Disclaimer – I own nothing!

AN – Hello MacGyver fandom! I have returned with a new fic! Hopefully, I will get it done and posted before season 3 airs. Warning, this chapter is going to be a little short as well the next chapter, but hopefully, the chapters will get longer and longer. No promises though.

Enjoy!

It was two weeks after that dreaded day, the day Mac told his father, his boss, that he couldn't work for someone he didn't trust and quit the Phoenix Foundation, that Jack walked up the small driveway towards Mac and Bozer's home. During those last few weeks, Bozer had repeatedly tried to talk Mac into coming back, as did Riley, but after the first week, she stopped because she also decided to leave the team and go to work with Billy Colton, her boyfriend, and his family.

Jack hated the last two weeks. He didn't like that he no longer worked with his best friend, his partner, his little brother. At least he could still visit Mac though as they still lived in the same city. Riley on the other hand was planning on moving closer to the Colton family. It would be easier for her to work with them that way. Jack hated that way. He spent most of the week trying to convince Riley to come back than he did Mac. He did at first, but then stopped because he completely understood what was going on in his partner's head.

Having been present for part of the conversations Mac had with his father, and having been filled in on the rest from Mac, he knew what James MacGyver said to his son. What he claimed to have done. If there was one thing that Jack knew about the kid, it was that he liked being in control. And having been told that someone was actually directing you, manipulating you into doing things and you didn't even realize or know about it for pretty much your entire life, was every control freak's worst nightmare.

So yeah, Jack understood why Mac quit. It was his way of not only regaining some level of control over his own life, from the expression on James's face, he hadn't been expecting that, it was also to give him a chance to clear his head, and figure out who he was all on his own. Jack was already pretty sure he hated James MacGyver simply because he abandoned probably the best kid ever, but the minute he took Mac's identity away from him, that hate became solidified.

Jack himself had even started using his sick days and vacation time so he wouldn't have to go to work knowing who was actually in charge there. It was his own little way of sticking it to the boss. He would've quit along with Mac if it wasn't for the almost certainty that Mac would eventually come back to the team. Another thing he knew about Mac, was that he loved science, he loved helping people, and he loved feeling like he had a purpose. The Phoenix Foundation gave him all of those things, plus some people who truly cared about him, a certain individual excluded of course. Which was why Jack decided to plan an unscheduled visit, to see how Mac was doing, and to see if he was actually planning on coming back or if he needed more time.

"Hey Mac? You here?" Jack called out as he entered the house, closing the door behind him.

"In the living room." The sniper heard his partner, well, technically former partner, reply from the other room. Jack kicked off his shoes so he wouldn't track mud through the house, Mac always got annoyed with him when he did that, and that wouldn't help him convince Mac to return to Phoenix. He then started to make his way to the living room.

As Jack entered the room, he found Mac lying on his back underneath his motorcycle. Coming over to sit on the chair near the blonde, Jack said, "Working on your bike again?"

"Yeah, I need to make sure it's 100% ready." Mac answered as he continued working.

"Ready for what?" Jack wondered, not at all sure what younger man was talking about.

"I'm taking a trip. Going to go around the country on my bike, take that long-deserved vacation I had meaning to take for years." Mac replied, still keeping his focus on the bike, oblivious to the surprised look on the sniper's face.

"How long you planning on being gone? And what are you planning on doing after that?" Jack asked. He felt like he was beating around the bush enough. He understood why Mac quit, but he also knew the former agent. He wasn't going to be able to stay away for long, or at least, not jobless for long. Mac wasn't the kind of person who liked not doing anything.

"No idea. As long as I want and whatever I want. Maybe I'll start working on my bucket list." Mac answered as he continued working.

"Didn't know you really had a bucket list." Jack stated.

"Not so much as stuff I want to do before I die, but more like stuff I had been meaning to do that I haven't because of work." That Jack could understand. There had been several times Mac mentioned stuff he wanted to do and sometimes he would actually make plans to do it, but work pretty much always got in the way.

"Mac, it's been nearly two weeks since you quit. Are you ever coming back?" Jack decided to cut right to the chase. For the last two weeks, he had let Mac be, watched him struggle to figure out what to do and process everything that he had learned from his Dad, but he needed to know if his partner was coming back.

From underneath the bike, Mac sighed loudly. Jack had asked him about two days after he quit if he would come back to work for the Phoenix Foundation. He had told him 'no', and they haven't talked about it since. Bozer had definitely kept trying to convince him, but Jack had kept his mouth shut. He knew though that it was only a matter of time before his partner brought it up again. Apparently, it was now. So Mac pushed himself out from under his bike and sat up to look up at the dark-haired man.

"Jack, we've been through this. No, no I'm not." Mac answered, then looked down at the floor as he added, "After everything my, he told me, I need to do what I want to do. I need to do something that isn't being manipulated by him, that isn't controlled by him."

"You know he was talking a bunch of crap to try and get you to think he was looking after you, right? To make it seem like he was being a good parent? You are who you are because of you, not him." Jack insisted with a compassionate voice.

"Maybe, maybe not." Mac replied, looking up at Jack again. Despite the guarded expression, Jack could see the pain in his bright, blue, eyes.

"Jack, please." Mac quickly said when he saw that Jack was about to say something, "Just let me do this."

The sniper was clearly not overall happy with Mac's decision, but he understood where the blonde was coming from. So he agreed, "Okay."

Mac gave him a small, grateful, smile before he got back down on his back and continued to work on his bike. Jack then stood up and asked, "Need a hand?"

"Sure." The blonde answered and together, the two worked on the bike for the next few hours. After the weirdness over the last few weeks, it felt nice to both Mac and Jack to do something that was normal for them.

2016MACGYVER2016

It was late when Jack left, and even later when Mac decided to turn in for the night. The two partners, former partners that is, worked on the bike for the majority of the afternoon, then had a small James Bond movie marathon and pizza and some beer. Though Mac didn't really think it was necessary for his friend to come over and check on him, he knew that was what he was dong, it felt nice to hang out with Jack for a bit. Even though it had only been two weeks, he was already really missing working with the sniper.

After Jack left, Mac cleaned up the house a bit, then decided to continue watching the movies himself while he waited for Bozer to come home. Having worked for the Phoenix Foundation for years, he knew late nights were a very common thing. And though hearing the stories of what was going on at work did make the blonde a little upset he was no longer working there, he liked hearing them, and Bozer certainly loved telling him. He was pretty sure that his best friend thought that if he heard what he was all missing, that Mac would come back. So far though, Mac still wasn't changing his mind.

By the time it was half past midnight, Mac decided to call in a night, knowing Bozer could tell him all the stories in the morning. After turning off the TV and the living room light, Mac locked the terrace door and headed to the main door to lock it and turn on the alarm. However, he found the screen on the small device completely black, like it wasn't even plugged in. Mac tried to press the 'on' switch, but nothing happened.

"What?" Mac mumbled to himself as he tried once again to turn on the alarm. He reached for his Swiss army knife to take apart the device, thinking that maybe some off the plugs fell out of place or something when he heard the sound of glass shattering.

Mac quickly flipped the blade out to use as a weapon if necessary, letting his instincts completely take over. He then began to make his way towards the source of the noise slowly and carefully, staying close to the wall for cover. He only made it about two feet before an arm wrapped itself around his shoulders and chest, pulling him backwards against a large, well-muscled chest.

He immediately moved to elbow the person in the ribs, but whoever was holding him suddenly brought a rag up to his mouth with his other arm. It only took one whiff to realize it was ether, a type of sleeping agent. He tried not to breathe as he continued to try and break out of the person's hold, but with the adrenaline running through his body and the constant moving, he needed to breathe. Before Mac knew it, he felt his body become numb as his vision turned pitch black.

AN – Yes, I am sorry to say that my cliffhangers have come with me. Actually, I'm not sorry at all, unfortunately. I love cliffhangers, and that will probably never change. I'll try not to be too hard on you guys, but no promises. See you all next time!