Kay, so I know I've taken quite awhile to get this chapter up, but to be fair, I've been *somewhat* busy. xD Also a little lazy when it came to writing... Hopefully others will be up faster.

For the people of CBO. Shout out to Matt!

(Picks up after Daniel has visited both of his kids... Didn't much want to write where he meets Johnny. Too close to his meeting Emmy in many ways. Thought it'd be redundant.)

***

Daniel sat alone in his office, pretending to be studying an artefact. In truth, he was more focused on the thoughts swirling through his head of his previous encounters with his newfound children. It was all so surreal. In less than a day his whole life had been flipped around. Not only did he suddenly have two grown kids, but there was still the startling revelation that he and Vala had spent over twenty-five years together on the Odyssey.

He took a deep breath. Him and Vala. Together. What kind of strange parallel universe was that? He tapped his pencil against the desk. If he was honest with himself, he'd liked her for quite awhile now. Sure, there had been the initial attraction during their time on the Prometheus, but a deeper bond had developed between them since her return from the Ori galaxy. He didn't like to admit it, nor would he ever say the words out loud, if he could help it, but perhaps he had even developed romantic feelings for her. Still, he was sure it could never work.

But he couldn't help the nagging feeling that perhaps their relationship worked on the Odyssey for more reasons than just the fact that they were stuck together and really didn't have many options. Maybe it could work for them in this reality too...

He shook his head, determined to focus on something else.

***

Vala laid on her bed with a magazine in front of her. She flipped through, not bothering to read the contents. She stared at the pictures and sighed, resting her forehead on her arms. She only looked up when she heard a knock on the door.

Immediately she hopped up, fixing her hair in the mirror and wiping the smear of mascara from beneath her right eye. Once she'd regained her composure, she called, "Come in."

The door opened slowly to reveal Sam, who worriedly poked her head into the room before allowing her whole body entrance. "Hey, Vala," she said, softly. "How are you?"

"Fine," Vala replied, wishing it wasn't a complete lie.

Sam hesitated a moment before entering and taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Something I can do for you Sam?" Vala asked, still not looking her friend directly in the eye.

"No, I just thought I'd check up on you. See how you're doing with everything."

Vala forced a smile, which would have passed as completely genuine for anyone who didn't know her as well as her teammate. It just didn't quite reach her eyes; there was still a hint of tragedy in them that Sam hadn't missed.

"I'm fine," Vala repeated.

Sam nodded and took a deep breath. "If you're sure," she replied, disbelievingly. She stood to leave, but stopped and turned back to her friend. She placed a hand on Vala's arm and said with a friendly smile, "If you want to talk, you know where to find me."

"Thanks Sam," Vala replied.

Sam nodded. "I've got to get back to work," she said before turning to leave.

Just like that, Vala was alone again. Sure, she knew she could have easily confided in Sam. After all, she was probably the closest thing she'd ever had to a best friend. She knew she wouldn't have told anyone or judged her harshly. It wasn't anything like that which held Vala from revealing her feelings. She still held out hope that she could convince herself everything was okay – that all of this stuff with Adria hadn't permanently drilled a hole in her heart; that she could live her life as though nothing had changed. She didn't want to deal with any of this. She couldn't deal with any of this.

She laid back in her bed, allowing her head to sink into the pillow, and closed her eyes, wishing she could think of something besides the fact that she'd missed out on the growth of two more of her children. Unfortunately for her, the release didn't come until finally she was given the sweet gift of a dreamless sleep.

***

Kay, breaking this one off here; just wanted to post an "emotions" chapter to catch up with the characters and to show that I haven't forgotten about this story. New chapter already in progress whereby actual action (well, no shooting or fighting, but you know what I mean) actually takes place.

Reviews always appreciated!!