Chapter Four. The Kiss
It was getting late when Daniel, Teal'c and Cam reached the Healer's home.
"How's Vala?" Daniel was standing by the door, keeping his distance.
Argriff walked over and patted Daniel's arm. "Don't worry, Deary. She'll be fine."
Daniel frowned at the woman, upset that she thought his inquiry meant that he cared. She was just a member of his team. It's only natural that he would ask.
"It's really more like a coma," Sam said.
"Do you think we should take her back to the SGC?" Cam asked.
"No, I don't think they can do anything for her there and she doesn't really seem to be in any danger. Tomorrow, Daniel can kiss her and she'll simply wake up." Sam smiled at Daniel, who stood off to the side looking very uncomfortable.
"I'll be back tomorrow, then." Daniel walked out and headed down the street to Lisel's house. He had a lot of thinking to do and needed to get some sleep to have a clear head in the morning.
As he entered the bedroom, he saw Vala's things on the window seat. Why was kissing her bothering him so much? It didn't mean anything. It was basically a medical procedure, nothing more. Except, Vala would see it as 'more,' and Daniel knew it. 'Well, she can think all she wants. This kiss won't mean a thing to me.'
With that thought running through his head, he undressed and crawled into bed to get some sleep. When he laid his head on the pillow, he could smell her shampoo.
He didn't sleep very well. Her image floated through his dreams, haunting him like a wisp of smoke.
O O O O O O
When he woke up in the morning, he felt as if someone had held the pillow over his face all night long. His allergies were acting up. 'It must be the feather pillows and the feather bed. Good thing I brought along a decent supply of antihistamines!'
Lisel was in the kitchen and she asked him if he wanted some coffee.
"Yes, please. That would be wonderful." He stepped out the front door to get some fresh, early morning air. The sun was just coming up and it looked like it would be a beautiful day.
Teal'c came out of the house across the road and walked over.
"Good morning Daniel Jackson. Did you sleep well?"
"No, did you?"
"No, I did not. I pondered the situation on this planet and tried to formulate a plan to assist in the rebellion."
"Well, that's farther than I got. Any ideas?"
"Indeed. I will share them when we are together with the rest of the team."
Daniel looked at his watch and said, "Landry is going to check in on us in a little while. Cam is supposed to fill him in on the situation. I think we'll probably need some backup on this one."
"That would be wise."
As they were standing there chatting quietly, they saw Rebecca making her way down the street. She went from house to house and in about 15 minutes, she was at Lisel's door.
Teal'c bowed to her and said, "Good morning, Rebecca. Are you well today?"
"Yes sir, I'm very well. Thank you.
She looked up at Daniel and gave him a beautiful smile. "Good morning, Dr. Jackson."
"Good morning, Rebecca." 'I wonder if it's appropriate for Asgard to flirt with humans 'cause that little tyke is great at it.'
Rebecca went to the door and Lisel let her in, followed by the men. She set the empty pot on the table and said, "Little Pot, Boil." They waited for few moments and then she said, "Little Pot, Stop." Lisel spooned out the oatmeal and then Rebecca left.
"That's Asgard technology, Teal'c."
"You are correct, Daniel Jackson. There may be other devices here that might assist us in our endeavor."
"I hope so."
They dug into their breakfast, although Daniel didn't really care for oatmeal. He'd had it way too many times as a kid. The coffee was good. And that was puzzling. Where did they get coffee? The Goa'uld must have brought it when she conquered the planet. 'I hate to think I'd be grateful for anything she's done."
After breakfast, they thanked Lisel and went over to Argriff's house. Sam was awake and checking Vala when they arrived.
"Cam talked to General Landry about a half hour go. We're supposed to let them know how and when so that they can help."
Daniel said, "Good. Teal'c has some ideas that we should run by the Sheriff and see what he thinks."
Cam came in and looked over at Vala. "How is she?"
"The same. I think it's a little early to try waking her up, but Daniel can try if he wants to."
Daniel didn't want to, but he knew that was selfish of him, so he agreed to try. He sat down on the side of the bed and then he... did nothing. Everyone was watching, which was making him feel very self-conscious.
"Do you want us to leave?" Cam asked and grinned.
"Maybe you could just turn around or something."
"Sam, Teal'c, I believe there are chores to do outside. Cows to milk. Chickens to feed. Et-cetera, et-cetera! Let's help our dear friend Argriff out!"
"Indeed," came Teal'c's reply as he stood and followed Cam. "I would like to learn how to milk a cow, Colonel Mitchell."
"Really? Don't they have cows on Chulak?"
"They do not."
"Okay, then. Cow Milking 101. Sam, come along. You may as well learn this, too. You never know when you might have to pose as a milkmaid on some undercover mission!"
Sam giggled as they got up and headed for the back door.
Daniel sighed and looked down at Vala. He noticed that Sam had braided Vala's hair and washed her face. 'She looks so innocent when she's asleep. Well, I guess it's now or nothing." He leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Nothing happened.
He jumped up and said, "Okay, that's enough. I'll try again later!" He turned to rush out of the house and saw Argriff standing there watching.
"Young man! What's wrong with you? You barely touched her. You gave Princess Aurora more than that and you don't even know her! She doesn't have the plague! Go on! Kiss her!"
Daniel was ashamed and his face blushed. The old woman was right. Vala was a member of the team. They all had to give each other one hundred percent of their trust and support in order to work well together. He could do this. He went back and sat down next to Vala and leaned over and slowly kissed her lips.
They were warm. Sweet. Very soft. He found he didn't really mind this, at all.
"Well, that's more like it!" Argriff started chuckling to herself and Daniel stopped. He sat back up and felt his face couldn't get any redder.
"It didn't work. She's still asleep."
"Well, that poison is pretty strong," the old woman said. "It may take a few more hours before it releases it's hold on her. Try again this afternoon and see."
Daniel looked back at Vala and wondered how long this would take and how many times he was going to have to kiss her. He was surprised that he didn't feel so put off by it like he did before. 'This place really is enchanted!'
O O O O O O
The sheriff stopped by and told them that he had set up a meeting with the rebels for that night, very late. Once the moon set, they were to meet him behind the mill house. They spent the rest of the morning walking around town and saying hello to the merchants and talking trade.
Sam said, "Don't you think it's more than a little strange that the queen is just letting a bunch of strangers wander around town? I mean, she's a Goa'uld. Surely, she knows who we are."
"Not necessarily, Sam," Daniel said. "It's possible that she's been out of the loop and doesn't know that most of the System Lords are gone. She might not care either. Think about it... Here she is, in her own little kingdom. She's probably far down on the seniority list as far as System Lords go. All she has to do to keep them from bothering her is to send out a shipment of Naquadria on a periodic basis, to whomever asks for it. They won't bother her if she keeps them supplied. She doesn't send a lot as that might draw their attention. Just a small amount, enough to satisfy them. Most of the System Lord's are dead now so they won't be coming here, but she doesn't know that. She's got slaves who do everything she asks. The Jaffa keep the peasants under control by telling them they can't go past the immediate boundary around the castle because it's too dangerous. Remember, there's a dragon out there and I'll bet a months' salary that she's got something to do with that. It's a perfect set up."
"You are correct, Daniel Jackson. The use of fear to keep the population under control is an old Goa'uld tactic. I used it myself many times when I was First Prime of Apophis."
"There you go," Mitchell said. "If she raises a fuss and we don't return to earth, she risks losing the little resort town she has here. She's in the dark about our plans to help with a rebellion, so she doesn't have any reason to fear us. She might be thinking that she could keep posing as the queen and open trade negotiations with our planet. She's got gold, after all. Remember the goose?"
"He's right, Sam. She said we could check things out. Maybe if she finds us favorable, she'll send for us to talk about a treaty. Until then, we behave ourselves and stay out of trouble." Daniel smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
Cam said, "Speaking of trouble, don't you think it's time we went back so you could try waking up Vala?"
"I'll go. You three find out where the mill is so that we know where to go tonight after it gets dark. We don't want to wander into the wrong place and wake up the neighbors."
Daniel walked back to Argriff's house and when he arrived, the old woman was waiting for him. She had some purchases to make and wanted to wait until someone was there to sit with Vala.
"She's still just like you left her. I'll leave so you can get on with your business." Daniel sat down on the side of the bed as she left and shut the door behind her.
'Okay. I might as well get right to it." He leaned over Vala and kissed her again. Like before, her lips were warm and sweet. He took his time and within a few moments, noticed that she was kissing him back. He broke it off and looked down at her. "Hello, there." He smiled down at her and she blinked rapidly.
"Daniel, am I dreaming? The last thing I remember I was eating an apple and listening to you telling stories. Now, here I am, lying in a bed, and you're kissing me. I must be dreaming! But oh, please tell me I'm not!"
"No, you're not. Let me explain." He held her hand and told her about the poisoned apple and that they had to wait for the effects to wear off before the kiss would work. "Remember the story about Snow White? The same thing happened to you."
"Well, it worked. Can you help me up? I need to get to the privy and then I want to wash up and change my clothes."
He helped her stand and found that she was a little unsteady on her feet. She still was a bit dizzy from the drug but as the minutes passed, she felt better. "Maybe another kiss is what I need." She batted her eyes at him and smiled.
"You think so?" Daniel said, with a look of mischief on his face. This time, he held her close and gave her a long, thorough kiss.
When she came up for air, she said, "Daniel! That was incredible! Who knew a stuffy, old archaeologist could have moves like that?"
"Yeah, well, it just shows what you don't know! Those ancient civilizations I study might be dead, but I'm not!" He grinned with a twinkle in his eyes. "Okay, now lets hurry. We need to talk about what's going on tonight and that means finding the rest of our team."
O O O O O O
After Vala changed her clothes and grabbed a quick bite of fresh bread and jam, she and Daniel set out to find the rest of SG-1. They got directions from the stable boy and found the mill on the other end of town. Their team was lounging in the shade by the water, enjoying a nice afternoon. Everyone looked up and seemed glad to see Vala.
"Are you okay?" Sam asked.
"Thanks to Daniel... I'm fine."
Daniel blushed again but stood his ground. The others noticed right away that He and Vala had formed a truce, of sorts. Maybe this would work to their advantage. Things would definitely be better if those two would quit their bickering.
"So, this is it?" Daniel asked while looking around at the setting.
"Yep," Mitchell replied. "We're to meet here with the rebel leaders when the moon sets."
"Did you come up with a plan?"
Quietly, Teal'c said, "Indeed, Daniel Jackson. If we move closer to the wheel race, the sound of the water will cover our conversation if we talk quietly. We should not be overheard conspiring against the Queen."
The group slowly strolled down toward the mill and sat in a circle under a shade tree. The water was loud but they could hear each other well enough. Daniel leaned back against the trunk of the tree and chewed on an alfalfa stem. Vala settled next to him and leaned on his shoulder. The others noticed that he didn't push her away and Sam wondered what was going on.
Cam spoke up first, "Here's what we're gonna do. Once we meet with the sheriff, we're going to split off. Sam's going to go with Rebecca and the Seven Dwarfs and find out what kind of technology we have at our disposal."
"Rebecca?" Vala interrupted.
Daniel took her hand and said, "Remember Vala, she's not really a seven year old little girl. She's Asgard. She's probably a lot older than the combined ages of everyone in this village."
"Right!"
Cam noted the hand holding but continued, "Teal'c is going to meet with the Jaffa. He's gonna try to find a way to talk with the rebels in the palace guard and find out how many will turn. I'm going to go with the Sheriff and see about the armory they have hidden in the forest. The Furlings evidently have a knack for bomb making."
"Really?" Vala said. "But, they're bears!"
"Yes, but not always. They're cloaked. I don't know what they really look like but if I find out, I'll let you know."
Daniel said, "So, what's that leave us?"
"I want you two to stay in town. I want anyone who might be interested to think we're all there in the guest houses. We'll meet back there at dawn. Once we get back, we'll report to Landry and get a plan together. Okay?"
They all understood their assignments and headed back to the guest houses to get some lunch and some rest. Daniel was exhausted from the lack of a good night's sleep and for worrying about Vala. He held her hand as they walked back and could see that she was still feeling the effects from the poison. She seemed physically weaker, somehow. As much as she hated to admit it, she was starting to get to him. He found himself thinking about her more and more each day.