Some Things Change, Some Things Remain the Same: Chapter 10
Author's Note: I need to take this opportunity to remind everyone that I don't own Stargate. I have lifted a few lines directly from "Crusade" and "Flesh and Blood" like I did in Chapter 1 with "Beachhead," but I don't claim them as my own. This is an AU fic and I wanted to use some recognizable images and phrases in my fic. No copyright infringement intended whatsoever.
Anyway, please enjoy. :)
TITLE: Some Things Change, Some Things Remain the Same (Chapter 10)
AUTHOR: aeryn_b
RATING: R (some mature suggestive themes, nothing explicit)
WARNING: none
CATEGORY: Alternate Universe, Romance, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort
PAIRINGS: Daniel/Vala
CHARACTERS: Daniel Jackson, Vala Mal Doran
SPOILERS/TIMELINE: "Beachhead" through Season 9 to "Flesh and Blood"
SUMMARY/PREMISE: What happens if both Vala AND Daniel are transported to the Ori galaxy at the end of "Beachhead"? How will they survive and how will they get back?
Chapter 1 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/7859.html
Chapter 2 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/8109.html
Chapter 3 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/8411.html
Chapter 4 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/8464.html
Chapter 5 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/8747.html
Chapter 6 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/9042.html
Chapter 7 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/9319.html
Chapter 8 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/9507.html
Chapter 9 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/9873.html
Click here to read on FFN
Click here to read on alldanielfic.com
Chapter 10
Denya returned the following morning just as Daniel left with the rest of the men for the shipyards. Vala certainly didn't like that she and Daniel would be separated for another day, but she'd finally agreed that it was their best shot at getting home.
She and Denya were sorting herbs for drying when Vala heard an angry knock on the front door once again. But instead of meeting the scarred, one-eyed prior from yesterday morning, Seevis and two large farmhands stared back at her. Seevis's hand quickly lashed out and grabbed her hair behind her neck. Then one of the other bullies restrained Denya who was screaming at the top of her lungs. The last man gathered Vala up in his arms as she kicked and fought to be released. Who would ever believe that it took three grown men to kidnap a pregnant woman?
Her worst fears were realized as she was carried to the village and dropped into the center of the courtyard altar. She was forced to sit on the stone bench and chained at the wrists just like before.
Seevis grabbed at her hair again and forced her head back. "Who else in the village has been corrupted?"
"Apart from you, I have no idea what you're talking about."
He released her and she prepared for the worst. Yet mercifully, the fires were not lit. Seevis commanded the village, "No one shall look upon, speak to, or aid such evil." To Vala, he threatened, "You will tell me who you've conspired with and the unbelievers will be found out and punished for their sins." He finished with the customary benediction, "Hallowed are the Ori."
The crowds murmured their assent and dispersed, leaving Vala alone in the center of the altar. She shook her head at her own stupidity for thinking she had friends among some of these villagers. Women whom Kira had introduced to her and were happy to help her with child-rearing advice and stories of their own pregnancies. Men whom Ber and Daniel had helped by repairing broken pumps or leaky roofs. Now no one dared to meet her eyes and she refused to appear helpless in front of them.
Vala took comfort in two facts. First, apparently Seevis would not be murdering her any time soon, and second, she would only have to endure her discomfort for a day, since Daniel would surely come for her when he arrived home and found she wasn't there.
As sure as she was about anything else, she was sure about those two things. And that hope gave her strength.
Just as Daniel hoped, he was moved inside the ships and instructed to work on calibrating computers. He hadn't expected to be left alone though. There was another man working with him, but he seemed to be a little like a manager or foreman, as he was always coming and going, solving various problems.
Considering that he couldn't count on how long he'd be left alone, Daniel really should've concentrated on his work instead of sifting through the Ori computers. He just couldn't help himself though when he came across a report on total numbers of ships and troops. He took one of the data devices and started to download specs.
A movement out of the corner of his eye was the only warning he got before a fist collided with his jaw and a screaming pain in his side forced him down to the ground.
"Spy," a man's voice accused. He kicked at Daniel's stomach. "Who sent you?" The man kicked again. "Why are you here?" He pulled Daniel up by his coat and punched. "Answer me."
Daniel blocked the next punch with his forearm, but what his attacker lacked in agility he made up for in strength of conviction. His next punch landed and knocked Daniel unconscious. Not again.
The beatings continued for two days. Daniel was bruised and bloodied. He might even be sporting a black eye. His hands were tied behind him and his ankles were bound as he sat in the middle of a dirty cell. He hadn't been fed or given any water. He'd slept only when he slipped into unconsciousness when the beatings got really bad.
Daniel lifted his head gingerly and looked over his surroundings for the umpteenth time. Three of the walls were made of rough stone, the other was open to the hallway except for the floor to ceiling iron bars. As prisons went, this one was actually pretty normal in his experience.
As was his custom while he was awake, Daniel worried for Vala. Worried that in his absence she'd do something stupid to try to help him. Worried that she'd give herself away if she tried to rescue him. Worried that every day he was stuck here was another day Vala was unprotected. Sleep usually took him as he worried and he welcomed it now.
Vala was worried. Daniel hadn't come for her that first night. He hadn't come looking for her in the morning either. She'd lasted a day on hope, but every hour and minute that passed with no sign of Daniel ate at that hope. She became aware of her hunger and thirst. She watched the villagers around her drinking from the well and leaving Seevis's tavern well fed. She was exhausted with hunger, she was exhausted with worry. When sleep came she dreamed and the dreams scared her like no other had.
She was lying in her bed in Ber and Kira's cottage. A fire erupted above her, engulfing the bed's canopy, the flames licking at the wooden beams and cotton curtains. A face, a skull rather, appeared in the flames, sunken eyes and nose, and a large, wide lipless mouth baring crooked teeth. It came for her, closer and closer as if to swallow her whole.
The anxiety of the nightmare shook her body awake. She lifted her head from the bench in the altar and stared once more around her at the villagers. No one looked at her, no one offered her help. She shifted against the stone bench to find some physical comfort, but it did nothing to ease her emotional stress. Alone. Again.
Daniel didn't usually put much stock in dreams, but when one had seen and experienced some of the things he had, one sometimes had to accept the reality in dreams. This was probably going to be one of those times.
Daniel found himself in the Doci's chamber standing in front of the gilded gate that led to the fires of the Ori. The Ori possessed the Doci's body as Daniel had seen them do once before, and the evil-looking Voice of the Ori slowly turned to face him. In a none too pleasant, gravelly, communal tone, the Ori spoke, "Daniel Jackson, you have returned."
He winced at the recognition.
"Your entire life was an open book to us the moment your energy and that of your companion entered our galaxy."
"How?"
"We are the Ori."
As if that explained anything. "What have you done?" Daniel hesitated but asked the question he feared anyway, "Did you impregnate Vala?"
"Yes," the Ori answered through the Doci, "with your help, of course."
"What?"
"Your genetic material was deemed useful in the creation of our child. Ex uno disce omnes." They spoke in Ancient.
"No." He translated the phrase instantly, from one, all will learn.
"The child is our Orici. Your strength of mind and capacity for intelligence perfectly match our requirements for the Orici. You have given us all we need to conquer your pitiful galaxy."
"You can't do that."
"But we have."
The flames of the Ori flew about him and Daniel woke up suddenly. He focused on his surroundings, he was back in his cell and there was a man in the hallway, unlocking the cell door. He was about to be beaten again. Daniel sat up and tried once or twice to point out to the man that he really wasn't asking him any questions, but his mind was reeling with the memory of the dream and all it implied.
Smack! Vala's child was his. His child was the Orici, the one to bring Origin to his galaxy. Slap! It didn't matter that he was unsure how a baby could accomplish this. What mattered was that he'd been used, both he and Vala. Their enemy was growing inside Vala's womb. Whack!
The blow hadn't landed on him but on his attacker. Another man was unlocking the chains on Daniel's ankles and wrists. His rescuer was the same man that had been working with him inside the ship with the computers. What was he saying?
"Get up! We have to get you out of here."
"Panos! Hurry!"
"Ber?" Daniel recognized the second voice. "What are you doing here?"
Ber walked into the cell and helped Daniel to his feet. Then each man put one of Daniel's arms over their shoulders as they left the cell. "There's no time to explain, Daniel. We need to get you to Vala."
"Why? What's…what's happened?" Daniel asked groggily. He found his feet after a few moments and was able to walk with just the larger man's help.
"I'll explain on the way, we must hurry." Panos led them out of the small jail and kept watch for any other guards or priors. It was after sunset, but probably not quite full night. Panos nodded, the way was clear. The three of them silently crept to the path that led away from the main shipyards and toward the various villages.
Finally clear of the shipyards and on their way back to Ver Isca, Daniel took a deep breath of fresh air and nearly fell over with dizziness. Yet he remained clear-headed enough to ask once again for an explanation. "Please, tell me what's going on, Ber."
"We really must hurry, Daniel," Ber said while shoving an apple into Daniel's hand and adjusting the lantern he was carrying. "Eat this and pay attention to the surroundings. There is a safe house near here and you will have to go there with Vala tonight."
"Ber?"
"Eat. We are part of the resistance against the Ori. Myself, Kira, Seevis, Denya and her brother, Panos."
The larger man offered his hand to Daniel. "I only wish I could've rescued you sooner. Oh," he held out Daniel's glasses, "they fell under the console where you were working."
Daniel thanked him and accepted the glasses. They passed a large boulder on the left and Ber pointed out that the safe house was a mile to the east. Panos turned onto the path, saying he would prepare the house for them.
The knowledge that Ber was part of the resistance should have shocked him, yet he and Vala had already guessed as much. He stopped eating for a moment to ask Ber the question still plaguing him, "Why must we hurry? What happened to Vala?"
Ber sighed. "A man named Tomin overheard her talking with Denya in the tavern more than a week ago."
"I know him. Short man, with a limp. The other villagers look down on him." He suddenly remembered his discovery in the ship. "He was the one who caught me at the shipyard."
"He's been lame since birth. Apparently he has been healed recently by the prior and conscripted for duty in the crusade. Seevis and I believe his new exhilaration at being able to serve the Ori drove him to inform Seevis of Vala's conversation with Denya and their questioning of the Ori. Most people know of Seevis's influence and tell him things to keep in his good graces. Little do they know," Ber scoffed. "Tomin would have gone to the prior the next time he arrived if Seevis didn't do anything with Tomin's information. So Seevis took Vala and chained her to the altar."
"Ber!"
"He only left her there, ordering everyone to leave her alone without food or water. He believed you would return by the end of the day and take her home. When you didn't show up by the next morning, he worried, up until Tomin made his ecstatic, village-wide confession that he'd caught an unbeliever. Tomin saw you at the shipyards and decided you must also be unclean when he saw you pocketing a data device." Ber frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "There are some that just will not see reason.
"Seevis quietly asked friends to get word to me, then he also found Panos and asked him to help plan your escape for when I returned. When I got back a few hours ago, I met Panos at the shipyards and we freed you."
Of all the questions running through Daniel's mind, this one seemed rather important. "How did you know?"
He could have meant any number of different things, but Ber had understood. "The symbol on your uniforms." Ber shrugged. "Kira and I went through your things during those first couple of days you were living with us."
"You're kidding," Daniel replied, more shocked that the small Earth symbol had given them away than the fact that Ber and Kira had snooped through their things.
"There were other little things, too, the lack of familiarity with Ori customs, for example."
"Why didn't you tell us? Why did you tell Seevis we were from Ver Alta?"
"I wasn't completely certain I could trust you. You had weapons, and everything about you was unfamiliar to us. I told Seevis so that he would watch you, keep an eye out. Denya, too."
Daniel finished the apple and chucked it into the woods, a fierce anger was building inside him. "Why did you come to me first? Why not help Vala? Is Kira with her?"
Ber shoved another apple in Daniel's hand and urged him to eat. "We cannot risk it. None of us can. You are the only one who can take her from the altar. And because you've been held by the crusaders, this can't be public. Some misguided believer will no doubt turn you both over. You'll have to wait until after midnight. And I won't be able to shelter you any longer. I must throw you out of my house or risk scandal."
Ber continued their brisk pace, his eyes darting from tree to tree. "Take Vala to the safe house. Denya and Kira will have taken some food and herbs for healing. We will come tomorrow night or the next and discuss what to do. Panos will have a report for us about what he has discovered. It is possible we'll be able to help you get back."
"Ber, I don't know what to say."
"Just be careful and take care of Vala." Stopping outside his cottage, Ber looked down at his feet. "I feel terrible about what has happened. It was almost like last time." He shook his head. "We will come see you. Stay in the house. Do not leave."
The next instant, Kira came running out the front door. "What are you doing here? He must go quickly. I have no idea how she has survived this long. Or the baby."
Ber took her by the arms. "Be still, Kira. Vala is strong. She will be fine. And you know he can't leave now. Some idiot will restrain him and they'll both be cleansed." Kira shuddered in her husband's arms, but he managed to lead them all inside. "I had to show Daniel the route he will take from our house but he should also take the map."
Kira nodded and went to the stairs, lifting a plank. "Here it is." She spread it on the table and Ber pointed out the relevant landmarks, their cottage, Ver Isca, the shipyards and the safe house.
Kira busied herself in the kitchen, setting a hearty meal in front of Daniel. "Here, eat this. Denya took provisions and some of your things, but there should be a clean shirt and pants upstairs, if you want to change quickly."
Daniel nodded and went to get the clean clothes. He ate and washed and then Kira pushed him upstairs to rest while they waited until the small hours of the night. But there was no way he could sleep. He lay on the bed and rested his muscles but he desperately wanted to leave and get Vala as far away from these people as possible.
As soon as deep night had fallen he got up out of bed and left the house, Ber and Kira assuring him, and possibly themselves, that Vala would be fine.
"Be safe, Daniel," Kira hugged him.
Daniel ran carefully through the forest surrounding the village, but he still feared he'd be too late. He was angry that Ber hadn't trusted him. For months they'd lived under his roof and they couldn't have mentioned the little matter of the resistance? He was scared and angry that Vala would pay the price for his stupidity at getting caught in the first place. But then he realized he'd never felt true anger until he actually saw Vala slumped in the middle of the altar.
Daniel stopped cold, panting heavily. He started toward her, then stopped halfway and went to the village well. Bringing her a ladle full of water, he smoothed her matted hair from her face and lifted her head up to barely moisten her lips with the water. They were parched and cracked, and her skin was incredibly pale and ghostlike. He found the pulse at her neck even though it was faint. Kissing her forehead, he exhaled a relieved sigh when her lips moved slightly.
"Not Qetesh…I'm not," she whispered in a small, cracked voice. "Was symbiote…removed…Tok'ra…"
"Ssh, stop. Drink this, Vala. I'm here."
Daniel looked at the manacles around her wrists, then glanced around for the key. He saw it dangling at the end of the altar where flaming oil could be poured into the altar's rings. Seevis used the altar for a different sort of punishment. Not as final, but just as brutal. Daniel's anger rapidly came to a boil again as he remembered their first venture in this galaxy. He glanced at Seevis's tavern and almost wished the barman had had the key so he could go in there and knock some sense into the man.
Seevis and Ber walked a fine line for the resistance, and they'd had to do something with Vala because of Tomin's eavesdropping, but it didn't make Daniel any less angry that they'd had to put her through this. Daniel retrieved the key, unlocked Vala's chains and gathered her up in his arms as gently as he could.
He then carried Vala through the courtyard and beyond the village walls in the dark of night.
********
Chapter 11: http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/10404.html