The Next Day
"I liked the new moves in the shower this morning," Vala says. She and Daniel had shared the shower right after he dropped his kids off at school. "You've been taking sex lessons while I was gone or something?"
Daniel freezes in the brushing of his teeth, and quickly spits in the sink, "I didn't cheat on you."
"I was gone for a month, and you had no idea if I was even still alive. It wouldn't have been cheating," Vala says.
"I didn't have sex the entire time between my wife's death and our first time. I think I can deal with a month."
"I'm not used to guys being faithful to me," she says.
"Get used to it," he smirks, kissing her. Then he pulls away. "Ok, I was going to tell you this at the restaurant the other day, but…"
"… I sort of got kidnapped, and went AOL for a couple of months," Vala says.
"You mean AWOL, and yeah. I was going to wait for a fancy dinner tonight. But I've waited a month, and I don't want to wait anymore."
"Ok, what," she says.
"I love you," he says.
"Am I supposed to be surprised by that? I'm pretty sure you've told me that on several different occasions."
"Would you wait for it? I wanted you to know that I am ready to commit to this long term, you and me. I'm still not talking about marriage, but I want to have a not-a-wedding."
"A what?" Vala asks trying to keep her smirk inside.
"It's like a wedding…"
"… but not," Vala guesses.
"We wouldn't get married. But we'd gather all of our friends together. We'd dance, and have cake."
"Cake?" Vala asks.
"Well, we have to have cake if Jack's coming."
"I just don't see the point, darling," Vala says.
He comes over, and gently touches her face, "I want everyone, including you, to know that the two of us is going to be forever. I want to do some legal things, too. I want to do some paperwork that makes sure that you would get the house if anything was ever going to happen to me."
"Daniel…" she starts to protest.
"I also want, I mean I get it if you say no, but I'd like you to take the kids. I know it's a lot, three kids would be legally yours. Cassie's too old to be yours legally, but…"
"Of course I'd include her. You're never too old to need parents. It's just… aren't there people more qualified? I mean, I'd be honored, I just don't think that I'm very worthy of it."
"Vala, you're their mother now. There is no one that I trust more."
"Mother?" she says in shock, "So that's what it means. This whole not-a-marriage?"
"We are family now," he says.
"Well, then, my dear Daniel, I accept this not-a-proposal."
Daniel grins. "So along with this not-a-proposal comes a not-a-ring."
"Is it shiny?"
"It is," he says, rushing over to his dresser to grab a black box much larger than one which would hold a ring. He opens it to reveal a necklace.
"It's beautiful," she says.
He walks up behind her to put it on.
"You're good at that," Vala admires.
"What can I say, I have two daughters. I've gotten lots of practice."
She stares at her reflection in the mirror. "Thank you, my not-a-fiancé."
He kisses her neck, and wraps his arms around her.
Three Weeks Later
"No, there will be ten of us coming for Christmas," Olivia says on the phone just as Daniel walks into the room. That's odd, his friends at the SGC certainly know how many people from his family to expect for the annual gingerbread extravagance, why did Olivia think it was necessary to tell them?
"You're forgetting Rya'c and Vala," the girl says.
She shakes her head into the phone, "No, they're not friends of ours, Rya'c is Cassie's fiancée, and Vala… she's a little hard to define. I guess she's just Dad's girlfriend, but she lives with us, and," Olivia is about to explain the not-a-wedding they are planning for a couple of weeks from now, but she can't quite figure out how.
Suddenly Daniel realizes with horror that his daughter must be talking to his MOTHER-IN-LAW.
"Olivia, give me the phone!" he exclaims, diving across the living room to snatch it from her arms. "Vala is not living with us, and she's not coming to Christmas."
There is a pause on the other end of the phone so long that Daniel begins to wonder if he didn't mistake who his daughter was talking too, or maybe perhaps the women already hung up as soon as she heard that he was cheating on her daughter so soon after her death.
Neither of those things are true, and he soon hears the calm, unoffended voice of his mother-in-law saying, "Daniel, you're not doing something wrong if you've found someone else to be with. Janet's been gone a long time. You're not even doing something wrong if you've found someone else to marry or live with."
"Vala and I are not going to get married, and she's not living here," he assures the women.
"Ok," she says with a smile on her lips. "Still, if she's around often enough that your daughter THINKS you're living with you, regardless of whether or not you actually are, she's more than welcome to come to Christmas."
"I think that would be pretty awkward," he mumbles.
"Well, I think we can show hospitality a little better than that," Mrs. Fraiser says, sounding miffed for the first time in the conversation.
"That isn't what I meant. I thought you guys might feel awkward," he says softly.
"Daniel, if my grandbabies have a new mother in their life, I would really like to meet her."
Daniel flinches, "I just don't think you're going to approve." The more nervous Vala got, the more she tended to flirt. He could almost see her sitting on Great-Uncle Albert's lap right now.
"This isn't about me passing judgement on you, Daniel. This is about me wanting to know my grandkids. If they have someone knew of great importance in their life, I want to know her too. Of course, if you decide not to bring her I would completely understand. I would still love to see you and the kids over the holidays, and bless me Cassie's gone and given me great-grandchildren already. Did you tell her that I was too young for that?"
"I also told her that I was too young to be a grandfather," he laughs.
"What about her gentleman, do we like him?"
"We do," Daniel says.
"All right, I hope you bring everyone up, because I would hate to think about this girl sitting alone on Christmas. Does she have family?"
"None that she's close to," Daniel says quickly. A truer phrase was never uttered. Vala's closest family was light years away physically, and about as far emotionally.
"Well, like I said, I hope you bring her, and I'll see you all in a week for Christmas."
A Week Later
Daniel walks through the door of Janet's aunt's house first. His youngest granddaughter is on his hip, and he is holding his oldest son by the hand. Relatives greet them at the door, and quickly take the kids from him. Vala comes through the door next, holding Drew. Seeing what happened before she starts to hand the kid over to the women who comes to her. The women holds her in a hug for a long time during the exchange though.
"Welcome."
When she is passed on, minus the kid, it is only to another set of arms. It's the fourth exchange when someone asks.
"Who is she?"
"Daniel's new girl," her former hugger says, and the new one gives her a little extra squeeze.
-0-
"Can I give you some help with that?" Vala asks, entering the kitchen.
"Honey, you're a guest, go sit down," the women responds.
Vala starts drying a dish anyway. "You're her sister, right, Janet's?" Vala asks softly.
"I am. My name's Mary."
"I'm sorry. You probably hate that I'm here. I can't imagine what it's like. I didn't want to come, but your mother insisted…" Vala begins.
"I would have insisted too," Mary says. "I can see why you'd think we'd be mad. Jealous for Janet's sake. That would be stupid, though, because you can't keep being married to a corpse, and I wouldn't want Daniel to try. He started off as my brother-in-law, it's true. But the second that little orphan Daniel walked in here, we pounced. He's my brother now, and I don't see any reason not to love his new… relationship undefined partner," she says with a raised eyebrow.
Vala dries a dish in silence.
"Is it long-term, this undefined thing?" Mary presses.
"I think so," Vala says.
"Good, those kids deserve long term. So you're my new sister then?" Mary says quickly.
Vala gapes at her in shock.
"Well, that's the logical conclusion, if you're with Daniel; or at least sister-in-law."
"I've never really had a sister before. Actually, this whole family thing is pretty new for me," Vala confesses.
"Another orphan?"
"Not quite… my dad's still around, but I doubt I'll ever see him again."
"We're good with the orphans."
"You really are," Vala agrees. She's never felt so welcome anywhere in her entire life.
-0-
"I can't believe they put us in the same bedroom. It's so awkward!" Daniel complains as he lays next to her in bed.
"We sleep in the same room all the time, Daniel."
"I know, but I don't want them to know that."
"They know we're sleeping together, darling, and they are ok with it."
"I know, and that's weird isn't it?"
"You know, it's really not," Vala says leaning against him, "In fact, I think we should invite them to our not-a-wedding."
Daniel is silent for a few seconds, causing Vala to look at him. As soon as she did, she wished she didn't, "You don't want to do that. That's the reason for this not-a-wedding. You don't want them to know that you stooped as low as me," she says, getting up. She's not really sure where she is going to go. At home, there would be lots of options. She could sleep on the couch, or bunk with Olivia, or go back to the base. Here, the beds are full.
"You've got it wrong. I'm not ashamed of you, I'm ashamed of me. I wanted to love her forever. She deserves to be love forever. I can't admit to them that I love someone else."
She lays down next to him. "Ok, but they would love you anyway."
"I'm not their family," he mutters.
"I don't know. Mary called you her brother, right before she offered me a position as her sister," Vala says.
"It's weird. You'd think people who had a lot of family wouldn't be that keen on acquiring more, but they are."
"It's like you have to practice love. Like those of us who didn't have it… we're all empty, and have nothing to give. It's the ones who have everyone to love that give it out freely."
"You've got love now," he says, snuggling her into his side. "We'll invite them all, but we're going to be understanding if they don't come."
"Thank you!" she exclaims, smacking a kiss on his cheek.