AN:

Welcome back! I hope you will join me for this emotional rollercoaster ride. I think this is going to be intense. It would be great if you'd send me a few words. I'm no medic and no native English speaker so I aoplogize for all the mistakes I've made.

To Sniper17: Thanks for the encouragement and support. This is for you!

Chapter 1

„What about Statham. He's badass." Mac suggested.

„Nah, I admit he's cool, but he's too smooth. A guy needs to be a bit rough around the edges. There is simply no replacement for my man Bruce. He's one of a kind." Jack defended his favourite action hero.

„Well, he is unique. I'm surprised, there hasn't been a remake of Die Hard yet. I mean it's been how long … I think thirty years or so since the first one came out. Perfect time to give it a try."

Jacks eyes widened. „Are you serious? NO way, it's … it's as if you'd pee in the Holy Grail. That's not gonna happen!" The Delta was apalled at the mere thought.

Mac started. „There is no such thing like the Holy Grail. Science can prove …" The blond was interrupted by the door bell. He opened the door and there was a parcel service guy. „Angus MacGyver?" He asked and handed Mac a small package.

Jack was sitting in the living room looking curious. „You ordered something?"

Mac frowned. „No, I didn't."

Jack sat up, immediately alert. „Don't open it Mac, could be a bomb or something."

„I don't think so. The parcel guy dropped it, before he handed it over." Mac took out his swiss army knife and cut through the paper carefully. He opened the box and took out a small object.

„Wall-E?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.

Mac froze. He held the small figure in his hands and his living room disappeared. He was back in the sandbox. He could feel the heat under his bomb suit, the sand stinging his eyes and his mentors voice. „I love this movie Mac, the little guy cleaning up the mess, mankind left behind. Let's put him on our bomb robot as a mascot…" That was the day before … Mac felt the blast, that threw him several feet back, the heat of the explosion and a scream, his own scream when he realized Pena was dead.

Jacks concern skyrocketed, when he saw Macs face lose all its color. „Mac? Buddy, what's with that thing? Mac, come on man, you're scaring me." Jack was kneeling in front of his partner, trying to get his attention, but the blond was miles away. His gaze unfocused, hands shaking and his breath coming in short gasps. Jack grabbed his friend by the shoulders. „Mac! Angus MacGyver," he yelled and that got the desired reaction.

Mac blinked. Jack was shouting. Why? He looked down in his lap where Wall-E was lying. He picked it up and inspected it closely, he turned it and looked at the bottom. There it was, the little crudely carved letters Pena had put there with a knife. Mac threw the little robot on the coffee table and jumped up. Why? What was that supposed to mean? It's been almost six years. He shot a fearful glance to the small object to make sure it wasn't a hallucination. Mac paced, shaking hands running through his hair and saw that Jack still was talking to him.

„Mac what's going on? Talk to me brother," the Delta urged when the blond suddenly jumped up and started walking back and forth. He stepped into his path and took the blond by the elbow. „You need some fresh air," he stated and led his partner out to the deck, grabbing a bottle of water on the way. He gently pushed Mac down into one of the chairs and knelt down in front of him. Jack opened the water bottle and shoved it in Macs hands, not liking how cold they were on a warm and sunny day like this.

„Drink," he ordered and Mac obediently took a gulp. „Breathe, in and out, you know the drill," Jack held Macs hand to ground him and bring him back to the present. After several minutes the blond had calmed down and seemed coherent enough, that Jacks anxiety lessened a bit.

„Are you back with me hoss?" Jack asked.

Mac nodded. „Sorry. I … I didn't want to lose it like that." He looked down ashamed. Jack gently took his chin and lifted it, so he could look his partner in the eyes. „Hey, don't be sorry. Can you tell me what got you so upset about this toy?"

Mac gulped. „It is …it was our mascot. When I was working with Pena, we had this bomb robot we used to disarm bombs. One day Al found Wall-E in a destroyed building and we put it on the robot as a lucky charm. This …" Mac took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before he continued. „This is our Wall-E Jack, the one Pena fastened to our robot."

Jack frowned. „How do you know it's the same?"

„Al carved our initals into the bottom, they're still there," Mac explained with a pained expression, when once more images of that dark day threatened to overwhelm him. He stood up and walked to the railing, gripping it to still the shaking. He hung his head, trying desperately to get his emotions back under control.

Jack waited patiently. He knew his partner needed time to get his shit together. Thousand questions popped up in his mind, but probably so in Macs. Jack could practically feel how the wheels were turning in his partners head.

Mac turned around focussing on his partner. „Why would anyone send me this after all these years?" Jack saw how crushed his friend was, no matter how hard the blond tried to look confident.

„I don't know Mac, but we're gonna find out, I promise. Let's get the package to Phoenix. Maybe the lab rats are able to find something."

The team was gathered in the war room, discussing the case.

„Do you think it's the ghost?" Matty asked bluntly.

Mac shook his head. „No, I don't think so. It was my first thought, but somehow I think this is more about Pena. The ghost doesn't play these kind of games. He would have rigged up a bomb."

Jack spoke up. „So which sicko is it then? One of your former EOD buddies?"

Riley worked on her laptop. „I'm already pulling up the files of the guys who went through training the same time as Mac."

Mac shook his head. „No, it wasn't one of them, they were great guys, they wouldn't do …" the blond trailed off. Nicky. Mac hadn't believed Nicky or Thornton would betray him. Obviously his knowledge of human nature left a lot to be desired.

Matty ended a phone call. „Nothing on the package or the toy, it's wiped clean."

„Mac I need you to think back to the time before Penas death. Was there anything unusual. Disagreements, fights he or you were involved?" The director asked.

Jack answered shooting a concerned look to his way too pale partner. „Matty, this was war. Afghanistan was a hell, made of sand, heat and a Taliban behind every corner just waiting to blow your head off. Nothing about it was normal."

Matty nodded. „I'm sorry Jack."

Mac chimed in. „There weren't any problems at the base, if you mean that. The biggest fights were about the last piece of cake at the mess. We had enough enemies around us, we didn't need fights among us. Everybody liked Pena, he was like …" again Mac couldn't finish a sentence. Als face appeared in his mind, he sqeezed Macs shoulder and praised him for disarming a complicated bomb and Mac wondered if it would feel like this if his father had stayed.

„Alright, these ten guys were with Mac at the EOD training at the same time." Riley had pulled up the files on the big screen. „Three of them died while disarming IEDs. One .."

„What? I had no idea." Mac stared at the pictures of his former classmates. Bob, the quiet guy with the love for insects. He wanted to become a biology teacher, when he came back. Theo, who always talked about his twin sister, he missed so much. And David a big guy with a lot of funny tattoos. Mac was no idiot. He knew a lot of soldiers died in war, but he had been close to these guys while they were taught how to disarm bombs. They all had the same goal, to keep the American soldiers safe and prevent the Afghan civillians from being killed. To learn that three of them hadn't made it back saddened Mac. He felt a hand around his shoulders and looked in Jacks eyes. There he found the same grief and bitterness the loss of good men had left behind. Jack didn't say anything, he understood. Mac nodded and composed himself. He cleared his throat and asked.

„What about the others?"

„There's nothing suspicious at first sight, but I'm going to do a little digging, but this will take some time." Riley answered and was typing again.

Macs phone beeped with a voicemail, he stood up and went to the back of the room to listen to the message.

Mac froze, when he heard the voice. Penas voice.

„Hello Mac, long time no see. Did you enjoy your time in the sandbox after I was gone? I'm surprised you made it out alive, considering how slow you always had been. Are you proud of yourself for letting me die? You didn't do your job, you are a disappointment. So many hours of training I invested in you and you failed. You know, it should have been you. I was supposed to go home and become a Dad. You have taken that from me. You robbed my daughter of her father. It was your fault. It should have been you Mac, not me." The phone went silent.

Jack knew immediately something was wrong when he saw Macs body go rigid. He slowly stood up but waited, he didn't want to startle his partner.

Mac felt numb. Pena. He would never forget the dark warm voice of his training officer. But the words he had said. They … they were true. It had been Macs fault, he should have been the one to walk into that building. It should have been me, his mind told him. The phone slipped out of his hand but the blond didn't register it. His ears were ringing from the explosion, he could feel the heat on his face. It should have been me. Everything started to spin out of control and then his body let go and he slumped to the floor unconscious.

When Macs phone clattered to the floor Jack took the first step in Macs direction, but he was too slow to catch his partner. „Mac!" The Delta cried out and knelt beside his friend. Jack gently rolled Mac over. He was shocked by his complexion. Before Mac had been pale, but now he looked almost translucent.

„Matty get Medical in here now," Jack barked and touched Macs face. „Come on Mac, open those baby blues. Not the time to nap now." No reaction. Jack gathered his partner in his arms and stood up. Bozer moved to help him, but stopped at Jacks sharp. „I got him." He walked over to the couch and laid him down. Bozer took a cushion and put it under Macs legs, Jack nodded his approval.

„Thanks, get me a wet cloth please," Jack felt bad for snapping at Wilt. They all just wanted to help. Riley stood there, feeling totally helpless.

The Delta sat down beside the blond and started tapping his face again. „Mac, can you hear me? You really need to wake up now or Matty will have your hide for sleeping in the war room. Come on hoss, you're scaring me." Jack rambled on and on and run the wet cloth he got from Boze over Macs face. He didn't even know what he was saying, he just desperately tried to reach into his partners mind and pull him up from the dark place he had wandered off. Jack didn't know what the message was about, but it had to be bad. Mac didn't simply faint.

The door opened and Doc Ward followed by their new nurse Angela rushed in. „What have we got?"

„Mac fainted. He had a tough day and now got a voicemail that made him pretty upset." Jack reported.

Doc Ward shone a light in his eyes, while Angela took Macs vitals. „Did he hit his head?"

„No, thankfully not." Matty answered.

It took another ten minutes for Mac to come around, which worried Jack greatly. Even if the Doc was there to take care of Mac now, he was afraid for his partners health. A soft moan and slow movement of his head announced that the blond was waking up. He blinked a few times and found everybody staring at him, which made him uncomfortable. He pushed to sitting and Jack immediately took the seat beside him, laying his hand on Macs shoulder, not only for physical support. He just wanted to Mac to feel, that he was there for him. His instinct was right as the blond leaned into the touch.

„I passed out, didn't I?" Mac blushed with embarrassment and looked down.

„You did. Any injury I should know about? Are you coming down with something?" Doc Ward asked and sent Jack a questioning glance as well. The Delta shook his head. „Not that I know about. Mac I need you to be honest, is there anything about your health you didn't tell us?"

The blond shook his head. „No, it was just … the message … it … no … that's not possible … it was Pena." He finally managed to utter with a shuddder.

„What? But he's dead for six years!" Jack was dumbfounded.

„I know," Mac whispered looking down at his shaking hands. Jack moved his hand from Macs shoulder and gripped his hands instead. He didn't like at all how cold his partner was. He clearly was in shock.

„Riley play the message," Matty ordered, but was interrupted by Jack. „Stop! Don't do this to Mac. You can listen to it later."

„It's ok Jack, I can handle it, now that I'm prepared," Mac tried to reassure his partner. He sounded more confident than he felt. If only the shaking would stop. Jack rubbed his hands and was surprised when Angela spread a blanket over Mac. „Thanks angel." Jack said grateful for her care. The blond pulled the blanket tighter around his slim shoulders. He took a deep breath and managed to keep his voice steady. „Play it Riley."

Riley sent a questioning look to Jack who nodded slightly. She hit play and put the voicemail on speaker.

Jack didn't know the sound of Alfred Penas voice, but Mac tensing up beside him told him that it was indeed his dead mentor.

Anger rose in Jack at the hurtful words spoken in a harsh tone. Macs figure slumped beside him and for a moment Jack panicked, afraid that the blond had passed out again. But Mac was awake, the effect of the message crushing him once more.

„No way he would say something like that. It has to be a fake." Jack had to reign in his fury to keep himself from yelling.

Matty nodded. „Riley check it out." The director looked at the Doc. „Do you want to take him to Medical?" The physician shook his head and turned to Mac. „No, but I don't want you to be alone. You need to rest. Eat something and try to get some sleep."

„Jack, take him home. Bozer, Riley and I are going over the files and analyze the message. Rest blondie, we give you a call if something comes up." Matty ordered, but her voice was soft.

Please review!

I didn't mean to offend the people working in a lab. I'm a lab rat myself.