Jack couldn't believe his luck. He was sure that things couldn't get any worse. He and Teal'c had waited while the fireworks went off in the garage and Mac went into the house. They had slipped into the space beneath the stairs and watched quietly from their hiding place as the two men went to work stopping the fireworks, with one of them racing back to the house to grab the hose to douse it with water. Their hiding place was discovered though, when a cat came up to them demanding their attention. Both men steadfastly ignored the cat, hoping it would go away, but it turned out the cat wasn't going to settle for being ignored. It set off a racket that surprised Jack in its intensity. He didn't think cats could be so loud and he found himself worrying that maybe the people who owned the house might have a dog, as well. The cat continued its yowling as Jack tried to shoo it away, while at the same time thinking about just shooting it and getting it over with. He stopped when one of the men decided to investigate the cat's find.

Great, Jack thought, as he tightened his grip on the gun. "Perhaps the cat is looking for this," Teal'c said quietly into Jack's ear as he held up a mouse by its tail so close to Jack's face that he pulled back from it with a strangled sound.

"Give it to him," Jack hissed, his heart still racing from the shock of having a rodent dangling two inches from his nose. He turned his attention back to the man who had stopped and was peering at the stairs, trying to see what had caught the cat's attention. Teal'c laid the mouse down on the step next to the cat, who promptly took off after the scampering rodent. The man stared at the disappearing cat for a few seconds, then turned his attention back toward the stairs. Jack knew they were in trouble when the man started toward them.

The man came closer and Jack was damned if he was going to die hiding out under the stairs. He scooted out from his hiding place, surprised to see that the man had pulled out a gun. The man's gun went off just as Jack rolled away to avoid the bullet, his own gun coming up in mid roll as he fired back, hitting the man in the arm.

The other man came running and Jack recognized him as the one they had seen in town. Teal'c came out on the other side of the stairs and shot the man with his Zat, causing him to fall. The man Jack had shot was on his knees, his blood seeping through his fingers as he pressed his hand to his wounded arm. He looked up at Jack, and Jack could see he was debating whether to make a move toward the gun he had dropped. "You won't make it," Jack said with a shake of his head. The man wisely decided to believe him and sat back on his heels.

A gunshot in the house brought Jack's thoughts to Mac. Fear raced through him as he remembered that Mac didn't have a gun. "Take care of them, Teal'c," he demanded as he headed for the house at a dead run. He entered the kitchen, his gun at the ready. He moved quietly into the dining room, scanning the room and listening for any noise that would tell him that Mac was all right. He kept moving throughout the house, looking into rooms that he passed and finding nothing. He knew that Mac was in serious trouble, possibly dead, and he also knew that the kidnappers would expect him to come in there with backup. Because of this, he kept silent, hoping to gain some element of surprise on his part. They were expecting others to show up, just not another O'Neill.

He stopped next to a closed door at the end of the hall when he heard what sounded like muffled crying. He stood there trying to decide if he should just barge in or wait for the backup the kidnappers were expecting. It was a trap, of that he was certain, but he had to act quickly.

He turned toward another noise that was coming from the front room, realizing that it was Carter before he even saw her. She moved into the hallway while pointing her gun at him, then lowering it when she saw who it was she was aiming at. He held his hand up to silence her and the men who came in with her, then indicated with his head that he intended to make his move into the room behind him. She nodded at him as she walked silently down the hall toward him. He put one hand on the door handle and nodded at Carter when he was ready to open the door. She went in first, aiming her gun first to the left, then to the right. Jack followed her in and joined her in staring at the scene in front of them, not for a minute letting go of their intentions to shoot if they had to.

Lindsay was sitting on the bed, her hands tied behind her back and a gag in her mouth. Her wide eyes were filled with tears and she tried to talk when she saw Jack. He only spared her a glance though, as his attention was brought to the man who was standing by the window staring at Jack in shock. Jack took advantage of the man's shock by pulling the trigger. The bullet hit the man in the shoulder, causing him to drop his gun as he fell back.

"You shot me!" the man exclaimed from his position on the floor. "No warning or nothing," he complained as he stared at Jack. He then got off track as he asked, "There are two of you?"

"You're lucky I didn't kill you," Jack said, concern for Mac overriding everything else. Mac was lying on his back on the floor, his eyes closed and one hand covering what looked like a very nasty wound in his stomach. Jack went over to him, pulling the hand away from the wound to see if he could do anything for him, then moved back to let Carter take over. She seemed to have a knack for this kind of thing. He still hovered over them both, though, as she made her assessments.

"Dad!" Lindsay yelled and Jack looked over at her to see that a Marine had taken the gag from her mouth and was working on freeing her hands and feet. Her kidnapper was already bound with two Marines standing guard over him, but Jack was more worried about Mac.

He looked back at Lindsay when she called for her father again. She ran over to Jack and stopped just before she reached him. "Daddy?" she asked, the hopefulness clear in her tone. Jack stared at her, wondering if he had the strength to tell her that he was not her father, that her father was the one with the blood smeared all over his stomach. Instead he reached out for her, pulling her into a hug when she came to him. She hugged him back tightly, refusing to let go when he tried to pull back.

"Lindsay," he said quietly, forcing her to let go, then looking into her eyes. He tried, but couldn't find the right words to tell her that her father was the one lying on the floor, possibly dying. He cupped her face in his hand, staring at her, willing her to know that everything was going to be all right, that he would do whatever was necessary to make everything right for her.

She understood what he was telling her, he could tell because the tears now flowed freely down her cheeks. She went over to her father, but didn't touch him, her eyes filled with fresh tears as she took in all the blood. Jack pulled her back into his arms and hugged her, determined to make things easier for her. He held her as Carter did what she could do for Mac while they waited for an ambulance. He hugged her tightly as Teal'c came in and informed them that the two men in the yard were being transported to the base, along with the guy who had tried to kill Mac. He didn't let her go until it was finally time to go to the hospital with Mac, and even then she held onto his hand the whole time, refusing to let go. She finally released her hold on him when her mother and brother came rushing into the Emergency Room, having been picked up by an airman per Jack's request. It was Lanie's turn to hold her daughter tightly.

They waited for what seemed like an eternity for the doctors to make their assessments on Mac's injuries. Lindsay was checked over and released to her mother, but still they waited for the doctor to tell them Mac's fate. Carter came in, smiling at Lanie when the introductions were made and sat next to Jack, giving him the emotional support he needed to get through this.

He appreciated Carter's presence as it helped him to remember that there would always be casualties, something he had learned almost from the very beginning of his career. He just didn't want those casualties to be anyone he was close to. Of course, what he wanted and what he got were two different things, he thought wryly. The memories of all his friends who had died while fighting along side him began to roll out in his mind and he got up to pace in an effort to eliminate them.

"Sir?" Carter said, standing up to come over to him, putting herself in front of him to stop his pacing. "He's going to be alright."

"I hope so Carter," he replied, giving her a small smile.

"Want some coffee?" she asked, smiling back at him.

"You want me to stop pacing?"

"You have a point," she replied, then took his arm and pulled him back to the sofa he had been sitting on.

He went willingly and was surprised when Lindsay came over to him and sat down next to him. "I was hoping that you were my Dad," she said looking so forlorn that Jack's heart went out to her.

"I know," he said, feeling lost and totally clueless as to what to say to her. He smiled at her instead hoping it was enough, knowing that it probably wouldn't be.

Carter sat down next to him on his other side and leaned over to take Lindsay's hand. "Your father will be okay, Lindsay," she said softly. "The doctors here are really good at what they do."

Lindsay nodded bravely at her, then laid her head on Jack's arm, entwining her arms around his. He looked down at her, then over to Lanie, hoping she would come to his rescue. Lanie just stared at him with a small smile as she reached over to smooth her son's hair. No help was going to come from that quarter, he realized. He sighed, then pulled his arm out of Lindsay's grasp to put it around her shoulders and pull her in closer.

Silence had taken over and was finally interrupted when a doctor came into the room, looked around, then walked over toward them. Lanie and Jack both stood up, waiting to hear the news with Lanie grabbing Jack's hand as the doctor spoke up.

"Mrs. MacGyver?" he asked, then proceeded when Lanie nodded her head. "I'm Doctor Gardner. I must tell you that your husband is seriously wounded. From what I can determine, he received a single knife wound in the stomach, which has caused considerable damage. He also has some bruises, suggesting that he may have been kicked or beaten. I won't know the full extent of the damage or if there is any internal bleeding until we get him into surgery. We are prepping him now."

"Is he going to live?" Lanie asked, fear for her husband causing her to grip Jack's hand painfully.

"I can't make any guarantees at this time, but I would say his chances are pretty good. I'll come and give you an update the minute he is out of surgery, okay?" he said kindly.

Lanie nodded and Jack pulled her back to the couch and sat down with her next to Lindsay. Lanie stared at the floor in front of her, then put her face into Jack's shirt when he put his arm around her to comfort her while Pete came to sit on the arm of the couch next to his mother to help comfort her. Jack realized that he was surrounded by Mac's family and he felt a tinge of panic overcome him as his emotions threatened to take over. He wished Charlie was there with him.

He turned to Carter, giving her a hopeless look, but she just smiled at him with an 'Awww:' look on her face. She wasn't going to be any help either, he realized with a grimace. When did he become the champion of the females of the world, he snarled inwardly, as he settled in for the long haul.