in celebration of Valentine's Day 2017, have a fic about the importance of families of choice and platonic love!
This is set between 1x11 and 1x12 and is canon-compliant.
Warnings: canon spousal abuse, but barely mentioned.
Mac walked out to the fire pit, sinking into a chair by Riley. They had just finished a particularly stressful mission involving a pair of six-year-old twins had been kidnapped. They were children of a high-ranking senator, and had been taken by another country, which meant the usual law enforcement couldn't operate as efficiently as normal, which was why the Phoenix Foundation had been called in.
The team had been able to rescue the siblings, and after seeing them safely reunited with their parents, Jack, Mac, Riley, and Bozer were now home. Jack and Bozer had headed to the store to pick up some food to grill, leaving Riley and Mac at the house.
As the two friends sat, Mac glanced over at Riley. The woman had a thoughtful expression on her face, one that Mac knew meant that she was deep in thought over something serious. After a minute or two, he said, "Penny for your thoughts?"
Riley rolled her eyes as she glanced over at the blond. "That sounds like something Jack would say, not you."
Mac clutched his chest dramatically. "Ouch."
Riley snickered, then fell silent again, shrugging her shoulders as she stared at the flickering fire. After a moment, she said, "You ever think about families? Like, the ones we have and why some people don't like theirs?"
If Mac was surprised by the non-sequitur, he didn't show it, just saying, "Sometimes. Why?"
Riley shrugged again. "Just… seeing those kids with their dad, it just made me think, you know? Like, what did I do that made my dad so mad all the time?"
Mac didn't say anything as Riley continued. "I mean, he hit my mom, Mac. Was I really that bad of a kid that he was that frustrated with me?"
Riley fell silent, picking at the arm of her chair. Mac, choosing his words carefully, began to talk. "You know my dad walked out when was twelve, right?"
Riley nodded silently, and the blond continued. "For the longest time, I thought it was something that was my fault. Like, maybe I wasn't good enough, or I made him miss my mom too much, or I messed up somehow. I was always afraid to get close to people because I thought that I'd mess something up again, or I'd mess other people's up lives, and I didn't want them to walk away from me."
Mac fell silent, a thoughtful look on his face. Riley watched him for a moment as he subconsciously rubbed his thumb over his palm. After a moment, she said, "So what changed?"
Mac shook himself from his reverie and began talking again."I met Jack. He was nice and over time we went from friendly acquaintances to- I don't know. Something else. I don't know how to describe it.
"Anyway, he found me freaking out on the anniversary of my mom's death one year a while back- my dad had called me and blamed me for a lot of stuff, and I didn't know how to react. Jack somehow pieced together what had happened, and after I calmed down, he sat me down and we had a long talk.
"Jack told me that our family is who we make it. He told me that if the chance came for my dad and I to resolve our differences, I should take it, but he also told me that nothing that my dad accused me of was true." Mac paused for a moment, a grin slowly blooming on his face. "I think what really got the message through to me was when Jack told me that if my dad ever tried anything like that again, I should just give the phone to him and he'd take care of it.
"The whole thing was just this weird mix of an older-brother-gesture and a dad-gesture, but I realized that he was basically saying that he was my family now, as weird as it is to say out loud."
Both young adults fell silent for a moment, and then Riley spoke again. "I think I get what you're saying. Like, even though my dad walked out and he obviously didn't love my mom, that wasn't my fault or my mom's fault. And even though he's my biological dad, he doesn't have to be my family."
Mac nodded. "Yeah."
The friends sat in the silence after that, the comfortable stillness filled with an air of peace.
The stillness was shattered a few minutes as Jack and Bozer arrived back at the house, arms laden with groceries. Jack dropped his bags by the grill and leaned on the two younger agents' chairs as he said, "Talking about how amazing I am?"
Mac grinned, tilting his head back on his chair so he could see the older man. "You wish."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Wow, someone doesn't appreciate amazingness that is Jack Dalton."
Mac's grin grew wider. "Not at all."
Riley watched as Jack locked Mac in a playful headlock and ruffled the blond's hair as the younger man laughed. Bozer shook his head from where he was starting the grill and Patty smiled as she walked out from the house bearing a covered bowl, obviously having just arrived.
Mac's right. Family is who you choose, the young woman thought, and smiled to herself. I choose them.
Happy Valentine's Day!