Daniel watched as Jack tried to come up with an excuse not to do his paperwork. It would have to be an excellent reason because the reports were already a week overdue and Sam had threatened to take away Jack's cake until his paperwork was complete. She'd do it too, even if it meant getting Teal'c and Janet to help hide and protect the cake.

"Come on Daniel; paperwork is almost a worse enemy than anything we face through the Stargate." Jack stalled.

"Jack…" Daniel began before he was interrupted by the ring of the Colonel's phone. Jack, saved by the interruption, answered it quickly. Besides, it was his personal phone. The few people who had the number wouldn't call unless it was urgent.

"Jack here-Mac?"

Dr. Jackson started at his friend's surprised tone and expression. Something was going on; Jack wasn't that good of an actor. "He did WHAT?... Where?... I'll meet you there in four hours."

Now Daniel was really worried. "Jack, what's wrong?"

"Nothing to do with the SGC. Just something I have to take care of. Hang on a few minutes while I talk to Hammond. Oh, and Daniel? I might be gone for a few days so would take care of some of my stuff here? Thanks."

If Jack's intent was to annoy his friend into forgetting the phone call, he'd succeeded. Almost. If Jack didn't come back with explanations in a few days, the rest of SG1 would be chasing after him.

Within half an hour of getting the phone call, Jack O'Neill was on a jet to South America. The same phrase kept running through his head, "Murdoc has Sam." Not his Sam of course. If Murdoc had Carter, the assassin would be dead already. No, the madman had Sean A. Malloy in his clutches. S.A.M. was MacGyver's son and thus, Jack's nephew.

The last time Jack had heard from his nephew, Sam was in South America working on a news story. This morning, Mac had received an e-mail with a video clip of Sam chained in a cage…suspended over a pit of hungry piranhas. (Murdoc must have been running out of ideas. Piranhas? Really?)

Included with the video were instructions for Mac to be at a specific location by 5 A.M. the following day. The e-mail was untraceable, even for MacGyver, and from the looks of the video, Sam was being held miles away from the meeting point. That didn't mean that the twins were going in unprepared. Mac had called his brother from an untraceable line and the two of them had hatched a plan to not only free Sam (if he hadn't already freed himself; the kid was as resourceful as his dad) but to stop Murdoc from hurting anyone ever again.

The man dressed in tan cargo pants and a bomber jacket dodged through a maze of swinging blades and threw something ahead of him. The homemade bomb triggered the last trap and he walked safely to the exit of the underground labyrinth he'd fallen into. How Murdoc had rigged a trapdoor in the jungle floor was something he would love to know.

"Well, well, MacGyver. You disappointed me. Surely one of those traps should have killed you." Murdoc smirked.

"You should know better than that Murdoc." His adversary replied. "Release Sam, come quietly, and you might not get death row when I drag you to prison."

"Prison? You should know me better than to think you can save your son, let alone stop me. " The madman said.

"Actually, I'm way ahead of you. Turns out you're the one who doesn't really know me." He said, pulling something strange out of his pocket.

"What in the world is that? You don't think you're going to shoot me, MacGyver? You hate weapons and would never take a life." Murdoc taunted.

"Mac doesn't like guns. But you see, I'm not Mac. And this isn't a gun. Now turn yourself in."

"Never!" Murdoc cried, reaching for his own weapon. Before the other man could attack, Jack fired the zat three times. Murdoc would never threaten his family again. Best of all, no one could blame Mac or Jack because, like always, Murdoc's body would never be found.

Sam smiled at his Dad and Uncle as they hugged in the airport. Sam had indeed freed himself from his cage and MacGyver had arrived in time to help him escape all of Murdoc's other traps. The father and son had hurried to the original meeting point, only to see O'Neill on his way to find them.

No one had said anything when Uncle Jack told them Murdoc was taken care of. Something in his eyes had prohibited questions. After a day of rest, teasing, and family bonding over hockey stories, that look in Jack's eyes had been softened with laughter.

MacGyver would take a little longer to recover from Sam's kidnapping and, although Sam was more interested in finally meeting his long-lost uncle face to face, the whole ordeal would bother him later. That was probably why Jack had made them promise to call him in a few days. He'd done a lot for them and Sam wished there was a way to pay him back. O'Neill claimed the break from paperwork repayment enough.

Honestly, Jack would have come no matter what. Family was always worth it. Especially family like this.

Stargate and MacGyver do not belong to me, I just play in their sandboxes. Edited May 15, 2018.