How Daniel Met Vala: The Alternate Scenarios

How Daniel Met Vala: The Alternate Scenarios

First Contact

By acer-sigma

Disclaimers: I don't own anything, just borrowing for my own and hopefully your amusement.

Spoilers: Not really, but a few names and ideas were taken from S4's The Curse.


"How could you do it Daniel? How could you just throw everything away like that over a ridiculous theory?"

"I didn't throw everything away over a ridiculous theory Sarah! The evidence supports my conclusions of cross-cultural pollination!"

"Your 'evidence,'" she said with a role of her eyes, "claims that aliens were responsible for not only building the pyramids but also for establishing most of the ancient world as we know it!"

"Sarah, I know it sounds farfetched but the evidence…"

"It's not just farfetched Daniel, it's a fantasy! I thought we had agreed that you wouldn't present 'that' paper until you had enough hard evidence."

"Actually you agreed, I said I'd think about it."

"Daniel, do you realize the embarrassment you've caused Dr. Jordan and the rest of the department?"

"Damn it," he ground out, "this has nothing to do with Dr. Jordan!"

"Yes it does, he supported you! And this is how you repay him!"

"That's not fair Sarah, and you know it! Jordan encouraged me to follow the evidence and I did, it's not my fault that the academic community isn't open to new ideas!"

"New ideas are based on facts! Not what we wish for," she sighed, "Daniel, I don't understand this obsession you've developed."

"It is not an obsession!"

"Yes it is! You won't listen to anybody else; we all warned you how this would be received but you just ignored us, you ignored me….I don't think I know who you are anymore."

"What are you saying Sarah?"

"I think," she said flatly, "it'd be best if we didn't see each other anymore until you've come to your senses."

"Sarah…."

"Goodbye Daniel," she said as she turned and walked out the door.


It had been several months now, and yet Daniel still couldn't entirely get the last conversation he'd had with Sarah out of his head. She was smart to break it off when she did; he thought to himself, the months following his presentation had been nothing but ridicule and scorn. The academic community wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole, unless it was to hit him with it. Dr. Jordan had wanted to defend him, but he couldn't let the man throw his own career away to defend a pariah, so he had quit.

Which brings him to this deserted road in the middle of nowhere, driving to an equally deserted cabin to think over his future. Not as if he had much of one left. The academic community didn't want him, which left the business community. The very thought of working to exploit a culture so some corporation could get a massive tax break didn't exactly sit well with him. "Not like I'll have much of a choice," Daniel said to himself, "though I suppose I could go on the alien conspiracy circuit," he said with a snort.

Deciding that it would be best not to mope while driving, Daniel tried to relax, and turned on the stereo, all he got was static. "Wonderful," he said aloud, "what else could possibly happen?"

His question was abruptly answered when an object shot over his head and skidded to a halt in a clearing ahead of him. Thinking a plane had gone down; he quickly increased his speed and sped off towards the downed craft.


Vala cursed as her cargo ship exited hyperspace. "This is the last time I steal a ship from that lowlife Maltz," she murmured to herself as she fought to keep the ship on course. "The man can't even keep his own ship properly maintained!"

The navigational systems were a mess and helm control weren't any better, how the ship's former owner managed to survive using it was beyond her. The blasted thing had spit her out of hyperspace into an unknown star system, and was threatening to leave her stranded out here in the middle of nowhere. If she was going to survive, she was going to have to set down somewhere and make repairs.

Quickly scanning the system, she found the nearest habitable planet, and set course for it, while fighting the controls all the way. With any luck, she thought to herself, the repairs will be easy enough, if not she hoped the planet at least had a stargate she could use.

As the ship entered the atmosphere, the controls became less responsive, and Vala found herself fighting to keep the ship from breaking up or plowing her into the ground. As it was, she just barely managed to avoid skimming the top of some strange boxy contraption that was traveling on the ground below her. Unfortunately, that little maneuver cost her, as the thrusters suddenly gave out and the ship dropped to the ground.

At the very last minute, Vala managed to divert power to the vertical thrusters and bring the ship down in a jerky fashion. As the ship came to a halt, she was almost thrown from the control yolk by the rough landing. Shaking the hair out of her face, she rose to make an inspection of the damage when the proximity alarm went off. "Looks like the locals want to say hello," she muttered to herself as she glanced at a console. Lets hope they're friendly, she thought to herself as she grabbed a zat'ni'katel and made for the outer hatch intent on making a memorable appearance.


Daniel could only stare in shock as he brought the jeep to a halt in front of the obviously alien ship. "Definitely not a plane," he said quietly to himself.

Shaking off his stupor, his natural curiosity kicked in, as he climbed out of his vehicle and moved to get a closer look at the vessel. It was a strange triangular shape, was his first thought, his second was that maybe he finally had that solid evidence that Sarah had been raving at him about. He quickly put those thoughts out of his mind as he realized that someone could have been seriously hurt from the rough landing. "Hope they're friendly," he muttered to himself.

Moving purposefully he circled the craft looking for a way in, stopping several times, once when he noticed slightly familiar hieroglyphics on the hull, and secondly when he attempted to look through what he assumed to be the cockpit window. Seeing no sign of life or anyway in, Daniel made his way back to the hieroglyphics in hopes that they may reveal something.

As he studied the symbols in front of him, the section before him suddenly slid away and he was blinded by an intense light. Squinting his eyes, he raised his arm in an attempt to block out the light. As he did so, a figure appeared and began walking towards him, causing him to back away and stumble onto the ground.

"Oh boy," Daniel muttered as he looked up into the amused smile of a beautiful raven haired woman standing over him.

"That's a bit of a strange greeting isn't it?" The woman asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Huh…," shaking off his confusion, at her Australian sounding accent, what she said finally registered, "oh, ah yeah, sorry about that. You kind of surprised me there," he said scratching the back of his head, when suddenly it hit him that he was most likely speaking to an alien. "Ah, how is it that we can understand each other? I mean you are from another planet aren't you?" He said gesturing to the ship. Suddenly he perked up, "do you have some sort of universal translator or something that allows us to communicate? Cause that would really be amazing, and…."

Vala simply stared at the sprawled man in amusement as he continued to ramble on about translation mechanisms and about something called 'science fiction.' She had to admit that the thought of a translation machine would be highly useful; however his mention of translator microbes sent shivers up her spine at the thought of 'hosting' anything else at the base of her skull.

Deciding that she had let him ramble on enough, she flashed him a disarming smile. "To answer your questions," she interrupted him, "yes, I am not native to your world. Secondly, I can understand you because your language is remarkably similar to ones spoken on several other worlds that I am familiar with."

"Really, that's amazing!" Daniel replied as his mind raced with the possibilities, "that would seem to indicate that there's some sort of root or commonality between the planets. How..."

Holding up her hand to halt the flow of questions, she asked, "I take it that by your reaction, that 'visitors' aren't common around here?" At his nod, she continued, "well that's just wonderful, I'll assume than that that means you've also never heard of the chappa'ai?"

"The gateway of the gods," He said in confusion.

"If that's what you want to call it," she said with a of tone distaste. Sighing at Daniel's look of confusion she explained, "What it is is a gateway, developed by a race referred to as the Ancients or the Gate builders that establishes a wormhole between planets. You walk through one end and you end up somewhere else. It's really the only way to travel."

Daniel stared at her in awe, "that's amazing! So you think there's one of these 'stargates' on Earth?"

"Is that what this quaint little planet is called? How unimaginative. Stargate… huh I like the sound of that, and I was hoping there might be one, they're kind of noticeable, so if you don't know about them then I'm thinking there isn't one here, unless its buried or something, in which case its useless to me." Sighing she turned to look at her ship, "Guess, I'm just going to have to do repairs and hope for the best," turning back to Daniel she asked, "I don't suppose you know anything about hyperspace relay repairs?"

"Ah sorry, can't help you there."

Shrugging her shoulders, she turned back to the ship, having decided that the inquisitive man was basically harmless, "Pity. Oh well, guess I'll just have to do it myself." Looking over her shoulder, "Feel free to stand around and gawk, just don't touch anything!"

Daniel could only nod as she stepped back into the ship. A moment later his mind caught up to him and he finally registered what she had said. Quickly he followed her into the ship and was transfixed by the sights. Looking around, he heard movement in the room ahead of him and moved towards it.

As he entered what appeared to be the control room, he stood frozen at the sight of the alien woman knelling in front of a control panel cursing. He tried to tell himself that it was the strange alien language, that sounded vaguely Egyptian, and not the sight of her shapely posterior encased in tight leather that had captured his attention.

Not realizing he was staring, he was suddenly brought out of his stupor at the sound of a clearing throat.

"Enjoying the view?" Vala asked in amusement when she caught sight of his gaze.

"Yes…no…yes…I mean…sorry," he stuttered, "everything is just so amazing," he gestured to the ship.

"Oh this old thing, just something I picked up, it's not much but it does have its uses."

"So, are you going to be able to fix it?"

Sighing, Vala glanced at the terminal she had been inspecting, "Eventually, but it'll take a bit of time," she said sadly, "few days at the very least!"

"So you're basically stuck here, until you can get everything fixed?"

"Pretty much, your planet is pretty much out of the way, so I'll need to at least get the hyper-drive working temporarily to reach the nearest stargate."

Daniel nodded at her explanation, when suddenly a worried thought came to mind, "You can't really stay here!" At her questioning expression, he elaborated, "While fixing your ship, you can't stay here, it's too noticeable and the military might come around if they tracked you."

"Right," she nodded in consideration, "not too many foreign visitors." At Daniel's sheepish look, she continued, "well, not to worry, I'll just hide everything!"

"Hide everything… How?" He asked, of her declaration, as he gestured to the ship, and thinking she had gone crazy. "It's kind of too big to hide don't you think?"

She grinned at his statement, "Your not one of those men who are concerned about size are you?" she teased as she looked him up and down. At his reddened cheeks and sputtering, she decided to take pity on him, "Don't worry I'm only kidding, honestly your so easy!"

Honestly Daniel thought to himself, he had no idea what to say to that.

"As for the ship, I should be able to move it somewhere, than it's all a matter of engaging the cloak and no one will be the wiser!"

"Oh." Sounded simple enough Daniel thought, "So you're just going to hide out in here till you leave?"

"Well, I'll admit it's not the most glamorous of accommodations, but it's not like I have much of a choice."

"Actually," Daniel said taking a deep breath, "you could stay with me until you're ready to leave, I mean the place I'm staying at is out of the way and there's plenty of room."

"Why?" Vala asked suspiciously.

"Well, you need a place to stay, and well you seem…harmless." He winced at his last bit of reasoning as she cocked an eyebrow in amusement at his 'harmless' comment.

"And…what exactly do you expect for… payment?" She asked as her voice turned icy.

Unsure of her sudden change in attitude, he tried to explain his reasons, "Well, you don't have to…," when he suddenly realized what she might have been implying, "no, no you've got it all wrong, not that your not attractive or anything, cause you are, it's just that…." As her expression turned to one of amusement, he took a deep breath, "Look, I'm an archeologist," at her confused expression, he elaborated, "I study civilizations, and quite frankly you're a treasure trove…"

"A treasure am I?" Vala interrupted with a smile.

"Of information yes," Daniel said in exasperation, "what was with this woman, maybe this was a bad idea." He said to himself.

"Whatever you say darling," Vala exclaimed as she took on a thoughtful look. "Just let me see if I understand your proposition," she said putting emphasis on the last word, "you'll let me stay with you in exchange for answering your questions about the great beyond," she said waving her hand above her.

"Yes that's pretty much what I'm suggesting."

"Well than, who am I to turn down such a generous offer," she said with a bright smile, "you have yourself a deal!"

"Great!" Daniel exclaimed excitedly, reaching out to shake her hand. At her confused expression, he explained, "it's an earth custom; we shake hands in greeting or as a way of informal agreement."

"Oh." Extending her own hand self-consciously, she clasped his forearm in the manner that she often seen Jaffa do. She smiled as his hand clasped her forearm.

Daniel smiled as her hand clasped his forearm, rather than his hand. "Close enough," he said as he followed suit. "By the way, I never did get your name?"

"It's Vala Mal Doran."

"Dr. Daniel Jackson, it's a pleasure to meet you Vala." He said with a smile.

"Likewise Daniel." She said as she returned his smile.

They remained quiet for a few minutes before Vala broke the silence, "So where exactly am I staying?"

"Well, why don't you get your ship hidden away, and I'll show you."

"Sounds good to me. Care to watch?" She said as she moved to the piloting station.

"Sure."


Two weeks later:

Daniel never thought he'd be in a situation quite like the one he had found himself in. If someone had told him that he would be sharing a cabin with a beautiful alien woman after having been all but kicked out of the academic community, he would have thought that they were setting him up for more ridicule. And yet, that was the exact situation he had found himself in. And he had to admit, he was enjoying himself.

He found Vala to be an extremely intelligent and resourceful woman. When he had told her how his thesis had led to him being in the middle of nowhere, she had, smiled and said that it was fate that brought them together, she then went on to provide some surprising revelations that had allowed him to refine his ideas. Still the revelation of the Goa'uld and their probable role in Earth history had made him shudder.

Then of course there was her natural curiosity and exuberance over the littlest things. It was extremely refreshing, though he had to admit her somewhat liberal view of sexuality had caught him off guard, not that he wasn't flattered by her attention, but it had surprised him to be the recipient of such attention. He was going to miss her when she left, he thought to himself in amusement.

The sound of the door opening brought Daniel out of his musings, he frowned when he glanced at his watch, he wasn't expecting Vala back from repairing her ship for another hour or so. Shrugging his shoulders he settled back into his research. "I'm back here Vala," he called expecting her to join him for another one of their chats when she was ready.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a soft voice calling to him, "Daniel…who's Vala?"

"Sarah!" He exclaimed looking up in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to," she said as she came to stand over his desk, "see if you were ready to drop this nonsense and come back to the university." Glancing over the contents of his desk, she rolled her eyes as she looked back at Daniel, "But I'm guessing your not quite ready to do it yet," she said as she gestured to his papers.

"We've been through this before Sarah," Daniel said with a sigh. "Look…."


Having finished recalibrating the hyper-drive's operating systems, Vala walked quickly back to the cabin that she had found herself sharing with Daniel, while she was stuck on this little planet. Surprisingly, what should have taken her a day, or two at most, to properly repair had actually stretched into two weeks. Granted she had actually finished the initial repairs rather quickly but for some unknown reason, she had felt compelled to expand the repairs into a near overhaul of the tel'tak's systems.

'You know why,' her subconscious told her, 'it's because of him.' Vala slowed her pace with a sigh as her thoughts turned to the unassuming earthman she had met. There was something about Daniel Jackson that intrigued her. His curiosity and enthusiasm, for what she could tell him about life on other worlds, was rather endearing in a way. It had been a very long time, she thought, since anyone had ever really 'wanted' to know anything that she had to offer that wasn't physical. And that was another thing, she thought, he actually treated her like a worthwhile human being rather than as a former host, a thief, or even as the 'sex on legs' that he had one night referred to her as.

She hadn't realized just how lonely the past two years had been, since she was freed from Qetesh, so focused on survival she hadn't let anyone of consequence get close to her. Yet somehow, Daniel had managed to worm his way past her defenses without even trying to. She was, she realized, going to miss him when it was time for her to leave.

With that dreary thought in mind, she quickly sped up her pace intent on spending as much time with Daniel as she could. As she neared the cabin, she slowed down as she noticed a vehicle, a car Daniel had called them, sitting outside.

Deciding it would be better to wait out of sight until whoever it was had left, she looked for someplace to conceal herself. Raised voices coming from the cabin however, changed her mind and she raced up the steps in concern for Daniel.


"Damn it Daniel, can't you see what this obsession is going to do to your career? What it would do to us?" Sarah said as she attempted to convince him to retract his thesis.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Daniel rolled his eyes, "I was under the impression," he said calmly, "that there is no us. Or was I mistaken when you walked out after I refused to retract my thesis?"

Walking over to Daniel, she placed a hand on his arm, "Daniel…" she began, but was interrupted by the opening front door.

Vala walked in, "Daniel is everything...," she began, but stopped at the sight of an attractive redhead who was practically attempting to drape herself over Daniel.

"Who's she Daniel," Sarah asked with disdain as she looked Vala over.

"That's Vala, a friend of mine Sarah," Daniel said quickly. This can't be good, he thought, as he took in Vala's confused expression and Sarah's angry demeanor.

"Vala? What kind of name is Vala?" Sarah asked, as she moved away from Daniel so she could see the both of them clearly.

"I'll have you know,' Vala bristled, "that it's a very lovely and unique name!"

Ignoring her, Sarah glared at Daniel, "Just who is she Daniel!"

"I told you already, she's a friend of mine." Daniel said calmly as he gave Vala a reassuring smile. A smile which she returned in kind.

Sarah seethed when she saw the brief exchange. "Funny, we have a lot of the same friends, and I definitely would have remembered a hussy being one of them!"

"She's not a hussy!" "I'm not a hussy!" Both Daniel and Vala shouted at once.

"Humph…well what else do you call someone dressed like that," she said dismissively as she gestured to Vala's leather clothing, "while out in the country?"

"The word unique comes to mind," Daniel said quickly before Vala could reply.

"Daniel, is she the reason you're acting so out of sorts? Is she one of those alien conspiracy nuts? Are you trying to impress her by being a 'rebel'?"

Sighing in exasperation, "I told you already Sarah, I stand by my research and my conclusions. Vala has nothing to do with what happened. She's my friend and I won't stand for you implying anything negative about her!"

"She's bad news Daniel, I can tell just…"

"That's enough Sarah! I think its time you left," Daniel said as he pointed to the door.

"Daniel…" At the look he gave her, she turned and marched to the door; pausing briefly she looked over her shoulder and glared at Vala, who stuck her tongue out at her, before turning to look at Daniel. "You're making a big mistake Daniel!"

"That's what you said about my thesis," he said thinking about the recent discoveries he had come across in his talks with Vala, "and despite everything, I wouldn't change that decision for anything."

"Fine!" With that, Sarah sent him a nasty glare and walked out, slamming the door in the process.

Walking over to Vala, Daniel stopped in front of her, "sorry about that!'

"It's alright," Vala said simply, "so…ex-girlfriend?"

"Yeah," he replied sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

"She's seems…nice."

"She's not particularly happy with me. She thinks I threw everything away for a crazy theory about aliens," he said as he gave her a wary grin.

"But you were right!" She said returning his grin.

"True, but I didn't have you to tell me that!"

Vala bit her lip in thought for a moment, "Daniel, what if I…"

"No Vala!" He said gripping her shoulders, "I don't want you exposing yourself that way!"

"But I could prove…"

"No! You're more important to me than proving that I'm right. Besides," he said with a smirk, "they might think you're a fruitcake, then where would I be?"

Vala swatted him on the chest, "I'm not sure what that is, but I don't think it was polite….Thank you!"

"Huh."

"For not wanting me to risk myself and for standing up for me earlier," she said as she hugged herself. "It's been a long time since anyone has cared." She said quietly.

"Well I do," he said simply as he enveloped her in a hug, as memories of what she had told him about her own past, when her nightmares had awoken them, came to mind. "Hey," he said tentatively after a few moments, "I was thinking…"

"That's news?" Vala teased as she tightened her grip on Daniel, relishing the hug and the comfort it offered.

Daniel leaned back slightly and sent her a glare, which soon broke into a slight grin. "As I was saying, I was thinking that when you leave, that I might…well, that is if you don't mind…"

"Daniel?" She said tentatively as her heart started to beat faster.

Taking a deep breath, he looked her straight in the eyes and asked simply, "would you mind some company?"

He wanted to come with her; she thought to herself, he actually wanted to leave his world with her. She felt ecstatic, but than her thoughts took on a darker vein.

"Daniel, I'm not sure that's a good idea," she said simply as she broke the hug and stepped back.

"What why not," Daniel asked as his thoughts raced out of control. His only coherent thought was that she didn't enjoy his company. Had he misread her, he asked himself, he thought she had enjoyed their time together and the conversations they shared.

Vala considered lying to him, to just tell him she didn't want to have to look after someone from a primitive backwater world. But he was kind to her, she thought, he deserved the truth. "It's dangerous out there Daniel! And as much as I would miss you, I couldn't bear to stand by if something were to happen to you!"

It wasn't that she didn't want him to go with her, she was worried about him, Daniel thought to himself as relief swept through his body. "Vala," he began as he took her hands in his, "I understand it might be dangerous." Seeing her about to interrupt he continued," from what you've told me it could be deadly….but I'm willing to take that chance."

"Daniel…"

"Vala listen to me. If I don't go with you, I'll miss you! Not only that, but I'd be worried to death that something had happened and I'd never see you again. At least this way, I'll be able to make sure you don't get into too much trouble," he teased.

Her heart warmed at the reassurance, but she still wasn't sure about taking him with her. Her resolve, however, melted as she looked into his eyes.

"What about your life here?"

"In case you didn't notice, my career isn't exactly going well. As for everything else, I may miss it, but this is the opportunity of a life time, and I'm sure I can always come back. Sides," he said with a grin, "I'd miss you and our little conversations!"

"Fine," Vala said sternly, "but I'm in charge…and if you don't do what I say," she continued as a grin spread across her face, "you might just find yourself stuck on some planet somewhere," she concluded.

"Understood Captain," he said teasingly as he saluted her before enveloping her in a hug, which she enthusiastically returned.


Two Days Later:

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'm positive Vala!"

"I'm just warning you that your life is about to get a whole lot more interesting," she said with a large smile.

"It got a whole lot more interesting, the day you showed up," Daniel said affectionately as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "now are you going to fly or talk?"

In response Vala activated the thrusters and sent the ship soaring skyward out of the atmosphere.

"Very funny," Daniel cried out as he gripped the back of her seat.

"I told you things were about to get more exciting Darling," Vala said in amusement as she entered coordinates for a hyperspace route.


A phone rang incessantly within the empty cabin. After a few more rings, the answering machine picked up, "Hello, this is Daniel Jackson, I'm not in at the moment, so please leave your name, a number and brief message and I will get back to you at the earliest opportunity!"

"Hello Doctor Jackson, this Doctor Catherine Langford I'm currently recruiting for a special project. I am looking for people who are willing and able to think 'outside the box.' Having reviewed your recent thesis, I believe….."


A/N: Well this one was a little longer than I had intended but I think it might actually work. I had intended for Vala to leave Daniel behind so he would eventually be recruited into the Stargate Program, but than I remembered the episode with the Quantum Mirror and how Daniel was never a part of the program. This I think would have been an interesting reason why. Anyways if you reached this part, then please review and let me know what you think.

A/N2: Also I'm thinking of opening this up a bit and taking suggestions for other alternative meetings. So any suggestions, I'll take a look and see what I can craft together.