Chapter Five

Leave it to Daniel Jackson to find his niche on every planet.

They already knew Thessa had an extensive written history, primarily filled with mundane events and records, but Daniel had a knack for finding the interesting – in his eyes, at least. Unless it was related to a way off the planet, Vala could care less. But once an archeologist, always an archeologist, and he somehow was able to find something of interest in all of the bland historic logs. It was nothing that would help them get home, but it was something to distract him from their new reality.

Only he could discover (or rediscover, she wasn't exactly sure) about a forgotten village abandoned by the Thessians hundreds of years ago. She immediately knew he would want to check it out and wasn't surprised when he tried to convince her to come with him.

"Maybe there's something there," he suggested hopefully. "Maybe certain logs containing something useful were left there."

Vala wasn't fooled. He didn't believe a word of it – he just wanted his assistant there. She may not particularly enjoy the work and often complained, but she was good at it when she wanted to be, and he knew that. She also suspected he either didn't want to be alone or he didn't trust her to be by herself.

She preferred to think of it as the former.

She wanted to say no, but after three weeks of being cooped up inside reading a whole bunch of boringness, she was dying to go outside, even if it meant more boring history – she would at least be outside in the fresh air and sunshine. Besides, if Daniel was asking her to do something so strenuous, he must be desperate. He was only complaining the day before that she was overdoing it by moving furniture in their tiny cottage. He didn't seem to care that she was quite recovered from the concussion, but the moment a forgotten village pops up? Like it never even happened.

" – so you see, this wasn't the original settlement at all!" she heard Daniel exclaim as she helped him pack for the archeological dig – that's how he was acting, like it was some grand dig on Earth of undiscovered treasures. "Who knows what we could find there. What we can learn – not just about this planet, but maybe how they got here."

"Yes, yes," she replied, not really listening to him at all. "Fascinating."

She heard a small thud. "You're not listening, are you?" he asked, his irritation obvious.

Vala turned her head to him and grinned widely. "Nope!"

Daniel sighed in displeasure but continued packing a bag. "Why am I even surprised?"

"Why, indeed," she agreed. "You know how I am, darling."

Before he could go into his 'You'd be great if you applied yourself' speech, Mervyl walked in carrying some objects. "Will these work, Dr. Jackson?" he asked before sensing the mood. "Oh, did I walk in at a bad time?"

Vala took pity on the man and gave him a smile. "No. In fact, you just saved me from a long boring speech in which Daniel tries to convince me to become someone else and more worthy of his time," she may have let a bit of bitterness slip into her sarcastic remark. "I'll take those. They'll work just fine," she held out her hands for the tools that most resembled brushes, dental picks, and trowels.

"Vala, that's not true and you know it," Daniel argued as he came up from behind her to inspect the tools. "Yeah, they'll work. Though we may not even need them."

"Let's just drop the subject, shall we?" she offered and shoved the equipment into one of the bags. "And I don't think we'll need any of this. The odds of being around are slim."

"I've seen other places survive worse," he argued as he closed the bags.

"You've seen places buried, but we know this settlement experienced extreme flooding," she contended and helped him with the bags, slinging one over her shoulder. "That's why they moved it here in the first place. That's hundreds of years' worth of flood damage, and who knows what else."

Daniel sighed again. "Why are you always so negative?"

"Why are you always so naive?" she retorted instantly. She didn't mean it, which he knew, but it always got a reaction. One day he would learn not to react, and it would no longer become amusing. Until that day, she would keep doing it.

"Oh, my God, I'm not –"

"The settlement is still there," Mervyl butted in. The poor guy looked concerned as his eyes ping ponged between them. "I did some inquiring, and it appears that some of our younger people often go there for recreational use. I have heard it is not in the greatest shape though."

Daniel gave her a self-satisfied look. "See!"

Vala rolled her eyes at him. "Congratulations, darling," she mocked. "Maybe we should get going before we lose daylight or gods forbid, a storm comes."

He held out another bag for her to take, and she pouted internally. She missed the SGC's backpacks. At least he was carrying the extra one.

"Let's do this," he said, sounding like an excited child to her.

o0o

Vala should have gone to the village. Explored. Met people. Gone Shopping. Something other than this.

She couldn't blame the man for being curious as to why Daniel was so interested in finding this old settlement, nor could she blame him for actually asking the questions he had. She only wished he hadn't. Because it's Daniel, meaning he took the man's curiosity as an invitation to tell him every aspect of archeology and his job.

And she was stuck in the middle of it all.

There was no way to escape. Mervyl hadn't asked until they were at least halfway through the trip, and now she was in the middle of nowhere, forced to listen to Daniel give an extensive history lesson on the importance of preserved history. But not just that – he also went into depth why it was so significant. For a race that prioritized recording the past, obtaining knowledge, and understanding, the Premier was an eager student and kept asking even more questions.

Yes, she should have stayed behind.

Vala almost cried in relief once their destination came into view. Much to her displeasure, Daniel had been right about it having survived through hundreds of years of braving the elements, and he didn't waste the opportunity to rub it in her face. She really wanted to give into his goading, but refused to stoop that low in front of what could be their new fellow residents. Though she did allow herself to say 'Yes, darling, you were right this time,' before forging on.

After doing a quick tour of the village – it wasn't very large – Daniel settled on a spot to begin. It vaguely resembled a library even though it was void of any books or scroll on the inside. The place didn't seem like anything special to her but she didn't say anything and began unpacking the multiple bags they had brought with various equipment that may or may not work – he wanted a variety just in case something didn't work – and set them up in the way she knew he liked.

As Daniel began, Mervyl and a few others that were interested asked questions again and it became another round of lessons. The archeologist in him came out and he explained his process as he went about. It wasn't a proper dig, and many tricks of his trade weren't applicable in this situation, but it didn't stop him from going into detail. Being typical Daniel, he often got distracted by the surroundings and engrossed in whatever held his interest, and Vala found herself answering questions in his stead.

She was a little disturbed to find out just how much she knew and remembered from all Daniel's lectures. Well, maybe she didn't, judging by the way he kept sending her odd looks whenever she answered.

The day began to blurry after a while. It wasn't their typical dig (not really much of a dig since there was no digging involved and more exploring) but still had the usual feel to it. It did nothing to keep her mind stimulated, and she became bored after a few hours – in the same bloody library. Daniel really did know how to stretch things on, and a girl could only handle so much.

The only resemblance of intrigue she experienced was being hit on by a young man. While sweet, adorable, and her usual target for either fun or her mischievousness, she found herself uninterested – not like her at all. During the man's attempts to woo her, Vala caught herself looking over at Daniel, silently cursing him for her state of disinterest. The stupid archeologist was too enthralled with a damn book to even notice her heated gaze.

Typical.

"I need some air," she blurted out unexpectedly to Daniel, but she didn't wait to see if he heard her.

Vala squinted her eyes once she stepped outside into the sunlight. Damn, that building had been dark…and musty. She inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh air, before exhaling. Yes, that was much better. Her feet began moving and she started to wander aimlessly around the village. She told herself it was to check in on the others that came and see how well they were adhering to Daniel's instructions – and she was, it just wasn't her main motive.

"You are not as passionate about history as your teammate," a familiar voice declared from behind.

Vala paused and turned to the voice. "It's Gai'la, right?" she asked once she saw the woman and recognized her as the woman from the Carer's place.

Gai'la nodded with a grin. "And you are Vala," she stated.

It was no surprise that she knew who she was – the entire planet knew who she and Daniel were. It wasn't every day that beings from another world came crashing down on their planet. "To answer your question, no I'm not," she fell into step with the woman. "It's never been my thing, but I guess I fell into the role of assistant when I joined SG-1 and haven't left."

The Thessian hummed thoughtfully. "Love does make us do odd things," she mused while giving Vala a pointed look.

She completely misread the woman's expression. Vala's face crinkled at her words. "I wouldn't say I loved it," she contradicted with distaste. "Bloody hell, I don't even really like it."

Gai'la's laugh was melodious and made Vala frown further. "I was not speaking of the work," she explained as they stopped at the table that had been set up with food and water. "I was referring to Dr. Jackson."

Vala choked on the sip of water she took. "What?" she croaked. What the hell was she on about?

The alien kept smiling. "I do not blame you," she continued as if Vala hadn't choked on water. "He is very attractive. He already has many interested in him. If you want to keep them away, you will need to make your claim obvious and soon."

She gaped at her for a moment before coming to her senses. "I don't love Daniel," she denied. Yes, you do, she heard Samantha's voice in her head. "Not like that, at least!" Keep telling yourself that.

Go away, Samantha! she hissed internally.

She could tell she didn't convince Gai'la. "Why do you deny it? Deny yourself?" she asked with a disturbing amount of precision. "I have seen the way you look at him. The way you care for him, take care of his needs, and predict what he even wants."

"That doesn't mean I'm in love with him!" she winced slightly at the volume of her voice and forced herself to lower it. "I've worked with him for some time now, and Daniel doesn't know how to take proper care of himself. He wouldn't eat or sleep if I didn't make him. The only thing he'll drink without prompting is coffee, but there's no coffee here, so of course I –" she stopped herself. "I don't even know you, so why am I explaining myself?"

Gai'la smiled again. "I don't know, why are you?" she arched a brow in a silent challenge.

Vala sighed. "We're just co-workers and friends," she explained, using Daniel's own words. She always did hate those words.

Gai'la gave her a calculating stare before shrugging. "If you say so," she conceded, and Vala relaxed her shoulders – but only for a second. "So, you would not mind if I pursued him?"

"What?" she winced. She didn't realize her voice could go so high. She cleared her voice and tried to act nonchalantly. "What?" she repeated in a much more normal tone.

Gai'la gave her an innocent look. "Well, as I've said, Dr. Jackson is very attractive, and there will be many who are interested," she explained simply. "You said so yourself there was nothing between you. Surely you would not mind if that is true?"

"Uhh…" she had no words.

Gai'la gave her a wide smile. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this relieves my mind," she gave Vala's hand a squeeze before walking away.

Vala's eyes followed her and realized Daniel had come out of the library and Gai'la was headed right for him. For the love of Ra, what did she do?

o0o

Author's Note: Slow beginning but now starting to get into the meat of it.