Bedside
They told her it was part of loving him. That she had to be willing to spend hours, days, weeks, sometimes months and even years waiting by his side when he'd gotten himself in trouble. And she was.
But the knowledge that it would happen and the willingness to do it didn't make the moment when she had to any easier when it came.
Why did he have to be so courageous and...romantic?
Vala let out a small laugh through her tears as she sat beside Daniel's bed in the infirmary. Her thumb gently stroked across the back of his lax hand. "How can you manage to push me back from a rock slide, but slip down it yourself?" She sat forward, brushing her free hand through his hair, careful to avoid the oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose. The stubble that had begun to grow along his jawline was a stark contrast against his pale skin.
"If nothing else, the serious amount of romance points you've earnedd with this one are helping me not be upset with you."
"He's good at that." Vala jumped at the new voice, turning to see Jack standing in the doorway. He came into the room, and dragged a chair over next to hers. "Earning points to make up for whatever stupid heroic act he's done." He sat down in the chair. "Of course, in my case, it was friendship points...Guess I wasn't enough of his type for the romance thing."
Vala laughed quietly at Jack's bad humor. She knew it was his way of lightening any situation. Of course he was the one who had passed the trait onto Daniel.
"So..." Jack stretched. "I hear this is your first real big 'sit at the bedside of a wayward archaeologist' vigil."
"Yep." Vala nodded. "I've done it before when he's had a sprained ankle, or concussion, or split lip and some other wound requiring stitches. But this one..." She turned to look at Daniel. "This one is big."
Jack leaned forward in his chair. "Ah..." He placed his hand on Daniel's blanket-covered ankle. "A collapsed lung, three broken ribs, concussion, blown out knee, and broken ankle is nothing for Danny-boy here."
"You make it sound so easy to deal with." Vala sighed, looking at Jack with a small smile.
"Do I?" Jack laughed, then shook his head. "Trust me, it's not. Even after all these years, it hasn't gotten any easier. Not a smidge."
Vala tilted her head curiously. "Then how do you manage to stay so..."
"Upbeat?" Jack asked.
"Yeah." Vala nodded with a smile.
"Sometimes..." Jack sighed. "A lot of the time...you wonder..." He tilted his head like she had, a knowing smile coming to his lips. "You will wonder why your so willing to sit beside someone when you're not even sure if they'll wake up in a few minutes, a few hours, a few days...or worse - ever." Jack's brown eyes looked up, and his smile widened. "Then something will happen that makes all the waiting, the sore back, the overwhelming boredom all worth it."
"What's that?" Vala questioned. Jack just simply shrugged, and that's when she felt pressure against her hand. Looking at it, she found Daniel's hand was gripping hers gently. Her grey eyes traveled upward and were met with glazed blue ones staring back.
"Daniel." She whispered as she grinned. "You're awake."
Daniel slowly pulled the mask down with his free hand and smiled lazily at her. "Barely." His gaze drifted slowly to Jack. "Hey Jack."
"Dammit Daniel..." Jack grumbled good-naturedly. "You couldn't stay unconscious for another thirty minutes?!"
Daniel grinned. "Who beat you?"
"Mitchell!" Jack growled. "He said you wouldn't keep the pretty lady waiting less than six hours."
Daniel squeezed Vala's hand. "Couldn't make her first vigil too bad, ya know?"
Vala looked back and forth between them, a look of bewilderment on her face. "You guys BET on Daniel!? Why didn't I know about this?!" She glared at Daniel. "And what do you mean 'too bad'?! Five hours IS horrible!"
Daniel just blinked innocently. Jack laughed and leaned in.
"Actually it was five hours, thirty two minutes, and eighteen seconds." At Vala's wide-eyed glance, he sobered. "Wait until you've had to sit there for a week and a half - then you'll start to appreciate the value of a second." He gave a pointed look to Daniel, then another one to Vala. "Now stop whining and give your hero a kiss..."
Vala swallowed then turned back to Daniel, who smiled dopily at her. As she leaned in to place a gentle kiss on his lips, Jack's voice reached her again.
"And be happy your first time wasn't that bad."
A/N: Bunnies saw the opportunity to throw Jack into the mix, and who can complain about those wonderful Jack/Vala friendshippy moments!
