Chapter Text
After Daniel filled out another from to have the Stitch sent to the hotel, they left Tomorrowland, taking a route that brought them before Cinderella's Castle. Daniel steered Vala up the ramp that led to the Castle itself; she didn’t notice that the others weren't following until she heard Jack call out,
"8:30, right there?"
She saw Jack -- and everyone else -- walking down a different path, towards Liberty Square. Jack was pointing back the way they came, to a stretch of sidewalk a little ways down the curve of the looping street.
She turned to Daniel in confusion, and saw him flash a "thumbs-up" back at Jack.
"What's going on?" she asked as he pulled her by the hand towards the Castle's portcullis.
"You'll see soon enough," he said over his shoulder.
A minute later, they were standing at a podium outside a doorway, across from the gift shop they'd visited that afternoon. The woman behind the podium was dressed in a period costume that reminded Vala a little of the sort of thing one saw in a medieval village. Daniel handed the woman a pretty card with a princess on it. She wrote something down and handed the card back, telling him it would be just a few minutes, and waving them inside. The room they were ushered into was large, with a high ceiling and a throne on one wall. There were weapons, shields, and banners on three walls, and long, high-backed benches along two of them, half-full of families. On the fourth wall was a doorless entry, and a balcony above it. It was chilly in the room; as they sat at one of the long benches, Vala rubbed her arms in an effort to warm up.
"Are you cold?" Daniel asked her, brow furrowed in concern.
"A bit," she confessed.
He sat sideways on the wide bench, and spread his arms wide, beckoning. "Come on, lean into me."
She did as she was told, and snuggled against him as he wrapped his arms around her. He lay his chin on her shoulder. "Better?"
She nodded, smiling.
"Now seating the party Jackson!" called a young woman in medieval livery. She was accompanied by a man in a tunic who was, rather incongruously, holding a camera.
"That's us," Daniel said, waving a hand.
"Ooooh, that's too perfect!" cooed the man with the camera. "Could you repeat that pose for me over there for me, m'lord and lady?" he asked, directing them to the throne.
Vala turned to Daniel, silently questioning. "It's okay," he whispered, getting to his feet and leading her over.
They did as they'd been asked, saying "Mickey Mouse!" through their smiles. The photographer bowed and left, and the handmaiden beckoned them to follow. Reluctant to leave her very comfortable position again, especially to trail a stranger, Vala again turned to Daniel, who nodded encouragingly, and got to her feet.
The woman led them up an enclosed spiral stairway, to the dining area. The ceiling was vaulted, with stained glass windows, and banners and lovely chandeliers hanging down. There were stone arches all around, and leaded-windows with stained-glass crests aligning one wall. The other walls were stone, wood paneling, and royal wall-paper, with crests adorning the higher areas.
Vala felt very self-conscious at first -- this was even fancier than the first restaurant he'd taken her to! And yet the people seated at the tables were mostly dressed like them, in t-shirts and jeans, or shorts and tank-tops, and being waited on by more of the medieval-looking servers. It was also, unlike the waiting area, quite warm in the room; she felt sorry for the waitstaff, having to wear such heavy garments.
They were seated at a small table by the windows. Like at the first restaurant he'd taken her too, back in Colorado, Daniel placed the napkin in his lap, and Vala mimicked him. He apparently noticed, and smiled fondly.
"Hmm. I know what I want for the appetizer and dinner, but dessert is going to be tough," she said with a bit of dismay as she glanced at the menu (which thankfully was in English this time).
"Well, tell you what -- if you can narrow them down to two, we'll each order one of them and share it," he suggested. "And it's not like you have to decide dessert just yet ...."
She grinned -- her Daniel was so smart! When their waitress returned, Vala ordered the BLT salad to start, Daniel the spring roll, and they both ordered the prime rib (Daniel, having eaten there before, loved the prime rib, but agreed that the rest of the dinner menu was wholly unappetizing, with perfectly good foods ruined by weird additions. He complained that the menu used to all be good ...). The waitress brought their drinks -- two cokes and two waters -- and a basket of bread.
When she was almost done with her second piece of bread, Vala noticed that Daniel had hardly touched his first. "Aren’t you starving?" she asked incredulously. "I am!"
* * *
Daniel laughed. "Yeah, I definitely am, but I also don’t want to spoil my appetite. Sorry about how late it is," he added, looking at his watch, which read 7:05. "This was the earliest I could swing a reservation. I even ran over here this morning to confirm it in person, just to be safe." Making reservations had gotten a lot harder in recent years, it seemed -- if it weren't for a cancellation, they likely would have been eating with the others at the Liberty Tree Tavern.
"So this was where you ran off to!"
He nodded. "I ... I just wanted our first date -- our first real, non-Trust-interrupting date -- to be special, and I can’t think of many places more special than here."
She blushed and smiled shyly, probably overjoyed to hear him use the word "date" in regards to their evening. Her expression reminded him of when he'd explained why he'd taken her to dinner the first time. Like the first time, it took his breath away, but it was spoiled by the memory of what had happened to her soon after.
Especially when the next thing out of her mouth was, "Where's the bathroom?"
After nearly having a heart attack, he said, "I’ll show you," rising to his feet and holding out his hand.
She gladly took it. He lead her down a landing of the spiral stairs, and planted himself outside the door. She didn’t take very long at all, but it was still long enough that he seriously considered coming in after her. In fact, he was about to do that very thing when she exited ....
~ *@* ~
Vala smiled weakly, embarrassed when she realised why he'd waited for her.
As she moved to pass him, he thrust his arm out, blocking her. "I'm sorry,"
"For what?" she asked, pretending she wasn't bothered at all.
He sighed. "Listen, I know you can take care of yourself. I just ..." he rubbed his neck with his hand. "I don’t want anything to happen to you, okay? And I guess everything that's been happening lately has me a bit ... paranoid."
She smiled, touched. "Awww! It's like you're like Mulder, and I'm Scully!"
He blinked. "What?"
"On The X-Files! Mulder is always paranoid, and even though Scully is a strong woman that can take care of herself for the most part, sometimes she still needs his help. Like me. Damsel in distress and all that." She smirked.
He grinned. "So you're a princess after all?"
Her smile fell despite her best effort. "Well, maybe not, I guess," she said, trying to sound nonchalant about it. "We know I'm a pirate, and one can't be both," she added, laughing nervously. She moved to go back up the stairs, and he stopped her again, taking her hand. She wouldn’t meet his eyes.
"You're wrong, Vala," he told her, his voice husky. He reached into his pocket with his free hand, turned her palm upright with the other, and laid a small item wrapped in tissue in her hand, his hand lingering on hers a moment, his fingers caressing her skin as his hand slid away.
She turned fully towards him, staring at the package a moment, then finally meeting his eyes, feeling confused, shy, and hopeful all at once. She opened the wrapping carefully, and let out a small gasp when she saw the pin she'd admired earlier that day. She smiled, biting her lower lip, beaming at him in thanks.
"See. It is possible to be both," he told her quietly, stepping close and pointing to the crown on the skull.
She peered at it; she'd been so attracted to the gems before that she hadn’t noticed that the fancy pink bit was a crown! She gave him a bright smile, and upon raising her head, found him gazing at her with a soft look that threatened to melt her legs into SGC-issue gelatin.
"Would you--" her voice broke. She swallowed hard and tried again. "Would you pin it on me?"
He nodded slightly. He took the backing off and asked where she wanted it. She swallowed again, not daring to even try speaking as her mind come up with a wicked connotation to the question, with an myriad of wicked replies. Instead, she touched the right strap of her tank top and licked her lips nervously.
* * *
His hand slightly trembling, Daniel carefully pinned the cloisonne art where she'd directed. His left hand trailed to her shoulder, stroking it lightly. Her skin was so soft .... It took him a moment to both meet her eyes and find his voice to ask if the pin's placement was okay. She nodded. He leaned in closer--
The shriek of a child was the only warning that company was coming down the stairs. Flustered, they moved, by unspoken agreement, back up the stairs themselves, avoiding eye contact with the descending party.
"Thank-you, Daniel," Vala told him when they got back to the table. "Not just for this," she added, tapping the pin, "but for ... this." She waved a hand at the room.
He nodded, smiling softly, cheeks burning. "You're very welcome," he told her warmly, wishing, for all his linguistic skills, that he was better with words.
There was, for a moment, a bubble of awkward tension between them that was happily popped by the arrival of their appetizers. They moved the conversation into more comfortable small talk, Vala sharing gossip she'd heard around the base. Daniel wondered just how good a living she must have made selling intel to the highest bidder; she was exceptionally knowledgeable about the personal goings-on at SGC! Then he realised she probably knew so much because people didn’t take her seriously; she was able to observe and eavesdrop easily on others because they dismissed her presence as inconsequential -- much like he once had. She'd almost lost her life in destroying the Ori Supergate, then was transported to enemy territory and impregnated, all because he'd refused to listen to her suggestions ....
He pushed the spring roll away, only half-eaten.
She cocked her head at him. "Saving your appetite still?"
"Yeah," he lied, then chuckled as she immediately pounced on the remnants of his roll. He tried not to think of why she had such an endless appetite, a potential sign of a life of starvation, maybe even abuse. It wasn't like he could change her past anyway. All he could do was help her forget -- and make sure she never suffered like that again.
Cinderella's Fairy Godmother came onto the scene then, occupying their attention for a while as she flitted from table to table. She led the room in a chorus of "Happy Birthday" for one little girl.
"What was that?" Vala asked curiously when it was over.
"When people have a birthday, we sing that song to them, and then they make a wish as they blow out candles in a cake. It's funny, the song is actually a fairly new addition to the ritual, but the candles are a remnant of old pagan candle-magic." He thought at first, by the look on her face, that Vala was getting bored by the Tau'ri history lesson.
"Birthday ..." she drew the word out, as if tasting it. "This is something you celebrate every year, marking the anniversary of one's birth?"
He nodded. "Your people didn’t celebrate them?"
She shook her head. She glanced out the window, which overlooked Fantasyland, her eyes holding a faraway look that said she wasn't even seeing the view, much less enjoying it. "I don’t even know how old I am anymore," she confided into her palm.
He slid his hand across the table, taking hold of her free hand. "Sometimes Tau'ri people don’t know their birthdays either," he told her, stroking her fingers unconsciously with his thumb. "When that happens, they pick a day that has special significance to them, and use that. As for age, Dr Lam might be able to determine that, if you want to know."
She bit her lip, eyes downcast, and was silent for a long moment. She almost made him jump when she suddenly said, "Last Friday!"
"Huh?"
"That's when I want my birthday to be," she told him with a wide smile. Her eyes grew soft as she explained, "That was the day you brought me home, the day I became an official member of SG-1 ...."
... The day I admitted I had feelings for you, he finished mentally, deeply moved by her choice. "I think that's a perfect day for a birthday," he told her, squeezing her hand. He made a mental note to write it on his calendar at the first opportunity.
Spurred by a desire to know more of her history, he began to share with her some of his own, starting with his memories of coming to the Magic Kingdom with his foster parents. By the time the main course was over, he'd told her more than he'd ever told anyone of his life -- even Sha're, since there were few similarities between Earth and Abydos that would enable Sha're to understand very many Tau'ri concepts. When the waitress arrived, asking them what they wanted for dessert, he realised ruefully that Vala had masterfully coaxed him into spilling quite a bit, but had remained tight-lipped herself.
"We'll have the Chocolate Mousse Cake and the Blueberry Buckle," Vala told the waitress, reminding Daniel of how he'd ordered drinks for them that first night. He smiled. How had she turned the tables so thoroughly on him?
He tried to turn them back, but Vala was equally masterful at avoiding his questions. When the waitress returned with the desserts a moment later, he gave up. They needed something to talk about on the second date anyway, right?
Daniel moved to divide the contents of his plate when Vala held out a forkful of her cake to him. "It's delicious!" she told him around her own mouthful.
He almost refused to take it; he most certainly would have, if she had tried such a move at their aborted dinner. But just as the post-abduction Vala had changed, so had Daniel. Hesitant at first, he closed his lips around the offering. His brows went up in surprise: he didn't normally like so much chocolate, preferring it as an accent to food rather than the majority, but this was good! Perhaps it was the raspberry drizzle that made it more palatable; perhaps it was the presentation, on Vala's utensil. He found her staring at him expectantly, and realised it was his turn. He held a spoonful of the buckle, topped by a bit of melting lemon sorbet, out to her. The way she took it, so sensuously, left him feeling a little like the sorbet, melting under the heat. He actually felt a little envious of their desserts.
When they were nearly done, the waitress arrived with the check and two items that were apart of the meal's package: a lithograph, and an envelope filled with copies of varying size of the photo of them sitting in the throne. Vala was delighted by the photos, and Daniel had to admit they looked good. He mentally earmarked one to go in his office.
He had the lithograph and photos sent on to the hotel. As they got up to leave, he handed Vala the reservation card he'd shown the hostess when they'd first arrived.
"What's this?" she asked.
"I have a-a box at home of ... mementos of past trips -- tickets, napkins, brochures, that sort of thing. I have a few of those, too," he added, pointing to the card. "I ... thought you might like to start a box of your own."
She grinned, then threw her arms around him, kissing his cheek. "Thank-you," she whispered.
He put his arms around her. "You're welcome," he whispered back, wishing they could stay like that a while.
~ *@* ~
"Okay, you sit right here," Daniel told Vala, pointing at a spot on the curb.
She did as she was told, and watched in confusion as he sat down about 12 feet from her, stretching his long legs out between them and leaning back on his hands.
"D-Daniel?" she asked, hurt that he would sit so far from her. What had she done that he suddenly didn’t want to be anywhere near her?
"Stretch out like this!" he said, tapping one heel against the ground for emphasis. "We need to reserve the space for everybody!"
"Reserve ... like dinner? Are we going to eat again, out here?" she asked as she did as he asked.
He laughed, waving a hand. "No, no, there's a parade at 9, but we have to get seats early!" He glanced around; they were lucky to have found so much space at approximately the spot they were supposed to meat the others at. People were already lining up....
"But ... it's only a little after 8, right?" she asked, looking at her watch in confusion.
"Trust me, this is both necessary and worth it," he promised her. He hoped the rest of their party got there soon, though; he really needed a trip to the washroom! And honestly he didn’t like having to sit so far from his girl.
His girl. He wondered if he looked like a total grinning idiot to the people passing by.
About twenty minutes later, someone tried to sit on the sidewalk between them.
Vala coughed; the man ignored her. "Excuse me, but that space is reserved," she informed him.
"I don’t see anyone's names engraved in the cement here, sweetheart," the man told her, lighting up a cigar.
"This also isn’t a designated smoking area," she told him, getting to her feet.
Daniel got to his as well, but he was too late. Vala had kicked the cigar out of the man's hand, causing it to land, burning end down, on top of his sandaled foot. Just as quickly, she was on her knees beside him, and had him in a headlock that looked very much like a companionable hug to the not-so-close observer, but really was cutting off his cry of pain.
"My friend and I are Special Ops, here on a mission," she informed the man. "Now unless you want to potentially risk the lives of everyone here, I suggest very strongly that you allow us to maintain our cover and save this space for our fellow operatives, who will be arriving shortly. Just run along, and get that foot tended to, before I make it look like you've fainted and get you taken out of here by ambulance," she finished.
The man nodded vigorously. She let him go, and he hurried away as fast as his sore foot would allow.
When she turned, she found someone was sitting in the spot she'd vacated.
"I'm sorry," she said sweetly, "but that spot is reserved."
* * *
The newcomer was about to argue when, looking Vala in the eye, they apparently thought better of it, vacating quickly. Vala went back to her original sitting position; trembling a little, Daniel sank wearily back into his own place, grateful to whoever was looking out for them -- gods, Ascended Beings -- that the situation hadn't turned out worse. He was trying to think of how to ask her never to do that again, when he heard Jack ask,
"Everything all right, kiddies?"
Daniel shook it all off. Truth be told, he couldn’t honestly fault Vala's aggressive behavior. Right or wrong, he'd wanted to do the same thing -- and she'd pulled it off without causing a scene. So why get angry, or risk ruining the rest of the evening arguing with her over something he technically agreed with?
"Naaaw, we're all peachy," Daniel said as he stood up, giving Vala a warning glance that said to keep quiet. "I do have to run to the restroom, though."
Vala moved to follow him.
$ $ $
Sam saw the alarm on Daniel's face -- he couldn't very well keep an eye on Vala from inside the mens' room! -- and chimed in that she could use a trip there as well. She tapped Jack lightly, giving him a significant look, which, thankfully, the man picked up on. They both had agreed to periodically check up on the pair, individually, to make sure everything was okay ....
"Er, yeah, I think I'll go too. You kids watch our space," Jack told Cassandra's crew, Mitchell, and Teal'c.
"But I have to--" Cameron started, then shut his mouth at Jack's glare.
On the way to the restroom, Vala paused by a patch of lawn, kneeling by the fence. Sam watched in awe as a bunny on the other side hopped closer to her waggling fingers, and actually let the woman stroke it between the ears!
"Are you a princess?" asked a little girl nearby, reverently.
Vala seemed thrown for only a moment, before answering both confidently and confidentially, "Yes. But I'm also a pirate, so don't give me away, okay?"
"I won't!" the girl promised.
Vala grinned, then skipped away, Sam hurrying after her.
"Where are you going?" Sam asked as her friend headed towards the men's room.
"Oh, I don’t have to go, I just thought I'd wait for Daniel outside the door -- the way he did for me, back at the Castle." She claimed a bit of wall space, leaning against it.
Sam raised a brow. "Oh, he did, eh?"
"I think it's sweet, really, if a bit embarrassing. I just thought ... well, if I did the same for him, it might ..."
"Even the playing field a bit?"
Vala looked at Sam blankly.
"What playing field?" Vala asked.
"Er, I mean that you want to make things more equal between you," Sam explained.
Vala pursed her lips thoughtfully.
* * *
"So how did dinner go?" Jack asked as he and Daniel washed their hands.
Daniel smiled, replaying things in his head. "It was good," he confided. "Really good."
"You're not just talkin' the food, I hope?"
Daniel chuckled and leaned against the sinks. "No. Things are still a little awkward ... I mean, there's so much we still don't know about one another, but ... we'll get there," he said with quiet confidence. "I want to get there. It's funny ... I haven't felt this way in so long...."
"And didn't think you'd feel that way again?" Jack supplied. "I know." And Daniel realised then that Jack did know -- he'd been married once, and now loved someone new .... "Oh, and tomorrow? It's your and Vala's turn to babysit the kids," Jack added, walking outside.
Daniel grinned. "Deal," he replied, following.
Back to them, Vala was speaking as they came out. Daniel paused, curious. "Yeah, I suppose a little, but ... not entirely in the way you think. I just ... I know he knows that I can take care of myself. I just want to show him that it's okay to worry about me and feel -- or act -- protectively towards me, because I feel the same way towards him. And I don't want him to think I'm questioning his masculinity or something if I watch his back."
"Good to know," Daniel said in her ear, making her jump.
"How ... long have you been standing there?" she asked through her teeth.
"Long enough," he replied, kissing her brow and taking her hand.
~ *@*~
Daniel hadn't been kidding about the parade, Vala decided. The mix of shimmering and softly glowing lights put to synthesised music sent shivers of delight across her skin -- or maybe that was just the presence of Daniel's arm around her. Either way, she felt happier than she could remember in a long time, being held by a man she loved, surrounded by friends and such great beauty. Daniel quietly explained the theme of each float and who the characters were. She let herself be thoroughly immersed; for about half an hour, she well and truly forgot all her woes, not a single thought of the Ori or Adria plaguing her. When it was over, it was like waking from a dream; she felt renewed, even a bit light-headed.
Next, they head down the walkway by the Castle that led to the border of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. They didn’t go far, though; the front of the castle was still partially in view.
"What are we stopping for?" Vala asked.
"Yeah, what are we stopping for?" Mitchell echoed, looking around. Other than some pretty landscaping, there wasn’t anything to see in the immediate vicinity.
"You'll see soon enough," Daniel promised. He looked at his watch. "In about twenty minutes, in fact." Something towards Main Street caught his eye. "Ooh, be right back!" he told Vala, kissing her brow again, then disappearing into the crowd.
She stood on her tiptoes, trying to spot him. Losing sight of him like that made her extremely nervous -- not because she was afraid for herself, but because she feared for him!
"Hey Vala, when did you get that?" Cassandra asked, pointing to her pin.
"I didn't steal it! Daniel gave it to me at dinner!" Vala insisted.
Cassandra blinked in confusion. "I ... didn’t say you did steal it; I just hadn't noticed it before. It's very pretty; that was sweet of him!" she added with a smile.
Vala nodded, biting her lip, eyes turned away in embarrassment. Talk about a guilty conscience.
"You know, I haven’t seen Uncle Daniel this happy in like, forever," Cassandra confided. "I'm really glad he met you," she added before turning back to her companions.
"She's right, you know," Sam said from the other side of her. "You've been really good for him."
"Well, I'm trying my best to be good whether he's around or not," Vala replied, feeling a little petulant.
Sam chuckled. "I don’t mean that you've been behaving well -- I mean, you have, but I mean you've been like ... medicine. He's been really heartsick for a long time, but it's like he's finally getting better, you know?"
Vala goggled at her. "And you think that's my doing?"
"I know it is."
Vala shook her head, skeptical. "I don’t know about that. But I do know that having him in my life has done wonders for me."
Sam put a companionable arm around her and gave a gentle squeeze. "I know that, too."
Finally, they spotted Daniel returning. Sam went over to Jack, giving Vala a wink as she went. Daniel was approaching with his hands behind his back and a strange look on his face that told Vala he was up to something. He stopped half a pace away, and brought his left hand around, holding a rose out to her. When she reached out and touched it, it lit up. She laughed, delighted, and accepted the remarkable bloom. He showed her the light switch and battery pack at the bottom. She grinned as she made it blink a few times. Then she threw her arms around him.
"A girl could get spoiled by you, you know," she half-warned.
He pulled back just enough for her to see his face, softly lit by the glow of the rose. "You promise to let me try?" he asked, cupping her cheek with his hand. She leaned into the touch, nodding with a smile and laying her own hand over his. He drew closer, and her heart swelled. Was he finally ...?
A loud, booming voice startled them apart, announcing that fireworks display was only a short while off.
"Fireworks display?" Vala, Mitchell, and Teal'c asked.
Daniel sighed. "I forgot about the announcements. So much for the element of surprise! But yeah, they have a pyrotechnics display every night, when they're open late enough."
Teal'c looked puzzled. "Is it a display of weaponry?"
"No, it's purely decorative," Sam told him. "Explosions of colour, timed to music. It's really pretty!"
In a short while, Vala found out just how pretty they really were. The lights in the park dimmed, the trees began to sparkle, and the Castle was made to glow blue. Daniel pointed to an area of sky, just behind the Castle, and told her to keep her eyes on it. He slipped his arms around her from behind, holding her tight and resting his cheek against her hair. She Lay her hands over his, wanting to keep him there forever ....
And finally, it happened: a bright light streaked upwards in the sky. A child started to sing about wishing on a star, and the sky was suddenly filled with the explosions of colour Sam had promised. Voices continued to sing about wishing and stars, and dreams as well, including snippets of lines and songs from some of the movies Sam had lent her -- some of them hitting Vala very close to home. "Wish I could be / part of that world," Ariel sanf, and Vala couldn’t help but be reminded of her own struggle to be part of Daniel's. Ariel had eventually gotten her wish, and, Vala realised with a tearful smile, so had she -- at least some of it. She would be grateful for what she had now, but still continue to fight for the rest. Besides, Jiminy Cricket assured her that she'd never run out of wishes.
When it was over, she turned to face Daniel with a face streaked with tears that were still freely falling. He had been smiling himself, but quickly traded it for a look of concern.
"Are you all right?" he asked, brushing the tears away with his thumb.
She nodded, smiling. "I'm happy," she assured him.
The smile returned. And without another thought, he pressed his lips to hers, soft and tender. Vala could swear she was experiencing the fireworks again, though her eyes were closed. They were under her skin, sparking and burning and shimmering all over her body.
* * *
They followed the slow-moving crowd down Main Street. They started on the left, browsing through the shops. Daniel bought an assortment of Jelly Bellies and a chocolate-dipped krispie-treat at the candy store, sharing the gourmet beans with everyone, and the krispie-treat in particular with Vala. Then they crossed the street to the Emporium, where Vala became the proud owner of a Mickey Mouse shirt, after Mitchell had teasingly informed her that it was a requirement of every Earth citizen. Daniel made Cam pay for it -- and for one for Teal'c as well. Daniel, meanwhile, after getting Sam to distract her, surprised Vala with a scrapbook and sets of Pirates, Stitch, Tinkerbell, and Cinderella pages for it.
Weary but happy, they headed out. Since the Polynesian was the last stop on the Resort Monorail's one-way, circular route, they were all nearly half asleep by the time they reached it. Thankfully Teal'c was alert enough and roused them all. They walked like zombies back to the two suites Cassandra had won as a prize, the most logical split being one for the girls and one for the boys.
Daniel had wished earlier that he had opted for his own room -- one that he could have shared with Vala that night. Now he realised that it was just as well that he hadn't -- as much as he was loath to part with her company, he was far too exhausted to truly enjoy it. They had another big day ahead of them (what precisely made Landry think the trip would be relaxing?). He contented himself with another lingering kiss outside the door to her suite, in the time-honored tradition of first dates. He was definitely falling for her, hard and fast, though. It was a more frightening and exhilarating experience than any ride they'd been on that day ....
Inside the boys' suite, he found the packages waiting for them. He got out a pad of paper and a pen from the nightstand, wrote a quick note, and put the note, along with one of the smaller photos from Cinderella's, the "Pirate Princess" shirt and her pirate hat, inside the bag with the stuffed Stitch. He opened the door to the hall and found Jack and Sam entwined.
"Oops," he said, turning to retreat.
"It's all right, Daniel," Jack called to him. "We were just finishing up here."
Sam smacked him, laughing. She turned to Daniel. "That's for Vala, I take it?"
Daniel nodded, blushing.
"She's already asleep, and there are girls running around in their underwear in here," Sam told him, smacking Jack again when he pretended to try to peak over her shoulder. "If you want her to have it first thing when she wakes up, I can arrange it in one of the chairs or something."
Daniel nodded, then explained what needed to be done with the contents of the bag. Thanking her, he returned to the other suite, Jack in tow. Both men paused to look wistfully at the now-closed door to the girls' suite, before closing their own.
$ $ $
In the room Sam shared with Vala, Sam arranged the shirt over the back of the chair, placed the hat on the seat, and took the pin, which Vala had laid next to her scrapbook, on the nightstand, and pinned it to the hat. Sam lay the note over it; the paper read "Wear this Saturday." She lay the photo on top of the scrapbook. Carefully lifting Vala's arm, she lay the stuffed Stitch under it.
Vala hugged it close, murmuring, "Daniel...."
Sam brushed Vala's cheek fondly, then turned off the light.
~ FINIS ~