Juggling Act

Jack was bored. Daniel was droning on and on...and on and on...about some Ancient treasure. Or was it Goa'uld? Whatever it was, it was boring! Jack knew if he didn't do something to break up the monotony soon, he'd go wacko. Just as he had the thought, his wonko counterpart sauntered into the office.

"Vala, my favourite alien!" he exclaimed, grinning when Daniel glared at him. "Please tell me you're here to rescue me from Danny's history lesson."

"Aw, poor Jack." Vala gave him a sympathetic smile and leant over to peck his cheek before turning a glare on Daniel. "Really, darling, Jack isn't here that often. Couldn't you find some other way to entertain him?"

"No one said he had to stick around," the archaeologist grumbled. "I'm surprised he didn't bring any toys with him."

"That's all right, I have some." Vala told him with a smile.

"I don't think he wants those kinds of toys, Vala."

"Oh, Daniel, I do like where your mind is going." She sent him a saucy wink before turning her attention back to Jack. "But that's not what I meant. I keep a box in here just for times like this."

"Really?" Jack's eyes lit up as he watched the alien pull a box from under her desk and set it in front of him. Combing through the contents, he wondered if she had anything of interest. Magazines, playing cards, fuzzy pink handcuffs...nope, not gonna think about those. Ah, perfect, Jack thought as he pulled out three hacky sacks. The general stood and started juggling, grinning when Daniel rolled his eyes and turned back to his work.

"I didn't know you could do that." Vala eyed him speculatively, a hint of awe in her voice.

"Shh, I've gotta concentrate." he scolded, his eyes never wavering from the balls.

"Why? It doesn't look that hard."

"Oh, yeah? I bet you couldn't do it."

"Oh, really? What would you care to wager?" Vala asked.

"Jack, I wouldn't-"

"Quiet, Daniel." Jack interrupted, stopping his actions to look at Vala and missing Daniel's eye-roll. He handed over the hacky sacks with a grin. "Try it, but when you fail, you have to buy drinks for the entire team all night when we go out."

"And if I don't fail?"

"Then I buy the drinks." Jack shrugged, not at all worried.

"It's a bet."

Jack smirked at Daniel who only shook his head. Turning back to Vala, he noticed a glint in her eyes and suddenly he wasn't feeling so confident. Crap. The alien tossed the balls in the air and caught them without any trouble. His jaw went slack when she did a twirl then closed her eyes, never losing track of the balls. She continued to do a few more tricks before she seemed to grow bored.

"Convinced?" she asked as she tossed each ball back into her box without even looking.

"How-Where-Who-"

"Didn't I ever tell you about my first husband, Jack?" Vala asked in all innocence. "He was a travelling performer and juggling was one of his many skills."

"You ticked me!" Jack yelled then turned to Daniel. "She tricked me!"

"I tried to warn you," the younger man shrugged. "Besides, she didn't trick you, you assumed."

"Same difference."

"Not really."

"Enough." Vala huffed, placing her toy box back where it belonged. "I'm bored. Let me know when you're ready to leave for the bar. And Jack?"

"Yeah?" he asked cautiously.

"I do hope you don't have a limit on your credit card." Vala winked cheekily at him before leaving.

Jack could only stare at the doorway. She'd played him. Again. Damn alien.

The End