A/N: The song is not mine, lol. I just thought it was so beautiful and comforting when I heard it, I had to put it in. I don't know who sings it, or who wrote it, it's an English song, called Early One Morning. That's about all I know. Oh, and, just in case people are getting the idea that these are my characters, Hehe, they're not mine. I'm just playing with them for a few days, then I'll give them back. Ok, I'll keep Jack and Sam, Daniel and Vala, and Cam, but the others I'll give back. When they're pried out of my cold dead fingers that is! Lol!
Vala moaned as she came awake, her overtaxed body protesting the slightest movements she made.
"Easy, not so fast. You're still a little sore from the last few hours. Give your body a chance to recover." Carolyn ordered firmly, entering Vala's line of vision.
"I thought…you didn't take my baby, did you? He was too little, he wasn't ready to - "
Carolyn placed Vala's hand over the swell of her stomach, letting the baby itself kick out against her fingers. "He's fine. Daniel thinks quickly when presented with a problem, when he found out you needed a certain blood type, Teal'c's, he rounded up Ry'ac and brought him here when Teal'c was unable to be reached. Ry'ac was more than happy to come, Anything to help out his Taur'i friends, as he so gallantly phrased it." Carolyn smiled, checking Vala's vitals.
"Ry'ac?" Vala tried to remember where she had heard the strange name before, but at the moment was unable to place it.
"Teal'c's son. They share a genetic link, so, it works out for the best, really. That, and you are now a member of the Free Jaffa Nation, you and your baby. You're carrying the Jaffa bloodline now, and passing it to your baby."
Vala winced as she slowly eased herself up in the bed, the ache in her joints settling down over her entire body.
"The good news is you don't have to worry about losing the baby anymore. The downside to that is you'll be staying in the infirmary here until you give birth, or until you opt for a C-Section. This last scare, you came close to buying the farm. You and the little one." Carolyn continued. "I'm putting you on a special diet, I believe that what you've been eating isn't altogether the healthiest you could have gotten, so from now on your diet is going to have nothing but food rich in whatever vitamin supplements your body can take. Also, you'll be eating caviar every day, that'll give you certain proteins you won't get in regular foods."
"Will he be okay? The blood loss, it won't harm him, will it? He'll be okay, right?" Vala asked quickly.
"Of course. I've got him on a monitor so I can regulate his heart rhythm, I can tell you right now that he's strong and healthy, and kicking like a mule." Carolyn smiled. Vala sighed in relief, hear heart beat slowing to a more normal level now that her baby was alright.
"I've checked the baby's vitals while you were asleep. I have to say, it's the strongest heart rhythm I've ever heard in a baby this young. Based on that fact alone, I'd have to say that the baby is almost definitely a boy. Textbook cases would suggest that, anyway." Carolyn continued. Vala's hands covered the lump that protruded from her, caressing it delicately.
"I see Dr. Jackson was one of the guys bringing you in. Does this mean that he's patched things up with you?"
"Yes, believe it or not. We've reached an agreement of sorts on things last night, and early this morning. I will refrain from talking of dying, and he will refrain from ordering me to kill my baby. Other than that, we're pretty much back to being together." she replied.
"Good to hear. Now, if you don't need anything, I'm going to head out and give you some privacy, make room for a certain archaeologist wearing a hole in the floor in the hallway. Buzz for me if you need me." Carolyn smiled, placing the small controller within easy reach of her friend's hand.
"Thank you." Vala braced herself for Daniel's worry, almost sensing it as he came through the door.
"Hi." He murmured, sitting down beside her and taking her hand in his.
"Hi." She whispered, her voice cracking on the word. Daniel scooped her up and settled on the bed with her in his arms, holding her close for comfort. She always had slept better when encased in the protection of his arms. He only hoped that now it would ease her fears and chase away the terrifying thoughts running through her brain. She clung to him, heart pounding against his chest as her silent tears soaked his shoulder.
Daniel brushed her dark hair back and pressed his lips to her temple as a memory from his childhood surged unbidden to his mind. His mother, holding him and singing a lullaby to calm his fears after an earthquake had rolled through California on one of their few visits to the United States. Through the haze of time, Daniel could almost hear his mother's voice as she sang it over and over until his father arrived to rescue them from that demon possessed land.
It had soothed him, perhaps it would also work its magic on the woman he treasured more than life itself.
"Early one morning, just as the sun was rising,
I heard a maid sing in the valley below:
"Oh don't deceive me, Oh never leave me,
How could you use a poor maiden so?
"Remember the vows that you made to me truly;
Remember how tenderly you nestled close to is the garland,
fresh are the roses I've culled from the garden to bind over thee.
"Here I now wander alone as I wonder
Why did you leave me to sigh and complain?
I ask of the roses, why should I be forsaken?
Why must I here in sorrow remain?
"Through yonder grove, by the spring that is running,
There you and I have so merrily played,
Kissing and courting and gently sporting,
Oh, my innocent heart you've betrayed!
"How could you slight so a pretty girl who loves you,
A pretty girl who loves you so dearly and warm?
Though love's folly is surely but a fancy,
Still it should prove to me sweeter than your scorn.
"Soon you will meet with another pretty maiden,
Some pretty maiden, you'll court her for a while;
Thus ever ranging, turning and changing,
Always seeking for a girl that is new.
"Thus sang the maiden, her sorrows bewailing;
Thus sang the poor maid in the valley below:
"Oh don't deceive me, Oh never leave me,
How could you use a poor maiden so?"
During the song, Daniel watched Vala's eyes drift closed almost of their own accord until she was relaxed and asleep in his arms.