"All right, this was never fully explained to me," General Jack O'Neill was saying as he and the team walked back to the plaza. "They just told me I was needed off world and beamed me away."

"You have the Ancient gene," Sam said. Jack glanced at her.

"Yeah," he agreed, waiting for her to continue.

"Well…" Sam said, showing all signs of diving into one of her long, hard-to-understand explanations.

"We found an Ancient chair device in the middle of the village," Cameron interrupted. Sam gave him somewhat of a miffed look, but didn't try to argue.

"And…Daniel and Vala are waiting for us there," Jack concluded.

"Ah…no," Sam said slowly. Jack raised an eyebrow. "We don't know where they are," Sam continued.

"They have disappeared," Teal'c added.

"Into thin air," Cameron muttered. Jack eyed them for a brief second.

"The way you guys are talking, a person would think you meant literally," he informed them. Sam winced.

"We do mean literally," she said. Jack continued eyeing for a moment before they entered the plaza. He turned to the center and clapped his hands, walking up to the chair.

"So you just want me to…try it out?" he asked, sitting down and making himself comfortable. Sam shrugged.

"Sure," she replied. "I mean, what harm could it do?"

Satisfied with that answer, Jack leaned back and closed his eyes. Cameron leaned towards Sam, whispering,

"Unless whatever it was that killed the village was because of this chair."

Sam shook her head. "This is the Ancients we're talking about, Cam. Whatever happened here wasn't their doing."

"This was an Ori village," Cameron pointed out. "Maybe the Ancients are starting to get involved."

"I doubt it," Sam whispered back. However, she did look a little more uneasy than before.

After a moment of tense silence passed, Jack opened his eyes.

"Nothing's happening, Carter," he said in an almost accusing tone. "Why?"

Surprised, Sam shrugged, walking up closer to Jack who was now sitting up.

"I don't know," she said. "I'll run some tests, but I can't promise anything."

Jack stood up and nodded. "Mitchell, Teal'c. Why don't you two go survey the area."

Cameron and Teal'c nodded, walking away. Jack sighed and sat down on the dirt ground as Sam started to hook up wires to the chair.

XxXxX

A little over an hour passed and Vala was just running out of tears. She hadn't moved from where she had collapsed, her knees pulled up to her chest. She hadn't even glanced once over at Daniel's body. She couldn't bear the sight. The entire time, her mind was whirling, trying to figure out why Tomin had… done that. She had a couple ideas.

Vala heard the familiar hiss of the door opening and raised her head slightly. The person who entered the room knelt in front of her.

"What is wrong, Mother?" Adria asked, genuinely concerned. Vala met her gaze, clenching her jaw.

"I think you know perfectly well what's wrong," she said through gritted teeth. After a moment's thought, Adria smiled gently.

"Daniel's death," she said softly. Vala bit down on her lower lip furiously.

"Yes," she growled. Adria, still smiling, glanced at Daniel's body. Vala refused to follow her gaze.

"He is not dead," Adria said mildly. Vala was about to start off on a wild, rampaging rant but her eyes had unwillingly glanced at the heap in the back of the room… who was sitting up and rubbing his neck, a very confused and disturbed look on his face. Then Vala remembered her daughter had power over death.

Both Daniel and Vala stared at the Orici with mixed emotions as the majestic woman stood.

"I told you, Mother. I will not kill him. Or let anyone else for that matter." She glanced at Daniel. "We have plans for him." With that, Adria walked out of the door.

There was a moment of silence before Daniel spoke.

"You know…I'm really getting sick of this dying business."

Vala cracked a weak smile, not looking his direction. Another awkward pause followed until Daniel tried again.

"So…did Tomin say anything after…?"

Vala shook her head numbly. Daniel sighed.

"Any ideas of why he…?"

Finally Vala looked at him. But it still took her a moment to reply.

"No."

Daniel frowned, unconvinced. "You had to think about that answer," he commented. Vala shrugged, looking away again.

"Yeah."

The linguist's frown deepened. "How long was I dead, Vala?"

Vala winced but replied, "About an hour,"

"You had all that time to think about it. I'm sure you came up with something," Daniel pointed out. Vala looked away and shifted her position uncomfortably.

"He coulda been jealous," she muttered. Immediately, Daniel knew why Vala was so uncomfortable. So he avoided going that direction and brought up a different tangent.

"Makes sense," he commented, nodding. Vala turned her head to give him a confused look. He shrugged. "Well, think about it. Every time he's seen you lately, I'm around. He doesn't see you often and he knows you and I have the same beliefs concerning the Origin," Daniel explained. "Any person in Tomin's situation would eventually come to the conclusion we…have a relationship," he finished awkwardly. Vala smiled at him gratefully.

The awkward silence from before resumed until Vala frowned, rubbing her bare arms.

"'S'cold," she muttered. Daniel considered this problem and scooted to Vala's side.

"Body warmth," he said matter-of-factly when Vala gave him a strange look. Her face split into a wide grin and Daniel rolled his eyes. Happily, Vala leaned into Daniel's chest, snuggling in deep. Daniel smiled at her mass of black curls, amused and soon, the ex-thief fell asleep, a peaceful smile on her lips.

A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!