Title: Echoes of What Was

Author: Angel Leviathan

Spoilers: Anything, everything, Season 8 spoilers

Season: Timeline starts during Chimera. AU from then on, hence Janet being alive.Disclaimer: SG-1, characters, concept etc, aren't mine. Rei, Jason, etc, are though.

Notes: Okay, before anyone says anything after reading this, such as, "How could you?" and, "What are you playing at?" I have to say that not everything has to be SJ. I'm not saying this fic won't ever be, but I'm currently finding it interesting to see what happens when other paths are taken. Hey, I'm still holding out for an SJ ending. For those who don't know, Satra is the goa'uld from the new Stargate 3000 ride, I'm just borrowing her a little early.

She stood outside the classroom, absently fiddling with her shoulder length, dark brown hair. Checking her appearance for what she felt must have been the hundredth time, she sighed and leant against the wall, waiting for her cue to enter the room. She had never moved schools before, barring the usual grade and school advancements. Now she knew why newcomers always looked so scared. Her mother had tried to reassure her that morning when she dropped her off, but for some reason, her usually confident mother had been apprehensive and jittery about something she wouldn't reveal, and somehow she had transmitted her fear to her daughter. They'd always been close, even though she often saw very little of her mother, but she'd never seen her like that. Distracted, worried, face pale from the clear lack of sleep. She shook her head as she heard the door open, and obediently stepped into the classroom, blue eyes fixed firmly on the floor for a moment, before she glanced up and tried a smile.

"I expect you all to take care of her until she gets her bearings. I know you all think you're all grown up now, but everybody needs help now and again," the teacher placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Class, this is Rei Shanahan."

Another new one. He barely looked up to acknowledge her presence, knowing he would have little to nothing to do with the new girl. Jason took in her appearance; she looked nice enough. Then again, he could say that about most of the girls in his class. And it was often the ones who looked perfectly innocent that turned out to be the bitches of the year. He looked back down again and recommence doodling on one of his many books. She was going to find it tough. At sixteen, friendship groups had been firmly established. Then again, who knew? The last new girl had become the apparent 'queen of the world' in just a few weeks.

"Take the desk near the back please, Rei, I'm sorry, it's the only space left."

That put her two rows in front of him, who always endeavoured to stay at the back. People expected less of him then. He sighed; it might be nice to show them what he was actually capable of one day. Not that it would impress anybody. Since when had he become so cynical?

Rei fidgeted nervously on the spot for a moment, before she claimed her seat, dropping her bag at her feet and attempting to look as if she were paying attention. Her heart was pounding; she hated standing in front of a crowd. It felt like she was on parade. Her baby sister; now there was somebody who loved attention. Any attention. Just get through today…that was the first step.

"…I'm Nikki…" a dark haired girl to her right leant across, whispering as the teacher's back was turned, "Don't worry, she parades everybody about like that. I expect somebody to start bidding next time," she grinned.

Rei smiled slightly, "I probably wouldn't be worth much," she laughed quietly.

"I don't know," another girl, behind her, smiled, "You made Jay look up, and he hardly ever pays attention to anything," she held out her hand, "I'm Belle."

"Short for Isabelle, not because she's a stunning beauty," Nikki teased her friend.

"Nice to meet you," Rei nervously shook her hand.

"Now, the second world war," the teacher began.

All three girls practically jumped back into 'I'm paying attention, really!' mode, Nikki and Belle hiding a smile, Rei just looking panicked.

Jason shook his head; just another one of the crowd. She'd vanish into it within the first week. Such was life.

"I'm sorry, but you were the best man-" he paused, "woman, for the job."

"It's okay, Sir," she nodded, "To be honest I was beginning to miss the place."

"Beginning?" Jack blinked, "I'd have thought you'd wither and die without your lab."

"I got a better one," Sam replied, "With nobody trying to throw me out every ten minutes," she tried an uneasy smile.

"Each to their own," he tried to keep the bitter tone from his voice.

She glanced around the office, shifting uneasily in her chair, "So…General…how are things…?" Sam tried, in an overly conversational tone.

"Well, I've had some moron as head of science for the past few years who really pisses me off," he began, "Teal'c has hair, whilst Daniel and the Doc seem intend on populating this Earth with as many scarily intelligent kids as possible."

"Last I heard there weren't any more on the horizon…" Sam frowned, "…Right, Sir?"

"As far as I know, after the trouble with Harriet, they aren't risking it again."

"Good."

Silence.

Oh yes, and more silence.

"…How're you?" she dared to ask, not really wanting the answer.

Jack nodded, "Good. We're all…good. Jay's doing as well as could be expected in school, Kris has finally realised she wants to act, and Tom…well if he ever stops terrorising his classmates it'll be a damned miracle."

"Sounds like my youngest," she wouldn't make eye contact. She never thought she'd be here, talking about children, children that weren't theirs. She had made her choice…and…if she was honest…she didn't regret it as much as she had once thought she would.

"…Kerry does her best with them. I'm not around as much as I want to be. Then again, neither is she. Half the time they're with a minder when they're out of school."

"Pete spends more time with the kids than I do…I wish it was different, but there was nothing I could do…maybe now it'll be different," Sam answered, continuing to talk as it was the only thing she thought she was capable of doing; somehow hurting each other already, barely having been together for half an hour.

"If you stick to the work and don't sleep here every night, then I guess it will be."

"Why exactly did you request my permanent presence here, Sir?"

Jack sighed, "…I want you to take command of SG-1."

She stared, "There is no SG-1."

"When we thought it was over, no, there was no SG-1," he lowered his voice, "…We're about to get our assess kicked all over again, Carter…"

"But the system lords disbanded. None of them had enough power, let alone resources, to even fight amongst themselves…"

"Satra."

"Satra?" she blinked.

"We got the son, we didn't know about the daughter. Apophis, Carter, Apophis' daughter. Apparently been hiding away all these years and has finally decided enough is enough. She can take all the power her ancestors had, and more, and she fully intends to, now there's nobody to stop her," Jack grimaced.

"…And you think by returning to the SGC I can help you at all? When you've already had everybody working on it?" Sam stared, wide-eyed.

"I need you to reform SG-1, Carter. Do it for the thrill, do it for the work, do it for the tech, hell, just do it to save our asses. But I wont force you," he finished, an air of helplessness about him that refused to dispel, "You're the only one I trust not to screw things up."

"I've been gone for sixteen years, General."

"I know. But you're military still, and that says something. They wont have let you get out of touch."

"And? Why me?" Sam asked, exasperated, "I moved my whole family back here!"

"Look, Carter, we need you. I need you. I'm sorry it had to be like this, but you being on side right now seriously raises our chances of actually surviving."

She sat back in her chair, shaking her head, "…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped, Sir. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Rei's starting at her new highschool, and all this…"

"I know. Trust me, I know. I thought it was all over…" Jack sighed.

Sam nodded to herself, before looking up at him, "Daniel and Teal'c are up for this, Sir?"

"Yeah. Ready when you are."

She nodded, again, more slowly, "…I'll do it."