AN: This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful helloyesimhere, because it was inspired by a conversation I had with her a while ago.


Bozer flicked through the channels on his and Mac's TV. It was Friday night and he had nothing to do (aside from a couple of assignments, but it was Friday night).The apartment was quiet; Mac was out with his engineering buddies working on their solar car for the competition. They were hoping to go for two wins from two starts.

He sighed and settled on a comedy about a couple with a combined 18 children. At least Yours, Mine and Ours was amusing and rather light-hearted.

As he watched, he stifled a yawn. Mac had said he'd be back late, and not to wait up for him, but Bozer was determined to do so anyway, if only to make sure his roommate actually came home and slept. Sure, Mac was nearly eighteen, and he was only twenty, but there was just something about his best friend that made Bozer go all Mama Bear.

Yawning again, he turned his attention back to the TV…


Jack Dalton, twenty-eight, member of the Army's Delta Force, sighed as he left his C.O's office.

His biological father had left when he was only four. His mother had soon remarried, and her new husband, his stepfather, had been his father in all but blood. Jack had taken his surname, and not really thought all that much about his biological father.

He'd known that when he was twenty, the man had had another child, another son, with another woman. But he'd never bothered to get in touch or reach out to him in any way, shape or form.

He had a father. A real father.

That was more than enough for him.

But now…now this child, this boy, was all alone in the world.

His mother had died when he was five.

His father and grandfather had just been killed in a car crash.

Well…he was all alone in the world except for Jack.

His twenty-years-older brother, whom he'd never met.

Jack sighed.

His life was about to change drastically. He had no idea how to raise a kid.

At least he was in the States on dwell time, and the Army had offered him an honourable discharge on compassionate grounds.

Jack was going to take it.

He looked down at the photo in his hands.

A skinny little boy, looking sad and scared and far younger than his eight years.

Jack felt a surge of protectiveness.

Little Angus MacGyver, his little brother, was not alone in the world.

He had Jack.


Patricia Thornton locked herself in the bathroom cubicle, and put her head in her hands.

Her half-sister was dead. Home invasion gone wrong.

Her sister, who'd had a daughter, only eight. Riley Davis.

Riley was now an orphan.

Her father was an abusive drunk, whom Diane had left before Riley had even been born. He was now in prison, and had lost all rights to Riley.

Patricia sighed.

Her niece had no one else now.

Only her, her somewhat distant aunt.

Patricia had never wanted children.

Never been interested.

Didn't think she ever would.

She was twenty-eight, youngest Assistant District Attorney in the state.

Her focus was on her career, on prosecuting criminals, getting justice, doing good.

She was not cut out to raise a child. She was all hard edges and business, not softness and gentleness and affection.

But, she remembered how little Riley (though she insisted she was all grown up) had clung to her when she'd gone to retrieve her from the scene, as if she was the only one she had left in the world.

Which was true.

Patricia Thornton had no idea how to care for a child.

But she would learn for Riley's sake.


Fifteen-year-old high school senior (though, only just, it was still September) Angus MacGyver, whom everyone called Mac, waved goodbye to the beautiful blonde girl on his computer screen.

His girlfriend (of only a couple of months), Nikki. Eighteen and studying computer science at MIT. On the other side of the country.

They'd met when he'd been searching for someone with computer science skills (he didn't know much about computers; when other kids had been learning to use them, he'd been taking his apart to figure out how it worked) to help him with a robot he'd been constructing. Asking for tips on science and engineering forums had led him to her, and not only had she been able to more than help him out with his robot, they'd also become fast friends. Then, they'd met in person at a Caltech summer program just a couple of months ago, and the rest was history.

The only bad thing was that she lived in Boston, on the opposite side of the country to Mission City, California.

Mac shrugged.

She'd be back in her hometown of LA for breaks. She'd promised.

As he shut down his laptop, Jack knocked on the door, and Mac reached over to open it.

His older brother looked rather serious.

'Mac…brother, I've got something important to tell you.'

Jack sat down on the edge of his younger brother's bed and gestured with his head towards a photo of Nikki on Mac's bedside table.

'You weren't the only one who found love down south last summer…'


Fifteen-year-old Riley sat in front of her computer screen, focused on the code in front of her.

When she'd taught herself to hack military-grade encryption, after a brush with the law, her aunt and guardian Patricia had nudged her into white hat work.

Now, Riley could hack, get paid and not get into trouble.

It was awesome.

Mostly she liked her aunt. She was a bit strict, but she was fair. And she did love Riley, and Riley loved her, though they didn't show it all that much.

A knock on the door.

'Riley?'

Though, she hated it when her aunt interrupted her work.

But her interest was piqued. Her aunt's voice sounded hesitant.

Not like go-getting, tough-as-nails, unusually-young District Attorney Patricia Thornton.

She opened the door.


'You have a girlfriend? And she's a District Attorney? And she lives in LA?'

Jack nodded, and jogged his brother with his elbow lightly.

'Yes, brother. Bit slow, for that genius brain of yours!'

His attempt at teasing went over the teen's head entirely.

He was still staring at Jack, shock and more than a little hurt on his face.

Just as Jack had feared.

It had been just the two of them for so long, after all.


Riley gaped at her aunt.

'Your boyfriend is a mechanic? I did not peg you as the type to go for a man with grease under his nails.'

Patricia sighed.

'Riley.'

The teenage girl shrugged and turned back to her computer in dismissal.

'Well, whatever floats your boat.'

Her voice did not reflect her casual words. Anger, upset and hurt were all clear to the D.A. She sighed and wondered if she'd been wrong to still put so much into her career after taking in Riley. Maybe she hadn't spent as much time with her niece as she should have…

'We're going up to Mission City to visit Jack and his brother on Saturday.' Her voice softened. 'Please give him a chance, Riley.'


'They're coming to visit us? This weekend? Your girlfriend and her niece?'

Jack reached out and put an arm around his brother.

'I know it's sudden, Mac. But I really like her.' There'd been a few women, more than a few women, over the years. Casual relationships, on both sides. None that had been serious enough to introduce the lady to Mac, not properly at least. Still, his genius little brother knew about them. 'I'm serious about this one. Give her a chance?'

Mac nodded slowly.

If she was so important to his brother, maybe he should try and push away all the nasty feelings that the very idea of Jack's girlfriend brought…

But he wasn't going to promise.

He didn't know if he could keep that, and Mac never broke his promises.

'Okay.'


Mac and Riley sat in Jack and Mac's living room, watching the latest X-Men movie together. Riley insisted, much to Mac's displeasure, that he looked exactly like the guy who played Alex Summers.

But it was the nice kind of displeasure, and the nice kind of annoying.

Teasing, between friends.

'You know, Mac, you're pretty cool.'

He reached out and bumped his fist to hers.

'You're pretty great too, Riley.'

Both teens looked towards the kitchen, where the adults were preparing dinner.

'But…I don't want to be your…what in the hell would we be if they got married?'

Mac shrugged.

'I don't know, and I don't want to think about it. I don't mind your aunt, but she and Jack are a terrible couple.'

Riley nodded in agreement.

'Yeah, Jack's alright, horrible jokes aside, but him and Patricia?'

She shook her head in revulsion.

'We have to do something about it.'

Riley cocked an eyebrow at him.

'Sounds like you've got a plan…'

Mac smiled deviously.


To: Riley

We're coming to yours for Thanksgiving.

I've got the perfect idea; check your email. You're going to have to stop by an appliances store and pick up three toasters for me; I can't bring them without Jack getting suspicious.

Oh, also, Bozer says hi. (Well, he actually says, 'hey, queen of my heart, how's it going? Still kicking ass and taking names and breaking hearts with your awesome hacker skills?') Can you please just give him the rest of your number? He won't stop bugging me for it, despite the fact that I keep telling him I promised you I wouldn't give it to him.


To: Mac

Oh, you're devious. So, so devious, Mr Wizard. But you can't hide the truth from me – you totally came up with this while moping over the fact that your girlfriend's not coming home for Thanksgiving, didn't you? I can feel the moping coming off the screen! I know you miss her, but she'll be back for Winter Break in a month.

Oh, and give Bozer the next three digits. He's growing on me.


'Mac, I know what you're doing and it's not going to work, brother.'

The teen, prepared for his older brother to yell at him for the absolute disaster (just as he'd planned) that Thanksgiving was, was caught by surprise by his brother's gentle tone.

The mechanic sat down on the couch next to his little brother.

'I'm mad at you, Mac. And disappointed.' Mac bit his lip and looked down. He hated upsetting Jack. 'But I also understand why you and Riley are acting the way you are.' The older brother took a deep breath and chose his next words carefully. 'I know it's just been you and me, brother, for a long time. And there's nothing wrong with that. I didn't feel like our little family was incomplete or anything like that.' Jack shook his head fondly. 'I wasn't looking for love. Patty just kind of snuck up on me.' He reached out and put an arm around Mac's shoulders, then reached out to bump fists with him. 'You're my brother. Always have been, always will be.'

Mac sighed, and nodded, then hugged Jack, before looking away again.

'It wasn't just that, Jack…it's just…well…what about Sarah?'

Mac had heard his brother's tales (and his brother's Army buddies' tales) about the woman he'd loved, the woman he'd considered the love of his life, who was his fellow solider and apparently a female version of him. She'd left the service to marry her boyfriend and have children.

Jack sighed.

'I loved her...just like I love Patty now.' He smiled wryly. 'I've been alive for a long time, brother, you know that.' Mac liked to call him old man from time to time. 'More than enough time to love a few times' over. And I know Patty and I seem nothing alike on the surface.' Jack was quite silly and fond of joking around, and not much into rules except in regards to his beloved car. Patricia was stricter and more serious. 'But, hey, she's got Riley and I've got you, and she never served, but…well, DAs see some pretty horrific things, Mac. We understand each other and our demons get along. And maybe I need someone to help keep me in check. Equal and opposite forces, Newbury's Third Law, or whatever.'

Mac nodded.

There was a light in his older brother's eyes of late.

She did make him happy.

And that was good enough for Mac.

'Newton's Third Law, and it's equal and opposite reactions.' His wry smile turned less wry and more serious. 'I promise I'll stop, Jack.'


'Riley…'

'Yeah, yeah, I know, you're mad at me for messing up Thanksgiving! What? Am I grounded for life now? Banned from going online? Disowned?'

Patricia just waited for the girl to run out of steam. She raised an eyebrow.

'Are you finished?'

With a sigh, Riley nodded, and her aunt continued.

'I know it's not easy, having new people in our lives.' Riley nodded. 'Even if you do get along with them.' Riley nodded again, a small, wry smile on her face. She and Mac certainly got along well, as the disastrous Thanksgiving dinner showed. Patricia walked over and put a hand on her niece's shoulder. She was going off a hunch…but her hunches were usually right. 'You know I don't have a lot of time to spend with my loved ones. I am busy a lot of the time, maybe too much of the time.' She looked into Riley's eyes. 'But I've always made time for you, and I always will. Jack doesn't change that. You know that.'

Riley nodded slowly. That was true. He hadn't, not over the last few months. Her aunt was true to her word.

Patricia followed another hunch.

'And I know he's supposedly just a mechanic, but he's a good, good man, Riley, a kind man. Left the Army, left Delta Force, to care for Mac.' Patricia smiled, expression uncharacteristically soft. 'And he's silly and ridiculous sometimes, but he makes me laugh, he's always there for me and he cares. Makes me happy.' Her aunt's smile grew slightly more wry. 'I think you understand that, don't you?'

Groaning internally (her aunt was taking an interest in her love life!), Riley nodded again. In a rare display of affection, she reached out and hugged her aunt tightly.

Slightly surprised, Patricia hugged her back.


'Jack?'

'Yes, brother?'

'When we go to New York for Spring Break with Riley and Patricia…can I catch the train up one day to surprise Nikki?'

He hadn't seen his girlfriend since Christmas and New Year's. She'd not returned to the West Coast for her Spring Break, as it was too short to be worth the journey and the airfare. Mac understood completely, but he did miss her terribly.

Jack grinned and clapped him on the back.

'Of course, brother!'


Mac, a bouquet of flowers in hand, took the stairs two at a time on the way up to Nikki's apartment. (She made really good money from freelancing and hence didn't live on campus. He knew her address from sending her a birthday present just a month ago.)

He knocked on the door.

Instead of the surprised and delighted girlfriend he expected, a burly guy, older than he was, perhaps about twenty, answered the door. He took in Mac's skinny frame and the bunch of flowers, and laughed.

Mac tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. There had to be a rational explanation for this…

His girlfriend's voice floated to the doorway.

'Who is it, baby? Is it the Chinese delivery guy?'

A moment later, she came into his field of view.

Nikki's eyes widened.

'Mac? What…what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in New York!'

Yes, yes he was supposed to be in New York. He'd gotten up early to catch the first train and sat on an Amtrak for four hours, just to surprise his girlfriend.

Who clearly didn't miss him as much as he missed her.

And who clearly didn't appreciate the surprise visit.

He dropped the bouquet of flowers.

'Was it all a lie?'

Then he turned and ran.

He didn't want her to see the tears in his eyes.


Mac, you know long distance is hard. I was lonely. You were so far away, and-

The blonde teen didn't finish reading her text. He just deleted it and blocked her number. Yes, long distance was hard. Sometimes, he was lonely. It was hard, with everyone around him being all couple-y. But he would never, ever, ever have cheated on Nikki, not only because he loved her, but because it was just wrong.

His phone chimed.

OH MY GOD, I AM SO SORRY BRO! I am going to kill that girl for doing that to my bro! She's gonna learn the hard way that no-one puts Angus MacGyver in the corner!

We're going to Burger Nirvana and stuffing our faces with junk food when you get back, bro. My treat. And then we're going to get you another girl to make her jealous. (I hear Darlene just broke up with Donnie Sandoz…)

Anyway, I'm here for you, bro. Call or text anytime if you need me.

Mac smiled very wanly. Bozer was the best best friend he could ever hope for.

He closed Bozer's text (he would probably take up the offer later and call him when he had some privacy) and started a new one.

To: Jack

She cheated on me, Jack.

I'm on the train back to New York now. It's due to arrive in an hour.

I'm not okay.

Mac leaned his head against the window, holding back tears (he was not going to cry on a train, for God's sake, he was almost sixteen!).


Jack met his brother at the train station, an ice-cream cone and a large ice cream sundae in his hands.

Wordlessly, he handed the blonde the sundae.

'I'm sorry, brother.'

Mac nodded and ate his ice cream mechanically as they walked back in silence to the apartment that they were staying in.

It was empty.

As soon as Jack had received Mac's text, Riley and Patricia had taken one look at Jack's face, heart breaking for his brother, shared a glance with each other and with him, and left the apartment. Riley had said that a girl had to go shopping in Times Square at least once. Patricia hadn't even offered an excuse.

Jack was very grateful to both of them for giving the two brothers some privacy.

He glanced over at Mac, who was still fighting back tears.

Yes, some privacy was definitely necessary.

As soon as they were inside, Jack reached out and embraced his younger brother, holding him tight.

Mac tucked his head into the crook of Jack's neck and sobbed.

Jack's heart wrenched at that heartbroken sound.

He pushed down the rage he felt.

There would be time to be mad at that girl later.

Now, Mac needed him, and needed comfort.

'I've got you, brother. I'm here…'


'She's an idiot, Mac.'

The blonde teen looked up at his friend, who'd just walked into his room, face morose. Riley and Patricia had returned about ten minutes ago, and Jack had left Mac in their care while he went out to pick up some pizza.

Riley, being a teenager and intimately knowing the fragile nature of a teen's self-confidence and being clever enough to piece together Mac's school experiences from his stories, Bozer's tales and her own inferences, was pretty sure what sort of thoughts were rolling through his big brain at that moment.

'You're a catch, Mac. Not that I'd ever…' She made a face. 'Ugh. Just ugh.' Mac gave a very, very wan smile, just for a second. 'But you're a great guy. Smart, kind, big-hearted…' She wrinkled her nose. 'And you're pretty handsome.' Riley spoke with an element of near-revulsion, like a girl forced to admit that her brother was not actually ugly and snot-faced. Then, she took on a more serious tone again. 'The right girl will see that.'

She let her words sink in for a moment.

After a minute of silence, Mac reached out and bumped his fist with hers.

'Thanks, Riley.'


There was a knock on Mac's door.

'Jack's back with the pizza, Mac.'

Patricia's voice.

Mac didn't feel like eating pizza.

'Can I come in?'

Mac didn't feel like speaking or getting up either, so he didn't respond or open the door.

After a moment, the door opened slightly.

Patricia peeked in, looking uncharacteristically awkward.

Mac just nodded at her.

She walked into his room, almost hesitantly.

'It's none of my business…but I'm sorry, Mac.' She hesitated for a moment, then reached out and squeezed his shoulder gently. Then, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a box of paperclips.

He reached out and took them.

She'd noticed.

He smiled very wanly up at her.

She smiled a small smile back at him and squeezed his shoulder again.

'Come out when you're ready. I'll make sure we save some pizza for you.'

She walked over to the door, and Mac finally found his voice.

'Thanks.'

She nodded, a rare soft smile on her face, and then left, closing the door behind her.


Strange, that was a very familiar sound….

Bozer awoke with a start, to find his best friend closing their front door behind him.

He glanced over at the clock.

It was almost 2 am.

Mac noticed him waking.

'Oh, I'm sorry, Bozer…'

Bozer dismissed Mac's concerns with a wave of his hand.

'Don't worry about it, bro. That door never closes quietly, you know that.' He furrowed his brow. 'I was having the strangest dream…' A slow grin grew on his face. 'But it was so inspiring! I've totally got my next script all mapped out!'