Chapter Six: Oops!

Helicopters were swooping in and a train of government SUV's with siren's blaring were screeching into the parking lot.

"Let the cavalry clean up the mess." Jack pulled Daniel back over to Sam and Vala who continued their tale to Mitchell.

"Hold on, I'm confused," Mitchell was saying as they approached, "what was Vala doing in Daniel's room?"

Both women stopped grinning and looked at each other. Vala answered, "Well, Jack decided that we weren't safe, so he stayed with Sam and Daniel stayed with me."

"Ok, I guess that makes sense. So why's Vala in Daniel's T-Shirt and pajamas?" Before the words were out Mitchell wished he hadn't said them, he really didn't want to know.

Sam bit the side of her mouth. "Because she forgot hers?"

"Good answer." Mitchell smiled and walked away.

Sam patted Daniel on his shoulder and without thinking she said. "You're secret's safe." She grinned and followed after Mitchell.

Daniel cut his eyes to Vala, and glared menacingly.

Vala's eyebrows went up and eyes went round with a failed attempt to look innocent. Slowly she tried to sneak off towards her room, but Daniel was right behind her. He stopped her, his hand on her arm.

With jaws clinched he whispered, "You told Sam didn't you?"

"It may have slipped out. Daniel, she won't say anything. Believe me, she REALLY understands."

Angry, he asked, "What's that supposed to mean."

Vala pulled free of his grasp. "Nothing. I can't tell you."

He looked her right in the eye, voice scratchy with barely controlled anger, "I'm really disappointed in you. I shouldn't be. I've let myself be blinded by your wiles; I gave into you like an idiot. I knew I couldn't trust you. You must be really proud of yourself."

Vala stood shocked by his outburst and then turned to walk away. Suddenly she turned back to him. "Unbelievable! I'm the idiot – to even think I saw the tiniest bit of kindness in you. But you're right, Daniel, I was only messing with you. You mean nothing…nothing to me. A target on which to practice my conniving ways!" She hit him as hard as she could across his shoulder and stormed off.

Mitchell and Jack were engrossed in details with the security forces, while Sam had watched the couple arguing, had caught a few words.

Jack looked across the parking lot at Sam, came over to where she looked sad eyed, toward Vala's retreating back. "Look, I messed up," he said apologetically, reaching for her hand.

She pulled away, "Go tell it to someone who cares," she waved her arm across the empty desert, "I'm done!" Sam marched off in the direction that Vala had gone.

Sam passed Daniel who stared vacantly at the menagerie of cars and helicopters. She stopped, turned back and walked right up to him, face to face. "I have half a mind to beat the crap out of you! I've never met anybody as self absorbed as you can be sometimes. Life is all about poor Daniel. You make up your mind about something and that's it. No if's ands or buts about it. You know Daniel, you and Jack are the perfect pair. Like bookends." She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, shook her head in sheer lack of understanding how this trip could had escalated into such chaos.

Daniel dropped his head, his voice shaky, "Yeah, be sure to sever my head from my body and toss me in the desert so I can never, ever come back. You're a hundred percent right." He walked away.

Teal'c had missed the whole thing. So when he came upon Vala later he was confused by her apparent distress.

"ValaMalDoran?"

"Yes muscles?" She crumbled up an empty candy wrapper and stuck it in her pocket.

"Are you unwell?"

"I'm fine," she sniffed. She'd spent the last hour trying to convince herself that Daniel had not really meant what he said, but she had been unsuccessful.

"You do not appear to be fine." Teal'c came to stand in front of her.

"No, really…" Vala turned her head away.

"Are you crying?" With one gentle thumb he turned her face to him.

"Absolutely not,"

"And what is this…" he reached and softly wiped a tear from her cheek.

Vala burst in to heartbroken sobs and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He patted her back, looking off across the desert. "What has DanielJackson done?"

"It… it's… it's …" She pulled at the fabric of his T shirt and wiped her tears.

She seemed shy and nervous, unsure. Things that the Jaffa had not witnessed in ValaMalDoran, at least not in this space and time. He would have to tread lightly, but his friend needed comfort. And he had learned that comforting ones friends was immensely comforting to ones self.

"I believe it is a human custom to share your thoughts on these matters with someone whom you consider to be a close friend." A ghost of a smile touched his lips.

"Daniel hates me. He will never see me as anything but some bingo."

"I believe the term is bimbo. I have heard it used by many of the younger men at SGC. It is not a good thing to call any person. I do not believe DanielJackson thinks this way about you."

"Muscles, do you think there is anyway in the world, any crazy alternate universe out there, some bizarre scenario in which Daniel could ever truly love someone like me?" She sat down on the curb, her elbows on her knees and her head propped up on her hands, looking up vulnerable and childlike, waiting for his reply.

Teal'c locked his hands behind his back. The setting sun shot gold rays upwards, red fire below, shimmering jewel like on the horizon.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Just, Yes?"

"Yes."

---

Since neither Daniel nor Sam seemed to be talking to him, and Mitchell and Teal'c were off cavorting with the security forces, Jack wandered over to Vala who sat alone on a curb near the motel office.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked concerned, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Seems you and our spacemonkey over there are having some kind of ... well... I've seen the way you two... there's ahm... not that it's any of my business... it's just that, well, I've never seen him so ... ya' know... befuddled, well, that's not true...and with you, who woulda thunk it! Crap Vala, say something!

"You know, you're like Hathor." Vala stood and shoved her hands into her pockets, mocking Jack.

"WHAT!?"

"Like Hathor, breathing your essence and turning everyone into drizzling idiots. I find myself as well as everyone else who's around you saying things that sound remarkably like you."

"It's driveling not drizzling. Drizzling is like rain. That's not really rain yet, just drizzles, all wet and slimy just the same."

"There, you see?"

"Ya know, Vala, you're like Daniel on crack."

"What?"

"Like Daniel on crack, rattling off innocuous jibber jabber but in double time. Wacko hair," Jack shook his hands, fingers splayed on each side of his head. "Barbarella clothes," he cupped his hands at his chest, indicating a woman's bosom, "Jerky and jumpin' around like rabbit in a meth lab." He twitched and thrashed his arms around.

Hands on hips she glared, "What is a barbarella?"

"It's a movie. I'm surprised you haven't seen it since T owns every known Sci-Fi movie in the universe. Barbarella is this space chick; she's dressed in some extreme outer space get up. You know, lots of skin, space boots up to her… well, you get the idea."

"She sounds charming. I have my own Blockbuster card now; I'll have to check that out."

"See, that's it. That's what I mean." He was jabbing a pointed finger at her.

"Jack, you're not making a bit of sense. But that's fine, I think I understand."

He nodded. "There's beer in the cooler."

"Sounds wonderful."