NeverEnding 11/?
A/N: So... What to say about this chapter. Not my favorite and some of you will have some problems with how much Daniel/Vala are in this but it's in the episode and so it must be written. Hope you guys like it regardless!
Title: Tears, Kisses, and Blood
Author: Chozen Rogue
Rating: Teen; language, sexuality, eventual character death
Characters: Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor
Summary: What if Jack was indeed on the Odyssey during the events of “Unending?”
Spoilers: Unending (Duh!)
Disclaimer: Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
TWELVE WEEKS AFTER THE ORI ATTACK
Daniel was on his way back to his quarters when Vala suddenly bounded up to him. “Hey, Daniel.”
“Vala, what can I do for you today?”
She took his arm as they continued down the hall all the while ignoring the tension radiating from her companion. “I’m deliriously bored and can’t find Jack.”
Daniel smiled. He knew for a fact that his missing friend was in fact with Sam, and that he was currently helping her clear out one of the previously breached sections of the ship for scrap materials. “I think he’s with Sam.”
“Oh, I know he is but I still can’t find him, and even if I did, I really don’t think they would appreciate me barging in.”
He pulled away from Vala with a surprised expression on his face. “Wait, you actually care? Vala, you never care if you’re wanted in a room or not.”
She smiled and took his arm, pulling him in the direction of his quarters once again. “Well, that’s because you always want me in the room.” Daniel rolled his eyes as he waited for her to continue as he knew she would. “So what were you doing?”
She pointed to the clip board that held his notes from his session in the Projection Room. “I was going through the Asgard database, researching their history.”
“Anything interesting?”
“Um, yeah, actually I found a section on their cloning techniques. It basically outlined all of their previous models in chronological order. It’s truly fascinating.” He shot her a suspicious look. “Why are you so interested anyways? This stuff usually bores you.”
She shrugged into his side. “I don’t know. Everyone has someone or something to do, and I don’t.” She gave him a pointed look. “I told you I was bored.”
At her confession, he felt his suspicions slowly melt away. “Well, I about to go over my notes but if you want, you can spend time with me.”
One of her blinding smiles lit up her face as she said, “As long as I can play music and games on you computer, I’m good.”
He shook his head in amusement; she was just as bad as Jack.
*****
It was sometime later that Daniel threw his pen across his desk and growled in frustration as he pinched the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses. He turned to Vala, who had just shut off the music she had been playing and was in the process of closing his laptop. As she moved to sit on the edge of his bed, she asked, “What?”
Frowning at her question, he stood up and starting pacing. “I’m going over the notes I made on the Asgard’s cloning... All they wanted to do was live a little longer.”
“We're no different. Sequencing DNA, curing diseases,” he paused for a second, his facing scrunching in frustration, “and one fatal mistake and they doom their entire race.” He stopped pacing and took a deep breath, “I guess no matter what you do at the end of the day, life is too short.”
She was staring at him, her face reflecting something that he couldn’t quite place. “I agree.”
He nodded and then turned around. Daniel ran his hand over one of the leather bound journals lining his shelf before he leant against it and took off his glasses to rub his eyes with the back of his hand. Hearing the rustling of fabric behind him, he replaced his glasses as he turned to face Vala just in time to see her pull her shirt over her head, leaving her clad in a form fitting camisole that did nothing to hide her figure.
He swallowed roughly before he asked, “What are you doing?”
As she stepped towards him, she answered, “Something we should have done a long time ago.” When she reached him, her hands flew to his belt buckle and started to undo it.
His own hands landed on top of hers but didn’t make any move to stop her. “Don't do that.”
A small seductive smile crossed Vala’s face as she asked playfully, “Why not?” His hands moved from hers to her wrists where they forced them away from his belt. He glared at her for a moment before pushing her away from him in frustration.
He turned his back to her as she opened her mouth to speak. “We've been here three months, Daniel.” He tried to block her voice from his hearing as he started to redo his belt. “Three months.” He still wasn’t listening. “You do like girls?”
Dammit.
He turned back towards her; so much for not listening. “Yes.”
“Oh… Well, I don't see many other options around here, do you?” She smiled awkwardly and then waved her hand. “Unless you’re thinking about Sam, and in that case, I don’t think you have a chance.”
“Vala, just stop! I have never been nor will ever be interested in Sam, not to mention what Jack would do to me if I were!” Rubbing at his face, he faced the shelf again and folded his arms on top of it to rest his head.
“Unless…” He lifted his head to glance at her, her voice so low he wasn’t sure he heard her at first. “You really don't find me attractive.”
A sense of disbelief washed over him as he looked at her completely open expression of pain. Could she honestly believe that he didn’t find her attractive?
“Do you want an honest answer to that question?”
“No.”
He cocked his head in confusion as he heard her voice break in that one word answer and watched as she grabbed her shirt. She turned away from him as she fumbled with the opening of the shirt. “No seriously, you started this.” He stepped closer to her. “Do you want an honest answer to the question?”
“No, don't worry about it.”
She was still fumbling with her shirt and though he knew he should stop, he could feel the anger and frustration of the situation rise within him. “Do you believe I could have any kind of serious feelings for you?”
She stopped suddenly and whirled to face him with an almost fearful expression on her face. “I wasn't suggesting that you have serious feelings, Daniel - “
He didn’t let her finish as he finally let loose what he had been dying to say to her since she had first shown up at the SGC two years ago. “Oh! Oh! Oh what? So what? We sleep together once. Then what?”
He paused for a second before gesturing violently between them causing her eyes to widen in what looked like fear. “We work together! And you know, even saying that part out loud sounds unbelievable. I mean,” he let out a snort of deranged laughter, “come on, I mean I can't imagine what a relationship with you would be like!”
Vala had turned away from him once more and had moved to sit on the bed. “I mean, yes. Yes, you've proven yourself to be trustworthy on a professional level and for that I am very proud of you,” even though she couldn’t see the gesture, he clasped his hands together to drive the point home, “but on a personal level…” He stared at her back for a second before tearing his hands apart in frustration. “Vala, come on, give me a break!”
“I mean at best you're an emotional, unstable wreck.” Daniel moved away from her as the next bit of information dawned on him. “But hey, I'm not saying I'm much better.”
He frowned. “I'm not saying I'm much better. There was a time when I thought I would,” he stumbled over his words, the pain of Sha’re’s death resurfacing, “I would never get over my wife.” He paused, his eyes closing under the pressure of the anger and pain coursing through him. “I mean the idea of being hurt that way again…”
“But I have finally gotten to the place.” He turned away from Vala and gestured towards the heavens, desperation creeping into his voice as he continued. “I finally, for the first time, in a long time, have gotten to the place where I actually feel that I could get close to somebody again.”
He turned back to her and gestured violently towards Vala, whose back was still facing him. “But not in a million years, a million-million years, would I ever possibly consider that person being you.”
“I mean, we are so completely opposite and wrong for each other, it’s not even funny.” His mind was suddenly filled with images of Sam and Jack, though he subdued them as soon as they popped up. He would not get distracted, not when he about to get to the heart of the situation.
“And the worst part! The worst part about it is, is that you know that! And this whole flirty,” he mimed puffing up his chest and playing with imaginary breasts as he continued, “sexual thing that you do, that's just your way of having a laugh at my expense.”
“So, I'm so sorry if I'm not more appreciative of that and I'm so sorry that you're bored!” He pointed savagely at her. “But don't you pretend that it’s anything else.”
And as quickly as the anger had risen in him it deflated quite suddenly when he heard Vala take in a shuddering breath. Daniel watched as her hand came up and wiped at a tear he couldn’t see.
“Don't act like you're hurt…”
Pretending like she didn’t hear him, Vala finally brought her top over her head. As she pulled it down and into place over her torso, Daniel felt the heavy weight of guilt settle over him. What the hell had that explosion been about? Sure she drove him crazy and was about as different in personality from Sha’re as you could get but she didn’t deserve any of what he had said.
He crossed over to the bed and sat down to face her, only to have Vala turn her back to him. Reaching out to put a hand on her back, he said, “Hey- ” He was cut off as she pulled away from him and he was surprised at how much the action hurt him.
“Just give me a minute,” she whispered as her hands came up to cover her face.
“Look at me.” She shook her head as he gently pulled her hair away from where it shielded her face hoping to persuade her to look at him; shakily, she wiped her eyes before finally turning towards him.
As their eyes met, Daniel felt as though he couldn’t breathe, the pain on her face was so palpable he could feel it. Looking away, she closed her eyes, causing Daniel to bring his hand up to urge her to meet his eyes again. They stared at each other for a moment, his thumb caressing the soft, wet skin of her cheek and then leaned in to touch his lips to hers.
He was kissing Vala… Of his own volition and it felt incredible, and even more so when she brought her hand up to the side of his neck.
It ended all too soon as they pulled apart, both searching one another’s eyes to gauge their reactions.
He felt a smile spread across his face as he saw the wonder, and even love, shining in her eyes.
“You better not be messing with me,” he whispered before once more leaning into her, though his attempt was stopped by her hand sharply connecting with his cheek.
He stared at her in shock as she said, “That’s for how you just treated me and I swear, Daniel, if you don’t mean this...”
He cut her off with a single finger against her mouth. “I was an ass just now and I don’t expect you to forgive me but let’s just say, a moment of clarity happened.”
She snorted as she wiped her eyes once more and lightly hit him on the shoulder. “That was some moment of clarity.”
Daniel smiled as he leant into her again. “Sure was…” His voice trailed off as their lips met once more.
*****
Cameron was in the middle of his morning jog, accompanied by General O’Neill, when the doors to Daniel’s quarters opened as he neared them. Readying himself to call out a morning greeting, he was completely caught off guard as he ran past the sight of a half-dressed Vala pulling on her shirt as she exited the room.
As the image caught up with his brain, Cam came to a dead stop before turning just in time to see Vala wave a very lazy goodbye to the unseen, but known, occupant of the quarters. And behind her, a few feet down the corridor, stood a very slack-jawed O’Neill.
Vala turned to Cam and smiled a very sated smile before turning to head down the hallway towards Jack. When she passed him, she reached up to plant a light kiss upon his cheek before once again starting down the corridor.
At her kiss, Jack’s expression changed from shock to a grin that could rival any mischievous little boy’s giving Cam less than a second to register what was going through the General’s mind as Jack made a dash for the closing doors to Daniel’s quarters. The younger man lunged for him right before Jack stuck his hand out to stop the door from closing and pulled him towards his own body.
“Don’t even think about it,” he breathed into the older man’s ear.
Jack looked at him with an expression of a boy who had just had just been told to wait to open his Christmas presents: absolutely heart-broken. “You’re crazy; I have to talk to him!”
Shaking his head in amusement, Cam turned Jack around and slung his arm around the man’s shoulders to guide him away form Daniel’s room. “C’mon General, lets give him a while to rest up before you go in there.”
“Spoil sport.”
*****
Jack was sitting at the desk in Landry’s quarters with a wet towel thrown across his face and ice pack settled over his knees. Shaking his head at the scene before him, Landry smiled. “Why do you do this to yourself?”
A grunt issued from the man in front of him and he saw the towel move as Jack began to talk. “Well Hank, I don’t think I quite ready to admit that I’m an old fart.” Landry snorted as he pruned the small plant that was placed on the desk between Jack and him. “Unlike you though.”
He looked up to find Jack watching him with an arched eyebrow, the forgotten towel having slid to the man’s chest, as he fussed over his new found hobby. Smiling, Hank pointed to the sitting man with his small scissors and said, “But you are an old fart.”
A grin spilt the slightly younger man’s face as he patted the slight belly he had acquired since taking that desk job in Washington. “There is a difference between knowing and admitting and I’ve still got some years left in me.”
Landry laughed as Jack lifted the towel back onto his face. “So, Jack…” He heard a grunt from his friend and continued, “What are you and my Lieutenant Colonel sneaking off to do every other day?”
“I wouldn’t exactly call exercising with Mitchell and Teal’c as ‘sneaking off’,” came the muffled response.
“I wasn’t talking about that Lieutenant Colonel.”
There was a pause and then Jack said, “Drop that thought General, I’m just helping her to learn the cello.”
Landry couldn’t help the look that crossed over his face and was grateful that Jack couldn’t see him. Jack was one of his best friends and for the man to think he had been blind to what had been brewing between Sam and Jack for years was insane.
‘Learning to play the cello my ass, Jack; more like flirting till un-Godly hours of the night.’
He was about to muse further on the subject of his friend and one of his subordinates becoming more than just co-workers, regardless of rank, when he heard someone shuffle into the room behind him.
“General?”
Landry turned to see Mitchell walk into the room; shoulders slumped under an invisible weight. He watched as the younger man surveyed the room. “Or should I say, Generals… We need to take our chances with the F-302’s.”
Seeing Jack raise his head to comment on Mitchell’s suggestion, Landry quickly tried to change the topic in order to diffuse the situation that he knew was about to arise. “What I need is a sunlamp.” He shook his head as he finally moved on to another plant. “This matter-converted oxygen just isn't the same.”
“Oh, why is the grand irony of this lost on everyone but me?!”
“It's not.” Both he and Jack traded glances as they had spoken in unison, even though Jack continued.
“Mitchell, you heard what Carter told us at the beginning. Even with the 302’s we wouldn’t be able to escape the blast wave once we passed the dilation field. It’s a suicide mission!”
“Sirs, at this point, we know it's the damn Asgard upgrade that allows the Ori to track us. So even if we manage to save the ship, we won't be able to use the technology because the Ori will come down on us like a bag of hammers!”
Moving over to another plant, Landry listened as Cameron’s voice rose in frustration and calmly responded, “For now.”
Jack, on the other hand, was not so calm with the younger man. “Normally, I would be with you on this and say take the damn ships and get the hell out of Dodge, but this isn’t a normal situation!” Landry had stopped tending to his plants at the sound of Jack’s voice and watched as the man pushed himself out of the chair and walked over to where Mitchell was standing.
Cameron brought his eyes up to meet with Jack’s. “Oh come on, sir, it's like a bad joke. We have stranded ourselves here trying to save something we can't use.”
“That’s true, but this way, we live.”
Cam’s eyes dropped to the deck plating as Jack walked back over to the chair he had been previously occupying. Watching the two men, Landry noticed that the tension in the room had finally dissipated somewhat and walked over to Mitchell.
“We’re not having this conversation again.”
Mitchell threw him an angry look before snapping himself to attention and then exiting the room.
Still facing the doorway, Landry heard Jack lean forward to rest his elbows on the desk. “Hank, lemme ask you something.” He turned to face his friend, who was looking at him inquisitively. “Was I ever that bad with authority?”
Hank blinked comically in disbelief for a moment before a teasing smile crossed Jack’s face. Laughing slightly, he answered, “You were worse and you know it!”
*****
FIFTEEN WEEKS AFTER THE ORI ATTACK
Jack tried not to notice the pounding in his head as he swung his head back to dry swallow the two Tylenol that he held. Fighting back the automatic gagging response, he quickly wet his hands from the running water from his faucet and brought it up to his mouth before using the rest to splash on to his burning skin.
He continued to wet his face with the cold water until his shirt had been thoroughly soaked and the hotness of his skin seemed to have cooled. Slowly, he raised his head and braced himself against the counter as he held the back of his hand to his mouth, taking measured breaths that seemed to be in time with the pounding in his head.
Hopefully, his headache would be gone before the meeting that was scheduled for all of them at 1100 hours. Rolling his head on his shoulders to stretch the muscles in his neck, he once again ran his hand over his face and then reached for a towel to dry off.
Glancing down at his hand, Jack saw a dark pink smear on the back of his hand. Blinking slowly, he turned his hand over and saw the same smear on his palm that was running down his arm in pink droplets. He raised his eyes to the mirror and was surprised to see that his nose was bleeding. The water on his skin had made it worse as it was already turning his light grey shirt to a rust color along the collar.
He grabbed the towel he had originally been reaching for and bunched it up under his nose while he cleaned himself off in the sink. After washing off all the blood, he carefully stripped his shirt off and then climbed into his bed. Once settled, he leaned his head back to help stem the flow of blood still issuing from his nose all the while hoping that he would fall asleep soon.
Damn spaceships and their recycled air.
Continue to Chapter 12
_______________________________________
- So what do you guys think? Completely bad? Any comments? Would love to hear!
And I promise you that Sam/Jack are in the next chapter and will be worth the wait!
Title: Tears, Kisses, and Blood
Author: Chozen Rogue
Rating: Teen; language, sexuality, eventual character death
Characters: Jack/Sam; Team; Landry; Thor
Summary: What if Jack was indeed on the Odyssey during the events of “Unending?”
Spoilers: Unending (Duh!)
Disclaimer: Stargate: SG-1 belongs to MGM, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Films. I just took the characters out for a spin.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
TWELVE WEEKS AFTER THE ORI ATTACK
Daniel was on his way back to his quarters when Vala suddenly bounded up to him. “Hey, Daniel.”
“Vala, what can I do for you today?”
She took his arm as they continued down the hall all the while ignoring the tension radiating from her companion. “I’m deliriously bored and can’t find Jack.”
Daniel smiled. He knew for a fact that his missing friend was in fact with Sam, and that he was currently helping her clear out one of the previously breached sections of the ship for scrap materials. “I think he’s with Sam.”
“Oh, I know he is but I still can’t find him, and even if I did, I really don’t think they would appreciate me barging in.”
He pulled away from Vala with a surprised expression on his face. “Wait, you actually care? Vala, you never care if you’re wanted in a room or not.”
She smiled and took his arm, pulling him in the direction of his quarters once again. “Well, that’s because you always want me in the room.” Daniel rolled his eyes as he waited for her to continue as he knew she would. “So what were you doing?”
She pointed to the clip board that held his notes from his session in the Projection Room. “I was going through the Asgard database, researching their history.”
“Anything interesting?”
“Um, yeah, actually I found a section on their cloning techniques. It basically outlined all of their previous models in chronological order. It’s truly fascinating.” He shot her a suspicious look. “Why are you so interested anyways? This stuff usually bores you.”
She shrugged into his side. “I don’t know. Everyone has someone or something to do, and I don’t.” She gave him a pointed look. “I told you I was bored.”
At her confession, he felt his suspicions slowly melt away. “Well, I about to go over my notes but if you want, you can spend time with me.”
One of her blinding smiles lit up her face as she said, “As long as I can play music and games on you computer, I’m good.”
He shook his head in amusement; she was just as bad as Jack.
*****
It was sometime later that Daniel threw his pen across his desk and growled in frustration as he pinched the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses. He turned to Vala, who had just shut off the music she had been playing and was in the process of closing his laptop. As she moved to sit on the edge of his bed, she asked, “What?”
Frowning at her question, he stood up and starting pacing. “I’m going over the notes I made on the Asgard’s cloning... All they wanted to do was live a little longer.”
“We're no different. Sequencing DNA, curing diseases,” he paused for a second, his facing scrunching in frustration, “and one fatal mistake and they doom their entire race.” He stopped pacing and took a deep breath, “I guess no matter what you do at the end of the day, life is too short.”
She was staring at him, her face reflecting something that he couldn’t quite place. “I agree.”
He nodded and then turned around. Daniel ran his hand over one of the leather bound journals lining his shelf before he leant against it and took off his glasses to rub his eyes with the back of his hand. Hearing the rustling of fabric behind him, he replaced his glasses as he turned to face Vala just in time to see her pull her shirt over her head, leaving her clad in a form fitting camisole that did nothing to hide her figure.
He swallowed roughly before he asked, “What are you doing?”
As she stepped towards him, she answered, “Something we should have done a long time ago.” When she reached him, her hands flew to his belt buckle and started to undo it.
His own hands landed on top of hers but didn’t make any move to stop her. “Don't do that.”
A small seductive smile crossed Vala’s face as she asked playfully, “Why not?” His hands moved from hers to her wrists where they forced them away from his belt. He glared at her for a moment before pushing her away from him in frustration.
He turned his back to her as she opened her mouth to speak. “We've been here three months, Daniel.” He tried to block her voice from his hearing as he started to redo his belt. “Three months.” He still wasn’t listening. “You do like girls?”
Dammit.
He turned back towards her; so much for not listening. “Yes.”
“Oh… Well, I don't see many other options around here, do you?” She smiled awkwardly and then waved her hand. “Unless you’re thinking about Sam, and in that case, I don’t think you have a chance.”
“Vala, just stop! I have never been nor will ever be interested in Sam, not to mention what Jack would do to me if I were!” Rubbing at his face, he faced the shelf again and folded his arms on top of it to rest his head.
“Unless…” He lifted his head to glance at her, her voice so low he wasn’t sure he heard her at first. “You really don't find me attractive.”
A sense of disbelief washed over him as he looked at her completely open expression of pain. Could she honestly believe that he didn’t find her attractive?
“Do you want an honest answer to that question?”
“No.”
He cocked his head in confusion as he heard her voice break in that one word answer and watched as she grabbed her shirt. She turned away from him as she fumbled with the opening of the shirt. “No seriously, you started this.” He stepped closer to her. “Do you want an honest answer to the question?”
“No, don't worry about it.”
She was still fumbling with her shirt and though he knew he should stop, he could feel the anger and frustration of the situation rise within him. “Do you believe I could have any kind of serious feelings for you?”
She stopped suddenly and whirled to face him with an almost fearful expression on her face. “I wasn't suggesting that you have serious feelings, Daniel - “
He didn’t let her finish as he finally let loose what he had been dying to say to her since she had first shown up at the SGC two years ago. “Oh! Oh! Oh what? So what? We sleep together once. Then what?”
He paused for a second before gesturing violently between them causing her eyes to widen in what looked like fear. “We work together! And you know, even saying that part out loud sounds unbelievable. I mean,” he let out a snort of deranged laughter, “come on, I mean I can't imagine what a relationship with you would be like!”
Vala had turned away from him once more and had moved to sit on the bed. “I mean, yes. Yes, you've proven yourself to be trustworthy on a professional level and for that I am very proud of you,” even though she couldn’t see the gesture, he clasped his hands together to drive the point home, “but on a personal level…” He stared at her back for a second before tearing his hands apart in frustration. “Vala, come on, give me a break!”
“I mean at best you're an emotional, unstable wreck.” Daniel moved away from her as the next bit of information dawned on him. “But hey, I'm not saying I'm much better.”
He frowned. “I'm not saying I'm much better. There was a time when I thought I would,” he stumbled over his words, the pain of Sha’re’s death resurfacing, “I would never get over my wife.” He paused, his eyes closing under the pressure of the anger and pain coursing through him. “I mean the idea of being hurt that way again…”
“But I have finally gotten to the place.” He turned away from Vala and gestured towards the heavens, desperation creeping into his voice as he continued. “I finally, for the first time, in a long time, have gotten to the place where I actually feel that I could get close to somebody again.”
He turned back to her and gestured violently towards Vala, whose back was still facing him. “But not in a million years, a million-million years, would I ever possibly consider that person being you.”
“I mean, we are so completely opposite and wrong for each other, it’s not even funny.” His mind was suddenly filled with images of Sam and Jack, though he subdued them as soon as they popped up. He would not get distracted, not when he about to get to the heart of the situation.
“And the worst part! The worst part about it is, is that you know that! And this whole flirty,” he mimed puffing up his chest and playing with imaginary breasts as he continued, “sexual thing that you do, that's just your way of having a laugh at my expense.”
“So, I'm so sorry if I'm not more appreciative of that and I'm so sorry that you're bored!” He pointed savagely at her. “But don't you pretend that it’s anything else.”
And as quickly as the anger had risen in him it deflated quite suddenly when he heard Vala take in a shuddering breath. Daniel watched as her hand came up and wiped at a tear he couldn’t see.
“Don't act like you're hurt…”
Pretending like she didn’t hear him, Vala finally brought her top over her head. As she pulled it down and into place over her torso, Daniel felt the heavy weight of guilt settle over him. What the hell had that explosion been about? Sure she drove him crazy and was about as different in personality from Sha’re as you could get but she didn’t deserve any of what he had said.
He crossed over to the bed and sat down to face her, only to have Vala turn her back to him. Reaching out to put a hand on her back, he said, “Hey- ” He was cut off as she pulled away from him and he was surprised at how much the action hurt him.
“Just give me a minute,” she whispered as her hands came up to cover her face.
“Look at me.” She shook her head as he gently pulled her hair away from where it shielded her face hoping to persuade her to look at him; shakily, she wiped her eyes before finally turning towards him.
As their eyes met, Daniel felt as though he couldn’t breathe, the pain on her face was so palpable he could feel it. Looking away, she closed her eyes, causing Daniel to bring his hand up to urge her to meet his eyes again. They stared at each other for a moment, his thumb caressing the soft, wet skin of her cheek and then leaned in to touch his lips to hers.
He was kissing Vala… Of his own volition and it felt incredible, and even more so when she brought her hand up to the side of his neck.
It ended all too soon as they pulled apart, both searching one another’s eyes to gauge their reactions.
He felt a smile spread across his face as he saw the wonder, and even love, shining in her eyes.
“You better not be messing with me,” he whispered before once more leaning into her, though his attempt was stopped by her hand sharply connecting with his cheek.
He stared at her in shock as she said, “That’s for how you just treated me and I swear, Daniel, if you don’t mean this...”
He cut her off with a single finger against her mouth. “I was an ass just now and I don’t expect you to forgive me but let’s just say, a moment of clarity happened.”
She snorted as she wiped her eyes once more and lightly hit him on the shoulder. “That was some moment of clarity.”
Daniel smiled as he leant into her again. “Sure was…” His voice trailed off as their lips met once more.
*****
Cameron was in the middle of his morning jog, accompanied by General O’Neill, when the doors to Daniel’s quarters opened as he neared them. Readying himself to call out a morning greeting, he was completely caught off guard as he ran past the sight of a half-dressed Vala pulling on her shirt as she exited the room.
As the image caught up with his brain, Cam came to a dead stop before turning just in time to see Vala wave a very lazy goodbye to the unseen, but known, occupant of the quarters. And behind her, a few feet down the corridor, stood a very slack-jawed O’Neill.
Vala turned to Cam and smiled a very sated smile before turning to head down the hallway towards Jack. When she passed him, she reached up to plant a light kiss upon his cheek before once again starting down the corridor.
At her kiss, Jack’s expression changed from shock to a grin that could rival any mischievous little boy’s giving Cam less than a second to register what was going through the General’s mind as Jack made a dash for the closing doors to Daniel’s quarters. The younger man lunged for him right before Jack stuck his hand out to stop the door from closing and pulled him towards his own body.
“Don’t even think about it,” he breathed into the older man’s ear.
Jack looked at him with an expression of a boy who had just had just been told to wait to open his Christmas presents: absolutely heart-broken. “You’re crazy; I have to talk to him!”
Shaking his head in amusement, Cam turned Jack around and slung his arm around the man’s shoulders to guide him away form Daniel’s room. “C’mon General, lets give him a while to rest up before you go in there.”
“Spoil sport.”
*****
Jack was sitting at the desk in Landry’s quarters with a wet towel thrown across his face and ice pack settled over his knees. Shaking his head at the scene before him, Landry smiled. “Why do you do this to yourself?”
A grunt issued from the man in front of him and he saw the towel move as Jack began to talk. “Well Hank, I don’t think I quite ready to admit that I’m an old fart.” Landry snorted as he pruned the small plant that was placed on the desk between Jack and him. “Unlike you though.”
He looked up to find Jack watching him with an arched eyebrow, the forgotten towel having slid to the man’s chest, as he fussed over his new found hobby. Smiling, Hank pointed to the sitting man with his small scissors and said, “But you are an old fart.”
A grin spilt the slightly younger man’s face as he patted the slight belly he had acquired since taking that desk job in Washington. “There is a difference between knowing and admitting and I’ve still got some years left in me.”
Landry laughed as Jack lifted the towel back onto his face. “So, Jack…” He heard a grunt from his friend and continued, “What are you and my Lieutenant Colonel sneaking off to do every other day?”
“I wouldn’t exactly call exercising with Mitchell and Teal’c as ‘sneaking off’,” came the muffled response.
“I wasn’t talking about that Lieutenant Colonel.”
There was a pause and then Jack said, “Drop that thought General, I’m just helping her to learn the cello.”
Landry couldn’t help the look that crossed over his face and was grateful that Jack couldn’t see him. Jack was one of his best friends and for the man to think he had been blind to what had been brewing between Sam and Jack for years was insane.
‘Learning to play the cello my ass, Jack; more like flirting till un-Godly hours of the night.’
He was about to muse further on the subject of his friend and one of his subordinates becoming more than just co-workers, regardless of rank, when he heard someone shuffle into the room behind him.
“General?”
Landry turned to see Mitchell walk into the room; shoulders slumped under an invisible weight. He watched as the younger man surveyed the room. “Or should I say, Generals… We need to take our chances with the F-302’s.”
Seeing Jack raise his head to comment on Mitchell’s suggestion, Landry quickly tried to change the topic in order to diffuse the situation that he knew was about to arise. “What I need is a sunlamp.” He shook his head as he finally moved on to another plant. “This matter-converted oxygen just isn't the same.”
“Oh, why is the grand irony of this lost on everyone but me?!”
“It's not.” Both he and Jack traded glances as they had spoken in unison, even though Jack continued.
“Mitchell, you heard what Carter told us at the beginning. Even with the 302’s we wouldn’t be able to escape the blast wave once we passed the dilation field. It’s a suicide mission!”
“Sirs, at this point, we know it's the damn Asgard upgrade that allows the Ori to track us. So even if we manage to save the ship, we won't be able to use the technology because the Ori will come down on us like a bag of hammers!”
Moving over to another plant, Landry listened as Cameron’s voice rose in frustration and calmly responded, “For now.”
Jack, on the other hand, was not so calm with the younger man. “Normally, I would be with you on this and say take the damn ships and get the hell out of Dodge, but this isn’t a normal situation!” Landry had stopped tending to his plants at the sound of Jack’s voice and watched as the man pushed himself out of the chair and walked over to where Mitchell was standing.
Cameron brought his eyes up to meet with Jack’s. “Oh come on, sir, it's like a bad joke. We have stranded ourselves here trying to save something we can't use.”
“That’s true, but this way, we live.”
Cam’s eyes dropped to the deck plating as Jack walked back over to the chair he had been previously occupying. Watching the two men, Landry noticed that the tension in the room had finally dissipated somewhat and walked over to Mitchell.
“We’re not having this conversation again.”
Mitchell threw him an angry look before snapping himself to attention and then exiting the room.
Still facing the doorway, Landry heard Jack lean forward to rest his elbows on the desk. “Hank, lemme ask you something.” He turned to face his friend, who was looking at him inquisitively. “Was I ever that bad with authority?”
Hank blinked comically in disbelief for a moment before a teasing smile crossed Jack’s face. Laughing slightly, he answered, “You were worse and you know it!”
*****
FIFTEEN WEEKS AFTER THE ORI ATTACK
Jack tried not to notice the pounding in his head as he swung his head back to dry swallow the two Tylenol that he held. Fighting back the automatic gagging response, he quickly wet his hands from the running water from his faucet and brought it up to his mouth before using the rest to splash on to his burning skin.
He continued to wet his face with the cold water until his shirt had been thoroughly soaked and the hotness of his skin seemed to have cooled. Slowly, he raised his head and braced himself against the counter as he held the back of his hand to his mouth, taking measured breaths that seemed to be in time with the pounding in his head.
Hopefully, his headache would be gone before the meeting that was scheduled for all of them at 1100 hours. Rolling his head on his shoulders to stretch the muscles in his neck, he once again ran his hand over his face and then reached for a towel to dry off.
Glancing down at his hand, Jack saw a dark pink smear on the back of his hand. Blinking slowly, he turned his hand over and saw the same smear on his palm that was running down his arm in pink droplets. He raised his eyes to the mirror and was surprised to see that his nose was bleeding. The water on his skin had made it worse as it was already turning his light grey shirt to a rust color along the collar.
He grabbed the towel he had originally been reaching for and bunched it up under his nose while he cleaned himself off in the sink. After washing off all the blood, he carefully stripped his shirt off and then climbed into his bed. Once settled, he leaned his head back to help stem the flow of blood still issuing from his nose all the while hoping that he would fall asleep soon.
Damn spaceships and their recycled air.
Continue to Chapter 12
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- So what do you guys think? Completely bad? Any comments? Would love to hear!
And I promise you that Sam/Jack are in the next chapter and will be worth the wait!