Disclaimer: Stargate: SG1 isn't my creation; I'm only playing here and the only things I own are any original characters that came from my own mind.
Title: "…the Best is Yet to Be."
Summary: "Grow old along with me. The best is yet to be." – Robert Browning.
These will be a series of vignettes creating 30 years of life together.
Spoilers: Everything that has aired up to this point is fair game. Any references to the DVDs will be noted in the Author's Notes.
Pairings: Daniel/Vala, obviously, Sam/Jack at some point and Cam/someone implied.
Rating: Now "M". Will remain "M" for the duration of the story.
Genre: Drama/Angst/Humour/Romance…the only genre that won't apply here would be 'slash'.
A/N: Okay, once again things have gotten away from me and the whole chapter that covers this time period is actually over 10k words...ssooo I'm posting it in sections AGAIN!...plus...certain readers(and you know who you are) are getting antsy...so I'm posting this part now because it's ready and then I HOPE the second part will be ready for posting next week(crossing fingers).
Despite this being in the 'M' category I am issuing a 'adult' content warning...so reader discretion is advised
This pick ups approx 4 months after the previous chapter. Daniel is in charge of an off-world 'dig' that was mentioned a couple of chapters ago.
Oh and this is takes place in September so Daniel's had a birthday, so let's see that gives us.
Daniel: 45
Vala: 39
And if there's anyone questionning as to why Vala isn't using one of the kits...welll, I researched it and discovered that the closer one gets to 40 the less accurate they are...plus I've never used the kits but I did do the temperature thing so that's what I felt comfortable with describing
So onward and as always...anything you wanna say, I wanna hear.
Mid Sept 2010
Vala peered at the numbers. 99.5 Fahrenheit. She grinned. She didn't need to consult the folded piece of graph paper lying on the metal kit-box they were using as a bedside table to know that this morning's temperature reading was the same as yesterday's and what it meant. She slid the thermometer back into its' case and dropped it onto the surface of the metal box. She stretched, languorously like a cat, anticipating Daniel's momentary return and the lazy smile that would spread over his mouth when she shared the news. The slide of her foot over the cold sheets on his side of the bed stopped her in mid-stretch. It seemed to have been a while since he'd been in the bed. Frowning Vala sat up and retrieved her watch from amongst the other odds and ends on the metal box. Her elation dimmed a bit as she registered the date. Wednesday. The scheduled day for their once-a-week check-in with the SGC. To take into account the time difference Daniel had to have been up at 6am to do the hour long hike to the 'Gate. Vala focused on the actual time. 7:30. He would be on his way back but the next time they crossed paths would be over breakfast in the mess tent. So much for a baby-making romp in bed before the official 8am start of the day.
She pushed herself up off the mattress the locals had happily supplied for the comfort of the head archeologist and his wife, pondering just how she was going to share her news with him. He would want to know. She knew that. This entire approach to conceiving had been his suggestion. She'd understood almost nothing of the conversation he had with Carolyn Lam during the remainder of their trip home from Min's planet. The words 'ovulation', 'kits' and 'thermometer' hadn't made much sense until he had explained it in the privacy of their quarters. Vala smirked to herself as she pulled on the shorts she'd fashioned from a ripped pair of BDU pants. Aside from making the connection between the various magazine articles she'd perused, that had mystified her at the time she read them, with the discussion Daniel had with Carolyn, she'd been amused watching Daniel explain to her how they would determine when the best time to conceive would be. He could have a scientific discussion on sexual practices with another equally scientifically geared person almost without flinching but having the same conversation with her in the intimacy of their quarters brought a faint pink flush to his face. She'd struggled at moments to concentrate on what he was saying because a similar flush tinged his face and chest when he was heavily aroused. It'd taken an effort on her part to not give into the compulsion to deepen that flush by pushing him down to the bed and having her way with him.
Her smirk deepening, she debated the rest of her clothing options for the day. Today she wouldn't be resisting any urges to seduce him. Although her approach would have to be subtle. He wasn't known for blatant displays of affection in public. His attitude had always been that their physical relationship was no else's business but theirs. After Qetesh's preference for sex games in large groups, that attitude had taken some getting used to.
She took a sleeveless pale blue button shirt from her suitcase of clean clothes and slipped it on. It was, she figured, her best choice. He seemed to have a thing for her in pale blue and when the heat started to climb in the afternoon she could tie it up under her breasts, baring her midriff. That combined with the lack of sleeves and the amount of leg her shorts bared should give him ample skin to try to tear his eyes away from. A shiver curled up her spine in anticipation of finding his sky-blue eyes lingering on her like a caress. She reached for her watch, glancing quickly at the time as she fastened it around her wrist. Almost 7:50. A quick trip to the washroom facilities that had been set up for the dig and then she would probably find him in the mess tent. How she was going to share her news with him, while everyone else involved in the dig who would be getting breakfast at the same time, she wasn't sure. If she was lucky she'd catch him before anyone else was seeking his attention. Also if she was lucky she might find him in one of his rare playful moods, willing to flirt with her during the day. Not something that he was known for, at least not in public, but since embarking on this approach to making babies she'd discovered that he was sometimes open to teasing her. She had yet to figure out why, but she suspected it had something to do with giving her goal-oriented husband something concrete to focus on other than his work. On any given day his considerable brainpower was immersed in his work without a lot of thought given to bodily needs. Which was why he had a tendency to forget to eat sometimes and occasionally even to sleep if he was thoroughly engrossed in his work That lack of thought about anything besides his work was also known to extend to sex. Not that he often rebuffed her advances completely, he was as unlikely to pass up an opportunity to get laid as the next guy. The challenge was getting his brain to switch gears. Which was why she figured he was willing to engage in teasing and flirting with her when it should be the right time for them to conceive. It gave him a definite goal to slot into his thoughts, instead of the randomness of spur-of-the-moment sex.
Vala walked into the mess tent, scanning the trestle tables for Daniel's familiar figure. It only took a moment to spot him on the far side of the huge tent that had been erected to hold the cooking and dining facility for the 30 people, both staff members from the SGC's archeology department and the people of Inverna who were involved in the dig. She was pleased to see he was sitting alone, one hand wrapped around what she figured was probably his second or maybe even third cup of coffee of the day and writing in his journal. She made a detour to the serving line to gather a mug of coffee for herself and her favourite breakfast MRE of pancakes and sausage rounds…or Frisbees and hockey pucks as Daniel scoffingly called them.
She looked up as she left the serving line, her food in hand. She was disappointed to see that he was no longer alone. Iiad, one of the Invernian historians who had originally requested Daniel's help with the dig, had taken a seat across from him and was engaging him in sporadic conversation.
Pasteing a bright smile on her face she made her way over to the table. Juggling the mug of coffee and her breakfast MRE, she managed to settle herself beside Daniel on the bench without disturbing his writing. She aimed her smile at the bearded man across the table.
"Good morning Iiad."
He returned her smile. "Good morning Mistress Jackson."
Vala shook her head. "Please Iiad, call me Vala."
"Vala," he smiled with a quick incline of his head. "How are you this morning."
"I think I am well." she replied, taking a small sip of the hot liquid in her mug.
Iiad frowned slightly. "Oh? You are not sure?"
Vala shot a quick glance at Daniel beside her, trying to discern whether any of this conversation was going to penetrate his work-focused brain.
"Well I did notice yesterday that according to an instrument we use for gauging our body temperature that my temperature was elevated, which can be a sign of illness. But since the same instrument told me this morning that my temperature is still elevated, and I am feeling quite well" she shrugged, tearing back the foil covering on her breakfast, "I don't believe I'm fighting any illness after all… as a matter of fact," she gave Iiad another brilliant smile, "I'm actually feeling quite full of life."
Iiad returned her smile with a slightly confused one of his own. "Oh…well I am relieved to hear that."
Daniel suddenly stopped writing and closed his journal.
"Iiad, if you're ready. we should get started. I'd like to see the excavation work completed on several of those trenches before the heat on the plaza gets too intense."
"I am Dr. Jackson. Shall we go?."
The man stood and stepped away from the bench seating.
Daniel rose, pausing to look down at Vala. "How ya doing with those tiles. Any problems with the translation?
She shrugged, returning his gaze. "A few, but I thought if I completed all the tiles then I might be able to get the ones I missed by the context of the text."
He nodded. "Yeah I'd do the same. I'll take a look when I come back down at lunch. In the meantime if anyone needs me, you know where I'll be."
"Mmhmmh," she replied, with a smile.
He put a hand on her shoulder for balance while he stepped backward over the bench. His fingers trailed feather light down her neck as he turned away. The glancing touch sent a frisson of awareness down her spine. She narrowed her eyes in thought, watching he and Iiad walk out of the mess tent. In the two and a half years she and Daniel had been together she felt she learned how to read his libido almost perfectly. She knew what turned him on the most, what turned him off the fastest, and what made him completely lose control. There were still times though when she couldn't decipher where his mind was. Like now. She was unsure if the brush of his fingers along her neck had been deliberate or not, because also in those two and a half years he had learned what effected her the most. Even things she hadn't been aware of. Until Daniel came along, sex for her, had been about power, pain, subjugation and something to relieve boredom while waiting for a scam to play out. She'd never before had an attentive lover focused on her pleasure, exploring and memorizing her with elegant nimble fingers and a warm, mobile mouth. No one else had discovered that any and all attention paid to the swath of skin that ran from behind her ears down the outside curve of her neck to her shoulder would get a reaction from her. Daniel had. Her face cupped in his warm, strong hands, long slim fingers lightly stroking behind her ears while he kissed her made her melt against him. Applying his teeth along that same strip of skin at the right moment would send her careening into long hard spasms of pleasure.
A pang of heat blossomed in the pit of her stomach. Smiling into her mug of coffee, she laid a hand across the back slope of her neck. The most recent marks were barely visible now. Given Daniel's insistence that their private life was, well, private; leaving marks on her skin for others to see wasn't something he would do on purpose. She was also pretty certain that he would be stunned at the suggestion that by marking her skin he was branding her as his. He would accept the societal concept of claiming ownership of her to protect her, but he would protest that in their society it was abhorrent to claim ownership of someone else and really, she was more than capable of protecting herself. Vala exhaled a small snicker as she popped the last piece of sausage into her mouth. He would be right there. She'd been looking after herself and surviving just fine, thank you very much, before Daniel had landed in her life. She did like the sense though, catching a glimpse of a mark on the back slope of her neck, gave her of belonging to someone. She also liked what seeing the marks told her about their relationship. The first time she had a glimpse of the faint pinkish marks down the outside curve of her neck had been one morning not long after the sixth month mark of their relationship. She'd been pulling her hair up into a rough topknot just before she went out running. The sight of them had stopped her cold as she tried to figure out what could have caused them. It'd only taken her a few moments to flash back to their lovemaking of the night before. It'd been the first time in their still relatively new relationship that he'd really let himself go and made hard, passionate love to her like she knew he could. Just thinking about that night and other similar nights since made her heart race.
"Vala?"
The sound of her name broke into her daydream of unrestrained, wanton sex with her husband. Startled, she blinked up at the two women standing at her side. Dr. Emma Butler, the youngest and newest member of the SGC archeology department and Broca
Zalon, one of the Invernian historians. An older woman with a dry and earthy sense of humour, she and Vala had become fast friends.
Vala gave them a bright smile. "Sorry ladies, just thinking too hard about other things I guess, I didn't see you there."
One of Broca's dark eyebrows went up. "And judgin' by the way ye were eyein' that fine husband of you'rn I'd say I know just what ye were thinkin' aboot."
Vala smirked at her new friend. "I'm sure you do."
A huff of disdain came from the younger of the two women. "Really you two, Dr. Jackson is a brilliant and inspiring senior member of the SGC and as such deserves much more respect than you two are currently affording him."
Broca shook her head. "And I would be in agreement with ye my girl, but he's also a particularly well-made man and as such we can appreciate him for that as well. Now, come along both of ye," she gestured towards the open tent flap, "we have work to attend to."
Vala gave up trying to concentrate around mid-morning. She got up off her stool, stretched and reached for her canteen. Taking a long chug of water, she screwed the cap back on and expelled a heavy breath blowing her hair up away from her face. In the two hours since she'd resumed her task of the previous day, she had achieved nothing. She couldn't focus on the characters on the tiles long enough for them to make any sense. She kept going back to everything she'd been thinking about at breakfast. Images of Daniel, aroused and passionate along with the memories of his hands, teeth and mouth on her skin had her body humming.
"I need a break," she announced abruptly, "I'm going for a walk."
"Radio's there," she smiled at Emma and Broca, gesturing to the radio on the table never the entrance of the tent, "if you need to contact anyone."
Without waiting for a response, she set off across the encampment. The direction of her thoughts made the main excavation site on the plateau overlooking the encampment her obvious destination. She strode up the path, stopping at the top to get her bearings. The grass-covered field before her was, she judged, about the same size as the field that the sports team in Denver, Cameron and Teal'c had taken her to see, played on…something about horses which were certainly beautiful animals, but she'd been much happier to discover that the team was actually made up of big, muscular men in short, tight pants. She moved forward into the space, exchanging greetings, as she passed, with the groups of people working small excavation trenches dispersed through the area that Daniel had theorized had been some sort of ceremonial plaza.
She grinned when she finally spotted Daniel on the far side of the plaza area. Speaking of tall, muscular men. He was standing with his back to her, his arms seemingly folded across his chest, lean, ratty-jean encased legs braced wide, deep in conversation with Nyan She strolled across the hard-packed expanse of dirt and grass relishing the opportunity to feast her eyes on him.
The well-washed blue denim shirt he'd been wearing at breakfast had been shed in the increasing heat of the morning leaving just the white tank-top that had been under the shirt. The white t-shirt, dazzling against his tanned skin, followed the perfect 'v' formed by the flow of his torso from narrow hips up to broad, muscular shoulders.
Closing the remaining space between them, happily anticipating the smile that would spread across his face at her news, she announced her presence by slipping her fingers up under the hem of his t-shirt to lightly stroke over the skin just above his belt. His conversation with Nyan didn't falter, he only shifted his stance to brush his hip against hers. She countered the gesture by looping her arm all the way across his back, to fit her hand into the curve of his waist. Closing her eyes, she brought her cheek to rest against the swell of his bicep, soaking in the warmth of his skin, the faint tang of work-induced perspiration and the sound of his voice.
"I don't really want to lose the flow of the text on the wall, so do what you can. If you find that it can't be stabilized then we'll have to see about taking the wall down this afternoon. We don't want people injured while they're trying to do rubbings"
"Agreed. I'll see what I can accomplish between now and lunch."
Vala felt Daniel nod and then hand something to Nyan.
"Yup, that's fine."
She heard Nyan's departing footsteps going back the way she'd come and then silence. Moving her head away from Daniels' arm, she tilted her gaze up to him. He was looking directly at her, but his sun-darkened glasses hid the expression in his eyes.
"Hi," was all he said.
"Hello," she replied with a soft smile.
"So what's up? Problems with the tiles?"
She shook her head. "Nope, just needed to take a walk…I've haven't been concentrating well this morning…feeling restless," she stretched up on tiptoes to brush her mouth against his ear, "and rather aroused."
She felt a faint shiver pass over his body and saw the corner of the eye closest to her crinkle briefly.
"Likewise," he said blandly, "but I don't think this is the right place to do anything about it."
Vala took a step back, narrowed her eyes and twisted her mouth into a thoughtful 'moue'. Such a blatant admission like that from him was unusual His eyes were still hidden by the dark lenses so she couldn't see the tell-tale teasing glint in the back of his eyes but she caught the slight upward twitch of his mouth. She suddenly grinned in delight. Looked like he was willing to play.
She took the step back into his personal space and leaned against him.
"Oh, so you heard what I said at breakfast did you?"
"I did," he said softly, "Every word."
"And you didn't say anything?"
Behind the dark glasses his eyebrows rose in faint surprise.
"And what was I supposed to say Vala? 'I'm sorry Iiad you'll have get started without me, my wife is telling me we have to go have sex right now so we can have a baby'."
She shrugged with a smirk. "Well you've always insisted that honesty is the best policy darling."
He tilted his head and pressed his mouth into straight line. She couldn't tell if he was irritated or trying to smother a laugh.
"Vala, that would've been extremely unprofessional of me…and besides," he snorted a light chuckle, "it would've freaked poor Iiad out. You trouble him enough as it is without subjecting him to those types of images."
Vala tried to look innocent, cocking her head to one side, looking up at him through her eyelashes and twisting a strand of hair between her fingers.
"Oh? I trouble Iiad? How so?"
Daniel pursed his lips and shook his head.
"Cut the act Vala. You know perfectly well you make the poor guy nervous. You're very," he paused, tilting his head down to sweep an appraising eye at her over the top of his glasses, "uhh…female and very sure of your appeal. I can guarantee exactly how he's reacting to you. Ten years ago I was Iiad and I know for a certain you would've made me nervous. Hell," he snorted another light chuckle, "you make me nervous now and I'm married to you."
Her trademark seductive smirk blossomed across her mouth. She shifted closer to him, to block any view the teams working the trenches behind them might have of her actions, and slid her free hand up under the front of his shirt.
"And am I making you nervous now?" she purred, rubbing her hand over his hard, smooth belly and up across the flat, solid planes of his chest, deliberately circling her fingers around his nipples.
"Mmm," he grunted, grabbing her hand, "that's not the word you used a moment ago."
Vala let her eyes widen in fake surprise.
"Oh well," she smiled sweetly, taking full advantage of the fact that he'd trapped her hand directly over one nipple, "I'm sure I could help you with that," she breathed, circling the tiny hard nub with her fingernail.
"Yes, I know you could," he said tightly, shifting his stance, "but this wouldn't be the place."
Vala's smirk deepened at his obvious attempt to rearrange the way his jeans were fitting.
"Then maybe we should find the right place," she said huskily, plucking the tinted glasses off his face and hanging them by a leg in the open neck of her shirt.
His gaze hovered where his glasses were dragging the edges of her shirt down to disclose a hint of cleavage. Crystal blue eyes darkening to sapphire rose to meet her gaze. Heat rippled through her gut. Half the pleasure of flirting with him this way was knowing she was the only one allowed to see this side of him.
"As tempting as that is," he said quietly, "I've got responsibilities here that I can't abandon suddenly."
Vala huffed a sound of impatience.
"Daniel." came out with a slight whine.
"Ah, ah," he chided gently, "that's the way it is at the moment, but, after coming to bed late last night and being up before 6 this morning I am kinda tired" he released the hold he had of her hand to slide his fingertips, feather light, down her forearm and back up to her shoulder, "I think I might take advantage of the downtime after lunch the Ivernians take and have a nap."
She grinned slyly. "Oh I do like that idea, although I'm not sure there'll be much sleeping involved."
"Then I'll just hafta make it an early night too won't I?" he responded silkily, his hand drifting from her shoulder up into her hair to stroke along the outside curve of her neck.
Her eyes closing, Vala twisted her neck into the caress, almost purring like a cat. She swayed towards him, wanting nothing more than to have his naked body moulded to hers.
His voice just above her ear reminding her that they weren't completely alone brought her eyes open. A barely contained smug smirk played over his mouth. Vala narrowed her eyes at him. Right, this was a game of tit-for-tat and they both knew she was better at it. Nodding, she dropped her gaze from his as if submitting to his gentle reprimand and let her hand that was still nestled under his shirt, drift down over his belly and out of the shirt, coming to rest on his belt buckle. She held the bowed head position for several beats, aware that Daniel had gone completely still as if waiting. There was no way he would've bought her conceding to his warning quite that demurely. She knew that he knew she wasn't done yet. It was a struggle to keep the smirk off her face as she tilted her head up slightly, cast a seductive sideways glance at him from under her eyelashes and dropped her hand below his belt, firmly rubbing the heel of her hand along one side of his zipper. She watched the blue eyes darken further, heard his breath catch and felt the ridge inside his jeans harden. He grabbed her hand away from his crotch.
"Minx," he gritted.
She smirked at him and shrugged. "Well Daniel if you can't stand the heat stay out of the fire."
His face creased with amusement. "Uh that would be 'kitchen'…if you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen'"
She didn't resist the urge to stick her tongue out at him.
With his hand still curved around her neck, he guided her forehead towards him and pressed a quick kiss there.
"Okay, truce" he laughed, bending down to pick up the backpack sitting at his feet, "c'mon I could use your help with something
Vala watched him straighten, her gaze trailing up his body, lingering over flex of muscles, and breadth of shoulders..
"But darling," she said huskily, slowly letting her blue-grey eyes drift up the sensuous curve of his neck to lock with his intent blue gaze, "I believe I've already made that offer."
Heat arced between them. Vala couldn't look away. The intensity of his darkened eyes made it hard for her to breath.
"Not what I meant," he said tersely, obviously trying to rein in his own want, "and you know it. Now cool it, please."
She flashed smile and held out his glasses to him as if a peace offering. "Sorry darling, sometimes you're just too appealing for my own good I'm afraid."
Sliding the glasses back on, he shook his head as he turned to walk away.
She followed him, carefully stepping around or over lines of string fastened to wooden stakes that marked out the entire plaza area in a grid pattern. He stopped at the base of a crumbling wall overgrown with vines. Letting the backpack slide to the ground, he knelt before a length of plastic sheet about four feet long by three feet wide covering what a recently excavation.
He reached to remove the metal spikes that held the plastic in place.
"Uhh, I opened this test trench a couple of days ago, just for the pleasure of working it myself, but with everyone else needing my attention since then I haven't been able to do much with it. But since no one," he threw a quick glance over his shoulder at the half dozen small teams of people scattered across the plaza area behind them, "seems to be needing me at the moment. I thought I'd see what I can accomplish before lunch."
"And you," he paused to remove from the backpack a metal clipboard and his small digital camera, "can take the notes for me."
Vala stared at the enclosed clipboard filled with papers.
She shifted anxious eyes from the clipboard to Daniel.
She shook her head "Daniel, I haven't a clue how to do this. I don't want to screw anything up."
He tilted his head slightly to look up at her with an encouraging smile. He held out the clipboard out to her.
"Vala, you're not going to screw anything up. You've taken lots of 'in situ' photos for me before on missions and…"
" 'In situ'?" she interrupted in puzzlement.
He flashed a sheepish smile. "Uhh, sorry…jargon….umm…photos of how something is 'situated' in the ground before it's removed. And the," he gestured with the clipboard, "cataloguing forms just seem more complicated than what I normally use because this dig is bigger. Really, it'll be a piece a cake, I promise."
She took the clipboard hesitantly, easing herself to the ground beside him.
He gave her a smile and tapped the clipboard. "So these forms are the same ones the SGC uses; there's places for the date and the people involved. It's just the cataloguing reference numbers that are going to be more complicated because of the size of the project, but I'll give you what you need as we go along. Okay?
She took a breath and nodded.
He grinned and patted her knee. "Good girl. Now let's see what kind treasure we can find huh?"
Vala bit back a laugh as he rose to his knees to remove a trowel and a paintbrush from the extra belt fastened around his waist. His idea of treasure and her's were not quite the same. Hers involved things that promised a great monetary payoff. His were usually encrusted with dirt. It did prove though just how hopelessly in love with him she was willing to sit and watch him scrap and prod, with excruciating care, centuries old dirt and muck away from small pieces of what she would have tossed away as just rocks. She'd put up with just about anything to see his face light up. It was also just nice to sit beside him in the sun, watching him work and listening to his voice. It had been a busy summer. They'd never been able to reschedule the trip to Belize. Even before they'd officially left front-line duty, Daniel had become wrapped up in creating the new permanent 'dig' team and then organizing this project on Invernia. They hadn't spent much time alone. She figured the only thing that had prevented them from arguing all summer over how little time they'd been together was this approach to making babies. Knowing that there were really only two or three days a month when they had to be in the same bed kept her from getting angry that he was putting work before his family and kept him from feeling guilty if he needed to be off-world or ended up sleeping at the base. At first she'd been wary of how well the whole 'scheduling their sex life' was going to work out. She'd visited some of the Internet chatrooms geared to fertility issues and it had become obvious to her quickly that the biggest complaints had to do with it taking all the spontaneity out of sex…it became just a chore. So far that didn't seem to be a problem for them, perhaps because they hadn't been doing it long enough yet for it to become wearing. Or perhaps, she thought with soft smile, because, like with their entire relationship, she and Daniel just didn't do things like everyone else did.
"Whatta ya smiling about?"
Vala jerked her attention to Daniel who was holding out a piece of pottery to her.
"What?"
"I said, what are you smiling about?"
Taking the chunk of clay, she leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.
"Nothing really, I'm just glad you're you. You're very sexy and I love you."
"Oh," he blinked at her, pink flooded his face and he ducked his head quickly back to his work.
"So…uh…there," he stumbled, clearly flustered, "there doesn't seem to be much her...here worth pursuing."
Biting back a giggle, Vala busied herself with tucking the pottery fragment into a plastic bag and labeling it. He could be so much like a shy little boy sometimes, he was quite irresistible. His suddenly drawled, "Well, hello", caught her attention. She looked up to find him carefully clearing away the vines obscuring the wall. She rocked forward on her knees to see what had grabbed his interest.
"What is it?'
"Not sure yet," he murmured without looking at her, "it appears to be carvings of some sort. I was scraping the edge of the trench a little closer to the wall and accidentally pulled some of the vines down with the handle of my trowel. Uhh," he pointed at the vines covering the stones on the other side of her, "could you remove those."
She rose to her knees, stretching to tug the mat of vegetation away from what was left of the stone wall. When she couldn't reach any further, she sank back into her original cross-legged position to watch Daniel explore the surface of the rocks. His hands were splayed across them, questing fingers almost reading the carvings, like the blind-person she'd seen reading by touch alone. A shiver skittered up her spine. She could almost feel the friction of the work-scuffed tips of his fingers gliding across her skin, reading the curves and angles of her body with the same delicacy and reverence. Before she even realized what she was doing, her own fingers were skimming over his right hand; tracing the smooth tanned skin lightly flecked with a scattering of tiny silver scars from old injuries, brushing over the baby-fine blond hair dusted across the back of his hand and wrist. She turned his hand over, unmindful of his breath catching as she stroked her fingers across the weapon calluses that would drag against her skin when he grazed the palms of his hands across her breasts. Her nipples tightened in instant response to the imagined sensation.
"Vala," he almost growled near her ear, "stop. I can't stay focused, when you're doing this stuff."
She turned her head to him. His eyes were still hidden by the dark lenses, but she could read the tension on his face. He was clearly holding himself in rigid control. Static seemed to sizzle and hum between them for several beats. It felt almost impossible to break away from the magnetic pull towards each other.
The wail of an air horn blasted up from the encampment, warning the work teams they had 30 minutes to close up their work sites before the next meal was served.
Daniel dropped his head forward.
"Okay," he exhaled in a heavy sigh, "lunch.
He raised his head, throwing a quick glance at her.
"So we need to secure the site first."
She nodded, speechless. Even she was sometimes stunned by how quickly the heat between them could ignite. They worked in silence, stowing the several bags of samples from the trench along with the equipment in the backpack and fastening the length of plastic over the trench. Inside the thirty minutes they were making their way back across the plaza to the path that led down to the encampment.
An undercurrent of friction crackled between them all through lunch. They carried on conversations with everyone else around them, but said very little to each other. Vala spent most of the meal in state of uncertainty. She could feel the tension radiating off him and she was afraid she'd pushed the whole flirting thing too far. When he left the conversation they had been having with the others at their table with the excuse that after a late night and an early morning he was in need of some catch up sleep, she took a breath of relief. Excusing herself, she deposited her lunch dishes in the clean-up area and jogged after him. She followed him into the tent, pausing to close the zipper on the door flap. She had barely time to finish before his hands were on her shoulders, turning her around to face him.
"God, you make me crazy," he rasped, cupping both hands along each side of her face. His mouth was on hers, hungry and fevered before she could say anything. His fingers caressing the delicate skin behind her ears drew a soft moan from her. She moulded herself against him, threading her arms around his neck and her hands into his hair. Clearly the tension exuding from him during lunch had been barely suppressed lust, not aggravation. It was also clear from the way things were starting that they wouldn't be going slow. She smirked against his lips, musing about how best to cover up the marks on her neck she was sure to end up with by the time they were done. Musing distracted her. His tongue snaked into her slightly open mouth, sliding across her tongue like velvet. She let her mouth widen, sucking hard against his tongue as she pushed up on her tiptoes to grind her pelvis against his. He exhaled a heavy groan of want from the back of his throat and pushed her backwards to the bed, his hand trailing down the back curve of her neck, over her shoulders to pluck open the buttons of her shirt.
The edge of the mattress caught against the backs of her calves. She stopped and slowly sank to the bed's surface. He followed her movements, stooping to keep his mouth pressed hers, letting out a faint moan at the scrap of her teeth over his bottom lip as she pulled away from him. His eyes opened and his tongue darted across his lips. He stared at her, his eyes dark and hooded. Fire danced through Vala's veins making it hard to breath. She reached to undo his belt. He made an abrupt negative motion with his head, wrapping one hand around both her wrists to lift them away from his belt, while his other hand rose to flick open the front fastener of her bra. Without letting his gaze drop from hers, he pushed apart both sides her blouse and both cups of her bra, watching her react to the palm of his hand brushing repeatedly across the satin peak of her breast. The rough skin dragged over the nipple until it was rigid and almost quivering. She swallowed back a moan, mesmerized by the deep blue heat in his eyes. Silently, his hand still wrapped around hers, he motioned her backwards. She moved herself further back onto the mattress, watching as he leaned over her, his eyes tracking the sway of her breasts. He released her hands to push her blouse and her bra down and off her arms. His gaze never left her body. Slowly he lowered his head to suck a nipple into his mouth. She gasped at the hard bolt of heat that ricocheted down her body. She reached again for his belt, her fingers shaking with the urgency his mouth tugging and sucking at her breast had building between her legs. His mouth roaming from her nipple back up along her neck gave her a moment to focus. With a quick tug and shove, the belt and his zipper came undone. The heated musk of male arousal drifted to her, tightening the coil of need churning in her gut. She thrust her hands into his briefs, one hand pushing them and his jeans to his hips, the other hand wrapping around and stroking hard along his erection. He groaned against her neck, and began to move over her. She pushed at his briefs and jeans as he moved, managing to shove them off his hips and ass.
"Doctor Jackson?" the voice from the other side of the tent flap brought everything to an abrupt stop
Fighting to catch his breath, Daniel dropped his head forward, resting his forehead on her shoulder. The four letter word he hissed against her skin startled her. He had so many languages and dialects to swear with, she'd never heard him use that word before.
He sucked in another deep breath and cleared his throat. "Yes?"
"Sorry to disturb you sir, but Nyan requires your assistance with that wall."
Daniel raised his head from her shoulder and tilted a glance backward in the direction of the voice. "He said at lunch that he'd gotten it stabilized."
"Ah yes sir, he had thought that, but when he went back to it after lunch, it appeared to have worsened. He's afraid the whole thing is about to collapse."
"Shit," Daniel muttered, pushing himself up off the mattress, yanking up his briefs and jeans as he stood, "Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes."
Vala propped herself up on her elbows, watching him tuck himself back into his jeans and fasten the zipper and belt. She made no move to reclaim her bra or her shirt. If work responsibilities were going to pull him away, she was going to make sure he had an eyeful of what he was leaving. Judging by the muscle tic along his jaw and the way his gaze was riveted on her, he wasn't going to be forgetting too soon where they'd left off. With one bent knee on the bed, he leaned over her.
"I'm sorry cara," he whispered, pressing a soft, loving kiss to her mouth, "I can't not go.
"I know," she replied blandly.
He touched her cheek with gentle fingers. "An early night tonight…I promise…and no interruptions…okay?"
She raised a skeptical eyebrow.
He sighed, pressing another soft kiss to her mouth. "I absolutely promise," he whispered against her lips.
She let out a long breath and faintly nodded.
"Love you." he said, brushing her forehead with a gentle kiss as he stood up.
She watched him leave. Blowing out a disgusted puff of air that made her dark hair flutter off her forehead, she slumped back on the bed.
So far: Work-2, the Jacksons' love life-0.