Okay - I've put the next chapter up a little bit earlier than usual. Mainly because this chapter finishes off the little mini-story which began in chapter 1, so it gets it all out of the way before the main action starts.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2 Issues and Epiphanies.

The George Hammond was in orbit around Earth. The ship had been up there for about three days now, transferring goods and equipment and all other sorts of paraphernalia up and down between itself and earth. Another day and they would be good to go – heading off towards Atlantis.

Daniel had packed up all of his books and photographs, his laptop, his spare glasses – even Jonas's fish were coming. He felt a duty to look after them – Jonas had meant a lot to SG-1, and had been a true friend while he himself had been gone. Dr Jackson sat down heavily at his desk, took off his glasses and laid his head down on his arms. He felt terrible. Not ill-terrible, just terrible-terrible. Like someone had ripped his insides out and thrown them into an open wormhole.

Vala had not spoken a single word to him since he had dropped his bombshell. At first he thought it was best – let her come around to it in her own time and she would see that it would all be fine. Three months was no time at all, he'd soon be home, everything would be okay and nothing need change. He quickly realised that she wasn't going to come around to it – either in her own time or anybody else's. If he came into the cafeteria she left by another exit. If he saw her in the corridor she turned and went in the opposite direction. At SG-1 briefings she sat silently in her chair, huddled down, not looking at him. He'd tried to speak to her there, in the conference room – when she answered him she directed her words either at General Landry or Cameron.

The longer it went on the harder he felt it was to say anything to her. He knew that he was in the wrong – he went over and over in his mind how he should have handled it, what he should have said to her. How he should never have applied for the transfer in the first place, not without telling her. Again and again he replayed in his mind that day in her room when he'd eventually confessed – the look on her face and the way that she'd turned her back on him. He'd done that. He'd hurt her. Yet again, the selfish Dr Jackson had wanted to do something and expected everyone around him to be happy about it.

Daniel lifted his head and rubbed his eyes wearily. Tomorrow he was leaving. The Hammond was ske-daddling across the galaxy with him inside it. And he had never felt less like wanting to get on board.

Samantha Carter turned away from Vala's door. No answer. But a lengthy and emotional conversation with Daniel earlier on in the day had brought her here now, and she was damned if she was going to leave again without talking to her friend.

Carter had known that something was up the minute that she'd been able to escape the Hammond and beam down to the SGC. Daniel's face wore that pinched look, the one where he frowned nearly all the time. It hadn't taken him long to confess what had happened, Sam felt like yelling at him but that wouldn't have helped. Not when he was already beating himself up about it, better than she could ever have managed.

Vala, when she eventually found her sitting underneath the Stargate lasted about two minutes before dissolving into floods of tears. Sam was shocked. It was rare for the alien to cry, even more so to lose it in such a spectacular way. She had leaned her head against the colonel, put her arms around her and sobbed her heart out. Sam had just hugged her close, stroking her hair and whispering little words of comfort while she waited for the deluge to stop. Eventually Vala had recovered sufficiently to stammer out what had gone on between her and the archaeologist.

"Y'know, I think that he's very, very sorry that he didn't tell you," Sam whispered to her friend, who just hunched her shoulders and lowered her head. "He feels awful. He knows that he went about it all the wrong way – Vala, just because he's going to Atlantis it doesn't mean that he no longer loves you! Anyone who knows either of you can see how much you mean to him."

The alien sat without moving for a good minute or so. Her face was so sad that Sam felt tears prickling in her own eyes. When Vala spoke, she was so quiet that Carter could barely hear her.

"Perhaps he does still love me," she said, heartbrokenly. "But it's not just that." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "He's leaving me, Samantha. He's leaving me, like everyone else all my life has left me. In the end, I'm always left alone."

Carter hugged her friend fiercely to her. It broke her heart to think of what Vala's life must have been like in the past. And it said something about how bad she must be feeling at the moment – it was rare indeed for the alien to permit even one hug in a day.

"I realise that you think that's what he's doing, but believe me – I'm one hundred percent sure that Daniel never considered it in that way. You know what he's like, c'mon now…" she paused and looked into her friend's face, "in your heart, really, you know that wasn't his intention. Because of what you've had to put up with in the past, it's natural that you'd think he was abandoning you initially. But Vala – look at me!"

She turned herself to face the other woman, who slowly lifted her chin and looked up at her. "You know that Daniel loves you – he adores you! It's different to before. It's horrible to be apart from him, but it's going to be awful for him to be apart from you too. Sure, he's excited to be going, but he's gutted to be doing it without you! You have to forgive him Vala – be the strong woman that we know you truly are. You have to forgive him before he goes or it'll destroy the both of you. And I love the pair of you too much for that to happen."

The two women sat in silence for a long time. Vala was leaning against Sam's arm – the colonel held her friend's hand in her own, just rubbing the back of her fingers over and over. Eventually the ex-space pirate sighed softly.

"I was angry," she said quietly. "I'll find him now. Before I change my mind again."

"Good girl!" Sam squeezed the hand she held briefly. "He's in his office – I just came from there."

Her friend nodded and stood up awkwardly – space was a little cramped, hiding down under the Stargate.

"You won't leave before I say goodbye, will you?" she asked the colonel. "Only – I miss you too when you're not here. I wish that I could come with you."

"I miss you too – you know that I do." Sam stood and pulled her into a quick hug. "Now go and find him, quick!"

Vala walked away, slowly at first, before she broke into a run as she hit the corridor and headed for the elevators.

Panic had hit her suddenly. What if she was too late? What if the Hammond had beamed him aboard already? What if he'd gone thinking that she didn't love him anymore?

She hurtled out of the elevator and down the corridor towards his office. Empty. She was aghast. Her heart leaped into her throat. Was she too late?

"Daniel!" she shouted, suddenly not caring who heard her, not bothered for once what other people thought. "Daniel! DANIEL!"

She screamed it down the corridor. And suddenly he was there – rushing out of the bathroom, struggling with his belt, stumbling over his own feet. She threw herself at him, holding onto him as if she was drowning and he was a rock to cling to. He dragged her into his office, and kicked the door shut, and held her so tightly that she could barely breathe. He kissed and kissed and kissed her, she sobbed against his mouth but it was Daniel's tears that she could feel on her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry," he wept, when he eventually dragged his mouth from her's. "I never thought, never considered that you would think that I was abandoning you. That it would make you think of being left and not loved. That you were worthless. Vala…"

"Ssshh." She put her finger gently against his lips. In that moment something changed in her. Yes she was still the wacky, emotional alien-with-issues but there, looking up at Daniel and seeing how much that he really loved her, she understood for the first time that he wasn't abandoning her. He would never abandon her, not while he drew breath – living apart for three months would not be pleasant but they would manage. They would manage because they loved each other.

"It's alright, Daniel, really it is." She smiled up at him, through her tears, but it was a genuine little grin. "I'll be alright. I'll talk to you down the wormhole every Friday. I don't care who hears what we say to each other. And it's only three months. I'll be good, I promise I will."

Daniel's voice stuck in his throat. He didn't know how he could have resisted her for as long as she did. Her fragile, gentle trust was a gift that he barely deserved. He pulled her in close and held her against him for a long time. Vala, having had her mini-epiphany, was starting to look on the bright side of things and continued to talk at him.

"And of course, I'll keep you up to date with Walter's bets. And Jack will look after me, I'm sure. And Teal'c's coming back next week – so we can do all sorts of stuff together, like go to the gym and O'Malley's and the movies. And watch DVD's and eat ice cream. And Cameron will still be here, so SG-1 can still go off-world and be busy, and I can tell you all about it when you check in. And if I start saying any naughty stuff Walter gets embarrassed anyway and he might go away and I can talk really naughty stuff to you. And I could tell you if I've got my new underwear…."

"Hey!" Daniel broke in on her barrage of verbal-ocity. "That's one thing I'm banning you from doing – you are not discussing what you're wearing under your BDU's through the wormhole."

He grinned against her hair. She burrowed into him as closely as she could.

"We have seventeen hours until the Hammond leaves," Daniel whispered. "what would you like to do until then?"

Vala touched his cheek gently with her fingers.

"Wait here." A naughty little smile spread across her face. "I'm just going to go and get my handcuffs!"

It was the following morning. 09.00 hours. Daniel was down in the gate room, rucksack on his back, glasses polished, ready to leave. Sam stood next to him, fiddling with some little piece of equipment that she had in her hands. Everyone else was up on board already.

Vala stood at the window in the control room, as close as she could get. She never took her eyes away from the archaeologist.

Be brave, she said to herself, be brave. It'll all be okay. Be brave now, for Daniel.

He glanced up at her again. She looked very small, gazing down at him. She smiled – not that horrible, calculating grin which she still turned out sometimes, but the sweet one that reached her eyes and made them crinkle. He smiled back although he thought it was a good thing that he didn't have to speak to her. His voice didn't seem to be working quite properly.

"Okay Walter!" Sam called up to the control room. "Standby!"

She spoke into her radio.

"Hammond, this is Colonel Carter. Two to bring aboard."

She looked up at the control room where her friend stood and smiled. Vala gave them both a thumbs up.

"Hammond here. Roger that Colonel Carter. Standby."

There was a brief pause. Daniel looked once more up at his soul-mate. She was biting her lip, but still smiling. The last thing he saw she was doing the window washer wave down at him and Sam. Then he felt the tingle of the transport beam and the next thing the two of them were standing on the bridge of the George Hammond.

Vala leaned her forehead against the glass of the control room. They were gone.

There you go! I really couldn't leave poor Vala and Daniel not speaking to each other for too long - they love each other too much :-) Next chapter up soon!