Chapter Two

It was nearly midnight and the skeleton staff was working routinely through the scheduled maintenance checks during the (for once) uneventful night shift and talking in subdued tones. The machinery around them hummed quietly, underlining the well maintained order of the things. An Air-man walked down the steps from the control room and along one corridor and then another to where most of the offices were situated. The dim light from a single desk lamp was the only indication that someone other than the night shift staff was still at work. The young Air-man could guess who it would be: Dr Daniel Jackson. He smiled to himself as he went past the door to Daniel's office and saw that his guess was right.

The archaeologist barely registered the soft footsteps that went along the corridor periodically. His thoughts were concentrated on the task before him as he studiously ploughed his way through more footage of the ruins from SG-15's latest mission in order to translate the ancient text into meaningful English. Subconsciously, he became aware of the lateness of the hour and looked up.

Following their return from Banyk'tel, Vala had taken to visiting him late at night. He thought she'd been having nightmares again – something that she'd told him she'd suffered from when she was first released from Qetesh – but she didn't confide in him about the latest ones. Previously, the interruption to his work would have irritated him. Now, Daniel found he was not only pleased to see her but strangely thrilled by her presence at the odd hours of the day she had taken to dropping by. Funny how all his feelings towards Vala had changed since he'd acknowledged that he loved her. Now that they were dating, it was getting more difficult to pretend that the sight of her didn't affect him on so many levels. Being professional at work was proving trickier than he'd imagined. He sighed.

Two nights ago: Vala had had trouble sleeping and had appeared dressed in just a purple night gown and robe, the silky and alluring nature of which Daniel had tried hard not to notice. Of course, in typical Vala manner, she had teasingly insulted him by asking him to tell her about what he was cataloguing as she was sure it would be so boring that she would instantly fall asleep. Before, Daniel would have rolled his eyes and huffed his annoyance at her, now he knew she didn't mean it. That it was just her way of showing affection.

Fighting the urge to offer her physical comfort in case it got out of his control, Daniel had worked hard to ignore the way she was affecting him, carrying on with his work, only looking up half an hour later to find her with her head on her arms on the desk next to his laptop, dead to the world. He'd gently woken her and escorted her back to her room, supporting her as she sleepily weaved her way along the corridor to her sleeping quarters.

Last night, it had been obvious that Vala had woken from a bad dream and had come to his office to draw some comfort from him against whatever was troubling her sleeping moments. She had sat on his desk chair and, as she so often did, rolled the wheels along the floor until she was right beside him, just her shoulder touching his. She had looked so lost, her raven hair in complete disarray that he had only just fought and won against the urge to stroke the unruly strands back from her face and pull her into an embrace to find out what was upsetting her. He tried to ask her what she had dreamed about but she didn't want to talk about it and he decided to let it go for now. After a while, she had kissed his cheek, said goodnight and headed back to bed.

Now checking his watch and seeing that it was nearing half past twelve, Daniel smothered his disappointment that Vala hadn't reappeared tonight, with the feeling of relief that she was at last having a much needed good night's sleep. He was suddenly overtaken by a wave of tiredness and yawned. Maybe it was time to get some coffee.

He headed down to the commissary and filled up a mug from the pot that was bubbling away in the corner. Then he settled himself at a table, dragged a chair to where he could put his feet upon it and leaned back, setting his mind to thinking about a particularly tricky bit of translation. He was barely aware that someone had come into the room until Commander Olsen, the commander of night-watch, spoke.

"Ah, Dr, Jackson. I wondered if I might find you here. In need of a coffee fix, I take it."

Daniel smiled ruefully. "Cataloguing the artefacts from SG-15's last mission is taking me longer than I expected. Thought I'd stay and try and get through as much as I can tonight. Who knows when I'll get back to it otherwise?"

"Uh, yes, about that. I know you're expecting to go to P3X-878 tomorrow but the Ambassador's been in touch and apparently there's some internal squabbling going on so he's postponed your visit."

"Oh, that's really disappointing! I was looking forward to helping them explore the ruins but I guess that means I can get on with-what on earth…?" His sentence was interrupted by the sound of the base alarm.

Then a voice came over the tannoy system: "Commander Olsen report to the Control room please."

"No-one's due back, are they?" Daniel asked, pretty sure that the answer was no.

Olsen was already half way out of the door. He shook his head in answer to Daniel's question and spoke over his shoulder as he went, "Excuse me Doctor. I'd better find out what's going on."

Daniel was only a few steps behind him. "I'll come with you."

The two of them broke into a jog as they headed out of the commissary, along several corridors and up the stairs into the dimly lit control room. Olsen barked out a question as he hurried up the steps, "What's going on Airman? Why's the Gate dialling up? There's no-one scheduled to go off world is there?"

A young airman snapped to attention. "It's Ms Mal Doran, sir. She just came in and started typing instructions into the computer. We couldn't get her to stop…and well, I didn't want to…to manhandle her, sir…she's…she's not wearing much."

Daniel came to an abrupt halt, surprise radiating across his face, as he saw Vala hunched over the dialling console typing in orders that would activate the Stargate. Another airman was hovering ineffectually by her side, asking her to desist from what she was doing. The poor man was obviously deciding whether to manhandle her out of the seat but didn't know quite where to put his hands, unsurprising given that she was wearing a pink silk nightdress and little else. Daniel felt for him and his dilemma.

The seventh chevron on the gigantic wheel locked and the wormhole to another world opened, shimmering blue light containing myriad possibilities. Daniel dashed across the few feet from the steps to the console and hit the kill switch, plunging the Gate room into abrupt darkness. Then he cancelled the alarm. Commander Olsen gave the order to stand down to the Air-force personnel guarding the gate room.

As silence descended, Vala blinked and looked around her in utter confusion. "Daniel?...What's going on?"

"You tell me," Daniel replied, as he quickly came to her side. "You just tried to open a wormhole to somewhere."

"I did?" Vala stuttered. She searched his face for answers and then looked around at the Air-force personnel who were openly staring at her. Gradually she became aware of her flimsy attire and started to shiver partly from cold and partly in reaction to the situation. Under normal circumstances, flaunting her sexuality was all part of the Vala bravado but now placed in a situation she had no control over, she felt unusually vulnerable. She looked back at Daniel, clearly confused.

"Daniel, I don't remember anything. How did I get here?"

"I'm not sure. What is the last thing you remember?"

"Talking to Sam to see how her research was going…then getting ready for bed…Oh!" She held out a hand to Daniel looking startled. He took her hand in his.

"I think you must have been sleep-walking, Vala. That explains why you're under-dressed even for you…Here, how about you put my jacket on?...You look cold." Daniel took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders before pulling her gently to her feet.

"Thank you, Daniel. I feel really stupid…What could I have been dreaming about to make me sleepwalk and try to use the Stargate?"

"Don't worry about it now, Vala. We'll work out what's going on tomorrow," he said as he steered her towards the stairs. "Let's get you to bed…" Daniel's voice trailed off as he realised what he'd said and waited for the inevitable suggestive riposte from Vala but nothing was forthcoming. Clearly, Vala really wasn't feeling herself. Keeping close to her side, Daniel walked her back along the corridor towards her room.

Vala glanced at him anxiety written all over her face. "I think I must be cracking down, Daniel."

"The phrase is 'cracking up' and no you're not," Daniel said firmly. "Try to get some sleep and we'll get to the bottom of this tomorrow."

"Sorry for being such a fruitcake!"

Daniel winced, remembering when he had used those words in their very first meeting. He'd meant the words then but that was a long time ago. "Don't worry about it…Our last mission's obviously stirred up some unpleasant feelings for you, reminded you of things you'd probably rather forget."

"Rather a lot of things I'd rather forget," Vala sighed then admitted, "I've been dreaming about…about being Qetesh again…Do you think I'll ever be truly rid of her?"

Daniel put an arm around her, drawing her close. "Yes, I'm sure you will...but maybe it would help if you'd talk to someone about what you're going through."

"Maybe," she answered noncommittally.

The two of them reached Vala's door and she went to open it then paused, reluctant to go in and be alone with the random thoughts and memories that were besetting her and disturbing her on so many levels. She turned towards Daniel.

"Thanks, Daniel. Thanks for…you know…"

"No problem. Any time."

Vala stepped away from him and opened the door. She paused again, and with her back to him, asked, "Would you come in and stay for a while, Daniel?...Just till I fall asleep…I…I don't want to be alone."

Daniel hesitated just for a second. He loved her and he wanted to comfort her: right now that was more important than worrying about trying to keep their physical relationship under control. She needed him. "Okay…just till you fall asleep."

"Thanks."

Vala closed the door behind him and they stood, tense with uncertainty, close to each other but avoiding contact. Vala stifled a yawn and wearily took off Daniel's jacket and handed it to him with a thank you. She took an uncertain step towards him, longing to have a hug, but stopped. Was that allowed? When they'd been friends, he wouldn't have thought twice about hugging her…well, he would in case she tried to take advantage but he would have comforted her if she'd needed it.

"You're welcome," Daniel muttered. If they were still just friends, he wouldn't think twice about offering her comfort…well, he might think twice but he would have given her hug and hoped she wouldn't take advantage. Maybe he was being too strict with keeping his physical distance from her. He looked at her: every inch of her was asking for comfort from a friend. He was being ridiculous and selfish.

"Come here," he said as he opened his arms and offered her a hug.

Relief flooded her face and she stepped towards him and snuggled up close. "Thanks."

After a moment, Daniel asked gently, "Would you like to tell me what you've been dreaming about? Do you think it would help?"

Vala sighed. "I don't know…Maybe…it's just…I think I should talk…to someone else…"

Daniel frowned. "You mean like a professional?...Or just…not me?"

Vala whispered into his shoulder so softly he could barely hear her, "I just don't want you to…hate me."

Daniel pulled away from her and tried to make eye contact but Vala was looking at the floor and wouldn't look at him. "What would make you think I could ever hate you?"

A tear escaped from the corner of one eye as Vala said, "I was a Goa'uld, Daniel. I did things…"

"Qetesh did things," Daniel interrupted. "You were just an innocent hostage."

Vala shook her head. "I chose hosts, Daniel…I dream about that…" Tears started to trickle down her face. "I dream…I…I chose…I chose…"

Upset by her obvious growing distress, Daniel pulled her close again. "Ssh. Ssh. Don't talk about it now. Ssh." He held her close and rubbed her back until Vala's sobs subsided. Then with one arm around her, he steered her towards the bed. "You should get some sleep."

Vala sniffed. "I suppose I should try."

"You want me to cuddle up with you for a while?"

Vala's heart soared but she didn't dare look at Daniel in case he mistook her feelings. "Please…if you don't mind."

Daniel removed his arm from around Vala and she slipped under the covers, watching as he sat down on the edge of the bed and removed his boots. "Budge over," he said as he slid in next to her, fully clothed.

"Budge? What's that? An Earthism for 'move over, please'?"

Vala decided if Daniel was just offering support tonight, she would take what she could get and not ask for more. She snuggled up against his side and breathed out all her worries as he wrapped an arm around her and held her close. Daniel reached out with his other hand and turned off the bedside light.

"Night, Vala. Sweet dreams."

"Night…Thanks, Daniel…for looking after me."

Daniel's arm squeezed her in reply then he whispered hesitantly, "I love you."

Vala smiled in the darkness. It was taking time for both of them to get used to saying the words out loud. She lifted a hand to his face and caressed his cheek. "I love you too, Daniel."

She felt his face muscles move as he smiled against her fingers. With a yawn, she dropped her hand to her side and closed her eyes, letting her body relax against the warmth of Daniel's body lying next to hers. She shifted position to get more comfortable as she murmured sleepily, "Wish we could stay like this all night...every night."

Daniel listened as Vala's breathing grew slower and softer. He brushed his lips against her head, breathing in the flowery scent of her hair. Careful not to disturb her, he eased his arm out from under her and shifted over a little. Would it be so wrong to stay? They'd been friends for a long time and worked together for even longer: they knew each other's moods and foibles so well. Most people would say that was enough. Daniel sighed. Yes, they knew a lot about each other but there was a great deal that they still knew nothing about. The parts that they had kept hidden from each other, refused to share in case they got hurt. Daniel knew he wanted to have emotional intimacy as well as physical intimacy: that the two went hand in hand if you wanted to form a lasting relationship. He hoped Vala was beginning to understand what he was asking for: that a lasting relationship was what he wanted more than anything.

He eased out of the bed, only stopping to bend down and place a gentle kiss on her cheek, before slipping away to his own room. Hopefully, time would heal whatever was upsetting her, time and love.