Author's Note: Happy Veterans' Day, you all! If any veterans are reading this - THANK YOU!

Again, just a fluffler (but I got something good for ya for Christmas). Let me know what you think!

Hear it in the Silence

All was dark and quiet with a sense of peace blanketing the night.

Normally the very thought would raise some alarms for Vala Mal Doran, but after several nights on the planet, by now they knew it was safe here. It still didn't mean they still didn't have to take turns keeping watch. Protocol was protocol, and it was her watch now. Oddly, she didn't mind this time around. It was mid spring on the planet and during the late hours of the night and early hours of the morning when she was tasked with keeping watch were pleasant ones. A light breeze ruffled over the surface, keeping it at an optimal temperature.

Combined with the peaceful silence, it was perfect.

Vala liked it like this. With so much chaos they faced on a daily basis, it was nice to get a break from it all. It gave her a chance to catch up on her thoughts. With the craziness of her daily life, she barely had time to think or properly process anything until the day came to an end, and when that came around, all she wanted was sleep. Things got pushed back. Ignored. Forgotten. Until she was in a place such as this, and it all came to the surface. And there was one pressing issue she had yet to deal with, and that was Daniel Jackson.

She moved her stick in smooth strokes through the soil as she thought deeply about it. She always sketched when it was her turn to stand watch. There was nothing else to do that would keep her awake for the duration of her watch. She tried multiple things before finally settling on drawing. The others never knew – she always erased any traces of the dirt being disturbed. She kept it from them for a reason – she had a habit of sketching whatever was bothering her.

Currently, there was a half finished sketch of Daniel on the dirt before her. It wasn't her best work – she'd done better with pencil and paper – but it was done with just dirt and a stick. She glanced over to the man in question. She couldn't see his face, only his boot clad feet peeking out from his tent, but even then she felt her chest tighten. She felt the last year's worth of emotion – maybe even longer – catching up with her and didn't know how to process it.

It was clear to her by now that she was in love with him.

And she shouldn't be surprised at the fact, but somehow she was. If she had to guess, she had been for some time now, but it was the first time she allowed herself to acknowledge it. She just didn't know what to do about it. Knowing Daniel the way she did, there wasn't anything she could do – it wouldn't change the way things were between them. He wasn't ready to move past the loss of his wife, and she believed he never would be. What he experienced and went through with her was horrific. Combined with the loss of every other woman he so much as looked at in interest, he was too traumatized to try again. Understanding this, she knew if she ever did try to say something, it wouldn't end well.

It would always be a stalemate with them.

Vala just needed to decide if being friends was enough for her.

Noises from Daniel's tent caught her attention, and she frowned as he restlessly turned in the tent. She dropped the twig and silently got closer, glancing around the campsite for possible reasons for his disturbed sleep and saw none. He was probably having a nightmare. She smiled ruefully at the thought. He wouldn't like it if she woke up or tried to comfort him in any way, so she settled at the side of his tent, facing the fire.

She hoped her close presence could help him settle, but it didn't, and he continued to be restless. She sighed and grabbed a nearby twig and started doodling.

Without warning, Daniel sprang into a sitting position with a small gasp.

Vala reacted without thinking and laid a comforting hand on his leg. "It's alright," she assured him in a soothing tone. "It was just a dream."

He flinched at her touch. "Vala?" He sounded groggy and confused.

"Yeah, it's me," she removed her hand. "It was just a dream."

The glow of the fire lit his face, and she could see his brows furrowing. "That's not…I didn't," he stuttered before sighing and grabbed his glasses.

"Daniel, are you okay?" she asked and shuffled closer.

He had a strange look on his face, and he paused before he said, "Vala, you're…you're my best friend."

She tilted her head as she stared at him, curious as to why he said that. A conversation from earlier came to mind. It was nothing special, and she wasn't even sure what she was teasing him about, but she remembered saying something along the lines of: 'What would Jack say as your best friend?' He hadn't answered though. She remembered him giving her the same strange look he was now.

The silence stretched between them as they stared at each other. The air started to intensify around them at the unspoken words and feelings between them, and suddenly, she knew what the look meant – it was the same one she recognized on herself. He was in love.

With her.

Breath caught in her throat. Thankfully, the fire was to her back, and he couldn't see her stunned expression. It gave her a chance to think about what to do. Should she push it and try to get him to confess? Should she stay silent and pretend she never noticed? Would they even make it as a couple if they tried? More importantly, could she live with herself, knowing that she threw away a chance to be with the man she loved?

For once she let go of her fears and ghosts of her past and took one metaphorical step forward. "You're my best friend, too," she responded softly, but would it be enough? Did he need more?

Vala started to panic. There was no way he would take that and suddenly declare his feelings for her. Did that mean she had to be the one who said it first? She couldn't do it. She was terrible with words, and would only butcher it, and then he'd never believe her. She would screw things up before they even had a chance.

"No," Daniel broke through her internal rumblings, and he shifted until he was directly in front of her. "Vala, you don't get it."

Her lips twitched. "Then explain it to me."

"Earlier, you said Jack was my best friend, but he isn't – you are," he stressed. "You're who I go to talk about things or when I have a problem. You're who I confide in. You're who I want to be around when I've had a bad day. You're who I want to go to when good things happen. You've become the person who I want to go to for literally anything. You're the one I want to be around, the one who I can't stand to be apart from."

Daniel looked at her expectantly, and she knew what he wanted her to say, but she decided right then and there that she wasn't going to be the one to crack. He needed to take the final step and leave the past where it belonged. "What're you saying, darling?" Vala begged him with her eyes for him to say it and put them out of their misery.

A grin spread across his face. "I'm saying I'm in love with you." He cupped her cheek and brought their faces closer. "I'm so in love with you."

Vala mimicked his expression. "Well, it's a good thing that I'm madly in love with you too." Her fingers tangled themselves into his hair and tugged him even closer. "But Jack's seriously going to have a problem with no longer being your best friend."

"Fuck Jack," he blurted out before claiming her lips.

Pure bliss exploded within her. She spent her whole life trying to find this inexplicable feeling, and over the last year, she tried to put this exact feeling into words. She had never felt it before, so she didn't understand what it was when it began to grow inside her. But now, she knew exactly what it was, and how to put it into words.

She was in love. True love.

The End.