84 Minutes

They'd held the gate open for two minutes and sixteen seconds before the wormhole collapsed from the other end. Landry had waited for the hour mark before dialing in to check on Dr. Jackson, and ordered SG-1 to suit up when there was no response. They had to wait another twenty minutes to establish a stable wormhole back to the planet, and Vala didn't waste a moment. She had suited up with the rest of SG-1 and followed Landry around to convince him she didn't have a cold and wasn't going to infect the local population.

Landry felt his agitation rise and had flashbacks to how Carolyn would attempt to manipulate him as a teenager, and he had to admit, Vala was doing a remarkable job. There were several times he was tempted to give in, but the General side of him kept beating out the protective father side. Vala knew that under no circumstances would Carolyn Lam yield to her request, so she chose to focus on him.

She started out with the rational approach. "But just think about it Sir. It's a reconnaissance mission, and the more eyes you have on the ground the better our chances of finding him." He humored her for a few minutes as she followed him around, trying to sound as rational as possible.

When he shot down that approach she moved onto the pleading child routine. That one was thwarted before it even got a chance to begin (Landry had never held with whiners.) Then came the temper tantrum. Yeah, that one didn't work either.

There was almost a poetic beauty to how perfectly she filled out every role. Her speech was articulate and rational, and she even stuck her hands into her pockets and hunched her shoulders ever so slightly as she extolled the reasons for letting her go. (Landry almost called her Dr. Jackson in his refusal.) When she pled her eyes grew huge, and her voice became fuller and just a breath higher, making her seem more innocent. And she twirled her hair between her fingertips and, though he wasn't sure how, made herself seem smaller, and for lack of a better adjective…fluffier.

She stood next to Landry in the control room as most of SG-1 prepared to disembark and refused to speak with any of them. Her sigh was deep and frustrated, just enough to remind Landry she was still there, and still objecting. He opted to ignore her complaint and simply gave SG-1 instructions to find Dr. Jackson and SGs 5, 6, and 8.

He turned to face a barrage of sarcasm from the spurned Vala, but she just kept her eyes on the gate. She stared at it long after the wormhole had closed down, the muscles in her jaw working, trying to find something playful to say. She smiled at Landry, forcing every trace of her visage to crinkle in mirth, but he could see it in her eyes. She was a brilliant actress, and would've gotten away with it if she'd avoided his gaze for just a moment more, but he caught her.

The regular glimmer and smirk were fixed in perfect position as she bounded back up the stairs to her 'translations." Landry's eyes followed her the whole way up the stairs, and his heart ached for her. This must be the first family she'd had since her own, and probably the only people who had treated her with any semblance of respect since she was first taken by the Goa'uld. The first time in goodness knows how long that her clear grey eyes were clouded over with care.

He trailed behind her up the circular stairs, once again wishing he'd spent more time doing actual fathering the first time around so he'd know what to say. She was as far away from the glass as she could get in the control room, where she could keep an eye on the Stargate, but where no one could keep one on her.

She was chewing on her thumbnail when he entered, and with a jump dropped the hand to her side, forcefully shoving it into her pocket. He leaned against the wall next to her, debating with himself what to say. He was more of an action fellow than a words fellow, which is why and Jack got along so well in the first place. He stared at his hands for a moment, then just cleared his throat and summoned up the will to speak.

"Carolyn's mother and I met while I was at The Hill." He smirked to himself and clarified, finding that the story was coming easier. "The Air Force Academy, where people go to be trained to be a part of our military. Well, at the time she was a few years younger than I was, which didn't bother either one of us, but her father, who happened to be my CO at the time, wasn't so happy about it."

"She was engaged to a fellow that he'd chosen for her, and roaming around with a boy like me wasn't exactly what he had in mind for his daughter." Vala grinned at the thought of a young Landry defying his CO, and all for a girl.

"The night we got married, she was supposed to sneak out of her house and meet me, but her father was up and in the kitchen by the back door. So she snuck out a window, which took her longer than I expected. I was sitting in my car down the street from her house, just waiting. I sat there, forcing myself to stay in the car, to not go barreling into that house after her.

"I kept wishing I could just be with her. That I could be there for the fight, rather than stuck outside wondering what I could be doing if I was there." Vala laid her head on Landry's shoulder and breathed deep. He put his arm around her shoulder and they sat in silence, staring at the stargate.

"Thanks sir…for everything."

"That's what you do for your family Vala."

She popped her head up, with grey eyes smiling at the General. "I'm beginning to understand that Sir. Abusive sarcasm, threatening annoying non-boyfriends with lemons, what could be interpreted as suicide attempts to bring everyone home, and a worldwide obsession with coffee, these seem to be the traits of your Earth families. I rather enjoy it."

The sparkle in her eyes grew to all out grin as she bounded for the door. "Care to join me in a few bowls of your earth delicacy, jell-o? We can pretend we're not fretting together."

Landry chuckled in return and accompanied her out the door. As they proceeded down the hall, with the SGC amazed at how Landry had gotten Vala back into a good mood, he paused for a brief moment and questioned, "Lemons?"

Notes: As always, thanks for the very fact that you're reading, makes me feel ever so appreciated, especially since I'm the only one still trapped at the dorm and you lovely folks are the only ones I feel like talking to. Reviews, good or bad, are always appreciated, and even if yout don't, I still feel the love.