Chapter Nine

It was like déjà vu for Daniel as he slowly awoke and his mind shot back to the fateful morning when he had woken up in a similar fashion; only this time, he wanted to be here and didn't scurry out of bed. If anything, he snuggled closer to her once he was more aware and tried to go back to sleep. He didn't want this moment to end; he didn't want to go back to reality and what awaited them when they did. While he acknowledged that they really needed to talk, he was afraid of what it would lead to, whether that would be another full-blown argument or something more seriously, he didn't know; all he knew was that all possibilities scared him in different ways.

"Goodness, Daniel," Vala mumbled sleepily and she shifted slightly in his arms, "I can hear your serious thinking."

Slightly startled that she was awake, he pulled them closer with a smile on her face. "Morning," he greeted, "sorry if I woke you up with my serious thoughts."

"All's forgiven," she murmured and moved so she was facing him, "Wanna tell me what's got you thinking so hard?"

"Probably should save it for when we have that talk," he responded warily.

"Ah, I see."

He offered her a smile and glanced at the clock. "You should go back to sleep; it's still early."

She shook her head in protest. "Not tired anymore."

"You should at least try."

"I know you're worried for the baby's sake, but I can assure you that your child has had enough sleep."

Daniel couldn't stop the grin from appearing on his face and he did something completely uncharacteristic; he rolled on top of her, holding himself with his arms, and stared down at her shocked expression. "I love it when you refer to it as 'my child,'" he confessed, "and for the record, I'm also concerned for my child's mother, not just the baby."

Still startled by his actions, Vala asked in concern, "Daniel, are you feeling alright?"

"Perfectly," he replied instantly, "Why do you ask?"

"You willingly just rolled on top of me for starters."

His face went serious. "Vala, despite how I acted the other day, I meant what I said last night; I want this baby, I'm excited about this, and I want to raise him with you."

Vala arched an eyebrow. "Oh, it's a boy now?"

Daniel shrugged nonchalantly. "Today it is and tomorrow it'll be a girl. I don't want to think of the baby as an 'it.' The baby isn't just a thing, it's a human being, and calling him an 'it' doesn't feel right. So, today, he'll be a boy and tomorrow, a girl, until we know for sure."

"Mmhmm," she hummed skeptically, "You just want a boy, don't you?"

"I honestly could care less," he retorted and buried his face in her neck. "Just as long as he or she is healthy; that's all that matters."

Vala's hands went to his head in her neck, her fingers digging into his hair. "If you say so," she sighed and tried not to get too hopeful at Daniel's sudden turnaround. "Daniel, I don't know what to make of your sudden change in behavior or this playfulness you're currently displaying; it's a little unnerving," she confessed carefully.

He lifted his head to lock his eyes with hers. His gaze was intense, trying to convey the seriousness of his next words. "I know I hurt you, I know what I said was unforgivable, and I'm sincerely sorry for that. No matter what happens with us, I need you to know that I'll always be there for you and our child. You believe me, right?" at her nod, he felt relief sweep through him and added more playfully, "Good, because you're stuck with me for good."

Vala rolled her eyes. "Am I now?" she challenged.

Daniel smiled and burrowed his head back into her neck, resting it on her shoulder comfortably. "Yep, can't get rid of me," he quipped.

Suddenly, Vala pushed at his shoulders. "Daniel, get off of me," she requested as she pushed.

He shook his head into her neck. "Nope, I meant what I said; you're stuck."

She continued to push. "No, Daniel, seriously, get off of me!" she said more forcefully.

His head whipped up at her tone. "Vala, what's wr –"

"Daniel, now!" she commanded, anxiety coating her plea.

He lifted himself off of her immediately. "Shit, Vala, I'm sorry! I di –" Vala bolted from the bed before he could finish. Brows furrowed, he followed her and found her throwing up into the toilet. He instantly sank down next to her and gathered her hair away from her face and rubbed her back. "Shit, I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Not your fault," she moaned out once her body allowed her a break. "right on schedule," she added before vomiting again.

Daniel winced, wishing there was something he could do to make it stop. He twisted her hair and left it sitting in the middle of her back before grabbing a washcloth, getting it wet, and grabbed a tissue from the box on top of the vanity. He crouched back down and grabbed her hair again, waiting for her to finish. "Has it been this bad this whole time?" he asked once it seemed to end.

Vala took the tissue he held out and quickly blew her nose before tossing it and grabbed the wet cloth. "More or less," she replied and leaned against his chest.

Daniel hugged her to him and tried not to make any sudden movements that would result in another bout of nausea. "It's typically a good sign, morning sickness, I mean," he commented offhandedly, "It can indicate that it's a healthy pregnancy and that the baby isn't going anywhere. People commonly use the term 'sticky-baby' in such cases."

"So, me throwing up at all hours of the day is actually a good thing?"

"Pretty much," he replied, "though it may not seem like it, it's a good thing, a sign that he's healthy."

"You're sticking with calling it a he one day and a she the next?"

"Yep," he brushed a stray hair out of her face and tilted her chin so she was looking at him, "You okay now? Think you could get up?"

Vala nodded and flushed the toilet. "I think so; just help me up slowly."

He did as requested and led her to the sink. When she grabbed her toothbrush, he snatched the toothpaste before she could, and when she gave him a questioning look, he shrugged and said, "The research I did said you shouldn't brush your teeth right after throwing up; it'll rub in the acid and ruin your enamel. You should rinse with water or mouthwash as an alternative."

"Okay, no more research for you," she told him sternly, pointing her toothbrush at him, "and I don't have mouthwash so what do you suggest I do, leave my mouth tasting absolutely foul? I can assure you that'll end up with me getting sick again."

Daniel held out the toothpaste and grabbed her toothbrush with his other hand. "Rub some toothpaste on your teeth and rinse with water," he suggested, "I'll get you some mouthwash later. After thirty minutes to an hour, you can brush your teeth without harming them."

Vala grabbed the toothpaste and did as he suggested. Once her mouth felt clean, she leaned against the sink with a sigh. "Thank you."

He came up beside her, leaning again the sink as well. "Feel better?"

She shrugged. "A little," she answered honestly, "but it comes and goes as it pleases."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault, Daniel."

"It kinda is," he contended, "I put him there; I started it that night," at her surprised expression, he wouldn't help but chuckle, "I know I blamed you that morning, but in my defense, I didn't remember much of that night; it only came to me about a week later and by then, I couldn't bring myself to admit to you, let alone myself."

"Daniel…"

"No, don't," he stopped her, "I'm sorry for what I said that morning and how I behaved; it was wrong. I seem to be doing that a lot, actually."

"Daniel, I don't think we should do this now," she inserted.

He gave her a confused look. "Last night you said you wanted to talk," he pointed out, "you asked me if we could and now you want to back out of it?"

"No, I'm not backing out," she denied, "I just don't think this is the right time or place."

"Why not?" he challenged.

"Because we have to work in less than an hour and the both of us need to get ready," she reasoned, "I don't know about you, but I could use a shower."

Daniel sighed and he lowered his head. "You're right, sorry."

"We can talk later tonight," she promised, "after work; maybe up on the surface, in case we get loud again?"

"I have a better idea; come to my place," he countered, "that way no one from the base can see or hear us and you don't have to worry about people finding out about the baby."

Vala mulled it over for a minute. "I don't know…" she trailed off, uncertain.

"I can make you dinner," he threw in, "and you could even stay the night."

Vala's eyes widened. "Daniel, I don't think that's a good idea."

He realized how his words sounded. "Shit, that's not how I meant for it come out," he winced, "I meant that you could stay in the guest room. I have a feeling that, knowing us, it could either go well or pretty badly and whatever way it does, it'll probably be late once we finish and we'll be tired, physically and emotionally."

He has a point, she acknowledged to herself. "People will talk if I go home with you and they could catch on."

Daniel sighed. "Have Sam drop you off then," he suggested, "that way no will suspect."

She thought about it again for a few seconds before nodding. "Okay," she agreed, "but no guarantees that I'll stay the night."

"I can accept that," he accepted, "but bring an overnight bag, just in case."

"Cocky, are we?"

"More like determined," he corrected, "confident."

Vala rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, darling," she pushed away from the counter, "You should be going before anyone sees you leaving my room."

It shouldn't have bugged him that she didn't want to be seen with him, but it did. Why was she suddenly apposed to be seen with them? Why was it such a big deal that she didn't want people to know about the baby? Or was it the fact that he was the father that was the problem?

"Why do you suddenly care about that?" he voiced his thoughts, "Are you ashamed of the fact that I'm the baby's father? Why don't you want people to know?"

She looked aghast. "Daniel, no, nothing like that!" she quickly denied.

"Then what is it?" when she didn't answer him for a few moments, he tried again, "Vala, then why?"

"I'm worried about that baby," she admitted meekly.

"Why?" he quickly demanded, "Does something feel wrong? Did Carolyn say anything yesterday?"

"No, nothing like that," she repeated her earlier words, "It's just…after…what they did to me… I, I'm worried somehow it'll affect the baby."

"You mean the people on Elgara?" Vala shook her and walked past him to go to her bedroom. Daniel followed and snagged her arm before she could make it far. "Vala, tell me what you mean, please," he pleaded gently as he locked eyes with her.

Vala quickly looked anywhere else but at him, not wanting him to see the tears gathering. "The Ori," she whispered, her voice shaking slightly, "I'm worried they may have done something to me when they created Adria."

Daniel dropped his hold on her arm, stunned. "Shit," he breathed as he realized where she was coming from. "I, I didn't even think about that. Does this pregnancy feel different?"

"No," she admitted gingerly, "not really. I'm more nauseous and dizzier than I was with her, but I can't shake this feeling that they may have done something to me."

"Okay, so we don't know that they didn't anything else to you for certain," he tried reassure her, "and Dr. Lam didn't find anything when you came back; she gave you a clean bill of health, remember? And yesterday, remember she said everything was fine with the two of you? I can't even imagine how hard this must be for you but try not to let your fears get the better of you. You and our baby are fine; he's going to be okay and will be born perfectly healthy."

She hesitantly looked at him. "How can you be so sure?"

Daniel's heart squeezed as he looked down at her; she looked scared and so small in that moment. The thought of anything happening to this baby terrified her and if he was honest, it terrified him as well, but he be damned if he let anything or anyone hurt her or his child. He rested his forehead against her. "I just know," he told her honestly, "and if, and I stretch if, anything is wrong with him as a result from the Ori did to you, I will raise hell with the Ancients until they fix whatever the Ori did to you; it's the least they can do since we saved their asses from something they should've taken care of themselves."

Vala chuckled at his vehemence words. "I don't think that's how it works, darling," she noted, "as we've seen, we can't make them do anything."

"Just watch me," he stated determinedly, "Trust me."

For some reason, she did; she believed he could and would.

o0o

Author's Note: To Serela and my Guest reviewer, since I can't reply straight to you, I wanted to take a moment and thank you for your kind words and encouragement in letting me know that I'm not totally screwing up the characters/story.

Sarela, sadly, I'm not planning on doing a series with this (never really thought about it), but if I ever do, know that you inspired it and got my creative juices flowing. This story only has about ten more chapters left so hopefully it won't be too short for you! I do have more D/V stories if you wanna check those out and I have about four in progress - two short and two at 20k or more so stay tuned!