fic: Only Fools (9/9)
TITLE: ONLY FOOLS
FANDOM: SG-1
PAIRING: Daniel/Vala. Minor other pairings, including a slash one.
GENRE: Romance/Humour/Action-Adventure/Angst/AU. It's a plethora of genres, lets see how I make them work together.
RATING: R
WARNINGS/SPOILERS: None, AU of crack is cracky. I have no shame in this.
SUMMARY: In the waters of the Caribbean lie treasures unfound, leave it to Vala and Daniel to look for the one that causes them the most trouble. (originally written for the dv_exchange)
( part i: original comm link)
part i | part ii | part iii | part iv | part v | part vi | part vii | part viii
Finally back in town, Daniel reached the closest pay phone and dialed the only number that came to mind.
-
On the Homer, Jack groaned as his cell phone rang. Ready to read the riot act at whatever moron was on the other side of the call, he flipped his cell open, “This better be fucking important.”
“Jack, Baal has Vala. They’re at Cliffton Point. It’s the blowole, Jack.”
And like that, Jack was out of bed, calling Sam up and ordering her to get a hold of Mitchell.
-
Baal landed his seaplane offshore and watched as Kanan and Jarran suited up to search the mouth of the blowhole. Holding a giant emerald in his hand, his smile grew colder and wider.
-
Fifty yards way, Vala was really starting to reconsider her love for the ocean, as she made the trip between the cavern and the blowhole for the third time.
This was not how this adventure was supposed to go.
-
Back on the Gateship, Cameron was being followed Rodney, Carson and Carolyn. Five minutes ago Cam got a call from Sam, and four minutes ago he left Carolyn’s room ready to leave and save his friends. Three minutes ago he called Tealc and told him meet them half way. And now he was on his way to meet with John and Landry on the lower deck. Rodney was griping about the rescue, while Carson was fretting over Vala. Carolyn silent by his side.
Next to the small motor boat that Landry was letting them borrow, Jack was already ordering everyone around.
Making his way down, he nodded to Jack, who wordlessly handed him a shotgun.
“Ready, Mitchell.”
“Five minutes ago, sir.”
As he stepped onto the boat, he heard Carolyn behind him, “I’m going too.”
Cameron and Landry turned to her in worried shock, but she just brushed past them, a look of determination in her eyes. “They might need a doctor.”
It looked like Jack was about to argue with Carolyn, but one look from her had him closing his mouth and that’s how Cameron knew that Carolyn was going with them.
Next to him, Landry looked worried, but didn’t argue as they stepped onto the boat.
-
Daniel raced down to Cliffton Point calling out Vala’s name. He swore that if Baal did anything to her, he wouldn’t care about the consequences, Baal was going to regret it.
-
As Vala dived back down for the seventh time and held on as the water pushed around her, she noticed something different when this wave was over. On the other side off the cavern, two figures where making their way closer to her. It was Kanan and Jarran.
Carefully, she immediately began to move back to the blow hole, and hope they wouldn’t notice her. Or that the next wave would crush their bones- she wasn’t picky.
Gulping the air, like she had the last seven times, Vala knew that she couldn’t dive back under again, without them seeing her. Pressing her palms to her closed eyes, she forced herself to think of a plan, any plan that would get her out of here. And then she heard it.
“VALA!”
Thinking that she finally snapped under all the pressure, Vala shook her head, telling herself she had to be imagining the voice when she heard it again. This time closer.
“Vala!”
“DANIEL?”
As his name left her lips, she knew she wasn’t imagining anyhitng. Daniel was still alive! Laughing, she called out to him again, “I’m down here!"
When his face appeared at the top of the blow hole, Vala suddenly felt a weight lift off her shoulders. They might just get out of this all right, after all.
-
From his seaplane, Baal noticed the figure running across the Point.
Vala’s husband.
Well, this would not do, he thought, and pulled out his gun. He hated using firearms, so archaic, but sometimes there was no other choice.
Aiming at the running man, he fired.
-
Daniel felt as a rock exploded next to him and ducked down as he ran to the blowhole. Two more shots whizzed past his head.
“Vala!”
“DANIEL?” he heard muffled by the rocks. “I’m down here!”
Making his way to the opening of the blowhole he looked down to see Vala, looking like a drowned dog and yelling up at him.
“Vala?” He watched as she seemed to be struggling with something he couldn’t see and got ready to jump down after her.
“Daniel, they found me!”
And then she disappeared under water.
-
Just as Daniel’s face came into view above her, she felt someone tug at her rope. Pulling against the force that was trying to propel her back underwater, she clawed her way back to the surface and yelled, “Daniel, they found me!”
Being pulled under water was not what Vala called fun, she could attest to it now. Gripping the rope, she pulled against the hold that she now could see Kanan was fighting her for. As he tugged her forward, she set her mouth and clawed at his face. Feeling her fingers brush against his air nozzle, she reached again as he pushed at her, and this time pulled the nozzle away from his face.
The air bubbles from the nozzle filled the water between them and due to his sudden lack of air, Kanan flailed under the water. Vala took no chances and pushed him against the rock wall behind him. He bounced off the wall and then swam back toward her, this time pulling out the knife he had attached at his waist. Behind her mask, Vala narrowed her eyes as he approached her, her fingers curling around the flashlight she still had.
As he lifted his arm to strike at her she did the same.
And then he was pulled away and Vala could see Daniel’s body behind Kanan. While both men struggled to get the upper hand, she took the opportunity to grab at Kanan’s knife and stick it in his thigh.
In Daniel’s arms the man screamed a gurgle of water, and she watched as Daniel pushed him away, pulling off the air tank from Kanan’s body. Like he was reading her mind, or maybe because he needed the air as much as she did, Daniel brought the air nozzle to her lips and Vala sucked in a deep breath; her lungs filling with much needed oxygen. After a few second she handed it back to Daniel when she saw that the next wave of water was coming.
Pulling Daniel towards her and the cannon, Vala gripped at a metal barrel, as Daniel’s arms tightened around her waist. The water surged forward and she could feel Daniel’s arm holding on for dear life. Behind them she was vaguely conscious that Kanan, still struggling with the knife at his thigh, got caught up in the wave.
Vala couldn’t bring herself to care.
-
At the seaplane, Baal watched as Jarran surfaced, holding a chest.
Taking the chest away from the man, he frowned, “Where’s Kanan?”
Baal got his answer as the blowhole released its water, and this time, there was a very obvious red tint to it.
-
Back in the cavern, Daniel spun in the water to face Vala. Her dark hair was loose and floating around her face, but he could see the relief in her eyes. He understood that well; part of him had been afraid that when he arrived to the Point, Vala would be dead. Pulling her to him, he pressed his lips to her hair, as he turned to the mouth of the cavern.
He didn’t make it far, as Vala pulled him back. She was now wearing the vest and air tank that he wrestled away from Kanan, and he wondered what was wrong. They had enough air, didn’t they?
He tried to communicate this with his eyes, when Vala turned him toward the back of the cavern.
He had been so preoccupied before. With Vala, Kanan, fighting for their life, that he hadn’t taken where they were. Hadn’t really cared, but as Vala pulled off her mask and handed it to him, Daniel felt a rush go up his spine. With the mask settled over his eyes, he looked at the area that Vala was pointing at and felt his eyes grow wide, grateful that he had worn his contacts last night when he and Vala had left the yacht to go to the church.
In front of him there had to be at least twenty wooden chests roped to about three canons, and Daniel would bet what little money he had left that all of those canons would say Odisea.
Looking over to Vala, he watched her nod and smiling they began swimming out.
The feeling of elation lasted about a second as the watched Jarran heading towards them, and holy shit, was that a spear gun?
-
Jack felt like pushing the rookie captain of the suit’s yacht off the controls. If they were letting him drive, they’d all ready be a Cliffton Point, and have Daniel and Vala secure.
Stupid fucking kids, with their stupid fucking theories. Didn’t they know they could get killed? Pulling his hat off and running a hand through his hair, he cursed both of the, because he was sure that tonight after he got back home and looked in the mirror, all the fucking brown he still had would be gone.
It was then that Cameron called out, “There’s Baal’s plane!”
Jack looked over to where the man was pointing and there in the water was the yellow eyesore. Settling his lucky hat over his head, he gripped the Winchester he had in his lap.
Without a second thought, he stood and fired a round at the plane. Baal stumbled, gripping onto his door, and Jack fired again. He could hear Cameron tell Carolyn to duck and cover.
This time Baal fired back, and Cameron stood, shooting his own round at the man. As Jack lined up his next shot, he noticed something moving in the water. Focusing, he made out the shape of a man. Had to be one of Baal's moronic henchmen.
“Mitchell!” he yelled over the sound of the speed boat and gun fire.
“Yeah?”
“In the water, now!” He pointed to the figure in the water knew that Cameron understood what he meant. The boy had been a SEAL like him after all. Jack watched as Cameron handed his gun to Landry, and dived into the water after who it was down there threatening their friends.
Jack turned back to the plane and fired another shot. A second later a shot was fired from his right and he looked over to see the suit, Lanrdry, holding the rifle to his shoulder.
Not bad for a suit.
-
Under the water, Cam kept his eyes on the figure swimming in front of him. As he swam forward, the figure, Jarran he recognised by the hair, must have felt the change in the water around him or something because he turned to Cameron and freaked out. Cam pushed forward when he saw Jarran pull the trigger of the spear gun.
SONOABITCH.
There was no way to avoid it, he knew that, so he didn’t and a second later, pain shot up his leg as the spear was now going through his leg. This was not how he planned to spend his morning. Forty minutes ago, he had woken up next to a naked Carolyn Lam-Landry, and his plan for the morning had involved a repeat of what had gotten them into bed the night before.
Not this shit.
Noticing the line still attached to the spear, that connected back to the gun, Cameron gritted his teeth against the pain he felt in his leg and wrapped his hand around the line, pulling with all his strength. He watched as Jarran’s eyes grew wide at the unforeseen development and trying to get away.
Not today, Sonny-Jim, Cameron thought as he pulled Jarran towards him and ripped the spear gun away.
Jarran tried to turn back and get away, when on his other side, he was face with the very angry face of Vala. Cameron watched as his best friend planted a right hook against Jarran’s face and mask. The man was pushed back against Cam, who elbowed him in the throat. As Jarran lost his air nozzle, he gasped for air and moved away from them.
Cam then felt someone tap his shoulder and turned to see Daniel, who was holding a tank and air nozzle to him. Gratefully, Cam took the offered air and the three of them began to surface.
-
Baal ducked against the door of his plane as Jack O’Neill shot at him again. He cursed the day he hired the man. Grasping the sides of the treasure chest that Jarran had brought up; he decided it was time to get out of this place, there were more bullets and guns aimed at him than he would have preferred.
Moving to get back into the plane, he slipped on the large skis attached to it as three bodies surfaced by them. Immediately recognising Vala’s dark head of hair, he gripped at it and pulled up. Her yell did nothing to bother him.
He had just witness what her friends would do to get her back--she would be the perfect collateral.
-
Vala struggled against the grip on her hair and tried to kick herself away as Baal pulled her up. Cameron tried to keep her in the water, as did Daniel, but with one of them injured and the other bogged down by the water tank, they fumbled to keep a solid grip on her.
As Baal pulled her up and out of the water, she made a last attempt to reach at Daniel with no avail. The last thing she saw before Baal successfully pulled her into the plane was Daniel’s eyes.
-
Daniel watched as Vala was pulled from him and onto the plane. A second later Baal started the plane and he could feel it move away from him.
In that instance he decided he was not letting Vala go today. Again.
Throwing the tank to Mitchell he lifted himself up onto the skis attached to the plane, and gripped the back pole that connected to the wing. He heard Mitchell yell after him, but he didn’t pay him any attention because the plane had just left the water and fuck, he had no idea what to do next.
The only thing to do was make it to the door.
He didn’t notice the bullet holes on the side of the plane, or the liquid that was leaking from them.
-
Inside the plane, Vala struggled in her seat against Baal, who kept trying to push her back. Eyeing the floor, she noticed one of the large emeralds from the Dowry, and lunged for it. Baal tried to beat her hand away from it, but the hold she had it in was so tight that the built up sand and coral around the gem bit into her skin.
Vala then proceeded to use the heavy stone as weapon as she connected it with Baal’s head. The man yelled out in pain as she managed to hit him across the mouth, and then used the momentary distraction to elbow him in the nose. His bounced against the seat and she struck him once again. This time Baal slumped against the door, unconscious and Vala suddenly noticed that nobody was flying the plane, when the door opened.
Out of all the people Vala expected to see at that door, in mid flight no less, Daniel was most definitely the second to last one. The last one being her father, the jerk.
Daniel took one look at the situation in the plane and then pulled Baal’s unconscious body from his seat, letting the man fall down to the ocean. Well, she wasn’t about to argue about that!
Still, that posed an important question.
“Daniel, what are you doing here?!” Vala screamed as she grabbed hold of the plane's controls.
“Trying to rescue you, again!” He answered back, as he settled in the now vacated seat.
Vala laughed, as the controls vibrated in her hands. “Brilliant work, darling, and just how in the world were you planning to do that?”
“I don’t know.” Daniel frowned, looking over the dashboard at the ocean below them as the plane shook. “Uh, Vala, baby? When you learn to fly a plane, darling?" Daniel turned to her, his eyes reflecting her shock and disbelief as he watched her hold the plane as steady as possible.
She didn't know whether to be in shock or to laugh at the use of baby outside the bedroom. She chose laughter, "I don't know how! Cameron bought Flight Simulator last month and made me play!"
“Remind me to tell Cam I love him,” Daniel laughed and leaned over kissing her temple as she tried to direct the plane back to the water.
"Now you can't say the Playstation was a bad investment!" She looked out the window at the blue water under them and turned back to her husband (the ex having been dropped off sometime around the second kiss in the library, maybe before).
Then Daniel decided to ruin the moment by asking, "Did he teach you to land?"
"Um..."
"Vala!" He screamed, this time decidedly not amused.
Vala closed her eyes and tried to remember what she learned in the game, but considering every time she tried to land in the game those mean red letters would spell out “GAME OVER”. But she had a feeling that Daniel wouldn’t want to hear that that. So, she went with plan D. (A-C were useless since they involved having a licensed pilot at the controls.)
“All right Daniel, what we have do now is stall out before we hit the water,” she tried to explain her her most soothing voice. One look at him, she could tell he wasn’t buying it.
“What do you mean, stall out?”
“We have to stop before we hit the water, and then, ideally glide to a stop.”
“Ideally?”
“Well, I’ve never done it before, Daniel.”
Daniel shook his head and then reached over to cup her cheek and kissed her, “Vala, if we die, I just want you to know that I wished I hadn’t divorced you and that this is all your fault.”
Vala laughed, kissing him back, “If we live, I don’t care if we get married again. Living in sin is much more fun.”
Daniel smiled, curling his hand around hers on the controls, “Deal.”
It was then Vala knew, that whether they made it or not, they’d be okay, and so she started to direct the plane back to the water. As they made her descent she could feel the controls shudder in her hands more violently, her feet slowly working the pedals. She could see the water getting closer and the controls and plane shaking more and more. Daniel’s hands tightened over hers and she turned to face him.
“Daniel…”
“I know, Vala.”
And then they skimmed the water, once, twice, three times before the shaking of the controls got to be too much for either of them, and they lost control.
-
Back on the boat, Jack watched as the seaplane that held Daniel and Vala lost control as they hit the water. Next to him, Carolyn buried her face into Cameron’s shoulder, as everyone else around him yelled out. Jack didn’t make a sound, hell, he didn’t even move a muscle, because he couldn’t believe they had all gone through that to watch Daniel and Vala plummet to their deaths in the ugliest yellow thing he had ever seen.
The plane had broken off into pieces as it hit the water and Jack knew that the odds of them surviving were slim, but if it was one thing that Daniel and Vala always did, it was defying the odds.
Steeling himself, he was about to order this captain Sheppard to the plane when a white speed boat with the name “Millennium Falcon” sped past them.
Tealc had made it.
-
Under the water Daniel could see the bits and pieces of the plane on the surface. When the hit the water, the plane had literally broken apart around them, and they both had been thrown from their seats into the water. Not for the first time in his life, hell, not for the first time in twenty-four hours Daniel thanked whatever deity he owed for this as he swam up to the surface.
Air never tasted so good, and immediately he looked around for the only thing he cared about seeing at the moment.
“VALA! Vala!”
From behind him he heard a laugh he knew better than his own, “I’m right here, darling. No need to yell.” Turning in the water, Daniel had to smile as his eyes feel on his wife (the ex didn’t even matter anymore) as she was perched over the edge of Tealc’s speed boat and moving closer to him.
“Need some assistance, Daniel Jackson?” Tealc intoned, already extending his hand out to Daniel.
Daniel gripped the outstretched hand and felt himself being pulled out the water. The second that his feet touched the floor of the boat, Vala was at his side, her fingers brushing by the cut on his forehead he just realised he had.
“Guess what darling?” she smiled, her cheek warm against his.
“What?”
“We are so getting published.”
Daniel laughed, turning to press a kiss against the side of her mouth. “I know.”
Epilogue
Ten Months Later
Jack frowned at his watch. He was going to kill those two. Beside him, Sam was cheerfully sipping champagne, laughing along with John Sheppard and Landry's annoying chef--Rod or something--at their stories of the excavations as if she hadn't been there herself, Cameron was flirting with Carolyn Landry as the norm now, and Tealc was sharing recipes with Landry's other chef. Teyla, the only sane one of the bunch, was by the bar chatting with Radek about law permits. All in all it meant the Daniel and Vala left him floating in hide tide with a bunch of geeks and flirts, the traitors.
"Hey, Jack, where are the guests of honour?" Elizabeth asked as she came up to him, sending a friendly smile over to Sam and Sheppard. The latter sending a roguish smile Elizabeth’s way, which made Jack internally gag.
"If you're talking about Vala and Daniel--"
"I am."
"--I don't have a clue. Those two fruitcakes are probably finding themselves another set of problems as I speak."
Elizabeth laughed, "Yes, they would be."
-
"VALA!" Daniel yelled as he checked his watched, stumbling out of their small bed, looking around for his glasses. He found them on the dresser, probably where Vala had put them because he was sure he had fallen asleep with them on last night.
"I'm topside, darling!"
Rolling his eyes, made his way through the narrow passage of their new boat, grabbing a cup of coffee from the kitchen counter as he climbed the steps that would lead him outside. On deck, by the main sail, Vala stood clad in her shorts and one of his shirts, her hair blowing in the wind and a happy look in her eyes.
"You know we're supposed to be at the opening of the Odisea's exhibit at the Museum in about twenty minutes," he grinned, wrapping on arm loosely around Vala's waist as she steered the Hunter sailboat that they had bought a few months ago. The reveal of the Odisea had garnered them some fame, especially in the Keys and archaeological circles (Nick called from Peru to congratulate them and invite them down--they had accepted, but only after the exhibition at the museum was done--it was not as if Walter or Radek would let them leave earlier), and paired up with Landry funding their excavation, well, money didn't seem to be a problem for them anymore. Even though, just to be on the safe side they decided to let Elizabeth and Teyla manage their accounts.
They now split their time between living on the boat, Shell Game, and the apartment they still had above Tealc's. The apartment where they should have headed back to last night, if it hadn't been for some distractions after dinner, so they could be getting ready for the opening of the Orlin Dessala and the Odisea exhibit they managed to get together for the Martime Museum in conjunction with the Martime Museum in Barcelona where half the exhibition would be moving to after six months in the Keys, as the Spanish did still indeed partially and historically own their findings. As it was Daniel and Vala were still a good fifty miles of the coast of Key West, laying the ground work for their new pet project. (El Destino; a Portuguese ship lost in the 1600's, holding what was to be rumoured a vast cargo of prized text and gold.)
Vala just looked over her shoulder and kissed his check, "Yes, but I was looking at the radar and noticed a very interesting looking shadow I thought we should check out."
She pointed to the screen and Daniel felt his eyebrows raise in curiosity. They had been scouting this area for a good two weeks now and this was the first lead they had. Looking back at Vala, he could tell that she was already on board.
"We can be late," he grinned.
"And really, with Cameron, Jack, Sam, and Landry there, we'd just be standing around looking bored and trying to sneak off." Spinning the wheel, Vala began moving them closer to the shadow and Daniel cupped her chin, turning her to face him for a kiss, before going to lower the sails again.
FIN.
FANDOM: SG-1
PAIRING: Daniel/Vala. Minor other pairings, including a slash one.
GENRE: Romance/Humour/Action-Adventure/Angst/AU. It's a plethora of genres, lets see how I make them work together.
RATING: R
WARNINGS/SPOILERS: None, AU of crack is cracky. I have no shame in this.
SUMMARY: In the waters of the Caribbean lie treasures unfound, leave it to Vala and Daniel to look for the one that causes them the most trouble. (originally written for the dv_exchange)
( part i: original comm link)
part i | part ii | part iii | part iv | part v | part vi | part vii | part viii
Finally back in town, Daniel reached the closest pay phone and dialed the only number that came to mind.
-
On the Homer, Jack groaned as his cell phone rang. Ready to read the riot act at whatever moron was on the other side of the call, he flipped his cell open, “This better be fucking important.”
“Jack, Baal has Vala. They’re at Cliffton Point. It’s the blowole, Jack.”
And like that, Jack was out of bed, calling Sam up and ordering her to get a hold of Mitchell.
-
Baal landed his seaplane offshore and watched as Kanan and Jarran suited up to search the mouth of the blowhole. Holding a giant emerald in his hand, his smile grew colder and wider.
-
Fifty yards way, Vala was really starting to reconsider her love for the ocean, as she made the trip between the cavern and the blowhole for the third time.
This was not how this adventure was supposed to go.
-
Back on the Gateship, Cameron was being followed Rodney, Carson and Carolyn. Five minutes ago Cam got a call from Sam, and four minutes ago he left Carolyn’s room ready to leave and save his friends. Three minutes ago he called Tealc and told him meet them half way. And now he was on his way to meet with John and Landry on the lower deck. Rodney was griping about the rescue, while Carson was fretting over Vala. Carolyn silent by his side.
Next to the small motor boat that Landry was letting them borrow, Jack was already ordering everyone around.
Making his way down, he nodded to Jack, who wordlessly handed him a shotgun.
“Ready, Mitchell.”
“Five minutes ago, sir.”
As he stepped onto the boat, he heard Carolyn behind him, “I’m going too.”
Cameron and Landry turned to her in worried shock, but she just brushed past them, a look of determination in her eyes. “They might need a doctor.”
It looked like Jack was about to argue with Carolyn, but one look from her had him closing his mouth and that’s how Cameron knew that Carolyn was going with them.
Next to him, Landry looked worried, but didn’t argue as they stepped onto the boat.
-
Daniel raced down to Cliffton Point calling out Vala’s name. He swore that if Baal did anything to her, he wouldn’t care about the consequences, Baal was going to regret it.
-
As Vala dived back down for the seventh time and held on as the water pushed around her, she noticed something different when this wave was over. On the other side off the cavern, two figures where making their way closer to her. It was Kanan and Jarran.
Carefully, she immediately began to move back to the blow hole, and hope they wouldn’t notice her. Or that the next wave would crush their bones- she wasn’t picky.
Gulping the air, like she had the last seven times, Vala knew that she couldn’t dive back under again, without them seeing her. Pressing her palms to her closed eyes, she forced herself to think of a plan, any plan that would get her out of here. And then she heard it.
“VALA!”
Thinking that she finally snapped under all the pressure, Vala shook her head, telling herself she had to be imagining the voice when she heard it again. This time closer.
“Vala!”
“DANIEL?”
As his name left her lips, she knew she wasn’t imagining anyhitng. Daniel was still alive! Laughing, she called out to him again, “I’m down here!"
When his face appeared at the top of the blow hole, Vala suddenly felt a weight lift off her shoulders. They might just get out of this all right, after all.
-
From his seaplane, Baal noticed the figure running across the Point.
Vala’s husband.
Well, this would not do, he thought, and pulled out his gun. He hated using firearms, so archaic, but sometimes there was no other choice.
Aiming at the running man, he fired.
-
Daniel felt as a rock exploded next to him and ducked down as he ran to the blowhole. Two more shots whizzed past his head.
“Vala!”
“DANIEL?” he heard muffled by the rocks. “I’m down here!”
Making his way to the opening of the blowhole he looked down to see Vala, looking like a drowned dog and yelling up at him.
“Vala?” He watched as she seemed to be struggling with something he couldn’t see and got ready to jump down after her.
“Daniel, they found me!”
And then she disappeared under water.
-
Just as Daniel’s face came into view above her, she felt someone tug at her rope. Pulling against the force that was trying to propel her back underwater, she clawed her way back to the surface and yelled, “Daniel, they found me!”
Being pulled under water was not what Vala called fun, she could attest to it now. Gripping the rope, she pulled against the hold that she now could see Kanan was fighting her for. As he tugged her forward, she set her mouth and clawed at his face. Feeling her fingers brush against his air nozzle, she reached again as he pushed at her, and this time pulled the nozzle away from his face.
The air bubbles from the nozzle filled the water between them and due to his sudden lack of air, Kanan flailed under the water. Vala took no chances and pushed him against the rock wall behind him. He bounced off the wall and then swam back toward her, this time pulling out the knife he had attached at his waist. Behind her mask, Vala narrowed her eyes as he approached her, her fingers curling around the flashlight she still had.
As he lifted his arm to strike at her she did the same.
And then he was pulled away and Vala could see Daniel’s body behind Kanan. While both men struggled to get the upper hand, she took the opportunity to grab at Kanan’s knife and stick it in his thigh.
In Daniel’s arms the man screamed a gurgle of water, and she watched as Daniel pushed him away, pulling off the air tank from Kanan’s body. Like he was reading her mind, or maybe because he needed the air as much as she did, Daniel brought the air nozzle to her lips and Vala sucked in a deep breath; her lungs filling with much needed oxygen. After a few second she handed it back to Daniel when she saw that the next wave of water was coming.
Pulling Daniel towards her and the cannon, Vala gripped at a metal barrel, as Daniel’s arms tightened around her waist. The water surged forward and she could feel Daniel’s arm holding on for dear life. Behind them she was vaguely conscious that Kanan, still struggling with the knife at his thigh, got caught up in the wave.
Vala couldn’t bring herself to care.
-
At the seaplane, Baal watched as Jarran surfaced, holding a chest.
Taking the chest away from the man, he frowned, “Where’s Kanan?”
Baal got his answer as the blowhole released its water, and this time, there was a very obvious red tint to it.
-
Back in the cavern, Daniel spun in the water to face Vala. Her dark hair was loose and floating around her face, but he could see the relief in her eyes. He understood that well; part of him had been afraid that when he arrived to the Point, Vala would be dead. Pulling her to him, he pressed his lips to her hair, as he turned to the mouth of the cavern.
He didn’t make it far, as Vala pulled him back. She was now wearing the vest and air tank that he wrestled away from Kanan, and he wondered what was wrong. They had enough air, didn’t they?
He tried to communicate this with his eyes, when Vala turned him toward the back of the cavern.
He had been so preoccupied before. With Vala, Kanan, fighting for their life, that he hadn’t taken where they were. Hadn’t really cared, but as Vala pulled off her mask and handed it to him, Daniel felt a rush go up his spine. With the mask settled over his eyes, he looked at the area that Vala was pointing at and felt his eyes grow wide, grateful that he had worn his contacts last night when he and Vala had left the yacht to go to the church.
In front of him there had to be at least twenty wooden chests roped to about three canons, and Daniel would bet what little money he had left that all of those canons would say Odisea.
Looking over to Vala, he watched her nod and smiling they began swimming out.
The feeling of elation lasted about a second as the watched Jarran heading towards them, and holy shit, was that a spear gun?
-
Jack felt like pushing the rookie captain of the suit’s yacht off the controls. If they were letting him drive, they’d all ready be a Cliffton Point, and have Daniel and Vala secure.
Stupid fucking kids, with their stupid fucking theories. Didn’t they know they could get killed? Pulling his hat off and running a hand through his hair, he cursed both of the, because he was sure that tonight after he got back home and looked in the mirror, all the fucking brown he still had would be gone.
It was then that Cameron called out, “There’s Baal’s plane!”
Jack looked over to where the man was pointing and there in the water was the yellow eyesore. Settling his lucky hat over his head, he gripped the Winchester he had in his lap.
Without a second thought, he stood and fired a round at the plane. Baal stumbled, gripping onto his door, and Jack fired again. He could hear Cameron tell Carolyn to duck and cover.
This time Baal fired back, and Cameron stood, shooting his own round at the man. As Jack lined up his next shot, he noticed something moving in the water. Focusing, he made out the shape of a man. Had to be one of Baal's moronic henchmen.
“Mitchell!” he yelled over the sound of the speed boat and gun fire.
“Yeah?”
“In the water, now!” He pointed to the figure in the water knew that Cameron understood what he meant. The boy had been a SEAL like him after all. Jack watched as Cameron handed his gun to Landry, and dived into the water after who it was down there threatening their friends.
Jack turned back to the plane and fired another shot. A second later a shot was fired from his right and he looked over to see the suit, Lanrdry, holding the rifle to his shoulder.
Not bad for a suit.
-
Under the water, Cam kept his eyes on the figure swimming in front of him. As he swam forward, the figure, Jarran he recognised by the hair, must have felt the change in the water around him or something because he turned to Cameron and freaked out. Cam pushed forward when he saw Jarran pull the trigger of the spear gun.
SONOABITCH.
There was no way to avoid it, he knew that, so he didn’t and a second later, pain shot up his leg as the spear was now going through his leg. This was not how he planned to spend his morning. Forty minutes ago, he had woken up next to a naked Carolyn Lam-Landry, and his plan for the morning had involved a repeat of what had gotten them into bed the night before.
Not this shit.
Noticing the line still attached to the spear, that connected back to the gun, Cameron gritted his teeth against the pain he felt in his leg and wrapped his hand around the line, pulling with all his strength. He watched as Jarran’s eyes grew wide at the unforeseen development and trying to get away.
Not today, Sonny-Jim, Cameron thought as he pulled Jarran towards him and ripped the spear gun away.
Jarran tried to turn back and get away, when on his other side, he was face with the very angry face of Vala. Cameron watched as his best friend planted a right hook against Jarran’s face and mask. The man was pushed back against Cam, who elbowed him in the throat. As Jarran lost his air nozzle, he gasped for air and moved away from them.
Cam then felt someone tap his shoulder and turned to see Daniel, who was holding a tank and air nozzle to him. Gratefully, Cam took the offered air and the three of them began to surface.
-
Baal ducked against the door of his plane as Jack O’Neill shot at him again. He cursed the day he hired the man. Grasping the sides of the treasure chest that Jarran had brought up; he decided it was time to get out of this place, there were more bullets and guns aimed at him than he would have preferred.
Moving to get back into the plane, he slipped on the large skis attached to it as three bodies surfaced by them. Immediately recognising Vala’s dark head of hair, he gripped at it and pulled up. Her yell did nothing to bother him.
He had just witness what her friends would do to get her back--she would be the perfect collateral.
-
Vala struggled against the grip on her hair and tried to kick herself away as Baal pulled her up. Cameron tried to keep her in the water, as did Daniel, but with one of them injured and the other bogged down by the water tank, they fumbled to keep a solid grip on her.
As Baal pulled her up and out of the water, she made a last attempt to reach at Daniel with no avail. The last thing she saw before Baal successfully pulled her into the plane was Daniel’s eyes.
-
Daniel watched as Vala was pulled from him and onto the plane. A second later Baal started the plane and he could feel it move away from him.
In that instance he decided he was not letting Vala go today. Again.
Throwing the tank to Mitchell he lifted himself up onto the skis attached to the plane, and gripped the back pole that connected to the wing. He heard Mitchell yell after him, but he didn’t pay him any attention because the plane had just left the water and fuck, he had no idea what to do next.
The only thing to do was make it to the door.
He didn’t notice the bullet holes on the side of the plane, or the liquid that was leaking from them.
-
Inside the plane, Vala struggled in her seat against Baal, who kept trying to push her back. Eyeing the floor, she noticed one of the large emeralds from the Dowry, and lunged for it. Baal tried to beat her hand away from it, but the hold she had it in was so tight that the built up sand and coral around the gem bit into her skin.
Vala then proceeded to use the heavy stone as weapon as she connected it with Baal’s head. The man yelled out in pain as she managed to hit him across the mouth, and then used the momentary distraction to elbow him in the nose. His bounced against the seat and she struck him once again. This time Baal slumped against the door, unconscious and Vala suddenly noticed that nobody was flying the plane, when the door opened.
Out of all the people Vala expected to see at that door, in mid flight no less, Daniel was most definitely the second to last one. The last one being her father, the jerk.
Daniel took one look at the situation in the plane and then pulled Baal’s unconscious body from his seat, letting the man fall down to the ocean. Well, she wasn’t about to argue about that!
Still, that posed an important question.
“Daniel, what are you doing here?!” Vala screamed as she grabbed hold of the plane's controls.
“Trying to rescue you, again!” He answered back, as he settled in the now vacated seat.
Vala laughed, as the controls vibrated in her hands. “Brilliant work, darling, and just how in the world were you planning to do that?”
“I don’t know.” Daniel frowned, looking over the dashboard at the ocean below them as the plane shook. “Uh, Vala, baby? When you learn to fly a plane, darling?" Daniel turned to her, his eyes reflecting her shock and disbelief as he watched her hold the plane as steady as possible.
She didn't know whether to be in shock or to laugh at the use of baby outside the bedroom. She chose laughter, "I don't know how! Cameron bought Flight Simulator last month and made me play!"
“Remind me to tell Cam I love him,” Daniel laughed and leaned over kissing her temple as she tried to direct the plane back to the water.
"Now you can't say the Playstation was a bad investment!" She looked out the window at the blue water under them and turned back to her husband (the ex having been dropped off sometime around the second kiss in the library, maybe before).
Then Daniel decided to ruin the moment by asking, "Did he teach you to land?"
"Um..."
"Vala!" He screamed, this time decidedly not amused.
Vala closed her eyes and tried to remember what she learned in the game, but considering every time she tried to land in the game those mean red letters would spell out “GAME OVER”. But she had a feeling that Daniel wouldn’t want to hear that that. So, she went with plan D. (A-C were useless since they involved having a licensed pilot at the controls.)
“All right Daniel, what we have do now is stall out before we hit the water,” she tried to explain her her most soothing voice. One look at him, she could tell he wasn’t buying it.
“What do you mean, stall out?”
“We have to stop before we hit the water, and then, ideally glide to a stop.”
“Ideally?”
“Well, I’ve never done it before, Daniel.”
Daniel shook his head and then reached over to cup her cheek and kissed her, “Vala, if we die, I just want you to know that I wished I hadn’t divorced you and that this is all your fault.”
Vala laughed, kissing him back, “If we live, I don’t care if we get married again. Living in sin is much more fun.”
Daniel smiled, curling his hand around hers on the controls, “Deal.”
It was then Vala knew, that whether they made it or not, they’d be okay, and so she started to direct the plane back to the water. As they made her descent she could feel the controls shudder in her hands more violently, her feet slowly working the pedals. She could see the water getting closer and the controls and plane shaking more and more. Daniel’s hands tightened over hers and she turned to face him.
“Daniel…”
“I know, Vala.”
And then they skimmed the water, once, twice, three times before the shaking of the controls got to be too much for either of them, and they lost control.
-
Back on the boat, Jack watched as the seaplane that held Daniel and Vala lost control as they hit the water. Next to him, Carolyn buried her face into Cameron’s shoulder, as everyone else around him yelled out. Jack didn’t make a sound, hell, he didn’t even move a muscle, because he couldn’t believe they had all gone through that to watch Daniel and Vala plummet to their deaths in the ugliest yellow thing he had ever seen.
The plane had broken off into pieces as it hit the water and Jack knew that the odds of them surviving were slim, but if it was one thing that Daniel and Vala always did, it was defying the odds.
Steeling himself, he was about to order this captain Sheppard to the plane when a white speed boat with the name “Millennium Falcon” sped past them.
Tealc had made it.
-
Under the water Daniel could see the bits and pieces of the plane on the surface. When the hit the water, the plane had literally broken apart around them, and they both had been thrown from their seats into the water. Not for the first time in his life, hell, not for the first time in twenty-four hours Daniel thanked whatever deity he owed for this as he swam up to the surface.
Air never tasted so good, and immediately he looked around for the only thing he cared about seeing at the moment.
“VALA! Vala!”
From behind him he heard a laugh he knew better than his own, “I’m right here, darling. No need to yell.” Turning in the water, Daniel had to smile as his eyes feel on his wife (the ex didn’t even matter anymore) as she was perched over the edge of Tealc’s speed boat and moving closer to him.
“Need some assistance, Daniel Jackson?” Tealc intoned, already extending his hand out to Daniel.
Daniel gripped the outstretched hand and felt himself being pulled out the water. The second that his feet touched the floor of the boat, Vala was at his side, her fingers brushing by the cut on his forehead he just realised he had.
“Guess what darling?” she smiled, her cheek warm against his.
“What?”
“We are so getting published.”
Daniel laughed, turning to press a kiss against the side of her mouth. “I know.”
Epilogue
Ten Months Later
Jack frowned at his watch. He was going to kill those two. Beside him, Sam was cheerfully sipping champagne, laughing along with John Sheppard and Landry's annoying chef--Rod or something--at their stories of the excavations as if she hadn't been there herself, Cameron was flirting with Carolyn Landry as the norm now, and Tealc was sharing recipes with Landry's other chef. Teyla, the only sane one of the bunch, was by the bar chatting with Radek about law permits. All in all it meant the Daniel and Vala left him floating in hide tide with a bunch of geeks and flirts, the traitors.
"Hey, Jack, where are the guests of honour?" Elizabeth asked as she came up to him, sending a friendly smile over to Sam and Sheppard. The latter sending a roguish smile Elizabeth’s way, which made Jack internally gag.
"If you're talking about Vala and Daniel--"
"I am."
"--I don't have a clue. Those two fruitcakes are probably finding themselves another set of problems as I speak."
Elizabeth laughed, "Yes, they would be."
-
"VALA!" Daniel yelled as he checked his watched, stumbling out of their small bed, looking around for his glasses. He found them on the dresser, probably where Vala had put them because he was sure he had fallen asleep with them on last night.
"I'm topside, darling!"
Rolling his eyes, made his way through the narrow passage of their new boat, grabbing a cup of coffee from the kitchen counter as he climbed the steps that would lead him outside. On deck, by the main sail, Vala stood clad in her shorts and one of his shirts, her hair blowing in the wind and a happy look in her eyes.
"You know we're supposed to be at the opening of the Odisea's exhibit at the Museum in about twenty minutes," he grinned, wrapping on arm loosely around Vala's waist as she steered the Hunter sailboat that they had bought a few months ago. The reveal of the Odisea had garnered them some fame, especially in the Keys and archaeological circles (Nick called from Peru to congratulate them and invite them down--they had accepted, but only after the exhibition at the museum was done--it was not as if Walter or Radek would let them leave earlier), and paired up with Landry funding their excavation, well, money didn't seem to be a problem for them anymore. Even though, just to be on the safe side they decided to let Elizabeth and Teyla manage their accounts.
They now split their time between living on the boat, Shell Game, and the apartment they still had above Tealc's. The apartment where they should have headed back to last night, if it hadn't been for some distractions after dinner, so they could be getting ready for the opening of the Orlin Dessala and the Odisea exhibit they managed to get together for the Martime Museum in conjunction with the Martime Museum in Barcelona where half the exhibition would be moving to after six months in the Keys, as the Spanish did still indeed partially and historically own their findings. As it was Daniel and Vala were still a good fifty miles of the coast of Key West, laying the ground work for their new pet project. (El Destino; a Portuguese ship lost in the 1600's, holding what was to be rumoured a vast cargo of prized text and gold.)
Vala just looked over her shoulder and kissed his check, "Yes, but I was looking at the radar and noticed a very interesting looking shadow I thought we should check out."
She pointed to the screen and Daniel felt his eyebrows raise in curiosity. They had been scouting this area for a good two weeks now and this was the first lead they had. Looking back at Vala, he could tell that she was already on board.
"We can be late," he grinned.
"And really, with Cameron, Jack, Sam, and Landry there, we'd just be standing around looking bored and trying to sneak off." Spinning the wheel, Vala began moving them closer to the shadow and Daniel cupped her chin, turning her to face him for a kiss, before going to lower the sails again.
FIN.