Together they returned MacGyver to his room on sub-level two. Dr. Thompson connected him to the heart rate monitor, breathing and blood pressure surveillance and supplied him with more meds to keep his weak circulation going. Pete never left Mac´s side. No matter, what Dr. Thompson would or could have said, he was determined to be there for his friend.

Only a few hours after returning him, MacGyver´s condition had turned stable and started improving again. Pete had sent Willis off to get some rest at that point, whereas Pete and the doctor had stayed with Mac the whole time. It was close to midnight, when MacGyver stirred, moaning lightly. Both men were instantly on their feet, but Dr. Thompson shot Pete a warning look.

"Stay back at first." he ordered with a low voice. "We have no idea how he will react. I don´t want to cause another shock."

Pete nodded, stepped back into the far corner of the room and sat down again, while Dr. Thompson took his place at Mac´s side. He laid one hand on MacGyver´s forehead, brushing back his unruly hair and feeling for his temperature.

"Shh, MacGyver." He tried to calm him. "Easy. Take your time."

MacGyver´s head slowly turned to the familiar voice he heard. His mind was a little confused; he felt his injured back and cracked rib quite clearly. He blinked his eyes open and focused on the doctor´s concerned face.

"Doc?"

Dr. Thompson´s hand slid down to his neck and checked on his pulse.

"Yes, MacGyver." he answered. "How do you feel?"

Mac needed a moment to reply, assessing himself.

"Exhausted… Somehow feeble… A little dizzy."

"That´s understandable." Dr. Thompson nodded. "Do you remember what happened?"

Mac started searching his mind. I am back in my room now, but why? How?

"Willis came to get me for my afternoon walk." he recalled slowly, his eyes now looking into some unknown distance, unsteadily sorting through his memories. "He had told me about some soil tests he was conducting. I talked him into taking me to his lab on sub-level three." He shrugged apologetically at the doctor. "When we got down there…"

He suddenly went silent, his eyes moving rapidly, concentrating to his inside. Mac´s breathing speeded up for a few seconds, then he held his breath. His jumbled memories washed over him, in a flash sliding back into their places. MacGyver abruptly focused on Dr. Thompson, tried to rise up quickly, but the doctor held him down at his shoulders.

"Don´t! Stay down! Slow, MacGyver…" Dr. Thompson ordered.

Mac stared at him with eyes wide open, the sudden pain in his back not mattering at all.

"Pete!" he asked excitedly. "Where´s Pete?"

Pete didn´t wait for permission or approval from the doctor; he was on his feet at once.

"Right here, MacGyver."

MacGyver´s head shot to the other side; his eyes searched the room and quickly found Pete Thornton in the corner. His hand reached out and he tried to get up again.

"Pete…" he sighed relieved.

Pete was at his side with a few quick steps, grabbed MacGyver´s hand and held on to it. His other hand went to Mac´s shoulder and gently pushed him back on the bed.

"Dr. Thompson said, you should stay down."

MacGyver´s breathing was still labored but he held on tightly to Pete´s hand. His gaze was fixed on his best friend.

"It´s okay, Mac. Try to relax." Pete continued. "I won´t be going away. I won´t leave you."

Mac took a few deep breaths, striving to calm down his racing heart and his breathing. Dr. Thompson had observed MacGyver and the monitors showing his vitals sharply, but now his tension also reduced a little. He saw clearly how strong the bond and friendship between the two men were. The doctor knew very well, this would not take the experience and the memories off MacGyver. Healing his mental injuries was a huge task that still lay in front of him. But at least the darkest and most painful memory had apparently lost its potential to burden his soul anymore. The fright would return as would the nightmares, however for now Dr. Thompson was relieved. MacGyver knew that his life and his friends were still there and that he could still trust them and himself. This fact would make his recovery a lot easier, physically as well as mentally.

Dr. Thompson sighed and straightened himself. His hand left MacGyver´s neck, where it had been monitoring his pulse. That movement drew Mac´s attention to him. He turned his head to face the doctor. Dr. Thompson smiled at him.

"It looks as if the two of you don´t need me at the moment, so I´ll leave you alone. As it is the middle of the night, I´ll get some sleep. Remember, you told me, you´re exhausted, so don´t overdo it." Then he looked at Pete. "He needs to rest. Don´t you keep him awake."

Both men nodded, so he left the room. After the door had closed, Mac looked at Pete and squeezed his hand a little. Again he felt a wave of relief rush through himself.

"Thanks for getting me out of this, Pete." Mac said with a low, soft voice. "Thanks for not giving up on me."

Pete smiled. "Thank you for finally returning to me." he replied. "And you did get out of there yourself, remember?"

"I wouldn´t have been able to do it without the uproar." Mac´s expression instantly grew dark with the memory. "Must have been you and your team…" He paused for a moment, giving Pete the opportunity to nod. "I didn´t care about the reason at that moment." he continued. "I was acting on pure survival instinct… Pete, they made me believe…" Mac wasn´t able to finish the sentence as his emotions took over. A shiver ran down his spine, his eyes were staring blank into the distance as his memories surfaced once more.

Pete gently squeezed his hand and his shoulder.

"Shh, Mac… It´s over." Pete addressed him. "Please… come back to me… listen to me… you´re safe now…"

It took some moments until MacGyver managed to push back the images in his head. Slowly his eyes focused on Pete´s face. He sighed deeply and had to close them for a few seconds. His vision blurred a little with tears welling up in his eyes as he opened them again. Pete was still there. It had not been a trick of his mind.

"Quiet, MacGyver." Pete tried to calm him further. "Don´t rush it… Take your time… We don´t have to talk about it now… you rather need to rest."

MacGyver nodded weakly. He felt every bit of his exhaustion; his eyelids were getting heavier.

"Pete, please, stay…"

"Shh." Pete cut him off. He had seen Mac getting tired. "It´s okay… sleep, MacGyver… relax… I´ll be here when you wake up. I won´t leave you." he reassured Mac smiling.

MacGyver returned the smile feebly. Pete felt his body relax and saw him close his eyes. His breath became slower and more regular. Mac drifted off into a quiet sleep. Pete held on to Mac´s limp hand for a few minutes before placing it gently on the bed. He pulled a chair close to MacGyver´s bed and settled into it, preparing to watch over him at least for the rest of the night. Pete would be going nowhere soon. He wasn´t going to leave his best friend alone.

"Pete, I need to see it!" MacGyver was a little upset.

"I don´t think that´s a good idea." Pete replied, trying to stay calm. "And so do your doctors."

MacGyver slammed his hand on the table, got out of his chair and started pacing the lab on sub-level three. He stopped at the far end of the room and turned to face Pete.

"So that´s your plan… Getting me out of one cage and putting me into another?" he asked angrily.

"Mac, it's a safe house, no cage." Pete still managed to answer him quietly. "Please, be reasonable. I told you that one of the guys is still out there. You gave us a good description, but we don´t have any lead on him yet. He could still be after you."

MacGyver closed in on the table until he was standing opposite to Pete.

"But it´s not very likely that he´ll be in that camp on that mountain. You also told me, you´re observing it. So, what danger could it cause if I go back there? With you as company?"

He leaned forward with his hands on the table, his brown eyes fixed on Pete.

"Pete, I´ve got to see it. Without the drugs, without the pain, without being captive."

Pete sighed deeply. After confronting MacGyver with the truth about the double, his recovery had been much less complicated. He had agreed to talk to Dr. Beattie fast and his physical progress had also speeded up with the lessening mental pressure. So yesterday, only two weeks later Dr. Thompson had agreed with Pete Thornton to release MacGyver into one of the Phoenix Foundation´s safe houses. There, they agreed, they could still watch over him, but slowly allow him to return to normalcy.

Dr. Beattie had also agreed. She was still concerned because Mac made every effort to convince everyone that the experience of having been tortured didn´t bother him anymore. However, talking to him one on one felt a lot different. He had opened up a little to her, had told only her some details about what had happened on that mountain. But even to her, he tried to hide his emotions and his real feelings. She knew it was part of his personal process of dealing with the experience. After the initial relief of Pete still being alive, Mac had also withdrawn from him. He was keeping up his composure, making everyone believe he was fine.

Dr. Beattie had talked to Pete about it. She had warned him, that Mac would quite likely push himself too far too soon. Pete watched MacGyver worried as he was pacing again.

"I just know I have to do it. I have to put those images to rest." Mac´s eyes were haunted as he faced Pete.

"Are you sure about this?" Pete asked with a probing look at him.

"Yes, Pete." MacGyver held his gaze and took a deep breath. "Maybe I can come up with something, you had not noticed up there. Maybe we can find more clues that will lead us to that Asian, together… Will you support me? … Or will you lock me up?"

Pete felt a sting to his heart.

"Mac, it´s not about locking you up." he tried to argue. "We´re trying to protect you."

Now MacGyver´s face turned sad. "After all those years we´ve known each other, after all we´ve been through together, don´t you think I can take care of myself?"

Pete had to sigh. "I know that you do, but…"

Mac raised one hand to cut him off.

"So? Dr. Thompson has allowed me to leave. Do I have to find my own way out of here and up to that camp? … Or will you help me?"

Pete still looked at MacGyver with deep concern. He knew very well, his friend was stubborn when he had made up his mind. He also knew that Mac was capable of working his way out of the labs or any safe house. After a few moments of consideration he gave in and nodded to Mac.

"All right, if you really insist on doing this… I´ll make the arrangements."

MacGyver´s face showed no smile. Inside he knew it wouldn´t be an easy trip to make. To the outside he wanted to seem determined. He didn´t want Pete to worry about him.

"Thanks, Pete."

Pete slowly got up, constantly observing Mac.

"Come on, I´ve got to make some phone calls and you´d better get dressed and ready for our trip."

Pete had arranged for a helicopter and two Phoenix operatives waiting for them outside the lab complex. MacGyver knew both of them from previous assignments. One of them was their pilot and both of them were supposed to guard the camp from the outside as long as Mac and Pete would be searching it.

Getting out of the underground installation felt good to MacGyver. He was no longer forced to sit around and wait. Knowing that the corpulent Asian man had been able to flee had become unbearable to Mac over the last days. Even though Dr. Beattie had warned him of serious flashbacks, he had to go after that man. Letting him get away was no option to MacGyver.

The longer the flight took, the more withdrawn Mac became. Pete noticed it soon. He had a watchful eye on Mac´s condition the whole time.

"Mac, are you all right?" he asked some minutes before they would reach their destination.

Mac had been silently looking out the window. He had recognized Widow Canyon passing below them. Pete´s voice made him snap out of his considerations.

"I´m fine, Pete" he replied. "Just keeping track of where we are going. It´s so close to Widow Canyon. No wonder it felt familiar to me as I was escaping the camp."

The helicopter made its way through the neighboring valley up along a slope. A rocky wall stretched up until the end of it. Mac grew silent again, his expression turning dark.

"That´s where we found you and that double." Pete explained while pointing to a certain spot along the rock face.

MacGyver´s eyes followed his gesture. He drew in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. Even with Pete sitting right next to him, the memory of that guy chasing him, strangulating him and then falling off the cliff haunted him. All of a sudden he felt Pete´s hand on his arm.

"Mac?"

MacGyver flinched and looked at Pete tense and with pain in his eyes. He took another deep breath before answering.

"I still see you trying to kill me … I still see you falling … I can´t help it…"

"Give it time…" Pete sighed and squeezed his arm gently. "You can´t undo your memories by will…"

Mac only nodded as the helicopter passed the spot and ascended along the slope. Minutes later a building came into sight. At the upper end of the rock wall, situated right at the edge was a large wooden camp. The helicopter circled above it, allowing Mac a full view around it, before it landed on a clearing close by.

MacGyver hesitated a moment; he needed the time to pull himself together mentally. Then he got out of the chopper, closely followed by Pete Thornton. Mac walked towards the camp immediately. Pete had to hurry to keep up with him.

Mac slowed down as the building came into sight through the trees. He stopped a few yards away from the front door. He had never seen this part of the camp, but knowing what he was about to see inside sent his heart pounding fast. He could hardly keep his emotions under control with all the memories of his captivity welling up. Pete´s voice made him wince and draw back a little.

"Do you still want to do this?" Pete saw the pain and fear in Mac´s dark eyes clearly as Mac looked at him. "Are you sure about this?"

MacGyver swallowed hard before answering: "I don´t want to, Pete… I have to."

His eyes went back to the building, scanning it for every detail that might be important. Mac was about to walk to the door as Pete´s voice held him back.

"Mac… Could you wait just a moment, please." he asked. "Before you go in there, I´d like to give you something."

MacGyver turned back to him and raised his eyebrows puzzled.

"Since your old one is evidence now…" Pete continued. "I got you a new Swiss army knife. Hopefully I picked the right model with all your favorite tools." He reached into his pocket and held the new red pocket knife out to Mac.

MacGyver´s face instantly froze with fright. He involuntarily took a step backwards away from Pete. Pictures, sounds and the feeling of Pete stabbing his back with the knife suddenly flooded his mind. He wasn´t able to control it at first. Then he held his breath concentrating on the thought that it had been the other man, the double. But in his memories the man still had Pete´s face.

Pete lowered his hand with the knife as he saw Mac´s reaction. He had not expected something like it.

"Mac? … What´s the matter? … What´s wrong?

MacGyver released the breath, he had been holding, and part of the tension also gradually left his body. He managed to take his eyes off the pocket knife and raised his gaze to Pete´s face.

"I´m all right." he replied slowly. "Just remembering something… the last time I saw my old one, the other 'you' was first stabbing my back and then stopped my attempt to escape with it."

Pete´s shoulders slouched. "I´m sorry." he apologized. "I didn´t…"

Mac cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"It´s okay, Pete." A small smile played around his lips. "You had no way of knowing…"

He reached out his hand and Pete handed him the knife a little hesitantly. MacGyver turned it around for a few moments in his hand, checking what tools it held. His expression relaxed.

"I love it." he said as he shoved the Swiss army knife into the pocket of his jeans. "Thanks, Pete."

Mac focused on the door again, steeling himself mentally for what he was about to see. He knew he had to be careful, the last moments had just shown him how fragile his composure was. MacGyver slowly closed in on the door, while Pete exchanged glances with the two operatives that had now caught up with them.

"I don´t want any surprises while we are in there." he ordered the men. "Make sure, that the camp is safe."

Then he followed MacGyver to the door. Mac had already opened it and went inside. He entered the dim corridor. Inspecting them for every detail he made his way through every room, one after another. Pete tried to stay close without hindering him and observed Mac´s condition closely. After all it was only his first day out of medical care.

MacGyver remained silent for most of the time while walking around the camp. He only shared some of his memories and possible hints in short statements to every room with Pete. While being captive he had only seen the corridor, his cell, the bathroom and the large room at the end of the corridor. He remembered those quite clearly.

They had discussed all the evidence during the last two weeks and now Pete shared his information about where and what had been recovered while they were looking around. Pete could see the tension building up inside MacGyver with every minute although he tried hard to keep up his calm façade. He avoided the larger room and showed Pete the back exit first, where he had managed to escape. But after that it was the only one left over.

MacGyver´s hands were shaking as he touched the handle of the door leading to the room where he had been tortured. Pete noticed it.

"Mac, you don´t have to…"

MacGyver´s glance cut him off. His eyes were filled with a mixture of pain and fear but also determination. He puffed out a deep breath, pushed the door open and entered the room. Pete followed him up close, leaving the door open. He didn´t want to raise the pressure by shutting the way out. In the last weeks he had noticed that closed doors made Mac feel uneasy.

MacGyver stayed close to the wall while walking around the room. He noticed that the table was still there, but the shackles mounted to the wall were gone. Only some dried up dark stains on one wall and the floor showed where he had been bound and brutalized. All his memories were coming back into his mind, getting more intense with every moment. He had to concentrate hard to keep his fear under control. Mac remained close to the table, scanning it with his eyes.

"Have you checked the table for fingerprints?" he asked Pete with a hoarse voice.

"We´ve tried." Pete answered as calm as possible. He could see Mac´s body trembling by now. He could barely imagine how hard he was fighting back his memories. "Nothing conclusive so far."

"Try again." Mac sighed. "Take it to the lab. Both of them have touched it. More than once. There has to be something we can work with."

As he looked up to the side wall he froze, suddenly staring blank into the distance. His most unsettling remembrance had returned.

"Mac?" Pete asked, instantly concerned and alert. "What is it? … MacGyver?"

Mac didn´t react, but slowly went over to that side wall, like on autopilot. He searched for a moment, found the mechanism and slid the door open. Pete was stunned and surprised. They had not found the sliding wall weeks ago, shortly after MacGyver´s escape. First he was impressed by the view, then he noticed the edge of the cliff was right behind where the wall had just been. The next thing Pete saw was the sturdy wooden beam that reached out over the abyss and the rope hanging down from it. He went a little closer noticing that the end of the rope was stained with dried blood. Then he saw MacGyver standing close to the edge, somehow frozen, paralyzed, staring down into the depth blankly.

MacGyver´s mind and feelings were blocked by his last memory of this room. He felt the rope binding his wrists; the huge guard was pulling and shoving him close to the edge. He felt the wind on his skin and playing with his hair, not knowing up from down. He heard Pete´s voice urging him to confess in his head. He felt hopeless and broken again. Panic rose in him and took over. Pete was about to push him over the edge… to his possible death…

Pete´s focus abruptly changed to his friend, who was obviously reliving a memory.

"MacGyver?"

As Mac didn´t reply or even react a bit, Pete slowly went closer to him. He became aware of his pale but sweaty face and the shivers running over his whole body. Pete knew about Mac´s fear of heights. Had they really used it?

"Mac?" he tried to reach out to him once more. Mac still didn´t seem to notice that Pete was there. He didn´t answer, so Pete tried to gently take his arm. He wasn´t prepared for Mac´s reaction.

MacGyver fiercely knocked Pete´s hand off himself, pushed Pete away and panicking drew back into the room.

"No!" he shouted. "Don´t! Please, don´t do it!"

Pete needed a moment to regain his balance and avoid falling off the cliff. As soon as he was safe he concentrated on MacGyver again. Mac had retreated a few steps into the room. His whole body was trembling and his eyes were filled with terror and shock. He was still staring into the abyss. The memory of being pushed over the edge, of almost falling to his death had control over his mind and senses.

Pete saw that he was swaying a little as he cautiously approached him.

"MacGyver, please … listen to me." he reached out to him. "It is over … come back to me … no one will harm you."

Mac took another unsteady step backwards, but then his knees buckled and he fell to his hands and knees, breathing heavily. Pete felt the sudden urge to rush to him, but kept his caution.

"Mac, it´s me. It´s Pete… please, believe me … you´re safe." he kept calming MacGyver. "It´s over … it is only a memory … you can get out of this … come back to me."

A little hesitant Pete crouched down and laid first one, then both hands on MacGyver´s shoulders. Suddenly Mac´s shocked eyes fixed on Pete. Pete felt his body shaking with fear.

"What happened?" he asked softly. "Mac, please tell me what you see… Don´t cut me out of it… Let me help you… what did they do to you?"

He squeezed Mac´s shoulders gently and steadied him as he saw his gaze return to present time.

"I was bound at my wrists…" Mac told Pete with a shaky voice. "You pushed me over the edge… I would have fallen to my death if the rope had not held me… it felt like being ripped apart…"

Pete sighed deeply.

"You know I didn´t do this. Do you remember the double?" he asked. "You know I am here to help you through it…"

MacGyver only nodded slowly; a part of him still seemed lost in his memory and paralyzed. Pete pulled him compassionately into his arms, feeling how tense Mac´s body was. At first Mac hesitated, trying to hide his emotions, but then he buried his face into the fabric of Pete´s coat at his shoulder. After a few moments he held on to Pete allowing himself to be comforted. It took minutes before he felt somewhat safe again.

Pete was patient. He just held MacGyver quietly in his arms until he felt him calm down. Seeing his friend like this was heartbreaking to Pete. Inside he had to control once more his rage against the men who had done this to MacGyver. After a while Mac raised his head and eased himself out of Pete´s embrace. He straightened himself and fixed his eyes on the edge of the rock and the opening again.

"Mac, are you all right?" Pete didn´t fully let go. One of his hands still held on to Mac´s arm.

MacGyver´s face was pale as he shot Pete a short, shy look, like trying to apologize for the outburst. "I´m fine." he nodded, gradually regaining his self-control. "The memory just returned too sudden, too intense. It took over… I couldn´t distinguish past from present…" He still was a little disoriented and stunned. He had never expected the flashbacks to be that overwhelming.

He cautiously got up, closely followed by Pete. MacGyver again approached the abyss with Pete staying close by, deeply concerned. Mac held on to the sliding wall as he reached the edge. This time he was able to control the vertigo and his fear of falling. After some moments of looking down into the depth he closed the wall and turned to face Pete. He managed to smile shyly and reached out to take Pete´s hand.

"Thanks for getting me out of it." he addressed Pete. "Thanks for being there."

Pete held Mac´s hand tightly in both of his but remained silent. Pete recognized that Mac´s 'I´m fine'-composure was back up. MacGyver was back to trying to show no weakness and locking up his emotions to himself. Only minutes ago Pete had gotten a glimpse at the terror that still was present under the thin veneer. It did nothing to ease Pete´s worries about his best friend. He sighed.

"We´ll better get you out of here." he suggested. "We´ve been through every room, and I guess, it has been enough stress on your first day out of the hospital for you – and me."