Foreign Greetings, Common Challenges, Teyla/Vala, PG
Title: Worlds Apart,
Author: skieswideopen
Pairing: Teyla Emmagan/Vala Mal Doran
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Written For: epiphanyx7
Prompt: Teyla/Vala, Vala on Atlantis, things they have in common, funny moments/laughter
Word Count: ~5500
Summary: Vala reluctantly accompanies SG-1 to Atlantis.
Notes: Set before "First Strike" on SGA, and between "Unending" and Ark of Truth on SG-1. My thanks to healingmirth for last minute beta reading.
Accompanying the rest of SG-1 to Atlantis wasn't Vala's idea.
Her first trip to the Pegasus Galaxy hadn't offered much apart from the opportunity to observe Daniel doing research--at length. That had turned out to be just as dull on Atlantis as it was on Earth, and Vala saw no reason to expect this trip to be any different. Her suggestion had been a temporary reassignment to SG-8 as their guide to warm, sunny, oh-so-friendly PX9 346, a planet with which she was, as she assured General Landry, intimately familiar. He responded to her request with vague flattery about how she was an integral part of SG-1 and how he just couldn't see separating them on such an important mission. When neither arguments of logic nor pitiful wheedling changed his mind, she turned to Daniel for support. Then, with increasing desperation, to Cameron.
"But you haven't seen the beaches! And the food…the things they can do with a simple piece of vlak. It's…it's amazing!"
Cameron didn't look up from the report in front of him. "No."
Vala leaned over, hands resting on the table, offering him a clear view down her carefully unbuttoned shirt. "Listen, they don't really need you on Atlantis. This trip is for Daniel and Carter. Why don't you come join me on the mission with SG-8?" She leaned even closer and turned on her best seductive smile. "I will personally make sure you have a good time there."
He glanced up, eyes skipping the artfully displayed cleavage and going straight to her face. "Answer's still no."
She stood up, pouting attractively, and wondered whether it would help to undo another button. Cameron turned back to his report. Twenty minutes later, a still-pouting Vala left him to the escapades of Atlantis's flagship away team. Her bad mood continued over the next three days, right up until SG-1's scheduled departure.
"I should have gone straight to Colonel Sanchez," she said glumly to Teal'c as the gate spun in front of them.
Teal'c kept his gaze straight ahead. "I do not think that would have made a difference."
"But Sanchez likes me! I could have convinced her to take me along to PX9 346. I know that planet; I would have been helpful."
"General Landry was most firm in his insistence that you accompany us. I do not think Colonel Sanchez would have been able to sway him."
Vala sighed dramatically. "One little misunderstanding on one insignificant planet with one slightly green lieutenant, and suddenly you're not allowed to go anywhere without at least a half-dozen experienced escorts." She looked up as the final chevron locked into place. "At least it's faster getting there, this time."
“Indeed.”
“Are you sure you shouldn’t be in pressure suits for this trip?” In response to Teal’c look, she added, “Well, there’s a reason they’re not allowing the Atlantis personnel to use the bridge yet, isn’t there?”
“Colonel Carter has stated that Midway Station is capable of supporting life.”
“Right. As long as nothing goes wrong.”
Teal'c's response was cut off by the burst of the opening wormhole, though she thought from his barely visible change in expression that he agreed with her.
"Let's head out, people," Cameron called, obnoxiously cheerful. "We've got a long a way to go."
* * *
Atlantis proved just as dull as Vala remembered. SG-1 scattered on arrival: Daniel to the archives with Weir, Carter to the physics labs with McKay, Cameron to the puddle jumper bays with Sheppard, and Teal'c…she wasn't actually sure where Teal'c was spending his time, but she'd spotted a few marines sporting fresh bruises, and she had her suspicions about how they'd gotten them.
Vala pestered each of her teammates in turn, doing her best to make sure they'd think twice before siding against her again. By the third day, even Cameron was snapping, and Vala was tired of being chased away like a troublesome child. In a sulk that was only partially faked, she withdrew from the armoury where Lieutenant Cadman was showing off Atlantis's explosive capabilities to Cameron and cajoled a laptop out of one of the techs in the biology lab. She raided Atlantis's video library, found an empty lounge, and managed to get through one-and-a-half movies before hurling the headphones across the room in frustration at the multitude of unfamiliar references and no one to explain them.
"I, too, often find the computers irritating," came an amused voice from across the room. "They rarely seem to respond the way I expect them to."
Vala looked up, startled and slightly embarrassed at being caught unawares. The woman in the doorway looked vaguely familiar. Vala studied her covertly, trying to place her. She'd been around on their first visit to Atlantis, Vala recalled. One of the locals from the Pegasus Galaxy, from her clothing. Tala? Teela? Something like that. At any rate, she was someone to talk to, which at the moment made her the best thing Vala had seen all day.
"It's not the computer," Vala said. "It's these incomprehensible Earth films."
"They can be difficult to watch without someone around to interpret the references," the woman agreed solemnly, dark eyes dancing.
"Exactly! And then either the explanation doesn't make sense, or they spend an hour on it, and by the time they're done, the movie's over."
"Yes, Rodney is particularly careful to make sure we understand the details of each reference," said the woman with a hint of rueful amusement.
"Daniel's the same," Vala said. "Every answer turns into a full anthropological explanation of Earth culture. Though that's still better than Cameron's answers, which are mostly based on other movies." She set the laptop aside and stretched her arms. "And what is with these movies where the women just let their enemies pull the guns from their hands? This woman," she gestured toward the laptop, "is being chased by a killer android, and not only does she refuse to believe it, but she just sits there screaming while it kills everyone around her!"
"I have noticed the same pattern," the woman admitted. "Especially in the movies Colonel Sheppard refers to as 'slasher flicks.'"
"Slasher flicks? What are those? Movies about knives?"
"And other sharp implements," the woman agreed. "Major Lorne and Lieutenant Cadman enjoy them. They have attempted in the past to introduce the genre to the rest of us."
Vala heard the distaste in the woman's tone. "But?"
The woman shook her head. "The women always go upstairs when they should go outside, and run when they should fight. Most of the men are little better. It makes no sense."
"Well, most people on Earth don't have military training," Vala offered. "They don't know how to fight."
"I know," said the woman with a sigh. "But I have trouble imagining what it would be like to live such a life."
"Most of our galaxy is like that. Well, the lucky ones."
"No one here is lucky in that way."
"Neither was I," Vala said, swinging her legs off the couch and standing up. She walked over to the woman and offered her right hand, Earth-style. "Vala Mal Doran."
"Teyla Emmagan," said the woman, taking her hand and shaking it firmly. It was ironic, Vala thought fleetingly, that their only common greeting was one foreign to both of them.
"So, Teyla," Vala said, "what are your plans for the afternoon? I suppose you've got a busy day of important meetings and exciting missions ahead of you?"
The woman looked up at her, clearly puzzled. "I have no plans, other than a meeting with the elders this evening. Our off-world travel is on hold while your team is here. I was on my way to instruct Dr. Kusanagi in use of bantos rods when I saw you."
"Bantos rods," Vala said contemplatively. It had to be more interesting than another round of woman-cowers-before-machine. She smiled brightly at Teyla. "Any chance you’d be willing to take on another student?"
Teyla looked surprised, and then smiled back. "It might be useful for Dr. Kusanagi to have another beginner to practice with. If she does not mind sharing her lesson."
Teyla was, Vala noted absently, very beautiful when she smiled. "Wonderful. And maybe afterwards, you can show me what a 'slasher flick' is."
* * *
"So what happened to you?" Cameron asked at breakfast the next day. "You manage to get the anthropologists to give up the location of the local treasure trove?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Vala replied, scooping up a forkful of reconstituted scrambled eggs.
"I'm talking about the smile that hasn't left your face all morning."
"Your mood is much improved today," Teal'c said thoughtfully.
"That's because my naturally adaptable and upbeat personality has simply reasserted itself."
"She must have figured out how to make money somehow," Daniel said. He sipped from the mug cradled in his hands. "That's the only thing that draws out that particular smile."
Vala scowled at him indignantly. "Believe it or not, I've been having a good time. It turns out that there are some people around here who actually appreciate my company."
Daniel frowned disbelievingly. "Just as long as you're only taking advantage of the marines, and not the natives."
"I do not think the latter is probable," Teal'c said. "It is unlikely Doctor Weir will allow her off-base."
"Well, and with that vote of confidence, I'm afraid I must go," Vala said, standing up. She really was smiling a lot, she realized. She thought about what that might mean, then mentally shrugged. She was a happy person, after all, despite what Daniel might say.
"You have a hot date lined up?" Cameron asked, looking amused.
Vala looked at him and her smile broadened. "I have a lesson in bantos fighting."
* * *
The path from the cafeteria to the gym didn't actually require Vala to go past the operations center, but she was a little early for her lesson, and she liked to know what was going on. Knowledge was power, went the Tau'ri saying, and that was a truth she'd known long before she heard their maxim. After establishing that nothing of interest was happening in operations, she stopped by Major Lorne's office, where he flirted with her politely before kicking her out, and then wandered past the infirmary, though she didn't bother stopping in. Ironically, she really was on her way to the gym when raised voices caught her attention. Or rather, one particular raised voice.
"I am a member of your team, but I am also the leader of the Athosians, and there are times when I must put my people's well-being first."
Vala froze outside the conference room, straining to hear the response.
"I'm sure if you work with our biologists, they can find an alternate solution," said Doctor Weir, in a calm, reasonable, and--to Vala's ears--utterly infuriating tone.
"They have spent the past year working on it, and have had no success. If we are to plant this year, we must have the aizasha within the next two weeks."
Vala looked around to make sure that the corridor was empty, and then took a careful step forward. She leaned against the wall, and peered into the room through a paneled door that had been left ajar. Teyla stood opposite Atlantis's civilian leader and military commander, arms crossed and eyes defiant. Her normally serene face was alive with anger, and Vala smiled in admiration. She found herself wondering suddenly what the Athosian woman would look like if the mask were dropped in more...pleasant circumstances.
"Teyla, our doctors can…" Sheppard began.
"Your doctors can perform many miracles," Teyla interrupted, voice calm again, "and we are grateful for the lives they have saved. But we are already very dependent on you, and my people do not want to come to your doctors with every minor injury because we lack access to our own traditional cures."
"I understand that," Dr. Weir said. "But Teyla, John and Rodney are needed here, and the marines are already over-committed. We don't have enough people to spare for this mission right now."
"I am not asking for an escort. I have made this trip alone many times before. All I need is for you to dial the gate."
"We can't let you go alone!" Sheppard said, sounding frustrated.
"John, I know these people. They are not a threat. And we need to trade with them."
"And if the Wraith come while you're there?"
"Then I will run and hide, as I did for the many years before you arrived."
Vala heard the click of boots in the hall coming towards her. She straightened up with a start, turned around and backtracked, taking a different route to the gym.
* * *
"I am sorry I am late," Teyla said, entering the gym. Her face was calm and shuttered again, as if she hadn't been arguing only a few minutes earlier.
"It's fine," Vala said, making a show of stretching. "It gave me time to warm up." She stood up and waited.
"Good. Then you are ready to begin." Teyla handed over a pair of rods and then held up her own. "Let us practice yesterday's form, and then I will show you a new defense."
Vala watched Teyla carefully as she demonstrated the new techniques, attention torn between the lesson and analyzing the woman's mood. She kept silent about what she'd seen, biding her time until Teyla launched a particularly forceful demonstration of an attack technique. Then Vala stepped back, lowered her rods and looked at her.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Teyla replied.
"You don't act fine," Vala said. "If I've somehow offended you…."
"It's not you," Teyla said, letting her arms drop. "It is…they always insist that their way is the only way. And in the city, that is fine, but they do not have the right to limit our actions outside the city."
"No," agreed Vala. "They don't. But they'll try anyway." She let her own simmering frustration creep into her voice. As awe-inspiring as the successes of the Tau'ri were from a distance, up close one quickly became aware of just how new they were to interstellar travel and how little they knew of the power balances already in play. And how reluctant they were to learn about them, if that knowledge came from a former thief and Goa'uld host.
"This galaxy is so much bigger than they realize," Teyla sighed. "And they just assume…."
"I think it's their ignorance that lets them accomplish the impossible," Vala said. Which was, after all, the reason that she'd stayed with them after the Ori had discovered their galaxy. "That doesn't mean they don't need to be pulled back at times, though. Taught a lesson."
"I suspect the universe will eventually teach them that lesson on its own," Teyla said. She straightened up and drew in a deep breath. "And in the meantime, I will try to find another way to make them see things as I do."
"Surely you don't have to stay here if you don't want to. There are other places you can go."
"Yes. But as you say, they seem our best hope of accomplishing the impossible."
* * *
By day six, Vala had settled into a routine and had stopped wishing that Daniel and Carter would hurry up and finish so that they could all head back to Earth.
On day seven she noticed that much of her new routine was centered around Teyla, who--like Vala--had an abundance of free time while her teammates were busy playing host to SG-1. Bantos lessons were followed by basketball demonstrations, complete with a single-handed re-enactment of SG-1's most recent aliens-on-Tau'ri match that left them both breathless with laughter. Afternoon tea was accompanied by long discussions of the challenges of working with Earth, and mutual bewilderment over the Tau'ri governments' reluctance to inform people of the existence of the stargate and all it implied. Dinners with whichever of their teammates could be pulled away from their respective projects led into cozy evenings in Teyla's quarters, or on one of Atlantis's many balconies, sampling Athosian wines and swapping stories about the worlds they'd been to. It was, Vala told herself, nice having a friend who really understood the challenges she faced.
On day eight, Cameron commented again on how much she was smiling. She brushed him off, not wanting to think about it too much. She was not, after all, a woman given to foolish crushes on people in other galaxies. Casual sex, yes, when the opportunity presented itself, but nothing more than that. Just in and out of bed, with fun times for all. And if she were given to foolish crushes, it certainly wouldn't be on someone who had given no indication that she reciprocated. Assuming that she was allowed to reciprocate, and wasn't bound by the same stupid rules that the Tau'ri imposed on their military. The merest idea, Vala told herself forcefully, was ridiculous.
On day nine, she caught herself making a ridiculous excuse to see Teyla alone, and then realized that she'd spent the past half-hour staring at the Athosian, thinking about what colours would best flatter Teyla's skin tone. Vala knew then that she ought to say something, but the words caught in her throat when she tried, and she ended up making a joke instead. She'd never before thought that it might require courage to invite someone into her bed. She didn't know how else to request a relationship. She spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out how to phrase the question, and never found the right words.
On day ten, Teyla invited her to help negotiate a trade agreement.
* * *
"This should be a straightforward negotiation," said Teyla as they hiked from stargate to village. "My people have been dealing with this world for many generations."
Vala nodded, blinking against the bright afternoon sun. "Anything in particular I should know about this place?"
Teyla cocked her head thoughtfully. "Do not drink the khas and try not to step in anyone's shadow--they consider it rude."
The village consisted of about two dozen large, round houses made out of what looked like sticks and clay. They were surrounded by cultivated fields, already half-harvested, and in the distance, a dense forest that stretched out endlessly away from the stargate. The overall impression was cozy but primitive, and Vala remembered with a shiver that unlike the Goa'uld, the Wraith not only refused to share technology, but actively discouraged its development through mass destruction. There wasn't, she suspected, much profit to be made here.
Teyla led her through the village to a large building at the centre. They passed a few people along the way, mostly children who ran as they approached and then gawked from the doorways of their houses. No one spoke to them.
The building Teyla took her to featured a number of low stools set in a circle around a central fire pit: clearly a place intended for negotiation. It was, however, notably empty of negotiators.
"The word has gone out," Teyla said confidently. "They will be here soon."
Soon, Vala quickly realized, was a relative term. Teyla passed the time waiting patiently--standing, since there was no one to invite them to sit. Vala spent the time somewhat less patiently, pacing back and forth across the room and complaining about the lack of consideration for guests. Even the presence of Teyla was not enough to compensate for the boredom.
"They busy bringing in the harvest," Teyla said, looking alternately amused and annoyed at Vala's antics. "And there are no clocks here."
"Then I think that's what you should be offering them in trade."
Once or twice she tried to sit and rest her legs, but Teyla brought her up again with a warning glance. Finally, when the sun had dipped to the horizon, three women entered the meeting hall.
Vala evaluated them automatically. The eldest of the women looked about fifty, the youngest about fifteen. The third was about Teyla's age. All three women were dressed in heavy cloaks, baggy pants and short tunics, all brightly coloured and heavily embroidered, but showing wear at the edges. Not, Vala decided, a very wealthy place, despite the elaborate silver broaches fastened to their cloaks.
"Teyla!" called the eldest, smiling. She stepped forward lightly and touched foreheads with Teyla. "We weren't sure you were going to make it this year."
"I am sorry that we come so late, Maglyn. It has been a busy year." She turned to the other two women with a smile. "Skala, Eilon, it is good to see you both again."
"And you as well," replied the youngest. She stepped forward and touched her blonde head to Teyla's bronze one. Teyla turned to the third woman, who held back.
"Skala?" she asked, looking confused.
"I see you made it here safely," said the woman coolly. "And you brought company."
"Yes." Teyla turned and gestured Vala forward. "This is Vala Mal Doran."
"Very nice to meet you," Vala said. She smiled warmly at Maglyn and Eilon, then let her smile harden into a threat as she turned to Skala. Skala raised her head in response, meeting Vala's gaze coldly.
"Vala works with the Lanteans," Teyla explained, not catching the exchange.
"As do you, I hear," Skala said, tossing her head. "More than with your own people, these days."
"Welcome, Vala," Maglyn said, casting a sharp look at Skala. She turned to the youngest girl. "Eilon, perhaps you could fetch some tea for our guests. They've come a long way." The young girl bobbed her head and left the house. Maglyn turned back to them. "Please, be seated."
"Thank you," groaned Vala, sinking gratefully onto the nearest stool. At a look from Teyla, she managed to suppress the words "at last." The other women arranged themselves around her. As they sat, Vala slipped a hand inside her coat so that it rested on her gun, and twisted in her seat so that she could keep her eyes on Skala as they spoke.
"Is your alliance with the Lanteans still thriving, Teyla?" Maglyn asked, settling her cloak around her. "Do they treat your people honourably?"
"They do," Teyla replied. "They have dealt with us fairly, and provided us with aid when needed."
"And what do you do for them?" Skala asked with an edged smile. "What can your people offer in return to the ones who revived the City of the Ancestors? Or have the Athosians been reduced to living on the charity of others?"
Vala looked with concern at Teyla, whose face had frozen into an expression of artificial serenity. Vala couldn't read what lay beneath the calm, though she admired Teyla's ability to maintain it. She herself would have opted for indignant outrage at the insult.
"I assure you, Skala," Teyla said formally, "my people are as independent as we ever were. We are also, however, greatly reduced in numbers after the culling of three years ago, and are grateful that we have others who will fight by our sides when the Wraith attack."
"It's a pity the rest of us don’t share such benefits."
"We all pray to the Ancestors that one day the threat of the Wraith will end," Maglyn said quickly. "Tell me, Teyla, have you been to Ragol recently?"
Vala let the talk of people and places she didn't know lap over her while she continued to study Skala. The woman was about thirty years old, pretty enough in a pale sort of way, her most striking feature her long, auburn hair. She was armed, as all the women were, with a dagger in her belt, and another in her boot, and Vala suspected she knew how to use them, the Pegasus Galaxy being what it was. Overall, there was nothing terribly distinctive about her, save for the bitter anger that radiated from every pore, and that had clearly caught Teyla by surprise.
As Eilon returned with the pot of tea and the conversation turned to trade, Vala began checking off the possibilities in her head. One, the Lanteans had made enemies, as all Tau'ri seemed prone to do when they stepped through the stargate, and among those offended were the people of this world. In which case she and Teyla had better be prepared to fight their way back to the stargate. Two, the Lanteans had made enemies and those enemies now held this village captive, with the expectation that the villagers would either hand over Teyla and Vala, or stand back while they were captured. In which case, they should be prepared to fight. Three, Teyla could have conned Skala in some way on a previous visit. Vala was inclined to dismiss that one, however, because Teyla was both an unlikely con artist, and smart enough not to get caught. Or at least smart enough not to come back if she knew it was likely she had been caught. However, if the dispute was personal, they probably wouldn't need to fight their way to the stargate. Instead, they should be focused on looking for poison and quiet attacks in the night. A dagger in the back, maybe. Four…maybe Skala was just having a bad day. Vala smiled sourly. The fool who relied on luck was soon dead. She turned attention back to the conversation, which seemed to be winding up.
"It is a generous offer," Maglyn was saying, "but the harvesting this year has been slow, and we have less aizasha available than usual." She stood up, and the others followed immediately. "It is late. We will eat, and then we will sleep. Tomorrow we will come to an agreement."
The night was pitch-black apart from the light of the torches their hosts carried and the firelight that spilled from around the doors of the houses. Vala made sure to keep Skala in sight as the three women led them through the village to a house where food and pallets were laid out. She wrinkled her nose at the pervasive smoke from the firepit as they entered, but kept her attention on Skala.
"Be our guests for the night," Maglyn said. She lit the torches in the hut, then the three of them withdrew. As soon as they were gone, Teyla turned to Vala.
"I need to speak with Skala. I will be back shortly."
"Are you sure it's safe to go alone? If they're upset about your alliance with the Lanteans..."
"My people were allied with the Lanteans last year when I was here, and it was not an issue."
"Have the Lanteans done something since that might have annoyed them?"
Teyla shook her head grimly. "I do not think that is the problem. Wait here; I will return soon."
Vala passed the waiting by examining the walls of the house carefully, looking for traps or obvious vulnerabilities, while keeping an ear cocked for any sign that Teyla needed help. Once she thought she heard Teyla yelling, but when she went to the door, there was only silence. She hesitated for a long moment in the doorway, wondering if she should check if it had been Teyla, then turned back inside. She had just finished her second pass of the walls when Teyla stalked back in angrily.
"Do we need to set up a watch tonight?" Vala asked with concern.
"No," Teyla said shortly. She sat down at the table and picked up a piece of fruit, biting into it sharply.
"So things are okay?"
"Skala is being most unreasonable," Teyla said. "But she will not harm us."
Vala sat down across from her, keeping one eye on the door. "You're sure?"
"It is not that kind of dispute."
"Then what kind of dispute is it?"
Teyla hesitated, then set down the piece of fruit and looked up at Vala. "I was fostered here when I was about Eilon's age. My people think it's wise for future leaders to learn the ways of other peoples. I stayed with Skala's family while I was here, and the two of us became close friends." She broke off a piece of bread and turned it around in her hands. Vala waited. "Later," Teyla added, "we became more."
Vala ruthlessly shoved down the spark of hope that flew up with those words, but her treacherous pulse picked up a little anyway, and the thought clung to her brain. If Teyla could be interested in Skala... "Ah."
"We both knew it could not go anywhere," Teyla said, still focused on the bread. "We were both destined to be leaders and neither of us were going to leave our people. But we arranged to see each other whenever we were on the same world. A few times a year. Until last year."
"What happened last year?"
"Skala married."
"She's married? Then why…?"
"Because she did not like seeing that I had already replaced her. She would have been fine, I think, if I had also found a husband, but when I came here with you, she took it as a deliberate insult." Teyla sighed. "I did not think she would interpret it that way."
Vala felt the tension begin to drain from her body. "Really? That's all it is? She's your ex and she's jealous because she thinks you have a new girlfriend? I thought…"
"You thought we were really in danger?" Teyla asked, bemused. She finally looked up. The anger had left her face, replaced by bewilderment and regret. Vala resisted the urge to kiss away the hurt look. Hid behind logic.
"Well, the Tau'ri seem to have a knack for making enemies, and it wouldn't be the first time that an enemy hid behind an apparent ally."
"No," Teyla agreed. "We have also had that experience. But Maglyn would have found a way to let us know, if that had been the case. And I do not think they would have left us alone for so many hours."
"So you set Skala straight, then? I mean, that you and I are not…."
Teyla shook her head. "It is none of her business now who I am with. Her claim on me ended when she wed. Though if letting Skala believe we are together offends you, I can correct her."
"Offends me? No, not at all. I would think that anyone chosen by you would be proud to be that choice." She hesitated, then added, "I certainly would be."
Teyla smiled. "You honour me." She paused, and then added in a low tone, "Skala was not entirely wrong, you know."
"Really?" Vala looked steadily at Teyla, keeping hope hidden and letting her skepticism show on her face. "You plan to replace her with me?"
"People do not replace each other," Teyla said seriously. "But if it were something you wanted, I would try to expand our friendship into something more."
Vala felt the smile break across her face, and this time she let it show. "Well, all you had to do was say so," she purred to Teyla as she leaned across the table to kiss her.
* * *
"Come on, Vala!" Cameron called. "It's time to go. We've got a galaxy to save!"
"Already?" Vala asked, stepping into the doorway of her quarters. "We just got here."
"We've been here nearly three weeks," Daniel objected.
"Well, they certainly flew by."
"You wanted to leave on the first day."
"Well, that was then, darling. Before I knew just what Atlantis had to offer."
"Got your things packed?" Cameron asked. "Teal'c and Carter are already in the gate room."
"Go ahead," Vala said. "I'll meet you there in a minute."
"Don't take too long," Cameron warned as he and Daniel headed to the gate. Vala turned back inside.
"Apparently I have to go," she said. "Worlds to see, worlds to save, and all that."
Teyla smiled up at her from the bed and sat up slowly. "Will you be able to return?"
"Oh, I hope so. Certainly, if the Ori don't win. Or possibly if they do."
Teyla stood up and slipped her arms around Vala. "Then I will see you on your next visit," she whispered into Vala's ear. Vala returned the embrace.
"I'm looking forward to it." Reluctantly she pulled away, and picked up her pack.
"I will walk you to the gate room," Teyla said.
"You should come to Earth sometime," Vala suggested. "It's a pretty place. Lots to see. And I could show you around the rest of the Milky Way as well. There are some really fabulous planets out there."
"I would enjoy that very much," Teyla said as they reached the gateroom. Vala looked over at her waiting team, grinned wickedly, and leaned in to kiss Teyla passionately.
"Goodbye, darling," she said. Teyla shook her head a little, but she was smiling. Sheppard and McKay, Vala noted, looked satisfyingly shocked and even Weir looked a little nonplussed. Ronon, however, was clearly amused, and her own team only looked resigned.
"You really did have a good time, didn't you?" Daniel said.
"It's all about learning how to make your own fun," Vala replied, smiling brightly.
"Come back anytime," Sheppard said as the wormhole burst into life.
"Oh, we will," Vala promised, and stepped into the wormhole.
Author: skieswideopen
Pairing: Teyla Emmagan/Vala Mal Doran
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Written For: epiphanyx7
Prompt: Teyla/Vala, Vala on Atlantis, things they have in common, funny moments/laughter
Word Count: ~5500
Summary: Vala reluctantly accompanies SG-1 to Atlantis.
Notes: Set before "First Strike" on SGA, and between "Unending" and Ark of Truth on SG-1. My thanks to healingmirth for last minute beta reading.
Accompanying the rest of SG-1 to Atlantis wasn't Vala's idea.
Her first trip to the Pegasus Galaxy hadn't offered much apart from the opportunity to observe Daniel doing research--at length. That had turned out to be just as dull on Atlantis as it was on Earth, and Vala saw no reason to expect this trip to be any different. Her suggestion had been a temporary reassignment to SG-8 as their guide to warm, sunny, oh-so-friendly PX9 346, a planet with which she was, as she assured General Landry, intimately familiar. He responded to her request with vague flattery about how she was an integral part of SG-1 and how he just couldn't see separating them on such an important mission. When neither arguments of logic nor pitiful wheedling changed his mind, she turned to Daniel for support. Then, with increasing desperation, to Cameron.
"But you haven't seen the beaches! And the food…the things they can do with a simple piece of vlak. It's…it's amazing!"
Cameron didn't look up from the report in front of him. "No."
Vala leaned over, hands resting on the table, offering him a clear view down her carefully unbuttoned shirt. "Listen, they don't really need you on Atlantis. This trip is for Daniel and Carter. Why don't you come join me on the mission with SG-8?" She leaned even closer and turned on her best seductive smile. "I will personally make sure you have a good time there."
He glanced up, eyes skipping the artfully displayed cleavage and going straight to her face. "Answer's still no."
She stood up, pouting attractively, and wondered whether it would help to undo another button. Cameron turned back to his report. Twenty minutes later, a still-pouting Vala left him to the escapades of Atlantis's flagship away team. Her bad mood continued over the next three days, right up until SG-1's scheduled departure.
"I should have gone straight to Colonel Sanchez," she said glumly to Teal'c as the gate spun in front of them.
Teal'c kept his gaze straight ahead. "I do not think that would have made a difference."
"But Sanchez likes me! I could have convinced her to take me along to PX9 346. I know that planet; I would have been helpful."
"General Landry was most firm in his insistence that you accompany us. I do not think Colonel Sanchez would have been able to sway him."
Vala sighed dramatically. "One little misunderstanding on one insignificant planet with one slightly green lieutenant, and suddenly you're not allowed to go anywhere without at least a half-dozen experienced escorts." She looked up as the final chevron locked into place. "At least it's faster getting there, this time."
“Indeed.”
“Are you sure you shouldn’t be in pressure suits for this trip?” In response to Teal’c look, she added, “Well, there’s a reason they’re not allowing the Atlantis personnel to use the bridge yet, isn’t there?”
“Colonel Carter has stated that Midway Station is capable of supporting life.”
“Right. As long as nothing goes wrong.”
Teal'c's response was cut off by the burst of the opening wormhole, though she thought from his barely visible change in expression that he agreed with her.
"Let's head out, people," Cameron called, obnoxiously cheerful. "We've got a long a way to go."
* * *
Atlantis proved just as dull as Vala remembered. SG-1 scattered on arrival: Daniel to the archives with Weir, Carter to the physics labs with McKay, Cameron to the puddle jumper bays with Sheppard, and Teal'c…she wasn't actually sure where Teal'c was spending his time, but she'd spotted a few marines sporting fresh bruises, and she had her suspicions about how they'd gotten them.
Vala pestered each of her teammates in turn, doing her best to make sure they'd think twice before siding against her again. By the third day, even Cameron was snapping, and Vala was tired of being chased away like a troublesome child. In a sulk that was only partially faked, she withdrew from the armoury where Lieutenant Cadman was showing off Atlantis's explosive capabilities to Cameron and cajoled a laptop out of one of the techs in the biology lab. She raided Atlantis's video library, found an empty lounge, and managed to get through one-and-a-half movies before hurling the headphones across the room in frustration at the multitude of unfamiliar references and no one to explain them.
"I, too, often find the computers irritating," came an amused voice from across the room. "They rarely seem to respond the way I expect them to."
Vala looked up, startled and slightly embarrassed at being caught unawares. The woman in the doorway looked vaguely familiar. Vala studied her covertly, trying to place her. She'd been around on their first visit to Atlantis, Vala recalled. One of the locals from the Pegasus Galaxy, from her clothing. Tala? Teela? Something like that. At any rate, she was someone to talk to, which at the moment made her the best thing Vala had seen all day.
"It's not the computer," Vala said. "It's these incomprehensible Earth films."
"They can be difficult to watch without someone around to interpret the references," the woman agreed solemnly, dark eyes dancing.
"Exactly! And then either the explanation doesn't make sense, or they spend an hour on it, and by the time they're done, the movie's over."
"Yes, Rodney is particularly careful to make sure we understand the details of each reference," said the woman with a hint of rueful amusement.
"Daniel's the same," Vala said. "Every answer turns into a full anthropological explanation of Earth culture. Though that's still better than Cameron's answers, which are mostly based on other movies." She set the laptop aside and stretched her arms. "And what is with these movies where the women just let their enemies pull the guns from their hands? This woman," she gestured toward the laptop, "is being chased by a killer android, and not only does she refuse to believe it, but she just sits there screaming while it kills everyone around her!"
"I have noticed the same pattern," the woman admitted. "Especially in the movies Colonel Sheppard refers to as 'slasher flicks.'"
"Slasher flicks? What are those? Movies about knives?"
"And other sharp implements," the woman agreed. "Major Lorne and Lieutenant Cadman enjoy them. They have attempted in the past to introduce the genre to the rest of us."
Vala heard the distaste in the woman's tone. "But?"
The woman shook her head. "The women always go upstairs when they should go outside, and run when they should fight. Most of the men are little better. It makes no sense."
"Well, most people on Earth don't have military training," Vala offered. "They don't know how to fight."
"I know," said the woman with a sigh. "But I have trouble imagining what it would be like to live such a life."
"Most of our galaxy is like that. Well, the lucky ones."
"No one here is lucky in that way."
"Neither was I," Vala said, swinging her legs off the couch and standing up. She walked over to the woman and offered her right hand, Earth-style. "Vala Mal Doran."
"Teyla Emmagan," said the woman, taking her hand and shaking it firmly. It was ironic, Vala thought fleetingly, that their only common greeting was one foreign to both of them.
"So, Teyla," Vala said, "what are your plans for the afternoon? I suppose you've got a busy day of important meetings and exciting missions ahead of you?"
The woman looked up at her, clearly puzzled. "I have no plans, other than a meeting with the elders this evening. Our off-world travel is on hold while your team is here. I was on my way to instruct Dr. Kusanagi in use of bantos rods when I saw you."
"Bantos rods," Vala said contemplatively. It had to be more interesting than another round of woman-cowers-before-machine. She smiled brightly at Teyla. "Any chance you’d be willing to take on another student?"
Teyla looked surprised, and then smiled back. "It might be useful for Dr. Kusanagi to have another beginner to practice with. If she does not mind sharing her lesson."
Teyla was, Vala noted absently, very beautiful when she smiled. "Wonderful. And maybe afterwards, you can show me what a 'slasher flick' is."
* * *
"So what happened to you?" Cameron asked at breakfast the next day. "You manage to get the anthropologists to give up the location of the local treasure trove?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Vala replied, scooping up a forkful of reconstituted scrambled eggs.
"I'm talking about the smile that hasn't left your face all morning."
"Your mood is much improved today," Teal'c said thoughtfully.
"That's because my naturally adaptable and upbeat personality has simply reasserted itself."
"She must have figured out how to make money somehow," Daniel said. He sipped from the mug cradled in his hands. "That's the only thing that draws out that particular smile."
Vala scowled at him indignantly. "Believe it or not, I've been having a good time. It turns out that there are some people around here who actually appreciate my company."
Daniel frowned disbelievingly. "Just as long as you're only taking advantage of the marines, and not the natives."
"I do not think the latter is probable," Teal'c said. "It is unlikely Doctor Weir will allow her off-base."
"Well, and with that vote of confidence, I'm afraid I must go," Vala said, standing up. She really was smiling a lot, she realized. She thought about what that might mean, then mentally shrugged. She was a happy person, after all, despite what Daniel might say.
"You have a hot date lined up?" Cameron asked, looking amused.
Vala looked at him and her smile broadened. "I have a lesson in bantos fighting."
* * *
The path from the cafeteria to the gym didn't actually require Vala to go past the operations center, but she was a little early for her lesson, and she liked to know what was going on. Knowledge was power, went the Tau'ri saying, and that was a truth she'd known long before she heard their maxim. After establishing that nothing of interest was happening in operations, she stopped by Major Lorne's office, where he flirted with her politely before kicking her out, and then wandered past the infirmary, though she didn't bother stopping in. Ironically, she really was on her way to the gym when raised voices caught her attention. Or rather, one particular raised voice.
"I am a member of your team, but I am also the leader of the Athosians, and there are times when I must put my people's well-being first."
Vala froze outside the conference room, straining to hear the response.
"I'm sure if you work with our biologists, they can find an alternate solution," said Doctor Weir, in a calm, reasonable, and--to Vala's ears--utterly infuriating tone.
"They have spent the past year working on it, and have had no success. If we are to plant this year, we must have the aizasha within the next two weeks."
Vala looked around to make sure that the corridor was empty, and then took a careful step forward. She leaned against the wall, and peered into the room through a paneled door that had been left ajar. Teyla stood opposite Atlantis's civilian leader and military commander, arms crossed and eyes defiant. Her normally serene face was alive with anger, and Vala smiled in admiration. She found herself wondering suddenly what the Athosian woman would look like if the mask were dropped in more...pleasant circumstances.
"Teyla, our doctors can…" Sheppard began.
"Your doctors can perform many miracles," Teyla interrupted, voice calm again, "and we are grateful for the lives they have saved. But we are already very dependent on you, and my people do not want to come to your doctors with every minor injury because we lack access to our own traditional cures."
"I understand that," Dr. Weir said. "But Teyla, John and Rodney are needed here, and the marines are already over-committed. We don't have enough people to spare for this mission right now."
"I am not asking for an escort. I have made this trip alone many times before. All I need is for you to dial the gate."
"We can't let you go alone!" Sheppard said, sounding frustrated.
"John, I know these people. They are not a threat. And we need to trade with them."
"And if the Wraith come while you're there?"
"Then I will run and hide, as I did for the many years before you arrived."
Vala heard the click of boots in the hall coming towards her. She straightened up with a start, turned around and backtracked, taking a different route to the gym.
* * *
"I am sorry I am late," Teyla said, entering the gym. Her face was calm and shuttered again, as if she hadn't been arguing only a few minutes earlier.
"It's fine," Vala said, making a show of stretching. "It gave me time to warm up." She stood up and waited.
"Good. Then you are ready to begin." Teyla handed over a pair of rods and then held up her own. "Let us practice yesterday's form, and then I will show you a new defense."
Vala watched Teyla carefully as she demonstrated the new techniques, attention torn between the lesson and analyzing the woman's mood. She kept silent about what she'd seen, biding her time until Teyla launched a particularly forceful demonstration of an attack technique. Then Vala stepped back, lowered her rods and looked at her.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Teyla replied.
"You don't act fine," Vala said. "If I've somehow offended you…."
"It's not you," Teyla said, letting her arms drop. "It is…they always insist that their way is the only way. And in the city, that is fine, but they do not have the right to limit our actions outside the city."
"No," agreed Vala. "They don't. But they'll try anyway." She let her own simmering frustration creep into her voice. As awe-inspiring as the successes of the Tau'ri were from a distance, up close one quickly became aware of just how new they were to interstellar travel and how little they knew of the power balances already in play. And how reluctant they were to learn about them, if that knowledge came from a former thief and Goa'uld host.
"This galaxy is so much bigger than they realize," Teyla sighed. "And they just assume…."
"I think it's their ignorance that lets them accomplish the impossible," Vala said. Which was, after all, the reason that she'd stayed with them after the Ori had discovered their galaxy. "That doesn't mean they don't need to be pulled back at times, though. Taught a lesson."
"I suspect the universe will eventually teach them that lesson on its own," Teyla said. She straightened up and drew in a deep breath. "And in the meantime, I will try to find another way to make them see things as I do."
"Surely you don't have to stay here if you don't want to. There are other places you can go."
"Yes. But as you say, they seem our best hope of accomplishing the impossible."
* * *
By day six, Vala had settled into a routine and had stopped wishing that Daniel and Carter would hurry up and finish so that they could all head back to Earth.
On day seven she noticed that much of her new routine was centered around Teyla, who--like Vala--had an abundance of free time while her teammates were busy playing host to SG-1. Bantos lessons were followed by basketball demonstrations, complete with a single-handed re-enactment of SG-1's most recent aliens-on-Tau'ri match that left them both breathless with laughter. Afternoon tea was accompanied by long discussions of the challenges of working with Earth, and mutual bewilderment over the Tau'ri governments' reluctance to inform people of the existence of the stargate and all it implied. Dinners with whichever of their teammates could be pulled away from their respective projects led into cozy evenings in Teyla's quarters, or on one of Atlantis's many balconies, sampling Athosian wines and swapping stories about the worlds they'd been to. It was, Vala told herself, nice having a friend who really understood the challenges she faced.
On day eight, Cameron commented again on how much she was smiling. She brushed him off, not wanting to think about it too much. She was not, after all, a woman given to foolish crushes on people in other galaxies. Casual sex, yes, when the opportunity presented itself, but nothing more than that. Just in and out of bed, with fun times for all. And if she were given to foolish crushes, it certainly wouldn't be on someone who had given no indication that she reciprocated. Assuming that she was allowed to reciprocate, and wasn't bound by the same stupid rules that the Tau'ri imposed on their military. The merest idea, Vala told herself forcefully, was ridiculous.
On day nine, she caught herself making a ridiculous excuse to see Teyla alone, and then realized that she'd spent the past half-hour staring at the Athosian, thinking about what colours would best flatter Teyla's skin tone. Vala knew then that she ought to say something, but the words caught in her throat when she tried, and she ended up making a joke instead. She'd never before thought that it might require courage to invite someone into her bed. She didn't know how else to request a relationship. She spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out how to phrase the question, and never found the right words.
On day ten, Teyla invited her to help negotiate a trade agreement.
* * *
"This should be a straightforward negotiation," said Teyla as they hiked from stargate to village. "My people have been dealing with this world for many generations."
Vala nodded, blinking against the bright afternoon sun. "Anything in particular I should know about this place?"
Teyla cocked her head thoughtfully. "Do not drink the khas and try not to step in anyone's shadow--they consider it rude."
The village consisted of about two dozen large, round houses made out of what looked like sticks and clay. They were surrounded by cultivated fields, already half-harvested, and in the distance, a dense forest that stretched out endlessly away from the stargate. The overall impression was cozy but primitive, and Vala remembered with a shiver that unlike the Goa'uld, the Wraith not only refused to share technology, but actively discouraged its development through mass destruction. There wasn't, she suspected, much profit to be made here.
Teyla led her through the village to a large building at the centre. They passed a few people along the way, mostly children who ran as they approached and then gawked from the doorways of their houses. No one spoke to them.
The building Teyla took her to featured a number of low stools set in a circle around a central fire pit: clearly a place intended for negotiation. It was, however, notably empty of negotiators.
"The word has gone out," Teyla said confidently. "They will be here soon."
Soon, Vala quickly realized, was a relative term. Teyla passed the time waiting patiently--standing, since there was no one to invite them to sit. Vala spent the time somewhat less patiently, pacing back and forth across the room and complaining about the lack of consideration for guests. Even the presence of Teyla was not enough to compensate for the boredom.
"They busy bringing in the harvest," Teyla said, looking alternately amused and annoyed at Vala's antics. "And there are no clocks here."
"Then I think that's what you should be offering them in trade."
Once or twice she tried to sit and rest her legs, but Teyla brought her up again with a warning glance. Finally, when the sun had dipped to the horizon, three women entered the meeting hall.
Vala evaluated them automatically. The eldest of the women looked about fifty, the youngest about fifteen. The third was about Teyla's age. All three women were dressed in heavy cloaks, baggy pants and short tunics, all brightly coloured and heavily embroidered, but showing wear at the edges. Not, Vala decided, a very wealthy place, despite the elaborate silver broaches fastened to their cloaks.
"Teyla!" called the eldest, smiling. She stepped forward lightly and touched foreheads with Teyla. "We weren't sure you were going to make it this year."
"I am sorry that we come so late, Maglyn. It has been a busy year." She turned to the other two women with a smile. "Skala, Eilon, it is good to see you both again."
"And you as well," replied the youngest. She stepped forward and touched her blonde head to Teyla's bronze one. Teyla turned to the third woman, who held back.
"Skala?" she asked, looking confused.
"I see you made it here safely," said the woman coolly. "And you brought company."
"Yes." Teyla turned and gestured Vala forward. "This is Vala Mal Doran."
"Very nice to meet you," Vala said. She smiled warmly at Maglyn and Eilon, then let her smile harden into a threat as she turned to Skala. Skala raised her head in response, meeting Vala's gaze coldly.
"Vala works with the Lanteans," Teyla explained, not catching the exchange.
"As do you, I hear," Skala said, tossing her head. "More than with your own people, these days."
"Welcome, Vala," Maglyn said, casting a sharp look at Skala. She turned to the youngest girl. "Eilon, perhaps you could fetch some tea for our guests. They've come a long way." The young girl bobbed her head and left the house. Maglyn turned back to them. "Please, be seated."
"Thank you," groaned Vala, sinking gratefully onto the nearest stool. At a look from Teyla, she managed to suppress the words "at last." The other women arranged themselves around her. As they sat, Vala slipped a hand inside her coat so that it rested on her gun, and twisted in her seat so that she could keep her eyes on Skala as they spoke.
"Is your alliance with the Lanteans still thriving, Teyla?" Maglyn asked, settling her cloak around her. "Do they treat your people honourably?"
"They do," Teyla replied. "They have dealt with us fairly, and provided us with aid when needed."
"And what do you do for them?" Skala asked with an edged smile. "What can your people offer in return to the ones who revived the City of the Ancestors? Or have the Athosians been reduced to living on the charity of others?"
Vala looked with concern at Teyla, whose face had frozen into an expression of artificial serenity. Vala couldn't read what lay beneath the calm, though she admired Teyla's ability to maintain it. She herself would have opted for indignant outrage at the insult.
"I assure you, Skala," Teyla said formally, "my people are as independent as we ever were. We are also, however, greatly reduced in numbers after the culling of three years ago, and are grateful that we have others who will fight by our sides when the Wraith attack."
"It's a pity the rest of us don’t share such benefits."
"We all pray to the Ancestors that one day the threat of the Wraith will end," Maglyn said quickly. "Tell me, Teyla, have you been to Ragol recently?"
Vala let the talk of people and places she didn't know lap over her while she continued to study Skala. The woman was about thirty years old, pretty enough in a pale sort of way, her most striking feature her long, auburn hair. She was armed, as all the women were, with a dagger in her belt, and another in her boot, and Vala suspected she knew how to use them, the Pegasus Galaxy being what it was. Overall, there was nothing terribly distinctive about her, save for the bitter anger that radiated from every pore, and that had clearly caught Teyla by surprise.
As Eilon returned with the pot of tea and the conversation turned to trade, Vala began checking off the possibilities in her head. One, the Lanteans had made enemies, as all Tau'ri seemed prone to do when they stepped through the stargate, and among those offended were the people of this world. In which case she and Teyla had better be prepared to fight their way back to the stargate. Two, the Lanteans had made enemies and those enemies now held this village captive, with the expectation that the villagers would either hand over Teyla and Vala, or stand back while they were captured. In which case, they should be prepared to fight. Three, Teyla could have conned Skala in some way on a previous visit. Vala was inclined to dismiss that one, however, because Teyla was both an unlikely con artist, and smart enough not to get caught. Or at least smart enough not to come back if she knew it was likely she had been caught. However, if the dispute was personal, they probably wouldn't need to fight their way to the stargate. Instead, they should be focused on looking for poison and quiet attacks in the night. A dagger in the back, maybe. Four…maybe Skala was just having a bad day. Vala smiled sourly. The fool who relied on luck was soon dead. She turned attention back to the conversation, which seemed to be winding up.
"It is a generous offer," Maglyn was saying, "but the harvesting this year has been slow, and we have less aizasha available than usual." She stood up, and the others followed immediately. "It is late. We will eat, and then we will sleep. Tomorrow we will come to an agreement."
The night was pitch-black apart from the light of the torches their hosts carried and the firelight that spilled from around the doors of the houses. Vala made sure to keep Skala in sight as the three women led them through the village to a house where food and pallets were laid out. She wrinkled her nose at the pervasive smoke from the firepit as they entered, but kept her attention on Skala.
"Be our guests for the night," Maglyn said. She lit the torches in the hut, then the three of them withdrew. As soon as they were gone, Teyla turned to Vala.
"I need to speak with Skala. I will be back shortly."
"Are you sure it's safe to go alone? If they're upset about your alliance with the Lanteans..."
"My people were allied with the Lanteans last year when I was here, and it was not an issue."
"Have the Lanteans done something since that might have annoyed them?"
Teyla shook her head grimly. "I do not think that is the problem. Wait here; I will return soon."
Vala passed the waiting by examining the walls of the house carefully, looking for traps or obvious vulnerabilities, while keeping an ear cocked for any sign that Teyla needed help. Once she thought she heard Teyla yelling, but when she went to the door, there was only silence. She hesitated for a long moment in the doorway, wondering if she should check if it had been Teyla, then turned back inside. She had just finished her second pass of the walls when Teyla stalked back in angrily.
"Do we need to set up a watch tonight?" Vala asked with concern.
"No," Teyla said shortly. She sat down at the table and picked up a piece of fruit, biting into it sharply.
"So things are okay?"
"Skala is being most unreasonable," Teyla said. "But she will not harm us."
Vala sat down across from her, keeping one eye on the door. "You're sure?"
"It is not that kind of dispute."
"Then what kind of dispute is it?"
Teyla hesitated, then set down the piece of fruit and looked up at Vala. "I was fostered here when I was about Eilon's age. My people think it's wise for future leaders to learn the ways of other peoples. I stayed with Skala's family while I was here, and the two of us became close friends." She broke off a piece of bread and turned it around in her hands. Vala waited. "Later," Teyla added, "we became more."
Vala ruthlessly shoved down the spark of hope that flew up with those words, but her treacherous pulse picked up a little anyway, and the thought clung to her brain. If Teyla could be interested in Skala... "Ah."
"We both knew it could not go anywhere," Teyla said, still focused on the bread. "We were both destined to be leaders and neither of us were going to leave our people. But we arranged to see each other whenever we were on the same world. A few times a year. Until last year."
"What happened last year?"
"Skala married."
"She's married? Then why…?"
"Because she did not like seeing that I had already replaced her. She would have been fine, I think, if I had also found a husband, but when I came here with you, she took it as a deliberate insult." Teyla sighed. "I did not think she would interpret it that way."
Vala felt the tension begin to drain from her body. "Really? That's all it is? She's your ex and she's jealous because she thinks you have a new girlfriend? I thought…"
"You thought we were really in danger?" Teyla asked, bemused. She finally looked up. The anger had left her face, replaced by bewilderment and regret. Vala resisted the urge to kiss away the hurt look. Hid behind logic.
"Well, the Tau'ri seem to have a knack for making enemies, and it wouldn't be the first time that an enemy hid behind an apparent ally."
"No," Teyla agreed. "We have also had that experience. But Maglyn would have found a way to let us know, if that had been the case. And I do not think they would have left us alone for so many hours."
"So you set Skala straight, then? I mean, that you and I are not…."
Teyla shook her head. "It is none of her business now who I am with. Her claim on me ended when she wed. Though if letting Skala believe we are together offends you, I can correct her."
"Offends me? No, not at all. I would think that anyone chosen by you would be proud to be that choice." She hesitated, then added, "I certainly would be."
Teyla smiled. "You honour me." She paused, and then added in a low tone, "Skala was not entirely wrong, you know."
"Really?" Vala looked steadily at Teyla, keeping hope hidden and letting her skepticism show on her face. "You plan to replace her with me?"
"People do not replace each other," Teyla said seriously. "But if it were something you wanted, I would try to expand our friendship into something more."
Vala felt the smile break across her face, and this time she let it show. "Well, all you had to do was say so," she purred to Teyla as she leaned across the table to kiss her.
* * *
"Come on, Vala!" Cameron called. "It's time to go. We've got a galaxy to save!"
"Already?" Vala asked, stepping into the doorway of her quarters. "We just got here."
"We've been here nearly three weeks," Daniel objected.
"Well, they certainly flew by."
"You wanted to leave on the first day."
"Well, that was then, darling. Before I knew just what Atlantis had to offer."
"Got your things packed?" Cameron asked. "Teal'c and Carter are already in the gate room."
"Go ahead," Vala said. "I'll meet you there in a minute."
"Don't take too long," Cameron warned as he and Daniel headed to the gate. Vala turned back inside.
"Apparently I have to go," she said. "Worlds to see, worlds to save, and all that."
Teyla smiled up at her from the bed and sat up slowly. "Will you be able to return?"
"Oh, I hope so. Certainly, if the Ori don't win. Or possibly if they do."
Teyla stood up and slipped her arms around Vala. "Then I will see you on your next visit," she whispered into Vala's ear. Vala returned the embrace.
"I'm looking forward to it." Reluctantly she pulled away, and picked up her pack.
"I will walk you to the gate room," Teyla said.
"You should come to Earth sometime," Vala suggested. "It's a pretty place. Lots to see. And I could show you around the rest of the Milky Way as well. There are some really fabulous planets out there."
"I would enjoy that very much," Teyla said as they reached the gateroom. Vala looked over at her waiting team, grinned wickedly, and leaned in to kiss Teyla passionately.
"Goodbye, darling," she said. Teyla shook her head a little, but she was smiling. Sheppard and McKay, Vala noted, looked satisfyingly shocked and even Weir looked a little nonplussed. Ronon, however, was clearly amused, and her own team only looked resigned.
"You really did have a good time, didn't you?" Daniel said.
"It's all about learning how to make your own fun," Vala replied, smiling brightly.
"Come back anytime," Sheppard said as the wormhole burst into life.
"Oh, we will," Vala promised, and stepped into the wormhole.