With just one touch love can calm your fears

Chapter 6: To Change the Unchangeable

"What do you mean 'When do I leave'?" Jack asked angrily standing up. "We just got you back Daniel- we're not letting you go so-"

"Jack, Vala is my fiancée!" Daniel argued standing up to face his long time friend. "How can you expect me not to go after her?"

"Daniel-"

"Jack-" Daniel tried again, "-just think what you would do if you were in my place. What if it was Sam who was suddenly dead and you were the only one who could go back? Would you just sit by and do nothing?"

Jack didn't answer. He just sighed and nodded and sat back down.

"Alright then," Daniel began with a determined nod. "-I say again, when do I leave?"

oOo

"From what you've said," Rodney began as they all stood around in the Gateroom. "-the hall where you found Vala was just through there."

"To stop yourself from getting caught in the explosion we're hoping that you will be able to send yourself a few minutes before it happens." Sam continued, watching her friend through worried eyes. "Be careful Daniel..."

"-aren't I always?" Daniel asked smiling, but then his tone turned serious as he turned to Elizabeth who was standing beside John. "Thank you, both of you- for letting me do this."

"Ah, I understand." John muttered sheepishly. "You love her."

"I do." Daniel admitted, and then taking one glance at his friends; Jack, Sam, Teal'c, Cam, Elizabeth, John and Rodney he turned on the device and disappeared from their view.

oOo

The EVAC command was already looping through the communication systems and Daniel knew that he didn't have much time. 'Vala,' He thought frantically heading towards the hallway. 'I have to find Vala.' However by the time Daniel got to the hallway he saw to his horror that the panel had already exploded and she was down on the floor.

"No!" He cried out rushing to her side. "No, Vala please you can't be dead- you just can't!"

oOo

"Ah, I understand." John muttered sheepishly, unaware that he had said the same thing in another timeline. "You love her."

"I do." Daniel admitted sadly, still shaken from losing Vala twice. "And I will get her back."

"Of course you will Daniel." Jack encouraged.

Taking that encouragement Daniel took one look at his friends. He saw Jack, Sam, Teal'c, Cameron, Elizabeth, John and Rodney as they always had been. He took a deep breath in and turned on the device. In a flash of shimmering light he vanished.

oOo

Vala arrived in the hallway from the first timeline. The EVAC loop was running through the communication systems. Her vision cleared and she could see that the control room was only a few metres away. She quickly began running to wards the control room which was where the final explosion would take place. 'Daniel- I have to find Daniel-'

And then suddenly she ran into a body and they both tumbled to the ground as a panel behind then exploded. Vala felt herself being covered, though when she tumbled to the ground she had hit her head. As her vision faded out she could see that it was her beloved Daniel whom she had run into and as her eyes went dark she could see that his were open, and lifeless.

oOo

Vala felt cold and empty. She had recovered from her concussion and managed to make it through Daniel's funeral without a single tear. She cried plenty in her room, the room that she had shared with Daniel and it was only when Sam had dragged her to Rodney's lab that her spirits began to brighten.

"What I mean is that with this bracelet someone could go back in time and try to fix things." Rodney explained. "It means that even if things don't work out the way you want them too- you can go back again to fix it. Over and over again until-"

"-until the situation is fixed…" Vala whispered, looking the bracelet over. It was rather thick with a golden sheen and six small opal-like gems on the centre panel with a larger one in between them.

Curiously Vala put the bracelet on it instantly snapped shut and she stared at the symbols on the gems. They were ancient numbers and while Sam and Rodney were arguing whether or not someone should actually use it Vala translated the numbers and the other writing on the centre panel. Beside the first three gems was the word 'now' and beside the second row of three gems was the word 'then'. Vala quickly pressed the gems, watching as the numbers were set to the proper dates and then she pressed the larger gem and disappeared.

"VALA!" Sam cried out as her friend disappeared in a shimmer of golden light.

"I can't believe she did that…" Rodney muttered shaking his head when suddenly he was interrupted by another shimmering light and all of a sudden Vala was there standing before them again. "...Vala?"

"Vala," Sam asked tentatively noticing that there were tears in Vala's eyes. "-what happened?"

"I couldn't-" Vala choked out as she stumbled forward only to be caught by Sam. "-I couldn't save him..." She looked up at Sam inquisitively though her tears. "-but you knew that."

"Vala," Sam stated sympathetically, "One moment you were here, the next you were gone. You activated the bracelet."

"I know." She choked out. "But I've had to live through the past couple days again..."

She shook her head and collapsed into tears. She didn't know what else she could do. She had done what Rodney had said, but she hadn't been able to find Daniel quick enough. Instead her beloved found her and saved her from an explosion that probably would have claimed her life. ((A/N- And did, but she doesn't know that))

'It's just not fair,' She thought forlornly to herself as Sam took her out of the lab. 'I should have been able to save Daniel...'

oOo

"Rodney," Sam asked at breakfast the next morning, "Do you get the sense that Vala wasn't supposed to come back when she did?"

"What do you mean?" Rodney asked between mouthfuls of food.

"I mean," Sam explained as she picked at her blue jello. "-a part of me was expecting Daniel to show up,"

"But he didn't." Rodney pointed out, his mouth full of cereal. "Vala just reappeared."

"I know." Sam agreed putting down her spoon. "But I just- I don't know, have this feeling."

"You didn't by chance have a crazy dream last night did you?" Rodney asked enquiringly causing Sam to look at him in surprise. "You did. Didn't you?"

"Uh yea." Sam agreed with a nod of her head. "I did."

"What was yours about?"

Sam pondered the question from the moment. The dream had woken her up just hours after she had let Vala go back to her room to sleep the rest of the night. The details were already starting to fade away but she remembered one part clearly.

'What do you mean When do I leave?' Her husband, Jack asked angrily as he stood up. 'We just got you back Daniel- we're not letting you go so-'

'Jack!' Daniel argued standing up to face his long time friend. 'Vala is my fiancée! How can you expect me NOT to go after her?'

'Daniel-' Jack had pleaded, trying to get through to his friend.

'Jack-' Daniel interrupted, trying again to make him see reason. '-just think of what you would do if you were in my place. What if it was Sam who was suddenly dead and you were the only one who could go back? Would you just sit by and do nothing?'

"I only remember one part clearly," She admitted sadly, but once she had related the short passage of the dream to Rodney- she was amazed to see comprehension and recognition on his face. "You dreamed that too?"

"Yes," Rodney confirmed with a nod. "And more..."

A/N- Hello beloved readers. Sorry for the long delay- this story decided to be stubborn -grimace- but it's done now. This chapter is done and uploaded and I want to thank acer-sigma, spacegypsy1, Shinki, HAZMOT, Racheski and dear Bri for reviewing the last chapter. I hope that all of you review this one too. :D Who knows when the next chapter will be uploaded... but till then beloved Dala fans.