LIBERTINES AND LIBERATION – Qetesh's Search – CHAPTER 30
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any Stargate characters, ideas or themes. As a matter of fact, Stargate can have my ideas if they want them (wouldn't that be great). All standard applicable disclaimers apply to this piece. I have tried to source any materials quoted in furtherance of this story.
Spoilers: Probably some for Season 10 and beyond
Summary: Vala and Daniel centered storyline adventure (hopefully); relationship (okay yes); angst (yup); comfort; etc.
Rating: R to NC-17 in some parts.
Author's Note: This is my first Stargate fiction. My beta is an actual fish. Thanks E, for the beta assist. This story will have multiple chapters.
I took inspiration from Milena D's Misappropriation of Lives and a short story called Believe by Random. I really wish those two authors would write more on those two story lines.
Prisoner Redux
It was an unusually quiet Saturday afternoon, some holiday or another Vala remembered so the SGC was staffed on the light side. Vala was bored and climbing the walls. She hadn't really planned ahead, and her teammates were presently off base. Teal'c had gone to check on Ishta and Rya'c two days ago; Sam was in Washington; Cam and Daniel had both signed out last night and not returned today. She'd repeatedly tried both of the men's cell phones, but neither had picked up nor returned any of her messages. General Landry was unreachable, in meetings Walter Harriman had told her. And, Vala wasn't getting anywhere convincing the watch commander to assign an SF to take her off base.
"Come on!" Vala smiled.
"Those requests must be cleared with Dr. Jackson, Colonel Mitchell or General Landry, Ms. Mal Doran." The watch commander had said with a tone of finality.
So Vala had signed herself out to the surface of the base and sat under her favorite quaking aspen tree sulking as she asked herself how she had come to lose so much of her freedom. She'd raised the matter with both Cameron and Daniel once; but then some crisis had come up and no one ever gave her an answer about her status. She hadn't asked again.
At least she could look up at a patch of blue sky. So that's what she did; she sat leaning against her aspen, looking out at the sky and watching others come and go freely from the base. And then she fell asleep.
Vala awoke cold when she felt something touching her arm, coaxing her awake. It was dark she realized as she rubbed her stiff neck and looked around to see what was touching her. Daniel was kneeling over her with his hand on her arm.
"Daniel?" Vala asked groggily.
"Yeah," He answered, slightly irritated.
Vala felt another cold breeze and shivered. She was fully awake now.
"What time is it?" She asked.
"Almost 2130." Daniel groused, "Vala, I've been trying to reach you for three hours. I finally came back on base and spent another half hour looking for you."
"I'm sorry; I was climbing the walls underground. I came up for some fresh air and fell asleep," Vala said.
"What was so important that you had to call my cell three times?" Daniel asked in an annoyed voice that he immediately regretted.
Daniel saw Vala stiffen. "Look, I'm sorry about that. But it's frustrating to be trapped on this base when SG-1 and General Landry aren't available. I'm at the mercy of available SF's and, if I'm lucky enough to find an SF, I still have to beg for permission to leave. Daniel, I've asked both you and Cam this question once before, but so far no one has answered it: Am I a prisoner here?"
"No, of course not!" Daniel answered; he really sounded annoyed now, though he knew Vala's question was legitimate.
Vala paused for a moment as if she were deciding whether or not to push the issue. "Oh really? I'm not allowed off base or through the Stargate without permission. I'm not allowed to choose where I live. I'm not allowed to travel off world without permission. What do you call that Daniel? And apparently my needs are such a low priority to the people who hold the keys to my cage that both you and Mitchell feel free to ignore my repeated calls."
"That's not true!" Daniel said forcefully, feeling a little guilty because he had ignored her calls today.
"Look Daniel, I've been willing to put up with all the restrictions and controls for quite some time. I think I've been quite a good sport player about it." Vala said mistakenly mixing up two common expressions. "All I want to know is when will I have earned everyone's trust?" Vala asked nervously as she jumped up and started towards the base entrance.
"Vala!" Daniel yelled after her, feeling a little shocked that she was confronting him on the issue.
"You'll get back to me on that Daniel won't you?" Vala called over her shoulder.
☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
A Big Ol' Can of Worms
As Daniel walked down the hall the next morning, he pondered Vala's question: "Am I a prisoner here Daniel?"
When Vala had first arrived at the SGC and pulled the bracelet stunt, she'd been restrained, and Daniel had a guard assigned to her -- she had managed to easily manipulate her guards and repeatedly give them the slip. By the time she had disappeared into the Ori beachhead, her security had relaxed slightly. When she returned a hero after destroying the Ori beachhead and warning the SGC of a second Ori invasion, no one had thoughts of assigning guards. She moved freely at the base. But she was not allowed off base without supervision.
Now it occurred to Daniel that Vala had no life on Earth outside the one she could cobble together underground at the SGC. Her excursions off base had always been at the request of Sam, Cam or himself.
And really, Sam was the only one who made a point of taking Vala off base with any regularity. But when Sam was busy, and Sam was a very busy person, Vala was usually stuck on base. Somehow it had all worked. Well, Daniel realized, it had worked because Vala had never really complained.
That realization brought Daniel to a dead stop. For over a year, Vala had neither asked about the status of her freedom nor complained to him about all the restrictions placed upon her. She might complain of boredom from time to time, but that was the extent of it. Her behavior contrasted sharply with the whining Vala had done during their confinement due to the link caused by the bracelets.
Considering the solitary, independent, freewheeling life Vala had been living before her encounter with the SGC, it was incredible that she'd waited so long to confront him on this issue.
The problem was that since Vala's kidnapping, Daniel felt the necessity for an assigned guard for Vala's off base excursions.
Daniel looked up from his reverie to see Cam approaching from the other direction.
"Seen your girlfriend Jackson?" Cam asked, and then added, rolling his eyes, "I had five messages from her yesterday."
Daniel gave Cam an irritated look for the "girlfriend" crack, but otherwise ignored it. Maybe Vala's right, I ignored her yesterday and Cam obviously did too judging from his eye rolling.
"Yeah, well, she apparently wanted off base yesterday and couldn't make arrangements. So what are we doing about Vala's status with respect to off base excursions? She asked me if she was a prisoner, Cam," Daniel said.
Cam exhaled slowly. "Yeah, that's a big ol' can of worms. Truthfully, I've been waiting for her to push that one. I thought Princess would have ripped open that can a year ago."
The more Cam spoke, the guiltier Daniel felt about Vala's situation. "Well think about it. Vala's been back over a year. She's proven herself loyal with her actions, sacrifices and assistance. She's earned our trust on a professional level."
"Yes, well she was also kidnapped. And don't forget, night of the leap frog," Cam pointed out.
"Yes, but all of SG-1 runs the risk of being kidnapped given the levels of knowledge we each have." Daniel gave Cam a pointed look, "And, night of the leap frog had extenuating circumstances, including you losing your pants!"
The night of the leap frog, as the viral video from Liquid 14th had come to be known, had shaped up as a thorn in the side of the SGC with the Washington brass. Jack had stepped in before any major fallout occurred and had his fixers systematically remove the video from the web.
"There's also the matter of having an alien running around Earth. Teal'c – need I say more?" Cam retorted.
"Well Vala is human not Jaffa, Cam. She was also able to integrate into American society for 3 weeks when she was kidnapped by the Trust," Daniel defended.
"Look Jackson, let me think about it for awhile. I'm not even sure what kind of approvals she'd need for off base privileges. One thing is for sure, if baby bear is asking papa bear the question, then there's going to be a show down on the issue in the not too distant future."
Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "See what you can do Cam?"
☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
The Tablet
For weeks, Sam and Vala had been working on the problem of powering the data display tablet that Daniel had found in Qetesh's smaller temple on Quotan. Dealing with the tablet, as with all the Qetesh research, gave Vala the creeps. Vala told herself that all of SG-1 had been through traumatic, gut wrenching events. Her teammates managed to face and examine them for the good of the program. Vala was not going to be the exception. So each time she headed to Sam's lab to work on the tablet, Vala recited a little self pep talk. It also helped that, more often than not, Vala found Daniel already at work in Sam's lab.
"Hey Sam," Vala smiled in greeting as she entered the lab.
"Hi Vala!" Sam said with excitement in her eyes.
"Hello darling, what are you doing here?" Vala's eyes sparkled at Daniel; this was her ritual, calling Daniel on hanging out in Sam's lab on days that she came to work on the tablet.
Daniel looked up from his perch at Sam's desk where he was working on a translation. "Hey Vala, I'm going over some artifacts that Sam is working on and cross referencing them with materials from P3X 790," he responded vaguely. If they didn't make some progress soon, he'd need some new excuses for working in Sam's lab, Daniel thought.
Vala merely nodded to Daniel. She turned to Sam and asked, "So did you make any progress?" Vala was expecting Sam to give her the same reply she always did, "Not really."
Instead, Sam said excitedly, "Yes actually."
At Sam's words, Daniel's eyes darted quickly from Sam to Vala's reaction.
Vala felt a cold stone settle in the pit of her stomach as she forced a smile onto her face. "Whatcha got Sam?" Vala managed to say.
Explaining it more for the benefit of Daniel than Vala, Sam began, "Well you know we think this device is a modification of an Asgard technology. It can be powered either by a naquedah micro cell crystal or an Asgard power cell crystal."
Sam paused momentarily for her words to sink in. Both Vala and Daniel remained silent, so Sam continued.
"And you know that we've tried to replace the power source twice, and twice the new source has essentially shorted and burned out quickly." Sam explained.
"Yes," Daniel said prompting Sam to continue.
"Well I don't think the power source is malfunctioning. I think it is a form of encryption."
"What do you mean?" Vala asked forcing herself to focus on the technology.
"I think the device has been coded to be used by Qetesh or alternatively with the input of some kind of code. And if the device is operated by someone else without the codes, then Qetesh rigged the tablet to blow the power source. That's why the power source blew when Daniel activated it." Sam explained, "It came to me because the first time we replaced the power source it worked while you were in the lab. But then after you left, the power source blew again."
"Yes," Vala said quietly.
"And then I replaced the power source on my own this morning and it blew right away. I think this was Qetesh's way of keeping the information on the device from falling into the wrong hands," Sam explained.
"Oh," Vala said.
"We should be able to bypass the encryption now that we know what it is," Sam posited.
"I suppose we could rig something to fool the device into recognizing the operator as Qetesh. The encryption is likely rigged to respond to her DNA, my DNA, along with the naquedah blood enhancements." Vala added feeling her hands become clammy. She involuntarily stole a glance towards Daniel, who was looking at her.
When their eyes met, Daniel gave her a warm smile and nodded his head encouragingly.
The look from Daniel was enough to fortify Vala's resolve. "What's our first step Sam," Vala asked approaching the work table.
☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
Second Thoughts
The repairs and bypass of the data display tablet encryption took Sam and Vala several more days. The process proceeded by methodical trial and error on Sam's part, and a more intuitive seat of the pants method was utilized on Vala's part. But, Sam had learned to trust and respect Vala's intuitive approach over the last year.
Finally, the repairs were finished. The encryption was broken by using a glove with a palm lined in sheets of a solid agar-like substance that had the texture of a fruit roll up. The substance was infused with genetic materials cultured from Vala's cheek, which allowed operation of the tablet without the encryption safety blowing the power source.
And now, Daniel was sitting in his lab with the data display tablet. It was time to recover the data.
Instead of beginning the process, Daniel was thinking about Vala and what operating the tablet might mean for her. The last few weeks had been hard on Vala no matter how she tried to cover it up.
Daniel knew it had unsettled Vala that he had intimate knowledge of her first experience at the hands of Qetesh, and that Teal'c, Sam and Jack all knew something of the experience as well.
Daniel had watched the revelation knock Vala down; a revelation he was one hundred percent responsible for. Then he'd watched as she got back up. She'd done it by turning away from him and seeking out Cameron. And that part of her recovery still bothered Daniel, though he denied it to himself.
She'd done it by seeking out more life, activity, people and dance. Part of Daniel shook his head in wonder of Vala. She doesn't shrink from life, Daniel thought.
Vala had never once suggested that the Qetesh research stop, even after Daniel's experience with the Rem'zor device. She must have known the likelihood of experiencing more unsettling discoveries about her time as Qetesh's host. But she'd gone forward and helped Sam.
Now Vala seemed restless and agitated at the prospect that Daniel would be going over the database, though she said not one word. Daniel knew she was anxious about it, because she hadn't been into his lab once since Sam had given him the tablet.
For some time, Daniel sensed a hesitation in Vala when it came to the Qetesh research. She seemed to be relying upon Daniel for the emotional support to continue. And when he encouraged her to continue he saw her steel herself and go on.
And now Daniel was having second thoughts. He suspected that Vala had only agreed to the Qetesh research because of him. And that thought unsettled Daniel, because Vala was plenty opinionated when she didn't want to do something.
Qetesh had been a goddess of love and beauty; a goddess of sexual pleasure. And before she disappeared at the Ori beachhead, talking about sex had been Vala's favorite way to fluster Daniel. Yet Vala never divulged any of Qetesh's experiences to Daniel.
What little Daniel knew about Vala's time with Qetesh could be traced to the security tapes of Vala's attempt to interrogate Baal, or one of Baal's clones, when the SGC had been collecting his clones like cheap toys from a happy meal.
Daniel had watched the tape of Vala's seductive interrogation attempt. She'd reminded Baal of his past sexual association with Qetesh while she was her host. And when Baal called Vala on her phony invitation to renew that acquaintance and dupe the Tau'ri, Daniel saw the revulsion on Vala's face when Baal forced her back against the interview table and tried to collect on the offer of sex.
When Vala came out of the interrogation room, she'd said nothing other than her interrogation had failed. Clearly, Vala did not want to confront her history with Qetesh. And yet she was helping Daniel expose it.
Daniel wondered if Vala felt she owed it to him to look Qetesh in the face. Vala knew about Sha're. And, he wondered if Vala had agreed to the research, not as a means to gaining insight into the Clava Thessara Infinitas, but as a way for Daniel to gain the information he had always wanted to know about Sha're's life as a host.
Daniel had repeatedly returned to Vala's words about Apophis, Amonet and Sha're, though he had not yet dared to ask her anything further about the matter. Daniel had no idea that he'd be dredging up his own long buried questions and fears about what Sha're had suffered when he began researching Qetesh. Now he knew it was sheer folly that it had not occurred to him.
As Daniel sat in front of the data display tablet, he considered whether he should turn back from this path for both Vala's sake and his own. But that had never been Daniel's way, and he was pretty sure it really wasn't in Vala's best interests either. So Daniel slipped on the operating glove and started to run the operating stone over the tablet until the index appeared.
The index included three sections marked with an image of Vala. There were an additional two sections marked with a square inside a circle, the same symbol of the Clava Thessara Inifinitas that Daniel had found in several places in Qetesh's journal.
The first section marked with Vala's image was a surveillance log. It started with labeled images of three little girls, perhaps seven or eight years of age.
The first image, labeled Oranesta Be Dovelo, was a pretty little girl with dark hair, wearing a simple green dress, and accompanied by two adults, a plain red haired woman and a beautiful dark haired man, both in similar, simple dress. A percentage was scrawled across the image 30 in Goa'uld text. A list of details about the girl's life followed including her absence at regular intervals from her family's home during the hot season months.
The second image was of a more strikingly pretty, dark haired little girl, titled Intalia Seq' Eso. This girl was pictured with a much smaller child; both were wearing black uniforms and appeared to be in a bustling village that showed some technological advancement. Details of Intalia Seq' Eso's life included recent trips away from her parents. The percentage scrawled across the child's picture was 45.
The last picture was of a beautiful, ethereal girl who had long raven hair flying as she twirled apparently in mid spin, while a stunning woman smiled and laughed at her. The little girl was wearing a simple white dance costume with opaque white fabric covering her small, lithe body and a wispy white fabric covering her legs. The costume had caught the wind of the little girl's movement and stood away from her body as if it were suspended in the air.
Daniel recognized the smile on both the mother and daughter -- it was Vala's. Sure enough the image was labeled, Vala Mal Doran. The details listed were sketchier and only included "father, Jacek Mal Doran." The mother's name was not included. A notation stated "unable to establish travel patterns due to father." In spite of the sketchy information, the percentage scrawled in Goa'uld was 60.
Daniel spent a long while staring at the image of the woman, as if he thought he could divine her essence from this moment frozen in time. She was a dark beauty, like the little girl, and her features had a similar quality. She could definitely be the little girl's mother. As Daniel studied the image, he noticed the charm bracelet on the woman's wrist – it was the charm bracelet Vala had worn when they'd gone to dinner. The woman must be Vala's mother; Vala had been telling him the truth!
Then Daniel turned his attention to the image of the little girl. As he sat staring at the beautiful child with the familiar grin, he felt an invisible rope tied to his chest pulling him towards her. What were these percentages about, Daniel wondered?
The second section marked with Vala's image showed pictures of about 10 very young children aged four or five. The images only contained names; a few of the images were crossed out. One of the images was a little black haired beauty with an uncharacteristically serious look on her face and wide slate grey eyes. She had the index finger of her right hand stuck in her mouth, which formed an exaggerated pout. Daniel laughed as he recognized Vala's signature pout even before he read the name under the image, "Vala Mal Doran age 5."
The third section marked with Vala's image showed pictures of about 25 babies with all but 10 marked out. Daniel scanned the images and found one marked Vala Mal Doran. The baby in the image was perhaps six months old, the big slate grey eyes already evident along with a crop of shiny black hair. She was laughing and holding onto her feet as if fascinated. The baby was sitting on someone's lap, but that person's head was not framed in the photograph.
Daniel sat back from the device and removed the glove, absently rubbing the bridge of his nose as he became lost in thought.
One thing was clear from these three files in the data base. Qetesh seemed to have a long standing interest in a group of raven haired little girls that had included Vala Mal Doran. And as the little girls grew up, Qetesh had been culling out the group, eliminating girls from the list of possibilities. Daniel had no clue what criteria had been used. What did seem certain is that Qetesh's interest in Vala had increased over time until she ultimately took Vala as her new host.
Daniel flashed on the Rem'zor device and the words Qetesh had used, "I will only pay the bounty to the one that truly deserves it . . . I have searched a VERY LONG TIME for one such as the prize you have brought." Had Vala been the unfortunate winner of this process of elimination? What contest had Qetesh been running here? Daniel had never heard of a Goa'uld picking a host in such a manner.
Daniel put the operating glove back on and refocused on the tablet, opening the first of the sections marked with the symbol he had come to associate with the Clava Thessara Infinitas. He groaned. It was gibberish. Only half of the information was written in Goa'uld symbology; the other half was in a text he did not recognize. That meant he was going to have to get Vala involved, and he didn't relish that thought.
He decided to review the data himself before requesting Vala's help. The only initial information Daniel managed to garner from Qetesh's Clava Thessara Infinitas research was that the earliest notations in the research dated from over 300 years ago.
Daniel shut the device down. He needed a break to think about the ramifications of a three hundred year search for the Clava Thessara Infinitas.
Was any of Qetesh's research on the Clava Thessara Infinitas related to her surveillance of Vala?
☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
Running
Vala was pacing in her quarters. Daniel had Qetesh's data display tablet device and it was powered. She'd helped to power it! Was she an idiot?
And now Daniel had it and false god knew what horrible information he would uncover about her.
Vala stared at her bed. Her spotty sleep had gotten much spottier since Daniel confronted her with his experience with the Rem'zor device, and they'd started to tinker with Qetesh's tablet.
Vala found the entire matter frustrating. She'd just started to rebound a bit from the Emeteo mess when Daniel had shocked her to her core telling her that he had relived her attack by Qetesh's Golden monster. "Vala, I felt what you felt," Daniel had told her. He'd stripped her naked of all her defenses, and she'd felt it all over again.
Before this obsession with Qetesh, Daniel had been pretty good about not pressuring her to talk about her past. But something had broken the dam in Daniel. He'd found a way to finally ask her about her time as a host. Not by asking her questions, but by researching Qetesh.
Daniel had the whole team visiting Qetesh's temples, researching Qetesh's devices and following the trails of Qetesh's old obsession with the Clava Thessara Infinitas myth. And, Daniel had that look he got when he picked up the scent of a mystery that he had committed to following until he'd found the answers.
Daniel had plenty of his own demons. And, Vala had gotten close enough to his life to know that Daniel's biggest demons were about his failure to save Sha're from the snake in her head. Vala knew that Daniel's interest in Qetesh was at least in some part motivated by a need to know about the life of a long term host of the Goa'uld. And maybe all this digging into her past might help Daniel put some of his demons to rest. If she could give Daniel some peace, Vala felt she owed it to him. What were a few sleepless nights compared to what Daniel had given her?
As tired as she felt, Vala shook her head at the thought of sleeping in that bed. She just couldn't go to Daniel, because then she'd see him working on Qetesh's tablet. So she stalked over to her dresser and pulled out some workout clothes. She found her trainers in the corner of the room and dressed quickly.
Her first thought was to spar with Teal'c, but it was too late to bother him. She hit her forehead in frustration.
Vala headed for the running track. She ran until sweat dripped down her body; ran waiting for some release that would let her sleep; let her find a substitute for going to Daniel for comfort.
☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
Daniel had been headed to the commissary when he'd seen Vala on the running track. He sat watching her run like a legion of Ori Priors were following her. Sweat was pouring off her; and if she didn't stop soon, Daniel wondered if she would pass out from exhaustion.
Had it been just a year ago that he had gone to General Landry with the proposal that Vala join SG-1? He'd had a laundry list of reasons to secure her position in the Stargate program – talents, contacts, knowledge of the Lucian Alliance, the Ori, smugglers and her connection to Adria. But those advantages could have been secured without keeping Vala at Cheyenne Mountain.
But a position with SG-1 was what Daniel wanted for Vala. It meant he would see her almost every day; it meant they would work together – that they would even sleep together as the team often did on off world missions.
He'd often asked himself why he had insisted that Vala stay at the SGC. And usually, Daniel answered himself with the high minded goals of providing Vala a home and saving her from her old life. But the truth of the matter was that he had done it for selfish reasons, because he wanted her here.
When she had suddenly disappeared at the Ori beachhead, his life was quieter. But the quiet he had desired turned out to feel like a dull, flat and grey existence. And when Vala had found her way back to him again, Daniel had already made the decision to work to keep her at the SGC. Now Daniel knew that he had really kept her here because he wanted to see her smile; he wanted to spar with her, experience her warmth and joy for life, a joy for life that had survived so much. He'd wanted it because it made him feel more alive.
Vala was a pain in the ass, and Daniel knew that she would be, but she made him feel alive and in a very real sense she made no demands on him.
And her sexual innuendo, all the teasing and varying degrees of sexual overtures that she had made to him, left him annoyed, flustered and confused, but if he were honest, they made him feel alive too. And, she took his rejections and came back the next day with no hard feelings.
So in a real sense, Vala had made it easy on Daniel to include her in his life. She'd let him help her; and, in spite of her recent confrontation, she had submitted to the virtually total control that he and the SGC exercised over her.
Daniel could justify the restrictions that had been placed on Vala, because it had allowed her to become a part of his family at the SGC. The SGC, and his SG-1 teammates, had given Vala a home. That home was worth her sacrifices; it was something Daniel knew she had not had in a long time, if ever.
Vala was complex, wounded, fucked up and wild, and that gave him all kinds of reasons not to get too close. Not to get too involved. And he was right to keep her at arm's length. But even at arm's length, she was close enough for him to feel her excitement for life.
So Vala's recent avoidance had left Daniel in more turmoil than he wanted to admit. And with a chill down his spine, Daniel knew that Vala now wanted that control over her life back. Watching her run, Daniel wondered if the SGC would allow her enough freedom, or if she might decide to leave the SGC.
All of a sudden, Vala stopped running. There was a look of frustration plain on her face as she sat on the track with her head between her knees. What's she thinking about? Daniel wondered as he found himself walking towards her.
☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
"Running hasn't helped" Vala thought as she plopped down on the track. If Daniel would just have sex with her, no questions asked, maybe she could sleep. She'd used sex to drive away overwhelming nightmares and fear before.
Of course, she could find a substitute bedmate; Vala knew that. But somehow she couldn't go there when she still held out hope with Daniel. Somehow Vala knew sleeping with one of his co-workers would permanently bar her from his bed. And she couldn't bear living without the possibility of Daniel.
Vala didn't notice Daniel until he was standing within a few feet of her.
"Vala," Daniel said softly sitting down and handing her some water. "Now I think I know why you eat so much," Daniel teased her, while she sat in virtually the same position panting. Her clothes clung to her body pressed in place by her sweat. Her bare stomach glistened from the exertion.
Vala took the water with a nod and said quietly, "What are you doing here Daniel?"
"I . . . needed to make sure you were okay," Daniel stammered.
Vala looked at him, confused for a moment. "I'm fine."
"Vala," Daniel stammered, looking at her, "You . . . look at me. What's wrong? Where have you been?"
Vala held up a clammy hand to his cheek, silencing him. "Really, I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow darling."
"Vala, why don't you just come with me now, and I'll show you what I've found so far. You might sleep better." Daniel suggested softly.
Then Vala got up and walked out leaving Daniel wishing he had the courage to go after her.
☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
Vala left the indoor track and headed to her quarters for a shower. She couldn't get her mind off Daniel's words, "I'll show you what I've found." She showered and changed into some green and white striped pajama bottoms and a white camisole. As she brushed her wet hair out, she looked at her bed. The bile rose up in her throat.
"Anything is better than this," Vala said as she threw down the brush and ran out of her quarters towards Daniel's lab, not even bothering to put on a robe or any shoes.
Daniel wasn't there when Vala arrived, but his lights were still on and Qetesh's tablet was still on his lab table. Vala picked up the operating stone and ran it over the tablet.
☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
A Familiar Smile
Daniel had taken a shower and was contemplating going to sleep, but he was too agitated after seeing Vala. So he changed into some fresh clothes and headed back to his lab.
As he came through the door, Daniel saw Vala sitting at his lab table, her wet hair soaking into the back of her camisole and her knees pulled up so that her head rested upon them. She was holding the operating stone and staring down at the tablet.
Daniel walked up to Vala and put his hand on the small of her back as he looked over her shoulder to see that she was staring at the dancing image of herself with her smiling mother. Vala had a confused, tearful look on her face.
"Vala?" Daniel said gently.
"Daniel?" Vala looked up at him.
"This says that it's me." Vala told Daniel as she sucked in a big gulp of air. "I don't remember Daniel. Who is that woman with the little girl?"
"You don't know?" Daniel said gently as her put his arms around her.
Vala shook her head no.
"I think that woman is your mother, Vala."
Vala looked up at him with confused eyes. "Why do you think that, Daniel?"
"Look at her bracelet Vala." Daniel said as he gently rubbed her arm.
"Oh! I hadn't noticed that." Vala said, "I hadn't noticed that."
"Yeah," Daniel said.
"Do you think that's me, Daniel?" Vala asked in a small voice.
"Yes, I think it is, Vala," Daniel said tightening his hold on her and putting his chin on top of her head where he was hit by the wet fresh scent of her coconut shampoo.
"Why?" Vala asked him, trying to hold it together.
"Well, I recognize the smile Vala." Daniel said as he brought his hand up to her face and turned her head so he could look at her expression. "And the woman in the photo has the same smile."
Vala looked as if she was examining the image for the truth of Daniel's statement.
"I don't remember Daniel," Vala said as she tried to hold back a fat tear.
Daniel took the stone from Vala's hand. The image immediately disappeared. "That's enough now. Let's get some rest."
"I can't sleep." Vala said with frustration in her voice.
"Come on," Daniel said. He turned the lights out in his lab and headed back to quarters guiding Vala along like a large rag doll as he went.