Chapter 3

The George Hammond

That evening found Vala sitting in the ship's mess, buried beneath a pile of schematics and supply lists. What she saw was discouraging, to say the least. She knew what had to be done, but the knowledge didn't make it any easier to swallow.

"How bad is it?" Sam's voice mercifully invaded her thoughts and Vala sent the other woman a brittle smile as she stood.

"Bad enough." Vala pointed out their biggest problem on the open diagrams. "We have nearly thirty burnt out crystals that will have to be replaced before we can even think about moving this tub."

"I didn't think we were hit that badly." Sam's brow creased in confusion as she bent to study the papers.

"We weren't. Most of the damage was caused by stress. When we had to take the longer route to get here, the already damaged crystals couldn't handle the added strain. It's actually a minor miracle we made it this far. And, on top of it all, I don't have nearly enough crystals to replace them all."

"Are you sure? I thought-"

"I'm sure." Vala interrupted, grumbling ruefully as she handed over one of her supply lists. "I had Kevin scour the ship's reserves. Twice. That's all we have on hand."

"So we're grounded." Sam sighed.

"It would appear so."

"Okay, maybe Atlantis will have some they can spare."

"Let's hope so." The alien paused for a moment before dropping her next bombshell. "But even if we do manage to procure enough crystals, many of the conduits are shot. They're going to have to be replaced and we're talking complete overhaul."

"Wow." Sam blew out a breath and rubbed her forehead as she took in this new development. "Timeline?"

"I'd estimate a week or two, minimum. And that's with a full crew. There is a lot of work to do."

"All right. Well, why don't you take a break? In fact, I'm ordering you to take the night off. All of this strain isn't good for you or the baby. Come over to Atlantis with me and we'll have dinner."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Vala pointedly glanced down at her belly then back to her friend.

"You can't avoid him forever." Sam scolded.

"I don't have to avoid him forever, just the next few weeks or so."

"Vala, he needs to know about the baby. Just give him a chance."

"He deserves better than me, Samantha. He doesn't love me but, knowing my Daniel, he'd want to do the right thing and I refuse to put him in that position. This way he can find someone he can love and who is deserving of it. That's just not me."

"You're wrong." Sam told her forcefully. "You're not being fair to yourself or Daniel. And you're certainly not being fair to your child."

"Samantha, you are my very best friend in the universe and I love you, but I've made up my mind on the matter. You don't have to agree, but I would like your support."

"I'm sorry, I just can't support this choice. But I made a promise and I won't go back on it."

"That'll have to do, I suppose. I appreciate the honesty, at least. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I will take you up on that offer of a night off. I am rather tired and the next few weeks promise to be quite hectic. Remember, not a word to Daniel."

"I remember." Sam said grudgingly.

"Good." Vala smiled and hugged her friend. "Thank you for being here for me. You have no idea how much I need a friend just now."

"Always, you know that." Sam squeezed her tightly before pulling back and looking her in the eye. "I want you to remember that I'm not your only friend."

Vala only smiled as she gathered up her mess. She heard Samantha's sigh before the other woman took her leave. She really did appreciate the Tau'ri woman's concern but refused to be swayed. There was no room in her life for false hope. She'd grown up in an environment of disappointment and she wouldn't put her child through that.

()()()()

Atlantis

"We have a problem." Sam said without preamble as she took a seat across form Sheppard in the cafeteria. Thankfully he was alone.

"Vala refused to come over?" he asked unnecessarily.

"She is the most stubborn person I have ever met." Sam vented. "Next to Daniel, that is."

"Sounds like they're perfect for each other."

"They really are. I just wish they could see that. I love them both but sometimes I just want to throttle them."

"I know the feeling." John smirked in commiseration. "I'm assuming you have a plan B?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure we're up to plan D by now, but yeah."

"What do you need me to do?"

"That's the other problem we have." Sam shook her head. "The Hammond took more damage than we realised and we need crystals. Do you think you can talk to Woolsey about it?"

"I'll try, but he's stingy when it comes to supplies. How is this supposed to get our star-crossed lovers together?"

"Well, I'm gonna ask Vala to come over here to negotiate for the supplies we need."

"Are you sure sending Vala Mal Doran to deal with Woolsey is a good idea?" John asked sceptically. "Didn't she accuse him of sexual harassment once?"

"Yes, but that was a...special circumstance." Sam grinned at the memory. "Besides, that was years ago. He can't still be angry."

"Wanna bet?"

"I'll be sure to tell her to be on her best behaviour."

"Hey now, don't be hasty. No point in taking away all my fun. I kinda like seeing Woolsey flustered."

"So do I but we really need these crystals. Just don't let her offend him too much."

"I promise to do my best." he replied solemnly. "You sure you don't need any help getting Vala to agree to this?"

"Trust me, I know how to work my way around her. You just deal with Woolsey."

"You got it." John grinned at her before his attention was caught by something just over her shoulder. "Who gets Jackson?"

"I'll handle him." she responded, turning to see the man in question. He was sat alone, across the room, looking even more morose than usual.

"I wish you luck."

"I'm gonna need it." Sam sighed as she stood, making her way quickly toward the clueless archaeologist. One way or another, she was going to solve this problem.

Blissfully unaware of his friend's plotting, Daniel moodily poked at an odd-looking, greenish-purple fruit on his plate. He didn't know the name of it, not did he particularly care for once. His mind was too caught up on his encounter with Vala. He knew she was hiding something from him but he couldn't fathom what it was. Sam knew but she wasn't talking. Not that he was really surprised. If Vala asked her to keep a secret, there was no way she'd betray that confidence. But what the hell could Vala tell Sam that she felt the need to conceal from him?

"Daniel, we need to talk."

The linguist looked up to see Sam taking a seat opposite him and, from the sombre look he was receiving, this did not bode well for him.

"What's up?" he asked cautiously.

"I just found out that my crew is gonna be here longer than anticipated while repairs are being made to the ship." she informed him.

"How much longer?" He heard the hopeful note in his voice but didn't care. The longer the Hammond was grounded, the more time he had to figure out what Vala was hiding.

"A couple weeks, at least. Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about. I need to know exactly how you feel about Vala."

"What? I...uh...why..."

"Daniel, I know what happened between you guys the night of the launch party."

"Y-you do?"

"Yup." she responded with a heated glare. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that Vala and I actually had a future together. Guess I was wrong." he smiled ruefully.

"What kind of future did you expect to have with you here and her on the Hammond?"

"That's not how it was supposed to be!" he said desperately, instantly lowing his voice when a group of nearby personnel glanced their way. "Vala was supposed to come here with me, not accept a job offer from you."

"Did you bother to mention that to Vala?"

"No, but I thought it was obvious. I mean, Vala and I are a team. We've always been a team, even when we could barely stand each other. I thought we had a good thing going, then you showed up and she couldn't get away fast enough." he finished bitterly.

"Daniel, do you have any idea how upset Vala was when I arrived on Earth? She thought you meant to leave her behind. I tried to convince her otherwise but you didn't make it easy. I'd thought offering her the job would help her to gain some perspective while forcing you to come to your senses. Why didn't you tell her how you feel before sleeping together? That isn't like you."

"I-I thought the words would scare her away." he answered then looked Sam square in the eye. "I was scared. I didn't want to to lose her and now it's too late."

"But it's not. Vala cares about you, I know it."

"Then why did she leave me?"

"Because you never asked her to stay." Sam paused for a moment as though to give him time to digest that before pressing on. "She believes you only slept with her because you were drunk. She thinks you gave into a moment of weakness."

"Is that why she's avoiding me?" he asked but saw Sam's eyes dart back and forth nervously. "I talked to her, Sam. I know she's hiding something."

"You're right and I wish I could tell you what it is, but I can't. I made a promise that I intend to keep. You'll have to ask her. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I understand. This is my mess and I shouldn't expect you to fix it for me." He gave her a reassuring smile before wiping a hand down his face. "But how do I get her to talk to me? You know how good she is at dodging uncomfortable conversations."

"That's where I come in."

Daniel looked up at the unexpected voice, his brow furrowing at the conspiratorial grins passing between Sam and John Sheppard. Once again, he had the sensation that this did not bode well for him but he was desperate. He would do what ever it took to convince Vala to give them a chance.