Disclaimer: Stargate: SG1 isn't my creation; I'm only playing here and the only things I own are any original characters that came from my own mind.
Title: Overture in Slow Motion
Summary: overture - noun
1) an opening or initiating move toward negotiation, a new relationship
slow motion – adjective
2) moving or proceeding at a slow rate
Spoilers: Not really spoilers...assumes the reader is familiar with the events of SGA S5 episode "The Lost Tribe"
Pairings: Daniel/Vala, probably some referrral to J/S
Rating: "K" at the moment...will become "M" in the future
Genre: Drama/Angst/Romance
A/N:
My profoundest apologizes for taking over six months(really?) to add anything to this story...most of the time was spent doing school work and then at the end of school my brain went into hibernation for about a month and when I did start writing again I just couldn't seem to get a handle on the flow of this chapter...it's involved a lot of writing, then scrapping, then writing again and then scrapping again...but finally it's postable...and I tired of poking at it...so here ya go...I don't think it's up to par but I leave ya'll to decide for yourself.
Two weeks later
"Hello."
Sam shot a puzzled glance at the phone in her hand. For a moment she wasn't sure she had called the right number.
"Vala?" she asked cautiously."
"Sam?" came the familiar, accented but unexpectedly subdued voice from the other end.
"Uhh...yeah...it's me. Are you okay Vala? You sound odd...I wasn't sure it was you at first."
"Oh sorry...yeah I'm fine...Daniel's sleeping so I was trying to keep my voice down...hang on, I'll close his bedroom door."
There was a moment's pause while Sam heard the phone being put down, silence, and then the phone being picked up again.
"There that's better," Vala said with her usual enthusiasm, "so you're home?
"Yeah, just last night."
"All was well for your maiden voyage?"
"For the most part. We had a small altercation with a group of Alliance ships carrying kassa, but it wasn't something we couldn't handle."
"Well of course it wasn't Samantha, I wouldn't expect anything less from you and the good crew of the Hammond."
The extravagant but genuine praise made Sam smile.
"So how are things there?" she asked, "is Daniel improving at all...I mean you said he was still sleeping..."
"Oh, yes he's improving...it's just that after the exertion of the little walk that Carolyn insists he take every morning on top of a fresh dose of his meds he wipes out again for a couple of hours...he should be waking up again soon.
"Is he going to be up for company this evening?"
"Oh absolutely, Sam. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to have a break from it being just me here."
Sam frowned at the hint of sadness behind Vala's light-hearted tone that she believed she wasn't Daniel's preference for a constant companion.
"So how's it been between you guys?"
"Oh alright," Vala replied softly, "we've had a couple of tussles but I'm trying to be the patient one when he's being frustrated and cranky."
Sam chuffed a quick laugh, "And I can imagine how frustrated and cranky he probably is...he's not a good patient at the best of times...this forced inactivity must be making him nuts."
Vala returned the laugh. "No kidding."
"And how 'bout you? How are you doing with this forced inactivity? Bored?"
"Oh a little," Vala sighed, "but you know," she paused, her voice softening further, "he needs me Sam...I mean in the entire time we've known each other he's never let me down when I needed his help so I can't not do the same for him now."
The gentle sincerity in her voice brought an unexpected sting of tears to Sam's eyes. Why Daniel still wasn't seeing that Vala was in love with him was a puzzle, but it was time someone set him straight.
"Look," she said, "do you wanna take a break? I mean, Jack's here's tonight, but he has to go back to D.C. in the morning and Cam and Teal'c are headed to the Alpha site tomorrow for training exercises with a bunch of new recruits so I'm kinda at loose ends for a few days while I wait for the minor damage the Hammond sustained to be repaired. If you wanna come back to the base for a couple of days for a change of scenery I'm happy to stay with Daniel."
Vala not agreeing instantly was a surprise.
"Un... unless you don't want to of course," Sam said quickly.
"No...no...I didn't say that," Vala replied thoughtfully, "it just hadn't occurred to me until now...although I don't doubt that Daniel'd be quite happy to have you here for a couple of days instead of me...umm...why don't we discuss it tonight?"
That note of resigned sadness in Vala's voice again made Sam grimace at the phone.
"Uhh...okay...What time's good?"
"Umm...5 maybe...bring movies and we'll order something. Hopefully you'll get a two or three hours out of Daniel before his meds put him to sleep for the night."
"Okay," Sam said, "5 it is...see you then."
"Yup...see you...bye."
Vala's end of the phone line clicked into a dial tone. Sam slid her phone shut.
"So we're good for tonight?"
Sam raised her gaze to Jack leaning against the other side of the worktable.
"Yeah we are," she nodded.
"And yet, you are perturbed."
"Mmmm," Sam murmured, slipping off her stool, "I was just hoping that with them being alone together for the last few weeks things between them might've...I dunno," she shrugged, "progressed somehow."
"But not, huh?"
"No," Sam shook her head, motioning Jack towards the door, "they're so frustrating. She's crazy about him but she won't tell him. And Daniel..."
"And Daniel," Jack finished, following her into the corridor, "is still so twisted up in his own past he won't take the risk unless he's sure of her."
"Exactly," she blurted, looking at him in surprise.
"What?" he said, casting a sideways glance at her.
"Noth...nothing," she shook head, "I just wasn't expecting that kind of insight from you."
Jack grimaced at her. "Geez Carter, gimme some credit wouldja; I know Daniel as well as you."
"Okay then...what're we going to do about them?"
"Nothing," he said, stopping and turning to face her at the door of a men's washroom.
"Nothing?" she said in surprise, "but Jack, they're..."
"Ah, ah," he waggled a finger at her, pushing open the door with his other hand, "they're adults, if they can't see what's so plain to the rest of us that even I can see it then maybe they shouldn't."
Sam watched the door gently ease shut behind him. She chewed thoughtfully at her bottom lip for a moment. In most circumstances she'd follow her CO into a battle without question. Jack wasn't her CO anymore though and this wasn't a battle.
Sam stifled a yawn. After spending the entire morning debriefing with at the SGC with Homeworld Security and the I.O.A on the overall performance of the U.S.S George Hammond and its crew; and then spending the entire afternoon in a debriefing with the same people about the Hammond's run in with the Lucian Alliance, she was tired. She was more than happy to spend the evening just loafing with her best friends. She was especially happy and relieved to see Daniel mobile again. Granted he was moving carefully and he still looked a little pale to her, but he seemed closer to his old self than when she'd left. She was also relieved that things weren't as tense between he and Vala as she expected them to be. Instead there was a vibe between them that Sam couldn't quite put a name to. In fact the whole apartment seemed to exude the same aura.
Sam let her gaze wander away from the movie playing on the TV screen to study her surroundings, trying to pinpoint what was different. It wasn't as if the apartment had been physically altered. It was still a cluttered repository of Daniel's work and judging from the lack of telltale signs in the rooms' usual layer of dust nothing had been moved.
She suddenly sat up straighter, carefully studying a row of rather ugly squat stone statues lined up on the shelf of bookcase closest to her. That's what was different. There wasn't any dust. Anywhere. Every surface gleamed; every object had been swiped clean. For a moment Sam wondered if that was a result of Vala's boredom and then instantly felt guilty for being unfair. Vala's quarters at the base, while not spotless, were always cared for. Which was the difference here that Sam had been sensing since she'd walked in. At some point, since she'd left, Daniel's apartment had gone from a place where he kept his personal stuff and occasionally slept to a place that was lived in and cared for. Like a home.
Sam shot a sharp glance at Daniel and Vala seated at the end of the couch closest to her at the sudden realization that was the name of the aura that had been emanating off them from the moment she walked through the door. Home. There was easiness, between them that spoke of being settled together. Even if neither of them actually realized it.
Satisfied at that this turn of events she refocused on the movie. Only to see the credits begin to roll. Smothering another yawn with the back of her hand she watched Vala push herself up from where she'd been seating on the floor beside Daniel's legs, turn and lean over to gently wake him; under normal circumstances he was liable, like the rest of them to come up swinging if woken too suddenly. His eyes opened and a goofy smile spread across his face. Sam couldn't decide if the smile was a truly unguarded moment at seeing Vala or if it was because he was loopy with the full dose of the drugs he was taking.
"Oh, hullo," he mumbled.
"Hullo yourself," she replied affectionately, "I'd imagine your own bed would probably be more comfortable to sleep in don't you?"
He blinked at her and then nodded slowly.
"M'kay," he responded groggily, lifting his arms to rest over her shoulders.
Sam's breath caught. For split second she thought he was going to pull Vala in for a kiss. A quick look at Jack, Cam and Teal'c told her they were thinking the same thing. She remained mystified when in the next moment Vala reached down to slide her arms around his waist. Perhaps things between them had progressed further than Sam has suspected. A moment later though she found herself releasing the breath she didn't realized she'd been holding when it became it obvious that their actions were to help Daniel stand without straining his muscles.
What she didn't think she was misconstruing though was the look of contentment on Daniel's face as he paused for two or three beats with Vala's arms wrapped around his waist while he seemed to be regaining his balance. A furtive glance at the other three men while the couple disentangled themselves confirmed that she wasn't the only one to note Daniel's expression.
"S...sorry," Daniel said sleepily as Vala, one arm still wrapped around his waist, ducked under his arm resting on her shoulder, "to crap out on you guys so early...theze drugs really wipe me out at night."
He blinked owlishly at them for a moment as if he was forcing his eyes to stay open, then his face split into the goofy grin again.
"Been really great to see...you guyz...thanks for comin' over...g'night."
Sam added a 'night Daniel' to the chorus from the other three as Vala steered him in the direction of his bedroom.
Turning she met Jack's amused brown eyes.
"So progress then?" he asked with a slight lift of one eyebrow.
She grinned at him, "Could be."
"Awww man," Cam piped up from the opposite end of the couch, "you guys are gonna be okay with this aren't you?"
Sam looked at him in surprise.
"Oh and you're not all of a sudden? Haven't you been the one all along wanting them to figure themselves out so they'll stop bickering?"
"Yeah I was but I only just realized that instead of having to listen to them bicker now I'm gonna hafta put up them makin' eyes at each other...and...they're gonna be distracted...and isn't that gonna put the team in danger? I mean," he shrugged, "its fine for you Sam, you're off gallivantin' around the rest of the galaxy but I gotta be thinkin' about me and Teal'c's safety."
Jack interrupted with a snort of laughter.
"Relax Mitchell. This isn't gonna be resolved anytime soon. In fact I'm willing' to bet that right about now both our grandmothers would be speaking of molasses and January."
"I fail to understand your point O'Neill?" Teal'c spoke from the easy chair at Sam's and Jack's side of the couch
"My point 'T' is 'slow – molasses is a syrup that pours real slow in January and that's how to describe Daniel's continued movement on this matter…real slow. Now how 'bout another movie?" he said, leaning forward to examine the stack of DVD's on the coffee table, "just 'cuz ol' Doc Jackson had to crash early doesn't mean the rest of us hafta."
"Lessee," he muttered rifling through the DVD cases, "Star Wars...Star Wars...Star Wars...Star," he paused to shoot a disbelieving look at Teal'c, "animated Teal'c?...ya've even got a cartoon version?
"It is not a cartoon O'Neill. The animation is computer generated and it is an excellent addition to the established Star Wars canon."
"Yeah, yeah...it's still just science fiction," shaking his head Jack went back to shuffling through the rest of the movies, "so then there's a chick flick, another chick flick and some weird black and white thing that's obviously Daniel's..."he hazarded a glance at the DVDs in Cam's hands, "you got something better there Mitchell?"
"Uuhh...coupla Mel Brooks Ge...uh..Jack," he corrected himself hastily, flashing the DVD cases of two movies.
"Excellent," Jack grinned, slouching back against the couch.
He waved a hand at one of the cases, "put it in then son...Blazing Saddles never gets old."
Sam repositioned herself in against Jack again, leaned her head against his shoulder and wondered if anyone would notice if she crashed too.
Over the sound of cowboys singing "Camptown Ladies" the closing of a door and then hints of movement from the kitchen caught Sam's attention. Pushing herself up from the couch she wandered into the kitchen to find Vala assembling movie snacks.
"Daniel asleep?" Sam asked putting the packet of popcorn Vala'd put on the counter into the microwave oven and starting it.
"Mhhmm," Vala replied tearing open a large bag of nacho chips, "as he said the night-time meds are stronger, so he wipes out pretty fast."
"So how is he really Vala?" Sam leaned back against the counter and watched her friend move around the kitchen, "I mean physically he's obviously improving because when I left he wasn't particularly mobile and now he is...but beyond that how's he coping with this?"
"Oh he's okay," Vala shrugged, arranging handfuls of the chips over the bottom of large metal pizza pan, "mostly bored and frustrated. He's not getting back to work as quickly as he'd like despite Carolyn telling him it'd probably take most of the summer. And he gets cranky if he tries to do any work on his laptop because his hands and arms start to hurt. And then of course there's the fact that it's me he's stuck here with."
"I can't believe that's actually a problem." Sam said in surprise, "I'm not sensing any tension between you guys."
"I suppose not really," Vala responded over her shoulder as she crossed the room to the 'fridge, "it just feels sometimes that my presence here makes him extra grouchy that's all."
"So," she sighed, returning to the pan of nacho chips with the jar of salsa and bag of grated cheese she'd retrieved from the 'fridge, "I do what I can to make this more bearable for him. I'm sure we've watched all his favourite movies at least once. I even tried baking cookies to try and cheer him up."
"O...oh,'' Sam stammered, momentarily taken aback at the notion of Vala being that domestic, "and how'd that go?"
"Well my first attempt certainly provided him with amusement – the cookies themselves weren't very good...a lot burnt, but the second batch was better, and those," she gestured up at a plastic container on top of the 'fridge filled with, judging by the different sizes and shapes, homemade cookies," are really quite good even if I do say so myself," she finished, sending Sam a quick grin.
Shaking her head at her friend's self-congratulatory tone, Sam turned to remove the popcorn packet from the beeping microwave. Carefully she carried the bag to the counter beside Vala and dumped the contents into a large bowl. Popping a few morsels of popcorn into her mouth she leaned her hip against the counter and watched Vala dollop spoonfuls of salsa across the layer of chips and then scatter handfuls of grated cheese over everything. There was no hesitation in any of her movements. She knew exactly where everything was and exactly what she was doing. She was completely at ease in her surroundings...at home almost.
"You're enjoying this aren't you?"
Vala looked up from sprinkling a last clump of grated cheese across the mound of nacho chips and salsa, her brow creased with puzzlement, "Huh...enjoying what?"
"Being here with Daniel like this."
Shrugging, Vala carried the pan to the oven and turned the dial to the broil setting.
"Well, it is peaceful here; there aren't large alarm bells jolting me out of sound sleep at 3AM, and there's no one shooting at me...so, yes I like being here...and Daniel has never let me down when I've needed his help...doing the same for him now is the least I can do."
"You know that's not quite what I meant Vala."
Vala said nothing until she'd settled the pan under the broiler and shut the oven door.
"What do you want me to say Sam?" she said without turning around, her gaze focused on her hands grasping the handle.
"Just that you'll tell him."
Vala spun to face her, her brow creased into a frown.
"Why Sam? Why would I do that? What would it change? He doesn't want this with me...he's always made that abundantly clear. I'm not the one he wants."
"And who does he want?"
Vala's eyebrows arched up surprise as if Sam should know the obvious answer to that question.
Sam shook her in disbelief. "Oh c'mon Vala...that's impossible...Daniel's not that delusional."
"Okay then, at least someone like her...which wouldn't be me. I don't exactly fit the definition of 'village princess' do I?"
"Vala..." Sam started.
Vala held up a hand to stop her mid-sentence.
"No more Sam. Please? It's fine really. I've learned to accept the situation. Could we just drop this conversation and go," she tilted her head in the direction of the loud laughter coming from the living room, "watch whatever the boys are finding so hilarious?"
Sam frowned at her friend, but she nodded.
"Yeah, okay…sure...it's just that...with everything you had to deal with in your life I don't want to see you give up on having what'd make you happiest without even trying."
Vala smiled.
"Sam, I am happy. Really I am. I live in relative safety. I do important, respected work that actually earns me honest money. I have friends like you who care about and trust me. And Daniel looks at me now with the same warmth and affection he does you. It's enough...and given my history probably more than I deserve. So please, just take the popcorn into the guys while I rescue the nachos before they burn."
Sam eyed the overly-bright smile on her face for a moment, not feeling at all convinced that the friendship she had with Daniel was 'enough', but knowing that nothing except Daniel professing his undying love was going to persuade Vala that she could have anything more than his friendship.