A/N - Sorry for the delay. I usually like to update about twice a week, but real life has been, well, real life lately. Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. They really do make me write faster. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

As Sam and Jack walked through the maze of corridors within the Cheyenne Mountain complex, several people in uniform passed, nodding to them and welcoming them back. Sam politely nodded in return. Even though their faces looked familiar, she couldn't remember any of their names, and she couldn't help but feel that she was horribly out of place.

She stayed as close to Jack as she could without actually touching him, letting him take the lead. At one point, Jack stopped to look around, and Sam realized he couldn't remember how to get to the infirmary. Apparently, he was having just as much trouble acclimating to their change in locale as she was. She quietly reminded him that they needed to take an elevator to get to the medical level. He just shook his head and turned in what she hoped was the right direction.

Thankfully, they managed to find the elevator bank. Better yet, when the doors opened, another officer was already inside, so all Jack had to do was ask him to punch the floor for the infirmary, and they were on their way.

They rode in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before the elevator stopped and the other officer exited, leaving them alone in the car. As the doors closed and the elevator began to move again, Jack suddenly turned to Sam, his concern for her written all over his features. "Are you okay?"

She thought about the question for a few moments. No, she was most definitely not okay. Though she knew it made no sense whatsoever, all she wanted to do was return with him to the thermal plant under the ice. But that was not going to happen, and it was time for her pull it together. She took a deep breath and in her best dutiful subordinate voice replied, "Yes, sir."

He wasn't buying it for a second. He grasped her shoulders and pulled her ever so slightly toward him. "Sam..." he began earnestly. But at that exact moment, the doors to the elevator opened to reveal a busy hallway, full of people. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, then dropped his hands and gestured for her to proceed him out of the car.

They exited the elevator and continued walking the never ending corridors toward the infirmary. Though these hallways were both wider and brighter than those in the thermal plant, the similarities were striking. The thought made her shiver a little. Jack, apparently having picked up on her mood, let his hand graze hers as they walked.

She closed her eyes in an effort to keep the tears at bay, because even though she knew she didn't need him to protect her here, she also knew she could no longer take comfort in his touch.

oOoOoOo

12 Days Earlier

Thera glanced over at the pipeline interface and smiled to herself when she saw Jonah looking her way once again. He had been doing that quite a bit over the past few days, watching her when he thought she wouldn't notice. It occurred to her that his apparent fascination should bother her, but for some inexplicable reason it didn't; on the contrary, it seemed almost familiar. And even though he was a first class jerk who couldn't bother to get her name right, she couldn't deny that she was attracted to him on some level. He was tall, lean, and muscular, with a chiseled jaw and a cocky air that made her slightly weak in the knees, though she would never admit that out loud.

She quickly averted her gaze as he suddenly turned and headed in her direction. When he passed by her on the way to check a gauge, he paused and leaned in toward her. She immediately felt her heart rate increase as he placed his lips close to her ear. "Can't keep your eyes off of me today, hmm?" he whispered.

She flushed instantly. Apparently, she had not been as discrete in her observation of him as she thought. Though she was far more embarrassed than offended, she used the emotion to form an acerbic retort. "Oh, please," she scoffed. "You've been staring at me all morning."

He laughed. "Don't flatter yourself, Barbie. There's a clock over your head." He glanced upward.

Reluctantly, she followed his gaze and felt her cheeks redden even further when she saw that it was true; the time keeping device for their workstation was located above her. "Ooh!" she huffed in frustration, but he was already sauntering off, a large grin plastered on his face.

"Why do you even bother to talk to such rabble, Thera?" her co-worker asked in his nasal voice, as he continued to record readings from the control panel. "He's nothing more than a laborer. In fact, I'm going to speak to Brenna tomorrow about keeping the operators from working in such close proximity to the engineers."

Thera ignored him and focused instead on trying not to think about how that brief interaction with the handsome worker had left her flushed and slightly breathless.

oOoOoOo

As irritating as she was, Jonah couldn't shake the feeling that he had some duty to protect the pretty blond engineer, that she was his responsibility. Moreover, he had to admit that he kind of liked the thought. She was clearly smart, and despite her annoying intellectual arrogance, he admired her spunk. Plus, she was hot.

However, it was his inherent sense of duty that caused him to wait on her to finish working late that night. He just didn't feel right leaving her alone. Her coworker, that pencil-necked geek, had left hours earlier with barely more than a hasty goodbye, thinking nothing of leaving his female counterpart all alone in a remote area of the plant. So Jonah decided that it had fallen to him to make sure she got back to her bunk safely. The only problem was that she didn't seem to want to quit working.

He looked around their workstation. It was hours after the end of their shift, and everyone else had gone. Jonah sighed. He couldn't wait here all night. He determined it was time to take charge and tell her to wrap it up. He gave a passing thought to how much easier it would be if only he had the authority to order her to quit.

He approached her as she stood at the control panel. "Listen, it's really late. How 'bout we head back to the barracks?"

Thera raised her eyes briefly to his before looking back down at the display. "I'm not done." She was aware there had been instances of violence in other areas of the facility, particularly against women. Still, she refused to alter her behavior out of fear. She was working on a new process that would increase efficiency throughout the entire plant, and she wasn't ready to leave it just yet. Besides, she was still more than a little miffed at his earlier remarks and had no desire to give him further opportunity to tease her.

Jonah was not so easily dissuaded. "Whatever you're working on, it can wait until tomorrow. I don't feel right leaving you here all by yourself. It's dangerous."

She stopped what she was doing and looked up at him with a furrowed brow. "Well, that's very chivalrous, but I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself."

He let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. How obstinate could she be? "Look..." he began, but she cut him off.

"I'll take my chances."

He'd had enough. If she wanted to be by herself, so be it. "Fine. Have it your way, Barbie." He turned on his heel and stormed off.

Thera continued working for a little while longer before she noticed how utterly still it had become now that all of the other workers were gone. Somewhere in the distance, she heard what sounded like a piece of pipe hitting ground, and she jumped. Then she smiled and shook her head. Her imagination was getting the better of her, though this area of the plant was definitely more than a little creepy with no one in it.

Her mind made up, she shut down her control panel and began making her way back toward the barracks through the maze of dark corridors. As she walked the long, intersecting hallways, she didn't see a single person, and the only sound she heard other than her own footsteps was the occasional hiss of steam being released from the surrounding pipes.

Just as she was starting to rethink the wisdom of walking back to the barracks alone, she rounded a corner and stumbled upon three large men standing idle in a deserted alcove. They were barrel chested, with huge arms and grim faces. One of them held a long piece of pipe against his shoulder. They looked at her like a spider might look at a fly trapped in its web.

"Well what do we have here?" the largest of the three sneered.

The man with the pipe started moving in her direction. She immediately backed away. "What would you be doing here all by your lonesome this late at night?"

"We wouldn't want you to be lonely," said the third. "How 'bout you stay with us for awhile?"

Thera drew herself up and replied in a strong voice that belied her rising sense of panic, "No thank you."

The first man sneered again. "So polite. And so pretty. I bet you're real nice."

"I have to go," Thera replied, turning and walking quickly in the opposite direction.

"But you just got here," said the man with the pipe. He lunged forward and grabbed her roughly by the arm.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, as she tried to wrestle free of his grasp.

The second man laughed, though the sound contained absolutely no humor. "Looks like we've got a fighter."

The man holding her put his mouth by her ear, and his foul breath washed over her face. "You behave, now, and I promise things'll go much better for you."

"But I like a fighter," said the second man.

"Strip her," commanded the first, and Thera noticed that his sneer had been replaced by look of bloodlust.

"Let me go!" she screamed, terrified now.

The second man walked up to her as the first held her from behind. Roughly, he tore off her jacket, his eyes widening at the sight of her chest now covered only by the thin cloth of her undershirt. Taking advantage of his distraction, Thera brought her knee up hard, making contact with his groin, and he doubled over and fell to the ground.

"You bitch!" the man holding her yelled. He pulled her arms back further causing her to yelp. Just when she thought he was going to pull her arms out of their sockets, he cried out in pain and released his hold.

Thera flipped around, trying to figure out what happened, only to see Jonah take a swipe at the man's knees with the pipe he had been holding. The man yowled in pain. The third man, who had been watching up until that point, lunged toward Jonah with an almost feral growl. Thera kicked at him as hard as she could, but he simply pushed her to the ground with one hand.

Desperately, she looked at Jonah, only to discover that the other two attackers had apparently recovered sufficiently to target him as well. All three of the large men moved toward him, unbridled fury written on their faces. Jonah stood tall and readied his pipe, though he knew he was no match for all three.

Suddenly, the men stopped, a look of uncertainty crossing their features. They cast one last glance in Jonah's direction, then turned and ran.

Jonah, his expression smug, tapped the pipe in the palm of his hand. "Yeah, you better run!" he yelled after the retreating men.

Confused, Thera looked past Jonah only to see Tor standing calmly some distance behind him. Jonah followed her gaze to the huge man, who simply inclined his head and walked off.

"Huh," grunted Jonah before he turned his attention back to Thera. "You okay?" he asked her.

She nodded and accepted the hand he held out to her. He pulled her up, overestimating her weight, and she landed firmly against his chest. With nothing more than an undershirt covering her torso from the waist up, he couldn't help but notice that she did indeed have curves.

She was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling against his. He immediately felt a spike of desire run through him, and he had to suppress an irrational urge to kiss her. After all, he thought, that would make him no better than her attackers. He cleared his throat and backed off a bit in an effort to regain some control.

"Thank you." She said simply. She turned to look for Tor to thank him as well, but he was already gone.

Jonah, seeing her intent, gave her a half smile and shrugged. "I had 'em, you know." She laughed, but his mood suddenly turned serious. "You need to report this to Brenna."

"I will," she replied. She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at him. "Where did you come from, anyway? I thought you left."

Jonah looked decidedly uncomfortable. The fact was, he had gotten half-way back to the barracks when he decided he wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't make sure she was all right, so he had turned around to check on her. He had no explanation for why he had taken such an acute interest in the blond woman, and he had no idea how he was going to explain it to her.

"I...uh," he stuttered. "I forgot something at my station." He knew it was a lame excuse the moment the words left his mouth.

"Uh huh," she replied, skeptically. "You know," she said finally, "my name isn't Barbie..."

The cocky grin slowly returned. "I know. You're Thera." He held out his hand to her. "And I'm Jonah."

"Well, it's nice to formally meet you, Jonah," she smiled. "And thanks again."

Thera shook his hand and saw that it was the hand of a worker - callused, but large and strong and warm. As his hand enclosed hers completely, she was instantly overwhelmed by a sense of familiarity, as if she knew these hands, with their long, clever fingers, and had watched them before, manipulating some piece of equipment or other. She blushed as she wondered how his hands would feel touching other parts of her body, then looked up at him curiously, as the thought evoked a strong sense of deja vu.

As he continued to hold her hand in his, she knew with every fiber of her being that she could trust this man and that he would do everything in his power to protect her, even though she'd only just met him. The thought both confused and excited her.

TBC...