As promised, the next chapter straight away...
Like My Heart
She didn't know who was more excited - herself or her daughter. Vala couldn't help from laughing as Hayden ran to window to see if he was there yet.
"Hayds, sit down!" She said for the millionth time around her laughter, fighting the urge to check the window herself. As Hayden 'hurumphed' again for the millionth time and stomped back over to the couch, Vala let her mind think back over the past two weeks to help pass the time until he DID show up.
He - Him - Daniel. For the going on two weeks, Vala found him coming into her thoughts when she didn't have to worry about if Hayden had taken her bath or what inventory had moved from the warehouse out onto the floor. Even at those times, she thought about those blues eyes and his gentle voice. Every time she laid down in her bed at the end of the day, where once she'd have to force away thoughts of loneliness, now she dreamed about the possibilities of a new future. A future with Daniel.
She knew she was still trying to rush into something that might not even be there, but Vala had gone on so long with nothing that she found it hard NOT to rush. Still, she was glad that they had decided to take things a little slower. Especially when they almost ended up in bed together that night after the barbeque. They could have used the excuse of too many beers and too much fun, which had been the real reason she'd ended up in his lap at her kitchen table, inches away from kissing him. He'd had enough sense to turn away, and Vala was glad. It would have probably killed the whole relationship right there.
And that was something Vala didn't want. So he'd gone home that night, and she hadn't seen him again until the following Saturday. It wasn't because they didn't want to see each other. They just had their normal lives to get back to after their fantasy weekend together. Even so, with her job as mother and manager and his teaching, they had still managed to talk on the phone almost every night. Then that Saturday, he'd shown up at her doorstep with a single white rose, wearing a nice dress shirt and jeans.
He'd taken her out to dinner at a nice Italian restaraunt, and if it was even still possible, they still managed to find new and exciting topics to talk about. While they had been talking, he had placed his hand over hers resting on the table.
It was such a simple gesture, but Vala had yet to forgot the feeling of Daniel touching her in such a tender way.
She'd had to force herself once more not to rush things. When he'd dropped her off that night, she could hardly contain herself when he's placed a soft kiss to her cheek.
"Give it just a little more time." Daniel had whispered in her ear like he'd read her thoughts. "If only to please our guard dogs." Smiling at her slightly confused look, he'd wished her a goodbye and ledt. Still baffled, Vala had turned around to find Carolyn watching none too covertly from the window.
In the week that followed, Daniel had come over once for dinner. He'd actually spent more time with Hayden that night then with her, but Vala couldn't find a reason to complain about that.
Especially when she now found herself sitting waiting for him to show up to take both her and Hayden out on a 'date', with her daughter's excitement filling the entire room with happy energy. It was a total contrast from the weekend before when Hayden had thrown a fit because he had taken Vala out alone. That was part of the reason why they were getting ready to head out for a day of fun. The major reason, though, was because Daniel really wanted to see them again.
Vala drew in a deep breath. Them - he wanted to see them. Not just her, but her daughter as well. That made her happy in a way nothing ever had in her life. That he had been the one to suggest they take Hayden with them on their second date only made the feeling double in intensity.
"He's here!"
Hayden's squeal jumpstarted Vala back to the moment at hand, and she looked over to the window to see her little girl had once again gone to check to see if he had shown up yet. And this time she had.
Vala rose from the couch and moved to snatch the fidgety girl in her arms. Hayden protested, squirming as her mother carried her back over to the couch. "Mommy!"
"Hayden, geeze, you don't wanna seem too desperate!" Vala laughed as she plopped her on the couch. She pointed her finger in warning at the pouting face she got. "Ah! No getting up. I've GOT to teach you how to play hard to get, child."
The sound of someone clearing their throat made Vala jump, and turn a blushing face towards the doorway. Daniel had a smirk fighting to break free, his blue eyes alight with mischief behind his glasses.
"Maybe I should've knocked first?" He said around his amusement. Vala licked her lips and smiled towards the floor as he stepped into the house and closed the door. His shadow fell over her as he came to stand in front of her. "Cause I've got this feeling I wasn't supposed to hear that." This time he did laugh.
"No, you weren't." Vala offered, blushing once more. Her head shot up seconds later as Daniel placed a gentle kiss to her cheek like he'd done the week before. Except this one had taken her by surprise.
Daniel gave her a soft smile. "Let's just pretend it never happened." Before Vala could reply, a small body tackled Daniel's legs. "Oomph!"
"Hayden!" Vala barked, but Daniel just shook his head saying it was already.
Hayden squeezed Daniel's legs like she hadn't, or wouldn't, see him in ages. "Can we go on our date now?!" She whined.
Pulling the clinging child back a little, Daniel knelt down to her level. "Are you really, really excited?" He smiled as Hayden nodded eagerly. "Okay - then I need you to go get a warm jacket from your room. You'll need it."
As Hayden took off towards her room without a single word, Daniel rose to meet Vala's curious gaze. He tilted his head to the side a little and quirked a smile.
"It's almost a hundred degrees outside. Why would she need a jacket?" She asked with wonder, her mind unable to fathom what he possibly had planned for the day. "What are we-"
Daniel placed a hand to her lips, much in the manner that she had that evening in the parking lot.
"You are going to have to wait and see just like her. And just like her, you are going to need something to wear over that tank top." He could see the questions were still rattling around in her head, and he shook his own when she went to voice one after dropping his hand. It went up immediately, pointing down the hall towards Vala's own room. "No questions, just go get something so we can get out of here and have fun!"
The laughing in his voice softened the harsh words, and Vala found herself smiling and wondering as she trotted down the hall to retrieve her jacket.
------
"Oh my god!" Vala breathed from the passanger seat of Daniel's truck as they pulled into the parking lot of their destination. She turned an excited gaze on him. "I haven't done this in ages - not since high school, I think."
"Haven't done what?" Hayden asked excitedly from the back seat. She leaned forward, straining to see where they were. "Where are we?"
Daniel parked the car and killed the ignition. He turned to look at Vala, who was practically bouncing in her seat. "I can tell you haven't been since high school." He laughed. "You're acting like a teenager." She rolled her eyes, and he turned his attention to Hayden who looked ready to explode. "So wanna know where we are?"
Hayden rolled her eyes just like her mother had. "Yes! Please!?"
Reaching back, Daniel unbuckled her seatbelt and lifted her out of her seat. Placing her in his lap, he pointed to the rather large building infront of them. "You see that?" Hayden nodded eagerly. "Well, that's an ice skating rink. Have you ever been ice skating before?"
She shook her head timidly, scared it would mean they wouldn't be going in.
"Then I guess your mommy and I can teach you." Daniel smiled as Hayden visably perked up again.
Vala nodded, undoing her seatbelt and opening her door in record time. "Yeah, IF we get inside." She bounced outside her door. "Come on, let's go! I wanna ice skate."
Laughing, Daniel lifted Hayden off his lap so she could climb out the passanger door. He unclipped his seatbelt, and snatched the jacket Hayden had left sitting on the backseat. By the time he had climbed out and locked the truck, the girls were halfway across the parking lot. Shaking his head, his jogged to catch up with them.
------
Her grey eyes nervously watched the people flying by the opening onto the ice before her. She heard the scraping of their skates and could feel several pairs of eyes watching her. And that's when she knew she couldn't do this. She didn't care how cool Daniel had made it sound before. Hayden knew she couldn't do this now.
"No!" She squeaked, turning away from the ice and burying her face into her mother's legs right behind her. She felt Vala move to kneel, and loosened her grip just enough. The moment her mother stopped moving, Hayden wrapped her arms tight around her neck.
"Hey, it's okay hunny." Vala laughed gently, running a hand through her daughter's hair. She shared a look with Daniel, who was waiting on the ice, close to the edge so he was out of the way of people already skating.
Hayden shook her head, buried against Vala's neck. "No." She mumbled, clinging to her mother desperately.
"Hayden, it's so easy." Daniel offered in a reassuring voice.
Once again, Hayden shook her head. "They're going too fast, and they'll kill me."
Daniel and Vala shared an amused smile.
"No they won't, hunny." He answered.
"I'll fall down and they'll laugh. I know it." Hayden argued, her voice getting even more muffled as she started to cry.
Vala placed a kiss into her brown hair. "Who cares if they laugh?" She whispered defiantly. "Everyone falls sometime, and we all get laughed at when we do."
Hayden sniffed and pulled back a little. "Everyone?" She asked quietly.
Daniel stepped off the ice and knelt down at the little girl's back. He rubbed it gently. "Everyone, Hayds." She looked back at him as he used her nickname. It was the first time he'd done it, but somehow it made her feel a little better then before. And yet-
"I'm scared." Hayden admitted even as she let go of Vala just a little bit more.
"I'll be there with you the whole time." Daniel said, brushing her hair out of her face. "I promise."
Hayden turned to face him completely. She stumbled a little on her skates, and Daniel steadied her even as Vala did the same thing. "Promise?"
He nodded and gave her a soft smile. "Absolutely." He offered his hand out to her, and after a minute or two Hayden took it. Daniel led her out onto the ice, steading her as she tried to find her balance.
Vala moved out of the way of others who had waited patiently through out the whole exchange. She leaned against the short wall that circled the ice, and watched on silently as Daniel slowly inched her daughter along, keeping her close enough to the wall so she could hold her hand out to it.
"She's one lucky kid to have a great father like that." A woman smiled at Vala who started at her comment. "And you're a lucky one yourself."
For a moment, Vala felt like correcting the woman. But as her eyes found Hayden and Daniel again, and she caught the look of joy quickly spreading across her young face, Vala found she just couldn't say anything but a 'thank you' in return.
------
Several go-arounds in, Daniel leaned down a little as him and Hayden began skating faster. "I'm gonna let your hand go now, okay?" Hayden squeezed his hand tighter for a moment, then she nodded hesitantly. Slowly, Daniel let go, making sure he still kept pace with her as she inched closer to the wall.
"Am I doing it?" Hayden asked shyly.
Daniel nodded and grinned proudly. "You're doing it all by yourself, Hayden."
She laughed in a way that reminded him of Vala. "I think I like ice skating."
"Yeah..." He looked across the rink to where Vala was still watching from the wall. "Me too."
------
"Is it okay if I stop skating and go play in the arcade?" Hayden asked a couple hours later as they sat around a table by the concession area eating corndogs and tater tots.
Vala leaned over and wiped ketchup from the side of Hayden's mouth. "Only if you swear, and I mean swear on your soul, that you'll stay where I can see you." Her tone was that of a seasoned mother.
Hayden nodded quickly, and moved to jump down from her seat. She stopped when Vala held up her finger. Rolling her eyes, the younger girl pouted. "I swear, mommy."
"And what's my rule about talking to strangers."
Jumping down from her chair, Hayden looked at her mother with exasperation. "Don't do it."
Vala nodded. "Okay, go ahead." Hayden wasted no time looking back as she took off toward the arcade with the change Daniel had given her after buying the food. Looking at said instigator, Vala could help but feel worried. "I can't just tell her no, but I'm still terrified. She likes to run off and forgets she needs to stay where I can see her."
Daniel looked at Vala for a long moment, and then looked over towards the arcade. He got up from his chair. "I'll be right back."
Watching curiously, her eyes followed him as he walked up to a young man. From his clothes and general appearence, it was obvious the kid worked at the skating rink. She watched as Daniel said something to him and then handed him a twenty dollar bill. The kid nodded, and Vala sat up a little straighter as Daniel led him over to where Hayden was playing one of the games. A minute later, Daniel was walking back over to her.
"Now we can go skate without worrying if she's okay." He plopped down in his chair and moved to pull his skates on once more. He stopped lacing midway up one skate as he felt Vala's eyes boring into him. Blue eyes looked up to find her staring at him in shock. "What?"
She laughed in disbelief. "You just paid some teenager twenty bucks to look after MY DAUGHTER." Vala could feel the illusion of the past two weeks beginning to shatter in a million pieces. She threw back her chair and moved to go grab Hayden and call a cab home.
Daniel scrambled from his chair, nearly falling on his face as he came to block her path. "Vala, wait."
"Move, Daniel." She could feel the tears in her eyes, and didn't have the heart to fight them. Carolyn had been right - this had all be too sudden. Too perfect.
Placing his hands on her shoulders, Daniel silently cursed himself as she shook them off and tried to push past him. "No, no. You don't understand-"
"Oh, I understand." Vala snapped, pulling her arm out of his hand as he tried to touch her again. "Now MOVE so I can get my daughter and go home."
Daniel forcefully took her shoulders, refusing to let her go. His heart was beating so fast as he realized what this all looked like. "I know him, Vala." She stopped struggling as much as he said the words. Her grey eyes looked up into his blue skeptically. "I know him. He plays on the hockey team Jack coaches. I'm the assistant coach, and I know that kid really well. His name is Tommy, and he's really okay." He made sure to keep his voice a reassuring as possible.
All Vala could do was blink around her tears as his words sank in. She found herself totally speechless and completely embarassed.
"He's okay, Vala." Daniel repeated again to have the point sink home. "I wouldn't hand your daughter off to some strange kid. I have no right to do that, and I wouldn't do it anyways. Never in a million years..."
She felt her knees giving out on her as the panic and anger receded. Vala was just glad there was a chair directly behind her. She collapsed into it. "God, I feel like such an ass now."
Daniel knelt down before her. "No, don't. I didn't say anything to you, Vala. This is not your fault. You did exactly what instinct tells you. I'm the idiot here. I'm so sorry I worried you like that!"
"I still jumped to conclusions." She said, indicating to him with her hand. "How could I just think you would do that? I just saw you hand off the money and give her off to him, and I just thought..."
He took her hand and squeezed it. "I know. I know. I'm sorry." Daniel tried to lighten the mood. "I told you I'm not very learned in this dating and parenting thing."
Vala laughed, allowing his words to clear the moment a little. "Yeah, that much is obvious."
"I really am sorry though." Daniel said seriously, bringing his hand up to cup her cheek.
She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "It's okay." Vala murmured. They sat that way for several minutes, allowing them both time to calm down. Finally, Vala opened her eyes and gave Daniel a flirty smile. "Well, you bought us a babysitter for a little while. Let's take advantage of it."
Daniel laughed, relieved that he truly had been forgiven for his slip up. "Absolutely."
------
He was a lot better at this then she was - she'd definitely give him that. Of course, he'd already said that he was an assitant hockey coach, and she hadn't skated in ages. Not that it really mattered, but Vala couldn't help but notice how easily Daniel could skate circles around her.
"You're thinking too much." He laughed as he skated backwards to face her.
Vala pouted playfully. "And you're skating too damn good."
Laughing, Daniel skated a way a little bit, then came to a skidding stop directly before her. Vala squealed as he covered her in ice. "Jealous?" His tone was smug and sexy.
"Maybe." She admitted, looking up at him with slight envy. He softened his look considerably at the one word, seeing a bit of nostalgia in her grey eyes. "I just used to love going really, really fast."
Daniel grinned at her admission. "Fast, huh?" As Vala shook her head, he took her hand. "Well then."
"Daniel, what are you-" Vala didn't get a chance to finish the question before Daniel took off at an amazingly scary pace, pulling her along behind him. She yelped, finding herself matching his pace as he sped around the rink. "Daniel!"
He was laughing and she was too even as she kept yelling at him to stop.
"We're gonna fall! Daniel! My hand, it's-" Vala laughed breathlessly. Another yelp escaped unchecked past her chilled lips as she lost her hold on Daniel and went sliding uncontrollably. She was so certain she was going to slip and fall, and was laughing too hard to care, that she shrieked like a teenage girl as Daniel came up out of nowhere to catch her in his arms.
But he was laughing so hard himself that he could barely stop her momentum and keep them from falling at the same time. They slipped in place for a minute until finally regaining some sort of balance. It took them a little longer to regain their composure from laughing.
Finally able to breathe somewhat normally, Vala lifted her head off Daniel's chest to give him a smile. He was still laughing a little and grinning like crazy, a slight pant to his breathing. Their eyes locked for what seemed like an eternity. Then, slowly, Daniel's grin softened. Still drawing in slightly shallow breaths, he leaned his lips in the short distance to hers.
The kiss was soft and gentle and short, a total contrast to the insanity of the moment before.
As they pulled apart, the look Vala saw in that deep blue gaze matched the way she was feeling inside. And that's when they both knew...
Things had suddenly and definitely just changed.
------
"This her room?" Daniel whispered quietly as he stood before a slightly closed door, a very asleep Hayden in his arms.
Vala nodded and pushed past him gently to open the door and flick on the light. She moved into the room, Daniel following right behind her. Adjusting the comforter on the bed, she turned it down enough so Daniel could set Hayden down.
"Do you want to change her or..." The uncertainty was evident in his voice even at the whispering level, and Vala placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.
"Just take her shoes off." Her voice was filled with amusement. She watched on with enormous affection as Daniel gently removed Hayden's shoes, then took the initiative to tuck her in without even asking. A smile grace her lips as he bent down to brush the bangs from her daughter's face, only pulling back after placing a kiss against her forehead.
She took his hand and led him out of the room, shutting of the light and closing the door most of the way as they went. Looking up into his unsure blue eyes, Vala smiled even brighter. "You're a natural already."
Daniel took her hand, humbled enough into blushing. "Already..." He whispered, not being able to meet her gaze. His thumb stroked over the back of her hand slowly. "Vala, I don't think I can-" As his head came up, all his words were knocked out of him as she took his mouth in a hungry kiss.
This one lasted a little longer than their first, but wasn't that long still as Daniel abruptly pulled away.
"Vala..." He pleaded, resting his forehead against hers.
Her hand slid around to the back of his neck and up into his hair. "Can't you feel it, Daniel?" Vala whispered desperately. "Can't you feel that it's there and it's right and that this is our time?"
He nodded against her, fighting so hard not to kiss her again. "But we've only been seeing each other for two weeks, and everyone thinks-"
"Screw everyone!" Vala hissed, but not in anger towards him. "This is about us. You, me, and Hayden. No one else at this moment matters. I trust this, Daniel." She stroked her fingers through his hair, seeing the tears in his eyes that matched his own. "Now trust me the same way I trust you with my little girl."
That was just enough to weaken his barriers. Daniel crashed his mouth to hers in a heated, passionate kiss. He wound his hand up into her dark, black hair and pushed her back until she collided with the wall on the opposite side of the door.
Breaking away one more time, Daniel looked into her needy gaze. He placed a soft kiss to her lips. "I trust you." He murmured. Then he kissed her again, long and hard, as he lifted her up and carried her down the hall to the master bedroom.
A/N: Two weeks is a suffient amount of time, right?? Considering the nature of their characters in general, I think it is! Now they'll just have to deal with everyone else... Writing this chapter seriously gave me the urge to go ice skating again, which I haven't done in a long time! Oh, and the bunnies just keep throwing these little character quirks into the story that just amuses me to no end (like Daniel being an assitant coach to Jack on a hockey team!)... Another Oh... If the ones before didn't seem so obvious, I'm sure this chapter title points out where i keep getting said titles from! LoL... Anywho, planning on working on the next chapter right after posting this while I listen to the AWE OST (which I have YET to watch since getting the DVD on Tuesday! I know, you're all gasping at my pirates fandom shame...)
And ofcourse, reviewsLVOE!