CHAPTER THIRTEEN
For the second morning in a row, Daniel awoke to the wonderful feeling of Sam lying in his arms. He very much wanted to do so every morning.
"Good morning," Sam murmured against his chest.
He looked down at her, meeting her eyes. "How long have you been awake?"
"Maybe ten minutes."
"You should have woke me."
Sam scooted up and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I liked where I was."
Daniel grinned. "I like where you are, too." He returned his lips to hers in a long, slow kiss. Then he laid his head back on the pillow, and the two of them just held each other for the next half hour as they made plans for their weekend together.
They were eating breakfast when Sam asked, "When are you going to call Jack?"
"I figured that this evening would be best."
"Are you nervous about telling him?"
"A little. It's only been a little over two weeks since you and Jack decided it wasn't going to work out, and. . . ."
"And we're already sleeping together."
"Yeah. Not that I intend to come right out and tell him that. But he does need to know that you and I are really a couple now, and if I don't tell him, Landry will."
"To be honest, I'm glad that you're the one who's going to call him. I'd feel really uncomfortable doing it, what with what went on between me and him. I sure was uncomfortable when he called me after he found out that I was going to go on a date with you."
"I can understand that. Almost anybody would be uncomfortable talking to an old boyfriend about a new relationship, although I guess that Jack wouldn't exactly qualify as a former boyfriend."
Sam nodded slightly, then fell silent. She resumed eating, but Daniel could tell that her attention was not on the food.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.
"Oh, I was just thinking about how much things have changed in the past few weeks. Less than a month ago, I was all excited about my first date with Jack, dreaming of the wonderful new life I thought we were going to have together, and, now, here I am, in a steady relationship with you."
Daniel gave a nod. "Yes, it is pretty mind-blowing, if you really think about it." He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss. "But I, for one, can't tell you how happy I am that it worked out that way."
Sam smiled at him. "You know what?"
"What?"
"I feel exactly the same way."
Overjoyed to hear her say that, Daniel gave her another kiss.
The lovers finished their breakfast, then took turns in the shower, Daniel going second. As the water poured down on him, he thought back to what Sam had said. They were wonderful words to hear, but there were other words that he longed for more. But he had to be patient. After all, it hadn't even been two weeks since their first date. Someday, those words would come. He had to believe that. He had to have faith that Sam would one day love him as much as he loved her.
It was after eleven a.m. when the knock came on Cameron's door. Truth be told, he was expecting it to be earlier.
"So, where did you tell everyone you were going?" he asked Vala as she stepped inside.
"Shopping, of course."
"Of course. So, are we going to wait until after lunch before getting to the sex or. . . ." His voice trailed off as Vala began unbuttoning his shirt. "I guess not."
Lunch came after the sex. They were both starving and wolfed down the sandwiches. Afterwards, they went for a walk to a little park not far from Cam's apartment. They sat at an empty picnic table and watched the kids playing. Among the children was a little girl with long, straight black hair and dark eyes. She looked enough like Vala to be her daughter.
"Can I ask you something?" Cam said.
"Of course, although I don't promise that I'll answer."
"If Adria hadn't been the Orici. If she'd just been an ordinary kid, yours and Tomin's, what would you have done?"
Vala looked at him. "Are you asking if I would have stayed with Tomin so that we could raise our daughter together?"
"Yes, I guess I am."
Vala thought about it. "If there had been no Ori, if I had married Tomin for some other reason, I guess I would have tried to make a go of it with him, at least for the sake of our daughter."
"Even though you didn't love him."
"I may have eventually grown to love him. He was such a sweet, gentle man before the Ori changed him. He was far too good and kind a man for me."
Shocked at that statement, Cam stared at her. It was the first time that he'd ever heard Vala put herself down.
"When I was with him, I had to pretend to be things that I was not," she said. "If he'd had any clue about my history, he wouldn't have had anything to do with me."
Cam took her hand. "Hey. Don't say that. Okay, so it's true that you can be aggravating and infuriating at times, and, yes, your past isn't a shining example of lawfulness, but, well . . . I happen to think that you're pretty okay."
Vala turned her head and stared at him, her expression one of stunned amazement. "You do?"
"Yes, I do."
The brightest smile he'd ever seen on her face beamed across it. She leaned forward and kissed him.
Turning back to the kids, Vala wrapped her arm around Cam's and laid her head on his shoulder. She thought about what happened earlier that morning, the thing that led her to say that Tomin had been too good for her. She'd been heading for breakfast when she heard two women talking.
"She's a slut and a criminal," said one, "I don't know why they let her on SG-1. She doesn't deserve it. I heard rumors that she tried to get Doctor Jackson in her bed, and he turned her down flat. I'm glad he did. He's way too good for her. Every man on this base is too good for her."
Vala hadn't hung around to hear the rest. She quickly turned around and went back to her quarters. There, she fought back the tears that were threatening to fall. She tried not to let what that woman said bother her. She'd been insulted before, many times, but some things the woman said had struck home, hitting a tender spot that she didn't know she had.
For a while, Vala had considered not going over to Cam's house, thinking that maybe that woman was right. Maybe Cam was too good for her. Minutes later, she decided that she wasn't going to let what that woman said spoil her weekend. Now, she was glad that she didn't. Cameron's statement had made her feel really good. Who cares what that woman thinks? What mattered was what Cameron and the rest of her teammates thought.
They left the park a few minutes later and walked to a mall, where Vala did some of the shopping that she'd told the people on base she was going to be doing. Cam went with her into every shop, even the women's clothing stores. When, however, she headed toward a lingerie shop, Cam drew the line refused to go in. He was, however, very interested in what was in the bag she was carrying when she came back out.
"You'll find out when we get back to your place," she told him with a sensual smile. That made Cam very eager to get home. Vala, however, insisted that they get some ice cream first. He countered that they could eat it on the walk back.
They did just that. By the time they reached his apartment, the ice cream was long gone.
With a little smile, Vala disappeared into the bathroom, telling Cameron to wait for her in the bedroom. Not knowing whether he should get undressed or not, he chose to remain clothed.
When, a few minutes later, Vala came out, Cam's breath halted in his lungs. She looked like something straight out of an R-rated version of a Victoria's Secret commercial. The shimmery black chemise was so sheer that it might as well not have been there, and the thigh-high stockings and garter belt had Cam thinking about slowly rolling the stockings down her legs as his lips followed their progress.
"Wow," he breathed.
Vala slowly approached him on four-inch stiletto heels. "Do you like it, Cameron?" she asked in a sexy purr.
"God, yes," he groaned.
She placed a hand on his right shoulder, then ever so slowly walked all the way around him, her hand traveling across his back and ending on the other shoulder.
"I have to say that I'm disappointed," she said in his ear.
"About what?"
"You are still wearing so many clothes."
Cam grinned and pulled her into his arms. "Well, we'll just have to take care of that, won't we," he responded before consuming her mouth with his.
Vala spent a total of five hours with Cam. He knew that it was longer than he should have allowed, but he'd had just too much fun to end it sooner.
"So, what are our plans for tomorrow?" she asked as she waited for a cab.
"My plans are to get some things done around the house. I am in desperate need of clean clothes, and I haven't cleaned this place in longer than I care to think about."
"But I was so hoping that I could come over again."
"As great as that would be, Vala, you couldn't say that you were going shopping again."
"Well, no, of course not. I was going to say that I wanted to catch a movie playing at the theater." She smiled. "There's one playing that's three hours long. Add lunch to that, and they wouldn't be expecting me back for at least four hours."
Cam was so tempted to say yes, but he really did have to get that stuff done.
"Vala. . . ."
"Please? I'll help you do the laundry. I'll even vacuum the carpet, although you'll have to show me how."
Cam studied her closely, getting the distinct impression that Vala's plea to come over wasn't because she was eager for more sex.
"Vala, what's this about?" he asked.
She turned away. "Nothing."
"I don't believe you."
She picked up the TV remote and started toying with it. "It's just that, for all this time I have been here on Earth, I have rarely gotten a chance to have any fun off-base. In the beginning, they wouldn't let me set foot outside the SGC without supervision, and nobody was interested in going anywhere with me. Later, that changed somewhat, but. . . ." She turned back to him. "All this time I've spent with you this past week has been more fun than I have had in a long time. I have really enjoyed it, and I want it to continue. I never have anything to do on base, and I get so bored, especially now that I can no longer hang out in Daniel's office."
Cam realized that she did have a point about the SGC. She had never been given any duties, and, now that the Ori were history, she didn't even have the situation with them to occupy her time. It was no wonder that she was craving fun and excitement.
He came up to her. "Yeah, I can imagine that you are pretty bored there. I'm sorry that I didn't think about that before."
"Then you'll let me come over?" she asked hopefully.
Cam hesitated, then let out a sigh. "Yes, you can come over."
Vala grinned and threw her arms around his neck.
"But I really am going to do laundry and housework."
"Certainly. And I will help."
Just then, they heard a horn honking outside. Knowing it was the cab, Vala let go of Cam. She gave him a quick kiss and told him that she'd see him tomorrow.
As he watched her get into the taxi and drive away, Cameron had the feeling that it was going to take a whole lot longer to do his chores than what it normally would have.
Daniel and Sam lay curled up on the couch together. The TV was on, but the sound was muted. They were sharing with each other some stories from their childhood, having got on that subject after watching a movie about a family with nine children.
The day had been wonderful. They played games, listened to music, talked, and made love. Neither one of them could recall having a more enjoyable day, and they were both anticipating that tomorrow would be just as enjoyable.
Daniel looked over at the clock, surprised to see that it was going on seven. That would put the time in DC at almost nine.
"I guess I should call Jack before it gets too late," he said. He got his cell phone and dialed the number as he took a seat in a chair.
"Well, hello, Daniel," Jack greeted. "I've been waiting patiently for a call from you. So, how are things going? I heard about the request that Hank made a couple of days ago. Goats, chickens and pigs, not to mention a ton of food. You have no idea how glad I am that I won't be there when all those farm animals arrive."
"Yes, I wish that I wasn't going to be there either."
"Soooo . . . how are things going on other matters?"
"Well, actually, that's what I was calling you about."
"Oh? Good news or bad?"
"Good , really good, in fact."
"Really? Then you and Sam are. . . ."
"Together."
"How together?"
"Um . . . very."
There was a long pause before Jack responded. "I see. I have to admit that I wasn't expecting that to happen so soon."
Daniel looked over at Sam.
"To be honest, Jack, neither was I. Things just sort of . . . worked out that way."
"And I bet there's quite a story behind it. Not that I'm gonna ask what it is. So, I should imagine that you're ecstatic about this."
"Yes, it's been fantastic."
"Well, I'm happy for you, Daniel. I know how much you wanted this. Now give the phone to Sam so that I can talk to her."
Daniel paused in surprise. "How did you know I was with her?"
"Lucky guess."
Daniel held the phone out to Sam. "He wants to talk to you."
Hesitating a moment, Sam took the phone.
"Um, hi," she said nervously.
"Hello, Sam. So, I understand that you and Daniel are very much a couple now."
"Yes, we are."
"Didn't take long."
Sam's cheeks began heating up. "Well, it just. . . ."
"Worked out that way," Jack finished.
"Yes, I guess you could say that."
Jack was silent for a moment. "Are you happy, Sam?"
"Yes. I couldn't be happier."
"Well, then I'm happy for you."
"Thanks."
"Now, switch to speakerphone so that I can talk to both of you."
Sam did ask asked.
"Well, kids," Jack said. "It turns out that I have a bit of news, too. I've sold my house, and it is now in escrow."
"Did General Paine buy it?" Sam asked.
"Yep. It's nice to know that it'll stay in the family, so to speak, although I never got as attached to this place as I did the one over there. And, on that note, I wanted to let you know that I've decided to move back to The Springs."
"That's great, Jack," Daniel said. "It'll be good to have you back here. So, what made you decide to pick Colorado over Minnesota?"
"Well, now that's a bit of a story. After I got back here, I was feeling a little lonesome and in the mood to chat with someone, so I . . . called Sara."
Taken completely by surprise, Daniel and Sam looked at each other.
"Yes, I know you're surprised," Jack said, correctly interpreting the moment of silence. "It was on impulse. I expected us to chat for a while, catch up a bit, then that would be it."
"But something more happened." Daniel guessed.
"Yeah. We got to talking about other things, stuff we hadn't talked about since Charlie died. It was a good conversation. Sara asked if I planned on visiting there any time soon, and I told her that I was thinking of moving back there. She seemed to be happy about it and said that she'd like us to get together someday and talk some more."
Daniel and Sam were both delighted by the news.
"Do you think that you might get back together with her?" the archeologist asked.
"We've just had one conversation, Daniel."
"Yes, but you made the final decision to move back here because of it."
"You got me there. Let's just say that I'm keeping my options open."
"When will you be coming back here?" Sam asked.
"Escrow will be closing in fifty-four days, so I'll want to get busy looking for a house before then, although I can stay with Hank until I get a place of my own. I'm thinking that I'll come over in around three or four weeks, spend a few days looking for something."
"Well, we'll look forward to seeing you."
"Same here. Now, I will bid you good night since I'm guessing that the two of you will be going to bed early."
Totally embarrassed by what they knew Jack was implying, the couple said good night.
"I'm glad that he might get back together with Sara," Sam said. "It makes me feel better about the fact that he and I didn't work out."
"Yeah." Daniel smiled. "So . . . about you and me going to bed early."
Sam smiled as well. "Now, why would we want to do that?"
"I have no clue," Daniel replied before taking Sam's mouth in a kiss.
When Vala arrived on Sunday, Cam had a load of laundry in the washer and was busy mopping the kitchen floor. She immediately asked what she could do to help. He pulled out the vacuum cleaner and gave her brief instructions on how to use it. As she started on the vacuuming, he returned to the mopping. He'd just finished the mopping when the buzzer on the washing machine went off. He quicky threw the clothes in the dryer, then got started on cleaning the bathroom. He was still in there when Vala finished the vacuuming.
"What would you like me to do next?" she asked.
"Well, I suppose that you could do the dusting. Just don't knock anything off the shelves."
A few minutes later, Cam got done with the bathroom and came out into the living room. He watched Vala as she dusted and couldn't help but think about how very domestic this felt, like a married couple sharing the household chores. Putting that thought out of his mind, he dumped out the dirty water in the bucket and put the mop and bucket away.
Duster in hand, Vala went into the bedroom. Her eyes immediately went to the bed, and she smiled, determined that they would be using it before the day was done.
When the dryer signaled that the clothes were done, Vala went into the laundry room with Cameron, insisting that she could help him fold his clothes. Though he would have preferred doing all himself, he gave in to her. They were about two-thirds of the way through the laundry when Vala spotted something that made her grin.
"Now, what do we have here?" she asked as she plucked it out of the pile of clothing. Cam groaned silently when he saw what she had. He'd totally forgotten that they were in there. He tried to snatch them away from her, but she jerked them out of his reach.
"Why, Cameron," she said, still grinning. "How very adorable."
The object of her interest was a pair of blue boxer shorts with little fighter jets on them.
"They were a gift from an old girlfriend. She thought they were cute. Now give them to me."
"No, no, no. I want to see you in them."
"Not on your life."
Cam tried to grab them, but Vala took a quick step backwards.
"Or maybe I should wear them," she said teasingly, holding them against her hips.
"No way, Vala."
The pilot made another grab for the underwear, but Vala again avoided him. She danced away, and he went after her, chasing her out into the living room. He tackled her, and they fell to the floor, Vala letting out a little squeal. Cam finally managed to wrest the boxers away from her. She tried to get them back, but he kept them out of her reach. Their gazes met. Vala's eyes were sparkling with laughter, her dark hair fanned out on the floor, cheeks rosy with color. Yet again, Cam felt that stirring in the region of his heart, but, this time, he did not push the feeling away. Slowly, his lips descended to Vala's. The kiss was soft and slow, his arms going around her to hold her gently against his body. His mouth then went to her neck to place whisper soft kisses on her skin. Vala closed her eyes, loving the feeling.
At last, Cam's head lifted, and their eyes met again. Cam got up off the floor, pulling Vala up with him. He lifted her into his arms and took her to the bedroom, where they slowly removed each other's clothing.
For the first time since becoming a couple, Cam and Vala made love slowly and gently, taking the time to touch and caress each other everywhere. When their bodies united, the slow pace continued, each advance and retreat accompanied by tender touches. A quiet gasp was the only sound they made as they climaxed together. As they came down from the heights, they continued holding each other.
Vala gazed at Cam in amazement, shocked by the feeling washing through her, a sense of fulfillment that she'd never before experienced after having sex. She wanted to stay like this in his arms forever. That feeling scared her.
"Well, that was certainly a pleasant break from the housework," she said, trying to sound casual.
Cam blinked. "Um . . . yeah." He separated from her and sat up, refusing to think anymore about how that lovemaking had made him feel. He got off the bed and got dressed as Vala did the same.
The rest of the clothes were folded and hung up without further incident.
Feeling the need to be out of Vala's presence, Cameron said, "I need to run some errands. You should probably go back to the SGC."
Though it hadn't been anywhere near four hours, Vala nodded.
On the way to the base, Vala suddenly changed her mind and told the taxi driver to take her to the nearest park.
As she sat on a park bench, Vala's gaze fell upon a family having a picnic. The father had dark brown hair, the mother's long and black. The two children, who looked just like their parents, were laughing and playing as their parents looked on.
All at once, Vala began seeing herself as the mother and Cameron in place of the father, the two of them smiling fondly at their kids. After just a few seconds, she jerked away from the image, more than a little surprised that such a thing would enter her mind. Have children with Cameron? What a ridiculous thought. That was for people who were planning to spend the rest of their lives together, for people in love, and that was most certainly not what she and Cameron were. They were just two consenting adults in a mutually satisfying sexual relationship. No ties, no strings attached. And they certainly weren't in love.
Vala left the park and walked to a nearby shopping center. As she wandered, she looked at the men she passed, imagining what kind of lovers they might be. The problem was that she kept comparing them to Cameron. That irritated her, and she decided to leave. She called for another cab and had it take her to the base. In her quarters, she turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until she found a silly comedy. She focused her attention on the movie, putting all thoughts of Lieutenant-Colonel Cameron Mitchell out of her mind.
Daniel looked about the gate room. He was afraid to move for fear that he'd step in something. The place looked like a petting zoo, except that most of the keepers were in military uniform.
Sam wound her way though the livestock, people and crates and came to a stop beside Daniel.
"And here I thought it was bad when the Hak'tyl were staying here," she commented.
"Yeah. At least all this stuff isn't going to be here for that long." He suddenly yelped in surprise and jumped away. He spun around and glared at the goat that had just nibbled at the seat of his pants. "Shoo! Go away!" he said as he pushed the animal away from him.
"What's the matter, Daniel?" Sam asked teasingly. "It looks like she likes you."
"The feeling is not mutual."
Cam, Teal'c and Vala made their way up to their teammates.
"Where's Landry?" the pilot asked.
Daniel answered. "He escaped to his office a few minutes ago in order to preserve his sanity. If the Stargate isn't dialed soon, I'll be joining him."
To everyone's relief, the gate began dialing up. To everyone's dismay, when it activated, it spooked most of the animals, who bolted. Because the blast doors were closed, they couldn't escape the room and began dashing about, evading the people trying to catch them. It took a good ten minutes to regain control.
The FREDs carrying the crates of food and chickens were sent through first, then the goats and pigs were herded through, though that proved to be quite difficult since the animals were afraid of the event horizon.
On the other side, Nitiren and the other council members stood waiting, along with several other townspeople. They stared at the animals, never having seen goats, pigs and chickens before. All five members of SG-1 came up to them.
"Will what you have there be enough for the raiders?" the Chief Councilor asked.
"That isn't everything," Cam replied. "We don't have enough FREDs to carry all the food, so, after we transfer everything to your carts, they will be sent back through and loaded with the rest of the stuff."
The FREDs were quickly relieved of their burdens, then sent back to the SGC for the remainder of the crates.
Cam looked at the position of the sun. "We'll need to get a move-on as soon as the rest of the stuff comes through. The raiders are probably getting impatient."
An hour later, the trip to the meeting place began. Along with Nitiren and two of his fellow councillors were a dozen other people from the town, some of whom were driving the carts. It took another hour to reach the small clearing, partly due to the difficulty of herding the pigs. When all the townspeople saw the raiders, they stopped, nervous about continuing forward.
"Come on," Cam said to the three council members. "Let's go introduce you."
SG-1 and the three councillors continued forward, halting before the raiders. Cam introduced Daniel and Sam to Marnan, then did likewise with the three people from the town council.
Marnan looked over at the livestock and carts full of food. "You have kept your side of the bargain. That is good."
"Yes, we have," Cameron said. "There are enough animals to allow you to slaughter some and use the rest for breeding stock. Eventually, you'll have some good size herds of your own."
"We came up with an idea that I'd like to discuss with all of you," Daniel said, addressing both the raiders and the councillors. He focused his attention on the raiders. "The problem you're having is the lack of enough rainfall to keep crops alive. We know of ways that you can catch and store the rain that you do get, then use it to irrigate crops. That will help you a little. But there is also something else that can be done. How far away is the nearest large source of water from where you live?"
"There is a river more than a day's walk from our home."
Daniel nodded, knowing that such a distance could easily be spanned with an aqueduct.
"Nitiren and his people have built an aqueduct, which diverts water from the nearby river to their town and fields. If you had the same thing, you could bring water right to your fields."
Marnan frowned. "We do not know how to build an . . . aqueduct. Are you proposing to teach us?"
"Actually, my idea was that the townspeople would teach you."
The councillor named Davan scowled. "These men steal our crops and livestock, leaving us barely enough to feed our families. They beat and humiliate all those who rightfully seek to protect our property from them. And, now, you want us to be their teachers?" He spat on the ground. "Let them learn for themselves. I will not share knowledge with the likes of them."
Rage filling his face, Marnan drew his sword, followed by all the other raiders. This resulted in the people from the SGC aiming their weapons at the raiders.
"Oh, crap," Daniel muttered, seeing a meltdown fast approaching.
