Author's Note: It's a short one but needed to happen to get all that out of the way. Let me know your thoughts!


o0o


Chapter Five

After entering her previous room, Vala headed straight to the bed she previously occupied and took a seat with a sigh, mentally preparing for the coming conversation. The second the doors closed, Tomin didn't waste any time.

"Was it all a lie?" he demanded, anger tinting the words.

"Of course not," Vala tried to pacify, "I genuinely care for you, Tomin. What you were to me and how I felt about you was always real."

"Yet you lied to me since the moment we met," he protested, "Did you know the entire time that the baby wasn't mine, that it was of the Ori?"

Vala glanced down at her belly, giving it a caress. "I knew it wasn't yours from the beginning. There was no possible way for it to even exist," she confessed, "I suspected the Ori might've had a hand in it for a while now and wasn't completely sure until yesterday morning," she shuddered as she remembered the dream she had about the Ori and the baby.

"So you knew going into our marriage? Yet you married me, withheld the truth, and under false pretenses?"

"I wouldn't say false pretenses," she argued softly, "that sorta came after…"

"Our marriage was built on a lie! You were dishonest and deceitful from the beginning!" he cried, "Do you what that means? I could have our marriage erased for such deception!"

Silence reigned for several moments. "Is that what you want?" Vala asked quietly.

Tomin scoffed and turned away, staring at a gray wall. "I don't know what I want," he admitted, "but how can I continue in this marriage? I thought I knew you, but I'm coming to realize that I don't know you at all and perhaps never did," he turned back to face her.

"You know the best parts of me," she told him. She wasn't sure what she was trying to do; convince him to stay married to her or let her out of it. She didn't belong here and never would. She could ask him to come with her, but would he be happy in her galaxy, away from everything he knew? And while she did love and care for him, she wasn't in love with him.

"Do I?" he retorted, "You want to mutilate an innocent child while it lays in the womb. I don't even understand how such a thing is possible, but I know it is not natural!"

"Mutilated is a strong word and a bit harsh," she commented, "and there is nothing natural about this child. It was created from unnatural means."

"Vala, you cannot harm this child in anyway. It must be born the way it is. It is Orici and will lead us to victory over the unbelievers and ultimately enlightenment. As my wife, I command you to listen and obey me."

"You command me?" she repeated incredulously, "Listen here, Tomin, and listen good; I will not be the cause of anymore deaths. I've spent four long, horrible years trapped in my own body, watching as it killed thousands of lives, innocent or otherwise. I will not be responsible for the deaths of thousands, if not, millions of lives within my own galaxy, not when I have the power to stop it. So believe me when I say that either this child is born completely human and free of any Ori interference or it will never be born at all."

"You would allow them to kill your own child?" he asked in disbelief.

"What's one life compared to thousands?" she asked rhetorically, pain shooting to her heart at the truth of the situation, "It would kill me inside and hurt like hell, but I will not allow that kind of evil to be born, even if it meant killing my own daughter." She hated to admit it aloud, let alone to herself, but she knew deep down that she could never allow the baby to live as is. All she could do was hope that Thor would be able to remove anything Ori from it.

"You disappoint me, Vala."

She ruefully laughed, shaking her head a looking anywhere else besides him. "I've heard that before so nothing new there."

"There is nothing I can say to change your mind?"

"There isn't."

Tomin paused before asking, "And you'll be going back with the strangers? With Dr. Jackson? Nothing I say will make you stay?"

Vala looked at him sadly. "I don't belong here, Tomin. I never did. And I really want to go home; I've missed it more than I thought I would," she tried to explain, "Would you ever consider coming with me?" She had no idea why she even asked such a thing.

Tomin shook his head. "My place is here," he told her, "and if it is true what you say, that the Ori were false gods and are gone, my people will have a lot to adjust to and help on how to move forward."

"It is true, we weren't lying," she declared, "and I understand. What of our marriage? What do we do about it?"

"You married me under false pretenses," he said, "Such deceit gives the husbands grounds to dissolve the marriage without any consequences."

"I assume the woman doesn't have the same choice had her husband married her under those circumstances?" she bit out.

"That would be correct."

Vala scoffed at the injustice but at least it worked in her favor this time. "How will you do it?"

"I will go to the man who married us and explain. You will need to write out a confession, stating your deception, though not many require such a document. The man then will erase our marriage from the records and post a notice of it in the town square."

Vala scoffed again but didn't argue. "I'll make sure you have one before you leave," she promised.

She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel. She had just decided to end her marriage to a wonderful man. True, she wasn't in love with him but she did love him and had cherished their marriage and time together. Tomin had been one of the sweetest, most genuine and honorable men she'd ever met; she had only met one man who rivaled him... And as much as she hated to admit, Tomin had begun to change after the Prior healed his limp and he was drafted for the crusade. His sweetness and innocence began to fade. There was also the fact that she belonged in her own galaxy and he in his. They were too different and would eventually make each other miserable. Yes, this was for the best.

Tomin turned to leave the room but stopped as she called out to him. He spun around and waited. Vala rose and closed the few feet between them. As she stood in front of him, she hesitated for a moment before pulling him into a hug, squeezing him with all her might. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice trembled slightly, and a few tears escaped from her eyes.

Tomin returned her embrace in kind before pulling back, planting a brief kiss on her lips. He sunk down to bestow one on her belly, giving it a gentle hug. "Be well," he mumbled to the two of them and then abruptly left the room, leaving her all alone.

Vala turned her back against the door and took deep breaths, trying to control her emotions, but ultimately failed; her hormones would not be denied, and she cried quietly to herself. She had been so caught in her emotions that she didn't hear the door open again, nor the footsteps that led to her. She gasped sharply and just about jumped out of her skin when she was gently turned around, being coaxed into someone's arms. She recognized the person, his presence, his scent, and returned the embrace, starting to cry openly.

"It's gonna be okay," Daniel whispered soothingly as he gently rubbed her back and shoulders, trying to provide some measure of comfort.

"He was a good man," she whispered brokenly.

Daniel tucked her head into his shoulder, his head resting against hers. "I know he was," he agreed, even though he didn't know that for a fact. All he knew about Tomin was that left Vala chained to an altar, pregnant, for three days. But she did know him better and she was hurting – that was all he needed to know. "It's gonna be alright," he repeated, and she just nodded into his shoulder and continued to cry.