MACGYVER'S FAVOURITE FISHING SPOT
LOCATION: TOP SECRET
(IT'S SOMEWHERE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA)
(THAT'S ALL YOU'RE GETTING)
Mac carefully checked the bait on his hook, then cast the line out, before settling back into his camping chair.
He and Jack (who also enjoyed fishing) had convinced Bozer to come fishing with them on this fine Saturday.
(It'd taken some persuading; Mac's best friend was firmly of the opinion that fishing was boring.)
Fishing is, admittedly, not the most stimulating of activities.
But that's really the point, at least for me.
I find it meditative, calming.
I think that's something that Jack agrees with.
Now, we've just got to get Boze to see it.
A little while later, Jack tossed a sandwich at him, which he'd pulled out of the freezer bag that had been packed by Bozer.
Mac caught the sandwich one-handed, which made both him and Jack grin, and then put his fishing rod down in one of the special holders he'd put together a few years ago. He unwrapped his sandwich and was just about to take a bite when Bozer, after glancing at Jack, spoke.
'Bro, don't you think it might be time to ask Doc to meet in person? Or ask her for her name, at least?'
Jack pointed at Bozer and nodded in agreement.
Internally, Mac sighed. He was pretty sure they'd rehearsed this. Externally, he took a bite of his sandwich (a delicious homemade Reuben), chewed slowly and swallowed.
'I like being friends with Doc.' He emphasized the friends bit, not really intentionally. He probably emphasized it too much; it sounded defensive in hindsight. He took another bite of his sandwich, chewed and swallowed. 'What if we're not as comfortable in person? What if it isn't so easy in person?' He turned to Jack and Bozer for a moment, before staring out at the water. He picked up a stone from the ground, and skipped it over the lake. It skipped eight times before sinking. 'What if it's the medium?'
He really valued his friendship with Doc, weird as it was. He liked talking about just about anything and everything, from mad science and childhood stories and the latest articles in her favourite medical journals to how dating was weird or the best kind of bagel or their favourite kinds of pie or their days at work.
He didn't want to lose it.
Jack looked over at him, something rather wise and reassuring and seeing in his eyes.
'Or maybe it's you two, brother.' He paused and pointed at Mac. 'You're never gonna find out if you keep doing this texting-only thing, Mac.'
Mac looked into Jack's eyes for a moment, seeing the truth reflected in them, before sighing and looking out over the water again. He ate some more sandwich as he marshalled the nebulous web of thoughts in his mind into something more ordered, something that other people could understand.
'She's never expressed any interest in meeting up either. Or sharing names.'
That, Mac knew, sounded weak, even to his ears.
He was pretty sure that that was so because Doc, like him, didn't want to do anything to possibly jeopardise their odd yet comfortable semi-anonymous friendship.
(He knew more than enough about her history, her experiences growing up – and understood them more than well enough, having gone through similar – to know that.)
He was also pretty sure that Doc's friends (the ones who'd tried to get her to date that helicopter pilot, a little and not terribly nice voice in his brain that he generally refused to listen to said) were having conversations with her that were similar to the one that Jack and Bozer were currently trying to hold with him.
Jack and Bozer just exchanged a look, and Bozer grabbed sandwiches for both of them from the bag. They fell silent in an almost-expectant way, and Mac sighed again, ate another bite of sandwich, then finally spoke, voice quiet and confessional, which didn't really match his words.
'It's called taking it slow.'
He admitted, right then and there for the first time, to himself, and by implication, to Jack and Bozer, that he had an interest in Doc, as much of an interest as one could have in a woman whose name you didn't even know and whose face you'd never seen.
A voice in his head that sounded rather like his grandfather pointed out that he knew her pretty well. She had, he knew, a brilliant intellect and a sweet, optimistic nature, but there was a fierceness to her too. He knew quite a number of little and seemingly inconsequential things about her, those little quirks that made a person a person, like her great love for pie and fondness for being prepared.
Mac found he couldn't quite ignore that voice.
Jack and Bozer exchanged another look as they chewed their own sandwiches, before Bozer spoke.
'Mac, bro, this isn't taking it slow…'
Jack nodded in agreement.
'…This is going as slow as you can go without going in reverse, brother.' Jack pointed at him. 'You've been texting for months. You don't know her name. You've never seen her face or heard her voice. That's almost-reverse.'
Mac was silent for a while, finishing his sandwich as he stared out on the water.
Jack and Bozer exchanged a glance.
Ultimately, they both knew, this came down to Mac's relatively substantial self-esteem issues, which in turn stemmed from everything from the childhood bullying he'd endured that Bozer had done his best to protect him from, to being different and not fitting in his entire life, to his dad leaving, to being shot down cold by Darlene Martin and even to Nikki leaving him that terrible day.
Mac really, really valued his friends, the people he'd made his family. That, they knew, was at least partially the product of said self-esteem issues, as tragic as that fact was.
The problem with that was that Mac wasn't willing to take a risk now.
He wasn't willing to take a chance, not willing to take a risk that Jack and Bozer were both firmly convinced was very much worth it, and was nowhere near as big as Mac probably thought it was.
He and Doc now had months of bizarre (really bizarre; Bozer had walked in on Mac stabbing pieces of pork with high heels all because of a chat he was having with Doc) semi-anonymous text-message friendship on their side. They clearly had plenty in common.
There was definitely more than enough there for a solid, real-world friendship, and more friends, good, real, true friends, were always a good thing.
As for being more than friends…well, Mac was handsome enough to be a Hollywood star (even if he'd never believe anyone who told him that), and Doc was a living, red-blooded woman who played for the right team, so that had to count for something.
Jack leaned over and put a hand on Mac's shoulder, putting down his sandwich as he did so.
'We're not saying you should ask her on a date, brother.' Bozer made a little noise of protest, but Jack shut him up with a look, thankfully before Mac, lost in thought, could notice. 'Just…maybe get her name, meet up in a café, get some coffee and cake and have a chat. Friends do that, Mac. You're friends, even if you've got this weird anonymous text-only thing going on.' Jack shrugged and looked him solidly in the eye. 'We're not gonna try and make you date her, Mac. Maybe you'll meet up and realize that you're not into each other that way.' Bozer, to his credit, managed to simply nod in agreement that time, possibly thinking of his and Riley's saga. Jack squeezed Mac's shoulder. 'Brother, we're just trying to get you to let that be a possibility, give it a fighting chance.'
Mac held eye contact with Jack for a moment, before making eye contact with Bozer, whose expression was somewhere between a smirk and a grin and shot him an encouraging double thumbs up.
Mac was pretty sure his roommate also mouthed I ship it.
(He chose to ignore that.)
At that moment, there was a tug on Mac's fishing line, and he picked it up to start that age-old battle with the fish that'd taken the bait, speaking as he did so.
'It'd be pie, not cake.' He shrugged, a soft, fond little smile on his face that he wasn't fully conscious of. 'She's very insistent that pie is a better dessert than cake.' The smile widened, a hint of wryness appearing. 'She's firmly insistent that pie is the world's best foodstuff, actually.'
Jack and Bozer just exchanged a rather exasperated look.
Based on this text-message-only friendship, they supposed that it could go either way.
Mac and Doc could be more-than-friends, or just friends (not that that was inferior, just different).
But they were convinced that the smart money should definitely be on more-than-friends.
Mac, busy reeling in the fish, did not notice the looks on their faces.
(Of course he didn't.)
MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE
PASADENA
Mac shook his head in fond amusement as Bozer gesticulated wildly and lectured Jack in the kitchen. His roommate was trying to teach the older man how to prepare an array of game-day snacks.
How is it going?
Well, I think the less I say about it, the better…
Jack was over at their place, since, as he did every year the week before the Super Bowl, he was attempting to teach Mac and Bozer to properly appreciate football.
And the less said about that too, the better.
We'll watch the Super Bowl with him next week, of course – A, it's the Super Bowl, and B, and more importantly, it matters to Jack.
But if I have to listen to one more lecture about the superiority of the Cowboys…
Mac's phone beeped, and with a smile, he looked down and read Doc's text, chuckling as he did so.
No, I'm not a football fan. I don't even have a team that I pretend to support! ;)
Well, don't ever mention that to Longhorn; he'll declare you a Cowboys fan by default…
Mac stilled for a moment, thinking back to that conversation he'd had with Jack and Bozer when they'd gone fishing a couple of weeks ago. He hesitated a moment, his fingers hovering in an unconscious pattern over the screen of his phone. Then, he came to a decision and typed and sent the message before he could second-guess himself.
Doc, do you think it's weird that we've been talking for months, but don't know each other's names?
The reply took a little bit longer than he expected, as if she was considering or hesitating a little bit too. He was about as sure as he could be, considering their situation, that she'd never asked his name for more or less the same reasons why he hadn't asked for hers.
I think it is weird, but then again, weird is kind of the 'theme' of this friendship…I like our weird!
But I wouldn't be averse to having a proper name for you in my contacts at all!
Mac smiled. He really liked their weird too. And he agreed that it would be nice to have something other than 'Doc' to call her. Operating mostly on impulse, he sent her another message.
Can I call you?
Go ahead!
His smile widened, and he got up off the couch and headed into his room, feeling oddly nervous (but in a good way) in a way that he wasn't willing to analyse.
In the kitchen, Jack and Bozer exchanged a significant look, and Bozer reached out and grabbed two glasses from the cupboard.
Once he'd closed the door, Mac sat down in his desk chair and pressed the little green phone icon, then raised his phone to his ear.
The phone had barely rung when it was answered.
'Hi.'
He smiled and returned the greeting.
'Hi.'
He could hear a smile in her voice when she responded.
'I'm Beth, Beth Taylor.'
Without him really noticing, his smile widened.
'Angus MacGyver. Please call me Mac.'
That made her give a little giggle. It was a nice sound, he decided.
'Duly noted, Mac.'
It was nice to have her use his name. Really nice. He tilted his head to the side a little and a small smirk crossed his face.
'Elizabeth or Bethany?'
She gave a half-chuckle and he could hear the head-shake in her voice.
'Bethany, thank goodness. I don't think I could deal with Elizabeth Taylor jokes on top of Doogie Howser ones…though I suppose it might not be anywhere as near as much of an issue, since we don't share a profession and I look nothing like her…'
Mac laughed, ignoring and boxing away that little voice in his brain that wondered what Beth looked like if she didn't look like Elizabeth Taylor.
'My friend Jack, the guy I've been calling Longhorn, makes really terrible jokes. Many of them involve puns. He'll probably manage to make an Elizabeth Taylor joke about you anyway…' He paused for a moment, voice a little softer when he spoke again. 'It's nice to have something better to call you than Doc.'
'You're labelled in my contacts as The Spaghetti Engineer, Mac…' Her voice sounded distinctly sheepish. 'I think that's worse.'
He laughed again, leaning back in his chair.
'Well, both of them are true, accurate descriptions, Beth…'
There was a pause for a moment before she responded.
'You must have unusually long and/or thick vocal cords…' He gave a snort of laughter (though he could really relate; sometimes, he thought out loud too, and it was true, he did have atypically large vocal cords). There was another pause, and her voice was sheepish and shy and a little hesitant when she spoke again. '…I said that out loud, didn't I?'
He grinned, giving another half-snort of laughter.
'Yeah.'
'I'm sorry, I'm kind of awkward…'
Mac just gave a little shrug, not that she could see, still grinning.
'We can be awkward together?' He made a face. 'That sounded better in my head…'
It was her turn to give a snort of laughter.
'I think most things do…'
Meanwhile, Bozer and Jack had their ears pressed to a glass each, which were in turn pressed to Mac's bedroom door, a little trick that Mac had taught Bozer years and years ago.
They exchanged a glance as they eavesdropped on Mac's conversation with Doc (whom they supposed they now had to start thinking of as Beth).
Bozer sniffled.
'He's come such a long way since Darlene Martin…'
Jack made a face and muttered to himself.
'And this is why it should be obvious he ain't actually my son, people…no son of mine would be this not-suave…'
FBI OFFICES
LA
'…The entire organization is now in custody and ready for interrogation. We've got enough evidence to put them all away for a really long time.' At their 29th and final weekly meeting, Matty smiled at them, a smile that both Bozer and Riley were convinced was genuine and without agenda. 'Great work.' She paused and there was something a little more wry or knowing in her smile. 'You made a great team.' That wry, knowing bit grew more prominent. 'I think you'll be working together more in the future.'
As they left Matty's office at 5 pm on the dot, Riley grinned, and held out her fist to Bozer, who was grinning even wider. He reached out and bumped his own fist to hers, grin widening, if that was possible.
Riley's own grin widened, and she shifted her weight onto her left leg as they stopped by their desks.
'Wanna go grab burgers and hit an arcade to celebrate?'
He pointed at her, and she swore his grin got even wider.
'You're on.' He smirked. 'But I'm gonna kick your ass in DDR, don't say I didn't warn you…'
Riley smirked right back.
'Guitar Hero and DDR, best of three in each, winner buys dinner?'
Bozer nodded eagerly.
'You're on!'
BOZER'S FAVOURITE ARCADE
(RILEY'S NEW FAVOURITE ARCADE)
SOUTH PASADENA
Bozer stared at the Guitar Hero machine's screen as Riley put down the controller with a smirk.
She'd just set a new high score and completely smashed him in the Guitar Hero leg of their little bet, which he was now thinking hadn't been a very well thought-out bet. They'd both clearly assumed, not thinking enough about it, that they could win both legs, and he was now thinking that they were probably both wrong.
Then, he shook his head rather fondly and pointed at her with a smile.
'Hey, I knew you were queen of computers, you did not tell me that you're a Guitar Hero queen too!'
Her smirk widened as a rush of warmth flowed through her at Bozer's compliments, and she socked him lightly, affectionately, in the arm.
'No backing out of our bet!'
Bozer just smirked.
'Wouldn't even think about it, Riley.' His smirk widened and he puffed out his chest. 'I'm gonna kick your ass in DDR!'
Bozer just smirked as he stepped off the DDR platform, Riley staring at him and the game, her mouth slightly agape.
He simply puffed out his chest and pretended to straighten an imaginary bow tie.
'Second place in the Inaugural Official West Coast Alphabet Agency DDR Tournament.'
Riley gave a snort.
'There was an official tournament?'
Bozer looked a little sheepish.
'Eh…well, maybe official is stretching it a little bit…'
She gave another snort and raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say you think? Then, her brow furrowed.
'Who came first?'
Bozer shook his head with a smile, losing himself in a memory for a moment.
'A chick called Viv from the Seattle NSA office.' Bozer gestured at the DDR machine. 'Her DDR skills were as on-point as her eyeliner.'
KILLER BURGERS
(AKA BOZER'S WORKPLACE FROM HIS COLLEGE DAYS)
SOUTH PASADENA
'Hey, Tommy! Mr Lind promoted you up to fries! Great work, man!' Bozer grinned and waved at a teenager who was, indeed, working the fry station, as he pointed out his menu recommendations to Riley. 'He's Jack's neighbour's kid, he finally got promoted off mop duty…' He pointed at a headlined burger on the menu. 'Get the special, with extra pickles, mayo and barbecue sauce.' Riley raised a sceptical eyebrow. 'Trust me! When have I ever let you down when it comes to food?'
He never had.
Even those green cupcakes had been delicious.
Riley nodded with a little smile, and Bozer grinned and told the cashier to give them two specials with extra pickles, mayo and barbecue sauce, as well as a large order of the special, off-menu loaded fries.
When it was time to pay, both Bozer and Riley pulled out their wallets, both of them realizing at that moment that their little Guitar Hero/DDR competition had been a dead tie.
(In hindsight, it'd been a terribly thought-out bet.)
(Neither of them had been, they admitted, in the deepest, most secret corners of their minds, completely with it at the time it'd been made, both a little distracted.)
Riley pulled out her card first.
'I'll get this one, you can get next time.' She shrugged, ignoring that funny, warm, slightly-fluttery feeling she got when Bozer grinned at her like she'd just made his day with the mention of next time, rather than the whole taking-down-the-bad-guys-we've-been-chasing-for-months being the best thing that'd happened all day. 'We should hang out more outside of work.'
He pointed at her, that same, almost-childlike, happy, carefree grin still on his face.
'Now that's the best idea you've had all week.'
Given that she'd had a really, really good idea that'd helped them to catch the kingpin of The Organization on Monday, that really made that warm feeling grow stronger.
AN: Everyone makes progress! Yay! I have to say, Jack and Bozer weren't supposed to eavesdrop on Mac and Beth's conversation…but then I got the mental image of the two of them trying to listen through Mac's door, and I couldn't get it out of my head!