Here we go...last chapter. It's definitely a bittersweet moment for me. I've been working on this story for a while now, so the fact that I'm closing its browser tab is a very strange feeling to me...

Longer AN at the bottom :)

Usual disclaimers, own nothing but my OC's :)

MacGyver, Jack, and Anja were waiting as the plane door opened and revealed Patricia Thornton. She stepped off the plane and walked towards her agents and their witness.

"What happened to staying put?" Thornton asked, her voice stern.

"Aw, c'mon Patty, we kinda had to make a run for it," Jack defended. "I mean, I'm good, but even I can't fight off an entire mob group! And since Mac only has use of one arm, and the fact that it was basically ten-to-one… you're joking with us," Jack realized after a minute of rambling. Thornton gave him a quick wink and walked over to Mac, whose arm had been put in an actual sling once the DXS agents had gotten Anatoly and Wilder loaded onto their truck and taken away.

"I can't send you two anywhere without something going wrong, can I?" she asked with a touch of humor in her eyes.

"Sorry," Mac apologized with a small smile. "We'll try to do better," he promised.

"Hmm," came Thornton's reply, though Mac could see she wasn't actually that upset. "I talked to the Russian police department," Thornton said. "I've cleared everything up; you're no longer wanted for murder," she promised.

"Well that is a relief," Jack cut in. "I was gettin' tired of runnin' for my life."

"It was barely twenty-four hours," Thornton reminded Jack dryly.

"Longest twenty-four hours of my life though," Jack argued. "Back me up on this, Mac!"

"I will admit that it was a long twenty-four hours, but not because we were wanted for murder," MacGyver said, gesturing at his injured arm. "I was more concerned about getting us out of the situation alive."

"Well, I mean, that's important too," Jack agreed. "But being wanted for murder was never on my bucket list," he added.

"But being chased, held captive and almost killed by the Russian mafia was?" MacGyver asked with raised eyebrows and a laugh threatening to come out.

"Y'know what, Mac?" Jack asked, making a frustrated face. "You could just let me have this one moment to gripe about being framed for murder," he whined.

"And I'm assuming this is Anja?" Thornton interrupted her two agents as she switched her gaze to the Russian woman.

"Yeah. Anja, this is our boss, Patricia Thornton," Mac introduced, gladly moving on from his argument with Jack. Anja smiled, and Thornton held out her hand for the Russian to shake.

"We're glad you're safe," Thornton said sincerely.

"It is only thanks to MacGyver and Jack," Anja promised, giving a grateful smile to the two agents. "I am just sorry your other agent did not survive," she added.

"Thank you," Thornton replied, her face falling a little at the mention of Agent Dunn. "But, if you're willing to testify against Wilder and Anatoly in court, he won't have died completely in vain," Thornton said, the question clear in her statement.

"Of course," Anja said, nodding her head emphatically. "I want these men off streets," she said firmly.

"Until the trial, we'll place you in protective custody," Thornton promised.

"How long will that be?" Anja asked, slightly hesitantly. She had a life, and while it wasn't perfect, it was hers, and she wanted to come back to it someday.

"No more than two weeks," Thornton said reassuringly. "We just need to make sure that you're kept safe from any after effects of what happened with Wilder and Popev," she explained. "The trial is set for two weeks from today, and once it's over, you can go back to your old life."

Anja nodded. Two weeks wasn't bad, and the least she could do for the Americans who saved her life was to testify against the men they had caught, and make sure they were put away for good.

0-0-0

Two Weeks Later, in Court

Thornton walked into the courtroom and spotted Mac, Jack, and Anja sitting on a bench. She walked over to them, and they scooted over to make room for the fourth person. Mac's arm was out of the sling, but he had been told that he was to treat his arm very carefully for the next few weeks. Thornton was interested to see how well that order would be followed.

"So?" Mac asked quietly as she settled in.

"We got the last of the mob members," Thornton reported with a satisfied look on her face. "Alex was rather talkative once we actually met face-to-face, and he told me where to find the last few of his friends."

"So after this, it's really over?" Mac asked, looking over at Anja, who was sitting on the other side of Jack, watching the front of the courtroom with apprehension.

"It's really over," Thornton confirmed. Mac sat back against the bench, a content expression settling on his face.

The trial progressed; Anja was called to testify against Anatoly and Nick Wilder regarding the murder of Agent Dunn, and Jack and Mac were called to give their statements as well. The trial was finished quickly after that; Anatoly and Wilder and all their men were taken to prison, and the small crowd that had gathered for the trial began dispersing.

Thornton walked over to Anja, who was picking up her jacket off of the bench. Thornton had a kind look in her eye as she spoke. "You did well up there," Patricia said sincerely. Anja drew in a deep breath and looked at Thornton, silently assuring herself that while the woman was intimidating, most Americans were like Mac and Jack. Not all of them were like Wilder.

"Thank you," she replied finally. "I am just glad it's over," she admitted. Thornton studied the Russian for a minute before speaking again.

"You know," she began. "You really handled yourself well, both out in the field, and here in court, better than most civilians," she informed Anja. "My organization could use a civilian informant in Russia from time to time," she said. "Would you be interested?"

Anja's eyes got a little wider as she understood what Thornton was saying. "You...you are offering me...job? Rabota?" she asked in clarification. Patricia nodded.

"It won't be much, only a little bit of contact every now and then," she explained. "You could keep your old life up; your job, your friends, and such, but if we ever needed anything in Russia, would you be willing to be a contact?" she asked. Anja thought for a minute, glancing around the room at the people leaving. She finally looked back at Thornton.

"Da," Anja said with a smile. "One...request?" she asked, not sounding sure on the last word.

"What would that be?" Thornton asked.

"I prefer only to work with MacGyver and Jack," Anja requested, though her tone of voice left it sounding like she really wasn't wanting to budge on that stipulation. Thornton smiled.

"I think that can be arranged," she replied, silently thinking to herself that Jack and Mac would hate the fact that they'd be the contacts always sent to Russia. "I don't think I need to tell you though that you can't tell anyone what it is we really do," Thornton reminded her.

"Of course not," Anja replied.

"Hey hey hey," Jack greeted as he and Mac approached the two women. Mac looked at Anja.

"You ready to get back to your life?" he asked warmly. She nodded enthusiastically.

"Da," she replied. "For just a minute, I want life to slow down and just let me be peaceful," she stated.

"You and me both," Mac said with a chuckle.

"Well, we'll be in touch soon," Thornton promised. "But we'll give it a little while, just to kind of let things settle down for you," she added. Mac and Jack looked excited.

"You took the offer?" Mac asked with a grin.

"I did," Anja said with a large smile.

"Congrats, chica!" Jack said, embracing the woman in a big hug. "Don't worry, with what you're doing, it's not gonna be as exciting as this go 'round," he said as they parted.

"I hope not," Anja admitted. "A little excitement is good, but this was…"

"Crazy?" Mac supplied with a smirk.

"Da," Anja said with a chuckle. "Crazy."

Thornton watched her agents and their new Russian friend interact. The past two weeks had been stressful ones for the Russian woman, but she was resilient; Thornton had complete faith that this deal they had with Anja would be a successful one. They had Wilder, they had Anatoly, and while Agent Dunn had lost his life, Thornton was going to make sure that he wasn't forgotten. Thornton's agents were her family, and as she watched Jack and MacGyver talking with Anja, she promised herself that she would do everything in her power to keep the rest of her family as safe as she could.

Oh my. There it is, the end of Anja's backstory! Was it what you guys hoped for? Completely different than what you expected? Also, sorry if that last paragraph is really weird or cheesy, I'm just still upset about Thornton and trying to compensate for the writers and their betrayal of us with her character XD

I can't believe how long this story turned out; I was originally going to end it right around when Mac and Anja escaped the first time, but I realized that wasn't the right ending for this story. So what was originally only like, 15k words ended up being 27k instead, and the final page count after all the final edits was 50! This is my longest story yet, and it just makes me so happy that people enjoyed it so much!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! Was it too long? Too drawn out? Too similar to my other stories (cuz I'm predictable like that)? Let me know your final thoughts!

Also, there's an inkling of a sequel idea in my brain, but I've got many other projects that I'm working on. Several prompts, and several of my own ideas that I wanna get out first. But would a sequel be something that you all are interested in, or do you think I should give Anja a break for a while?

Let me know, and thank you all again so much for the support you've shown me during this story, and honestly just in general! I love you all! See you soon!