For once the team had completed their mission and gotten back to the Foundation in a timely manner. No one had gotten injured for once either, not even a little bit, so Jack considered that a win all the way around. But, truthfully, that was the only win for the day. It hadn't been a good mission.

Bozer, who was clocking out for the day, was surprised to see them when they walked in. "Home by five pm on a Friday night?" he offered as a greeting. "That's got to be a first."

"It's a first since I started working here," Riley confirmed. "Feels kinda weird."

"Since you're all here and it is Friday night, who's up for dinner and a movie?" Bozer queried, eyeing each of them in turn.

Riley was up for it. "Count me in, but only if I get to pick the movie."

Bozer considered and countered. "I'm good with that, so long as I pick the restaurant."

"That's works." Riley turned to Jack. "You in?"

Before Jack could respond, Thornton appeared as if conjured up from the shadows.

She gestured down the hall. "Time to debrief."

MacGyver stepped by her, moving towards the conference room. He was quickly followed by Jack who grinned at Thornton as he slid by her.

Riley paused to say to Bozer, "Meet you in the lobby? This shouldn't take long."

"See you in a bit," Bozer said, waving them all off.

It was a standard debrief so basically Jack let himself drift a bit as MacGyver gave Thornton the run down. They had lost visual and audio contact for a brief period, so that was really the gist of the information she needed from them. Once Mac was done speaking, Thornton abruptly dismissed them all.

Jack followed Riley to the door because he had a burning question. "So what movie were you thinking of choosing?"

"Chick flick," Riley shot back, smirking. She knew how much Jack hated chick flicks.

"How about we compromise with a comedy?" Jack pleaded.

Riley pretended to consider then shook her head. "Nah. Chick flick." Actually she wasn't a fan of chick flicks either, but she was going to torture Jack for a bit before confessing that she wanted to see an action film. Despite her life having become something of an action adventure, Riley was still in the mood to be drawn into the fantasy version of it.

Needing another guy opinion to back him up, Jack turned to MacGyver only to realize that his friend had slipped out of the room, unnoticed. "Guess Mac hates chick flicks," Jack drawled, hiding his sudden concern.

"Is Mac okay?" Riley asked. "He was awfully quiet on the plane ride home. I mean, usually I can rely on him backing me up when I *old man* bash you. He didn't even pay attention."

"He's fine," Jack replied, without hesitation. He knew what was up with MacGyver, the trick would be tracking him down. But Jack always did love a challenge. "Go have fun with Bozer, we'll catch up with you later."

Riley knew she was missing something, but she let it go, trusting in Jack to take care of MacGyver. "Text me if you need me. You do remember how to text, right?" she teased, simply because she couldn't help herself.

Jack nudged her in the direction of the door. "I'm gonna text you a butt whooping if you keep it up, little girl." He chuckled when Riley flipped him the bird before sauntering off. Jack pulled out his phone, leaning against the wall as he called MacGyver. He wasn't surprised when the kid didn't answer, so he put his phone away and headed out the door. There were a couple of places where MacGyver might go, so Jack decided to start with the closest spot and work his way out.

The first two places were a bust, but Jack had a feeling he was finally heading in the right direction as he drove east out of town. There was a deserted park about a forty minute drive from the Foundation, and three years ago Jack had followed Mac there when the kid had taken off after a bad mission.

Forty minutes later, Jack parked next to MacGyver's SUV. He wasn't surprised to find it empty, but he was surprised to see Mac's wallet sitting on the hood with a folded picture laying on top of it. Jack smoothed it open and he wasn't surprised by what he saw.

Leaving everything as he found it, except for the picture which he tucked in his back pocket, Jack jogged off to the basketball court at the far end of the park. Sure enough, Mac was there shooting hoops. Jack moved to lean against a nearby tree where he could watch without being seen. He wanted to observe the kid for a time, see where his headspace was.

MacGyver didn't know he had company. He was too focused on dribbling and shooting, over and over again. He willed his mind to zero in on his actions only. Calculate the distance for the best shot, the angle of the toss, the velocity. Anything that would stop him from remembering what today was and the events that had gone down.

Relentlessly, Mac pushed himself. He felt the burn in his muscles, but he didn't even slow down. Not until he made to pivot and his left leg decided to give out. Catching himself before he could fall, Mac let the ball drop as he bent over, hands on knees, lungs aching as he tried to catch his breath.

"I think that's enough b-ball for tonight," Jack stated, moving to scoop up the basket ball before Mac could chase it down again.

"What are you doing here, Jack?" Mac was surprised to see his friend. "And how did you find me?" He didn't like the idea of being too predictable, that went against everything he did. Who he was.

Jack shrugged, but he was letting his gaze roam over MacGyver and he didn't like what he saw. The kid was already tired from their mission, because even though it had been successful and they hadn't suffered any set backs to themselves, there had been one tragic moment which he knew was haunting his friend. But now he had worn himself out to the point of exhaustion, and he looked ready to drop. Physical and emotional exhaustion were never a good combination. "I will always find you, bud. You know that."

MacGyver straightened up, using the bottom of his tee-shirt to wipe the sweat off his face. "Here's the thing, Jack. I didn't need to be found. I came out here, by myself, for a reason." He glared as he spoke, hoping the other man would get the message.

"And I know the reason." Jack ignored all the signals of *back off* and *leave me alone* Mac was sending his way. When the kid got that defensive, that was when Jack dug his heels in the most. "You know there was nothing you could do to stop what happened today, right? There wasn't anything any of us could do. Rubio killed his wife because she turned him in. It was never going to end well." Although he considered it a bonus when Rubio had then turned the gun on himself. Saved Jack a bullet.

"I know that, Jack, I've been doing this job for a while now. But thanks for sharing." The words and the sarcasm came tumbling out and there was nothing Mac could do to stop it. He wasn't mad at his friend, he was just...mad.

Knowing where the attitude was coming from, Jack didn't take offense. "I get it," he said quietly.

MacGyver made an attempt to get the ball back, but Jack backed away. "What do you get?" he demanded, stalking Jack and making another try for the ball.

"Rubio's son, just five years old, and now his mom is gone." Jack twisted in a move to keep Mac from getting the ball. "Sounds familiar, doesn't it? And it happened on the anniversary of your mother's death, so I get that you're having a rough time dealing right now. That's okay, Mac."

"No!" MacGyver lunged forward, both hands slamming into Jack's chest, shoving him back. "It's not okay!" he shouted. "Nothing about this day is okay!" He realized what he was doing, that he was shouting at his friend, pushing him, and Mac froze. He felt so overwhelmed in this moment that he almost forgot how to breathe.

Jack watched as MacGyver struggled. He tossed the ball aside and went to his friend. "Whatever you're feeling right now...it's all good." Jack rubbed a hand up and down MacGyver's back, willing his friend to relax and just breathe. "If you want to punch me... I'll give you a freebie. Cause, I've got to tell you, punching people always makes me feel better."

A broken chuckle was MacGyver's response to that offer. "I don't want to punch you, Jack," he mumbled. He huffed out a few shaky breaths, then he made the attempt to pull himself together. "Sorry...about the shouting and the pushing."

"No apologies necessary, bud. You know that." Jack stepped back to give MacGyver his space. "I am here if you want to talk about it. I think that might help you more than running yourself into the ground. That won't shut your brain off."

"Don't I know it," Mac whispered, dropping to the ground because his legs just didn't want to hold him up any longer. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as he felt Jack sit down next to him. He didn't really want to talk about it, but at the same time he wanted this feeling, like he was drowning...suffocating...to end. "I know how that little boy is going to feel...and it really sucks."

Jack understood that. "It will, but I have feeling he's a lot like you. Tough as nails."

MacGyver sure wasn't feeling so tough at the moment. "When my mom first died, I didn't really understand why she was gone. But every year, I remembered what day it happened on."

"I'm guessing that's one of the draw backs of having perfect recall?" Jack shoulder nudged his friend.

"Something like that." MacGyver heaved a sigh. "Funny thing is, for all my *perfect recall* sometimes I can't remember her face."

Something clicked for Jack. "That's why you have the picture." He reached into his pocket and carefully pulled it out, before offering it to his friend.

Mac was surprised to see it, but he took it and smoothed it open, one fingertip brushing over his mother's beautiful face. There was a story behind the picture that he had never told anyone before, but he knew he could trust Jack with it. "The first anniversary of her death, I kinda ran away."

"Ran away?" Jack was shocked. "You were six years old."

"I was angry," Mac countered. "Angry at her for being gone. Angry because I felt like I was forgetting her and I didn't want that to happen. So my dad tracked me down and he gave me the picture." He could remember sitting on the ground under the tree he had run away to. The tree that was too big for him to climb, but had stretched out overhead like a giant canopy sheltering him. Jack was sitting beside him, much in the same way his father had done.

Blinking hard against suddenly stinging eyes, Mac continued. "He said that remembering her face wasn't what mattered, that all I needed was to remember how she loved me. And he told me that I would never forget because she was a part of my heart."

Jack felt a twinge of fondness for Mac's dad in that moment. Just a twinge. "That's good advice," he acknowledged.

"Yeah." Mac smiled at the memory. One of the good ones that didn't come with a dose of regret. "Every year on that day I would run away to that tree, and every year my dad would come find me. Until he left." Pushing to his feet, MacGyver headed back to where his car was parked. He didn't want to think about this anymore.

"Mac, wait up!" Jack called out, rushing after him. He caught up as they reached the cars and he grabbed MacGyver by the arm to haul him around to face him. He could feel the kid trembling and no way was he letting him storm off and drive in his present state of mind. "I know you have issues with your dad, but this isn't about him. It's about you and your mom. Remembering her on this day...that's a good thing."

Tugging his arm free, but only going so far as to lean against his car, Mac nodded. "I know it is, but sometimes I feel guilty and angry and sometimes I'm still mad at her for leaving me." A tear slid down his cheek and he swiped it away with the back of one hand.

Jack nudged Mac with his shoulder. "She would understand you know. Mom's get it. She knows you're not mad at her for leaving, you're just angry that she's gone."

"I really don't want to do this anymore." MacGyver swiped at another tear, feeling mad at himself at the moment. The tears kept coming and he was almost ready to ask Jack if his offer of punching him was still open. Being mad would be better than this. Not that he really wanted to punch his friend. Mostly.

"I wish you could have met my dad," Jack said, realizing that the kid needed a distraction. "He would have liked you."

Mac was more than ready for a change of topic and for drawing the focus off of himself. "Yeah? I bet I would have liked him too."

A thought suddenly occurred to Jack. "Hey, that tree you would run away to. Is that the one you and Bozer built the tree house...er...the lab in?"

"Yeah, that's the one." Mac was confused by the question, and unhappy that the subject matter had just twisted back around onto him. "Why?"

"I was thinking, we should build a tree house. You and me." Jack was excited by the thought of it. He'd always wanted to build one but his dad, while good at a lot of things, carpentry wasn't one of them.

Mac frowned at him, trying to gauge whether or not Jack was serious. "You want to build a tree house?" he echoed.

Jack nodded. "I do. It'd be cool and we could make it two stories. Oh, and we could wire in surround sound. Think of it as a challenge."

"I'd rather think of it as you being sleep deprived and delusional," Mac shot back, but he found himself chuckling even his mind started whirring thinking of the logistics of building a two-story tree house. But then he shook off the thought. "We're both tired, Jack." It had been an extremely long and not good day.

"Can't deny that," Jack allowed. He watched as Mac scrubbed at his eyes, looking young and vulnerable and beat down. He hated seeing his friend like that. Reaching out, he pressed his hand over MacGyver's heart. "You're mom is always with you, right in here. I carry my dad in the same place. Trust me, you're never going to forget her." He pulled Mac into a one-armed hug. "Sharing the memory of her always makes it more real. So next year, if you need me, I'm here for you. Hell, I'm always here for you, kid."

Mac ducked away from him. "You won't be for much longer if you keep calling me kid," he threatened, but without any real malice. He appreciated the sentiment more than Jack would ever know.

Which had the effect of making Jack draw him in for a bear hug, which he felt being returned, if only for a second. He drew back and ruffled Mac's hair, knowing it drove the kid crazy. But it least it made him smile, even as he slapped Jack's hand away. "What do you say we head home and shower, then I'll buy some beer and meet you at your house. We can sit around the fire pit and tell manly stories."

"Translation - we'll eat pizza, drink beer and watch bad sci-fi movies," Mac stated, and he was good with that.

"Pretty much," Jack conceded. You in?"

MacGyver nodded. "I'm in. I'll call in the pizza before I jump in the shower, so don't get lost."

Jack frowned at him. "I never get lost."

"Okay, Pinnocchio," Mac snorted and grabbed his wallet before reaching for the door handle.

"Come on, man." Jack followed him. "You know I never get lost. Temporarily misplaced at times? Sure. But never lost."

Mac laughed out loud. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Jack. But remember that time on the way to the stadium? We missed the entire game."

Jack did remember, and that had totally not been his fault. "The GPS on my phone broke."

"It wasn't broken, you said you knew a shortcut to get there faster." Mac laughed as he slid into the driver's seat. "See you at my place."

"Be there soon with a six-pack of your favorite," Jack replied, stepping back so MacGyver could close the door. He watched him drive away before getting into his own car. He knew the kid was still hurting, but he would be there with him. Always.

THE END