Ah, back in my comfort zone: Pure, unadulterated angst. Enjoy!
Chapter 24
Daniel awoke to the irritating sights, sounds and smells of the infirmary. Gods, he hated this place. Forcing his eyes to stay open against the glare of the fluorescent lighting, he took a quick glance around the room. He could see Teal'c and Mitchell at a table playing a card game and Jack was seated beside his bed. It didn't take long for him to realise that two people were missing and he shot up quickly, ignoring the pain all over his body.
"Where's Vala? Is she all right? Tell me she's okay." He knew his voice sounded panicked but, dammit, that's exactly how he felt at the moment.
"Whoa, sunshine, relax." Mitchell said, coming to stand next to him. "Don't worry, the princess is fine. Potho didn't hurt her...physically."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that the bastard's method of torture for her was to listen to you being tortured." Jack filled in.
"Oh, god." Daniel lay back with a thump. "I want to see her."
"You will." Mitchell assured him. "Last I heard, though, she was in a meeting with Landry. I'm sure she'll be here as soon as it's over. She never left your side the entire time you were unconscious. Not until she had to attend the de-briefing."
"How long?"
"What?"
"How long was I out?"
"Approximately five hours, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c replied.
"That's not accounting for how long you were out before the Odyssey beamed you aboard." Jack said. At Daniel's confused look, he continued. "Yeah, you missed that part. It was a pretty cool rescue, I heard. Especially after Arton escaped and Vala zatted him."
"What?"
"It's a long story." Mitchell told him "Listen, Teal'c and I have a...uh...sparring session scheduled. We'll see you later."
"I am glad to see you have awoken, Daniel Jackson."
"Thanks, Teal'c." Daniel said with a suspicious glare in Jack's direction. The Jaffa simply nodded and followed Mitchell out. "Jack?"
"Daniel?"
"What's up, Jack?"
"Oh, you know, same old stuff. SG-1 gets captured, Vala hatches a plan, you do the noble thing, get tortured, rescued...Just a normal day."
"Jack!" Daniel yelled, getting frustrated. "You obviously got rid of Teal'c and Mitchell for a reason. What is going on?"
"You tell me. What the hell were you thinking putting, not only your life, but Vala's in danger by staying on that ship."
"I wasn't going to leave her alone with Potho. He's a madman! If my being there saved her from his torture, then I'm glad I did it."
"But it didn't save her, Daniel!" Jack exploded. "She had to listen to everything that happened to you without being able to see you, to help you. How do you think that made her feel? Wouldn't you call that torture?"
"Don't you think I know that?" Daniel returned angrily then suddenly deflated. "I know what I did was stupid but I couldn't do anything else. I couldn't...can't lose Vala. I love her, Jack."
"Yeah, I got that. And I also get that you're all about the noble sacrifice but I think this time it did more harm than good."
"I think you're right. I did it so I wouldn't physically lose Vala but I may have lost her emotionally." At Jack's confused look, Daniel continued. "Right after the rest of the team left, before we were separated, Vala and I argued."
"You guys always argue. It's what keeps you together."
"No, this wasn't like our other fights. Vala pointed out that I may have put Kierda and Zari's lives at risk by staying and giving Potho leverage over her. She's absolutely right. And the worst part is that I didn't for one second consider them. All I was focussed on was not losing Vala, about how it would tear me up inside. So much for a noble sacrifice. It was selfish and stupid and I wouldn't blame Vala if she never forgave me. She must hate me." Daniel looked down at his hands in defeat.
"Listen, Daniel, I don't think you're giving yourself or Vala enough credit here. You've always been impetuous when it comes to the people you care about and Vala knows that. She also knows that you would never knowingly hurt anyone, least of all her sisters."
"I know, but-"
"No buts. Vala is a smart woman with a great capacity for forgiveness. She's going to need it, too, considering she's chosen to love you. Can I give you some advice, though?"
"Anything." Daniel said desperately, looking at his best friend.
"Don't push her before she's ready. She has to come to you. Everything will work out."
"Thanks, Jack." Daniel said sincerely, feeling the first bubble of hope he'd had in days.
"No problem. Now, I'm gonna go find some Jell-O. You want any?"
Daniel only shook his head and rolled his eyes at Jack's antics.
()()()()
"What did you need to see me about, Samantha?" Vala asked as she walked into the colonel's lab.
"Oh, Vala, I'm glad you're here." Sam said with a smile as she looked up from her computer screen. "Everything go okay with the general?"
"I think so. I'll tell you about it later." Vala said at Sam's expectant look. Her friend shrugged a little but let it go, much to Vala's relief. She wasn't quite ready to discuss her decision with her teammates, not until she knew exactly what was going on.
"Okay, you remember that data crystal Jacek had?" Vala nodded, taking a seat beside the blonde and Sam continued. "Well, I was able to get some of the information off before Agent Barrett took it. Part of that was a letter addressed to you. It's from your father. I thought you might like to see it. For the record, I didn't actually read it myself. It just didn't feel right."
"Thank you, Samantha." Vala said with a tear in her eye, grateful for the privacy. Sam handed her a printout of the letter and she took it shakily, moving to the other side of the lab to read it.
Hey Kiddo,
If you're reading this, I'm dead and you know you have two little sisters. I know I should have told you about them when I came to Earth, but I couldn't. You have a good life there, I didn't want to burden you any more. But now that I'm gone, it's up to you to take care of Kierda and Zari. I know you'll do a great job, a far better one than I ever did. I've never told you this before but you have your mother's soul. You are strong and beautiful just like my Caya. You inherited her generous heart so don't be afraid to share it with your sisters. They have so much love to give, just like you. I'm just sorry that I could never show it, to you or them.
As you already know, I've gotten myself into trouble. I'm working for your Earth government to take down the Lucian Alliance. I decided to start with Potho, knowing how much he's hurt you in the past. I wanted to make him pay. Unfortunately, I think Arton is on to me and I don't have much time. Hopefully the information on this crystal will help your team accomplish was I was unable to.
I want you to know one more thing. You may not believe this, but I swear it's true. After Adria sold you to the slavers, I tried to buy you back but you had already been sold to Qetesh. I worked for years to find someone to help me and came across a resistance. I'm still not entirely sure who (or what) they were. They called themselves the Tok'ra and assured me they could free you. I took their word for it and they did as promised. Once you were free, my plan was to bring you home but you'd run away before I could get to you. I can't say that I blame you, either. I'd decided to leave you be, knowing that my presence would have caused you too much pain, any way.
One more piece of advice from your old dad. Let go of your anger and bitterness to me. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but neither do you deserve to carry that burden with you. I'm going to die with regrets, I don't want you to do the same. Be happy, you deserve it. Kierda and Zari deserve it. Just remember the good times. I'm sorry I couldn't have been more of a father to you or your sisters. Don't make the same mistakes I did. They really are great girls. Please tell them that I loved them, just like I loved you.
Dad
Vala wiped away the tears that were falling freely down her face and jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Folding the paper neatly, she placed it gently in her pocket and stood.
"Thank you, Samantha." she said, hugging the other woman.
"You're welcome. You gonna be okay?" Sam asked and pulled back a little, a worried crease on her forehead.
"Yes." Vala answered firmly with a genuine smile. "I think I'm going to be just fine."
As Vala left the lab and headed for her quarters, she knew she really was going to be okay. She was slowly letting go of the anger, hatred and bitterness she'd carried with her since she was a little girl. For the first time in too long, she felt she would be able to forgive her father and that gave her hope. Hope for herself, hope for her sisters. But most of all, it gave her hope that she could forgive Daniel.
A/N: One more chapter and an epilogue and this story is complete!