Moving Forward
"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Evelyn drawled sarcastically, leaning against the door to Joanna's office.
"Sorry I'm late, but MacGyver was in an accident last night and…Oh! I forgot to call you!"
"Yes, you did. But you had more important things on your mind." Evelyn's voice lost its edge. "Leroy called to tell me about it this morning. How is Mac doing?"
Joanna sighed, unlocked her office door and sank into her chair before answering. "He's okay. He has some cracked ribs and cuts. He lost his memory for a few hours, but it's pretty much back to normal now."
"Well, that's a relief. What exactly happened?"
Joanna relayed what Mac had just told her as well as Sam's discovery about the brakes.
"Do you think it's the same person who's trying to shut down Challengers? That Stern fellow?"
"I guess…I don't know," Joanna yawned. "I don't know who else it could be, but he sure upped the ante this time."
"Why don't you go home and get some rest," Evelyn urged. "There's nothing you can do today that can't wait until tomorrow. Classes don't resume until Monday and I assume you'll want to spend some time with MacGyver."
Joanna was about to protest on all counts until she looked down at the rumpled clothes she still wore from yesterday and remembered that she promised to pick up Sam and head back to the hospital in a few hours.
"Yeah, I think I'll do that," she agreed wearily.
Joanna grabbed her coat and locked her office before heading out of the building, completely unaware of the tall, quiet man lurking in the main corridor.
Approaching her car, Joanna dug in her pocket for her car keys. Keys that were not there. She had forgotten that she had tossed them on her desk earlier. She was making her way back to her office when she noticed a light shining from the open doorway of the maintenance room. That was odd since no teachers or staff members were expected back for a few more days. She quietly approached the room in time to hear a one-sided telephone conversation.
"Yeah, I'm sure. She said he's gonna be fine and he remembered everything," a male voice said shakily.
"I did everything you told me to," the voice insisted. "I cut his brakes, put that fake deer in the road, everything!"
Joanna couldn't believe what she was hearing! Unfortunately, she had no witnesses. Not wanting to get caught eavesdropping, she slowly turned to head toward her office when a door slammed behind her, causing her to stop and turn.
"Sorry if I startled you, Ms. Jo," a man in beige coveralls apologized.
Joanna immediately recognized him as one of the school's custodians. She glanced at the name embroidered on his breast pocket.
"No problem, Elliott," she replied, making an effort to keep her voice steady. "I just wasn't expecting anyone back until Monday."
Elliott nervously shifted his weight from one foot to another but remained silent.
"Well, I was just coming to get something from my office," Jo explained. "Enjoy the rest of the break." She forced herself to smile at the man before hurrying to her office to make some important phone calls.
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MacGyver slumped on his couch. His ribs ached and his head spun as Joanna, Sam, Leroy, Evelyn, and a police detective crowded into his living room to discuss the events of the past twenty-four hours. His mind scrambled to keep up with the conversation. Perhaps he should have taken the doctor's advice and spent one more night in the hospital, but at the time he didn't see the need. Now he was beginning to wonder if he had made a mistake.
"Wait a minute," Mac spoke up. "You're saying a custodian at Challengers was working for Stern to shut down the school and get me out of the picture?"
"Yes sir," the detective replied. "Once Ms. Fairfax identified the phone Elliott Simms had used, the redial went directly to William Stern's private line at the Phoenix Foundation in Los Angeles. He has since been taken into custody."
"What about Simms?" MacGyver asked.
"He was apprehended at his apartment. He's scared to death of Stern and wants him locked up so he turned state's evidence and is providing detailed information even as we speak."
"So none of us will have to testify?" Joanna asked.
"Doesn't look that way. However, Mr. MacGyver may have to answer some questions regarding his time at Phoenix while under Stern's command."
"Terrific," Mac rolled his eyes and winced as pain shot through his temple.
"I still don't understand how Simms knew Dad was going to be on that road at that time?"
"I can answer this one, detective," MacGyver offered with a grunt, turning to Sam and the others. "I got the cell phones we've been using from Phoenix. They each have a prototype tracking device in them. The only way to activate and use it is with special equipment the Foundation developed. Stern was apparently using it and feeding the information to Simms."
"But how did Simms get hooked up with Stern in the first place?" Joanna asked. "We did thorough background checks on everyone we hired and there were no red flags."
"From what we can tell, Simms was having financial problems recently and needed money fast. Stern took advantage of that," the detective explained.
"What happens next?" Evelyn asked the detective.
"Nothing as far as you all are concerned. It's a police matter now. I have everyone's contact information if questions arise, but I doubt that will happen. Feel free to go on with your lives and let us take it from here."
Sam showed the detective to the door and the group let out a collective sigh of relief.
"I'll keep tabs on the case and keep you posted," Leroy promised. "I'm sure you'll be interested in the outcome."
"Thanks Mr. Jackson," Joanna responded. "I think we'd all appreciate that."
"You're quite welcome, Joanna. Evelyn, can I give you a ride home?"
"That would be lovely," Evelyn said. "And MacGyver, I don't want to see you at Challengers until Monday, do you hear me?"
"Yes ma'am," Mac answered dutifully, watching his room slowly clear out. The front door clicked shut leaving only himself, Sam, and Joanna.
"I should get going, too," Joanna declared. "It's been a long day."
"Are you sure you can't stay for a while?" MacGyver asked, catching her gaze.
"No," she replied, her eyes unreadable. "You need your rest, too." And with that she walked out the door.
Once everyone had left, exhaustion soon overtook MacGyver. He slowly climbed the stairs and gingerly settled into bed, mindful of his injuries. As his head hit the pillow, he briefly caught the sweet scent of coconut. Of Joanna. Of course, that was impossible, but it didn't keep him from dreaming about the soulful kiss they had shared or how it would feel if she truly laid next to him, her head resting peacefully beside his.
The next few days MacGyver gave in to his doctor's instructions and took it easy so he would be able to return to work when the new term started on Monday. He called Lou and arranged to rent space to work on reviving the Nomad. In the meantime, the mechanic gave him a deal on a Jeep much like the one he drove before leaving L.A. with Sam. Mac had also called Jo a number of times, trying to come up with excuses to see her, but she always rebuffed him. By Sunday evening he was as surly as a bear.
"What's with you, anyway?" Sam asked as Mac lay on the couch watching on old Western for the third time that week.
"Nothin'," MacGyver grumbled.
"Aw, c'mon Dad, you don't expect me to believe that. You've been moping around here for days. You wanna talk about it?"
Mac swung his legs off the couch and sat up, pinning Sam with his gaze. "No. I do not want to talk about it," he replied firmly.
"So there is something bothering you," Sam grinned triumphantly.
MacGyver leaned forward and scrubbed his hands over his face. "It's just something a guy doesn't talk to his kid about."
Sam sobered and sat down next to his dad. "I'm hardly a kid, ya know?"
Mac turned his head, assessing his son's concerned face for several minutes before releasing a heavy sigh. "It's Joanna. I think I scared her off."
"What did you do now?" Sam asked, sounding more like an exasperated parent than MacGyver's son.
"In the hospital. I kissed her. Like, really kissed her."
"Yeah, tell me about it!" Sam exclaimed.
"She told you!" Mac rounded on his son.
"She didn't have to," Sam responded, confusion marring his features. "I was there. The doc and nurses too. We all saw it."
MacGyver shook his head. "You couldn't have. We were alone."
"Wait. You're talking about last night, right? When you thought she was your wife."
"No. I'm talking about this morning after my memory came back. You mean I kissed her like that twice?!"
"Way to go, Dad!" Sam held up his hand for a high-five, but MacGyver left him hanging.
"No wonder she's avoiding me," Mac groaned.
"You say it like kissing her was a bad thing. From where I was standing, it looked like you both enjoyed it quite a bit."
"She probably thinks I took advantage of the situation," MacGyver continued as if he hadn't heard a word Sam said.
"Dad," Sam's voice was serious now. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe you just both finally let your defenses down at the same time and showed each other how you really feel?"
MacGyver thought back to his time with Joanna in the hospital. Make that the time he remembered with her. She had been a willing participant. He wondered what would have happened if the doctor hadn't walked in when he did.
"So what are you going to do about it?" Sam asked, breaking into Mac's thoughts.
"Huh?"
Sam rolled his eyes, his impatience growing. "What are you going to do about you, Jo, the kiss? If you ask me, it's time to take it to the next level."
Mac shot a look of astonishment at his son. "'The next level'? I'm not even sure what that is?"
"Geez, Dad, if I gotta tell you you're in worse shape than I thought!"
MacGyver lunged to his feet as his ribs protested. "It's not like that with Jo," he snapped at his son. "She's different. Special. The kind of woman a man commits to."
"And that's the one thing you can't do, isn't it Dad?"
Mac remained silent.
"What's wrong? Are you afraid you'll get bored and want someone else?" Sam sneered.
"I could've had someone else," Mac barked. "I chose not to!"
Sam's jaw went slack as his eyes widened. MacGyver lowered his voice.
"When I went back to L.A. I ran into an old…friend. We were going to talk about commitment, but Phoenix sent her off on an assignment before we had the chance. I hadn't seen her since. She wanted to pick up where we left off. I didn't."
"Why not? What changed?"
Mac quirked an eyebrow at Sam. "You're a smart kid. Figure it out."
MacGyver parked his Jeep next to Joanna's Chevy Monday morning and made his way into the school. At some point during the long night he decided it was time to put away his fears and misgivings for good and tell Jo how he felt about her. They had been dancing around each other long enough. Just when he thought she felt as he did she pulled back. Something, or someone, had to give.
He tapped lightly on her open office door.
Startled, she quickly looked up, but as soon as their eyes met, she lowered hers to stare at his chin. Seriously? Were they back to that?!
"Hey, what happened this weekend? I thought we'd spend some time together." MacGyver tried, but failed, to hide his annoyance.
"I wasn't feeling well," she murmured, looking down at some papers on her desk.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Stepping further into her office he noticed she did look a bit tired and pale. A pang of concern hit him.
Her gaze snapped up and caught his, fire in her eyes.
"I suppose you want a note from my doctor, too!" she retorted.
"And what would it have said?" MacGyver countered. "That you were trying to avoid me? That you were trying to run from what happened between us at the hospital?!"
"Nothing 'happened'," she spat, rising so quickly her chair rolled backward of its own accord.
"Not from where I was sitting!" Mac all but yelled, his patience stretched to the limit.
Joanna spun and stared silently out the window. Had he gone too far this time? He approached her from behind and put a calming hand on her shoulder which she immediately shrugged off.
MacGyver groaned and jammed his fingers through his hair.
"Look," he continued, more subdued. "I've been here a year, now. I haven't made it a secret that I care about you. I was hoping the feeling was mutual, but I guess that was stupid on my part. Or maybe it is, but you're just too scared to admit it."
She slowly turned to face him. Her voice was eerily calm and sure. "That's ironic, coming from someone with self-professed commitment issues."
"Is that what this is about?" he roared.
"Isn't it?!" she yelled back.
A steady pounding registered with MacGyver. He turned to find Evelyn rapping her fist loudly against the door.
"Both of you, in my office, now!"
"I'm not even going to ask what all that ruckus was about. We have a more pressing issue to attend to," Evelyn stated.
MacGyver chanced a peek at Joanna who was glancing sideways at him, her eyes full of concern.
"What is it?" Joanna asked, her voice barely audible.
"We've lost our funding," Evelyn stated succinctly. "After the debacle with Stern, Phoenix refuses to assist us and our benefactor has already reallocated his or her donation for the summer term elsewhere."
"There has to be something we can do," MacGyver insisted. "Apply for grants, solicit donations…"
"That takes time and manpower, Mac. Two things we don't have," Joanna explained, her voice stronger now.
"She's right, MacGyver," Evelyn concurred. "And even if we did get some funds, they could never match what we need. You saw for yourself how much it's going to cost just to repair the gym."
"So we just give up?" Mac's frustration was mounting.
"No," Evelyn replied. "We move forward and make this the best semester these kids ever had. Their success will be our legacy."
"Then what?" he pushed.
"Then we keep moving forward to wherever life takes us."
MacGyver gave Joanna a wide berth the rest of the day. She hadn't appeared as surprised or upset as he thought she would, but he figured it was only a matter of time before the situation hit her full force. He planned to catch up with her after school, but he got delayed cleaning up the remnants of an experiment he had demonstrated in the science lab and by the time he returned to his office she was gone.
He found her sitting on a park bench, looking out over the frozen lagoon. The same lagoon, the same bench where he had told her about Sam and Kate months earlier. He sat down next to her, not bothering to ask for an invitation in case she would send him away.
"How are you doing?" Mac asked gently.
Joanna shrugged her shoulders, still gazing over the water.
"Everything's gonna work out, ya know," he tried to assure her. This time she nodded and met his eyes.
"This is probably going to sound terrible, but I'm actually relieved," she confessed, and MacGyver could see a peacefulness in her eyes that hadn't been there before.
"I'm starting to burn out," she continued. "I dread going to work and yet I give it everything I have. Lately I feel like I've been running on empty."
"What'll you do when the school closes?"
"Look for another job," she grinned slightly at the obvious answer. "Hopefully something I enjoy. I'll be okay. I learned that nothing is guaranteed when you work for a non-profit so I've been preparing for this."
MacGyver was impressed with her calmness and foresight.
"What about you?" she asked him. "Will you move back to L.A.?"
"Nope," he answered without hesitation. "My home is here, now. I might do a little traveling, maybe spend some time with Pete to keep him out of Connie's hair."
"What about work?"
"I'll fall into something eventually."
"I hope you mean that figuratively and not literally," Jo responded, a full smile now on her face.
"I hope so, too," he replied with the quirky grin he reserved just for her.
She laughed and his heart warmed. He shifted on the bench so he was facing her.
"I owe you an apology for this morning. I didn't mean to come down on you like that," he said solemnly.
Joanna slowly shook her head. "I need to apologize, too. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I got upset because you were right. I do care about you and that scares me. Even after what happened in the hospital, I refused to let myself believe you could feel anything more than friendship for me."
"Why?" Mac whispered softly.
"Because that's the way it's always been for me. I'm always just the friend. Never anything more."
Her eyes turned glassy with unshed tears, ripping up MacGyver's heart. He draped his arm across the back of the bench, his thumb caressing her cheek and ready to catch her tears if they should fall.
"It doesn't have to be like that between us," he urged gently. "I guess neither of us has a great track record when it comes to relationships, but I'd like to try and change that."
"And how do you plan to do that?" she asked.
"By taking Evelyn's advice and moving forward in life…with you."
Mac couldn't hold himself back any longer. He lifted his hand from her face and moved it to cup the back of her head before brushing her lips with his. When he didn't meet with any resistance, he pulled her closer and let his kiss express the feelings he couldn't put into words. When Joanna snaked her arms around his neck, he deepened the kiss and reveled in the connection they shared. When they were mutually satisfied, he relinquished her lips, but kept her close, resting his forehead against hers.
"I promise not to run away if you don't," he pledged breathlessly.
"Now that's an offer I can't refuse," Joanna agreed. He felt her fingers playing with the hair that brushed the nape of his neck causing a shiver to run down his spine and lowered his head to kiss her one more time.
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With the school closing its doors in a few months, Joanna felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had a lot less administrative work to wade through and spent more time with the students in the learning center or recreation room. In addition, the assurance that MacGyver was willing to try and build a relationship with her buoyed her spirits. After they had given voice to their feelings for one another, Joanna was secretly concerned that the dynamics of their relationship would change. She soon learned the only thing that had changed was her fear of MacGyver rejecting her. He had made it clear that he would never simply walk out on her and she believed him, knowing him to be a man of his word. For the first time in a long time, Joanna felt hopeful and, dare she say, happy. There was more to her life now than work. A different reason to get up in the morning. She was on her way back to her office for lunch when MacGyver caught up with her.
"Got a sec?" he asked.
"Yeah, come on in. What's up?"
"Sam pointed out that Valentine's Day is next week. He wants to take us out to dinner this weekend to celebrate."
Before Joanna could respond, Mac held up his hand to stop her.
"I already explained to Sam that you and I are taking things slow, so I don't think it's as much about the holiday as it is about him."
"What do you mean?"
MacGyver sighed. "I think he wants to tell us he's leaving."
"How do you feel about that?" Jo asked softly.
"I knew it would happen sooner or later. At least I'm more prepared for it this time," he smiled ruefully.
Saturday evening Joanna met MacGyver and Sam at an upscale restaurant in downtown Milwaukee. Both men were dressed in suits and collarless shirts and Jo could have sworn that Mac's hair looked shorter…his bangs no longer meeting his eyebrows and the back of his hair only slightly brushing the collar of his coat. He looked good. But, then again, when didn't he? It still awed her that a man as kind and attractive as Mac would choose to be with her and her alone. Once they had been seated and the server took their order, MacGyver leaned back in his chair and addressed his son.
"Okay, to what do we owe the pleasure of this expensive meal? And don't tell me it's for Valentine's Day."
"You think you know me so well?" Sam scoffed playfully.
MacGyver quirked a brow and Sam flushed.
"Okay, you're right. That was just an excuse. I asked you both here because I have something to tell you and I want to do it right this time."
Mac and Jo exchanged knowing glances as Sam continued.
"I've been hired by a British news agency. I'll be based in England but will still do a lot of extensive travelling. I would have told you sooner, but I just found out for sure a few days ago."
"Congratulations, Sam. I'm really proud of you," MacGyver praised his son. "And your mom would be proud of you too."
"Congratulations," Joanna echoed. "You must be really excited."
"I am," Sam agreed enthusiastically. "And I'm glad I got to see you guys wake up and get together before I have to leave."
"When do you have to go?" Mac asked.
"They didn't give me much notice, Dad. I have to be there the first week of March, but this could really be a big break for my career."
"I know that, Sam, and I understand. Just make sure you do a better job of keeping in touch this time!"
"I promise," Sam laughed.
The next hour passed quickly, filled with happy conversation and playful teasing. Joanna had been afraid of feeling like a third wheel, but Sam and Mac made her feel as if she belonged. And maybe she did.
After the trio finished dessert, Sam dug in his coat pocket and produced a small box wrapped in silver paper tied with a light blue ribbon.
"I have a present for you," Sam announced, pushing the gift so it sat between his dad and Joanna. "Actually, it's for all three of us, but I want you to open it."
MacGyver indicated that Joanna should do the honors, so she carefully unwrapped and opened the box. Inside lay a gold engraved coin cut into three distinct pieces, each with a bale so it could be worn on a chain. Joanna turned the package towards Mac so he could see it as she read the inscription.
"'The Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent one from another'".
"That's the Mizpah. From the Book of Genisis in the Bible," Mac explained.
"I know," Jo responded, a look of confusion on her face as she turned to Sam. "This is usually only cut in half for two people to exchange to signify a bond between them. You and your dad should share this."
"No," Sam shook his head adamantly. "I had it specially made because you're the closest thing to family Dad and I have. Besides, since neither one of you is in a hurry to make it official, I figured this was the next best thing."
"Oh Sam, that was so thoughtful. I'll wear it every day," Joanna promised, her heart swelling with affection for the young man and his father who had encouraged her to open her heart to them as they all moved forward in their lives.
