Title: A Long Winter's Nap or How Groundhog's Day Came Again.

Author: BkWurm1

Originally posted on the Daniel&Vala Live Journal page last Feb for Month of Love 2011

Characters/Pairing: Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran - established relationship.

Rating: Fairly PG

Disclaimer: Since MGM is broke, maybe we can make a deal? Stupid lawyers. Fine, nope, it is theirs, not mine.

Summary: Waking up from a much needed nap. Not much plot. Lots of cuddling. Some banter. A little talk of love and Chinese food.

"Happy Groundhog's Day, darling," Vala purred against the back of Daniel's neck.

Under the down comforter, she snuggled closer and glided her toes up and down his calf. His deep, even breathing changed but he didn't awake. She hugged him from behind, snaking her arm around his middle and enjoying the feel of his muscled abdomen almost as much as she enjoyed the heated sensation of his smooth bare skin pressing against hers. She took a deep breath. Beneath the lingering fragrance of the pomegranate bodywash they'd shared earlier in the shower, was Daniel's own intoxicating scent. It brought to her mind a dark hint of spices like the kind sold in the marketplaces on the planets Apophis once ruled. She sniffed again. Mixed with the spices was the tang of aged paparus and ink. The heady combination made her heart flutter.

Vala nuzzled a tender spot below his ear, first tasting the patch of skin and then lightly nipping him with her teeth. He grunted and she cheerfully repeated her earlier greeting. "Happy Groundhog's Day."

In February, Valentine's Day was the traditional time for hearts, flowers and declarations of adoration, and while she still expected long stemmed, red roses on the fourteenth, secretly she preferred the traditions she and Daniel created. Somewhere along the way, Groundhog's Day became another sort of anniversary, one just as deserving of commemoration as when they first met or the first time they accidentally got married.

Teal'c passed on his affection for the movie Groundhog's Day and from the film Vala picked up on the advantage of doing something over and over until it was just right (though naturally she had no intention of letting Daniel know that he had done it just right the very first time). Even the holiday's traditional definition held great appeal. Yes, poking your head out and deciding to stay in bed usually worked very well for her purposes. A part of her wished she could do that now.

Vala seduced Daniel in the shower just before noon, gently preventing that stubborn man from driving on to Denver when the roads remained a slippery mess and he the most current spokesmodel for sleep depravation. Her plan had almost unraveled when Daniel finished up in the shower before she'd even had the chance to find her purple loofah and join him. Thankfully, Groundhog's Day came with rules and privileges and she was able to demand a do-over and thus lured him back under the warm spray. She skillfully led one thing to another until she'd tapped out his last reserve of energy.

Vala stretched, still feeling warm and a little sleepy after their post coital nap. If Daniel hadn't gone to the trouble of surprising her (after very little prompting) with reservations for the rest of the week at Denver's Brown Palace Hotel and Spa (a fabulous four-star getaway) she would have happily followed the groundhog's sensible example and burrowed back in for the night.

Two things kept her from doing so. Skipping Denver and staying at their much-neglected apartment would mean never knowing what delights could go on in a Couples' VIP Spa Suite. Her stomach growled and reminded her of the other reason. She was famished and their cupboards were bare.

She was contemplating waking Daniel up with a far bolder love bite when he finally surfaced on his own. He lifted his head from the pillow, groaned, and let it fall back. He glanced around the darkened room. She'd thoughtfully pulled the blinds shut the moment he fell asleep, which by her calculations happened about two minutes after he stretched out on the bed and about one minute after he claimed he wasn't really tired. She repeated her greeting for a third time. "Happy Groundhog's Day."

He repeated the well wishes back to her, but a jaw-popping yawn made the last half of what he said unintelligible. He sighed. "I fell asleep, didn't I?"

She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder and murmured, "Mmmhmm." He'd been so certain he could stay awake long enough to get them to their hotel. His intentions were very sweet, but really, he never had a chance.

Daniel twisted around to face her and narrowed his eyes. "You did that on purpose," he accused without much heat. "You did it on purpose and completely ignored the fact we were only supposed to stop at the apartment long enough to shower and grab the suitcases."

She widened her eyes and delivered her most outlandish innocent look. "On purpose? Whatever could you mean?"

He raised his arm and waved it vaguely about. "In the shower, you know what I mean. You knew afterward I would fall asleep."

She lifted her hand to her heart and gasped. "Are you accusing me of deliberately using sex to manipulate you into doing things my way?"

"Yes," he hissed.

An unrepentant smile tugged the corner of her mouth. "Well naturally darling, but never worry," she reassured him. "I had plenty of purely lustful designs on your body as well.

He cocked his head and then lifted his hand to trace a pink crease on her cheek. "You fell asleep too," he said smugly.

She jerked back and swatted at his hand. "No," she denied until he raised an eyebrow forcing her to admit, "fine, yes, I fell asleep too." Before his self-satisfied grin got too big, she waved her finger in his face. "Ahh, but I woke up first, so that doesn't count."

He pulled her against him again. "You were exhausted. It's good you slept."

"Me?" She scoffed as she resettled the length of her body comfortably against his. "You were the one who sat hunched over a desk translating the obelisk thingy for forty-eight hours straight before gating in and convincing that backward mob on P29whatever that having the secret writings of their god would be more satisfying than cutting off SG-3's arms, legs and other appendages as some creepy offering to their salamander deity." She tugged on the comforter, trying to reclaim her share. Daniel obligingly shifted so she could pull it into place and then she rested her cheek against his chest. "Not that I think the villagers really wanted to kill SG-3."

He scowled, "How was intending to cut off their limbs, one by one, not intent on killing them?"

"I meant killing them on purpose, not just as a byproduct of their actions. You saw the statues and altars built around the Stargate and in their temple. I'm convinced that since SG-3 came through their god's portal they sincerely expected SG-3 to be fully capable of regenerating the odd arm or leg like that peculiar lizard thing they revered. Now as for certain other appendages, well the priests were all eunuchs so I'm not quite so certain if they thought everything would grow back."

He laughed softly into her hair and ran his fingers through the tangled curls at the back of her head. He slid his hand along the sensitive nape of her neck and pressed his lips to her forehead. "You are trying to evade the issue. You were working the whole time too," he reminded her. "You must have been just as tired as I was."

"You can't know that for certain. Besides, over time they say healthy living delivers added stamina." He snorted and she amended her claim. "Though in this case, I'm sure I napped during the especially boring bits. You should remember; you were there."

He lazily stroked a path up and down her spine. "I remember you making me drink coffee as thick as sludge, but I don't remember you getting any more rest than I did."

His touch made her shiver and burrow closer. "Well, perhaps my work in this one case simply wasn't as taxing to me. I spent more time rewriting your notes, fetching reference books, and arguing with you – which always puts a zing in my step - than delving so deeply into my knowledge of obscure Goa'uld dialects as to prove exhausting."

"That's spring in my step, not zing," he automatically corrected.

She nudged him with her body and began tracing circles on one of the flat brown nipples on his chest. "You spring, I zing."

He hissed and flattened her teasing hand by covering it with his own. She smiled and shrugged, "Either way, clearly you were the one more in need of sleep." She shrugged again. "I simply chose to keep you company."

Daniel abandoned trying to get a serious answer and concentrated on brushing back from her temple a few wayward strands of her inky black hair. "What ever the reason, I'm glad you did, not just today but all the time." He drew his eyebrows together, forming a crease between his eyes. "I couldn't have done the translation without you," he confessed.

"Pfft, there's a bold lie from one who claims to value truth and honesty so much," she groused.

He placed a finger beneath her chin, tilting her head back enough for him to catch her eye. "No lie." He curled his hand lying over hers and laced their fingers together. "Your knowledge of obscure Goa'uld dialects and their written syntax was actually very important, but that wasn't what I meant."

"Oh?" She prompted.

"There was a time I couldn't imagine saying this, but you just being there is very important to me. I don't know if I can define what it is that you bring to my work. Maybe it's that I can bounce any idea off of you or that you are there to recheck my facts or even just there to help me work off the tension when facing an impossible deadline," he frowned and shook his head before continuing.

"I didn't have enough time, but we made it. I wouldn't have finished in time to save SG-3 without your help and it's not the first time you being you made all the difference." His thumb slid alongside hers in a simple caress before he lifted their linked hand and kissed her knuckles. "I don't tell you often enough."

Vala's eyes glistened. For a moment, she said nothing, and then she cleared her throat loudly. "Darling, that may have been the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, but need I remind you, you already have me naked and in bed. What more could you want?" She asked with a cheeky grin and then patted his cheek. "You should save that silver tongued sweet talk of yours for times when you really need it."

"Oh really?" A gleam in his blue eyes signaled he was up to something a heartbeat before he wrapped his arms around her and rolled them both over. Vala lay trapped beneath the weight of his body. "Would this be a better time for sweet talk?" He asked.

Vala arched her back, molding her dangerous curves against his hard terrain. He groaned. She looked up through her dark lashes. "Why? Are you under the impression you're in trouble now?"

He dropped his head to her shoulder in good-natured defeat and confessed, "I've been in trouble since the moment you climbed in my lap and shot me."

"Actually I shot you then climbed in your lap, but oh, my sweet, darling, Daniel," she crooned as she grasped his shoulders and pushed him once more onto his back, "didn't I make it all better?" She then swiftly straddled him and ran her hands up his abdomen and over his chest.

He sat up in a rush: wrapping an arm around her waist, anchoring his other hand in her hair and kissing her hard. He broke off the kiss almost as quickly as it started and leaned his forehead against hers. "Yes, yes you did and believe me when I say you are still doing it."

"Doing what?" She asked breathlessly.

His cupped her face and used his thumb to trace the outline of her lips. "Making my life better," he told her and smiled wryly. "Hell, every day you convince me to risk really living again." Emotions flashed on Vala's face. She started to speak, but Daniel shook his head and cut her off the flip reply he could see forming in her eyes.

"No jokes this time. I'm invoking Groundhog's Day privileges and calling for a do-over. No evasions. Life is too short and I need to know you understand."

She hesitated and then gave a quick nod. She did understand even if she didn't want to think about it. Life provided no guarantees. This morning they had almost arrived too late to save SG-3 from a mission that no one expected to offer any risks.

Life was painful enough when you were only looking out for yourself, but making your happiness contingent on the life of another meant being vulnerable to the kind of pain from which no one ever really completely recovers.

"No evasions," she agreed aloud and bit her trembling lower lip. She curled one hand behind Daniel's neck and with the other, grazed her fingertips along his stubbled jaw.

He clasped her wandering hand in his and held it to his heart, quietly waiting for her to speak. Vala moistened her lips and ignored her rising panic. She didn't know how to explain. Conversations like this were far out of her comfort zone.

She glanced up and found instant comfort in Daniel's tender gaze. Suddenly the words came.

"It frightens me a little to be held to such high expectations. How can you be the one telling me I make your life better?" She asked, genuinely feeling a little bewildered. He laughed a little and kissed the hand he was holding.

She shrugged. "I guess maybe I don't always understand and I know I don't like talking about it. At times, this life seems too good to be true and there are all those old superstitions about tempting the gods, but I'll remind you," she told him, her emotions making her voice husky, "that you were not the only one running from the risk of making a real life," her voice cracked. "You're the reason I stopped running and the only one I ever run to." He closed the space between them, leaning in to steal another hot, possessive kiss. Vala clung to him in return.

"I love you," he whispered feverishly between kisses.

Her breath hitched. Every time he told her, a part of her still felt stunned, but she answered back without hesitation. "I love you." The words burst out of her urgently, impossible to keep secret and yet so inadequately conveying everything she felt.

Most of her adult life revolved around saying whatever was required to survive. In her past, she'd used the three most powerful words in the universe carelessly. Would she ever properly be able to express the beautiful ache his smile brought to her heart? Or the fearsome gladness that overflowed each time he was near?

She didn't have the words, so she threw herself into the moment, trying to convey her emotions through her need. Daniel responded by holding her as tightly as she needed to hold him. Life was uncertain. Life could be brutal. Life could also be glorious and unexpectedly beautiful.

Her stomach growled. Loudly.

Daniel broke their kiss. "Was that…?"

"Ignore it," she insisted and leaned back in. He recaptured her lips hungrily and barely paused when the next rumble happened. Vala found herself sinking once more into a sensual haze when she heard it again, this time even louder. She pulled back. "Wait, that wasn't me."

"Yeah," he slowly admitted, sounding chagrined, "that was me."

She tilted her head back. "That's not really very flattering."

Daniel scrunched up his forehead. "Would it be petty of me to remind you that you started it?"

"Absolutely." She only just managed to keep a straight face. "Further, I had the grace to tell you to ignore it."

"Is this the point where you try to convince me that no, you are not really hungry, but for my weak pitiful self you are willing to feed me?"

"No, this is the point where I remind you that coffee is not a real breakfast and that we gave SG-3 our emergency stash of protein bars which meant no snacking on the walk back to the gate, which is why," she gave him one last peck on his lips, "I'm starving right now."

"Me too." He sighed and glanced toward the kitchen. "Maybe we have something left in the freezer."

"Nope," she answered cheerfully and started nibbling on his jaw. "I looked when we first got here. Not even a bag of frozen peas." She began working her way down his throat.

He shivered and raised his chin to give her better access, but at the same time glanced around the room. With the windows covered, he couldn't tell how far into the evening they were. To see the clock he would have to turn away from the soft women in his arms and nothing was pressing enough right now to make him do that, so he put the question to Vala instead. "How late is it?"

"I have a very good internal clock. We couldn't have napped for more than a couple hours," she answered without moving an inch.

He frowned. "It feels longer. Try looking at a real clock." She pouted, but turned her head toward the bedside table.

"Well, that can't be right."

"What? What time is it?"

"According to the clock, we've already missed our dinner reservations."

He winced. "The whole day? We slept the whole day?"

She linked her hands behind his neck. "Well you did and I just kept you company, remember?"

He rolled his eyes. "Kept me company while you were asleep?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Why quibble over details?"

He brushed her hair back. "You do know that if we want to get to the hotel tonight, we really should be getting dressed right now."

She wrapped her legs around his waist, tightened her arms around his shoulders, and leaned her head against his chest. "Mmm, I'm not particularly inclined to move right now. What other options do we have?"

He rested his chin on top of her head and stroked the small of her back. "I thought you were starving?"

"Famished, but don't we still have those take out menus in the night stand? In the time it would take us to drive to Denver," she reasoned, "we could have already moved past eating dinner and gone on to satisfying other more substantial hungers."

"What about the Brown Palace Hotel? What about all your spa appointments?"

She pulled back a little so she could see his face and couldn't resist running her fingers through his tousled hair, "Darling, this is Groundhog's Day. We'll simply plan a do-over for tomorrow. In the meantime, you are all the fabulous, four star, fun I need."

His eyes sparkled and a wide grin split his face. "Have I ever mentioned what a clever women you are?" She preened under his attention. He gave her a peck on the lips, stretched to reach the drawer on the bedside table and retrieved the first menu he found. "Chinese ok?" he asked as he scooped up his cell phone as well.

She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder as he placed the order. He didn't have his credit card on him, but Vala was happy to take the phone when the time came and recite the memorized number. He set his cell phone back down on the nightstand and told her, "They'll be here in forty minutes."

She nuzzled his throat. "Which gives me enough time to explore some of the four star amenities included in the Dr. Daniel Jackson package." Heat flashed in his eyes and he started to return her lascivious grin only to pause and frown instead.

"Wait, four stars?"

"Mmm, yes, four stars," she repeated back.

He cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. "Why four stars? It's a five star rating system."

Vala licked her lips and softly raked her fingernails down his back. "Uh huh, and I'll give you until our food is delivered to earn that extra star."

"That sounds like an impossible deadline." A shadow of something deeper flittered across his expression. He cupped the side of her face and searched her grey eyes. "Are you planning on keeping me company?" He quietly asked.

She lightly touched his temple. "Every day of my life and maybe then some," she promised and smiled at him with everything in her heart showing.

A joyful light shone in his eyes and his devilish smile retuned. "Then there's no way we can lose."