Chapter 4 – The Confrontation

Disclaimer – Not mine, never will be etc. etc.

A/N Thanks for everyone's best wishes for my daughter. She's doing much better and started 1st Grade today.

And then Jack remembered something. He logged back on to the instant message system but this time as 'Colonel Jack O'Neill' instead of 'Scarecrow'. As before, he found the profile area and read what Carter had written about him.

Screen Name - Colonel Jack O'Neill

Career - Military

Hobbies - Music, Classical, Rock; Sports - Hockey, Fishing; Travel; Movies; Meeting people online for romance.

He couldn't believe that Carter had done this and made it public. She was so dead when he next saw her. He then searched to find her profile but when he did it either wasn't public or wasn't populated. Whichever it was, there was nothing for him to see. Then he searched for Daniel's – nothing. T'ealc. Hmm. Jack didn't remember the screen name Carter had given T'ealc since the Jaffa had yet to use the instant message system since the software had been installed and he doubted that a search for 'T' or 'Murray' would yield a satisfactory result.

It appeared to Jack that Carter had well and truly set him up. That much he understood. What he couldn't understand was why she would do it? He had always felt that there was more to their relationship than simply CO and 2IC. They'd even admitted it during the whole Zaytarc testing incident. So why was she putting him out on the internet for romantic liaisons?

It was hurting his head to think about it. It had been a very long and confusing day and now it was almost 11pm. He had an early, though short, off-world mission in the morning that meant a 5am briefing. He shut down his computer, put it back in his bag and hit the sack for the night. He fell asleep with one word going around in his brain. Why?

Jack was in his car driving to work while his neighbors were still asleep. The sun still had not risen when he descended to the lower levels of Cheyenne Mountain where the sun was never seen. As such he was taken aback when he arrived on PX3-422 and the light from its' two suns blinded him. So much so that he had to turn away and put on his sunglasses.

He turned towards Carter, intending to reprimand her for not warning him about the sun when he caught the look of surprise on her face obviously caused by his reaction to arriving on the planet. He realized that she must have mentioned the two very bright suns during the briefing this morning and felt foolish. Foolish because he sat through the meeting brooding about Carters actions of the last few days instead of listening.

He gave the order to move out and thought back to the briefing. He had doodled on his notepad words that were running around in his head while he had totally ignored what Carter and Daniel had been telling him. It was to be a simple one day recon mission and for once he had actually read the mission overview beforehand. At the end of the meeting his page was filled with bubbles and swirls that contained words which he figured no one else would connect. He had been so annoyed when he was finished that he had torn the piece of paper from the notepad, folded it with angry precision, pressing hard along the folds and placed it in the pocket of his BDU's.

It was these very BDU's that he was now wearing and as he walked beside the line of trees, he pulled out the paper and began to unfold it. Knowing that the UAV had already cleared the planet of any inhabitants and the gate had obviously not been activated in years, Jack felt he could let his attention lapse for a few moments. Looking down at the paper he held, the words popped out at him.

Why

Joke

Prank

Meddling

Interfering

Spiteful

Mean

Loser

Feelings

Promise

Love

Fool

A final word was circled again and again.

Hurt

With the anger welling up inside him again, Jack crumpled up the paper in his fist and quickly stuffed it in his pocket. He raised his head and looked straight into the face of his 2IC. He hadn't realized that he had stopped walking while staring at his own written words but Carter had. What she had also noticed was the fierce scowl on Jack's face and the thin line of his lips pursed together. As his eyes met hers, she was shocked to see hurt in them.

"What's wrong?", Sam asked. "Nothing, Carter", Jack responded, the bitterness evident in his voice. He began to walk away from her, following the rest of SG-1. It was obvious to Carter that Jack was angry about something and from the way he was using his height advantage and resulting stride length to distance himself from her, it was her that he was angry at.

She recovered and ran after him, calling out "Colonel" as she did. He didn't stop and Sam could have sworn that he actually sped up. At her pace, she caught up with him in a matter of seconds and although he must have heard her running behind him, he still did not stop. Sam reached out and grabbed his shoulder, a gesture he pulled away from. She quietly said just one word – "Jack". He finally turned towards her.

"What Carter?"

"You're angry at me and I think I know why", she replied in an even tone. His sarcastic response of "You do? Pray tell" was like a slap in the face to her and she took a step back from him. "Is this about the instant message thing?" she asked trying not to show that she was cringing inside.

"If by "thing" you're referring to you setting up an instant message profile without telling me, including in said profile personal information without telling me, stating in it that I was online looking for goddamn romance without telling me and then making it public for the whole damn world to see without telling me, then yes Carter, it's about the instant message thing!"

By the end of his speech, Jack was yelling at Sam and his nose was only six inches away from hers. His nostrils were flaring in anger and his eyes were so dark that they could have been black.

Over Jack's shoulder Sam could see that T'ealc and Daniel had heard the altercation and were now making their way towards them. Sam shook her head and her colleagues stopped but did not look away from the pair. She brought her attention back to Jack but refused to step back from his attempt at intimidation. He was upset with her and without any explanation from her, he had every right to be.

She looked him straight in the eye and whispered "I'm sorry".

Jack was obviously expecting an argument and her simple admission took all the fight out of him. His shoulders sagged and he took a step back from her. Without breaking eye contact, he responded with just one word. "Why?"

A/N - Hope you still like this - let me know by reviewing. Thanks.