Daniel would sometimes have this look on his face: something Cameron had once described as 'seeing a ghost.' The team could be in the commissary, mid conversation, and someone at another table would laugh and Daniel's eyes would immediately follow the sound. When he looked back, his features would be different, haunted somehow, by a memory. Today was different. Vala was sure he hadn't heard a word she had said the entire time they were having breakfast. He was distracted, as if the one ghost Cameron mentioned had turned into a whole army overnight. If the stories Vala had heard were to be believed, then this base was full of them. They were probably walking beside her or watching her while she slept. The thought made her shiver which brought Daniel's attention back to the room. He stared at her quizzically.

"It's cold." She said instead of explaining.

"Put your shirt back on." He pointed to her green BDU shirt that was hung on the back of the chair.

"Thank you, darling, I would never have thought of that," she retorted, hoping to return them to their usual dynamic. He didn't take the bait. She shrugged on her shirt and regarded him. She should ask, shouldn't she? That's what friends did, right? Her Airforce mandated psychiatrist had helped her immensely to broach emotions, especially the emotions of other people, but she still struggled asking the initial question when she didn't know what the answer would be.

As if he could read her mind, he stood up abruptly. "I'll see you later."

He was gone before she could respond. Sighing, she downed the rest of her coffee and the rest of his and went in search of amusement. She stopped by Samantha's lab first. When she got there, Sam was running around in a rush, grabbing files and scribbling notes on pieces of paper. Since her appointment as head of the Atlantis expedition was all but confirmed she had been on the base less and less. Vala barely said hello before Sam handed her a jewellery box and an envelope and called over her shoulder to give them to Daniel as she rushed down the hallway already late for her flight to DC. Vala tried to shout after her but it was no use. Vala looked at the jewellery box. It wasn't meant for her. She was just the messenger. But as Daniel had once said, she could resist anything except temptation.

With only a smidge of guilt at the invasion of privacy, she stepped further into the lab and placed the box and envelope on the desk. The lid opened with a snap. Inside was a silver locket. She looked at the envelope. It was addressed to Cassie. Wasn't that Sam's niece?

Vala opened the locket. Inside on the left was a picture of a brunette woman. On the right was a small blonde child. Vala assumed the child was Cassie, but she didn't know, or remember knowing, the woman. Lost in her own thoughts, Vala didn't hear Teal'c approach. "That is not yours, Vala Mal Doran."

"Bloody hell, Muscles." Vala closed the lid and turned to him, placing a hand on her hip. The other one she used to gesture to the box as she spoke," Samantha asked me to give this Daniel. My curiosity got the better of me."

"As it often does." He stared at her expectantly. Expecting her to remember the promise she had made not to satiate her own curiosity at the expense of other people's privacy.

She opened her mouth to defend herself but there was no wriggle room when it came to Muscles. She cleared her throat. "Well I best get this to Daniel."

She gathered the box and the envelope and made her way to the door. Teal'c stopped her with a hand on her wrist. His eyes were warning her to thread carefully. She had never met someone who could express so much with such little words. "The lady in the locket, she is someone important, isn't she?" He raised an eyebrow. "To you and Daniel. And Samantha?"

"Indeed."

Vala leaned her head on his chest for a moment. With a bow of his head, Teal'c let her go and she made her way down the hall. Today must have been an anniversary. It would explain Daniel's behaviour and why Samantha wanted him to get the locket: she was probably afraid her trip to DC would run late and she would miss whatever was being planned for the occasion. Vala held the jewellery box and the letter to her chest like it was her own personal treasure. She knew a lot about death: she was used to it. Qetesh had killed scores of people, but before and after her time as a host, it was no stranger to her life. But grief, however, was a stranger to her, in the same way the SFs she saw around the base every day, but never talked to, were strangers. She knew it was there. She knew she had a lot of grief waiting to be acknowledged and recognised and worked through but she could never bring herself to say hello. Whenever it tried to make the first move, she promptly stuffed back into whatever hole of her psyche it crawled out of.

When she reached Daniel's office, she peaked her head around the door to make sure he was there. He was sitting at his computer with three books open on his lap. Vala let out a breath of relief. A Daniel that allowed himself to be consumed by his work was a Daniel she was familiar with. She knocked on the wall. He looked her way in acknowledgement but didn't speak.

"Samantha asked me to give you this." She held the two items out in his direction.

He pointed behind him with his pencil. "Oh thanks. You can leave them on the desk."

Vala did as instructed and turned to go but hesitated. The fact he didn't initiate conversation was a clear indicator he wanted to be left alone, but that didn't mean he should be, right? Before she could make up her mind, he cleared his throat to catch her attention.

"Right well, enjoy your," she peaked at the computer screen, "ruins." She waited for a sarcastic 'ha ha' or an eye roll, or a lecture about how they weren't just ruins, but he just picked up one of the books that was on his lap and started whispering to himself.

"I know what today is," she blurted. Fuck. Daniel moved the books from his lap onto the space beside the computer and swivelled the chair to face her. "Well sort of. Muscles told me, or rather, stared it at me." She held two fingers up to her eyes and then pointed them in Daniel's direction.

Vala waited for him to ask what prompted the conversation, but he remained silent. Pushing the chair along the floor, he reached for the jewellery box, opened it, and stroked his thumb over its contents. Without lifting his gaze he asked, "How much did he tell you?"

"That she was important to you." Vala pushed herself on to the centre table and sat meditation style. It was at points like this that her psychiatrist let silence be an invitation, so Vala did the same.

"Yeah, she was." Daniel said with a sad smile. He opened the locket in the box and handed it to her. "The blonde girl is Cassie as a kid. The other woman is Dr. Janet Frasier. You might have read the report from P3X-666?"

Vala had been given official access to all past files when she became a full member of SG-1, but even in the depths of boredom she could not bring herself to read ten years' worth of reports. She looked up from the locket and placed it beside her.

"Of course not," he sighed. His tone went serious again. "Four years ago today, SG-13 was caught in an ambush. SG-1 along with SG-3 and SG-7 were sent as a rescue. Frasier was also sent."

"But she didn't come back," Vala finished.

"No. A Jaffa shot her while we were stabilising Sergeant Wells."

Vala remembered a conversation she arrived into outside the gate room about a couple of weeks ago. Daniel was talking to Wells and asking about his daughter, Janet. Now, it all made sense. "And Dr Frasier was Cassie's mother?"

"Adoptive mother. Cassie is from another planet. She was used as a human weapon by a Goa'uld named Nirti."

"Oh yes, she was very charming," Vala commented sarcastically. Daniel smiled and the room went quiet again but it felt reverent this time, commemorative. "Did you love her?"

The question was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. But to her surprise he answered it. "In a way, I guess I did. She was an extraordinary person. I owe her my life."

"Which time?" She teased. Daniel poked her in the thigh and she swatted at his hand. Balance had been restored. Daniel turned back to his work and they existed contently in silence. Vala picked up the locket again. Dr Fraiser was smiling. Behind her there was trees, the same ones that were behind Cassie. It was the kind of happiness Vala had only ever dreamed of, a happiness that only other people experienced. Maybe that's why her and Daniel, on some very deep level, seemed to understand each other. She could sense that same melancholy from him. But being on Earth with him and the rest of SG-1, made her believe that one day, that happiness could be hers. She wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Daniel. If Daniel really owed his life to Janet then, by extension, Vala owed hers to Janet too.

"Who are you saying thank you to," Daniel asked, jolting her from her thoughts. He was staring at her in confusion. Her eyes widened. "Are you saying thank you to Janet?"

"Don't be silly." Vala laughed in an attempt to brush the question aside but Daniel wasn't letting it go. "Yes, I am. For you."

This level of emotional vulnerability was surprising even her. Suddenly, very self-conscious, she jumped down from the desk and pointed in the direction of the door. "I'm going to find Cameron."

He followed her into the hall. "You're grateful to her for me?"

Vala nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Daniel looked at his watch then at the pile of books he left stacked haphazardly on his chair. "Meet me up top once you've changed."

In a daze, Vala did as she was told. Daniel was waiting for her at the security desk, where they both signed out. Daniel walked them to his car, which still had a dent from when he tried to teach her how to drive. The memory never failed to make her smile. They drove in silence for about fifteen minutes until the anticipation became too much. "Where are we going?"

"To see a friend," he answered. After another 30 minutes of driving, he pulled off the freeway and they drove down a residential street. He pulled up across the street from a graveyard. He was taking her to visit Dr Frasier?

"Don't worry," he assured, mistaking her confusion for apprehension, "I'm the only one around here who can rise from the dead."

Vala followed him through the rows of graves. Dr Frasier's was located towards the back under the shade of a tree. Someone had laid fresh flowers. Daniel knelt down in front of it and touched the headstone. He started talking, telling the headstone about his day and the latest new from the SGC. Feeling like an intruder, Vala turned her back and watched the clouds move across the sky. One looked like a cat, while another looked like a hamster riding a horse. "Janet, there is someone I'd like you to meet."

Daniel tapped the back of Vala's leg and she turned around. She pointed to herself and then to the headstone. Standing, Daniel nodded and she took a deep breath before settling for 'hello.' With some prompting from Daniel she continued," I'm Vala. Vala Mal Doran. It's uh- nice to meet you. I hear you were a remarkable woman, maybe I'll finally read those mission reports, learn more about you and how you saved Daniel's life."

Her voice began to choke. Grief was saying hello, but this time she let it. If Daniel trusted her enough to share his grief with her, she could show hers. Grief for all the years that were stolen from her, for the childhood innocence, and everyone she lost along the way. Daniel squeezed her hand and, with a shaky breath, she allowed herself to smile. If this was the price she had to pay for being able to stop running, then it was one she would pay.

He kept a hold of her hand as they walked back to the car. They drove in silence. Back at the SGC, Daniel left her to change into his BDUs and finish his translations. Vala changed in her room and then found Cameron in the commissary. She sat with him for a while, and zoned out as he told her about some woman named Mildred and her pig. As the story ended, he started laughing and watched for her reaction.

"Do you know about Dr Frasier?" She asked.

He was blindsided. "Where's that question coming from?"

"Daniel took me to visit her grave. It's her anniversary."

"Yeah I know about her. So would you if you ever bothered to read the files. I even met her once, when you were trapped in the Ori galaxy. See an alternate SG-1 caused a tear in reality and-"

"I'm sure it's a fascinating story. Excuse me."

"I hate when she does that," he muttered as she left. Vala made her way to the records room. Cameron was right. There were many elements of Janet's life that would not be in past files, but it was the best place to begin to understand the legacy this woman held. She began her access request with P3X-666 and also asked for mission reports that involved Frasier and the other members of SG-1.

The SF behind the record's desk looked at her strangely but gave her the files without any questioning. She had intended on bringing them back to her room but, in the elevator, her finger automatically pressed the floor for Daniel's lab. She knocked softly on the wall and pointed to the spare chair at the central table. Noticing the files in her arms, he nodded. They read in silence, him about the remains of a civilisation, her about a woman who's memory would never die.