Title: Phantoms
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Daniel/Vala
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Author's Note: I've been thinking of this story for a while, and, thanks to a little prodding from a certain, Vala/Daniel crazed fan of mine (coughcoughcoughdominocoughcough), I decided to put the story in my head down on the compie. So, here we go! Enjoy! Please R&R!
Summary: The oddest things happen when you sit idly by... (Post-Prototype)
Please, to all the Gods and Goddesses in every single culture, help me make it through this afternoon, he prayed, fidgeting in his blue jeans and red plaid shirt. Please...
It was mid-afternoon at the Pasta Italiano Pasta Bar, he only had a few minutes to spare before going back to work, and already it was turning out to be a nightmare of a day; the car wouldn't start, his paperwork was late, even a few of his fish had wound up dead... Now, after only a few moments, it was getting worse.
Much, much worse.
"Mmm... this is good chicken... Then again, it's the only chicken I've ever tasted, so I guess it's good by default."
Her voice managed to pierce through his concentration once again, and Dr. Daniel Jackson sighed heavily, closed his book and adjusted his glasses in annoyance. "Don't you ever go away?"
Cocking her head to her side, the woman across him slurped a few of the angel hair noodles left on her plate and grinned, winking. "If I do that, who would be around to watch you, and make sure you didn't do anything inappropriate?"
"The only thing inappropriate here is you."
Her shoulders fidgeted, her scarlet red halter top slightly. "Not my fault your planet is a world of stiffs with no fashion sense. I can barely stand to look at such horribly dressed people. Doesn't Earth offer some sort of educational services to teach how to put on the right socks or a sexy leather skirt."
Daniel looked her up and down, rolled his eyes, and returned to his book. He was getting tired of this, oh so very tired... "Vala..."
"What? Even you can admit I have good fashion taste."
"Yeah, you're the goddess of Chico's and Macy's," he muttered, scanning over the pages documenting the Ori and the Ancients. "Now, if you don't mind..."
Picking up her fork, another mouthful wound up in her mouth, and she chewed slowly. "What is it?"
"What's what?"
"What you're worried about. You can't hide anything from me, Daniel. I can tell when something is bothering you."
"Nothing is bothering me."
"Oh? Not even Khalek?"
That stopped him. Suddenly, the words he was reading so easily before construed into a jumble of scrambled jibberish. How did she always get to him, cut right through his defenses like a switchblade through twine? "I... I don't know what you're talking about."
"You heard me, and don't you dare try to deny it. I know you better than you know yourself, Daniel."
"What makes you think he--"
Fists pounded on the table in frustration. "He has everything to do with what's bothering you, Daniel! You killed him!" Blue-gray eyes softened as she settled back down in her seat. "You killed him," she echoed, "and that bothers you."
Daniel looked her in the eyes, recalling the events as they came to him and shook his head in shock. "I had no choice, Vala. He would've been another Anubis, or even worse. He had to be stopped before he killed any more people. It had to be done..."
"Daniel..."
"No, Vala. You made me talk about it,so shut up and let me finish."
"You don't--"
"Yeah," he whispered softly, "I do." Clearing his throat, he replaced his bookmark and gently lowered the manuscript to the table, watching it with his eyes as if making sure it was safe. "I killed Khalek. In cold blood. I had to; it was justified completely, and yet... I can't stop thinking about it, thinking about what he told me when I interrogated him..."
He could still hear the sound of Khalek's voice, the chilling quote that sounded like a choir chorus in his mind. I know you wish to take my life, and I promise you, before this is over, one of us will feel the pleasure...
Vala nodded, letting her fork clatter to the plate loudly. "That would have left a mark on any man's mind, no matter how brave he is."
"He was dangerous, Vala. You could see it in his eyes; that man was a monster. He wanted to kill, to feast on the fears of others, to have blood on his hands. He wanted to do all that and enjoy it. I killed him without remorse, so why am I still thinking about it? Why am I obsessing over it?"
A warm hand snaked its way into one of his, and she smiled sadly. "Why do you think he's still there, long after he's dead?"
"To teach me something about him, about the world, myself... I don't know."
"Obviously he struck quite a chord with you."
"More than that. He scared the heck out of me. He really scared me, Vala, because he reminded me of what I could've been in his place; Shifu showed me a vision once, where I had the Gou'ald memories stuck in my head, and I was no better than Khalek."
"I know."
Daniel sighed, and surprised himself when a few droplets dribbled to the binding of the book on the table. "What does that say about me, Vala? What does that mean?"
"It means you're human, like the rest of us. We all have a darker side, something we're not proud of, and sometimes we show it, sometimes we don't. but it's always there, hiding, and there's nothing we can do about it but subdue it as best we can."
"And what if we can't? What if I can't?"
"I hope that never happens." Sliding from her seat, she quickly knelt by his side and stroked his face, her eyes crinkling at the corners with sympathy. "You're a good man, Daniel Jackson. Strong, confident, intelligent. Not to mention," she looked him up and down, as if for the first time, lingering somewhere below the belt, "attractive enough to get me going."
He managed a painful smile. "Thanks."
"I wasn't finished. You are all those things, and so much more. You have an adventurous side, a passionate soul, and more courage than I have ever seen in any man before. You truly are one of a kind, and I know that if anything, you are, and never will be, Khalek."
Watery blue eyes met her steely ones. "Thank you, Vala."
"You're welcome, darling."
"I just wish you were really here to tell me that."
She smiled sadly, and nodded. "Me too."
A blink, and she was gone, as quick as a snap of the fingers, leaving him to dry his eyes, collect his thoughts, and sigh at the empty place across the table once again.
A pain in his chest throbbed. His heart still bled for her; that was for certain. And yet, even when she wasn't there, she still managed to make him feel better.
Crap, Vala, he thought, his lips slowly contorting into an easy smile. If I wasn't in love with you before, I am now. "I love you, Vala," he whispered, and he hoped, where she was, she did too.