Stargate
Infinity Series: Reunited Revamped
By GM Grantham
After the events of 'Flesh and Blood', Daniel and Vala share some alone time and discover some very interesting things about one another. Meanwhile, the battle against the Ori continues.
Spoilers for 'Flesh and Blood' through The Quest, Part II
Nothing of Stargate SG-1 is mine…no matter how I wish it was.
This chapter is rated PG-13.
THREE
Daniel was sitting in his lab analyzing the photos and he was getting irritated. It was Ancient all right, but the sentences from the walls didn't make sense.
He sighed in frustration as he threw the book he had been looking at onto the table, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. He heard footsteps coming toward him and looked up to see Vala carrying two stacked trays of food.
"You need to pull your face out of those books and eat something. You missed dinner last night and breakfast this morning. Here. It'll give you more energy." Daniel opened his mouth to protest, but Vala cut him off. "Eat and then you can go back to your dusty book collection."
Giving up, Daniel grunted in thanks as he took the tray she offered him. There were a few moments of silence between them before Vala attempted to strike up a conversation with small talk, carefully avoiding talking about the translations that were clearly frustrating him.
"Is your eye feeling better?" Daniel looked up and one glance at him told her that it wasn't. "Have you been keeping the ice on it like Dr. Lam told you to?" Again, by looking at him, she could tell the answer was no. "I'll be right back."
Daniel watched her leave and after she was gone, he dug into his lunch, feeling ravenous. A few moments later, Vala returned with an ice pack in hand, giving Daniel's eye one last glance before placing the ice pack over it. The sting took him by surprise, nearly causing him to fall out of his chair.
Vala shook her head. "If you'd kept ice on it, it wouldn't be stinging this bad."
"If you hadn't given me a black eye in the first place, I wouldn't have to keep ice on it," he said bitterly.
Vala smiled. "I think translating makes you tetchy, Daniel. You may need a lot more than food." She shifted the ice pack slightly and brushed her lips over his.
He turned away from her, grunting in annoyance. "Not now. I'm supposed to be working."
Vala sighed. "Well, I have orders from Colonel Mitchell to keep you in tip-top condition so you can complete these translations before the next millennium passes."
He eyed her warily. "You never take orders from anyone. Why now?"
She smirked. "These are orders I'm more than pleased to follow."
"Vala," he began, but was cut off by her pressing her lips roughly against his.
He couldn't stop the deep, rumbling groan that passed his lips as she eased her tongue into his mouth, twining it intimately with his. His hands flew to her waist as he returned the kiss with equal enthusiasm. He pulled back for a moment, his head spinning with the need coursing through him.
She pulled back slightly and looked at him, her brow furrowed in concern. "Are you all right, darling?"
"Just…give me a minute." He took several deep breaths before the spinning at last stopped. His head was still throbbing slightly, but his concentration was far improved. "Not here. My quarters," he managed.
"Here's just fine, Daniel."
He groaned softly as she laid a fire trail of kisses down his neck, gently biting at his shoulder. "Okay. Here. Door."
Vala kicked the door closed with her foot and found herself pressed up against it, the heat of his body against hers building the flame gathering inside of her. He stared into her eyes for a few moments, breathing heavily and she stared right back, watching his eyes darken and grow stormy. He pinned her hands above her and lowered his head to hers, taking her mouth in a hungry kiss.
She pressed into him, capturing his gasp in her mouth. She could feel the strength of him against her stomach and if she'd ever had any doubts of whether he desired her, they were banished from her mind as she took in his response to her subtlest movements against him. "You're overdressed, darling," she said huskily, tugging at the hem of his shirt. "But we'll soon fix that."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Several hours later, they were sitting together in the commissary eating the meals that had been forgotten earlier.
Exhausted after their romp, Daniel had fallen asleep almost immediately, something that he now regretted. His back screamed at him for the discomfort of his sleeping spot and position and his lower body, which had gotten quite a workout, was throbbing unmercifully with every shift he made to dissolve the discomfort in his back.
"Still sore, darling?" Vala asked, smirking impishly and pecking him on the lips.
He grunted and nodded. "I knew we should have taken it to my quarters."
She smirked. "That probably wouldn't have helped the discomfort in your…other areas."
He glared at her. "If you hadn't been so rough…"
"You look like hell, Jackson."
Both turned to see Cam looking at him concernedly.
"Thanks, Mitchell," Daniel said sarcastically, letting out a grunt as his back complained about the way it was stretching and his hand flew to the middle, trying to rub away the insistent throbbing.
Cam frowned. "What's wrong with your back?"
Vala smirked and looked about ready to answer truthfully when Daniel interrupted. "Must have slept funny. It's been bothering me all afternoon."
Cam looked between them, taking the hint, grinning. "You might want to take it easy for a while, Jackson." Cam then left them to their lunch, moving to join Doctor Lam.
"After dinner, why don't you let me massage out some of the kinks, darling?" Vala offered.
Daniel snorted. "Haven't you done enough damage?" he grumbled.
Vala frowned. "Yes, which is exactly why I'd like to undo some of it."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine. At this point, I'm willing to try anything."
Suddenly, Walter's voice came over the com. "SG-1 report to the conference room immediately."
Daniel groaned softly in frustration and abandoned his meal, sucking in a quiet breath as his back protested to him standing. Vala followed behind him, a hand at his waist trying to relieve some of the sharpness of the pain.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Daniel slid delicately into the chair, drawing the eyes of the others with the exception of Vala. She helped him by placing a hand gently on his arm in a reassuring way. He let out a soft sigh as he at last situated himself into the chair and leaned back. The soft, cushiony leather felt good on his aching back.
"Are you injured, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked curiously.
"Just a bad back. Must have slept funny."
Cam grinned knowingly as did Sam. Teal'c nodded, saying nothing. General Landry chose this moment to enter the room.
"Any luck on the translations, Doctor Jackson?"
"None," Daniel replied softly. "It's in code and I can't crack it."
Mitchell sighed. "So we've got nothing."
Daniel paused. "Given a bit of time and rest, I think I could take another look at it."
Landry nodded. "You've been working yourself into a coma, Doctor Jackson. Get some rest and get back on those translations as soon as possible."
Daniel nodded and stood slowly, moving toward the door with Vala behind him.
Landry turned to Sam. "Colonel Carter, have you had any success with your analysis?"
"Yes, sir," she began.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Vala closed the door behind her as Daniel collapsed onto the bed, not even bothering to remove his glasses before attempting to settle in as comfortably as he could.
Vala moved toward him, removing his glasses and setting them on the bedside table. "Please, Daniel. Let me help. You'll sleep a lot better."
He sighed and undid his jacket, sliding it off of his shoulders. She folded the jacket hurriedly and set it in the chair beside his bed.
"Your shirt, too, darling. It works better on bare skin."
He eyed her warily for a moment before sitting up and removing the black shirt. She folded his shirt as well, setting it on top of his jacket.
"Since when do you clean up after me?" he drawled.
Vala smiled. "Since I was given the responsibility by your commanding officer of taking care of you. Roll over onto your stomach."
Gingerly, he did as she asked, sucking in several quiet breaths. When he felt her warm, slick hands come into contact with a sore spot of his back, he jumped slightly.
"What's on your hands?"
"Baby oil," Vala replied. "Doctor Lam said it would help ease some of the tension by keeping the heat in and that that would loosen up some of the muscles."
Daniel groaned in appreciation. "God, that feels good."
Vala grinned. "Just one of the many talents I've acquired through my years of traveling the galaxy."
"Do I even want to know…" He let out a grunt as she pressed her hands into his lower back. "…where you learned it and why?"
She snorted in indignation. "It was perfectly innocent, I assure you. I performed massage therapy for a short period to earn some traveling currency. I couldn't hardly stay in one place for long. This particular skill just happens to be universally useful."
"For this one talent of yours…" He sighed softly. "…I am eternally grateful."
She smirked. "Feeling better, darling?"
He nodded into the pillow. "Much."
She patted his back gently and he rolled over so that he was looking up at her. She smiled and leaned down to peck him on the lips. "You know, I remember when we first met. I underestimated you." She paused. "You were very…athletic is the best word that comes to mind. When I saw you, I was expecting a military man, not an archaeologist. Have you always been this…fit?"
Daniel grinned wryly. "I guess I haven't ever really thought much of it." He sighed. "To be honest, the hard workouts helped me sleep better. I guess I've just become a creature of habit now. Besides, I need to stay in good shape if I'm going to continue traveling off-world."
Her brow furrowed. "So it's the rule?"
He nodded. "If you're too slow, you can get killed."
She paused for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Daniel?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
He looked at her. "What for?"
"For saving my life. I never told you how grateful I was for it. And thank you for giving me a second chance to make things right between us."
He smiled, his hand fumbling to cup her cheek. "As much of a pain in the ass as you are, you're good to have around, Vala. There's good in you. You might lie and you might steal, but when it comes down to it, you're there to protect me and to save my ass when it needs saving."
She smiled. "And no matter how much I annoy you and pester you, you're always there to save my ass when it needs saving. When it comes down to it, I'm not afraid as long as I have you beside me because I know you'll protect me no matter what."
He sighed, brushing his lips lightly over hers and wrapping his arms around her.
She cuddled into him, expelling a soft, deep breath. "Mmm. This is nice. Much nicer than arguing."
He nodded his agreement, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "This is what it's really about, Vala. Not just the sex. It's about feeling safe, warm, and protected. It's about being able to share those feelings with someone you care deeply for."
"Well, if this is what I've been missing out on all these years…" She grinned. "I'm glad we met. Without you…well, I've never felt this good in my life."
He sighed. "I've missed this. I haven't done anything like this with a woman since Sha're."
"You and Colonel Carter are close," she commented.
He nodded. "She's needed a shoulder to cry on from time to time…when no one else would understand. She was there for me after what happened with Sha're, too. We're very close friends."
"Have you ever had romantic feelings for her?"
Daniel laughed. "Jealous?"
Her eyebrows shot up. "No, curious."
He hesitated. "I was slightly attracted to her when we first met and held onto that attraction for a while until I realized she had romantic feelings toward someone else." He saw the question in her eyes and shook his head. "He returned the feelings, but because they were both in the military within each other's chain-of-command, they weren't allowed to become involved. Things worked out for them in the end, though."
Vala grinned. "Would this mystery man happen to be now-Brigadier General Jack O'Neil?"
His eyes widened slightly. "How did you…?"
"Colonel Carter and I have been talking," she replied.
He looked at her, surprised. "When?"
She smiled wryly. "After I gave you your black eye. She found me taking my frustrations out on a punching bag and the subject of men came up. She started off talking about some fellow called Martouf, but then she started talking a lot about this O'Neil man and how she felt about him...that their careers hadn't permitted them to be together. And then we talked about you a bit…how frustratingly noble you can be and how you always start out with good intentions."
He frowned. "What else did you talk about?"
"Oh, nothing. Girl things," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "We should get some sleep, darling. We have a long night ahead of us."
He nodded and yawned, closing his eyes, Vala doing the same. A short time later, they were both lost in the world of dreams.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
It was very early morning, around 0100, and both Daniel and Vala sat in his lab, pouring over his notes and the photos. "I've got something," Vala said excitedly.
His eyebrows shot up. "Since when can you read Ancient?"
She shrugged. "I got bored the last time I was here and filtered through your notes. I can only read a bit, but I noticed a pattern here."
Daniel glanced over her shoulder and frowned. "Why didn't I catch that?"
"It's not easy to spot unless you think to isolate it from the text around it. It's just this bit right here that's important. The rest is gibberish," she replied.
Daniel reached quickly for his notes and compared the patterns of the text to the notes he'd taken on the language. "Those are numbers."
Vala nodded. "And this line contains the symbols for a gate address."
He frowned. "The Ori homeworld, maybe?"
She hesitated. "It's possible. These numbers must be some kind of code to prevent just anyone from deciphering this. Only someone who thinks to isolate the common numbers from the rest of the text would be able to figure out what it says."
He stared intensely at the text, his brow furrowed in concentration. "This first word must be the based on the numbering and phonetics. Each set of numbers seems to represent a word or phrase."
She grinned, clasping her hands together in excitement. "Then we know how to decipher the rest of the writings."
Daniel nodded. "We'll finish translating it tonight and we'll show it to General Landry in the morning."
Vala grinned, almost unable to contain her excitement as the two began working on the translations.
TBC…
