"Hey Teal'c." Mac said, smiling as the other man came in the changing room.

Teal'c bowed his head. "I feel we owe you an apology for not capturing Anat. I know you were anxious for us to do so." Teal'c stated.

"Oh, it's no problem, really." He shrugged "I'm used to not really knowing when Murdoc will strike next." He said with a grin. "And now, I won't know what he looks like."

Teal'c nodded and waited to speak with his brother's cousin. "There is another matter I wish to discuss with you."

"Oh yeah?"

"It pertains to matters of the heart." Teal'c told him.

"Ah." Mac said.

"You have observed your cousin's hesitation in beginning a meaningful relationship with the woman he loves, yet you pursue the same line of thought, only you do not have the military restrictions he does. Explain?"

"Look, T, it's not like I don't appreciate it but…"

"You do not wish to commit yourself to Maria?" Teal'c asked.

"It's complicated."

"Do you not love her?"

"Well sure I do." Mac said.

"You do her a great dishonor-"

"Look, I'm not a kid and a house and a white picket fence sort of guy. She came here to live the American dream!"

"Is part of that not being with the person you love?"

"Yeah, but- look T, I do love her you know, just she deserves to be with someone who can give her everything." Mac said pausing "That's not me."

"I remember O'Neill claiming something similar, but you will not know what she wants until you communicate with her. I saw two men find the women they love, and it could have been a mirror image, the way you both reacted to finding them." Teal'c told him, his tone telling Mac what he already knew. "I shall leave you to your own thoughts, Angus MacGyver."

A week had passed since they had come back through the gate. SG-1 was due to head out on another trip through the wormhole in a couple of days and he knew he had to go back home, but it was nice to be around his cousin, Sam, and the rest of the team, they it seemed both liked life in the fast lane, and both of them were incredibly lucky to work with the people they did.

They had a barbecue with SG-1 and Pendergast's men last night. He was happy to hear that Harris no longer had any traces of the brainwashing and was currently seeing a psychologist name Mackenzie and there was a strong probability of his return to active duty on the Prometheus. Maria sat in that backyard, dressed simply in a t-shirt and jeans, a sweater draped over her shoulders and in deep conversation with Sam. It was obvious that the two women were getting along really well, like a house on fire.

Mac had been surprised at Jack's hosting skills. Apparently, he had honed them in on regular team nights over the last eight years and other events. The cousins, identically dressed in jeans and black t-shirts, stood beside the barbecue as Jack manned the grill, trying vainly not to burn them. Mac picked up a pair of tongs and both men monitored the grill.

"You good?" Jack asked, as he flipped over the steaks.

"Yeah." Mac answered, picking up some vegetarian grills and put them on the barbecue. "Look Jack, if you hear anything about Anat…"

His cousin interrupted him. "You know I will."

They stood in silence as they were joined by Teal'c and Daniel as they discussed Anat. Sam and Maria appeared, Sam with an extra beer and Maria a Ginger Ale. Sam stood back as Maria handed the Ginger Ale over to one of the two men.

"Here Mac." Mac took the Ginger Ale, then looked up at the shocked look on Teal'c and Daniel's face. "What?"

Daniel looked between the two men and then at Maria. "You can tell them apart?"

Maria looked at the cousins, confused as she slowly answered. "Yes. Of course."

Sam started to laugh, and the two men smirked at each other.

Mac knew it was early, maybe even too early for Jack. But he knew it was time to leave.

At five AM in the morning, he was packed and ready to go on the flight back to LA, but he needed to see his cousin. He padded quietly to Jack's bedroom.

He would have knocked if he thought there was anything private going on, so was surprised to find the blonde wrapped in Jack's arms, and by the lack of attire between them, Mac was pleased to see the confirmation their relationship had moved beyond professional.

Mac nudged his cousin awake, his finger to his mouth shushing him as he quickly woke. Mac wordlessly started to back away as Jack started to move.

"Where ya going?" Sam murmured, barely awake.

"It's okay." He soothed her. "You don't need to wake. I'm just getting some water. Do you need some?"

"Mmmm, don't be long." She said, still sleepy.

"Never." He said, kissing her hair before he shuffled out of bed, putting a t-shirt on, and grabbing his abandoned sweatpants from the floor as he moved, following Mac out. Jack really did walk towards the kitchen his head popping in the refrigerator to bring out a bottle of water as Mac looked at him strangely. "I trained her. If I go back in without water, she'll know I'm lying."

Mac chuckled and nodded before he said, "Maria is in the car. We're heading off to the airport. R&R only lasts so long, even for the boss."

"Right." Jack nodded.

"So?" Mac said, a little smirk appearing on his lips.

"So?" Jack acted clueless.

"You and Sam?" He grinned "For real?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, for real." Jack told his cousin.

"How long?" Mac asked.

"About a month." Jack admitted. "I'm going to ask her to marry me at the cabin in a couple of weeks."

"Wow!" Mac exclaimed. "Congratulations! I knew you too guys were in sync. This is fantastic!" He said clearly surprised but thrilled all the same. "What about the rules?"

"No longer a problem. We just… we want to keep it quiet, not even Daniel knows." Jack said a grin at his lips.

"Come and see me." Mac offered. "Yes! Come up to LA."

"We were hoping after we see her brother, we could just a couple of days before we head up to the cabin." Jack admitted.

"Anytime." Mac said.

Going back into the refrigerator, Jack pulled out two bottles of water which he passed to Mac. They paused for a second before Jack looked at him. "You know, Mac, I know you think Maria wants a family, a house, and all that stuff, but have you ever actually asked her."

Mac sighed. "Not you too." He groaned.

"No, not me too!" Jack snapped. "But you have someone you're clearly crazy about and she's stuck around for fifteen years. The universe keeps bringing you back together, maybe it's trying to tell you something." Jack shrugged "Have you ever considered you're enough for her?"

"She deserves-"

"What she wants." Jack finished the sentence quietly, which surprised his cousin. Jack looked down, a slight pain look on his face before it cleared quickly. He swallowed and then continued. "Believe me I know the feeling, but in all this I've learned one thing." His voice was quiet and low. "It wouldn't hurt any less to lose her if we weren't together. But I'd regret not showing her that I-" Jack looked down and paused. "And I can't help but think we have the same kind of taste in women because we look for similar things in a woman." Jack cursed softly. "Damn it, Mac, she's a secret agent and ex-Stasi. I don't think she's looking for the whole suburb life thing, you know. And Sam-" he paused and bit his bottom lip for a minute. "My point is your life is yours. It's not going to look like the average household, and that's okay too. But you just might want someone to share what life you have left with, and I'd hate to see you alone when you could have something real and special in your life." Jack told him. "Anyway, that's it. My two cents." He said then even quieter added, "Do what you need to. I'm hardly an expert."

"Thanks." Mac told him in a quiet voice, which made Jack look up at him. "for always having my back, thanks." Jack nodded and the two men hugged.

"Hit the road, Mac." Jack told him stepping back. "I'll find a way of letting you know if he's-"

"He is." Mac interrupted.

"I know." Jack countered.

"Okay." Mac nodded just before Jack did then the two men parted. Grabbing the bottle of water, Jack went to lock the door and watched the car lights disappear from view.

Jack headed back down to the bedroom and opened the water for Sam leaving it on the bedside table and slipped into bed with her.

"Mac saw us, didn't he?" She murmured as she cuddled against him.

He grinned, kissing the top of her head. "Damn, you're good."

"Learned from the best." She replied, making herself comfortable next to him as he snuggled closer, burying his nose in her hair there and then kissed her. "I can't believe you thought the water would fool me."

"I should know better." He said as she settled her body against his body.

"Sleepy now." She said. "Love you."

"You too." He grinned.

Mac got into the car and smiled at Maria.

"Jack said bye." He said to her.

She nodded and said to him. "Let's go back to LA, where things are much less crazy here."

"Amen!" He exclaimed as they pulled away in the car.

"I like Sam, a lot. She's a good match for Jack." She commented.

"Yeah, yeah she's a great gal." Mac nodded. They drove a little before he spoke nervously "Hey, Maria? Are you- do you-" he paused for a moment before he cleared his throat and asked. "Do you want something like that?"

She shrugged. "It never came along."

Mac nodded then wet his lips with his tongue before he asked nervously. "Do you think you'd want something… like that with me?"

Maria paused before slowly looked at him, a bright smile appearing on her lips.

Mac smiled as her hand rested on his on the gear box.

Something told him that maybe this was finally the start of something really special. And this was a good place to start.

"How long do you think it will take if we drove back to LA?"

Chapter End Notes

And there we have it!

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