Author's Notes: It's official. This story will have 33 chapters. The next two are already finished, and I am in the process of writing the last one. Thank you all for hanging out with me on this story. I hope you are enjoying it.


"I've known all along that you two were twins," Lanie said when Jack finished explaining the story.

"Just like in the movies," Lindsay added, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Oh brother," Pete said, as he rolled his eyes. Lindsay just glared at her brother.

Mac, on the other hand, was in a total state of shock. He just couldn't make sense of it all. "My mother had an affair?"

"Yep," Jack said sympathetically. "I know how you feel, believe me."

"But my mother… All those years… Oh God, she must have been devastated." Mac said, as he remembered the years of his youth. His mother had never said, or even hinted at the fact that she had given birth to twins. How could she have kept that to herself all those years?

"From what my father tells me she wanted to keep both babies," Jack said, probably hoping to help Mac get through this. "But your father and my mother were determined to talk her out of it. My mother usually got her way," he told them with a grimace.

"She was that bad?" Mac asked, still trying to figure out exactly who was who.

"Not really," Jack responded thoughtfully. "She was the type of person who protected her loved ones with all her might. I just happened to be one of her loved ones. What about you? Did your father ever treat you badly because of who you were?"

"No," Mac said, remembering all the good times he shared with his parents. "We got along great. I was lucky, I guess, that he didn't blame me for not being his own flesh and blood."

"Yeah, my mother was the same way. She did, however, hold a grudge against my father right on up to her dying day," Jack said.

"I'll never know what my father thought, or my mother, for that matter," Mac said sadly. He missed his parents. Lindsay got into the bed and snuggled up to him at that point and Mac was grateful for her presence. He had his own family now, including a brother he never knew he had. "I guess this explains why my Grandfather never told me that I had a twin brother," he continued, as he tried to make sense of the whole thing. "He probably didn't even know I had a twin brother. My parents didn't move back to Mission City until I was a year old."

Lanie took Mac's hand in hers and gave him an encouraging smile. She was his lifeline now, he thought. No matter what, he could count on her to help him get through anything. He was suddenly glad that he had gotten past his aversion to commitments and married her.

"I'm glad that you got to talk to your father Jack," Lanie said, to help alleviate the sadness cloaking the room. "I know it has to be a relief to be talking to him again."

"I suppose," Jack replied with a shrug. "He wants to meet you Mac. I told him I would ask."

"Why?" Mac said, anger surging up in him. "Why now? I mean, he knew I was out there. Now he wants to meet me?"

"I told him I would ask," Jack said, backing down. "I'm not here to force you to do anything."

"Mac," Lanie said, quietly. "He is your biological father…"

"Shove it Lanie," Mac snarled, anger making him lash out. He could tell that he had shocked everyone in the room into silence, including his children, but he didn't care. God, the whole thing was crashing down on his head and he felt like he was drowning.

"Well, that was uncalled for," Lanie finally spoke up, making Mac feel guilty when he saw tears welling up in her eyes. "I was just going to mention that he may not have wanted to ruin your parent's marriage by showing up years later to see you."

"I don't think that's the reason," Jack spoke up, as he glared at Mac. He came over and put his arm around Lanie's shoulders and hugged her to him. She let him, but continued to look at Mac. 'He probably just wanted to put all that behind him," he added.

"You're not helping," Lanie said to her brother-in-law as she went to sit on Mac's bed.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just saying it like it is."

Mac reached out to grab Lanie's hand, squeezing it apologetically. She smiled at him again and Mac had an overpowering urge to kick everyone but Lanie out of the room so that he could apologize properly. He turned his attention on his brother instead, "I appreciate it Jack. I'll think about the visit, okay? Just give me some time."

"You got it," Jack replied. "I have some other news I think you guys might be interested in," he added before turning to Pete and Lindsay, "Would you guys go get me something to eat? I'm starving."

"It involves the kidnappers, doesn't it?" Lindsay asked. Jack stared at her in surprise. He obviously didn't know Lindsay like Mac did.

"Yes, it does," Jack responded before giving Mac a questioning look. Mac didn't know what to think at that point, but worry for Lindsay took priority over his own emotional upheaval.

"Lindsay, why don't you go on ahead and find something edible for your Uncle Jack. I hear he can be as ferocious as a bear when his stomach is empty," Mac told her. Lindsay and Pete smiled at that, while Jack put on an indignant look.

"Excuse me? A bear?" Jack asked, trying to sound hurt. "Don't listen to him Lindsay. I only growl at people who compare me to a bear."

"You're not a bear," Lindsay said, smiling broadly at Jack. Mac had to laugh when Jack turned to him with a smug look. His expression mirrored Pete's whenever he got something over Lindsay.

"C'mon Lindsay," Pete said resignedly. "They won't say anything until we're out of here." This was said with a glare at Mac. "Let's go see if we can find something that won't totally gross us all out."

"Mom?" Lindsay said, her fear apparent in her expression.

"You'll be fine," Lanie said soothingly pulling her daughter into a hug. "I promise."

"You might even run into Sam and Trish," Mac said. "They said they would be coming by later."

"Here," Jack said, handing Pete some money. "They won't give it to you for free. A cheeseburger sounds good."

"It'll gross you out, Uncle Jack," Pete said knowingly. "Trust me on this."

"That bad, huh?" Jack asked. Pete nodded and Jack amended his order, "How are the desserts? Just bring me a piece of cake or some pie. I'll get something on the way home."

"Smart move," Pete said approvingly. "Hospital food really isn't all that good, especially this late at night."

Lindsay followed her brother out, both of them arguing over what kind of dessert their Uncle would like. Mac couldn't help the smile that came over him. His daughter was going to be just fine.

"What is it?" Lanie asked Jack, the minute the children had left. "What did you find out?"

"I was able to get Reardon, the leader of the kidnappers, to talk," Jack replied. "He told us how he knew Lindsay was my niece. It seems your neighbor sold you out."

"I knew it!" Mac exclaimed, while Lanie put her head in her hands. Mac immediately tried to sit up to comfort her, only to slow down his movements when the pain came at him in waves. "Oh man," he groaned.

"Are you going to be okay?" Jack asked. Mac nodded, then made another attempt to comfort his wife.

Jack beat him to it, though. "What's wrong?" he asked her as he pulled the chair close to Lanie so that he could sit down next to her. "Lanie?" He took her hands into his

"I was the one who told Linda that we would be going to Colorado and that you and Mac were brothers," Lanie responded disheartened. "I didn't think anything of it at the time. I… I mean Mac didn't get along with Bob, but Linda seemed so nice, so…," she stopped, her voice breaking.

"It's not your fault," Mac insisted. "You couldn't have known." He forced himself to ignore the pain as he sat up to comfort her, needing to hold her. "It's not your fault," he continued when he finally got his arms around her.

"I'm making inquiries into who this guy is," Jack told them. "But I have to tell you that we may never know the whole story."

"I've already asked an old friend to look into it," Mac said, "Just in case my suspicions were correct. She may find out something that will shed some light on why Bob did it, but at this point, I'll take what I can get. Any ideas on why he did it? How did he know those people?"

"He probably did it for the money. There's an organization called The Trust that is made up of a group of wealthy businessmen who have inside contacts with the NID. Their main concern is stealing artifacts that are technologically advanced so that they can manufacture similar technologies to sell to the public. They've been a pain in our side for years."

"That explains why they wanted the translations so badly," Mac said, his mind one step ahead of Jack's explanations. "Did Daniel finally get them translated?"

"Yep," Jack responded uncomfortably.

Mac took the hint and decided not to pursue this while Lanie was around. "Where does Bob Riley fit into all this?"

"It seems the Trust has been very interested in your background," Jack responded with a relieved look. "They were keeping you in mind in case they needed your skills, so they stationed Riley next door and had him keep an eye on you. Then I showed up... next thing we know, you've become extremely valuable to their cause, especially in getting those translations. The Trust found out that you were my brother and they figured kidnapping your daughter was just the ticket they needed to get the ball rolling in getting those translations."

"Steve's accident?" Lanie asked, as she stared at Jack. "We wouldn't have come to Colorado at all if it hadn't been for that accident."

"That seems farfetched, even for these people," Jack responded. "It was probably an accident."

"Linda knew that my sister and her family lived in Grand Junction," she whispered.

"Lanie, stop it!" Mac told her as he hugged her tighter. "Please honey, just stop it. You had nothing to do with this. I mean it. Jack, talk to her," he pleaded, as he looked toward his brother.

"Me?" Jack asked with a surprised look on his face. "What makes you think she'll listen to me?"

"She likes you. Or was that me she was talking about?" Mac mused, looking at his wife thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, she did mention the words 'good looking'. Yep," he added as he nodded his head. "She was talking about me."

"If you say so," Jack said, as he smiled at Lanie. Mac was pleased to see his wife smiling back. He watched as Jack took her hands in his and told her, "Mac's right. Don't blame yourself for something that you had no control over. Go home, kick Linda's butt and move on. Okay?"

"That is if they even live there anymore," Mac spoke up. He so hoped they had moved out. "I need more information on this organization Jack. I know some people who are very influential in the business world. I want to make sure something like this never happens again."

"Can you do that?" Jack asked.

"Yes." Mac responded in all seriousness. He looked at Lanie, while hugging her tighter to him, "They will never bother us again," he promised.