Above Iraq, 5 Years Ago

A large military plane is flying in the night sky, waiting to drop off its passengers. Inside two of those passengers are oblivious to the danger they are about to drop into.

'What about Uptown Funk?' a handsome paratrooper sitting next to Desi says to her, 'it would get everyone out on the dance floor, and we can show off our twerking moves,' he says diplomatically.

'Evan, I will not be twerking at any time whatsoever in my wedding dress,' Desi says, adopting a semi-stern like expression. 'Next option,' she says with a smile.

Evan gives her a mischievous look, 'I got it,' as he gets up and does a dance spin in the aisle.

'Desi baby, you spin me right round baby right round…' Evan gestures comically as he tries to impress Desi with his nonexistent rapping skills.

'Seriously? Flo rida? Right now?' Desi laughs at Evan, 'I can't believe that I agreed to marry a wannabe.'

Evan gives her a disarming smile that no woman could resist, 'It was either marry me or live in sin for the rest of eternity as your mother would say,' he deadpans. At the mention of her mother, Desi grimaces.

'I personally think you made the right choice,' he says smugly.

Before she can give him a proper retort, the jumpmaster walks down the length of the plane, 'We're over the drop zone. Get ready to jump. And be careful, we about to be under fire so debris may be coming your way.'

Evan and Desi drop the banter and immediately become focused on the mission. They join the rest of their unit as they line up to make their jumps.

The jump light comes on and the side door opens. The jumpmaster hurries them out of the plane, 'Go, go, go….'

One by one they all exit as the plane comes under fire. When Desi is clear of the plane, she opens up her chute. She is a third of the way down when she notices that her descent speed is quickening up. She looks up at her chute and notices that there is now a massive hole in it with singed edges.

Seeing that her primary chute is toast, Desi cuts it loose. She pulls on the release for her back-up chute but nothing happens. Keeping her composure, she uses her comms to reach out to her teammates in the sky, 'Gonna need a little help here. Back-up is not working. I'm free falling and the ground is coming up fast.'

'Copy that,' she hears Evan's voice in her ear. Moments that feel like eons pass by and Desi is starting to panic when Evan flies out of the sky and latches on to her. Her face immediately relaxes when she realizes that she's safe in Evan's arms. He connects her to his harness and then releases his back-up chute. After a life-saving jolt of billowing fabric above them, they begin a controlled descent to their drop zone.

Evan smiles at Desi. 'Hey Honey, I got you,' he gives her a wide grin, 'Just sit back and enjoy the ride.'

MacGyver's House

'Yo, Mac,' Bozer calls out as he comes through the front door, 'where you at?'

'Out here,' Mac yells from the deck. When Bozer gets to the deck he is greeted by an enormous wooden contraption that looks like a giant slingshot on wheels.

'What in the hell is that?' Bozer says pointing to it.

Mac pops up from within the structure. 'A trebuchet,' Mac says proudly.

'A what?' Bozer looks like Mac is speaking nonsense. Mac grins, 'A trebuchet, a medieval weapon used in siege situations.'

'You planning to overthrow the neighborhood watch or something?' Bozer asks with a comical 'typical Mac' expression.

Mac laughs, 'No, the Mission City Historical Society is planning a Renaissance Fair and they reached out for a 'storming the castle' type of performance piece they are planning. They seemed to think that I would know how to build some realistic warcraft props for the period.'

'Well, it looks like they came to the right man,' Bozer grins, ''I can't believe Desi is letting you build that thing out here. It's huge!' Bozer grins.

'Desi had no say in the matter, especially since she doesn't live here anymore,' Mac informs Bozer matter-of-factly as he continues to work on his wooden masterpiece.

'Wait, you and Desi broke up?' Bozer asks disbelievingly.

Mac begins to measure another piece of wood, 'Yeah, last week,' he says nonchalantly.

Bozer places a hand on Mac's arm to get his full attention from his woodworking project. 'You mean to say that you've been keeping that juicy bit of Intel all to yourself? What happened? Are you ok? Does Riley know?' Bozer rapid fires the questions at Mac.

Mac addresses each of the questions in order, 'One, yes. Two, we both realized that it wasn't working out and we weren't right for each other. Three, I'm fine, and no, Riley doesn't know.' Mac looks a little ruffled, 'Why would you ask if Riley knows?'

Bozer gives Mac the 'are you serious' look. 'Only because the woman has deep feelings for you. Don't you think she would want to know?'

Mac nervously shifts his attention back to his trebuchet, 'She said they went away…'

'Do you really believe that? What else was she going to say while you were still with Desi? Don't you think she may answer differently now that she knows you are a free man?' Bozer relentlessly pursues the line of questioning.

Seeing Mac struggling to respond, Bozer decides to change his tack.

'But what about you Mac? What about your feelings? Do you have feelings for Riley?' Bozer poses solemnly, finally asking the question he could never raise while Mac and Desi were together.

Before Mac can answer both of their phones go off. 'Matty,' they both say in unison.

The Phoenix Foundation War Room

Bozer and Mac arrive to find the rest of the team waiting for them. Mac notices that Russ and Matty look uncharacteristically nervous.

'Well, um, now that the full team is here, I guess we should begin,' Russ starts. The team looks expectantly at Russ to continue. Russ, on the other hand, is sharing a hesitant look with Matty. When she gives him an encouraging little nod, he looks back at the team.'

'Right, no pussyfooting around it. The Department of Defense has approached us with a rescue mission that Matty and I would like the team to consider taking on,' Russ bluntly tells them. 'As you know, we have severed all ties to government funding, so this job is purely at our discretion. Matty and I have decided that only a unanimous decision by the team will have us take this mission on,' he tells them.

'Hold up. Are we really considering getting into bed with them again?' Bozer questions scornfully.

'Yeah, haven't we been burned by them enough already?' Riley chimes in.

Mac looks at Matty, and from her expression, he senses that there is more to this mission than they currently know. 'Why does the DoD want the Phoenix to do this mission?' he asks suspiciously.

Matty looks directly at Mac, 'For whom we would be rescuing,' she says simply. She touches her tablet and instantly on the big screen the service records of 6 service men appear.

Desi gasps as she moves close to the screen, 'Evan!' She looks back and forth from the screen to Matty. 'Is this for real? Is he really alive?' Desi is visibly distraught.

'Yes, it is. Confirmed by multiple sources, not just the DoD,' Matty reassures her.

'And this Evan is…..?' Riley cautiously asks.

'My fiancé,' Desi states automatically.

Riley and Bozer look at each other in shock and then turn to see how Mac is reacting to this announcement. Unlike them however, he doesn't seem to be phased at learning that Desi has a fiancé and instead, he seems more concerned at how Desi is processing the news.

After a quick look at the men on the screen, Mac turns to Russ and Matty, 'I'm in.'

Desi spins around to look gratefully at Mac and then turns to Russ and Matty as well, 'Obviously I'm in.'

Though speaking for Russ and Matty's benefit, Riley directs her reply to Desi. 'Count me in,'

'Me too, 'Bozer agrees quietly.

'That makes it unanimous then, we're a go,' Russ smiles his relief.

Matty takes charge of the room, 'Ok, we've got a small window of opportunity to make this rescue happen, so I'll brief everyone on the jet. Grab your gear. You're wheels up in 20.'

The Phoenix Jet

Russ, Mac, Desi, and Bozer are huddled around Riley and her laptop, taking in the briefing from Matty.

'While tensions between the Iraqi and US governments have been simmering down, they are far from amicable and there are factions in the Iraqi government that would love an excuse to heat things up again,' Matty explains.

'Why would any Iraqi official want to keep a foreign military occupying their country?' Riley asks, confused.

'Money,' Russ interjects, 'having someone else to point a finger at for all the troubles the country is experiencing provides a ripe opportunity for any type of corruption or criminal activity.'

'Where does Evan and the rest of the prisoners fit into this?' Desi asks impatiently.

Matty puts the briefing back on track, 'Unfortunately they were captured by militant groups operating against both Iraqi and US interests, and they are essentially being treated like merchandise. Based on the reports we received, they were captured initially for any intelligence that could be gleaned from them, but their captors soon realized that they had more strategic value to their cause, namely assets that could be traded for any of their own captured comrades.'

'But the US doesn't negotiate with terrorists,' Mac frowns.

'The US doesn't, but Iraq and other countries do,' Matty replies, 'and with the US trying to pull out of Iraq, the militants are viewing these prisoners as their last means to either leverage the freedom of their agents or to force a confrontation with the US military. Either scenario is unacceptable.'

'I still don't get why our Army Rangers or Deltas can't go after them,' Bozer comments, 'what happened to no-man-left-behind, and all that?'

Mac pipes in, 'The US can't be seen doing any activity that might be viewed as an act of aggression. That's why they came to us. We're outside of official channels.'

'Correct. If official US agents go in, are seen or get caught, then those disgruntled Iraqi factions will use it to start up hostilities again,' Matty confirms. 'But as Bozer mentioned, the US is dedicated to getting those men home. While they haven't been able to do anything, they have gathered all the Intel they can to help us bring them home safely,' Matty adds.

'Do we trust this Intel?' Riley questions.

'In this particular case, yes,' Matty nods, 'I know the sources personally and trust them. They are also the ones that shared the Intel on Leanna.' That last piece of information noticeably reassures the team.

'So what's the play, Matty?' Russ asks.

'Our contact on the ground knows where they are currently located but it is a verifiable fortress, and while that in itself isn't an insurmountable problem, the proximity of numerous innocent civilians is. But they do have a weakness we can exploit. According to our sources, the militant group that has our boys are a nervous bunch, frequently moving them if they get spooked. So the plan is straightforward, create a disturbance, spook them, and rescue them while they are in transit,' Matty outlines.

Mac nods, 'Works for me.' He looks over to Desi, 'Des?' Desi nods her agreement, 'Let's go get them.'

Remote Iraqi Village

The team climbs out of their Humvee dressed like locals. As they wander into the village, they notice that they've picked up a tail. Mac discretely looks over his shoulder and then pointedly at Desi. Desi gets what Mac is suggesting, and she breaks off to the right, down an alleyway. Mac and the others continue down to the next street and turn in. Their tail follows them in. When they are halfway down the street, they turn around to face their unexpected visitor.

'You know, I don't recall hiring a shadow,' Russ approaches the man.

The shadow is unfazed, 'You didn't, but Matilda Webber did. I'm Asi, your contact,' he explains.

Desi appears from behind him, 'Our instructions were to meet you behind the cantina. How do we know that you're legit?'

Asi holds his ground, 'Ask Matty. I let her know that the meet location was compromised and she instructed me to meet you when arrived.'

Riley discreetly turns on her comms and turns away to validate his story with Matty. Moments later, she nods, 'He checks out.'

Mac surveys their surroundings, 'We should get out of the street.' He looks directly at Asi, 'Is there a place we can talk?'

'Two streets over,' Asi nods, 'follow me.' The team all looks around but eventually follows Asi to an abandoned building. Once inside, Asi becomes more forthcoming with information.

'The timetable for this extraction has been moved up,' he begins, 'my contact in the compound now says that they are planning to move the prisoners tomorrow at dawn.'

'That's good news though,' Desi says, 'now we don't have to do a distraction to get them on the road.' She glances at the others to see if they share her reaction. The rest of the team looks more hesitant.

'If it were simply raiding the convoy, yes,' Asi acknowledges.

'How come I sense a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"but/em coming,' Mac summarizes. Asi nods in agreement. 'Yes, there is an additional complication,' he replies. He lets the hammer drop, 'The Iraqi government has gotten wind of militant activity in this area and now has the region under surveillance, meaning patrols, satellite coverage, the works.'

The team instantly realizes what the implications are.

'Our grab and go just became a stealth operation,' Russ announces.

Mac has his 'plan in progress' face on. 'Except for the new timeline, which should actually benefit us now that we're doing this in stealth mode, I think our plan, for the most part, remains the same,' he begins. 'We still create a distraction that spurs the prisoner transport except now instead of hitting the convoy openly, we'll have to literally sneak them out the back door.'

Mac goes up to Asi, 'Can you get us a covered transport? And some black paint? Lots and lots and lots of it?' he stresses for effect.

Asi looks at Mac strangely, 'I can….'

Bozer puts his arm understandingly around Asi, 'Don't worry, you'll get use to Mac.' Asi looks at him disbelievingly and then back to Mac, 'I can get you what you require within the hour.'

'Great,' Mac smiles. He turns to the rest of the team to explain his idea. 'There's no moon tonight, so we paint the transport black, kill the lights, tweak the engine to run silent, and it will be virtually invisible. We approach in reverse and get them out of their transport and disappear into the night before they even know they're gone.'

Russ looks around at Desi, Bozer, and Riley, 'Anyone have a better idea?' Seeing them all shake their heads, Russ smirks, 'Well, Angus, it looks like you've got yourself a painting crew.'

Mac is knee deep in the truck's engine when Riley approaches him.

'Hey.' Riley gives him a small smile, 'thought I'd check in to see how you're holding up. Finding out that your live-in girlfriend's fiancé is alive and kicking has got to be…..tough.'

'Well, I'll admit this whole situation is a little surreal. It is at least a little less complicated than it would have been a week ago,' Mac comments. Riley's silence and raised her eyebrows indicate to Mac that he should explain further.

'Desi and I broke up. She moved out last week,' Mac continues to work on the engine, throwing Riley a sidelong glance as he breaks the news to her. Riley is dumbstruck.

Seeing her expression, Mac elaborates. 'The break-up was long overdue. We both deserve more. I'm not her soulmate, obviously,' and he pauses as he takes his eyes off the engine to level an earnest stare at her, '…and she's not mine.'

Riley holds his stare for a moment and then asks, 'Why haven't you told anyone?'

Mac breaks the eye contact, suddenly self-conscious, 'I, uh, was taking some time to process it actually.'

Nodding her head, Riley gives him a soft, encouraging smile, 'Well, if you need to talk, I'm here for you.' Feeling suddenly self-conscious herself, she moves off towards Russ and Bozer.

'I know Riles,' Mac says quietly to himself as he watches her walks away.

'Hey everyone, we have another problem,' Riley calls out. The team quickly gathers around her.

'What is it, Riles?' Mac asks.

Riley turns her rig around so that the rest of the team can see the image of a transport truck on the screen. 'I was searching to see what security they would have in place for the convoy, when I found this,' she zooms in on the undercarriage of the truck. 'From the specs I found, there is some type of alarm system tied to pressure plates found in the floor of the transport. Essentially, once the pressure plate lock is activated, any pressure deviation will trigger an alarm to the driver's dashboard,' she explains.

'Can you jam the signal?' Desi probes. Riley shakes her head, 'Can't. It's hard-wired. The connection would have to be physically cut.'

Mac wanders a little way from the group. 'What are you thinking, Mac?' Bozer's question brings Mac back to the group.

'All we need to do is cut the wires to disable the alarm system,' Mac repeats.

'Yes, but it would have to be after the locks have been activated, and that means the transport would already be moving,' Russ clarifies.

Mac's face breaks into a smile. 'I know how we can do it,' Mac says confidently at his team.

The covered transport that Asi provided is nearly completely covered in black paint, thanks to Desi's efforts. As she begins painting the last section, she calls out to Riley, 'I still can't believe that they wouldn't let me scout out the compound, I'm the one that should be doing it, not Russ and Bozer.' She huffs audibly. 'I mean, I'm the one with the fiancé behind those walls,' she laments.

'That's exactly the reason why you are here expressing your inner Van Gogh and they are out there,' Riley replies in consolation.

Desi sighs, 'I know.' She takes her frustration out on bumper that she is painting. 'It's the waiting that's killing me. We're this close to being together again,' She gets lost in her thoughts for a moment, 'It's just that I never thought we would get a second chance. Hell, I'd never thought I would have a soulmate for that matter,' she ponders.

Desi stops to rest and takes a few deep breaths, 'Evan just got me, you know?' She looks softly at Riley, reminiscing, 'It was so easy to fall in love with him. And the passion we felt for each other… it was always there, always right below the surface.' She smiles to herself, 'We didn't need adrenaline to power our relationship.' She pauses again as she self-reflects, 'I guess that should've been the tip off as to why it didn't work with Mac.'

Riley continues to focus on breaking the security protocols of the surveillance satellite. 'It seemed liked it was working for you and Mac. You did move in together,' she points out, keeping her head down and eyes glued to the screen.

'Appearances can be deceiving. I think we were both more in love with the idea of being in a relationship than being with each other. We were both trying to hold on to something so that we wouldn't be alone. Mac and I should never have gotten back together. We both know that now,' Desi muses.

'Well, that may be so, but I think you're going to have an easier time moving on with Evan now back in the picture than Mac will,' Riley continues to focus on her rig.

'Oh, I think Mac is farther along the road to recovery then you may think, especially when you consider that he hadn't touched me for over a month before we ended it,' Desi says offhandedly. Riley's fingers pause on her keyboard at Desi's admission. Desi notices, 'I think deep down he's known for some time that I'm not the one he wants to hold in his arms.' She looks meaningfully at Riley for a moment before picking up the paint brush again.

'Back to work,' Desi changes the topic when words fail Riley.

Mac gathers the group together as he explains what he has in mind. He's standing over Riley and her rig, a schematic of the militant group's compound on the screen.

'Based on the scouting report from Russ and Bozer, if we set off explosions here,' Mac points a spot on the map near one entrance of the compound, 'and here,' he points to another location not far from the first, 'we should be able to draw the bad guys away out of the compound on our preferred transit route and still keep them busy at the same time.'

'That's all well and good, but how are we going to take care of the small matter of the pressure plate alarm system?' Russ banters.

Mac smirks, 'With this.'

Mac shows them what he has been working on. Russ is the first to take a stab at what it might be. 'It looks like an oversized dolly,' he observes.

Mac tilts his head back and forth, 'Close enough, it's a mechanic's creeper, or dolly if you prefer. With the extension and trailer hitch hook-up I added,' Mac points to the new pieces he welded onto the dolly, 'I'll be able to get underneath the transport to disconnect the pressure plates from the alarm system.'

'So you plan on being a human hood ornament?' Bozer asks dubiously.

'We'll be travelling in reverse, so not exactly a hood ornament, but your allegory is correct nonetheless,' Mac agrees as Bozer rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

'Once the alarm system is disconnected from the pressure plate sensors, you'll be able to get in and get them out undetected,' Mac finishes. He turns to Riley, 'What's the surveillance looking like?'

Riley clicks a few keys and the screen changes to a larger map of the area. 'We've got random patrols in the area but it looks like they are keeping to standard sweep patterns so we should be able to time it to give us the window we need. I've also tapped into the satellite so we can control what they see from the sky.'

Mac nods his head, 'Sounds like we're ready.' He looks around at the team.

'Let's go bring our boys home,' he says simply as everyone nods their heads.

Desi steps hesitantly forward before the team breaks up to their assigned positions. 'Uh, I'd like to thank all of you for agreeing to do this mission,' looking at each one of them in turn, ending with Mac. She keeps her eyes on locked on his as she continues, 'No matter how it turns out, I appreciate that you were willing to do whatever it takes to help me get Evan back.'

Mac gives her a small smile in acknowledgement as Riley and Bozer both give her a group hug.

'We're family Desi, and that's what families do,' Russ voices what they are all thinking.

The explosions have their desired effect, and seconds later the compound is besieged in chaos. And according to plan, activity in the area where the prisoners are being held suggests that they are being prepped to be moved.

From atop of a nearby building, Mac lowers his binoculars and intones into his comms, 'Trap has been sprung. They are moving them.'

'Copy that. Get back here and let's hit the road,' Desi calmly replies. She climbs into the transport's driver's seat and nods at Riley in the passenger seat, 'We're moving out.' Before putting the transport into gear, she opens the small window between the cab and the flatbed of the truck. 'You guys good to go back there?' she asks.

'We're set. Let's get this party started,' Russ calls out.

Desi throws the transport into motion and backs out of the garage. Mac arrives just in time to jump into the flatbed, joining Russ and Bozer, before Desi guns the truck down the road that leads out of the city. Desi looks over to Riley, 'Any sign of party crashers?'

Riley scans her rig, 'No, it looks like the fireworks we started got their attention. Other than us, the only vehicular heat signature is a blip from the compound, now heading to the main road.'

'That's them,' Desi says confidently.

With its engine running silently and its recent all black makeover, the transport blends into the darkness of the night, allowing it to gain ground on the prisoner transport without any notice. When their transport closes the distance to reach within 500 yards, Mac lets Desi know that it is time to put the truck into position, 'Flip it around, Desi.'

'On it. Hang on everyone,' Desi instructs as she spins the truck around 180 degrees and then shifts quickly into reverse. Now with the transport's flatbed leading the way, Desi collapses the distance between the two trucks to mere yards away from each other. Once they are within eyeshot of the other flatbed, Bozer gives the occupants in the other flatbed the hand signal to hold their position. The captured soldier nearest to them slowly nods and proceeds to give Bozer a 'message understood' hand signal.

'Mac, you're up,' Bozer helps Russ get Mac's makeshift mechanic's creeper into place on the transport's trailer hitch as Mac steps onto the bumper, getting ready to get on the creeper. He slowly lowers himself onto the glorified plank and when fully horizontal, he is ready. 'I'm in position. Put me under the truck,' he commands./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Copy that,' Desi steps harder onto the accelerator, closing the distance between the trucks to a few feet and putting Mac right under the lead transport. Mac turns on his head lamp and peers up into the transport's under carriage.

'Where exactly is the control box again?' Mac asks Riley over comms.

Riley checks the blueprints again, 'Should be directly overhead, a little to your right.' Mac sees it, 'Got it.' He takes out his swiss army knife and uses it to pry open the box, letting it dangle from its hinge as he checks out the wiring within it.

'Looks pretty straightforward,' he mumbles.

'Glad to hear that since we now have a patrol headed in our direction,' Riley warns the team, 'AND we are also running out of straightaway road. Mac, better hurry it up before they catch us or you get flung around like a rag doll.'

'Roger that,' Mac intones. Splitting some wires apart, Mac determines which one to cut. He cuts the separated out wire and the lights on the control box go out. 'We're clear. Start offloading them,' Mac confirms.

At Mac's declaration, Bozer hops into the other flatbed and starts untying the restraints bounding the soldiers. 'Time for you fellas to get out of here. How 'bout you all join my friend Russ over there in the other truck? QUIETLY,' he says with emphasis.

Each of the men files out of the flatbed in turn with help from Russ and Bozer. When the last man gets out, Bozer hops back into the now-packed flatbed. Bozer says into comms, 'All packages accounted for. Slow down a bit so that we can pick up Mac.'

'You got it, Boze,' Desi replies. As their transport slows down, Mac reappears from under the now-empty prisoner transport that is speeding off into the night unaware that it is missing its valuable cargo. Once Desi brings their transport to a full stop, Mac hops off the oversized creeper and throws it and himself into the flatbed.

'I'm in. Let's get to exfil,' Mac cheerfully announces as he stands at the back of the flatbed. As Desi throws the transport back into drive, he looks around at the rescued men, pausing only momentarily on Evan, 'I'm MacGyver. That's Taylor and that's Bozer,' Mac points to Russ and Bozer respectively, 'we're from the Phoenix Foundation. We'll be your escorts out of this hell hole today.'

The rescued men are still in a state of shock at their unimaginably lucky change in circumstance. Evan, sitting next across from Russ near the window to the front cab, calls out to Russ, 'We can't thank you enough. I still can't believe we're free. How'd you do it?'

Russ smiles warmly at him before sliding the window to the front cab open, 'We had help,' he says with a twinkle in his eye. Evan wears a puzzled expression before looking through the window slot at the woman he thought he would never see again.

'Desi?!' Evan exclaims in amazement.

Desi gives him an emotion-filled look through the rear window slot. 'Hey Honey, I got you,' she gives him a wide grin, 'Just sit back and enjoy the ride.'

Back at the Rendezvous Point

Desi hurls herself out of the driver's seat and races around to the back of the truck. She instantly sees Evan climbing out of the truck bed and throws her arms around him.

'I'm so happy you're alive. I thought I'd lost you,' Desi croons into his ear. Evan holds her even tighter.

'Never Desi baby. You got me, now and forever,' he murmurs into her hair.

They stand there holding onto each other as the rest of team looks on as Desi gets her happy ending.

Back in L.A. – MacGyver's House

Mac, Riley, Russ and Matty are all on Mac's deck, unwinding with beers and relaxed companionship.

'So the DoD has sent their official thanks for our involvement in bringing home their troops,' Russ tells the group.

'How nice of them,' Matty sarcastically comments, and the matching sardonic looks on Mac's and Riley's faces conveys that they share Matty's sentiment.

'Where's Evan now?' Riley asks.

'At the DoD base in Germany,' Russ responds, 'he's needs to be thoroughly checked out, physically and psychologically. But the doctors are surprised that he isn't in worse shape given how long he was in captivity.'

'He'll still have a long road ahead of him, but he'll get all the therapy he needs to help him readjust,' Matty adds.

'And Desi?' Mac asks expectantly.

'Desi is staying with him while he gets checked out,' Matty finishes. Mac and Riley are nodding understandingly when their attention is quickly caught by the arrival of Leanna and Bozer.

'Leanna!' both Mac and Riley call out when they see their recently back-from-the-dead friend. Riley reaches her first and pulls her into a tight hug.

'I'm so glad you're alright,' Riley tells her, becoming teary-eyed. 'Me too,' Leanna responds, tears forming in her eyes too.

'Can I get in on the hug action here?' Mac teases Leanna. Riley and Leanna break apart and both women wipe their happy tears quickly away.

'You sure can, Mac,' Leanna says as she pulls him into her arms. 'It's so nice to have you back,' Mac declares as their embrace ends moments later. 'It's nice to be back,' she replies with a smile, 'I also really wanted to thank you for being there for Wilt.' She looks over at Bozer, 'I knew it would be tough for him but the only solace I had was that he had you to get him through it.'

Mac gives her a small smile, 'He had all of us, and considering how many times he has been there for me, it was the least I could do.' Leanna's smile widens at the remark.

'Leanna, there's a beer here with your name written all over it!' Riley grabs Leanna's attention. Leanna turns back to give Mac a quick nod and then joins Riley at the fire pit. Once Leanna and Riley start chatting away, Bozer pulls Mac aside until they are out of earshot. Mac looks questioningly at Bozer.

'Ok Mac, it's time to finish our conversation about your feelings for our resident hacker here, your recent availability, and why you haven't done anything about it,' Bozer leaps right to the heart of the matter. He pulls back to look at Mac for a moment with a hint of concern on his face, 'You do have feelings for her, don't do?'

Mac reacts with surprise, 'Of course I do. I've known for a while now that she's the one that I can't live without.'

'Then why aren't you doing something – anything – about it?' Bozer asks, trying to understand Mac's lack of action.

'It's because I'm in love with her that I'm standing down right now,' Mac explains, 'she's my future. I can't afford to screw it up, so I'm going to make damn sure that I do it right.' Bozer continues to look confused.

Mac decides to take a different approach to explain it to Bozer. 'Let me put it to you this way. You're Riley, you find out that Desi and I broke up, and then you have me showing up at your door not even a week later wanting to start something?' Mac asks hypothetically with one raised eyebrow.

'Oh, HELL NO, I'm not your back-up plan,' Bozer channels his inner diva.

Mac nods emphatically, 'EXACTLY.' Mac takes a quick glance at Riley by the fire pit, 'After all she's been through – Murdoc exposing her feelings, a front row seat to the Mac-and-Desi show, the nanotrackers,' Mac shakes his head, 'there's no way I'm going to let her think that I only want to be with her by default or because I simply don't want to be alone.' He pauses and gazes longingly over to Riley again before turning his full attention back to Bozer, 'She deserves the world, and I plan on giving it to her, but first, I need her to trust me, and my feelings for her, in order for her to even want to give us a shot.'

Bozer nods at Mac approvingly, giving him a look that says that may be he isn't as clueless in the love department as he might have thought. 'So what's the plan, Mac?' Bozer asks with a smile.

Mac smirks, 'Sweep her off her feet, of course.'

This time when Mac looks across the deck again at Riley, there is a determined gleam in his eyes.