Chapter Nine

Vala awoke when her body made it clear that her daughter would be hungry soon, if not already, but as she came awake when, she realized that Alora hadn't cried once since she fell asleep, and Vala had a feeling that she had been asleep for some time. Did Daniel still have her?

The more she woke up, the more aware she became and felt the presence that was next to her in the bed, not to mention the warmth emanating from the person. Vala began to question herself and whether the previous day and a half had actually happened. She was a little afraid to turn around, worried that she would see Tomin beside her. While she preferred for him to be alive, she hoped he wasn't or else it would mean that she was back in the Ori galaxy, that she hadn't escaped with Daniel, and mainly, that she hadn't saved her daughter from the Priors.

Vala sighed in relief when her stomach was flat like it had been last night. Fully awake now, she slowly turned around to see who was on the other side of the bed and her heart almost melted – actually, she was pretty sure it did. Daniel Jackson slept beside her on his back while Alora slept peacefully on his chest with Daniel's hands securely on her back. She should be mad or at least a little upset at finding him in her bed without her permission, but she was finding it hard to be when she gazed upon the two of them. It really ought to be a crime – no scene should have that much power over her, but she couldn't help the warm and fuzzy feeling she got from looking upon them.

Vala smiled sadly at the scene, knowing that Alora wouldn't have a true father and she couldn't expect Daniel to fill that role. She wasn't stupid. She knew she annoyed him, drove him crazy, and he barely tolerated her as it was, despite his offer of friendship. Yes, he had been a huge help since he found her on that ship, but that's who Daniel Jackson was. She had learned much of him before coming to Earth the first time and during her time here, and that's how she knew she couldn't take his kindness out of context or as something more – that's who he was, no matter how he felt about the person. That's why she couldn't count on him forever.

They would keep Alora safe while they hopefully found a way to defeat the Ori, through Alora if possible, and destroy them before she took her leave of Earth, leaving Daniel, SG-1, and the SGC behind. That was all she could commit to here on Earth or else she would risk heartbreak. She liked him too much and couldn't stay too long. Only long enough to finish what she and Daniel had started and that was it – she couldn't commit to more than that.

"Don't get too attached, my darling," she whispered to Alora before she carefully sat up, not wanting to wake up either of them, and leaned over to take Alora away from him so she could feed her. She hadn't been expecting Daniel to stiffen and tighten his hold on the baby before waking up and snapping his head to her. She gave him a reassuring smile. "Just me," she said quietly.

Daniel relaxed and blinked sleepily at her. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't be," she told him, "you were just trying to protect her. How could I be upset at that?"

"I think I was more scared that she was rolling off me," he muttered as he loosened his grip, "Here," he offered her to Vala, "Everything alright?"

Vala shifted Alora in her arms. "What, I can't want to hold my own daughter?"

"Vala," he said warningly, too tired to get in a stupid and pointless fight.

"Can you hand me that blanket?" she asked, pointing to a pink blanket Carolyn had given her.

Daniel leaned over to the playpen close to the bed and snagged it before handing it to her. "You never did answer me," he pointed out, "Everything okay?"

Vala smiled down at Alora as the infant opened her eyes and she quickly situated the blanket. "Everything's fine. She just needs to eat."

He frowned and watched the blanket move as she shifted things behind it. "Wait, are you feeding her now?" he asked, surprised. He was right here!

She gave him a funny look. "I don't have time to cater to your sensibilities," she remarked sarcastically, "No one's forcing you to stay. You can leave whenever, but she's hungry, and it's not like you can see anything."

It wasn't that he was uncomfortable with the idea of breastfeeding, no, it was more of the idea knowing what laid underneath the blanket that got to him, and he was trying his best not to think on it too hard – that was the last thing he needed right now, especially with the way he had been thinking about her since finding her in that shield generator room.

He quickly averted his eyes and stared anywhere but directly at her. "Wait," he suddenly said, "how'd you know she was hungry? She was asleep and I was holding her."

She smirked and arched an eyebrow. "So, there is something you don't know about birthing babies and all that?" she quipped.

"Once they're out, I'm out," he said deadpan and raised his hands.

Vala snorted at his attempt at a joke. "I can't believe I actually hang out around you," she teased, "'cause that was just terrible."

"I blame Jack," he retorted without missing a beat, "I've been conditioned for the last nine years or so."

She gave a small laugh. "Well, I can almost guarantee that if you're squeamish about me feeding her, you don't want to know how I knew she was hungry."

"I'm not squeamish!" he protested.

"Whatever you say, darling."

Daniel let it go and let the silence settle between them, the only sounds coming from Alora.

He had almost fallen back asleep when Vala broke the silence. "Darling," she said hesitantly, "what're you doing in my bed?"

He took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and turned to her. "Your daughter is demanding," he replied dryly.

"I know that," she told him, "but what does that have to do with you being in my bed?"

"She didn't want me to put her in her crib, wanted to be near you, but didn't want me to let her go," he recounted, "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"You do realize she's a baby and you're the adult," she remarked, "meaning she doesn't get to dictate anything."

A small smile played at his lips and he shrugged innocently. "I didn't mind," he said, "Besides, it's hard to say no, especially when she's so determined and won't relent."

"Gods, she's going to be so spoiled," Vala muttered to herself before she addressed him, "You cannot give her everything she wants. I want her to at least be a decent person when she's older."

"And she will be," he argued gently, "especially when her mother cares so much about it. You won't let that happen."

"You're just going to make my job a lot harder."

Daniel just smiled innocently before changing the subject. "I think she wants us to go to Atlantis," he stated cautiously, "Like all of us."

Vala frowned at him. "Why do you think that?"

He explained what had occurred in his office and what Alora had shown him. "I think there may be something in Atlantis that could help," he finished.

She shifted Alora onto her shoulder and began to gently pat her back. "And you think Alora wants all of us to go, SG-1, me, and her?"

"I know it sounds crazy," he defended, "but after everything we know about her, does it really seem that unfeasible?"

She paused in patting Alora's back. "I guess not," she relented, "but why Atlantis?"

Daniel gave her a wry smile. "Answers, apparently," he replied dryly.

Vala looked at him funny. "Am I supposed to know what that means?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure I know myself," he admitted, "but I think there's something there, maybe something she can't give us without accessing too much of their knowledge, and if she did that, she could potentially lose it faster, so she's doing the next best thing."

She raised her brows at him. "You sure understand my daughter's abilities with a certain level of confidence."

"Ascended twice," he stated, holding up two fingers, "not to mention many encounters with ascended beings in human form or otherwise. In fact, we had an experience not too long ago with a similar situation."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm," he confirmed, thinking about Orlin and his sacrifice, "So we really should take advantage of what she's trying to tell us before it's too late."

Vala thought about it and was quiet for a full minute before asking, "So, Atlantis?"

Daniel nodded. "Atlantis.

o0o

They took their latest revelation to Landry, Jack and the team later that day – Landry was skeptical to say the least. He still wasn't fully convinced when it came to Alora and nobody blamed it, it was a weird situation, but they had to give the General props – he trusted their instincts and had granted permission for them to go to Atlantis, with approval from the powers that be – Jack immediately granted his and promised to persuade the IOA as well.

Daniel had to come up with a story on why it was essential for them to go to Atlantis. He didn't have to much other than start spouting out a boring lecture on why it was necessary and he needed to find out more information in regards to the three planets, if they were even in the Atlantis database, and once he saw their eyes glaze over, he knew he had secured their permission and nothing was standing in their way – didn't hurt the Sam had a solution to control the Supergate on their end and he believed that was the only reason they had agreed.

So here they were, on the Odyssey, about to arrive at Atlantis after eighteen days of traveling.

Daniel was what could be described as giddy as the ten-minute warning for exiting hyperspace came over the ship's speakers and he stared expectantly and excitedly out the observation window, Vala and Alora at his side, just like they had been this whole time on the ship.

Despite her protests, he still helped out with Alora during the trip, taking her when Vala was completely exhausted or simply in need of a shower or food – sometimes, he took her just because. He had even roped the SG-1 into pitching in and Daniel could tell that Vala didn't really know how to handle it, knowing it was probably the first time in forever that someone had helped her out without expecting anything from her in return. He knew she was struggling with the concept and was still wary of their help.

But he was working on that.

"I swear, you're the one who is making the floor vibrate and not the ship's engines," Vala said with a teasing smile.

"Haha," he responded sardonically, "I just can't believe I'm finally here – it only took a few tries," he said pointedly.

Vala refused to show any guilt for the part she may have played in the regard. "I believe there is a Tau'ri expression that goes, 'Third time's the charm,'"

Daniel gave her a mock glare. "It wouldn't have come to that if a certain someone hadn't gotten in the way," he remarked and focused on the baby in her arms, "Alora, did you know that your mother thwarted my last two attempts at going to Atlantis?"

"It wasn't intentional the first time," she instantly defended herself, "the second time…well, not so much."

"You knew by stealing Prometheus, you were preventing the crew from something, whether it was Atlantis or not, and that was intentional."

"How was I supposed to know it was Atlantis?"

"I told you we were on a rescue mission!" he recalled, "That should have been more than enough!"

"Hey!" Mitchell snapped as he and the rest of the team walked in, "No fighting in front of the munchkin!" he ordered firmly as he stepped on Vala's other side, "Ignore them, Sugar, they do this all the time, but don't let it worry you," he gently told Alora.

"We don't fight all the time," Vala protested and shifted Alora closer to her, "Don't listen to a word he's saying, love."

"Sugar?" Daniel questioned curiously.

"What?" Cam questioned, "Every kid deserves a pet name."

"And you picked Sugar?"

"What's wrong with Sugar?"

"Daniel, we're about to exit hyperspace," Sam warned, ending the stupid…whatever they were having.

Daniel refocused on the observation window and a few seconds later, they were out of hyperspace. "We're actually here," he said, almost in awe.

"This is the Captain," Emerson's voice came over the speakers, "all hands take stations for atmospheric entry."

Though he couldn't yet see the city, anticipation ran through him at thought that he finally made it to Atlantis. "Jack would hate this," he commented offhandedly. In fact, he already knew his friend hated him coming, but knew he couldn't stop it and shouldn't. Besides, Jack also knew Daniel wouldn't get caught up and lost within the city – he had a mission to complete and a galaxy to help save.

"Oh, he does, trust me," Sam assured him, smiling fondly at the thought of Jack.

"Indeed," Teal'c chimed in.

"Odyssey, this is Flight," a voice came over the coms system, "You are clear for landing."

Emerson replied but Daniel and the rest of them were too focused on what was about to appear before them.

"It is beautiful," Daniel declared, finally catching his first glimpse of the Ancient city.

"Odyssey, this is Weir," Dr. Weir's voice came over the coms, "I wanted to be the first to say welcome to Atlantis."

o0o

Author's Note: Starting to get more into it. Let me know your thoughts!