Okay, only one or two chapters remain now, so you won't have to wait TOO long for the ending ;-). Enjoy!

For the people of CBO!! Can't wait for November!!

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It was days before they entered the same room as each other. It was a week before they made eye contact, even though it was entirely by accident. It was almost a month before they uttered a word to one another, when Vala cracked to correct Daniel on an unimportant fact about the people they were currently visiting. It was almost another week after that when Vala showed up at Daniel's office.

She didn't say anything. She just walked in and took a seat on the stool across from him. She fiddled with a piece of rock that sat in front of her.

"Don't touch that!" he scolded. "It's a priceless artefact!"

She dropped it and rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't throw around terms like 'priceless' when you mean 'no one would ever want to buy it.'"

He shook his head and huffed, trying to keep his attention on the translation he was currently working on. She tapped her fingers against her cheek.

They sat in silence for several minutes. Vala considered getting back up and leaving, finding Sam and just forgetting about Daniel, but she forced herself to stay. She twirled a pigtail around her finger and sighed.

"Whatcha workin' on?" she asked, half trying to break the tension, half trying to relieve her boredom.

"A translation."

"Ah. Say anything interesting?"

"Nothing you would find interesting, but the historical value is immense," he replied in a condescending tone.

She nodded. "Don't pretend you know me, Daniel."

He looked up at her. "Sorry," he muttered, reluctantly, turning away to avoid her glare.

There was silence again.

"So," he began, "you ready to talk yet?"

"Can't we just let that go?"

"Nope."

Vala sighed, dropping her head and turning to leave. Daniel watched her go for a long while - and kept on watching for a glimpse of her long after she disappeared. Then, with a shake of his head he turned back to his work and hoped he was doing the right thing.

-0-0-0-

Another eight days passed before anything happened. Anything of substance, anyhow. There were a few moments of eye contact, slightly less awkward speech, but no conversations or anything which required more than the necessary interaction.

Daniel opened the door to his quarters, making no attempt to stifle a yawn. He'd been working for way too long without a break, but he'd made some fascinating discoveries.

He jumped when he saw a dark-haired figure sitting back on his bed.

"Vala? What are you doing here?"

She stood and began approaching him. "Oh, Daniel, I'm sick of this," she moaned. "Can't we just make up already?"

She pulled him into a kiss. For a moment, he fell for it, until he felt a hand unbuttoning his jeans. He pulled back.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed.

"I've been watching a lot of your television, Daniel. This is how people make up on your world, isn't it?"

"No, Vala, and you know that. I told you I was sick of these games. I'm not interested in this..." he waved his hands wildly around her general form "...this front of yours."

"What are you talking about?"

He stopped and stared at her. "Give me something real."

"But Daniel, sex is so much more fun than serious talking."

He gave her a disproving look.

"C'mon Daniel, what's the problem? Don't you like girls?"

"Yes."

"So? Then what's the problem? Unless... You really don't find me attractive..."

He shifted. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

"No." She backed away and began to leave the room.

"Do you honestly believe that this could ever work?"

"I, uh, wasn't suggesting..."

"Oh, you weren't... So what? We sleep together once and then what? Just go on as though nothing happened? We work together! Honestly, even saying that part seems unbelievable." He began pacing. "I can't even imagine what a relationship with you would be like at this point. Okay, yes, you've proven yourself to be trustworthy, but you've closed yourself off to the world. How could a relationship work like that? I mean, at best, you're an emotionally unstable wreck. I'm not saying I'm much better... I'm not saying I'm much better... There was a time when I thought I would never get over my wife. I mean, the idea of being hurt that way again... But I finally - finally! - got to the place where for the first time in a long time I feel like I could actually get close to somebody again. But never, never could that person be you! I mean, we are so completely opposite and wrong for each other! It's not even funny! And the worst part, the worst part is: you know that! And this whole flirty sexual thing that you do...it's just your way of having fun at my expense or of avoiding your real issues! And don't you dare pretend it's anything else!"

He snapped back to reality, barely believing that he'd just said all that. She was facing the wall away from him and he could hear her audible gulps as she tried to wipe away tears.

"Don't pretend like you're hurt," he sighed.

She nodded. "Just give me a minute."

He sat down beside her. "Look at me," he said.

She shook her head.

"Vala... Look at me, please." He gently pulled her chin toward him. He was slightly shocked to see the genuine sadness in her eyes. She pulled her head away and closed her eyes. She wanted to say something, but he'd just broken her heart into a million pieces. She wanted to leave. If he truly didn't want her, then maybe it would be best if she left the SGC.

He broke her train of thought when he pulled her chin back again. She opened her eyes in defeat. They grew angry for a moment upon seeing his smile. He thought this was amusing?!

The anger dissolved almost instantaneously as he pulled her into a kiss. "You better not be messing with me," he mumbled.

She wasn't. She'd loved him for so long and everything with Johnny and Emmy had only increased that. She was slightly amazed he hadn't figured that out before.

-0-0-0-

When Vala woke the next morning, it took her a moment to realize where she was and that the events of the prior night hadn't been just a dream. Daniel's presence beside her was proof of that. She nuzzled into his chest and tapped his arm to wake him up.

"Mmm," he stirred. He looked down to see Vala nestled under his arm. He smiled.

"I'm ready to talk now," she whispered. "If you still want to listen..."

"Of course," he replied.

-0-0-0-

When she finished, she looked up at him, waiting for his appraisal. He didn't say much, he just kissed her head and whispered, "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that."

She nodded and closed her eyes as she once again fell back against his chest.

"Thanks for sharing with me," he whispered. "I'm sorry for being so hard on you...I just –"

"I know," she interrupted.

She traced a finger along his arm. It felt good to get it all off her chest. She was so worried he would judge her, and it felt good knowing he didn't.

"I'm hungry!" she exclaimed, suddenly hopping out of bed and throwing on her clothes. She pulled her sweater down over her tank as she opened the door. Cam shot her a weird look as she passed him in the hallway. He halted in place and feigned gagging when Daniel quickly followed her out of the room, stumbling as he pulled on a shoe. Neither seemed to notice he was there, and if they did, they gave no indication of it. They simply walked off to the commissary hand in hand.

"Gross," Cam muttered as he continued walking on his way to meet Teal'c for some sparring.

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That's it for this chapter folks! Next one is about halfway completed already.

A/N: I didn't really want to copy the scene from Unending, but I wanted to begin drawing parallels, so basically I did, but just tweaked some of it for the situation.

Hope you liked it! Reviews are love!