Chapter Twenty-Four

"No," Mitchell was in absolute denial, "no, you're not!"

"Shh!" Vala looked over at Elam in his corner, playing, and sighed, "Keep it down; we haven't told Elam yet."

"But we just defeated the Ori," Mitchell kept protesting, "It was finally time to explore the galaxy without any hindrances; Princess has to be there!"

"Quiet or the universe will hear you and send another bad guy our way," Daniel said, looking around them, waiting to see what new foe came next.

Vala snorted. "I thought you didn't believe in jinxes," she mocked.

"This isn't a jinx," he defended, "it's a universal fact!"

"You're being ridiculous," she told him, "It's a jinx."

"Maybe," Daniel said skeptically, "but it's just something you don't mess with."

"You know what else you don't mess with? Your pregnant girlfriend's morning sickness!" she hissed.

"Dude, you jinxed the morning sickness?" Mitchell interjected, "That's cold."

"It was an accident," Daniel insisted. "Obviously the term morning sickness is inaccurate."

"Back to the point," Mitchell intervened again and looked at Vala, "You off SG-1 on a temporary or permanent basis?" he asked quietly.

Vala gave him a sympathetic look. "Permanent," she replied softly, "I'm sorry, but Daniel and I can't be off world together."

Mitchell nodded thoughtfully. "Will you be joining any other teams?"

"No, at least not for a while," she answered, "I don't want to give up 'gate travel indefinitely, but like I said, one of us needs to be on Earth for the children's sakes."

"I get it," Mitchell said and smiled sadly, "but it doesn't mean I like it. We're gonna miss you."

Vala smiled back and went to hug him. "I'll miss going out with you guys as well," she said, "but we'll still be in each other lives, we'll still see each other; you can't get rid of me that easily."

"Ain't that the truth," Mitchell quipped and winced when she smacked him at the back of the head before pulling away from him. "When are you telling the others?"

Vala stepped back into Daniel's arms. "Not sure," she replied.

"Elam?"

"We'll probably do that once we get home," Daniel answered.

"How do you think he'll take it?" Mitchell asked curiously.

"He seemed excited when you accused me of being pregnant on the Odyssey," Vala noted, "so hopefully that means he won't mind being a big brother."

"He spent five years being the only kid aboard that ship," Mitchell said, "it only makes sense that he would want another one around."

"But it's different now," Daniel said quietly, "He's not there anymore and soon, he'll be able to go to school and meet other children; he may not want a sibling anymore."

"He will," Cam stated confidently, "I was an only child and always wanted a sibling, tell me you two didn't feel the same way."

Daniel smiled faintly. "Yeah, I guess you're right there," he relented, "My mom couldn't have anymore after me, but didn't stop me from wanting a little sister or brother."

"See!" Mitchel pointed to Daniel and looked at Vala expectantly.

She smiled sadly. "I actually had a brother," she confessed quietly.

"Really?" Mitchell asked, shocked. "You never said anything about him. Where is he?"

"I had a brother," she repeated, "He died when we were children."

"Damn," Mitchell sighed, "I'm sorry Princess."

"Don't worry about it; it was a lifetime ago," she glanced over at Elam, "But Cameron's right, having a sibling was one of the best experiences of my life and I want Elam to experience that. Whether or not he wants one now, he'll be excited, I know he will."

"See, there you go!" Mitchell said, smiling.

"Just because he might be happy, doesn't mean we're not worried," Vala stated, "Daniel and I haven't been his parents for long and we're still getting the hang of it; I don't know what adding a baby to that will do."

Mitchell stared them down. "Listen up," he began seriously, "you guys are great parents, no matter how long you've been at it. You jumped into this without hesitation and have loved that boy with everything you got; you're there when he needs you and that's not gonna change. You've been through way worse and have come out stronger, so this new challenge is nothing you can't handle. You guys got this."

"Wow…" Daniel said slowly, "I did not expect that, not from him at least. Did you?" he glanced at Vala.

"No," Vala agreed, "Sounds more like something Sam would say."

"Hey, I can be deep…or serious," Mitchell remarked, slightly offended.

"Thank you, Cameron," Vala squeezed his hand briefly, "That really did mean a lot."

Cam's cheeks pinked just slightly. "Despite what I said earlier, I really am happy for you guys," he told them, "Congratulations."

Vala hugged him again. "Thank you."

The boys shook hands instead of hugging.

"So," Mitchell started with a sly smile, "I get to be the godfather of this one, right?"

o0o

Telling everyone else wasn't hard and they weren't too worried about others reaction; it was only Cameron and Elam who they were worried about for various reasons.

Teal'c had simply smiled and offered them his congratulations. Sam had let out an uncharacteristic squealed and hugged them, stating how happy she was to be a godmother again – Vala didn't correct her and decided to keep her decision to make Carolyn the godmother to this one a secret…for now anyway. Landry's reaction was similar to Teal'c's, smiling as he offered his congratulations, but they heard him mumble something about paperwork as they left the office.

Though Jack had already returned to D.C, he still didn't let the opportunity to tease Daniel over the phone pass him by, and after a few minutes of teasing, Jack finally admitted he was happy for his friend. "I know the past few years haven't been easy," Jack had said, "hell that last decade, and I'm glad, despite it all, you're finally letting yourself be happy and you're starting a family."

Daniel stared at his desk as he let his friend's word soak in. It had been one fucked up decade, but he could finally see the light at the end – actually, he was pretty sure he was there. "Thanks, Jack," he said quietly, "It still feels surreal, you know? Vala, Elam, and now the baby."

"I get, I do."

"I just…never thought I would have this, not after Sha're, I mean," he confided, "I had long given up on ever having a family."

"I know you did," Jack said quietly, "but you got yourself a hell of a woman, I mean Vala is sure something."

Daniel chuckled. "She is at that," he agreed fondly, "Gods, if you would've told me a year or two ago, hell two months ago, that my life would be like this, I would've accused you of being body snatched or something."

"We've all been there, so a perfectly reasonable assumption," Jack quipped, "but seriously, when you gonna make it official?"

"Make what official?" Daniel asked, puzzled, "Last time I checked, we were an official couple."

"Fine, I'll rephrase," Jack said, getting snippy, "When're you going to make an honest woman out of her?"

Daniel's brows scrunched. "What, you mean like…?" he trailed off.

"Ah fer cryin' out loud, and you call yourself a linguist," Jack sighed, "I'm talking about marriage, Daniel. When are you going to marry the woman or are you waiting for someone to gift her to you?"

Daniel was glad that Vala had been called up to help with the repairs on the Odyssey instead of here with him, telling Jack about their addition to their family. "Jack, in the span of one month and during a galactic war, Vala and I became instant parents to a five-year-old, started a relationship, moved in together, and recently discovered that I impregnated her our first time together, so I'm thinking marriage might be a bit too soon...or much."

"But aren't you guys already heading that way?" Jack questioned, "I know you want to."

"What I want doesn't matter," he blurted out before he could think and cringed.

"I knew it!" Jack exclaimed triumphantly, "So now that we've established that, what's the hold up? Put a ring on it, Daniel."

"I don't think she's ready," Daniel retorted, "I may wanna marry her and I may be ready, but she's not, and after everything she's been through, I can't say that I blame her."

Jack paused for a moment. "If this is your twisted way of protecting yourself, I swear I'm gonna have the Odyssey beam me over so I can slap some sense into you."

"It's not," he promised, "It really is about Vala. We just go together, we're still figuring out how to be good parents to Elam, and adding a baby into the mix, complete with extra hormones, is all that I think she can handle, and that's not even mentioning the whole situation with Adria."

"I'd forgotten about the demon spawn," Jack said quietly, "How is she?"

Daniel was quiet for a minute. "Honestly, I don't really know, she won't talk to me," he sighed, "and I'm trying not to push her, but she needs to deal with it, especially with this baby on the way. I just don't know what to do or what's best for her."

"I know, but just be patient; she'll open up eventually," Jack assured him, "Space Princess isn't touchy feely; she's had a rough life that's made her harden herself, but she'll eventually open up. She has with you in the past and with Carter, so just give her time."

"Since when did you become an expert on Vala Mal Doran?" Daniel teased quietly.

"She reminds me of me," Jack confessed, "at least in the way she handles the hard stuff life throws at her."

Daniel smiled wanly at the thought. Jack used sarcasm to get through stuff and sometimes, he just blatantly ignored it. Vala used humor too, as well as her sexuality, the flirting, teasing, and come-ons as her tools; she ignored stuff too. Were these healthy coping mechanisms? No, not really, but he wasn't any better, and at least it did the trick for the most part.

"I know she normally talks to me after she's had some time to think, unlike you, but this feels different; the situation is different," Daniel remarked, "her out of whack hormones aren't helping either."

Jack laughed and Daniel got the feeling his friend was making fun of him.

"Oh Danny boy, it's only just begun and is only the tip of the iceberg," Jack told him, mirth evident in his voice.

"Oh gods," he groaned, "I have a feeling it's going to be a fun next eight months," he mocked.

"That bad already?"

"You've no idea," Daniel rubbed his forehead and chuckled lightly as he remembered instances where her hormones went rampant. "Jack, you should've seen her trying to tell me about the pregnancy; I don't think I've ever been so relived to find out that it was just the baby causing all the crazy."

"Maybe its twins," Jack suggested.

"God, it better not be," Daniel instantly replied, "and don't ever say that again or else the universe will hear you and make it happen!"

Jack laughed again before he got serious again. "Listen, I know you're worried, but trust me when I say to just give her time and before you know it, she'll spilling her guts out to you."

"Thanks Jack," he said earnestly and caught sight of Cam and Elam coming into his office, "Hey, I gotta go. Talk to you later," he didn't wait for a reply before hanging up. "Hey, what're doing here?"

"Lunch time!" Elam chirped, bouncing over to him.

"Already?" he asked with a smile, lifting the boy onto his hip.

Elam nodded enthusiastically. "Yep and mama said I hafta make you eat."

Daniel raised his brows. "She did, huh?" figures she'd rope their son into making sure he ate regular meals. "Well, guess we better go grab some food."

"Food!" Elam exclaimed excitedly.

o0o

Dr. Elizabeth Weir was gone.

Earth had received word from Atlantis a few hours ago, apprising Earth of the new situation. It was a loss everyone felt deeply here and Daniel could only image how bad it was for those on the Atlantis expedition. The powers that be didn't have time to mourn; instead, they focused on finding a replacement, which wouldn't be easy. She wasn't someone who could be replaced so easily.

Caught up on his melancholy thoughts, Daniel didn't hear Vala come up to him and jumped in surprise when she wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her head against his spine. "I'm sorry about your friend, Daniel," she said earnestly.

Daniel finished rinsing the plate he held and place it in the dishrack before turning around so he could hug her to him. "She was an incredible woman," he said quietly and kissed Vala's head, "She'll be a tough act to follow."

Vala pulled away and cupped his cheek. "Do you want to do this some other night?"

They had told everyone of importance of the baby aside from Elam and had planned to tell him tonight, but that had been before they received the news from Atlantis.

Daniel's hands moved to her sides, thumbs brushing her midriff. "No," he answered, "I think we all could use some joy now and Elam should definitely help provide that."

"That is if he's happy about this development," Vala contradicted.

"I thought we agreed earlier that he will be."

"I can't seem to make up my bloody mind and stick to it," she remarked.

"Yeah…" he said slowly, "these hormones are going to be a bitch."

She glared at him. "Kindly remember that I'm the one who has to experience them," when she saw he was about to argue, she held up a finger, "Ah! I'm the one left feeling like irrational, emotional, crazy wreck of a person; what you experience is nothing compared to that."

Daniel thought for a moment. "You got me there," he conceded, "and I'm sorry if I made it seem like I'm the only one affected."

"Just don't forget it."

"Yes, ma'am," he said seriously before smiling and giving her a kiss, "Wanna go tell our son he's going to be a big brother?"

"I gonna be a big brother?" Elam exclaimed from the doorway and his parents jumped apart, looking guiltily at each other and Elam. "Mama has a baby in her tummy?" Elam asked, walking up to Vala.

Vala glanced at Daniel one more time before she knelt before Elam and took his hands and gave him a small smile. "Yes, you are," she answered, "What do you think about that? Would you like to be a big brother?"

Elam's face split into a big smile. "Yes!" he shouted and bounced in his place.

Daniel knelt beside her. "Elam, we just want you to know that no matter what, we will always love you," he said softly, "this baby won't change that; your mom and I will love you both equally."

"I know," Elam said simply.

The parents looked at each other and shrugged. That was easier than they thought it would be. Granted, they hadn't wanted to have this conversation on the kitchen floor, but it was working and they couldn't complain.

"Okay, now that that's been taken care," Vala sat on her knees, leaning back, "do you have any questions for us?"

Elam's face was thoughtful for a few seconds. "When's it gonna be here?"

"About eight more months," Daniel replied.

The child frowned. "That's a long time," he pouted.

Vala chuckled. "Yes, it is," she agreed, "but it will be even longer until the baby can play with you."

"Oh," he said, slightly disappointed, "I guess is okay."

"Hey, cheer up," Daniel said, giving a smile, "Soon, you'll be able to go to school and meet new friends so it won't be so bad."

Elam nodded, accepting Daniel's answer. "Okay."

"Have any other questions?" Daniel asked.

He thought again, face scrunching in concentration. "Can I have a sister?" he finally asked.

The parents laughed.

Vala rubbed his cheek affectionately. "I'm afraid that's not up to us," she told him apologetically, "We just have to wait and see."

"Oh," he mumbled, disappointed again, "a brother would be nice too."

His parents laughed again at his adorableness.

"We'll be able to find out in a few months if it's a boy or girl," Daniel supplied, "but until then, we'll just have to be patient."

Elam sighed, getting tired of always being told to be patient. "Okay," he reluctantly said, "I be patient."