Hot Water

He gazed at the pictures taped up on the inside of his locker. Four distinct photos, all beautiful in their own unique ways. The first was the oldest, hanging in the top left corner of the door. It was one that all of the longest standing members of the program had seen on numerous occasions. He had a handful of copies made, though his locker and his office on base were the only places that displayed it now. The need to see those intense brown eyes staring back at him wasn't as strong as it had once been, though neither was the need gone. He refused to forget the memory of everything the picture held. Every time he opened his locker, and saw her beautiful face, it just reminded him that he was standing there, still doing what he did, because of her. It was a picture that helped him keep going, and fight for what he knew in his heart was right.

And the other three pictures always reaffirmed why he had to come back, no matter what. The picture directly next to the first could barely hold the shine of the smile gracing the page. Grey-blue eyes shined out with such joy and happiness, her long chocolate hair tossed to the side by the wind. It had been a fluke moment when the picture had been snapped - she had looked at the camera right when the flash had gone off. He was surprised that anything could possibly capture her spirit within its grasp, but somehow this picture held it all. Her spirit, her brilliance, her beauty. She was just radiant, and he knew down the line it wouldn't take long before he had to pass that radiance on to some man ambitious enough to try and contain it.

The third picture, directly in the middle, was doubly amazing. Not only did her radiance shine out through the laugh across her face, but also through the near identical laugh across the raven-haired beauty wrapped around her. This was a picture of pure happiness, and there was no way he couldn't smile when he looked at it.

The last picture had to be his favorite. As much as he adored the first three, there was just something about the black and white photo beneath them that just floored him every time he looked at it. There was the soft smile across her delicate lips, partially concealed by the hand fisted against her cheek, the way her dark bangs fell into her eyes a little. She hadn't known the picture was being taking as her gaze was pointed outwards, intently focused on whatever she'd been listening to at the time. And that's why he loved it most because he knew that she'd been listening to him. It had been during a lecture he was giving to a group of incoming young cadets about the nature of what was ahead for them, and he had warned her she wouldn't like it. It wasn't until Teal'c had given him the picture he'd snapped in secret that he realized she hadn't been bored at all.

Those grey eyes shined out with pride and wonder and...love. She had been there because she loved him, and that had been enough for her.

Closing the door to his locker slightly, his blue eyes immediately found the only other person in the room. She wasn't supposed to be in the locker room with him. He knew that. There were major rules against such things like it, and they both knew if they got caught things would get crazy.

But there was nothing he could do to stop her - and he really couldn't find any reason to want to. Even considering the fact that she was currently stripping naked in the men's locker room and any guy could come in and see her. Because even though he didn't want others to see her in all her glory, the deep animalistic male ego she brought out of him was eager to show off what he'd earned.

Her grey eyes found his blue as she began untying the strings holding her leather bodice on. She smirked knowingly.

"Yes, darling?" Vala purred, hands hovering over the strings as it became increasingly more difficult to loosen them the higher up she went.

Daniel looked her up and down and breathed in deeply. "Do...do you need some help?" He stuttered, overwhelmed by the fact that she still left him dumbstruck at times. It helped that she was naked from the waist down.

Vala turned towards him, leaning back against the closed locker next to one she had 'borrowed' several years ago. Siler had yet to figure out how she managed to keep it locked, and was too afraid to question Daniel about it.

"Shouldn't you be getting undressed?" She asked, eyes flicking down to his leather pants. "Not that there's any hurry for you to take them off..." Her signature grin graced her lips.

Grinning, Daniel pulled his shirt up over his head slowly and let it drop from his fingers as he strolled over to her. Pinning her against the cool metal at her back, he pressed into her needingly. "I think there might be a slight hurry..."

Vala laughed lustily. "Slight..." Her hands immediately started unlatching his belt. He pulled back a little so he could start untying the rest of her bodice. The moment the last string came loose, Daniel hastily tossed the piece aside. He ran his hands down her smooth back, letting them come to rest against her ass. Squeezing firmly, he knelt down a little and hoisted her up.

She abandoned her attempt to get his pants off for the moment as her legs wrapped around his waist. Her hands cupping his face, Vala placed a passionate kiss to Daniel's lips as he carried her towards the showers, his undone belt buckle clinking with each step.

Their lips never parted as Daniel braced her against his body with one arm and used the free one to turn the water in the stall to hot.

"Pants." Vala breathed as she pulled her mouth away from his. Obliging, Daniel placed her back on the ground and started sucking on her neck as she returned to ridding him of his remaining clothing. She gasped as he bit down on reflex as her hand brushed over him as the pants pooled around his feet.

Vala gasped again as Daniel pushed her into the steaming water, and hard against the tile wall. Water cascaded around them as Daniel pressed his body firmly against hers. As Vala squeezed him purposely once more, his sense overtook his lust and Daniel pulled his mouth away from her body.

"Vala..." He groaned as she stroked him. "Vala...Vala." He said again more urgently, bringing a hand down to stop her swift movement. "Hunny, s-stop."

She whined impatiently. "Why?"

Daniel smiled reluctantly as he looked into her needy gaze. "Because we left our team to suffer through the likes of your father..." He leaned in and kissed her softly, stroking her cheek.

Vala broke the kiss and turned her head to the side. "He still hasn't said a word since we got back." Her pout became more pronounced as Daniel kissed the side of her mouth. "They don't have to worry about him."

Chuckling, Daniel pulled away from her and stepped completely under the water. He ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah, well, Hayds will be asking nonstop questions..."

"Which she gets from you." Vala's voice was far away, and Daniel realized she had left the stall to retrieve their shower things that they'd so easily forgot to grab. Of course his hands had been full...

"Oh, and that face she put on when we told her she had to wait with them while we came in here..." He opened his blue eyes and accepted the shampoo she handed him. "That she gets from you."

Vala shrugged innocently, and placed their other things on the shelf against the wall. She took the bottle of body wash and squeezed some of the gel into her hand. Putting the bottle back, she stepped up to Daniel and began to lather up his chest. He continued to work the shampoo through his hair. A laugh escaped past his lips.

"God, that look on his face when he found out she was yours..."

She smiled back lovingly as his hair stood up in soapy spikes. "Ours, Daniel." Her lips found his as she continued to wash him, her hands moving farther south. Vala smiled against his mouth as Daniel maneuvered her around so she was standing beneath the water. Sure that her hair was wet enough, he turned her so her back was to his chest and retrieved the shampoo from where he left it on the shelf.

Vala leaned back against him as his hands began to massage the soap into her long hair. Her eyes closed as his strong fingers gently, but firmly, rubbed over her scalp. The feeling of ecstasy skyrocketed as he moved from her hair to her body, soothingly rubbing body wash over her breasts, and down her stomach, over her hips, and in between her legs. His touch was soft, focused, and far from sexual.

This wasn't an act of seduction. This was an act of love and complete trust, and Vala let herself go to the feeling it induced as Daniel continued to wash her.

-------

"Why is the more time I spend with you, the harder it is for me to stay away?" Daniel murmured playfully into Vala's neck, his arms squeezing tight around her waist from behind. She smelled of green tea shampoo and Jasmine body wash.

Vala smiled at his reflection in the mirror has she swept her still damp hair up into a high ponytail. "Because I'm so unbelievably irresistible, gorgeous."

"Mmmm..." Daniel kissed her neck and rested his chin on her shoulder. His blue eyes watched her fiddle with her bangs. She was pouting, a sure sign she wasn't happy with how her hair was acting. "You look beautiful, baby."

A hand went to her hip and she pouted directly at his mirror image. "And you are biased."

Daniel stood up to his full height and gave her a sweet smile. "I am." He swept her bangs to the side a little, just out of her eyes but not completely away from her face. "You are the mother of my daughter, and that makes you the most beautiful thing to me."

"And what about said daughter?" Vala asked with a critical raise of her eyebrow.

Tightening her ponytail, Daniel leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Okay, busted. She's the most beautiful thing to me. But she wouldn't be beautiful if it wasn't for you."

Vala brought her hand up and patted his cheek. "Or you."

"Again with the flattery..." Daniel grinned and ran his hand around her ponytail. "Seriously, though. You look fine. And you don't need to worry about looking good for your father, even though you do look amazing." His smile turned a tad smug. "There's only one man you need to ever look good for anymore."

A grin finally broke out across her face. "Well, someone needs to keep Cameron pleased."

Mock hurt clouded Daniel's eyes. "Oh, that's not funny!"

Vala giggled. "I think it was."

Rolling his eyes, Daniel kissed her temple. "Alright funny girl, let's go introduce our youngin' to your old man." He smacked her on the ass playfully and walked towards the doorway.

She latched onto his hand and allowed him to pull her down the corridor. "Trying to talk cool like Cameron now?"

Daniel shrugged and threw her a glance over his shoulder. "Well, since he's way cooler than me, apparently-" He was cut off as Vala planted her feet and pulled him back to her. She guided his lips straight to hers. His tongue immediately found refuge in her mouth and his free hand came to the back of her neck.

Breaking away after a few moments, Vala tapped his nose. "Yeah, but you kiss way better than he does." With that, she skipped past him and down the corridor.

It took a few moments for her words to sink in. Daniel spun on his heels, stalking after her. He shouted down the corridor at her now fast retreating form.

"Vala...how do you know how well Mitchell kisses?!" She took off at a run, and he followed suit. "Vala!"

A/N: There was much debate about what the next chapter was going to be. I thought about going straight into the introduction between Hayden and Jacek. But after being offworld for two weeks straight, Daniel and Vala would want to get cleaned up. And that's how the shower scene came to be ;D Of course the beginning was totally NOT PLANNED...That bunny just jumped in between me and the shower scene bunny...:shakes head: Damn my bunnies!

Anywho, hope you enjoyed and reviews are always LVOE!