Chapter Text
"Pack your bags," Sam told Daniel and Vala as she sat down at the table next to the dark-haired woman. She noted the worried look on Vala's face and felt a stab of pity; she forgot sometimes just how unwelcome the woman had been when she'd first arrived. Of course she'd be a bit worried by such a statement! Sam laid a comforting hand on Vala's shoulder and informed her, grinning, "We're goin' to Disney World!"
This time it was Daniel's turn to look alarmed. "C-come again?" he asked, pushing his glasses back up his nose.
"Well, originally it was just supposed to be me going -- to Kennedy Space Center, to give a symposium. But then Cassandra won some sort of contest, and she got to invite a bunch of people to Disney World. She's invited some of her school friends, of course, but she's also invited all of SG-1 -- and Jack. It's this weekend -- I leave Thursday morning to get to the symposium, and you guys will meet me at the hotel that night."
Daniel scowled. "Er, well, that's nice of Cassandra, but I think I really ought to concentrate on--"
"Not an option, Daniel," Sam informed him. "Landry said he thought we all could really use a break, and Dr Lam concurred, so this is actually mandatory leave. In fact ... I wouldn’t be surprised if he'd pulled some strings and rigged the contest, truth be told," she added thoughtfully.
Daniel rolled his eyes and dropped his forehead against his hand, leaning on the table.
"Oh come off it, Daniel, I know you like the place," Sam chastised him. He'd let it slip one, in drunken conversation, that the resort was his secret vice.
"Yeah, I do, which is precisely why I’d rather go when the fate of the world isn’t resting on our shoulders. Kinda sucks all the fun out of it."
Sam regarded him a moment. "You're not going to do anyone any good if you work yourself into a stupor. Besides, if nothing else, you should do it for Cassandra -- and Vala, since she's never been!"
"I can take her anytime!" Daniel replied grumpily, the thought of the raven-haired woman going without him apparently not even occurring to him.
Vala, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet through the exchange (Sam hoped it wasn't a sign of unseen damage from her ordeal), perked up at his remark. "Will you?" she asked hopefully, biting her lip.
Daniel softened. "Sure."
"Promise?"
He nodded with a rueful smile. "Yeah, I promise."
"Well, we could die at any time, you know. Going as soon as possible would lessen the chance of you breaking your promise ...."
Sam raised her brows at that, amused (and relieved, frankly) by Vala's guile. She glanced at Daniel, and found him scowling and speechless.
"And I do believe you owe me a date this weekend," Vala continued. "From what I've seen on the television, this Disney Planet--"
-- "World," he corrected automatically --
"--seems like a fun place. And you wouldn’t even have to pay for it!" she added brightly.
The look on his face told them he'd given up, his feeble protest consisting only of "Vala, money's not the issue; I’d be perfectly happy to take you even if I did have to pay."
She suddenly looked so vulnerable as she said, in a small but hopeful voice, "You would?" Clearly no one had ever been willing to do something nice like that for her before. Sam suddenly realised how much this might mean to her, to be included in Cassandra's gathering. Thankfully, it seemed to occur to Daniel, too.
"I just said I'd take you anytime, didn't I?" he asked with a chuckle. "But ... yeah, I guess there's no reason to wait. All right ... we can go this weekend."
She squealed in delight, leaping to her feet and lunging over the narrow table to give him a thank-you hug and kiss him on the cheek.
Sam thought he looked a little disappointed that it wasn't on his lips.
"I better go pack!" Vala said, running out the door.
"But it's ... only Monday," Daniel pointed out futilely; she was already long gone. "Not that I didn't want to take her someday, but I'm not sure my nerves will take a weekend trying to keep track of her at an amusement park," he sighed.
Chuckling, Sam patted him commiseratively on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll all be there to help you."
Curiously, he looked even more glum after she said that ....
* * *
"Now remember," Daniel began for the eleventh time that morning, "It's a big place and very crowded, so no wandering off. Keep--"
"--hold of your hand at all times," Vala finished with a roll of her eyes. "Honestly, Daniel, I don’t know what you're so worried about! I mean, it's not like I'd find holding your hand to be a chore," she purred.
The grins they got from Cassandra and her three college companions, Daniel could understand and forgive. The ones from the rest of SG-1, Jack included? Not so much. By that logic, he should have been relieved when the Monorail pulled in at the Magic Kingdom, but in reality, his heart started racing nervously at that point. Despite Vala's reassurances, this was likely the beginning of a long, harrowing day of making sure she kept out of mischief. If he hadn’t known that the gods were all fake, he likely would have found himself praying very hard that Vala wouldn't do anything that could get them thrown out of the park....
"It's about time!" she said, practically dragging Daniel out the door once it opened.
He shook his head and sighed. They were staying at the Polynesian Resort, which was only one Monorail stop away; he could only imagine how impatient she would have been if they'd had to drive in, like the bulk of the park's guests, then take the tram from the parking lot to the ticket gates, walk up the hill to the Monorail, and ride significantly longer on the electric vehicles from the Ticket and Transportation Center to the Magic Kingdom! In mentally comparing the journey they could have taken with the one they actually had, he was struck by a horrid thought: what were they going to do about the lines? Not every attraction had a Fastpass option -- how was he going to keep Vala occupied in the longer queues?
He caught sight of a newlywed couple (as denoted by their Groom-Mickey and Bride-Minnie mouse-ear hats) whose faces seemed glued together. For a moment -- just a tiny one -- a voice in him said Well, that would be one way to keep her quiet, before he quickly shook the thought away.
As resort guests, they were being allowed in earlier than the regular opening, so the streets weren't quite as crowded as usual. Daniel found it quite pleasant. They rounded the town square, coming to the corner of Main Street, by the Emporium. Vala gasped as the glittering Cinderella's Castle came into unobstructed view, her grip on his hand tightening. Her expression of wonderment brought a grin to his face; it pleased him that, despite the wonders she had seen in her travels, something made by his people, the Tau'ri, could awe her so. He wondered, then, how often in her life she'd had the chance to leave behind worries of survival and lose herself in play. Maybe that was why she seldom took things seriously -- her whole life was seriousness, so maybe being immature was a defense mechanism ....
It wasn't long before the shops lining either side of the street caught her attention -- a prospect that admittedly worried him for a moment. Thankfully, though, she didn’t ask to go into any of them; she was only enraptured by the playful and sometimes mechanized displays in the dioramic windows. After watching her, though, he got the distinct impression that Vala really would have liked to go into the stores, but was holding back. Maybe she didn’t want to tempt herself, or maybe she simply was afraid of upsetting him by asking; either way, she was making an obvious effort to be on her best behavior. Doubtless they would go into some shop at some point; when they did, he would keep an eye on her -- not because he was afriad she might steal something (well, okay, there was that; she was a pirate, after all), but rather so that he could take note of the things she took particular interst in and surprise her later.
~ *@* ~*
When they got to the Crystal Palace, just past Main Street, they still had a little time to wait for their breakfast reservation. Daniel excused himself, saying he had business to take care of, and warning that he might not be back before they were seated.
Vala was about to protest -- hadn’t he ordered her not to let go of his hand save for when they were getting on or off a ride or eating? -- but thought better of it, wanting to be as pleasant of company for him as possible. Still, even in the company of her friends, out in this increasingly crowded, loud, outdoor place made her feel naked, vulnerable, and skittish, like a wild animal.
Vala clasped her hands in her lap with a white-knuckled grip. Sam patted one of Vala's knees, telling her quietly but reassuringly, "Don’t worry -- if he gets lost, we can always track him!"
Vala saw Jack raise a curious brow at that. She then caught Sam giving him a meaningful look, one that clearly said "talk to her and make her feel welcome" -- if one spoke "female". When the man gave Sam a baffled expression in return, she elbowed him. Vala reckoned he understood that a little better.
"You know, uh ... it ... it's been a long time since I've been here," Jack began conversationally. "Last time was with my son. I don’t recognise the place," he continued, looking around. There was a sudden, heavy, somber air about him -- and Sam, who looked sad for him.
Vala had the sense she shouldn't ask about his son, instead directing the conversation at Teal'c. "Have you ever been here before?"
"I have not," Teal'c answered in his typically serene fashion.
"Well, is there anything in particular that you want to see?" she asked. She'd spent an hour going over the map at the hotel pool area with Daniel, and frankly had wondered whether they could possibly see even half of everything that interested her. She had no intentions of making any requests, either, since it wasn't really her trip anyway -- she was just along for the ride. She was determined not to give them any reason to see her as problematic or a nuisance, especially after her abduction....
Teal'c considered for a long moment, long enough for Vala's attention to wander as she remembered Daniel in his swim trunks, drops of water trailing down his well-formed -- "The Pirates of the Caribbean," Teal'c decided.
Vala pouted a little; she'd seen the DVD of the first one at the base, but hadn’t gotten out to the theatres to see the second. She suspected that Teal'c had, though. "I hope there aren’t any spoilers for the new movie on the ride!"
"Eh, not really," Peri, one of Cassandra's friends, told them. Vala remembered Peri saying she had some sort of pass that allowed her to come to the park whenever she wished; Vala felt a stab of envy at the thought of being able to roam Earth so freely. She felt a faint nostalgia for her prior life, if only for the freedom it offered. She sighed heavily, wondering where Daniel had gone and why she couldn't have gone with him.
"Well, me, I can’t wait to get on Splash Mountain," Cameron said. "In the middle of the day, that's gonna be reeeal refreshin', I'm bettin'."
Peri laughed, shaking her head. "You'll freeze to death in the air-conditioned places afterwards, and be extra humid when you're outside."
Cameron scowled, and Vala smirked. He didn’t seem to like the girl much (truth be told, Vala didn't either).
* * *
Daniel finally returned, a bit breathless, a short while after they were seated. He found the costumed characters hovering about a bit annoying at first, but Vala seemed delighted by them, and he couldn’t help but enjoy watching her interact with them. Plus they'd kept her too distracted to ask Daniel where he'd been.
After breakfast, they tackled the Swiss Family Treehouse, Vala remarking at one point on how the structure reminded her of the homes on PCG-7630. Daniel managed to keep the irritation out of his voice as he whispered in her ear that she couldn’t talk about things like alien worlds when they were out in public -- particularly with Cassandra's friends listening in, since they might start asking questions. Vala apologised and immediately clammed up. Daniel squeezed her hand reassuringly, to show that he understood how hard it was for her, not being able to talk about most of her life -- especially when her Earth-related experience was so limited. Then he realised that she also couldn’t ask any questions, lest she let on just how ignorant she was of her new home. He resolved to try to find moments where he could allow her to quietly ask him whatever she wanted. Ah, to be a telepath ....
Cameron went on to Frontierland, to get Splash Mountain Fastpasses for them all. The girls, meanwhile, dragged the rest of the boys into the Enchanted Tiki Room, with its singing birds, flowers, and tiki carvings. Daniel was annoyed by the changes that had been made to the attraction. Again, though, his annoyance was tempered by Vala's enjoyment -- and by the fact that Jack and Teal'c seemed to find the experience similarly painful -- albeit, he suspected, for somewhat different reasons. Daniel had actually liked the old version of the show. While he also enjoyed the characters of Iago and Zazu, he felt their additions detracted from the show rather than enhancing it -- especially since some of his favorite parts had gotten cut.
Of course he wasn't about to admit a word of that to anyone.
When the show let out, they found Cameron waiting for them. He withered a little under the glares of Jack and Teal'c. Daniel wondered if it was wisdom that kept Mitchell from pointing out that the other guys could have come with him, rather than staying for the show, or if he simply hadn't thought of that either.
Cassandra and her friends wanted to go on Aladdin's Magic Carpets next; to Daniel's relief, Vala decided the carpets didn’t seem particularly interesting -- and neither did the bazaar next to it (or so she claimed, though, again, Daniel suspected that was just a matter of wanting to avoid tempation). She instead spent part of the teens' wait trying to get hit by the spitting gold camel statues, while Daniel avoided being a target himself. Then Vala noticed the nearby tikis, which spat out even more water, and played with them instead; Daniel was content to observe from outside the tikis' range. (Both were completely oblivious to the comments being made about them by the rest of SG-1, as their friends watched them; Daniel chalked his sudden sneezing fit up to allergies rather than being gossiped about.)
They all went on the Jungle Cruise next. After about 30 seconds of the Skipper's pun-filled spiel, Vala and Mitchell quickly decided they could do better, and essentially took over. Though he cringed with embarrassment at first, Daniel had to admit they were funny, even as he felt a bit jealous of the easy-going comedy rapport the two had. He felt a little better when Jack and Peri started to chime in, and eventually got a few zingers in himself. Vala beamed at him when he did, and he found himself sitting a bit taller.
He had a little more trouble with her at Pirates; she kept trying to reach out and touch things, or stand in the boat, or shout suggestions to the pirates. Thankfully she didn’t say anything that pointed out she was from another planet, and what she did say seemed to amuse the other guests, rather than annoy anyone. Hell, he had to admit himself that much of what she'd said was pretty funny. He wasn't sure whether to be amused or jealous when she squealed with delight at Jack Sparrow's every appearance, though. At the least, he enjoyed the expressions on Jack and Sam's faces every time Vala shouted, "Jaaaaack, I loooooove yooooooou!"
As they browsed the unavoidable gift shop after, Daniel scanned the shop's inhabitants while Vala dragged him around. He'd been doing it half-unconsciously all day, urged by the paranoid expectation that The Trust might try to send more operatives after them, even with such crowds. Maybe especially with the crowds. Still, he found himself repeatedly distracted from his self-appointed task as Vala showed him object after object. He did his best to seem attentive, not wanting her to pick up on his worry or think he was getting impatient with her. In fact, quite the opposite was true; he wished he didn't have to take his attention off her at all. He noted with a soft smile that Vala was humming the ride's theme song intermittently between cries of "Oh, look at this!" The seventeenth time she told him to look at something, he couldn’t hold back any longer; he slipped his arms around her from behind and rest his chin on her shoulder as she showed the item to him. She stiffened in surprise for a moment, then relaxed into him.
"Isn’t it cute?" she asked, holding up a sparkling silver and pink cloisonne skull-and-crossbones pin, one that, even beyond the pink, had a distinctly-feminine look. There was glitter in the cloisonne, scrollwork behind the skull, three small gems dotting the top, and three tiny dangling skull-and-crossbones hanging from it. He noticed that there was a crown on every skull, and with that observation, it struck him that the pin would go perfectly with a "Pirate Princess" shirt he'd spotted, during his crowd-scanning, over in a corner that Vala hadn’t gotten to yet. He had a sudden vision of her wearing the shirt, with the pin on one of the pirate hats she had playfully tried on.
"Not as cute as you," he whispered in her ear, barely resisting the urge to kiss her neck, and wishing fervently that they were back at the hotel at that moment. (Since his acceptance of his attraction to her, it had started hitting him full force!)
She ducked her head shyly, but not before he caught the bright smile she gave him.
They hadn't really done anything together to acknowledge the change in their relationship after dancing that night at the rib joint. He'd told her how he was attracted to her, but that it was difficult for him to move on after the loss of his wife, and that she needed to be patient with him. And she had been patient after that, which somehow was driving him even more mad than when she was throwing herself at him!
Peri broke Daniel out of his reverie with a shout to Vala, telling her they were heading to the ladies' room and asking if she wanted to go. To his annoyance, she did. He also felt a stab of fear, and wondered if he was going to panic every time she used a public restroom, for the rest of their lives.
The rest of their lives? He wasn't sure whether he should be terrified or pleased to find himself thinking in those terms. Maybe both; did the emotions really contradict each other?
Then he realised what a perfect opportunity he had at that moment. Gathering the shirt, the hat, and the pin, as well as another pirate hat she had said looked "dashing" on him, he headed for one of the sales counters that wasn't so close to the restrooms. He filled out a form that would have the packages sent to their hotel, but kept the pin with him, pocketing it.
He headed for the mens' room; of course the girls still weren't out of their own restroom yet when he exited. The other guys were lined up against the wall across from the restrooms, looking bored. Daniel paced uneasily before them. Cameron, Jack, and even Teal'c gave him a sly smile. Sam raised a brow at them as she exited the ladies' room. The other girls filed out a moment later -- including Vala, Daniel noted. He sighed as inconspicuously as possible in relief. Of course, "as possible" didn't mean much; Sam apparently caught that, too, giving him an understanding smile.
"Aren't they adorable?" Jack remarked with an evil grin, putting an arm around Sam's shoulders as they headed towards Splash Mountain.
Emboldened by the sight, Daniel wrapped an arm around Vala's waist, hoping to distract her from the exchange -- and perhaps one-up Jack with a more brazen display of affection. Really, they've had years to build a relationship; can't he be more forthright than that? The days when public displays of affection had embarrassed him seemed long ago; this Daniel had been through too much to be quite so shy and modest anymore. Vala was teaching him that life was too short to hold back.
A little later, as they ate lunch after getting out of Splash Mountain, the air conditioning of Pecos Bill's restaurant set their teeth to chattering. Then, as they ran around on Tom Sawyer Island, the humidity seemed to quadruple -- particularly when they all chased each other through the island's secret tunnels. ("No one tell that Peri chick she was right about riding a water ride making everything uncomfortable after," MItchell muttered at one point.) But there had been an upside to getting soaked, namely how Vala's thin, pink tank top clung to her slender curves when wet. She was more vocally appreciative of the way his tight green t-shirt stuck to his pecs -- and the contours of his well-muscled arms. (Now there was something he'd never imagined having, growing up gangly ....)
And they had fun, despite any discomfort. In fact, Daniel couldn’t really remember the last time he'd let loose like that; even Teal'c got to laughing. Well, perhaps Mitchell wasn't quite so amused, having apparently stumbled across Jack and Sam kissing in one of the caves' dead ends. Cam had seemed even more embarrassed than they were -- at least until Peri had asked if they needed a chaperone. Daniel, meanwhile (inspired by the state of Vala's top), toyed with the notion of taking similar advantage of the "secret passage" in the island's Fort Langhorn, but a) remembered his own warning to Vala about not doing something that could get them kicked out of the park, and b) wanted their first official kiss as a couple to be ... well, special, even if it wasn't actually their first kiss ever.
By the time they got to Big Thunder Mountain to use their next Fastpasses, their clothes were dry. Daniel had to choose between wearing his glasses so that he could see the things he knew there were to see on the ride, and not wearing them for fear of losing them. He opted for the latter, which somehow made the ride even scarier. He knew it wasn't true at all, but he felt like he would be beheaded if he didn’t keep his head down. He didn’t know how Vala, Teal'c, Mitchell, and Cassandra's trio could keep their arms raised as they did without fear that their limbs would be ripped off!
A little later, he breathed a sigh of relief when they passed the Country Bear Jamboree without going in. They did, however, stop at the turkey leg cart; honestly, he didn’t know where Vala put it all! While she, Teal'c, Mitchell, and Jack sated themselves on the massive drumsticks, Daniel considered herding them into the Hall of Presidents, but then thought better of it. He'd been thinking it might help Vala's education on her new home, but decided that, however much he found it interesting, it was far more likely to make her antsy or put her to sleep than actually teach her anything. So they went straight to the Haunted Mansion.
Vala didn’t just hold his hand throughout the attraction; she held tight to his arm, eyes wide, screaming and laughing and burying her head against his shoulder at all the right moments. Though she was fearless and had surely, in her wanderings, seen holographic technology that far outstripped the smoke-and-mirrors of the ride, she seemed delighted by it nonetheless. Indeed, knowing that they were not holograms, she was baffled by how they managed many of the effects, and charmed by the simplistic Tau'ri ingenuity and fanciful imagination. He'd been on the ride enough that, despite the updates added, it had been a long time since he could suspend his disbelief enough to truly enjoy it as he once had; being with Vala gave at least some of that pleasure back to him, as he saw it all anew through her eyes.
When the ride was over, they found the crowds lined up in wait for the afternoon parade. The group decided, by way of mutual agreement, to forego said parade and tackle Fantasyland while so many of the children were occupied. They got Fastpasses for Peter Pan's Flight and, to Daniel's horror, decided to see It's a Small World while waiting for the pass window. He tried to keep from grimacing in pain as they waited in line, not wanting to spoil the enjoyment for Vala. Instead, he found himself overjoyed when, about 20 seconds into the ride, she held tight to his arm again and whispered confidentially in his ear,
"Daniel, these dolls are creepy! They remind me of the ones in that Barberella movie!"
He snorted with mirth; the first time he'd seen Barbarella, he'd thought the dolls in it reminded him somehow of the ride they were now sailing through.
"They do have cute costumes, though," she said a bit later, clearly mesmerized by some of the sparkling headdresses. He wrapped his arm around her, telling himself it was to keep her from trying to stand and get a better look -- or worse, trying to snag some of the gems. Then he remembered he wasn't in denial about his feelings anymore, and allowed himself to enjoy the close proximity without justifying it in his head, pulling her closer still. She didn’t seem to mind at all.
They still had some time to kill before they could use their Fastpasses for Pan, so they head on over to Mickey's PhilharMagic, a 3-D movie with some other, semi-interactive features. Daniel hadn’t been to the park since before that particular attraction had opened, so it was as new and exciting for him as it was for Vala. That pleased him, being able to share the new experience together. Granted, they did that often enough with the Stargate, but at least there wasn't any danger this time! Well, except for the piped-in scent of baked apples for the rendition of "Be Our Guest", which set him to sneezing even if it did smell delicious.
They went to Peter Pan, finally. It was one of Daniel's favourite attractions, in fact, but he found himself paying more attention to Vala than the ride. Sure, part of that was because, with looking over the side of their flying ship, he was half-afraid she would fall out. But mostly it was because there was something about her innocent enthusiasm that lightened his heart in a way he hadn't felt in a long time -- a way he hadn't been sure he'd ever even be capable of again.
"Look, Daniel! Mermaids! That one looks like Ariel!" Sam had brought Vala copies of every animated Disney film she could get her hands on, in preparation for the trip.
He peered at the mermaid in question. "Huh! She does!" He noted that the mermaids also now wore seashell bras, where they had once been bare-breasted (sans nipples), and mentally shook his head at whatever had prompted the change after so many years. Next thing you know, they'll start dressing the statues and painting clothes on the nudes in museums, he thought contemptuously. His irritation was quickly forgotten when Vala gasped at the sight of Hook's ship. or a moment, he remembered how he felt the first time he had seen it ....
~ * @* ~
"Oooh, it's like being in the movie!" Vala cooed as they passed a character she recognised as "Wendy" walking the plank.
Daniel almost startled her out of the boat as he gently took her hand and entwined his fingers with hers. "I'm glad we came," he told her somewhat bashfully.
Looking into his eyes, feeling his hand against hers, Vala felt a flush of warmth wash over her, something entirely different than the typical primal desires she felt when confronted with a particularly attractive male. This wasn't a new sensation for her, exactly -- she'd felt it time and again since the first day she'd met Daniel -- but she'd never felt it before meeting him, or with anyone else after. She still didn’t quite know what it was, but she thought it might be love. Didn’t all those romance books Sam had lent her say love made your stomach do funny turns, made your heart race, made you feel all tingly and want to cry when you were happy? (Either that or she had some sort of illness ....) The look he gave her made her feel like she were floating -- and she didn’t think the fact that they technically were floating through the air (well, hanging from the ceiling, anyway) had anything to do with it.
"Me too," she told him, returning the look. They leaned in closer--
* * *
The jerk of the flying boat as it made contact with the boarding track startled them apart, making Daniel's heart race for an entirely different -- and not even remotely as pleasant -- reason than their near-kiss: the end of the ride. Sunlight shattered the spell the darkness had woven, the sense of safety and freedom from their worries that Neverland had offered for a few, fleeting seconds. The presence of so many others dropped a wall of propriety between them again that simultaneously relieved and frustrated him -- and, he suspected, did the same to her. But Daniel knew that the wall wasn't as strong as before, and was crumbling. He hoped he'd be ready when it finally fell for good, even as he regretted having to wait.