Spoilers for "The Quest Part II"
Two Weeks Later
"Well?" Vala says, stepping out of the walk-in closet.
"I think we're going to have to call that a wedding dress," Olivia says, looking up from her book.
"It's a not-a-wedding dress," Vala corrects, taking a twirl around the room.
"If it's not a wedding, why are we here?" Cassie asks.
"Maybe we'll ask the same question at your wedding," Will says.
Vala takes his chin in her hands, "Watch that cheek, little one."
Olivia stands next to Vala, and says seriously, "I'm happy about this whole not-a-wedding thing, Vala."
"Thank you, love," Vala says kissing her.
"Right, now we have a not-a-step-mom," Cassie says with a sarcastic role of her eyes.
"Watch that cheek!" Drew says imitating Vala.
Vala walks over next to where Cassie is sitting, and says, "Honey, I know you don't agree with this. That's ok, you are allowed your opinion. I just want you to know that I don't feel the same way. I love you, and I am so glad to be entering a family that includes you."
Cassie gives her a quick fake smile, and then returns to her book.
Vala knows rejection when she feels it, she's had enough of it in her life. So she turns to do her make-up like she hasn't noticed. "I had a stepmother, you know. A wicked witch of a women."
"Like in the story," Drew says.
"Which story?" Will asks.
"All of them," Olivia says.
"Stepmothers are always evil in stories, but not in real life," Vala says, glancing at Cassie in the mirror, who is not reading anymore. "Sometimes a stepmother is just someone who fell in love with a family instead of a person. Sometimes they know they can never replace a mother, but they want to love you anyway."
Vala and Cassie's eyes meet in the mirror, and Cassie gives her just the smallest of nods. She might not be willing to accept Vala, but it's good for her siblings, she can see that. She's not going to ruin the day.
Cassie hears the sound of Aaliyah crying down the hallway. "Mommy!"
Cassie goes to the doorway, and retrieves her children.
"Oh, lord, I'm about to be a grandmother," Vala says taking a deep breath.
Behind the children was not only Ry'ac, who everyone expected, but also Mary. "So, I was thinking about how you told me at Christmas that you weren't exactly close to your father, and I was wondering if he was going to be here today," she says as soon as she entered the room.
"No," Vala admits.
"Ok, so I know that Daniel's father is dead, and my dad offered to walk you down the aisle."
Vala's eyes well up with tears, "That is unbelievably generous, really. I actually had a family friend, Teal'c, the usher that thinks he's a bouncer, offer as well. But we're not really doing the traditional walk down the aisle."
"Ah, right, it's not-a-wedding," Mary says.
"Tell your dad thank you for me, though," Vala says as the other women disappears out of the room.
-0-
The music begins. It's a jaunty little song from Daniel's Middle Eastern heritage. Vala decided that she liked that a lot better than any of the more modern music the pair listened to in preparation for the ceremony.
Then, the two of them walk in arm-in-arm. There is no-one to give them away. There is no pretending that they are separate until the wedding brings them together, everyone there knows that they have been more or less living together for a while.
After them comes their children. They were going to do it in age order, but that caused some difficulty with the grandkids, so they decided to do it in reverse order. Drew, Will, Olivia, and Cassie all in a neat little row. Cassie has Ry'ac at her elbow, because engaged, the family had decided, was close enough to count for an almost-wedding. Behind Cassie walk her three grandkids.
When the family reaches the middle of the yard, they stop and turn, to face the little audience.
"I want to thank you all for coming today," Daniel says to the crowd, "And more than that, I want to thank each and every one of you for being a part of our lives. We appreciate the way you have all embraced the rather non-traditional thing that we are doing today, and more than that, the non-traditional way that we are leading our lives. In case you haven't noticed, our family is a little bit weird," and that, ripples of laughter come from the audience. "So there aren't going to be any vows today. We just wanted everyone here to know, that we are planning on being a family forever. We love each other," he puts an arm around his not-a-wife, and squeezes his shoulders, "And that's not going to change."
"Just be glad you don't have to sit through the boring church part, but can get to the fun drinking and dancing part right away," Vala says, turning to her husband, and waiting for the music to begin.
"'Fer crying out loud, you've got to at least kiss him," Jack calls out.
Vala has no intention to obey, until she realizes the Siler, the operator of the music, agrees with him. He is going to withhold the music until the two of them lock lips.
She turns and lays something on her husband which gives Jack flashbacks of the last kiss with Sha're. It's the kind of kiss that just about makes Daniel disappear for a couple of minutes.
The music begins, and with it the dancing.
One Week Later
Stupid Earth food. Well, she supposed she couldn't actually blame the Earth food, because Daniel had told her that no-one actually ate the strange concoction that she and Olivia had created. She'd take the girl shopping. That always ended with trouble, but usually that trouble was cute, like a new pair of shoes for the pre-teen or a top for herself. This time they went grocery shopping, and she didn't say no to a single junk food the girl had been forbidden by her health-conscious dad. She was the girl's not-a-stepmother now, after all.
The end result had been an entire cart worth of crap her husband would never eat. They put it all on the table when they got home, and just stated combing it. Vala's personal favorite had been a marshmallow cream/spray cheese/spam mixture spread on a Dorito.
So throwing up was kind of a given.
Still, it was days after this disaster, and Olivia still isn't affected. The last time she felt like this was…
No.
She couldn't be pregnant. She couldn't be, because Daniel had said no more children. How could she choose between her not-a-husband and her baby? Well, she couldn't really, but it would never be a straight choice. If she chose her husband, she would have to kill the baby before they found out about it. If she hadn't done that with a kid she had no idea HOW she'd conceived, she wasn't going to do that with this one. If she didn't pick Daniel, he at least got to live. Even if their separation might kill her.
She knew how this had happened. She'd gone missing for a month, and not used birth control during that time. She'd only found out later that she should have used back up protection for her first week back on the pill.
So, here she was, pregnant, and she should leave now. There was no use in staying, now that she'd decided that they had to go. Every moment spent with him now was just going to cause her more pain, knowing that eventually she was going to have to let it all go.
Still, she knew that she wasn't going to leave, at least not now. She would find a way to hide it for a long time. A really long time.
She returns to the bed, where Daniel is sitting, looking mildly concerned. "Did you eat more of that 'cheese' and 'meat'?" he asks with a liberal use of air quotes.
She could agree with him, for now, but she's going to need a bigger lie later on, and she might as well deploy it now.
"Actually, no. This has a little bit different cause. I went to the doctor today," she begins.
He puts the book down, and gives her his full attention, which unnerves her ever so slightly. "It turns out I've developed a condition. It's nothing serious," she says, feeling guilty at his panic, "But it comes from being around alien bacteria for so long. I mean, alien to me. Anyway, it's caused a super-growth of bacteria in my gut, and it's going to be making me nauseous sometimes."
"Can't they do anything about it? I mean, we have antibiotics."
"Right, but they affect my body differently, because I'm an alien."
"So how long is this going to last?" he asks.
Vala isn't sure what to say. How long is she going to need an excuse for? How long is she going to be able to stay with him before the whole thing is painfully obvious, and she is forced to leave? Better just stay on the safe side. "Probably forever."
"So, you're just going to blow chunks forever, that's their plan? Would it help if we move off-world? Back to your home planet, or one of the worlds you spent time on before?"
"You'd move across the galaxy for me?" she asks in shock.
"Of course," he says.
She shakes her head, "No, I've got it now, I don't think there is anything that can be done about it." That is the first honest thing she's said the whole conversation.
"Maybe you'll have to cut down the disgusting food combos, and see if that doesn't lessen it a little," he says, opening his arms up for a hug.
She slides into his arms, comfortably, and says, "I don't know, this is probably going to increase the awful food combos. I mean, if you're going to be sick, you might as well deserve it.
One Month Later
Leave it to her not-a-husband. If he happens to see a brain sucking machine that nearly killed Colonel O'Neill on more than one occasion, it's a good bet that he's going to stick his head inside. You know, as long as it's for the good of the universe or whatever.
Now her husband was sharing his body with Merlin. She doesn't know what he thought that meant for their sex life, but she wasn't THAT kinky, so she hoped they got this figured out before they got home.
Two people in one body was just overall too Goa'uld like for her taste.
Daniel takes a break from his work to sit down, and she kneels in front of him, "Daniel, are you all right?" she asks. She doesn't know what she would do if he said no. She's not really in the position to get him help right now.
"I know you," he says, sounding completely confused.
"Well of course you do, silly. We're practically married!" she teases.
He puts a hand on her face, "I had the strangest dream; everything was covered in ice." Daniel is breathing hard, and looking worse than Vala felt when she went through the gate this morning with a nasty case of morning sickness to contend with beforehand. His eyes glaze over, and for a moment he's completely gone.
He's brought back by Cam's rough, "Jackson!"
Daniel flinches, and then asks, "What's going on?"
"We're losing you, that's what," Vala says, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes, "Every time you come back from that machine it gets a little bit worse. And don't try to tell me that you are fine."
"No there is just too much in my head, I'm a little confused," Daniel admits.
"You have to fight it," Vala says strongly.
"No, no that's the thing. I have to let it happen. That is the only way that I can build Merlin's weapon."
Vala looks over at Mitchel hoping that he is going to rescue her. He looks like his heart is breaking, but he doesn't make a motion to stop Daniel as he pushes himself up on the couch. He just give him a brief pat on the back as he passes.
Vala walks over to the leader of the team, and pleads, "Hey, tell him that he doesn't have to do this. He'll listen to you."
"Please, what team have you been on?" Mitchell says with a laugh, "Besides, we need this one."
Yes, they always needed something. They would always need something. "What makes you think that we will be allowed to use it?"
"Vala, shut up for once. We have to take that risk."
"This whole team, it's just noble sacrifice for you people, isn't it?" she asks as Mitchell's form starts to retreat from her.
"I'm sorry, us? What about you?" Mitchell says with an accusation in his voice.
"What?" Vala says completely confused.
"When you flew that cargo ship into the gap into the supergate, you knew quite well that you might not come out of the other side alive."
"No, that was different," she says, turning away from him. He grabs onto her arm before she can make an escape.
"It was only different because you were the one taking the risk," he warns her. She tries to get out of his grip, but gives up before too long, "Well, now you know that the hard part of this team is not risking your own life. It's watching your friends take chances with theirs. Congratulations. Now you are really one of us."
He walks away from her, knowing that she is going to need a minute. She goes over and stands next to Daniel as he works. She might not actually be able to make it easier for him, but she can at least keep him company as he works.
-0-
She'd left him. She'd left him to die. She'd left him to be killed by her own child. She could blame herself as much as she liked, but deep down she know the truth. There was nothing that she could have done.
Now, she had to go back, and break the news to his children.