Chapter Eight
"Carolyn please," Vala whined. "I'm so bored! I don't think I can take much more of this! They won't even let me have a television in here!"
"It's the infirmary, Vala," Dr. Lam pointed out, "not a hotel. And you chose to come here!"
"I didn't have much choice! Your father is holding me hostage!"
Carolyn shook her head slowly. "I might not agree with his methods here, but he is the commander of this base. So what he says goes."
Vala nodded eagerly. "Exactly! And I'm not asking that you bust me out of here, I'm simply asking you to give me something that will help the time pass in a more tolerable manner."
"For the last time, Vala, I am not going to sedate you." She patted her arm. "I came by here as your friend, not your doctor. I wanted to see how you were doing."
She brushed her ebony hair over her shoulder with an exaggerated pout. "I'm dying, that's how I'm doing!"
The doctor nodded slowly, pressing her lips together to keep from showing her amusement at her friend and patient. "That's what I figured. I brought you some magazines though."
Vala brightened, taking the magazines Carolyn handed her. "Ohhh! I haven't read these yet!" she announced happily as she scanned through the choices.
"Good. See, no need for sedation after all."
"No, but Daniel just walked in," Vala responded without looking up from her perusing, "and I'm sure I can convince him to zat me if I pester him enough."
Daniel looked back and forth between Dr. Lam and Vala with confusion. "Why would I be zatting you exactly?"
Carolyn let out an annoyed breath as she answered. "Vala seems to think that her stay here will be much easier if she is unconscious."
Vala leaned forward, examining Carolyn with that special look in her eyes that Daniel recognized as her manipulation face. "You know, Carolyn, if you really are my friend you could use your influence over your father to help get me out."
Daniel held up his hand before as Carolyn opened her mouth to argue. "No need. I talked to General Landry earlier and he is rethinking your situation."
Vala's jaw dropped at this. "You talked to General Landry on my behalf?"
Carolyn lipped her thank you to Daniel for helping her to skirt Vala's request, and then turned back to Vala. "I'll come check on you later."
Vala barely seemed to register Carolyn's departure as she focused on Daniel. "So General Landry is going to let me out after all? How did you manage that?"
"I didn't, not yet. I said he was thinking about it," the archeologist quickly clarified. "And I said different terms."
She frowned at this. "What sort of different terms?"
"Well," he dragged out the word, "he might let you go, but Dr. Hutchinson stays."
"What? Why?"
Rather than try to explain, he simply asked, "Would you rather be confined in here until Dr. Hutchinson signs off on you?"
She contemplated this a moment, her mouth twisting. "That depends. Are you willing to zat me?" When all he did was lift his eyebrows in response, she let out a groan. "Fine, I agree to these new terms. Now when can I leave?"
"I don't know," he answered. "I don't even know if he is, I just thought that you should know he's considering it, which is considerably better than if he wasn't."
Vala's head dropped between her shoulders in defeat. "Don't suppose you have a zat on you?"
Daniel laughed as he walked up to her, giving her knee a gentle pat. "No I don't, but I'm sure it's not that bad."
She raised her head, a coy and smug look on her face. "It doesn't have to be." She lifted her brows and bit her lip at the implication. "I certainly know of a few ways to alleviate my frustrations."
He bounced his head between his shoulders in mock consideration. "Or I could just zat you."
She placed her hand over his, which was still resting on her knee though she was sure he hadn't realized it. It was these little touches that had her convinced that she could get through to him. It seemed like they grew closer and closer each day, his resistances and defenses lowering the closer they became. "I think my way is more fun." She hooked her legs around his knees, forcing them to buckle and causing him to drop closer to her. Her hands automatically slid down to his belt, and to her surprise he made no move to stop her.
"You don't know how to take no for an answer, do you?" he asked, so close that his breath tickled her cheek.
"I haven't heard any objections so far," she pointed out, her grey eyes dancing as they looked into his.
He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He placed both hands on either side of her, causing her to drop back onto her elbows. When he opened his eyes, she was shocked to see the anger ablaze in them. He was absolutely furious, but she couldn't understand why.
"Would it really make any difference?" His voice was low and harsh, his expression hard and cold. "I've been saying no for all these years and you still keep it coming. Would you really leave it alone if I said yes? Would you back off then?" She started to stammer out an answer but he cut her off. "Would that help you feel better about everything with Amotis and your people? Use me so you can feel better about yourself?"
His words hit a nerve somewhere, and her fierce eyes matched his as she shoved him away from her. "I think you should go now."
"Oh, I fight fire with fire and it's too much for you?" He lashed back.
She laughed sardonically at this. "Fire with fire? Right. I offer myself to you and you throw everything in my face, that's clearly matching a blow for a blow. Where I guess I can see how you would be so insulted by my offer since it is me afterall--I mean, how disgusting, really. The nerve."
He pointed a finger at her as he argued back, "Don't you do that! Don't you put words into my mouth! You started this!"
She shook her head sadly as she walked over to the door. Her shoulders slumped as she placed a hand on her doorknob. "I suppose I shouldn't be shocked. My own people rejected me, why shouldn't you?"
Her words stilled his anger. "Vala--"
She swung the door open, addressing the two SF's guarding her without looking at them. "Gentlemen, would you be so kind as to escort Dr. Jackson out? I don't much feel like company anymore and he seems to have lost his way to the door."
Daniel was shaking his head. "It's okay guys, we're just having a minor disagreement. If you'll excuse us--"
One of the SF's was shifted his gaze from the very distraught looking Vala back to Daniel. "Dr. Jackson, if you could come this way please."
Daniel clamped his mouth shut, shooting Vala a quick glare though she still refused to look up from the tiled floor. He glanced between the two airmen and walked out the door without another word.
