Author's Note:
Thank you everyone who has left me reviews. I have corrected the issue about Vala's eye colour, which surprised me that I was in error, as I checked a biography of Claudia Black to check on what colour her eyes were and it said brown, so there are colour contact lenses involved and I apologise for my unawareness of their presence in the filming of "Stargate SG-1". Please do continue reading and letting me know what you think of the story and writing!
Chapter IV – Hearts & Home
Teal'c had been deep in a state of Kelno'reem after the death of the Orici and had been meditating on the effects Adria's demise was having and would have on his teammates and friends. He had witnessed Vala's turmoil, which he understood she faced both as Adria's mother and as a human being capable of deep compassion and hope. He knew, however, that Vala would find her comfort with the one person to whom she felt closest out of all of her new friends…Daniel.
He had not seen her for a while after the Odyssey jumped into hyperspace, but felt comfort in the knowledge that after a long while of solitude, she had found Daniel, having been asked if he knew his location during Vala's long search for her confidant. During what was an induced night on the ship (otherwise known as time when the commander was not on the bridge), Teal'c patrolled the long, empty hallways of the ship and ensured that all was secure.
He came upon one of the major living quarters on the Odyssey as he was en route back to his own room and wondered if Doctor Jackson might enjoy joining him in some Kelno'reem, so he paused outside Daniel's room.
"Daniel Jackson? Daniel Jackson, are you awake?"
He heard nothing in the room to suggest his friend was awake, but wondered if everything was well with Daniel, so quietly opened the automatic doors anyway. The sight before him surprised him to say the least.
Atop the sheets of Dr. Jackson's bed was its owner gently snoring with his glasses askew and falling off his nose with his arms strongly wrapped around a slumbering female figure who was sprawled out beside him, resting her head on his chest. Both were fully clothed, Teal'c noted, but as he retreated from his friend's quarters, he mused at how peacefully both slept in each other's company, when apart, he knew both endured sleepless nights and night terrors often. His friends were well-matched and it had only taken Vala to experience the emotional turmoil she had suffered and Daniel to realise there was significantly more to the woman whom he had previously thought to be only a girlish, flirty con artist. Now, things were how they were supposed to be between the pair and Teal'c hoped that both would overcome their heavy emotional luggage and move forward to create a life for each other and with each other.
"Indeed." With a final, knowing smile and a raised eyebrow, Teal'c left the room.
Hours later, two figures which seemed to be entangled together and moulded as one awoke from a blissful, uninterrupted night's rest.
"Good morning."
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Vala replied blearily, "Good morning, darling."
After making a quick check that he did indeed still sport the correct garments on his body and Vala had not done something foolish, he sat up and watched as she roused herself properly from sleep, stretching her long arms and rolling her head.
"You know, you really are beautiful when you wake up."
Vala giggled, "Daniel, no one is beautiful when they wake up," Vala leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, "but thank you for trying."
Daniel pulled her slender body towards him and embraced her in a tight hug and felt her arms wrap around him in turn. He felt his hand move almost instinctively to her wild black hair, unkempt and matted, yet still beautifully cascading around her slender face. As he smoothed the locks somewhat neatly into place, his lips moved to kiss her hair while she tightened her grip around him.
"So what do you want to do now?" Daniel asked tentatively.
"Now?"
"About us, Vala."
She pulled away from his embrace to gaze into his eyes, "I don't know," her lips turned up, "but I know I would like there to be an us."
It was Daniel's turn to be amused, "Good answer. I think, though, that we should just keep this…" he hesitated, "development to ourselves until we can answer that first question with a definite answer. What do you say?"
"I agree. Let's wait until we get home and see where things go from there and then, if," Vala smiled, "or should I say, when we decide the time is right, we can tell people."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Daniel, I'm hungry."
Falling out of bed in rolls of laughter, the couple readied themselves to be seen in the mess hall, though Daniel did get there a short while after Vala, as she would not be kept from sustenance only to keep their new understanding a secret.
Two days later…
"Unscheduled off-world activation! I repeat, unscheduled off-world activation! Calling General Landry to the control room."
As usually happened when the Stargate activated with an unscheduled dial-up the SGC was teaming with armed personnel racing into the gate room. Along with key members of the organisation hurrying to the control room to witness any contact or arrivals, whichever members of SG-1 were in the close vicinity of the control room would enter the control room along with the General.
On this occasion, Daniel Jackson and Cam Mitchell found their way to the hub of Stargate Command and were standing alongside General Landry when Walter pulled up an audio feed that was being streamed through the wormhole.
"Hello? Hello, Vala? Is anyone there? Is this stupid device even working, I wouldn't know I stole it from a very unwholesome chap, whom I wouldn't trust really, but the device seemed to work."
"I've had enough of this," Landry said impatiently, leaning toward the microphone on the control panel, "who is this, please?"
"Is that the General? General Landry?" A man's voice asked.
"It is, but who – may I ask – are you?" Landry asked, getting more agitated as the conversation endured.
"Good to hear from you, General, so great. Why, it's your old friend," a happy, jokey laugh punctuated his speech, "Jacek. So, please lower your shield and permit my wife and I to come through the Stargate."
Anyone in the control room could have heard the distinctly depressed sighs of Dr. Jackson, Colonel Mitchell and General Landry. Most of Cheyenne Mountain knew that the name 'Jacek' meant trouble, and trouble for one of the most cherished people on the base…Vala Mal Doran, Jacek's estranged daughter.
Daniel spoke, "Jacek, it's Daniel Jackson. Would your wife be Adria?"
"Why, yes, she is. Vala must remember her and speak of her often for you to know her name. I'm glad. Does this mean we're being let through to Earth?"
With a glance to his superiors, Daniel said firmly, "No, it most definitely does not, Jacek. Why would we let you through the gate after your antics here on your last visit?"
Jacek laughed, "Well, that's the thing, you see, I'm in a bit of a fix and I – we – desperately require your assistance and want to relocate to your fair, hospitable planet."
Mitchell then weighed in, "Jacek, you hang tight for a while and we'll have a confab and talk about what we'll do about you, you slimeball, agreed?"
Silence swept through the air after the previous waves of chatter, but Jacek responded, "Of course, naturally, Colonel Mitchell. Just say hi to my little girl for me from me and her stepmother."
The gate shut down and General Landry returned to the microphone and said into it, "Vala Mal Doran and SG-1 report to the briefing room at once, please."
Once all members of the primary SG team were present in the briefing room, along with Hank Landry, the discussion of whether Vala's family should be allowed access to Earth began. It had been decided, as Vala still had no inkling that her father had made contact, that Daniel would be the one to explain the current situation and more importantly, just who were the players.
"Vala, a few minutes ago, your father made audio contact with Stargate Command through the gate from an unknown planet. He is requesting to be once again granted access to Earth and to live here on a permanent basis."
Vala laughed, fully knowing her father, "And what does he offer in return?"
"Well…we don't know, but there's one more thing. Your stepmother," Daniel took a long breath, "Adria is with him and expecting to come through the gate with Jacek."
Vala sat bolt upright in her chair upon hearing the name that she did not expect to fall from Daniel's lips, "Well…I…Ad-…What?"
Daniel looked at her with love in his eyes that he could not show her at the moment, "Vala, I'm sorry, but yes, your father and stepmother are together."
Vala's eyes darted around the room, meeting the eyes of each of her teammates who were staring at her with various emotions registering in their eyes: Daniel looked apologetic, Sam was concerned, Mitchell was cautious, Teal'c was…Teal'c and General Landry was looking at her expecting her to elaborate on what she thought was her family's situation.
"As you all know, I haven't had any contact with my father – or his wife, for that matter – since he came here the last time. My stepmother and he, last time I heard, had separated and were no longer on speaking terms, which is usual for my father and his relationships. They barely lasted longer than months, no more than a year at most, but he spent longer with Adria than any of them. They bonded over their love of conning people and thievery. I believe they actually met in the Thieves' Guild on a small planet-"
"I'm sorry to interrupt what promises to be a fascinating story about two star-crossed thieves, but can we get on to something relevant?" Mitchell asked.
Daniel shot the "official" leader of his team a stern look when he interrupted Vala rather harshly, which the colonel thought odd behaviour for Dr. Jackson who normally grew tired of Vala's lengthy narratives far faster than he did, but something had plainly changed between them.
"Vala, if you can shorten the story to the main points, we would all appreciate it." General Landry said.
"Fine, though it is a gripping story. They often joined up in deals but if they went sour because of my father's greed or overestimation of his talents, Adria would always cut loose and go off on her own terms. It was the source of most of their fighting, so eventually when they split there was no love lost between them, as I heard my father was incarcerated for a lengthy time by a group of traders whom he had ripped off and sold counterfeit goods to in return and Adria left him behind. So, if they are once again on the same team, something must have gone terribly, terribly wrong for both of them to unite them once more."
"Ok, so having heard the backstory of Vala's family, what do you all think about letting Jacek and his lady through the gate?" Landry asked, searching the faces of SG-1.
Sam spoke for the first time in the meeting, "Well, I hesitate to let Jacek on the planet, especially in a civilian capacity, so if we did let him through the Stargate, I would recommend guards and restrictions on his activities here on a permanent basis and that's a lot of manpower."
"I believe that Jacek is an untrustworthy man and one without honour and it would be wise not to allow him to come to Earth. I am sorry, Vala Mal Doran," Teal'c said, nodding to his teammate, "but I do not trust your father."
Vala shrugged off the insult to her father and everyone knew she had a lot worse to call the man.
"I don't want to let him back either, but I will agree with whatever Vala wants to do, as it is her father after all and the remainder of her family," Daniel said softly, knowing his last words had the power to hurt her deeply.
Vala flinched, recalling her daughter and her mind flitted back to her stepmother, after whom she had named Adria the Orici.
"I don't trust him – or her – but neither do I believe that they deserve to die or be captured, or whatever it is that has them so fearful that they would need to make contact with the SGC. So I would say allow them back and I will vouch for them, but I will understand your reasons, should you choose not to allow them through the Stargate, he is after all, only my father."
After Sam smiled at him, General Landry smiled at Vala warmly, "And that, Vala, is why I'll give him a second chance."
"Fourth." SG-1 chorused in reply.
