Mr Mal Doran

spacegypsy1

Chapter Five

~0i0~

"Where have you been?"

Taken aback by his tone Vala stopped in place. "Ah. The real Daniel is peeking through I see. Crabby are we?"

He was sitting up, looking remarkably well. Not a tube, not a monitor, not a bandage in sight. "Sorry. So I'm a grouch?"

Shrugging one shoulder, Vala gave him a half smile. "Sometimes. And sometimes quite sweet." She came to sit on his bed.

"Maybe that's why you thought - think I don't love you? I kinda get that because even though my brain is a scrambled puzzle I find little pieces fit now and then."

"Oh?" She turned away from him.

"Yes. I did get a healthy dose concerning you and me." Daniel, finger to her chin, turned her face back to him. "You thought that I didn't love you most likely for the same reason I thought you didn't …. or couldn't love me."

"And that is?" She felt that she was experiencing what the Tau'ri call bated breath.

"Shear stupidity." And he leaned in and kissed her with longing.

When the kiss ended Vala, too stunned to speak, only stared open mouthed at Daniel.

Daniel grinned. "Sorry. I've wanted to do that for a long time."

"So do you or don't you have your memory, or some memory back?" She sighed, wondering what he could possibly be thinking. "I can't believe you kissed me, while you're not you. That's just not fair, Daniel."

"Sorry. And no, no memory back, just random pieces, loose and squiggly. I do know that kissing you is something I really, really wanted to do."

"So maybe you had PMS and it's getting better?"

"So you're going to ignore the kiss thing?"

She could only nod repeatedly for several seconds.

He sighed. "No. No PMS and not PTSD either. But there's something odd about my memory loss."

"There's something odd about how well you are after all your injuries. Maybe the evil creepy people took it, your memory, and made it look like some medical loss. Maybe you found something."

Daniel nearly leapt off the bed. "Yes! Yes. That's it! I found something they didn't want me to see."

"What?"

He sat back down. This time coming around and sitting beside her. "I have no idea. Can't remember. What kind of things would I be looking for?"

"Welll, let's see." Vala pouted, eyes going up to the left as if thinking. "Oh! I know. Tomes. Tombs. Artifacts. Articles. Old words. Old picto... pic... drawings that make words or scenes or stories. Merlin, Morgan... things like that. And of course your past. It will come to you. I'm sure. And we do have devices to help, you know. Or don't know."

Taking her hand he held it gently. "Vala?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Do we have children?"

"No. Daniel I'm not really your wife."

He kissed her quickly, "Yet."

"What!? You know?"

"I don't know if I know, I just feel like I know. Doesn't matter. Vala, I think we need the team. You know those others, not the weird one that came to see me, the team ones. Mitchell? Sam? Te... Teal'c?"

"You're not mad at me because you..."

"Not mad. I'll get dressed. Can you help me find that team?"

"I can. Darling?"

"Hmm?"

"What did you mean by... yet?"

"I think we have both had enough loss in our life, Vala. I think it's time to think about some kind of future. We need to talk. I doubt I will forget this when I remember the rest of my life. Besides, I like the name Mal Doran, since I don't really know my own and for some crazy reason no one wants to tell me what it is. But, on the bright side all this totally makes Jack crazy. That's his name, right?"

"Yes, his name is Jack. O'Neill. And it is certainly NOT stupid to have thought you didn't love me because you don't. Or didn't."

~0i0~

"Walter, where is everyone? And by everyone I mostly mean SG-1." Vala pouted peering out into the Gate room.

Daniel stood beside her also staring but he was stunned by what he saw. "That's... that's the swimming pool."

At first, Walter laughed, but with the scowl Vala sent his way he straightened up and told her, "General Landry is on his way to Washington, General O'Neill is in the conference room with the rest of SG-1."

Vala turned and looked at Daniel and shrugged a shoulder. "Without me? Why didn't someone call me? And Daniel, it's the Stargate, you really don't remember the Stargate?" She didn't wait for an answer just grabbed Daniel by the arm and tugged him along.

"What's going on?" Vala demanded the instant she and Daniel entered the conference room.

All the faces that turned towards them looked guilty.

"Just what I thought! And you, Carolyn! You're all..."

Stepping forward, Daniel placed a hand on Vala's shoulder. "Vala stop. They're just trying to figure something out."

"Like?"

"Like something isn't quite right with me. I mean I've healed physically fast, unusually fast. And still I can't remember my past, my name, these people – my team."

Vala twirled a lock of her hair, "Your name is Dr. Daniel Jackson. You study old stuff. Really, really, old stuff. The Doctor is not in medicine but I don't understand it. Nothing is wrong with you except you can't remember your name, and I told you that." She let go of her hair and watched him in fear because he was shaking his head in denial.

Finally he spoke softly. "Something may not be wrong, but something isn't quite right."

~To Be Continued.