Hey friends! It's been a minute XD How've you all been?

So. I'm obviously still bitter about what happened to Jill, so I decided she needed more time with the gang. This won't be a terribly long story, probably only one or two more chapters, but I just wanted to give her more recognition than they gave her in the show.

"Mac, how much further?" Riley called from behind.

"Not too far, just another couple of miles," the blond answered. There were collective groans from the group, and Mac decided that it was probably a good time to take a break and rest their feet. "But we're gonna stop here for a few minutes." He announced this as if it had been his plan all along. Everyone let out a breath of relief and immediately collapsed, including Jack. Mac stared at his friend with an amused expression.

"What? I didn't sleep well last night," Jack defended.

"Yeah, plus the fact that you're about fifty years older than the rest of us, I figured it was a good idea to give you a break."

"Ha, ha, you keep talkin' like that, I'll show you how spry I can be," Jack threatened, though he made no move to get up.

While Mac and Jack were arguing, Riley leaned back and handed a bottle of water to Jill.

"Thanks," the Phoenix employee said as she accepted the drink. "And hey, thanks for letting me tag along with you guys. I love hiking!"

"Sure." Riley smiled as Jill handed the water back. It had been Mac's idea to invite Jill on their little weekend hike. She was as much of the team as the others, and he figured it would be a good idea to get to know her better.

"Boze, whatcha doin'?" Mac asked as he spotted his roommate starting to untie his boots.

"My feet are killin' me, Mac. I was just gonna massage 'em a little."

"Don't take your boots off," Mac warned. "Your feet'll swell, and then you won't be able to fit them back in the boot."

Bozer's face fell into a mostly-mock scowl. "Are you tryin' to kill us?" he accused jokingly.

Mac chuckled, but was spared answering when his phone dinged. "Hey, we got reception," he said.

"Finally," Riley said, pulling out her own phone. When she checked the screen though, and saw that she had four missed calls from Matty, her face fell. She looked up and saw that everyone was looking at their phones with the same dismayed look. "What do you think is going on?" the hacker asked.

"I've got a text from her," Mac said. As he read the text, his eyes widened slightly. "Woah. She says there was a prison transfer bus, but it crashed. Hold on, she's calling me now." He answered the phone and put it on speaker. "Hey Matty, you're on speaker."

"Thanks for finally answering," came their boss's tense reply.

"Sorry, we've been out of phone range for a while," Mac apologized.

"Did you get my text?"

"Yeah, we were just reading it. Any update on the bus?"

"Three of the prisoners escaped. Two have been caught and taken back into custody, but one is still on the loose. Carl Baude, convicted for armed robbery and involuntary manslaughter."

"No offense Matty, what does that have to do with us? Are we being called in on the manhunt?" Jack asked.

"Not officially. I thought I mentioned it earlier."

"Mentioned what?"

"The bus crashed just down the road from where you're hiking."

"Wait, do you have us on GPS?" Bozer asked, looking up in the sky for satellites.

"I always know where you are, Bozer," Matty replied. Bozer looked at Jack for confirmation, who nodded seriously.

"It's true. She does."

"That's not the point," Matty stressed, bringing the conversation back around. "The point is that you guys probably need to head back soon, just to be on the safe side."

"I mean, I'm game," Jack said. Mac rolled his eyes at his partner.

"Do we have a description of the escaped prisoner?" Mac asked.

"I sent it to Riley's email, since the text wouldn't go through," Matty replied. Riley opened her email and let it refresh.

"Got it." She opened the attachment and showed the picture to the group.

"Matty, we'll be on the lookout for him. We'll head back soon," Mac promised.

"Just … stay safe."

"Will do." The phone call was disconnected, and Mac looked at the group.

"I think we should head back," Jack stated. MacGyver didn't necessarily want to leave yet, but he definitely didn't want to make the others stay if they were uncomfortable.

He decided to let everyone else give their say. "Guys?"

Riley and Bozer shared a look, then glanced back at Mac. "I think we should head back," Bozer finally agreed.

"Not that I don't want to finish the hike, but I do think it would be a better idea for now," Riley added. Mac nodded, then looked to their last member.

"Jill?"

She looked up, almost like she was shocked to hear her name. "Oh, are … you want my opinion?"

"You're part of the group, you're part of the vote."

"Oh. Well, I uh … I think I'd prefer to go home for now," she said, giving MacGyver a sympathetic look. "We can come back and finish sometime though!"

"Alright," Mac said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's get going." He wasn't upset that they wanted to leave. He'd done the hike plenty of times before. They wanted to leave, and he didn't blame them. Maybe there was something wrong with him for wanting to stay out longer with an escaped convict on the loose, but he was also perfectly happy to go back to his house and put in a movie, maybe tinker with his motorcycle a little. Whatever they decided to do, he was fine with it.

0-0-0

Bozer and Riley crossed the suspension bridge first. Jack headed across next, leaving Mac and Jill behind. The young man held his hand out for Jill to go. She took a few steps forward, but paused, staring warily at the bridge.

"Jill?" Mac prodded.

"Hm? Yeah. It's just … I'm, uh …"

Mac recognized the look on her face as she stared at the slightly unstable-looking bridge. "Hey." Mac put his hand on her shoulder. "It's fine. I'll be right behind you the whole time." Still, she hesitated, and Mac even noticed a slight tremor in her hands as she gripped the posts. "You know," Mac said, trying to make it sound casual. "I'm scared of heights too."

Jill looked back at him. "You are? I didn't know."

"Well, I try not to broadcast it," Mac said with a small smirk. "Something about a spy's worst fears becoming public knowledge just doesn't sound like the best idea."

"Guys," Jack called out, now on the other side of the chasm with Bozer and Riley. "You comin' or what?"

Jill looked at Mac, who gave her an encouraging nod. She turned forward, and with a deep breath, she took a shaky step out onto the wooden slats.

"I'm right behind you," Mac assured her as they started crossing.

They'd only gotten about halfway across the bridge when they suddenly heard a shout. Mac looked up, and was confused when he saw everyone staring at where they'd come from. It was Carl Baude.

The man seemed to sense that Mac knew out who he was, and he pulled a wicked looking piece of metal out of his waistband. Without waiting another moment, the escaped convict moved forward with lightning speed.

"Mac, watch out!"

Mac heard Jack's cry of warning. He looked back in time to see his friend running for them. "Jack, stay back!"

That was all he was able to say before Baude cut through one of the ropes holding the bridge up.

Jill let out a shriek as the bridge tilted sharply to one side, and Mac reached out, grabbing her backpack.

Baude was working on the second rope, and Mac knew he didn't have a lot of time. "Hold on!" he shouted as he wound his own hand through the ropes on the side of the bridge while still holding onto Jill's pack. Thankfully she did what she was told. Right in time, too. Mac swore he could hear the sickening snap of the rope as Baude cut through the last few strands. Then, they were falling.

:D Aw, c'mon! You all know you missed my cliffhangers! *pun fully intended.

Anyway, like I said before, I'm only planning this to have three, maybe four chapters, depending on how much I put them through ;) and it's a WIP for me, so updates won't be as regular as my other stories have been.

Anyone recognize this rewrite from the original series? :D

Aaaaallllsssooooo ... I knooooooow I need to finish Vixen. I just ... am struggling with it a little bit XD

Anyway. Let me know what you guys think of the story! Interested? Not interested?