Mr Mal Doran

spacegypsy1

Chapter Four

~0i0~

He could feel her body heat though she did not touch him. Vala. Obviously someone he could count on. She certainly acted like a wife, but still he was a little unsure. Pieces of the puzzle would pop into his mind and dissipate too quickly for him to get a good grasp of them.

Then there was that recent event he remembered. Her saying he didn't love her. He knows. He knows he does love her. He knows it for sure. Or at least he thinks he knows it for sure.

Like lightening strikes, flashes came and went. Digging in sand and grinning at her, entertained. Brushing at old stone in dark and dank structures and scowling at her, annoyed.

And then there was the swimming pool that kept swirling, spinning, lighting up and disappearing. She would appear standing in the middle of the upright shimmer as she beckoned him to follow her into the pool.

Like a news bulletin an image interrupted his musings. Vala in a little red sleep set. On a bed. In a room. Obviously they were intimate. Daniel sighed and just as he slipped back into sleep monsters sprang into his mind. Another dark haired woman. And a pregnant Vala. Did they have a child?

~0i0~

The head nurse on night shift approached Daniel's bed and stopped in her tracks. Head shaking in exasperation she did an about face. So, she thought, the rumors were true. SG1 are thick as thieves. She'd been warned that if one was housed within the walls of the infirmary, one should expect that one or all would be present at any given time.

"Dr. Lam? Dr. Lam?" When that got her nowhere she came closer to the cot in the doctors office. "Carolyn?"

Carolyn shot out of bed to a standing position. "Katie? Who... wha... What's wrong,"

"Sorry to wake you. She's in his bed, curled up like cat."

Relaxing the doctor tossed her lab coat back across the desk. "Is she in your way?"

"Not really."

Crawling back into her temporary bed Carolyn yawned, "Go ahead and do a quick assessment, check the monitors and let her stay until your next rounds, then send her on her way. And make sure she goes. She's quite good at skulking."

"Aren't you concerned?"

"About Vala?"

"No. About him. He seems to be healing faster that normal."

"We'll discuss that later."

Katie nodded mumbling as she walked away. "Strangest place I have ever worked." She quietly checked Dr. Jackson who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. When she looked up Vala was watching her expectantly. Smiling, Katie gave Vala a thumbs up. "He's doing great, go back to sleep."

~0i0~

"I like waking up like this." Vala whispered after opening her eyes to find Daniel watching her, smiling, and except for some residual bruising, looking quite normal. "Feeling better, darling?"

"Yep. I feel good. Or better."

"Remember anything?"

"Weird dreams. Not sure what's real and what's memories." Daniel tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I sure hope some of it's true and some of it's nightmares."

"Vala?"

She heard her name called and turned to see nurse Katie looking quite stern.

"Yes?"

"Time to go, sweetie, you need to return to your bed. They'll be assessing you for release. You can then check the visiting hours for when to return to see Daniel."

Scooting off Daniel's bed Vala complied. "Alright." Leaning over she whispered in Daniel's ear. "I'll be back... soon."

"I know." He said, then realized he did know. He knew that about her. She would be back and she would not pay a bit of attention to visiting hours. She might even bring him some sort of contraband, like coffee. Yes, coffee. He wanted coffee. He liked coffee. At last, he remembered something he was sure of.

~0i0~

"So, Mr Mal Doran, eh? How's it going?" Jack, hands in pockets stood at the end of Daniel's bed.

Daniel had been dozing and one eye popped open cautiously. "Huh? Oh it's you. Jack, right?"

"How the hell do you know that?"

"How the hell do I know?"

"Because you suddenly remember?"

"Nooo. I don't remember anything."

"Then how do you know who I am?"

"I don't know who you are!"

"You said... oh, never mind. So where's your lovely companion?"

"Left me here all alone."

"Aww, miss her, do you?"

"It makes me feel sorta homesick when she's not around."

"Really? Okay. Nice chatting with you. Maybe I'll come back when you get some of the mush outta your head." Jack said, then did a precision about face and left the room.

"Son of a bitch, I hate this!" Frustrated, Daniel slammed his head back into his pillow. "Where the hell is she? She's been gone for hours!"

~To Be Continued~