Title: A Very Tau'ri Wedding
Rating: T
Summary: Vala struggles to understand Tau'ri wedding traditions as she prepares for her upcoming nuptials with Daniel.
Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of its wonderful characters.
Chapter 4: Very Superstitious
In the month since Daniel proposed to Vala, she worked as hard as she could on all of the wedding details. She tried to forget about the superstitions involved, but found that she would rather follow at least some of them. With her troubled past, she knew that she would probably need to be on fate's side in this matter and she did not want to chance anything.
Something Old
With the wedding on two months away, Vala knew that she needed to get started on getting her "something old" to wear on her wedding day.
She was currently pacing in her quarters trying to think of something old she could possibly get her hands on. Sam had told her that it should be something personal, but unfortunately Vala had few possessions here at the SGC.
A soft knock sounded on the door. "Vala?" It was Daniel.
"Come in darling." Daniel entered the room.
"It's almost time for our dinner date honey, are you ready?"
Vala had almost forgotten that her and Daniel were going out that night. Thankfully they were not going to go anywhere fancy, so the nice pair of jeans and her pink blouse would do just fine.
"Yes, I just need a minute to fix my hair." She smiled weakly at Daniel and went over to her vanity to brush her hair.
Daniel sat down on Vala's bed and watched her get ready. "You seem distracted Vala."
Vala looked at Daniel through the mirror. "I am trying to figure out something old that I have that I could wear for the wedding."
Daniel sighed and shifted to face Vala's reflection in the mirror better. "Well since you insist on playing into the superstitions, I suppose I could help you out."
Vala brightened. "Really? Thank you so much!" She finished with her hair and turned to Daniel. "How do I look?"
Daniel got up and pulled Vala to him. "Beautiful," he said as he gave her a small kiss. "Now let's go, I'm hungry."
Vala laughed and followed him out the door.
Once Daniel and Vala arrived at the restaurant and had ordered, Daniel turned to Vala. "I think I may have thought of something old that you could use."
"Really? What is it?" Vala brightened at the thought.
"Well, you know that box of trinkets and jewelry that your father gave you that I know you still have? I'm sure you could find something in there that you could use." Daniel smiled thoughtfully at Vala.
Vala frowned back at him. "Absolutely not! I am not wearing anything that that man has given me on my wedding day!" She crossed her arms in annoyance.
Daniel sighed. "Vala, haven't you even invited your father to the wedding? Traditionally the father walks the bride down the aisle."
Vala had already known that thanks to Sam. "I don't care. I don't want him at our wedding, besides I have already asked Cameron to walk me down the aisle."
Daniel look puzzled. "You asked Cam to walk you down the aisle?"
"Yes," Vala said, exasperated. "He said he would be happy to, besides even if I did want my dad at the wedding, I do not even know where he is."
Their food finally arrived and the two began to eat. Daniel put down his fork after a moment and sighed. "I'm sorry Vala. I should have known that bringing up the subject of your father was a bad idea." He took her hand and squeezed. "Forgive me?"
Vala gave Daniel a small smile. "Of course darling, I'm sure I can find something to use." She reached across the table to kiss Daniel's cheek. "You are just too sexy to stay mad at for too long anyway."
Once back at the base, Vala retreated to her quarters. She reached under her bed and got out the trinket box. Opening it, she thought of her father. As much as she was still angry with him, she would like to have him at the wedding, but she was too proud and too stubborn to attempt to look for him, let alone ask him to come.
Vala sifted through the jewelry and suddenly noticed a necklace that she had thought she had lost years ago. She lifted up the silver and crystal necklace into the light. The crystals were a special kind that were only found on her home planet. They were clear, but reflected the light beautifully. The necklace was actually a gift from her mother, the last one she would ever receive from her. Vala smiled sadly at the thought of her mother. She wished her mother were still around to see her daughter happily in love and about to be married. Placing the necklace carefully back into the box she knew, she had found her "something old" to wear.
Something New
That weekend, Vala dragged Sam along with her to go shopping. The two friends went to the local mall and Vala set off to find "something new".
"I have no idea what to get." Vala pouted and turned to the blonde.
Sam smiled back at Vala. "Come on now, we are in the mall which is like one of your favorite places, we will find something."
Vala sighed heavily. "Well, until I decide, let's go to Victoria's Secret so I can look for some sexy lingerie for the honeymoon."
"Okay Vala, let's go." Vala was already off to the store.
Vala looked through the lingerie in the store with a critical eye. "Hmm..." She thought to herself. "Too modest, too weird, hmm...I like that one." She walked over to Sam.
"What do you think? Honeymoon appropriate?" Vala dangled the red lacy number out for Sam to see.
"Definitely. Are we done here?" Sam didn't seem to like being in the store.
Vala gave Sam a look of concern. "What's wrong?
"Nothing, I just don't wear things like this. They are not really...practical." Sam gave Vala a little half smile and then shoved her hands in her pockets.
Vala smirked. "Well, not for missions they aren't, but every woman needs some nice lingerie for the man in her life. Let's find something for you or should I say for General O'Neill?" Vala winked at her friend and dragged her further into the store.
Once Sam had found something that she liked, which was a bit modest for Vala's taste, she went to go try it on while Vala browsed the store some more.
After a moment, a pair of silky white panties caught Vala's eye. They had words stitched into the fabric. Vala smiled to herself when she read the writing, it said simply, I'll be your happily ever after. The simple play on words did not elude Vala and she quickly snatched up a pair to buy.
A while later Sam came out of the fitting room and smiled shyly. "Okay I got something, can we go now?"
Vala just nodded knowing that she had found her "something new" in the pair of silly underwear that she would wear under her wedding dress.
Something Borrowed
Later on the same day, Vala and Sam returned to the base, arms loaded with shopping bags. They were headed towards Vala's quarters when they ran into Teal'c and Daniel on their way to workout.
"Colonel Carter, Vala Mal Doran, it is good to see you." Teal'c bowed his head at the pair.
"Geez Vala, did you two buy the whole mall?" Daniel joked as he tried to peak into some of the bags.
"Get out of there Daniel," Vala said pulling the bags away from Daniel's prying eyes.
"Seriously, I think you would rather be surprised anyway." Sam winked at Daniel and the two ladies were off again.
Once in Vala's room, the two placed all of the bags on Vala's bed and attempted to sort everything out.
Vala pulled out the panties she had bought. "What do you think Sam?"
Sam leaned closer to inspect the writing on them and slowly smiled as she read the inscription. "They are perfect. I am sure Daniel will enjoy taking them off of you on your wedding night."
"Great, now I need to work on getting something borrowed." Vala bit her lip and frowned at the thought.
Sam's face lit up. "Oh! I almost forgot! I'll be right back." Sam hurried out of the room leaving a confused Vala in her wake.
A few minutes later Sam returned holding something small in her hand.
She smiled at Vala. "I would like you to use this as your something borrowed." She held out a small silver and pearl hair piece.
"Oh, it's beautiful!" Vala beamed at her friend. "But, isn't this what you wore in your hair when you and the General eloped?" Vala had seen a few pictures and she thought she recognized the hair piece.
"It is, and since you are my best friend and also like the sister I never had, I would be honored if you would borrow it for your own wedding. If you want to that is." Sam looked at Vala.
"I would love to Sam. This means so much to me." She gave the other woman a warm hug. Just knowing that she had such a caring friend almost brought tears to her eyes.
Something Blue
Vala sighed, if she could think of "something blue" to wear on her wedding day the "something blue" would be her. Her wedding was only a month away now and most of the plans seemed to be in place. However, she was still in need of that "something blue".
Frustrated, Vala decided to indulge in one of her favorite pastimes, bugging Daniel. She walked into Daniel's office and promptly sat herself on his desk next to him. He was typing up a mission report on his laptop.
He looked up at her. "What's going on?"
"I'm frustrated so I came to bother you," she said simply swinging her legs a bit.
He look concerned. "Why are you frustrated?"
She sighed and looked back at Daniel. "Well, I just cannot find "something blue" to wear on our wedding day.
Daniel chuckled. "Oh? That's all?"
Vala frowned at her fiance. "It's a big deal! I really want everything to be perfect."
"Vala come here," Daniel said as he pulled her onto his lap. "I promise everything will be perfect, especially because you are marrying me."
Vala hit him playfully. "I'm kidding," he said. "I just wanted you to relax."
"I know darling. I'm not mad."
"So are the flowers taken care of?" Daniel changed the topic slightly.
"Yes, but apparently after I toss my flowers over my shoulder, which is very odd by the way, you need to toss a garter over yours. Do you have such a thing?"
Daniel just looked at her. "Vala, you do know that you will be the one wearing the garter before I throw it right?"
Vala had not known this. "Umm...no, I didn't know. So I need to get a garter then?"
"Yes, why don't you try looking for one online?" Daniel moved some of Vala's dark hair off of her face.
She hopped off of his lap. "I think I will go do that now." She headed for the door.
"Vala, please stop worrying so much. I love you sweetheart."
Vala turned towards Daniel. "I love you too darling."
Back in her quarters, Vala began her search for a garter. She found that there were a surprising variety of these garters and that they came in many different colors as well.
Realization hit Vala as she stumbled across a beautiful, but simple pale blue garter. "It's blue!" Vala thought to herself. "Well I sure hope this counts!" Right away she ordered the garter happy that this part of the wedding planning was finally complete.
A/N: End of Chapter 4. The next chapter will be a little different. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Please review so I know if you like the story or not. Thanks!