Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate,

Author's Note: I hope you guys like this chapter! Please enjoy and review! If there are too many errors, I apologize, I was in a hurry writing this!

Chapter Two, Coincidence,

It was really amazing, the changes that occurred in people when they lost someone dear to them.

The change in Daniel Jackson was as evident as the change in every other person of the same circumstances. Soon after Vala had left, reading and learning and translating lost most of their appeal. He would bury himself in his work like always, because really, what else did he have to do? But it wasn't fulfilling anymore. It didn't satisfy him when he successfully translated some key word, or put together the pieces of some mysterious puzzle. He did those things, because he must, but they didn't matter like they used to. And in those first months after she'd left, the only thing keeping him from quitting his job was the hope that he would somehow find her.

Every mission they went on, he was looking for her. It was obvious, at first, what he was doing. It was obvious to him, and it was obvious to the others on the team. But as time went on, the team stopped noticing. Even Daniel convinced himself he'd moved on with his life. Months turned into years, but he hadn't ever stopped throwing casual glances over his shoulder, or doing a double take if he thought he saw a a mane of raven-like black hair. But never did he see her.

Three years passed, and he'd lost hope. He didn't ever stop looking. But he stopped feeling sorry for himself all the time, and he blocked the guilt of what he'd done to make her leave, pushing it to the back of his mind. He did everything in his power to forget, to move on. But there had been no closure where he'd left off with Vala.

It was hard to hurt someone and then watch them walk away, without any chance to explain. Not that there had been a good explanation for what he'd done. All the time in the world wouldn't help him explain to Vala what he'd done.

But why had she left? Daniel would have filed for reassignment a million times then have Vala flee Earth and return to her old life. It killed him that he had practically thrown her back into a life of thievery and deceit.

And then, when they'd gone on that mission and heard what Vala had done to that family, it had nearly killed Daniel. He'd covered it up fairly well when the others on the team were around, but he was stuck on the fact that even Vala at her worst, before she joined SG1, never would have sunk to stealing from a helpless family, and Daniel couldn't help but feel that he had done this to her. He felt it was him who'd ruined Vala and that would never be okay.

And he'd missed her. If he had only gotten to that planet a little sooner, perhaps he'd have had a chance to get down on both knees and beg her forgiveness. But he'd missed her, and perhaps it would be another three years before he saw her. And he was certain that if that did happen, that in another three years, if he saw her again, he would feel just as bad. If not worse.

Now he pushed his chair away from his desk and stood up, still missing all the times Vala had sat in that room in that room and teased him. He'd always seemed frustrated by it, but now that she was gone everything about not having her there seemed wrong.

It was time for a briefing, so he pushed his thoughts on Vala as far back in his mind as he could, and headed to the briefing room.

~*~*~*~

Vala had found the jackpot. She'd arrived at a planet, and when she'd gotten there she had found a large amount of treasure owned by a very rude, very disagreeable man. Now, from a man like that, she could steal without (or at least with a lower level of) guilt.

So she had.

So now she had found so many things of value, that the little duffel bag she had stolen from the family was lying forgotten in the corner of her stolen cargo ship.

As she looked around at her stolen goods with an air of false cheerfulness, she realized that she could probably 'retire' off of all this good, but that was only if she was careful with how she spent it. She knew that no matter how much treasure she found, she wouldn't stop. After all, she'd lost the only people who had ever felt like family to her, what else could she do besides steal? Anyway, she hated staying in one place for too long.

No. She had to be very loyal to do that. And she once had been.

"Look where that got me..." She muttered to herself, closing her eyes at the pain of the memory.

~*~*~*~

Daniel wasn't sure if it was a bizarre twist of fate, a coincidence, a miracle, a dream come true, or a nightmare. He didn't know what to call it, but whatever it was happened when they went to P4X-298.

P4X-298 was an uninhabited planet. No one lived there, due to war after war that had slowly killed off it's people. So all that was really left there were some old, interesting ruins. And that's why they'd come. Just to do a little investigating, see what they could find. But what they did find surprised them more then anything else.

They found Vala.

Odd, that two missions should lead them to her in the course of two days. But that didn't change anything, really.

The look she gave them when they'd caught her picking through some of the old ruins, in the hope of finding something of value -or something she could convince some sucker who was stupid enough to believe her to buy it.- was a look of confusion, surprise, and then anger.

Anger. Anger was the overruling emotion, there.

After she'd found her voice, she walked towards them. She refused to look at Daniel, but she had no problem watching the others on the team, wondering how much they'd changed since she saw them. She was also very interested by the new girl.

"Vala." Was all that Cam said, giving her a small nod.

Though Daniel had hoped that a time like this would come, he found that he couldn't really speak. Standing before him was not the Vala he had fallen in love with-though, he never, ever, would have admitted it,- standing in front of him was a thief. And he knew that it was his fault.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't SG1." Was Vala's answer, in a voice of forced casualness.

~*~*~*~

"Don't even speak to me," Vala said in a voice of anger, as she turned her head so she wouldn't even have to look at Daniel.

"Vala! I'm going to help you! Okay?" Daniel said, through the bars of the cage.

"Oh, thank you, but you've helped me quite enough, Daniel."

~*~*~*~

Author's Note:...Well, I hope you didn't hate it! That italicized part at the end was a flashback, in case you were confused :) Please review guys, I love reviews! I know it was a little too convenient, what happened there, but you know :) Reviews are loved!