Sorry this has taken so long to upload. I have no excuse. Hope you enjoy.
Daniel Jackson awoke the next morning to feel Vala's warm body snuggled next to his under the covers. He ran his eyes over her beautiful face and realized just how much he loved her. Gently and with infinite tenderness, he began tracing her features with his finger. Vala gave a soft sigh, smiled, and opened her eyes.
"Hey," Daniel greeted, his voice low and husky.
"Hey," replied Vala. "Sleep well?"
The archeologist smiled. "Better than I have in a long time."
"Yeah, me too." They lay for several minutes just staring at each other, studying every feature and storing it away into memory to be looked at when needed.
"I hate to say this," said Daniel at last, "but we have a briefing in half-an-hour." Vala nodded and the two climbed reluctantly out of bed.
Samantha Carter walked briskly into the briefing room expecting to be late. To her surprise, she wasn't. Cameron Mitchell motioned her to sit down.
"We're still waiting on Jackson and Vala," he said unnecessarily.
Sam frowned in puzzlement. "It's not like Daniel to be this late."
"It is not," Teal'c agreed from where he sat beside Mitchell. General Landry walked in from his office and Mitchell and Sam jumped to their feet.
"At ease," the general ordered. They sat down again. At that moment, Daniel, followed by Vala, dashed in, breathless and smiling.
"Sorry we're late, General," the former said. Landry nodded and the two took their seats while their teammates looked on curiously. SG-1 was going on a simple recognizance mission so the briefing wasn't very long. As the five friends headed towards the locker rooms, questions began flying.
"So, where were this morning?" Mitchell asked.
"Home," Daniel answered.
"Doing what?" The archeologist and the ex-con exchanged glances.
"Nothing," they said in unison. Sam, Mitchell, and Teal'c all grinned at each other.
"We'll take your word for it," said Sam.
"This time," added Mitchell.
"Indeed," Teal'c intoned and the other four laughed.
About half-an-hour later, SG-1, decked out in weapons and combat BDU's, stood in front of the Stargate. The wormhole formed with a rush of blue light.
"Good luck," Landry said from the control room.
"Thank you, General," Mitchell replied and he led his team up the metal ramp and through the shimmering event horizon to an unknown planet.
It was earth-like in appearence with green trees, green grass, and a blueish-green sky. The Stargate itself stood in a wide clearing surrounded by woods.
"Alright, folks," Mitchell said looking around. "Let's fan out and see if we can find anything interesting." Without even having to think, Daniel and Vala split off and headed in one direction while Mitchell, Sam, and Teal'c went the opposite way.
"I wonder what Mitchell would define as interesting," Daniel mused aloud. "Interesting by my standards or his."
"Let me see," said Vala. "You're standards would be the ruins of a long dead alien civilization, preferably with lots of writing and Mitchell's would be a weapon of some sort, right?"
Daniel grinned at her. "Right as rain." They walked on in silence, eyes peeled for anything other than trees. Suddenly, Vala grabbed Daniel's arm and pointed into the trees.
"I see something over there." The archeologist looked in the direction she was indicating.
"You're right," he agreed. "Let's go check it out." They pushed through the trees until they broke out into a small clearing. In that clearing were the ruined walls of what Daniel took to be a temple of some sort.
"I think we've found your idea of interesting," said Vala.
"Uh-huh," Daniel mumbled absently, moving closer to inspect the crumbling walls. Vala smiled as she watched him. Then she grabbed her radio.
"Guys, this is Vala, come in."
"We read you," came Mitchell's voice. "What's up?"
"Well, I'm just calling to tell you to take your time exploring. Daniel's found a ruin of some sort and you know how he is when he's working."
"Roger that," Mitchell replied in an amused tone. "We'll call when we're heading back to the gate."
"Gotcha. Vala out." She put the radio back on her vest and turned back to where Daniel studied the wall. "That interesting?" she asked.
"Uh-huh."
"Gonna be here awhile?"
"Uh-huh."
"Love me?"
"Uh-huh."
"Want to go to a bar and get uproariously drunk?"
"Uh-huh - " Daniel began, stopped, frowned, and stared at her. "What?"
Vala laughed. "Nothing. I was just seeing if you were paying attention."
"Oh." Daniel frowned again and went back to his work. Vala, still smiling, sat down on a rock to wait.
Minutes ticked by in utter silence. For what seemed the upteenth time, Vala checked her watch and sighed loudly. Daniel glanced at her.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, coming to stand beside her. "I know this isn't interesting to you."
Vala looked up at him. "You're right, it's not, but that doesn't matter, darling." She was about to say more, but Daniel held up his hand silencing her.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"Gunfire. I hear gunfire."
Ooohhh, cliffhanger. TO BE CONTINUED!!!! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha. Sorry, got carried away. Next chapter up soon. Promise. Most likely this weekend. Review please.