Chapter 16 – The fury

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

A/N – I cannot believe how many people were waiting for Jack to figure it out … but he did (Can we all say "Thank goodness"!). Now for the fall-out. This chap is just the beginning though. There is much more to come and I promise I will try to get the next little bit of the story out sooner than later.

Jack sat at his desk staring at the shards of pottery lying on the floor in front of the door. He hadn't intended to throw it, but when he saw the mug sitting on his desk mocking him, the urge to throw it had become overwhelming. "World's #1 Boss" Huh! Obviously Carter didn't think that anymore, his brain screamed in the split seconds after the information he was seeking appeared on his computer screen. Maybe she never had. It was at that point he picked up the mug and threw it as hard as he could against the metal door.

The words just hadn't been there. He had searched the profile of "Colonel O'Neill" that he'd saved before Carter had deleted it from the public domain. But there was no mention of it.

Screen Name - Colonel Jack O'Neill

Career - Military

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

But he distinctly remembered her saying it. He'd asked her what she thought they had in common and she'd replied in her IM message.

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

There was no way that Dorothy could have known that since it wasn't in his profile and the fear that had hit him minutes earlier was confirmed. Carter was Dorothy.

Now minutes after the initial adrenaline rush had passed, Jack found his head in his hands, muttering to himself. "Why? Why did she do it?" Does she hate me that much, he thought. Am I just a game to her? Someone to manipulate for kicks? He couldn't believe she was that much of a bitch but the facts were pointing to a different conclusion. She had tricked him. Used him. Lied to him. She was deceitful and he was a fool.

He thought back to the initial contact with Dorothy. Did Carter start this because he wasn't playing with her IM toy? Was she actually trying to make a point to him? Un-frigging-believable!

The pieces of the puzzle had been there all along if only he'd been paying attention – military brat, astronomy, engineering, travel, computers and technology, knowledge of the frat regs. Damn it.

"Ah Crap!", he yelled out as he remembered all of the private things he had told "Dorothy" about his feelings for Carter. He began pacing his office liked a caged animal, back and forth, as he recreated the IM chats in his head. Snippets of their on-line conversations flitted through his mind, words taunting him for his stupidity.

Scarecrow – She is incredibly beautiful and her eyes sparkle and when she smiles at me – Wow! She has this smile that I've convinced myself she reserves just for me. And when she smiles that smile, she captures my heart. And it happens every time. And I just fall more and more in love with her.

Oh my God, he thought, as he realized that he had told Sam out straight, in writing, that he loved her. He reached the edge of his office and turned in the opposite direction.

Scarecrow – The only way I can describe her is as a complete genius. She is so smart that it's hard to comprehend. In fact she is so smart, and her ideas are so incredible, that even I have a hard time understanding her and I have two Masters degrees.

Well I'm sure her already inflated ego just loved that, he thought as he walked to the other side of the room. He had begun to clench and unclench his fists in an almost rhythmic way in time with the dialogue replaying in his head.

Dorothy – Oh OK. So does your true love know how smart you are?

Scarecrow – No. Because I like it when she explains things to me. Her eyes light up and she gets so excited as if she's learning about them herself for the first time. And it obviously makes her really happy and I'm happy when she's happy.

She had sat at the other end of a computer screen and egged him on, drawing out feeling after feeling, emotion after emotion, compliment after compliment. Could she have been doing it to simply stroke her own ego? Was she that dysfunctional that she would be content if he was the fall out of her plan as long as her self-confidence was flying high? She had gone as far as having him spell it all out in a nice simple terms for her so she could be one hundred percent clear that it was she that he held in such high esteem, he remembered.

Scarecrow – Well remember the other day when I told you about the woman of my dreams?

Dorothy – Yeah. What's her name again?

Scarecrow – Samantha

Fishing for compliments …

Scarecrow – I think she'd be flattered that I'm telling you how gorgeous I thought she looked.

Again and again.

Scarecrow – I didn't say that. There were plenty of sparks and for your information there's been attraction from the first day I laid eyes on her.

He had now made a dozen laps of his office and turned once more, his steps becoming longer while his breathing became more ragged. The anger was starting to take a toll on his body and he began to lose control of some coordination. But he could not stop pacing.

He caught sight of a photograph of him with General Hammond and a memory triggered within him.

Scarecrow – I've been told by the powers that be that I won't be given permission to transfer, or for that matter even retire, for a long time to come.

Dorothy – You already looked into this?

Scarecrow – Yep. I told you that I love her. I would do just about anything for a chance to be with her. Another chance at happiness. Unfortunately Uncle Sam isn't so concerned about my happiness right now.

Dorothy – Oh. Wow! That's really … big.

Dorothy – Does you CO know about this request?

Scarecrow – Yep.

Dorothy – Shit! Does he know the reason behind your request?

Scarecrow – Well if you're asking if I said to him "George, I need to transfer or retire because I'm in love with Samantha Carter and I want a chance to find out if this thing between us can truly work?", then no.

Dorothy - Good

Good? That bitch! She was more worried about protecting herself than thinking of his happiness. Jack's face flushed as his disgust in himself grew. The realization that it was his fault that his situation had escalated. That he was too much of an emotional screw up not to realize that he was being played by a woman he had known for years. Correction. A woman he had thought he had known for years. Obviously someone he had not known at all. Definitely someone he could never trust again in any circumstance. The days of the happy family SG-1 was over and he would never forgive her for that.

The adrenaline pumped through his veins as he refocused and began to obsess on the belief that he had loved a woman who had never truly cared for him. A woman who thought so little of him to toy with his most intimate feelings. To laugh at him while he divulged secrets that he had held precious in his heart. His eyes filled with angry tears and utter hopelessness.

His pacing reached the wall once again but this time he did not turn to resume his stride. Instead he stopped, pulled back his arm and smashed his balled up fist into the concrete wall.