Tag #1 (of 7)
Security Blanket
Rating: Shouldn't be more than a G
Disclaimer: Not Mine. MGM gets to play for real, I get to play in my head.
Summary: The first in a series of tags that incorporates the presence of a small furry giraffe like creature (seen in the deleted scene from Quest 1) into the D/V relationship. The deleted scene got me wondering where it came from and things escalated from there lol. It might seem weird but bear with me. This first tag takes place after Morpheus (After Vala has been asked to stay on at Stargate Command)

Hope you all enjoy it! Let me know what you think! reviews are love after all.

Security Blanket

After Morpheus

Three quarters of SG-1, along with Vala, had assembled at the elevator, ready to head out for their team dinner. It hadn't taken much prompting on Vala's part to convince them to take a night off, especially with Cameron's help. He was always bucking for team nights whenever he could convince the others to join in. However, they were still waiting to head out because one team member remained unaccounted for.

Cameron's stomach gurgled loudly. "Where in the heck did Jackson get to? We agreed to meet here twenty minutes ago!" He demanded – one might say whined – impatiently, to no one in particular.

His exclamation halted Vala's wandering train of thought and she looked over at the rest of the group leaning casually against the wall. Well, to be precise, Samantha and Cameron were leaning against the wall. Teal'c was standing straight and tall, hands clasped behind his back, stoic expression – as well as black toque – firmly in place. He granted Cameron's outburst a raised eyebrow but nothing more.

Vala turned to the others. "If you like, you could go now and I'll find Daniel," she offered helpfully.

"He's most likely caught up with something in his office," Samantha looked at her with a smile, "and he's probably lost track of the time completely."

"Well then, I'll go get his attention, shall I? You all go ahead and we'll meet you at the restaurant," Vala replied.

"Sounds good to me," Cameron said, his stomach rumbling again. He was already on his way to the elevator. "Jackson knows where we're headed. He should be able to get you there in one piece," he added as the doors closed in front of him and the rest of SG-1 with a quiet thud. Vala turned and walked down the hallway towards one of the few places she was sure she could find in this maze of a base.

Vala arrived at Daniel's office and paused, leaning against the doorframe, observing him. The desk lamp shed the only light in the room and it cast soft shadows over him as he worked steadily, flipping through the pages of several books and making notes in one of dozens of notebooks strewn about the room as he attempted to translate the scroll that lay before him. She had missed this while she was gone. Simply watching him work. She had of course spent much of her time bothering him while he attempted to work during her last stint on the base, but there were times when she had just sat off to the side and watched him as well, no interrupting, no sexual advances. He probably hadn't even realised she was there. She was intrigued by the intensity with which he engaged in his work – he threw himself into it, his focus powerful. His passion for learning, for solving the newest mystery, for protecting the planet and his friends, was an overwhelming force. When he focused on his work everything else seemed to fall away. The similarities in the strength and form of her own feelings towards Daniel struck her then, as she observed him with the same focus and unique, undivided concentration with which he studied the scrolls in front of him. He was important to her, he consumed her attention, her thoughts always came back him; he was her Daniel. She longed to be the centre of his attention the way the dusty books scattered over his desk seemed to be.

She started when she noticed that he was no longer staring at his desk but at her. "Hello, darling" she said simply, trying to both distract him from the emotions that had surely been flickering across her face moments before, and to hold his attention so that she could get him out of this office and off the base. He continued to look at her, his gaze travelling over her body as he noticed her clothes, which she had borrowed from Sam until they could go shopping for some outfits of her own. She wore a pair of jeans, rolled up at the bottom so that she could walk without tripping, and a plain navy sweater that was slightly too large for her slim frame. It was hardly her style, and in her opinion less than attractive, but Daniel seemed to like it. At least that's what she thought she saw in his eyes as he paused to look her over. She had missed those eyes – displaying emotion so readable sometimes, but so mysterious at others, a challenge to be overcome, a puzzle to be deciphered.

"The others got tired of waiting for you and left without us. I told them I would come find you while they went on ahead. That's all right, isn't it? Cameron said you knew where we would be eating, was that correct?" she asked, uncertainty creeping into her tone.

"I do know. But I had wanted to go home and change, maybe take a shower. What time is it anyway…" He looked at the clock and trailed off, cringing as he realised how late it had gotten.

From what Sam had said, or more specifically the way in which she had said it, Vala was certain this wasn't the first time he had gotten so wrapped up in his work that he had missed an engagement, and he seemed honestly guilty about having done it again, so she decided not to tease him, at least not this time. "It's no bother darling, we can go to your place first. I hardly mind waiting for you."

Daniel glanced up quickly, looking like he had some sort of sharp retort on the tip of his tongue, but he seemed to immediately recognise the sincerity she held in her features and his own face softened. He nodded his agreement as he gathered his things from around the room. They walked in comfortable silence to the elevator and promptly left the base.

Arriving at Daniel's apartment Vala waited quietly in the hallway as Daniel unlocked the door and then followed him inside, curious to see where he lived when he wasn't on the base, to see his home. She began to walk around, touching the artefacts and pictures that were scattered around the main living area.

"Just don't break… or take anything," Daniel blurted out. The look on his face when she turned towards him gave her the impression that the comment was more of a knee jerk reaction at the sight of her moving about the room with such interest than an honest worry that she might actually cause trouble.

"I wouldn't dream of it, darling," she reassured, looking at him straight-faced. "Hurry and take your shower, and try to find something attractive to wear tonight – do you have any leather pants?" she added with a wink and a wide grin. He said nothing but simply shook his head slightly, turning and heading for the shower, leaving her looking through his framed photographs of SG-1.

Vala heard the water begin running as she moved from the living area through the kitchen. Nothing interesting here, the cupboards and refrigeration unit were actually quite empty, but considering how much time he spent on base, this was hardly surprising. Her gaze landed on the bedroom door, slightly ajar. She was curious and despite her better judgement she couldn't help herself, so she moved back across the apartment and pushed the door open farther to enter Daniel's room, closing it behind her. Looking around she saw more ancient looking objects scattered around the room, hanging on the walls, and sitting on the large bookshelf. The bookshelf was, of course, stuffed full of large, dusty-looking volumes. She smiled, thinking to herself that it wouldn't be Daniel's room without an inordinate amount of boring reading material. She eyed the large bed in the middle the room, it looked comfortable but she wasn't about to jump in and test it, he hadn't seemed to enjoy finding her in his bed the last time she'd tried that. She did see another door next to the bed and approached it, opening it slowly. It was just a closet, nothing thrilling, not that she had really expected anything else. She glanced uninterested at the few clothes that hung there. As her gazed shifted downwards a box on the floor caught her eye. More specifically, what was sticking out of the box caught her eye. Odd tuffs of gold fur poked out from under some old shirts. Vala dug the object out and held it in front of her for a closer look. It was some sort of animal, soft and furry, with a long neck and tan spotted fur. She turned it over and over in her hands, attempting to discern its purpose and precisely why it had been buried in the bottom of Daniel's closet.

Vala was so intrigued by the little creature that she didn't notice the water had stopped running, and she looked up only when she heard the creak of the bedroom door opening behind her.

Daniel came in – dressed in jeans and a turtleneck sweater – still drying his hair with a towel. Vala froze, caught red-handed going through his things. She hung onto the soft animal tighter, not saying a word, and waited for his reaction. It wasn't what she expected. Daniel looked at her with a slight smile, similar to the one that had graced his features when he had congratulated her in the gateroom earlier.

"Where did you find that, Vala?" he asked, his tone perfectly calm.

"I was just…" she motioned towards the open closet. She couldn't think of a proper explanation for rooting through his closet so she let her sentence trail off without conclusion.

Daniel simply looked down at the object she held in her hands. "It's called a giraffe, it's a toy version of an animal that lives here on Earth. My parents gave it to me when I was a baby. I carried it around with me all the time when I was younger. Like a security blanket."

Vala stared first at the creature then at him, confused. "This little animal protected you? From what?"

Sighing, Daniel tried again to explain. "It didn't actually protect me, it just made me feel safe, at night, or in new places, especially if I felt alone." He moved towards her throwing the towel on the bed and shoving his hands in his pocket. "My parents travelled a lot when I was small. It was a piece of them I could hold onto when they were away. I was very attached to it." He paused before continuing. "Over time it also became attached to some difficult memories and it got harder to have it around …especially after they…died." He looked away at that point, emotion heavy in his voice. It seemed as though this was something he hadn't thought about, or at the very least talked about, in a long time.

Vala gazed steadily at Daniel for a moment, surprised at how open he had been just then, how much he had told her and the emotion he had allowed to creep onto his face. She stared at him, still turned slightly away from her, his eyes unfocused. Vala let her own gaze wander off over his shoulder, thinking of her own box of secret treasures that she kept hidden under her bed; her own memories, her own bit of security. Pieces of her father and her childhood that she too kept tucked away for comfort's sake, but which also served as painful reminders of what she'd been through and lost.

"I understand," she said, looking back towards his face that she saw now was observing her own with interest. She tore her eyes from his and carefully placed the giraffe back in the box in the bottom of the closet, moving to shut the door.

"Wait," Daniel said, stopping her from closing the door completely. "Maybe it's time he came out of there." He picked up the giraffe and turned, looking around the room. He moved then to the other side of the bed and gently placed the toy on one corner of his bookshelf. She looked on, confused about his change of heart. He saw her expression and simply said, "Sometimes you need to make changes in your life Vala, move on from the past instead of hide from it."

Vala was still slightly confused about Daniel's new attitude, but seeing that he wasn't going to elaborate further, she was unsure what to do next. She fell back on old habits, quickly disrupting the quiet moment that had settled around them as they stood, now slightly awkwardly, across the bed from each other. Mustering up what Vala hoped was one of her more flirtatious grins, she sauntered over to Daniel, looping her arm through his.

"Well, darling," she chirped as she looked up at him, "the others will be waiting. How about we move on right now?" He rolled his eyes and sighed, sounding exasperated, however he didn't remove his arm from hers, instead he let himself be pulled towards the door, stopping only to grab his jacket and keys as they headed out to meet the rest of the team at the restaurant.