***I own nothing of SG1, SGA, or their characters; I just love to play with them from time to time. No money being made, etc….***

***A/N—this is after AoT and before Continuum*****

A/N **as always thanks to Becca for being the wonderful beta that she is! :D***

Chapter 10

Vala leaned her head against the back of Daniel's couch and sighed. After their elegant brunch, oh it really was a wonderful brunch, the Broadmoor was fantastic… Daniel had taken her driving in the mountains. They had talked and laughed for hours it seemed. Once they returned to Colorado Springs, he took her to an afternoon movie, one of those science fiction things that were rather ridiculous. They whispered throughout the movie, pointing out fallacies of science and engineering. Vala got giggling when Daniel asked her what the people in the theater would think if they knew an ALIEN was sitting there with them.

They had stopped at a grocery store and brought home a premixed salad to have for a casual dinner. It had been a fun and relaxing day. Daniel had driven her back to his place and she wondered what was going to happen now. Was he expecting….

"Hey" Daniel walked into the living room carrying an opened bottle of wine and two glasses. "Are you tired?" He poured them each a glass and sat down next to her on the sofa, sliding one arm around her to pull her close. Passing her a glass, he proceeded to lift his glass to her. "A toast..."

"A what? You made us toast?" Puzzled, Vala sat straighter on the sofa.

"Sorry, a 'toast' is when you drink, usually an alcoholic beverage, in honor of someone or something. One person proposes a reason for the toast, we tap glasses, and then we drink to seal the toast or honor upon the person or event. It's an old custom that is common in Europe and European cultures, signifying….." Daniel had slipped easily into his scholar mode; he caught himself and gave her a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry. I propose a toast to our perfect day." He tapped his glass against Vala's and took a drink. Smiling Vala also sipped her wine.

After several minutes of sipping in silence, Vala cleared her throat. "Dan…Daniel?" damn I sound like an idiot!

"Yes, cara mia?" Daniel was idly playing with a lock of her hair. He was convinced he could never feel more comfortable than he did at this moment.

"We need to talk about the rules again." Vala said in a rush. "I want to know how slow is slow, when will we finally become intimate, and where am I going to sleep tonight?" Breathlessly she looked into his azure eyes, finding herself falling more and more for this archeologist.

Tucking her closer to him, Daniel dropped a quick kiss on her hair. "Oh yeah, the rules. Let's see slow is, umm, slow. Times like today, enjoying each other's company, learning more about each other, and umm slow. Intimacy will come when it feels right. I think we both," at this point Daniel put his hand on her cheek and turned her head towards him, "need time to get used to being US as a pair. As for tonight, where do you want to sleep? We can enjoy cuddling and snuggling in my bed or you can sleep there alone and I'll take the couch. It's up to you. We do need to make sure we keep this out of work hours. I don't think there's a problem with us being a couple, but we have to be completely professional on the job, okay?"

Vala nodded in agreement to his final comment. "So slow is slow, huh?" Giving him a slight smile she continued, "I like the idea of knowing each other better. Daniel, you have always intrigued me, that's why I came to Earth. That and the fact that you're hot!" Giving him a wink she smiled at his blush. "Cuddling and snuggling with you all night sounds….wonderful." She purred in the back of her throat and watched Daniel blush some more. "What happens if we get carried away?" Quirking one eyebrow, she waited for his response.

Clearing his throat, Daniel tried to appear calm and collected but knew he was failing miserably. "Uh, umm, then the time will be the right time, I guess." Turning a deeper shade of red, he peeked at Vala from the corner of his eye. Someday he will stop blushing and become the cool and unruffled man everyone thought he was. Uh huh and pigs will fly! Face it Danny boy, you will always be flustered by a woman like Vala. There goes Jack's voice again!

"Okay, Darling. I understand, so I will join you in that supremely comfy bed to cuddle. I agree we need to keep this out of work hours, but the problem is you're too distracting!" Giving him a toothy grin she was delighted by his sputtering response.

"I'm too distracting? Me? What about you, miss-see-how-tight-and-sexy-my-pants-are? Miss-shall-I-show-you-my-cleavage? You want to discuss distractions? You are the queen of them! Every male eye on the base follows you as you walk down the halls." Daniel gave her his best you-know-it's-your-fault glare.

"Well of course they do, every man finds me irresistible! Except you, you managed to resist me somehow. I'm still not sure how you do that." She gave him a teasing pout. "You must have a magical potion somewhere."

Daniel gave her a wink, "Cold water, Vala that is my secret. Lots and lots of cold water!"

The next morning---

The buzzing was definitely annoying, Vala couldn't understand who turned off the music she usually woke to and turned on that damn noise. Stretching out her arm, she slapped a warm shoulder instead of the snooze button.

"Ow! Wha' happen' ?" Daniel barely lifted his head and looked at Vala. He had enjoyed simply sleeping with her. It had been very nice to hold her in his arms through the night as they talked and shared more of their pasts. He had told her about his year on Abydos, Vala had told him about being a child in her village; they discovered that they both loved the ocean and hated gloomy days. He felt they had reached a level of intimacy with each other that he hadn't had with anyone since Sha're. He could almost feel what she was feeling by looking into her expressive eyes. He envisioned a nice peaceful ride into bliss.

Val slapped his shoulder again; "turn off, annoying" was her mumbled orders. She was not a morning person and even though she had spent a delicious night all snuggled up with Daniel, it didn't make 6 a.m. any easier to handle. She rolled away from Daniel and pulled the duvet over her head. Why in Netu did he set the alarm? Sitting straight up, she yelled, "Its Monday!" She leapt out of the bed and began gathering her clothing. "Daniel! It's Monday, we have to go to work!"

Much yelling and frantic packing ensued, but at promptly 8 a.m. Daniel and Vala appeared in the briefing room on base. Working very hard to appear as if things were normal, their unusual stiffness around each other drew smirks from Cam. General Landry cleared his throat. "So, Dr. Jackson do you have any more on the manuscript from P3X-282? Do we need to revisit that planet?"

"Um, the manuscript refers to the pillars of the Temple of Ardurai," Daniel stumbled to his feet, rapidly speaking to cover up his distraction. Those BDU's fit her rather snugly. "This language is very close to Hindi; the people seem to have been brought to the area by Ishana, Nirrti's opposite, a goddess of Happiness and Peace, but nothing more is said about her. We don't know if she was a Goa'uld or not. This pillar," Daniel pointed to the screen, "discusses a legend of the 'Earlier Ones', probably referring to the Ancients, and the great power they wielded. There could be a ZPM there, who knows? We need to discover who this Ishana was and why she removed these people from their homes. Maybe she is part of yet another benevolent alien race and can help us against the Ori."

Mitchell spoke up "wasn't Nirrti killed by her own mutants?"

"Indeed" Intoned Teal'c. "they had good reason to destroy her."

Vala's attention began to drift as the discussion between the team continued. Daniel laid out some rules he thought we should follow this morning. I understand not making out on base, he thinks we need to be careful, but what he means is I need to change the way I behave. If that happens everyone will know something is going on, but I couldn't convince him. Sighing, Vala decided to participate in her favorite pastime, watching Daniel. He really was passionate about his work. She smiled to herself as he argued for the need for the entirety of SG1 to be part of a prolonged expedition to P3X-282. Cameron seemed against the idea, whining that he didn't want to "babysit archeologists", but Vala knew he was more afraid of being bored and missing Carolyn. Cam always had trouble when he was bored on a mission; he got very impulsive and a bit trigger-happy, he needed to stay busy and focus his attention. He wasn't good at just sitting around.

Daniel glanced up and caught Vala staring at him. Flashing her a quick smile, he continued with his arguments. Knowing they would need her expertise with the translations and her ability to sniff out 'treasures', Daniel was determined that Vala go with them, even if all they were looking for was a power source.

Okay, SG-1, take SG-9 and 5 with you. That should give you enough archeologists and marines. You have a go for tomorrow morning." General Landry smiled at Mitchell's look of disgust and stood to leave. "Happy babysitting, Colonel."