Emotion

Both apprehensive and a bit excited, Daniel watched a frowning Colonel Jameson hobble her way out of Vala's room. Jameson usually showed no emotion whatsoever, spreading the rumors that she didn't even have them to begin with, not even frustration or thoughtfulness. And the fact that she was showing at least hints of worried contemplation now was enough to concern Daniel.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

Looking up as he spoke, she apparently realized for the first time that he was there. "Oh, no." She paused and looked herself over. "Do I look like there's something wrong?"

Quickly, Daniel shook his head. "No, you just looked very thoughtful."

"Well, I think that I'm pretty much entitled to think, Doctor Jackson," Jameson practically spat. "Especially when Mal Doran says something to spark my thinking."

Vala said something to unfreeze Jameson the freeze-out? What in the galaxy could've done that? Whatever it was, trust Vala to find it.

"Sorry, Colonel," Daniel quickly apologized aloud.

Without even sitting around to hear those words, Jameson turned and started furiously hobbling off down the hallway. The constant tap-tap-tap of her crutch seemed louder and quicker than it had last time Daniel had heard her coming down the corridor and this time it was audible for quite a distance.

Shaking his head and leaving all thoughts of the mystery commander behind, Daniel walked into Vala's room.

Her face turned towards him immediately and the sight of her marred face almost made him gasp. But he managed to hold the sound in, though his face must've given something off in it's place because Vala frowned among the crazy pattern of stitches and bandages.

"What?" she asked. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"Oh, no," Daniel hastily lied. "I was just… surprised."

For a moment, Vala was silent as she childishly pouted with a white-taped lower lip. "You know, you're a really bad liar, Daniel," she finally said. "Really bad liar. Now tell me what's the matter."

Sighing, Daniel reflexively brushed his fingers across his face in the places where the biggest lines of stitches were. "Your face… I guess you haven't really seen it yet. You're really stitched and… messed up."

"Oh, the doctors made me ugly, did they?" she huffed. "Oh, how wonderful."

"No, not ugly," he quickly reassured, taking the seat that sat near Vala's bed. "You'll be fine once everything heals up."

Vala rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. Because then it'll all be scars instead of stitches."

Not really having anything else to say about that, Daniel fell silent. Being quiet, he couldn't just look at Vala so his eyes dropped away to the floor and various unimportant things around the room. Everything in the room seemed sterile—what else was to be expected of an infirmary room?—and a pale blue was apparently dominant as just about everything in the room from the walls to the sheets were the same color.

"What have you been doing while I was… gone, Daniel?" Vala finally asked, somewhat stumbling around terms for her absence.

"Not much," he replied, looking up again. "Went off-world with the team a few times, scheming for a way to get rid of the Ori problem, reading reports…"

"Your life always was boring," the alien woman said, sighing and leaning back against her mountainous pillow pile.

Yes, searching for you and pining was getting rather boring, Daniel thought, trying not to smile. Aloud, he denied that his life was ever boring. "Just because I'm not always doing something physically interesting doesn't mean my life is boring. Not all of us get to stay away from the SGC for months on some odd vacation in the Ori galaxy."

Seemingly stung, Vala's gray eyes grew wide and she pressed back against her pillow. "I was not on some odd vacation, Daniel. I was in a fortress getting tortured for knowledge about Earth and the SGC." The fear and memories flashed past in her still wide eyes, giving a glimpse of just how afraid of the Ori Vala had become.

How could you have been so stupid? Daniel quietly berated himself. It was just a simple little slip, a bit of a humorous poke, but it obviously hurt Vala—something Daniel definitely didn't want to do anymore. She'd been traumatized enough.

"I know, I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. "I shouldn't have said that. Just curious, did you tell them anything?"

Half-scoffing, Vala rolled her eyes. "Yes, I told them all about your world, how to get to it, how to open the iris, how to get to you. All about all of the just lovely things to do around here…"

Daniel had to try not to grumble. "Ok, what did you really tell them?"

"That Earth isn't worth trying to take over," Vala replied.

"Oh, gee, thanks," Daniel said, rolling his eyes.

"For all you know, I could've saved your whole people by saying that!" Vala protested. "I might've dissuaded the Ori from attacking your planet! For all you know, I could be your hero and your salvation from the evil Ori!"

"Yes, I'm sure you'll be hailed as the greatest hero of all time." Now it was Daniel's turn to roll his eyes. "And I'm sure that they'll even make Vala Mal Doran Day an international holiday."

At that, Vala smiled. "Well, they should. After all, who's more fabulous and deserves their own holiday more than me?"

-----

Sighing as the weight of fatigue pressed against her, Vala leaned back against her pillows. The doctors had ordered Daniel out a few minutes earlier, demanding that the still recovering Vala needed her rest now more than ever if she were to heal properly.

While Vala was more than tired enough to want to comply with that order, she was also reluctant to fall away into the realm of dreams.

When in the Ori galaxy, she'd been subjugated to torture during her sleep and had been tormented for falling asleep too. Those few times when she fell hard enough into her dozing, she would dream.

To her waking surprise, the dreams hadn't been of the worlds she called home at any given time. They weren't about the way she lived, they weren't about the way she lived…

They were about a certain brilliant linguist/archeologist and a world of which she'd seen very little. About a place where she was looked at strangely but where she'd managed to have so much fun and adventure…

Those dreams had kept her going through the torture with hope that she'd get back there, into the safety of the SGC's halls and Daniel's arms.

Now that she was back there, where would her dreams go?