The first of the last three chapters. This has been so much fun! I'm almost sorry to see it draw to a close... Except that I have the sequel well mapped out and mostly written. Huzzah!

This chapter's original title was "Paging Abbot and Costello!" but I figured that would be just a bit to obscure. Mac gets a little of his own back here, and I actually felt a little badly for Tony when I finished writing it. Hope you enjoy!

"Argh! This is so frustrating!" McGee grumbled as he pushed himself back from his desk and crossed the bullpen to the printer. "I swear, I just changed this cartridge yesterday! How can it be empty already?"

Bishop looked up from her own desk. "You did. I watched you. It's empty again? Maybe we need to call IT and have them look at it?"

McGee slid the new cartridge into place and waited as the machine warmed up. Page after page of neat black lines printed out, which he gathered and fed to the hole puncher. "No, it seems to be working."

"Did you swap in a used cartridge?" Bishop queried.

McGee shrugged. "Oh, I don't know; I might have, with everything going on. At least I've gotten this much done."

"McGee, did you submit your report on the Schwimmer case?" DiNozzo asked as he stepped off the elevator and dropped into his chair.

"I've been working on it for two days now, Tony," McGee sighed. "Just putting the last touches on it. All I need is a few more details about the warehouse, and MacGyver's first name. How is it that none of us know that?"

Tony leaned forward to unlock his computer. "Anything…besides his name… that I can help you with?"

"Sure, I need to verify the count on those containers of explosives we found…" McGee trailed off as he looked over at his colleague. "Tony? Is everything okay?"

DiNozzo looked haunted. He had dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, and his hair was tousled. "Yeah, why?" he asked with a way-too-blasé smirk.

"Because you look like you're been hit by a truck," Bishop mentioned as she crossed to stand before his desk. "What's going on?"

"I just didn't sleep all that well last night," Tony said with an exaggerated yawn. He stretched as far as his arms would reach to prove his point.

McGee frowned at him, his brows furrowed. "Yeah, this is more than just a sleepless night. You weren't at home; where did you end up?"

DiNozzo now looked defensive. "How do you know I wasn't home?"

"Tony, c'mon… I know you keep extra shirts and ties in the bottom drawer of the file cabinet. You haven't showered, and that's the same suit you were wearing yesterday. I smell barbecue sauce, which means you probably were up all night at that bar you go to sometimes. The one that Zi…"

"McGee!"

"…va frequented when she was undercover…" McGee trailed off as Tony came halfway out of his chair. "Tony, what's going on?"

Consciously reining himself in, Tony took a deep breath and forced a smile. "So, our highly trained Special Agent Investigator ate his Breakfast of Champions this morning, did he?" he taunted, trying to change the subject. "Aren't you just so smart?"

Refusing to rise to the bait, McGee studied his coworker for a long moment. "Something's eating you. What is it?"

The conversation was interrupted by Abby, who blew into the bullpen like a gale-force wind. "I can't believe he's doing this!" Her pigtails quivered as she slammed her fists on DiNozzo's desk.

It was obvious that DiNozzo knew more about Abby's comment than either Bishop or McGee. "You tried to get in?"

"And was denied! I'd almost gotten in yesterday, but it was getting late, andI wanted to get back to the hospital to stay with Mac. I left my 'safecracker' program running overnight. When I checked on it this morning, the entire code had been reworked. Even the synopses had been reclassified."

"Tony?" McGee demanded. "What's going on?"

Tony and Abby had a silent conversation that practically shouted their emotions without offering any clarification. Abby's raised eyebrows indicated that the ball was in DiNozzo's court, so Tony took a deep breath. "When we first met MacGyver, it was obvious that he knew something about our team; he knew our names before we were introduced, he knew things about us that aren't common knowledge. Abby and I tried to figure out how."

Tim squinted slightly as he thought that over. "Yeah, we never explored that, did we? I guess I just chalked it up to him knowing Gibbs."

"Abby and I did a little digging into some of his missions. We tried to connect the dots to see what intersected."

Bishop leaned forward as Tony hesitated. "And what did you find?"

Tony and Abby were again conversing without speaking. It was obvious that while both of them had strong feelings on the subject, neither had any idea on how best to proceed.

"We weren't able to find anything," Tony finally said, the words accompanying a gusty sigh. "When Abby tried to break the encryption, the coding changed overnight. I think MacGyver wants certain information to remain classified… or at least, someone at the Phoenix Foundation doesn't want us snooping around."

Abby's dark lips separated in an 'o' of surprise. "I didn't think of that. His laptop didn't work in the hospital, and I was sitting right there with him. I'm still really ticked off," she informed them, "but I'm glad I don't have to be mad at him personally." A ray of sunshine brightened her expression. "That makes me feel better!"

"Well, we still have these," Bishop recalled, reaching for the three binders on the bookshelf. "Remember, we printed all of his synopses when we looked him up the first time?"

Tony bounded to his feet and grabbed one, looking strangely protective as he held it momentarily to his chest. "That's right; good thinking, Bishop!" Moving back to his desk, he dropped the binder on it and flipped it open. "Since we don't have the digital copies anymore, we can at least use…"

McGee wasted no time rushing to Tony's side as his friend froze in horrified disbelief. "Tony, what?"

Wordlessly, Tony stepped back to let him look.

McGee paged through the binder in confusion. "I don't get it. This is hardcopy of every file we sent and received from the Phoenix Foundation. This is our entire file from this current case."

Bishop picked up the other two binders. "This is nothing but research done on various chemical compounds…This has to be Abby's breakdown of the chemicals we found in those recycling bins when we caught Salazar."

"Where did MacGyver's mission details go?" DiNozzo demanded. "Who changed these out?"

Bishop and McGee shook their heads. "The last time I remember anyone looking at them was the day we printed them," McGee offered.

Tony's eyes narrowed. "MacGyver…" he breathed. "Remember, he was poking around the shelves after he'd given us access to his laptop?"

"I was so busy digging in to that, I guess I didn't notice," McGee admitted.

"He was wandering around the whole bullpen, looking at everything. I didn't give it a second thought," Bishop added.

Abby was looking at the reports from her lab. "But these reports are from the last two days, and he wasn't anywhere near the building; there's no way he could have changed them out then!"

"I'm gonna ask him," DiNozzo promised darkly.

"When will MacGyver get out of the hospital?" Bishop asked. "When I checked on him last, he seemed to be doing really well."

"I would think another day or two," McGee shrugged. "That was major surgery, and I know he claims to bounce back quickly…"

"Only because those claims are true," MacGyver himself announced cheerfully as he sauntered into the bullpen. He stuck his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans as he came to a halt before them. "I'm glad you're all here; I hate long goodbyes, but wanted to tell you how much I appreciated working with you. I couldn't have taken down this Cougar guy on my own."

Abby threw her arms around him, her enthusiasm tempered by her concern for his wellbeing. "I'm so glad you're up and around! It was great to see you, Mac!" She pulled back suddenly, her gaze burning into his. "What do you mean, 'Goodbye'?" she demanded. "You're not leaving, are you?"

He pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows with a nod of chagrin. "Yeah, Abs, unfortunately, I have to. I've got to get back to the Phoenix Foundation and coordinate. With a whole bunch of agencies working on this, we might take down what's left of Salazar's organization."

"But, you had surgery just two days ago!" Bishop protested, circling her desk to give MacGyver a hug of her own. "Are you ready to go back?"

His eyes rested pointedly on the splinted wrist she had resting on his shoulder and her recently unbraided hair. "You got pretty banged up out there in the woods, and you were back the next day," he reminded her with a teasing grin. "Are you really the best person to be asking me this?"

She chuckled with him. "Okay, you have a point."

McGee was on his feet, offering a handshake. "It's been an adventure working with you, Mac. Stay in touch, okay?"

"He won't have a choice, there," Gibbs answered for him as he strode past them on his way to his desk. "We're going to be sharing information on the Salazar case until it's locked up."

Mac rolled his eyes at Gibbs, but the smile returned to his face as he turned to Tony. "Very Special Agent DiNozzo," he said with friendly teasing. "Tony, it's been real!"

Tony looked as though he wanted to say something other than the "Thanks for everything" that he finally was able to choke out.

Mac heaved a heavy sigh, trying not to let show how the effort of standing there was draining him. "Gibbs, I'd like to head down to say goodbye to Ducky before you drive me to the airport."

"Sure thing. Meet you down there," Gibbs said, looking up from his computer.

Mac headed to the elevator, and Tony waited until nearly the last second to rush after him and jump in before the doors slid closed.

"Awww, you missed me already?" Mac teased as he leaned against the wall with studied nonchalance. "I'd have held the doors for you!"

Tony reached out and flipped the switch, halting the elevator mid-floor and throwing the small area into a bluish shadow. "Mac, I…"

"I can't thank you enough for getting me that first class ticket on an actual airline," MacGyver interrupted. "I asked around, and everyone said you were the one who arranged that. Sure beats rolling around in a cargo plane again!"

"Not what I wanted to talk about," DiNozzo informed him.

"But I appreciate it all the same," MacGyver finished.

"Well, all right; you're welcome. Look, I need to know…"

"Yes, my home in Los Angeles is right near the beach, and yes, I accept houseguests. You'll have to reserve early, though, because I'm booked up until next year."

Tony pulled in a long breath to hide his growing frustration. "It's about…"

"…time you took a vacation? I agree. The stress of this case is getting you all worked up. Anyone can see it. You need a break. Take some time off. Focus on something else."

"I'd like to, but I can't seem to get a straight answer out of you!" Tony growled. "Ziva. Where is she?"

MacGyver looked genuinely confused. "The agent that joined the team after you lost Kate? I don't know what you're…"

"C'mon, MacGyver! I read the synopsis of your last Op…before it magically disappeared from our bookshelf! She brought you intel, you used your knife to open it…."

"I use my knife for everything short of brushing my teeth; and my last Op was the Salazar case here in DC," Mac said, shaking his head. The look of concern over Tony's sanity that creased his forehead made Tony even closer to losing it.

"Your Op in the Middle East, where you picked up that huge bullet?"

MacGyver's face brightened. "Ah, yes, Afghanistan! She saved my life when I got shot. Man, that hurt! She had to cauterize the wound with a fireplace poker when it got infected. It was probably crashing my hang glider into the river that did me in… or the horseback ride back to her place." He ignored the bewildered astonishment on DiNozzo's face as he shook his head and rubbed his right shoulder in painful reminiscence. "But that was thirty years ago, Tony. I haven't talked to Miri or Ahmed in forever. Why bring them up now?"

Tony closed his eyes, hauled in a deep breath, and pressed the palms of his hands together in a bid for patience. "Ziva David; Israeli, former NCIS Agent, long legs, even longer brunette hair?"

The incomprehension in MacGyver's eyes made DiNozzo want to reach out and throttle him. "Not really my type, if that's what you're going for… I prefer blondes; curvy ones…"

Tony whirled away from him and placed his fists against the wall before he actually decked the older man. "You're killing me, Mac!"

"You're confusing me, DiNozzo. I'm sorry, but if we don't get this elevator moving again, I'm gonna miss my plane, and Sam's going to have to come get me in the Mustang. Not that he'd mind," Mac interjected quickly, "But we're already a tad over-budget on this Operation. At least my Insurance deductible has already been met, so there's no out-of-pocket medical expenses…"

"I just need to know that she's okay," Tony spat through gritted teeth. "You said she saved your life…"

"When?

"After you got shot!"

"Where?"

"In the helicopter!"

"I got shot in a helicopter?"

Tony could feel the pulse throbbing behind his eyes. "You got shot saving her from a huge bullet, and she pulled you into the helicopter, using a set of headphones to cauterize your injury…"

"Wow, that sounds like quite an adventure! Where did you hear this?" MacGyver demanded in disbelief.

DiNozzo balled his fists until his nails bit into his palms. "You told me yourself, two nights ago. You were coming out of a nightmare, and asked Ziva to tell you more about me."

"Oh, right; in the hospital!" Mac said with revelation, ignoring the rush of air as Tony spun to face him with brimming excitement. "Yeah, just ask my son about my 'morphine ramblings', as he calls them. Sam gets the biggest kick out of the stories I tell when I'm that medicated; he says they're a strange mix of all of my Ops, plus whatever reports I've been reading from my agents in the field at the time. He's started writing them down, and he reads them to me when the meds clear my system. He'll be the first to tell you, you can't believe a word I'm saying when I'm loopy."

Devastation shuttered Tony's eyes and brought his shoulders down to a hunch. When he spoke, the words came out in a whisper. "Mac… please. I know you worked with someone, a former agent from an 'alphabet soup group' agency, who used to work with Gibbs. She means a lot to us. I just need to know if she's okay."

MacGyver was silent for a long moment as he stared at the floor between them. "It's hard losing people, isn't it?"

Tony swallowed hard. "Yeah."

"People come and go, but some of them stay in your heart forever."

"Yeah," Tony repeated, hope regrowing in his voice.

"I've worked with a lot of people like that. I've even lost a few. I sympathize with what you're going through, Tony."

"Then…?"

"I know how frustrating it can be when you don't get the answers you're looking for."

"Then…."

"I also know that sometimes, there are no answers, no matter what the question is."

"Then…!"

MacGyver waved him to silence. He took a deep breath and held it. "I don't have any answers for you, and I'm sorry. I really, truly am sorry, Tony. It hurts me just as much to say it as it does for you to hear it, trust me." He soldiered on over Tony's derisive snort. "I will promise you one thing; if I happen to run into any mutual friends in the future, I'll pass on your best wishes. That's the best I can do." He leaned forward to flip the switch, sending the elevator back on its way.

Note: I really, really feel sorry for Tony here. Especially now that we all know what happened (if you watched the last episode of Season 13, anyway...)

The reference to Mac in Afghanistan was from the episode called "To Be A Man", from (I think) the first season. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.