Baby Come Back Chapter Seven – At Last
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Trying to ignore the tapping on her door Vala rolled to her back and let out a sigh of resignation.
"Vala?" His voice was like a bullet through the heart. She wasn't expecting him! Jumping up too quickly she tangled her foot in the covers and landed flat on her face on the floor.
"Vala? Are you alright?"
Where was Muscles? He was supposed to be watching Daniel. Resting her forehead on the rug she yelled back. "Fine, just moving some things around, redecorating. Go away."
"I wanted to talk to you, preferably not through the door."
"Try email." Turning her face she put a cheek on the floor and closed her eyes. The tapping stopped. Damn, this was harder than she thought. Pushing herself up, Vala removed one boot and threw it against the door in frustration.
"Vala?"
Standing lopsided and blinking in surprise she answered in a squeaky little voice, "Yes?"
"I'm waiting. Are you throwing things in there?"
Pressing her forehead to the door she frowned. "Yes."
"Were you serious about … you know… about pretending it never happened?"
"Well obviously Daniel it never happened in your easily erased little brain. I'm surprised there's anything left in there. You must be down to three languages by now." She heard his laugh and it made her smile.
"I remembered something."
"What?" Panic gripped her. Did he remember he didn't love her? That the whole thing was some kind of joke?
"Vala, please open the door. I need to talk to you."
"No. What did you remember?"
"The whatevering."
"What? The what?"
"You know, the whatevering… the night before … the prior to the defining event, the consummation…tions."
Vala sucked her lips between her teeth and bit down to control the grin of happiness that kept trying to take over her utter annoyance at her reluctant husband. "Go away." She thumped her head against the door.
"Vala, please, we need to talk."
"I can't let you in."
"Why?"
"Because I'm…I'm naked…" Her hand went to the door knob when she heard his 'oh, god'.
Head against the other side of the door Daniel closed his eyes. That memory came full blown and staggeringly explicit. Vala naked beneath him, legs wrapped around his waist, back arched, head thrown back and arms flung out, hands gripping the sheets. She moved in ecstasy meeting him in perfect harmony Every time she whispered 'I love you' he'd take her so tenderly, slowly that he thought a hundred times that he'd died and ascended. Sacred fulfillment, pure passion, unequivocal loving, rough and desperate joining, they made up for lost time, for the pent up needs of years. For love.
"…and if I let you in someone might see you coming in and then they might think we'd be whatevering and then you couldn't annul the marriage. Go away."
Daniel remained silent trying to recuperate from the memory that had bombarded him.
Listening intently Vala heard not a sound. Had he gone? It was a long and tortuous time before her hand on the door knob began to move, but not from her effort, he was turning the knob. Was the door locked? The door was moving! She sat on the floor and snatched her other boot off, then both socks, her eyes on the door pushing slowly inward. Next came her jacket, the T-shirt and she was unbuttoning her pants when the door opened fully and he peeked around it.
She grinned all teeth and eyebrows raised. "I was trying to get dressed."
"Oh. Ah. You want to put a shirt on?" Please. I'm dying here. He fought the need to take her right there on the floor.
She shrugged her shoulders and looked down at the nice lacy bra she wore (thank every god she'd ever known). "Go away." She turned her head so he couldn't see the huge grin on her face.
"Vala?" Managing to clear the grin from her face, Vala looked up with a practiced scowl as Daniel continued, "I may not remember everything, but I can tell you this…"
"Oh god!" She groaned out, slowly scanning up his long - tight blue jean clad legs, across the T-shirt stretched taut over his chest and into those heavenly blue eyes staring down at her. She had to look away from the intensity of his regard and she placed her hands over her ears. "Don't tell me! Please! Daniel, I'm begging you, please, please go away."
He squatted down beside her, tight jeans and all. Taking her wrists he pulled her hands from her ears. "I'm not going away; you may as well stop asking that. I'm sorry I don't remember all of it, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. Before the last three weeks happened, I realized I loved you. So it's not in the erased little brain part. It makes sense that what happened, happened. If you didn't feel the same why did you marry me?"
Snatching her wrists free, she turned her face away; he took a finger to her chin and brought it back around. "I…I'm just not… I can't…I don't want to be separated. I don't want to lose your friendship. I don't want to lose SG-1. I never realized this could turn into such a debacle. I thought it was going to be wonderful…and it's not." Where the hell was Muscles! "How can I be married to someone who's always forgetting? …forgetting to eat, sleep, forgetting even to speak to me? I'm not a needy person Daniel. I can take care of myself. I may want you but I don't need you…at least I never thought I would."
His finger left her chin and started to fiddle with the lacey bra strap. She wanted a door to bang her head against. Instead she pulled away and stood, taking a hand and knocking him back to the floor. Opening the door Daniel had closed behind him she pointed out into the corridor and spotted Teal'c arriving almost too late.
"Okay, but we will talk and without this wacky charade of keep Daniel from Vala." Reluctantly Daniel left the room without another word. Closing the door softly Vala rested her back against it. Slowly a smile began to twitch at her lips, and then the grin started. Pushing away from the door she emulated Mitchell's classic 'touchdown' arm lift with a loud "YES!"
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Daniel's head whipped around when he heard Vala's excited yell, but his intention to return to her was waylaid by Teal'c. "DanielJackson I have been looking for you."
"Imagine that!" Before Daniel could respond further to Teal'c Mitchell showed up glaring at Teal'c.
"YOU were supposed to have been watching the subject." Mitchell hissed in Teal'c's ear. "Jackson, I'm done with the IOA. We need to discuss a few things. Mano a Mano."
Opening his mouth in reply, Daniel was once again interrupted, this time by Sam.
"Daniel! There you are, I was hoping we could meet for dinner and talk." Drawing a frustrated breath he gathered his senses to respond when, yes, one last time he was cut off.
"Whatcha doin'? How come you didn't meet me for lunch? We had things to discuss." Jack barged through the other three and stood smack dab in front of Daniel.
Teal'c shot ColonelMitchell an accusing glower, "You," he whispered fiercely, "were supposed to keep him occupied."
"Where the hell have you been?" Turning to Sam, Mitchell passed the blame with a low gruff voice right next to her ear.
Ignoring Mitchell, Sam grabbed Jack's arm and spun him around. "Hey, wait your turn!"
"His turn? What about me? I was here first." Mitchell had a hold of Sam's sleeve and pulled her back a pace or two.
"I believe, ColonelMitchell, that it was I who was here first." Teal'c pulled at Mitchell's shoulder his demeanor clearly indicating his irritation.
"Back off big guy." Mitchell had the audacity to actually shove Teal'c who didn't move a millimeter. But Mitchell didn't back away.
Daniel looked back and forth between the four in bewildered amusement.
"Hold on there, cowboy, let's not start a ruckus right here in the hall." Jack pulled his arm loose from Sam's grip and she hauled off and smacked him on the chest with the back of her hand. "What the hell?!"
"What the hell?!" The exact words Jack had said when Daniel called him following the wedding. That's when it hit him. That's when the full memory came rushing in like a tsunami. The minister, the vows, the happiness. Daniel literally jerked back from the impact. His head swimming, his body went rigid.
The other four were nearly nose to nose all yelling at once. Daniel, eyes closed from dizziness, reached for the support of the wall when his hand encountered something soft. Vala.
Suddenly clear headed he opened his eyes and snatched her into a bear hug of an embrace and kissed her like a starved man. Her arms wrapped so tight around his neck her elbows over lapped and she responded to his kiss like a ravenous animal. Still clinched together Daniel managed to move her backwards into her room, somehow got the door closed and locked and started backing her towards the bed.
Breathlessly she insisted, "Wait, wait." Reluctantly breaking free of him Vala grabbed something from a drawer and manipulated the locking mechanism. "There. It'll take Siler hours to fix that!" She slammed back into Daniel and took up where she left off.
He had to escape the suction of her mouth to breathe. "I love you. I remember everything too, but I loved you anyway. God, I love you."
She let out a small cry mumbling "I love you" over and over into the heat of his mouth. They were both ignoring the knocking at the door.
The hall went quiet and the four stood looking sheepishly at each other. "Ah, I'm buying the beer." Jack offered in apology.
"No, no, I should buy the beer." Mitchell stated miserably.
"Let me buy the beer. I should buy. You guys always buy." Sam took Jack's hand and squeezed it.
"I'm buying. I said it first."
"Yes Sir, but I'm the one who started this whole thing."
Jack turned with a frown. "Mitchell, I'm buying the god damned beer! It's my fault. I started it!"
"How the hell do you figure that? This is all my fault and I'm buyin' the beer!"
Teal'c stepped between Mitchell and Jack. "Iwill buy the beer. I will drink some of the beer and that is final!"
Mitchell jabbed a pointed finger through the air, "Well there ya have it!"
"Not a problem T, whatever you say. Come on Carter let's get you drunk."
The four walked side by side down the hall arguing over where to go for the beer. "I've had lunch at O'Malley's every day I've been here." "Yeah, well we just had dinner at the Barbeque place…" "I thought we were trying the new brew house next?" "Perhaps we should just go to ColonelCarter's." And on and on it went.
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Jack, Sam and Teal'c were eating breakfast a few days later waiting on Mitchell, who eventually appeared looking rather despondent. He stopped beside the commissary table without sitting. "Ah… they're really not really married."
"ColonelMitchell, we can safely assume that some … consummation has occurred." Teal'c didn't bother looking up.
"Not that. This…" He tossed a newspaper on the table. "Front page, headline news. Read it and weep." The large bold type read: Man posing as minister illegally marries over a hundred couples. "Take a look at the list of names." Jabbing a finger at the list Mitchell sat down and crossed his arms.
Sam read the two names aloud, "Dr. Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran. Oh boy, we're gonna have to tell them."
Jack laughed out loud, "Yeah, but now we have to wait 'til they get back from the honeymoon."
END – Sequel coming soon – The Wedding Planners
A/N: At Last (My Love Has Come Along) – Etta James