Author's Note: Just a small one-shot. I was talking to someone about D/V and I mentioned the main theme of the story offhandedly and it sparked this baby.
Wrote it mainly on my phone during the slow moments at work, so it isn't fabulously edited. Be kind and let me know what you think.
o0o
Moving On
Could it be true?
Like actually – done deal, signed, sealed, and delivered, T's cross, I's dotted – true? If so, he no longer had a legitimate excuse, and he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that. Yes, he had the 'not ready' excuse, but no one believed it anymore, and was now ineffective. He held onto this last one because it was something no one could argue with – it would have been morally wrong. But no more.
Vala Mal Doran was officially divorced.
And Daniel Jackson didn't know how to feel about that. His mind was running a mile a minute with this new information. Never in a million years would he have guessed that was the news Vala would utter when she came bouncing into his office, but she had, and he was still trying to wrap his brain around it.
It was a normal day when she came in, looking…like she was at peace for the first time. He assumed it was because everything with the Ori was officially over, but he had been wrong – oh so wrong. "You're looking…relaxed," was his greeting.
Vala smiled at him and came to stand next to him. "Well, I was going more for relieved, but I'll take relaxed," she retorted as she leaned casually against his desk.
"Relieved that it's over?" he guessed as he went back on his work.
"No," she replied, but then frowned. "Well, yes that too, but that's not what I meant."
"So, what are you relieved over?" he asked casually and his mind drifted further into his work. He hadn't expected her to say something serious.
She didn't respond right away, almost confirming his own speculation, when she confessed, "I'm officially a free woman," she said it in a soft way – as if it was bittersweet. "My marriage to Tomin is officially dissolved."
Daniel's head snapped up and it was like his brain short circuited. Divorced? She was divorced? "What? How?" he heard himself ask dumbly.
Did the Ori allow divorce?
"Well, According to Tomin, divorce isn't really an option unless certain criteria are met, which includes –"
While he normally didn't mind learning about certain cultures and their practices, he couldn't care less at the moment. She wasn't married anymore – meaning he couldn't use her marital status as a shield to his friends…or himself. When she was, he'd always told them it was a line he wouldn't cross – and it didn't just apply to Vala – and they couldn't argue with that. What was he going to do now? It hadn't just been an excuse for his friends, but for himself as well. He knew the pain of seeing one's wife in the arms of another, and refused to put anyone else through that. He knew it hadn't been Sha're's fault, but it still pained him to see her with Apophis and the child that resulted from their relationship. No matter how he felt, married women were off limits – period.
But Vala was now single.
Or was she? "What about your other marriages?" he blurted out as he rudely interrupted her, but he was desperate. "After Cam's High School reunion, he said you told him you'd been married before. What about those?"
Her nose crinkled in confusion and she tilted her head to study him – probably wondering about his odd behavior. "Almost all were void due to one, but certain criterias had to be met to make some legitimate, and that never happened. The valid ones became null after certain incidents."
"Like?"
"Death for one," she stated bluntly, "I had nothing to do with it, so don't go there. Another was petitioned to be terminated, and when I didn't show up to protest, it was granted."
Something akin to panic bubbled up within him – that and something else he couldn't identify. "So…you're really free? No other marriages that are still valid out there," he waved his hand above his head, but didn't take his eyes off of her.
Vala looked at him oddly, and he could tell he was confusing the hell out of her. "No, that's it," she said slowly. "Tomin was the last."
Okay then. "Regrets?"
"None," she answered instantly.
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "You done with relationships then?" he asked quietly. "Could you ever consider one again?" He didn't know why he asked that.
"I wouldn't say done," she said in a soft voice. "I'm not opposed. It would just need to be with the right person. I don't want to get married again for the same reasons. I want it to be for the right reasons."
"But you cared about Tomin." Why did he say that?
Her face softened. "Yes, but I wasn't in love with him. I married him for the wrong reasons, and staying with him would've been wrong as well. We both deserve more – we deserve better."
When had she matured? How had he missed it? Yes, he saw her grow as a person and on a professional level and was proud of that, but how had he missed it on a personal level? And how the hell did that make her more attractive?
"Yeah, you do," he mumbled, still feeling the slight shock of seeing her maturity. He cleared his throat. "So. Divorced. You're divorced." Yes, he was being redundant, but he needed further confirmation.
Vala grinned widely at him. "I am."
Daniel didn't know what had gotten into him, but one second he was standing next to her, observing her, and the next moment, he was kissing her.
There was a small squeal of surprise from her, but that was it before she kissed him back full force.
He took it as a good sign and didn't stop.
Daniel had multiple excuses to keep himself from moving past Sha're. Most weren't convincing and had flaws, but it hadn't mattered since there hadn't been anyone he wanted to move on with. Until Vala. At first, she was nothing but a flirt and minx. He didn't take her seriously because she wasn't serious. Then there had been moments where he really saw her through the persona she crafted, and it made him want a deeper look — that scared him. Before he could do anything about it, she was gone. Sent to the Ori galaxy after blowing up the first beachhead. When she risked her life to warn them, it tugged at his heart again. But she was married – thus giving him a reason to keep her at arm's length.
That was no longer the case. She was free.
Sure, he could come up with another excuse – she was an unstable wreck like him and they could never make it work – but the urge to kiss her had won over. It was something he had fought for over a year, and hearing that she was single – no longer attached – something inside him snapped.
So here he was, kissing Vala Mal Doran.
"You've no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he mumbled against her lips once they finally broke apart.
She gave a breathy chuckle. "Not as long as me. I guarantee it."
He chuckled too. "Really?" he asked skeptically.
Vala met his eyes and her expression sobered. "Since I escaped from Prometheus," she told him and her voice rang with sincerity. "And not for the reasons you're probably assuming right now."
Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He did again before he finally said something. "Seriously?"
She nodded. "Why do you think I came to Earth?"
"For the treasure." Right?
She gave a small smile. "I could've found the treasure on my own," she told him. "I didn't need you or your help…but I wanted to see you."
"But why?" He still wasn't fully understanding her. "You risked not getting a good share of the treasure. In fact, you didn't get a share at all. Why risk that?"
She chuckled again and shook her head as she stroked his cheek. "That wasn't the risk I was taking," she met his eyes. "You were."
Daniel's eyebrows shot up. "Me?"
Vala continued to stroke his cheek. "I needed to know if Prometheus was fluke."
How had he never seen it? How could he not know? "Was it? Was I?" he asked timidly – a little afraid of her answer.
"Of course you are," she told him in what sounded like a loving tone. "You're more than worth it – more than all that treasure."
He was an idiot. He sighed and closed his eyes as he rested his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry I didn't see it," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry I took so long."
Vala's hands cupped the back of his neck and she pulled him closer. "Don't be," she whispered gently. "We wouldn't have been ready, but we are now. We both have dealt with our pasts and have let them go, and now we can move on with our future – together."
"Together," he murmured. "I like the sound of that."
"Me too."
