"Did you?" Vala asked, turning away from the window. She planted her elbow against it, propping her head on her hand as she looked at him.
"The concept of the ocean fascinated her," he nodded wistfully. "She couldn't conceive of that much water in one place."
"I…don't suppose she could," replied Vala, looking away again as she felt a sudden, irrational surge of jealousy. She'd felt it the first time he'd spoken his dead wife's name on the Ori warship; felt it again, albeit briefly, when she'd asked him more about her back on Earth.
You're the one who asked him, she reminded herself, angrily shoving the emotion aside. You invited him to tell you.
Daniel frowned, turning briefly to glance at her, but quickly returned his eyes to the road. "You okay?" he asked.
Vala bit her lip and nodded, then almost immediately shook her head. "Daniel, I have a confession to make," she said reluctantly.
He felt his stomach tighten at the guilty tone of her voice and sighed quietly. "What now?"
Vala said nothing for a moment, her eyes going wide with hurt at the question. She supposed it didn't particularly surprise her--what she didn't expect, though, was how deeply it stung. Feeling her cheeks redden, she turned away and stared down at her lap. If he'd sounded angry, she might have been able to muster some flippant reply. After a response like that, there was nothing she would rather have done but turn the whole thing into a joke. He hadn't been angry though; he hadn't even really sounded annoyed. He expected her to admit she'd taken the bracelet, and he was clearly hurt and disappointed.
Swallowing, she drew a reluctant breath, and told him softly, "When you…first told me about Sha're, I felt--well, I felt a little jealous."
Startled, Daniel twisted to face her again. "What?" he asked, rather nervously looking back out at the line of tail lights in front of them. There was an exit sign ahead and he flicked the turn signal automatically.
"Jealous," Vala repeated, shaking her head in self-recrimination. "That you cared so much for her--that she had you in a way that I…can't even seem to interest you in…"
She didn't look up even after he'd pulled into the rest area, and Daniel closed his eyes. He sucked in a long breath, his stomach twisting at the sight of her bowed head. Her hair was tied back in pigtails, and he could clearly see the blush on her cheeks.
"Vala, I'm--I'm sorry," he began apologetically, but she abruptly raised her head.
"I really didn't think I was that petty, Daniel," she said, her tone brittle enough to make him wince. "To be envious of a man's feelings for his wife."
"I don't think it's petty," he said gently.
She tossed her head in annoyance, more at herself than him. She opened her mouth to deliver some caustic retort, but before she'd managed to think of something appropriate, Daniel looked down, his lips moving in a soft, self-deprecating smile.
"Y'know, I…felt a little jealous today, too," he admitted.
"You what?" Vala stopped short, feeling her breath catch.
"When you were with your friends," he explained, slowly looking up again. "They--they were all so--I dunno, so--happy to see you, glad you were okay. It's like you had this whole life that I wasn't a part of…and--and I know that's ridiculous. I mean, you obviously had a life I wasn't a part of…before…"
"It's not ridiculous," she smiled tentatively, her hand slipping onto his cheek.
"No?" he asked, leaning slowly toward her mouth.
Vala turned her head, her free hand flattening against his chest in a halting gesture. "Daniel," she chided, hiding a smile of satisfaction at the hammering of his heart under her palm. "Even I know that a girl shouldn't kiss on the first date. It is still the first date, you know. The last one didn't count since we were interrupted."
"What?" his eyes widened. "You--you didn't seem to have a problem kissing me on the Prometheus!"
She pushed him back, her jaw dropping in a shocked expression. "That's your idea of a date?" she demanded. "Really, Daniel, I am surprised at you!"
Daniel raised his eyes to the interior roof of the car and shook his head, starting back onto the road again. Vala grinned impishly and turned away as well. She laced her hands victoriously behind her head and pointedly said nothing to remind him that he hadn't objected to the use of the word date.