Author's Note: Just a little one-shot here. The idea hit me so hard, I wrote most of this on my phone at work during the lull moments.

The idea came from a review someone left me on another story, stating that they were skeptical if Daniel and Vala could actually work had they gotten together, especially after all the hurt they caused each other and Vala's over zealous pursuit of Daniel. While I agree to a degree and see their point, my hopeless romantic side refuses to believe otherwise.

Besides, most of the horrible things they had said to each other was during Unending, which was erased, and Vala chilled out for the most part for most of season 10 when it came to Daniel.

They also made it work for 50 years aboard the Odyssey and I feel like it would've been harder on there than on Earth. They made it clear that they weren't with each other because of the circumstances at the end, so there's hope that they could get passed their issues.

So thank you to that reviewer (if you're out there, you know who you are). I didn't add your name since I don't know if you'd be okay with it. Thanks for inspiring me, even if you have doubts and disagree. You make an excellent point and I can see it going your way, but like I said, my hopeless romantic-ness won't allow it.

o0o

Ready or Not

It had been a normal day up until that moment.

Daniel still to this day had no idea what had been going through her mind and he had never thought to ask, but the second she blurted it out, it had changed everything, and nothing would ever go back to the way it was. They came to a precipice and there were only two ways to go from there; take the plunge into the unknown or step away. . .permanently.

It all started when Vala Mal Doran had abruptly looked up from the Goa'uld piece to stare intensely at him. He still didn't know why studying and translating a Goa'uld device would have prompted such a conversation, but it had.

He hadn't noticed it at first, too absorbed in his own thing, but it wasn't long before he could feel her penetrating stare. When he finally glanced at her, he frowned in confusion. "What?" he questioned, slightly on edge. He hadn't said anything for several minutes and neither had she, so there should be no reason for her to be upset with him.

"You're never going to be interested in me, are you?" she asked, but it sounded more rhetorical.

Daniel blinked...and blinked some more. "Okay…" he dragged out, "Where the hell did that come from?" he asked, his way of dodging it.

"I'm right, aren't I?" she continued, "You really don't find me attractive, do you?"

Attraction had never been the problem, he thought to himself and looked away. "Vala, I don't want to talk about this."

"Well, I do!" she said insistently, "I think I have a right to know why I'm so repulsive to you."

"I never said that!" he snapped, his voice raising, "God, why do you insist on taking everything out of context!"

"Well, then put it into context for me!" she snapped back, "I've done all I can to make it clear on my end, but you're always shooting me down, so I want to know why! What is it about me that makes the thought of an us so unappealing for you?"

"Do you want an honest answer to that?" he asked, forcing himself to calm down and not to raise his voice again.

Them yelling at each other would get them nowhere and they couldn't take back what they said.

Vala didn't hesitate. "Yes."

Daniel took a second, breathing in deeply, trying to remain calm. "We sleep together and then what?" he questioned, "We work together," he reminded her.

"I'm aware of that," she retorted dryly.

"You know, even saying that aloud sounds unbelievable," he admitted, "I mean, you've proven yourself on a professional level, but on a personal level? Vala, C'mon, give me a break," he told her, trying to get her to see the truth of the matter.

"What's so wrong with me on a personal level?"

"Vala, it's not just you. We're both unstable, emotional wrecks," he said blatantly, "Us sleeping together would create us unnecessary drama and all for what? I don't do flings or casual sex or sleep around for the hell of it. Sex is more than that for me, it means something to me, and I refuse to cheapen that."

Vala looked hurt. "I know that, Daniel. I know you well enough to know that," she stated, "but is that all it would be with me, a quick fuck?" she questioned, and though she disguised it well, Daniel heard the hurt behind the words, "I thought I had made that clear it wasn't for me."

"How? You think I'm in to the whole blatant, aggressive, throw yourself at me, thing? How does the sound like me? Yet, you claim to know me!" he exclaimed, his own emotions getting the better of him, and he winced knowing what it would lead to, "How else am I supposed to see it?"

"I don't know how else to show it, Daniel! I don't know how you want me to show you my feelings," she told him, getting exasperated with him, "When I'm aggressive, I'm a flirt and minx, when I reserved and quiet, I'm just a friend and a co-worker. Where's the middle, Daniel? How can I possibly show you that I'm serious when I say I love you? What will make you believe it?"

Everything came to a complete stop in his mind and he swore he stopped breathing for a second. "Wait, you love me?" he questioned softly, bewildered by the turn of events.

"What else do you think I've been trying to tell you for the past five minutes?" she asked like it was obvious, "I can understand that you don't feel the same way, but what I can't understand is why I'm so offensive to you! Why is something more between us so impossible?"

"You love me," he repeated in the same manner.

That certainly changed things. He never once thought she had any serious type feelings for him.

Vala growled softly. "Of course I do," she said in frustration, "Have you heard nothing I've said? Why do you think I was so persistent? Why I never got bored or gave up on you? Why do you think I kept trying?"

Daniel had never really thought of it, not really at least. "I…I just thought you liked a good challenge and didn't like to lose."

She chuckled sadly, shaking her head as she looked down at the desk. "Daniel, I've never known how to express my feelings properly; I never learned how to do it like most people. All I know is what I've learned from my time as host; can you really blame me?"

He never thought about that before, how she really got the opportunity to grow up as a normal young adult. She had spent those years imprisoned in her own body before moving on to survive in an harsh and unforgiving galaxy. "No," he mumbled, "I guess I can't."

She stared at him for a moment before pushing back her stool and stood up. "I'm never going to be good enough for you, am I?" she asked sadly, "No matter what I feel or how genuine they are. I simply won't be enough."

"Vala…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"I can't be the person you want me to be," she told him, "I've done my best to grow and learn from my experiences and mistakes but that's not enough for you. Well, I can't change who I am, and I refuse to pretend to be someone I'm not."

"Vala, I never asked you to be someone else," he said, a little defensively.

"Maybe not with words," she contradicted him, "I don't know where I belong, but I wanted it to be here with you; that's clearly not the case, and I can't do this anymore, Daniel."

His back snapped straight as a rod. "What does that mean?" he demanded.

Vala looked him square in the eyes. "It means I'm leaving Earth," she told him gently, "There's no future here, so why bother pretending?"

He didn't know how it happened, how he had gotten there – he still didn't to this day – but he always assumed it was because he was faced with the very real possibility of losing Vala for good. She wasn't kidding, she was serious, more so than he could remember seeing from her before, and he swore it brought down every wall he had ever put up against anyone, followed by a rush of emotions. There was fear, he could freely admit that, but not fear of a relationship, rather a fear of losing her from his life permanently. He could've went on forever being just friends and co-workers and being content that way, but she clearly wasn't, and he couldn't live without her; he needed to have her in his life in some capacity.

"You can't leave," he blurted out.

Vala raised an eyebrow. "There's nothing here for me, Daniel," she argued weakly.

"I'm here!"

She practically stomped her foot. "That's not enough for me, Daniel!" she told him, "I can't just be your friend. Anyway, we've been over this: you see my feelings as nothing other than the actions a flirtatious minx and a nuisance."

"That's because I thought the whole flirtatious thing that you do was just you having a laugh at my expense!" he tried to defend himself and his actions, "I never thought you actually had serious feelings for me, and for that, I'm sorry for the way I reacted."

"It's fine, Daniel," she responded wearily.

"No, it's not," he argued softly, "not when I clearly hurt you."

Vala cross her arms, hugging herself. "It doesn't matter anymore," she said quietly, "I can't stay here, knowing you don't feel the same."

Daniel waited until she finally looked at him before stating, "I never said I didn't feel the same."

It had the opposite effect he had been hoping for and she seemed to hug herself even more, chuckling sadly. "You didn't have to," she remarked, "it was quite clear."

"Apparently not," he retorted wryly.

"So you're saying I'm wrong?" she asked challengingly, "You called me an emotional, unstable wreck; how else am I supposed to interpret that?"

He sighed, wondering how the hell they were having this conversation. It wasn't something he'd been ready for…but ready or not, it was happening. "To be fair, I called both of us unstable wrecks, but Vala, you have to understand," he implored her, "Losing my wife, I never thought I'd get over that and the idea of being hurt like that…it was almost too much. But over this last year or so, I think I'm finally in a place where I could be close to someone like that again…but never in a million years did I ever consider that person being you. I mean, we're so opposite and…wrong for each other, it's it even funny. Vala, despite the fact that we love each other, we wouldn't work, we won't be able to work, and it'll destroy everything between us, and I can't…I can't lose you from my life, no matter how you're in it."

Not the most romantic way to declare one's love for another, but they weren't typical or romantic sort of people.

Again, she didn't react like he expected. He did just declare his feelings and instead of being happy or whatever, she got angry, and glared at him, taking a defensive position. "Who the hell are you to decide the future of our relationship?" she demanded furiously, "Without my say, without even trying? You can't make the final decision on something that affects someone other than yourself!"

"Vala – " he tried to cut in but failed.

"You can decide an outcome of something you haven't even tried!" she said again, "How many times have you been wrong about something, changed your mind about something? Because I can give you examples, and I've only known you for a few years! Fuck you, Daniel, for deciding something that you had no right to!"

"This is why!" he stated loudly, motioning between the two of them, "We claim to love each other, but here we are, yelling and fighting; how could we possibly make a relationship work between us when we keep hurting each other?"

"How can you just ignore and pretend it doesn't exist?" she shot back, "How can you be so willing to give up without trying? Love is supposed to help make each other better and I think it can with us. Yes, we'll fight, but it won't always be like this; we'll get better and learn together to navigate it. Our main problem is us fighting this thing between us," she gestured wildly between them, "and if we could admit it and do something about it, the rest will come a lot easier. Damn it, Daniel, we could be so much more! We just need to try!"

He wasn't hesitating out of fear of loving her, it was out of fear of losing her from his life; he didn't want to ruin what they had, but he knew there were only two ways for this to end. "What if we don't work, what then?" he questioned quietly.

Vala softened. "I would rather try and fail then never try at all," she told him softly, "I don't want to have 'what ifs' for the rest of my life…do you?"

Daniel didn't know if he could. "I can't lose you, Vala."

She stiffened a little and stared him straight on. "Well, either you going to or you have a chance not to," she laid out his only option, "Either I stay and we try this, or I walk away and you lose me for good; which will it be?"

"Giving ultimatums in a relationship is generally frowned upon," he remarked, "It's not fair."

"But we're not in a relationship," she corrected, "and I can't stay when I know nothing will come of this; it already hurts, Daniel, and I won't keep putting myself through it. I know it's unfair, but what you're doing isn't fair either; it's selfish. We have to stop hurting each other with words and actions, and the only way to do that is to choose one of the two options we have before us. So, I ask again, which will it be?"

He had said it to himself for what felt like a hundredth time – he couldn't lose her, and if this was the only way to keep her, he'd have to risk it. He wasn't new to risk, he took them on a daily basis, but this somehow seemed worse than any other time he'd gone through the 'gate or had dealt with a situation on base. Had it been anyone aside from Vala and he probably wouldn't have had a problem, but he knew how they were with each other and couldn't handle if they didn't work out…but this was his only chance to keep her and maybe she was right, maybe they could work out the kinks and navigate through it. The potential outcome would outweigh the risk…and he would get to be with her in a way he had never allowed himself to imagine before.

He shuffled closer, stopping a few inches from her. "You really want me to choose?" he asked quietly.

Daniel swore he saw her face fall just slightly and her eyes dim. "Yes," she said, her voice sounding a little hoarse.

"Okay," he mumbled, nodding his head slightly, "then I choose you."

Vala's eyes widened briefly before they got shiny. "Really?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly.

It about broke his heart to hear how surprised she sounded. "Vala, I love you," he told her softly, "You're more than worth it. My own fears and selfishness aside, you were always worth it, I just refused to admit it to anyone, even myself."

She was on him in an instant, squeezing the life out of him. "I love you," she mumbled into his shoulder, "We can do this, I know we can. It won't be easy, but we'll make it."

"We have to," he told her, "because I won't lose you."

Vala moved so she could meet his eyes. "Are you sure?" she asked, "Because once we start, I'm not letting you back out."

"I'm sure," he assured her, "You're stuck with me now."

The smile that appeared on her face was one he didn't think he had ever seen. In fact, he wasn't sure if he had ever seen her this joyous, and he got a feeling that they would be just fine. Every relationship required work, it was always going to be hard at times, but when you are with the right person, it was more than worth it. He may not have been ready to consider this possibility, let alone his feelings for her, but ready or not, it was happening, and he couldn't seem to regret it.

And he never did.

Relationships don't last because they are destined to. Relationships last because two people made a choice to keep it, fight for it, and work for it. And that is what they did every day of their lives from then on. There were ups and downs, of course, but they had always come through whatever situation together, and that was all that mattered to them - that they had fought for each other and their eventual family.

And it more than paid off.

The End.