Atonement 3/14
Spoilers: none happens after the show.
Category: Het, Hurt/Comfort
Summary: A routine mission brings up memories that Vala would rather forget.
Disclaimer: Not mine and I'll put them back when the Muse runs out, maybe.
Warnings: none
Beta: Thanks to Spacegypsy1 for looking this one over.
Daniel, Vala, and a slightly disgruntled Cam, followed the children and the old woman through the woods to their camp. Daniel wasn't sure what shocked him more: that leader of the little motley band of lost children was Vala's niece, or the fact that Adria, Vala's step mother, was here as well.
From Vala's description of the woman and her habits, he was having a hard time meshing the two of them. The smiling grey haired woman was so very different from the cold hard woman in Vala's stories. Now Daniel had always taken those stories with a grain of salt, but he'd always thought there was some truth to the tales. Adria was thin to the point of starvation and frail looking, not the harsh task master Vala had portrayed.
He turned his head to watch Vala, he could tell that Adria's presence had shaken her as well as Jia's. Vala's eyes darted back and forth between the two as though she was afraid of something. In fact, if he didn't know better he would have said that Vala was close to loosing control.
As though he sensed her gaze she looked over at him and forced a smile. Without a word he stepped closer catching her hand. He squeezed it once lightly before letting go, stepping away.
~0o0o0~
Vala was warmed and calmed by Daniel's touch more that she wanted to admit. He had been the one to make her want to be a better person, to try and live a better life. She had done it all for him and now there was a chance that all her work would come to naught.
There was something about that man that made her want to spill all her secrets and hope when he knew about all the black marks on her soul, he would still care about her. Before now fear and shame had kept her quiet, but time was running out. Adria was the keeper of her darkest secrets and she wasn't sure that she trusted the woman not to spill them all before she had a chance to tell Daniel.
Granted, the Adria in front of her looked nothing like the woman who had thrown Vala out of the house at sixteen. Had Adria experienced a similar transition, had something cause her to change who she was and let go of the bitterness that poisoned her life. What could have happened to do that?
Daniel stepped away and she once again allowed herself to admit she loved Daniel Jackson and she had to tell him the truth or she would risk loosing his friendship, for that's the only place in his life she would ever have.
~0o0o0~
The small village consisted of a few scattered pathetic looking huts. Most were sticks and wattle, while others appeared to be crumbling mud brick. The material must have been salvaged from the original settlement because they were blackened and brittle from too much firing. The thatched roofs were coming apart and Daniel was sure they leaked in the rain.
A few children sat on the rooftops trying to repair the damage, but apparently they didn't know what to do any better than the original builders.
A young girl, about seven, bent over a large pot on the fire at the center of the tattered buildings. The girl didn't look up as Daniel stepped closer to inspect the pot. Peering into the vessel, he found a thin soup that resembled dishwater.
Her voice was sad and hopeless as she said, "I hope you guys bagged some meat because this soup is thin as water and it's not going to get better. This is the last of the roots."
Adria spoke making Daniel jump. "No Ryna, we didn't find squat." She looked at Daniel. "Nothing's grown here since Ba'al salted all the farm land and the woods just aren't producing what we need. We did all right at first but now it's a losing battle."
"We have some food that we can share. It won't be much but it's better than that." Daniel nodded towards the soup.
Ryna looked up, surprised. "Visitors, Granny Adie, why didn't you tell us! Hey everyone, there's strangers and they have food to share!"
Vala came up behind Daniel, letting out a slight gasp. His fingers ached to touch her but he resisted. "What's wrong Vala, talk to me."
Nodding her head, she murmured. "Nothing, a little monkey startled me."
Daniel was confused until he noticed Ryna had dug her hand into Vala's pocket. There was a smile on her face as the girl declared. "Something in there smells good!"
Grinning, Vala nabbed the little pickpocket and swung her up on to her hip. Next she reached into her pocket and offered Ryna a piece of chocolate from the same pocket.
As she put Ryna back on her feet, Vala's expression was unreadable. "Daniel, stay here and get these children some food. Something must be done here; these children need to leave this place."
Daniel followed her gaze as she looked around at the gathered mass of children. The small group numbered no more than twenty and none of them were very old. But they had one thing in common - all of them had haunted eyes.
Reminded of the pictures he'd seen of the people in the concentration camps at the end of WW 2, he had to agree. "We won't have enough to feed everyone a full meal, but they won't go hungry."
Vala's face soften momentarily as she passed him the MREs from her pack. "I know, do what you can, while I speak to Adria." Without giving him a chance to answer, she stormed across the square and began a heated discussion with her stepmother. The older woman looked uncomfortable as she glanced around. Finally, she motioned to one of the huts and the two women vanished inside.
Turning to Cam as he approached Daniel shrugged sadly.
Cam held out his own pack. "Use mine too. Between all the supplies, the kids should get a decent meal. For once I agree with the Princess, they need an evac and quick. I'll head back to the 'Gate to contact the SGC. If they don't want us to take the kids back to the base, I should be able to get permission to take them to the Alpha Site. Once they're all settled in, they can all be looked at by Dr. Lam. After a clean bill of health, we'll see if we can find a home for them all." He slapped Daniel on the back. "You hold the fort, Jackson; I'll be back as soon as I can." Then he took off running, disappearing into the trees.
Fishing around in the three packs, Daniel began to stack all the MREs in various piles. Then he showed Ryna how to prepare them. Both of them were aware of the raised voices coming from the hut, and exchanged a quick grimace, before smiling at each other
Ryna's brow creased with worry; tugging on Daniel's arm, she asked, "Is Granny Adie in trouble?"
Unsure how to answer the question, Daniel honestly replied, "I don't know."