Mac and Jack sat alone in the War Room, thinking about the mission they'd just completed. The guilt was palpable. The youngest agent put his head in his hands, visibly shaking.
"They were just kids…" A tear formed in Mac's eye as he spoke through his palms, voice distorted by the barrier between his mouth and the rest of the room.
"Mac, there was nothing you could have done." Jack leaned forward in his seat with his elbows on his knees. "Look at me."
Mac looked up and attempted to get "what" out, but it was only a mouthing and a pained breath.
"There was nothing you could have done to make it end any other way."
"Jack, they burned."
"I know, bud." Jack stood, hand outstretched towards MacGyver. "Come on. I'm taking you home and I'm staying with you for the night. I'm not leaving you to deal with this one alone." Mac looked Jack in the eye, taking his hand and exiting the room with his father-figure.
…..
Matty stood in front of the door to the War Room, preventing entrance. She looked at Mac, Jack, Riley, and Bozer with a look that meant no-one was getting in. "No missions for the next month." She walked away, leaving everyone in shock.
"The Hell kinda mind game is that?" Jack asked. "This some kind of test to see how devoted we are to the job?"
"She seemed pretty serious to me." Riley shrugged, taking whatever kind of break she could get after the past few insane missions.
"I'll take it. Who's up for tacos and a movie marathon?" Bozer and Riley practically sprinted towards the Phoenix exits.
"I'm still kinda wary of this, Mac. She doesn't just call off missions for a month without a reason." Jack started to follow Bozer and Riley down the hall when he heard Mac say something under his breath.
"She had her reasons."
…..
"Come on, Mac. Just meet her." Bozer's complaining tone was nothing compared to the stares he was getting from Riley.
"I-I think this was a bad idea. I just don't think online dating is my thing. Thanks for the suggestion, guys. Your hearts were in the right place and I appreciate it but I just think I'm more of a-" Mac was quickly interrupted.
"Lone wolf? Lone star…." Jack laughed.
"Enough with Texas, Jack." Riley turned to face Mac. "Just give the girl a chance. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out, but what will it hurt to try?"
"I…" Mac sighed in defeat. "Fine."
…
Mac took a small sip of his coffee, as he waited for the woman to show up. Or was she a woman? She could be some kid who thought it would be funny to catfish lonely adults. Statistically speaking- And there she was. A beautiful woman with long brown hair, one brown eye, and one bright blue eye walks in. She sauntered over to Mac's table, her tight black dress alerting his manners, forcing him to look only at her face.
"Angus MacGyver?" She sat in the chair across from him.
"Stephanie Mysan?" He slightly tilted his head, gaining a smile from the mystery woman.
"That would be me." Her smile was devious. He wasn't sure if he'd liked that or not. Normally women who smiled at him like that ended up shoving a gun up against his stomach and pulling the trigger. But she wasn't. She was laughing at his jokes. Hell, she was getting his jokes!
After a long and pleasant first date, Stephanie stood along with Mac. The two shared a short hug and made plans for another date.
"I really enjoyed myself, MacGyver."
"Yeah, me, too. It was really nice to meet you, Stephanie."
"Likewise."
Mac set a five on the table and made his way out of the cafe, walking towards the street corner. He took his phone out of his pocket to call a lift when he suddenly got three rapid text alerts.
'I can't wait to see you again.'
'I had a lot of fun.'
'You said you did. I appreciate that.'
The triple text was confusing but Mac decided to ignore the fact and give a quick reply.
'You, too. Have a great day.'
….
When Mac got home, he started to walk straight to his room to pass out after a long day of work. While he was off of missions, he was still heavily involved in the think tank part of it. When he got to his room, he immediately took his shirt off and switched from cargo pants to sweatpants and put on some soft socks. Right as he lifted the covers to get into bed, he heard a loud crash in the kitchen and decided to investigate.
"Boze, you gotta be a little quieter, buddy. I'm really tired and-" He stopped, immediately, at the sight of Stephanie in the kitchen. "Um… Hello?"
"Hello, Angus. Woah…" Her tone was sickly sweet for the mental state he was currently in. Tired and confused… not a good mix. He wasn't a big fan of how she was staring at him, either. She just kept looking at his chest, stomach, arms, shoulders and… neck?
"Did Bozer let you in?"
"Who's Bozer? Your housekeeper?"
"Uh, no. Far from it, actually. But that's not the point. How did you get in my house? Wait no, how did you know where my house is?" Mac kept his distance. Rightly so, it seemed, as she walked around the island with a large knife in her hand. He slowly backed away.
"I found out from some old records I found online and I picked your lock. Smart, right?" She pursed her lips and winked at him, not garnering a single bit of affection from the agent. "And sorry for the loud noise. I dropped a bowl."
"Smart. Sure. Uh, could you just…" He looked at the knife in her hand.
"Oh. I'm just cooking lunch for you, silly!" She went back around the island and continued to chop on the cherry tomatoes she'd been working on before.
"It's ten at night. And I'm not hungry. And you broke into my house." Mac's eyes shifted as she set the knife down with a loud clunk.
"You're right. I guess I'll go." She wiped her hands off on her shirt and grabbed her purse by the door, slowly walking in front of Mac.
…
"Look, I travel for work, a lot. Long distance really just isn't my thing and I'm sorry but I just don't think this is working out." Mac hated breaking up with someone over the phone but he was going to be in Chile for the next few days and he didn't think he'd have the time to meet in person.
"I understand." Stephanie's tone sounded as fake as it could get but Mac elected to ignore it, in the hopes that he'd never have to see her again.
…..
The thunder roared throughout the sky while Mac continued to clean up around the house. Something he'd asked Bozer to do while he was in Chile. The lights followed by the sounds of the powerful night sky was a beautiful sound to Mac. He loved it. It was almost like he could hear the science behind every boom. Except one boom sounded a little too close.
"Hey, Boze, just knock! You don't need to run into the door or bust it down! I can fix a lot but shattered glass is just a pain, buddy! Oh, and didn't I ask you to clean up a little bit while I was gone? I got shot at, you know. Can that get me at least a little sympathy?" Mac thought he was calling out to his best friend outside. He internally laughed to himself while he smiled and nodded as he walked to the door to let Bozer in. When he had barely gotten the door an inch open, it swung back, and Stephanie came in quickly, pushing a knife into his stomach.
"Hello, Angus. I've decided we're not done, actually."
"S-Steph-Stephanie…" He applied a painful amount of pressure around the wound while she kept a tight grip on the handle of the knife. He kept as still as he could, trying to keep from moving too much and damaging anything any further.
"Why don't you come with me?" She slowly pulled the knife towards her, using it as a leash, almost. One that had a lethal hold on her subject. Mac slowly followed while she led him out to her Mercedes. "Try not to get blood on the leather. I love my leather seats, Angus."
"I don't think… agh… I don't think I have much of a choice."
"You're right. I'll just get a new car. Didn't know I was loaded, did'ja?"
"It wouldn't have made a difference, Stephanie. I-ugh-I have work and I'm always traveling and-"
"It's a time-guzzler, I know. But you won't have to worry about that, now. I'm going to take care of you from now on. No need for a silly, unnecessary job at some stupid think tank. We're gonna be so happy together, my little Ang-ie."
"Please j-just…" He was losing consciousness.
"Shit. I guess I hit something. You're fading faster than I thought. Oh well. We're almost home."
"J-Jack." His vision faded until he was swallowed up by darkness. And agony.
….
The morning was cold. Too cold. Record-breaking cold. Jack shivered while he got out of his car, desperately wanting Mac to come out to the car and meet him instead of him having to leave the warm vehicle. He forced himself around and up the patio, to the… open front door? Then he saw it. The specific shade of red he just hated.
"Mac?!" Jack called out as he saw the blood spatters on the floor. "Mac!" His heart raced a million miles per hour. He was already ringing up the Phoenix.
"Jack, it's Saturday." Matty's tone was impatient but concerned. He'd never call in on a day off unless it was bad.
"Mac's been taken and I think he's hurt. There's blood on his floor. And-"
"And what?"
"I didn't notice it before. I was too busy worrying about the damn cold, Matty."
"Jack what is it?!"
"Blood. A lot of it. It's all down his sidewalk but it… It just ends in the middle. He was taken. Matty, he was taken!"
"I'll call in Riley and Bozer and check it out!" Matty hung up while Jack got back in his car and screeched his tires as he sped off towards the foundation.
…
Mac's brow furrowed as he began to wake. He squirmed before stiffening and groaning at the sharp, intense burning pain in his stomach and the rough feel of ropes around his wrists. His wound was stitched and bandaged. It was perfect. Judging from the feel, she was definitely not lying about being a plastic surgeon on her profile on . The wound probably wouldn't scar too bad.
When he was fully able to open his eyes, he looked around to see he was on the floor in, presumably, Stephanie's living room next to a glass door that looked as if it led to a fenced in backyard. He cringed when he realized he was shirtless. And… pantless… Well, the bright side was, he was still wearing his underwear. 'I'm in a situation where still having my underwear is a highlight. I need Jack.' Mac thought.
"Oh good! You're awake! You had quite the nap there, baby."
"Please. Just let me go."
"Ugh. Fine."
"R-really?" Give him a break, he's just woken up and he's scared.
"No! You're mine, Mackie! But you made me really sad so I'm gonna punish you for that. It's only fair." She grabbed the ropes and pulled on them, bringing his arms above his head and gaining a cry of pain from his irritated wound. "Oh. Almost forgot!" She dropped his arms and quickly grabbed some duct tape from a bookshelf next to the door. She put a piece over his mouth and proceeded to drag him outside to the backyard. The cold air felt painful throughout this entire body. "Don't worry about nosey neighbors bothering us. One's on vacation and the other had a very… interesting situation that landed him a long stay in a hospital." Mac's heart rate jumped when he'd realized what she'd done.
…..
"Found him! He's in some house in the middle of a neighborhood on the outskirts of town!" Riley shouted.
"I'm comin', Mac." Jack sprinted down the halls of the Phoenix, ready to see his kid again.
…
Mac managed to get the ropes loose and his duct tape off. He saw a gate at the back of the yard and proceeded to run towards it. When he saw the large lock, he looked around for some tools to get it open, but to no avail. As his eyes finally made their way back to the doorway, he saw Stephanie looking out with something in her hand that looked like- Oh. A taser.
"Come here." Her tone was hard and threatening.
"No!" Mac quickly turned, jumping up as high as he could, getting a good grasp on the top of the wooden fence. When he was halfway over, he felt his stitches rip and a jolt of electricity run through his body. He fell to the other side, away from Stephanie with a pain all around, yet, a slight sense of safety. When he'd managed to get the strength up to stand, he ran as fast as he could. He ran like a newborn calf that was half naked, but he didn't care. He was exhausted and nearly without any sense, whatsoever of direction, but he kept going, nonetheless.
"Get back here, MacGyver!" She unlocked the fence gate and proceeded to chase him with nothing but rage in her veins and the intent to beat the ever-living shit out of him when she caught up to him.
As the adrenaline started to kick in, his pain dulled and his running became much faster. He sprinted past a woman working on her laundry, snatching a pair of sweatpants out of her hand. "Sorry!" He ran around the side of a house, quickly put the pants on and continued running from his ex-and hopefully never again-captor. He ran through the streets of the neighborhood, yelling at the top of his lungs for anyone to help him. It was, sadly, still under development so not many people were there, and the ones that were, were most likely at work.
"Come back to me, baby!" She was getting closer. Far too close.
But the next thing anyone knew, Mac rolled up the hood of Jack's car and into the windshield before rolling back off and onto the asphalt. He lay in the street, feeling oddly relieved to have been hit by a car. That meant someone was there. Someone who'd be calling the cops to help him even if they didn't know it was for his captivity. Cops were still welcome. But it was so much better than some random civilian. It was his father-figure.
"Mac!" It… it's Jack's voice! Mac nearly passed out from the beautiful sound. "Mac, oh my- Matty we got him. We need a med team here, now! Mac, can you hear me?"
Mac's eyes were unfocused and he was as out of it as you could get while still conscious. Noises blurred together. The sound of Jack's voice was indistinguishable from the sound of the car's engine or the birds chirping. Bruises started to form on his bare chest. Jack figured his ribs were either fractured or broken given how Mac was breathing, but as long as they didn't move him too much, he'd be fine.
Stephanie tried to slip away before a few other Phoenix operatives caught up with her. They cuffed her and roughly threw her in the back of a van, never to be seen again.
…..
When Mac woke, he saw the team sitting in his room, some asleep and some busy on their phones or computers. All but one. Jack sat patiently, watching Mac from his seat next to the blond's bed. "Jack" His voice was raspy from a deep three days' sleep.
"Hey, bud. How you feelin'?" Jack rubbed Mac's arm, hoping for a coherent response as brain damage was absolutely a concern.
"Tired. You?"
"I knew it. No brain damage at all."
"Uh… thanks? You, too?"
"The doctors were worried about it but I told them you'd be fine. I was right."
"Thanks for saving me, Jack."
"I hit you with my car. I'm so sorry about that, Mac. I really am."
"I promise, I've never been so happy to be hit by a car in my whole life and I've broken a few windshields and slid across a few bonnets."
"Bonnets?"
"Some people call the hood of a car the 'bonnet'."
"Yup. You're fine. Telling me smart things I didn't ask about." The two laughed before Mac gave a slight groan in pain. He pressed a button, sending some pain medication through the line.
"Thanks, Jack." His eyes gave out and he finally went back to sleep, giving the older agent some time to rest. Dammit, he'd missed the kid.