Chapter Twenty-One

It never got old, seeing the surprised look on the Priors' faces when they realized they were powerless, especially when the Prior tried to harm them despite their declaration of them coming in peace and just wanting to talk.

"It had to be him," Vala said wryly to Daniel, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the Prior.

"Yeah..." Daniel agreed.

"Can't we just kill this one and find another?" she asked, half kidding, half serious.

"It would delay the mission," Daniel pointed out.

"You're right, I suppose."

"Are you two done chit chatting?" Mitchell bit out, shooting them a glare, "Jackson, you're up."

Daniel sighed and took a step forward, but before he could get a word out, the Prior pointed at Vala and snared. "You!"

She smiled cheekily at him. "Me!"

"You are supposed to be dead!"

"Yes, well, that was until one of you brought me back after you burned me alive," she told him, purposely messing with him.

"You perished on the ship!" he continued.

"Obviously not," Vala contradicted him.

"What have you done with the Orici?"

"She's perfectly safe, perfectly human," Vala replied calmly, "She's somewhere you will never be able to get your hands on her."

"I demand you give her to me!"

Vala glanced at Daniel briefly. "That's not gonna happen," she told him, "and you're not really in a position to make demands."

"She is the Orici!"

Vala rolled her eyes. "She is my daughter," she retorted, "and she's completely useless to you know."

"I must insist!"

Vala turned to the rest. "I vote we zat and take him back," she suggested, "He's not going to cooperate, no matter how much Daniel charms him."

"But then we gotta drag him back," Mitchell complained.

"Can I hold him at gunpoint and lead him back?" she asked instead, "And if he tries anything, I'll shoot him."

"That kind of defeats the purpose of the mission," Sam pointed out.

"I'll only shoot to wound!" Vala vowed.

"It might be the fastest way," Daniel sided with Vala.

Mitchell sighed. "Fine," he relented, "But no trigger happiness! I don't want to have to explain to Landry why we brought back a wounded Prior. Only shoot if absolutely necessary!"

Vala aimed her weapon at the Prior and shot Mitchell a smile. "You have my word."

Mitchell eyed her warily. "Somehow that doesn't feel comforting."

o0o

Well, that was easier than expected…and truth be told, that in itself was a little unnerving.

But they had done it, they had defeated the Ori, and restored peace to the galaxy…as much as it was possible. There would always be a bad guy to fight, the Lucien Alliance for example, but for now, it wouldn't be an enemy set on slaughtering millions for not following them. They could deal with humans and would take them over anything else. There would still be a mess to clean up in the Ori's wake, but the Priors promised to rectify some of the wrong done and would get their followers and fellow crusaders to help. It would take time, but it would happen.

The whole situation felt bittersweet to Vala. She was relieved to have it all over with, but she was sad that her time with the Tau'ri was starting to come to an end, whether they knew it or not. It hadn't been an easy decision, made even harder by SG-1's acceptance of her. Mitchell has basically offered her a spot on SG-1 when she was ready, Samantha had become like a sister to her in their short acquaintance, Teal'c shared a connection with her that no one could ever truly comprehend and it brought them close, and Daniel, oh Daniel, he had become her best friend and she his, but he was so much more to her, and that was why she couldn't stay.

She was proud of herself, she didn't make a rash decision, and over the last few days, she really thought about what it would mean if she stayed on Earth and joined SG-1, but it came down to the fact that she couldn't do that to Alora. Though the galaxy had just gotten a whole lot safer, it didn't mean she couldn't get hurt off world in some other way. She knew Alora would be taken care of if something were to happen, but she wasn't willing to risk it. And then there was the whole Daniel thing. She loved him and he didn't reciprocate, which was fine, he wasn't obligated to feel the same, but it would make living on Earth difficult, and she would rather spare her heart if she could.

So, on Monday morning, four days after they had used the Ark, she went to General Landry to inform him of her decision and requested to go through the Stargate as soon as she was able to gather her things and say her goodbyes. She figured there would be some hang ups with some of the political leaders and groups since she knew quite a few things about the SGC and Earth, but she wanted to get started on it as soon as possible. She felt bad for the man. He had seemed taken by surprise and couldn't quite understand her decision and honestly, no one would unless she told them and that was something she couldn't do. It was too private and she didn't want their pity.

Vala had arrived at her decision after a long weekend spent with SG-1 off base. It had been a wonderful weekend. She had loved being off base, spending time with her friends, seeing a part of their world, and she had almost decided to stay, but then Daniel had to be all sweet and attentive. They had been closer than ever before and for a second, she almost believed it could be something more, but then he had to go and ruin it.

It had been Sunday night and he had just walked her and Alora back to her quarters and when they got there, he had stared oddly at her. "What?" she asked.

Daniel had smiled. "I was just thinking," he admitted.

"Shocker," she quipped.

"When we first met, never in a million years did I ever believe we'd be here," he told her, "I would have never imagined you'd become my best friend, but you have, and it seems like a lifetime since that day on Prometheus."

And there it was, she got friend zoned, at least she thought that was the proper term, but it didn't matter, she now knew for certain that he would never return his feelings for her. She finally accepted that truth and decided right then and there that it was time to leave.

Leaving Landry's office, she felt like taking it back, telling Landry never mind and that she'd stay and join SG-1, but she forced herself to keep walking. All this second guessing was causing even more second guessing…was that even possible? She felt conflicted, despite her reasoning, and she supposed she always would.

"Hey, you okay there?" Sam's voice broke through her thoughts.

Vala flinched in surprise. She hadn't even noticed the Colonel coming alongside her. "Just lost in thought," she replied.

Sam frowned at the woman's demeanor. "Vala, what's wrong?" she asked in concern, "You seem…distracted."

Vala had decided not to say anything until everything was all set for her to leave, not wanting to give anyone, mainly Daniel, a chance to talk her out of it, but she felt like she would burst if she didn't confide in someone and Samantha probably was the best person to tell. "Not here," she eventually answered and led Sam to her lab.

"Is everything okay with Alora?" Sam asked, following the alien through the SGC's halls.

"Yes, she's fine," Vala replied, "She's with Daniel – said he wanted to spend some bonding time with her or something."

Sam smiled fondly. "That man is so whipped when it comes to that little girl," she stated as they walked into her lab.

"No more than most uncles are," Vala brushed off.

Sam snorted. "Yeah, sure," she said sarcastically.

Vala frowned at her. "What does that mean?" she asked curiously.

Sam looked at her incredulously. "Vala, come on," she said like it was obvious, "Daniel loves her way beyond an uncle…and since when is he an uncle? He's always been Daniel to her."

"No, he doesn't and no he hasn't," she denied, "He agreed to be an honorary uncle the day she was born."

"Vala, Cam is an uncle, hell even Jack is," Sam told her patiently, "but Daniel has never been, and I don't care what he agreed to the day she was born. I have never once heard you refer to Daniel as Uncle Daniel to Alora – he's more of a father figure and loves her like one."

"Well, that's your opinion," Vala relented a little, "but that's not how he feels."

Sam chuckled and Vala gave her a weird look and Sam explained. "I can guarantee you that's how he feels," she said softly.

Vala didn't feel like arguing. "Doesn't matter in the end, I guess," she mumbled.

Sam raised her brows. "What does that mean?" she asked quietly, "What had you so deep in thought back there?"

Vala bit her lip before she confessed, "I'm leaving Earth."

"I'm sorry, what?" the Colonel exclaimed, "Why?"

"I can't stay, Sam," she practically whispered.

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It matters if it's making you leave," Sam argued, "Now, tell me."

Vala debated if she wanted to tell her or not, but ultimately decided too. Sam wouldn't let it go, not this time at least. "It'll be too hard if I stay," she confessed.

"What will?" Sam pushed gently.

"Staying here, feeling the way I do, and knowing that will never change."

Sam paused, staring at her for a moment before a big grin spread across her face. "I knew it!" she exclaimed, "You love Daniel."

Vala chuckled bitterly. "That obvious, is it?" she bit out, "That's just great!"

"It's obvious to me because I've been in a similar situation," Sam corrected, "You're worried about being alone in those feelings."

"I'm not worried," she refuted, "I know I am."

Sam huffed a chuckle. "God, you two are impossible," she muttered, "He's probably gonna kill me for this, but I'm so tired of you two avoiding this – Vala, Daniel feels the same."

"No, he doesn't."

"Yes, he does."

"No, he doesn't!"

"Yes he do– you know, we could do this all day," Sam said, "But I'll say it one more time – he does, he's just afraid, but if you give him some time, I know he'll get there, maybe even faster if you just talk to him about this!"

"It wouldn't change anything!" Vala insisted, "He friend zoned me!"

"He friend zoned you?" Sam repeated.

"Oh, did I use the phrase wrong?"

"No, you didn't," Sam answered and shook her head, "I'm just trying to figure out what you think that means."

"He called me his best friend, what else is there to figure out?"

"Ooh, Jack isn't going to be happy about that," Sam quipped, "and that doesn't mean he doesn't care. He thinks you don't feel the same, so he's accepting the next best thing, being your friend, being whatever you and Alora need, but if you just tell him, I know he'll respo– "

"Samantha, please drop it," Vala cut her off, "You have no idea how hard this decision was for me and I can't second guess it now. I have to do this for me, for my daughter, for my sanity! Please let it go."

Sam sighed. "I'm just going to say one more thing," she told her, "You're making a mistake."

"Sam – "

"No, if one of you ever wants to be happy, someone is going to have to take a risk here, and if you're already leaving, why not give it a shot before you go?" Sam asked, "What do you have to lose?"

"My heart completely," Vala replied, "my friendship with him. I can leave without any awkwardness and remain friends and if I ever do get over this infatuation, things between us won't be ruined or strained."

"If you get over it," Sam pointed out, "which I highly doubt is likely."

"I don't want him to feel weird around me or obligated to be my friend if I tell him and he doesn't feel the same," Vala said, "I'd rather much leave as friends and remember the friendship we shared."

Sam looked at her sadly. "There's nothing I can say that'll change your mind, is there?"

"No," Vala answered, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some packing to do."

Sam watched her walk away, feeling helpless to stop her.

o0o

Author's Note: Oh Vala...If Sam can't get through to them, who can?

Only two more chapters to go!