A/N - I've wanted to write a tag to Beneath the Surface for awhile now, but there are just so many good ones already out there, I was afraid it would seem duplicative. So, I've tried what I hope is something a little different, telling the story in flashback. Please let me know if you think it works.

With thanks as always to my beta MidKnight Rider.

Chapter 1

Sam stepped through the event horizon onto the metal ramp and immediately held up a hand to shield her eyes from the harsh florescent lighting. The 'gate room, she reminded herself. She was in the 'gate room at Stargate Command.

She knew this was where she was supposed to be, that this was her home, but she couldn't help but feel a sudden sense of trepidation. Despite the fact that the planet she had just come from was in the middle of an ice age, it somehow felt colder here. Concrete and steel surrounded her, and she searched desperately for the warmth of an open brazier, until she remembered that such a crude heat source was not needed in this structure, where industrial air conditioners kept the temperature at a steady 72 degrees.

Still, she felt cold and more than just a little unnerved. Her eyes shot immediately to the man walking down the ramp beside her, and she had to restrain herself from reaching out to grab his hand. He wasn't Jonah, and they didn't hold hands. Not any more.

A portly man with a bald head spoke from the bottom of the ramp. "Welcome back, Colonel," he said. When he turned to address her, Sam felt instantly comforted. "Major."

Major. The title sounded so strange, so formal, yet she knew it was right. She was Major Samantha Carter, United States Air Force, and the man standing in front of her wasn't Homer; he was General Hammond, commander of this facility and - she remembered with sudden clarity - her godfather, though they didn't openly acknowledge that fact here.

"Sir," Jack responded crisply.

General Hammond continued. "I've put SG-3 in charge of coordinating the evacuation of the locals. I want you and Major Carter to get down to the infirmary and let Dr. Fraiser take a look at you. Dr. Jackson and Teal'c are already there. We'll debrief after you're done."

"Yes, sir," Jack answered again, and Sam wondered at his ability to slip so easily back into the trappings of military formality. She looked down at her hands. She wasn't sure it would be that easy for her.

As they began moving toward the exit, Hammond called after them. "And Jack?"

They both turned to face him. "Sir?"

"It's good to have you back." He smiled broadly, looking between the two officers. "Both of you."

Jack glanced ever so briefly at Sam before he responded, but his expression was unreadable. "Good to be back, sir," he said.

oOoOoOo

15 Days Earlier

She squinted as she opened her eyes and looked up at a kind face framed by dark hair. "Thera," the woman smiled down at her as she spoke, her relief palpable. "Glad to have you back."

"Where am I?" Thera asked, her voice rough.

"You're in the medical section of the plant. Do you remember who I am?"

The name came to her almost instantly. "Brenna?"

"That's right. You've been night sick, Thera." Brenna furrowed her brow a bit. "You had us worried."

"I...I feel fine." Thera sat up on the cot and immediately wished she hadn't, her head now beginning to throb. She rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand. "I can't remember what I'm doing here."

"I'm not surprised. You had just transferred from the mines when you fell ill. You're probably more disoriented than most who recover from night sickness. Don't worry. It will all come back to you." Brenna stood and patted Thera on the shoulder. "You just concentrate on getting better. I'm anxious to have my new engineer back on the job." With one last smile, she turned to leave.

Thera lay back down on the small cot and stared at the ceiling. Something about this situation didn't seem right. She knew that she had been recently assigned to work group 4-B in the thermal plant's engineering section. She also knew that she had spent some time in the mines, but beyond that she was having trouble remembering much else about her life. Of course, temporary memory loss was a side effect of night sickness. She was certain that once she resumed her normal activities, the rest of her memories would surface.

She let out a long sigh. No time like the present, she thought. She sat up again, willing her headache away and looking for a medic who would clear her to return to work.

oOoOoOo

Jonah tried to focus on his gauges but his attention kept shifting to the woman with short, blond hair working on the master control panel. There was something about her that seemed familiar somehow, almost as if he knew her, perhaps even intimately. But that was impossible. Even with night sickness, he was certain he would remember someone so beautiful.

He nudged his co-worker Valik to get his attention. "Who's that?" he asked.

Valik followed Jonah's gaze to the blond woman. "She's new, like you. Just came up from the mines, I think. You don't know her?"

Jonah shook his head but continued to stare at the woman. She was tall and thin, and though it was hard to tell, she appeared to be hiding some curves under her bulky orange jacket. Her skin was fair and completely smooth, and even from where he was standing, Jonah could see that her large eyes were a striking blue.

Valik looked at his friend and chuckled. "Forget it, brother. She's way out of your league."

Jonah shrugged. "You never know..." he muttered.

"Oh, I know," Valik replied. "Look, she's an engineer. She's the brains. We're just the muscle. Besides, Aron tried talking to her earlier and couldn't even get her to look his way."

Jonah huffed. "Yeah, well, I've met Aron, and I'm betting his technique could use some work."

"Come on, Jonah. She's just like the rest of them. She thinks she's better than we are, that we're beneath her. You should give it up now, before you embarrass yourself." Valik turned back to his work, clearly done with the subject.

Jonah likewise resumed monitoring his gauges, though he continued to steal glances at the woman working at the control panel. He knew that the engineers didn't usually mingle with the operators, but he couldn't help thinking there was something different about her.

oOoOoOo

Thera was just starting to get accustomed to the control panel when, without warning, an alarm began to sound, sending both operators and engineers scurrying to discover the source of the problem. She examined the panel carefully, trailing her finger along the illuminated map representing the maze of pipes running throughout the facility. Within moments, she had identified the issue. She tapped the screen. "Here it is," she said to herself. She yelled in the direction of the operators, "It's the C-valve! The problem is with the C-valve at junction 182!"

Jonah watched her for several seconds, entranced, before he realized that the problem she had found was within his area of control. Chastising himself for his inattention, he quickly sprang into action, physically following the requisite pipeline to the junction housing the problematic valve. He immediately began turning the valve counterclockwise in an effort to release the rising pressure in the pipe.

It wasn't until she spoke that he noticed Thera had followed him. "I'm not sure that's helping," she said from behind him, causing him to jump and bump his head on an overhead pipe.

He scowled and rubbed his head. He hated surprises, even when they were as attractive as she was. "It'll work," he grunted as he continued to turn the valve.

"No," she insisted, "it won't. Here, let me fix it." With that, she attempted to move around him to get to the valve.

He immediately blocked her access. If there was one thing he hated more than surprises, it was being second guessed, and he was beginning to think Valik might be right about her after all. "Look, Barbie, I know what I'm doing." He had no idea where that name came from, but for some reason, it made him smirk.

His smirk disappeared, though, as a second alarm sounded, this one louder than the first.

"Apparently not," she retorted smartly, hands on her hips. She didn't know why, but it infuriated her that he had called her Barbie.

He spun around to face her fully, his face mere inches from hers. "Hey, I had everything under control until you got here!"

"Fine. Good luck with it then." She turned on her heel and began to walk off. She knew it was completely irrational, but it upset her greatly that he didn't trust her judgment. It was probably for that reason that before she had gone too far, she stopped and yelled at him over her shoulder, "And my name isn't Barbie!"

Jonah opened his mouth to reply, but at that exact moment, a third alarm sounded.

"D'oh," he muttered under his breath, as he frantically turned his attention back to the broken valve.

TBC...