Sins Of The Father

This came to me today as I watched an unrelated TV show, and thought it would make a great MacGyver FanFiction. Hope you like it, this is my 3rd FF. Any ideas what can be inside?

He was running, he could feel the pavement hitting back as his feet landed on it, right, left, right, left, right...His heart was beating fast but steadily, his breathing was deep and strong, sweat was beading on his forehead and down his back. Mac loved running in the early morning hours, right as the night turned to early dawn and before people started their daily routine. Running allowed him the time to think, to get his "gynormous brain" as Jack referred to it he thought with a smile, organized and ready for his day; of course if Jack knew he was out running right now Mac was 100% sure that he would blow a fuse and start one of his ranting tirades abouts how he was being irresponsible and careless and how he was giving him premature grey hair by running 5 miles so soon after the whole Murdoc kidnapping/drugged to the gills incident and how he was going to plant a tracking device on his body, or two or three so he could keep track of him 24/7 365. That elicited a soft chuckle from MacGyver as he turned into his driveway.

He stopped and placed his hands on his knees, bent over a bit and took a few deep breaths, grabbing the water bottle he had set ontop of his Jeep's roof when he left so he could have something to drink when he got back, his usual routine was to freeze a bottle and then lay it on top of the Jeep so that by the time he returned it was melted enough to be dranked, but still icy enough to be cold. He was in the middle of a big gulp of water when Jack's car turned into the driveway, busted! he thought and braced himself for that which was Jack's paternal mode to go full force. He sighed, put the cap back on the bottle and turned to his friend, a smile on his face, "hey Jack!"

Jack turned into Mac's driveway, singing along to one of Johny Cash's songs, in a great mood when he left his house 15 minutes earlier but then he saw Mac, standing in his driveway, dressed in running shoes, shorts and a sweat-soaked MIT tee, obviously back from a run and his mood soured.

Jack's first instinct was to leap out of his car, walk over to the kid, grab him by the shoulders and give him a good shake while yelling at him for being so irresponsible by going out for a run for God knows how many miles 4 days after being kidnapped, tortured and drugged by that maniac Mudoc, but as he was yanking his car keys out of the ignition to do just that when he remembered something Cage had said to him while they were all franticlly waiting for news about Mac's whereabouts when Murdoc had taken him.

She had told him that although Jack obviously felt very paternal aboout Mac, that he obviously loved Mac more like a son than a friend, and it was evident that he would do anything for Mac, that Mac had a father, and although absent, it was not Jack's place to play that role with him; that Mac needed a friend, not a worried parent, a friend that was able and willing to stay focused on the issue at hand and capable of being useful when they found him, because a worried parent was not going to be any good to anybody, but a loyal, capable, focused friend, well, that Mac could latch onto and use it to help himself out of whatever would need to be dealt with when they found him.

At first he was dissmissive of Cage's observation; I mean, who did she think she was telling him how he should behave towards Mac? How he should help his boy overcome whatever that lunatic Murdoc did to him? After they found Mac though, and he had time to calm himself, he really tought about what Cage had said, he actually had to admit she may have a point; sometimes going "parental" on Mac was not the best strategy, and even though he did love the kid like a son, Mac needed him to be there to help him, not lecture him. Jack sighed, planted a smile on his face and got out of the car, and started walking towards Mac.

"Hey Mac, have a good run?" he asked the boy, slapping the kid's shoulder a couple of times as he smiled and started towards Mac's front door. "Nice day outside, isn't it?" He added, maintaining his smile. He almost burst out laughing by the look on Mac's face alone. Mac's mouth was open, his blue eyes staring at Jack like he had just said he had made love to an alien from Mars on the way to his place and that they were going to run away together to another galaxy far, far away. He kept walking and stopped at Mac's doorway, turned to the kid and asked, "you coming in or going for another 10 miles? Mac finally reacted, closing his mouth and "yeah" as he made his way inside behind Jack.

Mac could not believe his ears or his eyes. Instead of yelling at him for going for a run like he thought he would, Jack had done the complete opposite, he had asked if he had a nice run and commented on the weather. Mac stood there, unable to stop his jaw from falling open, unable to move even, trying to figure out what, or even who this man that looked like Jack was? because there is no way his Jack would just said what this one had just said. He was so surprised and thrown off balance by what just happened that he did not even notice he was actually standing inside his living room, evidently he had at some point followed Jack inside, although for the life of him, he did not remember doing it. He felt Jack's hand on his shoulder again, a slight shake from his friend brought him back to the here and now and he realized Jack's worried face was right in his personal space, and his mouth was moving..."e..ar'th ... to Mac... you OK Mac?" he finally heard; Mac blinked and nodded.

"Sorry Jack" Mac said, "I...um..."Hi", "um.. how are you? was all that came out of his mouth. He saw Jack raise an eyebrow at him with a glimmer in his eyes and a smile on his face. "I'm going to hop in the shower" Mac said, "Bozer left some muffins in the fridge if you're hungry"; just as he said that he darted towards the bathroom in an effort to get away from the awkwardness of the situation and for a chance to regain his balance. He entered his room and closed the door behind him, leaning back against it and taking a deep breath, shaking his head..."What the Hell was that?" he muttered to himself and the proceeded to take grab some clean clothes and headed into the shower.

Jack was on the couch, munching on one Bozer's blueberry muffins, which were awesome!, sipping on some coffee and chuckling to himself. Maybe Cage was right and there was something to this non-paternal thing? If nothing else it was sure to keep Mac guessing and him slightly amused. The look on the kid's face when he had acted like nothing had happened and just chatted about the weather was priceless. He was still worried about Mac's constant disregard for his well being, but maybe, just maybe, he needed to try a different approach with the kid, instead of full charge ahead, he will try a slower, smoother approach this time to see what happens.

Mac was able to regain his "balance" and feel more like he could actually string several coherent sentences together when he spoke now, so he took a breath, grabbed the door knob to his room and exited to the living room to join Jack. As he approached the couch he saw Jack was already on his third muffin and laughed; "those good?" he asked. Jack glanced up at him and said "yup" with a mouthfull of muffin. Mac rolled his eyes at his friend and started towards the kitchen to grab a muffin before Jack ate them all, which he would if left unattended. As he was approaching the fridge there was a knock on the door so he changed routes and made it to the front door to Jack's "expecting company bud?" which had an edge of concern to it. "No" he said, grabbed the knob and for a second felt slightly dizzy, his mind going back to the day 4 days ago when Murdoc's muscle for hire had knocked on his door and abducted him. He shook himself and turned the knob..

There was no one at the door, but there was a package at his doorstep. The box was nondescript, brown with a white label, no return address he noticed as he picked it up to check it. "What is that?" Jack asked, making Mac jump. Jack noticed and put a hand on Mac's shoulder; "sorry, did not mean to startle you kiddo" he said, frowing. "I don't know what it is Jack" he said turning the box in his hands; "there is but one way to find out though". Mac was intrigued, who had left the box? What is in the box? Why leave it and run?" Suddenly he thought about Murdoc again, could it be from him? Was that lunatic still taunting him? He felt his hands start to shake and his breathing start to increase but he did not want to freak out just yet, especially not in front of Jack who he knew was already worried about him as it was, so he took a calming breath and headed back inside with the box; Jack in tow.

Jack did not like it, not one bit. Who would leave this box for the kid and why? He could tell Mac was concerned too, even though the kid tried to hide it, he noticed the slight tremor of his hands as he inspected the box, the slight increase in his breathing and the beads of sweat on the kid's forehead, a tell tale sign that Mac was inching towards an emotional breakdown; one that Jack would need to figure out how to either stop or at least be there to help the kid through when all hell broke lose. When Mac went back inside with the box, Jack stayed behind the kid, closing the door and locking it tightly for good measure, slowly putting his gun, which he was holding in his left hand just in case, back in the holster. No, he thought, he did not like this one damn bit! As he made his way to the kitchen a Mac was already opening the box with his Swiss Army Knife; the kid looked pale and tired, also something Jack did not like one bit, but now was not the time he figured, so he focused on the box.

Mac took his knife out and cut around the seams of the box. It had been carefully sealed he noticed. Jack was now beside him, but he continued to focus on getting the box opened. He carefully lifted the top flap and looked inside and gasped, dropping the box on the table and stepping away from it like it was a snake ready to bite him. No, no, no, no! he thought, this can't be? How? Why? His breathing suddently coming in ragged breaths, the edges of his vision greyed, and the world was suddenly shifting on its axys. He could faintly make out Jack's face amongst the turnmoil that was in his head, he could not hear him but he knew Jack was saying something to him; he felt Jack's strong hands on him; one on his shoulder, one behind his neck, squeezing...'br..e...a..the...that is it kiddo... breathe..." he suddenly could hear again and that is what Jack was saying, unable to really respond yet, he blinked at his friend, focusing on Jack's grip to help him regain his composure..."you with me kiddo?" he heard Jack say, his hand on his cheek; comforting and strong. Mac nodded and bent down, hands on knees, head bowed, focused on breathing normally; he blinked again and felt a cool wet cloth on his face...

Wonder what is in the box? come back for more...To be continued