Watching the Sunrise

"Daniel? Are you awake?"

He rolled over and squinted. "I am now. What's up?"

"Look." She nodded toward the window.

He sat up and put on his glasses. The sky was ablaze with oranges, pinks, golds, and lavenders. Vala had been right; he did need to see this.

Given their propensity to argue over absolutely everything, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that agreeing on a honeymoon location didn't come easily. Daniel had wanted to show Vala Egypt and Greece and Rome. He'd been so sure she'd be excited about seeing more of Earth.

But she'd balked, saying that she had places special to her just like he did and why couldn't they go to some of them?

He'd been stunned at first, and then he'd been elated that she was finally opening up enough to share places that mattered to her. In the end, they agreed to a rather extended honeymoon so that they could visit all the things on both their lists.

Which was how Daniel found himself on this planet that he didn't know the designation of, because Vala only ever referred to it as Eguzki Gorri Distiratsua. They'd gotten here via a series of Stargates from the Alpha site, because Vala wasn't willing to divulge its location to the SGC. She'd promised that if there was a true emergency that merited interrupting a honeymoon, Sam knew how to find them.

Sam, Daniel knew, wouldn't disturb them unless the fabric of reality itself was in peril. And not even then if she thought she could solve herself in time.

Vala rested her head on Daniel's shoulder as she continued to gaze out the window at the sunrise. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "Thanks for sharing this with me."

She nodded. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Very."

"I came here after...after Qetesh. It was...peaceful. Almost magical."

"A nice place to recover."

"Yes."

They stayed silent for a while, watching the colors of the sky shift and brighten. Finally she spoke again. "We don't have to stay here any longer if you don't want to. We can go to those other places on your list."

"There's plenty of time, sweetheart. We don't have to rush."

There was another pause, shorter this time. "I know. But...it's not the same, being here this time. The sunrise is still fantastic of course, and I'm glad you've got to see it. I'm sure the mountain streams are just as cool and refreshing and the grass just as soft. But I'm not the same, and I don't like it here anymore. I want to leave."

"If you really want to leave, we will. But it is beautiful and peaceful. I think we could make some new memories here. Give it new associations-a different, better magic."

"Maybe." Her tone was doubtful.

He made his own tone teasing. "We could find a nice, secluded spot on that soft grass you mentioned and consummate our marriage."

She laughed softly. "What, again?"

"You can't be too careful, you know. We have to make sure we're well and truly married."

Vala laughed harder, and Daniel rejoiced to hear the sound. He tilted her chin so he could see her eyes. "Hey. I'm serious. We'll go right now if you truly want to. Anywhere in the galaxy-you dial the gate, and I'll follow. But you wanted to come here for a reason, wanted to share it with me for a reason. And I don't really think it was the sunrise, gorgeous as that was."

"No. I just...I don't even know, really. It meant a lot to me, and now it all just feels different and...off."

"You have changed a lot. And that's okay. We all do. And sometimes we outgrow places. And other times we just need a chance to rediscover them again. How about this: let's go walk around a little bit. We'll just explore. Maybe find something you didn't before. You might warm up to this place again. You might not. If you still want to leave later, we will. Does that sound okay?"

She pondered for a moment then nodded. "Yeah, okay. That sounds good."

"Good." He kissed her briefly.

Well, his intention had been to kiss her briefly. Somehow brief never quite worked out when it came to kissing Vala.

Not that he was complaining.

Later-a long time later-they did explore the area. And Vala decided she wanted to stay after all.

And they did find a particularly soft patch of grass. And did ensure that they were very much legally, officially, no-doubt-about-it married.