Author's Note: Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Have another fluffer for you - hope you like it.
As always, let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly. Just my pure imagination.
o0o
We Got This Together
It was a normal Thursday evening when everything changed.
Daniel had gone home for once and was at his small house when there was a loud pounding on his door. He frowned and paused in making dinner. He waited a moment to make sure he wasn't simply hearing things, but then another knock came. He sighed before he turned off the stove and went to open the door.
He barely had it opened when Vala barreled through, shoving a small object into his chest as she said, "We need to talk."
He stood there, staring outside, for a few seconds. "Sure, come in, why don't you?" he muttered under his breath.
All annoyance fled the second he realized what the small object was, and more importantly, what it said. He felt his heart rate increase and his hands became sweaty. He slammed the door shut and locked it for good measure. When he turned around, he saw her pacing in front of his couch and nibbling on her thumb. She looked both nervous and completely terrified.
When she finally glanced at him, she stopped pacing and hugged herself. "Say something," she pleaded.
Daniel held up the piece of plastic. "P6Z-118?" he asked in a calm tone. She was already skittish, and he didn't want to make it worse.
Vala nodded smally. "Figures," she remarked sarcastically.
He ignored her remark, understanding exactly what she meant, and took a cautious step forward. "How're you feeling?" he inquired gingerly.
She shrugged and looked down at her feet. "You know, how you'd expect."
Another step closer. "Do you wanna do this?"
He heard her sniff and saw her fingers tighten on her forearms. "Yes," she was barely audible.
He nodded, tapping the plastic against his hand. "Okay," he looked around, rubbing the back of his head as he thought. "Uh, first thing's first, you're gonna need to see Carolyn. We'll also need to talk to Mitchell, and then we'll need to find a bigger place."
Vala's eyes flew to him and gave him a befuddled look. "What?"
There was only one thing she could've had a problem with, and it caused Daniel to frown at her. "Vala, look around – my house is too small, and the SGC is completely out of the question. We're gonna need something bigger."
She continued to look at him in shock and confusion. "We?" she squeaked out and gestured wildly between the two of them.
He stared at her for a few seconds, ensuring that he didn't say anything he regretted or would make the situation worse. "Vala, you barged into my home, shoved a peed on, positive pregnancy test in my hand, and told me we needed to talk. Based on all of that, I can safely assume I'm the father of this baby, right?"
She blinked at him for a few seconds. "Of course, you are," she said softly. "But how did this suddenly jump to us getting a bigger house? And since when is there an 'us?'" She was panicking, and he was curious when she took the test. Had she even had a chance to fully process the news before coming to him?
"It jumped to getting a bigger place because the SGC is no place to raise a baby. My house doesn't even have a guest room, and we need somewhere for the baby to sleep," he explained his train of thought for her first question. "And of course, there's an 'us.' We're having a baby. I plan to be a part of its life. I wanna be there for it and you whenever I can, and that'll be easier for both of us if we're living in the same house."
She gaped at him for a long moment before shaking her head like she was trying to clear it. "Wait, hold on," she held up her hand. "I'm sorry, but are you trying to say you want to be involved?"
Daniel stared at her blankly. "What part gave it away?" he asked deadpanned. "Of course, I wanna be involved. It's my kid too…unless you don't want me to." The thought hadn't crossed his mind until now, and if it was true, he wasn't sure how he would cope.
Vala's eyes widened. "I didn't say that!" she denied instantly, wringing her hands anxiously. "I just didn't think you'd want to."
He honestly had no clue why she would even think that. Had he been so horrible to her that she thought he wouldn't want to be in the baby's life? That he would deny it and abandon both of them? "Why?"
She combed her fingers through her hair and looked like she was a second from pulling it out. "Because we're a stupid Tau'ri cliche," she blurted out. "We got drunk on another planet and had sex. We agreed it was a mistake, but because my birth control didn't bother to show up to the party, we'll now have living proof of that mistake."
Daniel shook his head. "You," he pointed at her. "You called it a mistake. You're the one who didn't want to talk about it – I did. It clearly didn't mean anything to you, so I followed your lead."
Vala inhaled sharply. "Daniel…"
He'd already gotten this far and refused to back down now. "And for the record, it wasn't a mistake for me. It did mean something."
Yeah, they may have been intoxicated that night, but it didn't mean he wasn't in control. He liked to think that he was responsible for his every action that night and not because of some strong drink that Vala didn't have a tolerance for. He's not saying the alcohol didn't affect him – it totally did, but not in the way he'd expect.
It was like he had no fight in him. He couldn't come up with reasons not to be with her – to deny what he felt for her – and gave in to what he secretly wanted for the last year. He didn't sleep with her because he was drunk, he did it because he was falling for her, and that's why when she called it a mistake the next morning it hurt like hell. He wasn't even able to convince her to talk to him about it. He got the message loud and clear – she regretted it and didn't feel the same way.
So yeah, Daniel remembered everything from that, and he didn't regret a single thing – especially not the child they conceived.
At his confession, Vala's knees gave out and dropped unceremoniously to the couch, and he was instantly kneeling in front of her. "Whoa, hey, you okay?" he asked and tried not to panic. He cupped her cheek and tilted her face in his direction. "Do you feel sick? Do I need to take you to the infirmary?" She did look pale.
She blinked rapidly for a few seconds before leaning forward and placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed tightly. "Daniel, what do you mean it meant something?" Both her tone and face implored him to answer.
He smiled timidly. "Exactly what it sounds like," he whispered, holding her gaze. "You mean something, Vala. You mean everything to me."
Tears abruptly filled her eyes and spilled over. "Does that mean you have feelings for me?" her voice cracked with thick emotion.
Daniel chuckled in disbelief. "Of course, I do, sweetheart," he murmured lovingly. "In fact, I'm in love with you."
Vala pursed her lips and sniffed loudly. "Y-you've loved me since…that night?"
He smiled softly. "Probably even a little before," he admitted. "I just didn't know until then."
She huffed incredulously and glanced away as she processed the information. "Oh, my gods," she whispered in bewilderment.
He leaned back to give her space. "Hey," he said gently, "it's okay that you don't feel the same way, and I'm sorry for assuming we'd live together to raise the baby. I just thought it'd be easier for both of us, but I get that you may not comf–"
Vala surged forward and kissed him, effectively shutting him up. He allowed himself three seconds to be surprised before kissing her back. He didn't have much of a chance before she tore herself away. "I love you too!" she blurted out in a rush. "But I thought you didn't so I said all that because I thought it's what you wanted to hear, and –"
"Vala?"
She met his eyes. "Hmm?"
"Shut up," he said sweetly before kissing her again.
She squealed when he lifted her to lay her horizontally on the couch and settled above her. "You okay?" he asked while he gave her intermittent kisses.
Vala brushed her hands through his hair. "More than okay."
Daniel grinned down at her and couldn't remember a time where he'd ever been this happy. "We're having a baby," he whispered in awe as his hands traveled down to her waist and slipped under her shirt. He heard her breath hitch and glanced up. "This okay?" he asked, worried he crossed a line.
She shook her head furiously. "Yeah, it just took me by surprise."
He smiled before shuffling down and placing a kiss on her belly. "Hey, little one," he murmured into her skin. "Daddy loves you," He placed one last kiss before moving back up. "And I love you," he said before kissing her.
"And I love you too."
The End.