Chapter 29 – Blinded By Love

Daniel held a decidedly disgusted frown on his face. He should have left the minute the conference was over and bowed out of the networking cocktail hour tonight as well as the ending ceremony breakfast tomorrow morning. The woman standing in front of him cut her eyes across the room to her friends with a slight shake of her head. This one obviously was not available. Pity. "Dr. Jackson," the woman continued disheartened by her recent discovery, "I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation, we haven't heard much from you in the past ten years."

Distracted by an overwhelming and uncharacteristic need to see Vala, Daniel nodded in answer.

"Well, I hope to see you again soon." The woman walked off in one direction as Daniel headed out the door in the opposite direction.

He flipped his phone open and dialed. "Yes, this is Dr. Daniel Jackson; I need to change my flight."

……

"What's this one?" Vala picked up the fifth picture she'd found interesting in Sam's living room.

Tapping the glass on each person Sam called off, "Catherine Langford, Daniel, Jack and General Hammond." Sam went back to the couch and the glass of wine she'd just poured.

"She's beautiful isn't she? Remarkably well built," Vala looked down at her chest with a bit of a frown and back to the picture, "She's looking at him as if she's going to eat him alive. It makes me crazy. He's blind with love. I hate it."

Sam looked up confused and held her hand out for the picture. Vala practically tossed it into her hand. "Oh, that one." Sam studied the photo, a melancholy sigh escaping in memory. "She was beautiful. And yes, he did love her. But it was long ago."

Vala sat on the edge of the coffee table picking up her wine glass and draining it in one long gulp. She looked at her chest again and sighed. "I don't have a chance do I?"

Laughing, Sam handed Vala the wine bottle. "He's changed in some ways since then. Well in a lot of ways, sometimes I'm amazed at the person he is today. We're all shaped by the events in our past, Vala. You're not the same person you were two years ago. And yes, I think you do have a chance. I've seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching."

Purposefully ignoring the last comment, Vala poured another glass of wine. "Thanks for inviting me for the weekend, Samantha. I was dreading the dreary and boring prospect of spending it alone trapped in the Mountain."

"I'm glad you're here. I wasn't looking forward to a weekend alone banded from the base. Sometimes, General Landry gets a little heavy handed with the 'you need a break' scenario."

Sam watched as Vala drained another glass of wine. "You might want to slow down on that if we're going to watch all the movies you rented." Digging through the four DVD's Sam grinned. "In and Out, Ever After, Notting Hill and Under the Tuscan Sun. I think you've seen the last one about twenty times."

"Hmm, yes. My favorite. So romantic. Movies are the only romance I get. I've been thinking. Maybe I should just start dating some of the guys who keep asking me out. Doesn't appear I will ever have the one I love, so I may as well start shopping around. I don't look forward to a life of spinsterhood; it's just not my style…well not anymore." Vala shivered in dread. "Gawd! Just the thought of someone other than Daniel touching me is nauseating!" She looked around for the wine bottle and emptied it into her glass.

"He'll be back tomorrow night, it's not like he's never coming back."

"Yes, and Cameron will be back from Air Force School teaching, and Teal'c will be back from meeting with Jack and the President and we will all be back to being SG-1 and nothing will have changed. I'm going to put on something comfortable and watch movies; I don't want to think anymore." She picked up the picture of Sha're and Daniel and shook her head sadly before replacing it where she found it and wandering off to the guest room.

Sam changed into a comfy pajama set, popped in the four DVD's in her five disc player, pulled her legs up to her chest and sipped her wine waiting for Vala to return. She couldn't help but laugh when Vala sat on the couch and tucked her legs and feet up under the long, high necked flannel nightgown. "Brownie?" She offered, holding the plate under Vala's nose.

"Sure." Vala took a handful with a deep resigned sigh. Popping a whole brownie in her mouth, eyes on the current movie, she mumble, "You know, I was crazy about him from the start."

"I know the feeling. You look into the pool of dark eyes and something inside you snaps and you have to fight it."

"Blue." Another brownie went down the hatch.

"Hmm?" Sam nibbled on her chocolate snack.

"Pool of blue eyes. Your's are dark mine are blue."

"Oh. Did I say that?" They both giggled.

"I don't want to fight it anymore, and you have won your battle. I'm surrendering. I'm raising up the white towel."

Sam slowly turned, "Raising a white flag or throwing in the towel."

"I have to choose?"

"Well you should, but it works either way. Giving it up are you? No more chasing Daniel?"

"Nope. I'm done." Vala grabbed another brownie. "Actually," she cocked her head to one side, then raised it up with an attitude, "I've changed my mind. I will be a spinster. I don't want anybody, especially Daniel!"

Taking a bite to hide her laugh, Sam turned back to the movie - waiting.

The deep sigh came first, "I think in my next life I'll come back as coffee. He'd love me then." Vala picked up the plate of brownies and set them in front of Sam. "I suppose I could give it a little more time. What do you think?"

"Good plan. He's in love with you, Vala. I can see it. I say give him more time. He's bound to come around."

Picking up the plate again, Vala set it on her lap. "Well if you insist."

……

Nodding off somewhere in the second running of Under the Tuscan Sun, Sam was awakened by a knock at her door. She looked up at the mantelpiece clock. It was after 2300 hours.

Vala didn't flinch, just stared mesmerized at the screen while Diane Lane was being seduced by her Italian lover.

Interesting, Sam thought spotting Daniel through the peep hole and opening the door.

"Sorry, did I wake you? I should have called. Is Vala here? Oh, there she is." Daniel walked in, hands in his pockets and head down.

Gesturing one handed towards the couch, Sam touched Daniel's sleeve with the other, "I'm off to bed. I'm exhausted." She kissed his cheek. "See you for breakfast…that is if you care to stay."

Momentarily shocked he watched Sam disappear into her bedroom down the hall.

Vala still hadn't spotted him. What the hell was she wearing? Slowly and silently he approached her. Her legs were tucked up under her, her hair pinned up helter kilter, the flannel gown ruffled around her throat, she sighed deeply watching a couple on the screen 'get it on'.

"Vala?" He said low.

His deep voice reverberated through her like shock waves. Her head snapped around and her mouth formed a little O. "Daniel? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you, to see you." His gaze traveled from her neck to the toes peeping out from under her nightgown.

Vala pulled at the high neck of the gown. "You don't like it do you?"

"It's adorable. It's one of the things I love about you"

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

"Define 'love about you'."

He settled on the couch beside her, an earnest, yet nervous look on his face. "I'm blinded, I'm deaf and dumb. I can't eat, sleep or work because I can't get you out of my head. I love you. I have no idea how you really feel about me, you're harder to read than written Asgard. But if I don't find out, I'm doomed to …"

"I love you too, darling. Do you think I should get a boob job?"

"WHAT!?"

Vala held her hands curved about four inches from her breasts.

"Hell no! I love you the way you are. You're perfect."

One brow quirked up and Vala grinned. "Perfect?"

"Perfect." His head moved slowly towards hers tilting just right to capture her open and awed mouth. He was definitely staying for breakfast.