Chapter Text
Vala's squeal of delight woke Sam well before the concierge ever had a chance to call their suite. Peeking a sleepy eye open, she found the rogue twirling about, a pirate captain's hat sitting jauntily atop her head (and in danger of falling off at any moment), and a shirt that read "Pirate Princess" pressed to her breast. She reminded Sam every bit of Cassandra on her first Christmas morning.
"Look what Daniel bought me!" Vala crowed, a grin threatening to split her face in two.
Tired as she was, Sam couldn't be mad. She just laughed softly, shaking her head. "They're very cute."
"I can't wait to put them on!"
"Oh, well, by all means, take your shower first, then!" Sam said, gesturing to the door.
Vala nodded, grinning wide as she grabbed the rest of her clothes and practically hurled herself through the wooden portal, barely remembering to actually open it in time. Sam was sure the slam of said door had woken their suitemates, but didn't care, drifting back into dreamland herself mere seconds after.
* * *
She's probably seen the stuff by now, Daniel thought as the hot water sluiced over his shoulders, picturing Vala's childlike glee and holding the image in his mind.
Landry had been right after all: although weariness had dropped him hard into dreamland the night before, Daniel felt far more rested now than he remembered feeling in weeks -- maybe months! It helped that the other guys had woken him last. Mitchell had made a crack to Teal'c about needing their brainiac at the top of their game in his search for the Ori weapon; Daniel wasn't meant to hear the jest, of course.
Daniel was momentarily astonished to find that he'd forgotten about his precious mission within the last day. Then he mused that he shouldn't be surprised to have forgotten -- the Magic Kingdom had a way of doing that to a person, make one forget everything outside its gates. Maybe that was why he found the park's allowance of cell phones so grating -- they disturbed the illusion. He realised now just how much he'd needed that illusion in order to recharge, and wouldn't allow himself to feel even an ounce of guilt anymore over their little vacation. When he got back to SGC, de-stressed and able to look at his task with fresh eyes, he'd probably get better results than if he'd spent the whole weekend working!
There was a knock at the door moments after he stepped out of the bathroom, dressed and ready to go. (Well, almost ready -- he snagged the pirate hat he'd bought the day before off of Cameron's head and rest it on his own.) Pausing just long enough to give Daniel puppy-dog tears at the loss of the headgear, Cameron warily eyed at the door as if he expected there to be a Prior on the other side, coming to give the sales pitch of Origin. "No way, they can't be ready already! There's six of them over there, and only four of us, and we just finished!"
"Well, Daniel's been known to preen," Jack teased as he opened the door. He was nearly knocked off his feet by the deceptively diminutive figure waiting on the other side.
"DaniellookitwhatIyou're not Daniel!" Vala accused Jack, quickly removing her arms from around the man's neck.
"Ah, over here..." Daniel said, waggling his fingers.
"Right. Sorry," she told Jack, before skipping over to Daniel, the scrapbook he'd bought her the day before in-hand. "I started already!" she told him proudly, holding it out to him, adding, "I like your hat!"
He paused a moment to take in how cute she was in the pirate-themed gear he'd bought her, and unconsciously thumbed the brim of his hat before accepting the book. She bit her lip in anticipation as he opened it. She'd been very busy that morning, he saw. She'd arranged the park brochure, the schedule, and her Magic Kingdom ticket on the first page, against a backdrop of the Castle. On a few "Pirates" pages, she detailed their adventures in, well, Adventureland, as well as Frontierland -- including a comment on how nice he'd look in his wet t-shirt after Splash Mountain. He made a mental note to make sure that none of the others read the scrapbook thoroughly -- and another note to take the time to do precisely that himself. On a Tinkerbelle page, she'd told the story of their passage through Fantasyland, while a "Stitch" page told of Tomorrowland. She had put the photo of them at Cinderella's Royal Table on, of course, a "Cinderella" page, using four of the photo-stickers of them to hold it in place. On another page, she'd detailed what they ate, and told of how Daniel had surprised her with the pin. She's pasted the reservation card he'd given her at the end of their meal at the bottom of the page. On a Castle page, she shared the story of the Spectromagic parade, the rose he'd given her, the fireworks display ... and their first kiss since he'd officially started courting her. He felt a flush of warmth at the memory. Yes, he definitely couldn't let the others read this thing ....
"You did a really nice job with this!" he told her, sincerely impressed, while ignoring Mitchell's attempt to look at it over his shoulder, yet effectively keeping the man from seeing anything. His hat helped in that endeavor. "And so quickly, too!"
"I've been up since 5:30," Vala admitted. "I didn't want to forget anything!" She tilted her head, biting her lip, eyes looking down bashfully as she twirled her hair.
"Neither do I -- I'm glad you did this now, while the memories are still fresh," he told her, holding the now-closed book up for emphasis. He'd make an archiver out of her yet! He reached out, entwining his fingers in her hair as he drew her close and gave her a soft morning kiss.
"I think I'm gonna hurl," Cameron told Teal'c in a stage whisper.
"I believe that will be difficult to do without first breaking our fast," Teal'c observed.
"I can never tell if he's serious or yankin' my chain," Cam complained.
* * *
Since they were once again taking advantage of the Extra Magic Hours, a hotel-guests-only period before the actual opening, the Disney-MGM Studios was blessedly peaceful when they arrived.
Daniel wasn't sure why, but he always preferred Hollywood Boulevard to Main Street. Or rather, he had, until some nitwit had gotten the bright idea to block the view of the replica of Grauman's Chinese Theatre at the end of it with a giant Sorcerer's Apprentice hat, jarring the view out of 40s-era Hollywood. He wished Vala could have seen the "proper" view, but she seemed to be enjoying the sights regardless. As they made their way to Sunset Boulevard, they bantered playfully with the members of Streetmosphere -- actors playing directors, movie starlets, police, and other citizens of the Hollywood of the '40s. Vala "borrowed" a feather boa from one of them under the pretense of trying it on and then supposedly forgetting about it when she went to walk away. She didn't get very far before Daniel caught her hand, pulled her back, and "reminded" her to return it. He didn't even get mad, just chuckling and shaking his head. Truthfully, she'd shown remarkable restraint so far this trip, if he really thought about it ....
Once they reached the intersection, Jack and Sam abandoned them in order to get reservations for their own private dinner, away from "the kids", at the Brown Derby. The rest of SG-1 and their companions turned down Sunset, strains of Kay Kyser crooning "On a Slow Boat to China" greeting their ears.
They stopped in the candy shop, in which, despite the purchases in a similar shop the day before, Daniel found himself buying Vala a veritable Hallowe'en night's worth of loot. The candy shop led directly into the Villians shop (which now seemed more of a Pirates of the Caribbean and Nightmare Before Christmas shop). He automatically bought Vala a "Pirate Stitch" plushie for the collection he'd started for her. For himself, he bought a sizable (and pricey) statue of Jack Skellington dipping Sally. Vala liked it a lot -- though she had no idea who the characters were. There was some brow-raising when the others realised he wasn't buying it for her.
"Wha-aat? It was a good movie!" he insisted. He refused to admit aloud that the pairing reminded him somewhat of Vala and himself: Sally was something of an irascible escape artist, and Skellington had been oblivious to Sally's affections because he'd been too involved in his studies. Things had worked out for the Pumpkin King and his girl; he hoped he and Vala would be equally lucky. Suddenly he wished he'd thought to show the film to Vala; he promised himself he'd do just that as soon as they got back....
Mitchell smiled like the Cheshire Cat at Daniel's protest, while Cassandra and her friends giggled. Even Teal'c couldn't hide his amusement. When they all finally turned away, Daniel made the "squishing your head" motion behind their backs, forgetting that Vala and the clerk were still watching. Clearing his throat and pretending he'd done nothing odd at all, he filled out the form for sending the packages to the hotel.
As he did, a sparkle in the glass case below him caught his eye. It was a pink rhinestone "Pirate Princess" watch. He glanced at Vala -- she'd wandered off to chat with Cassandra. He finished the form, then paid for the watch, asking the clerk to remove the price and not to bother with a bag. Trying hard to keep a straight face, he came up behind Vala, box behind his back, and tapped her on the shoulder. She smiled at him as she turned, cocking her head quizzically.
"I know this is a bit late," he told her as he brought the box forward, "but Happy Birthday."
Eyes wide, she reached out hesitantly to touch the box, as if it would dissolve upon contact. Gingerly, she finally took and opened it. Her eyes sparkled like the gems on her new timepiece. Then, in direct opposition with the fragile demeanor she'd displayed just a moment before, she threw her arms around him with a squeal of delight, threatening to crack a rib, maybe even realign his spine. He laughed as he removed her hat and kissed the top of her head. Catching sight of the others, he coughed self-consciously, fussing for a moment as he returned the hat to its perch. He then took the watch from the box and removed the cheap watch she currently wore, putting it in the now-empty box and slipping the package into her purse. He kissed her bared pulse-point and, with sensual deliberateness, fastened the new timepiece around her delicate wrist. When he met her eyes again, she captured his lips with a soft thank-you. When they drew apart, they found the Chipmunks and Goofy giggling silently at them from one of the doorways.
Once the group left the shop, they made their lazy way down the street to its end, ignoring the shops on the other side for the time being. Jack and Sam caught up with them along the way. Out of the corner of his eye, Daniel noted that Vala seemed tempted to snag something from the fruit stand, but, perhaps remembering her earlier slip with the feather boa, Steeled her shoulders, seeming all the more determined to behave. She managed to keep her southpaw to herself (her other hand firmly occupied by Daniel's). He pondered whether to say he was proud of her for her restraint, but decided it might upset her to know he knew she'd been tempted, so kept the thought to himself.
Hungry as everyone was, they put off breakfast in favor of getting two of the park's biggest attractions out of the way. They got a Fastpass for the Rockin' Roller Coaster, then headed next door, to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Frankly, this first ride of the day was not one of Daniel's favourites. If Vala hadn't been there, he would have taken the chicken exit after the pre-show (in which Disney had quite convincingly made an introductory spiel using footage of the late Rod Sterling). Not that he didn't appreciate the special effects of the ride -- it was quite impressive (and more than a little creepy) how they'd made it seem as if one were in a hall that slowly dissolved into outer space. But the ride was also pretty short, and the falling of the elevator they rode in bothered his stomach. And, oh joy of joys, thanks to the ride's randomizer, which chose how many drops each individual elevator car would take and how far it would fall, they got four long drops -- no short ones whatsoever! One drop was more than enough in his book. He thought he pulled something, his muscles were so tense.
Vala, of course, adored the ride, and immediately wanted to do it again -- as did, it seemed, everyone else. And early as it was, they in fact had time enough to do so before they could use their Fastpasses for the roller coaster. Daniel told them to go on without him; he'd wait by the photo-collection area, wanting to get a copy of their "trip" for Vala's scrapbook. (When he saw the look on his face in the picture, though, he almost wished he hadn't decided to buy it ...) He had the picture, and a plushie of Stitch dressed as a bellhop, sent back to their hotel. Then he waited on a bench just outside the exit for them.
"I just don't get it!" Sam was saying as they got out. "We shouldn't be floating off the seat like that!"
"Why not?" Vala asked. "The elevator's heavier than us, right?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't actually matter. Save for wind resistance -- which we didn't have, being inside the elevator -- gravity pulls at everything at the same rate. If you put a feather and an anvil in an airless vacuum and dropped them both from the same height at the same time, the bottom of the feather and the bottom of the anvil would reach the ground at the same moment. So our backsides should never have lost contact with the bench!"
Cassandra's friend, Peri, glanced at her, bemused. "I thought you were supposed to be an honest-to-Goddess rocket scientist!"
Sam stopped and scowled. "I am."
Jack visibly bristled at Peri.
Oblivious to the sudden hostility most of the party was aiming her way, Peri rolled her eyes. "The answer is obvious: the elevator doesn't fall," she informed them, walking on.
Daniel was distracted from his desire to wipe the smirk off the girl's face by the act of trying to decipher the girl's statement. Of course the elevator fell -- you couldn't fake what they'd just gone through!
"What, are you saying it was all some sort of hologram?" Mitchell asked as they started to follow after the girl and her friends.
"Heh, I don't think Disney's gotten quite that good yet," Peri said over her shoulder.
Daniel and the rest of SG-1 shared significant looks. Maybe Disney hadn't gotten that advanced, but SG-1 had certainly encountered races with technology that was....
Sam, meanwhile, had been staring at the back of the girl's head in concentration. Daniel found himself wondering if she was trying to use psychokinesis to make the girl's head explode, before Sam let out a loud, sharp, "Oh, God!"
Her companions tensed for a moment, eyes scanning the crowd for danger, until she started laughing.
Peri glanced back, smiling, and the rest of SG-1 had the distinct impression the two women were sharing some private joke.
"Ya mind sharing what's so funny with the rest of us?" Jack asked when Sam caught her breath.
"The elevator doesn't fall -- it's pulled down, by hydraulics -- faster than gravity! Geez, way to think outside the box, Samantha," she chided herself, shaking her head.
As they all went on their way again, Daniel was considerably less amused. A quick glance told him the other members of SG-1 were in agreement. Vala mimicked Daniel's earlier motion from in the Villains shop, pretending to squish Peri's head from behind. Daniel reached out and took her hand, hoping the others wouldn't ask her where she'd picked that up from.
Daniel really liked the preshow for the Rockin' Roller Coaster, which was made up to look like the riders were touring a recording studio. There was a window looking in on a sound booth, with a screen on the far wall -- only the other screen was made to seem like another window, looking in on the controls for the booth. The premise was that the band Aerosmith was just wrapping up a recording session, and had to hurry off to a concert, but didn't want to leave the fans who'd come to tour the studio high and dry, so they asked their manager to give the riders backstage passes and get a limo to take them to the show. Daniel found himself able to suspend his disbelief just enough to delude himself, for a moment, into believing he was actually in the presence of the band.
Vala, of course, had no idea who any of the band members were, though she let out a happy squeal when Daniel informed her that the lead singer, Steven Tyler, was Arwen actress Liv Tyler's real-life dad -- she'd seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy, of course. Daniel made a mental note to take her to one of Aerosmith's concerts at the soonest opportunity, and in the meantime show her his copy of the Big Ones music video collection. He figured he could listen to the music while she watched it in his office (it never even occurring to him that she could watch it in her room instead).
The loading area for the coaster was made to look like they were waiting in a back alley. The cars for the coaster were made to look like a convertible stretch limo. The ride itself was like speeding down the streets through the blackest of nights, with brightly-lit streets signs guiding the way and Aerosmith tunes blasting in the riders' ears. The riders couldn't see the track hardly at all, and, unlike in Space Mountain, there were loop-de-loops and corkscrews. The fact that Daniel had to keep his glasses in Vala's purse just served to make the experience even scarier -- and he loved it!
He wished they could go on it again, as it was his favorite attraction at the Studios, but the line was already over an hour long when they got out. In fact, the ride was so popular that, if they got another Fastpass for it, they wouldn't be able to get any other passes until one-thirty in the afternoon! He did get another photo for Vala's scrapbook, at least -- although he felt he looked like even more of a dork in this one than he had in the one for the Tower of Terror ....
Though their stomachs seemed to be singing a hungry chorus at that point, when Peri suggested they get The Voyage of the Little Mermaid out of the way, Sam and Daniel, being park veterans themselves, had to agree that doing so was the best use of time management, since Mermaid's first show was at 9:45, and the rest of the stage shows didn't start till after 11 am. Knowing how much Vala had enjoyed the movie The Little Mermaid, Daniel definitely wanted her to see the puppet-and-laser-laden rendition, and since they would likely be too busy to see it later in the day, he was willing to suffer his hunger a while longer. Besides, he liked the show. Mitchell and O'Niell seemed far less eager for it, complaining even louder than their stomachs, so Sam sent them on a mission to get Fastpasses for Lights, Motors, Action! To Daniel's surprise, Teal'c opted to stay with the girls to see Ariel and her friends. To his greater surprise, Teal'c sang along to "Under the Sea" during the show. A bit later in the performance, Vala grabbed Daniel's arm tightly and looked about wildly as Ursula the sea witch threatened the theatre. And she snuggled against him as Ariel was reunited with her prince. Daniel rest his head against the top of hers and wished the show were a bit longer.
* * *
An odd sense of deja vu settled over Daniel as they sat in the "Hollywood and Vine" diner, eating breakfast. Once again, a restaurant he had enjoyed had been altered into a "Character Buffet". Like at the Crystal Palace, though, he felt his annoyance at the presence of said characters dissipate as he watched Vala interact with them. He even got roped into playing "interpreter", deciphering the various characters' pantomimes for his party (not his idea -- everyone just kept looking at him expectantly, even the characters once they caught on), though it was usually painfully obvious what the costumed players were "saying".
They bypassed the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular with the intention of returning later. The walkway rounded a curve; when they passed the midpoint of the turn, Vala stopped short abruptly, eyes wide, and looked around like she was searching for a place to hide. She then rolled her eyes, relaxing, then common sense apparently having caught up with her. Of course the four-legged metal beast standing a hundred yards away wasn't a real AT-AT.
Daniel grinned at her reaction. He'd brought the original Star Wars trilogy videos to the base one day with the intent of keeping her out of his hair for a bit while he worked. His plan had only half-succeeded. She'd insisted on watching it on the TV in his office, and he'd kept finding himself watching it with her. Other people who stopped by with reports had gotten sucked in as well. Teal'c, Sam, and Mitchell had eventually shown up -- with popcorn, no less. Now Daniel saw in Vala's face an echo of how he'd felt the first time he'd seen the outside of Star Tours, a ride set in the Star Wars universe. Though the AT-AT was only about a third of the size a "real" one was supposed to be, and the Ewok village beside it was much closer to the ground than in the films, it was all still very impressive, bringing the film to life. He couldn't wait for her to see the inside of the attraction -- but that would have to wait.
He felt a pang of sadness as they passed the gift shop, Tatooine Traders. He preferred the look of the former shop, Endor Vendors -- partially because the new shop reminded him a little too much of Abydos, and the life he'd led for such a short time with Sha're. A gentle squeeze by Vala's hand in his reminded him he needed to look ahead -- in more ways than one.
They paused at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater and made reservations for dinner, Daniel promising Vala that she was going to love it but refusing to tell her anything more about it when she asked.
That done, they stopped in the book-and-stationary shop around the corner, where Daniel bought Vala some Hollywood-themed pages for her scrapbook. As he paid, Vala told him that she would pay him back for the pages when she finally got a paycheck. He glanced up at her in surprise.
"But it's not like you asked for them!" he protested. "I just wanted you to have them!" He only half had his attention on the form for the hotel delivery, which he suspected he could fill out in his sleep by now.
"And I do want to have them," Vala assured him. "But I ... I have a job now, Daniel. You don't need to treat me like a charity case." She bit her lip and turned away, looking miserable.
Paperwork done, he drew her off to the side. Their companions, in a rare moment of courtesy, pointedly ignored them.
"Hey, what's up?" he asked. "There was a time when you wouldn't have hesitated to ask me to buy you something!" he half-laughed. ...If you hadn't already filched it, that is....
She looked pained. "Do I still seem like that Vala?"
"Er ... no?" He wasn't entirely sure what she meant, but sensed he was treading in dangerous territory. He wished the university had had courses on how to speak "female".
"You didn't like that Vala," she whispered. "I didn't like her," she added as he tried to protest. "And you know what? I do like being useful and independent -- but I don't like feeling helpless -- o-or like a burden. I worked really hard for Sal, to make up for all he'd done for me -- and I'm going to work just as hard for SGC!" she promised.
Daniel felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He hadn't realised just how much her abduction had affected her. What he'd taken for greed in her all this time ... what if it was really just some sort of survival instinct, a manifestation of her sense of self-preservation? A desire to be in control of her own life, especially after Qetesh had stolen even basic decision-making abilities from her for so long? Now that Vala had a stable home and family again, of course her priorities had changed! She wanted to belong -- and she would do anything to protect what she'd fought so hard to obtain.
"Come here," he whispered, drawing her into his arms. "You don't owe us anything, Vala. What we give, we give because we want to. That's how it works with friends -- with family. We do things for each other because we care about one another and want each other to be happy. In fact, I confess I have my own ... selfish reasons for buying you things."
She drew away from him, her eyes wet under a skeptical brow. "How's that?"
"I want to see you smile."
And she did.
He leaned his forehead against hers. "Ah, there we go. Worth every penny."
After the shop was the New York section of Streets of America. Vala marveled at the massive back-drop at one end, which gave the illusion that the street went on much farther than it did. Teal'c asked them all to pose before it, revealing that he had a tiny digital camera in his possession.
"I didn't know you had one of those!" Mitchell remarked as they moved on. "How come you haven't taken any other pictures this weekend?"
"I bought it online, with assistance from GeneralLandry," Teal'c told him. "And I have been using it, ColonelMitchell. I simply prefer to take more natural shots of people, rather than posed ones."
Daniel wondered if they should be worried over any shots he'd caught of them when they weren't looking.
"So why ask us to pose for that one?" Cam asked, gesturing with a thumb back the way they'd come.
"For ValaMalDoran's scrapbook," Teal'c replied.
Vala beamed, while Daniel nodded his thanks, touched. Teal'c bowed his head at them in welcome, smiling.
Having taken a bit too long in getting there, they ended up sitting in the "nosebleed" section of the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. Daniel really, really hated those seats, primarily because the stadium was set at an extreme incline, and there were too many huge gaps in the guide-rails of the stairs. It was a very dizzying experience just getting up there -- and the climb down the stairs in the back when it was over would be no picnic either, he knew. For now, though, he enjoyed the show itself well enough, even if racing and exploding cars were really more Sam, Jack, and Mitchell's bag -- and, apparently, Vala's. Daniel's favourite part was the appearance of Herbie the Love Bug, whom he'd adored as a child, but it took some explaining to Vala and Teal'c just who -- or what -- Herbie was.
"A car that's alive? I thought you Tau--er, that there were no successful AI in existence?" Vala said carefully.
Teal'c stared at Daniel expectantly.
"Well, no, Herbie's not really alive -- and he's not an AI, either. It's just ... pretend!"
Vala and Teal'c exchanged looks that clearly said These Tau'ri are very, very insane, leaving Daniel feeling exceptionally silly.