Chapter 1

"Ok, Mr. Oversight, Sir! "Jack entered the War Room at a purposeful stride and all but slammed the door behind him. Squaring his shoulders, he continued as he approached Mac's father, "I think you and I need to have a little chat."

"Dalton," James MacGyver started, "Don't take that tone with me. I'm your boss. You'd do well to remember that!" Mac Senior went toe to toe with Jack.

"Well, right now, Sir, I am your son's best friend and probably the closest thing he's had to a father the last 8 years or so, and you might just not be my boss anymore if we can't get your son back here! We're a team, so if he leaves…well it's kind of a done deal for me."

Jack paused a moment, considering the man in front of him. He resembled Mac, sure, and maybe the intellect was comparable, but that was about where it ended. He took care to lower his voice just a little, since Mac's dad looked both shocked and, if Jack had to guess, sort of pained. But it didn't have the inflection of someone calm. More like dangerous.

"That kid that just took off out a here is hurting and I'm gonna have to be the one to pick up the pieces, so I think I gotta right to ask a few questions right now, and your answers are gonna decide if I lay you out right here on the War Room floor…Sir! And trust me when I say that it ain't gonna take much after all the pain I've seen in that kid for as long as I've known him.

James' eyes lost their fire and he cast them down towards the floor and turned, taking a few steps towards the windows that looked into the computer lab. "I understand that he doesn't trust me… as a father, anyway."

"Well, why should he?" Jack's voice was ratcheting up again. "You leave him high and dry at the age of 10, at his birthday party, no less, and never speak to him again! Every speck of self-doubt that kid has comes from thinkin' that his father doesn't think he's worth stayin' around for. He's had to fight that feeling of bein' worthless and unlovable his whole adult life, so far. Did it ever occur to you that he's never had anyone stick around, except for Bozer and yours truly, of course? That everyone he's cared about, for one reason or another, has left him? Man, I don't know why you did what you did, but I have to hope that if there's even a shred of decency in you, there was a reason. Did you even try to explain it to him?" Jack crossed his arms and waited for an answer.

"I tried, Dalton!" Mac senior turned around, red-faced and angry now. "He didn't listen!" He suddenly realized he'd been yelling and dropped his voice lower. "I couldn't make him understand; he's too hurt. I really can't blame him. I know I didn't handle it well," James said, sitting down in one of the leather chairs. "I've never been good with talking about things like that."

"Well, that apple don't fall far from the tree," Jack muttered to himself, turning to leave. "I would suggest that you let me talk to him and give him some space. Trust me when I say he wants to…needs to fix this. Just let him get his head on straight. But you do need to be the one to come to him this time, so… not too much space," Jack said as he paused by the door.

"Right. Space. But not too much. I'll try to work that out," James said, carefully considering his words. "Thanks, Dalton. I really couldn't have asked to have anyone better watching over my son." Jack nodded and left the room. Matty was waiting outside the door. He nodded at her and continued down the hall.

"Jack! Where are you going?" Matty called, as if she didn't know.

"After our boy," he called, without turning to look at her. He strode out of the building and was on the road in seconds.

Matty was left standing with Riley in the hallway.

Bozer had tried, he really had. He hadn't taken one of those super secret-agenty courses with evasive maneuver driving. Regardless, he got to the house almost at the same time as Mac, after following him at break-neck speed down the highway. It hadn't been easy. Mac was driving offensively and that meant he was more than a little pissed. When he pulled in, Mac had just entered the house. Bozer ran through the front door after him.

"Mac! Man, are you tryin' to kill yourself? Do you even know how fast you were driving?" He caught up with Mac in the hallway, right on his heels as Mac turned and stopped him in his tracks.

"Not now. I need to get out of here and clear my head. I don't want to talk, Boze." With that, he disappeared into his room and shut the door. When he came out a few minutes later, he was dressed in sweats and sneakers. He headed for the kitchen, grabbed a few bottles of water, and snagged his keys on the way out the door. "I'll be back, Boze," he said carefully, so Bozer knew he wasn't mad at him, but was definitely intent on leaving. "Don't follow me….please." He gave a pointed look at his roommate, leaving no room to argue.

Bozer just nodded and shook his head as Mac left. "Damn stubborn." He pulled his phone out of his pocket, leaned against the sink, and dialed Jack. He hoped the older agent hadn't gotten himself into too much hot water back at the Phoenix. He had looked like he was loaded for bear when he had entered the War Room. Bozer had hated to leave during all that, but he thought it was probably better to follow Mac. 'Like that did a lot of good,' he thought. Jack picked up and Bozer started to tell him what happened.

"Boze, hold on. I'm pullin' in the driveway." Jack hung up and headed in, noticing that Mac's car wasn't there. The older man cursed under his breath. He'd been afraid of that. Whenever Mac was this worked up, he tended to try to burn off some adrenaline. But if he took his car, that meant he could be almost anywhere. 'Hmmm..you little shit,' thought Jack, 'I hope you don't think I can't find you.' Jack ran into the house and met Bozer in the hall. "Do you know where he went? Did he say anything?" he asked anxiously.

"You know how he is when he gets like this, Jack. Just told me he didn't want to talk, changed into sweats, and took off. He said he'd be back and not to follow him." Bozer studied Jack's face and added, "You don't have any intention of not following him, do you?"

"Nope." Jack asked Bozer a few questions like what Mac had with him and what he was wearing, trying to determine how far the kid might be planning on going. Having it narrowed down to a few close places he could drive to and knowing that Mac didn't take a backpack with him helped. "Alright, Boze, I'll call you when I find him. If he comes back here…and I don't think he will…call me." Jack left like a whirlwind and jumped into his car and sped off down the driveway.

"You got it Jack," he said to no one in particular since Jack never waited for him to reply and was already in his car before Bozer could answer. "This is shapin' up to be some kind of kickass day." He wandered down the hall to take a shower, then he intended to cook or bake something for when Mac came home.

Mac had pulled into the trailhead in a park about 20 minutes from his house. In doing so, he had passed most of his favorite running trails but he knew Jack would search those first and he wanted to get a significant run in before he had to deal with his partner…well, now former partner. It felt weird and made his stomach twist to think of Jack that way and he was really regretting not having discussed all this with Jack first.

He hadn't really intended to quit, and he had been grateful to have the chance to see his dad again and get a few questions answered, but how could he work for him when he'd not really given him an adequate explanation? There were all the times he'd found himself in dire situations…like Cairo or kidnapped by Murdoc. Even then his father had never announced his presence? Stepped in to save him? Well, in all fairness, maybe he had, but then to not come to him after he was safe…who would do that when their kid's life was on the line? When his father mentioned so lightly that they'd gotten the chance to resolve things and 'wouldn't he like to continue working for the old man,' Mac had just snapped. Really? It couldn't be that simple. He couldn't do it. The words were out of his mouth before he knew it and he couldn't take them back.

His feet pounded the trail. His head pounded in time. Tears struggled to free themselves and run down his cheeks, but he wouldn't let them. He wouldn't let his father have the satisfaction, even if he wasn't there to see him. He knew he had limited daylight left, so he'd chosen a loop that would take him only about an hour. That wasn't much, but it would have to do, at least to take the edge off. As the tree line came into view up ahead, he knew he was close to the parking lot. He was still stuck up in his own head when he tripped over something and lost his balance, flailing forward into….arms? Someone caught him, reaching for him from the side, just as he almost took a header into the dirt.

"Woah, there, partner!" Jack helped him to his feet as Mac pushed him away and jumped back.

"Jack? What? Why? Wait, how'd you…?" Mac blustered, half angry and half shocked.

"Well, I guess this answers the question of who wouldn't see who comin' now, don't it?" Jack grinned and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Now listen. Before you get all worked up, okay?" Jack waited for Mac's tentative nod before he continued. "Don't you think I know you by now? That you would need to blow off steam and not want to be followed?"

"Well, if you knew I didn't want to be followed, why are you here?" Mac asked as he tried to walk past Jack, who stepped in front of him, putting a hand on his chest.

"Because you need me, that's why. You just haven't thought that far yet." Mac was making an incredulous face but Jack ignored him, reaching over Mac's shoulders and walking him toward the car. "Now, you and I are going to go back home and sit out on the deck and have ourselves a few beers by the fire pit and a nice long talk. You are going to tell me why you didn't tell me you were goin' to quit the Phoenix… even though I think I know…. and what happened on that mission between you and your old man while I was out pickin' off bad guys."

Mac wriggled out of Jack's hold and stepped back from him, "Jack, I'm not up for this tonight. I just want to go home and relax. Why are you insisting on me talking about this now?"

"Because you need to and because I'm your partner and I know you would have never quit Phoenix without that bein' a joint decision, because you'd know I'd quit too." Jack stared at Mac, patiently, waiting for that to sink in. Mac's face showed the realization that Jack was right in the very slight widening of Mac's eyes.

"Did you quit? Jack? Did you quit Phoenix?" Mac demanded.

"Brother, we're a package deal. Where you go, I go. Wherever you land, I'll be watchin' your back, so damn right, if you don't come back, I'll be out. I told Sir Oversight that after you left and right before I threatened to knock him on his ass, too." Jack smiled a little at the memory.

Mac's eyes widened even more, "You threatened my dad?" Mac turned, considering that as he walked toward the car and Jack came along side him again, draping his arm once more, over the kid's shoulders.

"I was prepared to do a lot more than threaten, but then I kinda figured if you came back, who'd watch your back if he fired me?" Jack revealed honestly.

"Well, I guess that wouldn't have happened, big guy, since apparently we're a package deal. Let's go home."

They walked back to their cars and headed back to Mac's house, each anticipating how this little talk might go, but not dreading it quite so much now.