Gemini Crossings

by Traycer

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).

Chapter 1

The alarm clock sounded a piercing warning and Jack O'Neill woke with a start. He groaned as a jackhammer throbbed unmercifully in his head and he squeezed his eyes shut in hopes of controlling the pain.

The alarm kept ringing and he knew that the damned thing wasn't going to shut off on its own. He reached over to slam his hand on the button to silence the monster, but missed. Futile searching with his hand for the offending object caused him to open his eyes and raise his body to look for it. Not only was the alarm not on the bedside table where it was supposed to be, but Jack found himself staring into the glassy eyes of a giant teddy bear sitting in a rocking chair that he knew he didn't own.

Crap! He didn't have that good of a time at the party last night, did he? That alarm clock was still screaming at him and he decided he was going to kill it when he found it, then work on finding a whole bottle of aspirin.

He briefly wondered where he was when he heard a very feminine voice grumbling next to him. "I'm up already. Jeez!" just before the alarm shut off.

Jack's whole body tensed and he steeled himself for the inevitable. He didn't remember going to bed with a woman last night and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out who he ended up with. He turned over and saw her looking back at him with a small smile. At least she was pretty, he thought belatedly. Her warm brown eyes were looking at him with anticipation, and he was relieved to find that she was beautiful as she sat there in a white nightgown and mussed up honey brown hair. She appeared to be in her mid-forties, he mused.

"Good morning, sleepy head," she said, then leaned down to kiss him. "Today's the day!" she added still staring at him expectantly.

"Morning," he said trying to act like nothing was out of place. She wanted something from him, he could tell, he just didn't know what it was. "Um...," he said uncomfortably, "It must have been a great party," pretty lame O'Neill, he thought. "I have such a headache, you wouldn't believe..."

"I'm not surprised," she said sounding a little put off. "Dan and Kevin had to drag you in here and they weren't as lucid as I would like to have seen them. What were you thinking?" she asked placing her hand on his chest. "Didn't any of you want to be the designated driver?" She sighed, "I'm just glad you got home safely."

Okay. He hadn't met this woman at the party, Daniel and some guy named Kevin brought him here and apparently they all had a great time at the party. That information didn't even get him close to understanding what was going on here, especially since he knew Daniel wasn't at that party. Hell he wasn't even in the same galaxy!

"Well?" she said with impatience. "Can I have it now?"

"Huh?" Jack asked, feeling like he was out in left field. He briefly wondered if he would have a better idea of what was going on if the damned headache would go away. "Have what?" Was this woman going to yell at him or what? Damn, Jack did not like this scenario one bit.

"My present," she said exasperated, confusing him once again. "Please??" Oh man, that pout made her even more beautiful in his eyes and he would have said yes to anything she asked him. Well, within reason anyway, he thought with a grin.

She squealed when she saw his grin and jumped out of the bed to run to the dresser on the other side of the room. O'Neill took this opportunity to scout out the territory, to get his bearings and to figure out where the hell he was.

He was in this woman's bedroom.

Okay, so he had that figured out. Now what?

The woman came back to sit on the bed with a small box in her hands and she gave him an excited smile before tearing off the paper.

"Oh," she breathed as she opened the box. "Oh Mac, it's gorgeous!" She held out a necklace that was studded with what looked like diamonds and immediately put it on. "How does it look?" she beamed before leaning down to kiss him again, this time with a little more enthusiasm and Jack found himself getting caught up in her passion.

Not now Jack, he thought to himself, resignedly and pulled back. "Gorgeous!" he said looking into her eyes. Oh was she gorgeous! "But I think you've made a mistake here. My name is not Mac, it's Jack," he said reluctantly.

Her smile turned to a puzzled frown, then back to that smile. "Oh yeah? Since when?"

"Since I was born," he said still trying to understand what was going on. "Well, that's not exactly true, Jack is a nickname."

"Well, that's not what it says on our marriage license or the kid's birth certificates," she said still grinning at him.

Did she say kids?? Oh God, marriage license?? Okay, that's it. "What the hell is going on here?" he asked, belatedly wishing he hadn't jumped out of the bed at that moment. His head was pounding triple time. "Who are you?"

"Stop it Mac, you're scaring me," she said, her face showing her concern. "This is our anniversary; please don't ruin it for me." She was pleading now.

"Look, I was never really a big fan of the `Twilight Zone'," he said, while striving for calm. "In fact, I hated that show, not to mention that it was all a bunch of hooey anyway. I am not Mac, you are not my wife, and I really need to find out what's going on here before I.... Damn," he sighed running his fingers through his hair. "This is not happening," he added with conviction.

The woman's eyes were misting and Jack suddenly wished he was more prepared in the tact department. He knew he had hurt her; he just didn't react very well in situations like this. Hell, he had never been in a situation like this. At least they called him by his name that time in Hathor's cryogenic chamber.

"Just let me think this through, okay?" he added. He could see she was starting to get mad and he marveled that she could be even more beautiful as the anger danced in her eyes.

"Fine," she said. "You think this through. I'm going to go get ready for my interview." With that said she got up off the bed and flounced over to a door that opened into a bathroom.

So much for finding out what was going on, he thought. He decided to look around for some clues to his whereabouts and he turned toward the dresser where he thought he might find his wallet or something to tell him that he really wasn't permanently located in the `Outer Limits'.

He finally found his wallet still in the pocket of his pants and was relieved to see his face and his name on his driver's license. Well that was one worry off his mind, he thought, as he put the pants on.

Then his eyes landed on some pictures arranged on the built-in shelves in the headboard of the bed. He moved closer, fascinated to see his own face staring out at him, as he stared at the pictures - one with his arms around the woman he woke up with, another with her and two children, a boy and a girl, and yet another that looked like a wedding photo of him and the woman smiling out at the photographer. Oh my God, he thought. What the hell is going on here?

Chapter 2

Jack was sitting on the bed staring at the wedding picture when she came out of the bathroom. He looked up at her and he saw her anger leave the minute she looked at him. He knew his expression showed the confusion and the terror he was feeling, but for once he didn't try to hide it.

"Please tell me what is going on," she said, coming over to sit down next to him. She was still in her nightgown with a towel around her neck, apparently getting ready to take a shower.

He didn't know what to tell her. The man in the photograph was not him, he knew that for certain. He was Jack O'Neill, divorced from his wife, Sara, and the father of a child who had accidentally killed himself at the age of 11. He was a General in the United States Air Force and in command of a top secret military facility that was fighting a secret war against an enemy that was not of this world. He had never met this woman before in his life, yet there he was standing with her when the photograph was taken. This had to be some kind of trick photography, but deep down he felt the stirring of genuine worry.

He wished the Goa'uld would leave his mind alone and quit playing these games. Or was it the NID?

"Mac?"

"My name is not Mac, it's Jack O'Neill," he said again. "This is a picture of the two of us, but I swear I have never met you before in my life. I was at a party," he continued, "one that involved putting up with several politicians, which I hate to do by the way, and woke up here this morning. I did have a fair amount to drink last night, but nothing to cause me to hallucinate like this."

She was looking at him with concern again and he found he was grateful she didn't think he was crazy. At least not yet, he groaned inwardly.

"I know that this is not really a hallucination, is it?" he asked her, sighing when she shook her head. "That means someone is messing with my mind," he continued. "The question is, why?"

"I don't know what to tell you," she said. "All I know is that you went out with Dan and Kev for a guy's night out last night and they brought you home. This is not like you, honey. Please tell me why you are doing this."

"What am I doing?" Jack asked her, starting to get pissed. "You guys have tried this before, well actually it was Hathor and her goons, but still, what makes you think I am going to fall for it again? You know what?" he said, as his voice grew louder. "The least you could do is make sure you cross all the "t's" and dot all the "i's". Look at this!" he cried showing her his driver's license and his credentials. "It says Jonathan O'Neill with my address and everything. Christ, I'm dealing with a bunch of amateurs!"

The woman sat there staring at the items he was showing her and he could see the confusion on her face. She looked up at him in fear and this caused him to gloat. Aha, so he was right!!

"Where did you get this?" she asked, her voice trembling. "How can you not be my husband?"

She was pretty good; he had to give her that. "Come off it," he growled. "You made a mistake, it could have happened to anybody. Give up the game now, you got caught."

She continued to stare at him with tear-filled eyes, making him feel a little bad for being the one who caused the tears. No he didn't, he admonished himself. She was Goa'uld, or NID or something like that.

"This says your birthday is October 20th," she said, looking at the driver's license again. "That's the same date as my husband's birthday," she accused, as the tears spilled down her face. "Why are you doing this?"

"The question is why are YOU doing this?" Jack retorted, as he stood up to loom over her. "What do you hope to gain?"

She just sat there shaking her head, wiping the tears from her eyes. "It's our anniversary," she said with a small sob. "It's supposed to be a happy day, right?" Her eyes were pleading with him to stop this, as she tried to smile and he wondered why she kept up this charade.

"Who do you work for?" he asked trying to get an idea of what he was up against.

"Nobody yet," she said. "I haven't gone to that interview yet. Look Mac... I... I mean Jack, whatever it is you are trying to prove..." She looked at him, then sighed. "Let's figure this out, okay? Please?"

"What?" Jack asked in surprise. She was going to help him? He really didn't like these games. "Okay then, let's figure it out," he agreed.

"All right," she said. "You say you are Jack O'Neill and so does this driver's license," she admitted, wiping the tears from her face. "But you look exactly like my husband, Angus MacGyver, well except he doesn't have a scar on his eyebrow..."

"Angus?" Jack said in surprise as he grimaced. "I don't blame him for wanting to be called Mac," he said before realizing that he just may be falling for her tall tales. He resolved to keep quiet and keep his disbelief intact. He hated it when he fell for a beautiful face.

She didn't answer him because there was a knock on the door and a boy's voice bellowed out, "Mom? Dad? You decent?"

The woman looked at him with fear, "Please don't upset them with all this," she pleaded, as she stood up to stand next to him. He hesitated before nodding at her and she looked relieved. "Please," she whispered, before calling to her son, "Yep, come on in."

"Happy anniversary," said the boy when he walked in. He looked like he was around nine or ten years old, with his mother's honey brown hair and his father's eyes. Charlie's eyes, Jack thought with a start.

"Thank you sweetie," the woman replied giving him a hug. "Where's your sister?"

"In the bathroom, like where else?" the boy said in a mock Valley Girl accent, as he grinned at Jack. "She's doing her best to make herself beautiful for the kids at school."

"Well she won't have to work too hard at it," the boy's mother said, smiling at her offspring. "She is already a beauty as it is." She then swatted at the kid when he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever!" he exclaimed. "What are you going to be doing today Dad?" he asked, turning to Jack.

"Not much," Jack replied, as the woman sent him another pleading look. "Gonna do some investigating." Ain't that the truth, he thought resignedly.

"Investigating?" the boy asked. "I thought you retired from that kind of stuff. What are you investigating?"

Jack was saved from trying to come up with something when a young girl about 12 years old came in the open door. She was a beauty, he admitted to himself. She had inherited her mother's good looks.

"Mom," she complained. "Pete let Herman out of his cage, and now I can't find him. Pete did it this time," she repeated, apparently to keep from getting in trouble with her mother. "Morning Dad," she said to Jack.

"I did not!" the boy cried, his face turning red. "Why are you always trying to blame stuff on me? I didn't do it Dad!" Pete said coming over to Jack's side.

"Yes he did!" the girl fired back. "I didn't do it, so it must have been you!" she yelled, her face turning the same shade as her brothers.

"Alright already," Jack yelled over the noise. "Everybody out! You," he said, pointing at the girl, "go find Herman and you," this time pointing at Pete, "go help her. Your mother and I have something important to discuss and I can't even think with all this noise. Go on," he said, shooing them out.

They left grumbling and he distinctly heard Pete say, "At least I had the decency to wish them a happy anniversary," as he left. Jack turned to the woman, but was interrupted by the girl who came back into the room and threw herself into his arms. "Happy anniversary Dad," she said smiling, as she reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "Happy anniversary Mom," she said turning to give her mother a hug. "I didn't forget," she continued defensively, "I was just a little upset. Ooh," she exclaimed, as she touched the necklace around her mother's neck. "Is that your present? It's beautiful!! Oh Dad, it's gorgeous. Will you buy me one?"

Jack found himself smiling indulgently at the girl, then mentally shook himself. This was all a set up, he reminded himself sternly. "Go," he said to her. She gave her mother another hug before leaving, closing the door behind her.

"Okay now. Let's start with the basics," Jack said after the door was closed. "What's your name?"

"My name is Melanie," she replied, staring at him, trying to dig deep down into his soul. "Everyone usually calls me Lanie."

"Lanie," Jack said, "you do know that I am not your husband, don't you?" He found himself envying this Mac guy.

She didn't answer him. Instead she reached up and put her arms around his neck and began to kiss him again. He felt himself giving in to her despite his best intentions, wrapping his arms around her when he felt her tongue take possession of his mouth. She pulled back a few minutes later, dragging her hands down his arms and he let go of her to get his bearings. Whoa!

"There is something different about you," she said looking deeply into his eyes. "I wanted to make sure."

"I am not your husband," he said sadly. For a minute there, he wished he was.

They continued to stare at each other until the door burst open and O'Neill found himself facing a very irate husband and two wide-eyed children.

Chapter 3

MacGyver woke up confused and in pain in a hotel room. His head was pounding and all he could think about was how he got there. The last thing he remembered was going to a bar with his buddies, Dan and Kevin, for a little night of drinking and fun. They had quite a few drinks and he supposed he'd had one too many. He probably should be glad that he didn't wake up with some woman, he mused as he carefully sat up.

That thought brought to mind another woman, namely his wife Lanie, and he cringed as he thought about what faced him when he finally got home. Oh was she going to be mad, he thought, and he groaned as he remembered that today was their 13th anniversary. Oh man, he was in for it now.

He wondered what happened to his friends as he stood up to head for the bathroom. His eyes landed on a suitcase that was lying open on the other bed and he wondered who it belonged to. He fervently hoped that whoever it was wouldn't be walking in, ready to beat the crap out of him for falling asleep in his room.

Mac went into the bathroom hoping against hope that he would find some aspirin just lying around, and grumbled when he didn't find anything. There was nothing even close in the entire room, although he didn't know if there would be any in the suitcase. Going through someone else's suitcase just didn't seem right somehow. He did learn that the person who rented this room was in the Air Force, judging by the uniforms hanging on the clothes rack.

He got dressed after deciding to wait until he got home before taking a shower and left the room as quickly as possible. He realized that the hotel was in the downtown district and he stepped out in the street to hail a cab, as Dan had driven last night.

He cursed his friends as he waited for a cab to come by. Why had they left him there? Why was he there in the first place? He had always avoided drinking anything stronger than orange juice in the past, preferring to keep his wits about him, but last night he had thought, why not have just one drink? Famous last words, he snarled inwardly.

Once he hailed a cab down, Mac gave the address and settled back to decide on how he was going to get back at his friends for abandoning him in a stranger's hotel room. He was pretty resourceful when it came to getting even and he had come up with several scenarios by the time the cab pulled up into the driveway of his urban castle. Actually, it was more for Melanie that he lived there. She was the one who wanted to have a house where their children could grow up without having to move from one place to another as she had done when she was growing up. Her father was in the Army and she had moved around quite a bit.

If it had been left up to him, he and his family would be living out in the mountains somewhere near forests and rivers. He had owned a houseboat at one time, and although he loved living there, his wife was appalled when he mentioned living in one. He smiled as he remembered the talking to he got for even thinking it. He truly loved that woman!

He had thought that he would never find someone that he would want to spend the rest of his life with. In fact he had avoided commitments with women for most of his life. Then he met Melanie Summerfield two years after he and his son, Sean "Sam" Malloy, took off to explore the United States, and that was all it took. They had spent a lot of time together over the next couple of months and he realized he loved her more than life itself when he almost lost her in a car accident. It was then he knew he couldn't face life without her and proposed to her in the hospital, actually, he begged her to marry him. He didn't have to beg too hard, he remembered with a grin.

He pulled some money out of his wallet and paid the driver before walking up to the house. It was still early in the morning and he noticed that his neighbor, Bob Riley, had already set his garbage out by the curb. He grimaced as he thought about his neighbor. That guy can be such a pain, he thought as he turned to take the last few steps up the walk. Always finding something wrong with any of the neighbors, and was only nice to Mac because Lanie and Bob's wife, Linda, were great friends.

"Jerk," Mac grumbled as he went to open the front door. He was spared from having to unlock it when it was opened for him and his daughter, Lindsay, bounded out. "Oof. Sorry," she said when she bumped into him, then gaped at him when she saw who she bumped into. "Dad?"

"Hey babe," he said, reaching over to give her a hug. He kissed her hair and let go of her to enter the house.

"What are you doing down here?" She asked with a confused look on her face. "I didn't see you come down."

"That's because I wasn't upstairs in the first place," he replied, then gave her a wary look. "Is your mom in a good mood?" he asked.

"Hey Dad," Pete said from behind his sister. "Didn't see you come down. Ready to go out investigating?" he asked teasingly.

"What? Investigating? Gave that up years ago, remember? I retired, living the grand life of raising two brats and chasing after garbage trucks," he said, as he heard one coming down the street.

"Dad?" Lindsay's face had gone pale and Mac suddenly got scared.

"What?"

"You were upstairs a few minutes ago with Mom," she said, her eyes wide. "Me and Pete saw you."

Mac stared at his daughter as he tried to make sense of what she was saying, then looked at his son to verify what she had said. Pete nodded and Mac pushed them aside to run up the stairs to find his wife.

Chapter 4

"What the hell is going on here?" the irate husband asked. Jack stood his ground as he watched the man stride further into the room to stand by his wife.

"Oh my God," Jack said staring at his double. "Who the hell are you?" he asked, all the while wondering if Loki had got a hold of him again. Or was it Harlan playing around again? Damn, he hated having duplicates running around claiming to be him. Or to be precise in this case, claiming not to be him.

"Wow!" Pete said staring at both his father and Jack. "Wow!"

"He's going to be a linguist," Lanie said with a shaky laugh. "Mac," she said turning to the man at her side, "he kept telling me he wasn't you, but I had a hard time believing him at first. Tell me what's going on, please?"

"I wish I knew," Mac said running his fingers through his hair as he stared back at Jack. "This is all too weird for me."

"Yeah, well it happens to me all the time," Jack said with disgust. "And believe me, it's no piece of cake. So tell me," he said turning to Mac, "what's up now? Who did this and why?"

"Damned if I know," Mac said. "What do you mean by `it happens all the time'?"

"Uh uh," Jack countered. "I asked you first, what do you hope to gain? Who do you work for?"

"Daddy?" the girl said, her wide eyes showing her fear.

"It's me," Mac said softly, sending a soothing look toward his daughter.

"Lindsay, you are going to be late for school," Lanie said. "Go on, you'd better hurry."

"But Mom," Pete complained, "I want to know who Dad's twin is."

"We're not twins," both men said in unison. "I don't have a twin brother," Jack said. Well, not technically, he thought, as his clone came to mind.

"Neither do I," said Mac, as Jack's cell phone rang.

He glared at Mac for a moment before answering it, "O'Neill," he said, while walking away.

"Sir," Carter's voice came from the receiver. "Do you have a minute?"

"Good morning Carter," Jack said, "I'm fine, thanks for asking." This was not a good time for chit chat.

"Sorry sir," she said, "Daniel and SG-5 just got back and they brought back some interesting samples...."

"Carter," Jack stopped her. "Is this a secure line?"

"Well, no sir, not exactly."

"Then should we be having this conversation right now?"

"I'm sorry sir," she said, sounding hurt.

"Look, I'm in the middle of a sticky situation here. Call me if anything horrible happens, alright?"

"Yes sir," Carter said, deflated. Damn, Jack thought.

"Carter?"

"Sir?"

"You should know me by now; I can be a jerk sometimes, right?"

She was silent for a moment before saying, "Yes sir... I mean... uh... understood sir." It was good to hear the smile in her voice. "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked. "We'd received a..."

"Jack!" Daniel said into the receiver. He must have grabbed the phone from Carter's hand. "This is fantastic, the writings on the ruins were written by the Ancients and...."

"Daniel," Jack said to interrupt his friend.

"...there are some references to the races of the universe..."

"Daniel," Jack tried again, a little louder this time.

"...which includes, of course, the Asgard, but the best part is...."

"I'm hanging up on you now Daniel," Jack said, as he sent a pained look toward Lanie and her daughter.

"No. No Jack, you don't understand. We have a reference to the Goa'ulds that..."

Jack pressed the button to end the call and placed the phone back in his pocket. "Sorry about that," he said wearily. For some reason he didn't feel threatened by these people and that was worrying him.

"Who are you and why do you look just like me?" Jack asked.

"Maybe you are twins," Lanie said. "You both have the same birthday. I saw it on your driver's license." Her excitement seemed to be rising with every word she spoke.

"I don't have a twin," Jack said at the same time as his look alike. They looked at each other and Jack was reminded of his clone who was known to do the same thing. This brought a grin to his face as he thought about his clone. He had grown to like that kid.

"Are you sure?" Lanie asked.

"You could be long lost twins," Lindsay said excitedly. "That happens all the time in movies."

"This is not a movie," Mac said, while watching Jack. "My parents never mentioned that I was a twin, nor anything about me being adopted. My grandfather would have told me if I was," he said, staring at Jack warily.

"Same thing here," Jack added uneasily. He did remember his cousin teasing him when they were kids about Jack being adopted. It had bothered him at the time, but his parents never let on, so he had let it go.

"That doesn't mean a thing, and you both know it," Lanie insisted. "Jack, where were you born?"

"In Chicago," he said with a certainty.

"I was born in Minneapolis," Mac said smugly. "See? We can't be twins."

"I was raised in Minnesota," Jack said quietly, beginning to get a little worried. Could this be true? No, he thought desperately, but the seed of doubt had been planted and he knew deep down he was starting to believe it.

"We can try to find out," Lanie said, "that is, if you want to."

"This is so cool," Pete piped up, grinning broadly. "My Dad has an identical twin brother!"

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Mac asked his son sternly.

"We're already late," Lindsay said, "besides, I want to find out if you really are twins." Her face had gained back some color and her eyes shown with excitement.

"It's going to take days, maybe weeks to find out that stuff," Lanie told her children. "In the meantime, go to school."

The children grumbled as they left the room to leave for school. Mac turned to ask Jack, "You in the Air Force?"

"Yeah," Jack replied suspiciously. "Why?"

"Well, I woke up in a hotel room full of Air Force uniforms and was wondering how I got there. I figure it must have been your room."

"Well, don't feel bad," Jack told him. "I woke up in bed with a beautiful woman while a humongous teddy bear stared at me."

"You were in bed with my wife?" Mac asked, his calm voice laced with just a little anger as he looked at his wife for confirmation.

Chapter 5

"Dan and Kevin brought him here last night and we put him to bed. He passed out the minute we left him alone," she said defensively. "I thought he was you!"

"Who is this Dan and Kevin?" Jack asked, "And how did they find me last night?"

"They're friends of mine and I have no idea how they found you last night," Mac replied. "They probably don't know how they found you last night. We were all pretty wasted." This was said with a guilty look at his wife.

"That reminds me," she said. "What in the world were you guys thinking? I would have thought that between the three of you, one of you would have enough sense to insist on a designated driver. You could have been killed!" she continued with a glare aimed at her husband.

"I see you opened your gift," Mac commented, reaching out to touch the necklace. "Do you like it?" he asked with an expectant smile.

"Oh no you don't," she exclaimed. "You're not going to get off that easy."

Mac just smiled at her and she gave an exasperated sigh before giving in to her own smile. "Well okay, maybe you will this time. Just promise me you won't do that again," she pleaded, as her husband pulled her into a hug.

"I promise," he said and turned to Jack. "Did she give you the same speech?"

Jack had to grin, "Yeah, she did. But she was too excited over the present you bought her, so I didn't get it as badly as you did." His grin became wider as she glared at him.

"Let me go give the guys a call to see if any of them remember what happened last night," Mac said moving toward the phone by the bed. "Were you with anyone last night who could help you to find out what happened?"

"No. I was at a party and only because I was forced to be there," Jack replied, trying to remember anything that would clear this up. "Oh wait, I ran across an old friend and we decided to check out a neighborhood bar, I don't remember which one though..." he trailed off as he realized what must have happened. "Oh crap! Randy found you and your friends found me," he said in shock.

"We must have ended up at the same bar and too plastered to notice anything was wrong," Mac agreed. "Oh man, now I know I am getting to be too old. I've lost the old MacGyver touch," he said shaking his head.

"Tell me something," Jack said as he looked into his double's eyes. "Is this all real? Or are you messing with my mind, `cause I really don't need this right now."

"I could ask the same thing of you," Mac said, "my past coming to haunt me, so to speak."

"You wouldn't happen to know anybody named Harlan, would you?" Jack asked as he grabbed his phone. Mac shook his head while Jack dialed the SGC, "If someone answers....," he muttered.

"Cheyenne Mountain," said a voice after the second ring.

"This is O'Neill. Let me speak with Colonel Carter," he said, as he felt a stirring of fear rippling through him. He really didn't want this to be true. He noticed that Mac was talking with someone on his phone as he sat on the bed leaning back against the headboard.

He put as much distance as he could from his audience and waited for the transfer to go through. He noticed that Lanie was sitting on the edge of the bed watching him with compassion. She was worried about him, he thought, as he heard Carter's voice come through the receiver.

"Carter," she said.

"Carter, this is O'Neill. Listen, I need you to do me a favor, will you? I met up with an old friend of mine, Colonel Randall Jordan. Could you do some magic and find him for me? I need a phone number."

"I'll try sir," Carter replied. "Was he at that party you were supposed to attend last night? How did it go?" Jack could swear he could hear a grin in that question.

"Yes he was and I am trying to forget that I even attended that damn party, okay?"

"Yes sir," she said and this time he was positive she was laughing at him.

"I guess I will listen to Daniel tell me all about his new toy while you get that information for me," Jack said with a sigh. "Is he there?"

"Just a minute sir," she said before taking the phone from her mouth. He heard her and Daniel talking in the background and knew he was in for it when Daniel told her to tell him to shove it.

"Tell him I heard that," he shouted into the phone, then grinned when he heard Daniel yell back, "Good, I don't like being hung up on."

"Why'd you hang up on me?" Daniel asked, having picked up the receiver.

"It's pretty early here and you know how I am before my morning coffee," he replied as he peered through the curtains of a window he was standing near. The MacGyver's had a pretty big yard, he noticed.

"Well, as I was trying to tell you earlier before you so rudely hung up on me, the writing on the ruins speak of the Goa'ulds, which suggests that the snakes have been on Earth within the last six or seven hundred years." Daniel said in a rush as if afraid he was going to get cut off again.

"Does it tell you what they did while they were here?" Jack asked, as he watched a neighbor shake a stick angrily at a dog that was hanging around too close to the man's garden.

"Well, I haven't actually gotten that far," Daniel said defensively. "I am still working out the details."

"This is all really fascinating Daniel, really it is," Jack said with a sigh. "It's too bad you haven't given me anything that I could use. What'd you bring back with you, and Daniel, be a little cryptic if you will, cell phones are not the most secure things in the world, know what I mean?" Trust Daniel to forget even the most important things when he gets caught up in an archeological find.

"Oh sorry Jack. I forgot," Daniel said guiltily. "We brought back a tablet with writing on it, not to mention enough pictures to fill a hard drive. I'm working on the translations now and hope to have some information within the next couple of days."

"Good. Keep working on it and keep me informed if anything more exciting comes out of it," Jack said. "I should be back there tomorrow, barring any more problems."

"Problems?" Daniel asked. Never let it be said that guy didn't pick up on the little things.

"Did Carter get that information yet?" Jack asked, ignoring Daniel's concern.

"What kind of problem? Does it have anything to do with you being AWOL?" Daniel asked nonchalantly.

"What?" Jack yelled, turning back to glare at Mac. "What the hell do you mean I am AWOL?"

"We got a call this morning asking us if we'd heard from you, which by the way, was one of the reasons we called you earlier," Daniel said pointedly. "You disappeared from the party last night and you weren't in your hotel room this morning when your ride came to pick you up for your meeting with the Joint Chiefs, so they called and asked us if we knew where you might be."

"Crap!" Jack said. He had forgotten the meeting.

"So?" Daniel pressed. "Where are you and why did you go AWOL?"

"I did not go AWOL," Jack insisted. "I just... I just got a little wasted last night and ended up somewhere I shouldn't have and now I am trying to sort things out."

"Is she pretty?" Daniel asked with a laugh.

"Shut up Daniel!" Jack growled. "This is not funny. Did Carter get that information for me?" He fumed as he waited for Daniel to ask Carter.

"No. Not yet. She said to give her a little more time."

"Tell her she has as long as it takes me to grovel to the Joint Chiefs. I'll call her back in, depending on who will be doing the yelling, say an hour? Sooner if I get someone who is a little understanding."

"Okay. Good luck!!"

Jack hung up and put the phone to his forehead as he closed his eyes, bracing himself for what he knew was coming next. He opened them to see Mac and Lanie staring at him with concern. He tried to smile at them, but all he really wanted to do was punch a few holes in the walls.

"AWOL?" Mac asked, his face showing his concern and something that looked suspiciously like pity.

"I was supposed to be at a meeting this morning," he replied, trying to sound as if it wasn't a big deal. "I guess I forgot, although my escort would have reminded me if I was in my hotel room instead of here," he accused.

"Well, don't look at me, I wasn't the one who brought you here," Mac said defensively. "Kevin said he doesn't remember a whole lot, just that he and Dan brought me here before they went home."

"I suppose Randy will have the same story," Jack sighed. "You do look a lot like me. You know," he said thoughtfully, "you never did tell me why."

"Why what?" Mac asked, looking at Jack as if he had lost his mind.

"Why you look like me," Jack said calmly.

"I am willing to bet my necklace that you two are twins," Lanie said, "it can't be anything else and I will not give up until I find out for sure. Okay, here's the plan," she said. "Jack, you go make your phone call while I get breakfast started and I'll take down as much information as you can tell me while you eat. Mac," she said turning to her husband, "you get over here and tell me happy anniversary or I'll just have to get mad at you all over again."

"You'd make a great commander," Jack said with a grin, "and believe me; I've seen some of the best." He turned and headed for the door as Mac pulled his wife into an embrace.

Chapter 6

It took quite a bit of groveling, but Jack was able to soothe the ruffled feathers and convince the powers that be that he really wished he hadn't missed the meeting. They fell for it, or at least pretended to fall for it, and Jack was relieved that it wasn't worse as he called Carter to get that information he wanted. She gave him the number and he had to ask her to hold on until he found something to write with. He searched the countertops in the kitchen and was going to start digging through drawers when he noticed a dry erase board on the refrigerator. Grabbing the marker, he wrote down the number she gave him and called it after thanking her and jokingly promising her that she didn't need to worry about getting used to a new commander at the SGC.

He was talking with Randy when Lanie came into the kitchen to start breakfast. Randy told him pretty much the same thing Kevin had told Mac. He'd found Jack in the restroom of the bar, barely able to stand, and dragged him off to his hotel room, leaving him there to sleep it off.

Speaking of the bathroom, Jack thought, as he made his way to the room Lanie had indicated when he asked.

Jack came back into the kitchen to find that Mac had joined his wife and it unnerved him to see how much that guy looked like him, although he should be used to that stuff by now. He had pretty much accepted that he was not being tricked by the Goa'uld, or the Replicators for that matter, remembering Carter's debriefing as she described Fifth's attempt to convince her she was on Earth. Now all he had to do was accept the guy for what he was, a replica of himself, and if Lanie had her way, his twin.

"Everything okay?" Mac asked him as he sat down at the table.

"Yeah," Jack said with a shrug. "All it took was some sincere groveling, mixed with a bunch of `yes sirs and no sirs' and as a bonus I promised them all that I had a fantastic time at that party last night. I'm not sure if they bought it, but I'm not facing a court martial, so I can't complain."

"What do you do for the Air Force?" Lanie asked as she flipped some eggs in a pan.

"A desk job," he said disgustedly. "Not much fun."

"Are you a General?" she asked him. She was putting bread into a toaster and he thought about asking her for a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Lanie was a military brat," Mac said as he got up to grab the coffee pot. "Want some?"

"Yes please," Jack said relieved.

"You were talking to a Colonel as if you were her commanding officer, which makes you at least a Brigadier General," Lanie explained.

"She's a Lieutenant Colonel," he corrected her, as if that made a difference.

"Oh, well excuse me," she grinned as she put a plate with eggs and sausages in front of him. She put two more plates filled with food down on the table and Mac grabbed his fork to dig in. She went over to the counter and came back with a pen and some paper and Jack wondered where they came from. "Where exactly were you born?" she asked, expectantly.

"Chicago, and the toast is ready," he replied.

"Oh," she said, jumping up to get the toast. "Can you be a little more specific?" she asked as she placed the toast and a tub of margarine on the table.

"This is a waste of time you know," Jack said, as he took a bite of his eggs. "He is not my twin."

"How do you explain the fact that he looks exactly like you?" she asked impatiently.

"You'd be surprised," Jack responded dryly. "Look, I think it's just a coincidence that he looks just like me, in fact...." he said getting up to see if there were any scars left by plastic surgery on Macs neck, "this all could still be a trick."

"Why would we want to trick you?" Mac said pulling away from Jack's searching fingers. "It doesn't make sense."

"Sit down Jack and finish your breakfast," Lanie bossed and Jack did as he was told. "What about your parents, maybe they will be able to shed some light on this."

"My mother's dead and I haven't spoken to my father in years," he said wearily. This was something he didn't like to dwell on. "I suppose I could ask my Uncle Henry, that is, of course, if I can find him." Ah what was he thinking? "Look, it's not even worth finding out about it after all these years. Even if he is my twin, what good does it do either one of us to find out?"

"I would like to know." Mac said quietly, his eyes boring into Jack's. "It had always been just me and my grandfather when I was growing up. As a child, I often wished I had a brother."

"Do you have a copy of your birth certificate?" Lanie asked Jack. "That will give us a clue as to where to start. It'll be much easier though, if you could speak with your father and ask him outright about your parentage," she said with some caution.

Wonderful, Jack sighed, she wasn't going to give up. "Look, my father and I had a falling out years ago and I haven't seen nor heard from him in years." The last time had been just after Charlie died. His father had wanted to talk with him, possibly to make amends, but Jack was way too deep into his grief to even give him the time of day.

"Maybe I could talk to him," Lanie suggested. "I'll tell him I am with the Department of Social Services or something. Would that work?"

"No, I'll talk to him," Jack said decisively. It was time to get back in touch with his old man, he thought, knowing he should try to bridge the gap that was between them.

"I'm sure it will be a good thing," she said with an encouraging smile.

"Yeah," Jack said as he finished his breakfast. "Well, I must be getting back to my hotel room to get ready for today's treat. It seems my punishment has been decided," he grinned at them. "They postponed the meeting until this afternoon," the grin turned into a grimace.

"Need a ride?" Mac asked him.

"Don't you dare go anywhere without leaving me a number to get in touch with you," Lanie said as she grabbed the pen she had put down earlier.

"Oh man, she's on a mission," Mac groaned. "Be prepared for her to pester you to death," he added, grinning as his wife glared at him.

"I know that you two are twins. All I have to do is prove it," she said. "I'll ask some of your old friends to help me out Mac, shouldn't take me long at all."

"Lanie," Mac said quietly. "It's not that important. Jack's right. What good will it do to find out this late in the game?"

"He's your brother Mac," she said exasperatedly. "How can you say that it's not important?"

"Oh for crying out loud," Jack said, interrupting what looked like a promising fight. "Here's my cell phone number," he said taking the pen from her hand and writing it down on the paper. "I don't give it out to everyone and I would appreciate you remembering that, okay? I am not available on it all the time, but just leave a message."

"Are you going to call your father?" Lanie asked.

"Yeah."

"When?"

"Soon."

"Liar!" she exclaimed. Jack could see she was getting angry.

"Hey, I'll call him when I get a chance."

"Call him now," she insisted.

"I don't have his phone number on me," Jack said, trying to control his anger. Who the hell did she think she was?

"Jack..." she began.

"Listen, this is all your idea in the first place!" he raged. "I don't need another duplicate, okay? One's enough to....." Oh crap! Now he'd done it. What was the matter with him, letting something like that slip through? He knew better and was trained to keep secrets to himself, yet here he was giving out classified information.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mac growled. "That's the second time you mentioned something about having a duplicate. Listen to me, I retired 15 years ago. You won't gain a thing from whatever game you are trying to play here."

"What the hell?" Jack snarled. "You two are the ones trying to mess with my mind. And you're not doing it very well at all."

"Both of you just shut up!" Lanie yelled at the top of her voice, causing both men to gape at her. "I truly believe that you two are brothers, long lost at that, and I will prove it. Until then, you both will just have to learn to live with it. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am!" Jack said, giving her his best salute and a grin.

"Loud and clear, Melanie MacGyver," Mac said and gave her a wink.

Melanie sighed heavily, squared her shoulders and tried to hide her own smile. She then turned to Jack, "Call your father as soon as you get his number and then call me. If you don't I will be calling your phone on a daily basis leaving 15 minute messages to run up your bill. I swear I will," she promised as she wrote her own phone number down on a piece of paper.

"Damn," O'Neill groused. "Spend the night with a woman and she thinks she owns you."

"Here," she said as her husband laughed. "And don't lose it. Now that you are part of the family, you have to come out and visit us more often. Maybe we can come and visit you out in Colorado," she said. He noticed Mac perk up at that. "Are you married?"

"Not any more," he replied.

"I'm sorry," she said with feeling. "Children?"

"It's getting late," Jack said, changing the subject. He didn't think he could face any more of her pity. "I'll call my Dad and let you know what he says, okay?"

"Jack?" she said and he cursed inwardly.

"Yeah?"

"What happened? Will you tell us?"

"About what?" he asked trying to play the innocent.

Her face showed her resignation, as she came up to him to give him a hug. "We're your family now. I hope you'll remember that."

"I will," he said feeling like a fool. "You are a lucky man," he told Mac, "to have a woman like this."

"I know," Mac said looking at his wife and Jack could see the love he had for her.

"I'll call," he told her again as he headed for the stairs to go find his shoes. Damn it, he thought as he stopped and turned to the couple. "My son, Charlie, accidentally shot himself with my gun," he said with a heavy heart. "He was only 11 years old." He briefly wondered if the pain would ever ease. "I have no other children." With that, he turned and went up the stairs leaving the pity he knew they must feel for him behind.

Chapter 7

Mac pulled his wife into an embrace when Jack had climbed the stairs. He knew she was feeling the same horror he felt at Jack's loss and he hoped to give her some comfort. God, he couldn't bear to even think of losing one of his own children.

He held her for a few minutes, kissing her hair and stroking her back, until she pulled back and looked into his eyes. "Are you okay with this brother thing?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think I am. I'm not as positive as you are, but if it is true then..., well; it'll be nice to have a brother."

"He lives in Colorado Springs," she said teasingly. "We could go visit him when we visit Cyndi in Grand Junction. You love visiting my sister, or should I say the mountains, seeing as you leave me on her doorstep and head out to the nearest forest the minute we get there," she said her eyes sparkling.

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" Mac said, as he hugged her again. He kissed her and she put her arms around his neck, returning the kiss with fervor.

"Mmmm," she said when the kiss ended. She put her forehead up against his and smiled at him, "Not often enough."

"I say it at least six times a day," he said smiling back at her. "You just don't hear it."

"Uh huh," she said sounding totally unconvinced. "Nice come back, though."

He laughed as he pulled her back into another hug before telling her, "I'll go take `my brother' to his meeting. You going to be alright?"

"Yes," she said with a grimace. :"Another day in paradise cleaning the house, picking up the.... Oh my God!" she exclaimed, as her eyes grew wide and her hand flew to her mouth. "My interview! I forgot all about it. Why didn't you remind me Mac?" she accused as she flew up the stairs to go get ready.

"Relax!" he called up after her. "You still have at least three hours to get there."

Jack came down a few seconds later and shook his head as he looked back up toward the landing. "She related to a tornado?" he asked. "She damn near knocked me down!"

"She has a job interview today and she just now remembered it," Mac replied with a grin. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "You don't have to give me a ride you know. I'll call for one. But thanks anyway."

"I'll take you there. We can talk on the way, compare notes and figure out how to get Lanie to back down on this mission she has decided to take on."

"Do you think you can?" Jack asked perking up.

"Nah, not really. Once she sinks her claws into something, there is no letting up. She would have made a great lawyer," Mac said with a great deal of pride as he led the way out the door to his car.

The ride wasn't all that bad, especially since the traffic was light. Mac tried to get Jack to open up about his life, but Jack proved to be a very private person, telling Mac that his job was highly classified and that there was nothing about his personal life to talk about. Boring was the word he used.

Mac didn't buy most of it, but he still tried to get his companion to open up. He struck pay dirt when Jack talked about his friends.

"I have a few friends whom I work with and we spend some of our off-time together. I will admit that they are almost like family, but will deny it with my dying breath if you tell them I said that," he said with a grin.

"I know what you mean," Mac agreed. "I have a few friends that have been inducted into my family whether they wanted to be or not."

"What about you?" Jack got around to asking. "What did you do before you retired?"

"I worked as an investigator, sort of. I had to go and find people and other objects that needed finding. Actually, I did a lot of odd jobs for my boss, and most of them got me into more trouble than I care to think about."

"Trouble follows you around too?" Jack asked with a chuckle. "I always thought it came with my job."

"Yeah, I did too," Mac said, as he grinned at Jack.

There was silence for a few minutes before Jack said, "My cousin used to tease me about my being adopted. He said his father told him about it, so it had to be true. But I just ignored the taunts for the most part because my parents told me it wasn't true. Now I wonder if it really was."

"I don't know," Mac said with a frown, "we look so much alike."

"Yeah," Jack agreed, and Mac noticed that Jack had this strange look on his face.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," Jack replied, with a shake of his head.

They reached the hotel and Mac let him out at the front door. "Jack," he said, as his passenger got out. "No matter what, keep in touch. We were thinking of going out to Grand Junction to visit Lanie's sister. Maybe we'll stop by to visit you, that is if you would like us to."

"Yeah, that would be nice," Jack said and Mac was surprised to hear the conviction in his voice. "You guys would be more than welcome."

"Really?" Mac couldn't help but say. "I had the impression you didn't want anything to do with us."

"If you really are my twin brother, we have a lot to talk about and catching up to do," Jack said with a shrug. "Come out and visit me. And yeah, you can even bring the shrew."

They both laughed at that and Mac said, "I will. She would have a fit if I didn't."

"See ya," Jack said then grimaced as they both heard someone shout, "General O'Neill!"

"Duty calls," he said with a sigh.

Mac watched as Jack backed away from the car and turned to the three service men that were heading their way. The airmen all came to attention and saluted before following the General as he walked into the hotel.

Mac grinned as he remembered the pained look on Jack's face as he saw the airmen heading his way, then put the car in drive to make his getaway. He was already making vacation plans in the Colorado Rockies as he pulled away from the curb.

Chapter 8

The meeting wasn't as long as it would have been if Jack had managed to make it there that morning. Most of the original attendees had been unable to make it due to other plans they had made, and those that did make it were there only to get the low down on the Stargate project and to give him the details of next year's budget, dismal as it was. Jack struggled with the politicians, making a little headway on the budget issue and finally made his escape.

He went back to the hotel and packed his bag to take the next flight out of Washington, hoping to get out before the powers that be changed their minds and decided they needed him there for another day, or worse, another meeting.

He pulled into his own driveway later that night, glad to be home and grabbed his bags from behind the seat. Unlocking the front door, he entered the house and put the bags down by the door. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and had settled in a chair in the living room when the phone rang. He decided to let the answering machine get it and closed his eyes. It had been a long day.

He looked toward the phone when he heard Sam's voice telling him that she was just checking to make sure he got home okay and that she would see him tomorrow. He smiled as he thought about the Colonel. He refused to think about the deeper feelings he had toward her, but he did dwell on the fact that she was an amazing woman. She was brilliant, beautiful and had a smile that would bring him to his knees if he'd let it. Carter was a permanent fixture in his life, as a colleague and a friend, even if she did marry that creep, he thought uncharitably. He took another drink of the beer and let his thoughts turn to another beautiful woman named Lanie.

He had promised her that he would call his father and he was still trying to get up the nerve to do so. His father was a good man, but the death of Jack's mother had turned the normally loving father into a monster that Jack didn't even recognize. It didn't help when three years later his father married a woman who had promptly seduced the nave young Jack, then blamed Jack when his father caught them at it. The beating Jack received was the last straw for him and he left home to go live with his grandfather. A few years later he joined the Air Force. He had been determined to show his father that he could be a better person than the bastard who kicked the crap out of him all those years before, but the fallout had been permanent and Jack hadn't seen him since.

His father had called when Charlie died, but Jack wasn't interested in anything but his own grief and the conversation was brief. He wondered now what the old man wanted when he'd called.

Sighing, he got up and went to look for his phone book wondering who to start with. He supposed the number he had for his father wouldn't be any good anymore, but thought maybe his Uncle would have it. Hell, he might be able to avoid talking to his father altogether if his Uncle would tell him what he wanted to know. That's the ticket, he thought to himself as he went over to the phone.

He dialed the number, but realized that it was much later in his Uncle's time zone and hung up after the first ring. He would call him tomorrow, all the while knowing that this was just another stall tactic. He finished his beer and headed for his bed to get some sleep.

**********

The klaxons were blaring when Jack stepped out of the elevator on the 28th level of the SGC the next morning. He hurried to the control room to find out what was going on and the technician on duty told him that they were receiving SG-8's IDC. "Open the iris," Jack told him.

He watched as the members of SG-8 walked out of the wormhole and down the ramp and nodded when Colonel Bergman gave him a thumbs up. "We'll debrief in an hour," he told SG-8 through the microphone then headed for his office to get the day started.

Two hours later, Jack decided to give up on getting anything done. His mind just wasn't on his work; he was still mulling over the fact that there was another duplicate out there. He was starting to lose count on the number of duplicates he'd encountered, not even remotely flattered that anyone would want to duplicate him in the first place.

He headed toward Daniel's office to give himself something constructive to do, only to find that his friend was nowhere in sight. "Hey Daniel," he called out. "Daniel, where are you?"

There was no answer and Jack turned to leave, thinking he would see what Carter was up to, when his eyes landed on the tablet laying on Daniel's desk. Curiosity overcame him and he walked to the desk to get a better look at the object that held Daniel's current fascination.

The tablet was made of a substance that looked like stone or concrete with elaborate writings on the front of it. There were several sheets of paper and a notebook next to the tablet where Daniel had made some notes and what looked like doodles. Jack tried to decipher Daniel's chicken scratches, but decided he would wait for the condensed version. He didn't want to take away all of Daniel's glory, he thought with a grin.

Daniel chose that moment to walk into the office with a cup in his hands, gave Jack a quizzical look, then said, "Hey Jack, I see you've finally made it here."

"Daniel," Jack countered. He picked up the notebook and waved it at the archeologist with determination, "Care to tell me what this is all about?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Daniel said with a grin. He put the cup down on the desk and picked up the tablet, "This part here tells about the Goa'ulds..."

Chapter 9

Jack's cell phone rang just as he pulled into his driveway later that night. He cringed when he saw who it was, took a deep breath before pressing the `talk' button and said, "O'Neill."

"Hi Jack," Lanie's voice came through the phone. "How are you? I thought I would call to see if you were able to get in touch with your father."

"Nope. Not yet," he replied, "I'm still trying to get a number for him."

"You're stalling, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes," he said baldly. "I'll call him Lanie. I just need some time, okay?"

"Jack," she sighed. "I suppose I can understand that, it's just that I am so anxious to find out something, anything..."

"I know. I promise I will call him soon. Okay?"

"Okay," she grumbled. "When is soon?"

"Soon Lanie," he said forcibly, smiling despite himself.

"Alright," she gave in. "I'll call you tomorrow. `Night, Jack!"

"Thanks for the warning. I'll make sure I have the phone turned off," he replied.

"Can you really afford those 20 minute phone messages?" she asked sweetly.

"Well I have 24 hours to think about it now, don't I? Sleep tight Lanie."

Jack got out of the truck and walked into his house. He had just closed the front door when his cell phone rang again. He fumbled for the phone, nearly dropping it, as he reached for the light switch.

"O'Neill," he growled into the phone.

"Jack! Oh man, you have to get back here now," Daniel's excited voice spoke to him through the phone. "We've found them Jack! Do you realize what this means? I can't believe we've really found them!"

"Daniel, calm down," Jack said rubbing the bridge of his nose. He could feel the tension building up and he knew the first signs of a headache when confronted with them. "First things first, who did we find?"

"Well, I have to tell you that I didn't believe it at first," Daniel continued. Jack could hear papers being shuffled as Daniel spoke to him. "Where is it? I just had it. Wait, here it is... No, that's not it. Ah, okay, here it is. The tablet that I've been translating spoke of the Ancients, the Goa'ulds and a bunch of other stuff, but it also speaks of a tribe of people that were transplanted to that planet approximately four hundred years ago by the Goa'ulds. We've found them Jack!" he said proudly.

"That's great Daniel. I've always wondered where we put those people. Now I can rest easy," Jack said debating whether he should strangle the archeologist or just pound him into dust.

"I'm telling you, this is the find of the century. We have to go back there to gather more information and determine what happened to them again."

"What do you mean what happened to them again? Daniel," he said with a sigh, "I am standing here valiantly reminding myself that you are my friend. It wouldn't be a good thing for me to kill my friend. Perhaps if you tell me who we lost in the first place, I may have an inkling of what the hell it is you are talking about." His voice had risen while he was speaking, until he was almost shouting by the end of his speech. "On second thought," he said trying to calm down, "what have I told you about unsecured lines? Jeez Daniel, what the hell am I going to do with you?"

"Sorry Jack. It's just that this is so incredible that I.... Well, you know me. I admit that I can get carried away sometimes, but... well..."

"Daniel, don't worry about it, okay? Tell you what, why don't you go home, get a good night's sleep and meet me in the briefing room tomorrow morning first thing. Bring along Sam and Teal'c and whomever else you want to and we'll talk about it then."

"Jack, this is important..."

"Daniel, trust me on this. I will be able to better understand you after you have had time to calm down. We'll talk about this first thing in the morning."

"Alright," he gave in. "I'll call you tomorrow morning to get you out of bed."

Now that was way too eerie, Jack thought, as he hung up the phone. Didn't Lanie just say almost the same thing?

He went to the kitchen to scavenge for food, finding leftover spaghetti from the night before. He threw the plate in the microwave, grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and walked over to the window to look out into his backyard. He was going to make that phone call tonight, but he felt like such a weakling because he was standing there working up the nerve to pick up the phone. It was ironic that he was able to stand up to someone who would torment and torture him, without him showing any fear, yet he couldn't even make a phone call. He finished the beer when the microwave buzzed to tell him his dinner was ready. Taking the plate out of the microwave, he carried it over to the table, sitting down to eat his meal alone and in silence; his mind working on what he would say when he finally did make the call.

Once he had eaten, he'd decided that now was as good a time as any. He sat down on the couch, picked up the phone and dialed his Uncle's number. "Hello?" a woman's voice said when it was picked up on the other end.

"Hi. Can I speak to Henry please?" Jack asked, not recognizing the voice on the other end of the line.

"Just a minute," the woman said. Jack waited, listening to the woman's voice grow dim as she called to his Uncle.

"Hello?" It was Henry and Jack smiled at the memories the sound of his voice brought to him.

"Hey Uncle Henry. It's me, Jack. How are you doing?"

"Jack? Oh my God. Jack!" his Uncle's surprise was evident. "What have you been up to? It's been forever since I've heard from you. You okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks. I was just thinking about getting in touch with my old man and I don't have his number anymore. I was hoping you might have it?"

"Yeah sure, I have it here somewhere," his Uncle said. "How's the family? Well, I mean..."

"Sara's doing great, last I heard," Jack said quickly. "I keep in touch with her once in awhile. How about your brood?"

"They are all doing great," Henry told him. "Joanie just graduated from Law School! Can you imagine? At her age!! Anyway, she and Tom are moving to Texas to build their own law firm, taking the kids with them. I'll sure miss them," he said, sadly.

"I'll bet you will," Jack agreed. "What about Tina? She still teaching?"

"Yep. Her oldest just made her a Grandma," he said proudly. "I don't mind being a Great Grandpa one bit. It's just another little one to spoil."

"Yes sir," Jack laughed, remembering how his Uncle had spoiled him when he was younger.

"How about you? I heard you'd retired. What have you been doing with your life?" his Uncle asked.

"Got pulled back in," Jack said. "They needed me to do another job and I'm still doing it. On the bright side, I'm a General now."

"A General? Well, I'll be damned!" Henry exclaimed proudly. "I'm not the least bit surprised, you know. I always knew you had it in you. You always were a determined young man."

`Yeah. Hey Uncle Henry," Jack said, turning the conversation away from himself. "I ran into someone a couple of days ago who looks so much like me, it's scary. We compared notes and there are a lot of coincidences. I was just wondering if there is anything about my past that I don't know about."

"Like what?" Henry asked after a moment of silence.

"Like whether he could be my twin."

"Your twin?" Henry asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Same face, same birthday. My twin."

"Jack...," his Uncle began.

"Yes?" Jack prodded when he didn't go on.

"You already know the answer, don't you?" his Uncle said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, really I am, but it was your parent's decision to keep it from you. They thought it would be for the best."

Damn it, Jack groaned inwardly. He did know the answer, he was just hoping that he had the wrong one.

"Look Jack," his Uncle continued. "Your parents loved you; they only wanted what was best for you. You are their son. It didn't matter that you were born to someone else. They loved you."

"I know," Jack said, trying to ease his Uncle's worry. "It's just a shock to know that I had a twin brother out there all these years. A long lost twin brother," he said, remembering the words of Mac's daughter.

"A twin!" Henry exclaimed. "You mean to tell me that there is another you running around out there? Lord help us all!" he teased.

"Yep," Jack laughed, although he was thinking of his clone. "There actually is another me running around out there."

"Jack, I would love to meet your twin," Henry said. "Will you bring him around to meet me? I'm thinking this is the only way I'll get to see you again," he scolded.

"We are still trying to let this all sink in, Uncle Henry," Jack said. "I'll come to see you soon, though. I never realized how much I've missed your ugly mug."

"See that you do," Henry insisted. "Tina would love to see you again."

"I will," Jack promised. "You take care of yourself until I do, hear me?"

"Loud and clear, General Jack," Henry said with pride. "A General," he said again and Jack knew his accomplishments were going to be the talk of Henry's friends, if Henry had anything to do with it.

"It's been good talking to you, Uncle Henry. And thanks!"

"You're welcome. You have my number, call me more often."

"I will. Bye Uncle Henry," Jack said finally hanging up the phone.

Well that was done, he thought. He had his answer, but for some reason he wasn't happy about it. He had been adopted. His parents weren't even his parents. His thoughts moved on to his father who had practically turned on him after his mother's death. He knew it was grief, knew it even better now because of Charlie's death, but he couldn't fathom turning on his own son.

Jack sat on his couch for a long time mulling over the possibilities and wondering what he should do from this point on. He worried that he would be expected to share his life with his brother's family, at least with his sister-in-law who could be such a pain. From the time he had joined the Special Ops, his work life had been one big secret, one that couldn't be shared with anyone. He had gotten good at hiding his secret life from the world over the years, but he just knew Lanie was going to want to know everything.

He decided to wait until the next day to break the news to Lanie. He needed some more time to come to terms with this, to sort through his feelings. In the meantime, he needed to find out more information on his brother, so he picked up the phone to make one more phone call. He dialed Carter's number and she answered on the second ring.

"Carter? You busy? I was wondering if I could come over to talk to you about something?"

Chapter 10

The ride to Carter's house didn't take long, but Jack still had enough time to figure out just what he would tell her about his special request. It was highly improper to ask her to do a background check on someone for personal reasons, but he figured he had an ace up his sleeve and he planned to use it if he had to.

She had been waiting for him and answered the door on his first knock. He smiled at her and she invited him in with a wave of her hand. Tension filled the room, as it always did when they were alone in each other's house. There was something between them, no doubt about that, but Jack knew that they had to keep things on a professional level. He went into high alert whenever he was around her in the privacy of their own homes, afraid that one or the other would say or do something that could ruin both their careers. For this reason, he'd clam up and hide behind the mask he had learned to master over the years, knowing that she would take it that he really didn't want to be around her. He hated that she thought that, but he didn't know how to deal with it any other way.

"You want something to drink?" she offered as she headed toward her kitchen.

"No thanks. I don't mean to intrude or anything," he said tersely.

"You're not," she said, smiling at him. Maybe he should have waited until they were in safer territory, he thought.

"Sir? You wanted to talk about something?" she reminded him, bringing him back to his mission.

"Oh yeah. I was wondering if I could get you to do something for me. A little background check on someone."

"Please, sit down," she offered. "Who did you have in mind?"

"I met this guy the other day and well... His name is Angus MacGyver and he claims to be my brother," Jack said in a rush. He sat down on her couch, watching her as she sat down in an overstuffed chair.

"Your brother?" she asked in surprise. He caught himself staring at her and he mentally shook his head to clear the cobwebs that were starting to clutter his mind.

"Yeah, my twin brother," he said, waiting for her reaction.

"I didn't know you had a brother," she said, still looking at him in surprise.

"I didn't know either," he said, wondering when she was going to make the connection.

She looked at him in confusion, then he could see the wheels turning in her mind. He knew it wouldn't take her too long.

"Is it possible?" she asked, as she stared into his eyes. "Did your parents have twins or were you adopted?"

"According to my Uncle, I was adopted," he said, the mask still in place. "I talked to him just before I came here. Apparently my parents felt it was best that I not be told."

"I'm sorry," she said with feeling. "It must be hard to find out after all these years."

"Will you do your magic and help me find out more about him?" he asked her, knowing full well he was ignoring her statement.

"Yes, I'll start tomorrow. What information do you have that I can start with?"

Was it going to be that easy? He had expected some hesitation on her part. "I have his name, birth date and where he grew up. Not much other than that. I can always ask him for more if you need me to."

"I'll start with that and see what I can come up with. Sir?" she said hesitantly, "You do know that I'll be using government computers to accomplish a personal objective?"

That's my girl, he thought proudly. He was glad she brought it up, even if he would rather she hadn't. "I know Carter, but we are dealing with another possible duplicate. That would make it SGC worthy, dontcha think?"

"Yes sir," she said before the implication sunk in. "Another duplicate?"

"I did say twin brother, didn't I?"

She stared at him in shock, before giving him a bright smile, as she laughed.

"What?" he asked a little huffily even as he stared at her smile. She was such a beauty.

"Sorry sir," she said as she tried to muffle her laughter. "It's just that if you keep this up, nobody will be able to tell anybody apart."

"Huh?" he asked, not quite sure he was following her and then smiled back at her as she laughed even harder.

"Sorry sir," she said again as she wiped her eyes. "I couldn't help it. So what can you tell me about your twin?" she asked, as she tried to keep her control.

"Like I said, his name is Angus MacGyver, his birth date is October 20, 1952 and he looks just like me. What else do you need?"

"I'll start with that and go from there," she said still grinning at him. He steeled his resolve not to kiss her and got up to leave.

"Thank you Colonel," he said, using her rank to remind himself of the regulations. "I do appreciate this," he added, as he grinned back at her to let her know he wasn't angry with her.

"You're welcome sir," she replied as she got up to follow him to the door.

They stared at each other for a few minutes before he turned to leave, wishing things could have been different. "See you in the morning, Carter. Daniel tells me he has found some people we didn't know we lost."

"I know," she said, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "He called me a little while ago talking about a lost civilization, but hung up before he told me which civilization. He can be so spacey when he gets like this," she added, her voice filled with fondness.

"You noticed that, did you?" Jack said, wondering about the spurt of anger he had just experienced. "Now, if I can only convince him to think about security and other important things like that when he gets spacey, I think I could end up a very happy camper."

"Good luck. Daniel will always be that way," she said. Jack had to agree with her. If he were to be truthful with himself, he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Thanks, but I think I could spend my time on more productive things like avoiding future duplicates."

She gave him another smile, as he knew she would and he took it with him when he left her house to head for home.

Chapter 11

Jack yawned as he walked down the hall toward his office the next morning. He hadn't slept well last night and Daniel's phone call woke him up not long after he had finally fallen into a deep sleep. He headed for his office, but only got as far as the corridor leading to it when Daniel called out to him.

"Jack! There you are. Where have you been?"

`Well, aside from trying to get some much needed sleep, I was on my way here to hear all about the people we lost. I can't tell you how relieved I am to know we've finally found them."

"We didn't lose them Jack," Daniel said patiently. "They lost themselves. Well that's not exactly what happened, at least now that we know what really happened to them. I mean, after all these years, we finally found them."

This guy is dead meat, Jack thought, as he stopped to stare at his friend. I'm going to kick the crap out of him. "Daniel," he sighed, "You do realize that it is way too early in the morning for me to have to deal with this. Give me a couple more hours, a slide show on whatever you have put together while you should have been sleeping, and a well thought out explanation as to exactly what you have found out, and I'll be right there on the same level as you," Jack said, before adding, "Now that's a scary thought!"

He turned to leave Daniel standing there and grimaced when Daniel followed him down the hall. "Are we going back...?" Daniel began.

"Not... another... word," Jack said slowly, turning to point his finger at Daniel. "Uh uh," he insisted, when Daniel opened his mouth to say something else. "Not one word."

"Fine," Daniel said sulkily, as Jack turned once again to walk to his office. "See you in an hour."

Jack stared after his friend for a moment before yelling down the hall, "That was a word Daniel. In fact, that was more than one word!"

******************

Jack entered the briefing room an hour later to find all three members of SG-1 waiting for him. Teal'c nodded in greeting, then sat down at the table as Carter jumped up from her seat. Daniel was working on a computer, apparently getting his presentation ready and smiled at Jack when he saw him come in.

"This is really a fantastic find," Daniel said, as he punched a few keys on the computer. "I think we've finally found the Lost Colony."

"The Lost Colony?" Carter asked, while she and Jack sat down to get comfortable.

"Yes," Daniel replied, as he brought up an image on the computer screen. "This is a picture of the writings we found on the ruins on P4X-903. The writings speak of a tribe of people brought to that planet approximately 500 Earth years ago. The people were mostly men, although there were a few woman and children among them. The people were brought here as slaves by a Goa'uld named Maltac, a System Lord wannabe. We're not sure how Maltac came to be on Earth, but he was here, or so this writing tells us."

"The fascinating part of this find is the fact that these people apparently came from the North American continent, specifically the southeastern region of this continent," he continued. His expression telling Jack that Daniel was in his professor mode and Jack vaguely wondered if he was going to miss lunch. Daniel had a tendency to drone on about a subject when he was like this.

The computer screen now had an image of the region Daniel was talking about, and he pointed at it to emphasize the area. "I have reason to believe that the people came from here, which explains why we have never found them until now," he said proudly.

No one spoke when Daniel finished speaking. They were apparently waiting for Daniel to clue them in to this find of the century. Jack had a nagging thought, however, and he ventured a guess. "Are we talking about the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island?"

"Yes!" Daniel exclaimed, even as he gave Jack a surprised look. "Didn't I tell you this already?"

"Holy crap," Carter said in an awed voice, causing her teammates and the General to look at her in shock. This was not something Carter would normally say, Holy Hannah maybe, but not this.

She blushed when she realized that they were all looking at her, then rushed on to sheepishly say, "Guess I've been hanging around the General too long. Are you positive about this find Daniel?" she asked, her excitement of the news taking control over her embarrassment.

"Pretty close," Daniel said with a grin. Jack could see Daniel was enjoying this, probably planned it to end up this way. "There is a reference on the ruins to a village called Croatoan, which was the name of a local Native American tribe living near where the colonists had settled."

"That word had also been carved into a tree when Governor White came back with supplies from England," Jack added, his mind whirling with possibilities. "It was supposed to be an indication of where the colonists would be if they weren't there when he got back."

"Yeah," said Daniel, giving Jack a funny look. "I have to admit that I am surprised you know that Jack. You've never given us any indication that you know anything beyond fighting. You are good at fighting," he said as an after thought.

"Gee thanks," Jack said dryly. "It's good to know you appreciate some of my skills."

"Sir?" This time it was Carter looking at him with a mixture of confusion and amazement.

"Oh for crying out loud," he said grumpily. This is why he rarely let them see his academic side. He hated it when people thought he was better or smarter than he really was. It left him feeling awkward and uncomfortable. "I had to take some history classes in order to get a degree, okay?"

"Really?" Daniel asked, his expression showing his surprise.

"Yes, really," Jack said glaring at the archeologist. "Will you just get on with it already?"

"Oh. Sure," Daniel said, pulling himself together. "Teal'c, I guess the rest of this presentation will be for your benefit, as it appears Jack already knows this stuff." This was said with a glare at Jack, probably mad because he had stolen Daniel's limelight, Jack thought uncharitably.

"In the late 16th century," Daniel began, "this continent had been inhabited primarily by natives, with a few European visitors checking it out for possible colonization. In 1584, two men came to Roanoke Island to determine its feasibility for a settlement. They liked what they saw and returned to England to inform their employer, Sir Walter Raleigh, that it was the perfect place to live."

"The Queen of England named the land Virginia," Daniel continued, while bringing up more images to spice up his lecture, "and sent out a group of men to get the colony started. Unfortunately, the leader killed one of the native chiefs and a war ensued. A year later, the men abandoned the settlement and returned to England."

"Raleigh sent out another group of 117 men, women and children in early 1587, including John White, whom Raleigh appointed Governor of the colony. They arrived in July of that year and Governor White returned to England for supplies in late August."

"He wasn't able to go back to Roanoke Island until three years later and when he did get there, the colonists had vanished. They searched for the people for some time, but no one ever found them. Their fate remains a mystery to this day," Daniel concluded.

"Some say that the people went to live with the natives," Jack added, "while others swear they moved to the mainland and found a life there. I don't think I've ever heard the theory that they were kidnapped by aliens though."

Chapter 12

The atmosphere in the briefing room was filled with excitement, at least on the part of the Tau'ri, as Teal'c was his usual stoic self. Jack, on the other hand, couldn't help but get caught up in it. Daniel had continued his presentation showing them other examples and evidence of his theory that the people of the Lost Colony had indeed been stolen by the Goa'ulds.

"I would like to go back to P4X-903 to see if we can find more evidence as to what happened to them once they arrived on that planet," Daniel continued. "The MALP showed no signs of civilization and we didn't encounter anyone while we were there, which leads me to believe that something happened to them. They may have died out, or rebelled or moved on, but it's still worth a trip to find out."

"What good would it do?" Jack asked. "It's not like you could go out and tell the world of this find. No one believed you when you were spouting off about spaceships landing on pyramids. I'd have a hard time keeping you out of the nuthouse for sure if you went out talking about aliens abducting a whole colony. And Daniel, I don't ever want to have to visit you in a nuthouse again, you hear me?" he added, remembering a visit to a mental ward where Daniel was curled up in the corner of a padded room talking about seeing ghosts and visitors from other galaxies. No one should ever have to watch one of their best friends go insane.

"Yeah," Daniel said, his eyes taking on a faraway look. "But think about it Jack," he continued after shaking off his memories, "we could finally solve one of Earth's mysteries. And who knows, the world may be told of the Goa'ulds sometime in the future and this information would become invaluable to historians."

"This would also give us the opportunity to discover how a civilization very much like our own has developed technologically and culturally," said Carter, staring at Jack with a determined look. She was gearing up for a fight, Jack noticed with a smirk. He briefly wondered if he should give both Daniel and Carter a run for their money, making them work for his approval on a project he had already decided to give a green light to. It would be interesting to see how far they would go to win him over.

He kept his silence though, as he looked at each of his friends in turn. Daniel was about to jump out of his skin, his agitation and anxiety apparent in his posture. Carter sat forward, trying to look nonchalant even as she was silently pleading with him. Teal'c sat in his chair, his hands folded on the table, giving Jack a huge grin. The old Jaffa already knew the answer and was enjoying the show.

"Well, I guess that wraps it up then," Jack told them, grinning at Teal'c. "If you guys think of anything else you need to tell me, you know where to find me."

"Wait a minute," Daniel growled. "Aren't you even going to consider it? We have to go back there. Aren't you even just a little curious to find out how far these people have come?"

"Daniel...." Jack began.

"We have an obligation to find out everything we can from the cultures we find on other planets," Daniel continued. "Who knows what kinds of technologies they may have developed. We owe it to ourselves to find those people."

"I agree," Jack said. "I'm sure you'll...."

Daniel was on a roll though, and showed no signs of stopping. "The samples brought back by SG-8 showed traces... of.... Wait a minute. You agree?" Daniel asked. "Does this mean we have a go?

"Yes," Jack said with an innocent look on his face as he stood up to leave. "Didn't I tell you this already?"

*****************************

Jack hated paperwork. Hated it with a passion, yet here he was again plowing through a mountain of it. Day in and day out, paper and ink melding together until his eyes blurred. He had a hard time concentrating on what he was reading when most of the paperwork consisted of requisitions for everything from oranges to missiles. Requisitions usually required him to make decisions as to whether the facility really needed those items and whether he could squeeze the money out of an already tightened budget. Requisitions had become the bane of his professional life and he wished he could just toss them all in a bucket filled with hot coals. It would keep him warm in the winter, he thought bemusedly.

For the most part he usually bypassed the requisitions to read the mission reports he'd received from various members of SGC teams. Now those things held his interest. He may not be able to go out there and fight the Goa'uld personally, but he could read about the adventures of his cohorts and use what he learned from those reports to Earth's advantage.

He was immersed in one of those reports when a knock on the door interrupted his reading. He looked up to see Carter at the door and he nodded at her saying, "Come in Carter. Have a seat."

"I have some information on that matter we discussed last night sir," she said, as she sat down in a chair facing him. "You weren't kidding when you said he looked like you."

"And?" he prompted, wondering about the wicked grin she was giving him.

"Well, from what I could gather in such a short period of time," she began, "it appears that Angus MacGyver was raised in Mission City, Minnesota by his parents, James and Ellen MacGyver. His father and maternal grandmother were killed in an automobile accident when he was twelve and he was subsequently raised by his mother and her father. He went on to study physics at Western Tech and earned a degree in 1973..."

"Physics?" Jack interrupted with a grimace. "A scientist! Well, that proves it. He's no relation to me."

"Yes sir," Carter grinned before continuing with her findings. "He's not your typical run of the mill scientist though. After graduation, he worked at several odd jobs, including working with bomb specialists before joining the Department of External Services in 1979..."

"Bombs? You mean like the ones that go kaboom? He must like to live dangerously, ya think? Maybe he is related to me after all," Jack mused.

"Yes sir," Carter said again before continuing her report. "He worked there for seven years, then moved to the Phoenix Foundation to work as a Special Field Agent."

"Finding people and other objects," Jack said grimly. He was starting to think that this was all a hoax. Special Field Agent sounded like Mac was a spy or something. What were the odds that a twin brother he had never known, had fallen into the same kind of work that he did. Pretty good, he thought, as he tried to grasp the information Carter was feeding him.

"I'm sure there was more to it than that," Carter replied, "but I haven't had enough time to really find out what he did for that organization. The weird thing about his record is that he is known for being an anti-gun advocate. He never used a gun or any other kind of weapon the whole time he was employed by the DXS or the Phoenix Foundation. From what I could find out, he got out of situations with his wits and ingenuity."

"Well, if he is known for his wits and ingenuity, he really must be my twin brother," Jack said smugly before sending her a half grin. She smiled back at him, causing him to stare at her for a few seconds. "Mac told me that he's retired," he continued as he brought himself back to reality. "What's he up to lately?"

"From what I could determine, he retired 15 years ago to travel around on motorcycles with his son, Sean Malloy, only to settle down a few years later when he married Melanie Summerfield..."

"The shrew," Jack added with conviction.

"Sir?"

"Just kidding Carter. I've met her and although she seems to be a really nice person, she could rival any General in the United States military," he said as he rolled his eyes. "Did you say he has a son named Sean?"

"Yes sir. Apparently he didn't even know his son existed until they met while MacGyver was on a job in 1991. I think that finding his son after all those years may have been a reason for him to retire, as he left the Phoenix Foundation shortly after they met."

"A long lost son and now a long lost brother. What is up with that guy?" Jack wondered aloud.

"Are you sure he's your brother?" Carter asked with some trepidation.

"I have to admit that I don't know what to believe," Jack replied with a sigh. "This could all be a trick for nefarious purposes, but deep down, I just have this feeling... Oh forget it," he said, shaking his head and looking away. He'd almost laid open his soul to her and he really didn't think he was ready to do something like that. Instead he got up from his chair to pace as he thought about the brother he never knew he had. It was eerie how their lives were similar. They'd both ended up in dangerous jobs, only to retire at a young age. Jack got pulled back in, but Mac was living the grand life... or was he?

"What does he do nowadays?" Jack asked, his curiosity piqued.

"He has a part-time job with a local organization that works with children and occasionally does freelance work for a law firm out of Washington, D.C.," Carter replied. "Um... sir? I'm still looking into his childhood and his birth, but from what I have gathered so far, he was born in Mission City, Minnesota. Aren't you from Chicago?"

"Yep. Can't get around that, can we? I would think that his parents would have mentioned something to him about a twin they had given up at birth, don't you?" he asked as his gaze drifted past her to see himself as a little boy staring up at his father with love and admiration. His father. The man who had taught him the fine art of fishing, how to catch a fast ball and to change the oil in a '57 Chevy. The same man who had turned on his own son in his grief and chose his second wife over him.

Jack put a stop to his memories and brought his attention back to the present and to Carter, who was looking at him with concern.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked, her worry for him clear in her expression. "You took off for a minute there," she added with a small smile.

"Just remembering," he told her with a grin. "What's your theory on all this, Colonel?"

"Theory sir?" she asked, then continued when he nodded at her. "I suppose he could be your twin, I mean he does look like you," she said as she gave him a secret smile. "I have pictures if you are interested sir."

"I know what I look like Carter," Jack said watching her warily. He did not like that grin she had on her face.

She didn't seem to be paying any attention to him as she reached into the folder, searching for the pictures. "Ah, here they are," she said as she pulled out a stack of photographs. "Lord, General sir, I'll bet you had to run from the girls when you were younger." She handed him the photographs, then pointed at the one on top. "Check out the hair," she said as she giggled.

"They let him work as a spy looking like that?" Jack asked in surprise. "I suppose it made it easier to blend in with the younger crowd," he ventured, as he went on to look at the rest of the pictures. "My CO would have had a fit if I so much as thought of letting my hair grow out like that," he added as he tilted his head to look at a picture sideways.

"Lieutenant Powers wanted me to print out a picture for her to take home with her," Carter said, grinning like a fool. "She had stopped by my lab to get my signature on a report and happened to notice the picture on my monitor. Don't worry sir, I told her it was a picture of some cult leader and that I was helping Daniel with his research," she hastily added. "But I had to insist that she leave without the picture, she was pretty adamant. As she put it, he was `one hot babe'."

Jack stopped looking through the pictures to stare at her with raised eyebrows. She blushed slightly before telling him, "Her words sir, not mine. Although I do have to admit that I agree with her," she added quietly, as she looked into his eyes.

Jack was at a loss for words. He continued to stare at her, wondering why she did this to him - throwing out off-hand compliments at him, knowing he was totally vulnerable around her. He turned his attention back to the pictures he held in his hand in an effort to gather his wits about him, finally looking up at her with a grin. "His hair is as short as mine is now. Somewhere along the way he must have decided that long hair was out. On the bright side, I guess I can stop wondering what I would look like with long hair, not that I ever did, mind you." He held up one of the pictures next to his face so that she could make a comparison. "What do you think, should I let my hair grow out?"

"And have half the women on the base chasing after you?" Carter teased. "Although I've heard many of them bemoan the fact that you are in their chain of command. The civilian women, on the other hand..."

"What about you?" Jack interrupted, hoping for some revenge.

She stared at him for a moment, debating on what she should say, finally deciding on changing the subject. "When does SG-1 leave for P4X-903?"

"You're on tomorrow's schedule," he replied, giving her a wide smile.

"Thank you sir," she said, giving him a wary look. She laid the report she had compiled on his desk and stood up to leave. "I'll leave this here with you. In the meantime, I'll do a little more digging into the events surrounding his birth to see if I can come up with anything that will help."

"Sounds like a plan," he told her. "And Carter... Thanks. I really appreciate your help on this matter."

"You're welcome sir. I just hope I get to meet this guy one day," she said as she walked to the door. "Uh sir?" she added after a slight hesitation. "I've been known to bemoan the fact that you're my commanding officer, as well." She grinned at him as she walked out the door, and Jack realized that she had gotten the last word in again. His glare turned to a grin and he found himself chuckling as he sat down in his chair to read the report she had prepared for him.

Chapter 13

The house was silent when Mac slipped out of bed, careful not to wake his wife. She had been up late the night before making travel arrangements and talking to both of her sisters over the phone, discussing the accident that had nearly taken the life of Lanie's nephew, Steve. Steve had been out riding around with friends when a drunk driver slammed into their car. He was in critical condition, but the doctors had great hopes for his recovery. In the meantime, Lanie was insistent that they go and stay with her sister to help out, so that Steve's parents could spend as much time with their son as they could.

Mac had mixed feelings regarding this. On the one hand he would be heading out to Colorado. On the other hand he'd be stuck in Grand Junction, babysitting Cyndi's other kids. As much as he liked his nephews and nieces, the call of the wild was a much stronger temptation, one that he was going to have to resist on this trip.

This whole thing was giving him fits as it was. News of family members involved in any kind of accident always brought on nightmares and this one was no exception. He would always wake up from the nightmares feeling lost, alone and scared out of his mind. He knew the nightmares stemmed from the memories he had of losing his father and grandmother in a car accident when he was a child and nearly losing Lanie because of another one, but that thought didn't ease the loneliness he felt upon waking up.

He made his way to the bathroom to splash water on his face, stopping to stare at his reflection in the mirror. The images of the dream that had wakened him came back clearly at that moment, terrifying images that had him trembling all over again. He had been in his backyard flipping hamburgers on the grill when he'd heard the squeal of tires and the sound of metal twisting under the force of a crash. He ran out to the front only to find Jack standing in the middle of the road, holding a limp and bleeding Pete in his arms, while standing over the body of his other son, Sam, who was lying under a motorcycle, his sightless, empty eyes staring at Mac. "No one should know what it's like to lose a son," Jack had said.

"God!" Mac groaned, as he turned on the cold water. He filled his cupped hands with the cool liquid and put his face into his hands, hoping to rid himself of the images. He stayed that way for a few minutes, then dried his face before heading quietly to his son's bedroom. Pete's soft snores were music to his ears. He stayed there watching him for a few minutes, feeling the love he had for his son flow through him.

He finally moved off toward his own room, wondering if Sam would kill him if he called him right then. The urge to pick up the phone and call him anyway was strong, but Mac knew that it really was just a nightmare. He'd just wait until a more decent hour before calling his son. Come to think of it, Sam lived in Wyoming. Maybe he could take some time off to visit with Mac in Grand Junction or in Colorado Springs, if they got a chance to go there. He got back into bed, putting his arm around his sleeping wife. The images of the nightmare fading away as he fell back to sleep.

*****************

Lanie was making breakfast the next morning, ordering the children off to school, while at the same time picking up the phone to call someone. She was a model of efficiency at times like this and he knew better than to get in her way. He smiled at the children as they rushed past him, grabbing Lindsay as she passed by to give her a quick hug. Pete gave his father a grin and a wave before heading out the door and Mac called after them, "Be careful out there."

He picked up the glass of orange juice that was waiting for him and leaned back against the counter shamelessly eavesdropping on Lanie's end of the phone conversation. It turned out she was talking to someone at the kid's school making arrangements for their little trip. That woman didn't miss a trick, he thought with a grin.

"Morning," he said when she finally hung up the phone. "Were you able to spring them out?"

"Yes," Lanie said, smiling at him. "You make it sound like they were in jail or something. Want something to eat?"

"Yeah," he replied, still leaning against the counter. "What's the plan for this trip?"

"What am I, your travel agent?" she asked with a grin.

"Yep, so what's the plan?" he repeated as he reached over and pulled her into a hug.

"We leave for the airport tomorrow morning, arriving in Denver by tomorrow afternoon. I thought we would rent a car and drive to Grand Junction, maybe swinging by to see Jack on the way there, or on the way back, whichever works best for him."

"Assuming, of course, he'll be available to see us. Not to mention if he even wants us to `swing' by," Mac said with a smile.

"You said that he wanted us to come for a visit," she replied. "Besides, I have to call him today to get a status report. I'll ask him then."

"Just make sure you `ask' him. I don't think he would appreciate you ordering him to be ready for us," he told her as he hugged her. He let her go so that he could take another drink of the juice before telling her, "You know, I was thinking of calling Sam to see if he could come down for a visit. It'd be nice to see him again."

"Oh Mac, that's a great idea!" she said excitedly. "Do you think he'll be able to make it?"

"Won't know until I ask," he replied with a shrug, secretly pleased she was so agreeable with this. She and Sam got along well and for that he was grateful.

"Do you have everything taken care of or do you need any help getting things together?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"All I need to do now is finish the last load of laundry, pack ours and the kid's bags, make arrangements for someone to take care of Herman and to keep an eye on our house, call the post office to have them hold our mail and ... um... oh yeah, I also need to let Linda and Bob know we will be gone for a few weeks. I'm sure Bob will mow our lawn when he does his own.... Mac, stop with the frowns. He really isn't all that bad... well, maybe he is, but he will help us and that's going to be a big relief."

"Whatever," Mac grumbled. He didn't like owing that jerk anything. "So you have everything going smoothly. Why am I not surprised?" he teased, trying to lighten his own mood. "Good thing you didn't get that job after all," he added with a grin.

"Comes from growing up in a military family, well at least my father's family," she replied, grinning back at him. "I pretty much have it all handled. My next order of business, though, is to call Jesse to see what he's come up with on your birth. He's been looking into Jack's background and `coming up with squat,' as he so eloquently puts it. It seems your brother has done a lot more than the military wants the world to know and has decided to keep it all hush-hush."

"Jack did say his job is highly classified," Mac reminded her. "It would probably be in our best interest to keep it that way. Tell Jesse to back off on this, okay? We don't need to know what Jack's been doing lately. Trust me on this; the government doesn't play nicely with those who snoop where they shouldn't be snooping."

"Okay," Lanie said, giving him a worried frown, apparently picking up on his thoughts. He had been remembering some jobs he'd been on where the government didn't take too kindly with his `investigating'. "I'll tell him to stick to details surrounding Jack's birth, although he seemed pretty excited when I talked with him yesterday. It appears that Jack is into something big...."

"Lanie, I mean it! Tell him to back off," Mac growled. "I don't care what he's found out, we don't need to know what Jack's been doing the last 30 years. Let him tell us if it's important."

"Okay," she repeated, her eyes wide as she stared at him. He knew he had scared her with the intensity of his demand, but he also knew first hand the undercurrents in the government and he didn't want her or the kids to ever find out the hard way.

"Look, I have to go and take care of some things of my own before we leave. I'll call Sam later today to convince him he should meet with us out in Colorado," Mac said, as he leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. "Hopefully, he'll bring along our little grandbaby," he continued, then grinned at the wide smile she gave him, his apprehension leaving him as he watched the excitement build in her eyes.

"You tell him that he will be facing dire consequences if he even thinks of leaving that little darling at home," she demanded.

"Will do," he said, as he headed for the door. He got into the car, but sat there for a minute before starting it up. Something was wrong, he could feel it. He wondered if he was just overreacting to the news of Lanie's cousin, Jesse, digging in places where he shouldn't. He shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of his paranoia and started the car.

He had been gone most of the day making arrangements of his own. He pulled into his driveway just as Lindsay came out of the house with one of her friends. The paranoia building inside of him was getting stronger and Mac tried to fight off the fear he was experiencing. "Hey babe," he called out to his daughter, deliberately keeping his tone light. "Where are you going?"

"Hi Dad," Lindsay smiled at him. "I'm just going to Gina's house for a little while. She's going to take care of Herman for me," she added, as she held up Herman's cage for him to see.

He smiled as he nodded at her, but he continued to stand there, watching until both girls entered Gina's house three houses down. As he turned to enter his own house, he noticed his neighbor, Bob, watching him from his front porch. Mac stared at him for a moment with a mixture of dislike and the fear he was dealing with before turning to enter the house.

The first thing he did when he entered the house was call out for Pete, who answered from the back of the house. He followed his son's voice and found him in the family room watching TV with one of his friends. Mac waved at them before heading for the kitchen hoping to find Lanie there. She wasn't. Mac decided at that point to call Gina's parents to let them know that he would be picking Lindsay up in an hour - to keep her there until he got there.

"What's wrong?" Lanie asked him as he hung up the phone. She had apparently come into the kitchen and overheard him.

"I don't know," he told her truthfully. "I just have this feeling, the kind I rarely ignore," he smiled at her, but she saw right through it.

"What kind of feeling?" Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, conveying her fear.

"It's probably nothing," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Are we ready for our trip?"

"Yes," she replied. "What kind of feeling?"

She just wasn't going to let it go, Mac thought with a sigh.

"It's nothing Lanie," he insisted. No use worrying her over something that may be nothing, although his instincts had never let him down before. "Have you talked to Jack?"

"Not yet. I did leave him a message, though. I'll call him later if he doesn't call us first," she said, her face still creased with worry. "Mac, please tell me what's wrong. Please?"

"I've told you, I don't know," he snapped. He could see the hurt look on her face and he tried to soothe things over. No use taking it out on her. "Look Lanie. I'm sorry. It's just that I have this feeling that something's wrong. I can't explain it, but right now it wouldn't hurt to be extra careful. Okay?"

She nodded at him, still staring at him with a worried look. He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her as he held her tightly. "I'm sure it's just my imagination," he continued, although in his heart he knew differently. He let her go as he wondered where he'd last seen that roll of duct tape.

Chapter 14

Smoke on the water, fire in the sky. Jack didn't know all the words to the song, but he continued to sing what he knew of it under his breath, as he watched the video footage brought back by SG-11. They had just come back from a planet where the sun was moving closer to the planet's atmosphere, too close for comfort. One particular image reminded him of the song that was now playing out over and over again in his head. The image was of a river that glowed bright orange as it reflected the sun's light, giving him the impression that the water was on fire. He continued to watch the video as the scientists in the room were arguing over whether the planet would explode in the near future or down the road, giving them time to study the effects of a dying planet up close. Every one of them suffered severe disappointment when Jack vetoed the idea of anyone going back to the planet. He lost quite a few popularity points that day, but then again, he never was popular among the scientists on base anyway.

The song stayed with him throughout the rest of the day. Playing out over and over again until he wanted to scream with aggravation. He had the radio on as loud as he could stand it on the way home, hoping to chase away the litany that threatened to drive him insane.

Daniel had been no help, in fact he had made things worse. Jack grimaced as he remembered the meeting he'd had with his friend in Daniel's office. Daniel was immersed in learning all he could about the Lost Colony and Jack had to call out his name twice to get through Daniel's concentration.

"What?" Daniel had asked, looking up from the book he was reading. He pushed up the glasses that had slipped down his nose and glared at Jack.

"Are you ready for your trip tomorrow?" Jack asked, ignoring the glare.

"Yep, just doing some last minute research," Daniel replied. "Uh... Was there anything in particular you wanted to see me about?"

"Do I need a reason to come by for a visit with my best friend?" Jack asked, feigning hurt feelings.

"Meaning you don't have a specific reason for coming here," Daniel replied, shaking his head.

"I run this place. I don't need a specific reason for being here." Jack was starting to get a little angry.

Daniel didn't reply, as he was already immersed in the book again. This pissed Jack off even more and he picked up a rock that was lying on Daniel's desk as he began to sing, "Smoke on the water, fire in the sky..."

His singing finally got Daniel's attention, especially since he was singing the same verse over and over again. Jack was pleased to see a frown on his friend's face as he started tossing the rock back and forth from one hand to the other.

"Don't you know the words to that song?" Daniel asked as he snatched the rock in mid air. "This is not a toy Jack," he added, shaking it in Jack's face to get his attention.

"Didn't you hear me singing the words?" Jack asked, as he eyed a statuette that had been sitting on the desk next to the rock he'd picked up.

"I heard you singing the same words over and over again," Daniel said, grabbing the statuette to move it to a safe distance from Jack. "That is if you want to call that singing."

"I suppose you think you could do better?" Jack asked, as Daniel moved yet another object away from Jack's inquisitive grasp.

"At least I know more of the words of the song than you do," he said, pushing a book of Latin grammar over toward Jack. "Let that thing keep you busy," he added, nodding at the book.

"This is Latin," Jack grimaced, holding the book delicately as if afraid it would bite him.

"Latin is good for the soul," Daniel said.

Jack just stared at his friend incredulously. "Good for the soul?" he asked. "It didn't help my soul a whole lot when I learned this stuff during that God awful time loop," he reminded him.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Daniel said dismissively. He had gone back to his reading, which really pissed Jack off even more. He didn't like being ignored.

"Daniel," he demanded. This guy was really getting on his nerves!

Daniel sighed, then turned to give Jack his full attention. "What?" he snarled.

"Well, uh... I was just checking to see if there was anything I could do to help you out, that's all," Jack lied. He didn't want to admit that he had forgotten what he had come there for in the first place.

"I don't need your help, but thanks. I appreciate it." It was apparent Daniel didn't believe him for a minute.

"Okay," Jack said, deciding to leave now before things got worse for him. "Call me if you need me," he added as he got to the door. "I'll just be in my office," this was said as he opened the door. "Just pick up the phone...."

"Jack." Daniel said, finally looking up from the book.

"Yeah?" Jack asked, expectantly.

"Funky broads were running in and out, pulling kids out on the ground," he sang. "When it all was over, they had to find another place..."

"Shut up Daniel," Jack ground out. Instead of getting rid of the song in his head, he now had more words to add to the ones already playing out in his head.

He had left Daniel to his reading, much to Daniel's relief he was sure. Now he was heading home, listening to as many songs as he could find on the radio to rid himself of the one that had taken up residence in his mind. His cell phone rang just as he pulled into the gas station, deciding to let it go to voice mail when he saw it was Lanie's number. He would call her back when he was home to tell her what he knew would be good news for her.

It was much later before Jack remembered to check his voice mail messages. He listened to both of the messages Lanie had left telling him that she and her brood would be in Colorado for a few weeks and would he be available for them to visit? He wrote down the cell phone number she had left on the last message, then picked up the phone to call the MacGyver's home number. Mac answered and Jack assured him that a visit from them on the way home from Grand Junction would work out just fine. He should be able to manage some down time by then. Jack then went on to tell Mac what his Uncle had confirmed and smiled when he'd heard Lanie emit a loud, "Yes!! I knew it!" when Mac relayed the message to her. They spent a few more minutes making arrangements before finally ending the call.

It wasn't until Jack had settled down for the night that he realized what it was that bothered him about the call. Mac had seemed to be on edge and his unease had transferred to Jack as they talked about mundane things. Jack spent the next 30 minutes wondering what it was that was scaring his new found brother.

************************

Despite the annotation the word brings up in the minds of most people, wormholes were not nasty little holes found in apples. At least not all of them were. Jack watched as SG-1 disappeared in the one swirling around in the Stargate. After all this time, it still bothered him to send them off alone. He wanted to go with them, to protect them to the best of his ability and to make sure they got back safely. His job prevented him from doing just that, but he still worried every single time they went on a mission. He had faith in Carter's leadership capabilities, Teal'c's warrior skills and even in Daniel, who had come a long way in honing his own survival skills since the early days of the Stargate Program. But Jack knew from experience that things can and will go wrong and he hated the waiting and worrying when they did.

He stayed there watching until the wormhole finally disengaged before heading for his office to tackle the paperwork waiting for him there. He managed to get a full hour and a half of it done before he gave it up to pace his office. He knew something was brewing, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

Since the members of SG-1 were off-world, there was no one he could really visit with, so he haunted the hallways, the offices of various departments and even spent some time in the infirmary just to get rid of some of the nervous energy he was experiencing.

He was on his way back to his office after creating havoc just about everywhere he went when the klaxons blared and an announcement was made that an off-world activation had been established. He hurried toward the control room, arriving just as Colonel Dixon authorized the opening of the iris. "We've received SG-1's IDC sir," he informed Jack.

Jack stared at the Stargate in anticipation. SG-1 wasn't due back for at least two days. "Get some medics in there," he ordered the technician at the controls. Where was SG-1, he wondered as he continued to stare at the Gate.

"Yes sir," the technician responded before making the call. The medics showed up and the Marines were waiting in the Gate Room with guns at the ready, but SG-1 didn't come through the Gate. "Set up a communication link. Let's make contact with them," Jack ordered, his anxiety rising as he waited for the communication link to go through.

"SG-1, what is your status?" Jack asked the minute he was able to broadcast. "SG-1, please respond!"

There was no answer, but Jack was not willing to give up. "Colonel Carter, what is your situation?" He knew he was starting to sound desperate, but at this point he didn't care. "Daniel, Teal'c, please respond!" he said again. "Damn it! What is going on out there?" he asked Dixon, who shrugged his shoulders in response.

The Stargate disengaged at that point, leaving Jack with a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Dial up P4X-903," he demanded. "Set up a radio link and get a MALP in the Gate Room now!"

"Yes sir!" the technician responded and immediately went to work following the General's commands. The inner ring of the Stargate began spinning, as the technician placed a call to get a MALP. He called out as each Chevron was encoded, finally announcing that Chevron 7 was locked. The wormhole activated and he nodded at the General when the radio link was ready.

"SG-1, this is General O'Neill. Please respond." There was still no response. He tried to contact them for several more minutes until the MALP was wheeled into the Gate Room. "Dispatch the MALP," Jack ordered.

"MALP dispatched," the technician responded as the vehicle moved up the ramp. The MALP seemed to move at a snail's pace as far as Jack was concerned. He had an overpowering urge to go and push it along to make it go faster. He resisted that urge and waited impatiently for it to get to its destination.

Once it was on the other side, the technician began moving the mechanisms without being told. He forced the MALP lens to pan the area, while Jack continued to call out over the communication link. He stopped in mid-sentence and felt a deep seated fear come over him when the camera lens caught the image of several Jaffa standing guard over the Gate. When did they get there, he wondered.

Jack had given the order for SG teams 3 and 5 to gear up, when Carter's voice came over the radio. "SGC, this is Colonel Carter. Do you read?"

"Carter, what the hell is going on?" Jack asked, completely forgetting protocol.

"Sir, we were being chased by an... animal... or something when the Jaffa showed up. We're secure for the moment, but unable to get to the Gate."

"Roger that Colonel," Jack replied, relief flowing through him. "I'll be sending in reinforcements in an hour. Can you clear a path for them?"

"We can try sir," Carter said. "There's this thing that looks like a cross between a boar and a wolf that showed up and tried to eat Daniel. We were dealing with it when the Jaffa showed up. Our help will depend on whether the animal will let us get near enough to clear the path."

"What happened to your weapons Colonel?" Jack asked with some trepidation. The Jaffa were moving in toward the MALP, and Jack just knew that he was going to have to put in another requisition for a new one. Sure enough, one of the Jaffa aimed a staff weapon at the expensive piece of equipment and fired, causing the picture to go out.

"Our weapons don't seem to affect this... thing," Carter said over the radio, proving that the link had not been damaged.

"What?" Jack interrupted. "There's nothing in your arsenal that will take it out?" he asked incredulously. "What about the Zat?"

"It moves too fast for a..." Carter began. The silence that followed worried Jack more than the news Carter was passing on to him.

"Carter?" Jack said. "Carter please respond. Damn it Carter, don't you do this to me. SG-1, please respond. What happened?" he asked the technician.

"We still have the radio link," the technician said, perplexed.

Jack stared at the wormhole, willing it to tell him what was going on. He hated the suspense that went with his job; it seemed to get worse as the days went by. "Have SG-3 and 5 ready to go in one hour," he commanded. "Keep trying to raise SG-1 through the radio link and get another MALP in there."

"Yes sir," half the people in the control room responded. Jack continued to stand there, watching the swirling whirlpool that Carter sometimes called the Event Horizon. He wished she was here right now telling him all about the Event Horizon and the technicalities that went with her lectures. He waited, listening to his people trying to get a response from SG-1 until the Stargate finally shut down.

"I'll be in my office," he told the people in the control room. He ended up in the briefing room instead, standing at the window still watching and waiting for his friends to come back through the Gate. Why did Carter just stop talking? Why wouldn't they respond? The morbid possibilities that were running through his mind had him clenching his fists in anger and in fear. What would he do without them?

He stayed there for a long time, trying to calm his fears. He needed a clear head when it came time to make decisions and he knew better than to make those decisions based on fear or anger. He was interrupted by Colonel Dixon who had come to tell him that the two teams were geared up and ready to go. Jack gave him a nod before following him down to the control room.

Chapter 15

Relief washed over Mac as the plane landed in Denver. His anxiety had followed him around throughout the entire trip. Although he was doing a great job of hiding it from his wife and children, it was still there, a tangible breathing fear that had him on edge. He was relieved to have gotten his family away from their home, thinking that the danger, whatever it was, was most prominent there.

He was on his way to the car rental area when his fears were finally realized. He was grabbed from behind, his arm nearly breaking as it was twisted behind his back and he was pushed face first into the nearest wall. He heard Lanie cry out, but couldn't move to find out what had happened to her and the children.

"What's going on?" he asked, still trying to see who had grabbed him.

"Be quiet," a voice told him. "And listen carefully. I'm only going to say this once. We need something from you O'Neill and you're going to help us out, aren't you?"

"You have the wrong guy," Mac began, then groaned when his arm was twisted harder. He heard Lindsay cry out in sympathy for him. At least he hoped it was sympathy for him and not because she was being hurt. That thought caused anger to build up in him and he tried to contain it. Anger didn't help in situations like this.

"I said to be quiet," the voice growled. "We need your help in getting some translations, not to mention those handy little devices you all acquired during that `foothold' situation. Imagine the possibilities and the things we can do impersonating someone else."

"What do you want me to do?" Mac asked, his old instincts and skills coming out during this time of trouble. He wished he could see his family; as his daughter's heart wrenching sobs were hard to listen to.

"Dr. Jackson will come in handy in translating some Asgard artifacts we have come in contact with and you have the authority to get the alien cloaking devices. That's all... for now,"

Jackfic Fiction Archive Story

Gemini Crossings

by Traycer