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.