"Please, can I see Vala?" Nalia asked again.

The general and Daniel exchanged looks, unsure what to tell her. From behind them, Sam came jogging up the ramp.

"Sir," she said, waiting to speak.

General Landry turned to face her. "Yes, Colonel?"

"Vala wants to meet her," she said in a rather hushed tone.

Nalia hadn't been intended to hear this comment, but a small smile formed on her pale face to indicate that she had anyway. Still, she remained quiet.

Landry thought for a moment before turning back to face Nalia. "You'll need to be checked out by Doctor Lam," he said. "Once you're done in the infirmary, we'll arrange a meeting between the two of you."

Nalia's grin widened with victory and excitement. She hopped behind Daniel as he led her toward the infirmary.

"How do you and Vala know each other?" he asked.

"I told you, I can't tell you that."

Still sceptical, he kept pressing. "Why not?"

Nalia avoided looking him in the eye. "I'm not sure she wants anyone to know."

"Then why did you come? If you thought she wouldn't want to see you."

She sighed. "Because I wanted to make sure she was okay. It's been so long since I saw her... I missed her."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. Much as he'd grown to care for his fellow SG-1 team member, he'd never really learned much about her past. He assumed she'd never grown close to anyone, but it seemed she and this girl had been very close at one point. At least from what she was saying.

That's when he saw it; the resemblance between Vala and Nalia. Their hair, their skin, the same sparkle in their eyes.

"Are you two related?" he asked. He'd heard no mention of a family besides her parents, but he presumed it was possible she'd never told any of them. She didn't like to disclose much personal information, usually choosing innuendo and humor instead of any deep feelings.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, I was just noticing, you look a lot like her."

Nalia blushed slightly. "Thank you," she said.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I told you, I can't tell you how we know each other. That doesn't change just because you see a few similarities in our appearances."

Her tone was much firmer than Daniel had expected. He decided to drop the subject for the moment, but secretly decided Nalia was likely Vala's cousin. Otherwise, he was certain, Jacek would have mentioned her during his visit. After all, he'd done everything else to try to endear his daughter to him. He dropped off Nalia with Doctor Lam and went straight to Vala's quarters to check up on her.

He knocked on the door, but got no reply. He knocked harder the second time and called, "Vala? It's me, Daniel. Can we talk for a minute?"

"She doesn't want to talk to anyone," Sam responded from behind him, causing him to jump slightly.

Daniel nodded, but as soon as Sam was gone, he let himself into Vala's quarters. This wasn't something he usually did, but perhaps working with her so long had caused him to pick up a few of her tricks.

Vala was sitting cross-legged on her bed, staring at something she was holding, a small smile across her face. He cleared his throat and she jumped, not used to her keen senses letting her down. She shoved whatever it was into her pocket.

"Come for some fun, darling?" she asked, leaning back on the bed and winking.

He ignored her flirtations and took a seat next to her. "Who's Nalia?" he asked, straight to the point.

She bit her lower lip, unsure whether or not to tell him. She chose the latter and tried her best to distract him the only way she knew how.

"That's not really why you came here," she said, running a hand up his shirt. He batted it away.

"Vala, be serious," he replied.

"I am serious, Darling."

"Vala," he scolded in a father-like tone.

She huffed and folded her arms across her chest. "She's just someone I used to know," she replied, her voice distant and her eyes staring at the ceiling.

"It seems like she was more than just an acquaintance."

Vala sighed. "She was."

"So who is she?"

"If I tell you that, where will the mystery be in our relationship?" she asked, forcing her mischievous smile to cross her face.

"Vala, why won't you tell me?"

Vala stood and crossed the room to her mirror. She began fiddling with her hair. She'd left it down today, but she decided that was a mistake and started dividing it into pigtails, which she tied with bright pink elastics. She was silent until finally Daniel got up and left.

She was sure she was home free until she heard a soft knock. She hesitated before opening it, but it was apparent now that if it was Daniel again, he could just let himself in, so she thought she'd spare herself the annoyance of knowing someone had stolen one of her tricks – though on any other day, she'd probably be proud of him – and opened it herself.

"Sam?" Vala exclaimed, trying not to show her surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Well you seemed really caught off-guard by Nalia's arrival. I came to make sure you were okay. May I come in?"

Vala moved away from the door to allow Sam passage. She finished tying her second pigtail before sitting next to her friend.

"I'm fine," Vala said before Sam could speak.

Sam chuckled. "Okay," she replied, disbelievingly.

"What?" Vala asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"You almost passed out when she spoke her name. Now you've locked yourself in this room and you only answered because you thought I was Daniel."

Vala opened her mouth to speak, but realized for once she was speechless. She leaned her head on her hand. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"If I tell you something," she hesitated. This wasn't something she normally did. "Do you promise not to tell anyone?"

Sam nodded. "Of course."

Vala smiled, but it wasn't really a happy smile. It was there more as a product of her discomfort. "The last time I saw Nalia, she was only thirteen months old. That's why I didn't recognize her right away."

Sam's brow furrowed, but she didn't say anything.

"When the Goa'uld arrived on my planet, when I was taken as a host, I thought she'd been killed. Until today, I never thought she'd made it out."

Sam was dying to ask how they had known each other, but she didn't dare interrupt. Vala never told anyone about her personal life prior to being taken by Qetesh.

Vala took a deep breath. "I wasn't always like this," she said, with an ironic smile. "I was engaged to a man named Novim. We were ready to settle down and live the lives our parents wanted for us. I suppose we were never really traditional, but we never dreamed bigger than a modest home with nice furnishings and life on a farm, as his parents had. He was a kind and gentle man and had a sense of humor too. I loved him."

She paused again. She'd suppressed his memory for so long that it was difficult to talk about him, even after all this time.

"As I said, we weren't really traditional," she began again, "because our daughter was born shortly after our engagement became official."

It wasn't hard to put everything together once she said that. "Nalia is your daughter?" Sam asked.

Vala looked up, looking her in the eye for the first time. "Yes."

Sam was completely taken aback. She'd always thought that Adria had been Vala's first and only child, but now she knew that assumption was incorrect.

Sam pulled her into a hug, realizing it must have been hard thinking for so many years that her daughter had been killed – especially being the host to the one she thought was responsible for such a loss. In that moment, she found herself with a new respect for Vala.

"Just don't tell anyone, please."

Sam nodded in response, though she couldn't help wondering why Vala wanted to keep this a secret.