Vala decided, in the ten days since Della Duck's arrival, that she was incapable of being categorized. At times, the humanoid duck could be as fastidious as Daniel and qualified enough at storing large amounts of information in her head. Then she could do a complete one-eighty and suddenly show as much technical prowess as Sam, as much recklessness as Cameron, or as much dry wit as Jack. Sometimes she even switched to a sly and vivacious side that reminded Vala much of herself. She was also a capable fighter and quick healer. Though she lacked in Teal'c's 'warrior wisdom', it was like Della Duck was SG-1 incarnate.

Today, thankfully, there was a lull in missions. Della, having been made aware of the Stargate, had been reading the numerous reports, apparently without any sleep. Vala could see the bags under her eyes. She was just amazed that the duck had managed to out-obsess Daniel. She couldn't help getting the feeling, though, that Della was trying to distract herself from something.

She found her in the commissary, incredibly focused on reading yet another file. Vala looked over her shoulder and saw it was the one about SG-1's jaunt to 1969. She knew about that pretty well, ever since Daniel, Sam and Teal'c had pranked Cameron with that story about Jack being his father.

The thought startled a laugh out of her. As a result, Della was startled in turn, releasing a small scream and flailing her arms to stay balanced. She ended up falling sideways off the chair where she'd been standing.

"Oh, Della, I'm sorry. Are you alright?'

"Never better," the duck said with a groan. Her metal flipper had caught on the rim of the seat, and Vala noted how it twisted as Della was trying to get up again.

"Allow me," she said, kneeling and picking up the duck as she tried to reorient herself. Della managed to detach her leg before she was sat down.

"Thanks," Della grunted.

It was only 5:30 in the morning, and thankfully there were very few people around to witness that little faux pas. The cook glanced over in concern at their table, but quickly resumed his work when Vala helped Della reattach her leg.

"You're up pretty early," the duck idly commented. She had put the file aside and took a sip of her coffee.

Vala didn't respond right away. She was already aware of the date. It had been a year, but it still wasn't easy to talk about; especially now, with a young mother sitting next to her. How do you broach the subject of a dead child when someone else is grieving for living ones she hadn't even seen?

"Vala?" The dark-haired woman turned to see the duck looking at her in concern.

"Anniversaries are never easy for me," Vala replied.

"I'm guessing it isn't a good one."

"Not really." Vala let out a long breath. "My daughter died one year ago."

Della looked stricken. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything..."

"Stop," she firmly interrupted. "You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. You should be grateful your children are alive, and that you'll get back to them someday." She paused again. "I'm guessing no one has told you about the Ori yet?"

"No, I've only gotten through a few dozen mission reports. What are they?" asked Della.

"A collective of ascended beings." Della's eyes had seemingly widened to the size of frisbees at that summary. "We, Daniel and I, first found out about them after discovering an Ancient artifact in Cornwall…"


Della proved to be a very attentive audience.

In time, Daniel and Cameron had joined them and helped cover the subjects that Vala was unsure of. Della, as gripped as she was to the various tales, still unloaded a barrage of questions:

"How many spacecraft do you have available?"

"You really found Atlantis? Where is it located?"

"Ooooh, was that the first dragon you guys fought?"

Vala's tale became more somber as they discussed the destruction of the first fleet against the Ori incursion and Vala's subsequent pregnancy; how Adria had grown far sooner than she should have and then having to fight against her as the Ori figurehead. Della, sensing the mood, had stopped asking questions.

'Difficult' couldn't begin to describe how she felt about Adria anymore. The girl she had given birth to was long gone. She talked about Adria's rapid development, the battles they fought against her and her eventual ascension and reappearance. Daniel and Cameron contributed to the story where they could. "To this day," Vala concluded, "I'm sure she and Morgan are still fighting, somewhere in this grand universe."

"It's a safe bet," Cameron added.

Della digested this quietly. "What about Ba'al? You said he had clones made. He could still be out there."

"Maybe," Cameron admitted, "but that story can wait. If there are any Goa'uld still around, they're most likely in hiding. It's nothing we have to worry about right this second."

"For now, we're only concerned with the explorative aspect of our work here. Aside from our business in the Pegasus galaxy, things have been fairly quiet," Daniel said.

They didn't have much to talk about after that. Vala knew that Daniel's search into Della had fizzled into nothing, while Sam was still busy detailing the ship at Area 51. As they were finishing their breakfast, she noticed Della giving Cameron a penetrating stare.

Cameron noticed it too, though he pointedly ignored it in favor of eating his food.

Not that it would last. "Can I talk to you?" Della asked him.

The colonel looked between her and his team members, but Daniel was oblivious, having grabbed hold of the 1969 file to reread it. Vala, sensing some unfolding drama, merely shook her head with a barely concealed smirk. Cameron, seeing no quarter from his team, relented with a sigh. "What do you want to know?"

Della crossed her arms. "When I came to, ten days ago, you said you had something to explain to me, but since then you've failed to elaborate. I want to know what you were talking about."

Cameron was clearly hesitant. "I don't think this is the right time…"

"Bullshit." Della had actually climbed onto the table. She stared Cameron down, seething. Vala was more than a little bewildered by the sudden change in her behavior. Daniel looked up from the file, equally startled. "I think there's never been a better time. Admit it. You know something about me, don't you? Or my brother, at least. Don't think I didn't notice how you fixated on him in that photo. What do you know? What aren't you telling me?!" She wasn't shouting yet, but with each word her voice rose by several decibels.

They had drawn a crowd, Vala noticed. Several airmen, a group of marines and Colonel Reynolds were staring at their table in slight shock; Reynolds was clearly debating whether or not he should intervene.

Fortunately Daniel, having also seen the audience, put the file aside. He placed a hand on Della's shaking shoulder. "It might be better if we finished this conversation in private," he said, nudging his head as an indication.

Della looked from the corner of her eye, and that seemed to snap her from her anger. For the moment. "All right. Let's go." She slowly exited, her fists clenched.

The three teammates looked at one another before following. Vala had an inkling of what to expect, as she had been following that archaic cartoon closely. Given Della's current mood, however, the outcome of the upcoming conversation didn't seem very positive.

"Everything alright, Cam?" she heard Reynolds ask.

"Yep. Absolutely peachy," Cameron replied, his sardonic tone breaking free.

They were soon in the duck's room. Della was pacing around, glancing periodically at the laptop perched on the bed, as though it was some beast ready to pounce on her. Vala thought she could understand why: the knowledge Della was seeking had the chance to be a fifty-fifty split. Depending on the context, it could be beneficial or dangerous. It wasn't that much different than her and Daniel's first experience with the Ori. Vala involuntarily shuddered at the memories that brought forth.

Not that anyone noticed her shudder, of course. Daniel and Cameron were focused on Della, who still paced the room.

Cameron, apparently having decided enough was enough, strode forward and placed a hand to stop Della's pacing. She responded by grabbing said hand and twisting it until his wrist was bent at an unnatural angle. Vala winced; this duck was strong.

"Care to try that again?" she hissed.

Cameron groaned in pain. "No, no, I wouldn't. Definitely learned my lesson." She let go of her hold and pushed him aside.

Daniel advanced. Della whirled on him, but he held up his hands placatingly. "I know what you must be going through. Trust me, I've experienced it more than enough times. You're lost and disoriented and you want to be back in a place where things make sense to you, but you won't get it by attacking people who are trying to help." All the fight slowly drifted out of her stance at his words and she sunk to the floor, sitting down hard. Seeing this, Daniel knelt down to meet her at eye level. "We do want to help you, Della. But what I want to know is what you're scared of, specifically."

Her eyes flicked to the laptop and he followed her gaze, but said nothing.

"It's my brother, Donald," she finally admitted. "All of you seem to know about him. I just don't understand why or how. I keep wanting to do my own research, but…"

"You're scared of what you might find. You think it might lead you further down the rabbit hole than you were prepared to go," Daniel finished.

A sad chuckle escaped her beak. "Yeah."

"Well, let's keep it simple. I'll do you a favor and search in your place. Granted, it will be a little difficult to process what I'm about to show you. If you feel anxious at all while we're doing this, we'll call Dr. Lam to come help. Agreed?"

Della was silent for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. "Okay. Let's do it. Time to dive into the unknown with my new friends. And, Cam?" She turned to the colonel who had been watching her and nursing his hand gingerly. "I'm sorry for overreacting like I did."

Cameron shook his head, dismissing it. "Don't sweat it. We've all had our bad days."

Daniel, in the meantime, woke up the laptop and opened a browser. Vala came forward beside him and knelt down herself. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" she asked the duck.

Della nodded resolutely and stood on Daniel's left, eyes glued to the screen. "Not quite, but don't think for a moment I'm going to let that stop me."


End Notes: In the time between the previous chapter and this one, I've come to see Della's many changes in demeanor seeing her on screen and I, like many, have come to see the possibility of the ADHD diagnosis. Whether it's there or not is just a matter of the viewer's perspective, but I can believe it. Della's an interesting character study and with this chapter I've hope that I've stayed true to that facet in her personality.

The chapter title that I've used is taken from one of my favorite movies, "Sneakers.". 'Setec Astronomy' is an anagram that's used in the film. I'll let you decipher it. ;-)