A/N: As promised, chapter 30 quickly posted! One more little adventure on base before heading back to the planet!

Chapter 30 – Another Fine Mess

"Major Carter?" came a breathless shout from down the corridor. Sam turned around and inwardly groaned as she saw Dr. Jay Felger advancing toward her. Now what has he done?

Steeling her features, she answered him. "Yes Jay? What can I do for you?"

Felger bent over and tried to catch his breath. "I've been...looking all over... for you. Didn't answer...your phone. Need some help...my lab."

"Take it easy Jay. And slow down. What do you need?"

He took several deep breaths before he proceeded. "I've been running some simulations that I am hoping will decrease the fluctuations in energy output we've been experiencing when dialing out to the newer gate addresses. My latest one isn't working too well. In fact, the last three times I ran the simulation, the gate exploded."

Sam smiled slightly, "Well, that's not good."

'No, it's not," he agreed. "I was wondering if you would come and take a quick look. General Hammond has granted me a meeting for 1800 hours today and I would really like to have something working for him. If it blows up, well..." he shrugged his shoulders.

Sam looked at her watch. "I was going to get something to eat, then should really check in with my team. They probably want to finalize plans for our mission tomorrow."

"Please, Major Carter?" Felger pleaded with her. "It should only take an hour, tops. I have some sandwiches in the refrigerator in my lab. My mother sent them along with me the other day," he added sheepishly.

Not able to turn down a scientist in need, especially one as needy as Jay Felger, Sam agreed and followed him to his lab on level 18.

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"Daniel? Have you seen Carter anywhere?" Jack asked as he popped his head in Daniel's office. It was now 1300 hours and he hadn't seen her for over two hours. They had all given her the space they thought she needed, but enough was enough. Jack had been combing the base for 45 minutes now, looking for her. He wanted to make sure she ate some lunch and he had promised Dr. Frasier that he would make sure Sam came by for a check up this afternoon.

"No Jack. Sam hasn't been here. Have you tried her lab?"

"Several times. It's been locked. I tried calling as well but she never picked up the phone; if she was even in there."

"Perhaps she has retired to her quarters, O'Neill. Major Carter may be in need of rest after this morning's events," Teal'c stated.

"Not there either," Jack frowned. He was beginning to get a bit annoyed. Where could one small Major have gotten too?

"I shall help you look for Major Carter, O'Neill," Teal'c said, getting to his feet. "Perhaps she has been detained by other SGC personnel. I am certain she will show up."

Daniel got up as well. "I'll come too. We can split up to look for her. She's around here somewhere."

The three men made their way into the corridors and discussed their plan of action. Just as they reached the elevators, the entire floor went black. "Oh for crying out loud!" Jack yelled. "Now what?"

Emergency alarms blared as the auxiliary power kicked in, illuminating the darkened hallways. Various personnel ran down the corridors, heading to their designated stations to receive orders. Jack, Teal'c and Daniel headed to the control room, hoping this latest emergency had nothing to do with their wayward friend.

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Sam jumped back as sparks flew out from the main computer in Dr. Felger's lab. "Geez Jay, how much power did you divert to your computer?" she asked in annoyance. She had been running his simulation when the system overloaded and went haywire. All power shut down in the lab and they were left in darkness, save for the sparks that continued to shoot out from the computer.

"Well, it wasn't running with the precision that I needed so I diverted power from some of the other systems in here. I guess that wasn't such a good idea," he admitted hesitantly.

Sam looked at him in disbelief. How could someone who was so smart be so stupid? she thought. "No, not a good idea." The emergency lighting came on and Sam made her way over to the main power core in the lab. She quickly reset the electrical systems to their original settings. Sparks continued to spew from the main computer, catching the papers that were strewn about on the adjoining desk. All of a sudden, flames burst forth, catching both Sam and Felger off guard.

Felger tried to fan them with some documents he had lying nearby. This only proceeded to make things worse. Sam ran to the wall for the fire extinguisher, which was too high for her to reach by herself. "Felger! Get over here and grab the fire extinguisher!" she yelled at him. Felger turned at the tone of her voice and quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher off the wall. In his haste, he dropped it on his foot and howled in pain.

"My toe! I think it's broken! I can't walk!" he moaned as he fell to the floor.

"For God's sake," Sam muttered as she lifted the heavy fire extinguisher. She tucked the implement under her left arm as she couldn't grasp it with her cast and held on to the handle with her right hand. "Get off the floor and call for help Jay! And let the General know what's happened." She ordered him as she advanced on the flames. "The power outage might have affected the entire base!"

Security systems had already alerted the General as to what the problem was and where it had originated. When SG-1 entered the control room, he hung up the phone and turned to them. "The power outage started on Level 18. Felger's lab," he said with a tone of distaste. "Some of the SF's on that level saw Major Carter and Felger head to his lab 30 minutes ago. Maybe you'd better head up there and check it out Colonel. All elevators are up and running."

"Sir," Sgt. Davis interrupted. "Sensors indicate a fire on Level 18. It appears to be coming from Felger's Lab, Sir."

Jack turned abruptly and sprinted down the steps, followed closely by Teal'c and Daniel.

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Sam had climbed up on a chair, heavy fire extinguisher in tow, and was spraying the flames in a sweeping motion. She had only been dousing the flames mere seconds when the overhead sprinkler system kicked in. Between that and her efforts, the flames were quickly out, although smoke still emanated from the charred ruins of the computer. An occasional spark would half-heartedly shoot out as well, as if trying to prove that it was still a threat.

Sam turned from her perch atop the chair at the sound of running footsteps. "A little late," she mumbled to herself, then raised her eyebrows in surprise as three SF's rushed into the room, followed by Daniel, Teal'c, and one very upset looking Colonel.

The six men froze in shock once they were inside the lab. Water was still spraying from the ceiling, tendrils of smoke were streaming from the blackened computer which sat on a nearby desk, and soggy papers littered every flat surface in the room. All eyes turned to the form of the small girl, standing on a chair and holding tightly to a rather large fire extinguisher. Her hair was plastered to her head, her clothing soaked through, and her arms trembled. None of them knew whether she shook from the cold, wet clothing or from holding the heavy object in her hands.

"Uh, hi guys," she said, a bit of apprehension in her voice. "What are you doing up here?"

"We have been searching for you Major Carter," Teal'c answered, the first to recover his senses. "Are you injured?"

"I'm fine Teal'c. A bit wet, but fine. Could one of you take this please? It's getting awfully heavy." Sam indicated the fire extinguisher with a nod of her head.

Teal'c stepped forward and took it from her arms while two of the SF's got the sprinkler system turned off. Sam shook out her arms and ran a hand through her soggy hair, wringing out some of the excess water. The other SF went about assessing the injuries to the downed scientist, who continued to moan as he leaned against the wall.

"So Carter, care to tell us what happened down here?" Jack asked quizzically as he made his way over to her. He'd been ready to sternly reprimand her for once again disappearing, but she looked so pathetic, all wet and drippy, that he just didn't have the heart to do it.

Before she could respond, Felger struggled to his feet and hopped over to where they stood. "None of this is Major Carter's fault, Colonel. She came down to help me with a simulation I'd been having trouble with. I, uh, ran into more trouble than I expected and the system overloaded. Without her help, my whole lab would have been up in flames."

Jack turned back to Sam, who still stood on the chair. "That so Major?" At her nod, he continued, "Somehow I knew you couldn't be responsible for a fire in Felger's lab. But I'm not surprised to find you in the middle of it. Like I told your Dad, you have a penchant for trouble lately!"

Sam shrugged her shoulders and gave a small smile. "I don't think I agree with that statement Sir. I was trying to get Dr. Felger out of some trouble!" Sam sat on the chair and surveyed the damage around her. Felger was right about one thing; if she hadn't have been here, the damage could have been much worse.

Sam suddenly shivered with cold and exhaustion. Putting out that fire had been hard on her small body! She really wanted to change clothes and lie down somewhere warm. Daniel came over, put his dry long-sleeved shirt around her, and helped her off the chair. "Come on Sam. I'll bring you to the locker room so you can change."

"Actually Daniel, Carter is headed for the infirmary, along with her little friend here," he said indicating Felger. As Sam started to protest, he held up his hand to stop her. "Doc Frasier wants to see you sometime today, Carter. She might as well check you out now. Besides, you'll have to get that cast replaced. It wasn't supposed to get wet, remember?"

Sam looked down at the wet cast and grimaced. She had forgotten about that. Now the cast was as soggy as she was and really starting to itch! She'd rather have it replaced sooner than later anyway!

Sam let Daniel lead her out of the lab, followed by one of the SF's who helped Felger along. Jack gave instructions to the remaining SF's, and then he and Teal'c followed the wet scientists to the infirmary. He'd have to call the General and let him know that things were now under control. Jack shook his head as he thought of her latest exploits. He certainly hoped they'd have an easier time of things tomorrow when they were off world!

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Sam was lying in bed, her arm propped on pillows next to her. Janet, figuring it would be easier for the mission tomorrow, had put an air cast on Sam's left arm and it was much more comfortable than the plaster cast.

Sam leaned back with a sigh of contentment. She had just eaten a hot bowl of soup and was feeling pleasantly warm, both inside and out. Janet had provided several extra blankets, so she was warm and toasty. She didn't plan on staying in the infirmary for any great length of time; just long enough for her clothes to dry. But she certainly wasn't rushing out the door either!

Daniel and Teal'c had left once they were assured that she would be fine. Jack had lingered for a while, then gone to meet with General Hammond. Felger, it turns out, did not break a toe; not even a sprain. He did have a slight bruise, but General Hammond wasn't about to let that keep him from cleaning up his lab and putting things to rights.

Sam sighed again and closed her eyes. She smiled slightly as she thought about her latest escapade. Trouble did seem to follow her lately! At least the base was back to normal. She had been unaware that all power to the base had been affected; she'd had an inkling though, and was very relieved that General Hammond had not come down too hard on her or Felger. Sam yawned and settled herself deeper into the pillows. A nap sounded really good right about now. Just as she was about to nod off, she heard the low voice of her CO, right next to her.

"Wear yourself out today Carter?" he smiled at her when she opened her eyes. He sat next to her and watched her with slight amusement.

"Just a bit, Sir," she replied sleepily. Feeling a bit embarrassed at being caught napping in the middle of the afternoon, Sam struggled to sit up. She was stopped by a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"Take it easy, Carter. No need for you to be sitting up. I just wanted to check in on you." When she lay back down against the pillows, he continued, "You do know you gave us a bit of a scare today right?"

"I'm sorry Sir. I certainly didn't plan on things turning out the way they did. I did have things under control though..."

"Yeah, I know," he interrupted. "Just don't let it happen again, Okay?"

"I'll try not to Sir," she replied as a huge yawn escaped her.

Jack chuckled at her as he stood up. "Get some sleep Carter. I'll stop by later. Oh, and stay away from anymore downpours," he said, giving her nose a tweak, "I'd hate to see you shrink anymore than you already have!"

"Very funny, Sir." Sam replied quietly before she closed her eyes and fell into a gentle sleep.

Jack left the room, smiling to himself. He stopped to talk with the doctor briefly, just to make sure that he was called before Carter was released. He wanted to make damned sure he kept tabs on his little Major for the rest of the day!