Author's Note: If you've read this story before, there are new bits to this chapter, so don't skip it. :) If you're new to this story, just happily ignore me.

Again, happy reading, and reviews are welcome but unnecessary. No pressure whatsoever. :)

Chapter 2

Vala let Daniel sleep as long as he needed the following morning. As soon as it was light she took her zat and went out into the forest to find breakfast. Squirrels and rabbits really were the best choice. Who knew what kind of fruits and berries might be poisonous, but cooking meat generally kept one from getting sick. She caught a couple then proceeded to clean and gut them with the knife hidden in her boot. She brought back more firewood and got the fire going to a nice hot blaze, laying the pieces of meat on the rocks lining the campfire. She rotated them every once in a while to make sure every piece was thoroughly cooked.

Well then, breakfast is served, she thought, though Daniel still hadn't stirred. She shrugged her shoulders and ate her portion, deciding he probably needed as much sleep as possible.

As he slept she settled back against her side of the cave and pondered their situation once again. She knew there was definitely a way back to their galaxy because priors had been arriving there nearly once a day. Therefore, there was a gate and a power source capable of getting them home. Problem was, where was it?

Celestis! That's where the fanatical religion's headquarters were, that's probably where the priors came from when they gated to their galaxy. Okay, she wondered, how do we get to Celestis? Or, is it even on this planet?

Daniel chose that moment to stir from his slumber. He blinked a few times then focused on the campfire, then on Vala across the cave. She smiled brightly at him. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah. Not too bad." He sat up and stretched, scrubbing his hands over his face and through his hair. He'd been clean-shaven on the Prometheus, but Vala noticed two-day beard growth on his face. Tilting her head and not really trying to hide her smile, she couldn't quite decide which look she liked better on him.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"Nothing," Vala replied, this time trying to hide her smirk. She moved toward the fire and checked to see if the meat was too overcooked. It was still warm, and only slightly charred. She handed it over. "The burnt parts might add a little flavor. Not many spices to be found out there."

"I won't complain." Daniel accepted the food and took a tentative bite.

"Promises, promises," Vala teased.

"Hey," Daniel shot back, "I'm not that bad."

Vala shrugged her shoulders. "You are moody and cranky on the best of days, Daniel." She moved back to her corner of the cave and silently thanked her lucky stars. She'd go crazy with boredom if she wasn't able to have a little fun getting a rise out of her Daniel every so often.

"That's only because you..." he began. "Never mind. I think I'm still a little too tired to get into a verbal sparring match with you." He finished his meal and then a look of slight surprise crossed over his face as he noticed the water bottle sitting near him.

Yes, Daniel, I left it there for you. She sighed a little. Would he ever see her as more than a self-centered con-artist? "All right, no sparring today," she agreed, nodding. "Then I think we should head back to the rings later. We should see if your SGC has mounted a rescue and come here to find you."

"I don't know," Daniel argued. "I hope the supergate was destroyed, otherwise all this would be for nothing."

"True, but I get the feeling that you all put a lot of faith in that Samantha Carter of yours. I'm guessing if anyone could find their way here to rescue you, she'd be the one."

"Normally, I'd agree with you, but there's only so much she can do. Besides, I left a short message by the ring platform that would let them know we made it here safely if they ever did make their way here."

Vala was too worried to hide it. "What sort of message? We don't want these religious zealots to find us."

"Nothing overt. Just a 'D' carved into a tree. No one would really notice it unless they were looking for it."

"You've been gone missing before, huh?" Vala questioned softly.

"Like I said, not the first time I had to survive on my own away from the rest of SG-1." Daniel shrugged. "So, back to what you were saying, I don't think it's necessary to go back to the ring platform. If anyone from the SGC had gotten here, they would've seen my message and radioed. Since they haven't we can assume that we're still alone."

"Well," Vala conceded, "that does make a great deal of sense." She considered something else. "I still think we ought to head toward the village. We'll need a change of clothes if we're to blend in."

Daniel interjected quickly, "I don't want to steal anything. That's sure to get us burned alive again."

"So is showing up looking like outsiders, I would think," Vala reasoned. "But if you're dead-set on not stealing anything," Daniel once again nodded, "then how about this. Many communities keep donation baskets in their central squares or council buildings. Items that families don't need, or are more rags than clothes. Some people even keep rag piles at their homes, with clothes that are beyond mending or too dirty for use." Vala shook her head in disgust. "It isn't my first choice at all, but would you be willing to take those items?"

Daniel seemed to think about it and nodded. "Better than our SGC uniforms I guess."

Vala couldn't hide her smile. He probably was too tired to think of his own idea, but she took pride in seeing him agree with her. The very next moment she berated herself for needing his approval. Talk about mood swings, she thought. "We'll go under the cover of dark, then." And she started to tick off what they'd need to find. A shirt, pants, and possibly a jacket for Daniel. A dress for Vala most likely. Boots that fit would be harder to find, but they should probably look for sacks to carry their things in. If they had to, they could cake their SGC boots in mud and hopefully disguise their outsider-ness from anyone who looked too closely.

Having decided on their plan, Vala closed her eyes for a short rest. She was seriously confused by the sudden exhaustion that swept over her. She could usually stay awake for much longer. But as soon as she laid her head down on the ground, she was out like a light.

From what they could tell, it was a little after midnight when they crept along the edge of the village. Not a soul was awake, every light in every window was out. They moved cautiously through the streets and alleys, having minimal starlight to light their way. When they came upon the village's central meeting hall, they split up and circled it, arriving back at the front and having found no 'donation barrels.'

Daniel raised an eyebrow as if to say, Now what?

Vala looked around and thought. Every community could be counted on to leave scraps of clothing for their homeless and needy. She tilted her head in the direction of the building's front doors. Maybe inside, she indicated.

Daniel shook his head, Way too risky.

Vala eyed him back then looked toward a few nearby houses, clotheslines clearly visible.

Daniel shook his head more vehemently. No way. Then he moved toward the building.

They kept to the shadows as they crept up the steps, and to their immense relief the double doors opened soundlessly. Again they split up to search the outer wall and alcoves of the building. Vala heard a single click on her radio, the signal that Daniel had found something. She headed back in his direction where he stood over a couple of baskets of worn out clothes.

"Don't you just love shopping, darling," Vala whispered with glee, holding a ragged dress up to her chest. It smelled horrible, but there didn't seem to be any gaping holes, except down by the hem. It was also a tad low-cut, as she looked down at the bodice. Daniel must have noticed as well because he handed over a partially dirt-stained shirt that might fit underneath the dress.

Next they fished through the second barrel looking for suitable clothing for Daniel. He held at least three pairs of pants up to his waist but none of them looked quite big enough. Vala sighed to herself. Nothing beautifully form-fitting for her Daniel on this shopping trip, she thought.

"Pick out something bigger than you need," she whispered. "You can use your uniform belt to keep the pants up." She nodded toward the front doors. "I'm going to try to find some old sacks we can use to carry the rest of our things."

"Wait, Vala," Daniel spoke as loudly as he dared but she was already gone.

Not only did Vala need the bags she'd mentioned, she'd also need some spare cloth, thread and needle. The last pair of pants Daniel had held up had holes in the front knee and the backside, and the poor, yellowed shirt he'd picked had holes in at least one elbow and the left side of his ribcage.

She found the cloth and satchels she needed outside a nearby house, and there were extra needles and spools of thread sitting on the outer porch of the house next door amidst some other mending. Daniel might rail at her later, but they did need these things.

Vala met Daniel back at the tree they'd chosen as their rendezvous point if they ever got separated. He seemed a bit irritated but she let that slide as she suddenly fought a wave of nausea. They were going to have to either wash their clothes or bathe immediately; she almost couldn't stand their combined three-day-roughing-it smell. She stopped and leaned her forehead against the tree, inhaling and exhaling slowly.

"What's wrong? We need to get out of here," Daniel whispered, still clearly irritated with her.

"Awful smell," Vala said vaguely, becoming more than a little irritated herself.

"Well, you're no bed of roses either, sweetheart," Daniel shot back defensively. "Come on." And he pulled her from the tree and led the way back to their cave.

By the time they got back to the cave, Vala had stumbled twice and it appeared she could hardly keep her eyes open. Daniel started to wish he hadn't set such a grueling pace to get away from the village, but the sky was starting to lighten up, and he'd wanted to get back to their shelter before dawn.

Vala immediately went towards the spring and cupped her hand for a drink of water. He also saw her take out the energy bar in her pocket, rolling back the wrapper, taking a bite, then replacing it for later.

It was the beginning of their fourth day here, and he had to admit, the both of them were getting ripe. Unfortunately, the results of their "shopping excursion" were no cleaner than the clothes on their backs.

As Vala walked back to the cave entrance, leaning heavily against the rough rock wall, Daniel made a decision. "Hand over that dress," he said. "I'm going to follow the stream from the spring until it widens out a little." He looked over the clothes. "We can't really wash them without any soap, but I'll rinse them out then come back and let them air out in the sunshine." He paused and offered a sheepish smile. "Hopefully it'll get rid of the vagrant smell."

Vala nodded wearily and straightened up. "I'll come with you. We really shouldn't get separated."

Daniel couldn't help noticing the dark circles under her eyes as she got closer to him. "No, you stay here and rest."

"I'm fine."

"You're exhausted," Daniel tried to argue.

"So are you," Vala bit back.

"No, I'm not," Daniel whined.

Vala raised an eyebrow and looked directly at him, daring him to deny it again. "Fine, I'm tired too. But only one of us has to go, the other can stay back and get some rest. And since I offered to go, I'm going." He refrained from mentioning that she looked about ready to fall over.

Vala on the other hand looked out into the forest, and something like worry flitted across her features. It was gone when she looked back and merely rolled her eyes. "If you get discovered and captured, I'm not coming to rescue you."

"Same here," Daniel replied, patting her shoulder and turning her in the direction of the cave. "Keep the zat handy—"

"As if I need the reminder," Vala retorted, practically falling to the ground and leaning her head back against the cave wall.

"I'll be back before you know it," Daniel promised, then he took the sacks of clothes and followed the stream away from the cave.

It widened steadily the farther he got from the cave, but he had to walk at least an hour before it got deep enough to soak and rinse the clothes without stirring up any silt or mud. He scrubbed the clothes together as best he could, and even though some of the stains were still present, he thought maybe the smell was dissipating a little.

He thought about walking farther along the stream and hoping to come by a lake or large pond for bathing. But as much as he wanted a bath, he really didn't want to be gone from Vala so long. He compromised though and took off his shirt and rinsed off his chest, arms, and back as best he could in the creek. Better than nothing, he thought.

Finally, he wrung out and shook the clothes so they were damp and not dripping, and followed the stream back to Vala.

What he found when he got back was not a sleeping Vala, but a half-naked one. Her hair was swept up in a messy ponytail and she was wiping a wet cloth over her shoulders and back, thankfully the only part of her body in his line of sight. Her bra was unhooked at the back, but fell into the crooks of her elbows, as if she'd be ready to cover herself up at a moment's notice. The other thing he noticed as he stood still, not daring to move and disturb her, was that the bra was not some flimsy, lacy thing he'd half expected to see her wearing, but what looked to be comfortable cotton. Before he knew it, she was hooking the bra back up and reaching for her shirt to put it back on.

Daniel knew he was about to be caught staring, so he quickly ducked behind a tree and made a little more noise than usual before emerging and making it back to the cave. He silently prayed she'd have her shirt on by then. He really didn't need any more of a reminder of what she looked like under her clothes. He figured the best way to keep her from commenting on any possible staring was to speak up first.

"I thought you'd be sleeping."

Vala smiled knowingly. He'd been caught, he might even be blushing. He prepared himself for a seductive purr or an unveiled, innuendo-laced come-on. Yet she only held his gaze for a moment or two longer before reaching out for a few of the wet clothes he was holding and turning back toward the cave. "Frankly, my own gross stench kept me awake." She sighed. "I was exhausted, but I could hardly breathe. After a while I gave up on sleep and decided to figure out where the sunshine would likely be strongest. I found some flat rocks in the cave and laid them out over here." She led him to a clearing on the other side of the cave where the trees wouldn't shade the sun too much. As they laid out the clothes, she commented, "Let me tell you, moving rocks is sweaty business. I just had to wash up afterwards." She winked at him then. "I do hope you enjoyed the show."

"Huh? Oh, I...I really didn't see anything," Daniel stammered, realizing he'd let his guard down as he admired her idea of keeping the clean clothes off the ground.

"No need to blush, darling," Vala purred. "We both know I'm gorgeous." She patted his cheek then and moved off toward the denser part of the forest. "Do me a favor and watch over our things while I rustle us up some grub."

He should've been thankful that she was leaving him alone and maturely ignoring his hard-on, but he felt bad that she hadn't had a chance to rest yet today. "Hey, why don't you stay here and rest while I start on lunch," Daniel offered in what he thought was a pleasant tone.

"Why?" Vala snapped back. "Because I'm a poor, beautiful woman who should be coddled and protected. I appreciate that you can take care of yourself, Daniel, but so can I."

"Hey, Vala," Daniel responded in kind, "you know I didn't mean that."

"Just," Vala huffed, "just get some more firewood if you're so inclined to be helpful."

"I will then," he shouted to her retreating form. What in the world is with her?

What in the world is with me? It was obvious Daniel hadn't meant she couldn't take care of herself, so why the hell had she snapped at him. Vala sighed as she tracked a squirrel climbing a nearby tree. This damn exhaustion was taking a huge toll on her. Spark! One down, one to go. She spotted her next quarry as she walked up to the first squirrel and zatted it again to properly kill it.

After lunch she would really try to rest. Hopefully by nightfall the clothes would be dry enough for her to mend the holes and then they'd be able to venture from their cave tomorrow. Maybe Daniel was right and they'd be able to find some help. Maybe someone with a spare bed because she was really beginning to curse the dirty ground. Even though she had kidded with Daniel about bugs in her hair, it was truly her worst fear. After having a 'snake' in one's head for so long, who wouldn't be scared of creepy-crawlies near their mouths and necks?

Spark! Squirrel number two. Her stomach growled as she cleaned their meals and brought them back to the campfire, already burning brightly with Daniel's contribution of firewood. Just a little bit longer and she could take that nap.