Daniel smiled as he looked over at Vala, who was currently laughing at something Cam was saying from his spot in the driver's seat. He was glad to see that today didn't look as if it would be as heart wrenching as yesterday had been. He hadn't expected the activity to be quite as emotional as it had turned out to be.
He hadn't expected the feelings that had popped up last night, either. He'd wanted to wrap Vala up in his arms, and had in fact done so, but he hadn't wanted to stop there. Even with her red rimmed eyes and snotty nose, he'd still wanted to kiss her until the pain went away.
He was definitely in trouble.
"Alright!" Cam announced, putting the truck in park. Daniel had been so distracted he didn't even realize they had reached their destination. "Let's pick out a Christmas tree!"
Cam and even Teal'c had already gotten their own Christmas trees weeks ago. Daniel had simply kicked up an old fake tree at his place for convenience's sake. Today, he was getting a real tree for Vala's quarters in the SGC. Cam and Teal'c had been happy to come along.
They slid out of the truck and made their way into the tree lot. It looked rather sparse - they'd waited until pretty late in the season. He hoped they'd be able to find something decent.
Vala practically bounced into the lot, not discouraged by the small number of trees. "I can't wait to pick out my own tree!"
They walked around the lot, Vala full of energy as she critiqued each one. Daniel wasn't altogether sure she would get a tree this year if she was going to be this exacting.
Finally, Teal'c broke in, clearly ready for the excursion to end. "Why not this tree? It is of the appropriate height for your quarters and appears to be full enough for decoration."
Vala scrutinized the indicated tree for a few moments before turning to Teal'c. "I believe you're right, Muscles. Who says men can't decorate?"
Daniel rolled his eyes a bit. Trust Vala to say whatever she thinks. It could annoy him at times, but he had to admit - that trait of hers had really grown on him.
Cam had made his way to the person running the lot as soon as Vala had picked the tree, clearly trying to avoid her potentially changing her mind about it. It was not long at all before the tree was cut down and placed on the back of his truck. Vala's excitement was palpable.
"I can't wait to decorate it!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "There's only so much you can do to decorate quarters in a military base, you know. They don't even let you have candles in there anymore!"
Daniel looked over at Teal'c with a puzzled expression. He was pretty darn sure that he had seen Teal'c using candles to kelno'reem on base multiple times. The Jaffa gave him a hard stare in return, silently warning Daniel not to speak. Daniel suddenly realized - the powers that be had probably forbade Vala specifically from using candles. Given how unpredictable she'd been at first - and oftentimes afterwards - he supposed he could hardly blame them for being cautious about what Vala could and could not do.
Maybe I could get General Landry to change that now...
They made their way back to the SGC, Cam obnoxiously singing along to the Christmas songs on the radio while Vala joined in whenever she could. She'd been studying the song lyrics, she'd mentioned earlier, and was determined to be able to go caroling "for real" next year. Daniel had to suppress a laugh as he noticed that Teal'c looked almost as annoyed as he'd ever seen him be.
Checking into the SGC with a Christmas tree was... interesting.
"Colonel Mitchell," one of the airmen on duty said with a puzzled expression. "General Landry didn't mention anything about a... tree being expected."
"Relax, airman," Cam reassured him teasingly. "It's a tree, not a weapon."
"I don't know," the airman's female counterpart pretended to waver, clearly amused at the young man's reluctance. "Have you seen that Doctor Who show? Anything could be a weapon."
Vala and Daniel laughed as the airman gave in with a shake of the hand. "Alright, alright," he said, half laughing himself. "You can go on through."
With a "thank you," the team moved the tree down to Vala's quarters. Daniel didn't exactly see a lack of decoration - but there was a spot that seemed to just be waiting for a tree. Cam and Teal'c set it down right in that corner.
Then, however, they encountered another slight difficulty - the decorations. Cam and Daniel had each brought extra decorations that hadn't fit on their own trees, but even they had to admit that those simply didn't go together on the tree. Apparently, they had very different styles at Christmas. Vala frowned a bit as she looked at the jumble, shaking her head at the vision. Teal'c had already begun putting the lights on the tree, and Cam helped him to finish the job as Vala thought for a few moments.
"Next year, I may have to get Cassie and Samantha to help with the decorating," she said with a laugh, brushing it off a bit. And then, to the rest of the team's surprise, she began to load the tree with both sets of ornaments without complaint, humming one of the catchier tunes they had just listened to in the truck.
I think we've successfully gotten her into the Christmas spirit, Daniel thought, smiling as he moved to help her. He still wanted to get her involved in some other activities, though. He had been enjoying hanging around with Vala at Christmas a lot more than he had expected.
They worked slowly, but with the help of their two friends, the tree ended up looking alright. Vala seemed satisfied with making the best of what she had, and that was the main thing. The tree looked rather eclectic. Much like Vala.
"There!" she exclaimed. "I'm officially celebrating Christmas!"
"It looks nice! Not too bad for a military operation," Cam said, winking at Vala. She rolled her eyes good naturedly in response.
He then picked up some other decorations to place around the room, handing some to Teal'c in the process. "Where do we put this mistletoe, Vala?"
Daniel stopped short. Mistletoe?? In a flash, he pictured Vala pulling in an unsuspecting airman for a kiss. Planting one on a General who would be surprised and then swiftly annoyed. Pinning him up against the door for an intense make out.
He was unprepared for the surge of heat he felt.
"Oh, that's the kissing plant you tried to put over the threshold of the infirmary entrance, isn't it?" Vala asked, a teasing glint in her eyes. "Dr. Lam was rather put out with you for that."
"Oh, I was just kidding around, and she knows that," Cam replied, waving a dismissive hand. "She got a kick out of the whole idea once I took it down."
Vala laughed. "Well - maybe put it over my door. It might discourage some unwanted visitors."
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed, looking a bit amused himself.
Daniel suddenly realized - each of the three men would have to leave the room through that door. And he was one of the most frequent male visitors to this room. The next few days were going to be hard.
"Well, I've got to run and work on translating the tablet from P7C-802," he hurriedly announced, hardly knowing what he said. "I forgot all about it, and the General's expecting it soon." He turned to Vala and smiled in what he hoped was an encouraging way and not a nervous one. "Hope you three enjoy the rest of the decorating."
"Alright -" Vala began as he was darting out the door. He hoped she wasn't offended by his quick departure, but - kissing her?
They'd kissed before. But he knew that if they kissed now, he'd be a goner.