She was sitting on the blanket with one leg stretched out in front of her, pink-sandaled foot twitching in time with the music from the car stereo. Daniel, lying beside her, popped open an eye in surprise.
"Cameron?" he demanded.
"Why not?" she asked innocently.
"Well--it's…not exactly my idea of a good name for a cute, fluffy toy," he said lamely.
"Oh?" Vala asked, smirking as she set the bear on his chest.
"Mitchell's a lot of things," Daniel lifted his head slightly to look at it. "Cute isn't one of them."
"Well," Vala shifted, resting her palm on his stomach and letting her hand slowly smooth upward. "What would you suggest?"
Daniel's abdominal muscles jumped and fluttered in response, but he managed to keep the ragged edge from his breath as he replied, "Teal'c."
"Teal'c!" Vala cried, giving him a playful swat before she snatched back the toy.
"Why not?" Daniel asked.
"Teal'c is your idea of fluffy?" she asked.
"Teal'c is very fluffy," retorted Daniel, shutting both eyes again.
"Of course he is," Vala sighed, sitting up suddenly to reach for the cookies. She fingered a couple out and held one over Daniel's mouth. Still without opening his eyes, he parted his lips to receive it, and she sat back, thoughtfully twisting off the top of her own. She gave it a few tentative strokes with her tongue and remarked, "These really are better with milk."
"Yeah, they are," Daniel agreed, suddenly sitting up. "Vala, there's--"
She turned toward him at the same time, asking, "Daniel, can I ask you--"
Both paused, smiling permission for the other to continue. Then, Daniel shook his head. "You first," he offered.
"You sure?" Vala bit her lip.
"I went first last time," he nodded.
"Well, all right," she took a breath. "You know when we were in the warehouse?"
"Mmm," he frowned.
"Well, why didn't you just…zat me?" she asked, punctuating the question with a shrug.
Daniel's frown deepened. "Do I really need to answer that?" he asked.
"I'd like you to," Vala said after a moment's silence.
"It had to be your choice to stay," he said quietly. "After you had your memories back, would you have ever trusted me again?"
"I'm not sure," she admitted. "But I certainly would have understood."
"I need you to trust me, Vala," he said, looking briefly down at the blanket. Her hand lay between them and he hesitantly picked it up. Meeting her eyes again, continued softly, "There's something I started to tell you last night…before--before you fell asleep."
Now it was her turn to glance away. She quickly turned back, though, and the flush in her cheeks told him that she probably had a good idea what he was going to say. The trepidation he thought he saw in her expression confused him, and he bit his lip, but decided to press on.
"I realized last night that I think…no, I don't think, I know. I owe you an apology, Vala. There's--there's obviously more going on between us than, um…friendship. I mean, there's--there's definitely--there's always been--"
"Chemistry?" she supplied.
He nodded. "But I think you've been trying to tell me that you wanted something else--more. Haven't you?"
She moved her eyes down to their linked hands again and nodded slowly. "I think so," she admitted.
"And I haven't been listening. I'm sorry," he told her.
"Daniel, it's all right…" she trailed off without looking up.
"No, it's…it's really not," he shook his head, then frowned. "I'm…honestly not sure what I want. But I think--know--I'd like it if…if we could really have a date. Vala, please look at me."
She brought her head up slowly, forcing a smile, but he caught the hint of tears in her eyes before she forced them away. He felt himself go cold as his unexpectedly burgeoning hopes fell away.
"I should be happy you said that, shouldn't I?" she asked.
"What's wrong?" he brought his free hand to her cheek.
"Daniel, I like…what we've been doing this weekend. I like being friends with you. Of course, that's not to say I wouldn't like it better if we were more--but those things have a way of not working for me."
"We can stay friends, Vala," he promised. His arms slipped around her, and he gently pulled her back against his chest. Settling his chin on her shoulder, he smiled softly. "No matter what happens…or doesn't happen…I always want to be your friend."
"Good," she smiled, turning to look at him again.
Both laughed softly when their noses brushed, but Daniel drew back slightly, bringing up a finger to trace her bottom lip. "I just know that I can't keep wanting to kiss you as much as I do and not even ask you to go on a date with me."
"Well, darling," she said teasingly. "Hadn't you better ask?"
Daniel smiled again, letting his forehead rest against hers, and nodded. "Will you have dinner with me on Friday?"
"Mmm-hmm," she agreed. "But that is going to give you a rather long wait."
"Huh?" asked Daniel.
She turned away again, slouching against him and picked up his hand off her stomach. "You'll have to wait all week long for that kiss if we don't go out again before Friday," she said, idly playing with his fingers.
"You're gonna hold me to that?" his mouth flew open.
"Absolutely," she nodded.
He sighed and hung his head, but knew there was no point in objecting. Instead, he settled his chin on the top of her head and tightened his arms as a mandolin began to play on the radio. The song was slow and gentle, and he found himself rocking her in time as the singer began:
Something in the stars said you and me
I don't know where this feeling comes from
Surely it was meant to be…
"Do you know who this is?" he asked curiously.
She shook her head. "It's the country station isn't it?"
Have to ask Mitchell when we get home," nodded Daniel.
My eyes are open
My heart can see…
"Y'know, I think I've loved you since Ver Ager," he confessed.
"Daniel, you've loved me since Prometheus," she laughed.
His eyes widened, but he didn't say anything for a minute, considering. Then, hesitantly, he nodded agreement. Turning his head to replace his chin with his cheek, he closed his eyes, feeling a warm mix of relief and hope spread through his body.
"Did I tell you that you were the first person I actually remembered?" she asked quietly.
"No," he replied without opening his eyes. "But I knew."
"Do you know that I love you?" she smiled.
"I do now," he promised.
As sure as children wonder why
As sure as newborn babies cry
I was born to give my love to you…
It was still dark on Monday morning by the time they finally made it back to Cheyenne Mountain. Neither were surprised to find their teammates waiting in the commissary. Arms linked around each others backs, they walked inside, ready to face the music.
"See, I knew it!" Cam exclaimed. "Didn't I say it?"
"Indeed you did, ColonelMitchell," Teal'c smirked.
"Fell asleep, huh?" snickered Sam.
"We did!" Daniel replied. "No…really."
The room exploded with the team's laughter and he sighed, staring at the ceiling. Vala judiciously decided there was no use in trying to convince them, and simply set the picnic basket on the table in front of them.
"We have leftovers," she grinned. "Anyone hungry?"
Teal'c leaned forward to open the lid and reached into the basket. A moment later, the Jaffa's eyebrow rose, and he pulled out the teddy bear, which Vala had nestled inside on the blanket. Cam covered his lips with his hand to keep from cracking up, but Sam couldn't stop herself. Vala hurriedly snatched the bear back from Teal'c before even he started laughing.
"That," she said, sliding into an empty chair, "is mine."
Vala happily began dancing the bear on the table, and Daniel grinned unconsciously as he moved to take the chair beside her. Before he could sit, though, Cam suddenly looked down at their feet, eyes widening in disbelief.
"Lose your shoes, Jackson?" he asked with a snort.
"At least I didn't lose my pants," Daniel retorted.
"All right, now that's just not funny!" Cam declared as the team dissolved in hysterics around him.
Daniel began to hope that the ribbing had, at least for the moment, been deflected, but as the laughing fit ended, Sam leaned across the table with a conspiratorial look at Vala. "So," she whispered. "What happened before you fell asleep?"
"Nothing," Vala said honestly.
"That--that means something did, right?" Cam asked. "Cause if nothing happened you'd say something did. You wouldn't wanna lose your rep."
"Mitchell, nothing happened!" she raised her hands innocently.
"C'mon, Vala. You can tell me," Sam tried again.
"I didn't even kiss him," Vala insisted. "No. Really. I didn't!"