LIBERTINES AND LIBERATION – Half Truths and Untruths – CHAPTER 33
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 used a portion of Mary J. Blige's new song, "Work That" in the first section. It's not song fiction, but she wrote a great song and it was appropriate.
A SPECIAL THANKS TO ACER-SIGMA'S RECENT REVIEW: Thank you Acer Sigma for your recent review and insightful comment that piracy used to be a state sanctioned operation. Acer was my inspiration for the dialog concerning state sanctioned piracy.
I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. The delay was in part due to Thanksgiving, but it was also due to the difficulty I had in deciding on the appropriate ending for this chapter. Another chapter, the climax of this Washington arc will follow shortly, but I'd like to give everyone a brief chance to comment on this part first. Because, boy did I work hard on it. So please let me know your thoughts on it. You think this part is intense, wait until you see the second part.
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.
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Work That
With every step he took towards the hotel elevator, Daniel felt his agitation and anxiety rising. What had Vala proposed to Jack? Vala had evaluated the situation with the IOA exactly as Daniel thought she would. Vala would leave Earth before she would allow the IOA to control her fate.
Daniel had counted on Vala to listen to his counsel and let him handle keeping her at the SGC. He should have known this IOA threat would come as a big blow to Vala; a blow that would shake her confidence in him and make her take the matter into her own hands.
Daniel's stomach lurched with nausea as a multitude of risky and dangerous scenarios ran through his mind. He felt like an idiot for acquiescing to her demand that he not threaten to leave the SGC himself. It would have added the needed gravitas to the information Vala had offered.
"Vala, open the door!" Daniel pounded on the connecting door between their rooms.
Vala didn't answer. He could hear loud music and Vala's voice singing along, "Work your thing out . . . so many of you girls I hear you been running from the beautiful queen that you can be becoming; you can look in my palm and see the storm coming; read the book of my life and see I've overcome it . . . ."
Daniel pushed on Vala's connecting door -- it was unlocked -- and peered into her room. He couldn't see Vala, but the television was blasting out Mary J. Blige's "Work That" video. The bed was covered with shopping bags and new clothes. Daniel's eye involuntarily fixated on a bag that read "La Perla," which had spilled its bounty of lingerie out onto the bed. Sheer black bras vied with lacy white g-strings and a red stringy teddy for Daniel's attention.
Still singing, Vala danced out of the bathroom looking like a Vegas showgirl. Vala's tight white tank top left the top of her black boy short panties visible. The high cut of the panties left a healthy portion of Vala's round rump available for Daniel's eyes to see. And she was still wearing the thigh high fishnet stockings and Mary Jane high heels she had worn earlier. "I just want to be myself . . . doesn't matter if you go along with their plan; they'll never be happy 'cause they're not happy with themselves . . . Work what you got; I'm talking about things that I know."
Daniel's watched Vala with equal parts arousal, appreciation and amusement as he called from the connecting door to no avail. Vala could not hear Daniel as she continued her rhythmic musical performance singing and moving her hips as if she had a stage show. "Celebrating the things that everyone told me would never happen but God has put his hands on me; ain't a man alive that can take that from me; working with what I got I got to keep on taking care of myself if I want to live long . . ."
"Vala!"
Vala, with her back to the connecting door, was dividing her attention between ripping the price tag off a pair of Seven of All Mankind jeans and dancing her rhythmic showgirl steps. "Ain't never ashamed of what life did to me; wasn't afraid to change 'cause it was good for me . . . I just want to be myself . . . work what you got . . . I'm talking about things that I know . . . ."
Vala!"
When Vala still didn't hear Daniel, he stepped into the room and walked over to touch her shoulder. Overtaken with the surprise of the touch, Vala spun around, dropped the jeans and would have punched Daniel in the face if he hadn't caught her fist.
"Daniel! You scared me darling!" Vala breathed out heavily.
"I knocked; I shouted. You didn't hear me," Daniel said sheepishly still holding onto her fist.
"Oh, I'm sorry darling. Did you need something," Vala asked as she turned away from Daniel and leaned over to pick up the jeans she had dropped.
Daniel couldn't help watching; Vala's was giving him a full view of her enticing exposed body. Daniel felt his mouth go dry from the internal heat he felt at the close proximity of her exposed thighs and pleasing bottom. He couldn't even blame her for his own seduction; he had walked in on her completely unannounced after all.
"Can you turn that down and put those on," Daniel demanded pointing to the television and the jeans in quick succession.
"Why Daniel? Don't you like what I have on darling," Vala winked at him knowingly.
"Vala!"
"Fine," Vala said in a resigned voice handing Daniel the jeans pointing to the price tag. Daniel immediately ripped the tag off and handed the jeans back to Vala. Vala gave Daniel the remote control.
Vala sat on the edge of the bed and took off her shoes. Then, she slowly stripped off the fishnets. Daniel tried not to look, but he involuntarily caught sight of her a couple of times out of the corner of his eyes. Then Vala pulled on her new pair of jeans. The jeans hugged Vala's curves. She looked small as she had lost several inches of height standing in her bare feet.
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to barge in, but I knocked several times and the door was unlocked," Daniel explained awkwardly.
"Darling, my door's been unlocked since we got here; I didn't think I would NEED to lock it," Vala replied in amusement at Daniel's discomfort.
"Well I didn't expect to walk in on you practicing for your Vegas act, and I did knock," Daniel said by way of an apology.
"Vegas act?" Vala smiled at Daniel with a slight look of confusion in her eyes.
"Vegas as in Las Vegas in Nevada; it's also known as sin city," Daniel explained to a more and more confused Vala.
"What?"
"Look it up on the internet later; the point is that I didn't mean to barge in here," Daniel said sheepishly.
"Daniel, don't worry about it; you have certainly seen me in far less clothing." Vala laughed, "And I was hardly naked. Though you did almost walk in on me trying on," Vala pointed to the bag of lingerie.
"Could you put all that away please," Daniel said in an irritated tone as he reddened and motioned to the lingerie. Vala's Victoria Secret private runway show came unbidden into Daniel's frontal lobe.
"I'm sorry Daniel, but you didn't really give me any notice you were coming in," Vala told him with a smirk and then added, "You know it's all perfectly harmless. Unless I'm wearing it, I don't think anything with lace is going to jump off the bed and try to seduce you. Of course, I could put it on if you'd like," Vala smirked at him.
"Just put it away," Daniel told her shaking his head and feigning annoyance to cover his more prurient thoughts. He sat on the sofa near the sliding glass door that led to a little balcony with a view of Washington.
Vala shrugged and began folding and putting each piece of lingerie back in the bag. Daniel rolled his eyes at her.
"So Daniel, to what do I owe the honor of your unexpected visit," Vala asked him.
"I rode back with Jack and you didn't expect me? I think you know what I want Vala. I want to hear your proposal."
"If I don't finish getting changed, we're going to be late for dinner at Jack's," Vala said.
"We're not going to dinner Vala; I cancelled it," Daniel told her. "We're not going anywhere until you talk to me."
Vala smiled at Daniel, "Darling all that can wait. It's rude to cancel at the last minute. Besides, we have to eat, we might as well eat with Jack and Sam," Vala told him.
"None of it can wait any longer Vala," Daniel told her firmly. He let out a big, frustrated sigh and motioned her to sit down on the couch next to him.
Vala gave him a big pout and folded her arms, clearly getting ready for a fight. "But I'm hungry Daniel."
"If you're hungry, then eat a snack from the honor bar," Daniel told her.
"I already ate all that stuff," Vala said motioning to her honor bar.
"You ate it all! Vala, they charge you for those snacks you know that right?"
"Well don't worry darling; it's only a few snacks. It can't be too expensive."
"Oh, really? You don't think it could be expensive?" Daniel reached into the desk and pulled out the honor bar snack price list. He handed the list to Vala.
"Fifteen dollars for a little can of cashews! Who's running this hotel, Baal?" Vala bit her lower lip trying to add up the snacks.
"Yup, you might have to take all that lingerie back just to pay your honor bar tab," Daniel smirked at her.
"No!"
Daniel shook his head with a look of amusement on his face. He picked up the empty basket that had once held Vala's honor bar snacks. Then, he went through the connecting door to his room. A few minutes later, Daniel returned with his untouched, fully stocked honor bar basket.
"Don't eat all this stuff, Vala," Daniel admonished. "Buy your snacks in the gift shop downstairs." Daniel threw her a bag of chips.
Vala jumped up and kissed Daniel on the cheek, "Thank you darling."
Daniel reddened slightly waving away Vala's thanks, "Now can we talk about your proposal? Please Vala, I've been worried all afternoon. I don't think I can sit through dinner this way." Daniel furrowed his brows and let out a ragged sigh.
Vala nodded and came to sit next to him. "I didn't mean to worry you Daniel."
"Where's the proposal? I want to read it now."
"What did Jack tell you," Vala asked with a worried look.
"Just the background, the IOA isn't your idea of a safe choice and you have some ideas to solidify your position at the SGC. So let's see it."
Vala didn't have the heart to bristle at Daniel's orders when she saw his eyes held a healthy measure of worry.
"The proposal only addresses what I expect from your government, it doesn't address the operations side.
Daniel pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. "Okay, tell me what you have in mind."
"Maybe we should have a drink," Vala said.
Daniel put a hand on Vala's leg to stop her from getting up and said, "We've already done that Vala; quit stalling. Please, Vala."
Vala bit her lower lip and kept her eyes focused on her fidgeting hands. After a long pause she sighed and said, "One operation involves raiding the Lucian Alliance stockpiles of weapons grade naquedah."
"You're just talking about providing information right," Daniel said slowly.
Vala shook her head, "No, I'm talking about running a raid on the Lucian Alliance stockpiles, darling."
Daniel's mouth fell open as he stared at Vala silently. Then he started laughing, "Vala that's insane!"
Vala gave him a gentle look of confusion as he continued to laugh. Then she shrugged and said softly, "Darling, Jack doesn't think so."
Vala's words hit Daniel in the gut, and he stopped laughing.
"You should have told me about this before presenting it to Jack!"
"Darling, I only came up with the idea last night after you told me about your government's treaty with the Unas for a supply of naquedah."
"We were on the plane for hours this morning, Vala," Daniel told her.
"I was afraid you wouldn't approve," Vala almost whined.
Daniel took her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly, as he ordered, "Well, you were right, I don't approve. And, you're not doing it. You're going to tell Jack that you've changed your mind, and that you'll just be providing information and that's it."
Vala reached up and touched one of Daniel's hands that still held her shoulder. "Daniel information wouldn't be very much use. This isn't a job that an outsider can pull off. It's going to take someone with inside connections. I'm the only person your government is affiliated with that can run this raid, Daniel."
Daniel shook his head and said in an agitated voice, "The Lucian Alliance is full of cut-throats! It's not going to work; it's insane."
"Well darling, before I met you, the people I knew were mostly cut-throats. By the way, Jack has agreed to help me plan the raid."
"And how exactly are you planning to pull this off," Daniel asked her with a healthy measure of skepticism.
"I haven't sketched my idea out for Jack yet, but I have some colleagues with ships. I'm thinking we'll run a few sabotage missions; set the worst of the warring Alliance factions against each other. The naquedah smuggling rings have already got to be hurting from the discord. With a little push, they should be desperate enough for a payday that we'll be able to deal for information and assistance. If all goes well, we can beam the naquedah right out from under the Alliance's nose." Vala clapped her hands to show what a piece of cake this would be.
Daniel looked at her like she was crazy. "That's impossible!"
"Darling, if someone had told you that one extremely attractive woman could steal your penis shaped ship away from a full crew of military, you would have said that was impossible too; that is until you saw me do it."
"I still think it's insane, and I can't believe Jack is encouraging this fantasy," Daniel looked at her with stern worry. Then his expression softened, "Vala, we can keep you at the SGC without you taking these risks."
"Daniel I don't think giving them information is going to secure my position permanently. The only thing that secures my position is to drastically reduce the role of the IOA at the SGC. And to do that we need another source of funding. Jack agrees with my assessment that your government will reconsider SGC funding in exchange for the naquedah stockpile. It isn't without risk Daniel, but I can pull it off if it is planned well and I get the help I need," Vala braced herself for Daniel to yell, but he just sat there for several long, silent moments.
"You're plan isn't going to eliminate Woolsey, because the IOA serves as Russia's eyes on the program. The Russians own the Stargate used at the SGC. So you might as well forget about raiding the Alliance," Daniel told her with obvious relief that he had found a major flaw in her plan.
"Well Jack informed me of that fact too. So, I'm suggesting we find a couple of spare Stargates for your government. And I think those two operations together will significantly reduce the IOA influence and power at the SGC."
"So you're going to steal some planet's Stargate to get what you want? You're going to be a space pirate again?" Daniel looked at her with disappointed eyes.
"No! We're going to look for Stargates on uninhabited planets first. But we're also going to look at liberating Stargates off our enemies' stronghold planets. That won't be the first choice though."
"It's still stealing," Daniel maintained.
"No Daniel, it's state sponsored privateering, which will be sanctioned by your government, a time honored tradition among the Tau'ri."
"What!"
"I know all about the English, French and Dutch pillaging from Spanish ships when your little American continent was first being exploited by your European ancestors. For that matter, the Spanish were stealing from all the Native Americans! That was also a form of piracy. And, that's not the only example in Tau'ri history Daniel and you know it."
"That doesn't make it right!"
"No Daniel, it makes it a reality – it's how the real world, the real universe, works darling," Vala said with knowing eyes that still managed to look fresh and innocent.
Daniel huffed his disapproval emphasizing it by folding his arms over his chest.
"Daniel, are you telling me that in the ten years that you've been involved with the SGC, you never took what your world needed or took away something you didn't want an enemy to control?" Vala looked at him patiently for the answer to her question.
"No, never," Daniel responded.
"What about when you hijacked the Odyssey in order to deploy Merlin's weapon? Where did your ZPMs come from? What about the technology Jack stole from the Tollan?"
"How did you know . . . that's different," Daniel protested.
"Oh, of course it is darling; it's different because you and your little Stargating club did it and justified it."
"Look, why don't we go to Jack's and have dinner. You can talk to him about these projects, and then after dinner, you can read my proposal?"
"Fine, but you should know that I'm going to do my best to talk Jack out of agreeing to your plan," Daniel told her.
"I'm sure you will darling," Vala smiled and patted his hand.
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In The House That Jack Built
Vala and Sam were clearing the dinner table inside of Jack's three bedroom colonial house in Arlington, Virginia. The dinner had been subdued since Jack had insisted on no shop talk before they ate. Now that dinner was over, Daniel and Jack were sitting on the deck drinking Samuel Adams beer and watching the evening dissipate the day's heat over the Potomac River and the Washington DC skyline beyond.
"Vala feels that the IOA and the SGC have gone back on their word, and she's right about that, they did. So she's come up with a proposal for concessions and compensation she wants if the President agrees to the operations she's proposing," Jack began.
"I'll just bet she did," Daniel snorted in frustration.
"Ah Daniel, it's not that bad; part of the proposal concerns you," Jack suppressed a smirk.
"What does she want from me? My kidneys; do I have to marry her?"
"No, nothing like that; but don't give her any ideas," Jack said letting a smirk run wild on his face. "Here read it for yourself." Jack handed Daniel the proposal and walked back into the house.
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Fight Night
"Well he's reading it," Jack told Vala and Sam as he entered the kitchen.
Vala looked out onto the deck and watched Daniel reading the proposal. He looked pensive and deep in thought. Not a good sign Vala thought.
"How's he doing, Jack," Vala asked.
"Well he isn't happy Vala, but you didn't think he would be now did ya?"
"No, I guess not," Vala told him.
"Vala, just talk to him honestly. He'll come around," Sam told her.
Vala nodded and walked nervously out onto the deck as if she were going to face a firing squad.
"Daniel," Vala said tentatively.
"Is it finally time for you to consult me about your grand gesture," Daniel said in a flat voice.
Vala nodded and perched on the deck chair next to him.
Vala looked guardedly into Daniel's storming blue eyes, "So?"
Daniel grabbed her hands and looked her in the eyes, "Look, why don't we give them the naquedah mining information and see what happens."
"Daniel, I know you worked very hard on my behalf, and I'm so very grateful to you darling." Vala reached out and touched the side of Daniel's cheek.
Daniel reddened but said nothing.
"But time just prolongs the inevitable. It won't change how vulnerable I am in this situation; and I don't want to live like that."
Daniel blanched. Was Vala implying that he had put her in this vulnerable situation; that he hadn't taken care of her when she'd relied on his word? Her words went through him like a knife. He hadn't protected Sha're and now he had left Vala vulnerable to the point that she proposed risking her life for some security. Daniel shook his head, trying to rid himself if the feeling of failure.
"No Vala; I don't plan to let the IOA anywhere near your life. You know I have some pull around here. I have an expertise that this program relies upon," Daniel said.
"What, so you'd threaten to withhold your expertise while we have Ori warriors out there trying to conquer the galaxy?" Vala looked at Daniel with gentle amusement, "Come on Daniel."
"No! We'd leave together and fight the Ori allied with the Jaffa, with Teal'c. Just like I told Mitchell," Daniel elaborated.
"Just like you told Mitchell, before you even asked me if I would agree to leave with you," Vala said quietly.
"Are you saying you would refuse to go with me Vala?"
"Daniel, would you really leave all your tablets and research? Would you leave Sam and Jack, leave Earth? Would you leave the missions that you haven't had time for? Would you give all that up just for me?" Vala was looking directly at Daniel and as she spoke she saw panic and confusion in his eyes.
Daniel turned away from Vala's gaze and said tentatively, as if unsure of his answer, "Yes."
"Why darling, why would you give all that up," Vala asked softly.
Daniel was silent for a moment, as if he were stunned by her question. "Because, I brought you here; I vouched for you; I arranged for you to stay, and now I'm responsible for you," Daniel told her regaining some of his composure.
"And that's the only reason," Vala asked as her eyes searched his.
"What other reason would there be," Daniel asked her.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe I make you happy and you can't see living on Earth without me," Vala suggested with a little smile.
"Vala can't you be serious about anything," Daniel responded gruffly.
Vala looked at Daniel in disbelief. "You don't think I'm being serious Daniel? I'm asking you to explain your reasons for threatening to turn your life upside down for me."
"Vala, you turned my life upside down a long time ago. I've told you why I would leave with you; there isn't any other reason," Daniel said avoiding her eyes.
Vala's breath hitched in before she could stop herself; she stood up and went to the deck's railing where the view of the Potomac River and DC's sparkling lights could distract her.
Vala had heard Daniel get up and follow her.
Daniel was staring at Vala's back, wondering what she was thinking. He knew his answer to her question wasn't the whole truth. He had other reasons that he didn't want to share. He wanted to protect her; he wanted to be near her; and for some reason, he didn't think his life would make sense without her. But he couldn't bring himself to admit any of those things.
"Vala?"
Vala felt like she'd been punched in the stomach; she wanted to cry, but instead, she plastered a big smile on her face and turned slowly to face Daniel.
"Alright then, that's not a good enough reason, Daniel," Vala began. "I simply cannot have that. For one thing, I'd never hear the end of it darling." Vala gave him another fake smile that did not reach her eyes. "Let's just clear something up once and for all shall we? You are not responsible for me Daniel; and if you feel any misguided sense of responsibility, I release you from it. I am responsible for myself. And, I can take care of myself."
Daniel felt the pit of his stomach go cold. Is she angry; is she hurt, Daniel wondered.
Vala paused for a moment, but Daniel said nothing. So she continued, "I would like to stay at the SGC; I have come to think of it as . . . that's why I put this proposal together. All my instincts are telling me that my proposal is the right call for everyone. When I ignore my instincts on these matters, I end up locked away, or beaten or raped, and I'm not doing it, not even for you Daniel."
Daniel was at a loss and continued to silently watch Vala.
Vala fumed, "I really should have figured this all out and taken care of it before now. But you said you'd handle it, and I . . . no one has ever offered to fight for me before and you seemed so sure. I wanted to believe you Daniel. Daniel, this is the right call." Vala said conclusively.
Daniel started to speak, but Vala cut him off by adding, "And another thing, if I can't manage to convince your government on the merits of my proposal, then I'll leave your little planet and you won't be coming with me." As the words left her mouth, Vala felt hollow and lonely thinking of what life would be like without Daniel and the SGC. You shouldn't miss something that isn't really yours, she thought to herself.
"And what if that isn't acceptable to me, Vala," Daniel asked somewhat taken aback by her firm rejection.
"Well, according to you, it would be unacceptable only because you feel guilty and responsible. But, I've just released you from responsibility. So hopefully, you'd recover quickly. Here this should help; I'm used to leaving people and places behind Daniel. I'm not going to pretend it's a pleasant experience, but I always survive. I ALWAYS do. And then pretty soon, you and your little planet will be just another thing I left behind. So that should help soothe any guilt don't you think?" Daniel paled at her cold tone of voice, but he said nothing.
"And I don't care if you feel guilty or not Daniel; I won't have you sacrificing everything in the world you love and care about out of a misguided sense of responsibility," Vala turned back to look at the view. She needed to quell the rising tide of hopelessness making her entire body feel weak.
Daniel's mouth fell open in anger, confused by her reaction as he heard Vala confirm that she could leave without him; that she could easily learn to live without him; and that he would quickly fade to nothingness in her memory.
"Vala, I'm going to do what I think is best," Daniel said bitterly.
"No!" Vala cut him off. "You haven't given me a good enough reason for allowing any sacrifice on your part. And I don't want you to make that kind of threat, when I won't allow you to follow through on it. You'll lose credibility. This is my fight Daniel."
Vala watched as Daniel silently struggled for the right words. Before he could come to any conclusions, Vala added, "And, this is really beside the point darling. I'm perfectly capable of handling a raid, and there's no reason your government should say no. Everything will be fine. It's not likely that I'll be leaving the SGC."
"Unless you get killed trying to pull this stuff off. Vala, you can't remember your past; you have nightmares and hop into some strange fighting stance. You say you can pull off this risky raid off. You're talking about a suicide mission Vala. You're putting other people's lives at risk, Jack's life," Daniel told her heatedly.
"I've ALWAYS performed on missions Daniel!"
Daniel grabbed her shoulders, "Vala, you've been in my bed how many times because you're too terrified to sleep on your own; and you say I'm not responsible to make sure you're safe."
Vala stepped into Daniel's space and whispered in his ear, "Darling, I was under the impression that sleeping in your bed . . . well I wasn't the only one who got some comfort and, might there even have been some enjoyment from that."
Daniel stepped back and looked at her angrily, "Vala, that happened because you needed it."
"And you call me a liar Daniel." Vala said darkly. "Look, I managed just fine before I met you; so what makes you responsible for providing my respite?"
"I didn't mean to imply that I was responsible; I meant to imply that your state of mind makes you ill equipped to handle a raid against the Lucian Alliance," Daniel yelled.
Vala snorted, "Well actually, now that I think about it, I had the nightmares under control until you started all this digging into Qetesh. I suppose you are a bit responsible for all that starting back up. But no matter darling, we'll just stop dredging up Qetesh and I'll be fine again. There's no need to worry. And the raid can go forward."
"Oh you were doing fine before you met me were you," Daniel goaded. "Vala you were having nightmares long before we went to Quotan, or didn't you think I knew why you slept in my office more than in your own bed?"
Vala remained silent for a moment, and then she said, "The occasional nightmare doesn't mean that I can't function, if it did you wouldn't have allowed me on SG-1 missions."
Daniel glared at Vala with his arms crossed.
Vala looked at him with an open sincerity, "Daniel, I've always chalked up your derisive comments to how we started out and to you being uncomfortable with how I make you feel sometimes. But if you're telling me that you truly see me as incompetent, after everything you said to Jack today, well I guess I'm truly confused. Which is it Daniel? Am I a valuable competent asset or am I some fragile, screwed up nutter who can't take care of herself?"
"Both," Daniel said softly.
"Well Darling, this is the fragile, screwed up nutter who is going to make sure that no one will be able to control or take away the one thing you need to survive happily -- your work."
"If you're so convinced that your proposal is the right call then why didn't you discuss it with me before you gave it to Jack?" Daniel asked angrily.
"Look Daniel, I wanted to tell you. But, I'm not obligated to tell you anything. I'm a part of the SG-1 and the SGC, did you forget that? I . . . didn't think I needed to consult . . . I'm not a child Daniel. I know what I'm doing, especially now that I have the complete picture, something you didn't really grasp darling." Vala said with an edge to her voice as if there was some anger underneath the words.
Daniel looked at her with intense scrutiny. "You weren't going to tell me at all were you Vala? Jack made you tell me didn't he?"
"You know what Daniel? I have a lot of negotiation experience; I probably have more experience than you do in fact. And, I'm an outsider so I can ask for concessions. Your participation would have just clouded the picture."
"But I am participating Vala. Your proposal impacts me, my work, SG-1 and the SGC! Did you even think of that?" Daniel said with anger biting at his words.
"Well I am consulting you before the fact Daniel. I'm consulting you tonight!" Vala's words were firm and challenging.
"You're consulting me tonight because Jack made you. And if he hadn't, you would have presented this to the President without one word to me, wouldn't you?" Daniel was really angry now.
"I didn't think you'd take me seriously, and apparently I was right. You want me to wait, to be reasonable while the IOA just keeps this hanging over my head? Or maybe you'd prefer me to leave your little Stargating Club outright Daniel?" Vala asked trying to get her disappointment and anger under control.
"Oh shut up Vala, you think I'm going to let that happen," Daniel raised his voice almost snarling at her, "I said I'm going to make sure you're safe Vala."
"Yes you did darling, but your grand gesture of taking me to live with the Jaffa isn't very practical now is it – especially for a man who lives for his work and nothing else," Vala challenged him.
"If I'm willing to try it, why should you object? It's my work!"
"Well Daniel, your way leaves the Lucian Alliance with a considerable amount of naquedah at their disposal, which might not be such a great idea in light of their current feelings towards your planet. That's a loaded weapon pointing at all our heads."
"Well, why are we just hearing about all this now? And in connection with a deal where you profit personally?"
"Because it hadn't occurred to me; I've been busy fighting the Ori not to mention all this Qetesh nonsense. And you're hearing about it in this context because your government isn't bothering to protect me from the IOA so I need to show them my value. I need something concrete to protect myself. I'm sorry that doesn't meet with your approval, but it is necessary darling."
"Uh huh, Vala I brought you here; I vouched for you and now you're trying to blackmail my government! And you're involving me in your scheme!" Daniel's words rushed out.
"Oh, so you're embarrassed about being associated with my selfish, self serving proposal is that it Daniel? What a complete shock that you are yet again disapproving of my actions and suspicious of my motives," Vala said with some bite in her words.
"No, no; Vala, I didn't say you embarrassed me," Daniel growled at her.
"Well Dr. Jackson, I'm glad you're not embarrassed; and if you are, get over it. Because come tomorrow, Jack is taking that proposal, my proposal, to the President."
"I don't want it Vala; I don't want anything from you," Daniel shouted.
Vala was looking at Daniel, suddenly tired, terribly tired and upset. "I had intended the deal points concerning you as a gesture of thanks Daniel. I didn't mean to insult you. But, let's just look at it as a consolation prize for everything you've had to suffer through, all against your will apparently, since you had the misfortune to meet me. False gods know, you've certainly complained to me enough about what a pain in the ass I am to you; about how you didn't get to go to Atlantis because of me; and about how I interfere with your work. The deal points concerning your professional autonomy are staying in! So I suggest you use the rest of your evening to make that proposal as useful as possible." Vala gave Daniel one last determined look before leaving Daniel alone on the deck.