Update - A Gift From Above - Chapter 5
Title: A Gift from Above
Author: Milena D.
Rating: T for now
Genre: Romance/Action/Adventure, etc. Daniel/Vala all the way ;)
SPOILERS: HUGE SPOILERS FOR DOMINION!!
Summary: Something went wrong and they’ve paid for it.
Author’s Note: Okay, no beta for this chapter since it was written on a deadline for my good friend Nat who’s getting ready for a very big trip. Because of this, this fic was written in one session, between the hours of 3am and 7am and undoubtedly contains many typoes I missed in my tired editing. I’m really sorry about them in advance, I’ll fix and repost when I’m more lucid. For now, enjoy. :)
Disclaimer: I own the plot, unoriginal as it may be Don’t own the characters.
Chapter 1: Emptiness
Chapter 2: Friendship
Chapter 3: Turbulence
Chapter 4: An Accomplice
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Chapter 5: Daring
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“Get off my property.” Vala snapped at them, their mere presence causing the furious anger that had been buried under the weight of her tears over the night to rise up again and take possession of her entire demeanor.
Cam and Teal’c were caught off-guard by her biting tone and realized that they probably should have planned what they were going to say beforehand. Instinctively, Cam snatched one of Teal’c’s bags out of his hand and thrust it into Vala’s personal space.
“We brought breakfast.” He offered with what he hoped was a disarmingly meek smile.
Vala’s hardened glare didn’t fall down to look at his offering. She thought a moment about chewing them out but realized with a painful finality that to get caught up in a verbal spar session would continue this endless torment. She needed this to be over. She needed to be a mother, a healer, a hunter, not a wounded friend. With this decision having been reached in a matter of milliseconds, Cameron and Teal’c barely had a change to glimpse the change in her before a heavy oak door swung closed inches from their faces.
“That did not go well.” Teal’c remarked, earning himself a distinct look from his team leader that spelled “no shit”. Colonel Mitchell, however, was not a man accustomed to giving up when it mattered and he raised his fist again and pounded on the door once more.
“Vala!” He yelled in his most commanding voice. “We are not leaving this stoop until you listen to us!”
No answer.
“You know I’m not kidding!” He continued, pounding twice more. “I’m with a guy whose idea of a wild time is watching paint dry and we have cleared our schedule for the foreseeable future!”
He fell quiet then as they heard footsteps nearing the door. The door opened slowly but instead of seeing their friend in the crack, their eyes fell down on her daughter.
“Hey.” Cam greeted her, surprise and unease obvious in his voice.
“Good morning.” She replied politely, looking up at the tall men at her door and spotting the bags in their hands.
“Oh, hey, these are for you.” Cam said, handing her the bag of honey breads. “A little birdie told us you liked them.”
“You speak to animals?” Nejaya asked, grabbing the bag with eager hands.
“Ah...no, it’s jus-”
“Do they answer you?” She asked, dipping her hand into the sack and licking the honey off her finger.
“No, listen,” Cam insisted, shooting a mild look of frustration Teal’c’s way, “could you go get your mommy?”
Nejaya looked uncomfortable then and held her bag of goodies close to her chest.
“I told you you shouldn’t have come.” She repeated the ominous sentence she’d told them yesterday. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Yeah, we got that, thanks.” Cam said before turning to Teal’c. “You’re the one who has experience with kids here, feel free to step in anytime.”
Teal’c nodded, amused despite the circumstances that his friend was flustered by a little girl. Cam moved back and Teal’c stepped slowly closer to the door, kneeling to be closer to Nejaya’s height.
“It is very important that we speak with your mother, Nejaya.” He began, his deep voice, serious tone and kind eyes succeeding in capturing the girl’s full attention. “The circumstances of these past years are not as she believes them to be.”
“Huh?” She uttered quietly, mesmerized but confused.
“Her memories are false, she believes we have betrayed her and tha-”
Before Teal’c could finish his sentence, a slender but strong hand clamped down on Nejaya’s shoulder and pulled her quickly out of sight.
“I told you to leave!” Vala seethed. “You have no right to speak to me, and even less to speak to my daughter!”
“Fine!” Cam returned heatedly. “Don’t give us a chance to fix this huge mistake! What do we care? We’ve just been searching the known worlds to find your behind, but fine!”
Vala seemed to have nothing to say to his switch in tactics and he took the opening he saw to grab the backpack they’d brought and shove it at her feet.
“At least talk to yourself.” He told her.
Vala looked down, and picked up the bag, ready to shove it back at him.
“Jackson’s laptop is in that bag, and there’s a DVD already geared up and ready to play. It’s the recording you made before you started this whole mess.” Cam informed her, his right index finger making sure she understood that he blamed her for this misunderstanding. Vala’s narrowed eyes left him to assess Teal’c, he may have a killer poker face and they may no longer be close but she nevertheless felt reassured by the warm and beseeching look in his eyes. She liked to think he still respected her enough not to lie to her face.
“Watch it or don’t,” Cam continued, stepping away from the house, his hands raised slightly indicating his part was done, “but I’m gonna need that back. Jackson gets a little antsy if he doesn’t watch that thing every once in a while.”
Vala snorted as his obvious attempt to vouch for the man who’d most deeply hurt her and didn’t even try to hide the rolling of her eyes. Cam looked like he was going to reply to her reaction but his hands went up again, he wasn’t going to argue with her anymore.
“You know where we’ll be.” He said, ending the exchange and starting off for the Chief’s house. Teal’c lingered a moment, debating whether or not to say something. Vala waited, watching him expectantly, her pose entirely defensive.
“You have raised a beautiful child, ValaMalDoran.” He finally said, catching her completely by surprise. Teal’c bowed his head and left to follow Mitchell at a much less agitated pace than he’d taken.
Vala stayed in the doorway until they rounded the corner before daring to acknowledge the lump in her throat.
“Thank you.” She murmured.
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“I am surprised, ColonelMitchell,” Teal’c said, finding his teammate waiting for him just around the bend.
“How’s that?” He asked, falling into step with the Jaffa on their way back to the house.
“I did not expect you to relent so quickly.” Teal’c admitted.
“Ah, well that, my friend, is all part of the master plan.” Cam grinned mischievously. Teal’c inclined his head, waiting for the other man to continue. “Lookit, this Vala may be a mom, she may have settled down, hell she could be Martha Stewart 2.0 but, she will always be our Vala at heart. There is no way she’s gonna be able to resist watching that tape, she’s just too curious for her own good.”
Teal’c smiled. “Let us hope that is the case.”
“ ‘Course it is.” Cam said, refusing to believe otherwise.
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“You know better than to open the door to strangers, Nejaya.” Vala scolded her daughter absently as she moved to and fro across the house, packing random things into their travel bags.
“You know them.” Her daughter replied innocently, munching on her treat at the kitchen table. Vala paused in her actions at those words.
“I was led to believe I did.” Vala agreed, resuming her little tasks. “But I was deceived.”
Nejaya didn’t answer though Vala could practically hear her arguments.
“You shouldn’t take food from strangers, either.” She told her daughter, eyeing the mess of honey now coating the little girl’s hands, mouth, cheeks.
“It was good.” She said simply. Vala let out a breath but smiled, walking over to her daughter and picking her out of the chair.
“I bet it was. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
She set Nejaya on the floor and led her to the sink, refusing to look at the distinctly Tau’ri backpack resting against the wall not four feet away.
“We’ll clean up, finish packing and be off on our vacation.” She said, to herself really, as she turned on the water and lifted Nejaya up so she could reach it.
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Daniel’s heel was thumping up and down against the floor under his table and he was thankful he didn’t actually have to pay attention to Sam’s presentation. He’d heard it all in the briefing on Earth anyway. He was jittery, restless, anxious, beside himself really. He needed to know how things were going with Vala. Had Cam and Teal’c gotten through to her? Had she consented to finally listen to them? Had they even caught her in time? What if they hadn’t? She could be halfway to another village by now, or even on another planet while he just sat uselessly in an alien council room.
His stomach was in knots and he doubted his voice would be steady if he was called upon to actively join the proceedings anyway. No, no he’d pull it together, Sam had. He couldn’t jeopardize this alliance because of troubles in his personal life. Daniel thought it was ironic that Vala was classified as “trouble” whether he was pushing her away or running after her. She couldn’t run fast this time though, she had a young daughter with her. God, she had a daughter! A beautiful, bright, charming little girl. What else had they missed in these five years? What had happened to her? Who was-
“Hey,” Sam whispered as she sat back down beside him, “are you okay?”
Apparently he’d been lost in thought for over an hour and had missed her entire presentation.
“Um...yeah, just...thinking.” He said lamely. “You were good up there.”
“And here I thought that glazed over look meant you weren’t listening.” She teased him, causing his cheeks to flush slightly in embarrassment.
“Sorry,” he apologized, “I guess I’m just finding it...hard to concentrate.”
“I don’t blame you, I was counting myself lucky to be occupied for so long,” Sam sympathized, “but I’m sure the guys are doing fine. For all we know, she’ll be waiting for us back at Elom’s house when we’re done here.”
Her words made him smile slightly as he dared to hope for such a vision to be waiting for them. It was a much more pleasant daydream than the ones that had been plaguing him so far.
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On the other side of the village, in league with Daniel’s early fears, Vala locked the door behind her and joined Nejaya on the street, shouldering the heavy bags and leaving her daughter with a small leather backpack.
“You’re sure you haven’t forgotten anything?” Vala asked Nejaya.
“I’m sure.” She nodded vigorously, causing her pigtails to bounce back and forth.
“Alright then, let’s go.” Vala said, taking Nejaya’s left hand in her own and ignoring the nagging feeling telling her that she was running again.
“Mama?” Nejaya called to her, making Vala realize she hadn’t moved yet.
“Just trying to think of anything we might have forgotten.” She assured her with a tight smile. She knew she hadn’t forgotten anything, but she also knew she was deliberately ignoring a few things.
“Off we go.” She said and forced her feet forward.
She needed this to be over.
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Finally the council was adjourned for the day, partly to allow everyone a chance to absorb all of the information given and partly to allow those who had just arrived to the village to rest.
Sam shot Daniel an attempt at an excited smile and he tried to reciprocate but his own came off more anxious.
“We’ll know soon enough.” She said.
“Let’s just go before anyone tries to come meet us.” Daniel half-joked. No sooner had he spoken the words, the scientific leader of the Jerbi tribe approached them.
“Colonel Carter, Doctor Jackson, it is an honour to meet you.” The short man smile, his round cheeks puffing out in a manner that reminded them of Dr. Lee. “I am Sherjao of Jerbi. I wonder if you wouldn’t mind speaking with me a bit more about this iris you’re proposing.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sherjao,” Sam started, trying not to show her dismay, “I would love to tell you more about it. Unfortunately, Dr. Jackson has a prior engagement. I hope you won’t mind if it’s just us.”
Daniel could have hugged her then and there. She was sacrificing herself so he could race back to the source of this torment.
“Yes, I’m...so sorry.” He told Sherjao, squeezing Sam’s elbow to get his thanks across. “I’ll be sure to find you tomorrow though and we’ll...chat.”
Sherjao nodded gaily, he didn’t really have any interest in the politics anyway. Sam tried to contain her smile at Daniel’s obvious haste packing up and leaving. She only hoped what he would find back at the house was what they all wanted...what they all needed.
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Back at the Chief’s house, Cam and Teal’c were sitting down to the lunch Siremi had prepared. She hadn’t asked how their meeting with Vala had gone but she had noticed they didn’t return with their bag. And since their return, they had been very quiet. It wasn’t uncommon, she had learned, for the Jaffa to be silent, but the Tau’ri was usually much more animated. He had come in with a smile but that smile had lessened over time and now his brow was furrowed with worry.
“Maybe we should go back.” Cam said suddenly, between bites. Teal’c simply lifted an eyebrow in question.
“If she was gonna watch it, wouldn’t she be here by now?” He asked, rhetorically simply because he received no answer.
“I mean it’s not like it’s the Director’s Cut of the Lord of the Rings.” Cam continued, simply to fill the silence. “It’s...what...two minutes long? Probably less.”
Teal’c and Siremi stayed quiet and Cam took his cue from them, returning to his food. The silence did lot last though, as heavy footsteps were heard stomping on the front porch. Not a moment later, the door was opened quickly and with enough force to startle the diners.
“Sorry,” the newcomer said, slightly disheveled, “it’s a little hard to manage with the baggage.”
“We can see that.” Siremi smiled, unburdening Vala of the backpack hanging off her arm.
“Hi Aunt Siremi.” Nejaya chimed in, stepping in with a bounce.
“Hello, Naya.” Siremi greeted her niece warmly, tugging her in for a hug.
“Naya, why don’t you go find the girls?” Vala suggested as Teal’c and Cam rose from the table, smiles on both their faces. Nejaya did as her mother asked, not looking at the men in the room but skipping out to find her friends.
“You watched the tape.” Cam grinned. “You watched the tape and now you’re ready to believe us. What’d I tell you?” He directed the question to Teal’c who merely bowed his head in acknowledgement.
“I didn’t watch the tape.” Vala said coldly, shattering Cam’s good spirits. “And I’m not staying.”
Siremi didn’t look surprised in the least.
“Then what-” Cam started to ask.
“Like I told you, Nejaya and I are leaving town until you all are gone. We just stopped by to say goodbye to our family and drop off your equipment.” Vala said, grabbing their backpack off the floor and dumping it on the table in front of them.
“You said your goodbyes last night.” Cam pointed out. “And what do you mean you didn’t watch it!?”
“I mean I didn’t watch it.” She replied in clipped tones. “There is nothing on that DVD that would interest me.”
“Now see, I beg to differ.” Cam glared at her. Vala was about to reply when Siremi tugged on her arm and led her a bit away.
“Listen to me,” she spoke softly and compassionately, “I know you have every reason not to...but it might be worth it to listen to them.”
“Not you too.” Vala exclaimed, dread starting to seep into her.
“No,” Siremi said strongly, “I will tell you what I told them. I know how much these people have hurt you and you know you’ll never have to question my friendship or loyalty to you.”
Vala nodded reluctantly, hoping fervently that that was true.
“I have seen their recording though,” Siremi continued, taking a stunned but curious Vala’s hands, “and the woman in it bears a striking similarity to you. She speaks with your voice, moves like you do, but she is younger, happier. And if there’s a chance that you were once that person, I think you owe it to yourself to find out what really happened to her.”
Vala looked away. Why couldn’t she just have skipped town like she’d planned? Now Siremi was convincing her to do something she really didn’t want to do. She didn’t want to consider the consequences that would come from finding out they were telling the truth.
“But,” her friend continued, “you say the word and I’ll personally escort you to the stargate.”
“Oh sure, you offer me that after you’ve convinced me.” Vala retorted bitterly.
“It’s not my fault your mind is like a sponge to my water pail.” Siremi teased her. Vala balked at that and was about to reply when a sound caught her ear.
“Hello, gorgeous.”
Vala turned around to see that Cam and Teal’c had been busy setting up the laptop while Siremi distracted her. Despite her objections, Vala was drawn to the screen like a magnet.
Siremi was right, the woman looked like her but had Vala really been that...bouncy? It seemed like so long ago, a lifetime. She was vaguely aware of Teal’c pulling out the chair in front of the laptop and her sitting down but her eyes never left the screen.
“With the possible exception of Daniel who, let’s face it, was always a little...”
Vala grinned at that. It definitely sounded like something she would say, or at least something she could agree with.
“Oh, are we done? How’d I do?”
The image on the screen shuddered and went black, releasing her from the spell she’d been under.Her heart felt like it was made of lead and dropping into her stomach.
“This doesn’t prove anything.” She denied, her voice raspy. “I know you must have holographic technology by now.”
“Actually we do,” Cam admitted, taking the seat on her left while Teal’c sat at her right, “it’s pretty cool. But the only technology that was used here was the memory device we reconfigured.”
“You erased my memory of...of what?” She asked, restarting the video.
“You are ready to accept what we have to say?” Teal’c asked her. She sent them both a sideways glance.
“How about you start by saying it and I’ll choose what to accept after.” She said pointedly.
“Works for me!” Cam said, clapping his hands together.
They spent the next half hour explaining their version of the events, with many irate interruptions on her part - namely when she pointed out the Sodan cloak, and the leading her into the enemy’s hands.
“Hey, hello? Your idea.” Cam reminded her.
“So you say.” Vala dismissed.
“And if you’d stuck to the plan, none of this would have happened!” He returned.
“Right, ‘the plan.’” She nodded sarcastically.
“You were supposed to accompany Adria to the planet where we would apprehend her and return you to the SGC.” Teal’c informed her, sensing she was less likely to scoff at his explanations.
“But she didn’t bring me with her.” Vala remembered, thinking of the child she hadn’t seen in years, the child she’d presumed dead.
“No, and when we found her flagship, you were nowhere to be found.” He continued.
“No,” Vala shook her head, “I’d escaped by then. I never even made it to the ship.”
“So you were still on the planet we left you on?” Cam asked incredulously. “You must have seen us looking for you, we went there right after.”
“Oh I saw you. And with SG-3 guarding the gate it was hell to gate out too.” Vala remembered how annoyed and angry she’d been to discover that particular situation.
“You saw us and left anyway?” Cam asked, looking pained. Vala had no sympathy for him.
“Well I had thought about staying put and waiting for you once I disarmed the Ori soldiers but you know me and containment cells, I just don’t do well with small spaces and seeing as how you had all taken leave of your senses, loyalty and credibility...well you can see why I didn’t stick around.”
“Except we didn’t, you just thought we did.” Cam reminded her.
“Well I didn’t know that, did I?” She returned, her eyes narrowed.
“You would have if you had just-”
“Followed the plan?” Vala finished his sentence sarcastically.
“Yes!”
“Well it was a stupid plan, Cameron.” She informed him, knowing she was being a pain but not willing to deal with the new reality.
“Your stupid plan, Vala!” He all but growled.
“Vala!” A happy voice interrupted them from the open door and she found she couldn’t deny a small smile. The possibilities of this new reality weren’t all bad.
“Hello, Samantha.” Vala greeted her former...no, her friend.
“You watched it.” Sam said, noticing the laptop.
“I did, though I did point out that you could have set the entire thing up with holograms.” Vala said simply.
“But we didn’t.” Sam said, taking the bait without realizing it. “I mean, we do have the technology but we would have needed you to have submitted to data recording to digitize your body shape, mannerisms, vocal patterns-”
“Sam,” Vala interrupted her, “I believe you.” It felt so good to see the blonde flustered and brilliant at the same time again.
“Oh.” Sam said sheepishly before stepping forward to engulf Vala in a hug similar to the one she had received upon her return to their universe. “It’s so good to see you.”
Vala patted her arm and smiled as best she could. “Likewise.”
“So,” Sam said with a wide smile, letting go and moving to the other side of the table to sit down, “what are we talking about? And where’s Daniel?”
At once, Vala’s smile fell into a frown.
“Not here.” Cam told her.
“He should have been here at least thirty minutes ago if not more.” Sam said, puzzled. “I was delayed but he left early.”
“What a mystery.” Vala deadpanned. “Now where were we?”
The message was received. Obviously Vala’s anger wasn’t distributed proportionally among them. Daniel was high on her hit list, followed by Cam apparently. Sam and Teal’c seemed to have escaped the brunt of it, a fact for which they were extremely thankful. It did make sense that Vala held a stronger grudge against Daniel than the rest of them, he had been the closest to her whether he liked it or not.
“Vala.” Another voice called laboriously from the door.
“Speak of the devil.” She muttered with a glare directed at the ceiling since she still didn’t want to look at him.
“Daniel.” Sam called, relieved to see him how she’d left him.
“Hey, sorry, Homib of Teran stopped me as I was leaving, I couldn’t get away.” He explained sourly as he came into the kitchen somewhat hesitantly. Vala wasn’t looking at him and the others were all looking worriedly in her direction, afraid of her reaction.
“Maybe...I should go.” Daniel surmised with heavy disappointment.
“No...” Sam said hesitantly, feeling bad for him.
“Vala was just telling us what happened after the plan went south.” Cam continued just as hesitantly. They were all wary of losing this inch they’d progressed. Thankfully, Vala finally acknowledged his presence.
“Yes, Daniel, stay.” She said almost mechanically. “No reason we can’t act civilized, you might actually learn something.”
Daniel ignored the jab and cautiously sat down beside Teal’c. After a tense moment of silence, Cam jumped back in.
“So what happened after you got past us on that planet?” He asked.
“Not much, actually.” Vala answered him honestly. “I returned to my roots, what I was best at.” Those roots were implicitly known and Vala shot Daniel a pointed look, almost daring him to rebuke her for her lifestyle but he stayed quiet, his face completely devoid of judgement.
“Anyway, that lasted until I found out I was pregnant.” She continued, suddenly fidgeting with the table cloth. Siremi sat down at the table for this, as new to this story as the rest of its occupants.
“I’m guessing it wasn’t exactly planned what with you being on the run.” Sam said gently, hoping she didn’t come across as judgmental either.
“No, actually, as per the trend set by the Ori, I wasn’t consulted for this pregnancy either.” Vala admitted for the first time in five years.
“You’re...saying that Nejaya is another Orici?” Cam reiterated in disbelief.
“That’s what I thought at first.” Vala said, leaning back in her chair, suddenly feeling like the kitchen was very crowded. “I had no idea what happened to Adria after she left, I...assumed that she died somewhere along the way and they’d impregnated me again to replace her.”
“Adria did ascend.” Teal’c pointed out. “Is it not possible she could have returned in another human vessel?”
Vala bit the inside of her cheek. After five years, she finally knew definitively what had happened to her first child. She had mourned Adria years ago but it still hurt to this day.
“Nejaya,” Daniel started quietly, almost afraid to use her name with how Vala reacted last night, “she doesn’t look like Adria...and she’s still young.”
Vala looked at him for the first time without anger but she wasn’t really seeing him, she was remembering that first year of fear and uncertainty. For eight months she’d been plagued with nightmares and the certainty that she had to prevent this second Orici from being born but the complete inability to willfully bring harm to her child. After that was the guilt, the same of knowing she was ushering a new destroyer into the world.
“No,” Vala said firmly, “Nejaya is not an Orici. But when I thought...that she might be, my only thought was to get as far away from all the Ori fleets as humanly possible. So after months of traveling gate to gate, I finally reached the outskirts of the galaxy, this planet. This planet had never been touched by the Ori, didn’t even have to deal with the Goa’uld anymore. It was perfect.” Vala said, smiling with Siremi, remembering how she’d been able to take her first breaths in peace here.
“Nejaya was born and her eyes were blue, like they are now, not gold like Adria’s.” Vala continued, she had done a thorough inventory of her newborn child to be sure she wasn’t part Ori. “Nobody came for her, she didn’t age any faster than any other child, and to this day she doesn’t have any telepathic or telekinetic powers.”
“So she’s really just a normal kid?” Cam asked, happy to have found some good news.
“Aside from having been immaculately conceived, of course.” Sam reminded him.
“Right.” Vala nodded. “Which led me to believe that this was the doing of the Ancients.”
“The...the Ancients?” Daniel asked, his face a picture of confusion and skepticism which was actually better than poor Siremi who was utterly lost.
“Well who else?” Vala asked him defensively. “I don’t know of any beings other than those ascended that have the power to impregnate someone without any assistance or participation.”
“That would go against everything they believe in.” Daniel countered, shaking his head.
“Maybe it was the only way to balance things out. They’re all about balance, aren’t they?” Vala proposed, having had this argument with herself many times over the years. “Maybe the only way to balance out the fact that I was used as a vessel for evil was to make me a vessel for good.”
“But you said Nejaya didn’t have any powers.” Daniel remembered.
“Maybe that was too far out of their rule book.” She returned.
“That’s a lot of ‘maybes’.” He remarked skeptically.
“Well I’m so sorry I don’t have all the answers for you, Daniel,” Vala growled, rising from the table. Nejaya’s conception had always been a particularly touchy subject and mixed in with the present company she had hated for five years and the onslaught of memories, Vala snapped. “I’m sorry I don’t have a handy little videotape to convince you everything you thought you knew was wrong. Why don’t you come back in another five years and I’ll see what I can do.”
With that, she called for Nejaya and, hearing her mother’s tone, the girl came running. Without bothering to get their bags, Vala scooped her daughter up and vanished out the door.
“Vala, wait!” Sam cried while Cam glared at Daniel.
“Do you know how long it took her to convince her just to watch the damn thing? Never mind believing it.” Cam accused his teammate. Daniel ignored them all and rushed to follow Vala out the door. The others didn’t waste any time either.
“Vala, this is ridiculous!” Daniel called after her. “You can’t just stop believing what we’re telling you because you’re upset!”
“And you can’t tell me what to believe!” She said loudly to the man following her, not slowing her pace. “I’m not part of your little club anymore, I haven’t been for quite some time.”
“What about Nejaya?” Daniel asked, feeling awkward asking with the young girl looking back at him from her mother’s arms. He didn’t let that keep him from saying his peace though. “You’re telling me you honestly believe you don’t know who her father is? You don’t find that odd?”
Vala face screwed itself up in disbelief.
“I told you, she doesn’t have a father. That’s not exactly uncommon in my pregnancies.”
“I think you think she does.” Daniel proposed boldly as they turned the final corner, bringing Vala’s house in sight. “But I think you’re so blinded by your anger that you’ll refuse to entertain the possibility of the truth out of the fear that you’ll actually have to reconsider what’s happened.”
“Like you would know anything about the ‘truth’, Daniel Jackson, or friendship for that matter.” Vala shot back, trying to shove down the rising feeling of uneasiness that told her he might be onto something. Thankfully she was at her door and with her hand closing around the doorknob, she finally found the strength to turn around and face him.
“Get this through your head. Nejaya is my daughter and mine alone, there is no truth but that.” She declared, quickly stealing away into her house and slamming down the door behind her but not before she heard him.
“Then why does she have my eyes!?” He demanded to know.
Such a simple sentence, and it sucker-punched Vala to the point where she slid numbly down against the door to rest on the floor. No... no...
“Mama?” Nejaya called worriedly, now on her own feet. Vala’s maternal instincts prevented her from ignoring the call and she was forced to look up, her teeth biting down on her lips until they drew blood when she caught sight of her four year old child’s eyes riddled with anxiety...her child...four years old...her clear blue eyes...
Oh god.
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Dun dun duuuun! So now we have answers...or do we? At the very least the title is explained ;) I'm really sorry if it was hard to follow! :S
>> Next: Chapter 6