A/N - Sorry this took so long but real life (specifically an operation that ended up with complications for my little girl)stopped me from getting this chapter typed up. I hope it lives up to expectations and thanks for all of the great reviews. I truly appreciate them all!

Jack walked in his front door and through force of habit checked his answering machine finding no new messages. It was close to 9pm and he once again thought about calling Carter at home to get her thoughts on the situation. He pulled a beer from the fridge, popped the top and sank into a chair at the kitchen table taking a long drink. Once half the bottle was gone, Jack's sense of protection kicked in.

Firstly protection for Carter in case it was the NID or someone of their ilk. She didn't need to be involved in that, although he would have to tell her as soon as possible once he knew what was going on. He had learned from his previous mistake (when he had 'retired' and gone undercover to expose a traitor within the SGC) that his friends, and especially Carter, did not appreciate being kept out of the loop. That being said he didn't want to put her in unnecessary danger.

Secondly, he thought of self-protection from Carter. From Carter thinking he was some kind of perv if it did turn out to be some kind of cyber 'call girl'. He didn't want to admit it but his subconscious was quietly screaming at him that in the long run that this would be way worse than the former problem.

So he would do nothing but wait. And while he was waiting he might as well enjoy himself. He picked up the phone, pressed one of the speed dial buttons and ordered a pepperoni pizza from the person on the other end of the line. He grabbed another beer and walked to the living room. Picking up the remote control, he turned on the TV and dropped into his favorite armchair. He changed channels until he found an ice-hockey game. Cool, thought Jack.

Jack became engrossed in the game finding the manic chasing of the puck around the ice calming. Only when the opening bars of the theme tune of the 10 o'clock news began did he realize the time. He moved over to his bag, pulled out his laptop and booted it up. He walked over to his couch, placing the computer on his lap, thinking what a great invention wireless was. He would never care to ask Carter to explain how it worked though. Hoping that he wasn't making another move that would put a mark against his already blemished record, Jack logged onto the instant message provider using the name 'Scarecrow' and entered the password 'Emerald City'. And then he waited.

But not very long.

After about a minute, he heard the customary ding and his screen showed the message "Will you accept a message from 'Dorothy'?" Without hesitation this time, he pressed the 'OK' key. The message box popped up and he read quickly juiced by the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

Dorothy - Hi! I thought you weren't coming?

Yeah - this definitely felt like the beginning of a secret rendezvous. Damn!

Scarecrow - Why would you think that, Dorothy?

Dorothy - Cos it's 10:10.

Scarecrow - Oh. Sorry. So what can I do for you?

Dorothy - Excuse me?

Scarecrow - Why did you contact me? Why did you want to meet?

Dorothy - Why do you think?

Scarecrow -Don't play coy. Cut to the chase and tell me what you want?

Dorothy -I'm sorry. I think I've made a mistake. Sorry for bothering you.

Huh? This wasn't going the way Jack expected it to. What the hell was going on? 'She' wasn't giving him the answers he anticipated and why was she playing so dumb? Why the charade? Why not just get to the point instead of all of this dancing around? Maybe he had misjudged the situation. Damn!

Scarecrow -No. Wait. Sorry. I'm just a little tired. It's been a long day. Let's back up and start again.

Dorothy -OK

Scarecrow - I have a few questions to ask if that's ok?

Dorothy -Fine but I might not answer them all :-)

Scarecrow -Fair enough. So who are you? Why did you contact me? How did you find me?

Dorothy - Wow! Is that your military training kicking in or are you just plain paranoid?

Scarecrow - Please answer my questions.

Dorothy -Yes Sir!

Dorothy -To be honest I'm really confused by your reaction. I'm just a woman who's looking for the same thing that you are.You and I seem to have a lot in common so I thought I would reach out to you.

Scarecrow -Pray tell – what is it I'm looking for and what do you think we have in common?

Dorothy -Well you're looking for romance and one of the things we have in common is a love of Astronomy. Another is the Wizard of Oz.

Dorothy -I also come from a military family.

With those responses Jack snapped. How the hell did she know anything about him? This was getting way to suspicious and Jack was now on the defensive, a position he hated to be in. And by the way, who said that he was looking for romance?

Scarecrow -Look Dorothy – I'm sorry to appear rude but what the heck are you talking about? How do you know anything about me? You contacted me remember?

Dorothy -Are you just playing a cruel joke on me? You're the one who put your interests in your instant message profile. You're the one who wrote that you're looking for romance. Why are you acting like I'm some kind of stalker?

Scarecrow -What instant message profile?

Dorothy -You're kidding right?

Scarecrow -Humor me.

Dorothy -When you set up your instant message account you filled in a profile. It's where you listed your profession, your hobbies, interests and the like. You listed yours as a public profile which is searchable. That's how I found you.

Jack quickly read Dorothy's last message and only one thought came to his mind.

I'm going to kill Carter!