Girls' Day Out

Rated: PGish depending on your sensibilities :)

Season: 10 or so

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate.

Spoilers: Nothing important.

Summary: Sam, Vala, and Carolyn on fathers, boyfriends, and ice cream.

Author's note: Hey everybody! Hope you enjoy. Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've missed you all very much and will hopefully be reading and writing more now that life's gotten a little less complicated.

Much love,

Christine

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"Sam?" Vala's voice sounded from a dressing room stall.

"Yeah?" Sam answered from a stall of her own.

"I think I'm stuck."

"What do you mean you're stuck?" Carolyn asked from her post outside. Not wanting to try anything more on, she'd been designated as opinion giver for Sam and Vala.

"This dress thing. I think there's something wrong with it."

"Let me see." Carolyn poked her head in the doorway and stared in shock, at least as much as any doctor would allow herself to show. "Okay, don't panic. Just follow the sound of my voice and get the hell out of that thing."

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Wrap-around dress," Carolyn answered.

"Ohh," Sam said with a voice that spoke of personal experience.

Vala made her way out of the dressing room and stood beside Carolyn, hair slightly fuzzy and out of place.

"You almost done, Sam?"

"Done," Sam answered and joined them, hair perfectly in place. Vala pouted at Sam questioningly as she fingered her own hair.

"Don't worry, Vala, it just takes lots and lots of practice." Sam turned to Carolyn. "What's next?"

"Why, after all the calories we've burned trying on clothes? Ice cream cones."

"Ice cream cones?" Vala looked from one friend to the other. "I had some vanilla ice cream on the base once, but it wasn't very good."

Sam smiled at Carolyn. "This is going to be fun."

"More fun than getting our pictures taken in the photo booth?" Vala asked.

"Oh yeah."

"More fun than the jewellery dispensers?" Vala held up her fingers lined with plastic rings; loops of beads and candy hung from around her neck.

"Definitely," Sam assured her.

"Base ice cream is no good. Real ice cream is like… like… well," Carolyn finished with a shrug.

"Oh yeah," Sam agreed. "Except better. Especially if you get chocolate."

Vala raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Well what are we waiting for. Lead on Carolyn, lead on."

The food court was buzzing with Saturday shoppers, but the three women managed to find an outdoor table near Baskin' Robins.

"Are there really 31 flavours to choose from?" Vala asked.

"Yup. And if you're not sure which one you want, you can ask them for- um, never mind," Carolyn stuttered as Sam shook her head behind Vala's back. Perhaps letting Vala know about sampling wasn't the best idea.

Vala's eyes raked quickly over the open buckets of bright colours and funny names. "I know exactly which one I want," she said with certainty. She pointed out her selection to the cashier. "Double Brownie Danny Boy Delight," she said with absolute pleasure.

Sam and Carolyn made their decisions with a little more deliberation, then they settled themselves down at their table again and placed their shopping bags on the ground.

Vala took a large bite of ice cream. "Oh! Ow, ow, ow!! What was that?!" she stared in disbelief at her friends. Surely they hadn't pulled some sort of joke on her. Ice cream hurt like crazy.

Carolyn placed her sunglasses on her head and gave Vala a sympathetic look. "Ice cream headache. Just have a little at a time. And lick it instead of biting into it. It's too cold to eat too fast. The stuff on the base is always half melted by the time we get it," she explained.

Vala look a little wary, but tried a smaller portion, then slowly smiled. "Yes, now I see. That's much better. The slower you go the better," she grinned and winked at her own play on words, and Sam and Carolyn giggled.

Carolyn leaned back in her chair and took in the sunny day. "When you work below ground all day, you really begin to appreciate the sunshine, don't you?"

"Hey, hey," Sam scolded. "No mention of work, remember? Not even a bit."

"Sorry. I have no life. I've got no idea what else to talk about."

"I know what you mean," Sam agreed. "But we've got to try."

"I know what we can talk about," Vala offered and leaned forward to put her elbows on the table. "Earth courtship. I can't figure it out. I've learned some from watching television, but real relationships don't seem to work the same way."

"Trust us. They don't," Carolyn assured her. "You flirt with a guy, you think he likes you, then, wham, he's dating his high school crush from middle-of-nowhere Kansas." Carolyn frowned into her ice cream.

"He'll come around," Sam said with certainty. "Those long distant relationships never work."

Carolyn laughed. "This from the woman with a boyfriend in Washington for the past two years."

Sam giggled. "Okay, well, most of the time they don't work," she conceded.

"Lucky. I can't even interest a man I spend all day in close proximity with," Vala pouted.

"Oh, he's interested," Sam assured her. "He's a little old fashioned when it comes to relationships. He just needs to know your serious and not just flirting with him. Once he realizes you're not giving up on him, he'll start responding more."

"I hope so, because he's beginning to drive me absolutely wonko always treating me like an adolescent in need of guidance instead of a woman he could desire."

"He just wants to make sure you never have a reason to get taken from the team. I think he's afraid of losing you. He'd feel responsible."

"Really?" Vala seemed pleased and took another bite of ice cream. "Good."

Carolyn's cell phone started ringing. She looked at the caller id on the screen, then stuck it back in her purse.

"Not going to answer it?" Sam asked.

"No, it's just my dad."

"Sure it's not something on the base he's calling about?"

"No, he'd call me from a different phone if that was the case. It's funny. All the time I was a child living under his roof, he never paid me much attention. Now he calls at least once a day. I know he means well, but it's kind of annoying."

"Honestly," Vala agreed. "My father was exactly the same. Never there, then he hits midlife and it's, 'Vala, I miss you' and 'Vala, why don't you ever come to see me'. By their absence, they raise you to be independent, then they expect you to completely switch gears when they're ready."

"My dad never really did get to that point," Sam said. "Even when he joined the Tok'ra and our relationship improved a little, he was always away. I know he was happy to see me when he could, but I think he was more comfortable flying a ship into enemy territory than he was with being a father. He never really stopped pulling away."

"Men. I guess they never grow up," Vala said around a bite of candy from her candy necklace. "You know, as lovely as this ice cream is, I'm freezing cold now. I'm going to go grab a latte. Want one?" she asked her companions.

"I do," Sam said. "I'll come with you."

"I'll wait here," Carolyn said, quite comfortable finishing up her ice cream cone. She put her sunglasses back on and leaned back in her chair.

"I just love Starbucks," Vala bounced a step.

They waited in line, then Vala stepped up to the counter. "Yes, darling, I'll have a vanilla latte, extra shot of espresso, whip cream, and chocolate shavings on top."

"I see you've been here before," Sam said.

"Daniel took me shortly after I returned. He helped me pick out this drink. I love it." She paid for her coffee and waited till Sam ordered her Marble Mocha Macchiato, then they walked back to their table where Carolyn was chatting on her phone.

"Okay, love you too, Dad. Bye." She hung up with a sheepish grin and a small shrug looking for all the world like a little girl who knows she's got her daddy wrapped around her little finger. "Don't look at me like that," she warned her friends. "I just didn't want to look like I was ignoring him. I mean, he knows it's my day off."

"Uh-huh."

"Right."

"He wants me to come over for dinner tonight. You know, I didn't even know he could cook."

"Maybe he can't. Bring some Tums just in case," Sam advised.

"It's sweet he wants to spend time with you," Vala offered.

"Not really. The evening will be filled with all those awkward questions. Have I changed the oil in my car lately? Have I met anyone nice? When can he expect grandchildren? You know, I'll never understand how my parents, divorced and never remarried, can be so eager for me to get married and start making babies. And even if I was dating someone, they'd probably scare him off."

"My father still thinks I'll end up with the neighbour boy I used to know when I was a child," Vala shuddered.

"My dad completely freaked out when he realized Jack and I had feelings for each other. He was visiting for a few days, and I guess he caught a look between us or something. He came to my house that night and completely blasted me for going against regulations. Which we hadn't, but try convincing him of that. He softened up about it later. He made a point to get to know Jack. They acted like father and son-in-law more than officers. When Dad died, he told me not to let rules get in the way of my happiness. That's the one time I actually listened to what he had to say."

"Think you'll get married?"

"I don't know. Sometimes we talk about it, but I think a part of him is nervous about getting remarried. I don't want to push him on it. He'll ask when he's ready."

Vala took another bite from her candy necklace. "Perhaps I need to show that kind of patience with Daniel. For all his knowledge and wisdom, he really does seem like a hurt little boy inside sometimes."

"Try doing something nice for him that's completely innocent and doesn't make him think you want something in return," Carolyn suggested.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, um-"

"You could take him a coffee when we go. You said he took you to Starbuck's before, right? So just get the same coffee he ordered then, and take it to him on the base. I know he's there because he was working on some artefacts that were just brought in."

"That's perfect," Carolyn said. "Not only is it doing something simple and kind, but it shows you were thinking about him and you remembered your time out together."

"And don't stick around after you give it to him. Leave and then all his thoughts will be on you, the coffee, and, well his artefacts. But at least he won't be thinking completely about his artefacts."

"Did I ever tell the two of you that you are absolute geniuses?"

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Daniel used a soft paint brush to whisk away bits of sand covering up some writing on the stone carving he was working on. The work was slow, but for all the time he spent in his field he never grew tired of it. Hearing a throat clear, he glanced up at the doorway. Vala was standing there with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Hello, Daniel," she pushed off the doorway as though she'd been there for a while. "I thought you might need some refreshment after your long day. French Roast Fair Trade extra bold blend, if I remember correctly."

"You brought me coffee?" Daniel asked a little surprised.

"Yes."

"Oh, well, thank you. That was really thoughtful of you," he took the cup from her hands. "Do you want to sit down?" he motioned to an empty stool.

"I wish I could, darling, but the girls are waiting for me in the parking lot. We're going out for a movie in the theatre. They told me I'll love it."

"Which one is it?"

"I don't know. Something about four girls in a city, fancy clothes, and lots of-"

Daniel held up a hand to stop her. "You'll love it," he assured her with a smile.

Vala nodded and smiled in return. "Goodnight, Daniel."

"Goodnight, Vala. Thanks again for the coffee. And you look really nice, by the way," he complimented her new outfit.

"Thank you, Daniel. Enjoy your coffee." she said simply and smiled, then turned and walked away. She could feel him watching her as she walked away, coffee cup in his hands, artefacts momentarily forgotten.

Vala smiled her biggest smile to herself as she rode the elevator to ground level. Her friends really were absolute geniuses.