LIBERTINES AND LIBERATION

by Literal Literary

This series is set after season 10. Daniel, Vala and the rest of SG1 deal with the mysteries of Vala's past the politics of funding the SGC and each other. This series is set both on Earth and off world.

40. Chapter 40

LIBERTINES AND LIBERATION

CHAPTER 40 -- Reunions

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, with some language and sexually graphic material. Warning: This chapter contains some violence.

Author's Note: This is my first Stargate fiction. Thanks E, for the beta assist. This story will have multiple chapters.

Author's Note: This chapter had a beta assist from my Beta Boy. We end up posting these late on Saturday nights after imbibing in some fine wine or champagne. In Vino Vetitas? In spite of the fact that this chapter has been betaed and rebataed, I confess, there may be typos. They haunt me so.

Author's Note: Thank you to the readers that posted reviews for the first time on Chapter 39. And, thank you to everyone who sustains my large writer's ego by giving me regular reviews. You care! Thank you. So, I'd love to hear what everyone thinks about this chapter too. This was a difficult chapter to bring forth. I did a couple of different versions and wasn't happy. Finally, I took the sage advice of Beta Boy who essentially advised me to simplify (well simplify for one of my chapters that is).

And thanks to Acer Sigma, for being a great sounding board on this chapter. He let me rant a bit, and graciously provided his wisdom.

Com-traya ya'll! Com-traya!

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Attack of a Jack

(On Board Sonny)

Vala's heart was in her throat as she listened to the attack over the com system. Was that Jack she heard cry out in pain?

(Behind the Fish Shop, Nerutas)

As the swift blows of the net cutter shocked Jack's system, he lost his hold on his zat ni'katel. Jack lunged at the zat; blind survival instinct took over, and he automatically fired off a shot in the general direction of Tarsoot.

A searing pain coursed through Jack clouding his vision. He could only hope that the shot had hit Tarsoot, but a movement of air near Jack's cheek told him he'd missed the mark. Sweat beaded on his forehead and began to form small trails heading down into his eyes.

Jack could just make out the outline of Tarsoot as he aimed the cutter at Jack's chest. Jack fired the zat towards the shadowy center of Tarsoot. If he missed him again, Jack would be dead in seconds. Each second felt like an eternity to Jack as he waited to feel the pain of the net cutter striking at his heart. But instead of pain, Jack heard a big thud as Tarsoot's stunned body fell backwards.

Jack staggered back against the cart he had been hiding behind. He looked quickly around, but no one seemed to have been alerted by the noise of the commotion.

With his back to the cart, Jack slid to the ground unable to maintain his footing anymore. "Vala, I've got a situation down here."

Vala had been forcing herself to maintain radio silence. She let out a short-lived sigh of relief until Jack's tone of voice and words registered; whatever had happened, Vala knew that Jack was now in serious trouble.

"Go ahead, Jack," Vala said in the calmest voice that she could muster.

Blood seeped out of Jack's side and it was already trickling down his abdomen. Jack gathered up the end of the great coat he was wearing, pressed it into his wound and began applying pressure to slow down the flow of blood. He felt clammy and waves of nausea were starting to hit. Jack estimated that he would pass out soon; and then, if he didn't have any help, he'd be dead.

"Tarsoot . . . got a little out of hand . . . got knife wounds . . . stomach -- no side." Jack winced in pain. "Can't get those Frankensnakes for ya, Vala," Jack rasped out.

"Don't move; I'm coming to get you," Vala said calmly as she quickly found the mobile communication unit and attached it to her vest. She switched it to the on position; Jack's voice sounded close to her ear now.

"No! Listen . . . I'm bleeding badly . . . I can't make it to the rings. You can't carry me . . . no use you coming down," Jack breathed the words out in a harsh rasp.

"Jack, I'm coming now," Vala said in a calm that hid her panic as she ran for the ring transporter.

Jack was silent a beat too long, and Vala thought he had passed out.

"No! Las Pul'gas is heading here. He's already on the path," Jack said as he hauled himself further behind the cart with great effort.

Vala's breath hitched in panic, "Jack, you said you found our remote controls right?"

"Ye . . . yeah," Jack rasped.

"Did you find anything on the remotes that can activate those failsafe rings," Vala asked him.

"No," Jack told her.

Vala was at the rings before she remembered that she'd need the healing device. She ringed from the bridge area to the ring room by the infirmary and ran to find the device.

"Jack, I've got the healing device. I'm ringing down now; you have to hold on!"

"No! Don't ring down, Vala . . . Las Pul'gas and his men are coming. He'll capture you. I'm dead anyway," Jack told her. He was seeing stars and began gasping for air more loudly.

"Vala, tell Sam I love her -- I always did. Tell her that I wish . . . that I should have married her . . . wanted to . . . you and Daniel take care of Sam, okay? Vala, you take care of him too."

"You can tell Sam yourself, Jack," Vala said reaching the rings again.

Jack's breath was coming loud and labored, "Stay put Vala . . . tell Sam, Daniel and T what an honor and . . . love you guys . . . you guys are my family . . . ."

Vala knew the sound of a death rattle when she heard one. "JACK O'NEILL! ARE YOU LISTENING! YOU STOP SAYING YOUR GOODBYES! YOU'LL TELL SAM YOURSELF! YOU ARE NOT TO DIE. I WILL NOT ALLOW IT. I'M NOT LEAVING YOU, JACK. YOU BLOODY WELL BETTER BE ALIVE WHEN I GET TO YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT DYING, EVEN IF I HAVE TO DRAG YOUR ASS STRAIGHT TO BA'AL'S SARCAUPHAGUS," Vala told him as she worked the ring controls.

Jack had all the remote ring controls devices now that he'd retrieved the gear confiscated by Tarsoot. "Clearly three remotes aren't enough on a ship," Vala mumbled understanding that if she couldn't get to Jack, she could be trapped on the planet's surface.

"I don't want to die, but Vala, if you come . . . we'll both die . . . I can't do that to Daniel," Jack said.

"Well I can't let you die, Jack; I can't do that to Daniel; he'd never forgive me if something happened to you," Vala said jumping into the rings.

"What about the people down here, Vala? You blow up these Frankensnakes and go home . . . can't sacrifice these people just to save me," Jack rasped out. Another wave of nausea hit him and he felt himself slipping to a lower level of consciousness. Jack foggily continued to punch random buttons on the remote control devices.

"I'm going to do both! Now shut it! Save your energy. I'll be there in three minutes. The least you could do is wait for me," Vala ordered ignoring the pit of panic in her stomach as she heard the familiar metallic ching of the rings encircling her.

"No you won't," Jack said knowing it takes at least 10 minutes even at a fast clip from the ring platform.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Missing

Cam had just finished eating his MRE breakfast.

"They're over due now," Cameron whispered to Teal'c.

"It does not necessarily follow that anything has happened to O' Neill and Vala Mal Doran; they could simply be delayed," Teal'c said.

"I hope the kids don't keep us waiting much longer," Cam said nudging his chin towards the pacing Daniel.

Daniel's agitation and worry were palpable as he absent mindedly ran a hand through his hair.

"Okay people, Jack and the Princess are a little late; we're going to give them a few more hours," Mitchell told his team.

"And then what," Daniel asked. "If we go into Katana we could just make it worse for them."

"Vala's given me instructions on what to do if she went missing." Mitchell said.

"What instructions," Daniel asked with a hurt intensity. "I'd like to know what she told us to do."

"Not us, she gave me the instructions, Jackson." Mitchell added in a voice indicating that the discussion was over, "Look, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Hope is Dim

Jack was awake and barely holding on. He felt himself slipping in and out of consciousness now. Because it was better than just sitting there and waiting for Las Pul'gas to find him, Jack continued to press combinations of buttons on the ring remotes to see if he could activate the failsafe.

"Las Pul'gas! Tarsoot has been stunned," a burly man in a grey uniform shouted. The man began to survey the area. He was headed straight for Jack's position behind the cart.

Jack couldn't get his eyes to focus on the man's feet coming around to his side of the cart. Just before he lost consciousness he heard a metallic hum, a crunching sound and a terrible scream. And then there was nothing at all but blackness.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Waiting

"Chicken a la King or Spaghetti with meatballs," Sam asked Daniel.

"Chicken," Daniel answered and held out a hand as Sam gave him an MRE ration. The team was sitting inside the temple getting ready for a second night of waiting for Vala and Jack to show up.

The Team had spent the last eight hours going over possible threats posed by the active systems at Alpha Beta. The problem with reporting the vulnerabilities was that those weaknesses were exactly why Alpha Beta was useful as a base of operations for Jack and Vala.

"Ya know, I think we can report these weaknesses and still leave back doors into the system for Jack and Vala," Cam said.

"Yes and no, Cam; any back door we leave into Alpha Beta can be potentially used as an entry point by an enemy," Sam said.

"What about if we gave them back door passwords to use," Cam suggested.

"That might work," Sam said.

Daniel wasn't listening; he couldn't stand it any longer. "Don't you think it's time we discussed the Jack and Vala situation," Daniel interrupted his teammates with the question.

"Jackson, what would you have us do," Cameron asked him as he looked up from his spaghetti MRE.

"Someone needs to brief General Landry; I don't think we have any choice now, I want to gate to Katana and retrace their steps," Daniel said.

"They're undercover Jackson. If we go to Katana, we may make things worse. We need to give them some more time to show up on their own," Cameron said.

"Colonel Mitchell is correct Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said simply.

Daniel looked at Sam; he could see the tension in her jaw. She was just as worried about Jack and Vala as he was. "What do you think, Sam?"

"Daniel, I realized today that General Landry's time table is based on a computer program that tracks our ships' course and speed. Our ships have Asgard hyper drives. It's not likely that Vala and Jack's ship will have Asgard technology. So we need to consider the time it would take to travel from Katana in a ship that isn't equipped with such an efficient hyper drive.

"So, they may not even be late at all, just slower than we think," Cameron added.

"Yeah, Daniel we can't go to Katana and risk ruining the cover they've laid down yet," Sam said softly. "I don't like it either Daniel, but that's the protocol for a covert operation."

"I hate not knowing," Daniel said pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to take some comfort in Sam's analysis.

"We all do, Jackson" Cameron said.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Effort

Vala materialized on Nerutas' ring platform and waited impatiently for the rings to lift up so that she could find Jack. To Vala's horror, the rings did not lift. Instead they began to hum again. And the renewed metallic ching warned her that she was being transported back off the planet's surface.

Vala's whole body tensed not knowing what to expect as she materialized in a large double ring room.

"Oh," Vala gasped. On the second ring platform in the room, Jack lay bleeding and unconscious. He was a sickly grey blue. Dried blood covered his hands, face and clothes. Fresh blood was pooling around his hip where he lay.

"Jack! Please, don't be dead," Vala ran to his side and checked his pulse.

Vala's hands shook slightly as she pushed Jack flat and gently pulled the great coat out of his wounds. She swiped at the blood with the edge of Jack's shirt until she could see the deep slash with the puncture wound over Jack's kidney and spleen area. His chest was barely moving air.

"Don't you die on me, Jack," Vala shouted at him as she sucked up her fear and pulled out the healing device. She slipped the device on her hand and focused all her energy into healing Jack.

Jack had lost so much blood that Vala feared the device would not work for him. And she needed to make fast progress with him if he had any chance of survival. So Vala pushed her energy intensely into the device with focused concentration.

After three minutes with the device, Jack had better color, but his wounds were still open and seeping. Vala surmised that the device had done a minor patch and focused on replenishing his blood so that he would not have brain damage.

Vala started the device again. It was a dangerous move to use the device so quickly after such an intense session, but Vala didn't feel she had a choice. The temporary patch of the wound was already seeping blood. It wasn't going to hold much longer. Without further healing, Jack would be back at death's door in a few more minutes.

Vala held the device back over Jack's injuries. The glow from the device undulated across Jack's wound, which began to mend together though it still bore a scabby looking slash where the first cut had been made.

Vala could feel the heat building up in the device signaling that it had been in use too long. She started to feel sick to her stomach and began to see stars, but Vala kept the device active over Jack's wounds. It worried her that he had not started to regain consciousness. She didn't want to stop until he was awake.

Vala's head began to ache and her nausea increased. The device began to flicker. As the glow from the device went dark, Vala fell backwards and moved no further.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Have a Little Faith

The night on Alpha site was cool and crisp. The stars overhead were brilliant with no ambient light to dull them. Daniel sat on the steps of the temple watching a star shoot across the night sky. He wondered how long it had been since he had simply star gazed.

"Jackson," Cameron Mitchell called quietly as he sat down on the step.

"Did I wake you," Daniel asked.

"Not really," Cam told him. "Jackson, I know you're anxious about Jack and Vala, but they can take care of themselves."

Daniel looked up at the night sky, "They could be anywhere."

"Yeah," Cam agreed." "Look, you need to have some faith in them, Jackson."

"I have faith, but I've learned that faith alone doesn't keep my family and friends safe," Daniel said with a hard edge to his voice.

"My grandma always says, 'Doubt makes the mountain that faith can move'," Cam said.

"Well I'm sure you're Grandma would agree that if faith moves mountains don't be surprised to be handed a shovel," Daniel said with a bit of a grin.

"Oh, I don't know Jackson, you had faith that Vala'd come back from the Ori galaxy and she did come back," Cam told him.

"Actually, I went and took her back from the Ori ship remember," Daniel pointed out. "It's not that I don't appreciate the pep talk Cam; I can't explain it, I just feel like something is wrong. I feel useless just sitting around here waiting."

"It's tough being the one left behind watching your teammates risk their lives. And you handle it just about as well as Vala did when you were off playing Merlin. You should have seen her; she was climbing the walls. But right now that's our job; we have to wait. We have to give them some more time," Cam slapped his back as he got up from the step. "Get some sleep, Daniel."

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

No More to Do

Vala woke with a splitting headache an hour later. Her mouth tasted salty. She realized that she had a bloody nose. She rolled sideways and managed to come up on her knees and crawl towards Jack. He was still unconscious and breathing a little fast. But his wounds were closed and looked a little better than before. Vala tried to reactivate the hand device, but found that it refused to work.

It was only then that she thought about the rings on the planet. She swung around in a panic hoping that they were in one of Sonny's ring rooms. She breathed a sigh of relief when she recognized the room next to the infirmary on Sonny.

"Well you look better anyway," Vala said getting up and heading into the infirmary. She looked around to see if there was anything there that might help her heal Jack.

Vala found a heart monitor, and she decided to risk moving Jack in order to hook him up to it. A bright yellow hover stretcher hung in the corner. Vala got it down and activated it.

"Wish I'd know about that an hour ago," Vala said.

The stretcher hovered by her side as she made her way back to Jack. She pressed a button on the stretcher, and it split in two. She was able to position it on either side of Jack's body.

One side of the stretcher was made of materials attracted to the other. It shot filaments that worked themselves under Jack and attached to the other side of the stretcher. The whole process took less than thirty seconds. Jack hovered in the air on the stretcher, and Vala guided him into the infirmary. She transferred Jack to a bed by reversing the process.

Then Vala cut off all of Jack's clothing, clean his wound and wrapped warm blankets around him. Afterwards, the hooked up monitors marked "general diagnostics and vitals monitors." The monitors beeped indicating abnormal vital signs and flashed instructions to "Administer Packs 1, 2 and 3." Vala ran to the supply shelves and pulled the patches. Pack 1 read "hydration"; Pack 2 read "shock" and Pack 3 read "blood builders." She slapped the patches onto Jack.

Vala tried to get the healing device to work again so she could continue healing Jack, but the thing wouldn't light up. Vala wasn't sure what was wrong with it. She opened it up to take a look. The only thing Vala could conclude was that the operational crystal had been depleted by her intense energy level.

Vala lay her head down on the side of Jack's bed as she felt a fat tear escape her eye, "I don't know what else to do. Don't die Jack, don't leave me alone here. Please Jack," Vala fell asleep with that mantra on her lips. It was a prayer to the gods she no longer believed in. She prayed that no harm come to this man who had come to mean so much to her; this man who had meant the world to all the people who now meant the world to her.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Late!

Samantha Carter was worried. Jack and Vala were now officially overdue, no matter what kind of hyper drive they were using. She looked over at the rest of SG1 just finishing up their MRE breakfast. Daniel looked like he hadn't slept at all. Cameron didn't look much better. Even Teal'c's trademark stoicism seemed tinged with concern.

"Mitchell, we need to go back and speak with Landry about sending someone through to Katana. And before you even start, I am going to be one of the people going to Katana," Daniel told him.

"Jackson we're all worried," Cameron told him.

Daniel almost yelled at Mitchell that he couldn't possibly be as concerned as Daniel or they would have been through the gate yesterday. He almost yelled that his best friend of over a decade wasn't missing. He almost yelled that the woman Cameron loved, and had finally, finally been able to confess that love to, wasn't missing. Instead, Daniel clamped his jaw tensely shut and held his tongue while he gathered his calm like a tattered coat.

"I think it's time too," Sam said quietly.

"Alright, Jackson and I will go talk to Landry. You two wait here in case Jack and Vala show," Mitchell ordered.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Priorities

Jack's eyes felt glued together and he couldn't move one of his arms. His injured side felt sore and tender. In fact, everything hurt when he moved. His arm felt like he had pins and needles in it. He was thirsty, but he needed to take a good long pee too. His teeth were wearing sweaters.

Jack's eyes blinked open to a searing headache. He felt gingerly around to the weight that rested uncomfortably on his arm and felt the silky hair of Vala Mal Doran.

"Vala," Jack rasped and patted her head a bit to wake her up.

Vala's head jolted up running into Jack's hand.

"Jack!" Vala began to look at the monitors.

The monitors, made for lay people, flashed outside normal limits for Jack's blood pressure and heart rate. The monitor advised: "Administer Pack 4."

"How do your wounds feel," Vala asked.

"Sore, tender," Jack said. "Can I have some water?"

Vala handed Jack a bottle of water and a straw that she found on a nearby shelf. Then she went to look for Pack 4. The pack was sitting on the same shelf that she had found the other medical packs on. She pulled the pack open and stuck two additional patches onto Jack's skin.

"There, let me know if you start feeling better," Vala said.

"Doctor Mal Doran, why is your nose is bleeding," Jack asked. "Come here, let me see."

Vala shook her head and went to wash her face. She returned with a cloth to her nose.

"Did you hurt your head," Jack asked.

Vala shrugged her shoulders again.

"Maybe we should run some scans and see if you're okay," Jack suggested.

"Jack stop borrowing trouble. You're the patient. Not me!"

Jack started to push the matter, but decided against it. "So what happened," he asked instead.

"Jack, you're as stubborn as Daniel; I told you not to Reole Tarsoot!"

Vala stopped and closed her eyes. When she opened them she smiled at Jack and shook her head. "It's done now; Sam and Daniel will just have to kill me for bringing you back in less than mint condition. At least you figured out the remote's failsafe," Vala said. "I'd ringed down and before I knew it, I was back on the ship and you were next to me in the rings."

"Sweet; I don't remember, but then again, I don't remember much of anything," Jack said. "How long have I been out?"

Vala looked at her watch, "Three hours?"

"What's going on with the Frankensnakes?" Jack watched as Vala bit her lower lip and wouldn't look at him.

"Vala?"

"I have no idea; I haven't done anything about them yet, I've been focused on you."

"We've got to finish those hatcheries off," Jack said calmly. "Help me up."

"It is what it is; I prioritized. You were the priority," Vala said. "Look, now that you're awake, I'll go deal with blowing up the hatcheries."

"Vala, that's not how it works," Jack told her. "You need to stay on goal; I need to be there in case you need some help."

"No Jack, that may not be how the military works; but it's how things on this ship work. The crew comes first."

"Crew huh?

Vala nodded her head sharply.

"Look, I'm fine now," Jack grimaced as he moved.

"Jack three hours ago you barely had a pulse. You're staying in bed," Vala told him.

Jack grimaced as he moved to the side of the bed. "Vala, where are my pants?"

"I cut your clothes off you so you'd be more comfortable," Vala told him without embarrassment.

"Oh, you're going to have some explaining to do lady," Jack grimaced.

"Get me my pants will ya?"

"Nope, besides I don't think they'd be very comfortable over that tender side. Vala pulled a robe and a wheelchair out. "I'll give you these when that monitor reads that your vitals are within normal limits."

"Vala," Jack scowled.

"That's the deal, and only because you're clearly determined," Vala told him.

"We have things to do," Jack told her.

Vala ignored him, "In the meantime, I'm going to make you some broth and you're going to eat a little something. Then, I'll consider allowing you up on the bridge. Until then, no dice," Vala told him.

Jack started to protest again, but thought better of it, "Okay Dr. Lam; you have a deal."

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Heart to Heart Hike

Daniel and Cameron were hiking at a fast clip to the Alpha site. Neither of them had discussed hiking at the faster pace, but both felt a sense of urgency and they naturally fell into the quicker cadence. Sweat began to bead on the brow of both men as they began to show signs of the bright sun beating down and the athletic pounding of their boots.

"Mitchell, what did Vala tell you to do if she and Jack went missing?"

"Jackson, I didn't tell you the other night because I know you're not going to like it," Cameron told him as he jogged down an incline.

"Did she tell you not to tell me what Plan B is," Daniel asked from his position slightly in front of Cameron.

"No," Mitchell admitted. "She told me that she wasn't sure you'd follow her Plan B instructions. She told me you can't always choose your allies."

"Alright, you've prepared me, what's her Plan B," Daniel asked as the two men came to a flat area where they could walk side by side.

Cameron wiped his brow with the back of his arm, "Vala said that if they didn't turn up, we should contact Aton Re Van and have him look into it."

"What!" Daniel shook his head. They weren't doing that; Re Van would get her killed. Why did she trust that guy? Daniel thought feeling resentful and jealous.

"I told you that you weren't going to like it," Cameron told him. "Jackson, I don't like Re Van any better than you do, but we can't just walk through the Katana Stargate and start asking questions. We don't want to blow their cover; it could end up putting them in more danger."

Daniel gave Cam a hard look, "Re Van will put them in danger!"

"Vala didn't seem to think so," Mitchell countered. "Like it or not Daniel, Vala and Re Van have some kind of history. Vala had a pretty dangerous profession before she joined the SGC, and she was pretty good at it. I think she knows who to trust."

"Mitchell, I'm not saying she doesn't have some pretty impressive skills, I know she does. She's also gotten herself into some real messes. What about that whole mess with the Kormac bracelets? That doesn't exactly instill confidence in her Plan B."

"Oh, I don't know Jackson; I always thought your girlfriend knew exactly what she was doing with those bracelets," Cameron smirked.

"What do you mean," Daniel asked.

"Well Vala's no slouch when it comes to understanding technology, Jackson. I think she knew those bracelets would take her down if she got separated from you. I kinda think attaching herself to you was her idea of a date. She was a frickin' Goa'uld for years, how could she not know they would make both wearers sick?"

Daniel didn't say anything. The idea that Vala had motives other than treasure when she linked them with the bracelets had crossed Daniel's mind from time to time. Didn't her actions at the Ori beachhead confirm that? Ultimately, he'd decided that it didn't matter. He'd decided that she'd proven herself.

"Yeah, you've said that before. And that's my point," Daniel said. "Vala takes a lot of risks and not just with her own life. I was attached to those bracelets too."

"Well that was then, Jackson, and this is now," Cameron grinned.

"Meaning," Daniel asked with irritation in his voice.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Vala's worked pretty hard to earn some respect and a place on this team. And that hard work was in no small part due to her desire to earn your good opinion, Jackson."

"Not just my good opinion," Daniel stammered.

"No not just yours, she wanted to fit in and earn the respect of the team. But it was you, Jackson, that made her care about all that stuff. And, I don't think she'd risk that by playing with General O' Neill's life if she wasn't sure that Re Van would come through for her."

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Let's Talk Snakes!

"So Vala when you took my pants did you happen to find a piece of paper and my PDA?

"Yes," Vala said.

"Can you get them for me," Jack asked her.

Vala opened the stand next to his bed. She pulled out the paper and blood encrusted PDA for Jack. After she'd wiped the blood off, she handed it to him and watched as he punched buttons.

Jack handed Vala the PDA, "Here are the coordinates to the hatcheries. If my acting is anywhere as good as I think, Slaviash will have rigged the generators at those sites. I think we'll get limited overloads and localized explosions out of the rigging I told him to do."

"Jack I didn't know you had it in you?"

"Well, ordinance is ordinance. It probably won't destroy the entire hatchery operation, but it will blow up a chunk and hopefully kill some snakes. You need to confirm the damage. You should be able to use the explosions and these coordinates to verify your scanner modifications and results," Jack told her.

"Okay, let's see what we have," Vala told him. "Jack, by the way, you know we're late for our rendezvous with SG1?"

"Yup; we can't think about that right now; one thing at a time Vala," Jack told her.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Reporting

"How's Alpha Beta," General Hazmotti asked Cameron as he and Daniel stood at attention.

"Fine sir, Colonel Carter and Teal'c are still there," Cameron responded without elaborating.

"Everything in order up there," General Hazmotti asked studying the tense pair.

"Yes sir, we're just being thorough. We'll be branching out from the Alpha Beta site soon," Cameron said. "Sir, Dr. Jackson and I would like to consult with General Landry. We'd like your permission to go through the Stargate to Earth, sir."

"Granted; you have carte blanche so how could I deny the request, but I would like to be informed," General Hazmotti pushed.

"Sir, I'm not at liberty to do that right now," Mitchell told him.

"I understand," General Hazmotti said as he wondered what other operation Mitchell was running from Alpha Beta.

"Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c's voice came over the Walkie Talkies attached to Cameron and Daniel's vests.

"Teal'c, Daniel and I are here with General Hazmotti, go ahead," Cameron said subtly warning Teal'c not to go into any details.

"Colonel Carter has found a solution to the scenario you were to discuss with General Landry. She no longer believes your trip through the Stargate is necessary," Teal'c said.

Daniel stifled a relieved sigh.

"Copy that," Cameron said over the Walkie Talkie. "We're on our way back to Alpha Beta as soon as we contact the SGC with an update."

"Very well," Teal'c's voice sounded one last time from the Walkie Talkie.

"General Hazmotti, permission to dial home, sir," Cameron said.

"Permission granted," General Hazmotti said. "I'll have the control room patch General Landry through to you in the briefing room."

"Thank you, sir," Cameron and Daniel both said.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Barbarella to Shaft, Come In

Daniel and Mitchell were finishing their second double time hike in the last four hours as they made their way back to the temple known as Alpha Beta. They'd passed the time quietly; neither was eager to renew their previous discussion. Daniel was hot from the hike, angry about what Mitchell had told him about Vala's Plan B involving Aton Re Van, and agitated from all the worry and lack of sleep of the last two weeks.

But he was also relieved to finally know that Jack and Vala were safe. And the closer he got to Alpha Beta, the more excited he got at the prospect of seeing Vala in spite of her anger. "Let it go," Daniel whispered to himself as he tried to focus on the positive.

Teal'c nodded in greeting as Daniel and Cameron entered Alpha Beta. "Colonel Carter had transported up to the ship," Teal'c said handing Cameron the communicator from the Alpha Beta temple.

"Shaft this is Barbarella," Vala said.

"You had us a little worried, Barbarella," Cam said with an amused smile at the call sign she had given herself.

"We're sorry to worry you Shaft, we've had a little adventure," Vala said. "Is my Hans Olo there with you?"

Daniel motioned Cam to give him the communicator smiling at Vala's little joke of calling him by the name he'd used with Jup and Tenat when she'd tried to deliver the stolen Prometheus to them.

"Hello Barbarella, how about ringing us up; we're all dying to hear about your adventure," Daniel greeted.

"Yes, yes, I've already ringed Dorothy up and reunited her with Toto. I just thought I should greet you personally; you know see if you were in one of your little moods," Vala teased.

"Vala!" Daniel yelled as he joined Cameron and Teal'c at the ring transport.

"Okay darling, activating the rings," Vala said.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Sam and Jack

Jack was napping on the bed in the infirmary. Vala insisted that he be hooked up to the monitors every four hours until he received consistent normal vital sign readings. So far, he was still spiking into abnormal ranges and the sensors were still recommending certain antibiotics and blood builders.

Jack woke suddenly at the sound of a noise. He opened his eyes to see Sam standing in the doorway looking at him.

"Guess we're at Alpha site. Where are the guys?" Jack watched as she quietly scrutinized him.

"Still on Alpha site," Sam answered. "Daniel and Cam went to contact the SGC and tell them you were missing. Teal'c stayed to relay that you guys were finally here."

"Ah," Jack said. "We ran into some complications."

"Yeah, Vala gave me the condensed version," Sam said. Sam was far more concerned now that she saw how pale Jack looked.

"Carter, whatcha doin'," Jack gently called her attention to the fact that she was staring at him.

"I didn't . . . I didn't want to wake you sir," Sam said in a quiet voice cringing inwardly at how lame that sounded. What could she say, she thought, I didn't know you'd look so bad.

"No, I meant whatcha doin' all the way over there," Jack grinned at her motioning her into the room.

Sam walked slowly to the side of his bed. Her mouth felt dry as she spoke, "Vala told me you lost a lot of blood." Sam examined the monitors and the Jack's vital sign readings. "It reads, 'Administer Pack 3."

"Over there," Jack pointed. "Grab one of the red packs, they're blood builders."

Sam handed Jack the pack and watched as he stripped off an old patch on his arm and replaced it with a new one.

"What kind of medical technology is this stuff," Sam asked.

"Beats me, but Ruznak said this system is greatly sought after among crews that serve lengthy stints in space. Maybe you and Daniel can figure that out."

"Vala said that she couldn't heal you all the way. Can I see the wound, sir?"

"What, no dinner first, Carter," Jack deadpanned.

"Sir," Sam said.

Jack lifted his shirt and pulled the blankets down off his nude waist to show her the healing wounds.

Sam's face scrunched with a look of sympathy, "That looks very painful. How much pain are you still in?" Sam slipped on some surgical gloves and prodded causing Jack to wince.

"Adding a new profession to the list of your accomplishments, Carter? Look, I've been worse; hell I've been dead."

"Now I know why Vala asked me if any of the boys brought along a pair of sweat pants," Sam told him with a bit of a grin. "I don't think you'd be able to tolerate a regular waist band with that much tenderness sir. These are Teal'c's," Sam said handing Jack a pair of grey sweat pants with a diamond pattern.

"T comes through again. You know his eye for the Tau'ri fashion has always been under appreciated," Jack grinned at the gaudy pants.

"Yes sir," Sam laughed.

"Did Vala tell you the healing device quit working," Jack asked her.

"Yeah, she wants me to take a look at it," Sam said. "I think she'd like another crack at you."

"There's a thought, but I'm not sure it's a good one," Jack told her. "At least not yet."

"What do you mean, sir," Sam asked.

"Guess Vala failed to mention that she passed out while she was healing me."

"You're right; she didn't tell me that," Sam confirmed.

"Yeah, apparently those healing devices get a little dicey when you've lost too much blood; that's why there's a sarcophagus," Jack said.

"Yes sir," Carter told him.

"Did she tell you she's been having severe headaches and nose bleeds ever since the healing device stopped working," Jack asked.

"No, she didn't mention that either," Sam gave him a concerned look.

"Well," Jack motioned around the room. "I think we need to take a look at how this infirmary works, it seems pretty advanced. Vala's been using the medicines on that shelf on me; and, I'm healing up . . . err . . . at least I'm not dead yet. Maybe you could take a look and see if we can get her to sit still for a few diagnostics before we give her back a working healing device," Jack suggested.

"Okay," Sam told him looking around. "It's an incredible ship. I can't wait until Daniel deciphers some of this stuff."

"Oh, Carter you don't know the half of it; this ship ate my pie!"

"What," Sam smiled brightly feeling better that he was joking around. Sam looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was coming, and then she sat on the edge of his bed.

"You're going to have to figure out how a ship can eat pie." He pulled her face towards his own.

Sam laughed.

"I'm serious; never mind, it will keep," he said as he began to kiss her like a man who has recently reassessed what was important in life.

Sam kissed him self consciously but allowed him to part her lips to deepen the kiss.

"Sam, I wasn't sure I'd ever have the chance to do that again," Jack said.

"I know; I felt it too; I thought . . . I mean I worried . . . well you know," Sam admitted.

Jack brought his mouth back down on Sam's in a soulful kiss filled with need and desire.

Sam relaxed into Jack's arms careful to avoid Jack's wounds. "Sam, when I'm out of this bed, you and I are gonna make some changes, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Sam whispered.

Jack took her hand in his, "We've avoided taking steps – avoided saying things -- I want you to know that it's you and me until the wheels fall off; I love you, Sam."

Sam's eyes got wider as Jack spoke. "I love you too sir. What are we going to do --"

"Carter, I'll make it work. We'll figure it all out, just not right this minute," Jack said bringing her in for another soulful kiss.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Reunion

Vala worked the ring controls from the bridge. She was wearing the tight paisley patterned leather dress that Ruznak had given her. Nerves and uncertainty about Daniel's reaction to the events of the past two weeks caused her flesh to goose bump where it was exposed at her midriff and back. She smoothed out her dress wondering if any of the men would notice that the purple, pink and chartreuse paisley embossed leather matched the leather seats on the ship's main bridge. Her hands went instinctively to the sides of her chartreuse boots and she gave them both a quick tug. Then she adjusted the matching chartreuse head band that held her long straight black hair before it fell loose down her back.

Vala felt a thrill of anticipation as the rings engaged. As she entered the ring room, she plastered a brilliant smile on her face. The rings hummed and chinged. Cameron, Teal'c and Daniel appeared before her in a flash of light and circles of metal.

"Hello boys, welcome to the Son of a Jack, Sonny for short," Vala smiled.

Daniel cracked a smile in greeting and looked directly into Vala's eyes.

"Interesting outfit, Princess," Cameron said. "See Jackson we were worried for nothing. Vala just spent a couple of days shopping for her new clothes."

Teal'c raised an amused eyebrow.

Daniel appeared to be struggling between smiling and scowling before finally settling on a stoic, non-committal gaze.

That's not a good sign, Vala thought.

"Vala what the hell are you wearing?" Daniel asked with half a scowl.

Vala ran a hand down her outfit. "Hello to you too, darling; I'm sorry we're late. We ran into a little problem. I had nothing to do with choosing this little outfit or the upholstery." Vala ushered them onto the bridge and pointed out the bridge seats. "That was all Ruznak, the ship broker and an acquaintance of mine. He had the outfit made as a little gift.

"I can see why your call sign is Barbarella, Princess," Mitchell mused looking Vala up and down.

"Jack gave me that call sign," Vala confessed.

"Yeah, but Vala loves it since I told her about Daniel's little Barbarella fantasy," Jack said loudly as he walked slowly onto the bridge with Sam's help. "She's right; it came with the ship."

Daniel hadn't told Vala of his raunchy fantasies concerning Barbarella, and he didn't remember telling Jack either. But he must have told Jack something; he'd probably confessed it over drinks that time they took Teal'c to see live Jell-O wrestling. Daniel reddened and turned an annoyed eye on Jack.

"Daniel," Jack greeted.

"Jack," Daniel greeted in return noticing how slowly Jack was walking. The baggy sweat pants Jack wore added to Daniel's concern. It looked like a pair that Teal'c had been wearing last night.

"So this makes it two ships named after me and one ship name after you, Danny." Jack gloated.

"Oh, I don't know Jack my guess is this ship is named just as much after me as it is you; so that makes us even. And if you consider that the Asgard's had the Daniel Jackson a lot longer than the O' Neill, I'd say I'm ahead."

"Well that's why I picked the name; you can both claim it. We'll have fun with that for years," Vala smiled.

"Nice pants, Jack. What happened to you," Daniel asked in a teasing tone that belied the real concern in his eyes.

"Oh well, we had a little trouble," Jack confessed.

"Yes, that much is obvious," Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Dorothy, how's Toto?" Vala gave Jack a bratty, teasing smile.

"Vala, you know I'm paying for this ship," Jack grumped. "And I never agreed to that call sign."

"I like Captain Flapjack better anyway," Vala shrugged.

"I think Captain Flapjack needs to sit down unless he wants to go back to the infirmary," Sam warned.

"I'm fine; my side is a little tender is all," Jack told them.

"Sam, I'm sorry I'm bringing him back slightly damaged, but if you fix the healing device, I promise to finish patching him up for you," Vala explained apologetically.

"Wait a minute Missy; there will be no further healing done on me until Sam figures out all those alien devices down in the infirmary and we run some tests on you," Jack countered.

Daniel felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He moved closer to Vala and now saw the purple bruise running along the side of her jaw. Beyond her outrageous outfit and beauty, Daniel now saw her slightly pallid skin and tired eyes. The fear and worry that he'd been feeling these past weeks came rushing in on him as he put his hand under her chin to inspect her face.

Daniel's eyebrows furrowed, "Vala why do you look so—"

"I'm fine darling; there's nothing wrong with me," Vala gave Jack a glare for causing any fuss over her.

"Jack, what's wrong with Vala," Daniel asked with worry lines appearing on his face.

"Nothing," Vala said again firmly.

"Something, look at her," Jack said.

"Oh, well how highly complimentary," Vala pouted at Jack. "Have you looked at yourself lately?"

Jack and Vala seemed to have forgotten that their audience was not up to speed as they continued to scowl at each other in a clash of wills.

"What's wrong with Vala," Daniel asked again, raising his voice even further.

"She's getting headaches and nose bleeds. We can't get them to stop. She won't admit anything. But my theory is they have something to do with why the healing device stopped working," Jack said completely turning State's evidence on Vala.

"Jack!" Vala glared at him. "I'm fine!

Daniel's alarm was growing as he shouted over the two of them, "What the hell happened to you two?"

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

That About Sums It Up

Everyone was sitting around a table in Sonny's galley listening as Jack and Vala finished recounting their adventures on Katana and Nerutas.

"Alright, so you were able to secure a ship complete with matching captain's outfit and the mysterious capacity to provide just what you need right when you need it," Daniel them looked skeptically at them.

"Don't forget that the ship eats pie." Cameron smirked. "Why don't things like that happen to me?"

"I'll let you borrow the outfit Cameron," Vala teased.

"Thanks Princess, but I'd rather borrow the ship," Cameron said.

Daniel scowled, "I don't know if I'd be wishing for their luck Mitchell, Jack got knifed, and beat up before that, and Vala got roughed up; did I leave anything out?"

"You left out zatted and held prisoner," Jack said.

"Jack, don't help," Vala gave him a sour look.

"Oh, yes, and someone searched your rooms in Katana too," Daniel added with a stern look at Vala.

"Sunshine on a cloudy day," Mitchell looked at Jackson shaking his head.

Vala shrugged, "It happens."

"On the plus side, you discovered the connection between Las Pul'gas and Slaviash and the hatcheries for genetically altered Goa'uld larva. And, you destroyed the hatcheries," Sam said brightly trying to focus on the positive.

"To be fair, we have no idea how successful all that was. We probably need to have General Landry order a team to do some reconnaissance," Jack said.

"Except that Tarsoot told you the gate was broken, remember," Vala reminded him.

"Master Bra'tac should be informed that Las Pul'gas has produced genetically altered Goa'uld larva. He will want to inform the Council and will likely want to return to procure a sample of the altered larva," Teal'c said.

"We need to update General Landry too," Cameron said.

"Indeed," Teal'c said. "I would like to leave immediately in order to inform Bra'tac.

"I'll go with you to speak with General Landry," Cameron said. "In the meantime, Sam and Daniel can start looking into figuring out all the ships systems. If Jack or Vala take a turn for the worse, contact the doctor on the Alpha site."

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Reckless Trust

Sam and Daniel had immediately taken a look at the infirmary. The technology was quite advanced. The entire facility was designed to interact with a lay person to provide medical care. They had decided to wait until morning to inspect the facility in depth so that Jack could be hooked up to the monitors and get some sleep.

The quarters Vala had assigned to Daniel were spacious and comfortable. He had just finished the first shower he'd had in three days and pulled on a pair of jeans when he'd heard a noise in the bedroom. When he stuck his head out of the bathroom, Daniel found Vala lying on his bed waiting for him.

"Is this okay, darling? Your room is connected to Captain's quarters by these sliding walls." Vala pointed at a formerly solid wall that had now disappeared making the two spaces one large room. She stared pointedly at his bare chest with a smile.

Daniel rubbed a nervous hand through his hair as he watched the taut muscles of Vala's stomach in the revealing outfit. He seemed cemented to the floor that he stood on with an expression wavering between "I'm going to kill you" and "I'm going to fuck you."

After an awkward moment, Vala got off the bed. "This is a rather odd reception from a man who is supposed to be in love with me, Daniel. Would you rather I close that wall back and let you sleep alone tonight," Vala asked stiffly with confusion in her eyes.

"No!" Daniel looked at her still not moving. The last two weeks had been a barely tolerable hell; all he'd wanted to do was be with Vala. But these past few days of not knowing if she and Jack were in trouble were intolerable. And now when the hell was finally over, all he seemed to be able to think about was his anger and confusion at Vala's secret instructions to Mitchell.

Vala walked over to Daniel, trying not to look at his half naked body, "I guess I should have asked you for permission to open the walls; I've just missed you so much," Vala told him unable to resist touching his arm.

"Vala," Daniel said as she pressed a kiss into his lips. "Hm, Vala," Daniel said, "Vala, stop."

"Daniel, what's wrong?"

Daniel pushed Vala back, "What's wrong is that I've been going crazy wondering if you were dead or alive. And, you're out there taking risks you never should have taken. There are plenty of ways for you to end up dead on these missions without you going off looking for more trouble."

Vala paled, "So you think it was reckless to go see someone I'd worked with in the past with no problems? Daniel, Jack doesn't blame me for the way things turned out. I couldn't have known his connections. I mean we didn't exactly have a choice about what happened on Nerutas."

"But you could have waited to look for a crew until you had more than two people on board. That was reckless Vala," Daniel said. "How am I supposed to live with that?"

Vala stiffened, "Daniel, you've put me through the same exact thing. I'm not any more reckless than you are; we have risky lives."

"No, Vala I do my job and that means taking necessary risks. But the risks you took weren't necessary," Daniel said.

"You're joking right? You think this is any different from any number of chances that you have taken? Daniel how exactly do you figure that?"

"I'll tell you how it's different, you nearly got Jack killed and your back plan was Aton Re Van," Daniel said. "I would never trust someone like that."

"You trusted me," Vala said quietly smarting from the accusation.

"No Vala, you're nothing like Re Van." Daniel motioned between them, "Or this thing we have wouldn't be happening. Vala, Re Van nearly got you killed! Now you're giving Mitchell instructions behind my back to contact Re Van for help if you go missing."

"Darling, I have to trust Aton Re Van. He has a skill set I need. I've known him for a number of years; and he has a way of seeing the long term picture. He knows that I am profitable to him in the long run so he helps me out of the occasional jam," Vala said.

"And what else do you have to do to cement that trust," Daniel said.

"Well I'm confused Daniel is this about my safety or your sordid jealousy?"

"I'm not jealous! How can you say I'm jealous after the number of men I've seen you flirt with at the base," Daniel shouted.

"Well, I've calmed down in that regard considerably since I came back from the Ori or hadn't you noticed? And even if you haven't noticed, I've never heard you accuse me of sleeping with another man. If I'm not mistaken, you just accused me of sleeping with Aton Re Van behind your back."

"I didn't mean it like that," Daniel stammered.

"I don't think there's a lot of ways that you can mean that Daniel," Vala challenged looking directly into his eyes.

"You're twisting my words," Daniel said.

"Am I, well how did you mean it then?"

Daniel stammered; "Vala don't be an idiot; I meant you can't trust that man."

Vala looked at Daniel shaking her head. "Well we have a difference of opinion on that. Exactly who do you think I should trust?"

"Oh I don't know Vala, maybe someone that wouldn't leave you behind on a ship to be raped," Daniel said through a tensed jaw.

Vala laughed and shook her head, "I know you can't appreciate how ironic this is Daniel, but you are forcing me to defend Aton Re Van."

Daniel looked at her and folded his arms letting her know he wasn't backing down.

"Okay, I think Aton was a bit shocked that I couldn't get that lock on Emeteo's ship open. Mind you, I'm not sure it would have changed his behavior if he had known."

"That's kind of my point," Daniel said more softly.

"Aton was right you know; I should have been able to open that lock if I'd been keeping up properly," Vala said as an aside. Vala looked at Daniel with kinder eyes, "Let me explain why I trust Re Van. I know him to be quite loyal to his own personal gain. So I know if I pay him enough, I can trust him."

"So what happens when someone comes along who can pay him more," Daniel asked her pointedly.

Vala looked down not able to meet Daniel's eyes, "I have a history with Aton, a bit sordid and I prefer not to lay it all out, but I know that he feels an obligation to keep his word when it comes to me."

"I'm sorry Vala; that's not good enough. What obligation," Daniel asked watching Vala as she began to pace.

"I'm not sure I should go into that with you Daniel. I mean you'll have to work together. It will only make it harder on you."

"Vala, if you care about me, then you'll tell me the truth," Daniel put his hand under her chin and pulled her face up so she would look at him.

"You want to know the truth even though I know you're not going to like it," Vala asked him quietly.

"Yes," Daniel said.

"Can we sit down and stop yelling at each other?" Vala held out her hand to him.

Daniel took her hand and motioned to the small grey sofa in the corner of the room. Vala sat down, took her chartreuse boots off and sat with her knees curved under her to face Daniel.

Daniel watched her situate herself bracing to hear something of Vala's past that she was clearly reluctant to share. He sat yoga style so that he could look directly at her.

Vala took a deep breath. "I met Aton Re Van after I had been freed from Qetesh. Actually, when I first met him, he sort of saved me. I was in Qetesh's territories. And as you can imagine, people weren't really happy to see me; they kept thinking I was Qetesh. I was hungry and no one would give me a way to earn some food; then I kept running into people who had a great deal of anger at Qetesh. Those people weren't very convinced when I told them that I was not Qetesh."

"So you were beaten and driven out," Daniel stated for clarification.

"Something like that," Vala agreed. "One of those times, Aton pulled me out of a crowd that was getting pretty violent. He took me onto his ship. You can imagine that I was pretty grateful to have food and safety."

Vala paused; Daniel noticed that she was flushed as if she were ashamed or embarrassed by her disclosures. He felt a lump form in his throat hearing the precarious, dangerous and dire circumstances Vala had been left to survive in.

"It wasn't long before I saw that his crew, a group of hardened criminals, would claim me unless I remained under Aton's protection. And according to the accepted practice, Aton could only extend that protection to a woman who shared his bed. To do otherwise, would have risked rancor and mutiny by the crew," Vala tried to explain her rationale.

"So he gave you the choice of who would rape you," Daniel seethed.

"No, it was far more subtle than that; at the time I looked at him as saving me from his men, but yes Daniel; I was so tired of violence in all its forms. And, I slept with Aton Re Van to avoid more brutality." Vala looked down at her hands not wanting to meet Daniel's eyes. She listened to Daniel's steady breathing for a moment before continuing, still not looking up at him.

"When I got to know the other women on the ship, and they were comfortable that I would not betray them, I discovered that several of them were Aton's former lovers," Vala explained.

"So he wasn't faithful to you," Daniel stated.

"No Daniel, you don't understand. These women were like me; they came onto Aton's ship through an offer of safety. They sought Aton's protection as I did," Vala said reddening with shame. "And when he tired of a woman, the crew began to use her. It was Aton's little hero game, you see."

Daniel's stomach churned. "So that's the man you trust? A man who toyed with you and then pimped you out to his crew?"

Vala gave Daniel a look of mortified confusion and held up a hand for Daniel to let her finish her explanation. "After I learned about Aton's game, that's what I expected would happen to me. I mean I was good and trapped, Daniel. All the planets were ones where Qetesh had ruled. If I escaped to a planet, I'd be facing starvation and beatings – maybe worse. So I stayed and kept looking for another way to escape, hopefully before Aton decided to turn me over to his crew. And I started to help him with technology. Then, Aton began to train me as a thief."

"He never turned you over to the crew," Daniel looked away as he asked his question.

Vala stole a brief glance at Daniel who sat clenching his fists and looking at her. She looked back at hands, "Finally a woman came on board that took his fancy; he had me move into the crew quarters and ordered the crew not to touch me."

"So he never made you . . . and the crew obeyed him," Daniel asked quietly.

"No, he never turned me over to his crew. Daniel I won't lie to you, Aton was in my bed from time to time while I remained in his crew. But when I left his ship, I began to refuse his advances. For some reason, he's turned that into a game too and chooses to continue to make me offers."

"So you haven't been with him for several years," Daniel sought confirmation.

Vala looked directly at Daniel, "This may come as a surprise to you Daniel, but I do have the ability to say no to sex. And when I've been in control of my body, I've done that on more than one occasion."

"Vala, I never thought otherwise," Daniel reddened.

"Oh, you did too," Vala smiled weakly. "Daniel, to this day, I don't know why Aton chose to train me as an equal. Most captains would kill you for trying to leave their ship, but Aton let me go. More than that, he's pulled me out of trouble on occasion. And I've made it a point to be profitable to him."

"Vala . . ." Daniel said hoping she would look at him.

"Daniel let me finish this now, in the interests of full disclosure. Aton did make a pass at me on Katana. As I've said, it's what he does. I said no. And for the record, Daniel, I don't want Aton Re Van. I don't love Aton Re Van."

"Vala . . ." Daniel said reaching out his hands to her.

"I want you Daniel," Vala said as she finally looked up at Daniel again.

Daniel's eyes reflected his acceptance of what Vala had told him and his regret that he ever had a shred of jealousy about Aton Re Van.

"I love you Daniel," Vala said as Daniel pulled her forward onto his lap encircling her with his arms.

"Vala, I'm sorry . . ." Daniel said.

"Daniel don't apologize to me; just tell me you understand why I continue to trust Aton. Tell me you still trust me. Tell me . . ."

Daniel brought his mouth down onto Vala's effectively silencing the rest of her plea for trust.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

The Honey of His Tongue

Daniel watched Vala finishing an apple at the table in her quarters. Her lips looked full and a bit swollen from all the kissing they'd done the night before. She was wearing his shirt and he liked the feeling of having her coming straight out of his bed wearing his shirt.

Daniel sat down at the table and began eating his own snack.

"Darling, you're staring at me."

"Huh, oh sorry," Daniel smiled, "I've missed you; I'm enjoying having you back."

Vala crawled into Daniel's lap, nuzzling his neck with her face.

"I missed you too Daniel, so much sometimes it was hard to breathe," Vala said in a whisper.

One of Daniel's hands rested on Vala's waist and the other rested on her naked thigh.

"I know, sweetheart; I had the same problem," Daniel told her squeezing her waist for emphasis.

"Daniel, it was so strange seeing the places and people that my old life involved. I'm not that person anymore. You know that, right?"

"I know, Vala."

"It was . . . it was hard to see what I used to be – what I might have gone back to if we . . . the life I have now . . . I mean the life that you're making sure I have a chance to have, Daniel," Vala sighed in frustration at her inability to articulate her thoughts. "I mean sometimes all of this has been so hard, but it's worth it. I have so much in my life. Thank you for giving me a chance to change my life."

Vala looked at Daniel with eyes full of emotion and restrained tears. Something about Vala's eyes told Daniel she'd really been frightened to see how meaningless and lonely her life had once been now that she had a life full of love, work with meaning, friends and Daniel.

Daniel leaned over and kissed her deeply feeling her soft lips and mouth open to him. He moved his arms around her.

"You know, Vala, you're not the only one who had a chance to revisit what life used to be like. I had a lot of time on my hands too. I've missed a lot by working all the time. I didn't know that until you punched your way into my life," Daniel said with a soft smile as he leaned his forehead onto hers. "I was only half living without you."

Vala's eyes opened wide at Daniel's words, and he nodded an affirmation of their truth.

"By far one of the more difficult challenges I've ever taken on," Vala quipped and kissed his nose. "But I'm very pleased with the prize I've earned."

Daniel ran his hand up and down her bare thigh, "How would you feel about us spending some time alone together?"

"Are you going to take a day off when we get home," Vala said with some excitement.

"Yes . . . well no I mean, how would you like to see something more of Earth when we get home?"

"Are we going to Jack's cabin?"

"No, we'll do that at some point," Daniel laughed. "But I thought I would take you out of my country to see some other countries of Earth. I'm talking about taking you on a trip; a vacation."

"Really," Vala asked with an excited smile as she squirmed in his lap.

"Oh, oh, Vala, Vala that." Daniel closed his eyes and groaned making Vala laugh as she realized what she had done.

Vala intentionally squirmed one more time with an impish grin, "Just a minute darling, I want to hear about our trip!"

Daniel's eyes were closed and his hand tightened on Vala's thigh. He opened his eyes with a devilish grin and kissed her lightly on the lips. "What would you like to know," Daniel said as he began kissing and licking behind her ear.

"Uhhh," Vala's breath hitched in at the feel of Daniel's lips. "Where are we going?"

Daniel placed his hands on either side of Vala's waist and turned her so that she was sitting on his lap with her back facing him. He moved her hair to one side, and it draped down her right breast.

Vala felt Daniel's hot breath as he placed a slow kiss onto the nape of her neck.

Daniel leaned Vala back against him and whispered into her ear, "Paris, France." He let his mouth rest near her ear as he breathed in the scent of the shampoo she used, coconut oil and something clean and floral.

"Oh! That's the place Sam said I would love! How exciting," Vala said with excitement coursing through her as she moved a little more in Daniel's lap.

"Oh ye-ah," Daniel moaned at Vala's movement and brought his hands around her waist to pull her a little closer so that her back rested completely against his chest. "Uh, Huh, very exciting," Daniel kissed the back of her neck again. Pleased with the "oohs" he'd pulled from her, Daniel used his tongue on the sensitive area behind her ear.

"Wh--what do we do in Paris, my Daniel," Vala sighed and leaned her head back slightly to expose more skin to Daniel.

"Oh," Daniel said slowly distracted by the pleasurable pressure of Vala's body moving against him caused. "Okay, we'll go to museums," Daniel said running his tongue down her throat and moving his hands from her waist to rest just under her breasts.

"Well how exciting for you darling," Vala rolled her eyes but allowed Daniel to continue kissing and licking the skin he could reach on her throat. His hand began to draw circles around the button of his shirt that currently resided over her stomach.

"No, we'll go to art museums, baby. We'll see the paintings you like. I'll take you to see the Lourvre. We'll walk in the Jardin de Tuileries. You can see your favorite Maillol, the one called River. Remember, the giant woman with the nice butt and big feet?" Daniel felt Vala move her head so that her mouth was close to his ear. She reached her hand back and ran her fingers through his hair. "Oh Daniel, I like that artifact."

"It's called a sculpture, Vala." Daniel laughed as his hands moved to unfasten the shirt button he had been worrying with circles. Task accomplished he slipped a finger into the new gap to explore the bare flesh of Vala's stomach. "And we can see the originals of the Van Gogh's you love at the Orsay; there's also the Picasso Museum," Daniel said as he felt Vala's fingers grip in his hair.

"Oh, I'd like that," Vala moaned a little and turned so that she was facing Daniel a little more. "But we won't spend all our time in museums, will we?"

"Oh no, Paris is going to be all about what you want to do Vala. I'll take you to the Eiffel Tower at night and we'll see all the city lights reflected on the Seine; we'll eat some of the best food in the world," Daniel said as he brought his mouth back over hers in a deep kiss.

"Hmm, I like food," Vala moaned under the kiss and moved a little more to face Daniel fully. She moved her right leg over his legs so that she straddled him.

"Hm, hmm, I know you do, and you'll love the food in Paris," Daniel whispered. "We can roller blade with the Parisians in the streets of Paris on a Friday night. And, there's shopping. I'm told you'll love the shopping." He pulled her close so that he could run his tongue down the side of her throat.

"Shopping?" Vala said sitting up with a little thrill and nearly forgetting Daniel's seductive tongue.

"Oui; Nous trouverons beaucoup de belles choses faisant des emplettes à Paris, mais quoique Paris ait les choses les plus belles dans le monde ils n'avons rien aussi beau que vous," Daniel said and aggressively French kissed Vala bringing her attention back to his tongue.

"Oh, that's beautiful, darling," Vala said breaking the kiss for some air. "What does it mean?"

Daniel looked Vala in the eyes as he unfastened the shirt button that currently covered the top of Vala's breasts. "It is French; it means that we will find many beautiful things shopping in Paris, but even though Paris has the most beautiful things in the world they have nothing as beautiful as you." Daniel ran a finger along the swells and valleys of Vala's breasts now partially revealed.

A trail of goose bumps followed the trace of Daniel's fingers on Vala's skin.

"Oh, darling, why don't you speak French to me more often, it's lovely."

Daniel laughed, "I speak twenty-three Earth languages, five alien languages and seven alien dialects; I'll speak whatever language you want to hear, my love," Daniel moved his hands to Vala's waist as he lowered his head to kiss the tops of Vala's breasts. "Je t'aime."

"Oh Daniel," Vala moaned loudly, "That's," Vala moved in Daniel's lap again, "That's beautiful darling."

"Yes," Daniel said as he looked at the skin he was uncovering by releasing another button over Vala's breasts. "It means, 'I love you' in French. You know a little French don't you, Vala?"

Vala brought her hands down to Daniel's chest. "No darling, I don't think I know any French."

Daniel looked up at her with a soft, wicked smile, "Yes you do, baby; you know something akin to French. You say it to me every time you um . . . complete for me when we're together," Daniel looked at her hotly as he opened another button of the shirt. His fingers moved lower over the swell of her full breasts.

"Oh, um, um, no, I . . . um . . . I don't recall saying anything when I, what term do you use, when I come for you, darling," Vala sighed as she leaned back allowing Daniel more access to her breasts.

"So you're going to make me prove it to you huh," Daniel whispered low and aroused in her ear.

"Hmm, uh huh, yes," Vala moved in a rhythmic grind in his lap. "You'll have to prove it, darling." She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of his skin.

Daniel looked at her with a heated gaze. He was hot, aroused and a little amused as he pulled her closer, "I'll prove it then; it will be my pleasure." He leaned in and kissed her passionately on the mouth as their velvety tongues slid together like thick melted chocolate between fingers.

"Darling, don't distract me, finish telling me about our trip," Vala moaned and moved to lick his ear. "So you're actually going to go shopping with me for clothes in Paris?"

"Oh god, ye-ah, um, okay," Daniel closed his eyes feeling the sensation of Vala's tongue on his sensitive skin. "Ye-ah, I'm not only going; I'm going to buy you some sinfully beautiful clothes in Paris," Daniel said with a smile knowing she'd love that. He focused his mouth's attention on kissing the swells of Vala's breasts.

"Oh, Daniel," Vala said teasing him and moving her hips, "That's very exciting, I love . . . clothes."

"Really, I didn't know that," Daniel teased back as he slid his tongue back into her mouth. "And after we see Paris, I'm going to take you to the Island of Crete on Greece."

"An island, small land surrounded by water," Vala asked continuing to move on Daniel's lap.

"Ah, ah, yeah . . . Uh, huh . . . small, sunny little island," Daniel told her as he opened the rest of the buttons on the shirt and exposed her breasts. Daniel's fingers stroked her already excited, raised nipples before moving to the nude flesh of Vala's flat belly and abdomen before stopping at the barrier of her low slung white panties.

His hands moved to Vala's now naked waist, pulled her closer and took a hardened nipple into his mouth so that his tongue could tease it into an even higher peak.

Vala arched her back pushing her breast more firmly against Daniel's mouth. "Sunny and hot, hmm," Vala moaned.

"And the first day we're there I'm going to strip you down to your bikini bottoms and we're going to lie on the beach, swim and find a deserted spot to make love," Daniel said, "How does that sound Vala?"

Vala's breath came in excited sighs. "Oh . . . oh . . . um, you're going to let me go naked in public?" Vala looked at Daniel with a hot desire laced with incredulity like she wasn't sure whether to focus on the increasingly sensual movements of Daniel's mouth or on the possibility that Daniel was playing a joke on her.

"But darling, you always tell me to dress appropriately." Vala's laugh quickly became a gasp as Daniel nipped her breast to remind her to concentrate on his seduction.

"Oh," Vala leaned in and moved rhythmically against Daniel. He groaned as her movements brought her center into direct contact with the hard erection still covered by his pants.

Daniel met the rhythm of her dry grind and temporarily lost his train of thought in the movement.

"Oh, I missed this," Vala sighed.

Daniel let out a deep aroused growl as he pushed Vala off his lap and against the table ending the slow seduction in wild uncontrolled kissing and the dry grind of hips and groins.

Seeking some control, Daniel stilled her hips. "Okay, okay, um, well . . . on Crete, it is proper beach attire for women to only wear their bikini bottoms. Unless we go to the nude beach, and then you don't have to wear the bottoms either," Daniel smiled a bit wickedly.

"Oh. What about you darling, will you be nude too," Vala asked as she rolled her hips forward now too excited to remain still.

"You feel so good Vala," Daniel growled out a moan at the motion of her hips.

"Daniel," Vala's sultry, heated voice ran down his spine as her hands reached for his t-shirt and pulled it off. Daniel helped her strip the shirt from his body allowing Vala to run her hands over his half naked body.

Daniel hauled Vala up onto the table so that she was sitting in front of him. He moved his hands to either side of her panties and slid them off.

"And Vala," Daniel said sat down and pulled his chair closer to her.

"Hm" she said watching him spread her legs wider so that he had more access to her soaked naughty bits.

Daniel leaned forward placing soft, wet kisses on her stomach. "After all that Vala fun, I'm going to show you Crete," Daniel said continuing move his kisses lower on her body. "My parents worked digs there before they were married, and I was born there."

Daniel swirled his tongue around her belly button heading down once again. "And, there's some amazing caves and history." Daniel ran his tongue along Vala's inner thighs and braced himself for her to whine that he was going to ruin their trip with something boring. Instead, he felt Vala move her fingers through his hair and onto the nape of his neck.

Daniel kissed higher up Vala's thigh; his hands moved around her waist and pulled her closer to the edge of the table. Then he brought her legs to rest on the back of the chair behind him, he heard her say in a distracted voice, "Uh, huh, that will be a lovely thing to do while we're on Crete; I can't wait."

"Lovely, yes; I can't wait either," Daniel said as his hands and tongue spread Vala open so that she bent to the will of his tongue.

As his wet tongue focused on it's slow slide into her aroused pleasure, Vala couldn't contain a louder moan as her fingers reached for more of him, "By all the false and true Gods my Daniel, I've missed you."

"Me too," he murmured softly not losing the rhythm he had settled on.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Author's Note: The section on Sam and Jack was done at the request of one of the reviewers of this story who asked that I include more Sam and Jack. I'm pretty happy with the way I've written Jack's interactions with the rest of the team, especially the snarky one liners between him and Vala, but I'm not sure I have the right tone of the relationship between Sam and Jack. So let me know what you guys think. And, if you think I have it wrong, I'd love to hear where you think I failed and how I might be able to get a better grasp of their dynamic.

Author's Note: My beta told me after he read the chapter, "There Daniel goes being buttly again." And his comment is valid. Daniel subtly accuses Vala of untoward conduct with Aton Re Van. And, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this point. My thinking was essentially that the course of true love does not run smooth, or in other words, people in love are not perfect and baggage does not disappear over night. Let's face it, Daniel and Vala have plenty of baggage.

Author's Note: Daniel and Cameron have a discussion where some old sayings about faith come up. I found them on the internet under folk sayings. They are not mine, but they were not credited to any author. If anyone knows who originally said those things, I'd love to know.

Author's Note: Daniel and Jack taking Teal'c to see Jell-O wrestling is not an AU creation. Here's the dialog from the episode called Stargate SG-1 Ascension (written by Robert C. Cooper):

O'NEILL and TEAL'C are walking away from [Carter's house.

O'NEILL: So, now what?

TEAL'C: I have read of a place where humans do battle in a ring of Jell-O.

O'NEILL: Call DANIEL.