Fic - Family Matters (orginally Family)
Title: Family Matters (originally Family)
Summary: Changes happen, boundaries are pushed, and a family learns not all things are certain, while some things definitely are.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers/Warnings: Prometheus Unbound, 100 Days, Avalon P.1 for specific events. This is an AU fic starting from the end of season eight, but I have every intention of tying as much canon into the story that is possible, so the whole of seasons 9 and 10 are fair game. Ships included Daniel/Vala and Cam/Carolyn, with later additions of original characters.
A/N: To see my lenthy Author's Note on this fic, go to THIS POST.
Chapter 3
“Well, it’s delightful to know I made an impression.” Vala’s voice filtered back over the speaker, the usual flirt in her tone.
Daniel scowled despite not being able to see her. “Yes well…” He looked at Jack, unconsciously mimicking the man’s arms-crossed position. “Stealing my planet’s ship…” His eyes found the screen once more. “Has a tendency to leave an impression.”
A sigh was the first response he got, and then. “Please don’t tell me you’re still upset over that little encounter.”
“Little encounter?” Daniel scoffed. He leaned in close to the microphone. “Vala that was our only encounter!”
The sigh came again, though it seemed more whimsical the second time around. “Yes, unfortunately.”
He shook his head. “Look, what do you want?”
It was almost as if he could feel her mock indignation through the wormhole. “Now what makes you think I want something, darling?”
Daniel threw an exasperated glance at Jack. It turned into yet another scowl when the older man just smirked at him and mouthed ‘darling?’ with a cocked eyebrow. “You contacted me - I mean us, remember?”
“Oh, that’s right…” She sounded so innocent and forgetful. Daniel wasn’t buying into it for a second. “Silly me and my memory. Like a sieve, it is sometimes. I think it might be your voice, Daniel. So manly and attractive. A weaker woman might…swoon at the knees upon hearing it.”
Closing his eyes, Daniel clenched his teeth. “Vala!” He ground out.
“Yes, right, why I’m calling…” Vala let out another sigh, and remarkably it sounded just as different as the second one had from the first. “As I was so unwilling to tell the other gentleman - General Jack, I believe it was. He has a sexy voice too, by the way.”
Jack rocked on his heel and grinned at the annoyed archaeologist.
“Vala…” Daniel wondered how many times he would say her name until she finally reached the point.
“Right, sorry. As I was saying… What I was so unwilling to tell Jack, since I wasn’t even sure this was the little backwater planet you mentioned being from, is that…” Another dramatic sigh. “I’m in a bit of a fix here.”
Daniel frowned. “A fix?” He repeated suspiciously.
“That’s right, a fix.” Her voice was cheery and false once again. “You know, hit a wee snare in business plans.”
“You mean piracy.” Daniel interrupted.
There was a pause, then. “Business plans.” Vala reiterated. “See, things haven’t exactly gone the way I had first pictured, and problems have arisen. Very big, very unpleasant problems that I’m having trouble getting away from.”
Blue eyes look into brown as the men shared a look.
“What are you trying to say?” Daniel finally asked her.
“Daniel, I need to come through the ‘gate to Earth.” Vala finally admitted, her voice sounding hugely reluctant to even say that much.
Jack finally stepped into the conversation. “Oh, no, no, no.” He said adamantly, shaking his head and waving an arm around. He moved next to Daniel, who had gotten that look on his face. It came less and less these days, but Jack could still pin point it. No matter what Daniel said, he was still a sucker for a pretty face. And the General had seen the security footage. This one definitely had a pretty face.
“I’m sorry?” Vala’s voice had lost some of the sauciness.
Leaning down by the mic, Jack spoke clearly and calmly. “I’m not going to permit a known thief onto my base, who seems to be able to seduce any man to her bidding.” He cast a warning glare at his younger friend.
Daniel didn’t heed the warning for a second. “Jack.”
The older man held up his hand. “No, Daniel. She’s a thief and a liar, and despite what you may think, you are still a man and she is bending you to her will. She is compromising you right here and now, before she’s even set foot on this base.”
“I understand I haven’t given you any reason to permit me refuge.” All sense of play had gone from Vala’s voice as it came over the speakers again. Now she sounded desperate and shaken - terrified even. Both men stared at the screen as she continued.
“In fact, it’s basically all my fault that I’ve run out of options and am…” Vala laughed morosely. “Beyond desperate. But I’ve got nowhere else to turn to, and this is probably the only chance I’ll get at getting away. These people aren’t very nice to those who break their laws - what should I expect from a planet consisting of men high on power.”
She let out a shuddering breath. “Daniel’s the only person I’ve ever known to put even an ounce of trust in me, though it was very short lived.”
Jack looked at Daniel for a moment. The archaeologist was staring at the screen, his face a mix of trying not to care and caring too much.
“I’m down to my last resort here… I…” Vala hesitated. “I really don’t know what else to do.”
Tightening his hold around himself, Daniel turned a resolute look on his friend. “Jack.”
Jack shook his head. “Daniel, I’m sorry… I can’t.” He replied apologetically as he put a hand over the microphone to muffle their conversation. “She’s already committed crimes against this facility and this world. There is no way I can openly allow a…galactic fugitive…to come on base.”
“Daniel?” Vala’s desperate voice filled the control room once more.
Daniel loosened one of his hands and held it towards the screen. “Does she sound like she’s in any condition to do anything? She came to us for help because of me. I’m the one who told her about this world, and I guess…” He looked at the floor and tilted his head reluctantly. “I guess she wasn’t the only one who left an impression.”
“Daniel, please… say something.”
Jack looked at the screen as her plea came again, then back at his friend. “Daniel…” He said hesitantly, unsure of the whole situation. There was something telling him this was gonna go beyond a little ‘get away time’ for the space vixen. It was evident in the way her and Daniel talked to each other, the look that came in those blues eyes anytime the Prometheus incident was brought up. Something had happened between the two of them, and it went way beyond the stuff on the ship.
“Hammond would trust me.” Daniel said quietly.
Rolling his eyes, Jack realized not for the first time that Daniel knew him better than anyone else ever had. The man just knew what buttons to push to get his way, whether that way was justified or not.
“Open the iris.” The General reluctantly told Walter, who had been watching with interest the entire time. The Sergeant ‘yes’ed internally at his commander’s decision.
“Yes, Sir.” He responded, not being able to keep the approval out of his tone. Dr. Jackson had hit the right button with the reference to General Hammond - George definitely would’ve trusted him enough to allow the woman through. At least Walter thought so.
As the metal barrier slid open, Daniel leaned in to the mic. “Alright Vala, you can come through.” He didn’t wait to hear her response before bolting for the gate room. Unfortunately, a firm grip on his arm stopped Daniel just as he stepped into the corridor off the control room stairs.
He met a stern brown gaze as he turned.
“You listen to me now, alright?” Jack’s tone broached no argument. Daniel held his stare, his face going blank. “I don’t know if this is a good idea or not. If it ends up being a ‘not’, and she causes more trouble than she is even worth, you are going to answer for it.”
Daniel nodded. “I understand.”
“I’m trusting you, Daniel.” Jack said, his tone going to an area they rarely used with one another.
The younger man relaxed and nodded. “I know, Jack.” He backed out of Jack’s grip and patted him on the other arm. “I know.”
-----
Daniel left Jack standing in the corridor, breezing into the gate room. His mind was awash with a million emotions all at once. Anxiety, excitement, concern, suspicion, and even Daniel had to admit to himself that he was already a little aroused at the thought of seeing her again.
That feeling, and all the others but concern, fizzled out as Vala stepped through the wormhole. She froze at the top of the ramp, her eyes wide. As the normal gate security’s weapons raised, her own alien pistol came up to point anxiously and haphazardly at them.
Stepping up to the foot of the ramp, Daniel held out his hands to the SFs. “Lower your weapons, please.”
“Do it.” Jack’s gruff voice ordered from the doorway. The guards gave him a hesitant look before slowly lowering their guns. Daniel threw his friend a grateful look, then returned his attention to Vala. She had lowered her own gun some, but still looked about ready to pounce.
He carefully approached her. Blue eyes took in a haggard appearance. Vala was dressed in a flimsy kind of dress, if the fabric barely concealing very little of her body could be called that. It was torn and stained brown with blood and god knew what else. The parts of her flesh that could be seen were dirty and, in several places, bruised. Blood trickled from her lip, just below one hell of a black eye. More blood poured from scraped knuckles on both hands.
She was a mess, and it hit a very sensitive cord within Daniel.
“Daniel.” Vala ventured a smile, but it flitted away almost instantly.
He took the remaining steps quickly, stopping just in front of her. “Hey, Vala.” There was none of his usual roughness in his tone. Daniel reached up his hand to brush her limp hair away from her face, but Vala flinched.
Dropping his hand, trying not to look hurt by her action, Daniel stepped away and held his hand out towards the door opposite the one he’d come through. “Let’s get you to the infirmary.”
“The what?” She asked quickly, her guard completely on alert.
“It’s where we can get you patched up.” Daniel answered with a gentle smile, holding out his other hand to her. “Where you won’t need any weapons.” He waggled his fingers, looking at the gun as she gave him a slight frown.
Vala looked down at the gun after a moment, then back up at Daniel. “But-“
He stepped closer to her without trying to make her feel threatened. “Vala, you came here because you thought it was safe. Well, I give you my word that no one is going to hurt you anymore. It’s okay to give me the gun.”
She stared him down, reading his reaction for any hint of trickery. Vala didn’t find any, and finally handed the weapon to him with a hesitant hand.
Daniel nodded and smiled again. “Okay, let’s go.” He led her down the ramp, and the SFs cleared a path for them as they moved to the doorway. As she stepped out of the gateroom, Daniel handed her weapon off to one of the guards, instructing him to have it taken to his office.
“Daniel?” Vala called hesitantly from the hallway, and he looked up at her. She was watching nervously, shivering in the air conditioned facility. She looked nothing like the unstoppable pirate he’d had a run in with just a few months before.
“Yeah, I’m coming.” Daniel walked over to her, and Vala let him place a very light hand on her back. As he led her towards the elevator, Jack called out to him. The pair turned around to face the General.
Just as Jack opened his mouth, the gate began to dial up and the klaxons blared once more. Vala inhaled sharply and instinctively took a step closer to Daniel, gazing in bewilderment at the lights and noise. Daniel looked down at her, bringing his hand up to rest against her shoulder.
“Get Lam to check her out…” The older man said softly as he stepped backwards, back to the gate room. This was a wormhole that was scheduled, and he knew Teal’c would feel slighted if he wasn’t there to greet him. “I’ll meet you down there with the big guy.”
Daniel nodded and ushered Vala to turn around and continue down the hall.
“Who’s the big guy?” She asked, looking at him with curiosity and slight suspicion.
He smiled down at her. “A good friend…you’ll meet him soon.”
“Oh, okay.” Vala answered, glancing over her shoulder just before Daniel turned her down another corridor.
Chapter 4
Daniel’s agitated shout traveled down the hall, getting the immediate attention of the two men heading in the direction of the infirmary.
“I believe Daniel Jackson sounds quite displeased.” Teal’c observed, giving Jack a look that was mixed between amused and indifferent.
“Yes, well…” Jack grinned, patting his Jaffa friend on the arm. “I’m thinking he’s probably regretting pushing that ‘right’ button with me at the moment.”
The pair stopped just outside the entryway, where Dr. Carolyn Lam was perched against the wall. A clipboard clutched against her chest, she was watching the heated exchange in her newly obtained infirmary. Her dark brown eyes tossed the men a hello glance.
“How long they been at it?” Jack whispered to her. She had been his hand-picked choice to be the permanent, or at least as permanent as their job got, CMO on base. It had been a hard spot to fill, considering how most just couldn’t get use to the loss of Janet Fraiser. Carolyn wasn’t a replacement for Janet - no one could replace such a great woman, but Jack knew her father well and knew she was very capable of her job.
She shrugged and looked at her watch. “Oh, about twenty minutes.”
Jack rolled his eyes and gave her his best commanding look. “Did you at least get to check her out?” He asked, crossing his arms and trying to look like the General he was supposed to be.
“Yeah…” Carolyn released her hold on the chart in her arms and gave it a quick glance. “I had just run to get some blood tests, and came back to find them like this. When Dr. Jackson first brought her in, Vala was very hesitant. Now though-” She held her hand towards the infirmary, indicating the bickering pair.
Both Jack and Teal’c leaned to the right a fraction to get a better look at the scene.
“Dammit, Vala…” Daniel had his hands flung in the air, and he was pacing away from the bed she was perched on. “All I asked for was a simple explanation of what happened!”
She gave him an impossible look. “And that’s what I was giving you!” She shifted her grey eyes back to her hands, where she was trying to use a damp cloth to wipe off the blood.
Daniel held up his finger as he spun back around to face her. “No, no - you were giving me a very detailed description of some fabulous” He mimicked her, almost flawlessly. “Something or other that you were on that planet to steal! That’s not telling me how you ended up on my planet looking like you do, though I’m pretty sure I can guess why it happened.”
“Oh yes, I’m sure can!” Vala snapped back, glaring at him with a wounded expression. “Because you just know everything about me, Daniel, don’t you? You know how I’m a liar, and a thief, and a seductress. That’s how your wonderful little friend Jack knew, right?”
She turned her eyes back on her task once more, brushing harder and harder at the blood that just wouldn’t seem to wipe away. “You’ve probably guessed it’s my own fault that my information on my latest scheme turned out to be bad and I was set up. That I deserve everything that comes to me because I live a dishonest life and am not worthy of praise.”
Her fingers were burning white as they gripped the rag. “That every horrible thing that has happened to me since I botched the job with your ship was all gonna come along eventually.”
Daniel watched her saucy attitude crumble before his eyes, and guilt hit him like a cold wave. “Vala, that’s gotta hurt…” He said of her forceful ministrations, cursing himself for not thinking of something more encouraging to say.
“Of course it hurts, Daniel!” Vala looked up at him, tears so near the surface. “I had to use my hands and knees to fight my way out of that place, quite literally.” She went back to scraping at her already tender flesh, which was fresh with blood from her own making.
He pulled a chair over to her. “Stop.” Daniel reached out his hand, moving to place it over hers trying to rub off the rest of the flesh on her knuckles.
Vala jerked her hand back. “No, I can do it.”
“Would you just stop!” Daniel barked, causing her to jump. She looked at him, suddenly nervous, her hand stilling finally. “Sorry…” He apologized, reaching out to her again. Vala released the rag without any resistance, but tried to pull her hand out of his as he moved to take it.
Daniel leaned forward and captured it again lightly in his own. “Vala, I am not going to hurt you.” He insisted, dropping the rag on the bed and placing his fingers under her chin. Tilting her watery gaze up to meet his, he willed her to trust him.
She just watched him gazing into her eyes, her mind warring between ranges of thoughts. Part of her just wanted to crawl into his arms and forget the rest of the universe even existed, but the rest of her had been too hardened by life’s traumas and knew such a reality wasn’t possible.
Moving his hand up to attempt brushing her hair back for a second time, Daniel let out a sigh as Vala closed her eyes in wait for some kind of reprimand.
“I would never hit you.” He whispered as his fingers brushed the dirty black strand behind her ear.
Vala opened her eyes and a small smile came to her face. “You lie.” She smiled a little brighter as Daniel’s brow creased in concern and bewilderment. “We’ve already swung a few punches, darling.”
Understanding dawned on him and Daniel let out a relieved laugh. “Okay, so it isn’t ‘never’.” He leaned over and dipped the rag in a bowl of water on the tray table Carolyn had left beside the bed.
“But, from what I remember…” He continued, gently rubbing the cloth over her hand. It rested so soft and comfortably in his own. Daniel looked back up at Vala with a playful smirk. “You hit me first.”
She shrugged, a bit of the flirt back in her eyes. “So you say…”
“Oh, so I say huh?” Daniel ignored the thought that he was flirting right back, deciding it was more of a comfort to her as a woman who had been terribly mistreated than anything else. They went on bickering playfully, completely unnoticing the three watching from the doorway.
Teal’c straightened and clasped his hands behind his back. “I believe Daniel Jackson has finally found his match.” He said in a calm tone, staring impassively at the wall behind Carolyn.
Jack turned and gave the big guy a worried look. “You mean ‘met his match’, don’t ya T?” He laughed nervously. He didn’t pick up that his intended statement came off more like a question.
The Jaffa looked at Jack, then at Carolyn. “I believe I spoke correctly.” His indifferent expression never faltered, though the petite doctor thought she saw a flash of amusement in his dark eyes for a second. It was enough for her to play right along.
“Indeed you did.” She whispered back conspiratorially before putting on her doctor face and breaking up the thick sexual tension in her infirmary. Jack gaped at her as she shut the doors to him and Teal’c, and then turned a ‘why are you starting shit’ glare on the Jaffa.
Teal’c tilted his head a fraction. “O’Neill, did you not inform me there was something unusual in your office.”
The almost amused look on Jack’s face turned directly into a frown at the mention of the letter and roses. “Yeah…” He replied, a sudden feeling of foreboding seeming to weigh him down completely. Jack started to walk, and Teal’c easily fell in step beside him.
“T, my man…” Jack sighed as they neared the elevator. “Don’t you just get this feeling everything is about to change.”
“Indeed.” Teal’c offered seriously.
------
Daniel stepped out of Vala’s temporary quarters several hours later and practically ran into Jack in the corridor. Years of quick reflexes kept him from knocking his good friend down.
“Jesus Christ, Jack.” He gasped, adjusting his glasses even though they didn’t really need it. “Stalker much?”
Jack appeared to be amused, but Daniel could see the tension in the battle worn face. “Well, howdy Daniel. We’ve seen neither hide nor hair of you for several hours now.” He leaned to the left to get a glance at the door. “Busy with the new girlfriend I take it?”
Scowling, Daniel glared at the General. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
“I don’t know - you two seemed pretty friendly in the infirmary.” Jack turned and looked at Teal’c for confirmation.
The large man inclined his head. “Indeed, you and the woman seemed quite close.”
Blue eyes squinted at the pair. “You two were watching us?”
Shrugging, Jack stuck his hands in his pockets. “I told you I would bring Teal’c down to meet the new…addition.” He leaned a second time.
Daniel smacked him on the arm. “Stop that. She’s not a piece of meat or a mark you can just talk about.” He didn’t notice the way his voice grew slightly defensive, even if he knew in his mind that Jack was just joking.
“Mmmmhmmm…” Jack looked intently at his younger friend. “I know that tone, Daniel.” His own tone grew serious. “You know we’re gonna have to sit down and discuss this…discuss the pair of you.” He pointed over Daniel’s shoulder at the door.
“There is no pair, Jack…” Daniel sighed, brushing past his two best friends and trying not to get heated over something that just didn’t exist. “Now if you’re done harassing me about something that really is nothing, there are some translations I need to get to Sam before-“
“Daniel.” The tone he used had the archaeologist stopping short. Daniel lifted his gaze up from the floor and slowly looked over his right shoulder at Jack and Teal’c. The tension he’d noticed before was now completely evident on Jack’s face and now Teal’c’s also.
Daniel turned completely, feeling suddenly very concerned. “What?”
Jack slowly walked over to him, pulling out the letter that they’d found on his desk earlier. “We didn’t come down here to harass you.” He sighed as Daniel slowly took the letter. “Actually, I feel really shitty knowing you have to find out after us.”
Opening the letter, Daniel gazed anxiously over the rim of his glasses at Jack. “Find out what?” He voice was low, and he didn’t wait for the older man’s reply before starting to read what he’d forgotten about when Vala had made her grand appearance.
‘Hey Guys,
First off, let me just say how much I love all of you. The three of you have been closer to me than any member of my actual family ever was - at least, for a very long time. You guys are like brothers to me - better even, and I just need to say thank you for everything you’ve always given me.
Having said that, it pains me to have to say this next. I’ve been thinking long and hard about what I’m going to do now with my life, especially since Dad passed. It was a very difficult decision in the end, but I feel I’m making the right choice here…
The choice being I’ve decided I’m going to leave the SGC. Retire from the Air Force entirely, actually. I just feel I’ve done all that I can in the amazing universe out there, and it’s time I take something for ‘me’. I want a family, a REAL family with a husband and kids and a dog. You can’t have a dog with the kind of lives we lead. I want to be a mother like my mom would’ve been had she not died all those years ago.
I’ve also realized Pete is the man I wish to spend the rest of my life with. He’s the kind of man who wants all those things I want (he’s really adamant about the dog), and he loves me in the right sort of way. And I love him back just the same. It took a lot of thought and alone time for me to realize this. For years, I’ve been chasing dreams - some of which are too high to obtain.
Now here comes the hard part - the really hard part. In this new life I’m planning to lead with these new goals, I’ve begun to understand how the secret world we’ve lived in all these years just won’t fit in. As much as you guys have been my family, it’s time I leave the nest, as it were, and make a family of my own. So, it’s been decided between me and Pete that we just up and go - no notice, except for this note (and of course a call to Hammond to release me from active duty).
We ask that you don’t try and find us. This is what I want. No, this is what I need. I want to try and find myself outside of the insane and exciting. I want to be normal, and as lovely as the three of you are, you’re just not normal. J
I’m so sorry to have to put this on you now. I know it’s gonna be hard, but all of you are strong and have always persevered. I know you will get beyond this. You guys will always be in my thoughts.
All my love,
Sam.
Daniel looked up at Jack with troubled eyes. “This…this can’t be real.” He shook the letter for emphasis. “It’s gotta be some kind of a joke, right? Sam wouldn’t do this…She loves it here.”
“No joke, Danny.” Jack answered, hating the look on his friend’s face. “Called Hammond up the moment I finished that damn thing.” He pointed at the letter like it was a grenade. “He said it was the real deal - she wanted out and that it’d been in the works for months.”
Shaking his head, Daniel looked at the letter again. “No, not Sam. This is her life. She loves her life…I know her. I know she wouldn’t do this.” Daniel said adamantly, bringing his eyes back up to meet Jack’s, then Teal’c’s. At the identical looks they were giving him, the point of denying the truth of the horrible letter was gone.
“Why would she do this?” He whispered, looking between his two greatest friends for some kind of explanation. He needed some kind of reason why another person would just up and leave in such a way.
Teal’c stepped closer, placing a hand on Daniel’s tense shoulder. “As she stated, Samantha Carter believes this is something she needs to do for her.”
Anger finally boiled over and Daniel stepped away from Teal’c with a huff. “Yeah, her…” He emphasized, moving a few paces up the hall and then back. “What about us? What happened to it being the four of us? I mean, we’re…” He waved his free hand wildly. “Family!”
He watched the others watching him with understanding, and the flame of anger sank back to a dull emptiness of embers in his chest.
“We’re family, right?” Daniel asked quietly, desperately.
Jack stepped forward and rested his hand on the back of Daniel’s neck. “Yeah, of course we are.” Teal’c also took a step closer and once again placed his hand on Daniel’s shoulder.
“Indeed we are, Daniel Jackson.”
Betrayed blue eyes gazed hard at the letter in his hand, crumpled in an iron grip. “Then why?” Daniel let out a haggard breath and looked up at them again. “I just don’t understand why…”
Slowly taking the letter from Daniel, Jack folded it back up and replaced it in his pocket. “I don’t think anybody will understand why, Daniel. Maybe Carter had just had enough of the exciting…”
“Or enough of us.” Daniel said what they were already thinking.
Jack let out a huff of air. “I’ve had enough of you for years…” He said as he turned and started up the corridor. “But you don’t see me running away.”
Knowing Jack was just baiting him to get his mind off Sam, Daniel still decided to play along. “That’s because you’re too old…” He caught up to his older friend, sticking his hands in his pockets. “I can run faster than you.”
“Yeah, okay…” Jack scoffed.
Teal’c was following just behind. “It is true, O’Neill. Daniel Jackson possesses a far greater agility then you.”
Spinning on his heels and walking backward, Jack held up an indignant finger. “Hey, I was quite fast in my hay day!”
“And I believe said ‘hay day’,” Teal’c replied, casting a playful look at Daniel. “Has come and passed.”
“He just called you old, Jack.” Daniel whispered helpfully, his tone just as smug as his eyes, cast away from the General.
Jack lifted his hand in a threatening manner, giving his younger friend a glare. Daniel just blinked innocently at him, and Jack let out a sigh. He brought his hand to rest comfortably on the back of Daniel’s head.
The hand fell away as they reached the elevators. While Jack leaned forward and swiped his card, Daniel turned so he was facing both men and crossed his arms. He gave them a unsure look.
“We’re going to be alright, right?” He asked.
Jack looked at Daniel, then Teal’c, and then back to Daniel. “Yeah, I think we’ll be just fine.” He stepped in to the elevator as the door pulled open. Teal’c and Daniel followed. “Besides…” His brown eyes cast a sideways glance to the archaeologist. “You’ve got yourself a new girlfriend to look after.”
Flopping back against the wall, Daniel rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to live this whole Vala thing down, am I?”
“No.” Both Jack and Teal’c answered equally as the doors slid shut.
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