A/N: Sorry this took so long. I wanted this as polished as possible between getting it beta'd and final edits. I present to you the polished version! Thanks to all who have clicked follow, reviewed or just even read the story so far. Keep reading!

Chapter 2

"It weren't too long before I seen something in me, had changed. A bitter seed was planted inside of me. And I just didn't feel so, accepting, anymore." Kathryn Stockett – The Help.

The archive 'room' if it could be called, that was a giant warehouse on multiple levels within the rear section of the museum and was split into multiple rooms on multiple levels next to the labs where the curators and the analysts worked. Each of the smaller side rooms had to be temperature and climate controlled for each exhibit according to its age.

When he walked into the archives, Daniel was so intent about getting to the Egyptian exhibits on the third floor where he knew wasn't supposed to be. He figured out about the first week in that his pass pretty much granted him access to a lot of the things in the archive store rooms which had not been catalogued.

According to his contract Daniel was not allowed to go near the Egyptian exhibits for fear that his embarrassing reputation would 'taint' any findings that the so called 'scholars' within the museum may find. Daniel had scoffed at this clause in his contract knowing full well that he had more information and experience in this area than the other curators combined. Travelling through the gate had been a big help in that area but of course all of that was 'classified'. Daniel's 'colleagues' would have a heart attack if they knew what he did.

What brought him into the vault was a rumoured tablet that had been in storage for the last twenty years with an interesting text on it that no one had managed to translate - yet! Daniel had found this out by being friendly with the guards who locked up in the night. They knew the distain given to them by most of the academics for doing their job. It was as if they were beneath some of them and yet they managed to have a good relationship with some of the others. Daniel proved himself to be in the different category with his easy nature plus they could sense something different about him as well. As such they were forthcoming with their knowledge of the items they had heard the academics talk about during their work day.

So here he was rifling through the files looking for the card to lead him to the 'mysterious' tablet that he knew he could solve. It had taken all of 10 minutes to work out the curators filing system. 'Hah! Too easy!' Daniel felt like doing one of Jack's versions of a happy dance then he remembered why he and Jack were no longer really communicating much. He was so focused on what he was doing he did not hear the beep of the main door or the snick of the lock as it closed. He made his way up the stairway to the floor in which the item had been stored. He held the index card in his hand like it was treasure. His eyes were scanning the storage room numbers left and right for the correct index number. In his other hand was the key for the storage locker which contained the small item. Since the locked containers contained brittle items meaning that Daniel had to wear gloves for this little trip into the storage vaults every time lest the acid or bacteria on his hands caused any damage.

Daniel looked down at the card in his hand and rechecked the number. It was stored on the third floor of this archive 'room'. He knew that the tablet was important but in his mind he hoped it was nothing more than a dialect of Egyptian that someone who lived on Budge could have mistranslated. He reached into his pocket and felt the solid weight of the scanner he had sneaked off the base. He had gotten in the habit of checking for Naquadah in most items when no one was looking. It was a bad habit and one he had gotten into working with SG-1. He was more than sure that if he found Goa'uld based technology made of the Naquadah mineral he was sure that that would mean that he would have to contact Jack and with that came the baggage that came with that.

He checked the room thoroughly where the card said it would be and there was nothing to be found of the tablet. "Now where did they store you?" Daniel felt the frustration of the search roll off him in waves. He knew he was standing outside the right door but when he opened it there was no sign that anything remotely resembling the tablet was there to be found. He turned the card over in his hands and he saw that a number had been added to the back of the card almost in minute writing he saw the number had been changed to the more secure vault on the ninth floor. He heaved a sigh and thought of Sam in that moment in time. The thought stung him with an equal measure of pain and bitterness. He was aware that Sam would be gifted enough to get into that vault in ten seconds flat – if given half a chance.

He shook his head dispelling any remembrances. That was the past and his family had abandoned him the day his wife died by siding with her murderer. Daniel remembered that he did also know the code for the secure vault. It was passed around most of the staff like the departmental photocopier code. It was simply a matter of trust and time saving. Only certain people are supposed to know but most museum curators and analysts like Daniel were aware of the entry code as most of them had some items to store within the secure vault.

There was also one other mitigating factor. Most staff from both the university and the museum didn't want to have to interact with Daniel so they gave him the code. They thought he was a quack crack pot archaeologist with no academic standing whatsoever. So it was with great delight that Daniel spent his nights avoiding most people and solving their inadequacies. The tablet had to be out of the vault tonight. Daniel wanted to be the one to translate it and knew he had nothing to prove except to himself. Besides it kept the ghosts at bay. If he let himself think he was scared that the past would overwhelm him. That was why he could barely sleep anymore.

As Daniel continued up the steps he wanted to hold onto the grief and bitterness. It was all he had left. He felt more than saw a presence behind him. He tensed and stopped climbing the stairs. Every instinct in him screamed at him to wait and prepare to fight. Danger! His whole senses sprang to life and suddenly the combat training he had had with Jack seemed to be necessary. He had heard a door close from behind him. It wasn't a loud bang but a soft snick of a lock. Daniel shifted his weight towards the shadowed area in the stairway. From the overcast of the low lighting in the stairwell Daniel could see a figure dressed in black moving slowly up the stairs. The figure had something hidden in its right hand and a small back pack.

RUN! His whole body was screaming run and yet his training was telling him to stay still. DO NOT MOVE! The command in his head was an echo of Jack. The person kept moving softly up the stairs. A small quiet breath from the figure was heard. Daniel stayed still. He could now begin to see what was in the strangers hand and it chilled him to the bone. A Zat'nikatel. Was he forever to be tied to the ramifications of the Stargate and the problems that came with it? His body shook in anger but he knew that he did not want to bring Jack into this. He would not face those who had hurt him so. His cheek felt wet. Why would his cheek be wet? The stranger stopped right by him and fired. He welcomed the dark for a moment and the stranger moved on.

Vala had managed to achieve her goal of getting into the archive room. It was easy as someone had come in before her but she was not sure if he or she was even still in there. When she'd looked at the schematics of the building she had an idea that the 'room' was big but it did not give a clear idea of scale even when she had tried to get in before. The wandering security guard during the day had dismissed that idea. When he challenged her she simply showed her fake student ID and claimed she was sent to find her professor. Since most guards knew that some of the university students would come next door to the museum they were accustomed to seeing student ID's in these parts of the museum. It wrecked her plan to see the archives beforehand and because of the size she figured she would not get around everything in one tour.

The adrenaline ran through her and her hands shook. She had watched whoever was in the labs next door come and go from what appeared to be the break room. Whoever it was she could hear the muffled conversation with himself. 'Wonko!' Her thoughts rang out. Whoever this person was they had to be completely wonko to talk to themselves as there was obviously no response. That was not her main problem. She had access to the vault through the key code she found on the desk taped to the underside of an old wooden drawer. She did not however know where the tablet was kept nor why it was so valuable. Her time was limited here and the guard rotation regular. Slipping out of the office had been easy. It was making sure the archive room door closed just as quietly. It was a heavy door that practically slammed on its springs if someone were to let go. Alongside this was a key code that had to be entered upon entry within the first fifteen seconds.

Vala slunk into the alcove which held the archive door. The door had been opened recently. She reached down and felt for the Zat that was strapped on her side. Her standing policy was to stun not kill - maim if necessary. (Except in the case of a few men she could think of! Some guys should not be allowed to procreate.). She opened the door shifting her weight to the other side to prevent it slamming. Moving quickly she made her way to the keypad once the door had closed over and prepared to enter the code. Something made her still and slide into a dark corner. There was someone in here with her! She had suspected the door had been opened but never imagined that the person could still be in here! Why couldn't this have been a quick snatch and grab? She cursed quietly all the Gods of the heavens and even a few Goa'uld. She looked up from her hiding place and saw a tall man with short brown hair. His gait was disturbingly familiar. There was a murmur in a soft tone of voice that sounded again disturbingly familiar. She had to know where he was going as he may have knowledge of the tablet.

Vala shook her head. 'Focus Vala! Look to the job and nothing else. That person needs to be avoided but useful if necessary.' Waiting for the figure to move away Vala made use of the time reviewing her information on the tablet. It was stored upstairs in the secure vault and she needed to climb a number of stairs to get there. The door to the stair level closed and she waited a few minutes before opening the door. the figure on the stairs had been climbing with a certain enthusiasm that meant he was working quickly. That suited Vala! The door behind her closed quietly. Only the snick of the lock making any noise in the stairwell. She began to quietly move up the stairs making a note of every noise around her. The lighting in the stairwell was low and she ensured that she moved with a light step. She had gotten up two flights when the noise from her companions steps had disappeared. Vala stilled her movements and looked through the rails to the next level of the metal stairway.

In the darkness of the corner of the stairwell Vala could make out a small shift in the floor and a ragged breath trying to be stilled. The man had heard her! She felt the self-recrimination for the mistake run through her thoughts. Reaching to the holster on her hip she slid out her Zat. It was always left open on a job as arming it caused unnecessary noise. Whoever designed the weapon was obviously not thinking about silent attacks – stupid, incompetent designer. Her finger stroked the trigger lightly and the man fell face forwards. She ran upstairs to secure his hands behind him using flex ties. She turned the man over and she fell back onto the stairwell floor. DANIEL! Of all the men in the world it had to be the one man she had started to care about. The one person whose approval she had started to quietly crave. The weight of what she had done suddenly caved into her conscience with staggering clarity. She tried to shut it out but it seemed to seep through her normal defenses. Then she fell back onto her training as a thief. These instincts noted he had a card in his hand which could contain more information. Her instincts also told her he was not a threat and that he was not a fighter but a bookish academic.

She had to look at the card and move. As she slowly moved over Daniels form to reach for the card Daniel twitched awake and quickly threw his legs in a scissor like motion under hers to make her topple. Vala fell back on her back hard hitting his arm. She grunted and kicked her left foot into his groin. He let out a high pitched wail, cursed and cupped himself. She smiled with a feral grin and licked her lips. So her mild mannered professor knew how to fight? 'Okay little man let's play!' Her thoughts turned from shock to amusement in one little flick of a switch.

She got to her feet and turned onto a high swing kick to his head and watched him fall down the stairs. He scrambled back on his knees to try and make a grab for her. She knelt down and launched a punch to his face. Turned and ran straight up the stairs. The race was on!

Daniel groaned and his head rung with the blow given to him by the intruder. He scrambled to his feet at the bottom of the last stairwell doing a rough body check as he began the chase after the intruder. He found that he was hurt but no more serious than a bout with Teal'c. He sucked in a breath and shouted "That's not the first Zat blast I've ever had and certainly not the first fight I've been in. Be right with you and we'll finish this!" Running up the stairs he had a good guess as to where the intruder was going - secure archives. It was a logical guess really. Man in black garb with black outfit complete with balaclava covering said face equals thief hence valuable stuff or a staff member with a fetish for black and odd hours to beat him up. Either way it meant trouble and he'd missed trouble for so long. He sucked in another breath and picked up the pace of the chase up the stairs.

He tried to stretch the plastic tags that bound his hands. The cuffs had been tied tightly but he continued to struggle to free himself. Multi-tasking was not his skill so he stopped outside the floor of the vault and tried stretching and flexing the plastic tag cuffs again. As he did he found that there was a little give but his wrists hurt, but what hurt even more was the friction of rubbing the cuff ties on the rough brick against the wall adding to the burn on his wrists. Finally he turned and felt for the door. He knew that there were tools on each floor which everyone had access to. From there he could free himself.

When he walked over to the curator's station he grabbed a Stanley knife from the table which was used to open boxes of new cargo and office supplies. Flipping the knife up he was able to free his hands. Which again cause more pain. He rubbed his now free wrists and looked over towards the part of the floor containing the secure vault. He wanted to stop this intruder - more than that he wanted to fight them again. He had felt the depression eat at him since he moved here. Now he wanted to hit something push at it hard until it bled.

'Right time to play!' His thoughts were disturbing to him even at that moment but he was just so angry at everything. Daniel Jackson - compassionate man had died somehow that day in the tent on another world and he couldn't bring himself to care. It was a cycle of thoughts that would not stop and he was not sure if he wanted them to.

He kept a hold of the knife as a weapon and prepared to face his intruder. As he walked he flipped open the cell phone and dialed the police carefully ensuring he dialed 999 not 911. After waiting for a response, Daniel requested the police. Whispering all the details to the operator Daniel ensured that the police were coming and gave him a estimate. Hurray for British efficiency. His nerves were pulsing with adrenaline and he felt awake almost alive with the feeling for the first time in a year. Daniel felt his training slot back into place and he felt more than just a professor - he felt like a soldier. That was something he never realised that he was but still it was a part of him now. He got to the half of the warehouse which contained the door to the secure vault and slid his card in and tapped in the code. Something appeared to drop behind him and he turned towards the noise. Two seconds later he felt a heavy weight of something and his world went black.

Vala looked at the form of her professor and shook her head. The knife that he had in his hand went skittering across the floor. A sneak attack was not usually her style but she did not want to hurt this man any more than necessary. She stepped over him and ignored the blood running softly from his head. She stepped into the vault and walked towards the box which contained the tablet. She looked at the number from the card to the box making sure that the numbers matched. Lifting the box she turned on her heel and walked out towards the door. Vala saw Daniel's eyes flutter and the painful whisper of a name being repeated. She couldn't help it she stopped and tried to listen. "Shau'ri Shau'ri Shau'ri" Her heart broke with his pain but that was secondary to her objective. Retrieve the tablet and get out. Vala was about halfway to the door to the stairway when she heard the words to shatter her.

"Fight it Shau'ri. Fight the demon within Shau'ri. I will not let you go." The pain in Daniel's voice became like a knife cutting, breaking wrenching into Vala's gut.

With those words Vala sucked in a ragged breath and ran. Pain was something she ignored and someone else's pain made hers worse because she knew of demons. Vala knew of the demons within because she'd had one and now all she had were the aftermaths of demon footprints in her mind. As Vala crossed London that night she battled with those demons gripping the case tighter as she went. She didn't stop running until she arrived at her apartment. Once inside she stripped off all her clothes, discarded the box and fell down on her bed with a bottle of whiskey. With each glass she allowed herself to fall deeper into oblivion knowing that she could step away from the sadness in his voice and the pain that she felt.