"Vala, do you mind?" Daniel complained, his vision currently very obscured by her rear. He tilted his head slightly. Hmm. That wasn't actually the problem per se. The problem was that she had stopped her upward climb on the ladder, leaving him stranded halfway up the ladder with a sprained wrist and sore ribs. Climbing a ladder was not exactly easy on his achy body in the first place; but clinging to the ladder was much, much worse.
Vala stopped her enraptured observation of the night sky and rapidly shimmied up the rest of the way, then peered down at him. "Daniel, hurry! It's so gorgeous up here!"
"The stars aren't going anywhere." He mumbled, dragging himself the rest of the way up the ladder. Why, oh why exactly was he climbing a ladder with a sprained wrist and sore ribs? He shook his head as he climbed onto the deck. Vala was already settled on a chair, eyes shining as she took in the night sky. Much as he wanted to stay annoyed, he found it very difficult as he observed Vala's excitement. He dropped into the seat next to her and slid down so his head was up against the back, giving him a good view of the panorama. Part of him was complaining that it wasn't the first time he'd seen the stars; it wasn't that big of a deal and he should just close his eyes and take a nap.
The other part of him was already lost in the amazing sight as usual. Didn't matter how much time he'd spent up here over the years, it never got old.
"What's that one?"
Daniel followed Vala's finger. "The Big Dipper."
Vala looked at him strangely, "Is there a skinny dipper?"
His aching ribs ached even more as he laughed. She regularly caught him off guard, but sometimes she was just so darned cute in her befuddlement. Most of the time, she was genuinely confused about Earth phrases; unlike a certain Jaffa he knew. Daniel was convinced that Teal'c had been doing it on purpose for many, many years. Good old Jaffa humor. Holding his ribs, he groaned, "Ow."
"Serves you right for laughing at me!"
"I wasn't laughing at you..." He tried to defend himself, but her pursed lips and shaking head clearly indicated what she thought of his weak lie. Shrugging, he conceded, "Sorry, but it was funny. To answer your question, no, there's no skinny dipper. As far as I know. Just the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper." He pointed the constellations out to her.
Vala settled back in the chair, staring at the stars. "Why are they called dippers?"
"Because they look like dippers, or ladles."
"Ladles?" Vala twisted her head and suddenly smiled, "Oh, now I see it. They do look like dippers." She was quiet for a few minutes, and then leaned forward. "Jack said you would let me see through the telescope."
"Take the cover off." He instructed, sliding his chair forward. Once she had pulled the cover off, he got closer and adjusted the dials and checked through the lens. "Ok, there you go."
Vala eagerly put her eye to the telescope, "Ooh, pretty! What is it I'm looking at, Daniel?"
"Saturn."
"Have we been there?"
"No."
"It's beautiful."
For the next 20 minutes, Daniel readjusted the telescope and pointed out other stars and planets while Vala oohed and ahed. He felt contentment settle over him as they studied the night sky together. It was a gorgeous summer night and everyone had gathered at Jack's place for an evening barbeque. Cassie and Teal'c had relocated to the living room to continue the Halo battle they had started before dinner. Jack and Sam were relaxing on the back porch with Ferretti, Lee, Carolyn and Reynolds. Cam had taken up residence on the couch with an ice pack, complaining endlessly about the agony of his bruised tailbone. His complaining had been escalating during the evening, so Daniel was confident he had decided not to follow Carolyn's orders and had instead been self-medicating with beer.
Daniel rested his head back and closed his eyes; content to listen to the crickets and the soft sounds of conversation from the porch below. Vala sat back in her chair a few moments later and asked softly, "Did you ever dream you would go to other worlds?"
Daniel didn't open his eyes. "No. You?"
"Well, travel to other worlds was much more common where I grew up, obviously." Vala explained. "But no, I never dreamed I'd go anywhere." She was silent for a long moment, then whispered, "Quetesh changed that."
Daniel shifted and studied her profile in the moonlight. It was rare to catch Vala in a pensive mood. It didn't happen often, or typically last very long, but he learned more about her in moments like these than he did at any other time. He also knew she was most vulnerable at times like these.
"Vala?" He ventured gently.
She took a deep breath. "I was scared, Daniel." She said with complete honesty. "All those years, locked up with someone else controlling my life; my body. I couldn't make any decisions, I couldn't control anything. I was scared and had nothing, no one. I was alone."
He nodded slowly, feeling his stomach knot up at her words. His mind automatically went back to that awful day when he'd first seen Sha're as Apophis' queen Ammonet. She must have been screaming out to him to rescue her. Trapped in a living hell. He frowned and shook his head, meeting Vala's gaze. Her grey eyes were a pinch misty. He felt overwhelming empathy for her. Reaching out, he squeezed her hand. She smiled sadly and squeezed back, then returned her gaze to the stars.
Despite what he knew the rest of his team was whispering behind his back, Daniel wasn't completely oblivious to the spark between him and Vala. He was at times frustrated beyond words with her, embarrassed or humiliated by her, but there were other moments, like these, that he looked forward to; when he could just simply be with her without any pressure. She was so difficult to deal with most of the time and no one could annoy him as quickly or as much. Well, other than Jack, he mused. But when she wasn't driving him completely crazy, she could be fun to be around.
Those long months after she'd disappeared into the Ori galaxy had been some of the worst months of his life. Looking back, all he could remember was a pervasive darkness. It had been a long time since he'd woken up with terrible nightmares, but when she'd been gone, he'd had nightmares almost every night. Seeing her again had made him happier than he could ever let on, to her or anyone else. Even so, he was being extremely careful. She was still a dangerous and manipulative woman. He trusted her with his life (well, mostly), but not yet with his heart. So he couldn't open up to her fully. And he definitely couldn't give anything away to his team. He knew they cared about him and wanted him happy, but this was probably his weakest and most vulnerable spot. He couldn't let himself take the chance that she wasn't in this for the long haul.
"You know the first day I felt like I was going to be ok?" Vala's soft voice interrupted his thoughts. He shook his head, her hand still in his. She grinned, "When we first met. Our first date."
"You mean when you assaulted me, kidnapped me, oh, and then beat me up a second time? It wasn't a date."
"Mmm, good times." Vala continued to grin mischievously. "When you helped me out of my little pickle I knew things were going to be ok."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." She nodded, leaning her head back against her seat. "Despite the fact that you were so terribly mean to me. I'd never been beaten up before. Most men fall all over themselves when they meet me."
"I refer you back to the assault and kidnapping."
"I didn't know if I could trust you. You seemed very suspect."
"Suspect?" Daniel asked incredulously, "How was I suspect? You were the one who took over the ship and tossed the crew out like they were garbage."
"Oh, Daniel. You exaggerate."
"No, no I'm actually fairly certain that I'm not exaggerating. Just stating the facts."
"Hmmm. Technicalities." Vala remarked unconcernedly. "Do you think Cameron has passed out yet?"
Daniel snorted, "The way he was drinking last I saw, I'd say yes."
Vala made a tsking noise and leaned back in her chair, drawing her legs up and pillowing her head against his shoulder. After a few moments of silence, Vala said softly, "It's nice to be here with you, Daniel."
He smiled and meant it when he said, "I'm glad you're here."
"Well? Sitrep!"
Cassie smiled at Jack's abrupt words. She squeezed onto the swing next to him. He grunted and scooted over closer to Sam. Putting his left arm around Cassie's shoulders he said, "Good thing neither of you are too hippy or we would not all fit on this swing."
"Jack!" Cassie rolled her eyes.
"Cass." He looked at her, "I repeat: well? Sitrep!"
"Lou, Bert, Bill, and Teal'c went to a midnight movie. Carolyn is crying her eyes out watching Gone with the Wind, of all things."
"Oy."
"Exactly. Cam is passed out on the couch despite Carolyn's boohooing."
"And?" he prodded. "I sent you on a very specific mission. And…"
Cassie grinned, "And…her head is on his shoulder, his head is on hers and they're both sound asleep."
"Ha!" Jack nodded, "Knew it." He shook Sam's shoulder, "You owe me."
"Mmph?"
"Wake up. I was right."
Sam stirred slightly and muttered, "I never disagreed with you. Besides, how can I owe you? What's mine is yours, remember, sir?"
"Sir?" Jack frowned down at the blonde head on his shoulder. "You're not awake."
"Nope." She muttered and buried her head against his shoulder again.
Cassie laughed.
Jack turned his attention back to her. "They look happy?"
"They look asleep." Cassie laughed again, "But, seeing as they've been up there for almost four hours now, by themselves unsupervised without a chaperone, a referee, or a loud and violent argument, yes, I'd say they were happy."
"Excellent." Jack nodded. Even if it was just for tonight, everything was right in the world.
Stay tuned for the next installment! :D Thanks for reading and reviewing!
