Vala wandered into Daniel's office one day. He wasn't there. Somehow the past few days he'd had a lot of business to take care of. Vala on the other hand was bored out of her mind.

She started to make her way for Daniel's bookshelf when she caught sight of a folder on his desk. "DON'T LET VALA SEE THIS" was written on top of it. She knew she was asking for trouble, but she opened it anyway. Why else would he have written it if he didn't want her to see it?

There were pictures of Runes. Daniel had made notes about some kind of dig. "Best Ever" "Can't believe it" "Wish I could go" were only some of the remarks scribbled along the edges. Vala looked at it and started to cry. She hadn't cried for a couple of days at least. But now all her doubts all her fears came rushing back.

Galnek had certainly given her the worst kind of torture. She had found love. Finally she had found happiness. And slowly it was falling away from her.

She wished suddenly that it were all a dream. That none of it had been true. It would be easier to live with it that way. She could lose Daniel, as long as she had never had him.

She closed the folder. She left his office and went to her room. She didn't make it in time to avoid balling her eyes out in front of several base personnel. She didn't care. She got to her room and slammed the door shut. What was going on? Why hadn't Daniel said anything?

He wasn't going to leave her. He thought he was in love. He'd spent time over the past few weeks building a relationship, but he hadn't been honest. She was holding him back.

Vala curled up on the floor and hugged her legs close to her chest. She put her head on her knees and continued to cry. How had she let this happen?

Galnek that bastard! Her guard had been down. She had been vulnerable. She hadn't been thinking clearly. Now all she could think about was how disappointed Daniel would be. She had kept him from his life's work. She was going to keep him from his other love. A huge part of her wanted to. But the other part knew she could never live with that guilt.

Daniel was so devoted. He never left her side. He bantered with her and squirmed and laughed with her. Most of all he loved her. Or at least he thought he did. He hadn't said it but she knew he thought it. Daniel had been so much like the Daniel she loved. She now realized it was all too good. It would fall apart. She would break and it would end. What was the point?

She remembered the moment when Daniel had told her he wanted to be with her. She remembered her own feelings. She had decided she wasn't going to leave him. She had decided that together they could be happy.

They'd repaired so much together. Vala had almost felt whole again. She felt like life was worth living. That she could do more then survive. Even now, thinking about a life without Daniel she felt stable enough. Stable enough to be happy somewhere else. Not the blissful, wonderful joy she would have had with Daniel, but happy nonetheless.

She laughed to herself and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. Her hand was almost healed now. She could bend the fingers though clenching them still hurt. She looked at her wrist. It was scarred and torn. She had finally come to terms with what she had done to herself. She had come to terms with her pain. Daniel had helped her do that. Daniel had helped her move past it. Daniel had taught her that forgetting isn't always the best way to live. Daniel had taught her to grow and become who she was now.

She smiled and picked herself up. Maybe that was it. She didn't have to forget her Daniel. He'd always be around. She'd always love him. But she knew a relationship with him wasn't going to be a reality. Reality it seemed was against her. If she loved him she would have to let him go; to do that she'd have to move on, because she knew Daniel never would.

Galnek had played a terrible game, but she wasn't going to let him win. To avoid disaster she was going to act. To avoid more pain she was going to endure just a little. To be happy she was going to let the man she loved live out the dreams he'd always had. For both of them to be happy and avoid breaking again, she was going to set Daniel free. To do that, she was going to leave him.