded, "Right, kick it rotary style. We still need a power source. What about the MALP?"

"No," Daniel said quickly.

"Seaweed," Cam countered.

"Don't go there," Daniel said warningly, frowning with a dour expression.

Sighing, the Colonel answered, "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that."

Jackson glanced at his watch and said, "So, therefore, next check-in is in just under six hours."

"Good," Vala said nonchalantly, glancing at Teal'c she said, "Muscles, that means that we have time to go to the party." At that, she turned and started to walk off.

"No, it does not!" Mitchell barked at her, stopping her in her tracks. "It means we stay here out of sight and remain as inconspicuous as possible." As he spoke, Vala frowned bitterly, slowly moving back to the DHD, rolling her eyes as he finished chastising her. "With a bit of luck, the people on this planet will never even know we were here."

Just then a young couple appeared around a corner, kissing passionately. The two were extremely intent upon one another, moaning loudly as they embraced tightly.

Suddenly the woman pushed the man away, saying, "Don't tell Sylvana. She is like a sister to me."

The man answered ferverently, "Never."

They began kissing again. The man pressed himself against the woman, pinning her to the column. Both of them were very vocal, their moans echoing throughout the chamber.

The four around the DHD looked on in shock. After a moment, Vala glanced over at Daniel, her eyes regarding him mischeviously as her mind filled with memories of the intimate kiss they shared just minutes ago.

Daniel watched the couple in stunned silence. Suddenly he furrowed his brow, as if something had suddenly occurred to him. He glanced over at Vala hesitently and saw her regard him with a wanton gaze, licking her lips as he met her stare. Daniel blinked in surprise, peering at her wordlessly.

Cam and Teal'c each eyed at the couple on the far side of the room briefly, then looked at Daniel and Vala and watched as their friends shared their intimate gaze. The two men then glanced at each other wearily. Both rolled their eyes with exasperated expressions.

Suddenly the young couple pulled apart and turned to walk into the room, drawing all attention back to them as they did. The two would-be lovers froze in their tracks when they saw the members of SG1 standing behind the fake DHD. They stared at the heavily armed foursome with wide, fearful eyes.

"Hi," Cam said hesitantly, waving weakly. He continued with an awkward voice, adding, "There's nothing to be alarmed about. We...um..."

Suddenly the woman started to scream. Turning on her heel, she ran out of the room, the young man quickly following with a frightened backward glance back as he left.

The four around the gate moved immediately. Cam and Teal'c made their way around the DHD as Vala too stepped forward to chase after the young couple. Before she'd even gotten two feet, however, she yelped as Cam grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back, shoving her behind him. At the same time, Daniel stepped forward, catching Vala in his arms, looking on while Teal'c and Mitchell ran after the two interlopers. Vala tried again to follow, but Daniel held her tightly.

"How come they get to go?" she asked in exasperation, Daniel pursing his lips in frustration at her antics, holding her in place as she tried again to follow. They both watched as their friends disappeared out of the room, leaving the two alone once more.

Vala's frustration lasted for only an instant longer before she suddenly realized that she was again wrapped up in Daniel's arms. She blinked at this thought as a small grin began to play upon her lips. Slowly her head pivoted around to look up at him from her vantage point.

As soon as Vala stopped struggling, the archaeologist suddenly realized the same thing, blinking in surprise at the sequence of events that put her once more in his embrace. Her sable locks brushed his neck as she turned her head and then he could feel her eyes upon him. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly looked down at her, a sudden nervousness sweeping over him. A few stray strands of her hair tickled his face as her scent filled his nostrils. He wondered idly why he was still holding her in his arms.

Before he could ponder the question any further, their eyes met and the beautiful, raven-haired woman smiled from ear to ear. For some reason Daniel suddenly found the question quickly fleeting from his mind, along with much of the frusration he'd had just before. The faint light from their flashlights, pointing off into space at nothing in particular, cast heavy shadows across both of their faces. He could feel the warmth of her body pressed against his, he could feel the steady rhythm of her breathing which was suddenly quickening for some reason.

When she looked into his eyes, Vala saw him look back down at her with a hesitant, nervous gaze. She could feel his apprehension, but she also noticed he still held her close to him. She was glad for it, after sensing his irritation before.

As Daniel looked down at her, he felt more anxious than he had in years, swallowing hard as he saw her brilliant smile. In spite of the darkness, her eyes seemed to sparkle, captivating him. He tried to smile in return, but it was a feeble effort.

"Hi," he said nervously, suddenly feeling trapped even though it was he that held her.

"Hello," she breathed huskily, her smile growing even more, forcibly reminding Daniel of the Cheshire Cat.

Feeling even more awkward, Daniel started to release his grip on her. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could say a word she suddenly reached up with her one hand, wrapped her arm about his neck and pulled his lips down to hers, kissing him passionately.

The archaeologist let out a muffled yelp of surprise as her tongue stole its way into his mouth, her soft lips firmly pressing against his. His eyes fell closed as he stood there dumbfounded for a moment, her sweet scent filling his nostrils and the sensual wetness of her kiss threatening to rob him of his reason. The tender caress of her fingers gliding through his hair helped to finish the job, and before he knew what was happening he had wrapped her up in his arms again, holding her tightly to him as he met her tongue with his.

Vala moaned into his mouth as she felt him kiss her back, smiling and sighing happily from the tips of her toes. She leaned back, resting her weight against him. Their lips rubbed together eagerly as she continued to play with his hair, tracing her fingernails over his skin. Daniel's arms tightened about her, pressing her even more firmly against him. Her smile within the kiss grew all the more as she felt his reaction to her nearness pressing against her bottom. She wiggled her hips, taking advantage of their positioning and was answered with a very satisfying moan from the archaeologist.

The motion of her body against his set Daniel's brain on fire, searing away what was left of his reason. He kissed her even more ferverently, his breath becoming heavy as he squeezed her to him. Vala moaned at this, breaking the kiss just long enough to turn about in his arms, immediately wrapping her arms about his neck and pulling his lips back to hers again, never giving him the chance to take a breath. She pressed her body to his, cursing their bulky vests which prevented them from getting as close as she desired.

Daniel almost regained his reason as she repositioned herself, but quickly lost the opportunity as her luscious lips again assaulted him, her tongue once more entwining with his. After a few more seconds of her sensual caresses, his arms embraced her tightly again, the fire consuming his brain once more.

Eager for more of him, Vala started to stroke his neck and cheeks, standing on her tippy-toes to get even closer still. Daniel sighed heavily against her lips at the tenderness of her touch, surprising himself even more as his hands spontaneously reached down to grasp her bottom, squeezing firmly. He shocked himself with his action, but he couldn't deny that he was pleased at the broad smile he felt upon her lips as they kissed.

The jolt served to restore Daniel's reason, however. Suddenly he broke the kiss and looked away, his breath coming in heavy gasps as he struggled to regain his senses. He felt drunk, and that frightened him. Vala stared up at him with a now worried expression, her breathing just as heavy. "What's wrong?" she asked with a hint of fear in her voice. Her eyes searched his face, desperate for any sign of what he was thinking.

"Vala," he breathed but then hesitated, not sure what to say to her. He couldn't bring himself yet to look at her, his mind was still a turbulent mix of the passion she had evoked in him and the misgivings he had about what was happening between them. The seconds ticked by in silence as he wrestled with himself.

Seeing his uncertainty, she bit her lip as she began to feel very nervous and panicky now. "Daniel, please talk to me," she pleaded with an anxious, tense voice. Hearing her emotional question, Daniel finally turned his gaze back to her, looking into her eyes. He saw again the same fear and worry that he'd seen both last night and before he had kissed her in the first place. Suddenly, he remembered why he'd done it.

Sighing heavily, he reached up and caressed her cheek. To his dismay, his touch had the opposite reaction than he wanted, causing the fear to grow in her eyes. He knew if he didn't say something at once, it'd be too late.

"Vala," he said quickly, pausing only for a moment before he suddenly blurted out, "believe me, there's nothing I'd rather do than just keep kissing you and forget about the rest of the world." The smile that crossed her lips at his words still managed to dazzle him, as weak and nervous as it was. He looked in her eyes and could clearly see she knew he wasn't being completely sincere. Indeed, even as the words left his lips, they felt like a lie. But yet, they weren't, either. There was truth to what he said.

"But this isn't the time or the place," he continued with a gentle voice, his hand still stroking her cheek. The problem was, he was so confused right now that he didn't know what to think. As happy as Vala seemed to be at the prospect of what their kissing had eluded to, Daniel was nervous and frightened by the same possibilities. If they really were going to go down that road, he needed to have closure on a few things. He couldn't even believe he was thinking just that, he had never considered the possibility seriously before, yet here he was. Just the thought of what their kiss portended left him completely dumbfounded.

Vala watched at him keenly as he spoke, studying his face. She clenched her jaw in the silence following his words, reached up and took his hand away from her face, then gave him a stare that cut right through him. "You're not happy with any of this, are you?" she said bluntly, searching his eyes intently for his reaction.

Daniel pursed his lips at her question, sighing. Her eyes started to narrow as she thought she read his answer before he spoke. He decided to just be straight about it. "Vala, I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't nervous and scared about what just happened between us," she opened her mouth to say something and he could see the sharp comment soming as her eyes hardened. He kept talking, keeping her from getting in a word edgewise, "but at the same time, I kissed you first, didn't I?"

She hesitated, biting back her harsh words. He could tell that he caught her off guard, probably by anticipating what she'd been ready to throw at him. Looking deeply into her eyes, he said further in complete earnest, "If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing." She blinked in surprise at this, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "I'd still kiss you like I did." He smiled and added, "and I'd still enjoy it just as much."

Her azure eyes stared at him intently as the silence again settled between them. Finally she asked with a tense voice, "So where does that leave us, Daniel?" As hard as her expression was, he again saw a glimpse that same fear in her eyes, swirling about in complete confusion at his words.

"I don't know," he said plainly with a regretful voice. "I wish we could sit down and figure that out right now, but this couldn't be a worst time. I mean, any second, Cam and Teal'c are going to come back around that corner we're going to have to deal with a very sticky situation." Vala closed her eyes at his words and nodded sullenly. Suddenly the reality of where they were and what they were faced flooded their minds again.

She sighed, looking away as she reluctantly pulled away from him. Pursing his lips at her reaction, Daniel caught her hand in his as she stepped away. Vala looked over suddenly at his touch, watching him with a guarded expression. "Hey," he said, catching her gaze with his. "Just remember, I chose to kiss you..."

She stared at him with an unreadable expression, hesitating. He smiled warmly at her, squeezing her hand in his. A small smile crossed her lips and she squeezed back, saying with a quiet voice. "Come on, we should see what's taking them so long..."

Daniel nodded, and the two broke eye contact, starting to walk off together. Neither noticing the fact that they were still holding hands.

They walked down the corridor wordlessly, neither looking very happy. They reached about halfway down the hall when Daniel's head suddenly jerked up and he stopped in his tracks, pulling her to a stop with him.

"What's wrong? Vala asked, looking over at him.

"Did you just hear gun fire?" Daniel asked worriedly.

The raven haired woman furrowed her brow, opening her mouth to say no when suddenly her eyes opened wide. "Yes..." she said with panic in her voice as she suddenly heard a burst down the far length of the hallway.

The two let go of each other's hands and turned on their heels, gripping their P-90s and charging down the hallway at a full run.