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So make the most of it
Daniel really wishes that he had the strength to follow Jack out of the infirmary before he finds Vala. But all he can do is silently curse his name and wait for the inevitable. He pushes his lunch tray away, no longer hungry, but highly anxious.
A light tap sounds at the door and Vala peeks around the corner. “Daniel? Jack said you needed to talk to me?”
He sighs, he’s not ready to have this conversation with her. He only recently let himself realize the extent of his feelings for her and sharing that feels almost impossible. “You didn’t have to come. It could have waited.”
She sits gingerly on the edge of the bed like she is afraid he will break if she gets too close. “Well, I’m here now. You might as well tell me.”
He looks into her beautiful grey eyes, so much like the stormy sea, those same eyes who have tormented him for years; begging him to give in to their depths.
He takes a deep breath and begins. “When I was in Atlantis and I almost died again I was reminded that life is too short. Jack was all to eager to remind me of it again just now and he’s right. I’ve spent too many years alone, grieving over Sha’re and what could have been that I haven’t been able to focus on what I have now.”
Daniel pauses and takes one of Vala’s hands and holds it in his. She smiles at him and he can’t help but to return her smile with one of his own. “And what I want to have in the future.”
“And what’s that darling?”
This is the difficult part. Now he actually has to admit his feelings for her and hope that she responds in kind. His heart starts racing in his chest and he is certain that Dr. Lam will show up at any minute and wonder why his heart is beating so fast.
“I would really like to have a future…with you.”
She blinks at him and he can see the exact moment when she realizes exactly what he is saying. “With me? Like you and me? Together?”
“Yes. That is, if you would like that.”
Vala doesn’t answer him, at least not with words. She leans over and kisses him. When they finally break apart, he smiles at her.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Between love and hate
After his talk with Sam, Daniel goes to find Vala to apologize. He knocks on the door to her quarters and after a moment, she answers. Her eyes go cloudy when she sees him standing there.
“Oh, it’s you.”
He deserves that, but it still stings a little. “Can I come in?”
She stares him down, but then stands aside to let him past her.
“I’m sorry about earlier.”
Vala sighs and sinks onto her bed, lying her head back against the covers. “I was only trying to help you.”
He steps closer to her and then sits next to where her head is lying. “I know. You just frustrate me sometimes. You talk incessantly and you’re always touching me. It’s distracting.”
She shifts so that her head is now in his lap. Part of him is screaming to tell her to move, but the other part just lets it be. He peers down at her, watching her carefully.
“You hate me, don’t you?”
He closes his eyes. Nothing could be further from the truth. But then again, it’s often said that there is a thin line between love and hate…
He opens his eyes and sees her staring back at him. “No, I don’t hate you. You infuriate me. You drive me absolutely insane. But I wouldn’t want you any other way.”
He gently pulls her up so that she is sitting beside him and wraps his arms around her, pulling her close. “The reason I get so angry when you’re around is that you make it impossible not to think about how much I want you. Every touch, every whisper, every gaze, makes me want you more and I can’t resist you much longer.”
She smiles. “Then don’t. I want you more than anything Daniel, and I don’t mean just for your body, although it is quite magnificent, I mean all of you. Your heart. Your soul. Everything.”
Daniel kisses her. It’s a soft, slow seduction of his lips against hers and then his tongue deepening the kiss. She moans against his mouth and presses herself as close to him as possible.
He doesn’t resist.
Definitely
After Dr. Lam bandages up his cut, Daniel heads back to his office. He needs time to think about his short conversation with Carolyn regarding Vala. Everyone already thought they were basically dating anyway, what would it matter if he made it official?
He walks into his office and stops short. Vala is already in there, carefully cleaning the artifact he was working with before. She hasn’t noticed him yet and he takes a moment to just watch her work. He smiles at his assistant and his heart leaps in his chest.
“Vala?”
She looks up and grins at him. “Carolyn fix you all up?”
“Yep. Thanks for taking over in here; looks like you are doing a good job.”
“Thanks darling.”
He takes the seat next to her and gently places an arm around her shoulder. “I really appreciate you. You know that, right?”
“Of course. I’m an invaluable friend and co-worker.”
He sighs. She doesn’t understand what he means. “No…I mean you’re right, but that’s not what I meant. I meant that I appreciate you as a person. I like you as a person.”
She looks at him questioningly. “I like you too.”
He shakes his head. “I’m not good at this. I appreciate you. I like you. I want you in my life…as more than just my friend and co-worker.”
She smiles wide, her eyes sparkling. “Are you sure?”
Now it’s his turn to smile. “Definitely.”
All Wet
Daniel resurfaces after his jump in the pool, landing face to face with an irritated looking Vala. “You splashed me!”
“We’re in a pool! The whole point is to get wet.”
She lifts a brow at him and her irritation fades in an instant. A sly smiles spreads across her face and she slowly trails her index finger down his chest, causing him to shiver despite the heat. She leans closer to whisper in his ear.
“It’s okay darling, it’s not the first time you’ve made me wet.”
He groans inwardly. I can’t believe she just said that!
Their bodies are practically flush together and he feels his body reacting to her statement. He’s about to berate her for her blatant innuendo, but then he thinks about what Mitchell said to him about her really caring about him. He pulls her closer, stroking her arms up and down and then moving to whisper in her ear, his lips millimeters from her skin. “And I can do it again later tonight…if you want.”
Vala shivers and he can feel goosebumps rise on her skin. He loves that he can affect her in this way. She pulls away slightly and looks at him in confusion. “What did you say?”
“You heard me…”
She looks into his eyes and he’s sure she can see the fire blazing within them. “Well, in that case, I accept.”
Daniel smiles and leans forward to kiss her. Their lips collide and he deepens the kiss when she moans into his mouth. He steps back before they get too carried away. “Seven this evening. Wear something sexy that you don’t mind me tearing off of you.”
“And here I thought that the pool was for cooling down, not heating up.”
He kisses her again, not even caring about the stares they are getting from the rest of the people at the pool.
Make a new one
Daniel presses the ‘call end’ button on his cell phone and sets it down. He just cancelled his date with Katie and is already feeling much better. Now to find Vala and ask her on a date instead. Now this is the difficult part. If he admits that it will be a date, she’ll go crazy. So will he, but for a different reason than her. She’ll be excited and expectant and he will be a nervous wreck.
Daniel tries to quell those thoughts down as he knocks on the door to her quarters. She likes to sleep in on their days off.
Vala answers quickly and Daniel is surprised to see that she is already dressed. “Daniel? What’s going on?”
He takes a deep breath. You can do this. Just ask her out. It doesn’t have to be a big deal.
“Do you want to have dinner with me tonight? Somewhere off base?”
Her lips curve up into a smile. “Okay, that sounds fun. Is this a friends and coworkers thing?”
He sighs, knowing that she will never let him live that down. “Uh no. I’m asking you on a date.”
She narrows her eyes at him. “Are you feeling okay?”
Daniel laughs. “I’m fine. I’m asking you to have dinner with me. Like a date. I’m fully aware of what I am asking you and am not under any alien influence, unless that alien is you. I, Daniel Jackson, am asking you, Vala Mal Doran, on a date.”
Vala grins wraps her arms around him in a hug. “Sounds wonderful darling. Blue, pink, red, or black?”
“Huh?”
“What color lingerie do you prefer? I need to know which one to wear tonight.”
He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter, I’ll only see you in it for a second before it comes off anyway.”
“I like the way you think!”