Author's Note: I know it's been forever but inspiration struck for this story, so I added another one-shot that continues from where the last one left off. It's been a crappy couple of month personally and its been taking a toll, effecting my writing, so when this popped into my head, I quickly wrote it down in hopes that inspiration would strike again for my other two longer stories I am in the middle of.
Let me know what you think of this! I apologize if it's not my best work - again, hard couple of months, but I'm getting there.
o0o
The Morning After
Daniel woke up before Vala and he used that time to think and observe her. She slept peacefully, all burrowed into his body, and he couldn't help but feel like the luckiest bastard in the galaxy. She loved him, she truly loved him, and that knowledge broke through the walls he had placed around his heart. He also couldn't help but feel like the worst sort of person; he should have never slept with her, despite her assurances. He should have waited; it was too soon for her, it had to be, and he would never forgive himself it he had just screwed up things with her before they could properly start.
Gods, he hoped he hadn't; he couldn't go back and he couldn't lose her.
"Goodness, Daniel, you think so loudly," Vala mumbled sleepily into his chest.
Daniel flinched in surprise. He hadn't realized she was awake. "Morning," he said cautiously and hesitated before asking, "How are you?"
Vala shifted and snuggled further into him, not ready to get up just yet. "Still a bit embarrassed about the last few days," she muttered, "but I have a feeling that's not what you meant."
"You're right; it's not," he brushed some hair away from her face so he could see her better, "You okay? No regrets?"
She sighed and shifted so she was leaning an arm against his chest, using it to prop herself up. "Never," she promised, "I'm more than okay, Daniel, and could never regret it."
"You sure?"
Vala looked at his chest. "You know, I'm starting to think it's you who has the regrets," she stated her concern aloud, ignoring his question.
"No regrets," he quickly assured her, "I just couldn't live with myself if I screwed this up before it could even start because of my impatience, because I couldn't wait."
Hey eyes met him and a self-satisfied smile came to her face. "Couldn't wait?" she repeated, "You were so overcome that you couldn't wait?" she asked teasingly.
"T-that's not what I meant!"
She continued as if she hadn't heard him, her fingers drawing nonsense on his bare chest. "I kind of like that I can make you lose control," she said seductively but her words held onto some measure of truth and she hoped he hadn't heard it.
Daniel did and he tilted her chin so she'd look at him. "I have a feeling I'll regret admitting this," he began warily, "but after last night, I don't know if I'll ever be able to resist you."
She smiled again, but time, it was softer this time. "Good to now," she quietly, "I love you," she told him cautiously, worried about him and how he normally was when it came to stuff like this.
He smiled widely at her and kissed her as his way of replying. He refused to say those words just to say them as a reply – she deserved more and he didn't want to hurt her in that way. When he said them for the first time, he wanted to mean them to the full extent, and be completely sure of his feelings; he cared for her too much to do any less. "Never hesitate to tell me that," he told her when he pulled away, having caught the hesitancy in her voice.
Vala's gaze moved back down to his chest. "I don't want to scare you," she confessed meekly, "It would be too hard if you walked away."
"Hey," he grabbed her chin again, "I would never walk away, in fact, I don't think I can at this point."
"Do you really mean that?" she asked and the vulnerability in her voice about broke him, "You're not just saying that because of the past few days?"
"No, I would never do that to you," he instantly told her, "Vala, you mean so much to me, I could never hurt you like that."
"I think a part of me knows that," she said softly, "but I also know that losing your wife deeply scarred you and I couldn't live with myself if I did something that would push you beyond what you could handle or worse, push you away completely."
"Telling me you love me won't do that," he assured her, "In fact, it'll do the exact opposite."
"What?" she asked, confused and skeptical.
"When you say it, I know you're serious, that you wouldn't just say them to say them. Up until the moment you called me your husband, I thought you were just messing with me, that the whole flirty sexual thing was just you having a laugh at my expense," he explained.
"I didn't know how to express it!" she defended herself, "I've never felt like this for someone, and I didn't know how to get your attention or how to show you!"
"Vala, it's okay. I know that now," he assured her, "When I hear you say it now, it reminds me you're in this and that it's not just a joke to you. It helps me break down those walls I have up, knowing that you genuinely love me. So don't stop, say it whenever you want to and I swear one day I'll say it back. Just be patient with me."
"Daniel, you're more than worth the wait," she told him earnestly, "I don't want to rush you, so whenever you're ready will be perfect."
Gods he wanted to say them now, but he knew he wouldn't mean them in the way she needed, so instead, he kissed her again, rolling her under him. This was the best way he could express the full extent of his feelings for her.
o0o
"Yo Jackson!" Mitchell greeted as he walked into the archaeologist's office, "Been looking for ya; should've known you'd be in here."
"Where else would I be?" Daniel retorted, not looking away from his research.
"Where's the wife?" the Colonel teased.
Daniel winced, remembering the bad parts of last night and Vala's reaction to the truth. "Don't call her that," he almost pleaded quietly.
Cameron caught his tone and became concerned. "Jackson?" he inquired, "Where's Princess?"
"With Dr. Lam."
"Why?"
Daniel looked up and gave a rueful smile. "She remembered last night," he confessed quietly.
Small pause. "And I'm assuming it didn't go well."
Daniel chuckled humorlessly. "That's an understatement. I practically had to force it out of her," he said wryly, "but she wouldn't hear it any other way and I couldn't let her continue to think we were married; it wasn't fair to her."
"Or you."
"I would've been fine."
After a moment of silence, Cam asked, "How is she? How did she take it?"
"Not good," Daniel replied, answering both questions, and glanced back down at the desk, "It was a long night," he confessed – for more reasons that one. Luckily, it was more good than bad and that thought brought a small smile to his face.
"She gonna be okay?"
He sighed. "Yeah, she will be; just give it time," he assured the Colonel, "At least I talked her out of leaving, so there's that."
"Leaving?" Cam exclaimed, "What do you mean by that?"
Daniel glanced back at him. "Cam, she was beyond embarrassed, mortified, and not to mention hurt and in pain, especially over Adria," he explained, "Vala's not a woman to be pitied and she couldn't stand the thought of the entire base doing just that after she went around for days thinking we were married and Adria was merely a toddler."
"But you talked her out of it, right?"
Talked…yeah, he'd go with that. "I talked her out of it," he confirmed.
"Good, because I did not invest all this time to have her leave."
Daniel frowned at him. "What're you talking about?"
Cam hesitated. "That's what I was coming to talk to you about…" he trailed off and didn't continue.
"Cam," Daniel dragged out.
"What do you think of Vala joining SG-1?" he asked, rushing out the words, "Like, as a official member of the team?"
Daniel raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You want her on SG-1 officially?"
"Yeah," he replied, "Look, she's really made an effort since she came back from the Ori galaxy and genuinely wants to help bring down the Ori. I mean, she's essentially an honorary member already, this would just make it official."
Daniel was still slightly surprised. "General Landry approved this?"
"I haven't asked yet," Cam admitted, "I wanted to get your thoughts first."
"On her joining?"
"Yeah and whether you think she's ready."
He took a moment to really think on it and did his best to be unbiased. He wanted to say both yes and no. Yes, because she had worked for this and wanted it, not to mention she had earned their trust. But he wanted to say no because she'd be on SG-1, the team who historically has the worst luck, the team that was most likely to run in trouble, and had a greater chance of not coming back with all its members; he wanted her nowhere near that – he wanted her safe and away from it all.
But he couldn't tell Mitchell that – he and Vala had agreed to not tell the others. They both weren't ready for them to know. It was new and they were both trying to figure it out; they both hadn't been in a real relationship in a long time, Vala didn't count Tomin since she had to marry him out of survival, and they wanted to do this at their own time without the others interference. They just wanted to focus on them without the anyone else adding their two cents; they wanted it to be just them for now.
The biased part of him wanted to say no, but the unbiased side of him, the side who he knew was right, wanted to say yes and knew he had to say yes. "She's ready," he reluctantly admitted to himself and Mitchell, "and it'll be good for her after…everything."
Mitchell stared at him for a minute before nodding. "Okay," he said and backed up, "I'll go speak with Landry."
Daniel knew he had done the right thing but his fears about losing her were manifesting themselves and they wouldn't be quiet. As much as the thought of losing her scared him, he never stand in Vala's way when it came to this, especially when she had been working hard to earn their trust and be a part of the SGC.
He was glad he had answered Mitchell honestly since the look on Vala's face when she received her SG-1 patch was beyond priceless, and Daniel felt pride for Vala and her accomplishment spread through him. It hadn't been easy for her, but she never gave up, and for the first time probably in her life, it paid off, and that was more than worth it to see.
o0o
The moment they were safely in his room later that night, Daniel pushed Vala up against the wall next to the door and began to trace kisses down her neck while simultaneously trying to undo her BDUs and Vala returned the favor until she remembered something. She put her against his chest and pushed him away.
At his puzzled, inquiring look, she gave him a mock glare. "It wasn't a date?" she questioned with an arched eyebrow that Teal'c would be proud of.
Daniel relaxed and chuckled. "It wasn't," he declared again and began to pick up where he left off.
Vala pushed him away again, earning a glare from him. "How was it not a date?" she challenged, "We're dating! You said so yourself!"
He sighed dramatically and stepped back. "That night wasn't a date; it really was a dinner as co-workers and friends," he repeated, earning a humph from her, "but the next time I take you out, now that will be a date. We weren't dating that night, but we are now."
She softened and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Fine, I accept your explanation," she conceded, "but did you have to be so adamant that it wasn't a date?"
He shrugged innocently. "I like to be right," he said simply, "Besides, I thought we agreed to keep our relationship between us? At least for now."
She thought for a second before nodding in agreement. "I know, you're right."
"I didn't mean for it come off that way, you know that right?"
"I know," she quickly assured. She looked as if she was going to speak again but stopped herself.
Daniel gave her an inquisitive look. "What?" he asked gently, "Just say it."
"Did you – " she cut herself off, seeming to wrestle with herself before she continued, "The patch, SG-1, did you have something to do with it? Was it your idea?"
He smiled softly at her. "No," he answered, "That was all you."
"Really?"
"Yeah," he promised, "Mitchell may have come to me to ask what my thoughts were and if you were ready, but he already wanted you; you earned this all on your own."
Vala felt a sense of pride sweep through her. She had never worked so hard for something in her life, other than her freedom from Qetesh, and it felt good to be rewarded for her hard work, and to have others believe in her, especially Daniel. "Thank you."
"It was all you, sweetheart," he told her.
"That's not what I'm thanking you for," she contradicted, "Thank you for seeing past my defenses, for seeing more in me than others do, for believing I could be something more, and for giving me that chance. No has ever done that, believed in me, and given me that opportunity. It's something I will always eternally be grateful for, no matter where this goes."
Daniel felt a lump form in his throat, saddened at the thought that no had ever seen what she could was capable of, how amazing she was, and right then and there, he swore he would do everything in his power to show her just how special she was – not just to him, but in general. "Thank you for proving me right," he murmured, echoing words he had said at that fateful dinner.
Vala pressed herself up against him. "I love you, Daniel Jackson," she told him softly.
Those words never failed to provoke unprecedented joy within him and the most dazzling smile, causing him to pull her closer, if that was even possible. "And you are the most extraordinary woman I've ever met," he told her sincerely, once again wishing he could repeat those words.
Soon, he whispered to himself. He was getting there and he was just thankful to have the most understanding woman love him enough to willing wait and without any impatience.
Yeah, she was one hell of a woman…and she was his.
o0o
Author's Note:
Whatcha all think? The plan for this story was to do a one-shot for each D/V episode with no real plot (pure fluffiness), and just see what it might look like if they had gotten in Memento Mori and I still hope to do that, but wanna focus on other, but will write as inspiration strikes.
