Some Things Change, Some Things Remain the Same: Chapter 21
TITLE: Some Things Change, Some Things Remain the Same (Chapter 21)
AUTHOR: aeryn_b
RATING: PG-13 for this chapter
WARNING: (does extreme sappiness, fluff and sugar count as a warning?)
CATEGORY: Alternate Universe, Romance, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort
PAIRINGS: Daniel/Vala
CHARACTERS: Daniel Jackson, Vala Mal Doran, Hank Landry, Cameron Mitchell, Adria
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
Chapter 10 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/10219.html
Chapter 11 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/10404.html
Chapter 12 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/10712.html
Chapter 13 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/10881.html
Chapter 14 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/11201.html
Chapter 15 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/11379.html
Chapter 16 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/11560.html
Chapter 17 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/11961.html
Chapter 18 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/12196.html
Chapter 19 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/12296.html
Chapter 20 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/12697.html
Click here to read on FFN
Click here to read at alldanielfic.com
Chapter 21
Daniel insisted on staying the night with Vala. She said she was glad he was staying, but she didn't want him to miss his mission. He set his watch alarm and told her not to worry. He had a backpack all set to go in his office. He'd gate back, pick it up, and meet the rest of the team in plenty of time.
They slept spooned together with Daniel's hand resting on Vala's hip and her hand holding it in place. He woke up later, not to his watch alarm, but to her squeezing his hand tightly, and seemingly clenching all of her muscles in pain.
She exhaled loudly and groaned when it was over, releasing his hand.
"Vala?"
"Sorry, that was the worst one all night." She let go of his hand and clutched the pillow under her head instead. "Try to go back to sleep, it'll be about fifteen minutes 'til the next one. And they don't last too long."
"That one was half a minute at least." He leaned up on his elbow to look down at her and tried to read her face. "How long has this been going on?"
"They're probably just preparation contractions like the ones I've been having off and on for a couple of weeks."
"Okay." Daniel settled back down and curled his arm around Vala, placing his hand on her stomach.
They tried to go back to sleep, but Daniel was completely wide awake. When her next contraction came, he could tell she was trying to cover up her pain, but he could feel her ab muscles tensing underneath his hands. He glanced at his lighted watch. The last one had been twelve minutes ago. If she'd expected it to be about fifteen minutes later, maybe this meant the contractions were getting closer together. Then again, she may have just been estimating fifteen minutes. Better to just wait and see what happened next.
He moved his hand along her arm in comfort, trying to keep them both relaxed. "Don't fight the contractions," he told her. "If it's time, it's time."
"I'm not really. I just don't want you to feel obligated to stay, since you have a galaxy to save and all."
"Maybe just this once I'll leave the galaxy saving to someone else," he said, kissing her shoulder.
Vala turned her head to face his. "This could still be nothing. Let's not worry just yet." She lifted her head to kiss him. "Really, I'm fine. Try to go back to sleep."
Silly woman. As if he could sleep now. But he lay back down on the pillow and humored her.
For an hour he kept an eye on Vala while she slept. Each contraction woke her and he started to feel bad that she wasn't getting the rest she'd need for the remainder of the day. Even though Vala seemed to hope these were just false labor contractions, Daniel tried to prepare himself in case they were in for the long haul today. He still had a couple hours before he needed to contact the SGC and let them know he couldn't make it for the mission. They'd done a reasonable job wiping down Vala's old room and clearing away dust. All they had to do was lay out the plastic sheet they got from the SGC infirmary and lay out all the towels and supplies for the birth. Absolutely no need to panic just yet.
But every time Vala clenched for another contraction, Daniel's heartbeat raced just a little faster. He kept checking his watch, the last four were consistently eight minutes apart and lasting 35 to 40 seconds. Vala got up after the last one to use the bathroom. Daniel got up as well to boil water for the coffee-like substance in the cabinet. When Vala emerged from the bathroom, he offered her a cup of water.
She drank it slowly, then sat down at the table with him. "We may need to go get Reni soon."
"Your water?"
"Yep." She nodded. "Didn't really gush. It feels more like I'm leaking," she said.
"I'll go in a minute." Daniel reached out and stroked her hand. "Do you want something to eat? Cheese and crackers, maybe? Or some tea?"
"Yes, that sounds good. I can't have too much, of course, but maybe I'll nibble on some nuts as well."
Daniel got up and prepared the snack for her, noticing her grimacing and bending low over the table at one point. He placed the crackers and tea in front of her and then kissed her forehead.
"I'll go to the gate and tell Landry to replace me for the mission, then I'll stop by Reni's and bring her back, okay?" She nodded and kissed him back. "Take it easy and rest. I'll be right back." Then he threw on his jacket and headed out the door. The sky was just starting to lighten before dawn.
He got back a little over an hour later. When Daniel had contacted Stargate Command to tell them Vala had gone into labor, he could tell by the sound of the voices in the background that something had happened while they were gone. Landry informed him that a Jaffa vessel had found the second supergate. The Odyssey was on route to investigate.
If Daniel wasn't going to be back for the mission to find Merlin's weapon, Landry considered sending the rest of SG-1 to meet up with the Odyssey. Daniel had agreed. Even if Vala's labor took a couple days, he was going to stay with her. Mitchell got on the radio after that, assuring Daniel that they'd find some way of blocking the supergate.
After his conversation with the SGC, he stopped at Reni's house but she wasn't at home. A chalkboard hung near the door and she'd hastily written that she was at Mistan's house, whoever that was. Daniel wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't spend time wandering around the village looking for Reni; labor times ranged from a few hours to a day or two. He needed to get back. He ended up scrawling Vala's name on the chalkboard, hoping Reni would see it and come by.
When he got back to the house, Vala had changed out of her pajama bottoms into a knee-length, sleeveless nightgown and was pacing from the living room to the kitchen and back again.
"Is everything okay?" Daniel asked.
"Hmm? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Walking helps relieve some of the pain."
Daniel nodded, then went into the smaller bedroom to lay out the water-proof sheet and towels.
"I think we're all set," he said walking back into the living room and holding out his hand as she bent over a chair, her eyes shut tightly against the pain. When it was over, he commented, "They're lasting longer, aren't they?"
"Yes," she breathed out heavily, "and about five minutes apart now." She tried to stand up straighter and lean against Daniel. "And they feel like getting blasted with a Jaffa staff weapon."
"Daniel. Forget it. I don't want this baby anymore."
"You're doing great, Vala. Just a few more pushes should do it."
"Nope. I can't. It's too hard."
"Come on." She was no longer lying on the bed, but standing on the floor and leaning against the edge of the mattress. "Hold my hand through the next few contractions. They should be a bigger ones, I can see the baby's head."
A few seconds later, she felt the urge to push and squatted. Daniel was sitting below her on the floor and kept encouraging her, telling her she was doing great, the head was almost out.
After a few more contractions, Vala let go of his hand as a wave of intense pain passed. She saw him fiddling with their supplies, clearing the baby's nose and mouth. He supported it with both hands as she felt her body ready itself for the next push. Almost done, she thought, just a little more.
"Good girl, Vala. You're doing great," he said to her. "Just a little more and you can hold the baby."
And soon it was over. He held a little girl in his hands; a tiny, little, wrinkled, squishy, beautiful, gorgeous, girl. Daniel, the expert linguist in over two dozen languages, had no words for the love he felt.
He clamped the umbilical cord in the right places and then separated the little baby from her mother. He had a bowl of warm water ready, so he cleaned off his daughter and helped her to cry for the first time. Though panting and sweating, Vala reached out to the end of the bed and passed the quilt she'd made to Daniel.
As soon as the baby was clean and dry, he handed her to Vala, who winced once more. She delivered the afterbirth while smiling at her daughter.
"Oh, little one. There you are, darling." Vala beamed as brightly as Daniel had ever seen her as she cradled the baby in her arms. "I just can't believe how beautiful she is."
"Just like her mother," Daniel said, helping Vala to expel the remaining placenta and disposing of it.
"Hmph," Vala scoffed. "I suppose all fathers say that."
The baby continued to make soft crying sounds as it fought for breath, but she also made quiet sucking noises too.
"Here, little one," Vala shifted the baby as she unbuttoned her top. "What a very…bizarre feeling," she commented, feeling her daughter feed on her breast.
Daniel took the opportunity to tear his gaze away from the two of them. He gathered up some of the towels and proceeded to wash himself and Vala up. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "Anything out of the ordinary?"
"I don't know. I still hurt, but I suppose that's normal." Suddenly, her euphoric high seemed to be dwindling. "Oh yes, there does seem to be a bit of pain." She winced as he washed her.
"Just rest," Daniel said once he finished. Vala shifted to one side, so Daniel could strip the plastic sheet from the bed. Then he took clean sheets from the pile on the dresser and made the bed for her, Vala only standing up once or twice, her legs still pretty weak. He helped her back into bed and brought the blankets up around his girls. "I'll go see if I can find Reni. I thought for sure she'd have come by now."
"Maybe there was some other emergency she needed to attend to," Vala guessed. "There aren't a lot of healers in the village, and she's trusted above everyone else."
"Well, I still want to see if she's gotten back." He looked down at his daughter and her mother, feeling rooted to the spot. He had to go to get some help for Vala and her pain, but he just couldn't bring himself to leave.
"Don't worry, Daniel," Vala reassured him. "We'll be fine."
"I'll be back soon," he promised and kissed her forehead. "You did great."
Daniel came back half an hour later empty-handed. Reni still hadn't returned from her house-call. He met a few villagers who said that Mistan's young son had fallen ill with a fever and Reni was staying with the family to keep an eye on the child. At that point, Daniel wasn't sure he wanted Reni's help, being slightly afraid that the woman might pass along the illness to Vala or his daughter. And Vala wasn't in any immediate danger. There hadn't been any tearing, just remaining pain.
When he got back to the house, Vala was sleeping and a little girl, about 4 years old, was kneeling next to her, the small baby quilt still wrapped around her shoulders. She was looking at Vala with curiosity, all her focus on the sleeping woman. When Vala made a slight groan, the child looked startled, as if pain was a strange concept.
Then she reached out one of her hands to Vala's abdomen and Daniel was pulled from his trance.
"Wait," Daniel called out.
"Mother is hurted," the little girl said sadly. "I hehp." Then she reached out her hand again and set it softly on Vala's stomach. Vala seemed to relax then, a little more color reaching her cheeks, her brows not creased in pain so much.
"See, Father? I he-help," the little girl smiled. "Hallowed are the Ori."
Daniel felt like vomiting. His precious little girl. His sweet innocent baby was, in fact, a child of the Ori. She was still looking at him, waiting for approval perhaps. He needed to snap out of it. Maybe there was still hope.
"Thank you, little one." He moved closer to the bed. "Your mother looks much better."
The child smiled again and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders once more. "I came to hehp. Where are unbewie-," she frowned and looked down at her hands, concentrating. "L- Un-be-lie-vers," she sounded out, and then smiled at her accomplishment. "I here to help."
Daniel fought the bile rising in his throat. How can she know all this? His sweet beautiful daughter. Had she ever really been his?
"We need to stay here a little longer," Daniel started. "We need to wait for your mother to wake up."
The little girl moved and was about to do just that, to shake Vala awake, but something stopped her. "I am sweepy…sl-sleepy, like Mother." Then she laid her head down on Vala's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Maybe we find unbewie-lievers…later." Then she yawned and fell asleep.
Daniel closed his eyes too, and died a little inside. He'd been used. He'd known it all along, but he'd thought he'd have time. Time to love his child, to teach it right from wrong, to keep it safe from the Ori armies. But time was the one thing he didn't have, probably had never had.
Vala woke up a few minutes later as Daniel was cursing to himself, and she noticed his disgusted face. "Daniel, what is it?" Then she turned to see the little girl curled up on her shoulder.
"Vala, meet the Orici."
Vala's face fell into shock and horror as she slowly sat up and looked down at her daughter. "How?"
Daniel shrugged. "Some kind of genetic alteration, I'd guess." Then he remembered. "Hey, how do you feel? You looked hurt before and she touched you."
"I…I was so tired I fell asleep I guess. But yeah, I was in a lot of pain." Vala felt her stomach. "But it's gone now. No cramps or muscle spasms, no shivers. And I think she…my god, I'm thin again." She looked up at Daniel in shock. "I feel just fine." Vala glanced over at the sleeping girl. "She did it?"
"Yeah, and it was really sweet at first," Daniel admitted. "Until she started saying 'Hallowed are the Ori' and asking to find all the unbelievers."
"You're joking!" Vala gasped.
The little girl stirred in her sleep a little. "No," Daniel whispered, then got up from the bed and helped Vala to get up as well. They left their daughter sleeping in the bed and moved off into the main room to talk. "I don't know what to do. She's my daughter, our daughter, but she's an Ori too. What have we done?"
"Now, now," Vala tried to calm him, "no need to go crazy just yet." She patted his arm then started pacing. "We just need to keep her to ourselves a little while. Make her see that the Ori are lying to her and everyone else. Show her that…" she trailed off.
"Make her see reason? A being genetically altered with the knowledge of the universe?" Daniel sighed in defeat. "We are so screwed."
Vala walked up and took his face in her hands. "Have a little faith, Daniel. I don't think we've lost just yet. She's still human. You said she healed me. It seems like there may be a little love still in her. Let's just concentrate on that and see what happens, okay?" Her faltering smile and wide eyes spoke of her desperation. He could tell she felt as awful and defeated as he did, yet she wanted so desperately to be wrong. He could tell she wanted to save her little girl, save her from being used by power-mad beings, like Vala herself had been used once, how they were all being used now.
Daniel nodded his agreement. There was still some time. Vala was right, there was genuine and sincere love in their child, it just needed a little time to grow.
"Father! Mother!"
"What is it, little one-" Both Vala and Daniel rushed to the bedroom to see their daughter laughing a little to herself, sitting up in the bed with the blankets wrapped around her. They did their best to hide their shock as they stared at a now 8- or 9-year-old girl.
"I think I will need your help, Mother," the child laughed once more. "I can't very well go out and help the unbelievers without any clothes."
Vala found her voice and smiled down at her daughter. "No, darling, you most certainly cannot go out like that." Vala moved into the room and put her hands on her hips, considering. "I must admit, I don't think I prepared for this. You've quite outgrown all the baby clothes we'd gotten for you. Hmm…I'll be right back." Daniel stood in the doorway as Vala went to their bedroom. She came back with a pile of clothes in her arms. She laid out a pair of underwear, a T-shirt and a pair of pants on the bed, she set a second set of clothes aside for herself. Then she took some pins from her sewing kit and sat down on the bed.
"Here, put these on, darling," she handed over the underwear to their daughter. Behind her, Daniel shifted uncomfortably near the doorway. "Daniel, would you go into the kitchen and find a pair of scissors?" She turned back to the child. "I'm not too bad with needle and thread, but my guess is you will grow out of whatever we put together now, won't you?" She spoke with a little levity in her voice and her daughter picked up on it.
"I am growing a bit like a weed, I suppose," she laughed back.
"No, sweetheart." Vala folded and pinned the underwear in place while the girl pulled the shirt over her head. "More like a beautiful flower."
Daniel came back with the kitchen shears and Vala went to work on the pants, holding them up to the little girl and deciding where best to hem them. "You know, darling," Vala began, a small plan forming in her mind, "we aren't very good parents. We haven't even thought of a name for you yet." She finished trimming the pants and folded the bottoms up, carefully placing pins in the edges. "What should we call you, sweetheart?"
"I am Orici," the girl responded sincerely.
Daniel finally found his voice and came over to sit by them on the bed. "Yes, but, that's not really a name, is it?"
The girl looked down at her hands, perhaps embarrassed or more likely confused. "You wish to humanize me. You think my purpose here is wrong, that I am…that I am bad."
"No, darling," Vala quickly interjected. "Whatever gave you that idea?" She handed over the shortened pants and her daughter scrambled into them.
"Who is Adria, Mother?"
"I…" Vala stuttered, looking at Daniel for help but knowing he wouldn't know what to say. "She was my mother." She stopped, guessing her daughter could possibly read her mind. "Actually, my stepmother."
"You don't…" the little girl seemed to be concentrating deeply, "you don't like her. You thought she was unfair and mean to you. Did you…were you thinking of naming me after her?"
"Oh, little one," Vala begged, "yes, maybe for a moment I thought that. But that's only because I'm afraid for you. I love you so much and I'm afraid of what has been done to you, that your life won't be your own."
"You are afraid of me, too, Father?" she said with such a small innocent voice, Daniel nearly broke down in tears.
"No, sweetheart," he choked out. "You misunderstood us. We are not afraid of you. We love you, and we know you would never hurt us." He reached out his hands to hold hers as he spoke, "What your mother said is that we are afraid for you. Afraid that your life will not be all that it could be, afraid the choice is no longer yours."
Still the girl looked down in confusion at her small hands clasped in her father's larger ones. "You don't believe in the Ori," she stated. "You don't believe I should help the unbelievers on the Path to Enlightenment. Yet…yet you still love me."
"With all our hearts, darling." Vala hugged her daughter.
"More than anything," Daniel squeezed the girl's hands in reassurance, "we love you."
She looked up then, still confused but she quietly said, "I like the name Adria. It's pretty. What does it mean?"
"It's a…a flower, isn't it, Vala?" Daniel asked, having heard the name once years ago.
"Yes," Vala nodded, "a pretty blue flower, very rare, very precious." She smiled at her little girl, then laughed a little. "I always thought it was a bit funny that my stepmother could be so mean to me, but have such a beautiful name. I think maybe that's why I was thinking of it before, darling. Not because I thought you were like my stepmother, but because we were talking about you growing up so fast, like a flower, remember?"
The little girl brightened up. "Yes of course, that must have been it. Maybe I shouldn't have sensed your thoughts. It did result in a fair bit of confusion." She looked down at her hands again, as if thinking, as if trying to reason something out. "If I hadn't asked about what I'd read in your mind, I might have lived my whole life thinking you believed me to be like your wicked stepmother…" she trailed off, continuing to think and concentrate.
"Sweetheart?" Daniel tried to get her attention.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Father," the girl replied, looking up. "It's all so confusing. But I think, yes," she looked at them both, smiling, "I'd like you to call me Adria."
"Well, that settles it, darl-I mean, Adria," Vala said with a huge hug for her daughter. "Now I don't know about the two of you but I'm starving." Vala hopped from the bed and pulled on her own clean outfit. Then she reached for Adria's hand and brought her into the kitchen. "Let's see what we have. Do you like apples, or pears maybe?"
Adria made a sweet tinkling laugh. "I don't know, Mother. May I have one of each?"
"Yes of course! The best way to decide, I think," Vala replied happily. "I could also make a batch of biscuits, and we have some honey and jam in the cupboard."
"Which do you like, Father?" She held out an apple and a pear.
"I like both, but I prefer pears." He found a knife and started slicing off bits of fruit for himself and Adria while Vala mixed biscuit batter in a bowl.
"Adria, darling," Vala asked, "do you know why you're growing so fast?"
"Oh yes," Adria smiled. "It's because…because…" Again she squinted in concentration. "I think…I think it's slipping away. It's so hard to remember…everything I'm supposed to know." She frowned then, and Daniel felt his heart aching for her all over again. "Well, I guess I can't tell you how I'm growing so fast, but I suppose I was made this way to better help unbelievers. I mean, babies aren't very good at guiding people on the Path."
"Yes," Vala replied wisely. "That is a very good point."
"You will still let me find the unbelievers, won't you?" Adria pleaded, looking from her mother to her father.
They both hesitated, but Daniel spoke first, "It's hard to imagine letting you go, Adria. We love you and wouldn't want you to leave us." Daniel handed her another piece of fruit. "Then again, part of loving someone is letting them go, letting them make their own way in life. But maybe…maybe you would let us come with you, so that we could protect you for as long as we can."
Adria ate and seemed to consider what her father said. "You don't believe in the Ori," she closed her eyes, squinting once more in concentration, and both Vala and Daniel shared a look, "yet you would let me go in order to find and help the unbelievers…because you…love me."
Daniel could almost see the wheels turning in her mind. "Yes, that's a part of loving someone. The hardest part," he admitted, "but one of the most important parts."
Adria shook her head. "I don't think I can believe you. I think you will force me to stay with you." She became fitful as she shook her head and stood up from the table. "I think you will make me believe what you believe. I think-"
"Ssh, ssh, darling," Vala soothed, holding Adria's shoulders and then bringing her into a hug. Daniel came around the table as well and knelt down to the two of them, putting a hand on Adria's back and rubbing it. "There's no need to be upset, dear," Vala continued. She let Adria go and tipped her chin up to look her in the eyes. "Remember that bit about us naming you Adria before? Remember the little misunderstanding? This is just the same thing, darling."
Daniel nodded and continued. "Maybe I can help explain. What are you confused about?"
Adria closed her eyes and shook her head again. "My head hurts too much. I can't explain it…and I don't understand. I'm so tired, Father." She laid her head on Daniel's shoulder, the beginnings of tears shining in her eyes.
"You go lay down with your father, sweetheart," Vala wiped the tears from Adria's cheek. "These biscuits won't be ready for a while anyway, all right?"
Adria nodded and Daniel picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. Vala watched him lay down with his daughter, Adria curled up on his side and warm blankets pulled up to her chin. She walked away crying, hating the universe and what it was doing to both her and her new family in the other room.
********
Chapter 22: http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/13275.html
AUTHOR: aeryn_b
RATING: PG-13 for this chapter
WARNING: (does extreme sappiness, fluff and sugar count as a warning?)
CATEGORY: Alternate Universe, Romance, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort
PAIRINGS: Daniel/Vala
CHARACTERS: Daniel Jackson, Vala Mal Doran, Hank Landry, Cameron Mitchell, Adria
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
Chapter 10 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/10219.html
Chapter 11 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/10404.html
Chapter 12 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/10712.html
Chapter 13 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/10881.html
Chapter 14 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/11201.html
Chapter 15 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/11379.html
Chapter 16 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/11560.html
Chapter 17 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/11961.html
Chapter 18 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/12196.html
Chapter 19 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/12296.html
Chapter 20 http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/12697.html
Click here to read on FFN
Click here to read at alldanielfic.com
Chapter 21
Daniel insisted on staying the night with Vala. She said she was glad he was staying, but she didn't want him to miss his mission. He set his watch alarm and told her not to worry. He had a backpack all set to go in his office. He'd gate back, pick it up, and meet the rest of the team in plenty of time.
They slept spooned together with Daniel's hand resting on Vala's hip and her hand holding it in place. He woke up later, not to his watch alarm, but to her squeezing his hand tightly, and seemingly clenching all of her muscles in pain.
She exhaled loudly and groaned when it was over, releasing his hand.
"Vala?"
"Sorry, that was the worst one all night." She let go of his hand and clutched the pillow under her head instead. "Try to go back to sleep, it'll be about fifteen minutes 'til the next one. And they don't last too long."
"That one was half a minute at least." He leaned up on his elbow to look down at her and tried to read her face. "How long has this been going on?"
"They're probably just preparation contractions like the ones I've been having off and on for a couple of weeks."
"Okay." Daniel settled back down and curled his arm around Vala, placing his hand on her stomach.
They tried to go back to sleep, but Daniel was completely wide awake. When her next contraction came, he could tell she was trying to cover up her pain, but he could feel her ab muscles tensing underneath his hands. He glanced at his lighted watch. The last one had been twelve minutes ago. If she'd expected it to be about fifteen minutes later, maybe this meant the contractions were getting closer together. Then again, she may have just been estimating fifteen minutes. Better to just wait and see what happened next.
He moved his hand along her arm in comfort, trying to keep them both relaxed. "Don't fight the contractions," he told her. "If it's time, it's time."
"I'm not really. I just don't want you to feel obligated to stay, since you have a galaxy to save and all."
"Maybe just this once I'll leave the galaxy saving to someone else," he said, kissing her shoulder.
Vala turned her head to face his. "This could still be nothing. Let's not worry just yet." She lifted her head to kiss him. "Really, I'm fine. Try to go back to sleep."
Silly woman. As if he could sleep now. But he lay back down on the pillow and humored her.
For an hour he kept an eye on Vala while she slept. Each contraction woke her and he started to feel bad that she wasn't getting the rest she'd need for the remainder of the day. Even though Vala seemed to hope these were just false labor contractions, Daniel tried to prepare himself in case they were in for the long haul today. He still had a couple hours before he needed to contact the SGC and let them know he couldn't make it for the mission. They'd done a reasonable job wiping down Vala's old room and clearing away dust. All they had to do was lay out the plastic sheet they got from the SGC infirmary and lay out all the towels and supplies for the birth. Absolutely no need to panic just yet.
But every time Vala clenched for another contraction, Daniel's heartbeat raced just a little faster. He kept checking his watch, the last four were consistently eight minutes apart and lasting 35 to 40 seconds. Vala got up after the last one to use the bathroom. Daniel got up as well to boil water for the coffee-like substance in the cabinet. When Vala emerged from the bathroom, he offered her a cup of water.
She drank it slowly, then sat down at the table with him. "We may need to go get Reni soon."
"Your water?"
"Yep." She nodded. "Didn't really gush. It feels more like I'm leaking," she said.
"I'll go in a minute." Daniel reached out and stroked her hand. "Do you want something to eat? Cheese and crackers, maybe? Or some tea?"
"Yes, that sounds good. I can't have too much, of course, but maybe I'll nibble on some nuts as well."
Daniel got up and prepared the snack for her, noticing her grimacing and bending low over the table at one point. He placed the crackers and tea in front of her and then kissed her forehead.
"I'll go to the gate and tell Landry to replace me for the mission, then I'll stop by Reni's and bring her back, okay?" She nodded and kissed him back. "Take it easy and rest. I'll be right back." Then he threw on his jacket and headed out the door. The sky was just starting to lighten before dawn.
He got back a little over an hour later. When Daniel had contacted Stargate Command to tell them Vala had gone into labor, he could tell by the sound of the voices in the background that something had happened while they were gone. Landry informed him that a Jaffa vessel had found the second supergate. The Odyssey was on route to investigate.
If Daniel wasn't going to be back for the mission to find Merlin's weapon, Landry considered sending the rest of SG-1 to meet up with the Odyssey. Daniel had agreed. Even if Vala's labor took a couple days, he was going to stay with her. Mitchell got on the radio after that, assuring Daniel that they'd find some way of blocking the supergate.
After his conversation with the SGC, he stopped at Reni's house but she wasn't at home. A chalkboard hung near the door and she'd hastily written that she was at Mistan's house, whoever that was. Daniel wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't spend time wandering around the village looking for Reni; labor times ranged from a few hours to a day or two. He needed to get back. He ended up scrawling Vala's name on the chalkboard, hoping Reni would see it and come by.
When he got back to the house, Vala had changed out of her pajama bottoms into a knee-length, sleeveless nightgown and was pacing from the living room to the kitchen and back again.
"Is everything okay?" Daniel asked.
"Hmm? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Walking helps relieve some of the pain."
Daniel nodded, then went into the smaller bedroom to lay out the water-proof sheet and towels.
"I think we're all set," he said walking back into the living room and holding out his hand as she bent over a chair, her eyes shut tightly against the pain. When it was over, he commented, "They're lasting longer, aren't they?"
"Yes," she breathed out heavily, "and about five minutes apart now." She tried to stand up straighter and lean against Daniel. "And they feel like getting blasted with a Jaffa staff weapon."
"Daniel. Forget it. I don't want this baby anymore."
"You're doing great, Vala. Just a few more pushes should do it."
"Nope. I can't. It's too hard."
"Come on." She was no longer lying on the bed, but standing on the floor and leaning against the edge of the mattress. "Hold my hand through the next few contractions. They should be a bigger ones, I can see the baby's head."
A few seconds later, she felt the urge to push and squatted. Daniel was sitting below her on the floor and kept encouraging her, telling her she was doing great, the head was almost out.
After a few more contractions, Vala let go of his hand as a wave of intense pain passed. She saw him fiddling with their supplies, clearing the baby's nose and mouth. He supported it with both hands as she felt her body ready itself for the next push. Almost done, she thought, just a little more.
"Good girl, Vala. You're doing great," he said to her. "Just a little more and you can hold the baby."
And soon it was over. He held a little girl in his hands; a tiny, little, wrinkled, squishy, beautiful, gorgeous, girl. Daniel, the expert linguist in over two dozen languages, had no words for the love he felt.
He clamped the umbilical cord in the right places and then separated the little baby from her mother. He had a bowl of warm water ready, so he cleaned off his daughter and helped her to cry for the first time. Though panting and sweating, Vala reached out to the end of the bed and passed the quilt she'd made to Daniel.
As soon as the baby was clean and dry, he handed her to Vala, who winced once more. She delivered the afterbirth while smiling at her daughter.
"Oh, little one. There you are, darling." Vala beamed as brightly as Daniel had ever seen her as she cradled the baby in her arms. "I just can't believe how beautiful she is."
"Just like her mother," Daniel said, helping Vala to expel the remaining placenta and disposing of it.
"Hmph," Vala scoffed. "I suppose all fathers say that."
The baby continued to make soft crying sounds as it fought for breath, but she also made quiet sucking noises too.
"Here, little one," Vala shifted the baby as she unbuttoned her top. "What a very…bizarre feeling," she commented, feeling her daughter feed on her breast.
Daniel took the opportunity to tear his gaze away from the two of them. He gathered up some of the towels and proceeded to wash himself and Vala up. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "Anything out of the ordinary?"
"I don't know. I still hurt, but I suppose that's normal." Suddenly, her euphoric high seemed to be dwindling. "Oh yes, there does seem to be a bit of pain." She winced as he washed her.
"Just rest," Daniel said once he finished. Vala shifted to one side, so Daniel could strip the plastic sheet from the bed. Then he took clean sheets from the pile on the dresser and made the bed for her, Vala only standing up once or twice, her legs still pretty weak. He helped her back into bed and brought the blankets up around his girls. "I'll go see if I can find Reni. I thought for sure she'd have come by now."
"Maybe there was some other emergency she needed to attend to," Vala guessed. "There aren't a lot of healers in the village, and she's trusted above everyone else."
"Well, I still want to see if she's gotten back." He looked down at his daughter and her mother, feeling rooted to the spot. He had to go to get some help for Vala and her pain, but he just couldn't bring himself to leave.
"Don't worry, Daniel," Vala reassured him. "We'll be fine."
"I'll be back soon," he promised and kissed her forehead. "You did great."
Daniel came back half an hour later empty-handed. Reni still hadn't returned from her house-call. He met a few villagers who said that Mistan's young son had fallen ill with a fever and Reni was staying with the family to keep an eye on the child. At that point, Daniel wasn't sure he wanted Reni's help, being slightly afraid that the woman might pass along the illness to Vala or his daughter. And Vala wasn't in any immediate danger. There hadn't been any tearing, just remaining pain.
When he got back to the house, Vala was sleeping and a little girl, about 4 years old, was kneeling next to her, the small baby quilt still wrapped around her shoulders. She was looking at Vala with curiosity, all her focus on the sleeping woman. When Vala made a slight groan, the child looked startled, as if pain was a strange concept.
Then she reached out one of her hands to Vala's abdomen and Daniel was pulled from his trance.
"Wait," Daniel called out.
"Mother is hurted," the little girl said sadly. "I hehp." Then she reached out her hand again and set it softly on Vala's stomach. Vala seemed to relax then, a little more color reaching her cheeks, her brows not creased in pain so much.
"See, Father? I he-help," the little girl smiled. "Hallowed are the Ori."
Daniel felt like vomiting. His precious little girl. His sweet innocent baby was, in fact, a child of the Ori. She was still looking at him, waiting for approval perhaps. He needed to snap out of it. Maybe there was still hope.
"Thank you, little one." He moved closer to the bed. "Your mother looks much better."
The child smiled again and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders once more. "I came to hehp. Where are unbewie-," she frowned and looked down at her hands, concentrating. "L- Un-be-lie-vers," she sounded out, and then smiled at her accomplishment. "I here to help."
Daniel fought the bile rising in his throat. How can she know all this? His sweet beautiful daughter. Had she ever really been his?
"We need to stay here a little longer," Daniel started. "We need to wait for your mother to wake up."
The little girl moved and was about to do just that, to shake Vala awake, but something stopped her. "I am sweepy…sl-sleepy, like Mother." Then she laid her head down on Vala's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Maybe we find unbewie-lievers…later." Then she yawned and fell asleep.
Daniel closed his eyes too, and died a little inside. He'd been used. He'd known it all along, but he'd thought he'd have time. Time to love his child, to teach it right from wrong, to keep it safe from the Ori armies. But time was the one thing he didn't have, probably had never had.
Vala woke up a few minutes later as Daniel was cursing to himself, and she noticed his disgusted face. "Daniel, what is it?" Then she turned to see the little girl curled up on her shoulder.
"Vala, meet the Orici."
Vala's face fell into shock and horror as she slowly sat up and looked down at her daughter. "How?"
Daniel shrugged. "Some kind of genetic alteration, I'd guess." Then he remembered. "Hey, how do you feel? You looked hurt before and she touched you."
"I…I was so tired I fell asleep I guess. But yeah, I was in a lot of pain." Vala felt her stomach. "But it's gone now. No cramps or muscle spasms, no shivers. And I think she…my god, I'm thin again." She looked up at Daniel in shock. "I feel just fine." Vala glanced over at the sleeping girl. "She did it?"
"Yeah, and it was really sweet at first," Daniel admitted. "Until she started saying 'Hallowed are the Ori' and asking to find all the unbelievers."
"You're joking!" Vala gasped.
The little girl stirred in her sleep a little. "No," Daniel whispered, then got up from the bed and helped Vala to get up as well. They left their daughter sleeping in the bed and moved off into the main room to talk. "I don't know what to do. She's my daughter, our daughter, but she's an Ori too. What have we done?"
"Now, now," Vala tried to calm him, "no need to go crazy just yet." She patted his arm then started pacing. "We just need to keep her to ourselves a little while. Make her see that the Ori are lying to her and everyone else. Show her that…" she trailed off.
"Make her see reason? A being genetically altered with the knowledge of the universe?" Daniel sighed in defeat. "We are so screwed."
Vala walked up and took his face in her hands. "Have a little faith, Daniel. I don't think we've lost just yet. She's still human. You said she healed me. It seems like there may be a little love still in her. Let's just concentrate on that and see what happens, okay?" Her faltering smile and wide eyes spoke of her desperation. He could tell she felt as awful and defeated as he did, yet she wanted so desperately to be wrong. He could tell she wanted to save her little girl, save her from being used by power-mad beings, like Vala herself had been used once, how they were all being used now.
Daniel nodded his agreement. There was still some time. Vala was right, there was genuine and sincere love in their child, it just needed a little time to grow.
"Father! Mother!"
"What is it, little one-" Both Vala and Daniel rushed to the bedroom to see their daughter laughing a little to herself, sitting up in the bed with the blankets wrapped around her. They did their best to hide their shock as they stared at a now 8- or 9-year-old girl.
"I think I will need your help, Mother," the child laughed once more. "I can't very well go out and help the unbelievers without any clothes."
Vala found her voice and smiled down at her daughter. "No, darling, you most certainly cannot go out like that." Vala moved into the room and put her hands on her hips, considering. "I must admit, I don't think I prepared for this. You've quite outgrown all the baby clothes we'd gotten for you. Hmm…I'll be right back." Daniel stood in the doorway as Vala went to their bedroom. She came back with a pile of clothes in her arms. She laid out a pair of underwear, a T-shirt and a pair of pants on the bed, she set a second set of clothes aside for herself. Then she took some pins from her sewing kit and sat down on the bed.
"Here, put these on, darling," she handed over the underwear to their daughter. Behind her, Daniel shifted uncomfortably near the doorway. "Daniel, would you go into the kitchen and find a pair of scissors?" She turned back to the child. "I'm not too bad with needle and thread, but my guess is you will grow out of whatever we put together now, won't you?" She spoke with a little levity in her voice and her daughter picked up on it.
"I am growing a bit like a weed, I suppose," she laughed back.
"No, sweetheart." Vala folded and pinned the underwear in place while the girl pulled the shirt over her head. "More like a beautiful flower."
Daniel came back with the kitchen shears and Vala went to work on the pants, holding them up to the little girl and deciding where best to hem them. "You know, darling," Vala began, a small plan forming in her mind, "we aren't very good parents. We haven't even thought of a name for you yet." She finished trimming the pants and folded the bottoms up, carefully placing pins in the edges. "What should we call you, sweetheart?"
"I am Orici," the girl responded sincerely.
Daniel finally found his voice and came over to sit by them on the bed. "Yes, but, that's not really a name, is it?"
The girl looked down at her hands, perhaps embarrassed or more likely confused. "You wish to humanize me. You think my purpose here is wrong, that I am…that I am bad."
"No, darling," Vala quickly interjected. "Whatever gave you that idea?" She handed over the shortened pants and her daughter scrambled into them.
"Who is Adria, Mother?"
"I…" Vala stuttered, looking at Daniel for help but knowing he wouldn't know what to say. "She was my mother." She stopped, guessing her daughter could possibly read her mind. "Actually, my stepmother."
"You don't…" the little girl seemed to be concentrating deeply, "you don't like her. You thought she was unfair and mean to you. Did you…were you thinking of naming me after her?"
"Oh, little one," Vala begged, "yes, maybe for a moment I thought that. But that's only because I'm afraid for you. I love you so much and I'm afraid of what has been done to you, that your life won't be your own."
"You are afraid of me, too, Father?" she said with such a small innocent voice, Daniel nearly broke down in tears.
"No, sweetheart," he choked out. "You misunderstood us. We are not afraid of you. We love you, and we know you would never hurt us." He reached out his hands to hold hers as he spoke, "What your mother said is that we are afraid for you. Afraid that your life will not be all that it could be, afraid the choice is no longer yours."
Still the girl looked down in confusion at her small hands clasped in her father's larger ones. "You don't believe in the Ori," she stated. "You don't believe I should help the unbelievers on the Path to Enlightenment. Yet…yet you still love me."
"With all our hearts, darling." Vala hugged her daughter.
"More than anything," Daniel squeezed the girl's hands in reassurance, "we love you."
She looked up then, still confused but she quietly said, "I like the name Adria. It's pretty. What does it mean?"
"It's a…a flower, isn't it, Vala?" Daniel asked, having heard the name once years ago.
"Yes," Vala nodded, "a pretty blue flower, very rare, very precious." She smiled at her little girl, then laughed a little. "I always thought it was a bit funny that my stepmother could be so mean to me, but have such a beautiful name. I think maybe that's why I was thinking of it before, darling. Not because I thought you were like my stepmother, but because we were talking about you growing up so fast, like a flower, remember?"
The little girl brightened up. "Yes of course, that must have been it. Maybe I shouldn't have sensed your thoughts. It did result in a fair bit of confusion." She looked down at her hands again, as if thinking, as if trying to reason something out. "If I hadn't asked about what I'd read in your mind, I might have lived my whole life thinking you believed me to be like your wicked stepmother…" she trailed off, continuing to think and concentrate.
"Sweetheart?" Daniel tried to get her attention.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Father," the girl replied, looking up. "It's all so confusing. But I think, yes," she looked at them both, smiling, "I'd like you to call me Adria."
"Well, that settles it, darl-I mean, Adria," Vala said with a huge hug for her daughter. "Now I don't know about the two of you but I'm starving." Vala hopped from the bed and pulled on her own clean outfit. Then she reached for Adria's hand and brought her into the kitchen. "Let's see what we have. Do you like apples, or pears maybe?"
Adria made a sweet tinkling laugh. "I don't know, Mother. May I have one of each?"
"Yes of course! The best way to decide, I think," Vala replied happily. "I could also make a batch of biscuits, and we have some honey and jam in the cupboard."
"Which do you like, Father?" She held out an apple and a pear.
"I like both, but I prefer pears." He found a knife and started slicing off bits of fruit for himself and Adria while Vala mixed biscuit batter in a bowl.
"Adria, darling," Vala asked, "do you know why you're growing so fast?"
"Oh yes," Adria smiled. "It's because…because…" Again she squinted in concentration. "I think…I think it's slipping away. It's so hard to remember…everything I'm supposed to know." She frowned then, and Daniel felt his heart aching for her all over again. "Well, I guess I can't tell you how I'm growing so fast, but I suppose I was made this way to better help unbelievers. I mean, babies aren't very good at guiding people on the Path."
"Yes," Vala replied wisely. "That is a very good point."
"You will still let me find the unbelievers, won't you?" Adria pleaded, looking from her mother to her father.
They both hesitated, but Daniel spoke first, "It's hard to imagine letting you go, Adria. We love you and wouldn't want you to leave us." Daniel handed her another piece of fruit. "Then again, part of loving someone is letting them go, letting them make their own way in life. But maybe…maybe you would let us come with you, so that we could protect you for as long as we can."
Adria ate and seemed to consider what her father said. "You don't believe in the Ori," she closed her eyes, squinting once more in concentration, and both Vala and Daniel shared a look, "yet you would let me go in order to find and help the unbelievers…because you…love me."
Daniel could almost see the wheels turning in her mind. "Yes, that's a part of loving someone. The hardest part," he admitted, "but one of the most important parts."
Adria shook her head. "I don't think I can believe you. I think you will force me to stay with you." She became fitful as she shook her head and stood up from the table. "I think you will make me believe what you believe. I think-"
"Ssh, ssh, darling," Vala soothed, holding Adria's shoulders and then bringing her into a hug. Daniel came around the table as well and knelt down to the two of them, putting a hand on Adria's back and rubbing it. "There's no need to be upset, dear," Vala continued. She let Adria go and tipped her chin up to look her in the eyes. "Remember that bit about us naming you Adria before? Remember the little misunderstanding? This is just the same thing, darling."
Daniel nodded and continued. "Maybe I can help explain. What are you confused about?"
Adria closed her eyes and shook her head again. "My head hurts too much. I can't explain it…and I don't understand. I'm so tired, Father." She laid her head on Daniel's shoulder, the beginnings of tears shining in her eyes.
"You go lay down with your father, sweetheart," Vala wiped the tears from Adria's cheek. "These biscuits won't be ready for a while anyway, all right?"
Adria nodded and Daniel picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. Vala watched him lay down with his daughter, Adria curled up on his side and warm blankets pulled up to her chin. She walked away crying, hating the universe and what it was doing to both her and her new family in the other room.
********
Chapter 22: http://aeryn-b.livejournal.com/13275.html