"Ready?" Sam asked, and, receiving the Jaffa's nod, entered the initiation sequence; they all directed cautiously curious gazes to the screen.

Teal'c thought back on his years on the Odyssey...yet, despite his conscious efforts, it was not the intended meetings that came to mind.

Chapter I: Ignorance Was Bliss

There they were, all together over a rich Christmas table, a tree twinkling behind them, its colorful lights providing a bizarre contrast against the darkness of space outside the window. Joy was written over their faces, as they enjoyed what seemed like a genuine Christmas Eve in a wonderful family.

They knew they should stop watching, but the sight was riveting. Everyone looked the same…it must not have been too long into their life on the Odyssey…perhaps the first year, or maybe the second. And they acted so relaxed, so cheerful, so loving, so carefree. Mitchell couldn't help smirking as he saw himself holding a twig of mistletoe above his head and leaning over the table to give Sam a peck on the lips. He was sure he'd repeat the routing with Vala, and, surely enough, there it was, a few seconds later, the same playful kiss. Taking their eyes off the scene for a moment, the two teammates in question gave him false glares. And they all smiled in amusement and understanding.

Then the smiles changed to perplexity, as the Vala in Teal'c's memory leaned casually into Daniel's arms, reaching up with her hands and pulling him down for a long kiss. They all half-expected to see the archaeologist roll his eyes and laugh it off, but instead he slowly moved a hand to the nape of her neck, deepening the kiss. And when they broke it off, he playfully caressed the tip of her nose, giving her a warm smile, and Vala grinned playfully.

The silence that only seconds before had been filled with a wonderful sense of closeness suddenly became heavy. Cam and Sam exchanged a bemused glance, then looked towards Daniel, who was still staring, wide-eyed, at the screen, and Vala, who watched herself smile happily in the archaeologist's embrace. Her lower lip trembled slightly, and she bit it hard.

"Excuse me," she spoke in a low, icy tone, then turned on her heels and rushed out of room before anyone could say anything.

Daniel stared at the scene for a moment longer, before wordlessly turning, bewilderment still evident on his face, and following her out. Behind them, Mitchell and Sam watched the memory fade just as Landry presented Sam with a small gift in red wrapping, and Daniel playfully placed the Santa hat on Vala's head, pulling it lower over her eyes.

"Vala, wait." Still marching decidedly down the corridor, she paid no attention to his call, and Daniel felt a pang of irritation. "Vala, would you stop!"

She came to a halt a few steps ahead, back still turned to him, and he actually had to walk around her to bring them face to face. He half-expected a blank expression, a feigned appearance of normality…but instead received a smoldering, narrow-eyed glare and a hostile silence. The heated stance took him aback—what was that all about?

"We, uh…should…probably…mmm…talk…?"

"Oh, don't sound so eager, Daniel," she retorted sarcastically.

"Well, what do you expect? I'm just as…as shocked by…by…but at least I'm willing to discuss it, I'm not the one who stomped out of there like—"

"You know what, Daniel, I really appreciate your being 'willing' to 'discuss', but let me spare you the ordeal. We don't have anything to talk about," she finished coolly, then turned on her heels and started towards her quarters.

"Oh, oh so you're going to just walk away and act insulted, that's so mature, Vala."

She gave no indication of having heard him, but quickened the pace to her room, walking in without a single glance back, and slamming the door. For one second, Daniel was too surprised by her behavior to react, then anger took over. Without hesitation, he marched to her quarters, opened the door and stomped in after her, frustrated and incensed.

"It's always like this with you, isn't it? Just pretend nothing happened, or put up this…this offended front, stomp to your room like an absurd teenager, well you know what, Vala, I think you should have outgrown this attitude by now!"

Inhaling deeply, she turned to face him, mirroring his heated expression. However, when she spoke, her tone was forcedly calm.

"What do you want from me, Daniel?"

"What do I want?" He shook his head in disbelief, then passed a hand through his hair with a nervous laugh. "Funny you should ask that! I am not the one who's been desperately pushing for something to happen, always making ridiculous advances bordering on harassment—"

"Oh, you're absolutely right, I must have cornered you on the Odyssey and forced you to submit to my sexual whims!"

"I did not say that, Vala, don't put words in my mouth!"

"No, honestly, I absolutely agree!" Bitterness had replaced the angry edge in her voice. "I must have really worn you out with my 'ridiculous advances' for you to give in. But don't worry, Daniel, now that we're not confined on the Odyssey, there's enough room to get away from me and my 'harassment'—"

"Stop twisting my words! Please, Vala, you're acting like a spoiled child, we're not getting anywhere like this—"

She'd walked as far away from him as the small room allowed, but his words felt just as sharp as they echoed claustrophobically off the four closed walls. Closing her eyes for one short second, she half-heartedly tried to end the fight, crossing her arms and jadedly asking him:

"Why are you still here, Daniel? I'd say you've made your point quite clearly. And since I'm not longer, literally, the verylast woman in this galaxy for you—"

"What? What?"

He'd been pacing nervously in the small space between her bed and the door, but her words made him freeze on the spot. He almost laughed at how ridiculous, how wrong she was, and his next phrase was truncated by a barely suppressed snicker.

"Is that what's got you so worked up? You think that's why…you think I could ever…you shouldn't judge me by your own standards! I'd never go into anything like that out of boredom—"

"Oh? But I thought we were just making clear how I'd forced you to give in against your wishes, surely you're not arguing the sheer logic of that, saying it actually meant something—"

"No! I mean…yes…no!" He rubbed his temples in exasperation. "It doesn't mean anything to us now—"

"Good, you almost had me worried…"

"Why are you so defensive? Vala, I'm not here to fight with you…I thought you'd want to hear I wasn't making a big deal out of…that…thing…that you'd be relieved…"

"Immensely, Daniel," she deadpanned. Suddenly weary, she perched precariously on the wooden frame at the end of her bed, shaking her head in bewilderment. How had things come to be so…so…wrong…between the two of them? She wished they'd just go back to the way they were before. But 'before' was gone, and there was only 'now', and now, there was Daniel, rolling his eyes and giving her a dissatisfied glare.

"Would you drop the sarcasm? Call me overly optimistic, but I just wanted us to talk like two mature, reasonable people, to make sure we didn't get the wrong idea, but obviously you can't handle an adult conversation!"

"Obviously," she echoed. "And what wrong idea might that be?"

And he swallowed hard as the answer eluded him. From the way they were fighting, she'd obviously gotten the wrong idea. But the rest was tragically unclear to him. And he didn't know how to put it. And for one short moment, his mind shouted that they had both gotten the wrong idea, and that the right idea would lead to a wonderful place…but he quickly pushed that thought away.

"You know…that something would…happen…in that sense…"

"Because that would be so ridiculous."

"Oh come on, Vala! Don't use this as a pretext to come across as a victim, because we both know how you stand on the matter of relationships. How many times were you actually driven by something other than boredom or interest? Don't you think acting so serious about all this is a bit out of character for you? Inconsistent with your policy of meaningless gratification?"

Vala never quite knew how it had happened, but before she could stop herself, she felt her body move, and suddenly she was standing right in front of him, staring into his eyes, and they looked so alarmed that she imagined she must appear quite fierce, and then she heard her own voice come out in an icy hiss.

"Get out, Daniel."

He instinctively opened his mouth for a retort, then his heated expression turned to shock as her words registered. Disbelief was written clearly across his features, disbelief at her unreasonable, rude, absurd, insulting…

"Grow up, Vala."

Then, with the same disdainful grimace, he turned and walked out.

A/N: You didn't think it was going to end up that way, right? Where would the rest of my story be then. So, what do you think? How would you see their reactions if they found out in similar circumstances? As always, I would love to hear your thoughts! (...and we all know "Unending" was probably named for the quantity of speculation it generated.)

Until next time,

Myosotis