AN: Well, here we are, last part of this story, the epilogue! Enjoy!
Epilogue
"Wait, are you saying you ascended?"
Five pairs of eyes were fixed on her, and Vala held up her hands defensively at Mitchell's question. They had been fussing around her forever, prodding and inquiring, skeptical, amused, relived and unreasonable, and eventually SG1 and General Landry had ended up in the meeting room, where she was supposed to offer an 'explanation'. She was growing irritated.
"I'm not saying anything. Last thing I remember is leaving the gate room!"
The only one in the room to have relaxed against the back of his chair, Teal'c opined reasonably:
"All signs seem to indicate this is what has happened."
"Uhm, signs?"
What were they going on about?
"Yeah…" Daniel drawled out, wincing as he recalled, "we've had some experience with ascension before…"
"Oh." Vala bit her lip, unsure of what to say next. "Ok. So do I join a club or something now? Do I get a prize?"
Daniel gave her an incredulous, almost outraged look, and she grimaced in anticipation of his usual scoff. Much to her surprise, his face suddenly broke into a smile, and he seemed content to just lean back in his chair and not retort. Well, well. Apparently being dead paid off, Vala thought with a small grin.
"So," Cam summed it up, "you don't remember anything that happen while you were…you know…up there?"
"Sorry…" she pouted, genuinely disappointed to be of so little help.
Before she could add anything else, general Landry spoke up.
"It's good to have you back." Then he frowned menacingly. "Do that again and I'll have you court-martialed."
"Is that Earth for 'blown out an airhole'?"
Only his years of top military training prevented Landry from laughing out loud. Instead, he gave her a grave look from beneath his bushy eyebrows.
"You don't want to find out. Understood?"
"Yes, General, Sir!" Vala immediately snapped off what she thought was a perfectly executed salute.
It caused everyone around the table—particularly the two colonels—to smile. Landry allowed for the small moment to pass, before addressing all of them in a serious tone.
"What does this mean?"
Carter was the first to get the meaning of his question.
"I think we'd better assume that Adria is alive…" she offered, "whether she was unharmed in the first place or…else…"
With a suppressed shudder, Sam refused to think of the other possibilities. Such as, Adria having Ascended and come back with all that knowledge…or even without it, her apparent resurrection would only add straws to the fire that was the blind faith of Ori-following fanatics. Whatever the case was, they would burn that bridge when they got to it.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, Sam rolled her eyes. She'd been around General O'Neill too much.
Holding the meeting for finished, Vala stood from her chair.
"I'm hungry!"
For a brief moment, they all stared at her, then turned long-suffering gazes to each other. General Landry gave her an incredulous look. Still, it was not the right time to teach her about chain of command and hierarchy…and that she couldn't dismiss everyone from a briefing. With a small sigh, he nodded to SG1, silently agreeing to end the meeting, than left the room with a small, proud smile.
Vala also headed for the door, and the rest of the team followed her out. They were still silently watching her, until she couldn't take it anymore.
"Look, I'm sorry alright?" she erupted, sounding genuinely distressed. "She would have killed us all then and there! It was the first idea that occurred to me! And if I broke the rules, it was good in the end alright? And…why am I apologizing for getting myself…ascended…to save your skins?"
Daniel arched his eyebrows in amusement. Teal'c tilted his head.
"Indeed."
They didn't seem mad. What then? Vala frowned in confusion. Taking pity on her, Carter patted her on the shoulder and winked.
"Don't worry, Vala. You're not really a member of SG1 until you get yourself killed at least once."
Cam winced.
"Ah—I didn't want to hear that, Sam!"
She gave him a wide, at-least-you-know-what's-waiting-for-you-now grin. Everyone laughed.
"So…" Daniel addressed Vala when they were done teasing Mitchell, "you still hungry?"
"Ravenous."
"In fact, I'm getting pretty hungry myself," Cam mentioned, wondering if he should start expecting every meal to be his last.
"I, too, would like to dine now."
"Great!" Mitchell decided to drop that train of thought as a bad job, and turned to Vala. "You're buying, then!"
"Certainly! Daniel, darling…"
The five of them headed down the hall together.
The End
AN: Thank you everyone who stayed with this story till the end, I hope you liked it, and as always, I welcome any and all comments and thoughts! A HUUUGE 'thank you' to everyone who reviewed, you've been so great and way too kind!
Until next time!
Myosotis
