Author's Note: Titus - of course she does, she's the Orici...jk, she ain't evil.
Or is she?
o0o
Chapter Six
The closer they got to Earth, the more wary Daniel became. He realized not long after he convinced Vala to come back to Earth with Alora that the IOA and others may be even more hostile towards Alora, given what they went through with Khalek, Anubis' hybrid. Woolsey had been cocky when it came to him and it nearly ended in disaster. Having another being with similar powers coming to Earth might cause them to be even more paranoid than normal, meaning they needed someone on their side besides SG-1, someone who had the President's ear.
Upon realizing this, Daniel sought out Sam and confessed his fears for the infant. Given what Woolsey and the IOA wanted to do with Khalek, he couldn't risk the same with Alora – she was a baby for crying out loud! Sam had known right away what he was asking of her and agreed to it without a second thought.
The second they exited hyperspace, Sam sought out her quarters aboard the Odyssey and put in the call as Daniel had asked. The person on the other end picked up within seconds. "Carter!" General Jack O'Neill exclaimed, "Heard about what happened – glad to see you're okay."
"Yeah, the enemy cut through the ships like butter. There wasn't anything we could do to stop them," Sam said, dejected.
He hesitated. "I heard the Korolev didn't make it," Jack said quietly, "Daniel?"
"He's here," she assured him, "He rang aboard one of the Ori ships before it was destroyed."
Jack chuckled incredulously. "That man has more lives than a cat," he quipped, "Any other survivors?"
"Jack, I'm not calling as Colonel Carter," she told him softly, "I'm calling as your wife."
He sat up straighter, on alert. "What's going on, Sam?" he asked carefully.
"I need a favor," she told him, causing him to raise his brows, "Actually, Daniel does too, we both do."
Sam had not once asked her husband for a favor since his promotion, both agreeing it would look bad to the few who knew about their marital status. They both knew if she ever asked for a favor, it would be a one time thing.
"Name it and I'll do what I can," he promised instantly.
Sam could only hope he didn't come to regret that decision as she started explaining the situation.
o0o
By the time the ship's crew was ready to disembark, Sam finished her conversation and quickly headed to find her team. They all agreed to stay close to Vala and Alora to ensure nothing would happen to them, mainly Alora. While Mitchell was still on the fence about the baby, he trusted the other members of his team. They had been doing this a lot longer than he had and he trusted their judgment. Besides, they were a team, they had each other's backs.
When Sam came to the Bridge to be beamed back to the SGC, Daniel shot her an inquisitive look. "Sam?" he asked all he needed to in one word.
She gave him a nod. "It's done," she said in a tone that only he heard, "He said to give him fifteen minutes or so."
Daniel gave her an appreciative look. "Thank you," he mumbled quietly, "and I'm sorry for even asking you and him to do this and putting you in this position."
Sam shook her head, brushing off his concern. "Don't worry about it," she assured him, "This is important – she is important," she told him and tilted her head in the direction of Vala and her child.
"SG-1, Ms. Mal Doran," Colonel Emerson said, commanding their attention, "are you ready to be beamed down?"
The five adults got closer together, the team making a small barricade around Vala and Alora, before facing the Colonel.
"Ready," Mitchell confirmed.
Emerson nodded. "Until next time," he said before giving the order to Marks.
Within seconds, they were beamed into the Embarkation room, which held several other people, all waiting to be beamed aboard the Odyssey to conduct repairs and seconds after SG-1 and Vala were beamed down, the repair crew was beamed up.
"Welcome back, SG-1," Landry's voice said as he walked into the 'gate room and gave them a relieved smile, "It's good to see you all, especially you, Dr. Jackson," he gave the doctor a forlorn look, "I am very sorry to hear about the Korolev but am relieved you were able to make it off."
"Thank you, sir," Daniel responded quietly.
"Based on what little information we've been able to receive so far, I take it that things didn't go well," Landry's face twisted at the truth.
"No, it didn't sir," Sam spoke up, "but I don't think it was a total loss."
The General's interest peaked. "How so?" he asked, looking from member to member and that's when he spotted her, "Ms. Mal Doran!" he exclaimed in surprise.
Vala gave him a small nod and smile. "General." Due to the barricade of people, the infant in her arms was still blocked from his or anyone else's view.
"Well, now this is unexpected," the General commented, "and I must say I'm quite surprised."
"You're not the only one, I assure you," Vala told him, "When Daniel found me aboard that Ori ship, I couldn't quite believe it myself."
In the short time she had been alive, Alora had almost never cried for anything, since having the ability to show the adults around her what she wanted, she never really had a reason to cry, which was why when she let out a loud shriek without warning, it scared the bejesus out of Vala and Daniel, causing both to jump slightly at the noise and both instantly were fussing over the baby.
"Darling, you okay?" Vala cooed and bounced her lightly.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Daniel asked softly, grabbing her little hand which she clung too.
"She's never really cried," Vala told Daniel, "Do you think she's alright?"
Daniel stared at the infant and didn't see any signs of distress. "I think she's fine," he assured her, "Maybe she just doesn't like being ignored…much like her mother."
"I resent that statement!" she hissed at him.
"Sorry to interrupt," Landry interrupted, voice stern, "but is that what I think it is?"
They all focused on the General while all simultaneously tightening the small circle around Vala and Alora.
"If you mean Vala's daughter, why yes it is," Daniel responded diplomatically, "General meet Alora Mal Doran."
"You mean the child the Ori forcibly implanted into Ms. Mal Doran," Landry corrected, "I believe you called it the will of the Ori."
"No, we mean my child," Vala corrected as politely as she could be, "She's completely harmless. She can't and won't hurt you."
Landry scoffed. "I find that hard to believe."
"Sir, if I may," Sam jumped in, "If we want to defeat the Ori and the followers, it is imperative that we protect this child at all cost. That means people knowing as little information about her as possible."
Landry looked at her cynically. "You want Earth to protect the child of the Ori?"
"No," Daniel disagreed, "we Earth to protect the key to bringing down the Ori. As long as she is with us, Alora is completely harmless, and we have a fighting chance in this war."
Landry took a minute to look at each member of SG-1 and Vala, observing the way they all stood protectively around Vala and the baby. As skeptical as he was, he knew that if all of SG-1 was willing to go through such lengths that there must be some truth to their claims. Aside from Dr. Jackson, none of them had a reason to protect Vala and her child in this manner, and that was almost all he needed to know…almost.
"I'm sure you can understand my skepticism and how hard this is to take at face value," he stated, "I'm going to need more information in order to understand better."
"Of course, sir," Daniel immediately replied and looked around him at the other personnel in the 'gate room and control room, "but not here, sir. The less people that know, the better."
Landry frowned but didn't argue. "Very well," he said and abruptly walked out of the room, leaving the rest to follow him.
o0o
"And you all believe this?" Landry inquired cynically once Vala and Daniel had finished recounting the events surrounding Alora's birth and what she might mean in their fight with the Ori, including that she could potentially help keep Earth safe from the Ori attacking them outright.
"Yes sir," Sam was the one who answered, speaking for the rest of them, "Daniel makes a good point – a baby doesn't do the Ori any good when it comes to converting the galaxy. There has to be another component to their plan regarding Alora."
Landry shot Daniel a hard look. "And you can be completely sure that she is absolutely harmless to us, this facility, and ultimately, this planet?"
"As long as she is with us, yes sir," Daniel replied, "Remember, nothing we've said is for certain – it's mere speculation. But we do know that she has healing abilities and can communicate with us through images and memories. It is possible that we could be wrong about her having their knowledge, but it seems unlikely."
"Sir, with all due respect," Sam jumped in, "it doesn't matter whether or not she does. The Priors want her for a reason and if they're that desperate for her, then it's all the more reason why she should be protected, and in doing so, we have a layer of protection for ourselves as well."
"If she does contain the knowledge of the Ori, we can use that knowledge to our advantage," Daniel added, "We can use it to take them down."
"What makes you think that the child would give us such information?" Landry questioned, still skeptical, "If she does have their knowledge, doesn't that mean she's one of them?"
"Not necessarily," Daniel argued, "She showed Vala that we were on our way to Chulak and even expressed regret to Teal'c for what happened on Chulak after we destroyed one of the Ori ships. She healed Vala after giving birth, knowing that Vala was in pain. Why else would Alora do that?"
"The bond between a mother and her child is a lot more complex than we give it credit," Jack O'Neill's voice entered the debate, "Besides, daughters always want their mother's approval."
"Jack!" Landry exclaimed in surprise, "I wasn't expecting you."
Before Jack could say anything, Daniel spoke, "I asked him here. Alora is too important, and I needed someone who would fight for her."
"They're right, Hank," Jack said, sounding reluctant, "The kid is clearly attached to her mother, not to mention Daniel, and I don't think we'll have to coax the information out of the kid. I think she'll give it willingly if it'll save her mom and Daniel."
"Sirs, if I may," Sam interjected again and received the go ahead nods from the Generals, "I think it would be best if we kept Alora's origins and…abilities to the people in this room. After the whole incident with Khalek, I don't think the IOA or anyone else will be willing to shelter Alora on Earth."
"I won't let her be experimented on," Vala declared vehemently, "She won't be some test animal of yours. She's just a baby and none of this is her fault."
"That's not gonna happen," Jack immediately assured and gave Landry a pointed look, "Isn't that right, Hank? We would never do that to an innocent infant, would we?"
It was obvious that Hank Landry wasn't happy, but in his defense, he didn't lash out or anything – instead, he took a beat and thought it all through before conceding their point. But he did have one exception. "I am still skeptical of her and the situation," he told them honestly, "but if what you're saying is true, which seems likely, I agree that this should be kept between us…and Dr. Lam."
Vala unconsciously moved her chair closer to Daniel while hugging Alora tighter to her. "I already told you she wasn't an experiment."
"And she's not," Landry assured her calmly, "but that doesn't mean I don't want her to get checked out. We learned a lot with Khalek and his advanced brain and I want to see how…Alora matches up in those areas. She won't be hurt – just your standard tests and then some, but we have to know what we're dealing with."
Daniel caught Vala's attention and leaned in. "He has a point," he told her quietly, "We need to understand what they did to her, and we can trust Dr. Lam. She won't let any harm come to Alora."
Vala trusted Daniel, even when she hadn't wanted to, she still did, and now she would have to do so now. From her past experience at the SGC, Dr. Lam had been an honorable woman, for the lack of a better word, and knew Daniel was most likely right about her. So, she nodded. "Okay."
Vala could only hope that coming to Earth wasn't a mistake.
o0o
Author's Note: I decided early on that I didn't want this story to be too long and wanted it to mainly focus on Daniel and Vala growing closer. So, I decided not to mess with the IOA or the Joint Chiefs, etc getting involved. Didn't want to drag it out in that way, so hopefully that wasn't a mistake...it was also laziness on my part...
Thoughts? A little slow right now but will pick up next chapter.