Baby Come Back Chapter Five: Tired of Being Alone
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"DanielJackson are you ready for breakfast?" Teal'c loomed over the subject.
Batting his eyelids against the glare of the overhead light Daniel looked up in surprise. "I just woke up, what time is it?"
"It is time for breakfast. Dr.Lam insists you get back into routine to help with your memory loss."
Sitting up, Daniel rubbed his face, yawned and grabbed his head. "Oh, god, I feel like I've been on a Jack O'Neill three day drunk..."
"Indeed." Teal'c produced Daniel's glasses, holding them out towards wobbling archeologist.
Placing an elbow to his knee and his head in his hand Daniel held the other one out for his glasses. "…or I've been drugged."
"There is coffee in the commissary. Please get dressed, I will wait."
A few steps down the hall Teal'c stopped, hands behind his back and head down, looking at the subject's feet. "DanielJackson I believe shoes are a requirement on base."
"Oh yeah. Sorry." Yawning Daniel returned to his quarters and Teal'c waited patiently…for five minutes. Returning to the door, not the least bit concerned it might be locked, he entered. Teal'c had earlier glared at the guard down the hall and politely asked to borrow the man's access security card.
"DanielJackson!"
Daniel was face down sideways across the bed, asleep. "What?" He mumbled, head buried into the rumbled covers.
Taking a hold of the back of his jacket, Teal'c hauled him up. "We are late for breakfast."
Once again on their way Teal'c stopped and handed the card back to the guard with a bow, a smile and a sincere thank you. The guard only gaped at the Jaffa and nodded.
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In the commissary, Teal'c guided their subject to the end of the table and practically shoved him into the chair that faced the door.
Slumping down, Daniel put his head on the table. "I need coffee." He raised his head just enough to see the others. Sam, who just took a bite from her plate of fruit, nodded with a wan smile.
"I forgot to get it." His head went back to his arms on the table.
Mitchell, stabbing a forkful of scrambled eggs, quipped. "Yeah you seem to be conveniently forgetting a lot lately."
Properly chastised, Daniel went for coffee. Just as he settled back in his chair, Vala came through the doorway. Her hair was down, curled and shining with a tiny tiara perched in the center. The coffee cup stopped right at chin level and Daniel stared in awe. She had on a black lacy camisole that stopped mid belly and looked more suited to underwear then outerwear, low rider - obviously altered – black BDU pants. When she stopped beside him to sing song 'good morning' her tantalizing taut tummy was at his eye level and he swallowed and closed his eyes for a moment to regain his composure. He wished he'd kept them closed.
Vala snatched a strawberry from Sam's plate and sucked it into her mouth, moaning in pleasure. "Umm, yummy." With a slight raise of her shoulders and a lick of her lips she sauntered off towards the food line, hips swaying gently.
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Okay, think straight. You have to admit that you love her. As strange as that is. And, well, obviously something happened. Something I wish to hell I could remember. Daniel shook his head in befuddlement.
"Daniel."
"Yes?"
"Please hold your head still unless you want your CAT scan to come out with scrambled brains."
The machine whirled around his head. "Sorry." He lay still trying to force the memories. Closing his eyes produced a vague shadow … a thought from weeks ago. 'I'm tired of being alone, tired of resisting what I want' then flashes of himself at dinner with Vala. He shook his head again.
"Daniel! We're never going to finish here if you don't stay still!" Carolyn's irritation was colored with humor.
"Sorry."
"Yes, you said that before. I have to start the last two series again. Just hold still, relax, and think of something pleasant."
Something pleasant. Something….
The memory floated around coalescing into a dream. So thrilled by his invitation to dinner, Vala was the personification of bouncing off the walls. "Where are we going?"
"I thought we'd grill steaks on my balcony." "Oh, wonderful, what should I wear?" "Something casual… and modest." "Well, darling, that will be challenge. What time?"
"We'll leave about six." "I'll be ready."
He'd been surprised by her modest light blue skirt and white T-shirt attire. The fit and length of her skirt was accentuated when she leaned over the balcony to peer below, presenting him with a delightful view of her nice backside. Dinner had been enjoyable, at least until she spilled red wine down her front. Laughing they'd both grabbed napkins and started wiping at her, him on the top, her on the bottom, making it worse. His laughter had died out when he realized what he was doing. Rubbing the cloth across her breast in slow precise motions. "You can...ah…" He'd pointed towards his bedroom. "Ah…find something in there. We'll run them through the washer…ahm…before they stain." "Yes." Vala held a look of bewilderment without a trace of guile and she'd nodded and gone off into his bedroom.
Waiting on the balcony, his mind running rampant with thoughts of Vala undressing in his bedroom, he'd stared at the sky and fought the urge to join her. The thought did not disgust him and he grinned. A deep longing sigh only made his grin escalate. No longer caring how she felt about him, no longer fighting the attraction, no longer denying his feelings he let go of everything he'd built up since that kiss so long ago on the Prometheus. Love had fought its way into his heart and he had enough battles to fight without that one. If the last ten years had taught him anything – it was how to survive in the face of unparalleled pain. If the opportunity to act on the temptation presented itself he would take it.
"Daniel?" Her voice had called to him from the bedroom and he almost changed his mind.
"Hmm?" Forcing himself up he wandered towards her.
"How do you start this thing?"
Heading for the alcove where the washer and dryer were he mentally prepared himself for what he might find.
She'd turned on the radio and was dancing around in front of the washer barefoot and dressed in one of his shirts. Her white wine stained bra dangled from one finger and he did not want to speculate on where the panties were. The instant his eyes lit on her he knew. He was going to make love to Vala Mal Doran.
"Daniel?"
The memory faded instantly. "Yeah?"
"All done. Did you fall asleep?" Carolyn was standing beside the CAT smiling at him.
"Yeah, I guess." Pushing up he sat on the side of the machine and rubbed his head.
"Still having headaches?" Dr. Lam had replaced his friend Carolyn and looked at him in concern.
"Not from the injury."
Taking the pin light from her pocket she examined each pupil. "Looks good."
"I'm fine Carolyn and ready to return to full duty."
Placing the light back in her pocket she eyed him speculatively, "We'll see after the scan results. I still want you to take it easy. Not too much reading either. Understand?"
He grinned up at her and nodded.
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Teal'c had been following him like a shadow recently so Daniel wasn't surprised to find him waiting outside the infirmary.
"How was your exam?"
"Teal'c you need to stop worrying about me. I'm fine, really."
A slight raise of a brow answered. "Would you care for lunch today with the team? We have found a new establishment."
"You mean we're not going to 'Red Hot & Blue Memphis Pit Bar-B-Que'? Mitchell will be disappointed."
"We are going to 'Oma's Haus'. German food."
"What!? Oma's?"
"Yes, Colonel Mitchell thought you might enjoy that."
"Mitchell? As in 'Jackson, I'm gonna beat the crap out of you' Mitchell?"
"The very one. Are you not curious about the restaurant?"
"More hungry than curious. I'll get Vala, she can ride with me."
"Your wife has gone ahead with ColonelsCarter and Mitchell. O'Neill will be driving us as Dr.Lam has indicated you are not to operate a vehicle until released to do so."
My wife? "Whatever." Daniel said with a disgusted sigh. He feared he'd never find a moment alone with Vala.
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The next few days were taxing, not a one of them left him in peace. Jack was coming and going from Washington like going through one of those revolving doors, Sam spent hours on end trying to glean every fiber of his emotional state, Mitchell questioned him like a high powered lawyer, Vala was suspiciously absent from the scene unless the four of them were all present. Teal'c remained his constant shadow. And still he felt lonely without Vala's constant chatter. The memories were stubbornly caught somewhere in his head sending out occasional flickers of Vala naked in his arms. Mere seconds of a vision that would stop him cold and produce a sheen of sweat at the same time. And there was something about the way she acted when she was around him. Sultry and flirtatious, yes, but there was a deeper closeness involved. But when she spoke to him in a quiet intimate voice it was only to share 'annulment' rhetoric.
He couldn't get a moment alone with his… 'wife' as they all made a point to call her. And suddenly he realized they were doing it on purpose. All of them!
It wasn't much past 0600 hours and his head pounded incessantly. Putting on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans he headed out the door. He couldn't have been more than ten feet from her door when his shadow rounded the corner. How the hell is he doing it? Did they have a GPS tracking him?
"Look Teal'c I need a moment alone with Vala."
"She is not here. She is spending the weekend with ColonelCarter."
"Of course she is!"
Chapter Six coming soon: All Together Now
A/N: Red Hot & Blue Memphis Pit Bar-B-Que and Oma's Haus are actual restaurants in Colorado Springs, CO.
Tired of Being Alone – Al Green