Part 1 

Captain Sam Carter entered the Lab where Daniel Jackson was pouring over a piece of artifact brought back by SG-11 on their last mission. Daniel heard the familiar slap of the rubber gloves being pulled on then he felt Sam as she brushed his leg in her effort to get closer to the artifact. Her hands gingerly touched the object then she sighed heavily. Daniel sat back, one elbow resting on his thigh while he pressed his fist onto his other knee. He gave her a quick smile as she glanced over at him.

"What is it, Sam?" He sat forward, scratching his eye with his gloved finger. She sighed and shrugged her shoulder. She'd been preoccupied all day, her mind obviously on something (or rather someone, Daniel deduced) other than her work. He chewed the inside of his bottom lip as he returned to staring at the object, knowing that any moment now, she was going to give in and tell him all about it.

"Did you see that guy that dropped Jack off to work this morning?" she sighed like a teenager with a crush as she flopped back onto the stool behind her. Daniel lifted his eyebrows.

"No?"

"Janet and I were discussing him at lunch time..."

"You had lunch? I thought you just went to the bathroom?" he frowned.

She stopped her day dream and looked at him.  "Daniel, I was gone an hour..."

The anthropologist checked his watch. "Really?" he looked at her blankly.

She nodded. "Boy, you really do get lost in your work, huh?" She sat forward again, casting her eyes over the stone statue.

Daniel shrugged as he pushed his glasses further up on  his nose- "Apparently so-" He sighed. He glanced over at her, seeing that her mind was not really on the artifact so he sat back again, his elbows both resting on his thighs as he lent forward to be a little closer to her.

"Okay, why don't you tell me about this guy that dropped Jack off to work this morning?" Then he paused and looked at her with wide blue eyes- "you don't think anything's wrong between him and...?"

Sam shook her head, cutting him off quickly. "Oh no, not after sitting with them at lunch-" She laughed, then saw his raised brow, awaiting her story about this mystery man she saw that morning. "And about this other guy, well, I don't know who he was, but he looked a lot like Jack, only younger, and much better looking.. and.. oh Hi Teal'c," she cringed a little when the large Jaffa entered the lab. Daniel sat back and smiled at his friend.

"Hey, Teal'c, I suppose you ate lunch with the others also," he said, again scratching at his eye with his finger.

Teal'c nodded but frowned all the same. "Indeed I did, as I do every day at this time.."

Daniel lifted his eyebrows, wrinkling his forehead as he nodded. "Yeah, I guess you do," he sighed and looked back at Sam.

"Teal'c who was that guy that dropped Jack off to work this morning?" she asked, ignoring Daniel's look of whether it was the right question to be asking the Jaffa.

"That was his half brother."

"Half brother? I didn't know Jack had family..." Daniel said, sitting up straighter.

"What? You think I came out of a pod, Danny?" Jack asked as he entered the lab and stood next to Teal'c. Daniel didn't even try to stop the grin on his face.

"It's something I can visualize actually Jack." He nodded. The colonel screwed his nose up then turned to Teal'c.

"Seven-thirty okay with you?" he asked. Teal'c nodded then Jack turned to Sam and Daniel.

"You two are invited to my place tonight for dinner. I want you to meet someone," he said, toying with an arm on the artifact. Daniel reached out and slapped his hand away and Jack pulled it back like he was a scolded child.

"Hey!"

"Don't touch it Jack, remember what happened last time.." Daniel lifted a brow and set his blue eyes onto his friend. Jack stared back at him then slowly nodded as he shrugged.

"That was partly your fault!" He wagged his finger at Daniel.

"No, I don't think so, Jack." Daniel shook his head.

"Who's this someone?" Sam cut in over the bickering men and Jack looked up at her.

Shrugging nonchalantly he said, "well, as you all seem to know by now, he's my brother. You up for it?"

Sam pretended to think about it then shrugged. "Why not?"

Jack smiled and looked at Daniel. "How about you?" he toyed with the arm of the artifact again. Daniel shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm not doing anyth.. Jack!" He sighed in desperation when the little arm fell off into Jack's hand.

"Ooops.." The older man tried to push it back on but Daniel just held his hand out and Jack surrendered the broken arm into the palm before him.

"So you'll both be there around 7:30 then?" Jack stepped back away from the table, under the watchful glare of Daniel.

"Yeah," Sam's response was a little more enthusiastic than Daniel's was, but Jack smiled and nodded.
 
 
"Oh.. um.. " Daniel called out to Jack before he left the lab. Turning back to him Jack frowned. Daniel shot Sam a quick look and then smiled at Jack.

"There will be food.. this time, won't there? I mean, you won't forget to cook again, will you?" he teased. Jack sighed and looked at Teal'c who merely lifted his brow. Sam and Daniel both chuckled now as Jack tossed his hand at them before leaving.

"Don't forget! 7:30!!" He yelled back at them as he left.

Daniel looked at Teal'c. "Sorry about that Teal'c," he smiled. The Jaffa nodded slightly.

"I understand," he said before following Jack out of the room. Sam looked at Daniel and they broke up laughing again.

"Poor Teal'c," Sam shook her head.

"Poor us! It was us that had to drive out in the snow and buy Chinese last time, if you remember!" He sighed. Sam's cheeks puffed up as she grinned.

"Yeah, but it was for a good cause-" she laughed then lent closer to him to whisper, "they're in loooove."

Slowly Daniel started to laugh too, then he tossed the broken part onto the table top and stood up.

"I'm going to get some lunch," he said, ripping the rubber gloves off his hands with a loud thwack noise.

Sam chuckled. "Better be sure to eat well.." She laughed again. Daniel nodded and headed out of the lab.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Sam pulled her car up outside Jack's house and looked around. No sign of Daniel's car yet which was both a good and a bad thing. A good thing because she was first and able to get a few moments alone with Jack's brother... but bad because she was first, and perhaps would look a little eager. Going on the fact that she changed clothes three times, did her hair, un-did her hair, brushed out *all* the goo in her hair, then decided on wearing the first outfit of jeans, pink shirt and a soft pink mohair button-up sweater, it was actually a surprise that she was the first there considering all that. She checked her watch. It was a little after 7:30 now.

She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, trying to work out whether it was better to go in now or wait for Daniel. She didn't have time to make a decision as she squinted when a set of bright headlights flashed on her face as Daniel headed up Jack's drive. Getting out of her car now, she grabbed her bag off the passengers seat and then headed up the drive to where Daniel was getting out of his car.

"Hi." She smiled. He looked over his shoulder at her and smiled.

"Hey, Sam."

"Oh, you thought to bring a drink.." She frowned. He looked at the white wine in his hand then up at her in the dim lighting from the street.

"I thought something other than beer might make a nice change," he shrugged.

She smiled as she walked along side of him. "So did you and Jack talk about this brother of his at all today?"

"Half brother, wasn't it?"

She shrugged. Details weren't important! Daniel sensed that . 

"Err, no. After that little incident with the broken arm, Jack was conspicuous by his absence for the rest of the day actually," he laughed lightly. Sam pressed the door bell and then they waited for Jack to open the door.

And they waited...

Sighing together, Sam reached out again just as they heard a thud then the sound of a lot of scuffling. Turning to look at Daniel, she saw him laughing with a mixture of disbelief and 'god-why-did-I-
expect-anything- else
?' look on his face.

Suddenly the door swung open and a very dishevelled Jack greeted them.

"Hello, that time already," He looked at his wrist but his watch was off. Daniel laughed and patted Jack's chest as he walked past him into the dark house. Sam looked into the kitchen and could see the lights were off, and that the stove top was bare.

They both turned to Jack who looked more than a little guilty. "Oh.. uhhh... dinner.." he nodded.

Daniel coughed gently as he licked his lips while Sam bit her lips together as she looked at the colonel from under her fringe. Jack screwed his face up and sighed when he saw their expressions.

"Sorry.." he said, almost sounding contrite. Daniel headed to the kitchen, switched on the light and placed the wine in the fridge.

"I'm sure it won't go with whatever take-out we decide on, so I'll leave it for you and.." He turned when he heard the footfalls down the hall, "Teal'c!" He smiled.

The Jaffa also managed to look dishevelled, which alone was quite a feat. He walked fluidly, the stiffness he held himself with at the Base was always gone when he was at 'home' with Jack. He rubbed his bald head as he yawned.

"I believe we fell asleep O'Neill," the large man said. Despite their long relationship, Teal'c still preferred to call Jack by his last name. It was so natural for him to do that now and it prevented any slip ups at work.

"Oh, ya think?" Jack smiled at his tousled lover. Teal'c looked at him, and smiled. The two of them came together and kissed gently and unabashedly in front of Sam and Daniel, always warning them that once they were off the Base and in the privacy of their own home, nothing was keeping them from showing their true feelings for each other. After all this time, Sam and Daniel had gotten used to the two lovers wrapped together, kissing passionately, but it still seemed to affect Sam more than Daniel, which could have been because of their own upbringings, the length of time they'd known about the two of them (Daniel having found out months before Sam did), or it might have had a lot to do with their own personal preferences in the bedroom. Whatever it was, Daniel seemed the less bothered by the displays of affection between the two passionate men.

Jack's hand came up and cradled the side of Teal'c's face as he deepened the kiss, both lost to the others in the room again. Daniel rocked on his feet and looked over at Sam, who was smiling shyly and trying not to look at them. He noted her uneasiness as the kiss went on for a long time and stepped up to the couple.

"Yeah, Okay.." He patted their entwined arms making them break the kiss. "You have visitors.." he waved his hand between himself and Sam.

"Oh?" Jack teased. "Where?"

Just then the doorbell rang and Daniel lifted his hand in the direction of the door. "There!"

Jack patted his hair down as he turned to the door. He opened it and then stepped back. Sam and Daniel both looked as the man entered the house, holding out a bag to Jack. In the dim light from the street outside, all they could see was he was about Jack's height, long hair, and thinner than the colonel. Jack shut the door, plummeting them back into the very dim light from the kitchen.

"You on a power shortage?" the man asked innocently.

Jack sighed and in a playfully exasperated whine of a voice he said, "Okay, so we fell asleep, and it got dark while we were asleep, and we didn't have time to switch on lights before we answered the door..."

"Oh, fair enough," was the answer.

Teal'c reached back and switched on the overhead light, causing everyone in the room to flinch and groan at the brightness, hands coming up to shield eyes from the bright light.

"Thanks... Teal'c," Jack sounded anything but grateful towards his helpful lover.

Daniel looked at the man standing next to Jack then he looked at Sam who had a bemused smile on her face.

"Okay, introductions time," Jack threw his arm around his half brother's shoulders and led him over to Sam.

"This is Sam," he indicated to her.

"It's uncanny," Sam sighed, before he could finish the introduction.

"Sam? I have a son called Sam..."

Sam's brow lifted. "Really?"

With an apologetic laugh, he said, ".. but I can see you're no boy..."

Jack laughed as he patted his brothers shoulder. "Smooth... Anyhow.."

The stranger coughed softly then laughed, extending his hand to Sam and hoping to start over again. "Hi, I'm Mac, I'm Jack's err.. brother...." the two men decided it was the right description.

"I didn't know Jack had family," Daniel said, then smiled as Mac turned to face him.

"Yeah, that pod thing again.." Jack mumbled but neither man really heard him as Daniel took Mac's offered hand and shook it. Jack smiled at the stare that was happening between the two men now.

"My father was not who I thought he was, let's put it that way," Jack explained candidly to whoever was listening, leaving a lot of information out on purpose. Mac and he exchanged quick looks. "Needless to say, I discovered my 'brother' later in life," he added quickly.

Mac nodded. "I did this job for.. well, for my bosses and people kept asking me if I was O'Neill, so I ran a check on this guy," he looked at Jack and smiled now, "and we discovered some very interesting little secrets..."

"Oh, very interesting little secrets," Jack nodded. "That was about three years ago now, and ... well," Jack shrugged.

"You look remarkably alike," Teal'c said. Mac shot the dark man a cautious glance then looked at Jack.

"Well that's because we both look like our father," they said together, then, realising what they had done, laughed lightly.

"And we sometimes do that.." Mac indicated between the two of them.

"You could almost be twins.." Daniel said, then hastened to add, "especially with that telepathic thought process.."

Jack shrugged then said in an obviously teasing tone, "No, we're not twins, but we are roughly the same age, aren't we?" He nudged Mac with his shoulder now.

Mac smiled sheepishly then shrugged. "About that."

"Wow!" Sam shook her head, still amazed by the similarities. Although she had to admit she thought Mac was a little better looking than Jack, despite obviously being older than the colonel judging by Jack's statement.

"Anyway, I'm Daniel Jackson," Daniel finally released the hand that he'd been unconsciously holding all this time. He smiled at the all too familiar face before him, and thought that Mac actually looked a little younger than Jack, and was much better looking, especially the hair!

"And this is.." Mac indicated to the remaining person.

"Teal'c," Jack said, oh-so-proudly, leading his brother over by the shoulder. The large dark alien looked down at the slightly intimidated man.

"He's a real... ummm..." he looked at Jack, who gave a quick shrug. "WOW!" he sighed and shook Teal'c's hand enthusiastically. Sam and Daniel were surprised that Jack trusted Mac enough to disclose Teal'c's true nature but they figured that Jack knew his brother best and obviously trusted him with such a secret.

"It is a pleasure to meet another O'Neill," Teal'c said in his soft, deep voice.

"Oh. I'm not an..."

"Mac's got our father's real name, I'm the odd one out," Jack shrugged.

"Oh, that explains it," Daniel nodded. Jack raised his brow as he turned to look at him. Unaware of what he'd just said, Daniel continued, "Well, I figured someone had a sense of humour, Jack and Mac O'Neill?"

Jack and MacGyver exchanged smiles again. "Mac's short for my last name. MacGyver."

"Oh..." Daniel nodded like he understood, but he didn't really. He tilted his head, "Your last name's MacGyver? And your father is also Jack's father?"

The two men nodded. "Only who I thought was my father, turns out not to be, but it seems I'm the result of an illicit affair my mother had once...." Jack raised his brows like a bad silent film star.

Sam shook her head. "Wow, what a thing to discover," she sighed.

The two men exchanged another grin. "It has it's benefits," Mac shrugged, nudging Jack with his elbow.

"So what's your first name then?" Daniel wondered aloud.

Jack opened his mouth but Mac covered it quickly. "If you tell a soul!" he playfully warned his brother.

"Would I do that? I have National Security level clearance, I'm sure I can keep a secret like your first name's Angus for crying out loud.."

Mac jumped on the back of his brother and the men went down in a rugby tackle.

"Oh, Mac, I'm soooo sorry!" Jack laughed, sounding anything but sorry.

"I'll get you, Jonathan!" he stood. Jack rolled onto his back and laughed as he shook his head.

"Ohhh, low blow!" he held his hand up and Mac pulled him to his feet.

"So, what's for dinner?" Sam finally asked Jack but smiled at the blond man next to him.

Jack and Teal'c looked guilty. "We, umm, as you all know, we didn't quite get around to cooking anything..."

Daniel rolled his eyes as he pulled a chair out and sat down. "Why does that not surprise me?" he shook his head. Mac reached behind himself and pulled the chair out, placing it next to Daniel's and sat down, straddling the back of it. Sam went around and sat on the opposite side of the table.

"I thought we'd just dial up.. some.. thing.." Jack looked at the three faces staring at him. "I'm sorry!" he sighed in exaggerated exasperation.

"What then?" Daniel asked, looking across the table to Sam. She shrugged.

"Chinese?"

"I'm not sure Mac will eat .." Jack indicated to him with a raise of the hand.

"It's fine. Hold the MSG and I'll be fine.." he nodded, waving his hand at his brother.

"You don't like Chinese food?" Daniel asked like it was some kind of insult against the Nation.

"No, it's not that, I'm... well ... I'm more into health foods," he shrugged.

"Oh, well," Daniel nodded then shrugged as he looked up at Jack again, muttering, "good for the body."

Mac wondered if the archaeologist had been noticing his body then?

"I'll go and get it," Sam offered as she stood again. "I have a few things I need to get anyway," she said. Jack was placing the order over the phone and nodded, scribbling down the address for her, not that she hadn't been there before - the last time Jack and Teal'c forgot to cook dinner for her and Daniel. She left and Daniel looked over at Mac and gave him a quick grin.

"This happens a lot then?" Mac asked innocently. Daniel gave a quirky grin and nodded.

Jack finally finished placing the order and hung up the phone , turning to look at the two men sitting at the table, heads tilted towards each other, talking casually. He smiled and nudged Teal'c in the ribs with his elbow then indicated for the Jaffa and him to go into the kitchen.

"I do not understand why you wish to come into here?" Teal'c said. Jack hugged his lover tightly then smiled, nodding his head towards the dining room.

"I'm trying to set Mac and Danny up..."

Teal'c eyes clouded. "You should not..."

Jack nodded like he'd heard the argument before. "That boy needs a good... well.. time," Jack shrugged. Teal'c arched his brow then smiled gently.

"You are a romantic, my lover," he bent his head to kiss Jack's lips tenderly.

Jack pulled back, inhaling deeply as he whispered, "you bring it out in me.." before closing his mouth over the thick, full lips, losing himself in the strong arms of his alien lover again.

0=0=0=0=0

After dinner, at Jack's insistence, the others headed into the living room while he remained in the kitchen to clean the dishes. Teal'c started a fire and they all sat back, with soft music playing in the background, the room lit by the fire and soft candlelight, and talked like old friends. Well, the old three friends talked, while Mac sat back and listened, never one for much talk at the best of times, he felt more comfortable with listening to their conversation.

From his vantage point on the single chair nearest the fire, he could watch Daniel without being noticed himself. At one point the three friends shared a joke together and the troubleshooter took delight in watching as the young anthropologist's eyes crinkled as he laughed, how his Adam's Apple bobbed, how his throat arched back a little as he tossed his head back while laughing loudly. In the candle light, there was no one more beautiful. Mac pushed up out of the soft leather sofa chair and went into the brightly lit kitchen, to talk to Jack.

He leant on the cabinet, trying to peer around and look his brother in the eye.

"What?" Jack asked, handing the tea-towel from over his shoulder to the other man. He saw the twinkle in Mac's eyes and smiled. "Told you, didn't I.." the colonel nodded, already knowing what Mac had come to talk about.

Leaning closer, Mac whispered, "Jack, he's gorgeous!"

Jack nodded, not like he agreed, but that he knew he'd think that. "Far be it for me to say I told you so.." Mac cringed as he waited for Jack to say, in a teasing tone, "but I told you so!"

He allowed Jack his 5 minutes of gloating before furrowing his brow and getting down to the question burning at his mind. "So, you obviously set this little shindig up for me.... tell me, what are my chances?"

Jack shrugged as he lifted a dish onto the drainer. "With which one? Sam or him? You seem to have made quite a hit with the Captain as well."

Mac sighed. "She is very beautiful...."

"And..?"

"I'm really in the mood for some male company at the moment, Jack. It's been a while.." he said, his brown eyes lifting to look up at his brother's face.

Jack licked his lips quickly before nodding, "how is Pete?"

Mac sighed forlornly. "He's fine... he's.. well ... yeah, he's fine..."

Jack watched his brother put the plate down and then he turn back towards him, shaking his head. "Honestly, I hate it when you do that!" Mac stared down at the suds in the sink.

"Do what?" Jack kept his voice low. Mac looked up.

"That! What you're doing right now. Getting under my skin, making me confess stuff that isn't even there..."

Jack lifted one brow slightly, "isn't it?"

Mac shook his head. "No!" but he could see by the look in the other man's eyes that he didn't believe him. The moment was broken by Teal'c entering the kitchen.

"Is anything the matter?" he asked, going straight up to Jack and slipping his arms around him from behind while looking over at Mac.

"No, lover, it's fine.." Jack sighed softly, wishing Mac *would* realise his deep love for his boss and just get it over and done with. He thought he was being stubborn, but Mac adamantly refused to believe his concern for Pete equated to love.

"Your presence is being missed in the living room," Teal'c told Mac as he absently brushed his chin against the back of Jack's neck. The young man nodded then flicked his eyes up to look at his brother.

"We're .. we're kinda talking here, baby, could you give us a moment, please?" Jack asked, turning to face his dark lover. Teal'c's brown eyes searched the face in front of him, trying to gauge if Jack was upset over something or not. Mac watched the men and suddenly realised that they were about to start on each other again.

"Before you start, I'm going!" he threw his hands over his head as he headed for the door.

"Mac.. wait..." Jack said but Teal'c's lips had already engulfed him. Mac had stopped then he turned and saw Jack looking at him from around the kiss, waving at him to go.

Mac gave a half hearted laugh and said, " yeah, Jack, why don't I *wait*.... *wait* outside that is.." he pushed on the door and left the room.

He stood in the dining room and looked over the half wall into the living room, where Daniel and Sam were deep in conversation, Daniel having moved to sit on the arm of her chair now.

Mac folded his arms over his chest and perched himself against the dining table, while he stared down at his foot dangling over the edge of the table. Suddenly he lifted his face as he heard the whoosh of the kitchen door being opened. Daniel stood frozen to the spot, his mouth opened slightly and his glasses halfway down his nose as he stared in at Jack and Teal'c. He leapt into the air, gasping loudly, when Mac touched him on the back. Mac pulled back laughing slightly.

"Geez, you move quietly, I didn't even hear you pass me," Mac smiled as Daniel caught his breath.

"I wanted to get more beer," he said, stepping away from the door quickly. Mac grinned.

"You're like me then, you'll have to wait," he smiled. Daniel gave a quirky smile as he nodded. Suddenly the door opened and Teal'c stepped out, glancing quickly at the two men waiting to go back into the kitchen.

"I am sorry," he bowed his head and continued through to the living room. Daniel raised his brow then turned and looked at Mac.

"You first," Mac shrugged, indicating to the kitchen with his hand. Suddenly Jack appeared in the doorway, looking for his brother. He smiled when he saw the two men together.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Mac, but I see you were in good hands.." he tilted his head and looked at Daniel.

"You know, you two really ought to get a room," Daniel pushed past him and went into the kitchen for the beers. Jack laughed and shrugged.

"What can I say?"

Mac shrugged. "Nothing. It's your home, and heaven knows you and Teal'c must have a hard enough time hiding your true feelings from the military minds all week," he gave a casual shrug. "I say go for it, every opportunity you can..." he said, watching as Daniel passed by on his way to the living room again.

Jack smiled at his brother and patted his arm. "Good advice," he nodded towards the kitchen again. Mac gave a heavy hearted sigh as he got up and followed him in.

Jack re-immersed his hands into the water. "So, where were we...?"

Mac shrugged. He wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it anymore.

Jack nudged him and then finally Mac collapsed a little amidst soft laughter. "Holy cow, he's so gorgeous!" he whispered. Jack nodded then shrugged.

"If you go for the weedy, geeky, bespectacled type I guess..."

Mac shot him a look that could kill. "He's not geeky!"

Jack laughed, then teased, "pretty protective, aren't we?"

Mac shook his head and waited for the next dish. "So..."

"So... what?" Jack knew Mac probably wished he was dangling off the edge of a cliff right about now, rather than be having this conversation and admitting his interest in someone.

"Jack.." the voice had a slight whine.

Getting serious again Jack shrugged, "I really don't know, Mac, I mean, I know he's bisexual," he glanced over his shoulder to be sure they weren't being overheard. Mac turned his back to the sink, so that he now faced the door and had to look to his right to see Jack.

"Okay, how do you know that?"

"From when he discovered me and Teal'c, together in the base showers very late one night."

"Oh..." Mac nodded.

Jack continued. "He just like looked at us and then turned and left. Needless to say, once we were finished, I went and had a chat with him."

Mac's eyebrow arched. "Once you were finished?"

Jack laughed. "You can't stop a Jaffa, believe me.."

"Oh," Mac looked down as he placed the dish on the bench beside him then he sighed forlornly as he crossed his arms over his chest. Jack looked at him then yanked the tea-towel from his hands.

"Come on, these can wait," he said, letting the water out and dragging his brother back to the living room with him.

0=0=0

The two lovers entwined on the end of the sofa, Jack laying with his head in Teal'c's lap, his long legs reaching down along the back of the sofa, leaving enough room for Daniel to sit at the other end, forward on the seat to allow room for Jack's feet behind him. Sam sat in one arm chair and Mac was still in the other by the fireplace.

Sam broke open her fortune cookie.

"What's it say?" Mac smiled as he watched her read it.

"Good fortune shines on you, bask in it while you can," she shrugged and tossed the paper to the table.

"What does your say, Daniel?" Mac asked. The anthropologist shook his head, but it was Jack that answered the question.

"Danny doesn't believe in fortune cookies..."

Sighing like he had had this conversation with Jack before, Daniel shook his head.

"That surprises me," Mac interrupted before Daniel could comment.

The blue eyes turned to look at him. "Huh?"

Mac shrugged and pointed to the bowl on the table in the middle of the room. "I'd have thought this would be right up your alley, so to speak..."

Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose as he looked at Mac. "Well, as I have said to Jack about a hundred times, I believe in 'real' fortune cookies, just not the manufactured, by the box types.." he shrugged, pushing the sleeves of his sweater up his arms a little way. Mac nodded then looked over at Sam who shrugged and smiled.

"Is it me, or is it really warm in here?" Daniel asked, sighing softly.

"Probably you, space monkey.." Jack mumbled as he covered his face with his arm, his nose pressing into the bend in the elbow as he gave into the soft caress of Teal'c's fingers through his short hair.

Sam shrugged. "I'm not hot.." she said, turning to look at Mac.

"Maybe it's because we're both a little closer to the fire," Mac shrugged, agreeing with Daniel.

//Each other, more like// Jack thought to himself then chuckled softly as he lifted his arm away to look up at Teal'c. As if he could sense what Jack was thinking, the Jaffa smiled down at him and the two sets of brown eyes locked in a loving gaze as he ran his finger over Jack's forehead then down his nose to fall gently onto the lips. Jack kissed the finger softly then it trailed down onto the chin then down the front of the throat, sending shivers throughout Jack's body. Daniel felt the slight vibration through the sofa and looked at the lovers at the other end of the seat. He saw the intense look in Teal'c's eyes and decided that he needed to grab a little air. He headed over to the door to the patio and stepped outside. Sam got up and followed him out, too nervous to be left alone with Mac. Daniel smiled at her as she came out, touching her hand to his back lightly as she passed him.

"What do you think of him?" she whispered, carefully watching the door to be sure Mac didn't walk out on them talking about him. Daniel shrugged and lent over the edge of the railing, then looked back at her.

"Do you really like him?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I think maybe I intimidate him, he's hardly said two words all.." she nudged Daniel as Mac appeared in the doorway. Daniel turned to look over his other shoulder as the troubleshooter stepped out, the two men locking gazes until he came to stand next to the hunched over anthropologist.

"Feeling better?" Mac asked. Daniel shrugged then straightened up. Sam watched the way Mac was watching him so very closely then she sighed, the truth of the matter hitting her instantly. She headed inside patting Daniel again as she passed him then shut the door behind her. Mac looked at the shut door then back at the frowning Daniel.

"Probably trying to keep the heat in.." he shrugged and leant back against the rail, his arms folded over his body. Mac nodded then looked out over Jack's yard.

"So, what brought you to town? Work or holiday?" Daniel asked, hoping to make conversation.

Mac shrugged then smiled sheepishly. "A little of both really. I'm on my way to a job and thought I'd stop and catch up with Jack this weekend. Give our phone bills a little rest."

Daniel nodded then looked over as Sam reappeared in the doorway.

"Night guys.." she gave them a wave. Daniel stepped over to her.

"You're going already?" he frowned. She nodded and looked up at him then they both looked at Mac. The trouble shooter turned away and sighed to himself. Daniel watched as Sam indicated with her eyes towards Mac. He frowned and she nodded, definitely implying something now with her gestures. Daniel screwed his nose up and shook his head, but she nodded enthusiastically. He shook his head again and finally she yelled, "yes!"

Mac turned and saw the two smiling at each other. "Sorry," she glanced over at him and he shrugged, turning to look away again.

"I'm just going to walk Sam to her car.." Daniel gripped her elbow and pushed her back into the room. Mac ran a hand through his long hair, sighing forlornly as he wondered what to do next. Daniel was obviously not happy with her going, so there was obviously no chance there for him. He headed back into the house, glancing over at Jack and Teal'c on the sofa, the two of then gently stroking each others face as they stared into each other's eyes still. Jack turned his face to look at his brother.

"What's up?"

Mac rubbed his face tiredly. "I'm going to head off to bed," he said.

"Wait, Danny will be back soon," Jack rolled onto his side to face Mac now.

"No, it's... it's okay," he shook his head. "He's walking Sam to her car."

Jack shrugged then laid back down again against the warmth of his lover's stomach. Teal'c immediately resumed the gentle caress and Mac stopped for a few moments then headed out of the room.

"Night guys.." he said.

"Good night."

"Night," Jack gave a half hearted wave. Teal'c reached down and kissed the tip of Jack's nose.

"Perhaps we should go to bed," he smiled. Jack cupped his hand behind his head and reached up to kiss him gently.

"Let's go," he rolled off the lap and stood up, holding his hand out for Teal'c. The colonel started to step away but Teal'c pulled him back gently, encircling his waist in his strong arms. Jack grinned as he looked deeply into the dark eyes. Teal'c's fingers ran down the side of Jack's face, causing the colonel to close his eyes at the gentle touch.

"Do you think you will have the energy to perform the Jaffa Love Ritual tonight?" he asked softly. Jack's eyes sprung open.

"Well, of course, always.." then he frowned, disappointment evident on his fine features, "but I don't think we should with Mac in the house... he might wonder what that noise is...particularly when you..."

Suddenly Daniel came into the house again and saw the two men cuddling in the middle of the living room.

"Sorry!' he cringed a little, obviously breaking into a private moment for the two men.

"It's okay Danny, we're just off to bed..." Jack said, taking Teal'c's hand in his and heading up the hall way with him.

"Oh, you're off to bed?" Daniel pushed his glasses up on his nose. Jack nodded as he cuddled into Teal'c.

"I'll let Mac know you're back though cos I think he thought you left," Jack said. Daniel gave a little nod and it brought a smile to Jack's face. He banged on the spare room door as he passed it then without stopping he and Teal'c disappeared into the bedroom next door.

A few moments later Mac poked his head out of the room then looked down the hall and saw Daniel standing at the end, biting nervously on his fingernail, a nasty habit he thought he'd licked on Abydos.

"Oh," Mac stepped out into the hall.

Daniel smiled nervously. "Um, want a coffee?"

Mac's heart lightened. He nodded and headed down towards Daniel. The smile was breath taking.

End of Part 1


        

   

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